High Probability for Installation of Israeli Systems on India's New Fighter Aircraft

High Probability for Installation of Israeli Systems on India's New Fighter Aircraft

The Israeli defense industries are becoming optimistic. An updated assessment says that it is likely that India will purchase Israeli systems for its newly procured fighter aircraft – the French Rafale.

A senior source close to the issue said that while the first eighteen aircrafts will be equipped with French systems, it is possible that the other aircraft will be equipped with Israeli-produced systems.

The new assessment is based on the ongoing discussions between defense industry representatives and senior officials in India. “India recognizes the operational superiority of several Israeli systems, and it seems that they will ask for them,” said the source. He added that it’s possible India will insist that the systems be locally produced by companies that have cooperated with Israeli defense industries in the past.

India has already expressed its desire to equip its new fighter aircraft with Israeli-produced systems, though it is doubtful that the French government will approve the move. At this time, India is most interested in Rafael’s Litening pod, which is used for navigation and for locating ground targets.

The system, which is undergoing an upgrade to its fourth-generation series, is in use by air forces around the world and is considered the best of its kind.

Sukhoi promotes the Su-35 fighter to the Latin American market

Sukhoi promotes the Su-35 fighter to the Latin American market

Moscow, March 23. The Sukhoi Company will show off its multipurpose Su-35 fighter of the 4++ generation at the upcoming on March 27 17th International Aerospace Exhibition FIDAE-2012 in Santiago, Chile.

A model airplane will be presented on the stand of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), which includes the Sukhoi holding company. Visitors to the exhibition and experts will be able to look at its performance characteristics, and the military — to discuss with Sukhoi’s representatives possible aircraft deliveries to the armed forces in the region.

Sukhoi is currently negotiating with foreign customers seeking to re-equip their Air Force. It plans to export Su-35 aircraft to countries in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and South America. If new contracts are signed, Russia will be able to maintain its high competitiveness on the fighter jets world market until the 5^th generation fighter aircraft enters the market in2016-2025.

The serial production of the Su-35S is going on at the Sukhoi’s Y.A.Gagarin Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association (KNAAPO) in accordance with the state contract signed in 2009 to deliver 48 aircraft to the Russian Ministry of Defence by the year 2015.

At present, the Joint State Tests (JST) of the airplane are going on. In March this year the fourth production Su-35S was delivered to the JST. The Su-35-1 and 2 carried out preliminary flight tests, during which the main established flight and technical characteristics of the on-board equipment and super maneuverability features were fully confirmed, stability and controllability characteristics, the characteristics of the power plant and the work of the navigation system were tested.

The plane reached the maximum ground-level speed of 1,400 km/h, speed at altitude — 2400 km/h, the ceiling — 18 thousand meters. The detection range of targets in the “air-to-air” mode is over 400 km. This is significantly higher than that of the combat aircraft currently in service. The onboard OLS (optical locator station) can detect and track multiple targets at ranges exceeding 80 km. More than 400 flights were made as part of flight testing on the fighters. The aircraft complex is ready to undergo tests for combat use.

The analysis of the amount of work already done allows a conclusion that Su-35/Su-35S has a much better flight characteristics compared to analogue aircraft in service. The airborne equipment of the plane allows solving a wider range of tasks set by tactical and technical requirements.

The potential characteristics incorporated in the aircraft will allow it to exceed all tactical fighters of the 4^th and 4 + generations, such as “Rafale” and EF 2000, modernized fighters like the F-15, F-16, F-18, F-35 and to counter the F-22A fighter.

The UAC products are presented at the air show in Chile by military and civilian aircraft, manufactured by enterprises of the corporation. In addition to the Su-35 the UAC stand will also host the Yak-130, Sukhoi Superjet 100 and MC-21 aircraft models.

HondaJet picks up flight testing with modified HF120 engines

HondaJet picks up flight testing with modified HF120 engines

The GE Honda Aero Engines team has shipped two HF120 turbofan engines with modified fan blisks for Honda's F2 flight test aircraft in North Carolina following a redesign of the titanium components after icing tests earlier this year. The aircraft is expected to join the test programme in November.


News of the engine redesign and an associated certification slip for the twin-engine $4.5 million HondaJet was revealed by Honda Aircraft chief executive and president Michimasa Fujino at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) trade show in Las Vegas in early October. Originally slated for certification and deliveries in the second half of 2012, the six-passenger light business jet will now be delayed until the second half of 2013 because of the extra time needed for engine and aircraft-level retesting.

During Part 33 engine certification testing in February, the HF120 failed an "ice slab" test in which 0.25in-thick slabs of ice are injected into the engine at full power during ground tests at GE's Peebles, Ohio facility. The test simulates airframe ice breaking off and entering the engine. The 1,950lb take-off thrust (8.7kN) HF120, which features a one-piece titanium fan (also known as a blisk), experienced a "minor" power loss after the ingestion due to blade damage. The level of power loss apparently exceeded the test criteria of minimal or no-loss of power.

Engineers then redesigned the fan blade, increasing the thickness of the leading edge of the 16 fan blades on the blisk and changing the manufacturing process for the component. The redesigned fan has passed the ice slab test, but a series of other tests, such as blade-out demonstrations and a 150h endurance block test, must be rerun for the new design. GE says it has completed a successful rig-level blade out test, which provided confidence in the design ahead of the forthcoming certification blade-out test. GE Honda Aero engines will use seven engines with the enhanced fan design for the overall Part 33 engine certification programme, which it expects to complete in the second quarter of 2012, followed by US Federal Aviation Administration certification of the engine in the second half of 2012.

LEMV readied for November flight

The Northrop Grumman/Hybrid Air Vehicles long-endurance multi-intelligence vehicle (LEMV) is now scheduled to fly in November after a three-month delay.

LEMV is now running more than a month behind its scheduled first flight, which was revealed in June at the Paris Air Show. The delays have not been publicly explained.

The hybrid airship is now in a hangar, with all 19 sections inflated and sensors integrated, according to sources with knowledge of the programme.

LEMV is being built under a $500 million signed last June with the Space and Missile Defense Command, a branch of the US army. It is widely believed to be purchased by the command on behalf of the army's special operations community.

Lighter-than-air aircraft designs have historically been used for everything from surveillance to antisubmarine warfare. They fell out of favour during the Cold War, but have regained interest with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where commanders are requesting persistent surveillance in a region with no airborne threats.