Pakistan Military Watch

MOSCOW: Russia has put on a hold a contract to deliver MiG-31E Foxhound interceptor-fighters to Syria, a Russian business daily reported on Wednesday, citing defense-industry sources.
According to Kommersant, the $400-500 million contract for thedelivery of eight MiG-31E aircraft was signed in 2007. Since productionof MiG-31E's had stopped in 1994, Syria was to receive retrofittedaircraft fromRussia's Air Force reserves.
There has been no official comment on the decision to freeze thecontract, but an industry source quoted by the daily said the contractwas terminated due to Damascus's financial problems.
In the winter of 2005, Russia forgave 70% of Syria's debt, which at the time stood at $13.4 billion. After that Damascus still owed Moscow $3.6 billion.
Later in the year, Russia resumed military cooperation with Syria, delivering, in particular, Strelets surface-to-air missile systems.
Earlier this month, some Russian and foreign media reported Belarus was planning to sell S-300 surface-to-airmissiles and Iskander tactical missile systems to Iran, and said thatTehran had arranged to transfer some of the systems to Syria. However,the Belarusian president denied the country had any plans to sellweapons to Syria or Iran.

The Prime Minister has today confirmed that the UK will move ahead with its international partners with the final stages of procuring a third batch of Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft for the Royal Air Force.
The NATO Eurofighter Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) will continuenegotiations with industry with a view to getting the best possibledeal for the Partner Nations (UK, Germany, Italy and Spain).Negotiations will address both procurement and support costs.
The Prime Minister said:

"I am pleased that we are moving forward with this important programme with our partner nations. This will strengthen Britain's defence capability, and will create new jobs in advanced manufacturing that Britain needs to emerge stronger and fitter from this global downturn.
The Defence Secretary John Hutton said:
"We look forward to receiving an affordable bid from European industrythat will allow us to proceed with a programme that will deliveradvanced multi-role aircraft to the Royal Air Force and maintainhigh-technology skills and industrial capability acrossthe UK and Europe.
"Subject to the satisfactory outcome of these negotiations, I hopethat we will be in a position to sign a contract later this year."
The MoD will now initial the ministerial agreement which the otherpartner nations (Germany, Italy and Spain) signed on 2 April 2009. Thisagreement contains a statement of principles, including the need toachieve significant through-life savings, which will underpin the nextstage of negotiations between NETMA which acts as the contracting agenton behalf of the partner nations and industry.
The contract for the third tranche of Typhoon aircraft will besigned once there is a satisfactory conclusion to these negotiations,and each Partner Nation's Approving Authority has accepted the terms ofagreement.

MOSCOW: The United States has bought two Su-27 Flanker fighter aircraft to help train U.S. air force pilots to cope with the growing number of 4th-generation Russian aircraft sold around the world, a U.S. online magazine said.
The two aircraft have been bought from a private Ukrainian company by the Reno-based Tac Air, which provides training and test support for the military.
The fighter jets will also be used to test the effectiveness of new U.S. radars and electronic warfare equipment, the Strategy Page reported.

The 33-ton Su-27 is similar to the U.S. F-15, but costs some 30% less, the source said.
Su-27 fighter jets have been produced in Russia since 1982. They arestill widely used in the Russian Air Force and are gradually undergoingmaintenance repairs to extend their service life.
The Su-27 Flanker and its variant, the Su-30 Flanker C, account for a major share of Russia's arms exports. In the past, Russia's Sukhoi aircraft maker sold Su-27 and Su-30 fighters to China, India, Malaysia, Venezuela and Algeria.
In 2007, Sukhoi exported 50 of these aircraft, accounting for 50% of Rosoboronexport's export revenues.
According to U.S. sources, the two aircraft, which have beenacquired in a commercial variant, stripped of weaponry, are beingoverhauled and modified by the U.S. Pride Air company.

Budget cuts have compelled the air force to shelve its planned purchase of six more Swedish-made Gripen fighters, the Bangkok Post reports. As the government decided on Wednesday to slash the defence budget for the next fiscal year from 171 billion to 151 billion baht, the air force had to ditch its plan to order six more Gripen fighter jets worth 15 billion baht, commander Itthaporn Subhawong said.
The air force has already bought six Gripen jets worth 19 billion baht with the planes due for delivery next year. The air forceneeds the other six Gripen jets to complete a fleet of 12 that willreplace its ageing F-5 fighters scheduled to be decommissioned in 2011.

