duotigaMaybe they are also waiting for the next gen gripen?
duotigaWhy?
is way overdue for the upgrade…….personnally if ind the avioinics upgrade for A-10 is a plus to enhance situation awareness n information relay
………………………………………………………………….
DATE:17/10/07
SOURCE:Flight International
More A-10 upgrades as USAF prepares to recompete prime role
By Graham Warwick
BAE Systems is to upgrade more than 100 US Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Fairchild A-10As to improve pilot situational awareness as an interim step before they are modified to A-10Cs under Lockheed Martin’s precision engagement programme.
The US Air Force, meanwhile, has signalled plans to recompete the A-10 prime contract Lockheed has held since December 1997 and which is expected to expire at the end of 2008. Under the contract, Lockheed acts as system integrator for the close air-support aircraft.
Lockheed is completing software development for the precision engagement upgrade under its prime contract while supplying retrofit kits for the USAF for a total of 356 aircraft under a separate production contract. The first upgraded A-10Cs are now operational in Iraq.
Boeing in June won a $2 billion contract to rewing 242 A-10s, and says it plans to bid for the prime contract. Rewinging and other upgrades are intended to extent the fleet’s life by 20 years. The USAF plans to retire the A-10 in 2028, but may retain the aircraft beyond that (Flight International, 28 August-3 September).
A draft request for proposals has yet to be released, but the new prime contract is expected to encompass further upgrades to the A-10. These could involve the self-protection system, datalink connectivity and data fusion. Re-engining continues to be discussed, but depends on funding.
The precision engagement upgrade is integrating the Lockheed Sniper XR and Northrop Grumman Litening AT targeting pods, new weapons and improved cockpit controls and displays on the A-10 to increase situational awareness and targeting capability. BAE’s upgrade will integrate the targeting pod and multifunction display to reduce pilot workload as a stopgap.
duotigaLogical to procure Typhoon since Japan main concern is island air defense/anti-shipping….
duotigaTHe only thing i am concern is the underpowered engines……
duotigaUK Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon conducts heavy weapons trials
DATE:16/10/07
SOURCE:Flightglobal.com
UK Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon conducts heavy weapons trials
The UK Royal Air Force’s 17 Sqn Eurofighter Typhoon operational evaluation unit (OEU) has flown the first two of a planned three heavy weapons load trial sorties, as the aircraft moves towards receiving clearance to conduct air-to-ground strike missions from mid-2008.
Photographed exclusively by Aviacom’s Jamie Hunter, the Tranche 1, Block 5 Typhoon F2 is shown carrying six Raytheon Paveway II laser-guided bombs, plus four AIM-120 Amraam and two MBDA Asraam air-to-air missiles during its first trials flight from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire on 24 September.
“A large focus of the OEU’s work at the moment is geared towards the multirole operational employment date,” says sortie pilot Sqn Ldr Graham Pemberton, referring to an RAF target of 1 July 2008. The current trials activity is using a selection of approximately 450kg (1,000lb) Paveway IIs, including two which have been instrumented as part of the UK Ministry of Defence’s weapons clearance process for the Typhoon.
The 17 Sqn aircraft was airborne after a 2,800ft (850m) take-off roll in full reheat, before climbing to an altitude of 40,000ft using dry power. “With six Paveway IIs and six [air-to-air] missiles, the aircraft was carrying a weapons load equivalent to three legacy platforms,” says Pemberton. “This fit clearly illustrates the impressive nature of the Typhoon’s performance and gives an exciting insight into future operations.”
duotigaGreat news if EFA will win in Japan 🙂 🙂
Hope they will choose EF and if so, the export market of EFA will increase for sure.Crossed fingers
🙂
count me in for this also…..seriously Typhoon got potential 😀
duotigaJust a suggestion…maybe next time F-15 upgrade shld be like this? 😀
duotigaLol:D Read the article, its actually about the Saudi air force F-15’s, lol.:D Looks like you owe an apology, I think I will use a sarcastic smiley too………:rolleyes: :p
well….both air force have the same acroynmes…can’t be help :rolleyes:
duotigaabt time together with the F-15SG ……
duotigaanother thing: is F-15SG …not F-15S(audi) :rolleyes:
duotigathats great!!!! 2nd customer followed by RSAF:)
duotiga:26/09/07
SOURCE:Flightglobal.com
CV-22s may be rushed into service in Iraq
By Stephen Trimble
A squadron of tiltrotors for the US Special Operations Command may enter service in Iraq far in advance of the type’s planned in-service date of early fiscal year 2009.
The first deployment of Bell Boeing CV-22s may be accelerated to replace an ageing fleet of Sikorksy MH-53 Pave Lows currently used by air force special operations units for transport and search-and-rescue missions, US Air Force chief of staff Gen Michael Moseley said on 26 September.
The CV-22 could be deployed in “pre-initial operational capability” status to provide the vertical lift mission, he said, addressing the Air Force Association’s annual convention in Washington DC.
