The fall of the Syrian government would not be good news for Israel. It could, among other perils, trigger another massive dump of arms—including ballistic and air defense missiles as well as chemical weapons of mass destruction—onto the black market. “What will happen to Bashar [Assad, Syria's president] is very interesting to us, but it is also a great mystery,” says Col. Erez Viezel, a conceptual planner for Israeli Defense Intelligence (IDI). “We want to know how much control he has over the things that threaten us.”
ST. LOUIS — Boeing continues to refine the design of upgrades to increase the performance of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and says recently completed wind-tunnel evaluations have cleared the way for flight test of the enhancements if there is sufficient customer interest. The conformal fuel tanks (CFT), internal infrared search and track (ISRT) sensor and stealthy weapons pods, combined with more-powerful versions of the E/F’s General Electric F414 engines, are designed to increase range and acceleration and reduce radar signature.
U.S. arms transfer agreements more than tripled to $56.3 billion in 2011 compared to the previous year, and U.S. market shared jumped to 79%, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Total arms transfer agreements with developing nations reached $71.5 billion in 2011, more than double the previous year, CRS says in its annual report, which covers 2004-2011. Actual deliveries in 2011 were $28 billion, a small increase over the previous year, and the highest since 2004.
The overall vehicle strategy for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps is starting to crystallize. While both services appear to be more grounded in their approach to the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), the Army is tracking progress on its Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) and upgrading its Bradley Fighting Vehicle fleet, The Marine Corps, meanwhile, is ramping up development of its Amphibious Combat Vehicle — the stand-in successor to the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) and replacement for the decades-old amphibious landing vehicles Marines now use.
CANBERRA – Boeing aims to begin deliveries of kits to create gliding JDAM guided bombs starting in 2015, offering a cheap stand-off weapon that probably will be able to hit targets about 110 km (60 nm) away using a wing developed in Australia.
SAN ANTONIO – Boeing is getting ready to begin a full-scale fatigue test on the B-1B to validate that the U.S. Air Force bomber has enough airframe life to remain in service for another 40-50 years. The wing test rig in Seattle passed its readiness review last week, and will begin cycling shortly, says Rick Greenwell, Boeing’s B-1 program director. The fuselage is to be delivered in September. The test-rig critical design review is scheduled for October and testing is to begin in November of next year, he says.
The U.S. State Department has launched a competition in which U.S. citizens could win up to $10,000 by devising a system that potentially uses smart phones, cameras and GPS to find out when foreign governments fail to live up to their arms control agreements. The proposals should lay out how to motivate “productive citizen detectors,” the department says. The deadline is Oct. 26, and teams are already signing up.
The Republicans’ 2012 platform, approved during the party’s presidential nominating convention in Tampa, Fla., this week, lashes out at President Obama on many fronts, including the U.S. Air Force’s aircraft reductions.
TEL AVIV — Israeli intelligence planners are trying to predict how and when Syria’s government will fall, and who will be there to protect or loot the country’s military equipment, particularly Syria’s stock of chemical weapons, ballistic missiles and long-range, anti-aircraft missiles. “What will happen to Bashar [Assad, Syria’s president] is very interesting to us, but it is also a great mystery,” says Col. Erez Viezel, a conceptual planner for Israeli Defense Intelligence (IDI). “We want to know how much control he has over the things that threaten us.”
TAKING REINS: Giorgio Zappa, newly appointed chairman of Italian aerospace company Vitrociset, is targeting a revenue increase despite Europe’s financial downturn. Zappa, 67, boasts a long history in Alenia Aeronautica and Finmeccanica, where he departed as COO in May 2011. In his new position he has operating powers, including responsibilities for audit, strategies and business development. Current CEO Antonio Bontempi, another Finmeccanica veteran, will remain in charge of company operations.
Switzerland is to lease 11 Saab JAS 39C/Ds from Sweden to bridge the gap until its 22 single-seat JAS 39E next-generation Gripen fighters are delivered beginning in mid-2018. The eight single-seat Cs and three two-seat Ds will be leased for five years from 2016-20 for SFr 44 million ($46 million) a year — SFr 10 million more than the annual cost of the F-5Es they will replace.
U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (Navair) has come up with a new twist on proven borescope engine-inspection technology. While previous engine-inspection borescopes used by the Navy detected engine debris with a rigid probe and generated low-quality, black-and-white pictures, Naviar’s Common Video Borescope Set, or CVBS has a 2-meter long, flexible, insertion tube that captures photos and video images on a 3.7-in. color screen. Technicians will use a joystick to maneuver the device’s insertion tube, giving them a 360-deg. view of hard-to-see places.
MOSCOW —The Russian air force is nearing the end of its testing program for the new Sukhoi Su-35S multirole fighter. Preliminary approval for deliveries to regular units is expected in October, according to the air force.
Switzerland is to lease 11 Saab JAS 39C/Ds from Sweden to bridge the gap until its 22 single-seat JAS 39E next-generation Gripen fighters are delivered beginning in mid-2018. The eight single-seat Cs and three two-seat Ds will be leased for five years from 2016-20 for SFr 44 million ($46 million) a year — SFr 10 million more than the annual cost of the F-5Es they will replace.
TAKING REINS: Giorgio Zappa, newly appointed chairman of Italian aerospace company Vitrociset, is targeting a revenue increase despite Europe’s financial downturn. Zappa, 67, boasts a long history in Alenia Aeronautica and Finmeccanica, where he departed as COO in May 2011. In his new position he has operating powers, including responsibilities for audit, strategies and business development. Current CEO Antonio Bontempi, another Finmeccanica veteran, will remain in charge of company operations.
