Wednesday, 29 July 2020

Turkey ready to address F-35 issue with US

Jamie Hunter

 Turkey ready to address F-35 issue with US

 Turkey had procured the S-400 missile defence systems from Russia after talks with the US on its American Patriot defence systems had broken down.

 Turkey is ready to address US F-35 concerns, after Washington suspended Ankara from the joint fighter jet programme following the procurement of Russia's S-400 missile defence system.

 Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Tuesday that the US should reconsider its suspension decision as Turkey is ready to address any S-400 related issue.

 "With regards to the F-35 programme, all US government reports have shown that Turkey's suspension from the programme has brought production risks for critical components for the F-35 aircraft delaying the production timeline and increasing costs. They should reconsider their decision." 

 Akar was speaking at a webinar with Washington-based NGO, Turkish Heritage Organization.
Turkey had procured the S-400 missile defence systems from Russia after talks with the US on its American Patriot defence systems had broken down after the Obama administration refused to sell the Patriots to Turkey.


"Unjust"

Akar also underlined that the suspension was "unjust" and Turkey's defence industry has continued to supply key parts of the aircraft despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Turkey is not just a customer of the F-35 programme, but a partner. The security of F-35 technology is vital for Turkey as it is for the US. We are ready to address any US concerns about the S- 400/F-35 compatibility issue on a technical basis." 

US lawmakers introduced the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) legislation that targets Ankara over its S-400 procurement.

Akar also noted that historically, Turkey and the US have had “ups and downs” in their relations, but will overcome their differences through their comprehensive and strategic alliance which is “based on common values and interests.”

Source: TRT World

Clinton White flickr


F-35 Lightning II: Details
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Indian Rafales under Iranian fire during stopover in UAE

IAF Rafale - Rami Khanna-Prade

 Indian Rafales under Iranian fire during stopover in UAE

 CLEMENT CHARPENTREAU
While ferrying between France and India, the first five Dassault Rafale fighter jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) stopped over for the night in Al Dhafra Air Base, in the United Arab Emirates. During their halt, the base went under high alert as three Iranian missiles crashed into the waters nearby.

 To cover the 7,000 kilometers (4,349 miles) journey between Merignac Air Base, in southwestern France, and the Ambala Air Force Station, near Kashmir and the Pakistan border, within two days, the French Air Force provided air refueling support. Two Airbus A330 Phénix Multi-Role Transport Tankers (MRTT) were assigned to this mission, with one carrying 70 respirators, 100,000 test kits, and a staff of 10 medical experts to help India deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

 On July 28, 2020, the Rafales stopped for the night at Al Dhafra Air Base, in the United Arab Emirates, which houses a contingent of the U.S. Air Force and, since 2010, also serves as an operational base for the French Air Force.

 Coincidentally, that night was the one the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) used to conduct exercises in the Strait of Hormuz. The drill, which took place around a mock aircraft carrier resembling the Nimitz-class carrier of the U.S. Navy, included a barrage of missiles.

 According to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), three ballistic missiles came close enough for both the Al Dhafra Air Base and the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar. The visiting Indian pilots were asked to take cover. No damage or injuries were reported in the bases.

 “The incident lasted for a matter of minutes and an all-clear was declared after the threat indicator had passed,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

 On July 29, 2020, the five Rafale fighter jets took off for the last leg of their journey. They eventually reached the Ambala Air Force Station unharmed, where they were welcomed by a water salute.

IAF Rafale - Rami Khanna-Prade

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US COVID relief act includes $1.4B for F-35 fighter jets

US Air Force

US COVID relief act includes $1.4B for F-35 fighter jets

 29th July 2020

 PIJUS JAUNISKIS

 The new $1 trillion COVID-19 aid bill introduced by United States’ lawmakers contains funding for new F-35 fighter jets as the Senate seeks to battle the pandemic in more ways than one.

 The Coronavirus relief act proposed on July 28, 2020, by the US Senate includes $1.4 billion for brand new F-35 fighter jets and C-130 transport planes. An additional $1.1 billion of the bill’s budget will be dedicated to an order of Boeing P-8 Poseidon jets and $283 million more for the Army’s Boeing AH-64 Apache.

 The bill raises some interesting questions in contrast to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) press release on the same day that announced a $273 million grant to US airports, considering the current situation in the aviation industry.

 $242 million from the grant was set aside for the Airport Improvement Program that focuses on infrastructure, while $31 million was for “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security,” distributed across 184 US airports.

 At the same time, the Senate has agreed to extend its $32 billion payroll bailout that is due to expire on October 1, 2020, by an additional $10 billion helping airports to retain their employees.

