International Aerospace Discussion

The Air Force’s venerable half-century-old Boeing B-52 bomber is getting its biggest makeover yet.

A host of ongoing and planned upgrades will keep the 76 jets flying for three more decades, service officials said.

“The B-52, as a bomber, still has a nuclear mission in combination with the Air Launched Cruise Missile,” said Maj. Gen. William Chambers, the Air Staff strategic deterrence and nuclear integration officer. “The continued upgrade of the B-52’s electronics and the effort we have underway for a new cruise missile are both examples of where we’re taking very old systems and making them last longer.”

The planned upgrades total three:

• The CONECT program will put a digital backbone and communications suite into the largely analog aircraft.

• A new 1760 databus architecture will allow the old bird to drop modern smart weapons from its internal weapon bays.

• Strategic radar will replace the B-52’s antiquated 1960s-vintage system.

In the past decade, the B-52 was fitted with the LITENING targeting pod, which allows the crew members to designate their own targets and send video to ground stations.

The various upgrades increase capability and make it easier — and, in some cases, cheaper — to maintain an aircraft with various subsystems and parts that went out of production long ago.

“The airframe itself is very solid, very reliable,” with enough life left in it to fly into the 2040s, said Lt. Gen. James Kowalski, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command......................

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 07 Oct 2011 21:39

thats a amazing 90 yr in service. I guess they dont fly too much and when they fly its long hauls so takeoff/landing cycles are less. same for b1 perhaps.

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 08 Oct 2011 23:13

Virus hits US drone fleet: report - AFP

Drishyaman · Post by **Drishyaman** » 08 Oct 2011 23:33

^^^ Created by pigs ? Heard some where that they are quite famous for Virus Coding.

ASPuar · Post by **ASPuar** » 11 Oct 2011 21:03

Similar to something Id posted in the Army thread, heres a little eye candy for the IAF fans.. CAS's cavalcade, IAF 1!

Shrinivasan · Post by **Shrinivasan** » 12 Oct 2011 20:39

^^^ Guys, did you notice that both cars say "IAF 1", probably a decoy is also being used for ACM Sahab.

chiru · Post by **chiru** » 12 Oct 2011 20:58

@shrinivasan you say a decoy - nah i believe the car on the right is just a standby coz you cant have much of a decoy with un-tinted glass !!! you can see it clearly and the second cars stars have been covered up ........

wig · Post by **wig** » 14 Oct 2011 10:01

a write up in the German News magazine Spiegel on the latest addition to the Luftwaffe - a drone named Euro Hawk

The drone's technical details alone are impressive. The unmanned aircraft weighs 15 tons and is built of carbon fiber. It is 14.5 meters long and has a wing span of around 40 meters (131 feet). It can travel up to 25,000 kilometers non-stop, meaning it could fly from Berlin to Tokyo and back without having to land. But that's only one example. The drone's real future area of deployment is likely to be in war and crisis regions like Afghanistan, where the Bundeswehr is deployed.

Although the aircraft components for the first prototype were officially completed in 2009, the Euro Hawk didn't take off for its maiden journey until June 29, 2010. It was produced in California by Northrop Grumman, the American contractor that manufactures the drone and has created a joint venture with EADS to build the European version. Finally, on July 21, 2001, a prototype of the machine landed at the Luftwaffe air force base in Manching, Germany, after flying more than 10,000 kilometers (6,213 miles) in a 24 hour-long "hand-off" flight, during which American and German operators observed the drone's progress from ground control installations in their respective countries.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/ger ... 19,00.html

JTull · Post by **JTull** » 14 Oct 2011 16:17

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15302692

Chinese fighter jet crashes at air show

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 14 Oct 2011 16:28

the euro hawk sounds like a global hawk with american mission pkgs replaced by european.

prithvi · Post by **prithvi** » 18 Oct 2011 08:42

lack of better thread.. so posting here..

Spicejet's new Bombardier Q400 production video..

