China arrests 2 more people for posting nude HK celebrity photos online March 1, 2008
BEIJING – TWO more people have been arrested in China for circulating photos of Hong Kong entertainer Edison Chen and several female partners engaged in sex acts, a state news agency said. The two men were sentenced to five days’ detention for posting at least 10 photos on the Internet, the Xinhua News Agency said on Saturday. It identified them only by the surnames Xiao and Wang and said they lived in the southern city of Changshan in Hunan province. The release of the photos has caused an uproar in Hong Kong. Chen acknowledged last month that he took the photos, but said they were stolen and distributed without his approval. Chinese authorities earlier detained 10 people who were accused of selling or buying computer discs of the photos. One man was detained for posting photos online. People who circulate material deemed pornographic can be sentenced to up to 15 days’ detention, even if they do so ‘without the purpose of making profit’, Xinhua said. In the latest case, Changshan police found 10 images on an Internet posting that had attracted more than 100,000 visitors, Xinhua said. The photos were tracked to Xiao, who allegedly copied more than 400 images from Wang in early February, the report said. Beijing bars the online posting of materials deemed pornographic and uses Internet filtering to try to block mainland Web surfers from seeing such images posted abroad. In Hong Kong, police have arrested several people on suspicion of violating local laws governing obscene material in connection with the photos. Hong Kong is Chinese territory but has its own laws and a court system separate from the mainland. — AP EDISON SEX TAPE WITH CELEBS CAUGHT IN INTERNET In January 2008, Chung was caught in a highly profiled sex scandal with former rumoured boyfriend, Edison Chen. Many pictures of Chung in compromising positions in bed with Chen surfaced and was widely circulated over the Internet. Chung’s entertainment company, EEG, denied that the pictures were real and took legal action. On 31 January 2008, an unemployed 29 year old man was arrested in the New Territories with 12 pictures on his computer. The investigation is still ongoing to find the connection between the suspect and artists but no blackmail was involved. HK Police has also warned that anyone with the pictures not to distribute them as it was in breach of the law.[13] On 2 February 2008, police have arrested 2 other men and one women who are suspected to be related to the release of these photos. According to police, Edison Chen took his computer for repair some time in 2007 and it is suspected the technicians had discovered the explicit pictures and were secretly copied from his computer. A police report states that one possibility for detaining the pictures until now is because one of the suspects was unemployed and had a large unpaid credit card debt, and was planning to use the pictures as blackmail. Chung made her film debut in U Man which was released in 2002 and has since proven her acting skills in a number of films like Beyond Our Ken which has earned her critical acclaim, being nominated as ‘Best Actress’ in the Gam Zhi Ging Awards. Outdoing herself in every martial arts sequence, Chung has established herself as the up and coming action star.[2] In the film Beyond Our Ken released in 2004, Chung played as Chan Wai Ching, a spurned girlfriend of the eponymous Ken. The film managed a box office taking of HK$ 3,886,355 and it has its World Premiere in Tokyo International Film Festival.[3] In Gillian’s most recent film, which was in January of 2006, Gillian’s ‘49 Days’ exceeded the HK $10 million mark, earning a spot in one of Hong Kong’s best box office films for the year 2006. Edison Chen Kwoon-Hei is a Hong Kong movie actor, singer, idol, founder of CLOT Inc., and the CEO of Clot Media Division Limited. In 1999, a scout approached Chen while he was demonstrating his ‘Crouching-Tiger-Hidden-Dragon-Style’ with his friend in Hong Kong and asked him to film a commercial. From then on, he was introduced into the Hong Kong entertainment circle where he immediately gained immense popularity for his attractive appearance and especially adored by girls for his mischievous smile. He has starred in many popular films including Infernal Affairs, Infernal Affairs II, Initial D and Dog Bite Dog. His latest film is Trivial Matters. Determined on expanding his horizons beyond Hong Kong, he also starred as the male lead in the Japanese drama Under the Same Moon. His newest film (filming unstarted) is going to allow him to collaborate once again with Gillian Chung, Stephy Tang & Shawn Yue. In February, 2007, he invested $10 million HKD to open his own multi-media company, Clot Media Division, which plans to produce movies, commercials and music albums. In June, 2007, he released a Mandarin album, 讓我再次介紹我自己 (Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself) with tracks produced by Kanye West, Just Blaze and Clinton Sparks. His song 記得我嗎？ (Remember Me?) contained words of criticism towards his old music company, EEG. Edison Chen Had Photos of Not Only Starlets but Also Wives of Rich Hong Kong Businessmen Hong Kong better prepare it self for what might be the most shocking photos in the Edison Chen sex scandal. Just when you thought the Edison Chen photo sex scandal could not get any worse, new shocking reports just hit the fan. Some newspapers are reporting that Edison’s “interesting” photo collection didn’t only contain pictures of nude Hong Kong actresses and singers like Gillian Chung and Cecilia Cheung but also the wives and daughters of predominant businessmen and members of Hong Kong’s elite society. It is true that Edison certainly has had his way with many women over the years being a leading man in HK movie scene but if this is true, his career is dead. Five companies have apparently canceled their contracts with Edison and he may also face lawsuits for violating the terms of contracts. It is reported that Edison has been blacklisted in Hong Kong entertainment industry. The idea that Edison Chen had secret sexual affairs with the wives of rich and powerful men other than Cecilia Cheung is putting the HK elites in a panic. Out of the 1300 “Kira” reported having, only about 460 have been leaked so far. Edison was undoubtedly a “playboy” in his own league and once wagered with a director that he had nude photos of female starlets. The director didn’t believed him and in the end lost 100 thousand HK dollars to Edison. There is trouble too for Cecilia Cheung, with rumours Nicholas Tse has discovered she cheated on him after they got married and he wants a DNA test for their son Lucas. Meanwhile Police in Shenzhen have arrested 10 people for producing and selling CDs of the images. People in Hong Kong are not permitted to possess images relating to the Edison Chen photo sex scandal.

First, Hong Kong triad gangsters were said to want actor Edison Chen dead. He fled Hong Kong atthe ouset of the scandal after early rumors that someone had given the ‘underworld order, to kill’ him.

via

Now, word has it that another underworld figure has offered a HK $500,000 (US $91,000) reward to hack off one of his hands, reported Apple Daily Hong Kong.

Chen has apparently been targeted by the triads after hundreds of obscene photos of him and several female celebrities like Cecilia Cheung, Bobo Chan and Gillian became very public online.

The photos were stolen from his laptop computer and posted on the Internet. A person calling himself “Kira” as been the key figure in the release of the release of the pictures online.On Sunday, more photos of Chen and Chan were circulated online.

Apple Daily HK, quoting a police source, reported that someone is planning to harm Chen when he returns.

Speculations are that the triad link members of his current girlfriend’s family are among those who want to hurt Edison. His girlfriend, Vincy Yeung is one of the victims and her father and uncle are members of the triad/leader of the triad so to say.

Chen is now lying low in Boston, on the advice of his management company, Media Asia. Vincy Yeung attends university in Boston.

Edison planned to return to Hong Kong last Saturday and hold a press conference on Sunday, but pulled out at the last minute, saying he had something to attend to.

The other reason was that AIG Building in Hong Kong’s Central district allegedly declined to lease its premises for Chen’s press conference, citing security reasons.

In addition there are reports that Hong Kong based movie investors have black-listed Edison Chen, temporarily will not consider hiring him.

Other Targets of the Hong Kong Triads

The source told Apple Daily HK that the underworld figure who offered the reward is targeting not only Edison, but also all other persons involved in distributing the photos. Kira better watch out because the Hong Kong underworld want a piece of him too.

The police are said to be treating the informers’ reports seriously and that it is keeping the said underworld figure under surveillance.

Chen is said to be keen to fly back to Hong Kong as soon as possible as he wants to resolve the fall-out quickly.

But his management company reportedly decided to err on the side of caution by ensuring that his security would be taken care of, before allowing him to return.

Media Asia plans to hire bodyguards to give Chen 24-hour protection and for him to stay at a safe place.

The company is believed to have asked Chen to be patient and wait for the security arrangements to be confirmed before flying back.

Meanwhile, Chung made an appearance on a Hong Kong charity show on TV. Her second public appearance since the scandal erupted three weeks ago

She was the first singer for the show on Sunday and even stood in the center during the group singing.

However, Apple Daily HK reported that some angry netizens complained about her appearance to the Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority. Over 2,000 complaints have been filed by the public against the appearance of Gillian Chung on Sunday’s TVB show to raise money for the victims of China’s recent snow storms. The complainants said it was inappropriate for her to appear on TV so soon after the scandal. Gillian has apologised to her fans but refused to confirm if she was the one in the pictures.

Penerbangan/flight (part2)

The
banned by European, Indonesia will do the same to audit both European airlines such
as Lufthansa and KLM in term for studying. Will Indonesia also treat to banned
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Kompas

RUSSIA
NAVY on December,17 ,2007 successfully launching SLBM from its subs. Landing
location in Kura, Kamchatka at eastcoast Pacific ocean.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Year 2007 Movies Industrial Rangking Around The World

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Dreaming Having F-22 Raptor At 2012

Indonesia
armed forces(TNI-AU) according to one newspaper article, Indonesia will replace
their SU-27 with F-22 is a very optimistic wish.
CLCIK HERE TO READ MORE

GOLD PRICE(KITCO)

AUSTRALIA DOLLAR CURRENCIES VS USD(KITCO)

 

GOLD PRICE IN YUAN(CHINA) CURRENCIES-KITCO

Changing its spots brings expanded roles and users for Leopard 2 MBT

17 March 2008

Just over 30 years ago, in 1977, the German Army selected the now Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) Leopard 2 main battle tank (MBT) to meet its future requirements and the first production vehicles were completed by late 1979.

Since then, a raft of new-build and transfer customers have taken delivery of their own Leopards as the tank has entered wide service around the world.

Production was originally split between KMW in Munich and the now Rheinmetall Defence in Kiel, but today all production and upgrade work on the Leopard 2 MBT is carried out by KMW in Munich, as the vehicle design authority. Rheinmetall Defence, meanwhile, is design authority for the Leopard-based B�ffel armoured recovery vehicle. Both companies work in close co-operation with Germany’s Federal Office for Defence Technology and Procurement (Bundesamt f�r Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung – BWB).

Surplus German Leopard 2A4s are normally sold on a government-to-government basis, with German industry usually awarded contracts for vehicle refurbishment, training, spares and ammunition.

Other Leopard 2 users are also selling surplus Leopard 2s and in some cases – Denmark being one recipient – KMW is working to upgrade them to an enhanced ‘A5′ version before delivery.

In other examples, early vehicles are upgraded in Germany and the remainder in the users’ own facilities using kits provided by KMW and its many subcontractors.

As well as working on these second-hand vehicles, KMW is still manufacturing new Leopard 2s – currently for the Hellenic Army. The production line will be maintained to meet potential future export requirements. Much of the workload in Munich is currently focused on refurbishing surplus German Army Leopard 2s for Chile, Greece and Turkey, and this work is expected to carry on through 2009.

While the baseline design of the Leopard 2 is now more than 30 years old, it has during that time undergone a number of major upgrades as the result of changing operational requirements and the introduction of new technology.

Most Leopard 2 users have regular meetings in Germany so that KMW can keep its customers and many subcontractors informed of any changes to the vehicle or emerging user requirements. Modifications to existing Leopard 2s are made via engineering change proposals, which are circulated to all users.

Interestingly, export customers regularly receive the enhanced versions of the vehicle before the German Army. A good example is the Leopard 2 Strv 122 – developed to meet the requirements of the Swedish Army – which had many improvements over the basic Leopard 2 then fielded domestically.

Despite widespread foreign interest, early in its life the Leopard 2’s export potential was limited by Germany’s stringent export controls. However, as these have been relaxed over recent years industry has been able to export some armoured vehicles into the Middle East.

Traditionally the three key elements of MBT design have been armour, mobility and firepower, but to these can now be added C4I (command, control, communications, computers and intelligence), which is one of the largest investments for many armies.

The first major armour improvement took shape with the Leopard 2A5, which added an enhanced passive protection package over the frontal arc, giving the turret a distinctive arrowhead shape. Armour protection was also increased on the nose and glacis plate.

A higher level of roof protection has also been fitted to many of the more recent new-production versions of the Leopard 2, to defend against top-attack weapons. Explosive-reactive armour has not been fitted so far, as new types of armour can provide protection against both kinetic-energy and chemical-energy attack.

In recent years, however, advanced anti-tank mine threats have proliferated and KMW – with the assistance of the BWB and four other user nations – has developed a new mine-protection package that adds about two tonnes to the overall weight. This has so far been installed on 70 German Army Leopard 2A6 variants, becoming Leopard 2A6M; and the Swedish Army has fitted it to 11 of its Strv 122 MBTs, designating them Strv 122B.

Image: A German Army Leopard 2A6, with additional turret armour and a Rheinmetall 120 mm L/55 smoothbore gun.

