Help
Predator variant eyes clearance for Gulf sales
November 17th, 2009 | Uncategorized | Posted by Andrew Chuter
The Predator unmanned air vehicle is never far from the public eye here, thanks to its exploits over Iraq and more recently Afghanistan and Pakistan, but General Atomics Aeronautical, the company that makes them, is rarely in evidence in the region.
That changed this week when, for the first times in years, General Atomics took a stand at the Dubai show to market Predator and products such as the Lynx radar.
Until now, Predator has been exportable to only a selected list of NATO members and others.
The vehicle, sometimes known as the Predator A, is operational with the U.S. military and the Italian air force.
The machine has been on the U.S. government’s banned list for exports to the Gulf region and elsewhere.
Now, though, General Atomics has developed a new export variant of Predator, which it hopes will allow the company to sell the UAV to America’s allies in the region.
Chris Ames, the business development director at General Atomics, says that without any significant changes, the company has come up with a UAV it thinks will allow Predator to satisfy U.S. export requirements but retain the performance characteristics which made it famous.
The new export version won’t be capable of being weaponized, however.
Ames said the machine would be able to undertake its mission as a persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform but wouldn’t carry missiles or other weapons.
“The vehicle is going through the U.S. approval process now and we are hoping for approval soon. We have conducted due diligence and we are satisfied it will meet export regulations,” Ames said.
In the meantime, the company is using the Dubai show to test the water locally and gauge possible levels of interest in the vehicle.
Ames declined to be drawn on what the proposed changes to the vehicle are, or what it was that caused the U.S. government to restrict exportability in the first place.
The executive hinted, though, that one of the concerns in the past related to violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime – a treaty set up to stop the proliferation of unmanned systems capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction.
UAE rolls out PC-21 and Erieye orders
November 17th, 2009 | Uncategorized | Posted by Andrew Chuter
United Arab Emirates has signed a deal with Pilatus to supply the PC-21 turboprop aircraft to meet its basic trainer requirement at Dubai Air Show 2009. Thomas Brown / Staff
The United Arab Emirates has signed a deal with Pilatus to supply the PC-21 turboprop aircraft to meet its basic trainer requirement.
The Swiss company landed a SFr520 million ($515 million) contract to supply 25 aircraft to the air force here.
In a second contract award today, the UAE said it had purchased two Saab 340 early warning aircraft in a deal valued at 148.3 million Euro ($220 million).
There is no news yet, though, on the progress of contract talks with trainer maker Alenia Aermacchi following selection of the M346 jet in February.
Making the announcement, Maj. Gen. Faris Al Mazrouei, the chief of the army’s logistics staff, would say only that contract talks were ongoing with Alenia.
The M346 was selected in a competition with the Korean Aerospace T-50 to undertake advanced training and light attack roles.
The Swiss PC-21 beat out another Alenia Aermacchi product, the S311, to meet the basic trainer requirement.
Plans call for the first aircraft to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2011 and the entire 25 aircraft order completed by the end of the first quarter 2012.
Al Mazrouei said purchase of the Saab Erieye aircraft was an interim solution ahead of making a decision on a long-running competition between the Swedish company and rivals Northrop Grumman and Boeing for an AEW capability.
The Saab 340 Erieye’s were previously operated by the Swedish Air Force.
The aircraft will be modified and updated with the first machine delivered during the third quarter of 2010 and the second around the first quarter of 2011.
Al Mazrouei said the aircraft will be used to train the UAE military in airborne early warning and command and control capabilities.
He said the UAE wasn’t ready to make a decision on the long-term airborne early warning solution.
The Boeing 737-based Wedgetail offering suffered technical difficulties and the Northrop Grumman Hawkeye E -2D was not yet in service with the U.S. Navy, he said, explaining the decision not to commit to the program yet.
Al Mazrouei said the UAE would also continue to consider the Saab 2000 Erieye solution in the competition.
Lockheed Martin pitches light warship concept for Gulf radar picket
November 17th, 2009 | Uncategorized | Posted by Pierre Tran
Lockheed Martin has presented a concept of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) adapted to carry the Aegis combat system to a number of Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates, George Elghossain, international business development director, said Nov. 17.
