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    Lockheed in $424 Million F-35 Pentagon Contract
    Fates
    By Fates,
      WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp is getting a $424 million U.S. contract modification for advance purchases tied to the next batch of F-35 fighter jets, the Pentagon said on Thursday, even as a much bigger deal for the aircraft themselves remains under negotiation.   The radar-evading warplane is the U.S. military's biggest acquisition program, projected to cost up to $382 billion for 2,457 aircraft through 2036.   The add-on combines purchases for the U.S. Navy ($62 million; 15 percent), U.S. Air Force ($135.7 million; 31 percent), U.S. Marine Corps ($194.5 million; 46 percent), and international partners ($32.2 million; 8 percent), the Pentagon's daily contract digest said.   http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=11658393

    U.S. Air Force to Work on First New Bomber Since B-2
    Fates
    By Fates,
      Sept. 14 -- The U.S. Air Force expects to start working on a new bomber in the next budget, the first such warplane since Northrop Grumman Corp.’s B-2 Spirit was developed almost three decades ago.   “It’s my conviction that the nation benefits from a long- range strike capability,” General Norton Schwartz, chief of staff for the Air Force, said today at the annual Air & Space Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.   The service plans to keep using its B-2, B-1 and B-52 bombers while working on a “new platform,” Schwartz said. The program could initially produce a “modest” aircraft that eventually would incorporate more-advanced capabilities, Schwartz said.   Adding a new bomber would sharpen the competition for Pentagon dollars as Defense Secretary Robert Gates moves to slow a “gusher” of spending since 2001, capping annual growth at the inflation rate. The bat-wing-shaped B-2, which went into development in 1981, costs about $1.2 billion each.   Such expenses have helped spur upgrades to current models decades after they began flying. Boeing Co.’s first B-52 entered service in 1954, and the B-1, developed by a company now owned by Boeing, became operational in the mid-1980s.   http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-09-14/u-s-air-force-to-work-on-first-new-bomber-since-b-2.html http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4776771&c=AME&s=AIR

    EADS North America KC-45 demonstrates critical Air Force aerial refueling requirement
    Fates
    By Fates,
      Arlington, Virginia, September 14, 2010 – EADS North America announced today that the company has demonstrated, in flight, that its offering in the KC-X tanker competition fully satisfies the U.S. Air Force requirement for high fuel offload rate via the refueling boom system – the only tanker in the competition to do so.   “Our tanker has proven that it can refuel other aircraft at a rate of 1,200 gallons per minute, which is a critical requirement the Air Force has set forth for its tanker,” said EADS North America Chairman Ralph D. Crosby, Jr., during a meeting with reporters at the annual Air Force Association conference outside Washington, D.C.   “We aren’t just making claims about what the KC-45 can do, we are demonstrating it in the air every day,” Crosby said. “And 48,000 Americans are ready to start building the KC-45 here in the U.S.”   EADS North America will build and modify the KC-45, along with A330 commercial freighters, at a new aerospace center of excellence in Mobile, Alabama, with a supplier team of more than 200 American companies.   The fuel-flow milestone was demonstrated in a recent refueling operation between two Airbus Military A330 Multi Role Tanker Transports, the aircraft that is the basis of the U.S. Air Force KC-45 configuration. The A330 MRTTs were completing certification flights for the Royal Australian Air Force, which will accept delivery of its first two MRTTs – under the designation KC-30A – in the fall of 2010. The A330 MRTT is in production for four U.S. allies, and has completed almost 800 flight hours and more than 1,300 refueling contacts with the same advanced refueling boom and hose-and-drogue systems on the KC-45.   “The KC-45 we are offering the Air Force is the same tanker that we have flying and refueling today, with 95% common systems, including the refueling systems we are offering the Air Force,” Crosby said.   http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/221316.asp http://www.kc45now.com/news-press-releases/14-09-2010.asp

