But, they have to make a decision right now, they retire their M2Ks in 2015.Brazil's GDP growth for 2013 is expected to be disappointing, with most analysts predicting growth of less than 2 percent after a crushing Q3, which saw a 0.5 contraction in growth.
Brazil has selected the Saab Gripen E/F for the 36 aircraft F-X2 requirement to replace its air force's older combat types.
With an acquisition cost in the region of $4.5 billion, the Gripens will replace the Dassault Mirage 2000C fighters operated by the 1st Air Defence Group and a number of the modernised Northrop F-5EMs in four other Air Force squadrons.
The long-awaited announcement was made on 18 December by Brazilian defence minister Celso Amorim and Brazilian air force Chief Gen Juniti Saito.
The decision was driven by aircraft performance, transfer of technology and low through-life costs, according to the officials.
Contract negotiation is expected to last between 10 and 12 months.
Saab has guaranteed the total transfer of technology of “all systems” including the weapons command software, which will allow future integration of Brazilian-developed missiles and weapons.
Deliveries are expected to start 48 months from contract signing and will eventually reach the rate of 12 aircraft per year.
Existing Gripen C/Ds operated by the Royal Swedish Air Force can also be supplied to Brazil in order to replace recently-retired Mirage 2000C/Ds.
The older Swedish aircraft will be eventually replaced by the new Gripen E/F models.
Amorim says “besides this contract we are also currently open to setting up other partnerships, especially regarding fifth-generation fighters”.
Amorim adds Brazil has a strong relationship with the US and is not concerned about limitations to US-sourced components.
Commenting about the Gripen NG, general Saito says “the intellectual property of this new fighter will be ours”.
Saab had earlier promised to develop a $150 million aerostructures assembly plant in the city of São Bernardo do Campo in the State of São Paulo.
For four years since publication of a short-list, the F-X2 fighter replacement program has pitted Gripen against Dassault's Rafale and the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
Most recently, media reports about a visit by French President Francois Hollande to Brazil stoked speculation about the Rafale’s possible selection.
Dassault, which has been working towards a new deal in Brazil for the past 15 years, has expressed its disappointment with the selection of the Swedish fighter.
"The Gripen is a lighter, single engine aircraft that does not match the Rafale in terms of performance and therefore does not carry the same price tag," it says. "This financial rationale fails to take into account either the Rafale’s cost-effectiveness or the level of technology offered."
The Russian Defense Ministry and the United Aircraft Corporation will sign a contract on the development of the Il-112V light transport plane next year, a deputy defense minister said Friday.
The development of the twin turboprop aircraft, designed to carry six tons of cargo to a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), was canceled in 2011 under former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, but his successor Sergei Shoigu reportedly approved the revival of the Il-112 program earlier this year.
Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov said the Il-112 development contract, worth 7.9 billion rubles ($240 million), had been included in the state defense order for 2014.
“We will sign a contract on series production of the aircraft after this work is completed,” Borisov said.
Borisov did not specify the number of Il-112s slated for delivery to the Russian air force, but said the plans were for at least several dozen aircraft.
“The first deliveries have been scheduled for 2017,” he said.
The Ilyushin aircraft maker earlier announced plans to build 62 Il-112s to replace the aging fleet of An-26 military transport aircraft in service with the Russian air force.
The company said in August that the first prototype would be ready for flight tests in 2015.
The assembly of Il-112s will be carried out at the Voronezh aircraft plant in central Russia.
The Elisra passive airborne warning system (PAWS-2) has been selected for the Gripen fighter. Elbit, Elisra’s parent Israeli company, said that the system was selected “following a comprehensive in-depth evaluation and testing in various scenarios as well as in a comparative live fire test.”
The missile approach warning function on the Gripen has previously been provided by Saab itself, as part of the Swedish company’s Integrated Defensive Aids System (IDAS) that has also been installed on other combat aircraft, helicopters and airlifters. IDAS includes the MAW-300, which employs ultraviolet (UV) sensors, whereas PAWS-2 is an infrared (IR) system. Elbit said that PAWS-2 is based on years of experience and has growth potential “to cope with ever-growing future requirements expected during the life-cycle of the Gripen fighter system.”
