April 14, 2021 | International, Aerospace
V-22 Upgrades in Works as Aircraft Passes Milestones
January 29, 2024 | International, Land
Spain has ramped up its procurement list this past year and the Minister of Defence has announced her decision to increase spending in line with plans.
October 25, 2018 | International, Aerospace
By: Valerie Insinna and Sebastian Sprenger WASHINGTON and LIÈGE, Belgium — Belgium appears poised to select Lockheed Martin's F-35 over the Eurofighter Typhoon as its next-generation fighter jet, with government sources on Oct. 22 telling national news outlet Belga that an F-35 victory has already been decided. The Belgian government is expected to formally announce its decision before Oct. 29, Reuters reported on Monday. A Lockheed Martin spokesman said he could not confirm whether Belgium had communicated its choice to the firm, but said the company remains confident in its offering. “The F-35 offers transformational capability for the Belgian Air Force and, if selected, will align them with a global coalition operating the world's most advanced aircraft,” Mike Friedman said in an emailed statement. “The F-35 program is built on strong international partnerships, and our proposal includes significant industrial opportunities for Belgian companies to contribute to the global F-35 enterprise.” The F-35 was widely considered the favorite in the competition, which included the Eurofighter — a partnership among the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Germany. This summer, Belgium announced that it would also consider two options in addition to the F-35 and Typhoon: France's Dassault Rafale or upgrading its existing F-16 fleet instead of purchasing new aircraft. U.S. aerospace behemoth Boeing and Sweden's Saab pulled out of the competition last year, with Boeing claiming that Belgium's requirements favored the F-35 and Sweden stating that it was not able to provide the operational support needed by the Belgian Air Component. A win by the F-35 would further solidify the joint strike fighter's dominance among U.S. allies in Europe and deal a heavy blow to Franco-German ambitions for a prominent role in building Europe's next-generation defense capabilities. Both Rafale and Eurofighter had pitched extensive industrial packages to Belgium in the hopes of bolstering their offers. Analysts had said that Belgium's decision could be a bellwether for future European fighter jet competitions. U.S. industry sources told Defense News this summer that they believed that President Donald Trump's rhetoric on NATO allies' defense spending and tariffs on steel and aluminum may have led Belgium to take a closer look at the European offers. Meanwhile, European defense officials and experts repeatedly made the case that Belgium should pick a European plane. For Brussels, the capital of Europe, to choose the U.S. plane would amount to nothing less than an act of “betrayal,” the French business journal La Tribune headlined on Monday. Two practical considerations were seen as playing heavily into the Belgian government's inclination toward the joint strike fighter: For one, the neighboring Netherlands already is an F-35 customer. The two countries agreed some years ago to pool their resources in policing their common airspace, and having only one aircraft type presumably would be good for interoperability. In addition, Belgium for decades has had an agreement with NATO that requires its planes to be capable of carrying U.S. nuclear weapons into a hypothetical atomic war. Belgium, like neighbor Germany, stores a few warheads within its borders for that purpose. Certifying a European-made aircraft, like the Airbus Eurofighter, for the nuclear mission after the F-16 is politically tricky and – some say – perhaps even undoable given the current state of trans-Atlantic affairs. In that line of thinking, a nuclear-capable F-35 could represent the most trouble-free option for Belgium. The Belgian decision is sure to be watched closely by Germany. Berlin is in the market to replace its Tornado aircraft, looking for roughly 90 new planes. While officials have said they prefer the Eurofighter, uncertainty surrounding the nuclear-weapons certification of the future fleet remains something of an elephant in the room. Belgium intends to buy 34 new fighters to replace its aging inventory of F-16s, which number about 54 jets — although that number may be even fewer after an embarrassing incident earlier this month, where a mechanic accidentally opened fire while doing repair work and and blew up a neighboring F-16. In January, the U.S. State Department pre-emptively approved a $6.53 billion F-35 sale to Belgium that would include 34 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variants, 38 F-135 engines manufactured by Pratt & Whitney, and a slew of other equipment to enable operations, training and logistics. That estimate is expected to come down as Lockheed and the government hammer out a final contract. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/10/22/belgium-reportedly-picks-f-35-for-future-fighter-jet
April 16, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Boeing a effectué avec succès le premier vol du chasseur F-15QA, version la plus avancée du F-15 développée pour l'armée de l'air qatarie (QEAF). L'avion a démontré ses capacités au cours d'un vol de 90 minutes. L'appareil a décollé et a atterri de l'aéroport international Lambert à Saint-Louis. Cure de jouvence pour le F-15 Enfin une bonne nouvelle pour Boeing, même si le F-15 n'est plus vraiment ce que l'on peut appeler un appareil de première fraîcheur. L'avionneur de Saint Louis (ex division McDonnell Douglas en conséquence) a effectué avec succès le premier vol du chasseur F-15QA, version la plus avancée du F-15 développée pour l'armée de l'air qatarie (QEAF). L'avion a démontré ses capacités au cours d'un vol de 90 minutes. L'appareil a décollé et a atterri de l'aéroport international Lambert à Saint-Louis. « Nous sommes très fiers de cet accomplissement et nous nous réjouissons avec beaucoup d'enthousiasme des succès continus de ce programme », a déclaré le colonel Ahmed Al Mansoori, commandant de l'escadre F-15 de la QEAF. « Ce premier vol réussi est une étape importante qui rapproche nos escadrons d'un pas vers le pilotage de cet avion au-dessus du ciel du Qatar. » 9G L'équipe d'essais en vol de Boeing, dirigée par le pilote d'essai en chef Matt Giese, a mis en place une liste de vérification précise de la mission pour tester les capacités de l'avion multirôle. L'avion a démontré sa maniabilité lors de son décollage vertical en tirant neuf G, soit neuf fois la force de la gravité terrestre, au cours de ses manœuvres subséquentes dans l'espace aérien d'essai. Les vérifications des systèmes tels que l'avionique et le radar ont également été couronnées de succès. Une équipe d'essai qui surveillait les données en temps réel a confirmé que l'avion s'était comporté comme prévu. 6,2 MD$ pour 36 avions Le département américain de la Défense a attribué à Boeing un contrat de 6,2 milliards de dollars en 2017 pour la fabrication de 36 avions de chasse F-15 pour la QEAF. Boeing commencera à livrer des avions au client en 2021. De plus, Boeing a obtenu un contrat de vente militaire à l'étranger de l'US Air Force en 2019 pour les équipages F-15QA et la formation à la maintenance pour la QEAF. Le F-15QA apporte à ses exploitants des technologies modernes telles que les commandes de vol CDVE (commandes de vol électriques), cockpit numérique, capteurs modernisés, radars et des capacités de guerre électronique. L'augmentation de la fiabilité, de la durabilité et de la maintenance permet aux opérateurs de défense de rester en avance sur les menaces actuelles et en évolution. Vers le F-15EX pour l'USAF Gr'ce à des investissements dans la plate-forme F-15QA et un partenariat avec l'US Air Force, Boeing se prépare maintenant à construire une variante nationale du chasseur avancé, le F-15EX. Huit appareils devraient être assemblés pour commencer, les plans futurs prévoient jusqu'à 144 appareils. https://www.air-cosmos.com/article/le-boeing-f-15-qa-ralise-son-premier-vol-22929