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  December 31, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Air Force looks to use fleet’s largest cargo plane for medical evacuations

  By WYATT OLSON | STARS AND STRIPES The Air Force is moving ahead to certify the cargo hold of its largest plane, the C-5M Super Galaxy, for use in medical evacuations for both casualties of war and victims of natural disasters. Nearly as long as a football field, the Super Galaxy has significantly more capacity than the C-17, the largest aircraft used by the Air Force for aeromedical evacuations in the cargo area. The Super Galaxy is certified for such evacuations using its passenger area, not its cargo hold. This month, the Air Force completed a two-year initiative to prepare, equip and test the Super Galaxy for the broader certification. Its cargo floor can accommodate 89 unstacked litters, twice as many as the C-17, which can fit 48 unstacked litters, according to a statement provided to Stars and Stripes by the Air Mobility Command. A C-130 can move only 15 patients on its cargo floor. A final proof-of-concept test for the Super Galaxy was recently successfully completed at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., and certification to support aeromedical evacuations could come as early as this summer. About 100 personnel were involved in the culminating test, with the C-5M and crew flying in from Travis Air Force Base, Calif. For the purposes of certification, the Super Galaxy was configured with a proprietary litter-stacking system that reduces the maximum number of stretchers its bare cargo area could hold. Under this configuration, the Super Galaxy “can safely move 244 ambulatory patients and has space for 40 litters,” Air Mobility Command said. The aeromedical evacuation squadron brought aboard its standard in-flight kits used for medical care, and a transportable galley and lavatory were also added. The Super Galaxy can carry a payload of nearly 135 tons, with enough cargo space to carry, say, two tanks, 16 Humvees and three Black Hawk helicopters. Without cargo, it has a range of 7,000 miles without the need for refueling. The Super Galaxy is an upgraded version of the legacy C-5, which was introduced in the 1960s. Its more powerful engines provide more thrust, shorter takeoffs and longer range. Full article: https://www.stripes.com/news/us/air-force-looks-to-use-fleet-s-largest-cargo-plane-for-medical-evacuations-1.562170

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  November 5, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, C4ISR

  Italy spends $5.7 billion on military procurement in 2018

  By: Tom Kington ROME — Italy has spent slightly more than €5 billion (U.S. $5.7 billion) on defense procurement in 2018 and launched a series of new programs, a newly released spending document has revealed. Published months behind schedule, the Defence Ministry document also states that the ministry's overall budget, which includes its contribution to procurement as well as funds for personnel and maintenance and operations, stood at €13.8 billion this year, up from €13.2 billion the year before. The total budget for procurement combines a €2.3 billion contribution from the Defence Ministry funding with a €2.8 billion top-up from Italy's Ministry of Economic Development, which has long shored up acquisition funding. A chart published in the document shows that procurement funding from the defense ministry has risen 83 percent from €1.5 billion in 2008, and overtook Defence Ministry procurement in 2016 for the first time. The figures are contained in Italy's annual defense spending document, which is due to be examined by the Italian parliament's defense commission next week and has been seen by Defense News. The document breaks down spending per program in 2018 and lists new programs receiving funding for the first time, including four new Chinook helicopters for special forces troops, which will cost €528 million over nine years. Launch funding is also allotted for the purchase of a third pair of U212 submarines for the Italian Navy, a program due to cost a total of €2.35 billion. There is also launch funding for a second pair of Cosmo Skymed Second Generation radar satellites which will cost a total of €212 million. Also included in the budget is funding to launch the purchase of a new submarine rescue vessel which will cost a total of €424 million. Usually published in the spring, the release of the budget overview has been held up by a change of government, which saw a center-left administration replaced in June by a populist coalition. The new government's defense budget plans are yet to be finalized as the overall state budget is still being worked on, but a source has already told Defense News that €450 million are to be trimmed from planned spending to help fund social welfare programs. The programs to be put on ice during 2019 are NH-90 helicopter acquisitions and the CAMM-ER missile program, while plans to move the headquarters of individual military services in Rome under one roof in premises on the outskirts of the capital have been scrapped. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/11/02/italy-spends-57-billion-on-military-procurement-in-2018

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  January 28, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  'Irresponsible politics’ blamed for potential hiccup in Finnish aircraft purchase

  By: Gerard O'Dwyer HELSINKI — Finland's left-leaning political parties have cast a shadow of doubt of the fate of the HX-FP fighter procurement program, questioning the number of multirole aircraft that the Finnish Air Force needs to acquire. The Air Force wants to retire its fleet of F/A-18 Hornet jets over the next 10 years. The HX-FP carries an estimated price tag of €11.4 billion (U.S. $12.9 billion). Life cycle service and maintenance are included in this cost. Finland will hold fresh parliamentary elections in April, and the leaders of election campaign-focused Left Alliance, Greens and Social Democratic parties have declared a willingness to revisit the center-right government's plan to purchase 64 multirole fighters. Similarly, the right-wing Finns Party's leadership is also open to reducing the number of aircraft Finland will buy. Defence Minister Jussi Niinistö described the “negative” pre-election positions adopted by the leftists and the Finns Party to the HX-FP program as “irresponsible.” “I am surprised by the positions the leftist parties are taking on the procurement. The purchase of new fighter aircraft is about whether we are interested in defending our country or not. If we reduce the number of planes, then we need to have a debate about which are the priority areas in our defense. In my opinion, this is irresponsible politics,” Niinistö said. The common positions taken by the leftist parties and the Finns Party have assumed a more significant stature given that the Social Democratic Party — which is leading popular polls ahead of the April election — may end up leading Finland's next coalition government in partnership with either the Greens or the Left Alliance. Finland's coalition government parties, the Center and conservative National Coalition, remain firmly supportive of a plan to procure 64 aircraft as part of the HX-FP. Other center-right parties in Parliament, including the Swedish People's Party, the Christian Democrats and Blue Reform, also back the Air Force's plan to purchase 64 jets. “This matter is not about a specific number of planes, but finding an overall solution. The number of fighter jets that can be bought is not written in stone. That number will not be known until responses to the invitation for tenders have been properly processed. We will then have different mapped-out options to examine,” said Sanna Marin, a spokeswoman for the Social Democratic Party. Niinistö is a staunch supporter of the HX-FP and favors the acquisition of 64 planes. He recently told a meeting of Parliament's Defence Committee that the Air Force, were it were not for budgetary spending constraints, ought to have up to 100 multirole fighters at its disposal to provide an enhanced level of air defense for Finland's borders. The dispute over potential HX-FP numbers comes as Lt. Gen. Jarmo Lindberg, the Finnish Defence Forces' chief, plans to step down from his role when his five-year term ends in August 2019. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/01/25/irresponsible-politics-blamed-for-potential-hiccup-in-finnish-aircraft-purchase