China’s first aircraft carrier, Jet-15 to be deployed in August

China’s first aircraft is likely to be commissioned on August 1 and deployed in the contended South China Sea, adding fighter jets for a series of scientific exploration and sea trials.

“The military authority plans to let the aircraft carrier be commissioned this year,” Deputy Commander of Chinese navy Xu Hongmeng said.

Shanghai Daily also quoted Xu saying that the unnamed carrier has already taken part in four sea trials in the Pacific since August last year.

Meanwhile, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman said in an interview that the carrier would be used mainly for scientific research and training pilots for future carriers.

Since 1985, China has acquired four used aircraft carriers for study – the Australian HMAS Melbourne and the ex-Soviet carriers Minsk, Kiev and Varyag. The said carrier is redeveloped from the previously unfinished Varyag and is believed to be the first of the three being eyed for acquisition by the Chinese navy. 

Sources says that China has conceived of deploying J-15 fighters which is said to be the variant of Russia’s Su-33 to operate from the carrier. Military experts regard J-15 as the most suitable aircraft for the carrier. The vessel is reported to be capable of carrying around 30 fighters and helicopters as well as a crew of around 2,000.

Experts believe that China’s early deployment in SCS could stir up more tensions in the region and to counter America’s strategy in global supremacy at the sea.

Source: http://www.brahmand.com

RAF Requests New C-17 Engines for $300M

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress today of a possible Foreign Military Sale to the United Kingdom of 20 F117-PW-100 engines and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $300 million. (www.defencetalk.com)

The Government of the United Kingdom (UK) has called for a possible sale of 20 F-117-PW-100 engines, support equipment, Global Positioning Systems, engine exchange kits, communications equipment, spare and repair parts, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services, and all other related elements of program support.

The proposed sale is said to back up UK’s continuous access to the States Air Force/Boeing Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership program supporting the UK’s fleet of eight Boeing C-17A Globemaster III aircraft. The estimated cost is $300 million.

The proposed purchase will contribute to the national security of the United States.

‘The UK was the first foreign client for the C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft. This is said to provide an increased force protection capability that enhances regional and global stability. The UK will have no problem absorbing these additional engines and support into its armed forces.

The prime contractor will be The Boeing Company in Long Beach, California. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this sale will not require the assignment of additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to the UK.’ (defencetalk.com)

Source: http://www.defencetalk.com
Photo taken from armybase.us

U.S. eyes V-22 aircraft sales to Israel, Canada, UAE

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Florida (Reuters) – The U.S. government is eyeing Israel, Canada and the United Arab Emirates as possible initial foreign buyers of the V-22 Osprey, a tilt-rotor aircraft built by Boeing Co and Bell Helicopter, a top U.S. Marine Corps official told Reuters.

Lieutenant General Terry Robling, deputy Marine Corps commandant for aviation, said U.S. officials were continuing to drive down the cost of the aircraft and hoped to sell it to allies overseas to keep the production line running past 2018.

U.S. officials plan to show off the aircraft, which flies like an airplane but tilts its rotors to take off and land like helicopter, at the Farnborough Air Show outside London in July. It also made appearances at the Dubai and Singapore air shows in recent months, Robling told Reuters aboard a military aircraft after a Marine Corps event at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron Inc, and Boeing issued a news release in December after the Dubai air show, saying the aircraft had received “significant interest” from potential customers, but it did not identify them.

Boeing and Bell have been trying to generate foreign interest for years, but potential buyers were holding back to see how the plane did in combat, and because of the relatively high price of buying and operating the plane — both of which are now coming down.

Washington is increasingly looking to foreign military sales to keep the cost of weapons systems from rising as the Pentagon cuts its own orders to strip $487 billion from its planned defense budgets over the next decade.

Robling said Israel, Canada and the UAE had expressed interest in the aircraft, but had not received formal pricing and technical information for the Osprey.

The Marines will ask lawmakers to approve a five-year procurement plan for 91 aircraft that will run through fiscal 2017 — 24 less than initially planned for the period.

But the service still plans to buy those aircraft and has not changed its overall requirement, Robling said, although he acknowledged that postponing production resulted in more uncertainty given the current difficult budget environment.

Marine Corps Commandant James Amos this month told U.S. lawmakers that the Osprey, which can cruise at 290 miles an hour — twice the rate of military helicopters — has performed “exceedingly well” since being put into operation. He said it gives U.S. and coalition forces a “maneuver advantage and operational reach unmatched by any other tactical aircraft.”

