International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018

[Rakesh]

*Pavel Durov is the CEO of Telegram. He was recently arrested in France. He became a UAE citizen in 2021. Click on link below to see the video.

https://x.com/stairwayto3dom/status/1828491301505114182 ---> The United Arab Emirates has completely FROZEN the implementation of a contract to purchase 80 fighter jets from France following the arrest of Pavel Durov!

[Rakesh]

Thailand Chooses Gripen E/F As Its New Fighter
https://www.twz.com/air/thailand-choose ... ew-fighter
27 August 2024

[sanman]

Unprecedentedly lightweight E-copter automatically flies a pre-set flight path, rather than being piloted from within.

[sanman]

Drone converted into manned aircraft -- was that done purely to facilitate flight-testing, or is there some other purpose?

[Vayutuvan]

Other purpose could be to train a OpenAI with several manned flights from different pilots. Then the embedded AI can learn and fly on its own. It encapsulate the expertise of all the pilots that trained it and keep learning and improving while it flies missions in war games - both simulated as well as real war games plus start flying missions in the ongoing wars.

[sanman]

Other purpose could be to train a OpenAI with several manned flights from different pilots. Then the embedded AI can learn and fly on its own. It encapsulate the expertise of all the pilots that trained it and keep learning and improving while it flies missions in war games - both simulated as well as real war games plus start flying missions in the ongoing wars.

Hmm - that's a pretty interesting answer - I never even thought of that.

But I'd think that autonomous aircraft should be trained on actual physics more than human-piloting instincts.
It would be one thing for an AI to train against a human opponent, to learn the enemy's instincts, habits, reflexes and responses.
But I don't see the advantage in an AI training on the human-piloting of its own aircraft.

[Kartik]

Poland is on a massive arms acquisition spree. They're now planning to buy a twin engine fighter with the F-15EX and Typhoon in the race.

I'll bet that they'll decide on which one to go with much before any decision is made on the MRFA by the Indian MoD and the IAF.

Pratt pitches Poland greater F100 MRO work for F-15EX pursuit

KIELCE, Poland—Pratt & Whitney is promising to enhance military engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) activities in Poland in a bid to secure the engine order should Warsaw opt to buy Boeing F-15EXs in an ongoing fighter competition.

Poland, as part of its massive weapons acquisition spree, is expected to follow up its purchase of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters with the acquisition of twin-engine combat aircraft, with the F-15EX and the Eurofighter Typhoon in the running. The F-15 is powered either by the Pratt F100 or the General Electric F110.

Should Poland opt for the F-15, the country could run a separate competition for the powerplant. The Eurofighter is exclusively powered by a joint venture involving Rolls-Royce and MTU, among others.

..

[sanman]

Jeff Bezos gives Tim Dodd a tour of his New Glenn launch facility - worth watching - the Blue Origin company has been pretty quiet for a long time, without reaching orbit. Now finally their giant New Glenn vehicle seems to be getting showcased, as they get closer to its maiden launch date.

[Cybaru]

Asking for trouble! They shoot first and ask questions later! I can't make out ATC chatter.. I can never figure what they are saying...

https://x.com/thenewarea51/status/1831865818617115116

BBQ917 Trump/Vance campaign Boeing 737 appears to have entered the Prohibited 56 airspace over the White House departing Regan National. Controller advises the pilot of a possible pilot deviation.

[MeshaVishwas]

Documentary on the Nigerian Air Force

[Manish_P]

Looks like this is now being fielded - Nano Spear RF Active Decoy from Elbit

The small form factor might be pretty useful. Fighter aircraft would be able to carry them without too much compromise on offensive payload

[Rakesh]

Anduril unveils new cruise-missile like weapon, plus voice-controlled drones
https://breakingdefense.com/2024/09/and ... ed-drones/
12 Sept 2024

Anduril Introduces Barracuda-M That Aims To Disrupt The Cruise Missile Market
https://www.twz.com/air/anduril-introdu ... ile-market
12 Sept 2024

[sanman]

This is a year old, and it's not billed as military, but seems like an interesting eVTOL idea

(only useful for small lightweight aircraft designs, but still interesting)

[Manish_P]

Anduril unveils new cruise-missile like weapon, plus voice-controlled drones
https://breakingdefense.com/2024/09/and ... ed-drones/
12 Sept 2024
...

From the article -

“The problem that we are seeking to solve here … is America and our allies and partners do not have enough weapons, full stop. And we are not capable of producing the volume of weapons that we’re going to need to establish deterrence against a peer competitor,” Anduril Chief Strategy Officer Chris Brose said in a briefing with reporters ahead of the announcement. To do that, Anduril is striving to minimize defense-specific materials needed to produce the Barracuda and maximize the use of commercially available components. Depending on configuration, the weapon is compatible with different launch methods, the company says, such as from aircraft internal weapons bays, external rails, surface vessels, and ground-based systems.

When the rest of the world does it, it is 'cheap garage built stuff by ragtag third rate powers'

Looks like the Ukraine war has given them a wakeup call.

[sanman]

Anduril unveils new cruise-missile like weapon, plus voice-controlled drones

When the rest of the world does it, it is 'cheap garage built stuff by ragtag third rate powers'

Looks like the Ukraine war has given them a wakeup call.

Sounds like consumerization of weaponry -- like IEDs, radio handsets, drones, etc.

That just means more people in the world will go in that direction, and more people will have access to such technology which was once only available to higher powers.

[Tanaji]

Chinese space start up Deep Blue Aerospace almost nailing booster recovery: amazing footage

https://x.com/SpaceBasedFox/status/1837856903357255849

Our startups have a lot of catching up to do.