Don · Post by **Don** » 19 Oct 2011 23:25

France 'near closing Emirates Rafale deal'
by Staff Writers

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UPI) Oct 17, 2011

France in 'final' talks with UAE on Rafale sales: minister

Paris (AFP) Oct 17, 2011 - France is in the final stage of negotiations with the United Arab Emirates for the sale of Rafale fighter jets, Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said on Monday.
"We are in the final negotiation," Longuet said on LCI television of talks on the UAE acquiring the French-made fighters, adding that the chances were "very strong" that a contract would be signed.

"It's a significant deal for this country," he said. "When you equip an air fleet, it's for 40 years, so the buyer sets his conditions."

Negotiations began in 2008 for the sale of 60 Rafale fighters, the pride of Dassault Aviation used by France's armed forces but yet to be sold abroad.

Abu Dhabi has asked for an improved version fitted with a more powerful engine from Snecma of the Safran group with a thrust of nine tonnes, as well as a higher performing radar system from Thales.

Financing of these improvements "is one of the issues under discussion," a top Dassault Aviation official said in February.

France was reported Monday to be in the final stages of wrapping up a $10 billion contract with the United Arab Emirates for 60 Rafale combat jets.

That would be a crucial breakthrough for French manufacturer Dassault Aviation, which has been struggling for years to find its first foreign buyer for the multi-role fighter.

"We're in the final negotiations," French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet told France's LCI television, adding that the prospect of a deal was "very strong."

He indicated that Dassault probably had to make major concessions to close the deal with the Emirates, which had been demanding improved weapons and electronics since negotiations began in 2008.

"It's a significant deal for this country," Longuet said. "When you equip an air fleet, it's for 40 years, so the buyer sets his conditions."

The Emirates particularly wanted a more powerful M88 engine from Snecma of France's Safran Group, which is considered better suited for desert conditions, and a higher performing radar system from Thales.

Financing these modifications "is one of the issues under discussion," a senior Dassault executive disclosed in February.

Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, commander of the Emirates' armed forces, broke off negotiations in the summer of 2010, apparently because of leaks on the discussions by the French.

Sheik Mohammed, who is also crown prince of Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich emirate that dominates military affairs, jolted the French by approaching Boeing in August 2010 about a possible deal on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, possibly to determine what technology would be available.

France then agreed Jan. 3 to clear the acquisition of 200 Meteor over-the horizon air-to-air missiles produced by MBDA for the possible Rafale sale.

For the French, the Emirates deal is critical because they have invested so much political capital and effort into the sale.

A senior delegation from Dassault traveled to Abu Dhabi, the emirates' economic powerhouse, which controls arms procurement, Sept. 3 to step up the company's bid to secure a deal for the Rafale.

The aircraft is the standard bearer for the French aerospace industry, showcasing Dassault's capabilities as designer and manufacturer of cutting-edge fighters.

Other French defense companies also have a lot riding on the Rafale sale, such as MBDA, which anticipates further export orders for the Meteor and other missiles, if it goes through.

Dassault is desperate to sign on its first foreign buyer. The Rafale is also in a contender in multibillion-dollar fighter contests in Brazil, India and Switzerland.

The Emirates also seek to outfit the Dassault jets with active electronically scanned radar, the Damocles targeting pod and the Reco NG reconnaissance pod.

In April, the French deployed a flight of Rafale F3 jets equipped with the Reco NG and Damocles at a French base in Abu Dhabi to demonstrate the systems.

The base at Al Dhafra, France's only military foothold in the Persian Gulf, was inaugurated in 2010 by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in a personal bid to boost the Rafale contract.

Another demand by the Emirates was that France find a buyer for the 63 Dassault Mirage 2000-9 fighters Abu Dhabi bought in 1983, which the Rafales are intended to replace.

The Emirates has also looked at Lockheed Martin's F-16 as a possible contender to replace the Mirages. Lockheed offered to provide the Emirates with late-model F-16s until the new stealthy F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is available.

