Albania, wary of Russia, reopens Soviet-era air base to NATO

Sur le même sujet

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  6 avril 2018 | International, Aérospatial

  Le Rafale de Dassault bientôt à nouveau en piste en Inde

  (Boursier.com) — L'Inde a fixé au 6 juillet prochain la date-butoir pour la soumission initiale des offres de renouvellement de sa flotte de jets de combat. Le pays veut s'équiper de 110 appareils mono et biplaces qui doivent être produits localement, a fait savoir l'armée de l'air. L'occasion pour Dassault Aviation de proposer à nouveau son Rafale, que Delhi a déjà commandé à 36 exemplaires en 2016, après un très long processus entamé en 2001. Initialement, l'Inde devait commander 126 Rafale, mais le contrat avait finalement été réduit à 36 appareils après plusieurs volte-face des autorités. Make in India Dassault a depuis joué la carte de la séduction en mettant les bouchées double dans le cadre de l'initiative gouvernementale "Make in India", qui vise à faire profiter à l'industrie locale des grands contrats signaux avec des groupes étrangers. Une usine a vu le jour en coentreprise avec Reliance à Nagpur, pour fabriquer des pièces à destination du contrat Rafale initial. Le groupe français a également exhorté ses sous-traitants à investir dans le pays, pour accroître ses chances d'obtenir un nouveau contrat. Le premier Rafale à voler pour l'Inde devrait être livré en 2019, 18 ans après que le pays eut décidé de moderniser sa flotte d'avions de combat. https://www.boursier.com/actions/actualites/news/le-rafale-de-dassault-bientot-a-nouveau-en-piste-en-inde-761709.html

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  3 février 2021 | International, Aérospatial

  Turkey launches F-16 life-extension program amid lack of replacement aircraft

  By: Burak Ege Bekdil   ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's procurement and defense authorities have launched a program designed to increase the structural life of the country's existing fleet of F-16 Block 30 jets from 8,000 flight hours to 12,000, the country's top procurement official announced. Ismail Demir, who leads the Presidency of Defence Industries, wrote in a Feb. 2 tweet that the comprehensive upgrade program would involve revisions, renewals, replacements and body reinforcement. “The upgrades will cover 1,200 to 1,500 parts per aircraft,” Demir said. Caglar Kurc, a Turkish defense analyst, said the upgrade program indicates Turkey's intention to keep the F-16s as its main aerial firepower until the country completes work on its planned indigenous fighter jet. “In addition to the F-16s, [armed and unarmed] drones could be used to support, particularly, anti-terror missions,” Kurc said. Turkey has been seeking options for a new-generation fighter after it was suspended from the American-led, multinational Joint Strike Fighter program that builds the F-35 Lightning II. Turkish Aerospace Industries will perform the structural upgrades for the F-16s as part of an ongoing upgrade program. TAI is currently building 30 new F-16 Block 50+ aircraft for the Turkish Air Force and is running an upgrade program covering more than 160 F-16 Block 30/40/50 aircraft. Turkey's indigenous fighter program, dubbed TF-X (or MMU in its Turkish acronym), has been crawling over the past years due to technological failures and issues with know-how transfers. Turkish engineers must first select an engine for the planned aircraft before finalizing the design phase. TAI has been in talks with British engine-maker Rolls-Royce for engine know-how and co-production, but a final contract has yet to emerge. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/02/02/turkey-launches-f-16-life-extension-program-amid-lack-of-replacement-aircraft/

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  6 août 2018 | International, Naval, C4ISR

  How underwater drones will change the Navy’s sub game

  By: Geoff Ziezulewicz   Standing at the forefront of game-changing innovations in undersea warfare, Navy Cmdr. Scott Smith has only one small request. Don't call the Navy's fleet of unmanned undersea vehicles “drones.” “It has a negative connotation,” Smith said. “We think of drone strikes as taking out Taliban, and we're nowhere near that.” Not yet, anyway. But the Pentagon is trying quickly to get there. Last fall, the Navy named Smith as the first-ever commander of the new Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Squadron 1, or UUVRON-1. It's spearheading the service's development and deployment of unmanned underwater vehicles. Called UUVs, they're are already being used for surveillance and to clear mines and map the ocean floor, according to Bryan Clark, a retired submariner who is now a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Full Article: https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2018/08/03/how-underwater-drones-will-change-the-navys-sub-game/