August 10, 2023 | International, Aerospace
Romania eyes 32 F-35s under $6.5 billion deal
A purchase would make Romania the third Eastern European country to operate the fifth-generation warplanes, after Poland and the Czech Republic.
November 28, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Progress on drone, vehicle engines signals Turkey’s independence from foreign suppliers
By: Burak Ege Bekdil
ANKARA, Turkey — Two Turkish companies have consecutively reported significant progress toward building indigenous engines that would power locally made drones and armored vehicles.
State-controlled company Tusas Engine Industries, or TEI, announced the completion of a program for the design, development and production of an indigenous engine that will power the Anka, a medium-altitude, long-endurance drone developed by TEI's sister company, Turkish Aerospace Industries, or TAI.
TEI said it successfully integrated the PD170 engine to the Anka drone. The Anka, with the PD170, will go through flight tests later this year.
TEI officials said the company already signed a serial production contract with TAI. The next step will be to win certification for the engine.
TEI's general manager, Mahmut Akşit, said the PD170 program aims to end Turkey's dependency on foreign engine suppliers. “A further aspect of the program will be exporting the PD170 to foreign countries,” Akşit said.
In 2012, TEI signed a contract with Turkey's procurement authority, then Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (now Presidency of Defense Industries), for the development of the PD170.
TEI has a partnership agreement with U.S.-based General Electric. Turkish procurement authorities recently announced the selection of GE for the supply of engines to power the initial batch of the TF-X, Turkey's indigenous fighter jet in the making. The twin-engine TF-X will be powered by either the F110-GE-129 or the F110-GE-132 engine.
Turkish officials say the GE engine would be a stopgap solution until “we have built our indigenous engine for the TF-X.” Under the deal, the first prototype of the TF-X and an unknown number of initial batches would be powered by an F110 engine.
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April 25, 2019 | International, Aerospace
US, Japan say they’ll get to F-35 wreckage first – concerns China will reach crash site dismissed
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Top defence officials from the U.S. and Japan say they are confident they'll reach the wreckage of a F-35 stealth fighter jet before China does, even though there are no indications that country is actively searching for the downed plane. There has been speculation from various media outlets that either Russia or China would seek to recover the parts of the F-35 to better understand its stealth and other technology. At an April 19 joint news conference the U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and Japanese Defence Minister Takeshi Iwaya addressed such concerns but dismissed any worries the aircraft would be recovered by any nation other than the U.S. or Japan. “The Japanese have the lead there, and we're working very collaboratively with them,” Shanahan explained. “And we've got a capability if what they have doesn't prove to be sufficient.” Shanahan was asked whether he was concerned China could get to the wreckage first. “No, I'm not,” he responded. Japanese Defence Minister Takeshi Iwaya also expressed confidence. “We don't have such possibility, absolutely no,” he said. “We are conducting surveillance and warning activities so we can identify and find the missing aircraft.” He was speaking through a translator. The F-35 crashed in an area in the Pacific Ocean which is estimated to be around 5,000 feet deep. Japan is using a submarine and other vessels to search for the wreckage. The aircraft went missing on April 9 about 30 minutes after taking off from Misawa air base in northern Japan. The aircraft was flying with three other F-35As in a night training mission. The next day the Japanese military confirmed that the aircraft had crashed and some debris had been recovered. “This is a very important aircraft, so we would like to locate the aircraft as soon as we can and salvage it,” Iwaya added during the joint news conference. “Japan will lead the investigation, but we're hoping and also it is indispensable to have the support of the U.S. So while we do that, we would like to find the root cause of the accident.” Pentagon spokesman Charles Summers Jr. told the Air Force Times last week that the crash had not shaken the American and Japanese militaries' faith in the F-35 program. “The U.S., and all F-35 partners, remain fully committed to protecting all F-35 capabilities and technology,” he added. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/us-japan-say-theyll-get-to-f-35-wreckage-first-concerns-china-will-reach-crash-site-dismissed
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November 14, 2022 | International, Aerospace
Elbit Systems Awarded a $72 Million Contract to Supply Hermes 900 Unmanned Aircraft Systems to an International Customer
The Hermes 900 UAS has been selected to-date by more than 15 customers attesting to its competitive edge combining technological sophistication, reliability, open architecture and a solid growth path