It's not clear whether Abu Dhabi is considering that option.

The United Arab Emirates has a history of buying French military hardware. Apart from the Mirages 2000-9s, in 1994, the seven-emirate federation was the first foreign buyer of the Leclerc main battle tank produced by what was then Giat Industries, now Nexter.

The Emirates bought 390 desert variants of the Leclerc, plus 46 armored recovery vehicles, for $2.4 billion, and remains the tank's only foreign buyer.

The Emirates has built up its air power in recent years to the point where it vies with Saudi Arabia.

It has increasingly focused on offensive operations rather than air-defense, with Iran, its much larger neighbor across the gulf, viewed as its mostly likely adversary.

The Emirates' air component has 155 combat aircraft. Saudi Arabia, with the largest air force in the Gulf Cooperation Council alliance, has 280

Related link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/France_ ... l_999.html

Kartik · Post by **Kartik** » 19 Oct 2011 23:43

RAAF to convert 12 of its Super Hornet F/A-18Fs into Growlers

HE RAAF may soon have 12 of its Super Hornet fighter-bombers equipped as "Growlers", the US aircraft packed with electronic equipment that paralysed the Libyan regime's communications and missile systems.

link

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 21 Oct 2011 21:26

Arianespace scores a double success with its historic first Soyuz launch from the Spaceport

viveks · Post by **viveks** » 21 Oct 2011 22:37

prithvi wrote:lack of better thread.. so posting here..

Spicejet's new Bombardier Q400 production video..

There must be so much love in its making...I envy their jobs.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 21 Oct 2011 23:03

Gerard wrote:Sea Launch rocket company returns to service

Not bad.. Zenit-3SL Payload to GTO is 6,060 kilograms (13,400 lb).

And this engine looks so simple
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... g?size=600

Cosmo_R · Post by **Cosmo_R** » 21 Oct 2011 23:12

Kartik wrote:RAAF to convert 12 of its Super Hornet F/A-18Fs into Growlers

HE RAAF may soon have 12 of its Super Hornet fighter-bombers equipped as "Growlers", the US aircraft packed with electronic equipment that paralysed the Libyan regime's communications and missile systems.
link

Does the IAF have such capability now or are they planning to fit onto the MMRCA?

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 22 Oct 2011 16:14

Declassified US Spy Satellites Reveal Rare Look at Secret Cold War Space Program

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 22 Oct 2011 18:32

Are Drones Creating a New Global Arms Race?

Israel's successful drone is omnipresent. The Heron flies in Libya, where France uses it for reconnaissance as part of NATO operations there. It performs surveillance on the Indian border in the Himalayas and provides the Turkish Air Force with target coordinates of training camps of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). It has customers in 30 countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and South Korea, as well as Brazil and Ecuador, as South America too stocks up on drones, particularly for use against drug smuggling.

chackojoseph · Post by **chackojoseph** » 24 Oct 2011 10:18

Afghan Air Force gets six new Cessna C-208B advanced trainers

SSSalvi · Post by **SSSalvi** » 24 Oct 2011 16:03

Brazil has an ambitious and well laid out plan for Space sector.

Both in terms of Launchers and Satellites .

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 24 Oct 2011 20:16

http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1785/1

The flight of the Big Bird (part 3)

The origins, development, and operations of the KH-9 HEXAGON reconnaissance satellite

SKrishna · Post by **SKrishna** » 28 Oct 2011 15:16

The Sad Odyssey of the F-22: America’s Big Broken Toy

The F-22 has been okayed to fly again, after being grounded, cleared, grounded, then cleared once more—all within a year. And yet, the Air Force hasn't fixed the plane's life threatening flaw. It doesn't seem like it cares.
The F-22 Raptor program was birthed two decades ago, designed, according to its proud Air Force backers, as a decisive stealth, electronics-jamming, nimblest-of-nimble finger in the eye of the Soviet Union. It would guarantee Communist-free skies, being able to out-maneuver and outgun anything Moscow could scramble.