A Saab spokesman told AIN that PAWS-2 would be the baseline fit for all future Gripens but that individual customers would be free to select and integrate alternatives. The Gripen has just been chosen by Brazil, and Saab is currently campaigning to sell the fighter to Malaysia and Switzerland, having secured an order for 60 from the Swedish air force. The Swedish aircraft will be converted from Gripen Cs that are already in service. Switzerland will get 22 new aircraft, if a nationwide referendum next year confirms the purchase.
From that article:Karan M wrote:Wow, that Columbia stuff is right out of Clancy.
______________________U.S. national security lawyers viewed the operation as an act of self-defense. In the wake of 9/11, they had come up with a new interpretation of the permissible use of force against non-state actors like al-Qaeda and the FARC. It went like this: If a terrorist group operated from a country that was unable or unwilling to stop it, then the country under attack — in this case, Colombia — had the right to defend itself with force, even if that meant crossing into another sovereign country.
And:Highlights
2 Million Fleet Flight Hours and gaining
Over 800 T-6 aircraft delivered worldwide
No T-6 Class A mishap due to mechanical failure
Every pilot in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard trains in a Beechcraft aircraft.
Fully FAA-certified and military-qualified
Exceeds USAF-Required 18,720 hour Design Life
Aircraft tested through three lifetimes (56,160 hours)
Dec 19/13: Negotiations. The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers has approved a draft inter-governmental agreement with Russia on serial production of An-124-200 aircraft powered by D-18T engines. It’s part of the process of establishing a joint venture related to An-124 production, which could produce 80 aircraft worth a total of $12.89 billion – about $160 million per plane.
The Ukraine recently bowed to Russian pressure and turned away from integration into the EU, a move that set off large protests within the country. The question is whether the Ukraine had much choice, given Russian policies that blocked shipments of goods into Russia, and targeted heavy industry in the Ukraine’s eastern region that depends on the Russian market. Trade was being strangled, and foreign reserves had fallen below the standard 6-month safe level. The larger agreement reportedly has Russia invest $15 billion in Ukraine’s government debt (giving them a future lever), and reduces gas prices from Russia to Naftogaz by about 1/3, but may involve some ceding of control over the Ukraine’s pipelines. Military deals like the An-124 and An-70 can also become bit pieces in these dramas. Sources: Russian Aviation, “Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft agreement with Russia on production of An-124″ | Interfax-Ukraine, “An-124 plane production recovery program includes production of 80 planes, says Ukrainian premier” | IHS Jane’s 360, “Ukraine, Russia agree to restart An-124 production among raft of economic agreements” || See also Antonov, “Ukraine and Russia continue cooperation on joint aviation projects” | Reuters, “Special Report: Why Ukraine spurned the EU and embraced Russia”.
Oct 28/13: Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is non-committal when talking to an audience at the Don State Technical University about the An-124. He says only that “Joint tests are continuing, with the purpose of making a decision about the possible resumption of the manufacture of Antonov An-124 aircraft”. Sources: Interfax-Ukraine, “Lavrov: Russia, Ukraine working to restore An-124 Ruslan production”.
Aug 29/13: Negotiations. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Boiko says that the Ukraine and Russia have reportedly finalized a draft agreement to resume An-124 batch production. They’re working out the technicalities, and expect to sign an agreement in September-October 2013. Sources: The Voice of Russia, “Ukraine and Russia plan to resume production of An-124 planes”.
Indians take pride in the BrahMos anti-ship cruise missile, or ASCM. I was taken aback some years ago when some Indian friends—gentle souls with little interest in military affairs—professed satisfaction at this successful venture into defense R&D.While that encounter induced some vertigo, it makes sense when you think about it. The Indian military has long been a consumer of hardware manufactured by others. By fielding the BrahMos, India in effect kicked in the door to an exclusive club of nations that design and produce high-tech defense articles.
Beyond simply augmenting the Indian Navy’s (and Army’s, and eventually Air Force’s—of which more later) striking power, this lethal “bird” signifies that India is coming of age as a great power. Great powers operate aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines. They build their own military equipment. Seemingly workmanlike endeavors like weapons design and manufacturing present an aspirant to global leadership a kind of talisman. Indigenously built weapons embody intangibles like national honor and grandeur.
