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Taiwanese rescuers on Wednesday located the wreckage of a F-16V jet that crashed into the sea a day before, less than two months after the island launched the first squadron of its most advanced fighters. The jet disappeared from radar screens around half an hour after taking off for a routine training mission from its base in southwestern Taiwan on Tuesday.... ....The incident has dealt a blow to the new squadron of US-made F-16Vs that was commissioned in November as Taiwan upgraded its ageing fleet amid rising tensions with China. The airforce has temporarily grounded its entire F16 fleet.

PARIS (Reuters) - French billionaire Olivier Dassault was killed on Sunday in a helicopter crash, a police source said, with President Emmanuel Macron paying tribute to the 69-year old conservative politician. Dassault was the eldest son of late French billionaire industrialist Serge Dassault, whose namesake Dassault Aviation, builds the Rafale war planes and owns Le Figaro newspaper. “Olivier Dassault loved France. Captain of industry, lawmaker, local elected official, reserve commander in the air force: during his life, he never ceased to serve our country, to value its assets. His sudden death is a great loss. Thoughts on his family and...

This year, the US Air Force started fielding the Increment 3.1 upgrade to its Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fleet. The modifications add a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capability to the fighter's Northrop Grumman APG-77 radar, plus electronic attack, better geo-location capabilities to find enemy radars and the ability to carry eight 113kg (250lb) small diameter bombs (SDBs), for use in pairs against four ground targets. Introduction of an SAR mode will assist during the manual targeting process, which is an improvement over the previous Increment 2 configuration's use of two 454kg Joint Direct Attack Munition satellite-corrected, inertially guided bombs against...

The Air Force is the world's most advanced air and space force and, with the integration of fifth generation aircraft, is gaining new tactical advantages that transcend beyond just stealth into areas such as enhanced maneuverability, multi-role capabilities and fused sensor and avionics systems that can communicate with other weapons systems. That's why it is imperative that U.S. forces continue to develop and begin to use fifth-generation fighters as they transition to the new Pacific-based strategy, according to Lt. Gen. Herbert J. "Hawk" Carlisle, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans and Requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. During the Air...

The Pakistan Air Force received the last of 18 new F-16C/D Block 52 fighters from Lockheed Martin in early February. Accompanying the aircraft on its delivery flight were two PAF F-16A Block 15s that have undergone the mid-life update process in the U.S. A few days later, the PAF also accepted the first of its F-16s to undergo an avionics and structure upgrade in Turkey. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has been selected to do the work on 41 PAF F-16s, in a program named Peace Drive II. Modification of the first aircraft began in October 2010 and the last should...

Given the huge potential in military avionics, Indian aerospace firm Axis Aerospace and Technologies (AAT) and Russian defence exporter FGUP Rosoboronexport Monday announced they have signed an agreement to start a joint venture focusing on avionics for IAF's front line Sukhoi SU-30 and MiG-29 fighter jets, as also military helicopters. Apart from these Russian-origin platforms, the JV will also work on the new fighter jet from the Mikoyan stable, the MiG-35, which is one of the contenders in India's $10.4-billion tender for 126 combat aircraft. 'The JV will focus on creation of cutting-edge technology for aerospace and defence applications in...

BAE Systems has signed a $3.8 million contract to continue supplying the secure operating system that runs the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s mission-planning software. The company’s operating system collects data at different security levels and is used by the aircraft’s software to develop the mission plan, which includes intelligence, weather, communications and navigation. That information is then loaded on to the jet for mission execution. When it is complete and the plane has returned, the operating system parses the data according to its security classification. The process, known as a cross domain transfer, occurs within seconds. “The most advanced aircraft...

U.S. Air National Guard C-130H crews are being given increased situational awareness during airlift, airdrop and other operations by Northrop Grumman. The company said it had been given a $12.7 million cost-plus fixed-fee contract from the Defense Micro-Electronics Activity to integrate software and hardware that will enable real-time tactical information to be displayed in the C-130H cockpit and navigator station. The displays will provide information obtained from Joint Range Extension Applications Protocol and Situational Awareness Data Link communications, allowing the C-130 crew to not only see the theater tactical picture but also electronically identify its position to others within the...

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has received a contract from Boeing for the production of advanced APG-63(V)3 Active Electronically Scanned Array radars. The U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Air National Guard will receive radars from the contract and deliveries will begin in the second quarter of 2011. The radars are intended to enhance the performance of deployed F-15C aircraft and will replace the current mechanically scanned radar systems. With its superior targeting and tracking capabilities, the APG-63(V)3 will enable aircrews to detect and identify targets well beyond the range of the existing systems. "Our APG-63(V)3 AESA radars offer significant reliability...

Japan has requested US government approval for the installation and checkout of four kits to upgrade the radars on its Boeing E-767 airborne warning and control system aircraft. Tokyo has already procured four radar systems improvement programme (RSIP) kits, says the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The estimated cost of the installation and checkout work of the kits is $119 million, which includes transport of the aircraft to and from Japan, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, documentation and personnel, it says. The prime contractor for the deal will be Boeing. Japan operates four E-767s, which are essentially...

