Internationale fighter ontwikkelingen

[dudge]

Boeing heeft in de jaren twintig na verwachting geen fighter meer.

NG ook niet.

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Boeing heeft de P8, F18, v22 én kdc-x. Die zitten echt niet zonder werk.

Boeing heeft in de jaren twintig na verwachting geen fighter meer.

[dudge]

Of de erkenning dat hun clean sheet het niet zou gaan redden....

Naast eisen en kwaliteiten heb je ook nog (industrie) politiek:

LM = F35
Northrop Grumman = LRS-B
Boeing[Saab = mijn inschatting T-X

Als is het wachten op de onthulling van de Boeing-Saab T-X.

Boeing heeft de P8, F18, v22 én kdc-x. Die zitten echt niet zonder werk.

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

RAAF instructors say Joint Strike Fighter is the real deal

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/defence/raaf-instructors-say-joint-strike-fighter-is-the-real-deal/news-story/7677de9538b67d514f50ed659384e75f

[Sparkplug]

Of de erkenning dat hun clean sheet het niet zou gaan redden....

Naast eisen en kwaliteiten heb je ook nog (industrie) politiek:

LM = F35
Northrop Grumman = LRS-B
Boeing[Saab = mijn inschatting T-X

Als is het wachten op de onthulling van de Boeing-Saab T-X.

Komende maandag zal Raytheon officieel melden dat zij met Alenia Aermacchi gaan samenwerken wat betreft de T-100/M-346 (zie ook Antwoord #292).

Kijken hoe ver zij zullen komen.

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Het lijkt een slimme zet van LM, niet alleen is een clean sheet design onnodig, door de manier waarop ze het hebben afgewezen is eigenlijk een openlijke aanval op Boeing. De twijfel is in ieder geval gezaaid.

Of de erkenning dat hun clean sheet het niet zou gaan redden....

Naast eisen en kwaliteiten heb je ook nog (industrie) politiek:

LM = F35
Northrop Grumman = LRS-B
Boeing[Saab = mijn inschatting T-X

Als is het wachten op de onthulling van de Boeing-Saab T-X.

[dudge]

Het lijkt een slimme zet van LM, niet alleen is een clean sheet design onnodig, door de manier waarop ze het hebben afgewezen is eigenlijk een openlijke aanval op Boeing. De twijfel is in ieder geval gezaaid.

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Lockheed Backs Low-Risk Approach To T-X

Nog ongezien: ik blijf gokken op winst voor het clean sheet ontwerp van Boeing-Saab... maar als in alles, time will tell.

[Ace1]

Lockheed Backs Low-Risk Approach To T-X

Experience developing the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter influenced Lockheed Martin's decision to reject a clean-sheet design and stay with the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) T-50 for the U.S. Air Force's T-X trainer competition.

The F-35's advanced cockpit and performance, and lack of a two-seat variant, is a driver behind the Air Force's need to replace its elderly Northrop T-38s with a more suitable trainer. But the overlap between development and production built into the F-35 program is a major source of its technical challenges, cost escalation and schedule delays, which Lockheed wants to avoid on T-X.

A modernized T-50 is preferred because a clean-sheet T-X could not meet the Air Force's 2024 initial operational capability (IOC) date without "significant and unacceptable" concurrency between development and production, says Rob Weiss, executive vice president and general manager of Lockheed's Advanced Development Programs, or Skunk Works.

Both Boeing and Northrop Grumman are proposing clean-sheet trainers, while Raytheon is expected to announce on Feb. 22 that it will lead Finmeccanica's offer of a version of its in-production M-346, replacing General Dynamics, which withdrew as prime in May 2015. Northrop originally planned to offer BAE Systems' Hawk, but made the opposite decision to Lockheed, dropping the existing trainer for a clean-sheet design.

The upgraded T-50A would be built at the company's plant in Greenville, South Carolina, where a "warm" final-assembly line will be in place by the end of the year. Two production-standard T-50As will be flown to Greenville by year-end and will be available for flight evaluation by the Air Force, he says, adding that Lockheed could deliver aircraft in 2017 if T-X was accelerated.

The decision to stick with the supersonic T-50 came after Lockheed evaluated both subsonic and supersonic clean-sheet designs produced by the Skunk Works. Development of a clean-sheet design was "up to eight times more expensive" than for the modernized T-50, Weiss says.  Lockheed has internally funded the upgrade, and the first modified aircraft was rolled out by KAI in December and is set to fly this summer.

New subsonic and supersonic trainers were designed by the Skunk Works with enough definition to make conclusions on cost and schedules, Weiss says. Low development cost was one reason for choosing the T-50A. Another was that "a clean sheet is incompatible with the schedule to hit IOC in 2024," he says. Boeing disagrees, saying: "Thanks to the transparency provided by the U.S. Air Force in developing requirements, we are able to offer an all-new, purpose-built design that supports the customer schedule."

Weiss says the Air Force accelerated T-X because it saw a budget window before the mid-2020s, when most of its procurement dollars will be committed to F-35s, KC-46 tankers and Long-Range Strike Bombers. The IOC has already slid from 2023 "and cannot afford to slip further," he says, as the T-38 is out of life by 2030 without another expensive life extension.

Development cost for the T-50A "fits well within the allocated budget, and could give back money," Weiss says. The Air Force has budgeted $1.62 billion for its Advanced Pilot Training program, including $1.37 billion for T-X. The first three aircraft are to be purchased in fiscal 2018, and two more in 2019. "From our point of view, that is more money than they need to do the program. And we can give them a two-year schedule margin with T-50," he says.