 

-more at finance.yahoo.com

Canadian DND figures shows little wiggle room in replacing CF-18s with stealth fighters

Ottawa, CANADA – There’s little wiggle room to prolong the life of Canada’s CF-18 jet fighters beyond 2020 and they may have to be flown gently if there are further delays in the F-35 program.

A Defence Department chart that tracks maintenance on all 77 aircraft shows the CF-18s had used up about 73 per cent of their airframe life prior to last year’s Libya bombing campaign.

National Defence has acknowledged there is no back-up plan if the multi-national F-35 stealth fighter program encounters more problems or postponements.

The retirement date for all but three of the CF-18s is set at 2020, according to the spreadsheet tabled in Parliament last year in response to written questions by Opposition parties.

On average, each aircraft is expected to end its service life with just over 7,000 hours in the air; most had already surpassed an average 5,151 hours at the time the snapshot was taken in late 2010.

The aging fighters have gone through a decade-long $1.8-billion upgrade to their weapons systems and sensors, and senior defence officials say they’ll “easily be effective” for another eight years.

All of the jets were purchased between 1984 and 1989. Aircraft No. 925 is expected to clock out with the airtime at 8,637 hours, according to the documents.

The first of the problem-plagued F-35s is supposed to be delivered in 2016, with the bulk of the planned 65 aircraft arriving in 2020.

The New Democrats say it’s foolish that the Harper government has not prepared a solid back-up plan, even if that contingency is simply investing in some sort of airframe life-extension.

“The way they are proceeding simply confounds me,” said NDP critic Matthew Kellway. “I don’t know how they could have painted themselves into this corner without a back up, and if they have one they refuse to tell us what it might be.”

But for the Harper government, the figures underscore the need to replace the aging fighters.

“Canada’s CF-18s are nearing the end of their usable lives,” said Chris McCluskey, a spokesman for Associate Defence Minister Julian Fantino.

“We have set a budget for replacement aircraft and we have been clear that we will operate within that budget. We will make sure that the Air Force has aircraft necessary to do the job we ask of them.”

Other nations, notably the United States, have invested in programs to keep their F-16 Fighting Falcons and F-15 Eagles flying because of delays in the US $328-billion stealth fighter, which is the most costly weapons program in American history.

In fact, Lockheed Martin, which manufactures both the F-35 and the F-16, announced last week that it would offer upgrade kits to keep older Falcons in the air and might even build new ones.

Industry observers see it as a hedge against more possible delays.

The current Defence Department plan in Ottawa sees the first F-35s arrive in 2016 and enter service in the 2018 time frame, at which point the oldest of the current fighters would be retired. But development setbacks and delayed orders from other allied nations have cast doubt on that.

Defence experts have been pushing the government since last fall to consider a further upgrade to the CF-18s.

Retired air force lieutenant-colonel Dean Black has said it’s something that should be considered rather than going down the road of Australia buying new Super Hornets, the beefed up version of the F-18.

 

-whistlerquestion.com

Wings of Freedom Tour goes to Pensacola

Pensacola, FLORIDA – The public can tour and — for a price — even fly in some historic World War II-era aircraft from March 5-7.

The Wings of Freedom Tour will be at the Pensacola Aviation Center at Pensacola International Airport.

The aircraft that will be on display are the Boeing B-17 “Flying Fortress,” Consolidated B-24 Liberator, and North American P-51 Mustang.

The national tour, now in its 23rd year, is sponsored by the Collings Foundation, a nonprofit educational group that supports “living history” exhibits. The tour usually visits 110 cities each year.

The cost to tour the aircraft is $12 regular admission and $6 for children 11 and younger. Tour hours are 2 to 5 p.m. on March 5; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on March 6; and 9 a.m. through noon on March 7.

A 30-minute flight aboard the B-17 or the B-24 is $425. A 30-minute flight aboard the P-51 Mustang is $2,200.

-pnj.com

Lockheed Dismisses Korea F-35 Schedule Issue

SINGAPORE — A Pentagon decision to reduce near-term F-35 purchases will not hinder Lockheed Martin from meeting South Korea’s demand for an early 2016 first delivery under the F-X3 fighter program, insists David Scott, director of F-35 international customer engagement for the prime contractor.