It was plagued from the start. A year after the USAF and Pentagon high-fived over the super billion dollar plan, the first and only F-22 crashed and exploded due to a computer guidance glitch. The program remained "essentially unaffected," the NYT reported back in 1992, and it continued—with nail-biting Pentagon urging:

Today, though, at least six other aircraft — the Russian MIG-29, SU-27 and SU-35, the French Mirage 2000 and Rafael and the European Consortium's Eurofighter — threaten to surpass the aging F-15, our current top-of-the-line air-to-air fighter.
These words came from Air Force Secretary F. Whitten Peters in a 1999 NYT op-ed. Note that none of those countries posed (or pose) a threat to the US. France is in NATO.

And since then? It's not just the oxygen supply problems of recent months. After formally entering service in 2005, the plane has proven to be a mechanical pain in the ass, all while making us exactly 0% safer against enemies that don't exist. It flies exercises, rather than fighting. In May, Wired's David Axe summed up the plane's material woes:

Last year, rust problems briefly grounded most of the F-22 force. A whole squadron of Raptors had to turn back from a planned flight from Virginia to Japan in 2007 when their navigational systems went haywire as the planes crossed the International Date Line. In 2006, an F-22 pilot was stuck in his plane on the ground for five hours because the canopy wouldn't open.
Does the Raptor's stealth supremacy lie in its ability to stay absolutely still? Are we battling a fleet of Russian tyrannosaurs?

But what about Libya, that consummate display of Western air power? The revolution that was won from the sky? The F-22 was sitting on the ground. American Drones and NATO jets did the shooting.

Mixed in to all of this, of course, is the aforementioned oxygen problem, which has caused hypoxia-like symptoms—pilots can't breathe. This might have already killed one pilot in a crash last year, and poses a threat to literally every single plane, every single time it's in the sky. The Pentagon's taken a wait and see approach with the F-22's oxygen defect—but what more needs to be seen? Repeated groundings have yielded no fix at all, and after each embarrassment, the Air Force simply says it'll take precautions and collect data, to no end.

So why keep the F-22? Politics and money. Surprise! Each time one of the clipped-wing superbaubles is constructed, it taps workers in 44 states across the country. That's 44 sets of legislators with a cruise missile pointed up their asses to keep those workers working, and to justify the Air Force's mission to defend the skies. From what? I do not know. But this isn't likely to change anytime soon—if ever. It's just the way things work. The weapons industry trumps any rationality of the country those weapons are labeled to defend. It's self-propagating, self-justifying, entirely an end in itself.

Simply, the F-22 doesn't need to be fixed, because "The Next Air War" F. Whitten Peters dreamt of isn't on the way. Former Defense Secretary Gates even admitted as much, calling the F-22 a "niche" plane. What needs to be killed, scared, or otherwise blown to hell from the sky can be done so with our sophisticated flock of UAVs—a killing mechanism unprecedented in the history of things destroying other things. They're our crown jewel, not F-22s lying fallow in Alaska and Virginia.

But if we're going to keep the stealth rave going, let's at least make sure it doesn't kill anyone. The Pentagon just gave Lockheed Martin $24 million, atop the billions they've already received, to find and fix the oxygen supply defect. So, once and for all, find the cause of the problem. We were originally supposed to build 600—thanks goodness we stopped at 160. So let's deal with the ones we have, and fix the damn thing.

chackojoseph · Post by **chackojoseph** » 31 Oct 2011 23:13

B-1 Bomber Avionics Software to be upgraded to Block 16A

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 01 Nov 2011 12:37

Video : Upgraded RuAF A-50U AWACS

member_20029 · Post by **member_20029** » 01 Nov 2011 19:06

Singha wrote:completely beats me why a medium airlifter needs stealth (surely nobody is flying these unprotected across hostile airspace), why super-STOL is needed when heavy helis, osprey and c130j is there and how those exposed engines will give frontal stealth.

think about that one a bit more,
what else are C-130s (or their varients) used for????

paratroop operations?
frontline supply drops?
armor drops?