ANIMAL TORTURE IN CHINESE, REQUESTING YOUR SUPPORT TO STOP THEM

Pledge to go fur-free at PETA.org

Seriously, watch the video…Im shocked that this even needs 500 names before action can be taken…
> Please Pass on this email unless u are heartless like those idiots!
> I’m ONLY asking you to sign. it is very important to me, and it really does take you no longer than a minute. if you watch this video (i would advise you to watch the first three seconds or so, also because i’m not quite sure you’d be able to watch more than that.. it’s very strong and has to be kept out of the sight of children) you’ll understand exactly why i’m asking you to do this..
> > animals are skinned alive, especially puppies, mostly in china. we want to stop this. it’s horrible, there are no actual words to describe it.
> > please put your name after all the others, and send this email to as many people as you can.
> >
> > the video : http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/Prefs.asp?video=fur_farm
> >
> > as soon as the signatures are 500, please send the email to PETA2@peta.org.
> >
> > PLEASE USE COPY AND PASTE to add your signature and send the email. thank you very much.
> >
> > -1.KEISH (k,l malaysia) bloody idiotz..go n die..la….moronz…..i wish tat happenz u ****ersz…. heartless….jerkz…..
> > 00 Lorena Torrente Ruiz (mallorca)
> > 01 Aina Jaume Vilches (mallorca)
> > 02 Neus Jaume Vilches (Mallorca)
> > 03 Miriam Monerris Mascaró (Menorca)
> > 04 Maria Truyol Villalonga (Menorca)
> > 05 David Coll Pieres(Menorca)
> > 06 Joan López Martí (Menorca07 Julián Pérez Megías (Catalunya)
> > 08 Cristina Rodriguez Casado (Sevilla)
> > 09 Javier Sanchez Reyes (Sevilla)
> > 10 Silvia Rebollo Berro (Sevilla)
> > 11 Antonio Marco Rivas (Sevilla, España)
> > 12 Jesús Raúl Navarro Serrano( Sevilla , España)
> > 13 Joaquin Maria Peña Feria (Sevilla, España)
> > 14 Luis J Parra Melendo (Sevilla, España)
> > 15 Javier Morales Ortiz (Sevilla, España)
> > 16 Ignacio Flores A lguacil (sevilla, España)
> > 17 Antonio Gamero Maldonado (Sevilla, Andalucía)
> > 18 Marcos Ramiro Ainziburu (Segovia)
> > 19 Ismael Parra Palacios (Madrid,Españ a)
> > 20 Marisol Galiano Vadillo (Madrid,Españ a) . MALDITOS SALVAJES
> > 21 Roberto Jimenez Sanchez (Madrid,Españ a)
> > 22 Noelia Sánchez Gutierrez (Madrid, España)
> > 23 Ana Catalan Salmeron(Madrid,España)
> > 24 Jaime Abad Caldeiro (Madrid, España)
> > 25 Jesús Fajardo Cortes (Madrid)
> > 26 Elisabeth Peñalver Ruiz (Granada, España)
> > 27 Hatha Stewart Gay de Montellá (Granada, España)
> > 28 Alex Taouil Vila (Cataluña)
> > 29 Dani el Muñoz Leon (Catalunya)
> > 30 Laura Muñoz León (Barcelona)
> > 31 Eva Martínez Álvarez (Barcelona)
> > 32 Joan Prats Rocher(Barcelona, Catalunya) Sense
> > paraules,sinpalabras,nowords…
> > 33.Marti Pons Farreras (Barcelona, Catalunya)
> > 34 Belén Bataller Cifuentes (Barcelona, España)
> > 35. Eva Gorriz de Jorge (Barcelona, España)
> > 36. Patricia Gasull Moreno(Barcelona, España)
> > 37. Nuria Santiago Morales (Madrid, España)
> > 38. Belinda Lewin (Fuengirola, España) ¡Qué pena!¡Como sufren!
> > 39. Jordi Casares(Madrid España) Los humanos los mas ignorantes.
> > 40. Txell Sabartés Roselló (Barcelona)
> > 41. Belén Gayán (Barcelona)
> > 42. Anna Mayolas (Barcelona)
> > 43. Aida Palau Cuenca (Barcelona)
> > 44. Laura Diago Palau (Barcelona)
> > 45. Jordi Rodríguez Pi (Barcelona)
> > 46. Arianna Lumbreras Ariño (Barcelona)
> > 47. Marta García (Barcelona)
> > 48. Laura Garriga Navarro (Barcelona, Catalunya).
> > 49. Maria Prat Vericat (Barcelona, Catalunya). En fin…
> > 50. Soledad D. L. (Galicia, España)
> > 51. Lorena Ferreiro Santos (Galicia)
> > 52. Olalla Méndez López (Galicia, España)
> > 53. Andrea Lopez Gonzalez (Galicia, España)
> > 54. Adrián Castro Rodríguez (Lugo, Galicia)
> > 55. José Luis Bermúdez Salinas(Lugo, España)
> > 56. Raquel Suarez Fuentetaja (La Coruña)
> > 57. Olga Marina Burque Hodgson (Coruña)
> >

> > 58. Rebeca Martín García (Cádiz, España)
> > 59. Teresa Menéndez García (Salobreña, Granada)
> > 60. Elisa María García Gómez (Burguillos, Sevilla)
> > 61. Jose Pablo Sancha Díez (Burguillos, Sevilla)
> > 62. Ana Martín García (algeciras)
> > 63. laura cobos carrasco (algeciras)
> > 64. Macarena Navarro Valencia (Algeciras, Cádiz)
> > 65. Alejandro Ordóñez Alfonseca(Cádiz)
> > 66. Laura Domínguez Santillana (Cádiz)
> > 67. Félix Guerrero Alba (Cadiz)
> > 68. Juan Jose Benítez Garcia (Cadiz)
> > 69. Belén Crespo de Miguel (Cádiz)
> > 70.Sergio Sepúlveda Medina(Cádiz)
> > 71.Pablo Luque Ortega (Cádiz)
> > 72.Hermindo Piñeiro Méndez (Cádiz, España)
> > 73. Manuel Puertas ontenegro (Cadiz)
> > 74 Pedro Pablo Sztokalo Ortiz (Madrid)
> > 75 Xavier Drakpa (Bilbao)
> > 76 Daniela Muggia (Coazze, Italia)
> > 77 Giuseppe Sartori (Coazze,Italia)
> > 78 Elisabetta Perottini (Giaveno, Italia)
> > 79 Elisa Sartori (Coazze, Italia)
> > 80 Gianmichele Ferrero (Alba, Italia)
> > 81 Loredana Chilelli (Roma, Italia)
> > 82 Daniela Catterin (Chiari,Bs,Italia)
> > 83 Gabriella Papini (Firenze, Italia)
> > 84 Annette Mueller (Perugia, Italy)
> > 85 Giovanni Stinco (Trieste, Italy)
> > 86 Lorena Pohlen(trieste, italia)
> > 87 Sally Baso (Trieste,Italia)
> > 88 Alessandro Pandolifni (Trieste Italia)
> > 89 Andrea Mozzo (TriesteItaly)
> > 90 Hélène Cociani (Trieste, Italy)
> > 91 Nicòle Torriero (Trieste,Italy)
> > 92 Giulia Zotti (Trieste; Italy)
> > 93 Vancini Simone (Ferrara;Italy)
> > 94 Odorici Patrizia (Modena;Italia) ..ma fate veramente schifo..
> > 95 Erika La Porta (Firenze, Italia) …senza parole
> > 96 Roberta De Seta (cosenza,Italia)
> > 97 Silvia Cospito (Pisa, Italia) …semplicemente indecente!
> > 98 Margherita Trobbiani (pisa,italia)
> > 99 francesco alonzi(italia pisa)
> > 100 Valentina Canitni (Pisa, Italia)
> > 101 Evelyn Falciani (Pisa, Italia)
> > 102 Laura Bonicoli (Pisa,Italia)
> > 103 Rachele Dini (Viareggio, Italia)
> > 104 Matteucci Daniele ( Viareggio, Italia )
> > 105 Rodolfo Cifani ( Napoli, Italy )
> > 106 marano stefano (napoli,italy)
> > 107 Antimo Alessandro Valerio (Napoli, Italy)
> > 108 Daniele Auletta (Napoli, Italia)
> > 109 Mariacristina Aperuta (Napoli, Italia)
> > 110 Imperato Carmela (Napoli Italia)
> > 111 Abategiovanni Luciano (Napoli Italia)
> > 112 Abategiovanni Eleonora (Napoli Italia)
> > 113 Abategiovanni Michele (Mantova Italia)
> > 114 Abategiovanni Giulia (Napoli, Italia)
> > 115 D’Alessio Michele (Napoli, Italia)
> > 116 Raffaelina Barbaro (Napoli, Italia)
> > 117 Avemaria Francesca (Milano,Italia)
> > 118 Francesca Capozzi (napoli,italia)
> > 119 Massimo Granatello(dugenta,italia)
> > 120 Marcello Di Gennaro (Napoli Italia)
> > 121 Giovanni Lotano (Pescopagano,Italia)
> > 122 Carlo Mirone (catanzaro, Italia)
> > 123 Gennaro Caruso (Napoli,italia)
> > 124 fabrizio Finocchiaro (genova, italia)
> > 125 giorgio napolitano (roma, italia)
> > 126 fausto cagnolini (potenza,italia)
> > 127 mauro schifani (palermo, italia)
> > 128 antonio schillirò (catania, italia)
> > 129 arthur smith (muchen, Germany)
> > 130 Pietro Marra (muro lucano, Italia)
> > 131 Raffaele Della Germania (Potenza, Italia)
> > 132 Rocco Alessandro Grasso (Potenza, Italia)
> > 133 Fabio Fosca (Roma, Italia)
> > 134 Claudio Quinzi (L’Aquila, Italia)
> > 135 Ivan Pergolizzi (Palermo, Italia)
> > 136 Jennifer Giuffredi (Parma, Italia)
> > 137 Andrea Bertelli (Firenze, Italia)
> > 138 Matteo Sala (Milano,Italia)
> > 139 Lelio Cereda (Monza, Italia)
> > 140 Matteo Torchiana (Milano, Italia)
> > 141 Alessio Biancardi (Como, Italia)
> > 142 Chiara Benzoni (Lecco, Italia)
> > 143 Daria Sorokina (Padova, Italia)
> > 144 Monica Marangoni (Padova, Italia)
> > 145 Laura Lista (Padova, Italia)
> > 146 Alice Beghin ( padova.Italia )
> > 147 Andrea Dianin (Padova Italia)
> > 148 Michela Zugno (Treviso, Italia)
> > 149 Alessia Condotta (Treviso, Italia)
> > 150 Pamela Pizziolo (Treviso, Italia)
> > 151 Pacquola Serena (Treviso, Italia)
> > 152 Negro Massimo (Treviso, Italia)
> > 153 Alessandra Nappi (treviso, Italia)
> > 154 Giorgia Dalle Fratte (Venezia, Italia)
> > 155 Campana Andrea (Venezia, Italia)
> > 156 Celli mariarosaria (Venezia,Italia)
> > 157 Bolani Valentina (Venezia, Italia)
> > 158 Longiarù Sonia (Venezia, Italia)
> > 159 Gambarotto Erica (Venezia, Italia)
> > 160 Funes Francesca (Venezia, Italia)
> > 161 Matteo Funes (Venezia, Italia)
> > 162 Martina Miola (Vicenza, Italia)
> > 163 Piero Dalla Pozza (vicenza, italia)
> > 164 Stefano Pasqualotto (Vicenza, Italia)
> > 165 Andrea Rossi (vicenza, italia)
> > 166 Aimasso Jessica ( alba, italia)
> > 167 Aimasso Luna ( alba, italia)
> > 168 Robino Paolo (alba,italia)
> > 169 Secco Sabrina (alba.italia)
> > 170 Secco Lorenzo (alba, italia)
> > 171 Drago Roberto (alba, italia)
> > 172 Bonino paolo (alba italia)
> > 173 ravina clara (alba italia)
> > 174 bonino giovanni (alba italia)
> > 175 Bonino Margherita (alba italia)
> > 176 Merlo Marisa (alba italia)
> > 177 Maria-Lisa Fasulo ( Bruxelles)

