Archive for the 'Vehicles' Category
Feb 24, 2010, post by awatrobski
Russia has begun flying a stealthy fifth-generation fighter to rival the U.S. F-22, but Western analysts question whether Sukhoi can develop and provide the aircraft by 2015 as promised.
Sukhoi’s T-50, which made its 47-min. first flight on Jan. 29 from the KnAAPO facility in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, is the prototype of the PAK FA “future front-line aircraft,” the first new-generation fighter for the Russian air force since the Su-27 Flanker entered service in 1984. India plans to co-fund development and co-produce the new aircraft.
The aircraft is clearly shaped for stealth, with the chined forward fuselage, planform edge alignment, internal weapons bays and small vertical tails. The T-50 shows resemblances to the F-22 Raptor, but also reflects its Su-27 heritage in the wide “centroplane” that blends the fuselage and wing.
Sukhoi informs “the T-50 will demonstrate unprecedented small cross section in the radar, optical and infrared range owing to composites and innovative technologies applied in the fuselage, aerodynamics of the aircraft and decreased engine signature.”
U.S. analysts are impressed, but not yet panicked by the T-50. “Don’t go overboard and call it the Raptorski,” informs a Washington-based official. “It is essentially a Flanker in the shape of a fifth-generation fighter at this point. It still needs supercruise engines, advanced radar and a lot more work before military planners can start saying how it’s going to compete with the F-22 or even the F-35.”
Work on the T-50 began in the early 2000s, and the fighter is somewhere between a technology demonstrator and a development aircraft. How much effort is needed to finalize the production aircraft is not clear. Sukhoi’s Su-27 was substantially redesigned from the T-10 prototype, which first flew in 1977; but despite some rough edges, the T-50 looks closer to a finished product.
The YF-22 prototype first flew in September 1990, and the first development aircraft in September 1997, but the F-22 was not declared operational until December 2005—a longer cycle time than proposed for the PAK FA. And there are only three prototypes: the T-50-0 static-test article; T-50-1, now flying; and T-50-2, which will be used for ground testing. The two YF-22s were followed by nine development F-22s.
Feb 24, 2010, post by awatrobski
Egypt is set to manufacture its first fighter and drone “in cooperation with a foreign side”, official MENA news agency reported on Saturday, according to Xinhua.
“Talks and negotiations are underway about a project to produce Egypt’s first fighter and drone plane,” MENA quoted Lt. General Hamdy Waheba, Chairman of Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI), Egypt’s state-owned company specialized in producing civilian goods as well as military products.
The official did not name the foreign party which will take a hand at the process.
“Local production of the aircraft will meet the demand of the Egyptian Armed Forces, as it will be sold at a very competitive price,” Waheba informed.
The AOI was established in 1975 with the aim of building an advanced technology industrial base.
Egypt is one the major Arab countries dependent on importing military fighters from the United States and Russia.
Feb 24, 2010, post by awatrobski
Politics could yet derail French industry aspirations to upgrade Pakistan’s JF-17 fighter aircraft, even as the two sides near conclusion of a deal for the program.
While the project is supported by the administration of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, reactions in New Delhi and Washington will also influence its fate . The U.S. is concerned about technology leakage to China, and India is already a lucrative market for French industry. Enthusiasm for the JF-17 upgrade could be tempered if there were signals that this might jeopardize business in India.
The Pakistan air force wants to develop a “Westernized” version of its Chinese-made JF-17, fitted with European avionics, fire-control radar and weapons systems. The upgraded aircraft is intended not only for domestic service, but also for export.
A team led by ATE—a Paris-based company specializing in integrating systems and weapons onto military aircraft airframes of different origin—is tipped to develop and market the upgraded version of the JF-17 Thunder. The aircraft was crafted by China in cooperation with Pakistan.
Other partners, according to sources close to the deal, include Thales, Sagem and missile-manufacturer MBDA. Among the losing bidders, they inform, are Astrac, a Thales-Sagem joint venture also specialized in retrofits, and Finmeccanica. The winning team would not comment on the selection, which has not been officially announced.
Industry executives say the project has strong backing from the French government, which has adopted a more focused and muscular arms trade policy under the Sarkozy administration .
Pakistan has a large fleet of French Mirage III and V fighters which the JF 17 is supposed to replace. However, the deal must still run a gauntlet of threats before it can become reality, and how long this will take is anybody’s guess.
Cash-strapped Pakistan may have trouble funding the deal, and it could also face pressure from its Chinese partners—who want to supply the aircraft with domestic systems and weapons—and the U.S., which is already supplying F-16s to the Pakistani air force.
