TomcatViPThe planned department, whose boss will report to the joint chief of staff, would make the company that makes the aircraft responsible for their maintenance “from start to finish,” Ms Parly said.
The aim is to avoid the case of the Tiger helicopter, whose maintenance is currently split between so many different firms or military offices that it requires more than 30 separate contracts.
Pierre Tran, a specialist on French military issues, said that in theory the minister’s plans were sound but that in practice there was a high risk.
“They (defence contractors) will likely be thinking that Christmas came early this year,” he said, noting that the huge sums involved meant that there was a high risk of taxpayers’ money being wasted.
The key to success for the government is to exert extreme caution when negotiating the new maintenance contracts with the firms involved, which include Airbus, Dassault, Thales and Air France Industries, said Mr Tran.
In a message clearly directed at aircraft makers, the Armed Forces Minister said she wanted results by 2020.
Source:
The Telegraph.co.uk
*Ms Parly [French MoD].
TomcatViPOn December 1, 1977, a truly strange bird took flight for the first time in the skies over a desolate corner of Nevada. Looking more like a giant faceted gemstone than something designed to lift-off, the aircraft (nicknamed the “Hopeless Diamond”) had been flown out to Groom Lake in parts aboard a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy cargo plane.
While much of the Hopeless Diamond was a conglomeration of spare parts from other existing aircraft, it was the first of a new breed—the progenitor of Stealth. Hopeless Diamond was the first of two technology demonstrators built for a program called “Have Blue,” an initiative program spawned from a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency effort to create an aircraft that could evade the Soviet Union’s increasingly sophisticated integrated air defense systems.
A good read
Source:
https://arstechnica.com
TomcatViPKovy, you are mixing both the perf at low alt and at altitude, concluding that the Rafale has the best available range. But a Rafale in enemy ctrld airspace is a per definition flying nape of the earth (or not at all). Hence teh combat range can’t be compared favorably to other assets able to penetrate such airspace at cruise altitude.
First the Rafale won’t fly as far. Secondly, the mission profile and time of exposure would be greater, leading to less sustainability in the campaign (yes increased losses).
Also, as we have discussed it numerously before, a larger airframe like an F-15 will be less affected by carrying a large load than a smaller one (less restriction, less trim drag, longer range etc…). The point of the Rafale Vs the 15 is that cost of maintenance should be theoretically smaller. Sadly something not so certain given the business model lately developed.
Also notice that terrain following radar, nape of the earth flight, in weather, are old stuff. The USAF and the Navy have been doing such operationally since 1966 and Vietnam. The Lybian air raid and GWI did dramatically demonstrate that massive low alt penetration was a rather costly endeavor.
Meanwhile, Stealth turns 40.
* The Russians had the Su-24 and before them the Su-7 were literally rolling over the terrain in Egypt at near mach speed – didn’t help them against IDF Phantom’s
TomcatViP[Capstone JFEX: the] Massive Cross-Country USAF Airlift Exercise Was the Largest of Its Kind, Ever
On the night of Dec. 9-10, 2017, a total of 37 C-17 Globemaster III and 21 C-130 Hercules airlifters took off for Nevada from a dozen bases around the United States as part of the capstone JFEX for the U.S. Air Force Weapons School Integration phase’s Class 17B. The simulated mission was to get into enemy territory and drop U.S. Army paratroopers, who would then establish a presence on the ground. Additional aircraft, including F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, flew support missions against the mock opposing forces. In total, more than 100 planes were involved in the exercise, making the biggest of its kind, according to an official Air Force article.
and
The 437th Airlift Wing launched 17 C-17 Globemaster IIIs in support of the largest U.S. Air Force Weapons School Integration Phase Joint Forcible Entry event in its history, Dec. 9, 2017.
The U.S. Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., trains tactical experts and leaders to control and exploit air, space and cyberspace on behalf of the joint force. Aircrew members from Joint Base Charleston participated in the JFE, allowing for the chance to integrate with more than 100 dissimilar aircraft.