> >

> > 178. Lorena Miguel Bermejo (Valladolid, España)
> > 179. Estela Hernandez Sanz(Valladolid,España)
> > 180. Noemi Lozano Senovilla (Valladolid, España)
> > 181. Macarena Bohoyo Rodríguez (Valladolid, España)
> > 182. Pilar Espinosa de los Monteros Álvarez (Valladolid, España)
> > 183. Tirsa Alonso Afonso.(Canarias)…no pude acabar de verlo………
> > 184. Brunella Ugetti
> > 185. Vetri Pierluigi
> > 186. Susana Trueba Sainz (Cantabria)
> > 187. Guzmán Fernández Portilla(Cantabria)
> > 188. Beatriz Diego(Cantabria)
> > 189. Marina Añíbarro (Cantabria)
> > 190. Raquel Edilla (Cantabria)
> > 191. Javier Dehesa (Cantabria)
> > 192. Carlos Pérez (cantabria)
> > 193.Regina Díaz (cantabria)
> > 194. Raquel González (Albacete)
> > 195. María García Cuenca (Albacete)
> > 196. Inma Hervás Valiente (Valencia) No aguanté mas de 10 segundos… sin
> > palabras
> > 197. Jorge García Cuenca (Albacete)
> > 198. Francisco Sánchez (Albacete)
> > 199. Javier Sánchez Fernández (Albacete, España)
> > 200. Eneko vadillo perez ( malaga).
> > ……………………………………….no comments
> > 201. Dori Díaz (Tenerife, España)
> > 202. Carlos Javier Méndez Suárez (Tenerife, España)
> > 203. Ayoze Nicolás Rodríguez Martín (Lanzarote, España)
> > 204.Patricia Rancel Mena (Tenerife, España)
> > 205. Moisés Chía (Córdoba, España )
> > 206. TONNY MAURICIO VEGA SOTO (OLDHAM, INGLATERRA)
> > 207. Margarita lozano Cardeñosa = cordoba
> > 208. Fátima Barrios Rodríguez (Sevilla, Andalucía
> > 209. Maria Jose Cardenas Lopez (Sevilla,andalucia)
> > 210. Amaya Vaca Dominguez (Valladolid, Castilla y Leon)
> > 211. Leticia Gutiérrez Domínguez
> > 212. Santiago Pedrero Manrique
> > 213.jessica perez martin(valladolid,castilla y leon)
> > 124. Maite María Hernández Collado (Getafe, Madrid)
> > 215. Nerea Blanco Alvarez (Mangirón, Madrid)
> > 216. Lila Sevillano Carrascosa (Madrid)
> > 217. Roberto Hernandez Agudo.(Madrid)
> > 218. Reyes Palomo Garcia. (Madrid)
> > 219. Haydee Corral del Mazo (Madrid)
> > 220. Camila Salazar Brañas (Madrid)
> > 221. Enrique Muñoz Collado (Madrid) Deberian pisarles la cabeza
> > a esos hijos de puta, como hacen ellos.
> > 222. Fernando Cerrón Campoó (Madrid)
> > 223. Ignacio Carbajo Pascau. (Madrid)
> > 224. Eva Torres Pascau (Madrid)
> > 225.- Anibal Serrano Garcia (Madrid)
> > 226.- Danae Dovarganes Cuevas(Madrid)
> > 227. Ángel Ballestros Ñiguez (Madrid)
> > 228. Leticia Ballesteros Ñiguez (Madrid) …sin palabras…
> > 229. Jesús Prada Almansa (Madrid)
> > 230. Emanuela Vignali ( Como, Italia )
> > 231. Alessandro Vignali (Como, Italia)
> > 232. Stefano Taroni (Como, Italia)
> > 233.Orsenigo Martina (londra,uk)
> > 234.Caterina Colombo(cantù,italia)
> > 235.Sofia Guglielmi (cantu’,italia)
> > 236.Frigerio Andrea (cantù,italia)
> > 237. Scola Nicoletta(caserta,italia)
> > 238.Minucci Federica(Napoli,Italia)
> > 239.Odore Marcella(Napoli,Italia)…ke cattiveria…no comment!!!!
> > 240.Ursino Sara (Napoli, Italia)
> > 241.IannielloAlessia(italia)
> > 242.Irace Roberto(Napoli,Italia)
> > 243.Gianluca Reale(Napoli,Italia)
> > 244. Roberta Torrente (Napoli,Italia)
> > 245. Alida Torrente (Napoli, Italia)
> > 246.Anastasia Capasso (Napoli, Italia)
> > 247.Angela Romano (Napoli, Italia)
> > 248.Antonella D’Alessio (Caserta,Italia)
> > 249.Salvatore Orabona (Caserta,italia)
> > 250.Simona Conte (Caserta,Italia)
> > 251.Assunto Debora Antonia (Caserta, Italia)
> > 252.Ingrid Spatafora(caserta,Italia)
> > 253.Costanzo Salvatore(Caserta,Italia)
> > 254.De Michele Serena (caserta,Italia)
> > 255.Angela Ziello (Caserta,Italia)……mammamia ke orrore!!!!!!!
> > 256 Ferrara Stefania
> > 257 Flagiello Caterina (Frattamaggiore, Napoli, Italia)
> > 258 Vitale Milena (Caserta, Italia)
> > 259 Federica De Bortoli (Caserta, Italia) che vergogna…
> > 260 Federica Russo (Caserta, Italia)
> > 261 Andrea Curiale (Caserta, Italia)
> > 262 scappini luca (Trento italia)
> > 263 Settembrino Chiara (Milano Italia)
> > 264 Leva Ilaria (Milano Italy)
> > 265 Leva Manuel (Milano Italia)
> > 266 Delalio Andrea (Milano italia)
> > 267 Jessica Faciana (Milano,Italy)
> > 268 Arianna Agostini (Padova, Italia)
> > 269.Matteo Galeazzo (Padova, italia)
> > 270.Annarita Capriello (Napoli, Italia)….poverini!Nn l’ho proprio
> > gUardato!Sl l’inizio e miviene da rimettere.. poveri cuccioli!!!
> > 271.Stefania Miceli (napoli,italia) mi sn messa a piangere…
> > 272.Caterina Esposito (napoli,italia) vi giuro fate skifo!!! gente kosì deve
> > davvero morire!!
> > 273. Vincenzo Esposito (napoli, italia) firmo, ma nn guardo il video. queste
> > cose mi fanno troppo male.
> > 274maria rosica(napoli,italia) CHE SKIFO…
> > 275. Emanuele Crasto (montegiorgio,Ascoli Piceno,Italia) Io direi che i veri
> > animali sono loro…figli di puttana…
> > 276. Victor Alejandro Ricci (Fermo, Italia)
> > 277. Francesca Marchetti (Porto San Giorgio, Italia)
> > 278. Karen Taranto (Porto San Giorgio, Italia)
> > 279. Ceserani Luca (Porto San Giorgio, Italia)….penso solo che queste
> > pErsone debbano morire della morte più atroce e dolorosa che ci possa
> > essere…….
> > 280. Paola Vinciguerra(Porto San Giorgio, Italia) :”[ nn ho parole! :/
> > (e nn sn nemmeno andata oltre ai 7 sec!)
> > 281.Nicholas Casavecchia(Porto San Giorgio. Italia) solo gente di merda puo
> > fare certe cose
> > 282. Cintia Di Rocco (pescara, Italia)...non esistono parole per gesti del genere...ke bastardi.....
> >
> > 283. Giorgia Nicatore (Brussels, Belgium)
> > 284. Chloe Alexandratos (BXL, belgique)
> > 285. Alyssa dePasquale [Las Vegas NV, USA]
> > 286. Hirohata Yuki (Ontario, Canada) Damn those!!! that was soo wrong!! they should stop that! I hate those kind of people!!
> > 287. Ayano Akaike (Phils.) I can’t even finish the part where they’re skinned alive and not be emotionally unscathed. Goddamned retards!!
> > 288. kemberle may thats just awful to do somthing like that this must be stop!!!
> > 289.Meghan Antillon (U.S.A. Florida)Are those shit heads crazy?!!?!?How can the do that?!?!!?That’s totally and completely messed up!!!I’ve been scarred after seing that!!I cried through the whole thing!!!Grrrr!!This must and WILL be stopped!!Ciò disgusta e l’ingiustizia!! io la wan di vedere che quel peole marcisce nella prigione!
> > 290. Muhd. Rusydi ( K.L., Malaysia )
> > 291. Sudarshan Nair ( K.L, Malaysia )
> > 292. Lim Sze Ye ( K.L,Malaysia )
> > 293. Wong Hui Yat (K.L, Malaysia)
> > 294. Gwi Terk Chern (K.L, Malaysia)
> > 295. Julian Loh (K.L, Malaysia)
> > 296. Mok Shi-Wei (K.L, Malaysia)
> > 297. Nick Lim (K.L, Malaysia)
> > 298. S.E.Irfan Wafa (K.L, Malaysia) i really don’t understand, why they couldn’t kill the animals first/ or drugged it? was it so that they (the animals) grow more hair? and who shot the video?
> > 299. Tunku Amira Zahra (K.L, Malaysia) those poor animals!! damn self-centered bastards.
> > 300. Vivian Toh Kim Li (P.J, Malaysia) What is wrong with those chinese?? now i know why there are people in this world who protest saying that they would go naked than wear fur.
> > I thought i could watched the whole video, but i don’t think i would be able to sleep…
> > 301. Lillian Toh Kim Leng (P.J, Malaysia) those heartless ppl! they are so cruel to all those animals
> > 302.Previta (P.J, Malaysia)they will sufer one day…!!!! i mean itt!!
> > 303 Lohini Arul Devah (KL , Malaysia)
> > 304 Mak Kit Kay (Malasia)
> > 305. Chyna Yong (KL, Malaysia)
> > 306. Roshann (Subang Jaya, Malaysia)
> > 307. San San (Klang, Malaysia)
> > 308. VinTeng (Klang,Malaysia)
> > 309.Jeremy Lim(Klang,Malaysia)Please watch..it really shows how cruel human can be…If only I could torture the culprits like how they did to the poor animal…
> > 310. Edison Lee (Klang, Malaysia) Oh those cute little creatures. Such barbaric actions !!! WTF. THey could have took the fur and yet not harm the animals!! Haven’t they heard of artificial fur!!!!
> > 311. Kwang Chun ( Ampang Malaysia) Why don’t they pick on someoen their own size? Didn’t they thought of if they are the ones being skinned?
> > 312. Sarika (Kuala lumpur, Malaysia)
> > 313. Selina Ng (Singapore)
> > 314 Karen Ng (Singapore)
> > 315. Chng Teck Kian Dj (Singapore)
> > 316. Tiffany Thng XuanWen (Singapore) how cud they?!!!!.. those poor animals..=’(
> > 317. Michelle Toh (Singapore)
> > 318. How Yee (Singapore)
> > 319. Xinyu (Singapore)
> > 320. Jialing (Singapore)
> > 321. Ivan (Singapore) Better save them before it’s too late!
> > 322. Benny Goh (Singapore)
> > 333. Seth Oh (Singapore)
> > 334. KayDash Tan (Singapore)
> > 335. Leow Hui Ying (Singapore)
> > 336. Wong Si Wei (Singapore)
> > 337. Jovalsu (singapore)
> > 338. Jason (Singapore)
> > 339. Hui Fen (Singapore)
> > 340. Erik Wu (Singapore)
> > 341. Marcus Liew (Singapore) Dam sick la!
> > 342. Bryan Lim (Singapore)
> > 343. Choo Yan Bing (Singapore)
> > 344. Cheng Shu Qin (Singapore)
> > 355. Samuel Han JianChou (Singapore)
> > 356. Tan Wan Rong Veron (Singapore)
> >357. Thong Yew Tai(Singapore)
> 358. FIDELIA (Singapore)
> 359. Fion (Singapore) IMHUMAN!~
> 360. Bizhi (Singapore) cold blooded freaks!
> 361. peiting (singapore)
> 362. WanTengTan( Singapore) Omg i can’t take it.
> 363. Grace Koh (Singapore) i dont bear to watch it. gahhh.
> 364. Li Li Ng (Singapore) GODDAMMIT! China will get it’s karma one day for treating animals like shit!
> 365. Dorothy (Singapore) PRC freaks should go just to hell.
> 366. Ming (Singapore)
> 367. Aloysius (Singapore)
> 368. Qing Fang Cheryl (Singapore)
> 369.Rajan(Singapore)
> bloody hell..
> 370. Uthesh(Singapore) I cant bear to watch it. They have to be punished severly
> 371. Seveen (Singapore) Respective authorities should do something ab this asap. This is cruel!
> 372.Valkrye Loke (Singapore)
> 373. Claire Tang (Singapore)
> 374. Nur Diyana Zakaria (Singapore) OMG, pls stop the pple fr skinning the animals!!!!!!! its reali unbearable, and plain inhumanity! Have sum heart!!
> 375. Murshida Mohd Mustafa (Singapore).. =|
> 376. Hafiz Jabbar (S’pore) CMON DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS…!!!
> 377. Chua Nikki (S’pore) ANIMALS are LIVING BEINGS TOO you know!!
> 378. Agatha Wong (Singapore) This petition better work after 500 ppl has signed…
> 379. Weiling (Singapore) This is damn cruel!! x(
> 380. SenWei (singapore)………………..
> 381. Wanting (Singapore) WAT THE HACK!!!
> 382. yanny..(siingapOre) wat the…! they treat thOse aniimals lyk tat.. ii swear tat iif ii gOt lOts and lOts Of mOney… ii wiill adOpt all Of them.. fuck Off… dOgs OsO gOt Own theiir riights.. they dOn deserve tiis kiind Of treatment..!
> 383. sulaiha (singapore)
> 384. M.faizal (Singapore)
> 385. Ilma (Singapore)
> 386. Citi Nadia (Singapore) I feel like sneaking into the vid & give those doofy kanos a big smack in the brain with an elephant gun man…
> 387. Nurul Huda J. Alkhatib(S’pore) This people feed on their pain and suffering..What goes arnd cums arnd..hope they get wat they deserve..
> 388. Lee Pui Kheng (Singapore)
> 389. Seetho Xueting (Singapore)
> 380. Liew Wan Hui (Singapore)
> 381. Glenda Cheong( Singapore)
> 382. Lydia Yang (Singapore)
> 383. Koh Yingqi (Singapore)
> 384. Lee Guang Wei ( Singapore)
> 385. Ong Hui Lin (Singapore)
> 386. Ling Ting Jun ( Singapore ) Let’s do smth abt it alright?
> 387. Arif Suonggo( Singapore/Indonesia) This is sucks!
> 388. Anton Suonggo ( Singapore/Indonesia ) To hell with those sicko!!I’ll go donate at da website & hpefully da authorized organisation will take action, capture them & skin those ba&*ard ALIVE!!!!

Pledge to go fur-free at PETA.org

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Boeing To Resume ABL Testing This Summer

Mar 26, 2008

ACCIDENT

B-2 Crashes on Takeoff From Guam

source : aviationweek
Feb 23, 2008

The US Air Force has launched an investigation following the first loss involving its’ more than $1.1 billion Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. The aircraft – one of four deployed to the Pacific island from Whiteman AFB, Missouri – crashed shortly after take-off on 22 February. Both crew members ejected and are in “good condition”, according to a statement released by the US Pacific Air Forces command.

The 509th Bomb Wing B-2 detachment was in the process of being replaced by six Boeing B-52 bombers as part of a scheduled rotation in support of the US-led global war on terrorism, and the PACAF confirms that “No munitions were on board at the time of the accident.”

Now reduced to an active inventory of 19 aircraft, the USAF’s B-2 fleet achieved initial operating capability in April 1997, and has since supported US and coalition combat operations in countries including Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo. The aircraft could potentially receive the service’s developmental Boeing Massive Ordnance Penetrator: a 13,600kg (30,000lb) bunker-busting weapon as part of a future upgrade.

B-2 crash revives memory of 1990 scandal

It’s not unfair to view the first crash of the Northrop Grumman B-2A as a testament to the stealth bomber’s admirable safety record.
How many other advanced aircraft designs have avoided a single non-combat related accident after two decades in service? (Nope, I can’t think of one either.)
But the crash offers a good excuse to remember one of the B-2’s little-known mechanical problems that briefly caused a public scandal for the manufacturer almost 18 years ago, and remains a problem for the bomber fleet even today.
This problem may or may not have played a role in the accident in Guam, but I’m sure it will be checked out by the US Air Force’s crash investigators.
The flawed part — called the actuator remote terminal (ART) — came to light in 1990. Northrop revealed in its annual report that year that the company was under investigation by the Department of Justice because of the flawed part. A report by The Los Angeles Times, dated April 3, 1990, said:

“The system is called the Actuator Remote Terminal, a device that the Air Force was forced to upgrade while the B-2 has been grounded for modifications since late last year. The ART system has been plagued by severe technical problems, according to an informed source, though the Air Force has denied that the system is not working properly.
The ART plays a critical role in keeping the B-2 stable in flight. It takes commands from the bomber’s flight control computer, relays them to flight control surfaces and then provides feedback information to the computer. The B-2, which has an unconventional all-wing design, relies on its computers to maintain stability and without the computers would be unstable.”

A year later, USAF officials declared the problem solved. Here’s a report from Aerospace Daily in July 1991:

“Maj. Gen. Stephen B. Croker, interviewed by The DAILY in his Pentagon office, said two problems were found in the design of the B-2’s fly-by- wire flight control hardware, called the Actuator Remote Terminal System (ARTS), in “the 1987 timeframe,” but neither endangered flight crews or renders the B-2 unsafe to fly. Both charges were made in an ABC television program aired Thursday night.
The first problem concerned the fact that “the cooling wasn’t adequate in the area of ARTS,” and that, presumably, the system would overheat and fail. This was solved by “a redesign…adding cooling vents” to the B-2 airframe in the area of the ARTS, Croker said.
The second problem, more serious, involved the design of a circuit board, which was laid out such that all four redundant ARTS computers relied on a single resistor. A “single point” or “one-path failure” in this part might have had “a cascading effect,” disabling the flight controls on one side of the plane and making it unflyable, Croker said. The cascading effect was considered “highly improbable,” he added.”