F-35C - U.S. Navy

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PD-14 engine was successfully installed on MS-21

NickJ 1972 (flickr)

 PD-14 engine was successfully installed on MS-21

 Translated by google

 23 july 2020

The technological installation of the latest domestic PD-14 engines on the model of the MS-21-301 aircraft was successful, which confirms the correctness of the design solutions incorporated in the unit. This was announced today, July 23, at Rostec.

 The event took place at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, which is a structural subdivision of the Irkut Corporation. In addition to direct mounting of the unit, hood flaps and reversing devices were installed.

 According to the representatives of the state corporation, the power plants stood on the MS-21 pylons without comment. Based on the results of the first hitch, the necessary adjustments will be made to the design of the engine and airframe.

 Recall that the newest Russian engine PD-14, created on the basis of PS-1 and developed by the UEC-PM company, is designed to be installed on a modification of the MS-21-300 aircraft, named MS-21-301.

 In parallel with the technological installation of promising units that has successfully passed today, systems are being installed in the final assembly shop MS-21-301. Upon completion of the current work, the PD-14 engine will be installed on an experimental aircraft, after which ground and flight tests will begin.

#####

Rostec

The fourth MS-21-300 made a flight from Irkutsk to Zhukovsky Russia plans to create domestically-produced airborne avionics for MC-21 by end of 2023
Russia to produce six MC-21 aircraft in 2021
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The Yun-20 refueling machine was photographed

Colin Cooke

 The Yun-20 refueling machine was photographed. This time it’s not a hard tube refueling. 4000 liters per minute is nothing else_Hose

 Translated by google

 2020-07-28 

 With the gradual improvement of my country's air and space military power system and the increase in the number of fighter jets, the corresponding logistics support aircraft system must also be more complete to ensure the long-lasting combat effectiveness of the Air Force. Recently, some netizens photographed the Yun-20 tanker in training, but it doesn't seem to be the Yun-20 tanker that appeared on CCTV before.

First of all, from the photo we can see that this is definitely a large Yun-20 aircraft, and there are two large pods mounted on both sides of the wings of the aircraft. At first glance, it looks like the Russian IL-78 refueling. The machines are very similar, but the differences are not difficult to find. An obvious feature of Russia’s IL-78 tanker is that there is a refueling pod on the left side of the tank. There is no Yun-20, and the color of the belly of the Yun-20 is obviously different from elsewhere. Netizens think this is a common hard tube fueler before, but it is not for us to discuss.

Aerial refueling first appeared in the 1930s when Sir Cobbhan in the United Kingdom invented to cross the English Channel. The earliest refueling machines used hose refueling. This refueling technology was most obvious during World War II and the US-Soviet Cold War. The Russian Il-78 refueling machine and the U.S. KC-10A refueling machine were typical hose refueling. Among them, the U.S. Air Force’s tankers reached more than 600 at most. However, hose refueling also has obvious shortcomings. When refueling in the air, tankers and fighters are easily disturbed by the airflow, resulting in slower refueling efficiency and even the danger of "prolapse". At this time, hard tube refueling technology appeared.

The first time the Chinese Air Force adopted the hard tube refueling technology on the Yun-20 tanker. The biggest advantage of hard tube refueling is the stable connection and the refueling rate has been greatly improved. The air delivery rate of the Y-20 is about 4000-6000 liters per minute, which directly increases the combat radius of our fighters by 30%, and is not afraid of "short legs" when facing cross-regional operations. Of course, in addition to carrier-based aircraft, fighters, bombers, etc., it can basically support air refueling.

However, due to the current changes and needs in the composition of air forces in various countries, a refueling method that combines hoses and hard pipes is a hybrid tanker. However, there are two variants of hybrid refueling currently appearing: one is to install the hard tube telescopic sleeve on the tail, and mount the fuel tank under the two wings of the tanker to form a three-point hybrid tanker. The other is to replace the refueling nozzle of the end of the hard pipe telescopic sleeve with a cone pipe of a hose, which also forms a hybrid fuel dispenser with a combination of soft and hard. This kind of hybrid refueling method is to solve the problem of hard tube tanker refueling plug-type refueling aircraft, but it can also be temporarily modified to change the hard tube tanker to two hybrid or one hybrid and one hard tube. Come on the battlefield, no matter what type of fueled aircraft can be managed.

At present, the air refueling aircraft supported by the Chinese Air Force are basically hose refueling methods, but it is certain that this Yun-20 tanker did not adopt the Russian-made IL-78 tanker refueling method, but chose hybrid refueling. However, there is an obvious shortcoming of using a pod for refueling, that is, it is not as fast as the fuel tank in the engine. Although we see that there are pods on the wings of Yun-20 in the picture, this is a modified hybrid refueling equipment. In this way, not only the modification of the Yun-20 is small, but also the speed of the combination of soft and hard is ensured, and the resistance of the tanker itself is also small. The innovative hybrid refueling of the Yun-20 can not only guarantee the air force hose refueling method, but also make the safety distance larger. This is a unique innovation and no longer need to be mocked by Western countries.