Current production capacity can build 48 aircraft annually, and with the U.S. looking to buy around 30 aircraft per year, there are slots to meet South Korea’s demands, as well as other near-term international buyers such as Japan, Turkey, Italy and Norway.

A Joint Strike Fighter steering board will convene soon to update and reconcile purchase plans. If there is need for extra tooling to be acquired either at Lockheed Martin or in the F-35 supply chain, there would be time to do so, Scott says.

The South Korean competition to supply 60 fighters will pit the F-35A against the Boeing F-15 Silent Eagle and, potentially, European bidders.

The international buys also will help maintain production of F-35s at a more economical rate, Scott notes.

Lockheed Martin would need a waiver to sell the fighter to South Korea because of a U.S. prohibition of exporting hardware before an aircraft has entered service with the U.S. The waiver is likely to be granted, though, with the U.S. government having already granted one for Japan.

Still unclear is what the next big F-35 competition will be overseas. The focus, after South Korea, likely will shift to solidifying plans with Singapore, Australia and others already involved in the program at various levels.

 

-aviationweek.com

-aerospaceweb.org

Singapore Sends RFI For 6 Aerial Refueling Tankers

Singapore has moved ahead with plans to order aerial refueling tankers to replace its Boeing KC-135Rs.

Industry sources say Singapore has issued a request for information (RFI) for six aerial refueling tankers. One of the sources says they anticipate a request for proposals (RFP) may be issued mid-year.

The Southeast Asian nation has four Boeing KC-135R aerial refueling tankers, the first of which the island nation received in late 1999. These aircraft are in fact A-model KC-135s that Boeing upgraded to R-model by re-engining the aircraft with new CFM International CFM-56 power-plants.

Industry sources say new aerial refueling tankers are a top priority for the Singapore Air Force, which has been complaining about the cost and difficulty involved in maintaining the KC-135R. This tanker is based on the Boeing 707 commercial platform.

One of the sources says the reason Singapore’s KC-135Rs may be difficult and costly to maintain is because Singapore’s KC-135Rs are a lower block standard than the U.S. Air Force’s.

At the Singapore Airshow (Feb. 14-19), Airbus Military had on display a U.K. Royal Air Force A330MRTT. Israel Aircraft Industries was also at the show promoting its 767 Multi-Mission Tanker Transport and Boeing was promoting its KC-46 aerial refueling tanker.

Boeing would ordinarily be the front-runner in the competition, because of Singapore’s close ties with the U.S., but the KC-46 is still in development. Boeing is already committed to deliver 18 KC-46As to the U.S. Air Force by 2017, leaving no early delivery slots for foreign customers. The earliest Boeing can delivery KC-46s to international customers is 2018. That may be too late for the Singaporeans.

-aviationweek.com

4000 passengers stranded as Air Australia goes under

Thousands of travellers from Hawaii to Thailand were stranded Friday after budget airline Air Australia ran out of money and went into voluntary administration, immediately grounding its five-jet fleet.

The Brisbane-based international and domestic airline, formerly known as Strategic Airlines, said all flights had been cancelled and the airline would not be accepting new bookings because it could no longer pay its bills. Voluntary administration in Australia is similar to bankruptcy protection in the U.S., and can buy a company time to trade out of its financial problems.

“It currently appears that there are no funds available to meet operational expenses so flights will be suspended immediately,” the airline said in a statement. Passengers who bought tickets with credit cards or had travel insurance may be given a refund, the airline said.

Around 4,000 passengers were overseas with Air Australia round-trip tickets, voluntary administrator Mark Korda said. Some of those affected were stranded in Honolulu and Phuket, Thailand.

“Overnight, the company was unable to refuel its planes in Phuket,” Mr. Korda told Australia’s Fairfax Radio. “The directors appointed us at 1-30 this morning and the boys have been working throughout the night to deal with what’s a very difficult situation.”

Australian airline Qantas and Jetstar, its budget subsidiary, were considering adding services to help stranded passengers get to their destinations, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said. He said the airline will sell stranded passengers tickets for the same price they paid for their Air Australia tickets, giving them a chance to recover the full price from their travel agencies or credit card companies.

Air Australia’s fleet consists of five Airbus A330-200 and A320-200 aircraft, and regularly flies to Bali, Phuket, Honolulu and cities within Australia.

Mr. Korda said in a statement that Air Australia’s administrators were calling for immediate expressions of interest in the sale of the business.

