KF-X fighter to have a two-seater version.

From AW&ST

SEOUL, TAIPEI—The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-X fighter will have a two-seat version, developers have confirmed, following years of depictions of the indigenous aircraft with just one seat.

The aircraft has again grown in size, with a notable increase in length, according to data released by the defense ministry’s procurement office this month.

The latest design, C107, is descended from C103, a preliminary concept that was chosen as the basis of KF-X after Lockheed Martin won the separate F-X Phase 3 import competition in 2013 with the F-35 Lightning; the competition winner was required to support KF-X development.

C103, prepared in 2012, featured tailplanes; an alternative concept with canard control surfaces would have been used had a European supplier won F-X Phase 3.

Designs before C107 have been shown only as single-seaters, though a model of a two-seat version was glimpsed on a television report about KAI in 2016. With the discussion of C107 this month, the second seat is confirmed as an option.

But it is unrelated to the increase in size. Rather, the aircraft has been enlarged to create more space and give it a better aerodynamic shape, officials from KAI and the procurement office, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, said at a program briefing.

Length has increased in C107 to 16.8 m (55.1 ft.) from 16 m in the C015 design of 2015 and 15.3 m in C103.

C105, the last design before full-scale development began in late 2015, was longer than C103 but apparently only because the wing was enlarged in span, to 11 m from 10 m, and therefore in chord. Span has increased again in C107, but only to 11.2 m.

C107 looks generally bulkier than its predecessors.

The reason for the second seat has not been disclosed. Fighters designed before the 1990s routinely have two-seat versions. In some cases the second seat is now used not just for training but for carrying another crewmember in combat. But the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning and Avic Chengdu J-20 have only single-seat versions, with advanced simulation used to prepare pilots for solo flights.

Provision for a second seat in the KF-X may indicate that the type’s avionics will not be sufficiently advanced to support the most demanding strike missions without two crewmembers.

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Typhoon fires Brimstone for the first time

Phase 3 Enhancement (P3E) of Typhoon moved forward with the first live firing of MBDA’s Brimstone air-to-surface missile from the UK’s Instrumented Production Aircraft Six (IPA 6).

MBDA on 14 July announced the successful firing, the first of nine designed to expand launch and range capabilities of Brimstone.

The P3E package is part of Project Centurion to transition Tornado GR4 capabilities to Typhoon for the UK Royal Air Force (RAF).

Saab withdraws Gripen from Belgium contest

Posting the relevant bits from AW&ST

LONDON—Belgium’s short list for its future fighter has shrunk to three after the Swedish government withdrew Saab’s new-generation Gripen from the tender.

Swedish defense materiel organization FMV, which would facilitate any Gripen sale, said in a July 10 statement that while the aircraft meets all the operational requirements in Belgium’s request for proposals, Sweden itself could not meet Brussel’s need for “extensive operational support.”

“This would require a Swedish foreign policy and political mandate that does not exist today,” the FMV said.

The agency added that it would not submit answers to the Belgian request for proposals.

The Gripen becomes the second aircraft to exit the Belgian tender. In mid-April, Boeing said it was withdrawing the F/A-18 Super Hornet because the competition was not a “truly level playing field”—a hint that Belgium’s requirement is skewed in favor of the Lockheed Martin F-35, a type already purchased by neighbors the Netherlands and the other European Participating Air Forces, which, like Belgium, flew the F-16.
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From AW&ST. Really sorry tale. Doubt there will be any customer for these looking at the Italians’ attempt to offload their T1 Typhoons. Too expensive to buy and operate, with relatively poor capability compared to say a Gripen C.

LONDON—Austria plans to phase out its fleet of Eurofighter Typhoons in favor of a lower-cost alternative.

Vienna said July 7 that it wants to get rid of its 15 Eurofighters and replace them—along with its aging fleet of Saab 105 training aircraft that also contribute to the country’s airspace security—with a single fleet of 18 supersonic-capable fighters that could enter service in 2020.

But it is possible that the Eurofighters could live on if Vienna is willing to purchase several two-seat versions and provide the aircraft with the capabilities to fire radar-guided, beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles.

Austria’s aircraft are currently only equipped with the infrared-guided IRIS-T short-range missile for air policing duties. The jets also lack electronic warfare systems in a bid to reduce purchase costs.

But Brigadier Karl Gruber, commander of the Austrian Air Force, said that continuing operations with the existing Austrian Eurofighter fleet would “involve cost risks that are difficult to quantify at present.”

Vienna describes the aircraft as having “inferior equipment” compared to other aircraft on the market. It said keeping them in service for another 30 years would likely cost taxpayers around €4.4-€5.1 billion ($5.025-$5.82 billion).

Austria’s experience with the Typhoon has not been a happy one. It introduced the aircraft in 2007 for air defense and air policing duties, replacing a fleet of Saab J35 Drakens. Vienna had originally planned to buy 18 aircraft, but the procurement became highly politicized when a new government voted in 2006 to cut the numbers, resulting in fraught negotiations with what was then EADS.

Critics have long argued that the jet is far too advanced for the country’s air policing needs.

Last February, Vienna filed a criminal complaint against Airbus Group and Eurofighter GmbH, claiming that it was deceived by the two companies into buying the aircraft. It also questioned the two companies’ “true ability to deliver and true specifications of the Eurofighter interceptor planes.”

Vienna is claiming restitution from the two companies for the value of the 15 Eurofighters purchased plus the difference between the operating costs of the Eurofighter incurred to date and the hypothetical operating costs of an alternative aircraft minus the current value.

So far, the costs add up to €1.1 billion ($1.17 billion), the Austrian defense ministry said in February.

Defense Minister Hans Peter Doskozil said Austria needed to get the “escalating costs of the Eurofighter under control and minimize the enormous cost risks associated with it.”

The Austrian Air Force says it has evaluated 19 potential alternatives for the country’s air defense system. But its Active Airspace Surveillance studies concluded that a single fleet of supersonic fighters was the best way forward. It says the aircraft need to be equipped with “advanced self-defense system and guided missiles with all-weather capabilities,” suggesting it will invest in radar-guided, beyond-visual-range weapons.

“The debate on Austrian airspace surveillance has been dominated for years by the budgetary burdens associated with the operation of the Eurofighter,” Doskozil said. “The new concept for the active monitoring of our airspace is both cheaper and more militarily effective than the continuation of the status quo. It will save taxpayers’ money and enable us to monitor Austria’s airspace both by day and night.”
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