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 05 Nov 2011 06:40

Harris Corp awarded JSF avionics follow-on production contract.

Harris is providing Lockheed Martin with the avionics infrastructure components that house the radar and Integrated Core Processor (ICP) electronics on the F-35. These are installed during F-35 assembly operations in Ft. Worth, Texas. Harris also provides power distribution products and fiber-optic network systems that are integrated throughout the aircraft avionics subsystems.

This latest contract covers production of up to 32 additional aircraft. More than 90 low-rate initial production aircraft are under contract to date, and plans call for production of more than 3,000 aircraft over the life of the F-35 program.

anishns · Post by **anishns** » 10 Nov 2011 00:18

Russia’s Martian Moon Mission Stranded in Earth Orbit

Russia’s Mars-bound probe Phobos-Grunt had an almost immediate engine failure after launch, and now the race is on for the space agency to correct its course and get it back on track towards the red planet.

wireduk
The craft successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 9 November (Moscow time), and separated from its Zenit-2 booster rocket some 11 minutes later. But its engines failed to kick in, and it’s now trapped in Earth’s orbit.

The mission was supposed to be the heroic comeback for Russia, after two decades of failed missions to Mars.

1988’s Phobos 1 lost its way en-route to Mars after a faulty command sequence sent from Earth caused the spacecraft to shut down. Phobos 2 triumphantly reached the red planet and even managed to return 38 images, but contact was lost before it could touch down on the Martian moon.

Russia tried again in 1996 with Mars 96, but it crashed into the ocean shortly after lift-off. Phobos-Grunt, the fourth Mars-bound craft, had issues even before lift off. It was supposed to blast off in October 2009, but the launch was delayed for two years because the craft wasn’t ready.

Now, imagine if this had happened with the Chandrayaan mission....DDM would have gone on a crazy Self-Flagellation spree...

Although, whats going on with the Russkies....a lot of failures in their aerospace endeavours

anmol · Post by **anmol** » 10 Nov 2011 20:34

NASA Test-Fires Key Engine for New Launch System

by Nancy Atkinson on November 9, 2011

NASA successfully test-fired the J2-X rocket engine on Wednesday, a key component of the Space Launch System, NASA’s giant new rocket that is slated to take cargo and crew beyond low Earth orbit. A deafening 500-second firing test at the Stennis Space Center showed the engine is ready for the next steps in building the SLS rocket.

“What you heard to today is the sound of the front end of the critical path to the future,” said Stennis Director Patrick Scheuermann, speaking at a press conference immediately after the test fire, which began at 4:04 p.m. EST (2104 GMT).

The J-2X will power the upper stage of the SLS, the $10 billion next generation heavy-lift rocket. The first flight of the new rocket won’t be until 2021, however.

“The J-2X engine is critical to the development of the Space Launch System,” Dan Dumbacher, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for exploration systems development, said after the test in Mississippi. “Today’s test means NASA is moving closer to developing the rocket it needs if humans are to explore beyond low-Earth orbit.”

Data from the test will be analyzed as operators prepare for additional engine firings. The J-2X and the RS-25D/E engines for the SLS core stage will be tested for flight certification at Stennis. Both engines use liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants. The core stage engines were developed originally for the space shuttle.

“We have 500 seconds of good data, and the first look is that everything went great. The J-2X engine team and the SLS program as a whole are extremely happy that we accomplished a good, safe and successful test today,” said Mike Kynard, Space Launch System Engines Element Manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. “This engine test firing gives us critical data to move forward in the engine’s development.”

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 13 Nov 2011 04:38

Stricken Mars probe stays silent

chackojoseph · Post by **chackojoseph** » 13 Nov 2011 18:11

F-35 can carry JSOW C - 1 in internal bay