Steve TouchdownYS, we have far more common ground than disagreement, of that I’m quite certain! My only problem with what you posted was that the same airframes are being seen on the production line on subsequent visits. The last year (14 months to be more precise) has, like you’ve said, seen definite progress. Visits in Nov 2002 and 2003 would have seen a big change. Incidentally, a calendar year is around the time, from start to finish, a Eurofighter spends on the line at Warton. I’ve never visited the lines in Spain, Italy or Germany so cannot comment on those with any “inside” knowledge.
I’d also never seen the BAE claim that you mentioned in your original post so would be interested in the source of that.
I agree about the French assembly/senate reports but I’d hardly call those clear and concise. For instance, how many Rafales are on strength as of today at Mont de Marsan with EC 05.330? What serial numbers are they? And what are their CEAM 330 codes? What specification are they: F1, F1.5 or full F2?
I certainly agree that it would be great to have answers to all of the Typhoon questions being posed, but the fact that the OEU programme is some 18 months behind schedule is “news” from 2002 is it not? I thought this was already common knowledge from around the time of the Farnborough ‘show in July ’02.
The deliveries/construction figures that you quote are interesting and, going by known info from other sources, appear accurate. To use the Rafale for comparison again (fair, in my opinion) what is the current status, production wise, of those? I’ll be pleasantly surprised if anybody replies with any authoritative answer on my third time of asking! 😀
It would certainly have been nice to have seen fully operational squadrons on the horizon next year, as was planned at one time, but the need outside of the AMI is hardly pressing is it? The same can be said of the air-to-ground capability: I doubt the RAF are feeling short-changed with GR.4 and Storm Shadow to play with for the next few years until they get their shiny new toys.
Best regards
Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownZJ803/AA and ZJ802/AB, both Typhoon T.1, are on-strength with 17 Sqn/OEU at Warton.
YS, to say the “same airframes have been seen on the line” is complete BS! I have full logs for Warton from 4 dates over the past 14 months and there is a more than obvious progression. This is also refelected on the bar charts found alongside each airframe on the line.
I’ve certainly never seen this either, so if you can show me it I’d be most interested!
Well, officially BAE says that four or five Eurofighters are flying ‘every day’ with No. 17 Sqn at Warton.
I asked the same questions almost 3 months ago about Rafale here (the Armee de l’Air ones, not the premature Aeronavale versions) but nobody could provide answers for that either. It doesn’t mean the programme isn’t happening, just we’re not party to every single step along the way until someone wants us to know I guess!
Cheers
Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownWooooaaahhhhhh! Steady on Chaps!
I had a quick look on Chris’ “Warplane” site, clicked on the Tornado pic, and that takes you to a News Page. Now, I’m more than pleased to be corrected, but ALL of the pics on there look harvested from the web and press releases.
Let’s not jump to conclusions, Guys! 😎
Best regards
Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownIt’s completely genuine: I posted it a day or two ago under the “surplus a/c” thread at http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21072
If you go there then you’ll find a link to how it looks NOW!
Nermal, I’m not actually sure how/why it was sold to private buyers…I’ll see what I can find out. I saw it in May ’94 at Pensacola when it was still with the Blue Angels but I don’t have any more info on where it’s been until around 2002.
Best regards
Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownOriginally posted by Arthur
This can’t be true then. ZA326, ZA328 and ZA354 makes three, and there could be one or two more i think.
I can’t admit to following the allocation/current spec of the Tornado too closely (I’m sure Art will guess why!) but you’re right, it can’t be true.
We noted GR.1s XZ631, ZA327, ZA328, ZA354 at Warton and QinetiQ at Boscombe have, at least, ZA326 and ZA353. ZA402 is another possible. There are also a couple in store at St. Athan but I doubt the current status of those is known outside of the MoD.
Just to confirm then, Arthur, the photo on Airliners Net is wrongly-labelled and should be ZA326, yes?
Best regards
Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownFLEX!!
What ARE you smoking!? I thought at least YOU would know about this L-159 stuff 😀
No support from Government?? They ordered the 72 initial L-159 that was ordered to get the project off the ground! All 72 have been built AND delivered: it’s the Czech Air Force that finds them surplus to requirement! From what I hear they are rotating them to share around the airframe hours.
Initially, the Air Force cut their requirement to 36 aircraft but now, with the planned closure of Namest, they may go for keeping only 18.
The comment about the safety etc. (I think they had a total of three engine failures and one fatal crash) was made by an MP or member of the Czech government on the floor of their parliament as far as I know, not by the MoD.
Anyway, the fact remains that the Czech govt. ordered, and received 72 L-159A ALCAS. I’ve seen around half of them already without trying TOO hard 😎
Best regards
Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News
p.s. oh, going back to the ALX, can any of our Brazilian friend please find out the latest on the SUPPOSED order from the Dominican Republic for some (ie status of order and number of a/c)? Thanks in advance 😉
Steve TouchdownApologies this bit’s not at all funny either but it should in fact be MM62210…so not as new as whoever logged it thought it was 😀
Ciao!
Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownArt, you could try Dino Carrara at Air Pic (it was on his article I saw the shot).
Steve TouchdownOriginally posted by Arthur
It looks a bit too dark to be grey, IMHO.