Dubbed Surface Combat Ship, the 3,000 ton LCS vessel would be equipped with the Spy 1 radar and Aegis combat system to add greater surveillance capabilities.
An advanced seaborne radar could be relevant to militaries in the Gulf region because of interest in building an integrated ballistic missile defense system.
Adding the Spy 1 sensor to the LCS vessel would provide long range search and track, and cueing of missiles to intercept enemy threats, Elghossain said.
“There have been discussions with the UAE Navy on this ship,” he said. The UAE is building the Baynuna class of warship, which is smaller than the LCS.
The company has held talks with other Gulf counties including Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Navies of Brazil, Japan and a number of other nations have expressed interest in the Surface Combat Ship.
Given fears in the region of a possible missile attack from Iran, a deployment of the Surface Combat Ship in the narrow waters of the Gulf would provide early warning of a missile launch and allow early destruction in the upper atmosphere by the Theater High Altitude Area Defense system or at lower altitude by the Patriot PAC3 or other weapon. The UAE is in the process of acquiring the THAA.
The LCS is bigger than a corvette and smaller than a frigate, which would be about 5,000 tons.
Boeing considers C-17 training school plan
November 17th, 2009 | Uncategorized | Posted by Andrew Chuter
A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster at Dubai Air Show 2009. Thomas Brow n/ Staff
Boeing is considering setting up its own training school to support overseas customers of the C-17 Globemaster III airlifter.
Nigel Beresford, the international business development director on the strategic airlifter program, says the feasibility of the scheme is being looked at by the company’s training arm.
Training for export customers of the C-17 is provided by the U.S. Air Force. The growing list of customers for the aircraft, though, has significantly increased demand for pilots and ground crews.
If the business case is approved, the school could be in operation by 2014, offering training for pilots and maintenance personnel, he said.
“The school would provide our export customers with USAF standards of training. It may not necessarily be based in the U.S., though,” Beresford said.
“The ground school would include simulators and computer-based training,” he said.
Australia, Britain, Canada, NATO and Qatar are all now operators of the airlifter.
The United Arab Emirates is expected to add its name to the list in the next few months when it completes a deal for four aircraft originally announced back in February.
Delivery slots in mid-2011 have been identified for the UAE aircraft, he said.
Beresford said that other states in the Gulf Co-operation Council had expressed interest in the aircraft.
On the domestic front, Boeing is waiting to hear the outcome of defense budget deliberations on Capitol Hill, which will include a decsion on the number of Air Force orders for the C-17 in the next financial year.
A likely order for three to 10 airframes is expected before the end of the year.
Lockheed Martin poised to sell F-16 in Middle East, besides Egypt
November 17th, 2009 | Uncategorized | Posted by Pierre Tran
A UAE F-16 performs at Dubai Air Show 2009. Thomas Brown / Staff
Lockheed Martin has strong hopes of clinching a sale of the F-16 fighter with an undisclosed Arab country in the near future, said Rick Groesch, regional vice president for the Middle East.
“We have very, very good prospects of selling more in the region,” Groesch told journalists Nov. 17 at the air show here. The deal, which could be sealed by the end of the year, would be for the block 50 version of the F-16 aircraft, he said.
The mystery buyer is not Egypt, where Lockheed is in detailed negotiations for a sale.
Iraq, Oman and Jordan are seen as potential buyers, a French aerospace executive said.
A Lockheed team is in Egypt for “final discussions” for a prospective purchase of 24 F-16s, Groesch said. The U.S. Congress has cleared the way for a sale with a notification and the present talks were aimed at finalizing contract details.
Lockheed sees potential sales of 100 to 200 F-16s around the world until the F-35 becomes available for export. That market estimate excludes the Indian competition for 126 fighters. As part of the Indian tender process, Indian officials will be invited to the U.S. to see live weapons firing by the F-16 at a number of sites in the last week of January and first week of February.
A production backlog of 76 F-16s is expected is expected to keep the line busy until 2012. Countries that have bought the aircraft in the past couple of years include Greece, with 30 units, Pakistan (18), Morocco (24) and Turkey (30).
