IAF set to place first order for LCA

Flight International
15 Feb 2005

India’s Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) is poised to receive an order for an initial production batch of 20 Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) plus 20 options for the Indian air force, says service chief of staff Air Marshal S P Tyagi. Announcing the expected deal during last week’s Aero India 2005 air show in Bangalore, Tyagi underlined his service’s continued commitment to the LCA project, which has suffered years of delay and technical difficulty. First deliveries to the Indian air force are expected in 2008-9, and Tyagi says the type will enter operational service between 2010-13.

Today, the ADA has three LCAs – two technology demonstrators and one prototype (PV1) – with the fleet having exceeded 360 flights totalling almost 200h. Launched last year, phase two development activities, including the integration and testing of the aircraft’s air-to-air, air-to-ground and anti-ship weapons, external tanks, multi-mode radar and open-architecture mission computer, will require a further 700-800 flight hours, says R K Ramanathan, the ADA’s project director for technology development.

Test activities will be accelerated with the expansion of the current LCA fleet to seven aircraft by mid-2006. PV2 will make its flight debut before the end of this month, with the programme’s third and fourth prototypes to follow by late 2005. The remaining prototype – an air force two-seat trainer – will make its first flight in March 2006.

Integration of the Gas Turbine Research Establishment Kaveri engine with PV1 will also commence in 2006, says Ramanathan, with the indigenously-powered aircraft to resume flight activities in 2007. India’s first 20 production aircraft – and potentially also its 20 options – will be powered by General Electric F404 engines.

CRAIG HOYLE / BANGALORE

Originally Posted by seahawk
Let me tell you that we are entirely proud of our latest behavior.

That’s sad…

Agreed.

US Navy photos of damaged USS San Francisco (SSN 711)

USAF Plans $1.1Bn to Extend F-16 Life

(Source: US Air Force; issued Jan. 26, 2005)

RICHMOND, Va. — Defense Supply Center Richmond officials are working on a billion-dollar, multiyear project that will extend the service life of the Air Force’s F-16 Fighting Falcons.

The F-16 Structure Augmentation Roadmap, or “Falcon STAR,” program uses parts kits to strengthen the aircraft’s structure, officials said. The kits contain everything necessary to accomplish a maintenance task.

Officials said using the kits reduces maintenance turnaround time, ultimately increasing readiness. Center officials develop support strategies and initiate kit contracts.

Without the modification, the F-16 will not be able to attain its projected 8,000-hour service life under current operational usage, said Pat Livingston, the center’s F-16 weapon system support manager. Falcon STAR will allow the aircraft to remain in service through 2025, she said.

“(The Air Force’s) aircraft structural integrity program continues to identify areas that will not meet the service life of 8,000 flight hours,” Ms. Livingston said. “The (goal is) to modify the aircraft structure before the onset of widespread fatigue damage and aircraft grounding.

“This is a ‘tip-to-tail’ modification — 13 structural modifications including replacing bulkheads and wing-attachment fittings,” she said.

Falcon STAR contains the list of structural parts necessary to address the areas identified by the aircraft structural integrity program, she said. There are more than 79,000 parts under 428 national stock numbers, all of which are managed by Defense Logistics Agency officials.

Parts for each kit are purchased by officials here and shipped to Defense Distribution Depot Red River, Texas, for assembly. The assembled kit is then shipped to Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, where the aircraft modifications are performed.

The modifications are scheduled to run through 2014, said Dave Graves, weapons system support branch chief here. “Starting in 2006, we’ll modify F-16s for European countries as well,” Mr. Graves said.

Officials here are working with the prime contractor on configuration of the kits. The contractor configured the initial 13 kits, and officials have configured 13 additional kits. “We’ve been working configuration control issues,” Mr. Graves said.

Somewhere between 40 and 100 iterations of the kit are expected, Ms. Livingston said.

The kit configuration is constantly changing because of the different aircraft configurations, said Greg Sprouse, chief of the center’s kit section. “So far it’s going well,” he said. “What we’re doing is challenging because of the different configurations. It is a variable kit — it changes all the time.”

More than 2,000 aircraft will be modified by 2014, Ms. Livingston said. Participants in the program include the Air Force and air forces in Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Israel, Greece, Singapore, Thailand and Bahrain.

On average, it takes 175 days to modify an aircraft with the Falcon STAR kit, officials said. The first modification was completed 14 days ahead of schedule, said Arnie Leighton of the aircraft division at Ogden Air Logistics Center.

Ten F-16s a month are expected to undergo the modification at Hill in 2005.

Lockheed to Refurbish P-3s for Pakistan

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued Jan. 24, 2005)

Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Ga., is being awarded an $11,087,369 ceiling-priced modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-05-C-0005) to perform in-country standard depot level maintenance on two P-3 Update II.5 aircraft, to include repair and maintenance tasks necessary to return the aircraft to a “safe for flight condition”.