Downloaded the shot from the Air Pictorial/Aviation News site and played around with it in PS CS and it comes out as two-tone green/grey with very little contrast between the 2. I assume this was taken last Autumn as the article (I think) seems to have been in the November 2003 issue of the magazine.
Tried, and failed, to find any other shots of her.
Ciao!
Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownThanks to a posting by George Maidens on Touchdown-News yesterday, there’s an ex-Blue Angels F/A-18A (BuNo 161973) up for auction on eBay!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4672&item=3077361636
Genuine ad too with current photos of it in a dismantled state at:
http://www.blueangels.org/Aircraft/Stick/FA18/973/973.htm
Best regards
Steve ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownIt is pretty dark, you’re right…I was going by the fact that I couldn’t see a break in between paint colours. I thought there was one on the tail surface but that’s a shadow on closer look!
Art, have you checked out the pic of ‘328 at http://www.airliners.net/open.file/378812/L/
Looks awful! Maybe it’s just been hosed off and sprayed over for the short-term.
Cheers
Steve ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownHolding my hands up here, Kodak, I have to admit to not noting the colour of ‘328 back in Nov. Purely from memory I’m pretty sure it was grey and, looking closely at Art’s jpeg, isn’t it in fact grey with just the light causing the apparent contrasts? I can only really make out a single colour but with light/refelection confusing the eye!
Cheers
Steve ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownI have to admit that I can’t recall exactly where I read this (it could well have been in “Flight International”) but a recent news story recently claimed that the BAE Hawk has been ruled back IN to the 12-nation “Eurotrainer” programme.
Whether this is true or not, I have no way of knowing. However, there do seem to be discussions going on behind closed doors very recently:
Italian group seeks BAE link
Italian aerospace and defence group Finmeccanica is considering plans for a joint venture with BAE Systems to combine their Hawk and Aermacchi jet trainer programmes, industry sources said yesterday.
The Italian firm, through its Alenia aeronautics division, won backing within the Treasury last year for its low-cost plan to equip the RAF with its prototype M346 trainer, but the cabinet opted to award an £800m contract to BAE for up to 44 Hawk jets, saving more than 2,000 jobs at its Brough plant in East Yorkshire.
It is understood that Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, Finmeccanica’s chief executive, who is keen to expand links with BAE, has discussed the idea of a joint venture with British executives.
The two have a 50-50 joint venture in defence electronics, Alenia Marconi Systems, and, with European group Eads, in missiles company MBDA. The Italians also own half of the AgustaWestland helicopter business with GKN.
BAE, which last year won a further £1bn contract to supply India with up to 66 Hawks and sees an export market of about 500 for the jet trainer, is sceptical about the Italian approach.
Sources point out that the 12-nation Eurotrainer programme – for which Finmeccanica proposed the M346 – has virtually collapsed.
Finmeccanica is understood to be keen to cement ties with BAE partly because of the British firm’s strong presence in the lucrative US defence market. Mr Guarguaglini, who is raising cash by selling non-core assets, has said he wants to buy US companies with sales of $200m to $700m (£400m).
Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownAero don’t really seem to have pushed very hard on marketing the L-159B trainer version of the ALCA. There are also serious problems at the company and, as far as I know, Aero has no current or outstanding orders for any version of their L-39/L-59/L-159 whatsoever:
Trade minister says time for Aero, Boeing to part ways_
The time has come for the Czech government to part ways with US aircraft producer Boeing as co-owners of the Czech aerospace firm Aero Vodochody, according to Czech Trade and Industry Minister Milan Urban.
“I believe it’s the time has come to arrive at a dignified divorce for this marriage,” the daily Lidove noviny (LN) quotes Urban as saying.
Boeing has not commented on the matter.
The Czech government, which holds a 64.7 % stake in Aero, plans to discuss the issue with Boeing, which has a 35.3 % stake, in the coming weeks.
The Trade and Industry Ministry and Finance Ministry are to submit a joint proposal to the Cabinet for further steps at Aero by the end of January.
The government has been holding talks with Boeing on Aero’s future for several months. In December of last year Boeing, which has three seats on Aero’s five-member board of directors, requested government help in paying an Aero debt worth several billion crowns. Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla and the Finance Ministry rebuffed the request, however.
Boeing acquired Aero in 1998 and pledged to help the firm break into foreign markets. At the time, the Czech government granted Boeing a guarantee for a USD 300 mln investment loan and a USD 200 mln bond issue.
Aero has been plagued by declining orders. The firm dismissed 10 % of its 2,000-strong workforce in the fall of 2003 in order to cut costs. Boeing said it was considering even greater cutbacks of up to half the staff if the government declined to help pay off the firm’s debt.
Citing an unnamed source close to the talks, the weekly Euro reported that if Boeing and the government fail to reach an agreement, the government is likely to privatize Aero again, this time to a European arms producer.
—
There’s also more posted in the last couple of hours at:
Boeing removes Jakubse as board chair of troubled Aero Vodochody
http://www.interfax.com/com?item=Czec&pg=0&id=5696963&req=
Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownNot Cobras, obviously, but it appears to be a possibility that Pakistan may also have been a recent recipient of ex-Ukrainian Mi-24V Hinds.
Maybe PAF fan can dig-up some background regarding An-124 flights delivering “combat helicopters” recently. It has certainly been mentioned on at least two other forums in the past fortnight.
Cheers
Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News
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