TomcatViPSpooky 43 [was] an AC-130U gunship whose crew fought furiously through smoke and malfunctioning and overheating weapons to keep the men on the ground safe for hours.[…]
“If white had a taste ― that’s what [the detonation] was” like, Hunter said. “It was super-loud, super-bright, super-violent immediately. And the ground hit me. Like, I was laying on the ground, and I got lifted up off the ground, and then” ― Hunter clapped his hands ― “the shock wave of the ground hit me. It was amazing.”
Hall said Hunter had his microphone keyed the whole time, and the gunship heard the overpowering detonation in the background.
“My noggin was pretty rattled, as you may imagine, so I went deaf for a little bit and kind of numb all over,” Hunter said. “I had no idea what just happened. That was like the fifth or sixth explosion within 10 meters of me that night that I had taken, so I was pretty tweaked out.”
It was an amazing shot, Hall said ― a 35-pound, unguided bullet that traveled over two miles through winds and hit right on target.[…]
In about two or three seconds, Flora opened up the gun and diagnosed the problem, and then got the pilot’s permission to manually fire the round after coordinating with the sensor operator. The problem kept happening about half a dozen times or so that night.
Flora pulled off an extraordinarily dangerous feat, said Maj. Alexander Hill, the aircraft commander.
Both the 40mm and the 105mm put tremendous strain on the air frame every time they fire, and the airplane’s computers factor in a delay to make sure they don’t go off at the same time. If they did both shoot at once, the force of both massive explosions could cause “catastrophic damage” and rip the plane apart. He made sure to time it so the detonations didn’t happen simultaneously.
Source:
AirforceTimes.com
TomcatViPThere is room for an F35 buy, at least in Germany. Then we have the UCAV. Let’s see what this would left in A2G before 2035.
TomcatViPBelow 90kph, drag is irrelevant. This is why you can see a massive US/UK (!) made SUV out speeding a Japanese sport car from 0 to 60mph (100kph) 😉
TomcatViPWho want to be grounded?
TomcatViPAirbus H225 troubled return to operation
Era is continuing to pursue Airbus Helicopters through the US courts, alleging that it sold H225s with the full knowledge of a safety issue with the main gearbox.
Court filings show that Era is seeking substantial compensation from the manufacturer. It argues that its H225 fleet has lost “substantial value” since the Norway crash, on top of costs incurred from the flight ban.
It argues that Airbus Helicopters “fraudulently” presented the H225 as one of the safest rotorcraft in its class and “concealed any and all internal doubts and conclusions over the design of the H225’s main gearbox when it was certified”.
Airbus Helicopters had previously denied the allegations but now declines to comment further because of the ongoing legal action.
[…]
Era has made a similar application to the French judicial authorities seeking evidence from bearing manufacturer NTN-SNR Roulements (SNR).
Source:
FlightGlobal.com
TomcatViPClearly a fight for the Scorpion.
TomcatViPItaly’s audit court gives F-35 cautious approval
Looking at the bottom line, the court said that Italy had invested 3.5 billion in the program to the end of 2016 and another 600 million euros this year — so much money it cannot afford to pull out now.
The report stated that Rome’s “exposure up to now in terms of financial, instrumental and human resources is fundamentally linked to the continuation of the project.”
The court, which monitors Italy’s government spending, warned that the 2012 decision to cut Italy’s F-35 order from 131 to 90 aircraft may have saved 5.4 billion euros but cost 3.1 billion euros in lost contracts, particularly the construction of wingboxes by Italian defense giant Leonardo, which fell from 1,215 sets to 835 sets.
[…]
Around 1,600 staff are working on the program now, compared to range of between 3,586 to 6,395 previously forecast by authorities, the report stated.
Italy’s assembly line at Cameri Air Base is being underemployed given Italy’s reduction in purchases as well as a diminished order of aircraft by Holland, which plans to assemble its F-35s there.
[…]
33 Italian firms were now working on F-35-related contracts. The value of those contracts was seen as reaching $14.2 billion by 2038, including $6.8 billion worth of contracts for Leonardo on its wing box work, $1.1 billion to assemble 90 Italian aircraft and 300 million to assemble 29 Dutch aircraft.
