Boeing confirme l'intérêt de Berlin pour l'hélicoptère d'attaque AH-64 Apache... aux dépens du Tigre MK3

Sur le même sujet

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  7 septembre 2023 | International, Aérospatial

  Rafales on the upswing? French fighter eyes additional Mideast sales

  The Dassault-made warplane stands to fill a gap between Europe's Eurofighter and the American F-35, according to analysts.

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  13 août 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Indian MoD approves procurements worth USD1.17 billion

  by Rahul Bedi India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved the procurement of indigenously developed platforms and weapon systems worth INR87.22 billion (USD1.17 billion) for the country's three military services, including basic trainer aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The Indian government's Press Information Bureau (PIB) announced on 11 August that the MoD's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), which is headed by Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh, agreed to acquire an initial 70 Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) aircraft from public-sector company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) following their certification. An additional 36 tandem-seat HTT-40s are expected to be acquired thereafter, once the IAF has operationalised the first lot of trainers. A HTT-40 prototype powered by a Honeywell TPE331-12B turboprop engine made its maiden test flight in June 2016, following a six-year delay, but the aircraft has yet to enter series production. The HTT-40 was developed to replace the HAL-designed HPT-32 Deepak, which was grounded in July 2009 following recurring accidents. Once inducted, the HTT-40 is meant to supplement 75 Pilatus PC-7 Mk II basic trainers that have been in IAF service since 2013. The DAC also cleared the procurement of an unspecified number of upgraded 127 mm/64 cal ‘super rapid' guns from state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) for fitment onto Indian Navy (IN) and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) vessels. Industry sources told Janes that the IN plans to arm an initial 13 frontline warships – including the indigenously designed and built Shivalik-class frigates and Delhi-class destroyers – with these guns. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/indian-mod-approves-procurements-worth-usd117-billion

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  14 août 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  Will this hybrid drone give Russia a high-altitude advantage?

  By: Kelsey D. Atherton Is it still a tiltrotor aircraft if the whole body tilts? The new “Fixar” drone, set to be presented at Russia's MAKS-2019 airshow in late August, is a hybrid of sorts, a quadcopter with fixed wings. With limited moving parts and a flexible design, it's the kind of dual-use technology worth watching and, perhaps, even imitating. “Many companies and UAV manufacturers will present their aircraft, concepts and models” at the MAKS-2019 airshow, said Samuel Bendett, an adviser at the Center for Naval Analyses. “This Fixar UAV is a ‘self-initiated' project by the manufacturer, with the hope of getting attention from potential civilian and military customers at the air show.” Unlike the more eponymous tiltrotor craft, which switch distinctly from rotor-powered takeoff and landing to propeller-driven level flight, the Fixar instead has its four rotors in a permanently fixed position. The engines remain in position while the whole frame of the aircraft can lean backwards for more traditional vertical flights or stay level to operate as a fixed-wing machine. While the Fixar's marketing photos show it working in fields of crops, manufacturer IKS also bills it as designed specifically to operate in windy conditions and in mountains, suggesting that the whole machine might have a role in ISR and cargo transport. “What caught my attention in particular was that the drone can operate in ‘mountainous conditions' due to its unique design,” said Bendett. “In fact, Russian military has been practicing the operation of different UAVs at high altitudes and in high wind — so this Fixar UAV can prove useful right away.” Like all duel-use platforms, a drone is only as useful as the payloads put on it. Cameras and supply storage are likely options, though nothing yet suggests any new demand on the airframe. An ability to fly fast and from small patches of land without a runway is valuable, but it needs to have a certain range and speed to be a better choice than the baseline low cost and simplicity of civilian quadcopters. A large internal security market might support that and could easily lead to the Fixar in police roles, as well. “At present, there is no UAV in the Russian military that has characteristics similar to the Fixar, but given a steady rate of UAS acquisition by the MOD — at 300 UAVs per year for the next several years — it's safe to assume that the Russian military is looking to diversify its UAV fleet beyond the workhorses like Eleton or Orlan," said Bendett. https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2019/08/13/will-this-hybrid-drone-give-russia-a-high-altitude-advantage/