United Kingdom could procure Japan's Kawasaki P-1 Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Gestart door jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter), 07/01/2015 | 19:15 uur

Harald

Life goes on after UK MPA decision

The announcement on 23 November that the UK will be purchasing nine P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) dealt a terminal blow to any thought that a requirement would be followed by an open competition.

It is believed that following discussions with the US government, a contract award can be expected in spring 2016, with first P-8 deliveries to happen before the end of 2017; possibly in line with the launch of the Royal Navy's new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier.

At a briefing with Lockheed Martin on 24 November, officials expressed their disappointment that an open competition is not be held. However, no news of legal challenges have surfaced to date from any of the companies who had offered UK MPA solutions.

The company said that all of the key decision makers in the UK MoD were aware of what Lockheed were offering but no formal agreement had been made.

According to Keith Muir, international business development manager at Lockheed Martin, feedback from the OEM's proposed solution had been positive in the ministry.

Lockheed had proposed an open-architecture mission computer and software solution which could be fitted onto the UK's existing fleet of Royal Air Force (RAF) C-130J Super Hercules – becoming the SC-130J Sea Hercules.

The company is now looking to the international potential of its MPA solution, utilising its Vigilance multirole mission system, said Muir.

'We are now looking toward strategic markets in the Asia-Pacific and Latin American regions. Places where this solution could help counter-narcotics, boarder protection and anti-smuggling,' he said.

The system the company offered the UK was a five console system, which is one of the larger configurations. The system has already been fitted to the Royal Navy's Merlin Mk2 aircraft.

'We are not just offering the system on the C-130,' Muir added, 'it can be fitted on at least three types of airframe all around the Gulfstream family of aircraft. This is for the roll-on roll-off mission fit.

'One potential customer wants a bespoke ground-up solution with a new airframe as well as the mission system - we can provide both if necessary.'

This could involve either a bespoke Gulfstream or Bombardier aircraft into which the Vigilance system could then be incorporated.

For Lockheed Martin things are not looking too downbeat, however as the SDSR revealed plans for the RAF's C-130J fleet to have its life extended until 2030. It is understood that 14 aircraft will be kept, likely to be the longer fuselage Hercules C5 version as they prove more useful for a variety of missions.

The document also revealed that the UK government is to commit to purchasing 138 F-35 Lightning II aircraft over the life of that programme.

https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/imps-news/life-beyond-uks-p-8-acquisition/

Harald

NATO aircraft hunting Russian submarine near Scotland   
(schaamrood weer op de kaken bij de Britten, maar goed de oplossing komt eraan .... P-8 ... zal zeker denk ik nog wel 3 a 4 duren voordat de eerste toestellen "combat ready" zijn. )

NATO maritime patrol aircraft of France and Canada have come to the rescue of the Royal Air Force and are hunting a Russian sub off the coast of Scotland, according to some British sources on Monday 23 November 2015.

The Russian submarine was apparently detected a number of days ago just north of the United Kingdom. With the RAF having no anti-submarine capacity of its own, the UK Ministry of Defence called Paris and Ottawa. Two French Navy Dassault Atlantique 2 and a Royal Canadian Air Force Lockheed CP-140 Polaris are now forming the make-shift airborne maritime patrol fleet, operating out of RAF Lossiemouth.

Lossiemouth
London officially acknowledges the presence of "foreign aircraft" at Lossiemouth, but does not comment in length on their operations. Royal Navy sources however have confirmed the involvement of at least one frigate and a hunter-killer submarine in offshore operations in the area without releasing details.

Boeing P-8 Poseidon
If the NATO aircraft are indeed actively involved in "the hunt for Red November", it marks the third time in 12 months this happens. Relieve is on the way, the Ministry of Defence just announced the purchase of nine Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft today. But since it will take a few years for the production to be done, NATO will likely have to step in again to serve Her Majesty's once tough air weapon.

http://airheadsfly.com/2015/11/23/nato-aircraft-hunting-russian-submarine-near-scotland/

Lex


dudge

Het was wel een beetje te verwachten. Maar als ze dit dan toch gaan doen, hoop ik wel dat het er meer dan 9 gaan worden. Het is een leuk begin in ieder geval. Ook zal eea aan certificeren gedaan moeten worden, zou mooi zijn als ze o.a. met Storm Shadow en HOSBO kunnen vliegen.
Ook hoop ik dat ze de Sentinels behouden, tenzij zich al een NATO land gemeld heeft dat ze wil overnemen.