Although the problem was “solved” in 1991, the same part was linked to B-2 reliability problems in combat operations nearly eight years. A USAF press release reported on June 11, 1999:

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFPN) — The System Engineering Branch of the B-2 System Program Management Division here has solved a major problem affecting the B-2’s mission effectiveness during Operation Allied Force.
In addition, the Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., division cut the flow days from a contracted 45-day turnaround to a two-day turnaround.
The actuator remote terminal, or ART, works the various control surfaces on the B-2. Without it, the wing cannot fly. Because of an airflow-cooling problem, the ART was one of the high-failure items on the B-2 bomber.
“Unlike other aircraft, the B-2 is a fly-by-wire system — no mechanical interconnects to the flight controls,” said Bob Cotton, avionics armament team lead for Oklahoma City B-2 System Program Office. “We send electrical signals from the pilot stick to the actuator remote terminal to the hydraulic actuator, which makes the aircraft perform its various flight maneuvers.”
The wing reached a critical point when there was a lack of supply assets for the actuator remote terminal. Rather than cause aborts of combat missions, the B-2 System Program Management Division set out to solve the problem.
“The vendor we were using had a limited capacity for repair,” said Cotton. “He was meeting a 23- to 24-day turn around in some instances, but with the increased flying schedule, he was unable to surge his capacity to the point that he could take care of requirements.”
Don Ward, flight control avionics equipment specialist, initiated an investigation into how best to repair the actuator remote terminal line replacement units.
A team of engineers from Tinker traveled to Whiteman AFB, Mo., to provide on-the-spot training of ART repair.
The team worked on a compacted schedule around operational mission requirements to accomplish a solution. The sensitive actuator remote terminal has to be set down on a solid granite surface for repairs to ensure leveling. (Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)

COMMON NEWS

One-stop warrior

DATE:18/07/06

SOURCE:Flight International

Fourth-generation fighters are now a reality, providing new levels of energy and agility as well as sensor and weapon networking, but posing the problem of how to train pilots to make safe and effective use of the carefree handling and mission capability of these costly combat assets.

A cheaper alternative to using the fighter itself could be a “fourth-generation trainer”, and associated integrated training system, that could take a student pilot from basic to advanced training, then through the tactical weapons and operational conversion units (OCU), and on to the frontline alongside the fighter.

“I admire Alenia Aermacchi’s decision to put cockpit customisation at the heart of the M-346’s digital architecture”

Alenia Aermacchi has designed the M-346 for this role, and the aircraft is the only all-new European advanced/lead-in fighter trainer in development. Its main rivals are the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) T-50 Golden Eagle, and the BAE Systems Hawk 128.

Although still in development, w ith Italian military certification not due until mid-2007, Flight International was invited to assess the M-346’s potential to span the “basic to OCU” gap and be a one-stop solution to the training, capability and budgetary problems faced by air forces fielding fourth-generation fighters.

Alenia Aermacchi is the result of the merging of Alenia and Aermacchi in July 2003, and is part of Italian aerospace and defence giant Finmeccanica. Based at Venegono in Varese, near Milan, the company has delivered more than 2,000 trainers to date. Its products include the SF-260 piston primary, M-311 turbofan basic, and MB-339CD turbojet advanced trainers.

The M-346 has its origins in European studies of a new advanced trainer in the late 1980s, in which Aermacchi participated. These led to the AT-2000 proposal for an aircraft with an empty weight around 6.2t and a single afterburning engine. Aermacchi believed the better option was a lighter aircraft, around 4.5t, with two non-afterburning engines and advanced aerodynamics to give high agility, but docile low-speed handling. In 1992, the company left the European study to pursue its own design based around two engines.

Inlet location improves efficiency

At the end of 1992, Aermacchi joined with the Yakovlev design bueau, which was struggling with development of the Yak-130 jet trainer for the Russian air force to replace the Aero Vodochody L-39 trainer. Aermacchi suggested the requirement be changed from basic to advanced lead-in fighter trainer and it took the basic Yak-130 shape and developed it. According to Emanuele Merlo, head of flight technology, the M-346 is a totally new aircraft, internally and externally.

The wing was moved up the fuselage, having been too low on the Yak-130 and causing horizontal stabiliser blanking at mid to high angle of attack (AoA). The leading-edge extensions (LEX) were reduced and redesigned to give controllable vortex lift. Two small vertical fins were added at the wing roots to “trap” and control the LEX vortices at AoAs from 25-30° upwards. These LEX vortex controllers ensure the “vortex burst” over the wing at high AoA is symmetrical and controllable.

Blended wing

The wing was remodelled to blend into the fuselage for improved span loading. A saw- tooth was added to the full-span leading-edge flaps. Thickness was optimised from root to tip, and planform, profile and camber were optimised for best lift/drag over the widest possible envelope from short field and subsonic manoeuvre, through transonic penetration to supersonic cruise.

The single fin was repositioned for high AoA and the engine nozzle positions changed to reduce zero-lift drag. The air intakes were completely redesigned and are now 98-99% efficient over virtually the entire operating envelope, says Alenia Aermacchi. The shielded intake position under the LEX also improves engine efficiency at high AoA and when supersonic. The engines were changed to Honeywell F124-200s, each producing 6,250lb thrust (28kN) and with full-authority digital engine control (FADEC). The inlets are sized to accommodate up to a 20% increase in thrust from the present engine or possible future versions.

The sharp “chine” nose of the Yak-130 was rounded and redesigned to reduce frontal area, prevent unwanted vortex development in sideslip and allow installation of radar. A top-mounted airbrake was placed on the fuselage spine; horizontal-tail control power was raised to improve short-field performance and post-stall manoeuvring pitch recovery; and a fixed (removable) in-flight refuelling probe was added on the right side of the nose. There are now nine hardpoints (three wet), including wingtip missile rails.

Digital control

A digital fly-by-wire flight control system (FCS) operates the ailerons (there are no spoilers), rudder, taileron and leading-edge flaps. Simple half-span flaps are pilot operated. The quadruplex FCS can lose two channels and still provide safe operational capability. Rear-cockpit instructor controls provide the ability to “degrade” the FCS into various “training” modes. Although configured with a centre stick, the cockpit has been designed to accept a sidestick if requested by the customer.

The first M-346 prototype flew in July 2004 and the second in May 2005. Initial operational clearance of the FCS is due at the end of this year, with full clearance and Italian military certification due in mid-2007. Production rate is envisaged at three a month with an initial run of 12 aircraft plus one static and one fatigue test airframe planned for 2007, after certification.

The prototype has been demonstrated to the Greek air force, which has a critical need to replace its ageing T-2 Buckeyes, and Alenia Aermacchi has a memorandum of understanding with Hellenic Aerospace Industry for Greek participation in development and production of the M-346. Other potential customers include Chile, Poland, Portugual, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. There is also the Advanced European Joint Pilot Training (AEJPT), or Eurotrainer, requirement involving 11 countries.

As part of its AEJPT studies, Alenia Aermacchi modelled the training mission density and superimposed it on the M-346’s flight envelope. The four “hot spots” – low speed/low altitude (circuits and approaches), 420kt (775km/h)/500ft (150m) (low-level attack), M0.7-0.8/20,000ft (air combat manoeuvring) and M0.7-0.9/38,000ft (air interception) – fall within the M-346 operating envelope. In the air combat training mission, the M-346 at full dry power would use 50kg/min (110lb/min) of fuel and could remain in the training area for 18min – three times the endurance of the afterburning T-50, the company claims.

Embedded training simulation (ETS), a system already operational on Italian air force MB-339C/Ds, allows the M-346 pilot to train within a virtual scenario involving computer-generated forces displayed in the cockpit. ETS allows early introduction and enhanced proficiency with situational awareness, tactical operations, sensor management and weapon deployment. The ETS system can simulate offensive sensors such as radar, defensive aids such as radar warning, datalinked information and a wide variety of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. The full integrated training system includes ground classroom trainers, procedural tactics trainers and full mission simulators that can be linked together and to the aircraft.

Basic empty weight is about 4,600kg and, with two pilots an a full internal fuel load of 2,000kg, the M-346 weighs around 6,700kg clean at take-off. Given a combined thrust of the two F124 turbofans of 12,500lb, the aircraft has greater than 1:1 thrust-to-weight ratio from around half fuel when clean. This is important when comparing the M-346 with trainers with a single afterburning engine that can exceed 1:1 only in reheat and at the cost of fuel and training time. Maximum take-off weight fully loaded is 9,700kg. This is also the maximum landing weight.

Three 465kg-capacity external fuel tanks can be carried (limit M0.92), which gives the M-346 a range (with 10% reserves) of 2,850km (1,540nm) compared with 2,070km clean. The aircraft’s service ceiling is 45,000ft, time to 40,000ft is 3.5min at an initial climb rate of 21,000ft/min (107m/s). Maximum speed is M1.2 at altitude or 572kt equivalent (590kt true) at 5,000ft. Load factors are +8/-3g. Take-off run is around 400m and landing roll around 500m.

The FCS endows carefree handling throughout the flight envelope. The aircraft is spin resistant and can be held inverted for 30s. With about 500kg of internal fuel, final approach speed is around 100kt indicated.

The F124-200 turbofan has a dual- redundant FADEC. The throttles feature a spring detent at 90% NH (core speed) to represent full dry power, giving a time for take-off roll of around 20s, typical of current trainers. Full throttle travel gives 100% NH, representing afterburner and giving a roll of 11s, typical of current fighters. The engines are surge resistant with auto-relight, which can be achieved up to 30,000ft and M1.

Maximum sustained load factor at 15,000ft and M0.6-0.8 is +6g and turn rate 14.5°/s – performance that exceeds many fighters and all trainers in either dry power or reheat. Only above M0.8 at this altitude does the KAI T-50 in reheat start to better the turn rate of the M-346. Maximum angle of attack is 40°, which matches or exceeds the limits of most modern fighters and allows the M-346 to undertake post-stall manoeuvres. Maximum roll rate is 230°/s and can be sustained up to 6g.

Dual systems

An auxiliary power unit (APU) is fitted that can be used for air supply, engine starting and 28V DC power supply up to 25,000ft. The hydraulic system has one pump per engine, with dual 3,000lb/in2 supply to the primary and secondary flight controls and wheel brakes. Park brake, steering, speed brake and landing gear are driven from the right-hand system, allowing the left engine to be shut down during taxi back after landing. An emergency power system is linked to the left hand supply.

The electrical system has one 20kVA 115V AC generator per engine and left and right transformer rectifier units to give 28V DC power. There are also separate AC and DC external ground-power receptacles on the left-hand side of the nose close to the pressure refuelling panel.

Main wheel brakes and nosewheel steering are “control-by-wire”, with steering selectable from high (taxi) to low (take-off and landing). The main gear folds forward into the fuselage, but wheelbase is a generous 2.7m. Gear limiting speed is 250kt. Carbon brakes allied to the low approach speed negate the need for any reversers, brake chute or lift dump.

The canopy is hinged on the right, electrically operated and features a bird-proof blast-shield transparency between the cockpits. The canopy can be jettisoned manually from inside or outside the aircraft using an explosive severance system, so there is no transparency-shattering miniature detonating cord obscuring the view. In an ejection, striker arms on top of each seat shatter the canopy. The seats are auto-sequenced, auto-separated and a command eject function is available to the instructor in the rear cockpit.

The heart of the avionics are two main computers, linked by 1553B databuses, one for navigation, weapons, head-up (HUD) and multifunction displays (MFD) and one for comms/audio. Both cockpits have three 5 x 5in (125 x 125mm) MFDs, an upfront control panel for comm/nav/ident and data insertion and the wide-angle HUD. The cockpit is night-vision compatible and provisioned for a helmet-mounted display (HMD). The HUD will be able to display infrared imagery from a pod-mounted sensor. Alenia Aermacchi says it will be able to customise the HUD and MFD formats and stick and throttle controls to closely match any fourth-generation fighter.

Alenia Aermacchi is convinced a two-engined trainer offers higher levels of safety. Its figures show one loss per million flight hours, rising to 10 for a single-engine aircraft. The company has designed the M-346 for low life-cycle costs, high reliability and low maintenance.

The nose can house multi-mode radar

There is extensive built-in test and an on-board maintenance/fatigue data recorder. The aircraft is maintained by “on condition” for essentially all of its service life. After 100h, an 8h two-man inspection is carried out and after 500h a preventative inspection is conducted by a bigger team. The engine hot section is inspected, on-airframe, every 2,000h and the cold section every 4,000h. There is no engine time between overhauls. The direct ratio is 3.5 maintenance manhours/flight hour. Recently the prototype flew direct from Venegono to Greece and flew nine demonstration flights over two days without fault.

Short flight

Our short test flight took place from the company airfield at Venegono in mid-June using the second prototype, aircraft 002 registered X616, with roughly 100h on the airframe. The M-346 was still in the middle of its development and certification programme and had not been cleared over its full envelope.

The principal limitations on 002 were a maximum altitude of 40,000ft (45,000ft for the production aircraft), speed at altitude of Mach 0.85 (M1.2 production), speed at low level of 530kt indicated (572kt production), gear limiting speed 200kt (250kt production), maximum +20° AoA in all configurations (+40° production), load factor +7/-1.6g (+8/-3g production).

The fly-by-wire FCS had been cleared to software Phase 1 (direct link) and was undergoing Phase 2 (reversionary mode) testing at the time of my flight, which would be conducted in Phase 1 standard. Phase 3 (full carefree handling) had been tested in the full mission simulator, which I flew briefly later as a comparison, but had yet to be loaded and tested in the prototypes in the air.

My safety pilot was Olinto Cecconello, experimental chief test pilot and M-346 project test pilot. He also flies the Eurofighter Typhoon as a test pilot and is able to bring fourth-generation fighter “read across” to the M-346 design.

Because of air traffic control and aircraft limitations we elected to look at handling and performance in the air combat manoeuvring training role and finish with some high-speed low-level transit and visual work. We could not go supersonic and did not have the time for a weapons or ETS evaluation.

Cecconello would take the front cockpit, and I the rear in the role of an instructor, drawing on my 1,200-plus hours on Hawks, many in the back seat as an instructor. I was planned to fly the complete sortie, but had no time for simulator familiarisation before stepping into the rear cockpit. The ease with which I could fly the aircraft would be a mark of how good its design was.