A number of countries are upgrading their F-16s to the more capable block 50/52 version, a modernization program expected to keep the aircraft in service to 2040, Groesch said.
In the Indian tender, the contenders are Boeing’s F/A-18 E/F, Dassault Aviation’s Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, F-16, MiG 35 and Saab Gripen NG.
Dubai Flying Schedule – Tuesday, Nov. 17S
November 17th, 2009 | Uncategorized | Posted by Andrew Chuter
14.00 Patrouille de France
14.25 Eurocopter Tiger
14.31 Super Mushak
14.38 Eurofighter Typhoon
14.46 Alenia C-27J Spartan
14.53 Lockheed F-16
15.00 Pilatus PC21
15.08 Boeing F-15E
15.21 L15
16.00 Dassault Rafale
16.09 Airbus A380
16.17 Aermacchi M346
16.25 Frecce Tricolori
China’s L-15 Falcon Debuts at Dubai
November 16th, 2009 | Uncategorized | Posted by Wendell Minnick
AVIC Defence President Wang Yawei speaks during a news conference at the Dubai Air Show. Thomas Brown / Staff
By Wendell Minnick
Dubai – China debuted its new L-15 Falcon advanced jet trainer (AJT) at the Dubai Air Show, marking the first time the aircraft has been shown to the public outside of China.
Chinese officials from China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) gave a rare press conference on the L-15 AJT on Nov. 16. AVIC defense president Wang Yawei said the company had made strides in research and development of new aircraft and was anxious to explore the export market.
“The attendance of the L-15 is aimed at exploiting the international market,” he said. “There is a high demand of trainers of this type in the international market.”
Developed by the Hongdu Aviation Industry Group, an AVIC subsidiary, the Falcon is a multi-purpose supersonic jet trainer. L-15’s chief architect, Zhang Hong, Hongdu vice general manager, said Falcon missions include advanced training, lead-in training, companion training and close air support. The aircraft will also come in a Lead-In Fighter Trainer (LIFT) and Companion Trainer variant.
“The L-15 is a new generation advanced trainer that provides solutions for pilot training,” Zhang said. The aircraft is “characterized by a modern aerodynamic configuration” and equipped with twin turbofan engines, fly-by-wire system and a glass cockpit.
The Falcon is powered by two Ukrainian-built Ivchenko Progress AI-222K-25F engines with a performance speed of Mach 1.4, a service ceiling of 16,000 meters and a range of 3,100 kilometers.
“The L-15 is a cost-effective replacement for old advanced jet trainers, an excellent platform to accumulate flight experience for pilots,” Zhang said. The aircraft is “capable of armed reconnaissance, defensive counter-air, close air support and anti-terrorism” missions.
AVIC officials denied the L-15 had appeared at the Moscow Air Show (MAKS 2009) in August, despite Internet blog reports the aircraft was exhibited. ”We had a model at the booth at Moscow, not the aircraft itself,” an AVIC official said Nov. 18, responding to confusion over the issue.
The news conference Nov. 16 was a surprisingly slick presentation for a company that has traditionally shied away from the media spotlight. Wang said the company would be exhibiting more advanced military aircraft at future international aviation shows. AVIC officials manning the booth said there were discussions on bringing the L-15 to the upcoming Singapore Air Show in February 2010 and the follow-on Paris Air Show in 2011.
AVIC officials manning the booth appeared relaxed and comfortable talking about their product line, a clear departure from previous aerospace and defense shows in the past, where company officials turned away media inquiries.
The AVIC booth displayed models and brochures on a variety of new aircraft and weapons systems, including the FTC-2000 supersonic advanced trainer, CZ-11MB1 light multi-purpose helicopter (Z-11 variant), the K-8 Karakorum jet trainer, the FC-1/JF-17 Thunder multi-role fighter. Aircraft weapons systems included the winged 500-kg LS-6 standoff strike weapon and the SD-10A medium-range air-to-air missile. The SD-10A is a fourth-generation missile similar in configuration to the Raytheon AMRAAM AIM-120 missile. The 199-kg SD-10A has an operational altitude of 21 km with a range of 70 km at Mach 5.