Sparkplug

UK to obtain nine P-8 maritime patrol aircraft

By Greg Waldron, Singapore | 23 November 2015

The UK is set to announce plans to obtain nine Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, as well as extend the service life of the Royal Air Force's Eurofighter Typhoon fighters.

The P-8 acquisition and Typhoon life extenstion will be part of a £178 billion ($270 billion) investment that will be made in defence equipment and support over the next ten years, says a statement from the prime minister's office.

Prime Minister David Cameron will outline the plans when he unveils the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) in the House of Commons later today.

With the last of the RAF's British Aerospace Nimrod MR2s having already been retired in March of 2010, the cancellation of the replacement Nimrod MRA4 indefinitely extended a so-called "capability gap" to what had long been considered an indispensable national skillset.

"These roles require an aircraft that can carry torpedoes, as well as being fitted with a broad range of sensors, including radar and sonobuoys, which are operated from the rear of the cabin by a team of specialists," says the statement. "These aircraft will also provide maritime search and rescue and surveillance capabilities over land."

The statement adds that the service life of the Typhoons will be extended 10 years to 2040. This will allow two additional squadrons, bringing total frontline squadron strength to seven, with 12 aircraft per squadron.

"We will also invest in their ground attack capability and fit them with a new Active Electronically Scanned Array radar to ensure they can continue to operate in hostile environments in the future," says the statement.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/uk-to-obtain-nine-p-8-maritime-patrol-aircraft-419371/
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Harald

Lockheed Pitches C-130 To UK As Alternative to P-8

DUBAI – As the UK considers how to fill its maritime surveillance gap, Lockheed Martin is pitching a modified version of its C-130 multi-mission aircraft as a cheap alternative to Boeing's costly P-8 Poseidon.

The UK is currently weighing whether to buy the P-8 after the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review scrapped plans to buy BAE Systems' long-delayed Nimrod MRA4 jet. With the release of the new SDSR just a few weeks away, Lockheed representatives told reporters Nov. 9 the company could modify the UK's 10 existing C-130s to fulfill the submarine-hunting mission at significantly lower cost.

..../....

Lockheed's solution will be about 40 percent of the price of the competition, Ruddock said, estimating that the team could get the first four aircraft to full capability in just 41 months.

Lockheed is proposing equipping the UK's existing C-130 with the mission system developed for the Merlin naval utility helicopter, which is capable of anti-submarine warfare and medium-lift transport, Ruddock said. Lockheed would equip the aircraft with submarine-hunting Harpoons, as well as sonobuoys and life rafts. The aircraft also has advanced EO/IR sensors to detect hostile submarines, he said.

..../....

Voor gehele artikel , zie onderstaande LINK
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense-news/2015/11/09/lockheed-pitches-c-130-uk-alternative-p-8/75460480/

Sparkplug

Experts debate likelihood of UK acquiring favoured P-8

By Beth Stevenson, London | 03 November 2015

With the release of the UK's Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) around three weeks away, one defence expert has claimed that the government should bypass a competition for the replacement of the Royal Air Force's cancelled BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol aircraft, and source an aircraft directly.

The SDSR is rumoured to be set for release on 23 November, ahead of the publication of the UK's Comprehensive Spending Review two days later, and filling the MPA capability gap is high on the agenda of industry and the Ministry of Defence.

However, given the period of time that the current capability gap has already existed, the source suggests that the UK should eliminate as much risk as possible and bypass a competition.