Because Venegono’s runway 36 is short, just 1,420m, we elected to go with clean wing and 1,500kg internal fuel. Aircraft 002 carries 500kg of flight-test instrumentation and the landing gear, taken directly from an Aermacchi AMX, is nearly 100kg heavier than in the production aircraft. With crew, take-off weight was 7,700kg. Outside air temperature was +28°C (82°F), wind calm, QNH 1018mb and visibility 8km with haze, clear sky and no turbulence. The operating area was to the north east, above the mountains surrounding Lake Como and so our base level was 10,000-15,000ft.

Boarding was via a ground ladder, but production aircraft will have a drop-down ladder “post” for crew entry. Stepping in was simple with the enormous canopy side-hinged to the right. The Martin-Baker Mk16 ejection seat was comfortable, with electric adjustment and a five-piece harness, which I like for negative g. I immediately liked the fact that all cockpit switches are forward of the pilot’s body line so there would be no need to bury my head or operate switches “blind” – something I had not seen since the Folland Gnat.

The three large head-down MFDs were bright, with clear formats and sharply defined symbology and with bezel buttons for sub-menu selection. The layout closely resembles that of the Eurofighter and Rafale. The centre stick, again similar to the Eurofighter’s, is positioned so as not to obscure the centre MFD. Mounted on the left sidewall, the throttles are “twinned” to look like a single unit and move along rails rather than a quadrant – a nice design that frees up console space.

APU start assist was simple. I liked that the engine-start rotary selection knobs are press in to turn/select and not pull out, preventing damage to the switch. Post-start we had to wait about 12s for the OBOGS to start operating. The canopy was then closed electrically, but in a two-action sequence. The first activates a horn and brings the canopy over and down to about 25cm (10in) above the side rail. The second action fully closes the canopy after a delay of about 3s to ensure no fingers are trapped – another excellent design detail.

Field of view in the rear cockpit is outstanding (and even better in the front). The canopy is so large and clear that it gives the slightly weird impression of not being there at all. The rear seat is so high that you almost lose sight of the front seat and, with no detonation cord to disrupt the forward view, it gave the impression of being in a single-seat cockpit.

Accurate taxiing

The canopy is so large and clear that it gives the slightly weird impression of not being there at all. The rear seat is so high that you almost lose sight of the front seat

We were ready to taxi 2-3min after start. Power to move was small and throttles close to idle at taxi speed. Taxiing was accurate, and tight turns easy to achieve with nosewheel steering (NWS) set to low and the carbon brakes were progressive and effective. I did not like the small NWS engage button at the base of the stick’s forward face, or having to cycle between low and high settings on the cockpit coaming. I recommend a chunkier switch or paddle so that students can find it in a hurry and, as it is steer-by-wire, incorporating the low/high modes into a digital schedule and leaving it fully engaged.

Line-up checks consisted of setting the trailing-edge flaps to take-off (20°), which automatically scheduled the leading-edge flaps to 20°, checking both engines momentarily at 80% NH then setting 100% and releasing brakes (aircraft 002 was not yet fitted with the production “pseudo reheat” throttle detent at the 90% NH position). Acceleration was rapid and telemetry showed a 400m ground roll, 11s take-off run and lift off at 8° AoA and 130kt (I was a little late to pull at the target rotate speed of 115kt).

M-346 is designed to handle and manoeuvre like a modern fighter

The HUD can show various flightpath vector (FPV) symbols, but we selected climb/dive angle (CDA – a velocity vector in pitch, but locked laterally). To aid accurate pitch capture, the HUD take-off symbology features additional pitch target bars that were useful at rotation until the CDA stabilised. Gear and flap were selected up immediately to observe the 200kt indicated limit speed, and the aircraft throttled back just seconds later to observe an ATC speed limit of 300kt. I felt no pitch changes with gear or flap travel.

After the gear came up, the HUD automatically changed to navigation mode. In the ATC positioning turns that followed, the controls already felt powerful, light, harmonised and fighter-like. They reminded me of the Dassault Mirage 2000, which has the nicest fly-by-wire FCS of any fighter I have flown to date.

After stabilising at 3,000ft, we were re-cleared to climb to 29,000ft. Full power and 300kt best climb speed gave a climb angle exceeding 25° and a climb rate that was off any clock I could see. The cockpit environment remained quiet and smooth. The FCS with its Phase 1 software load still felt extremely good. The control mechanical characteristics were just about perfect, with low breakout forces, just 0.25kg, in all axes. Roll rate was well over 200°/s and the roll could be stopped precisely at the 90° point.

The FCS uses a flightpath hold control law, so the pilot can place the FPV at any pitch angle, release the controls and the aircraft will maintain that flightpath angle during speed change. I tried this inverted, with the FPV on the horizon line, and released the controls. It was impressive to see the aircraft maintain -1g precisely with no stick input.

Longitudinally, the aircraft has auto-trim with gear up and above 190kt, so throughout the climb and accelerating to M0.85 at 29,000ft, the stick never moved and there was no a need to trim in any axis – a fighter-type feature. I could detect no pitch changes with power. I could not exceed M0.85, so cannot comment on transonic/supersonic performance and handling.

I descended rapidly to 20,000ft for some hard combat-type manoeuvring. I liked the airbrake, which can be selected to any angle up to 60°, with the position shown on the combined airbrake/flaps/gear display panel just above the gear handle.

In the 15,000-20,000ft height band, at 300kt and with 1,200kg of internal fuel, the lift boundary was buffet limited around +4g. Cecconello says the automatic scheduling of the leading-edge flaps still has to be perfected in FCS Phase 3, which should allow more g to be generated. I would recommend investigating scheduling the flaps automatically with increasing AoA versus airspeed, as in the KAI T-50, but this may require strengthening of the flaps.

Rapid roll reversals, highly loaded rapid rolls, low-speed loops and a high g wing-over all showed the aircraft to have no vices or control law discontinuities. Field of view was superb all the way around to the fin.

The aircraft was stabilised gear and flaps up at 20° AoA, the Phase 1 FCS limit, equating to 109kt. Later, flying the simulator with Phase 3 FCS indicated that at zero airspeed, with full aileron deflection held against full opposite rudder, the M-346 was completely spin-resistant.

Laterally and directionally, the aircraft could be rolled with rudder in the direction of the applied rudder pedal, and over 12° of sideslip could be generated to “kick off drift” for a crosswind landing in up to the demonstrated 30kt limit. The FCS damped any Dutch roll. Overall, I thought the FCS even at Phase 1 was excellent, and at Phase 3 it should be superb.

We then dived to 1,500ft for a high-speed, low-level transit home at 500kt-plus following the HUD navigation symbology. The low-level ride felt steady and comfortable and the aircraft/engine combination feels strong in this flight regime. There is a lot of excess thrust at low level, so I have no doubt the 572kt equivalent airspeed will be achievable when cleared.

We broke into the circuit at +5g, from 360kt indicated, slowing with full airbrake. With the gear down, below 190kt, the aircraft requires manual trim, but this is an enhancing feature to give students the necessary feedback from on the stick on speed change if they lose attention to the HUD. Downwind, I checked the gear down and the leading- and trailing-edge flaps were at 20°. The turn on to finals was flown at around 150kt until the AoA “bracket” came into view (the HUD having automatically reverted to landing mode), then 12º AoA held before slowing to 14º AoA (128kt) for the roll.

Soaking it up

From the instructor position I found the forward canopy arch blocked the view of the touchdown point, but Cecconello says the arch will be half the size in the production aircraft. The FPV was placed over the intended landing point, small bursts of power holding the AoA, and the trailing-link gear soaked up the touchdown with no hint of bounce.

Two rollers were completed then, due to a problem with his microphone, Cecconello decided on a full-stop landing. This was with full landing flap (leading-edge 25°/trailing-edge 40°), with telemetry showing a touchdown at 115kt and 13º AoA and stopping within 600m without the use of heavy braking. Flying and demonstrating an accurate circuit and touchdown to a student would be simple. The aircraft was as easy to fly as any jet I have flown and could be coped with by a basic student. We shut down with 600kg of fuel, having used 900kg over a flight time of 45min.

A teaching effectiveness graph developed by Alenia Aermacchi – with the Eurofighter and Rafale referenced at 112% – puts the M-346 at 92%, 10% ahead of the T-50. The company claims the M-346 could save an air force around €2 million ($2.5 million) per student pilot, as its training effectiveness equates to reduced OCU flying hours. Alenia Aermacchi argues these savings make the M-346 a cheaper solution than current Hawk 115-type advanced trainers.

My overriding impression after flying the M-346 is of an aircraft with great handling and performance, a true fourth-generation trainer in design and part of an integrated training system. I believe the M-346 has the potential to offer “one-type” training from basic through to fighter lead-in, and I admire Alenia Aermacchi’s decision to put cockpit and display customisation at the heart of the M-346’s digital architecture. ■

General: AMRAAM Derivative Could Target Sats

Apr 1, 2008

The F-22 could be carrying an anti-satellite (ASAT) missile, costing less than $1 million, in a few years if the military and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) decide to hone the capabilities of a new missile defense weapon from Raytheon.A derivative of the Aim-120 AMRAAM, the Pentagon’s established long-range air-to-air missile, is once again being tailored for a new mission – this time the interception of Scud-type short and medium-range ballistic missiles.But a senior U.S. Air Force official confides that the capability is inherently that of a cheap, rapidly-deployed, air-launched weapon for shooting down satellites in low-Earth orbit if the service or Missile Defense Agency were to order its further refinement and development. Raytheon officials say they haven’t researched the ASAT mission and have no opinion about its feasibility. They do note that the AMRAAM derivative isn’t as large or nearly as energetic as the Raytheon Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) that shot down an errant National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) satellite earlier this year (Aerospace DAILY, Feb. 22). However, they note that if launched at Mach 0.85 at 30,000-40,000 feet, the new, 358-pound missile becomes much more capable against objects at altitudes of 30 kilometers (19 miles) or more. The Air Force general was much more blunt. “If you put the missile in an F-22 and launch it at Mach 2 and 60,000 feet while in a zoom and at a 45-degree angle, you’ve got an ASAT capability against spacecraft in low-Earth orbit,” he says. Raytheon officials gave Aviation Week a look at the latest test video of the sensor capability of this new, air-launched, missile-defense weapon they’re developing. The AMRAAM-derivative is called the NCADE, for Network-Centric Airborne Defense Element. For this test, smaller Aim-9 air-to-air missiles were used. Two F-16s, each carrying an Aim-9 equipped with the NCADE’s highly specialized infrared seeker, attacked a 14-inch diameter target missile over the White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The first missile grazed the target missile’s body and took off two fins. The second came within about a yard of the target missile, which is good enough to validate the system, according to Mike Booen, Raytheon’s vice president of advanced missile defense. Future testing will involve the missile’s divert and attitude control system. For the present, NCADE is being developed as a boost-phase interceptor with seekers that can distinguish between the rocket plume and hard body from launch. That avoids inaccuracies or last-minute course changes caused by seekers having to shift from the plume’s heat as an aiming point to the much cooler target missile’s body. Raytheon planners originally looked at unmanned platforms to carry the NCADE for long-endurance missions. Candidates include the Predator B and perhaps an even higher-performance UAV that could offer added speed and altitude. It might even bring the long-envisioned Predator C back to life, a program that was put on the back burner as Predator A production and development of the Predator B accelerated. Another option could be the 2018 future bomber. However, Booen says Air Force planners are adamant that the missile be on forward deployed, manned fighters like the F-22. They bring up the frustration in the 1991 Gulf War when pilots could see Scuds ascending but had no way to attack them. “NCADE could make almost any platform multimission,” Booen says. He also contends that 20 missiles could be on the ramp, ready for operations in as little as four years at a cost of less than $1 million each in four years from a given start date. More demonstrations are proposed for 2009 that could lead to a program start in 2010.

source: flightglobal.com

Fears about a cancer-causing substance in the cockpit has prompted the Israeli Air Force (IAF) to suspend training flights for its 62-aircraft fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16I Sufas.

“According to tests the substance is formaldehyde that recently was defined as causing cancer above certain concentration,” says the IAF spokesman.

Formaldehyde is a known by-product of jet engine exhaust, but it’s not clear if the IDF detected uniquely high levels in the cockpit of the F-16I. By contrast, the IAF’s fleet of 125 F-16C/Ds remain fully operational.

Israeli sources say an IAF team is traveling on Sunday to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics headquarters at Fort Worth, Texas, to identify the source of the potentially cancerous substance.

The sources also indicate that the immediate source of the formaldehyde is probably the F-16I air conditioning system.

Lockheed Martin is “investigating some recent IAF pilot reports regarding the air quality in their F-16I aircraft and we are providing this support,” a company spokeswoman says. “We have not had similar reports by other F-16 users.”

There are 3,561 F-16s in active service with international air forces around the world, according to Flight’s Milicas database.

DATE:17/03/08

SOURCE:Flightglobal.com

Australia to stick with Super Hornets

Australia is sticking with an order for 24 Boeing F/A-18Fs Super Hornets made by its previous government, but defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon rounded on his predecessors and accused them of lacking “sound long-term air combat capability planning during the last decade”.“The Super Hornet is an excellent aircraft capable of meeting any known threat in the region,” says defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon. “It is the only aircraft which can meet the small delivery window created by the former Government’s poor planning processes and politically-driven responses. Cancelling the Super Hornet would bring significant financial penalties and create understandable tensions between the contract partners.”The former Liberal government made the controversial A$6.6 billion ($6 billion) order for the Super Hornets in early 2007 to replace the Royal Australian Air Force’s ageing General Dynamics F-111 fleet, and provide a stopgap ahead of the delivery of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.The Labor government came to power late last year and, in January, began assessing the country’s air combat capability requirements – though some observers believe that the study is meant to scrutinise the procurement decisions made under ex-defence minister Brendan Nelson, who is now opposition leader.The first part of the study focused on the feasibility of retaining the F-111s beyond 2010 and the status of Australia’s plans to acquire the Super Hornet. Explaining the findings, Fitzgibbon said that the decision to retire the F-111s was irreversible due to the huge costs involved.“The…decision to leave Australia’s air defence in the hands of the JSF project was a flawed leap of faith in scheduling terms, and combined with the quick decision to retire F-111 early, allowed an air combat capability gap to emerge,” he said. “The subsequent timetable the former Government put on the acquisition of an interim fighter left Defence planners with no choice but to recommend the Super Hornet. No other suitable aircraft could be produced to meet the 2010 deadline the former Government had set.”The second part of the study will now examine Australia’s air combat capability needs until 2045, including the plan to acquire the F-35s. Further announcements on this are expected in late-April. The review’s findings will be incorporated by end-2008 into a new Defence White Paper, which will guide future defence planning.

