RAAF Hornet successfully fired JASSM

A RAAF F/A-18 Hornet successfully fired a Joint Air to Surface Stand-off Missile (JASSM) at the Woomera test range last week.

The Joint Air to Surface Stand-off Missile has a range of more than 200 kilometres and was selected in 2006 by the former Howard government to equip the F/A-18 Hornet fleet pending the retirement of the F-111 fleet.

The JASSM has been listed on the federal government’s “projects of concern” watch list, but makers Lockheed Martin are optimistic the successful Woomera test will mean its removal.

“A second successful firing of the JASSM baseline missile off a RAAF F/A-18 Hornet was achieved at the Woomera test range in South Australia last week,” a Lockheed Martin spokesman told The Australian.

JASSM is in service with four other air forces including the US Air Force which has ordered more than 3000 of the semi-stealthy cruise missiles each worth about $700,000. Experts say JASSM will give RAAF a leading weapons capability edge within the Asian region.

Source: The Australian National Affairs

Boeing to unveil stealthier Super Hornet

 

 

Boeing's Super Hornet

 

A mocked up version of Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet will be among the many metal birds to debut at the upcoming Aero India 2011.

Boeing, which is one of the contenders for the $10 billion medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) contract, will unveil a stealthier version of the F/A-18 at the air show to be held at the Air Force Station Yelahanka between February 9 and 13.

Boeing’s vice-president for defense, space and security, Vivek Lall, said that one of the two F/A-18s which will be performing at the bi-annual show will be configured with conformal fuel tanks, enhanced performance engines, spherical missile laser warning, enclosed weapons pad, next generation cockpit and internal infrared search and tracking system.

The mocked up aircraft, which will be unveiled at the Aero India will be the first F/A-18 to be developed as part of the ‘International Super Hornet Roadmap’ programme which was announced by the US-based aerospace company at last year’s Farnborough Air Show in the UK.

Labelled as the next evolution of Block II Super Hornet, the aircraft is said to have features “which increase survivability, situational awareness, and performance for customers”.

- dnaindia.com

Wikileaks: Brazilian Air Force First Choice was F-18 jets

Brazil’s Air Force commander, Brigadier Juniti Saito, told the U.S. ambassador that his service preferred the Boeing Super Hornet as its next fighter, revealed by WikiLeaks Sunday.

Question regarding the U.S. government’s commitment to technology transfer to accompany Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter remain “a significant political barrier,” Saito is reported to have told the U.S. ambassador to Brazil, Clifford Sobel.

Sobel wrote a cable July 31, 2009, outlining his talk with Saito, according to WikiLeaks.

While a decision has been delayed for months, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is widely expected to pick the winning bid before his second term ends January 1. Brazilian press has reported that the Rafale warplane, produced by France’s Dassault Aviation SA (AM.FR), is heavily favored by Lula, while the third competitor is Sweden’s Gripen NG by Saab AB (SAAB-B.SK).

The value of the contract to supply 36 jet fighters hasn’t been revealed, but it’s estimated at between $4 billion and $10 billion, depending on the final choice, maintenance costs and armaments.

In the cable, Sobel reported that Saito said “there was no question from a technical point of view that the F-18 was the superior aircraft.“

Saito is reported to have told the ambassador that “the French can’t complain as they just signed a $14 billion deal with Brazil” for submarines and helicopters, according to the cable.

Earlier that year, in May, U.S. Deputy Chief of the United States Mission in Brazil, Lisa Kubiske, had also sent a cable highlighting the political concerns.

The U.S. Embassy in Brasilia couldn’t be reached for comment by telephone, and didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment. A spokesman for the Brazilian Defense Ministry didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment.

- NASDAQ