With only six Gripen jets, the air force was not confident of protecting national security, according to the air force chief, who also warned that the decision would weaken national defence where competitive weaponry is vital.
"This affects the potential of the armed forcesbecause they need modern weaponry. If we must defend the nation withweapons that cannot match [our enemies'] or are outdated, nobody willhave respect for us," ACM Itthaporn said.
He said that the six other Gripen jets were necessary for nationaldefence. "We must explain what is essential and need a review fromthe government. Weapons result in national security. Without strong defences, neighbours will not have respect for us.
"We, all soldiers, are ready to sacrifice our lives for the nationbut in any fight we must have competitive weaponry. The life of everysoldier is valuable. If a conflict erupts and we have weapons that donot compare, soldiers will be killed," he said.
The Swedish fighters will be stationed at the air force base in Surat Thani to protect the Gulf of Thailand, the Andaman Sea and all areas in the southern region of the country.
The air force plans to use them as its main fighters instead of the F-16 jets used now.
The Defence Ministry was one of the agencies hit hardest by thebudget cuts, implemented because government revenues have fallen shortof target and the need to raise money to pay for economic stimulusschemes.
A ministry source said there was a question whether relations between the Democrat Party-led coalition and the armed forces would sour because the armed forces had supported the government but received budgetary reductions in return.

FORT WORTH, Texas: The F-35B Lightning II short takeoff/verticallanding (STOVL) variant has demonstrated during testing that itproduces excess vertical thrust - more than required to carry out itsmissions. The tests, conducted on a specially instrumented "hover pit,"also validated the performance of aircraft software, controls, thermalmanagement, STOVL-system hardware and other systems.
"The performance level measured was absolutely exceptional," said J.D. McFarlan, Lockheed Martin F-35Air Vehicle lead. "We demonstrated 41,100 pounds of vertical thrustagainst our requirement of 40,550 pounds. This means we will deliverexcellent margin for the vertical landing and short takeoff performancewe've committed to our STOVL customers," he said. Those customersinclude the U.S. Marine Corps, the United Kingdom's Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, and the Italian Navy and Air Force.

The F-35B is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney F135 enginedriving a Rolls-Royce lift fan. The F135 is the most powerful engineever flown in a jet fighter.
During hover-pit testing, the aircraft is anchored to a metal grate14 feet above a sloped concrete floor, separating the jet from groundeffect and enabling it to simulate free-air flight. Sensors measurethrust and the aircraft's response to pilot inputs. The testing alsodemonstrates control of the doors associated with the STOVL propulsionsystem: engine auxiliary inlet, fan inlet, fan exit, roll posts, anddoors that open to enable the Rolls-Royce three-bearing swivel duct toarticulate and vector engine thrust. In other tests, metal plates areinstalled atop the hover-pit grate, enabling engineers to observe andchart the outflow of gases from the propulsion system.
The testing demonstrates functional operation of all systemsrequired for vertical flight, and measures the installed forces andmoments on the aircraft during STOVL operations. The hover-pit testsare the final series of ground tests before airborne STOVL testingbegins.
"We've demonstrated critical performance such as inlet pressurerecovery, pitching moment, rolling and yawing moment, effective vectorangles of the exhaust, and control-input response time," said DougPearson, vice president of the F-35 Integrated Test Force. "Each ofthese measurements correlates extremely well with our computer models.The outstanding STOVL performance gives us plenty of confidence tobegin in-flight transitions to STOVL-mode flight and ultimately ourfirst vertical landing at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.,this summer."
The F-35B is the first aircraft to combine stealth with shorttakeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) capability and supersonic speed. TheF-35 is a supersonic, multi-role, 5th generation stealth fighter. Threevariants derived from a common design, developed together and using thesame sustainment infrastructure worldwide, will replace at least 13types of aircraft for 11 nations initially, making the Lightning II themost cost-effective fighter program in history.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global securitycompany that employs about 146,000 people worldwide and is principallyengaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integrationand sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.

The first test Joint Strike Fighter(JSF) jet will cost almost just under EUR 110m which is within budget,says junior defence minister Jack de Vries in a letter to parliament onMonday, reports the Trouw.
The letter comes two days before MPs are to decide whether or not to approve the purchase of two JSF aircraft.
Selecting a replacement for the defence department’s current fleet of fighter jets is a long-running and controversial issue within the government.
Until now the actual price of the JSF has been unclear, reports theTrouw. Clarity on price is a prerequisite for two of the threecoalition parties, Labour and the orthodox ChritenUnie, to vote in favour of the acquisition, the paper says.
The JSF is made by US manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Saab is a contender for the contract.
MPs will decide on Wednesday whether to buy the first of the twotest JSFs which will be used for a series of extensive trials. Thesecond will not be ordered until next year, says the Trouw.

NEWTOWN, Conn: Negotiations between the Israeli Defense Ministry and Lockheed Martin for the purchase of advanced, new-generation F-35Joint Strike Fighter stealth aircraft continue to bog down over thefinal hurdles of unit cost and integration of Israeli-specific avionicsand armaments.
While the Israeli defense establishment complains of soaring F-35unit costs - a completely rational concern considering the potentialdefense budget cuts looming on the horizon - the real issue seems to bethe installation of Israeli-made systems onto the aircraft.

