January 9, 2019 | International, Aerospace

Bulgaria ready to start talks with U.S. on F-16 jet deal

SOFIA (Reuters) - The Bulgarian government has approved a plan to start talks with the United States on buying eight new F-16 fighter jets to replace its ageing Soviet-made MiG-29s and improve compliance with NATO standards, the defense minister said on Wednesday.

A deal for Lockheed Martin's F-16V Block 70 would be worth around 1.8 billion levs ($1.1 billion), Bulgaria's biggest military procurement since the fall of Communist rule some 30 years ago.

The decision still requires parliament's approval.

Other bidders had included Sweden, with Saab's Gripen jets, and Italy, with second-hand Eurofighters.

Senior defense ministry and army officials say the F-16 is a multi-role fighter plane that had been tested in battle and had a long lifespan.

The defense ministry has previously said that the United States does not need additional licenses and agreements to supply the war plans with the necessary weaponry and licenses, unlike the offers from Sweden and Italy.

“The government is proposing to the parliament to allow it to start talks with the United States to acquire new war planes,” Defense Minister Krasimir Karakachanov told reporters.

The center-right coalition government has a thin majority in parliament, which is expected to vote on the move next week.

The plan has spurred heated political debates in the Black Sea country with supporters hailing it as a strategic choice for Bulgaria, whose NATO neighbors are also flying F-16s, while critics accused the government of breaching the tender rules.

On Tuesday, the White House said the United States was ready to work with the government to tailor a deal that will fit Bulgaria's budgetary and operational requirements. Its bid at present exceeds the tender's estimated limit, officials said.

“We believe that the F-16 Block 70 offers Bulgaria the best possible combination of price, capability and interoperability with other NATO air forces,” U.S. President Donald Trump's administration said in a statement.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, a former air force commander and frequent critic of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, is believed to favor the Swedish bid and has criticized the process as flawed and “a triumph of lobbying”.

Critics have questioned whether the United States can deliver the first two F-16 jets within two years as required and pointed to a U.S. proposal for a one-off payment upon contracting rather than offering a long-term payment scheme as preferred in the tender.

Sweden has expressed its disappointment over the decision and said its offer was well below the estimated budget, provided for deferred payment and was ready to deliver on time.

The question of which warplanes to buy has been vexing successive governments in Bulgaria for more than a decade.

Borissov's government re-launched the tender in July, after a parliament commission ruled that a previous process which favored the Gripen jets, should be reviewed.

($1 = 1.7057 leva)

Editing by Kevin Liffey and Susan Fenton

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-defence-jets/bulgaria-decides-to-start-talks-with-u-s-on-f-16-jet-deal-idUSKCN1P30W9

On the same subject

May 14, 2018 | International, Aerospace

Lockheed gets $1.4B contract for F-35 sustainment
By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin on Monday won a $1.4 billion contract to sustain the global F-35 enterprise for the U.S. military and international customers. According to Lockheed, the contract provides for “air system maintenance; pilot and maintainer training; depot activation; sustaining engineering; Automatic Logistics Information System (ALIS) support, data analytics and predictive health management; and supply chain logistics” for all U.S. and international F-35s through April 30, 2019. Of the $1.4 billion sum, about 73 percent will be paid by the U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy, while the other 27 percent will be covered by international customers. The cost of sustaining the F-35 has been a growing concern for leaders across the Defense Department, from F-35 joint program executive officer Vice Adm. Mat Winter to Ellen Lord, the Pentagon's undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. Bloomberg reported in March that the Air Force could be forced to cut as many as 590 F-35As from its 1,763 program of record should sustainment costs not improve. While Air Force leadership, including Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein, have said they have no plans to slash the program, reducing F-35 sustainment costs to that of fourth generation fighters like the F-16remains a big priority. Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed Martin vice president of F-35 global sustainment, addressed the sustainment cost issue in a news release. “We are taking aggressive actions to improve F-35 aircraft availability and reduce sustainment costs. As the sustainment system matures and the size of the operational fleet grows, we are confident we will deliver more capability at less cost than legacy aircraft,” she stated. The company has already taken some steps to try to improve readiness and repair costs, including expanding the supply chain, buying spare parts ahead of need to boost availability and achieve economies of scale, and investing in diagnostic and data analytics technologies, it said. So far, more than 280 F-35s have been delivered and operate from 15 bases worldwide. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/04/30/lockheed-gets-14b-contract-for-f-35-sustainment/
December 14, 2018 | International, Aerospace