Nammo Raufoss AS and the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation (NDLO) have signed a contract on the final development and qualification of 25 mm APEX ammunition and associated training ammunition adapted to the F35 Fighter. The contract is worth up to NOK 66 million and Nammo will also be providing capital in the amount of NOK 22 million. The contract will be completed by the end of 2012. Several decades' experience in technology Nammo has a long background in the development of aircraft ammunition. Over the last 40 years, both Norwegian and allied fighters have used aircraft ammunition manufactured at Raufoss....

The next step in the largest block upgrade in the history of the E-3 Sentry, or Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft occurred Nov. 18 at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., when the first aircraft receiving the block 40/45 modification was inducted by the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center. New mission software will enhance tracking and combat identification capabilities, in addition to providing operators with a better picture of the battlespace. "This modification replaces a mission computer system originally installed in the 1970s," said Maj. Brett Johnson, the AWACS the 40/45 Production chief. "The new system will have an open,...

The U.S. Navy is buying 19 AN/APG-79 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar systems from the Raytheon Co. Space and Airborne Systems segment in El Segundo, Calif., to retrofit F/A-18E/F Super Hornet carrier-based jet fighter-bombers. Raytheon is buying the AESA radars under terms of a $52.3 million contract modification announced Tuesday from Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md. The new AN/APG-79 AESA radar systems, which will replace the Super Hornets' ageing Raytheon AN/APG-73 radars, will increase the F/A-18E/F's air-to-air detection and track range, as well as its air-to-ground targeting capabilities, Navy officials say. The new...

ThThe fundamental building block for all future avionics software on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter has entered flight testing on an F-35 test jet. BF-04 lifts off on its 24th flight on November 6 2010. Pilot was Lt Col Matt Taylor. block 1, the first of three principal software-development blocks for the F-35’s mission systems, made its inaugural flight on Nov. 5 in the F-35B short takeoff/ vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft known as BF-4. The functional check flight from Naval Air Station Patuxent River lasted 1.5 hours, and all planned test points were accomplished. “Getting this software...

The last 28th Bomb Wing B-1B Lancer received the necessary modifications to operate the Sniper advanced targeting pod Oct. 18. The advanced targeting pod acts as a long-range camera, which can pinpoint targets for precision strikes and close-air-support missions. "It's hard to imagine doing close-air support without it," said Capt. William Louie, the 34th Bomb Squadron weapons systems officer. "The sniper pod and the B-1 go together very well, especially with the expanded mission of the bomber." Since its combat debut in 2008, the Sniper pod has become an invaluable tool in assisting coalition servicemembers on the ground in hostile...

Singapore's air force has received its first modernized C-130 featuring Rockwell Collins avionics upgrade. The company's Flight2TM upgrade included an improved flight management system allowing access to precision Global Positioning System approaches, preferred air traffic control routings and search-and-rescue patterns; multifunction displays featuring active matrix liquid crystal display technology; a central engine instrument display replacing analog gauges; improved voice communication; an enhanced digital autopilot and flight director; and an advanced digital weather radar.

to buy new aircraft designs (because they are too expensive, or simply take too long to get into service), and facing the prospect of unmanned aircraft (UAVs) displacing more and more manned ones, the American military is spending a growing chunk of its budgets on upgrading and refurbishing the combat aircraft they already have. This was not a deliberate, long term plan, but simply a reaction to shortages of new aircraft. A lot of the new electronics and weapons involved in these upgrades can also equip UAV designs still in development, so such efforts are a double win. More and...

The French government plans to postpone $888 million worth of upgrades to its Mirage 2000D fighter-bombers as part of an effort to cut back spending. Defense Minister Herve Morin, speaking at a hearing this week of the Parliamentary Defense Committee, also said the government plans to delay acquisition of Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft and level-four of the SCCOA national air command-and-control system, according to a report from DefenseNews. According to defense sources, Morin told the committee that some elements of the Scorpion land systems modernization program also would be postponed but major programs, such as the Barracuda nuclear attack...

Boeing on 8 July received a license to export the F-15 Silent Eagle to South Korea and tested in flight one of the key upgrades for the stealthy new design. "It was a big week for the F-15," says Brad Jones, Boeing director for F-15 development programmes. The US Department of State awarded the license after a two-month review based on an undisclosed export policy established in May, Jones says. South Korea is expected to issue a request for proposals for the F-X3 contract in the first quarter of 2011, Jones says. The F-15SE will compete with the Lockheed Martin...

Israel is making plans to both integrate the stealthy F-35 in smaller than desired numbers or, in extremis, to do without stealth altogether. Electronic specialists say they are cobbling together more powerful electronic warfare systems based on wide-frequency active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radar to protect their non-stealthy aircraft. Defense officials contend that Israel is exploring the integrated use of manned and unmanned aircraft to attack defended air space. Aerospace designers hint that they are looking at stealthy UAV designs as well as at faster, higher-altitude and larger aircraft. There also are suggestions that programs in cyber-operations and network and...