tiddles— Evaluation Dassault Rafale (13 October 2008 – 4 November 2008): From Defence Aerospace
The flight and ground testing of the French Rafale began on 13 October 2008 and covered 39 flights. Approximately 60 flying hours were flown. The number of flights and flying hours, were higher than those of the Gripen and Eurofighter, was used for extended testing of a second type of radar The Rafale was followed by the third and final candidate, Eurofighter.
tiddlesFlight Evaluation
This may have already been posted among the insults on the last thread , I am not sure.
Tiddles
Switzerland has completed the flight evaluation part of its F-5 replacement program.
Two Eurofighter Typhoons returned to Germany this week, having logged 31 flights and 45 flight hours. The Typhoon campaign followed flight evaluations of the Saab Gripen and Dassault Aviation Rafale.
(credit for all pics: armasuisse)
The flight trial period began July 28, with the arrival of two Gripens. The Rafale logged the most flights, 39, and flight hours, 60.
All contestants provided two dual-seaters. The aircraft were evaluated on their own, and alongside Swiss F-5s and F/A-18s. The evaluated aircraft were crewed by a mix of Swiss pilot and one provided by the respective manufacturer.
The Swiss procurement agency, armasuisse, next month will invite the bidders to submit more detailed offers, which are due in April. The government hopes to complete its evaluation of the entire bid package by May, to allow a source selection to follow in July. The procurement of the aircraft is slotted for the 2010 budget plan.
There is still concern in industry that public opposition to a big military expenditure could derail the program. However, a prior attempt to block the F/A-18 purchase failed, and several industry officials indicate the same course of events could unfold this time. http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3a0c2a798a-8832-4b4d-8513-16ce72eba55b
tiddlesMy Old Man was a rear gunner in a Halifax 111 & flew with 578 Squadron Jan-August 1944. He died in 1959 so cant be of much help here but I remember him telling me that he was sometimes allowed to leave the turret & go up to the front of the plane at some point on the way home,I cant remember when. He said that they used to listen to the news on the radio sometimes with reports of the op they had been on & it was a lot more comfortable up the front. I also remember him telling me that the parachute was stored inside the fuselage which seemed a bit scary to me as a young boy.As for bailing out ,well crew had a much better chance statistically of getting out of the Halifax than the Lancaster,particularly the crew up front.
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=xcvFbza5RSoC&pg=RA1-PA755&lpg=RA1-PA755&dq=crew+survival+statistics+for+Halifax+%26+lancaster&source=web&ots=lWhh5uVW3l&sig=i7kZ6V98ayesMKjTVRmGuty_qcY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result
Tiddles
tiddlesCEAFAR Progress
CEAFAR radar achieves sea demonstration milestone
The ANZAC ASMD Upgrade Project successfully demonstrated the CEAFAR active phased array
multi-function radar installed on an ANZAC Frigate, HMAS PERTH off the coast of Western
Australia.
CEAFAR is one of the most advanced maritime multifunction radar systems in production. Being a
fully digital beamforming system, it can dynamically adapt and change modes to meet complex
environmental and threat scenarios. Its scalability is enabled by the tile based face architecture and
the digital beamforming backend. This makes CEAFAR suitable for consideration in applications as
small as offshore patrol craft and as large as destroyers and cruisers.
The risk reduction and data collection objectives of the at-sea demonstration were successfully
achieved in significantly less than the planned time frame. This enabled additional capabilities to be
assessed during the sea going opportunity.
Activities included tactical air and surface scenarios involving multiple aircraft and ships, small
targets representative of anti-ship missiles and weapon systems. These were conducted in littoral
and open ocean maritime conditions and included the complex electromagnetic environments
associated with multiple warships and aircraft.
The at-sea demonstration followed a successful land-based demonstration of the same production
hardware at CEA’s Canberra facilities on the 6th of November. The faces used in the demonstration
were from the first production run and had been delivered on schedule from the company’s
production line in July 08. This same dual faced configuration was then transported by road from
Canberra to the Royal Australian Navy’s Fleet Base West (FBW), Western Australia for the
installation process; arriving just 4 days before the planned sailing time.
CEA’s Technical Director Ian Croser said today, “This is an exciting outcome with the extra work
required to achieve such a tightly scheduled sea demonstration a credit to the engineering
integration and test team who worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the program’s ambitious
objectives. The system was declared operationally ready for the at-sea period just three and a half
days after its arrival at FBW.”
