Iraq can’t get enough F-16s, will buy 18 more

Iraq is likely to order a second batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 combat jets following last month’s contract to buy 18 of the aircraft, Iraqi officials say.

This appears to be a concerted, but belated, drive by the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to give the country’s emerging postwar air force a credible defensive punch funded by windfall oil revenues and to shore up an important gap in Iraqi defenses as U.S. forces withdraw.

Ali Musawi, a close Maliki aide, said the 18 F-16 jets were “a first installment and hopefully there will be another 18 to make a total of 36.” He said the first batch of F-16s with enhance Iraqi capabilities to protect its airspace, but 18 aircraft will be far too few to effectively cover an area of 169,234 square miles.

Mudher Khidr Nasir, a member of the Iraqi Parliament’s Security and Defense Committee, has told the Iraq Daily Times the 18 F-16 Block 52 aircraft order — enough for one squadron — was so small as to be “ridiculous.”

The contract is worth at least $3 billion but will probably swell to $4.2 billion once training programs, spare parts, maintenance and weapons systems are included. The first of the aircraft Baghdad has ordered aren’t expected to be delivered until the fall of 2012 and most likely not until 2013.

Ultimately, Iraqi commanders have said they want 96 F-16s, enough for five squadrons deployed around the country at air bases built by the Americans following the 2003 invasion.

The F-16s now on order will be the first combat aircraft for the Iraqi air force. The first batch of 10 pilots is already undergoing supersonic training with the U.S. Air Force.

Source: UPI.com

Other Taiwanese officials say US won’t sell F-16s

SINGAPORE — Some Taiwanese defense officials are continuing to argue that no final decision has been made on whether the U.S. will sell the island nation Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds. But others in the government are starting to come out publicly and say what people in the U.S. defense industry have suspected all along: President Barack Obama will not sell the country new F-16s.

Taiwan’s parliamentary speaker, Wang Jin-pyng, told the China Times newspaper that the U.S. has changed its mind about selling F-16s to Taiwan and that the campaign is “all but hopeless.” Wang added the U.S. plans to sell Taiwan equipment to upgrade its F-16A/Bs. Wang is a senior member of Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang Party.

The defense ministry’s spokesman, David Lo, and some in the U.S. government have been downplaying the prospect that Taiwan’s bid for F-16s will fail. They say “no final decision” has been made and point out that the U.S. has until Oct. 1 to decide. Whether the decision is final or not, industry executives tell Aviation Week it is unlikely the U.S. will sell new F-16s to Taiwan, but they say the U.S. may allow Taiwan’s F-16s to be upgraded.

Some of the upgrade equipment that Taiwan is seeking, and may succeed in obtaining, includes active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radars and new targeting pods. But this has caused consternation among some industry observers. An Aug. 19 editorial in The Asian Wall Street Journal says if Taiwan gets AESA radar and the other equipment it wants for its F-16s, the aircraft could end up being more technologically advanced than the U.S. Air Force’s F-16s. But the newspaper says what Taiwan needs is more fighter aircraft, rather than a small number of highly advanced fighters. If war breaks out between Taiwan and China, the editorial asserts, then Taiwan will be overwhelmed by the number of Chinese aircraft, and the advanced technology on Taiwan’s F-16s could end up in Chinese hands.

Another danger is that China may succeed in gaining the AESA radar technology through its network of spies in Taiwan. The issue of espionage has come to the fore in recent weeks. Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou said earlier this month that the island needs to actively prevent any leak of secrets to China and must stop infiltration attempts by beefing up its counterintelligence. His remarks came after a Taiwanese army general and an intelligence officer received life sentences for spying for China.

Meanwhile, on Aug. 17, Ko-suen (Bill) Moo was repatriated back to Taiwan after completing a 6.5-year prison sentence in the U.S. for seeking to export defense equipment – including a GE F110 engine for an F-16 – from the U.S. to China. Moo is a former sales agent for Lockheed Martin in Taiwan. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security statement says Moo was sent back to Taiwan on Aug. 17.

 

-aviationweek.com

Wisconsin ANG F-16 crashed

The pilot of an F-16 Fighting Falcon from the Wisconsin Air National Guard 115th Fighter Wing is safe after ejecting from the aircraft over Adams County June 7 during a routine training flight.

