 |
| Rami Khanna-Prade |
India’s Rafale fighter jets have no chance against China’s J-20: experts - Global Times
By Li Qiang and Liu Xuanzun
Source: Global Times
Published: 2020/7/30 23:31:08
India has recently received delivery of five Rafale fighter jets, with a former Indian air chief marshal boasting that the French-made warplanes' capability is superior to China's J-20 stealth fighter jet. Chinese experts said that the Rafale is only a third-plus generation fighter jet, and does not stand much of a chance against a stealth, fourth generation one like the J-20.
In some combat performance areas, the Rafale is superior to the Su-30 MKI fighter jets, which are in service in the Indian air force in large batches, but it is only about one-fourth of a generation more advanced and does not yield a significant qualitative change, Zhang Xuefeng, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times.
Thanks to its AESA radar, advanced weapons and limited stealth technologies, the Rafale is comparable to other third-plus generation fighter jets used by other countries, but it will find it very difficult to confront a stealth-capable fourth generation fighter jet, Zhang said.
Zhang's statement came after the five Rafale fighter jets took off from France on Monday and arrived in India on Wednesday, Indian media reported on Wednesday.
In a report by the Hindustan Times on Wednesday, India's former air chief marshal B.S. Dhanoa claimed that the Rafale "is a game changer, and the Chinese J-20 does not even come close."
It is common knowledge that a generational gap in fighter jets represents a huge difference that cannot be made up by tactics and numbers in combat, military observers said.
China's J-20 is far superior to the Rafale, they said.
#####
 |
| sinodefenceforum.com |
The Indian Air Force began to equip the strongest fighter next month, the number is too small to face the J-10C no chance of winning
Chengdu J-20: Details
 |
| Bernie C |
These three companies submitted bids for Canada’s fighter competition
By: Valerie Insinna
Capt. Matthew Kutryk, Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, flies a specially painted CF-18 Hornet commemorating Canada’s 150th Anniversary of Confederation during the Wings Over Wayne Air Show on May 21, 2017, at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. (Airman 1st Class Christopher Maldonado/U.S. Air Force)
WASHINGTON — The bids are in for Canada’s fighter competition, and three companies will go head-to-head for the chance to build 88 new jets.
The Canadian government on Friday confirmed that the field is down to two American entrants — Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet — as well as Swedish aerospace manufacturer Saab’s Gripen E. All companies submitted proposals before the July 31 deadline.
The contest is scheduled to be decided in 2022, with the first aircraft delivery projected in 2025. Up to CA$19 billion (U.S. $14 billion) is up for grabs.
“Our government committed to purchasing a full fleet of 88 aircraft to be able to meet our NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command] and NATO obligations simultaneously,” Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said in a statement. “Efficient and modern fighter jets are an integral part of any air force and we continue to work diligently to make sure that we provide the members of the Royal Canadian Air Force the tools they need to protect Canada, both at home and abroad.”
Canada could downselect to two bidders in spring 2021 after an initial evaluation of proposals, though it could keep all three companies as options until the final selection of a single bidder in 2022, the Canadian government said in statement.
The competing companies must submit proposals that offer economic benefits to Canadian defense contractors and other businesses, as industrial incentives and offsets make up 20 percent of the criteria under evaluation. The proposals will also be evaluated on each aircraft’s capability and cost, which will be weighed at 60 percent and 20 percent respectively.
The new fighter will replace the Royal Canadian Air Force’s fleet of aging CF-18s.
For its proposal, Saab will partner with Canadian defense firms IMP Aerospace & Defence, CAE, and Peraton Canada, and will offer a competitive package of industrial and technological benefits, the company announced.
“Saab’s Gripen fighter is designed to operate in harsh environments and defeat the most advanced global threats. The system meets all of Canada’s specific defence requirements, offering exceptional performance and advanced technical capabilities,” said Jonas Hjelm, who heads Saab’s aeronautics business.
As a partner nation of the F-35 program, Canada has contributed funding for the development of the Joint Strike Fighter and is involved in the production of the jet. In Lockheed’s statement confirming the bid, the firm said the F-35 program would support an estimated 150,000 jobs in Canada over its life span.
“The 5th Generation F-35 would transform the Royal Canadian Air Force fleet and deliver the capabilities necessary to safeguard Canadian skies,” said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed’s F-35 program executive vice president. “The F-35′s unique mix of stealth and sensor technology will enable the Royal Canadian Air Force to modernize their contribution to NORAD operations, ensure Arctic sovereignty and meet increasingly sophisticated global threats.”