The decision will be a relief to Boeing, which has already cut metal on the RAAF’s first aircraft. Australia, which is scheduled to receive the first two-seat F/A-18Fs from 2010, became the first export customer for the aircraft and its decision was seen as a major vote of confidence in the fighter. Boeing hopes that this will pave the way for other orders in the region, in particular a $12 billion 126-aircraft tender in India.

In February, Australia’s air force chief told Flight International that he was for ordering the F/A-18s. “We are asking them to spend a lot of money, so it is understandable that they want to examine it,” Air Chief Marshal Geoff Shepherd said then of the review. The next stage, he added, was with the F-35. “Our future is with the JSF, by 2020 we want to have an all F-35 fleet. We believe that the Super Hornets will serve us well until the F-35s come in. If the government gives us the OK for the F/A-18s, we will be able to handle any delays to the F-35 through mid-life upgrades for the Super Hornets.”

South African Air Force To Receive First Gripen Soon

Mar 8, 2008Ten years after a contentious selection process, the South African Air Force will formally receive the first of its 26 Saab Gripens next month. These aircraft will form the core of the service’s defensive and offensive capability for the coming decades.

The fighter purchase constitutes the single largest procurement item within the 1998 Strategic Defense Package, and its significance extends beyond the purely military sphere. That’s because the choices made in the package were driven not only by a desire to revamp the South African military’s weapons inventory, but also by aspirations to reshape the country’s defense-industrial base and to support the broader national economy.

The end of the apartheid regime allowed the country’s armed forces to reenter the international arms market to revamp their inventory. The acquisition decisions made in late 1998 – born out of the government’s 1996 defense white paper and the following defense review – were intended to modernize the armed services, replacing quantity with quality.

The Strategic Defense Package also contained a clear industrial imperative to draw in both direct technology transfer and indirect business. Besides revamping the military, it aimed to help recast the country’s defense industry. At its peak, the sector accounted for 9% of those employed in manufacturing, according to the government’s 1999 white paper on South Africa’s defense-related industries. The change in government and in the country’s military posture saw the defense budget decline by over 50% during the 1990s, with acquisition funding falling even further, according to the report. The defense industry – and Denel, in particular – continues to wrestle with these developments.

The defense package procurements covered combat aircraft, advanced jet trainers, light utility helicopters, submarines and maritime helicopters. The combat aircraft and the jet trainers alone would total $2.2 billion.

Fiercely contested, the process and the decisions remain controversial. Today’s leader of the African National Congress, Jacob Zuma, is under scrutiny over corruption allegations related to some of the acquisitions. For a country struggling with serious poverty and the need to provide basic amenities to many, defense acquisition expenditures appeared to be a luxury it could ill afford.

However, South Africa’s geostrategic significance coupled with the region’s volatility militates toward the retention of capable armed forces.

The acquisitions were to be the catalyst for transforming not only the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) but also the defense industrial sector. Until this point, the development of both had been closely intertwined with the apartheid regime. The military was structured to deal with the border conflicts and the insurgency that sprang out of the regime’s racist ideology, with actors on both sides of the conflict also proxies in the Cold War.

For the last two decades of apartheid, the country was unable to openly buy Western military equipment – the result of the 1977 United Nations embargo. It had forged close links with Israel as a defense-industrial partner. This relationship was to wither following the end of apartheid and the emergence of a multiracial government in 1994.

The 1996 white paper set out the country’s need for “a balanced, modern, affordable and technologically advanced military force.” It also said: “The primary role of the SANDF shall be to defend South Africa against external military aggression. Deployment in an internal policing capacity shall be limited to exceptional circumstances and subject to parliamentary approval and safeguards.”

The Gripen was selected – in preference to the Dassault Mirage 2000-5 and the then-Deutsche Aerospace Mako – to meet the South African Air Force’s requirement for a combat aircraft to eventually fill the roles of its Mirage F1 and Cheetah C aircraft. The BAE Systems Hawk was chosen as the successor to the Aermacchi MB326, known in the SAAF as the Impala Mk. 1. In numerical terms, the programs were far from a one-for-one replacement.

Hawk deliveries started in 2006, with all 24 to be delivered to the air force by the end of 2008. As of January, 20 had already been delivered to AFB Makhado. Delivery of the Gripen will also begin this year, with all of the aircraft handed over by 2012. The nine D two-seat aircraft will be delivered first, to be followed by the 17 single-seat C models. The SAAF’s No. 2 squadron, which currently operates the Cheetah C from Makhado, in the country’s north, will reequip with the Gripen. The first six Cheetah C pilots will start type conversion at the air base in September, supported by two Swedish instructors.

Alongside manufacturing structures work on the Gripen as a part of the offset-related defense industrial package (DIP), there was also a commitment to flight testing in South Africa, says Johan Rydin, Saab’s Gripen in-country director.

A 2004 memorandum of understanding between Saab and Denel set out the timescale for the program to be carried out at South Africa’s Gripen Flight Test Center. The facility is at AFB Overberg on the country’s southeastern coast, conveniently colocated with the Denel-run Overberg Test Range (known as OTB).

The MOU “set a first-flight target date of Aug. 15, 2006,” says Rydin. “We did it four days before on the 11th.” The plan was to carry out 100-150 flights, concluding at the end of October 2007. They finished on Nov. 1, he adds.

The Gripen eventually flew 199 sorties totaling 178 hr. It averaged 17 flights per month, he says, “five more than we thought we could achieve.” The proximity to the OTB was a clear benefit, with the weapons range providing the ability to rapidly conduct multiple sorties. On one occasion, four free-fall bomb-trial flights were carried out during a 5-hr. period.

Aircraft reliability was also high. “The aircraft had only three snags in 18 months,” he notes.

One of these, however, was particularly dicey. During a low-altitude flight test, possible fuel contamination was a worry due to a problem with the center-line drop tank. The aircraft had to be grounded temporarily in January while the issue was resolved. The other two problems were related to the environmental control system. Magnus Lewis-Olsson, Saab’s flight test operations manager, says the aircraft has been used for a variety of trials, including examining the performance of “various software loads of increasing capabilities.” He adds that flight testing has covered the navigation and communications suites, as well as night flying and initial free-fall bomb clearance and utilization. The latter included areas such as weapon-aiming symbology and asymmetric weapon-release characteristics. These trials used Mk. 81 and Mk. 82 bombs.

The OTB range also provided radar emitters for tests of the aircraft’s electronic warfare suite, while chaff and flare dispersion tests have also been done. The flight test program culminated in 10 sorties that included mock air-to-air engagements with a Cheetah C.

The air force has yet to publicly identify its weapons integration priorities for the Gripen, although a choice of precision-guided bomb is pending. Trials also will begin in the second quarter using the Rafael Litening II laser designator pod with the aircraft.

While the air force has selected the Denel Dynamics A-Darter imaging-infrared guided missile as the short-range weapon for its Gripens, it may procure an interim weapon pending the completion of A-Darter development. The program is funded jointly by South Africa and Brazil. The integration costs of the missile were one of several changes to the overall program that resulted in the number of C-standard aircraft being reduced to 17 from 19 in 2006.

The test center will be transferred to Denel and the SAAF around the fourth quarter of this year, while Saab will continue to provide support into 2009. The Swedish company also is considering using the center to support its own product development. This could include further Gripen variants, as well as UAV and unmanned combat air vehicle research. Were any of these to come to fruition within the next four years, the value of the work could be included as part of the DIP.

“The industrial participation approach was intended to leverage industrial value for the country, to provide economic and social benefits,” says Jonathan Walton, BAE’s executive vice president for South Africa. The government’s aim was to secure work worth up to “400% of the contract value,” he notes. “Several bidders were offering this level of industrial participation.”

Given the size of the requirement, Walton says, “there was quite a lot of cynicism about the IP package.” The target is defined as the delivery of $8.7 billion worth of economic benefit through the provision of work packages, subcontracts and financial investment.

The importance of the participation program is underscored by President Thabo Mbeki’s request to then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair that his government “ensure BAE would deliver,” according to Walton.

The South African government set out the overall framework for offset in 1996 when it established the National Industrial Participation (NIP) program. This covers all state purchases over a certain value. In addition, military procurement is covered by the requirement for a DIP for offset directly related to the acquisition.

The defense industrial package amounts to 17% of the total obligation. Flexibility has been required in delivering part of the offset, since some of the originally projected business did not materialize. Walton points to optimistic expectations for the total of BAE Hawk exports as an example. Direct offset includes Gripen and Hawk aerostructures work as well as Hawk final assembly. Indirect structural work includes packages on the Euroýýfighter Typhoon.

BAE’s expansion into the land systems sector has proved a distinct benefit in the South African offset context. Its 2004 purchase of Alvis also brought with it South African subsidiary OMC. Walton says the company had to make the case for this to be considered as IP-investment by the government since, “in South Africa, aerospace is seen as strategic and not land. It was very challenging.” Land Systems South Africa, as the company is known, is owned by BAE Systems and the government’s Black Economic Empowerment Group. BAE is the majority shareholder, with 75%. The land systems business also provided offset credits once the order intake exceeded an agreed “pre-investment baseline.”

The broader “national industrial” package covers the remaining 83% of the total offset requirement, says Walton. To fulfill this, BAE and Saab set up the South Africa National Industrial Participation organization. “The government encouraged us to invest in green-field companies,” says Walton. So far, 42 projects – including automotive, agro-processing, information technology, ship repair, biotech and medicine – have been established.

With regard to the DIP, Walton says industry faces several challenges. “We are extremely dependent upon the ability of the projects to deliver,” he notes. A comparatively strong rand has also “hindered the export performance” of some of the projects.

While there have been challenges associated with direct offset, Walton says fulfilling the NIP is proving to be more difficult. Most of the problems and some poor performances have been in the national participation projects – but “this is probably what the NIP program is all about,” he adds. The national participation program is geared to investing in businesses and projects that likely would not have otherwise received financial support.

BAE and Saab report every six months in a formal meeting with the government on the state of the NIP.

Walton says there’s still a need for more DIP on Gripen. A “major project” is being discussed, though he declines to provide further detail. This may well be related to the future variant of the Gripen, for which a demonstrator is now being built. “We’re not in panic mode.”

By 2011 – when the offset packages are due to be fulfilled – Walton sees BAE’s presence beyond this as “predominantly in the land systems.”

At one point BAE Systems had been selected by the government as the strategic partner in Denel. The company was expected to take an initial 20% stake in Denel.

Shaun Liebenberg, Denel’s CEO, says there were “attempts to sell Denel on the international market to BAE or EADS, but there were too many issues.”

Liebenberg was appointed as Denel CEO in 2005 with a mandate to restructure the ailing group and return it to profitability. One of his aims was to conclude a series of equity partnerships covering the eight main areas of the group’s business.

The latest – and likely his last, since he will leave his post in May – was the sale of a majority stake in Denel Munitions to Germany’s Rheinmetall Group at the beginning of February. (Liebenberg is joining Rheinmetall.) The move resulted in considerable comment in the South African press.

Liebenberg also has been pushing Saab to increase its stake in Denel Saab Aerostructures. Saab currently has 20%, with options to increase first to 51% and potentially to 70%.

The initial deal with Saab was driven by the need to gain “competency,” suggests Liebenberg. The company’s aerostructures business has run into difficulties on some contracts – including its work on the A400M, where it is responsible for the wing-fuselage fairing. BAE’s Walton notes that Aerostructures was “faced with the loss of the A400M work.” This outcome, he suggests, would have been a major setback for the company.

The Denel CEO says the issues on the A400M arose partly because the company had “never done anything like this before.” As for Airbus, there was a “lack of clarity” regarding the design, he asserts. As of January, there were still design changes related to the weight-reduction effort.

Irrespective of the A400M teething troubles, Liebenberg sees the aerostructures business as offering considerable promise. “The marketplace is competitive but there’s a huge undersupply,” he notes. Denel has held discussions with Embraer on becoming a risk-sharing partner in the latter’s proposed C-390 airlifter, building on its experience on the A400M.

Denel is also looking to forge closer ties with AgustaWestland based on its final assembly of the A109 light utility helicopter, which is part of the Strategic Defense Package.

Liebenberg wants the Defense Ministry “to focus on long-term contracts.” He advocates increasing the amount of maintenance and support carried out by industry instead of by the military. This constitutes a controversial approach in the South African context, so it’s unclear how his departure will affect the proposal and, indeed, the broader outlook for Denel.
China’s J-10 fighter leads Taiwan air threat, says USA SOURCE :FLIGHTGLOBAL

07/03/08

Spearheaded by new indigenously developed or improved fighters and bombers, such as the Chengdu J-10, China is building up its capability to use force against Taiwan while maming it harder for the USA to come to the defence of the island nation.

That is a conclusion of the US Department of Defense’s latest analysis of Chinese military power, submitted to Congress at the beginning of March. The report highlights the increasing capability of Beijing’s air and air defence forces

A growing percentage of the 490 combat aircraft based within unrefueled range of Taiwan are newer, more advanced types, claims the Pentagon.

These include the indigenously developed F-16-class J-10, which is to be joined by the more-capable Shenyang J-11B, a Chinese-developed upgrade of the Sukhoi Su-27SK.

The report also highlights the modernised Xi’an JH-7A fighter-bomber, whcih can carry precision weapons including the YJ-91 anti-radiation missile as well as TV-guided missiles and laser-guided bombs.

China is also upgrading its Xi’an H-6 bomber fleet with a new variant, the H-6K, featuring new engines, a glass cockpit and six underwing pylons for what the DoD says is a new long-range cruise missile.

The Pentagon claims China is increasing the capability of its air force with Russian-supplied Ilyushin Il-78 aerial refueling tankers as well as developing several types of airborne early warning and control aircraft, including the Xi’an KJ-2000 based on the Russian Beriev A-50 and the indigenous Shaanxi KJ-200 based on the Y-8 transport.

Beijing is also equipping its armed forces with new air-launched and surface-launched missiles, long-range unmanned air vehicles and unmanned combat air vehicles, the Pentagon report says.