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Saturday, 25 July 2020

State Dept Clears Chile’s $635M F-16 Modernization Service Request

CRUZEX 5

 State Dept Clears Chile’s $635M F-16 Modernization Service Request – GovCon Wire

 Brenda Marie Rivers July 24, 2020 

 The State Department has approved a potential $634.7M foreign military sale of aircraft equipment, services and spare parts to support Chile's F-16 fleet modernization program.

 Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) will be the primary contractor for the FMS deal that includes procurement of avionics, communications and navigation systems along with logistics, technical, engineering and program support services, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Thursday.

 Chile requested to buy Identification Friend or Foe transponders, cryptographic systems, Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing Systems, MK-82 bomb bodies, MXU-650KB Air Foil Groups, LN-260 GPS/INS receivers, ARC-238 radios, radar altimeters and High-Bandwidth Compact Telemetry Modules.

 DSCA notified Congress of the proposed sale Thursday.
CRUZEX 5

F-16C/D: Details
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Ball Aerospace to build prototype antenna for stealth destroyers

Tony Mori

 Ball Aerospace to build prototype antenna for stealth destroyers

 Nathan Strout

 WASHINGTON — The Defense Innovation Unit has selected Ball Aerospace to develop a new prototype antenna for the U.S. Navy’s new stealth destroyers, the company announced July 21.

 The low-observable antenna will allow the DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyers to communicate over multiple frequency bands without compromising the ships’ stealth features. Ball will develop the antenna architecture, beamforming approach and the prototype itself.

 “We are pleased to partner with DIU and the U.S. Navy to explore ways to quickly and cost-effectively increase the capabilities of the DDG 1000,” said Jake Sauer, vice president and general manager of tactical solutions at Ball. “Our multi-band, multi-beam phased array heritage and conformal antenna expertise directly supports the warfighter by addressing emerging threats and taking on new missions.”

 DIU — a Defense Department organization launched to facilitate the military’s adoption of commercial technologies — initially posted its solicitation for a “low-observable SATCOM antenna system that can support multiple links in the S-, C-, X-, Ku-, K-, Ka- and Q-band signals” for the Zumwalt-class destroyers in October 2019. As part of its Multi-Domain Tactical Communications (MDTC) program, DIU also noted that the antenna could be repurposed for other ships or ground stations. Still, the new antenna, or antennas, need to fit within the limited space available on the DDG 1000.

 The prototype antenna is due within 12 months of the award according to the solicitation, and could result in a follow-on production contract without further competition.

 The U.S. Navy only took delivery of its first Zumwalt-class destroyer in April — nearly four years after the ship was commissioned. Despite early ambitions for the new class of stealth destroyers, the Navy slowly whittled down its order from 28 ships to just three. The Lyndon B. Johnson, the final guided-missile destroyer in the truncated class of ships, is still under construction at Bath Iron Works in Maine.
Nearly 4 years after commissioning, the US Navy is about to get a fully working stealth destroyer
Raytheon nabs $121.5M to work on Zumwalt-class destroyers
DOT&E warns on DDG 1000 self-defence capability
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Russia will develop a universal aircraft engine for fighters

NickJ 1972 (flickr)

 Russia will develop a universal aircraft engine for fighters

 Translated by google

 The new engine can be installed on fighters without modifying the airframe

 ELENA GILMANOVA

 Specialists of the UEC - Ufa Engine-Building Production Association are developing a universal aircraft engine for fighters based on the engine for the Su-35 aircraft, which will also be suitable for the Su-27 and Su-30. The managing director of UEC-UMPO Evgeny Semivelichenko told about this , noting that this engine could be installed on fighters without modifying the airframe.

 “Today we are considering the possibility of creating a kind of universal engine using the components of previous engines in order to obtain higher technical characteristics,” - UEC director.

 Semivelichenko noted that an order was received from the Ministry of Defense for the creation of a universal engine capable of being installed on the Su-27, Su-30 and Su-35 without any problems . “We are doing this work,” he added.

 Recall that the UEC is also developing the Il-96 aircraft with new engines , which is to appear in Russia in 2025. The first tests of the PD-35 engine are scheduled for 2023. The new engine is unique in that it has an extra-high thrust during takeoff - from 33 to 40 tons. 180 billion rubles have already been allocated for its development.

 SOURCE KP.RU

russianplanes.net

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