The pilot has been recovered south of Chester, Wisconsin and is being medically evaluated. The F16 aircraft has been located in Chester. Emergency responders are on the scene to secure the aircraft.

An Air Force investigating team has been requested to determine the cause of the accident.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon the first of the US Air Force multi-role fighter aircraft, is the world’s most prolific fighter with more than 2,000 in service with the USAF and 2,000 operational with 25 other countries. The F-16 was the first operational US aircraft to receive a global positioning system (GPS). The aircraft has an inertial navigation system, either a Northrop Grumman (Litton) LN-39, LN-93 ring laser gyroscope or Honeywell H-423.

Source: airforce-technology.com, U.S. Air Force

Pakistan in talks for additional F-16s

Pakistan is in negotiations with the U.S. to get more Lockheed Martin F-16s beyond those it has on order, while at the same time it is developing its defense manufacturing capability to reduce its reliance on the U.S.

Pakistan air force Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman disclosed this, though no firm numbers were given. Qamar spoke to Aviation Week in Melbourne, Australia, where he was attending an air chiefs’ conference.

In 2006 the U.S. Congress agreed to give Pakistan 28 F-16C/Ds under an excess defense articles initiative. The first 14 aircraft were recently delivered. Qamar says negotiations are ongoing for the remaining 14.

Pakistan has a total of 63 F-16s—45 A/Bs and 18 C/Ds. Qamar says all the A/Bs are to undergo a mid-life upgrade and become C/D aircraft “close to Block 50” standard by 2013-14. The first three A/Bs are being upgraded at Turkish Aerospace Industries.

Pakistan is also an ally of China, and the countries are jointly developing the JF-17 fighter, which is being produced at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex in Kamra. Qamar says the second squadron of JF-17s will go into operation in late March, and at that time the Chinese Nanchang A-5, a ground attack aircraft, will begin to be phased out.

Qamar says he has made a concerted effort to increase the manufacturing capability of Pakistan’s defense industry because the country has, in the past, been subject to sanctions and embargoes.

Chengdu F-7s and Dassault Mirages will be phased out as we get JF-17s,” says Qamar. “Some of our Mirages are the oldest in the world,” dating back to 1967. Phasing these out is a top priority because they are difficult and costly to maintain; no one is producing spare parts for them anymore. “We are getting second-hand parts, but we don’t know” their provenance. “It’s a flight-safety issue and a nightmare for me,” he adds.

When asked about data links to tie F-16s to JF-17s, Qamar says Pakistan is working to develop its own solution. “We have Link 16 on the F-16s. We will not fiddle with Link 16 and not have direct linkages [between the JF-17s] with the F-16” He says an indigenous tactical data link is being worked on. It will send information from the JF-17 to a ground station where there will be an interface, he says, adding there will be a short delay, and then the information will be sent to the F-16s.

Pakistan also has different types of airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. Pakistan has three Saab Erieyes and will receive its fourth mid-year, says Qamar. This is its last Saab Erieye on order. Pakistan is also due to receive mid-year its first Shaanxi ZDK-03. Four are on order and the first rolled out of the Shaanxi Aircraft factory last November.

Besides AEW&C aircraft, Qamar says, “we are talking to some Western companies about tankers.” The country now has four Ilyushin Il-78s.

And UAVs are eagerly sought. They already have Selex Galileo Falco UAVs, and Qamar says an agreement has been reached with the Italian company to allow some Falco UAVs to be made in Pakistan both for the local market and for export. Production will start this year, he says. In the past, Pakistan reportedly wanted to have the Falco armed, a request that Italy rejected. Qamar says the Falco UAVs made in Pakistan will carry no weapons and will be used for reconnaissance and surveillance, mostly of areas where terrorists may be entrenched.

A longer-term issue is whether Pakistan needs a fifth-generation fighter. Rival India, is teaming up with Russia to develop a fifth-generation fighter based on Russia’s T-50. When asked if Pakistan would like to be part of the Chengdu J-20, fifth-generation fighter program, Qamar says: “We don’t have any involvement in this development so far. This seems to be an indigenous effort and we will keenly watch it. Obviously, China is a very good friend.” But it will be years before the J-20 becomes operational in the Chinese air force, he adds.

 

-aviationweek.com