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Anzac class frigate HMAS Toowoomba undocking after completing its Anti-Ship Missile Defence upgrade. (Defence) The UK government is considering fitting Australian radar systems on future Royal Navy warships. A capability study that will look at the feasibility of fitting CEA Technologies’ CEAFAR active phased array radar on UK ships will begin early next year, Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne has confirmed. The announcement, which was made by UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for Defence Procurement Harriett Baldwin during a visit to Adelaide, came after the Australia/UK Defence Industry Dialogue that took place in the UK. “A...

Canada's wish to buy the latest version of the Advanced Medium Range Air-To-Air Missile (AMRAAM), the AIM-120D, has been granted by the US State Department. The only problem is that their current fleet of aging CF-18 Hornets would realize little from the missile's most preeminent feature, its greatly enhanced range. The cost of Canada's AIM-120D buy is no chump change. Set at $140M, it buys just 32 AIM-120Ds plus support equipment, captive training rounds, spares, training and so on. The DoD's press release reads: "The Government of Canada has requested a Letter of Offer and Acceptance for the procurement of...

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to get their first fighter jet equipped with a new age active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar as upgrades to their deep penetration Jaguar fighter are completed. Defense sources told Sputnik the AESA-equipped Jaguar DARIN III will take its first flight this month. Technical trials and other necessary tests have been completed. "The new age AESA radar has been integrated into Jaguar and it is ready to take its first flight in a few days. Suitable date is being finalized by the Ministry of Defense and IAF," a defense...

The much maligned F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has yet another problem with its software: the radar stops working requiring the pilot to turn it off and on again. The Lockheed Martin plane, which has been in development since 2001 and is the most software-driven warplane ever built, has experienced several failures and setbacks that have seen its cost balloon and its delivery delayed. Each jet is now expected to cost about £100m. From structural problems that made it vulnerable to lightning strikes – ironic given it’s called the Lightning II – to weight issues, bugs within its software and its...

AESA radars have changed aerial combat, offering a quantum leap in range, resolution, fast scanning capabilities, stealthiness and reliability among many other advantages. But, an AESA’s somewhat narrow field of view can still be an issue. SAAB has come up with a ingenious solution to this problem—spin an angled AESA radar array around on a platter. This system, which is called a repositioner, is ingenious as it allows the Gripen NG’s Raven ES-05 radar to gain another 40 degrees of scanning ability to either side of the aircraft’s nose. This is in addition to the 60 degrees AESA radar sets...

The Indian Air Force (IAF), after years of opposing the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA), now accepts it is on track to be a world-class light fighter. The specifications of the new Tejas - termed Standard of Preparation-2018 (SoP-18) - were agreed in New Delhi on September 23, between the air force and the Tejas' designers and manufacturers. One hundred SoP-18 Tejas fighters will join the IAF, starting 2018-19. The key battle-winning capability in the SoP-18 Tejas is "active electronically scanned array" (AESA) radar that Israel will develop jointly with India. This was the clincher that made the IAF...

A listed Chinese company is being accused of trying to sell a knockoff version of an advanced Israeli airborne fire-control radar, according to a report from Defense News, a US-based media outlet. Beijing's NAV Technology Company has reportedly claimed in a product catalogue that its active electronic scanned array (AESA) radar incorporates "decades of field-proven experience" from Elta Systems, a subsidiary of the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). In the mid-2000s, IAI was embroiled in controversy after it canceled a radar deal with China due to strong opposition from the US government. The AESA radar being promoted by the Chinese...

The US Air Force has all but scrapped a plan to install advanced radars on its Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters, but Lockheed is pressing forward with plans to outfit other nations’ aircraft with the capability in hopes the US will eventually purchase the capability. USAF officials scrapped a comprehensive upgrade effort for F-16 Block 40 and 50 aircraft called the combat avionics programmed extension suite (CAPES) in its current fiscal year budget but preserved money over five years to replace the aircraft mission and display computers. “Those are the foundational systems that need to be installed to support an active...

Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain have through their Eurofighter project signed a 1 billion euro (0.83 billion pound) contract to provide their jointly backed Typhoon jet with a new sort of radar, in an effort to secure new orders. The fighter is produced by Eurofighter partner companies BAE Systems (BAES.L), Airbus (AIR.PA) and Finmeccanica (SIFI.MI), and BAE said it signed a contract worth 365 million pounds ($572 million) to integrate the new radar onto the jets. Under the deal signed in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Wednesday the Typhoon jet will in future be available with the "Captor E-Scan radar". The four...

A demonstration of Russian aircraft at the 2013 Le Bourget air show stunned spectators. The air show visitors were amazed to see the handling of Sukhoi Su-35S, as the jet performed aerobatics that no other jet fighter in the world could touch. Engineer Christian Kunovski offers a taste of a knowledgeable spectator’s first-hand impressions: “I have been in the industry for 22 years, I have seen a lot, but this flight was simply incredible. This is not a fighter jet, this is a UFO!” This was the first public demonstration of a Su-35S overseas, and it went on to be...