    Saudi Arms Deal Advances
    Erik
    By Erik,
      Saudi Arms Deal Advances White House to Notify Congress Soon of $60 Billion Package, Largest Ever for U.S. Source: The Wall Street Journal -- By ADAM ENTOUS   The Obama administration is set to notify Congress of plans to offer advanced aircraft to Saudi Arabia worth up to $60 billion, the largest U.S. arms deal ever, and is in talks with the kingdom about potential naval and missile-defense upgrades that could be worth tens of billions of dollars more.   The administration plans to tout the $60 billion package as a major job creator—supporting at least 75,000 jobs, according to company estimates—and sees the sale of advanced fighter jets and military helicopters to key Middle Eastern ally Riyadh as part of a broader policy aimed at shoring up Arab allies against Iran.   The talks between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have been widely known for months, but many new details are only now coming into focus. These include the number and type of aircraft involved, how much the Saudis intend to spend in an initial installment, and the ongoing negotiations to also upgrade the kingdom's navy and missile defenses.The $60 billion in fighter jets and helicopters is the top-line amount requested by the Saudis, even though the kingdom is likely to commit initially to buying only about half that amount.   In a notification to Congress, expected to be submitted this week or next, the administration will authorize the Saudis to buy as many as 84 new F-15 fighters, upgrade 70 more, and purchase three types of helicopters—70 Apaches, 72 Black Hawks and 36 Little Birds, officials said.   The notification triggers a congressional review. Lawmakers could push for changes or seek to impose conditions, and potentially block the deal, though that is not expected.   On top of the $60 billion package of fighter jets and helicopters, U.S. officials are discussing a potential $30 billion package to upgrade Saudi Arabia's naval forces. An official described these as "discreet, bilateral conversations" in which no agreement has yet been reached. That deal could include littoral combat ships, surface vessels intended for operations close to shore, the official said.   Talks are also underway to expand Saudi Arabia's ballistic-missile defenses. The U.S. is encouraging the Saudis to buy systems known as THAAD—Terminal High Altitude Defense—and to upgrade its Patriot missiles to reduce the threat from Iranian rockets. U.S. officials said it was unclear how much this package would be worth.   The U.S. has sought to build up missile defense across the region, and the Saudi package could be similar to one in the United Arab Emirates, officials said. THAAD is built by Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co. supplies the system's radar. THAAD is the first system designed to defend against short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles both inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere. It complements the lower-aimed Patriot missile defense system, providing a layered defense.   Lockheed officials have stated that they see serious export potential for the system in the Middle East, where a major concern exists about Iran's ballistic missile development.   The prospect for job growth could help build support in Congress for the $60 billion package, officials said. "It's a big economic sale for the U.S. and the argument is that it is better to create jobs here than in Europe," said one person close to the talks.   Boeing Co., which makes the F-15s, the Apaches and the Little Birds, believes the Saudi package would directly or indirectly support 77,000 jobs across 44 states. It is unclear how many jobs, if any, would be supported by the Saudi purchase of Black Hawks, made by Sikorsky. Production levels are already high at Sikorsky, which is owned by United Technologies Co.   The Saudis in recent years have broadened their acquisitions to include more European- and Russian-made weaponry. That thinking was partially behind Riyadh's 2007 deal to purchase dozens of Eurofighter fighter planes from BAE Systems PLC, Saudi officials said.   Pro-Israel lawmakers have voiced concerns in the past about arms sales to Saudi Arabia that they say may undercut Israel's military edge and provide support to a government with a poor human rights record.   U.S. officials say the Israelis are increasingly comfortable with the Saudi sale because the planes won't have certain long-range weapons systems. Also, the Israelis are in line to buy a more advanced fighter, the F-35, and should begin to receive them around the same time the Saudis are expected to start getting the F-15s. "We appreciate the administration's efforts to maintain Israel's qualitative military edge, and we expect to continue to discuss our concerns with the administration about the issues," said Michael Oren, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S.   The senior U.S. defense official said it was unclear what pieces of equipment in the $60 billion package the Saudis may decide not to purchase, but he described the F-15s as a priority item. "It's conceivable that the Saudis could come back for the whole $60 billion," the official said, but added, "They're balancing their own defense priorities."   The $60 billion deal will be stretched out over five to 10 years, depending on production schedules, training, and infrastructure improvements, officials said.   Anthony Cordesman, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the deal is so large and so complex, that changes are inevitable.   "The actual contract often is renegotiated because the Saudis are always going to push, we're always going to push, the Congress is going to push, the manufacturer is going to push. This is not the kind of negotiation where you've really agreed on the final details until you actually have put the final contract out," he said.         —Nathan Hodge contributed to this article.   Source: The Wall Street Journal   Image: Associated Press -- Blackhawk UH-60 helicopters, such as these flown in South Korean military exercises last winter, are part of a proposed arms sale to Saudi Arabia.