[sanman]

[sanman]

Embraer's interesting new eVTOL:

[sanman]

Did Israel Use Sonic Booms from IDF Jets to Locate Hassan Nasrallah?



Wow - if true, that's pretty crafty

[Rakesh]

https://x.com/Armees_Gouv/status/1843646555657478369 ---> At the Saint-Dizier air base 113 for the 60th anniversary of the Strategic Air Forces, @SebLecornu announced a major development for French airborne nuclear deterrence: the new standard of the Rafale, the F5, which will carry the future ASN4G nuclear missile. The minister also announced the launch of the stealth combat drone program, which will be operated directly from the cockpit of the Rafale.



https://x.com/aidefranceukr/status/1843647368539058467 --->

[Rakesh]

French air force will field operational UCAV from 2033
https://www.flightglobal.com/defence/fr ... 34.article
08 Oct 2024

[Rakesh]

Stealthy Uncrewed Combat Air Vehicle To Work Alongside Future French Rafale Fighters
https://www.twz.com/air/stealthy-uncrew ... e-fighters
08 Oct 2024

[Rakesh]

Announcement from the French Ministry of Defence...

Rafale Standard F5: first orders notified to manufacturers
https://www.defense.gouv.fr/actualites/ ... ndustriels
09 Oct 2024

[sanman]

I like this one - it's so cute - cost is ~$220K USD

[Tanaji]

SpaceX has managed to successfully catch and recover its Super Heavy booster from where it launched on todays Starship launch. What an achievement! That booster is 71m tall and weighs 272 tonnes. It returned to the same point and got caught by two arms.

The engineering behind this is mind boggling.

[Manish_P]

Now awaiting a youtube post "Can ISRO replicate this feat?"

[sanman]

Okay everyone - take a moment to watch and appreciate the technical excellence of this incredible achievement:

[vera_k]

Looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. Does look like they will get to Mars with this pace.

[S_Madhukar]

Yup awesome for PR too!
I heard ISRO was thinking about using barges but now the game is up a notch!

[sanman]

Watch this version, and you'll see some extraordinary close-ups

[sanman]

[Kartik]

France to supply Mirage-2000s to Ukraine by early 2025, Ukrainian pilots in France being trained to fly them. These could've been Mirages that the IAF could've purchased as a real stop gap measure, standing up a couple of squadrons till Tejas Mk2 start arriving.

The French Mirages (not clear which variant) are being upgraded to add new air to ground combat equipment and EW equipment. Again, no clarity on what equipment.

Ukraine conflict- France confirms Mirage-2000s to arrive in early 2025

The first of an undisclosed number of Mirage 2000 combat aircraft will arrive in Ukraine in early 2025, the French defence minister said. (French Air and Space Force)

Dassault Mirage 2000 combat aircraft promised by France will arrive in Ukraine in early 2025, it was announced on 8 October.

French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu made the disclosure from his official X (formerly Twitter) account, providing a timeline some five months after French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the transfer in June.

“Mirage 2000 bound for Ukraine: delivery still scheduled for the first quarter of 2025. In Cazaux, Gironde, they will be equipped with new equipment: air-ground combat and anti-electronic warfare defence. The training of Ukrainian pilots and mechanics continues,” the minister tweeted.

In March 2023 Le Figaro reported that up to 30 Ukrainian pilots were being trained on the Mirage 2000 in France, and that the French Air and Space Force could deliver “dozens” of such jets to Kyiv if the French government takes the decision. Neither Lecornu nor Macron have said how many Mirages will be transferred to Ukraine.

As noted by Janes World Air Forces , the French Air and Space Force has 27 single-seat Mirage 2000-5F combat aircraft it received from 1997, as well as seven twin-seat Mirage 2000Bs from 1983, and 60 twin-seat Mirage 2000Ds from 1993. These are all progressively being replaced in French service by the Dassault Rafale, hence their availability for Ukraine. France also has an undisclosed number of Mirage 2000Cs in storage, having retired the last squadron in 2022.

[sanman]

LockMart's Mako - a cheaper Kinzhal?

[ernest]

good read on history of civilian airliner efforts in China, and the international partners.

https://www.construction-physics.com/p/ ... for-airbus

China at one point in 2000s even partnered with Embraer to manufacture ERJ-145 :o

From Antonov (An-24), Mcdonnell-Douglas (MD-80) to the Airbus A320 license manufacturing, more than half a century of effort has gone into getting the C-919 ready for production, which also is facing challenges of suboptimal performance. Other Chinese passenger aircraft have faced QA issues and have been grounded too often. It has spent 10s of billions of dollars in getting here.

However, the current supply chain disruption, and Boeing's failings have given them a good opportunity to capture some of the market, and get a foothold to grow into a reasonable option in the coming decades.

We need to start steady funding of our own programs, and encourage JVs to build our lacking capacity in Cargo + passenger segment. Will take decades, but have to start somewhere.

[sanman]

Rocket Lab Founder Peter Beck Reveals His Vision for The Space Industry's Future

[sanman]

Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Already a Leader in Satellites, Gets Into the Spy Satellite Game

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/30/us/p ... -musk.html

(NYT increasingly interested in investigating Musk -- gee, I wonder why?)

[sanman]

Russia flies Su-57 to China

[pravula]

Not a flying demo person, so asking… how would you rate this demo?

[sanman]

Russia's New Orel Space Capsule

[Tanaji]

Russia’s space programme is in dire straits. They have no money to fund existing systems let alone new ones. This year their launch cadence has been the lowest since the 1960s - both due to sanctions and its outdated technologies. Ignoring bombastic statements from Roscosmos, the programme is surviving on Soyuz launches and the contract it has for ISS. That will go soon as well with SpaceX coming on line.