"I do not see a need for a competition, simply because of the urgency of need for this crucial capability as soon as we possibly can," the defence consultant told a Bird & Bird briefing on SDSR under Chatham House rules on 2 November. "Not just because we need a proven capability... because we can't afford to take any risk."

Boeing's 737-derived P-8 is at the top of the RAF's wishlist, but the high cost of this capability has brought the likelihood of a buy into question, with one national news report at the beginning of November claiming that the P-8 option has been abandoned.

"If we buy P-8 we're buying an aircraft that is proven, and not having to pay for the development costs of that capability, which of course the American government has paid for," the consultant says. "I do think that interoperability is crucial to this. Even the aircraft we've produced here, such as [Panavia] Tornado have interoperability with US forces and aircraft."

However, another speaker – who previously worked for the government – disagrees: "Clearly the RAF wants the Boeing offer. I believe that the capability gap has been outstanding for so long that there has to be a competition – a proper competition, but an extremely quick one."

The source adds that should Boeing win this competition, its offering would have to include an "innovative solution about ownership and costings", and that UK systems – such as sensors and electronics – would have to be included.

"[Defence secretary] Michael Fallon has also talked about a culture more ready to take risks and speed up change, to encourage innovation and encourage our technical advantage," the source says. "And this innovation has to be done with industry as a whole, including small and medium enterprises, not just large contractors."

Other notable expectations of the coming SDSR include a replacement for the British Army's Westland/Boeing Apache AH1 attack helicopters going ahead "very soon", plus a decision to extend the use of the RAF's Raytheon Sentinel R1 surveillance aircraft until either 2021 or 2025. A commitment to allocate funding for the upgrade of the service's Boeing E-3D Sentry fleet of airborne warning and control system aircraft to extend operations to 2035 could also be forthcoming.

An additional three RAF squadrons are also expected to be established, sources suggest – one for the Lockheed Martin F-35 and two for the Eurofighter Typhoon – as the 2019 planned out-of-service date for its 53-strong fleet of Tranche 1 production examples is expected to be reversed. The UK's overall F-35 requirement is predicted to remain at the previously requested 48, but "left open for upward review" in the 2020 and 2025 versions of the SDSR, the consultant says.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/experts-debate-likelihood-of-uk-acquiring-favoured-p-418551/
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

#63
Citaat van: Ace1 op 01/11/2015 | 17:47 uur
En dat zegt een VVDer ;)

En ex marine man.... die een hekel heeft aan kortzichtigheid en het eeuwige gemekker door Zeeuwsmeisje.

Ace1


andré herc

Citaat van: jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter) op 01/11/2015 | 12:30 uur
Een hele slechte zaak!

Nu maar hopen dat de aanstaande Engelse Strategic Defence Review (SDR) wel ruimte biedt voor een alternatief, zeker gezien de exponentiële proliferatie van onderzeebotten en het groeiend aantal bezoeken van "gasten' in "ons" deel van de wereld.

Henk Kamp wederom "bedankt" bedankt voor het ruïneren van de NL capaciteit!
Plus 1 helemaal mee eens!
Den Haag stop met afbreken van NL Defensie, en investeer in een eigen C-17.

Marskramer

Breng deze belangrijke capaciteit onder in een bilateraal of trilateraal commando en schaf er tenminste 18 aan.
Sea Hercules lijkt mij financieel haalbaar en kan ook als ISR-platform worden ingezet.

Harald

Zeer benieuwd wat de volgende stap wordt. P8 plan te duur bevonden of proberen om de prijs te laten zakken?
Maar het herinvoeren van de mpa capaciteit willen ze wel. Tis de vraag hoe


jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

Citaat van: Thomasen op 01/11/2015 | 12:49 uur
Zeker.
Er staat gelukkig ook niets over de capaciteit, alleen dat de belachelijk dure P8 het niet gaat worden. Misschien een stel Japanners of een handjevol C295ASW.

Het is even afwachten...

dudge

Zeker.
Er staat gelukkig ook niets over de capaciteit, alleen dat de belachelijk dure P8 het niet gaat worden. Misschien een stel Japanners of een handjevol C295ASW.