    UK May Borrow F-18s For Carriers; F-35Bs May Be Scrapped
    Erik
    By Erik,
      UK May Borrow F-18s For Carriers; F-35Bs May Be Scrapped   DOD Buzz --By Colin Clark Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 10:22 am   Britain’s Conservative government, faced with enormous deficits, may launch its Queen Elizabeth class carriers without airplanes to put on them as it considers early retirement for its Harrier jump jets.   The two 65,000 ton carriers are built into the UK’s defense budget, but new airplanes are not. Scrapping the Harriers early, combined with delays to the Joint Strike Fighter short takeoff version, could leave the UK temporarily dependent on the U.S. for F/A-18s and V-22s. That raises the prospect of one country deploying carriers and then relying on another country to supply the airplanes to fly from them.   Although the U.S. and some NATO allies have engaged in exercises flying each others planes from each others carriers such heavy reliance on another country raised eyebrows among analysts the idea was reported in British newspapers.   “My first thought after reading the article was that [british Defense Minister Liam] Fox was floating a trail balloon, perhaps hoping the British public might object to the British Empire losing its independent ability to project power on its own. I recognize the UK will seldom deploy without others, including the US. However, it did just that during the Falkland campaign and likely does so periodically to show the UK flag globally. In either case a brand new carrier will lose much of its shine if deployed without a complement of capable combat aircraft,” Frank Cevasco, one of Washington’s top international defense consultants and a former senior Pentagon official responsible for international weapons cooperation, said in an email.   “Desperate times require desperate measures,” Cevasco wrote, noting that “only the UK voters and their leaders can decide where the red line is.”   The London Daily Mail quoted a senior military source saying that the “U.S. Marines have the aircraft. Their aircraft would fly from the British carriers. Or we could borrow some from them.” To show just how sharp the debate must be within the British government and its Ministry of Defense, the Daily Telegraph has reported that Britain will scrap the F-35B and go with the JSF carrier version, known as the F-35C   The Queen Elizabeth carriers, the biggest warships ever built by the U.K., are designed to handle traditional carrier aircraft such as Super Hornets and the carrier version of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) or STOVL aircraft such as the Harrier and JSF. While the primary design stresses STOVL, the carriers are designed to be retrofitted with arresting cables, according to U.S. defense industry sources. That would enable the F/A-18 E/Fs and their predecessors to take off and land on the British ships.   Also, the ships are designed to be fitted with steam catapults and the UK has also continued work on electro-magnetic catapults.   An industry source said Super Hornet and their predecessor models should have no trouble taking off from the British ships as the ships are “extremely capable and are extremely big.” A Super Hornet should be able to “take off with a very significant combat load over deck with a zero wind load,” the source said. And the F/A/-18’s high energy nose gear mean it “is also ideally suited for ramp launches because they can absorb” the enormous energy required for a ramp launch.   The British plan to use the STOVL F-35 as the main weapon on the carriers so it would seem reasonable to conclude that any plans to use F-/A-18s instead of the F-35s would pose a threat to Lockheed Martin’s long-planned sale of 138 F-35Bs.   However, the industry source dismissed the threat to the F-35Bs, saying that any sharing of Super Hornets with the U.K. would be strictly a “capability gap-filler,” and not a replacement for the more advanced, fifth generation fighter.   If Britain hopes to supplement the Super Hornets with MV-22 Ospreys, that would be much more difficult, the industry source said. The Marines are relying on MV-22s in Afghanistan and as key aircraft for their Marine Expeditionary Units. The U.S. would be “hard-pressed” to lend some of those planes, according to the source.   Arms export restrictions should not be a problem for sharing any of the aircraft, the industry source said, especially for what he described as perhaps America’s staunchest ally.       DOD Buzz

    Eurofighter offers Typhoon for Polish air force
    Erik
    By Erik,
      Eurofighter offers Typhoon for Polish air force   Flight Global -- By Bartosz Glowacki   The Eurofighter consortium has made its debut appearance at Poland’s International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO) in Kielce, with the Typhoon being promoted as a potential replacement for the nation’s RSK MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-22M4 strike aircraft.   With sources suggesting that Poland’s defence ministry plans to upgrade some of its current assets, Eurofighter representatives say: “The price of the [Typhoon] aircraft, its servicing and maintenance costs during the next 30-40 years would be not higher than extending the life of ex-Soviet aircraft until 2028.”   A campaign to sell the Typhoon to Warsaw would be supported by EADS and Finmeccanica, which would each offer industrial partnerships and technology transfer. Poland could also access the training and logistics lessons learned by Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, plus export user Austria, sources say.   The Polish air force should retire the last of its remaining 48 Su-22s in 2011-12, but there have been suggestions that this could be extended until 2016. Their removal would leave a fighter gap between the service’s current 31 MiG-29s and 48 Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds, as the defence ministry has outlined a need to retain a strength of eight frontline squadrons equipped with 120 modern combat aircraft. A planned acquisition of 16 advanced jet trainer/lead-in fighter trainers with some combat capabilities would only slightly narrow the capability gap.   The Typhoon is also being offered to other central European countries, including the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.               Flight Global

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