Singapore – Thailand’s air force is seeking to buy search-and-rescue helicopters to replace its aging Bell UH-1s. The air force is expected to issue a request for proposals (RFP) next week, initially for four helicopters, says a report in The Bangkok Post. The service eventually plans to order a total of 16.
A new open avionics standard developed by a government-industry consortium has been boosted by U.S. Army plans to develop open architectures for aircraft survivability systems and future vertical-lift aircraft. The Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) has released a request for information to develop a prototype avionics platform based on the Future Airborne Capabilities Environment (FACE) standard published in January.
In this photo taken over Spain recently, three Airbus Military A330 MRTT multi role tanker transports destined for different customers are shown in formation. The lead aircraft, furthest from the camera will join the UK Royal Air Force where it will be known as Voyager as part of the Future Strategic Transport Aircraft (FSTA) programme; the middle aircraft is the original development example which will eventually enter service with the Royal Australian Air Force; and the aircraft nearest the camera is the second for the United Arab Emirates air force.
New Delhi – India’s defense research agency on Feb. 23 announced plans to develop electronic warfare technologies to help paramilitary and police forces across the country. G. Elangovan, the Chief Controller Research and Development (Avionics) at the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), says a department for Low Intensity Conflict (LIC) was introduced for internal security due to rising incidents of violence in India.
Washington is doing everything it possibly can to prevent Israel from attacking Iran on its own, says a former U.S. Air Force chief of staff. “We’re trying to force Israel to think about the consequences of war in the Middle East,” the veteran combat pilot says. However, if the mission were done by the U.S., the blowback on Israel and Arab partner nations would be far less.
Tokyo – Japan is moving into a large-scale upgrade program that appears to be enormously enhancing the air-to-air capabilities of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-2 fighter with an improved radar and advanced medium-range missile. The work is going ahead in two parallel areas: integration of the Mitsubishi Electric AAM-4B missile and an upgrade of the company’s J/APG-1 radar to the J/APG-2 standard.
Paris – The French air force will upgrade the intelligence-gathering capability of the Mirage 2000D through a program with Thales to modify the Astac tactical electronic intelligence pod for use on the fighter, enabling some of the combat aircraft to take on the role now assigned to the Mirage F1CR.
Singapore – Malaysia has too few military aircraft, but there is another problem that poses an even greater threat to the country’s defense capability – a dearth of military pilots.
New Delhi – An Indian air force Mirage 2000 combat jet crashed in central India on Feb. 24. Both pilots ejected safely. Engine failure is suspected to be the cause of the crash, an IAF officer said. The crew was on a routine flight-training sortie. India last year signed a $2.4 billion deal with Dassault Aviation to upgrade 51 Mirage 2000s in the IAF fleet. The first set of aircraft are already in France for the project. The IAF has ordered an inquiry into the accident.
MUOS-1 LAUNCH: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Feb. 24, carrying the U.S. Navy’s first Mobile User Objective System (MUOS-1), an ultra-high frequency communications satellite based on the Lockheed Martin A2100 spacecraft bus. The initial phases of the 3-hr. mission to get the big satellite into its geostationary transfer orbit went nominally.
The deadline of Sept. 30, 2015, for integration of unmanned aircraft systems into U.S. civil airspace, set in the new FAA reauthorization bill, is expected to be met using ground-based sense-and-avoid (GBSAA), a Pentagon official says. Using ground radars, GBSAA will allow “routine access” to airspace for unmanned aircraft transiting between their bases and restricted areas used for training, says Steven Pennington, U.S. Air Force director of bases, ranges and airspace.
Ever since Charlie Taylor hand-built the first four-cylinder piston engine for the Wright Flyer in 1903, most of the step-change advances in aviation propulsion have been driven by military-led research and requirements.
The budgets for at least three air-launched, directed-energy weapons are being fully protected by the U.S. Air Force in fiscal 2013 budget plans, says a senior Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) official. Plans for U.S. Army anti-electronics weapons are less developed, but basic research in associated disciplines continues.
With a pared-down fiscal 2013 budget request on Capitol Hill and delays in the massive Joint Strike Fighter program, the U.S. Air Force is having to abandon a decade's worth of modernization plans for its workhorse airlifter and fighter fleets. Instead of buying hundreds of new F-35s early this decade and retiring F-16s and A-10s, the service is trying to avoid a possible gap. And, rather than embracing an ambitious, decade-long $6.4 billion upgrade for its C-130 fleet, the service is taking an appetite suppressant.
The U.S. Air Force, in its ongoing battle with cybertheft, is concerned about industries that are victimized by digital attack, but it is unwilling to subsidize those losses by allowing those costs to be added to its weapons programs.
Malaysia has too few military aircraft, but the shortage of military pilots poses an even greater threat to the country's defense capability. The shortfall has been exacerbated by the fact that some air force pilots, particularly those who operate helicopters, have been assigned to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and the country's fire services. Overall, there is a general shortage of helicopter pilots throughout Malaysia, largely as a result of the nation's booming oil and gas industry, which uses helicopters to serve offshore rigs.
An interesting quid-pro-quo military equipment deal between Israel and Italy may jeopardize Israel's future contracts with South Korea, but it has also solidified Jerusalem's relationship with Rome. Israel is opting for the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 advanced jet trainer over Korea Aerospace Industries' T-50 in an estimated $1 billion deal that will cover 25-30 aircraft plus ground-based training systems. This month, the director general of Israel's defense ministry, Maj. Gen. Udi Shani, recommended his government authorize the order.
The U.K. Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR) was supposed to clarify the country's military plans and industrial agenda. But the reform agenda has turned into a form of Chinese water torture for industry, with an unending trickle of decisions, reports and strategies that so far have failed to spell out a clear path forward. In turn, industry has been left trying to guess what capacities it needs to maintain and where it can rationalize its businesses, with indications now that the bottom line is being hit.