In addition, this modification provides for on-the-job training of Pakistan Navy D-level maintenance personnel for the Government of Pakistan under the Foreign Military Sales Program.

Work will be performed at the Naval Station, Mehran Karachi, Pakistan (90 percent) and Marietta, Ga. (10 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2006. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Deployed C-130Js Exceeding Expectations

(Source: US Air Force Air Mobility Command; issued Jan. 20, 2005)

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, ILL. — When the C-130J — the newest variant of the versatile C-130 Hercules — deployed for the first time nearly a month ago, Air Mobility Command officials said they were confident the aircraft would perform to their expectations.

According to the C-130J deployed mission commander, during the first few weeks of the aircraft’s deployment, the J model has met and in some cases exceeded those expectations.

Col. Lawrence Gallogly, commander of the 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, said the C-130J has performed admirably, and all indications are the aircraft is ideally suited for conditions that require the higher power settings and increased cargo-carrying capacity of the C-130J.

“We have only had [about four weeks] of flying in the theater, but we have already logged in excess of 393 flying hours, carried over 1,743 passengers and over 627 tons of cargo,” said the colonel. And, he said as unit personnel become more familiar with the J model and its payload capacity, he expects those numbers will be even higher.

Colonel Gallogly said one of the biggest benefits of the J model has been the aircraft’s increased cargo capacity. He said two C-130Js can provide the cargo carrying capacity of almost three E and H model C-130s. “This is a force multiplier for the theater commander,” added the colonel.

Aside from the improved power capabilities and increased cargo capacity, Colonel Gallogly said the addition of the J models alongside the older C-130 aircraft has been nearly transparent.

“We have assimilated [the C-130Js] into the pre-existing C-130 squadron with no noticeable difference,” explained the colonel. “Of course we have a little good natured ribbing that goes back and forth between aircraft types, but it’s all in fun. We’ve actually had quite a few E and H model crewmembers fly with us as observers during our orientation rides in theater, and I think they have been very impressed.”

Lt. Col. Mark Sheehan, 746th EAS director of operations, agreed that the orientation flights have changed more than a few opinions.

“There were a great many urban legends about the C-130J throughout the other units,” said Colonel Sheehan. “We provided a briefing to wing leadership and offered the opportunity for observers and operations group staff to fly with C-130J crews. Once they see the difference in performance and capability, they quickly agree that the C-130J is an outstanding tactical airlifter.”

In addition to its deployed mission success, Colonel Gallogly said the aircraft is also performing well in the area of “spare parts availability;” something some C-130J critics said would be a problem in a deployed environment.

“Part of our job here is to identify which C-130J parts will be our high-failure-rate parts and which [parts] might hold up better than expected,” explained the colonel. “Thus far, the supply system has been great at keeping up with the few needs we have had. Our mission capable rate is much higher than the fleet average, and spare parts simply have not been an issue.”

Although AMC officials are happy with the C-130J’s initial success, the colonel said C-130J operators and maintainers still have a lot to learn, and he expects even more success from the newest member of the Hercules family.

He credits the aircraft’s successes to a total force effort of active-duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve personnel.

“We would not be here on this deployment today had it not been for a truly joint effort,” he said. “We often hear the phrase ‘one team one fight,’ but we have lived it on several levels.”

Those “levels,” according to the colonel, include the AMC headquarters staff, particularly the AMC’s Operations Modernization Division, for getting the aircraft and the crews ready to deploy. He also credited Guard units in Rhode Island, Maryland and California, and Reserve personnel in Mississippi, who supported the deployment with C-130J aircrews and maintenance personnel.

Colonel Sheehan said he also thinks the C-130J has performed “extremely well” during the first month of its deployment, and he also credits the aircraft’s success to the maintenance personnel and crews who worked hard to integrate the new aircraft into the deployed operations.

“We are part of the normal day-to-day operations and working the same shifts and missions as the other C-130 squadrons,” he said. “This combat test is validation of both the aircraft and the training developed by the initial cadre of instructors. And when we return home, we can provide feedback to the [field training unit] at Little Rock [AFB, Ark.] and further refine training for future C-130J crews.”

Colonel Gallogly added that it’s great to see the C-130Js operating alongside their active-duty counterparts as a single, integrated operation.

“I’m proud to be part of [the C-130J’s first deployment],” he said. “I hope it will set the standard of future deployments of the “J” and mark the beginning of a long and storied history of the next generation of Hercules.”

General John W. Handy, commander of Air Mobility Command and U.S. Transportation Command, has closely monitored the C-130J’s progress.

“I am extremely pleased with the performance of the C-130J during this deployment,” he said. “That success is a testament to the dedicated, professional team of Airmen supporting the mission and the magnificent C-130J. Together, they are setting a pace that will be hard to beat!”

USS Bataan (LHD-5)

Atlantic Ocean, 17 July 1999