Boeing’s argument for its Super Hornet Block III was simple: The Royal Canadian Air Force already operates F/A-18s, and buying the latest version of the Super Hornet is a proven, affordable option that will allow the service to reuse existing infrastructure and reduce sustainment costs.
“We have a partnership with Canada that spans more than 100 years. We don’t take that lightly. The response we submitted today builds upon that great legacy and allows us to continue to bring the best of Boeing to Canada and the best of Canada to Boeing,” said Jim Barnes, Boeing’s director of Canada fighter sales. “Our proven, two-engine design can operate in the harshest environments and provide support no matter where the mission takes its pilots. That, coupled with Boeing’s 100% guaranteed industrial plan, will also deliver long term, well-paying jobs.”
 |
| Saab |
 |
| USAASC @flickr |
GE Aviation's T700 Engine to Power Morocco's Newest Defense
GE Aviation’s T700 turboshaft engine has been chosen by the Kingdom of Morocco to power its new Defense fleet of Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. Morocco will acquire 48 T700—701D engines and two spares as part of a recent contract announcement for 24 Apache helicopters.
The T700/CT7 family of turboshaft and turboprop engines power 15 types of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft with more than 130 customers in more than 50 countries. The T700/CT7 family has surpassed 20,000 units delivered and more than 100 million total flight hours. Morocco is the 17th country to acquire the AH-64 Apache, according to Boeing.
“The T700 engine’s 40-plus year track record as a highly reliable, workhorse powerplant is indisputable,” said Ron Hutter, vice president of turboshaft engine sales at GE Aviation. “We are pleased that the Kingdom of Morocco has chosen the T700 and will provide world-class support for these engines.”
The helicopters and engines will be built and delivered under a contract with the U.S. Army through the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales process. In 2019, the U.S. Army awarded GE an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for the continued production of T700 engines in support of Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and other government agency program requirements through 2024. The production contract is valued at over $1B (USD) for as many as 1,700 T700 engines if completely exercised.
The T700/CT7 engine line has become increasingly more powerful and reliable during its 42-year history. Many technological advances have been incorporated into the subsequent growth versions. Current models in the 2,000-3,000 shaft-horsepower range retain the proven features and operating characteristics of earlier versions while delivering enhanced performance.
The highly reliable T700/CT7 design has proven itself in the harshest environments, logging millions of flight hours in hot-harsh combat zones like Iraq and Afghanistan. The T700 serves five branches of the U.S. military, numerous international customers and civil aviation operators.
Source: GE Aviation
Date: Jul 31, 2020
 |
| GE |
Boeing Awarded $439M Army FMS Contract for Apache Helicopters, Trainers
Morocco Procures Boeing Attack Helicopters; Jeff Shockey Quoted
Lockheed to Provide Morocco Helicopter Situational Awareness Tech Under $155M Contract
Morocco set for AH-64E Apache Guardian acquisition
US State Dept. approves $4.25 billion Apache helo sale to Morocco
 |
| USAF |
F-15EX Could Replace Strike Eagle Fleet, in Addition to Older C/D Models, USAF Says - Air Force Magazine
July 30, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak
Two Boeing F-15EX fighters armed with air-to-air missiles. Boeing illustration.
The Air Force may replace its 218 F-15Es with F-15EXs, which could expand the new program to over 400 aircraft, according to service documents justifying the sole-source contract to Boeing. The Air Force also claims buying the F-15EX will save some $3 billion in military construction and support costs versus buying more advanced F-35s.
The revelations and assertions were contained in an F-15EX Justification and Approval (J&A) document, which was dated March 2018 but not released until mid-July to coincide with the sole-source award to Boeing of the first F-15EX contract. The program, as it’s currently structured, could be worth up to $22.9 billion if all options are exercised.
The heavily redacted document notes that the contract for Boeing posits a “rough order of magnitude” purchase of 200 airplanes, but the “most probable quantity” would be 144 fighters. However, it also notes that while the program is “initially” intended to refresh the aging F-15C/D, a decision to similarly replace the F-15E Strike Eagle fleet with the EX “has not been made, but remains an option.”
An Air Force spokesman said the Air Force’s position on the F-15E hasn’t changed.
“That decision has not been made,” the spokesman said. “Air Force leadership will determine that. The F-15E will continue to perform its mission for the foreseeable future.” The spokesman was not immediately able to say if the Air Force is conducting an analysis of alternatives regarding replacement of the F-15E fleet.