Israel's five-year defense plan ('Teffen 2012') places emphasis on acquiringadvanced precision strike fighters, with the focus being on the F-35.Under the Israeli defense plan, funding for a squadron of 25 F-35s willbegin prior to first delivery, which, based upon Pentagon andCongressional approval in September 2008, should be in 2014. This firstsquadron would then come into service two years later.Israel isplanning to purchase a further 50 aircraft in order to outfit twoadditional squadrons at a later date. Originally the Israelis hadplanned on purchasing 100 F-35s, but funding shortfalls forced them todownsize their immediate plans.
Yet despite Israel's F-35 designs, its defense establishment is now considering whether the Israeli Air Force(IAF) can maintain its military-technological regional edge withoutgoing forward with the JSF purchase. Upgrades to existing Israeli F-15and F-16aircraft, or purchasing advanced types of both platforms (including theBoeing F-15 Eagle), are both seen as an alternative option.
This may be a smoke screen intended to extract concessions from theU.S. for permitting the implementation of Israeli systems onto theF-35s. The Israelis remain interested in wrapping upnegotiations for the F-35 this year, and the IAF remains highly desirous of the aircraft.
While cost is no doubt a very real concern - the estimated price tagfor the 75 F-35s is placed at $15.2 billion - much of the Israelifunding comes in the form of U.S. Foreign Military Financing (FMF) credits, which will total $11.425 billion from 2009 through 2012 alone.
Also, the other U.S. advanced stealth alternative, the F-22 Raptor,is not available on the export market per Congressional law. Even inthe unlikely event that this law was revoked by the Obamaadministration, production on the aircraft is set to end in 2011, thuscausing its unit price-tag - already estimated at $146 million in 2008dollars - to escalate even higher and making its cost even moreprohibitive than the JSF.
What aircraft option the Israeli Defense Ministry ultimately pursuesmay depend on the time frame by which Israeli intelligence estimatesthe Iranians could be capable of producing nuclear armaments.

The French Rafale fighter has been knocked out of the race for the'mother of all defence deals', the Rs 42,000 crore (approx. 9 billioneuros—Ed) project to acquire 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) for IAF, leaving five jets in the fray now.Defence ministry (MoD) sources on Thursday said Rafale had “fallenshort” on “several counts” listed in the GSQRs (general staff qualitative requirements) drawn up by IAF. "It did not pass muster in the technical evaluation of the bids submitted by the six contenders," said a source.
The move is sure to rile France, which like other countries in thecontention for what will be the largest global defence contract hadmounted a high-voltage campaign for the $10.4 billion MMRCA contract."We have no confirmation from the Indian MoD... We are extremelysurprised since there was no technical lacuna in our bid," said aFrench official.
Incidentally, India and France arealso yet to settle their bitter differences for the upgrade of the 51Mirage-2000s in IAF's combat fleet despite being locked in negotiationsfor over two years now. Sources said French fighter manufacturerDassault Aviation wants well over Rs 12,000 crore for the project, butIndia is not prepared to pay a penny over Rs 10,000 crore.
As for the MMRCA battle, India will now invite only American F/A-18 Super Hornet (Boeing) and F-16 Falcon (Lockheed Martin), Russian MiG-35 (United Aircraft Corporation), Swedish Gripen (Saab) and Eurofighter Typhoon (consortium of British, German, Spanish and Italian companies) to take part in the field trials which are likely to begin from July-August.
"IAF HQ is drawing up the modalities for the field trials to beginin around three months," said the source. There will be at least twosets of trials conducted in summer and winter, with the five jets beingflown in the snow-capped peaks of Leh, the scorching Rajasthan deserts(probably Jaisalmer) and the humid conditions of south India (probablyBangalore).

The race, of course, is actually quite a marathon. The commercialbids will only be opened, examined and compared after a shortlist ismade of two to three top contenders following the extensive fieldtrials and staff evaluation.
With the final negotiations to begin thereafter, the entire processis expected to take a minimum of two years before the contract isactually inked. IAF hopes to induct the first lot of the new fighters —18 jets will be bought off-the-shelf, while the rest will bemanufactured in India under transfer of technology — by 2012-2013.

The Daily Star on Sunday claims that Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) are unable to fly properly in hot weather because designers of the F-35 Lightning II JSF want it to be 'stealthy' so it won't show up on enemy radar.
The knowledge gained from Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) programmeon the three JSF purchased by the MOD will be fundamental for us tofully understand the aircraft in areas such as operational andtechnical capability. We will make a decision about the furtherpurchaseof the JSF when the evaluation of the IOT&E has been completed.
Two of the JSF IOT&E aircraft will be delivered in 2011 and one in 2012.
Due to past experience we were aware of the potential issues associated with thermal management on a fifth-generation stealth platform. Therefore, in 2000 prior to the contract award, a realistic but demanding requirement for the aircraft to operate in hot conditions, and within a range of realistic operational scenarios, was set.