At-sea demonstration team
and installed Dual Face
Page 2 of 2
CEA Technologies specialise in the design, development and manufacture of advanced radar and communications solutions and is a
leading supplier of scalable active phased array radar for surveillance and missile fire control applications, maritime integrated
communications systems and harbour and coastal surveillance systems
The simplicity of its architecture and construction enabled the at-sea demonstration to be conducted
in the very short timeframe, which was achieved by the combined resources of the ANZAC ASMD
Project team, HMAS PERTH, the ANZAC Ship Alliance and CEA staff.
“This early at sea demonstration of the CEAFAR capability is part of an overall Commonwealth
strategy of advance demonstration of the system before installation into the first ship. The radar
performed beyond expectations and the success of the sea trial now represents a very significant
risk reduction step for the whole program.” concluded Ian Croser.
The ASMD Upgrade Project will ensure the Royal Australian Navy’s ANZAC Frigates have an
enhanced level of self defence against modern anti-ship missiles. It will also improve the ANZAC
Frigates ability to provide close-in protection to an amphibious maritime task group, supporting the
Royal Australian Navy’s future Air Warfare Destroyer area air defence capability. The CEA Phased
Array system is a critical component of this capability.
CEA Technologies is a world leader in advanced radar technologies and is based in Canberra,
Australia.
For further information contact: Sandra Lumsden, +61 (0)2 6213 001
Here is a link with pics. I dont know how to upload pics by themselves
http://www.cea.com.au/News+Media/Attachments/2008-0003.pdf
Tiddles
tiddlesSea****e problems
Hi Logan – Here is a link to a thread on the T5C Australian Mil Forum ,it is rather lengthy at 269 posts but as you can imagine as an OZ problem it was a big point of conjecture over the [too many] years. If you can be bothered ploughing your way thru the posts you should find the info you are after.
Good reading
Tiddles
http://www.t5c.biz/showthread.php?t=4286&highlight=kaman+seasprite
tiddlesCEAFAR
From an Australian Forum [T5C]
Tiddles
Australia Pushes Radar Technology Boundaries
By Gregor Ferguson
Published: 20 October 2008
Sydney – The Royal Australian Navy may be the world’s first to take a fourth-generation active phased-array radar to sea when a preproduction sensor participates in a naval trial in the Indian Ocean next month. In addition, concurrent ship upgrade programs will improve the combat capability and survivability of its existing fleet of FFG-7 and Anzac-class frigates.
The Navy will mount a CEAFAR radar, manufactured by CEA Technologies, Canberra, aboard an Anzac-class frigate in a final risk-mitigation exercise before the system is retrofitted to the entire fleet of eight Anzac frigates.
An earlier prototype had been evaluated at sea in 2005, but next month’s trial will be the first of a fully digital fourth-generation radar with production-representative power levels and signal processing algorithms.
Testing of CEAFAR production radar arrays has commenced on the rooftop of the CEA Technologies facility in Canberra, said Ian Croser, technical director at CEA Technologies.
The rooftop testing will be immediately followed by an at-sea demonstration on an Anzac-class ship, using a specially designed mobile dual-face configuration.
“We have diverted significant resources and energy into this extra at-sea demonstration opportunity at the request of the DMO Project Office, but we consider the extra benefit is worth the very tight schedule and the risk that this presents,” said Croser.
“This demonstration has taken advantage of an early alignment of equipment, software and Anzac class ship availability. This presents an additional but important risk mitigation opportunity.”
The CEAFAR S-band search-and-track radar and its adjunct CEAMOUNT X-band target illuminating radar form the core of the 778 million Australian dollar ($539.3 million) anti-ship missile defense upgrade of the Navy’s Anzac frigates under Project Sea 1448 Phase 2B. The first ship set of production radars will be installed aboard HMAS Perth in January 2010.
Because they handle crossing as well as head-on targets, the CEAFAR/CEAMOUNT combination will increase the Anzacs’ self-defense capabilities as well as their ability to protect other ships around them.
The CEAFAR sensor is much lighter than existing search-and-track radars and its beam can be steered rapidly or focused to overcome jamming and clutter. The CEAMOUNT target illuminator can also shift its beam rapidly from one incoming target to another, ensuring each target is illuminated to guide an Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile to intercept it, while continuing to track other targets.