The Air Force fields about 234 F-15C/Ds, which are dedicated to air superiority, and 218 F-15Es, configured for ground attack while retaining air-to-air combat capability. Boeing recently described the F-15EX as a “multirole” aircraft. The Air Force’s previous statements that it is seeking up to 200 F-15EX to refresh the F-15C/D fleet indicates it is not planning to replace the Eagle on a one-for-one basis.
Plans dating back to the early 1990s called for the F-15C/D to be replaced by the F-22, but that aircraft’s production was terminated prematurely by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in 2009, at less than half the planned inventory of 381 airplanes. Former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III subsequently said the F-35 would have to pick up some of the air superiority mission, given the age of the F-15 and its looming retirement.
The F-35 was planned to replace the A-10 and F-16 in USAF service, while the F-22 was to replace the F-15C/D and the F-117 in the stealthy strike role. The Air Force has never identified publicly how it planned to replace the F-15E. Production of the E-model followed the C/D by almost exactly 10 years, so the F-15E will likely start reaching its planned retirement age in the early 2030s. The E-model was strengthened in some ways over the C/D version to help it sustain heavier loads.
The J&A document makes the case that the F-15C/D fleet is becoming unsafe to fly, and that a service life extension program would not be cost-effective. The document places a premium on speed-to-service, saying that no other company could produce a new fighter to replace the F-15C/D in a timely manner, and that it would take years to qualify a second source besides Boeing to make F-15s.
The service can “leverage” the several billion dollars of investment of other F-15 customer countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, in advanced versions of the Eagle. The J&A document quoted the F-15 system program office as saying the EX will enjoy “90-95 percent commonality” with the F-15QA for Qatar.
The service asserted that wargaming and operational analysis shows that “a mix of fourth-generation capacity and fifth-generation capability is necessary in balancing near- and mid-term readiness with future needs.” USAF has “further concluded that performing a refresh of the existing F-15C/D fleet [long redaction] is the only way to improve readiness and to maintain the USAF fighter aircraft capacity.”
Making a virtue of necessity, the Air Force also argued that the EX saves money over buying the F-35, setting aside the differences in their capability.
“Utilizing a different airframe that is currently in production would require a cost-prohibitive and time-consuming effort to replace the existing F-15 air combat infrastructure,” the Air Force said in the justification. “Indeed, the USAF estimates that refreshing the F-15C/D fleet with F-15EXs will save USAF $3 billion over the FYDP [Future Years Defense Program] compared to replacing the fleet with F-35s, by avoiding significant transition costs required for a new aircraft (i.e., MILCON, aircraft-unique facilities, operator and maintenance transitions costs, etc.).”
USAF estimated it will take “six months or less to transition from the F-15C/D to the F-15EX” given the commonality of the aircraft, their components, and ground support equipment, while transitioning from “F-15s to the F-35 (or any other airframe) will take approximately 18 months for an Active-duty squadron and 36 months for an Air National Guard squadron.” The document also emphasizes that, “no other aircraft will satisfy the USAF requirement to refresh the F-15C/D fleet.”
The Air Force never planned to resume buying the F-15 and did not initially request the F-15EX, preferring to stick with the stealthy, fifth-generation F-35. Former Chiefs of Staff Gens. John P. Jumper and T. Michael Moseley rejected buying “new-old” F-15s during their tenures. USAF’s current Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein has said on numerous occasions that the EX must not come at the expense of the F-35.
The EX was added to the Air Force’s budget by former Defense Secretary James N. Mattis at the urging of the Pentagon’s Cost Assessment Program Evaluation shop. Pentagon sources have said Mattis and other officials felt the F-15EX could serve as a competitive lever to pressure Lockheed Martin to reduce operating and acquisition costs on the F-35. While the F-15 costs more per copy than the F-35, its operating costs are pegged at $27,000 per hour vice $35,000 per hour on the F-35. The F-35 Joint Program Office says it has a plan to get the F-35’s operating and sustainment costs down to $25,000 per hour by 2025.
Boeing’s X-32 contender in the “winner take all” Joint Strike Fighter competition lost out to Lockheed Martin’s X-35 in 2001. At the time, members of Congress with Boeing constituencies argued that Lockheed, then also making the F-22, shouldn’t be the sole builder of advanced combat aircraft. They urged that Boeing should be given some of the F-35 work, but the Pentagon view prevailed that Lockheed had structured its winning bid with a certain team, and Boeing was not on it. The Pentagon said Boeing’s continuing work on the F/A-18 for the Navy and Marine Corps, coupled with residual orders for F-15s overseas and work on the stealthy Joint Unmanned Combat Aircraft System would keep it in the running for a future USAF combat airplane competition in the 2025 timeframe.