“A JFE is one of the most complex mission sets we, the Mobility Air Forces, participate in,” said Capt. Tom Sallenger, 15th Airlift Squadron, 437th Operations Group commander’s action group. “The ultimate goal of a JFE is to support the Army and establish a lodgment in someone else’s air space. Our purpose for the JFE is to deliver the Army to an objective area to establish a U.S. presence. As part of the joint overall picture, we require support from the Combat Air Forces to get us into contested air space.”
Mobility Air Forces aircraft, launching from 12 bases, participated in the capstone event, with an objective to deliver 120 U.S. Army paratroopers to a target area.
“We flew in with 37 C-17s and 21 C-130s Hercules, pressed into contested air space, and fought our way in,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. J.R. Wendler, 16th Airlift Squadron and 437th Operations Group director of staff. “It requires a lot of integration with other assets, F-16s, and F-15s for example, to clear the lane for the MAF to get to the objective area, air drop and put in our joint partners, in this case the Army, to start building up combat power.”
The scale of the event provided a realistic training experience. Sallenger said the size and realism of the JFE is necessary to prepare aircrew members for real world operations.
“The reason why we are providing so much support as Air Mobility Command and as the MAF is because we’re preparing for the future which requires readiness,” said Sallenger. “In planning a contingency operation, we need to have real-life experiences and some of those experiences can only be obtained in a scenario as in-depth as the JFE.”
Video from an other JFEX in 2013:
TomcatViP16 days ago, the author published himself an article about the cancellation of the EC-120 program underlining the fact that it costed twice as much as its nearest competitor thanks to the “paw of the Designer” that ruined any attempts to get an efficient airframe.
A similar approach that went ahead with the EC-160…
Today, aside of learning what a bright mind Mr Faury is and all about is tremendous athletic condition, we are granted the exquisite pleasure to learn that Faury work on the H225 is a proof that the “manufacturer’s safety culture has improved on his watch“…
Really?
As a reminder, some post extracted from this thread (cover only the last 2 years):
NH90 very low flight hours
https://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?135057-Helicopter-News-amp-Discussion&p=2285256#post2285256
Surion MGB embarrassing repercussions
Tiger debacle and:
Weird management in time of crisis
https://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?135057-Helicopter-News-amp-Discussion&p=2346175#post2346175
https://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?135057-Helicopter-News-amp-Discussion&p=2347419#post2347419
Leading to diplomatic incident:
https://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?135057-Helicopter-News-amp-Discussion&p=2348275#post2348275
H225 and its insane supplier approach
EDIT :
(27th of December 2017)
Rumors around Faury at the head of Airbus commercial division
Source (sadly):
FlightGlobal.com
TomcatViPIt would be nice if at least ONE time, you took 2 mins to check facts before writing… SABCA is owned by Dassault, not MBDA. But nevermind, keep spamming heroic fantasy to entertain us here… Oh… And structil is far from being a “strategic” anything in Rafale program…
Oh btw, please spare us “analysis” on news feed…
Mr Lol-loweene, MDBA is not MBDA. MDBA stands for Marcel Dassault Breguet Aviation which was the result of the merging of the two French compagny. If you also had read the post, you’ll have noticed that Sabca is specifically mentioned as an entity of MDBA.
So spare us all the sparing…
TomcatViP(At state zero you could have the fact that Safran just sold back a strategic supplier of the Rafale program to its original owner in the US – Hexcel)
Step1. Safran additional delay in SilverCrest engine program powering the future Falcon 5x that last flew in the 6th december prompt the cancellation of this businessJet program by Dassault for a net loss for the company of 1B$
Step2a. Sabca in Belgium (owned by MDBA) was deeply involved in that program (Falcon5X)
Step2b. Safran Aero Booster was in charge of LP compressor for the SilverCrest
Step3.