Pictures have emerged showing the Israeli Navy corvette Eliat (first ship of the Sa'ar 5 class) fitted for the first time with the new AESA radar MF-STAR by IAI. The MF-STAR - Multi-Function Surveillance, Track and Guidance Radar was fitted as part of an upgrade program for the 3 vessels of the class. Saar 5 class corvette Eilat fitted with the new IAI Elta EL / M-2248 MF-STAR (forward mast) The three Sa'ar 5 corvettes were built by Huntington Ingalls Industries in the USA for the Israeli Navy, based on an Israeli design. They are the largest surface warships in...

The evaluation team at the CEAM test centre has been developing the concept of operations for Rafale’s new AESA radar. The team leader gives us an update. On 24th October 2012, a new type of Rafale took to the skies from the runway at Mont-de-Marsan (BA 118) Air Base, home of the French Air Force’s CEAM test centre. From the outside, there was virtually nothing to distinguish it from the dozens of Rafales that had already visited the base. However, hidden inside the radome was the promise of an air combat revolution: the RBE2-AESA, the first European active electronically scanned...

Upgrading military aircraft – fixed wing and rotary – is a common operation performed all over the world. You take an old platform, reinforce the fuselage and wings, install some new systems and it can fly for many more years. But what Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is currently doing with its old Kfir fighter aircraft is an exception. The Kfir (Lion Cub) fighter is a single-seat multitask fighter built by IAI. The aircraft was first built for the Israeli air force (IAF). The first Kfir was delivered to the IAF in 1975, and entered into service in 1976. The fighter...

Eurofighter future exports hinge on advanced radar deal (Reuters) - The four nation-backed Eurofighter Typhoon jet will not receive any more export orders unless Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain formally agree to fund the development of an advanced radar, an executive at one of the jet's manufacturers said. Potential customers for the multi-role Eurofighter, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have demanded that the jets be equipped with so-called E-scan radars instead of the M-scan system the jet is fitted with, said Chris Bushell, the senior vice president of electronic warfare at Selex, the defence electronics unit of Italy's...

Russia has threatened Norway with unspecified retaliation if Norway goes along with American suggestions that five Norwegian Nansen class frigates, equipped with the Aegis radar system, are upgraded to use the Aegis BMD (Ballistic Missile Defense) system. Norway has gotten this kind of abuse from Russia in the past, which was the main reason Norway joined NATO (as one of the founding members, in 1949). Norway does not like giving in to these threats, especially since they recently concluded 40 years of negotiations to settle a maritime border dispute with Russia. This enables both countries to proceed with oil and...

Close up of J-10B and J-20 AESA set? I stumbled across an image of what is supposedly the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for the J-10B and J-20 at the Asian Defence News site. I have no idea as to the image's provenance (it is very likely a model), but a similar set was photographed on a J-10B test aircraft at Chengdu last year (below). The structure around the radar suggests this is the mounting for the J-10. The real radar probably has several more boxes - note the amount of fuselage space occupied by the guts of Raytheon's...

U.S. moves to upgrade Taiwan's F-16 fighter fleet Reuters) - The Obama administration formally notified the U.S. Congress on Wednesday of a potential $5.3 billion upgrade of Taiwan's existing fleet of U.S.-built F-16 fighter jets despite China's opposition to such arms deals. The "retrofit" of 145 Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 A/B aircraft will give them essentially the same capabilities as late-model F-16 C/Ds that Taiwan has sought to deter any attack, U.S. officials told reporters ahead of the notification. Beijing deems Taiwan a renegade province subject to unification by force if necessary. It regards U.S. arms sales to the self-ruled...

Raytheon passes major Navy destroyer radar milestone Daniel Terdiman September 19, 2011 Raytheon said today that its Gallium Nitride-based radar technology passed a major milestone in its bid to win a multi-billion dollar Navy contract. (Credit: Raytheon) Raytheon this morning said that it has passed a major milestone in its bid to win a multi-billion dollar U.S. Navy radar contract. The Tewksbury, Massachusetts military contract is currently competing against Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for the lucrative contract to provide next-generation Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) technology for the Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. As part of its efforts to...

Russia has offered to equip the Indian Su-30MKI aircraft with the electronically scanned array radar to bring them on par with the most modern fighter aircraft in the world. Currently the technical configuration of the upgraded aircraft with onboard AESA radar is being discussed by Russian and Indian experts. The upgraded aircraft could be equipped with perspective Russian or foreign-made weapon, including Indo-Russian “BrahMos” anti-ship missiles, an Irkut statement said at Aero India 2011 A multirole Su-30MKI aircraft which became a sort of symbol of the IRKUT Corporation deserves an honourable place in the exposition of the company (stand 24,...

USAF starts flight tests on F-15E with AESA radar By Stephen Trimble The US Air Force has started a three-year flight-test campaign for a new active electronically scanned array (AESA) designed for the Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle. The first Raytheon APG-82(V)1 was flown aboard an F-15E at Elgin AFB in Florida on 18 January. The same aircraft was pictured (below) also carrying an infrared search and track pod and the Lockheed Martin Sniper targeting pod during the maiden flight. © Samuel King Jr/US Air Force The AESA enhancement represents a key upgrade for the USAF's F-15Es. A US Government Accountability...