Boeing is building the MQ-25 unmanned tanker aircraft for the Navy as well as the T-7A advanced trainer for the Air Force.
The Air Force is also pursuing the Next-Generation Air Dominance airplane, and the uninhabited Low-Cost Attritable Aircraft program, expected to yield operational air combat assets in the 2030 and 2026 timeframe, respectively.
 |
| SPY_ZEAL |
Boeing and Mitsubishi sign agreement to support Japan F-15 upgrades
By: Mike Yeo
MELBOURNE, Australia — American firm Boeing has signed an agreement with Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to support upgrades to Japan’s fleet of F-15 fighter jets.
The agreement, made through the U.S. Direct Commercial Sales process, is part of a larger $4.5 billion modernization program for 98 of Japan’s F-15J/DJ Eagle interceptors ordered through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales process and approved by the U.S. State Department in 2019.
Boeing will provide MHI with retrofit drawings, ground support equipment and technical publications for the upgrade of the first two F-15J aircraft to the Japan Super Interceptor configuration, also known as F-15JSI.
The full suite of upgrades will introduce a new radar, electronic warfare capabilities and weapons. Also included is a new advanced cockpit system running on an advanced mission computer for meant to improve pilot situational awareness.
The new active electronically scanned array radar will be the Raytheon AN/APG-82(v)1 multimode set, which is also being fit on the U.S. Air Force’s F-15E Strike Eagles. Japan had requested 103 radars, including six spare sets, along with 116 Honeywell Advanced Display Core Processor II mission computers and 101 BAE Systems AN/ALQ-239 digital electronic warfare systems. The upgrade package will also include anti-spoofing GPS gear for more precise navigation, as well as new radios.
Japan’s also requested “aircraft and munition integration and test support.” The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency notification about Japan’s request did not provide more details, but Boeing’s announcement of the contract included artwork of an F-15 in Japanese markings with a Lockheed Martin AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile on its centerline weapon station.
Japan had confirmed in its Mid-Term Defense Plan in late 2018 that it intended to procure the JASSM for long-range land-attack missions and integrate it onto F-15s. However, it’s not clear whether Japan will take up Boeing’s proposal to increase the number of AIM-120 medium-range air-to-air missiles that can be carried by the F-15 to 18, which the company had previously displayed on model at an aerospace exhibition in Japan.
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force operates a fleet of about 200 single-seat F-15J and two-seat F-15DJ Eagle aircraft. These are all configured for an air defense role with virtually no air-to-ground capability, and they serve with seven different operational squadrons throughout Japan, a training squadron and another unit in the dedicated aggressor role, acting as the adversary during training exercises.
The fleet, particularly the two squadrons based on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, have been heavily engaged in monitoring foreign military aircraft entering Japan’s air defense identification zone in the international airspace around Japan. The Defense Ministry says these foreign aircraft are predominantly Chinese, with Russian aircraft coming in at a distant second.
The Japan Times newspaper recently reported on China’s increased use of an air base in its Fujian province to fly fighter jets near the disputed Senkaku islands. In response, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force scrambles interceptors from Okinawa once the Chinese jets take off from the Fujian base.
The newspaper also reported that the Japan Air Self-Defense Force is scrambling four instead of two aircraft on each occasion, noting that the Chinese base is closer to the disputed islands than the Japanese air bases in Okinawa.
#####
 |
| Boeing |
 |
| Anatoly Burtsev |
DON24 - In the Rostov region, the military received an aircraft to control hypersonic missiles
Translated by google
30 July 2020 10:32
Photo: press service of the Southern Military District. ©
Rostov region, July 30, 2020. DON24.RU. A modernized Il-20M electronic reconnaissance aircraft has been commissioned in the Southern Military District, which is designed to target hypersonic Dagger missiles. This was reported by the press service of the Southern Military District.
The aircraft commissioning ceremony took place at one of the airfields in the Rostov region.
The aircraft is equipped with equipment that issues target designation via a secure communication channel directly to the Kinzhal hypersonic aviation missile system. Now this missile system is on experimental combat duty in the area of responsibility of the Southern Military District.
It is noted that the new reconnaissance aircraft is equipped with modern radio-electronic, radio-technical and optical-electronic reconnaissance systems, and also allows radio interception in a wide spectrum of frequencies.
"The modernized IL-20 is capable of performing tasks in any weather conditions, and the latest equipment is capable of detecting small objects in the air, conducting video and high-resolution photography," the message says.
Alexander Bezmenov IA "DON 24"
 |
| Kirill Sergeev |