General: We Will Find A Way To Buy 380 F-22s

Feb 13, 2008

U.S. Air Force Gen. Bruce Carlson, chief of Air Force Materiel Command, told a group of reporters Wednesday that the Air Force will figure out a way to buy 380 F-22s, despite the fact that the Pentagon – through the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) – has capped the number of Raptors to be procured at 183. “We think that [183] is the wrong number,” Carlson said. Even 380, a number he joked is a “compromise” from the 381 the Air Force originally asked for, still leaves too much room for risk. That risk could even include a future conflict with China, he said. “Most people say in the future there will be a Chinese element to whatever we do,” he added. “We’re committed to funding 380,” Carlson said Feb. 13 after speaking at Aviation Week’s Defense Technology and Requirements conference in Washing ton. “We’re building a program right now to do that. It’s going to be incredibly difficult on the Air Force, but we’ve done this before.” He added there are only three places from which to draw funds to accomplish the Air Force’s goal: operations and maintenance, research and development and procurement. “We don’t have a [money] printing machine,” he said. “We have to pay for it.” OSD and the Air Force have long disputed how many Raptors to buy, with the Air Force maintaining that it needs 380-plus, especially as the rest of its fleet ages. OSD has tried to cap F-22s in light of planned future Joint Strike Fighters, which also are made by a Lockheed Martin-led team, as well as burgeoning defense investments elsewhere like shipbuilding and ground vehicles. Airbus launches alternative fuels tests with A380 GTL demonstration flight Airbus took an important step in its evaluation of alternative fuels last week when it flew an A380 test aircraft with one of its engines powered by a synthetic fuel processed from gas.The Rolls-Royce Trent 900-powered A380 (MSN004) completed the 3h demonstration flight with the gas-to-liquid (GTL) kerosene blended with standard jet fuel between Airbus’s Filton and Toulouse plants on 1 February. It comes just ahead of Boeing’s biofuel demonstration 747 flight in conjunction with Virgin Atlantic and General Electric between London and Amsterdam later this month.The A380 took off with an 11t synthetic fuel uplift in a 40% blend of GTL jet fuel provided by Shell International Petroleum. Airbus invited journalists and partners to Filton to witness the departure.Airbus revealed its GTL project at last year’s Dubai air show in conjunction with a team that includes Qatar Airways, Qatar Petroleum, Rolls-Royce and Shell. The path towards the A380 demonstration started in September last year, says Sébastien Remy, head of alternative fuels research programme. “By October we confirmed that flight test aircraft and the GTL were available, and by November a detailed roadmap for the GTL flight was defined,” he adds.The synthetic fuel was supplied for the trial from the GTL pilot plant in Bintulu, Malaysia. GTL will be available in large volumes by 2011 once the Pearl plant in Qatar comes fully on line.Remy says that GTL’s benefits are “attractive for local air quality” , that it should be equivalent to current jet fuel in life-cycle CO2 terms and should have the same characteristics as future biomass to liquid (BTL) synthetic jet fuel. “GTL is therefore a good precursor to BTL. We can cash in on benefits as early as possible and prepare for the emergence of a wider slate of synthetic fuels.”Airbus and its partners will review the flight test data with results expected in a couple of months. Remy says that this is the first step in the creation of a European led industry platform, with Airbus planning to make its first test flight with biofuel next year.Airbus aims to have a 50% blend GTL fuel approved by next year, with 100% blend approval by 2013. Qatar Airways revenue services with GTL are planned for 2009. Remy says alternative non-food feedstocks that are renewable and sustainable, such as algae, are expected to reach maturity by around 2015 with aircraft approved to fly with advanced biofuels as early as 2020. “We believe 25% of jet fuel could be alternative fuel by 2025 and 30% could be biofuel by 2030,” he says. According to Robert Nuttall, R-R vice-president market and environmental strategy, the demonstration was flown with production Trent 900 engines which were operated to maximum power on take off with no restriction. During the flight, checks were made of engine parameters at different flight levels and in holding conditions, of fuel system indications, of engine transients at maximum altitude and descent, and of relight characteristics, he adds.

Singapore Airshow 2008 – Southeast Asia defence market opens up

With South-East Asian air forces looking to update their fleets across the board, some fascinating manufacturer tussles are afoot (flight international)

South-East Asia is developing into a very open and competitive market for military aircraft, with regional air forces looking to renew fleets which have some aircraft that have been in service for more than 40 years.

Almost all major defence contractors have a chance of selling to the region. Singapore has ordered US fighters and is choosing between South Korean, Italian and UK advanced jet trainers. Indonesia and Malaysia have gone for Russian Sukhoi fighters in recent years, while Thailand warmed Swedish hearts with an order for the Saab Gripen multi-role combat aircraft.

Not just fighters

All four are likely to order more aircraft in the next few years, and Vietnam could begin a major fighter replacement exercise early next decade. And it is not just fighters that are required – maritime patrol aircraft, airborne early warning capability, attack, utility and transport helicopters, and trainers are all on the region’s shopping list.

“This is not a classic arms race as there is no real animosity among the players,” says Richard Bitzinger, a senior fellow at Singapore’s S Rajaratnam School of International Studies. “Most of the purchases are needed to replace old inventory and prevent a drop in relative capability. But there is also an element of ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ – tit-for-tat, non-aggressive procurement rivalries.”

One official at a major Western defence contractor points out that although North-East Asia and India grab most of the headlines, South-East Asia is a key market. “Singapore, for example, has a big budget and its decisions are often taken very seriously elsewhere,” he says. “Its order of the [Boeing] F-15, for example, was seen as a vote of confidence in the aircraft. Its decision in the advanced trainer competition will also be closely monitored.”

Tough market

Boeing says the region will remain a tough, open market. “Competition is intense, and always will be. We believe customers will make their decisions based on technology access, low risk, proven capability and value for money.”

Leading the way is Singapore, with tactical fighters, advanced trainers and maritime patrol aircraft all on the horizon. The South-East’s biggest operator of Lockheed Martin F-16s has ordered 24 F-15SGs, and is looking to increase its “strategic depth” in the next decade, says air force chief Maj Gen Ng Chee Khern.

Buyers’ requirements and possible suppliers Singapore: Fighters (Boeing F-15, Lockheed Martin F-35), maritime patrol aircraft (Boeing P-8, Lockheed MartinP-3C), advanced jet trainers (BAE Systems Hawk, Korea Aerospace Industries T-50, Aermacchi M-346) Malaysia: Fighters (Sukhoi Su-30, Boeing F/A-18), utility helicopters (AgustaWestland AW101, Eurocopter EC725, Sikorsky S-92, Kamov KA-31), airborne early warning (Embraer R-99, Saab 2000, Northrop Grumman E-2) Indonesia: Fighters (Su-30, Lockheed Martin F-16), light attack aircraft (Aero Vodochody L-159, Hongdu K-8, KAI KO-1), attack helicopters (Mil Mi-35), utility helcopters (unconfirmed) Thailand: Fighters (Saab Gripen, F-16, Su-30, F/A-18), attack helicopters (Boeing AH-64) Vietnam: Fighters (Su-30, ChengduJ-10, F-16, F/A-18, Gripen) Philippines: Attack helicopters (MD Helicopters MG530F, PZL-Swidnik Kania), utility helicopters (Harbin Z-9) Brunei: Light attack aircraft (Hawk, KO-1) Myanmar: Fighters (Chengdu J-10, MiG-29), utility helicopters (Harbin Z-9, Hindustan Aeronautics Advanced Light Helicopter)

Singapore aligned itself with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme in 2002 at the “security co-operation participant” level, the lowest rung of the four-tier international teaming set-up. Delays in the fighter’s development have kept the country waiting for the final configuration, but that information should be delivered this year. Singapore will then have to choose between a second batch of F-15s and going ahead with the F-35.Hawk viability

Advanced jet trainers are also on Singapore’s wish-list. It is evaluating the AermacchiM-346, BAE Systems Hawk 128, and Korea Aerospace Industries T-50. The Hawk has been the standard for more than 30 years, but its viability has come into question after it was eliminated from an United Arab Emirates contest, where it faced the same rivals.

Singapore’s choices could have an impact on those of its neighbour. Bitzinger points out that when Singapore ordered F-16s, Malaysia bought 18 Sukhoi Su-30MKMs to complement its fleet of 18 MiG-29s, eight Boeing F/A-18Ds and 13 Northrop F-5E/Fs. Its first all-Sukhoi squadron should be combat ready in the first quarter of 2009.

Kuala Lumpur is keen to buy more fighters and is likely to choose between a second batch of Su-30s and possibly F/A-18E/Fs for delivery from 2011. A contract must be awarded in 2009 if funding is to be secured in time for the country’s 2011-15 five-year plan. Both internal and external politics will play a role in its decision.

“General elections are expected this year and the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition should win again,” says a Kuala Lumpur-based observer. “Some factions favour the Russians and others favour the Americans, and we must see who gains the upper hand. Russia has been a reliable supplier, but the MiGs have faced technical problems. But if Malaysia buys American fighters, it must induct aircraft that are very different from what it already has. It may make sense to stick to one type.”

Malaysia’s priorities are maritime patrol aircraft and utility helicopters, however, says the observer. “Malaysia must live up to its commitment to monitor its waters. It also needs new utility helicopters to replace its ageing ‘Nuris’ [Sikorsky S-61] after recent high-profile crashes.”

Financial considerations may lead to upgrades of the F/A-18s and MiG-29s, which have six years’ life left without modification, instead of new fighters, he adds.

Neighbouring Indonesia, the region’s most populous and largest country, also needs to upgrade its aircraft. A fleet of 12 F-16A/Bs, 10 F-5s and 11 A-4 Skyhawks are a testament to the country’s historical close relationship with Washington. But much of the fleet was grounded after a US arms embargo, imposed in the late 1990s after the Indonesian government’s bloody crackdown on separatist forces in East Timor, cut off the supply of spare parts.

Cancelled orders

Jakarta turned to Russia and ordered 12 Su-30s in 1997, but cancelled that order in 1998 after the Asian financial crisis. In 2003, former Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri unexpectedly confirmed an order for two Sukhoi Su-27s and two Su-30s during a visit to Moscow. Eventually, Indonesia plans to buy 48 new aircraft to replace its front-line fighters. It is also looking to replace its ageing Rockwell OV-10 Broncos and BAE Systems Hawk 53s, and is considering the Aero Vodochody L-159, Hongdu K-8 and KAI KO-1B turboprop.

The USA lifted its embargo on Indonesia in 2007, which should lead to the availability of spare parts, possibly upgrades to existing fighters, and maybe even an order for newF-16s. But many in Jakarta are still unhappy. “How can we be sure the USA won’t impose another embargo?” says an Indonesian defence ministry official. “The Russians seem to be more reliable, especially during difficult times for our country.”

search and rescue

Indonesia also has a requirement for utility and search and rescue helicopters, a shortfall that was highlighted by the army’s difficulty in reaching victims of the December 2004 tsunami. Jakarta has already been in talks with Russia to buy four Mil Mi-35 attack helicopters and five cargo helicopters of an unspecificed type.

A tight budget could halt those ambitions, however. “Indonesia says it wants 48 fighters by 2010, but I doubt it can afford half of that, even if the Russians give a good discount,” says one defence contractor. “And while new fighters will bring bragging rights, the priority has to be helicopters. The government can’t be seen to spend too much on defence procurements as well. Poverty alleviation remains a big goal.”

Like Indonesia, Thailand postponed plans for new F/A-18s and F-16C/Ds after the 1998 economic crisis and stuck to its 60 F-16A/Bs and 35 F-5E/Fs. Last year, however, the air force said it would spend $1 billion on new helicopters and aircraft over the next five years. The first phase began in December last year with an order for six Saab Gripens and an option for six more to replace the F-5s. The deal includes two Saab Erieye airborne early warning aircraft, with the first likely to be delivered in 2010.

Thailand’s choice of Sweden’s Gripen over its traditional source, the USA, has raised eyebrows. “Talks have been ongoing for several years and the Swedes have developed a very good relationship with the Thais,” says a Singapore-based observer. “Saab is also keen to get export sales and it must have made a very good offer.”

The observer says he expects Bangkok to exercise its options for Gripens around late 2009, forming a proper squadron of the type. Thailand will then need to decide on a follow-up order between the F-16, F/A-18 and the Gripen. “The Thai-US relationship stretches back to the Vietnam war. Things were a little rocky during the 2006 military coup, but both countries will continue to be good friends. Gripen gave Thailand a very good deal this time around, but I doubt it can continue doing that,” says the observer.

Swedish success

All the major contractors will also be eyeing Vietnam, which will require new fighters early in the next decade. Hanoi has about 220 combat-capable aircraft, mostly 1970s and 1980s-era fighters such as the MiG-21 and Su-22. It tried to modernise in the 1990s, buying Su-27s and Su-30s from Russia and reconditioning Su-22s and L-39s. But plans to buy Dassault Mirage fighters from France fell through under pressure from the USA and it did not go ahead with upgrades for the MiG-21s.

Defence contractors say Vietnam’s growing economy has boosted state coffers, possibly paving the way for a competition. Dislodging the Russians could be tough, given the close relations between the countries, but Vietnam’s growing economic ties with the USA and Europe could help defence contractors from those two regions.

But there is no such optimism about the Philippines, which is short of money and has a track record of corruption tainting tenders. Its air force has Aermacchi SF-260 and S-211 aircraft, many of which are not operational, and a helicopter fleet mainly comprising Vietnam War-era Bell UH-1H Hueys and MD Helicopters MG520s. But Manila desperately needs to renew its fleet, especially to help its army cope with separatist rebels.

Last year, after a delay of several years, Philippines president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo set aside a budget of about 1 billion pesos ($30 million) to buy attack helicopters. But this month the defence department overturned a decision to buy MD Helicopters MG530F helicopters following irregularities in the selection process and ordered a fresh tender. The government has also said it would set aside7 billion pesos for 20 attack and utility helicopters over the next few years.

Contractors are not rushing in to show off their wares, however. “We don’t know if the money will come in, and the best equipment might not win anyway due to the corruption,” says one official. “The best thing to do when it comes to the Philippines is to roll your eyes, offer your products with a shrug, and not expect anything to happen.”

Countries such as Laos and Cambodia are in a similar position, with a shortage of cash and the taint of corruption putting off defence contractors. Oil-rich Brunei may have the money, but has dithered for years on a deal for light combat aircraft.

Myanmar, on the other hand, has been shunned by most contractors following an arms embargo imposed on its ruling military junta for its brutal crackdown on pro-democracy activists. The country bought 10 second-hand MiG-29s from Russia in 2001, but its main supplier is China. Beijing has sold it about 60 Chengdu F-7Ms, derived from the MiG-21, 42 Nanchang A-5s, which are modified MiG-19s, and 12 K-8 primary trainers that can be used for light ground attack.