Here endeth the philosophizing. Jointly developed by India’s Defense Research and Development Organization and Russia’s Mashinostroyeniye Company, the BrahMos is a stealthy, supersonic missile designed to elude shipboard defenses like the Aegis combat system, a combined radar and fire-control system found on board American, Japanese, and South Korean destroyers and cruisers. (Spain and Norway operate the system as well, while the Royal Australian Navy is outfitting its next-generation warships with it.) Aegis has stood at the vanguard of fleet air defense since the early 1980s, when USS Ticonderoga, the U.S. Navy’s first Aegis cruiser, stood out to sea. Getting past Aegis is an achievement.
Judging from the technical parameters, the Indian Navy has one-upped the U.S. Navy in this niche technology. On paper, the Indian ASCM appears superior to the AGM-84 Harpoon, long the U.S. Navy’s workhorse anti-ship missile. It certainly outranges the Harpoon. The BrahMos can strike at targets 290 kilometers distant, more than double the advertised range“in excess of” 67 nautical miles (77 statute miles, or124 kilometers)for the Harpoon. And with a top speed approaching Mach 3.0, the supersonic BrahMos far outstrips the subsonic Harpoon.
Speed kills. Helter-skelter speed compresses the time air defenders have to respond—and time is the critical determinant in the “detect-to-engage” sequence. It allows crews to attempt electronic countermeasures, loft surface-to-air missiles, launch decoys, or—as a last-gasp effort—engage an incoming missile with short-range guns. Shorter detect-to-engage time, then, means fewer rounds or countermeasures in the air to stop or deflect a hostile bird.But there’s another, less obvious advantage to high speed. Velocity imparts kinetic energy to any moving body.Accordingly, one body inflicts more damage when it slams into another at higher speed. Breakneck velocity magnifies a missile’s hitting powerbeyond the explosive power designed into its payload.
That a speedy, extended-range weapon like the BrahMos is crucial to naval warfare in this age of long-range anti-ship weaponry is obvious from the US Navy’s 2009 decision to hurriedly develop a long range anti-ship missile, or LRASM, of its own. Otherwise U.S. surface action groups may not land the first blow in combat. And they may have to take a pounding for some time before hitting back. Even if fleets close on each other at top speed, it takes quite awhile for lumbering ships to cover the 166 kilometers separating the Harpoon’s range from that of the BrahMos. Assuming the technology pans out , LRASM will even the terms of long-range engagements.
The Harpoon remains a good missile, that is, but American ships have to get fairly close to cut loose with Harpoon barrages. If the enemy outranges them, they have to beat back enemy missile attacks while closing to ASCM range. That increases their chances of incurring serious if not fatal damage before even taking offensive action. Admiral Horatio Nelson famously instructed Royal Navy commanders that “no Captain can do very wrong if he places his Ship alongside that of an Enemy.” But Lord Nelson lived before the advent of accurate long-range fire. He never would have given such advice knowing his ships could be put out of action before getting alongside for close-range gunnery duels.
What about the quality of the BrahMos?
Any weapon is like a “black box” until it’s used in combat against real, thinking adversaries with the capacity to deploy countermeasures or strike back at the launch platform. So it’s hard to judge for sure.
If nothing else, Russian involvement in the program should give us pause. Westerners have long ridiculed Soviet-built hardware, but the Soviet Navy was asymmetric before asymmetric warfare was cool. Soviet weapons scientists and engineers displayed impressive ingenuity, fielding an imposing array of anti-ship missiles. Some remain in service today, bedeviling prospective opponents. For instance, Sovremenny-class guided-missile destroyers transferred to China’s navy sport SS-N-22 Sunburn ASCMs designed to evade or overpower Aegis-equipped destroyers and cruisers. With its high speed and capacity to make radical evasive maneuvers during its terminal phase of flight, the Sunburn kept American air defenders up nights during my time in uniform—and doubtless still does so today. To all appearances, the BrahMos is cast in the same mold.
There’s more to anti-ship missiles than surface vessels pounding away at one another from afar. For example, the BrahMos can be fired from mobile launchers—basically trucks—on land.(Submarine- and air-launched variants are reportedly in the works as well.) That raises a host of intriguing possibilities for the Indian military. It promises to let New Delhi influence events at sea from the shore, much as Chinese rocketeers do off the East Asian seaboard.