Airbus, Dassault, Leonardo : le drone MALE européen sur la piste de décollage
Par Michel Cabirol L'Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d'Armement a lancé le 31 octobre un appel d'offres portant sur le développement, la production et la phase initiale de maintien en condition opérationnelle du drone MALE européen. Le drone MALE européen est sur la piste de décollage. Le système européen de drone de moyenne altitude et longue endurance MALE RPAS (Medium Altitude Long Endurance Remotely Piloted Aerial System) a franchi le 22 novembre dernier une nouvelle étape importante avec la réalisation de la revue de conception préliminaire, ont annoncé jeudi les trois industriels Airbus, Dassault Aviation et Leonardo. D'ici le milieu de la prochaine décennie, le MALE RPAS, conçu pour opérer dans l'espace aérien non ségrégué, pourra être déployé dans le monde entier pour des missions de renseignement, surveillance, acquisition de cible et reconnaissance (ISTAR). "Ce succès majeur intervient après le lancement par l'Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d'Armement (OCCAR) le 31 octobre d'un appel d'offres portant sur le développement, la production et la phase initiale de maintien en condition opérationnelle du programme", ont précisé les trois industriels dans le communiqué. Cette nouvelle étape permettra aux nations et aux industriels partenaires de commencer le développement du système avec des spécifications harmonisées et une vision claire de sa conception globale. Surtout, la question du prix va être importante mais pas déterminante pour le lancement du programme s'il y a bien sûr toujours une volonté politique. D'autant que l'Allemagne se serait engagée à prendre à son compte les surcoûts liés à la motorisation du MALE. Mi-2017, les pays partenaires avaient conclu un accord sur la configuration du drone, optant in fine pour un système biturbopropulseur. Résultat, la facture pourrait s'élever à plus de 2 milliards d'euros, soit plus du double de l'estimation d'un projet précédent (1 milliard d'euros). Airbus, maître d'oeuvre Désigné comme futur maître d'œuvre, Airbus Defence and Space coordonnera la réponse industrielle à l'appel d'offres avec les principaux sous-traitants : Airbus Defence and Space, Dassault Aviation SA et Leonardo. Airbus va passer un test grandeur nature, le groupe n'a jusqu'ici pas particulièrement brillé dans la conduite de certains grands programmes militaires, dont il a eu la maîtrise d'oeuvre (A400M, drone SIDM, hélicoptère NH90...). Et plus spécifiquement quand le groupe européen a lui-même dû développer des missions de défense dans ces programmes. Selon le communiqué, cet appel d'offres témoigne de la volonté des nations partenaires (France, Allemagne, Italie et Espagne) de poursuivre le programme "à l'issue d'une phase extrêmement fructueuse d'alignement des exigences et d'une démonstration convaincante de la qualité et de l'adéquation de la conception proposée à l'usage prévu". La revue de conception préliminaire du système conclut avec succèsl'étude de définition de deux ans lancée en septembre 2016 par les nations partenaires. Trois d'entre elles avaient signé en mai 2015 une déclaration d'intention en vue du développement commun d'un système de drone européen MALE, puis l'Espagne a rejoint le programme en 2016. https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/airbus-dassault-leonardo-le-drone-male-europeen-sur-la-piste-de-decollage-800954.html
November 19, 2018 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

Russian drones can jam cellphones 60 miles away
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