The T-50A is a block upgrade to the South Korean supersonic trainer, introducing inflight refueling, large-area cockpit display, embedded training and an open systems architecture enabling the Air Force to perform organic sustainment and upgrading of the aircraft without being forced to go back to the manufacturer. Changes include a removable dorsal fairing housing the boom-refueling receptacle.

The F-35's single large touchscreen cockpit display, the first in a fighter, is mimicked in the T-50A, but rather than an F-35-style helmet-mounted display, the trainer has a head-up display (HUD) and upfront control panel, as used in other Air Force fighters. CMC Electronics is supplying the large-area display and associated low-profile HUD for the first two aircraft.

With experience building the simulators for the F-35, Lockheed's Mission Systems and Training division has been tapped to develop the ground-based training system for the T-50A. Elements of the proposed training-device suite will be in place at Greenville by year-end.

Another reason for picking the T-50A over a clean-sheet trainer was to minimize risk. "There will always be unknowns in development that add cost and time," Weiss says. Lockheed's bids for the F-22 and F-35 were each judged low risk compared with the competitors', but development proved otherwise.

Finally, "the clean-sheet did not do anything more than the T-50 already does. It was a sweet aircraft and could do everything the Air Force is looking for, but it did not add any capability." The upgraded T-50 will not benefit from advances in manufacturing possible with a clean-sheet design, but the unit-cost savings would be offset by the higher development cost, Weiss argues.

http://aviationweek.com/defense/lockheed-backs-low-risk-approach-t-x

[StrataNL]

A Visit to the Griffin's Nest – The Pilot

Interessant artikel over de Gripen en interview met vliegers op de thuisbasis. Ook wordt er gesproken over de methode die gebruikt wordt om de toestellen zo up-to-date mogelijk te houden.

https://corporalfrisk.wordpress.com/2016/02/16/a-visit-to-the-griffins-nest-the-pilot/

[Oorlogsvis]

China military able to detect U.S. F-22 stealth fighter jets, military expert says
By Yuan Can (People's Daily Online)    14:04, February 18, 2016


A U.S. F-22 stealth fighter jet (File photo)
The Chinese military is able to detect U.S. F-22 stealth fighter jets, according to a Chinese military expert in an interview for a CCTV program.
Several fighters from East China Sea Fleet patrolled around the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea after receiving orders that unidentified tracking occurred near the ADIZ on the morning of Feb. 10, according to a report on PLA Daily on Feb. 11.
The report said that helicopters from a carrier-based helicopter brigade along with the carrier patrolled around the area and missiles were set on fighters on duty at nearby military airports which were prepared to take off for combat. However the report did not disclose which country the objects belong to or other relevant information.
Some Western media guessed that the unidentified objects might be the U.S. F-22 stealth fighter jets. Chinese military expert Yin Zhuo told Asia Today that if the unidentified objects appearing near ADIZ over the East China Sea turned out to be F-22 from the U.S., it would be a good opportunity for China's military to practice its ability to find, identify and intercept stealth fighters.
Does China's military have the ability to find and identify stealth fighters? Military experts said that new type of Chinese Phased Array Radar is able to fulfill this task. Yin also said that F-22 is not totally stealth and meter-wave radar could detect the fighter. Radars arranged towards the East China Sea are able to find the F-22 stealth fighter jets, according to Yin. Besides, airborne early warning and control aircraft like KJ-2000 and KJ-500 are also equipped with the ability to detect stealth fighter jets.
(For the latest China news, Please follow People's Daily on Twitter and Facebook)(Editor:Yuan Can,Bianji)

[Sparkplug]

Harjit Sajjan backs away from election promise on F-35 jets

http://globalnews.ca/news/2525385/harjit-sajjan-backs-away-from-election-promise-on-f-35-jets/

Dit gaat van niet naar misschien.

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Harjit Sajjan backs away from election promise on F-35 jets

http://globalnews.ca/news/2525385/harjit-sajjan-backs-away-from-election-promise-on-f-35-jets/

[StrataNL]

De Gripen E (prototype 39-8) zal 18 mei worden onthuld.

Time to unveil the next generation fighter. On May 18 we are bringing the first of the next generation Gripen aircraft to stage at our aeronautical HQ in Linköping, Sweden. It's a key milestone in the evolution of the ‪#‎smartfighter‬. Stay tuned to find out how you can take part.

"The interest in Gripen is greater than ever," says Saab CEO Hakan Buskhe. A news report in SVD quotes Buskhe saying that Saab is currently in talks with a handful of countries that are interested in Gripen E and F variants.

As per Buskhe, Saab is hopeful about selling Gripen to India and it can agree to develop the new generation aircraft in the country which is in sync with Indian Government's Make in India Initiative.

"We could, with true ToT (Transfer of Technology), provide Indian Air Force with an Indian-built combat aircraft of the future, with technology of Gripen E," said Buskhe in an interview with Mint, an Indian Daily.

Besides Gripen, Saab, in partnership with Boeing, is also working on the development of a new training aircraft for the US Air Force. It's an expensive project with over 500 people working on the development, the report says.

https://www.facebook.com/saabtechnologies/photos/a.216221308418577.55069.206280006079374/1136506816390017/?type=3&theater

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Air National Guard squadrons worden vaak internationaal ingezet. Zitten zij wel op een toestel met beperkte mogelijkheden te wachten?

Er wordt geschreven dat de T-X ook voor "red-air" CAS en QRA ingezet zou moeten kunnen worden, waarbij de stuurhut gelijk is of veel overeenkomsten vertoont met de F35.

Als... dan... zou het duo F35/T-X prima complementair ingezet kunnen worden in een high end - low end mix en voorzie ik een aanzienlijk groter aantal dan de genoemde 350 exemplaren. (ook een optie voor de KLu om de kwantiteit op te krikken lijkt mij)