Think about Indian Ocean geography. South Asia’s maritime geography is less convoluted than East Asia’s, but India does possess some strategically placed features beyond the subcontinent—notably the Andaman and Nicobar island chains. The islands lie athwart the western approaches to the Strait of Malacca. They also lie within BrahMos range of one other, while nearby landmasses in Southeast Asia fall within range of the northernmost and southernmost islands. That means the Indian Army could emplace BrahMos batteries in the Andamans and Nicobars to threaten shipping passing through these archipelagoes.
That would project India’s military reach to Southeast Asia without leaving Indian soil. An extreme measure? Sure. But no more extreme than Japan’s thinking about how to close the straits through the home islands and the Ryukyus in wartime. Small wonder Chinese pundits liken the Andaman and Nicobar islands to a “metal chain” stretched across sea lanes vital to China’s economic development.
There are other possibilities. For example, the Indian Navy has “inducted”—that maddeningly vague term—its first nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine into the fleet while predicting the boat will be operational by the end of this year. But even if engineers have gotten the kinks out of the hull and its propulsion plant, INS Arihant will patrol the seas without working ballistic missiles to fire. As an interim measure, my friend Andrew Winner speculates (in our—finally!—forthcoming volume on nuclear strategy) that India will try to miniaturize a nuclear warhead sufficiently to fit on the BrahMos. The manufacturer is working on a missile variant that can be launched from torpedo tubes. If the technical details sort themselves out, that would give New Delhi an equivalent to the TLAM-N, the nuclear variant of the US Navy’s Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile.
While unsatisfactory over the long haul, a nuclear-tipped BrahMos would supply the third leg of a nuclear triad, letting the Indian Navy threaten sites in Pakistan as a deterrent. Because of the BrahMos’s short range relative to ballistic missiles, however, the Arihant and its sisters would have to cruise the South China Sea—or beyond—to menace targets in China. The implications of Indian submarines’ prowling the crowded, increasingly contested South China Sea are worth pondering. It remains to be seen whether Indian technical wizardry will render such a system workable if New Delhi decides to pursue one, or whether engineers perfect a sea-launched ballistic missile first.
The BrahMos program, then, is worth tracking—both as a yardstick for Indian scientific and technical progress and for its strategic and political implications. We live in interesting times. The Indian military’s new bird of preymakes them a little more interesting.
James Holmes is an associate professor of strategy at the U.S. Naval War College. The views voiced here are his alone.
It may have those ranges in Fly High and Dive Trajectoryashish raval wrote:Can we increase it to 500 km so that coco island pearl is sorted ?
Brahmos is an air breathing engine, it is also optimized for flying at low altitudes, wont its performance degrade and hence range/speed reduce at higher altitudes?Austin wrote:It may have those ranges in Fly High and Dive Trajectoryashish raval wrote:Can we increase it to 500 km so that coco island pearl is sorted ?
I think I had posted my analysis on this quite some years back. The confusion arose from the idea that the Brahmos had a range of 300 km at sea-level altitude. So when it takes the 14,000-15,000 feet AGL profile, it must surely travel farther. But it later transcended that the Brahmos does travel the 14,000-15,000 feet AGL profile for the 300 km range and at sea-level it has a range of only 120 km. Incidentally, the 120 km range number was verified through other sources, but that's a different story.Shrinivasan wrote:Brahmos is an air breathing engine, it is also optimized for flying at low altitudes, wont its performance degrade and hence range/speed reduce at higher altitudes?Austin wrote:It may have those ranges in Fly High and Dive Trajectory
This 500KM number has been bandied around since someone tried to sell a snake oil about using some Russian satellite guidance system which will enhance range as a similar missile in Rodina land has 500KM range. Official range is 290KM, longer ranges will be for other missiles not named BRAHMOS.
BAE said the parts, which included a cockpit radio cover and components in the landing gear of the Tornado, were produced on site at a Royal Air Force base and that the process had the potential to save hundreds of thousands of pounds a year in maintenance and refit costs.
IMO, the advantage of NSM (or more specifically JSM variant) is its compact size coupled with long range. It can be carried by medium-sized helicopters (maybe even ALH-sized helicopters) and fits-in nicely in a JSF-sized internal weapons bay. I don't think there are any other ASM matching this specs:Neela wrote:Kongsberg anti-ship NSM
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Victor-ovish, the list is quite long, no? But some of them are uncanny in their resemblances.Victor wrote:Mig-25 Foxbat led to the F-15 Eagle (and F-14 Tomcat).
Mig-21 Fishbed led to the F-16 Falcon.
