Russia Likely to Purchase An-70 Aircraft in 2012-2013

Russia is likely to begin purchasing Ukrainian-built An-70 propfan military transport aircraft in 2012-2013, Russian Air Force deputy commander major general Viktor Bondarev said.
"The plane is undergoing factory tests, and next year it will be tested by [Russian] military pilots," he added.

The Russian State commission will finally decide the purchase on the basis of the factory test results.

The An-70 is a medium-range propfan-powered military transport plane developed by Ukraine's Antonov design bureau.

The aircraft is intended to replace Russia's ageing An-12 aircraft, according to RIA Novosti.
The Russian Air Force has about 300 transport aircraft in service including An-12 Cub, Il-76MD and An-124 Condor transport aircraft.

Source
http://www.airforce-technology.com/news/news120738.html

India to Buy 10 Boeing Jets in Largest U.S. Deal

India approved buying 10 Boeing Co. (BA)C-17 military cargo aircraft for $4.1 billion, its largest ever defense deal with the U.S., strengthening the country’s capability to transport troops, vehicles and artillery.

The cabinet’s committee on security headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today gave its final approval for the purchase of the heavy-lift Globemaster III planes at a meeting in New Delhi, according to a defense ministry official who didn’t wish to be identified before a public announcement.

The decision comes after fighter jets manufactured by Boeing and fellow American aircraft maker Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT)in April failed to make a shortlist for India’s procurement of 126 warplanes at a cost of about $10 billion. Jets made by France’s Dassault Aviation SA (AM) and the European Aeronautic, Defence and Space Co. are now competing for the world’s biggest fighter-jet order in 15 years. 

Foreign governments and companies struggling to recover from global recession are competing to sell $120 billion worth of arms that India may buy between 2012 and 2017 as it seeks to overhaul its defense capabilities, according to a 2010 estimate by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt. The country is modernizing its military as it looks beyond a traditional rivalry with Pakistan to counter China’s rising power. 

India’s current military cargo fleet is dominated by ageing Russian-built Ilyushin and Antonov aircraft.

Source http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-06/india-said-to-buy-10-boeing-planes-in-largest-u-s-defense-deal.html 

F-22s Grounded By Gas Shortage

The new American F-22 fighter may be having a problem with its OBOG (On Board Oxygen Generating) system, causing pilots to get drowsy, or even black out, from lack of oxygen. As a result, on May 3rd, all F-22s were grounded because of suspected problems in the OBOG. But the U.S. Air Force is checking the OBOGs in F-16, F-15E, A-10, F-35 and T-6 aircraft as well. The problem may just be with the F-22 OBOG, or a general problem with all air force OBOGs. 

OBOGs have been around for over half a century, but only in the last two decades have OBOGs become compact, cheap and reliable enough to replace the older compressed gases or LOX (liquid oxygen) as a source of breathable air for high flying aircrew. Each aircraft, especially the F-22 and F-35, get an OBOG tweaked for space, weight or other conditions specific to that warplane design.

Because aircraft have been staying in the air longer (because of in-flight refueling), carrying enough compressed oxygen has become untenable, and OBOG solves the problem. Since the 1990s, most American military aircraft have replaced older oxygen systems with OBOG. Most Western nations, and Russia, have followed, at least with their latest model aircraft. Most OBOG systems work by using a chemical reaction to remove nitrogen from the air taken in to the OBOG, and then sending out air with the proper amount of oxygen to the aircrew.

Even helicopter pilots sometimes need additional oxygen. The U.S. Army has encountered this in Afghanistan. That's because helicopter pilots there often operate at high (over 3,200 meters/10,000 feet) enough altitudes that they need oxygen to maintain alertness. Currently, crew members get the oxygen via tubes from 45 kg (hundred pound) tanks. This restricts mobility inside the helicopter. So the army has developed a portable (2.3 kilograms/5 pound) device that you can wear on your chest. A sensor gives you additional oxygen when it detects a need. The PHODS (Portable Helicopter Oxygen Delivery System) provides enough oxygen for 2-3 hours.