China is seen as a potential alternative supplier of relatively cheap weapons to the region. It has offered to sell eight Harbin Aircraft Z-9, a licensed copy of Eurocopter’s AS365N Dauphin, to the Philippines for its utility helicopter requirement and has reportedly held talks with Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Indonesia. Its new Chengdu J-10 and Chengdu/PAC JF-17 fighters could be an alternative to Russian and US aircraft.

Beijing may need to improve the quality of its exports, however. Myanmar has had problems with the performance and reliability of many of its Chinese aircraft, and has reportedly lost several F-7s through accidents. It has also had trouble obtaining spare parts. China may find it tough to convince a market weaned on Western weapons that it offers viable alternatives.

Still, South-East Asia has an annual arms budget of around $2 billion, so the likes of China will not stop trying. And defence contractors will keep flocking to events such as the Singapore Air Show to display their offerings and talk to prospective customers.

“Look at China and India – they mainly buy Russian,” says Bitzinger. “Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are all good customers of the USA. In South-East Asia, almost everyone has a fair chance of winning something. This is one of the most open and competitive markets around, and it will continue to be so for some time.”

Boeing sees potential for 110 more F-15E orders in Asia (aviation week)
2/20/2008

The F-15E Eagle program, which seemed to be on its last legs only a few years ago

, could yet gain orders for a further 110 aircraft in Asia.

That doesn’t count a contract for 20 Eagles that South Korea will probably sign in March or April, says program director Steve Winkler.

South Korea has already ordered 40 F-15Es (called F-15K in that country’s sub-v

ariant) in the first part of its three-stage FX program for 120 fighters. The next batch, which Korean media say will include a 21st aircraft to replace one that crashed, will be the second stage, FX-2.

That leaves an outstanding South Korean requirement for 60 under FX-3.

Japan, meanwhile, probably wants 50 aircraft to replace two squadrons of McDonnell Douglas F-4EJ Phantoms, says Winkler. The F-15E is a contender, possbily in an upgraded form, along with the F/A-18E and F Super Hornet and the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Beyond that, Boeing is hoping for top-up orders from Israel and Saudi Arabia for their sub-variants of the F-15E, the F-15I and F-15S, respectively.

And the company, having now taken orders for 24 F-15SGs from Singapore, will be well placed if that country also needs a few more.

Singapore 2008: KAI hopeful of F/A-50 go-ahead in this year
(FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 21/02/08)

Korea Aerospace Industries is expecting to receive the go-ahead to develop the F/A-50 fighter around mid-2008, paving the way for government funding for the programme.

The aircraft, a light combat version of KAI’s T-50 advanced jet trainer, has been mooted for several years as a possible replacement for the air force’s Northrop F-5s. South Korea has already committed to 50 T-50s and 22 A-50s, a weaponised version of the aircraft.

The company is finalising design and production details, and getting permission from the USA government due to the T-50’s use of some sensitive equipment derived from the Lockheed Martin F-16. It will then submit a long-delayed proposal to the South Korean government, says a company source. A development contract could soon follow, with the company expecting the government to commit to at least 60 aircraft.

The company has said that the government would take care of development costs and KAI would become the prime contractor. While a cost estimate has not been revealed, the company anticipates that it would be cheaper than other alternatives as the platform has already been developed for the T-50.

A request for proposals has been issued for equipment such as radar warning receivers, precision-guided bombs, countermeasures dispensers, datalinks and weapons management systems. The company hopes to fly the first prototype by early 2010. The programme will sustain the company’s T-50 line beyond late 2012, when the last of the air force’s A-50s is delivered.

SECURITY

BUSSINESS

More trees are falling in the forest that is the US airline industry, chopped by the ever sharper edge of the fuel price cleaver. The latest carriers to fold their wings and shut down are ATA Airlines and Skybus Airlines, both of which ceased operations in the first week of April. ATA lost a key charter contract, making futile its search for new funding to meet the demands of the pump. Skybus, which plans to file for Chapter 11 today, also blamed rising fuel prices and a slowing economy. The death of these two airlines comes just days after another carrier with a long history and a well-known name, Aloha Airlines, shut down suddenly.

All have blamed the rising spire of oil prices as well as competitive pressures. MIT airline project director Bill Swelbar says: “ATA and Aloha, each had a unique situation and a small footprint, but their closings clearly mean that there is more to come in the reshaping of the US industry, whether it’s by liquidation or through mergers and acquisitions. And we’re only at ‘A’ in the list of airlines.”

Fuel has gone from 1.25 cents per available seat mile for the majors in the second quarter of 2000 to 3.50 cents in 2007’s second quarter, Swelbar notes, adding that labour costs dropped from 3.50 per ASM to 3.00 cents between the same periods.

Although ATA operated only 29 jets, it had a long history and was an early proponent of a blending of the low-fare model with the network model. But ATA had gradually retreated from the low-fare scheduled business as it increasingly came to rely on charter business and on effective “virtual charters” it operated as codeshares for Southwest Airlines. Much like Aloha, it had gone through a bankruptcy from which it emerged as private carrier in late 2004. Aloha stumbled through a reorganisation that lasted 14 months. In February 2006, it was taken into private ownership by California supermarket millionaire Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Company. But Yucaipa, like ATA’s parent, Global Aero Logistics, could not balance the books to pay the fuel bill, and each faced a new and tough competitive challenge.

At ATA, the challenge came when one of its major charter customers, FedEx, announced it would not be renewing ATA’s military charter sub-contract for the next US government fiscal year, which begins in October. ATA said the contract was supposed to last another year. ATA had already trimmed its scheduled service dramatically, announcing a month ago that it would end all service at Chicago Midway, the airport it had made synonymous with low fares, and would also end its West Coast/Hawaii service in June. Southwest, which said its arrangements with ATA also ended on 4 April, had expanded its Midway presence significantly by buying ATA gates at the airport.

At Aloha, the threat was fuel prices exacerbated by a new competitor, Mesa Air Group’s very low fares intra-island carrier go! Since it started in June 2006 Go! had eroded a steady source of profit for Aloha, the market among the Hawaiian Islands, while the high cost of fuel had made Aloha’s flights to California unprofitable. Aloha filed for bankruptcy for the second time on 20 March and after failing to win new support from Yucaipa or anyone else, shut down on 31 March.

George Hamlin, a consultant with ACA Associates, called Hawaii “a microcosm of the US market: a duopoly of Aloha and the larger Hawaiian Airlines in a market that could not sustain the entry of an additional carrier in this fuel-price environment”. Hamlin thinks other airline failures are entirely possible. The larger US carriers may have enough cash for the year, says Calyon Securities analyst Ray Neidl, but “if high fuel prices and a lacklustre economy persist through 2009, cash reserves at many airlines might become a concern”.

Last week also claimed a smaller charter carrier, Champion Air, which said it was hobbled by its fuel-swilling Boeing 727s and would end its operations in May. Champion said it too lost a major customer when Northwest Airlines’ vacations subsidiary MLT said it would stop using the carrier.

Elsewhere in the USA, Sun Country said it would furlough 45 of its 156 pilots for the summer in a 30% cutback forced on it by the cost of fuel. The decision was made by the privately held low-cost carrier’s new chief executive, former AirTran chief financial officer Stan Gadek.

The pain is not only being felt in the US airline market, but also on a more global scale. IATA recently downgraded its industry profit forecast for 2008 for the second time, citing a slowing economy and high oil prices. IATA is now predicting industry profits of $4.5 billion for the full-year. In September 2007 the prediction had been $7.8 billion, which was downgraded to $5 billion in December of that year.

“The broadening impact of the US credit crunch has brought buoyant consumer confidence to an abrupt end,” says IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani. “Oil prices continue to rise. Demand is softening and after the 64% improvement in labour productivity and an 18% reduction in non-fuel unit cost attained since 2001, efficiency gains are much more difficult to achieve.”

There are also early signs from the Asia-Pacific region that the downturn is starting to have an impact on aircraft lease rates. Patee Sarasin, chief executive of Thai low-cost carrier Nok Air – which is seeking next-generation Boeing 737s to replace its 737-400 fleet – says narrowbody lease rates have started to come down. “Leasing companies are more flexible now because they see the downturn coming,” says Patee. “Four months ago we were looking at next-generation [737s] and people were saying ‘you have to wait a long time’. Now we’re getting a lot of offers.” Patee adds that Nok is receiving proposals from leasing companies offering new 737-800s at 20% lower rates than a few months ago. He expects more aircraft to become available and lease rates to drop further as distressed carriers, such as the latest US casualties, offload aircraft, or defer or cancel new aircraft deliveries.

Lack of Cash, Suitors Kills Aloha

Mar 31, 2008

Order for 36 E-195s is Deja Blue

Mar 27, 2008

This Lufthansa Airbus A320 suffered a wing-tip strike before executing a go-around during an attempt to land at Hamburg International Airport during high winds on 1 March.

Germany is among the countries battered by hurricane “Emma” as the storm swept across Central Europe.

The country’s weather service, Deutscher Wetterdienst, warned of widespread strong winds, and meteorological equipment at several German airports recorded gusts exceeding 30-40kt.

Weather data from Hamburg Airport showed winds gusting up to 49kt. The A320, identified as D-AIQP, was apparently arriving on runway 23 after a domestic service from Munich.

Its left wing-tip contacted the runway and the aircraft drifted far to the left of the centreline before the crew aborted the landing. Local reports, citing maintenance sources, indicate that the jet escaped with only superficial damage.
PICTURES: Cathay chief 777 pilot fired after low-level flypast stunt

The incident took place on 30 January at Everett Airport immediately after Cathay took delivery of the new 777-300ER. After takeoff for Hong Kong the captain – chief 777 pilot Ian Wilkinson – returned the aircraft to the airfield and made a low-level flypast with the landing gear up.

One industry source close to Cathay tells flightglobal.com that the aircraft was at just 28ft-30ft above the ground.

©Matt Cawby/www.microvaultradio.com

Watch the withdrawn video of the Cathay Pacific low-level flypast here …

On board were around 50 or 60 people, according to another industry source, including Cathay chairman Christopher Pratt.

Cathay confirms that “the pilot in command of the flight concerned had been dismissed as he had not sought nor obtained the necessary company approval to undertake such a fly-by. A second pilot involved has also been subject to disciplinary proceedings. Both disciplinary actions are subject to an appeals process”.

©Matt Cawby/www.microvaultradio.com

The airline adds that “Cathay Pacific has a well established approval process for fly-bys and a number had been conducted in the past as display flights at air shows with proper approval in place.

“The approval process was not followed in this case, resulting in disciplinary actions. Following the incident, Cathay Pacific has issued a notice to all cockpit crew reminding them of the company’s policy for conducting fly-bys.”

Cathay says it is still conducting an internal investigation into the incident, “including the collection of flight data, and interviews with the crew involved”.

It also says it has “taken the initiative to inform the Civil Aviation Department of the case and a report will be submitted to the department once the investigation is complete”.

The first officer was not dismissed as he reportedly did not know permission had not been obtained for the manoeuvre but he has been removed from training duties for six months.

ACCIDENT

PERINGKAT BANDARA-BANDARA DUNIA
16 Februari 2008 11:16 PM

Bintang 5

• Hong Kong International
• Seoul Incheon
• Singapore Changi Airport

Bintang 4

Amsterdam Schiphol

KLIA Kuala Lumpur

Sydney

Zurich

Bintang 3

Abu Dhabi Int’l Airport

Bahrain Int’l Airport

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

Doha International

Dubai International

Johannesburg Int’l Airport

Kuwait Int’l Airport

Madrid Barajas

Garuda orders 10 777-300ERs
Garuda Indonesia has ordered 10 Boeing 777-300ERs and plans to use these long-range aircraft for services to the USA and Europe.

Today at the Singapore Airshow the airline’s CEO, Emirsyah Satar, signed a firm order for 10 777-300ERs and says first deliveries are set for mid-2010.

“We hope that this will be part of our expansion…and will be used to open new routes,” says Satar.

“We’re going to expand to the USA and Europe and” phase out Boeing 747-400s.

The carrier was earlier looking to get 777-200ERs but Satar says it decided on -300ERs instead because the airline wants the extra capacity and the -300ER can operate non-stop from Jakarta to Amsterdam and London, two destinations it plans to serve as part of an expansion.

Boeing says in a statement that the order for 777-300ERs is from an earlier deferred deal for six 777-200ERs, which has now been converted to one for six 777-300ERs. It also includes a new order for an additional four 777-300ERs.

Garuda ordered the six -200ERs in the mid-1990s but postponed delivery indefinitely after falling into severe financial difficulty following the 1997 Asian economic crisis.

Indonesia’s Lion orders 56 more 737-900ERs

Indonesia’s Lion Air has ordered 56 more Boeing 737-900ERs, lifting its firm commitments to the type to 178.At the Singapore Airshow today Lion president director Rusdi Kirana signed the firm order for 56 more 737-900ERs. The deal also includes purchase rights for another 50.Rusdi told ATI after the signing ceremony that the first delivery from this latest order will occur in 2014. He says the carrier already operates nine 737-900ERs in Indonesia from its initial order.By year-end the number of Lion’s 737-900ERs will reach 15 and next year it will be taking delivery of one per month and phasing out its 737-300s, 737-400s, Boeing MD-80s and MD-90s, he says.Lion wants to have 60 737-900ERs in Indonesia and the rest will be for airline joint ventures it plans to start in Australia, Thailand and other Asian countries.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 prototype has moved a step nearer to first flight, following the completion of the first engine run of its PowerJet SaM146 engines.

Sukhoi says the first engine start took place at Sukhoi Civil Aircraft’s (SCAC) far-east division at the Komsomolsk-On-Amur Aircraft Manufacturing Association (KnAAPO). It forms part of “the first flight preparation campaign”, says the airframer.

“The first successful engine run – is a real milestone in getting the aircraft ready for the first flight,” says Sukhoi, but does not say when this is likely to take place. It had been originally scheduled to take place before the end of 2007.

The run followed a series of powerplant and auxiliary power unit tests as well as checks of the major aircraft systems such as fuel, hydraulics, air conditioning, electrical, avionics and fire protection. Sukhoi says that the engine-aircraft systems software interface has been tested at the “Electronic Bird” integration bench at SCAC Design Center in Moscow.

Meanwhile, on 18 February the SaM146 completed the first series of the test campaign aboard the Ilyushin Il-76 flying testbed, which Sukhoi says has confirmed all expected performance objectives essential for the first flight.

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