This provides the ships with multiple channels of fire; at present they have only one, provided by their mechanically steered Saab 9LV illuminator.
The Anzac fleet is undergoing a series of upgrades, including the installation of Harpoon anti-ship missiles, a torpedo defense system, mine- and obstacle-avoidance sonar, a Sagem infrared search-and-track sensor and an upgraded Saab 9LV Mk3E combat management system to handle the higher data throughput.
A former Navy director of maritime development, retired Commodore Paul Greenfield, said the Navy “will be very impressed by the capabilities of the Anzacs’ new weapon system, including the radars.”
CEAMOUNT’s fourth-generation technology clears the bottleneck created by mechanically steered target illuminators, which limit the number of targets a ship can engage simultaneously, Greenfield said.
Fourth-generation radar sensors are all-digital, Greenfield said, and each of the 1,024 transmitter/receiver modules on the antenna face can be controlled independently, allowing the use of different wave forms to overcome jamming and background clutter. In the future, with the right processing capabilities, fourth-generation radars will be able to function as high-capacity data links or control UAVs.
Only two companies, CEA Technologies, of which Northrop Grumman owns a 49 percent stake, and Lockheed Martin are developing fourth-generation sensors, Greenfield said. CEA is working under a 21 million Australian dollar research and development contract from the Defence Material Organisation (DMO) to develop high-power active phased-array radar technology under the joint U.S.-Australia AUSPAR radar research program, launched in 2005.
Meanwhile, the Navy is expected during the week of Nov. 18 to formally accept the first three of four Adelaide-class FFG-7 frigates upgraded by Thales Australia, here, under a 2.1 billion Australian dollar contract. The fourth ship should be accepted around mid-2009, said Chris Lloyd, Thales project director.
The upgrade is two years behind schedule but will extend the lives of the FFGs to 2021 and increase their point and area air defense capabilities, pending their gradual replacement from 2015 by three new Aegis-equipped Hobart-class air warfare destroyers.
The three ships accepted next month – HMAS Sydney, Melbourne and Darwin – will be fitted with the new Australian Distributed Architecture Combat System (ADACS) developed by Thales Australia. The first naval combat system developed entirely in Australia, it includes a new electronic warfare and torpedo defense system, and an upgraded fire control system, the Mk92 Mod12, which will control both the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile and the Standard Missile-2. This is the first time either missile has ever been installed aboard an FFG-7 frigate.
The Standard Missile-2 will be installed next year under a separate contract, according to Mal Adams, the DMO’s FFG upgrade project director.
The ADACS also includes a Link 16 tactical data link terminal, the first ever installed aboard an Australian warship. This will enable Australia’s FFG-7s to exchange tactical data, including radar and other sensor information with allied ships and aircraft as well as the Royal Australian Air Force’s F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets, its Boeing 737 Wedgetail early warning aircraft and with its new air defense command-and-control system, code-named Vigilare.
Link 16 isn’t in service elsewhere in the Navy, so Thales and the Navy validated its performance earlier this year with the help of a visiting U.S. Navy destroyer equipped with Link 16.
__________________
tiddlesI think you should check the fox3 magasines on Dassault’s webpage, here they mention all the milstones that the Rafale program has reached.
Nic
The Dassault site only seems to show downloads up to Fox3 no.10, here is a link to Fox3 no.11, does anyone know if No. 12 is out somewhere.
regards Tiddles
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/dae/gauche/sponsors/sponsor_rafale/img/fox3_11.pdf
tiddlesHi Arthuro, The last link you posted came up as “You have reached this page in error”, is it my computer or is the link flawed.
Regards
Tiddles
tiddlesThe first, second or third time they write out a competition?
I guess it will start around 2015, with the first winner announced in 2018, decision revoked in 2019, new winner called 2021 with the decision revoked the same year, then a whole new competition with the tender issued in 2025 with the final decision in 2031 (after a thorough evaluation this time, with plenty of Colonels including our own PhantomII being promoted to General), first deliveries just in time to take part in the D-Day Centennial Memorial Air Parade on June 6th, 2044. A parade in which it will be the only manned aircraft, since all that trainer will end up doing is train future drone pilots.