Source:
DefenseNews.com
TomcatViPThis thread is about Airbus and the future European fighter program (“Airbus: European Future Fighter Program”). I think that it is a valid input to question the idea of going business as usual given past experiences. Unless obviously you think that a multi-billion euro loss is anecdotical…
TomcatViPEADS Defence and Security/Cassidian was integrated into Airbus in 17 January 2014, untill then it was entirely out of the Airbus consortium.
There´s has much “Airbus” in MAKO has in the F-104G or the Focke Wul 190.
did you read this?
EADS also confirmed that Tom Enders will replace Louis Gallois** as chief executive on May 31. Mr Enders is presently chief executive of Airbus, EADS’s plane-maker division. He will be succeeded at Airbus, the world’s biggest manufacturer of aircraft, by Fabrice Bregier, Airbus’s chief operating officer.
and this:
The alleged lack of political backing, perhaps a contestable opinion to say the least, has nothing to do here. Airbus failed it by itself. It had the right idea, the bright minds, the technical competences, it could be envisioned that there was an infancy of a market but they missed that opportunity thanks to the conformism and lack of visionary sight at management level.
?
I don’t think we have a discussion here. I think you are in plain denial of what could be encompassed with the reality of my assertion: 20 years of failure with an unchanged team of manager to lead the way in the most technically challenging and potentially expensive project that Airbus as ever taken part… EoA.
TomcatViPsry for the stupid remarks but:
1. what’s wrong with the test pilot breath on the Scorpion?
2. it seems the Wolverine has a better 360 defensive sensor suite (see sensors on the wing tips – proven L-3 Wescam MX-15Di )
3. both the AT-6 and A-29 have a protubering IR turrets and wing tanks. Wouldn’t it be better to have an underbelly wet pack with an integrated turrets? It’s not like this would be a new idea. The underbelly pack could then be removed more easily for upgrade at a cheaper cost. Heck, couldn’t a commune sensor pod developed for the Reaper be adapted?
TomcatViPAnd now the US army!
U.S. Army Eyes F-35 As Missile Defense Sensor
Richard De Fatta, director of the USASMDC/ARSTRAT’s future warfare center, says discussions are ongoing about how to integrate the Joint Strike Fighter for taking out ballistic and cruise missiles.
“It’s a great capability, so let’s see where it can contribute as an overhead asset,” he said at a Raytheon-sponsored forum here on Aug. 7, ahead of the annual Space and Missile Defense Symposium. “We’re seeing where we could go with it and what’s the art of the possible.”
Also
The Army has long been pursuing tethered aerostats, such as JLens, for detection and tracking of airborne threats. But aerostats, airships and balloons are far less responsive than a fighter jet, despite being far cheaper to operate long-term.
That where the program is ballooning I suppose. At last all the naysayers were right…
Source:
AviationWeek.com
TomcatViPExtremism doesn’t fit well with engineering. At all level of dev you can adapt your solution to get the proper amount of benefits by maximizing it with the right amount of mixture chosen b/w several conditions.
Instead of sticking to the idea that they have to land vertically, they simply arrive faster (what means being able to land with an heavier load) and stop by allowing the plane to roll slightly. This was done already with the old harrier (land based) and seems now to be on use with the 35. Given that the landing distance are short and that the carrier is moving forward at great speed, the resulting rolling motion will be short.
In the end, the 35B will be able to land at an heavier mass, with less reserve fuel, increasing de-facto bring back load what will better its usefulness and reduce cost by opening its operating procedures.
The only detrimental effect is with the back of their pilots !
TomcatViPUnder the plan, the U.S. manufacturer is to establish a joint venture with a subsidiary of the country’s state-owned defense group Romarm to produce copters in Romania. The designed plant is expected to produce AH-1Z Viper twin-engine attack helos. The value of the planned contract was not disclosed.
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Source:
DefenseNews.com
TomcatViPDoes Airbus knows that they are indirectly financing LM? 😀
TomcatViPU.S. May Launch Airstrikes Against ISIS in Philippines
think it’s worth considering whether or not we reinstate a named operation, not only to provide for the resources that are required, but to give the Pacific Command commander and the field commanders in the Philippines the kinds of authorities they need to work with indigenous Philippine forces to actually help them be successful in that battle space.”
Source:
MSN.com
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