While meeting this requirement is a demanding task for Team JSF,design work to date together with the experience from flight tests hasindicated that the thermal management system is working to predictionsand is meeting the requirement with margin to spare.
Consequently thermal management is not currently considered to be a programme risk.
Defence Secretary John Hutton said:
"The Joint Strike Fighter will form an essential part of our Future Combat Air Capability. By purchasing three aircraft for testing, we will secure access to the development of the programme.Working alongside their US colleagues, our pilots will gain anunrivalled understanding of this awesome aircraft and its capabilities.This is a vitalprogramme for UK Defence both for the military and for industry, with over 100 UK companies involved in the programme."

MOSCOW: Russia continues to look for partners to help implement itsfifth-generation fighter program, also known as PAK FA - Prospective(promising) Aircraft System of the Frontline Aviation.
Apart from India, which has agreed to cooperate with Russia's SukhoiCivil Aircraft Company (SCAC), now working on the fifth-generationfighter program,Brazil could also join in. Alexander Fomin, DeputyDirector of Russia's Federal Service for Military-TechnicalCooperation, said Moscow and Brasilia were negotiating technology exchanges and the possibility of assembling PAK FA fighters in Brazil under a Russian license.
The new warplane is to replace the Russian Air Force's fourth-generation fighters in the next decade.
The Soviet Union launched fifth-generation fighter programs in the 1980s. By the mid-1990s, the Mikoyan Design Bureaudeveloped the Project 1.44/1.42 warplane, also known as theMikoyan-Gurevich MiG MFI. MiG is now using this designation for anadvanced MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter. Despite the non-production status ofthe 1.44/1.42 program, NATO assigned the reporting name Flatpack to it.

The Sukhoi Aviation Corporation came up with the S-37/Su-47 Berkut-- Golden Eagle/Firkin experimental supersonic forward swept-wing jetfighter. The S-37/Su-47 aircraft is an advanced technology demonstratorprototype not intended to be mass-produced.
Due to the lack of allocations, the Project 1.44/1.42 aircraft was not streamlined and never entered production.
By the late 1990s, it became obvious that existing fifth-generationfighter projects were becoming obsolete, that their production versionswould be inferior to the brand-new Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptorair-superiority fighter, and that the Air Force would receive suchwarplanes a decade too late.
In the early 2000s, the Russian government decided to develop anentirely new fifth-generation fighter. Sukhoi, Mikoyan and Yakovlevdesign bureaus boasting a reputation for their hard-hitting fighters offered several warplane versions.
The Sukhoi Aviation Corporation received project manager status andwas placed in charge of the new T-50 fifth-generation fighter program.
Various maiden flight and supply deadlines were discussed from thevery beginning. The T-50 was scheduled to perform its first flight in2008-2010. In late 2008, Colonel General Alexander Zelin, Commander ofthe Russian Air Force, said the plane would take off for the first timein August 2009.
In the summer of 2008, the officials involved said the T-50 designhad been approved and prototype aircraft blueprints sent to theKomsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association (KNAAPO) in Russia'sFar East where production will apparently be sited. KNAAPO is currentlybuilding three prototype T-50 fighters for subsequent tests, due tolast five to six years, while mass production will not get underwaybefore 2015.
Although T-50 specifications remain undisclosed, prototypes and thefirst production aircraft will be fitted with 117S (AL-41F1A) turbofanengines, a major upgrade of the AL-31F engine from Russian aircraft engine manufacturer NPO Saturn.
Consequently, the T-50 will be a heavy fighter with a take-offweight of more than 30 metric tons and will have the same dimensions asthe well-known Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker. The Tikhomirov InstrumentEngineering Research Institute which had invented the Irbis radar forthe Su-35BM Flanker-E 4.5generation air-superiority/strike fighter iscurrently working on the T-50 radar.
It appears that the new fighter's radar and fire-control system will be developed on the basis of the Su-35BM's systems.
A search for foreign partners in the development and production ofthe fifth-generation aircraft has been caused by the desire to share avery high financial burden involved in it. The United States has optedfor this road in the F-35 aircraft program.
Apart from investing in the fifth-generation fighter program, Brazilcould provide Russia with state-of-the-art aviation technology.Notably, Brazilian aerospace conglomerate Embraer manufactures EMB-312Tucano turboprop basic trainers and EMB-314 Super Tucano turbopropaircraft designed for light attack, counter-insurgency (COIN) and pilot-training missions.
Many analysts think both planes are especially adapted forlow-intensity conflicts and are just as popular as fighters. Quirepossibly, Russia will manufacture such planes using Braziliantechnology.