U.S. Air Force Studies Rocket-Based Hypersonic Flying Testbed Plan

On the same subject

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  July 25, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Bulgaria issues request for proposals for fighter jets

  SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria has sent a request for proposals (RFP) for 16 new or used fighter jets to replace its aging Soviet-designed MiG-29s to seven countries, the defense ministry told Reuters on Wednesday. The Black Sea country, which joined NATO in 2004, has called for bids to supply aircraft from the United States, Portugal, Israel, Italy, Germany, France and Sweden. Last month Bulgaria's parliament approved a plan to buy the jets. It plans to acquire them in two equal stages as part of efforts to improve its compliance with NATO standards. Some 1.8 billion levs ($1.08 billion) will cover the first eight aircraft, as well as ground handling, team training and three years of initial integrated logistics support. Potential suppliers include Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet, Saab's Gripen, Dassault's Rafale and Lockheed Martin's F-16 or Eurofighter, the ministry said. Sofia is asking manufacturers to provide bids by October 1. The ministry has called for bids for new or used jets from the United States (F-16 and F/A-18 Super Hornet), France (Dassault Rafale) and Sweden (Gripen C/D) as well as new jets from Germany (Eurofighter 3 Tranche) and used planes from Portugal (F-16), Israel (F-16) and Italy (Eurofighter Tranche 1). NATO has encouraged its eastern members to develop, buy and operate new alliance equipment. Some eastern European NATO allies that were once Soviet satellites still rely on Russian-made military jets - two-thirds of Poland's military equipment dates from the pre-1991 Soviet era, for example. The question of which warplanes to buy has vexed successive governments in Bulgaria for more than a decade. Sofia aims to raise its annual defense expenditure to 2 percent of the country's gross domestic product by 2024. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-defence-jets/bulgaria-issues-request-for-proposals-for-fighter-jets-idUSKBN1KF10W

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  April 7, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  How Will Coronavirus Change The Aftermarket?

  Alex Derber If the ongoing corona-crisis does effect a structural shift in the air transport market, both the production and aftermarket sectors will have to adjust. Much has been made of aviation's ability to weather previous external shocks such as 9/11, SARS and the financial crash, but the present upheaval is likely to outdo all others in its severity, and there is a good chance we won't see demand bounce back as quickly as in the past. In fact, the best comparison may not be with other external shocks at all, but rather with the profound impact that low-cost carriers (LCCs) had upon the established airline sector. Granted, this occurred region by region on a rolling basis over many years, rather than as a discrete global event like coronavirus, but the demand hit to full-service short- and medium-haul operations was huge. The LCCs also prompted significant changes in the MRO market, including: a move away from letter checks to more flexible maintenance programs; a rise in outsourcing and full-service maintenance contracts; and consolidation as larger MRO providers sought to enhance their nose-to-tail capabilities. So, what further changes might be wrought by the present crisis? Much will depend on the extent of the disruption and the demand profile thereafter, but certain tentative predictions can be made. For example: many airlines will probably fail; the survivors will emerge as smaller operations; many older aircraft will retire earlier; and business travel may never recover its pre-crisis highs. For the aftermarket this may mean: more competition for contracts and a need to find greater cost efficiencies; a greater focus on new-technology inspection, testing and repair capabilities, such as for carbon fiber and the latest engines; and a trend towards simpler cabins. Also a fair bet, of course, is that the most significant ramifications of coronavirus for the aftermarket are ones that almost no-one is considering currently. For an in-depth look at the factors that have shaped the MRO market to this point, see the next Inside MRO. https://aviationweek.com/mro/how-will-coronavirus-change-aftermarket

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  October 3, 2018 | International, Security

  China Cancels High-Level Security Talks With the U.S.

  By Jane Perlez BEIJING — China canceled an important annual security meeting planned for mid-October with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in Beijing, saying a senior Chinese military officer would not be available to meet him, an American official said on Sunday. The decision to withdraw from the high-level encounter, known as the diplomatic and security dialogue, was the latest sign of bad blood between China and the United States, and capped a week of tit-for-tat actions by both nations as they settled into a newly chilly relationship. The cancellation of the dialogue, an event that China until recently had advertised as a productive way for the two sides to talk, showed how quickly the tensions over an escalating trade war have infected other parts of the relationship, particularly vital strategic concerns including Taiwan, arms sales and the South China Sea. A senior American foreign policy official summarized the administration's attitude to China last week, telling a crowd at the celebration of national day at the Chinese Embassy in Washington that the United States was intent on competing with China — brittle language that is usually absent from formal events. Full article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/30/world/asia/china-us-security-mattis.html