The K-8 and the FC-1/JF-17 are joint aircraft development programs involving AVIC and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC). The K-8 was also on display at the show by PAC.
In a K-8 brochure, AVIC identified the engine outfitting the aircraft as a “proven Honeywell TFE-731-2A-2A turbofan engine,” but in a reference to the Chinese Hongdu JL-8 variant, it has a “flexible option for Ukraine [Ivchenko] AI-25TL turbofan engine.” The U.S. restricts the sale of equipment to China for use by the military.
AVIC has benefited from China’s booming economy and has expanded research and development of new aircraft and systems, Wang said. AVIC is also developing a new “200 ton military cargo aircraft” expected to be unveiled in December. The program is being jointly developed by AVIC and Xi’an Aircraft Industry Group.
In November 2008, the company reintegrated AVIC I and AVIC II into one entity in the hope of expanding opportunities in the export market and streamlining the company, he said.
AVIC was originally one consortium of aerospace companies, but in 1999 the corporation was split, retaining its original title, in an attempt to modernize its manufacturing facilities and competitiveness. AVIC I centered on sophisticated fixed-wing aircraft like fighters and bombers and AVIC II focused on smaller fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. However, the effort resulted in difficulties and AVIC I/II merged back together last year.
Frecce Tricolori
November 16th, 2009 | Uncategorized | Posted by Thomas Brown
The Italian Air Force Frecce Tricolori aerobatic demonstration team colors the sky during the opening of Day Two of the Dubai Air Show 2009 on Nov. 16. Thomas Brown / Staff
Airbus confident A400M will fly before year’s end
November 16th, 2009 | Uncategorized | Posted by Pierre Tran
Airbus Military is “quietly confident” that the first flight of the A400M airlifter will happen before the end of the year, Peter Scoffham, Airbus Military vice president for defense capability marketing, said at the air show here.
Airbus has previously said the A400M would make its maiden flight “by the turn of the year,” but the company is “quietly confident it will be this side of the turn of the year,” Scoffham said Nov. 16 at a news conference.
The upbeat prediction stemmed from individual running of the four new TP400-D6 turboprop engines on the A400M wing.
“All four engines ran last night,” Scoffham said, showing pictures of the engines on the A400M wing.
The next step will be to run all four engines together, practicing a slow taxi and fast taxi, before attempting a first flight.
The aircraft has been handed over to the flight test center, where analysis of the first engine run on the wing will be analyzed.
A first flight will depend on factors such as weather conditions and test equipment, as the first flight will be part of the test flight program.
“It will be a proper flight test lasting three to five hours, not a symbolic once round the circuit,” he said.
Airbus and EADS have predicted that delivery of the A400M would occur three years after first flight.
3 European firms line up for UAE air defense radar
November 16th, 2009 | Uncategorized | Posted by Pierre Tran
EADS, Saab and Thales are competing to meet a requirement from the United Arab Emirates for a low-level air defense radar, company executives said at the air show here.
“The UAE has sent an invitation for information for some companies,” a Thales executive said. There is interest in a low-level air defense sensor, for surveillance and command and control, including an engagement control system, the executive said.
“Saab is preparing to reply for the competition for low level air defense with the Giraffe AMB radar,” a company spokesman said.
The Giraffe can be deployed as part of the BAMSE ground based air defense system, which includes a number of short-range air defense missiles. Operators of the Giraffe include Estonia, Britain, the French Air Force and Sweden.
The surveillance coordination center for the BAMSE has a range out to 120 km.
Thales believes its Shikra 200, also known as Ground Master 200, could fit the UAE’s need, the executive said. The French company sold the GM200 system to an undisclosed client in Southeast Asia earlier this year, the executive said. The GM 200 is a smaller version of the GM 400 radar.
The Shikra 200 has a range out to 250 km and a ceiling of 25,000 meters.
Both the Saab and Thales radars have elevation of 70 degrees.
EADS is competing to supply a radar for the requirement, a company spokesman said, declining to give further details.