Source http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htairfo/articles/20110601.aspx

USAF and Navy F-35s Could Deploy Before IOC Dates

So there’s been much fretting lately (well for years, actually) about the prospect of increased cost growth and schedule delays for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program despite the definite up-tick in its flight testing. The plane’s initial operating capability dates which basically dictate when the jet will be able to perform basic combat missions have been pushed more than two years to beyond 2016 for the Navy and Air Force. This delay causes a host of headaches that we won’t get into here, but lets just say a lot of people were planning on having the F-35 replace their aging jets before 2016, now they’ve got to figure out how to keep those planes flying; in some cases, past their service lives, an ever more expensive task.

One of the key features for the Navy and Air Force in determining the jet’s ability to execute missions is the integration of the Block 3 operating software which contains thousands of lines of code for mostly classified combat capabilities. Now, Air Force and Navy officials are saying that they may deploy the jets in combat before that software is installed.Keep in mind, the Marines planned on declaring IOC with their F-35Bs (and now Cs, too) with Block 2 software since the jet will still be a very potent fighter compared to many existing planes. The Corps’ IOC date has been bumped two to three years to 2014 or 2015.

This means the planes won’t formally have all their combat capability but they’ll still be flying missions around the world and potentially seeing combat. This means the pilots and ground crews will be gaining valuable experience operating the jets and Lockheed’s customers can start retiring their older fighters. As one of the last paragraph in the Defense News story says, maintaining the IOC dates based on the Block 3 software’s readiness may simply be a tactic to keep Lockheed hustling, not necessarily a reflection of the jet’s ability to perform in combat.

 Still, I’d like to know more about the safety considerations the Rear Adm. Philman was talking about. Was he talking about basic maintenance and flight procedures or was he talking about enemy threats to the stealthy jet?

B-52H Stratofortress: Cadillac of the United States Air Force

Known as Americas "Big Stick" the B-52 Stratofortress is the longest-serving front line combat aircraft in history. Its first flight was on April 15, 1952 and since entering service it has been flying operationally for more than 50 years. Its primary role for decades was as a strategic nuclear bomber during the cold war, but other than being on atomic alert the B-52 never deployed its devastating payload of hydrogen nuclear bombs. While the aircraft was a significant nuclear deterrent it only saw action during the extensive conventional bombing campaigns in Southeast Asia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

One of the most notable missions it has flow was the non-stop 35 hour bombing mission on the first night of the gulf war. B-52Gs took off from a Louisiana AFB, deployed cruise missiles from Saudi airspace hitting key military targets in Iraq, before flying all the way back to home base. The B-52s exceptional range and air to air refueling capability was utilized to achieve this raid which was the longest in history. The engines and avionics have been significantly upgraded in recent years, which have extended the aircrafts service life for the coming decades.

The B-52H is operated by 5 crew members consisting of two pilots, an electronic warfare officer, one navigator, and a bombardier. Boeing built 744 B-52's between 1952 and 1962 with each aircraft containing 90km (56mi) of electrical wiring. The aircrafts eight 17,014-lb thrust Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-3 turbofans and 185ft wing span allow it to lift off at its fully loaded weight of 504,860 lbs. The latest B-52H variant can carry a wide variety of weapons including 20 nuclear or conventional cruise missiles, or up to 81 free-fall bombs and anti-ship missiles.

Another notable aircraft feature is the radar directed 20-mm M61A1 tail cannon operated remotely from the cockpit by the electronic warfare officer. The Stratofortress also employs a bicycle type landing gear which greatly assists the pilots during crosswind landings by slewing the fuselage down the runway. The aircraft can perform very high or very low-level under the radar missions and high explosive or cluster bombs can be mounted externally on the wing pylons, further adding to its payload and capabilities.

The B-52 Stratofortress is one of the most versatile and admired aircraft in United States Air Force service and has proven itself time and again over the years. Not only has it performed exemplary in service but it continues to remain operational as a key part of the American bomber fleet. Its ability to efficiently deliver it devastating payload to any target in the world within 18 hours gives the aircraft a truly global reach. The B-52 is expected to remain in service for years to come and continue its very important role as a global deterrent to terrorism and nuclear threat.

By Don Farley