Conséquences à Herstal, Haren et Lummen
La fin du Falcon 5X a des suites en Belgique. Safran Aero Boosters à Herstal fournit notamment le compresseur basse pression du Silvercrest. Si l’entreprise liégeoise n’est pas en cause dans les problèmes du moteur, liés au compresseur haute pression, elle n’en subit pas moins les conséquences.
La Sabca risque d’être encore plus touchée. L’entreprise belge avait obtenu de fabriquer le caisson central arrière de voilure (à Haren) et les stabilisateurs horizontaux de l’empennage (à Lummen). Le Falcon 5X devait représenter des rentrées de plus de 200 millions d’euros et une centaine d’emplois supplémentaires. Dassault étant actionnaire majoritaire de la Sabca, il y a fort à parier que l’entreprise belge récupérera un travail comparable sur le futur Falcon, mais avec un délai supplémentaire.
————-
Consequences for Herstal, Haren and Lummen
The end of the Falcon 5X has some consequences in Belgium. Safran Aero Boosters at Herstal supplies the low-pressure compressor from the Silvercrest. If the Liege company is not involved in the engine problems related to the high-pressure compressor, it nevertheless suffers the consequences.
Sabca may be even more affected. The Belgian company was to manufacture the rear wing center box (at Haren) and the horizontal stabilizers of the vertical tail (at Lummen). The Falcon 5X was expected to generate revenues of more than 200 million euros and a hundred additional jobs. As Dassault is the majority shareholder in Sabca, it is a safe bet that the Belgian company will recover comparable work on the future Falcon, but with additional time.
Except trying to sell two time the same thing, it just has become much harder for Dassault to sustain the credibility envisionned (?) in the now famous French letter*
Source (among various other):
La Libre Belgique.be
*Frankly I am still wondering why a young MoD choose to venture in such a sinking ship.
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TomcatViPWhile world watches North Korea, China builds in the South China Sea
At the end of October, the Chinese military released images showing J-11B fighters at Woody Island for exercises, while on Nov. 15, AMTI spotted what appeared to be Y-8 transport planes, a type that can be configured for electronic surveillance.
[…]
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reiterated a call for a “freeze” in China’s island building and said it was unacceptable to continue their militarization.
TomcatViPTomcatViPMore info on the latest US’s F-22s intercept [of] Russian jets over Syria
“The F-22s conducted multiple maneuvers to persuade the Su-25s to depart our de-conflicted airspace, including the release of chaff and flares in close proximity to the Russian aircraft and placing multiple calls on the emergency channel to convey to the Russian pilots that they needed to depart the area,” he added.
Pickart accused the Russian pilots of dangerous flying during the encounter.
“One Su-25 flew close enough to an F-22A that it had to aggressively maneuver to avoid a midair collision,” he said, adding that “during the incident, a Russian Su-35 also flew across the river and was shadowed closely by one of the F-22As.”
He said the encounter lasted approximately 40 minutes
Source:
CNN.com
TomcatViPTo me Amram was fielded on some f-15 units flying over Irak during GWI. (Source GWI debrief)
TomcatViPTomcatViPMagma: fluidic control for BAe stealth test drone*
BAE’s Magma UAV utilizes wing circulation control, which uses air from the aircraft engine and blows it supersonically through the trailing edge of the wing, to provide control for the aircraft and fluidic thrust vectoring for change of direction.
The maneuvering concept for the aircraft’s controls removes the conventional need for mechanical moving parts used to move flaps that control the aircraft during flight, reducing weight and maintenance costs and allowing for lighter, stealthier, and faster flight, the company says.
Source:
UPI.com
TomcatViPAnd it’s even of a shared interest that they should keep buying Western equipment, no matter what the anti-US cabal might repeatedly say.
TomcatViPOK. I see it more clearly. It’s there… but behind the security guard, the reinforced concrete wall, the mean looking cashier, inside the vault and next to the local SWAT team coffee machine.
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