The announcement comes as the US Marine Corps deploys its first squadron of MV-22s to Al Asad air base in Iraq, marking the type’s first experience in combat 26 years after the acquisition programme was launched. The MV-22 achieved IOC status last year.
The air force has so far received six CV-22s, which are due to enter a six month testing phase in late October called initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E). It is not known if the air force plans to deploy the CV-22s before IOT&E is complete or immediately after.
Moseley described the plight of the MH-53 fleet, which has been waiting for the CV-22’s delayed arrival in order to be replaced. An MH-53 that crashed in Iraq in mid-September was delivered to the air force in 1969, and has been traced back to having participated in the Mayaguez incident and the evacuation of the US embassy in Saigon in 1975.
duotigaMaybe the sensor package could be incorporated with legacy airframes like F-15C.
you reminded me of Dale Brown novels…..:o
duotigaDATE:24/09/07
SOURCE:Flight International
Saudi Arabia to train first Typhoon pilots in the UK
By Craig Hoyle
Saudi Arabia is to train its first 22 pilots and initial engineers for the Eurofighter Typhoon alongside their Royal Air Force counterparts, following Riyadh’s delayed signature of a 72-aircraft deal worth £4.4 billion ($8.8 billion).
In a clear sign of the strengthening relationship between the Saudi and UK governments and their respective armed forces, the formal launch of “Project Salam” followed almost 21 months of detailed negotiations, and an abandoned investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Office into earlier arms sales between the countries.
Announced via the official Saudi Press Agency on 17 September, six days after its signature, the new government-to-government deal covers the procurement of aircraft for “a similar price” to those Typhoons being produced for the RAF, according to the Saudi defence ministry. However, further armaments and support contracts are expected to boost the deal’s value substantially over the aircraft’s service life.
Riyadh’s first 24 Typhoons will be drawn from the UK’s deferred delivery of early Tranche 2 examples from BAE Systems’ Warton assembly line in Lancashire, with the remainder to be completed at a new facility in Saudi Arabia. Initial training will take place at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, with the Royal Saudi Air Force eventually expected to receive six two-seat aircraft from the UK line from an eventual total of 18 trainers.
The UK Ministry of Defence says the sale “will support thousands of jobs in the UK and Saudi Arabia”, while BAE – which has yet to receive its production contract from the UK government – adds that the deal also underlines its strategy “to continue to develop Saudi Arabia as a key home market”.
BAE has supplied equipment including Hawk trainers and Panavia Tornado fighters to Saudi Arabia since the mid-1980s, with chief executive Mike Turner having previously valued this Al Yamamah business at more than £40 billion. The new sale also boosts export sales of the Eurofighter to 87, with Austria scheduled to receive its last of 15 interceptors by mid-2009.
Other recent signs of co-operation between the RAF and RSAF have included two bilateral exercises involving their Tornado forces since February 2006, while the UK service also recently sent a senior officer to Riyadh for the first time to serve as a liaison between the nations’ air force chiefs.
duotigaBoeing Awarded $49.2 Million Contract to Upgrade Saudi AWACS Fleet
Boeing Awarded $49.2 Million Contract to Upgrade Saudi AWACS Fleet
ST. LOUIS, Sept. 20, 2007 — The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has been awarded a $49.2 million contract, including options, to upgrade communications aboard Saudi Arabia’s fleet of five E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft.
The U.S. Air Force Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., awarded the contract under a foreign military sales agreement.
The enhancement, known as Link 16, is a secure, jam-resistant, digital data link that allows military aircraft, ships and ground units to exchange their tactical pictures in near real time. Link 16 also supports the exchange of text messages and imagery data and provides additional channels for digital voice.
“This secure data and voice link allows direct communication between AWACS and forward positioned fighter aircraft,” said Mark Mills, Boeing Saudi AWACS programs manager. “The Link 16 AWACS upgrade is the first in a series of anticipated upgrades to the Saudi AWACS fleet.”
Installation and checkout of Link 16 on the first Saudi AWACS aircraft is scheduled to begin in December at Boeing facilities in Seattle, Wash., immediately followed by an interoperability demonstration with a Link 16-modified F-15 fighter. Alsalam Aircraft Co. will upgrade the remaining four aircraft in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fleet upgrade is scheduled to be completed in December 2009.
Saudi Arabia’s AWACS fleet is part of the Peace Sentinel program that began in 1981. In addition to the five E-3 AWACS aircraft, the program includes eight KE-3 refueling tankers, along with spare parts, trainers and support equipment. Boeing delivered the first Saudi E-3 in June 1986, with deliveries of the remaining E-3s and tankers completed by September 1987.
AWACS is the world’s standard for airborne early warning and control systems. Currently carried on board militarized 707 and 767 aircraft, it fills the need for both airborne surveillance and command and control functions for tactical and air defense forces.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world’s largest space and defense businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32.4 billion business with 72,000 employees worldwide.
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