-thehindu.com

Sycamore to welcome home soldier

Sycamore, IL. – The Patriot Guard Riders and Warrior Watch Riders, along with the Sycamore fire and police departments, will conduct a surprise escort and rally to welcome home Sycamore resident Army Staff Sgt. Ryan McFarland.

SSgt. McFarland is returning home from his third deployment to a combat zone. He will be home on leave the week of Feb. 18 from his most recent deployment to Afghanistan.

McFarland graduated from Sycamore High School in 2003. While in high school he participated in wrestling and Kishwaukee Education Consortium. He worked at Farm and Fleet during his senior year. In the summer of 2003, McFarland enlisted in the United States Army, and completed basic training at Fort Benning, Ga. He then went to Fort Eustis, Va. for his active initial training. He has a 4-year-old daughter, Jorja.

McFarland started out working as a crew chief on Chinook CH-47 helicopters. He was later moved over to the Apache helicopter 15R – AH-64. From September 2005 until September 2006, he was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq. He deployed again in December of 2008 for a year in Bagram, Afghanistan, and a third time in February 2011 to Kandahar, Afghanistan.

At 1 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 18, there will be an escort and procession in Sycamore to welcome McFarland home. The public is asked to stage in front of the DeKalb County Courthouse, along State Street in the downtown business district and in front of MVP Sports Club and the Sycamore Veterans Home on California Street; the rally will take place at MVP Sports Club. People are asked to show their support by displaying flags, banners and signs.

 

-midweeknews.com

Airbus ordered to check wings

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ordered last Feb. 8 that all Airbus A380 superjumbo planes be checked for wing cracks, even as the aircraft manufacturer insisted there was nothing to worry about.

The cracks had been found “following an unscheduled internal inspection of an A380 wing,” EASA said in a statement.

Further to the finding, inspections were carried out on a number of other aeroplanes during which a new form of cracking was identified which, “if not detected and corrected, may lead to reduction of the structural integrity of the aeroplane,” the statement said.

EASA, which had already said last month ordered that 20 such jets be inspected following the discovery of cracks in the wings of Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Air France planes, has expanded the checks to all 67 A380s currently in operation, a spokesman said.

The announcement came after Australia’s Qantas removed one of its A380 from service after discovering “minor cracks” in its wings, but said that there was no risk to flight safety.

When the first checks were announced last month, Airbus’s vice president Tom Williams insisted the tiny wing cracks could be easily repaired and did not pose any danger.

“This is not a fatigue cracking problem,” Williams said, blaming the cracks on design and manufacturing issues instead.

“The cracks do not compromise the airworthiness of the aircraft,” he insisted.

Airbus reiterated that stance again on Wednesday.

The EASA spokesman said the checks comprised both a “detailed visual inspection”, but also more intense testing that would be able to detect potential faults invisible to the naked eye.

There was no urgency to the inspections and those aircraft that had already flown more than 1,800 flights would be checked first, he said.

Earlier, Qantas took one of its A380s out of service Wednesday after discovering “minor cracks” in its wings.

The Australian airline stressed that it was not the “type two” cracking found across the global A380 fleet last month which was “now the subject of a European airworthiness directive.”

“To date, type two cracking has not been found on Qantas aircraft,” a Qantas spokeswoman told AFP.

The small cracking, on “some wing rib feet”, was discovered during an extra round of precautionary checks requested by Airbus on the Qantas superjumbo after it hit severe turbulence over India in January.

Seven passengers were injured and four required hospital treatment in Singapore following the incident.

“This cracking is not related to the turbulence, or specific to Qantas, but is traced back to a manufacturing issue,” the Qantas spokeswoman said.

“Airbus has confirmed that it has no effect on flight safety.”

Qantas, which has 12 A380s in its fleet, said an “inspection and repair regime has been developed” in conjunction with Airbus and it expected the jet in question to return to service within a week.

“We will follow Airbus instructions on any further action that may be required,” the spokeswoman said.

It is the second Qantas A380 to be found with wing rib cracks, with a superjumbo involved in a dramatic mid-air engine explosion over Indonesia in November 2010 also suffering cracking.

The A380 is the world’s biggest passenger jet and a key product in Airbus’s line-up as it battles its main rival, US giant Boeing, for the top spot in the world civil airliner industry.

The A380 double-decker plane entered service in 2007 after years of technical delays. There are now 67 in service around the world and, while they have never had a fatal accident, there have been teething problems.

-business.iafrica.com