😀
The new tankers should be just about ready around the same time Arthur ,although the way things are going I would not bet on it.:rolleyes::D
cheers
Tiddles
tiddlesHaving had a good look at the pics. posted by S.N & Anixtu I am left wondering how the very large rear deck now works.The space toward the stern from the hangers is OK for the Helo ops. but can anything else be carried at the same time as Helos. I suppose there is no law that says the shelter has to house helos, it could be trucks. If helos are carried can any deck cargo be carried & where on the deck will it go. Not in front of the Shelter door because the helos have to get out ,in fact the shelter seems to negate the cranes usefullness quite a bit. Maybe at the far stern end of the deck but this does not seem to leave a really safe suitable landing spot. There is probably a very simple solution, my wife says that if there is a way to complicate matters that I will find it.
cheers
Tiddles
tiddlesWhile at the Portsmouth show today I went on board Largs Bay (LSD) and I must admit I was quite impressed. She is only a few feet shorter than Ocean and you get a fantastic view from that towering bridge. The rear deck is much larger than you think and a Lynx was dwarfed by it. The well dock is not as big as the Dutch ones which I have also been on but there is certainly plenty of space for vehicles.
One development which I haven’t seen discussed on here is that there is now a new large fabric ‘Shelter’ fitted semi-perminantly between the Main superstructure of the ship and the cranes. It really is quite large with a metal roller door and could easily hold two Merlins. I enquired to an RFA chap about it and he said as far as he was concerned that it should have had something like that from day one, but anyway all 4 vessels are to have them fitted. He did emphasise that it is being called a shelter and not a hanger as it has other uses as well. It should be able to cope with all sea conditions athough he did hint that a ‘beam on’ wave may not do it much good if they shipped one in a storm :diablo:
Hi Super, I have copied this info onto a long thread on another forum [T5C], mentioning the source of course, it has been well viewed. However do you have any pics. that you could post pls.
Thankyou
Tiddles
tiddlesBeware of Greeks bearing contracts
More rumors ,this is probably old news for what it is worth here it is probably again.
Tiddles
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSL0770152220080607
tiddlesLike i said , The Avionics suite on the SH is a little more then a Vanilla Suite of what is the F-22 and F-35 , specially with ability to grow and integration , however it is very good . The SH was meant to be operational in 4.5 generation Timeframes so one cannot expect a 5th gen avionics suite to be ready by then . They only selected those aspects which were to be MATURE enough to go into operation , luckily the AESA was one of those. With Upgrades the AVS will come pretty close to that of the L2 , however the JSF would have better Performance , Stealth and better integrated targeting suite .
What you say is fairly true , upgrades probably will give the SH avionics not far off the JSF but as most say if you want a fighter with what the JSF has to offer then buy the JSF, unfortunately there is a wait of up to 10 years to get the thing .
E/F B2 already has F-35 systems in it. Both come from the JAST program. JAST was renamed JSF and USN secured key systems (AESA, fibre optic data bus, integrated ECM) for spinout into the E/F B2 as compensation for the A-12 cancellation.Upgrades using compatible JSF systems should be possible.
Similar things could be done for the F15 but is the USAF prepared to pay ,they want the JSF & F22 not upgraded F15s & that only leaves export customers to foot the bill. The USN will have 4-500 reasonably new SHs & will be sure to foot the bill for BK.3 in the future, we will be able to piggy onto the back of that shall we say MLU.I imagine most of this has already been said before.
Tiddles
tiddlesGood piece , bring it on. Here is a 2006 PDF from ADBR which I may have posted some time ago, there have been so many SH threads on the internet I loose track although i only post here occasionally & on T5C a forum that d,clacy knows ,or used to know,very well
Cheers tiddles
http://www.adbr.com.au/download/2510.pdf
tiddlesThe 65% Solution
I got this info off an Australian Forum that I follow.
The USN & GAO rate the Block2 SH as 65% as capable in offensive & defensive missions as the F 35. The HUG Hornet is 19.3%, Block1 SH is 31.1%, F 14D is 19.5% & the AV8B is 11.1%.
There is no doubt in the experts mind which aircraft is the superior by quite a bit however I would like to have known what they thought of the latest F 15 & F 16 models. Here is the link.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04900.pdf
Tiddles
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