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The F-35 jet has been the whipping boy for auditors and politicians all week, but it remains the darling of Canada’s aerospace industry. Industry veterans are shrugging off the vitriol of “scandal” and “fiasco” by remaining focused on the $12 billion they say the troubled program can bring to Canada. “It’s a state of the art platform,” says Maryse Harvey, an official at Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC). “Hence the delays and the challenges that they’re encountering — it’s pure innovation.” While the government decides what do to and who to blame for its deeply flawed military procurement process,...

Europe's ability to develop next-generation combat aircraft has been dangerously eroded, and will reach "a point of no return" unless collaborative funding decisions are made soon, a new industry study warns. Commissioned by the European Defence Agency (EDA), the Future Air Systems for Europe (FAS4Europe) group study says "the situation for future air systems is severe, with some important industrial capabilities and technologies already at risk". Without additional investment and a joint strategy, the situation "will soon become critical", it says, identifying the "development of future combat aircraft (manned and unmanned) and attack helicopters" as being at risk. "Europe's military...

Norway's defence secretary Roger Ingebrigtsen and an entourage of military officials visited the F-35 test force at Edwards AFB, California, during the last week of February. The visit to the desert base comes at a time when Norway is trying to finalise how many aircraft it will ultimately buy. "Right now we're in the process where the Norwegian government is about to make a recommendation to their parliament as far as how many F-35s we want to buy and where we should base these aircraft," says Major Eystein Kvarving, a spokesman for the Norwegian Defence Ministry on 29 February in...

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...

Japan may cancel its multibillion-dollar plans to buy dozens of F-35 stealth fighter jets from the United States if prices continue to rise or delays threaten the delivery date, its defense minister said Wednesday. Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka said failure by manufacturer Lockheed Martin to deliver on time at current price levels would force Tokyo to consider switching to a different aircraft. Japan announced late last year that it would purchase 42 F-35 jets in a deal expected to cost more than $5 billion. The next-generation fighter is set to become the centerpiece of the U.S. military and allied air...

Three new F-35B Joint Strike Fighters will officially be joining the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing's Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 following a Feb. 24 ceremony at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The rollout of three airplanes is largely symbolic considering that the squadron was activated two years ago in anticipation of having 15 to 20 aircraft. But this debut nonetheless is a “huge deal,” says Marine Corps Col. Arthur Tomassetti, vice commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing, which oversees pilot and crew training for all three F-35 variants that will be flown by the Air Force, the Navy and the...

The United States is happy with the overall state of Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter program, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday after the Pentagon has twice overhauled the program due to technical and cost worries. The fifth generation stealth jet is highly complex and has run into delays and massive cost overruns. Eight countries are partnering with the United States to develop the F-35 at a total cost of $382 billion. Washington has committed to ultimately buying around 2,300 to 2,400 of the planes, which come in three models. "I'm fairly confident that we are making good progress,"...

India has no plans as of now to either join the US-led joint strike fighter (JSF) programme or buy the F-35 'Lightning-II ' fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) when it finally becomes operational. "We cannot have two types of FGFA. We have already launched preliminary work for our FGFA after inking the $295 million preliminary design contract (PDC) with Russia last month," said a top defence ministry official on Friday. This comes in the wake of comments made by a top Pentagon official, undersecretary of defence for acquisition, technology and logistics Ashton Carter, in Washington that the US was open to...

Under development for over two decades, India's indigenous fighter jet engine 'Kaveri' will be used for powering the home-grown fifth generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). Being developed by DRDO's Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), the Kaveri engine was initially being developed for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas programme but now it will be used on the AMCA, which is expected to be ready by 2016-17, senior officials told PTI here. The AMCA is a twin-engine indigenous fighter aircraft programme for which initial sanctions have already been accorded by the Defence Ministry, they added.

After the Chinese military tested its new stealthy fighter during U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates' visit to Beijing, most attention focused on whether or not President Hu Jintao had advance knowledge of the test. The fact that Mr. Hu appeared surprised when Mr. Gates brought it up led to speculation on the relative independence of the PLA and its potential role in next year's change in China's leadership. These are obviously important issues but they should not make us lose sight of the test itself and the central fact that the balance of air power in the region is leaning...

Chinese fighter of nominally the same technology generation as the Lockheed Martin F-22 will soon enter flight testing, while a jet airlifter larger than the Airbus A400M should be unveiled by year-end. Beijing’s fighter announcement suggests a serious failing in U.S. intelligence assessments, mocking a July 16 statement of U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates that China would have no fifth-generation fighters by 2020. Industrial competition looks more remote than strategic competition, however, since China will want to fill domestic requirements before offering the aircraft abroad, even if it judges export sales to be a wise policy. The new fighter “is...

So far, the F-22 and F-35 have been developed along parallel paths. Except for one of the F-35's engines, the direct links between Lockheed's two "fifth-generation fighters" are surprisingly thin. It seems both Lockheed Martin and the US Air Force like it that way. If an official -- or even unofficial -- photo exists showing both aircraft together in flight, I've never seen it. The disconnect extends deep beneath the titanium and steel skin. Major subsystems for both aircraft are based on different computing architectures. So improving hardware or software on the F-35 yields no benefit for the F-22, and...

Russia’s development of the PAK FA fifth-generation stealth fighter could challenge American air supremacy, especially if Russia sells the PAK FA to its usual buyers of military equipment. In the U.S., closure of the F-22 production line has severely limited America’s ability to respond to PAK FA proliferation by building more F-22s and potentially selling them to U.S. allies. The U.S. needs to revise its assessment of U.S. air superiority needs and then explore ways to modernize and strengthen the U.S. tactical fighter force.With America’s closure of the F-22 production line and the recent debut of Russia’s PAK FA fifth-generation...

Within the next few years, we will begin work on the sixth generation [fighter] capabilities necessary for future air dominance.” The Secretary of the Air Force, Michael B. Donley, and the USAF Chief of Staff, Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, issued that statement in an April 13 Washington Post article. The Air Force may have to move a little faster to develop that next generation fighter. While anticipated F-22 and F-35 inventories seem settled, there won’t be enough to fix shortfalls in the fighter fleet over the next 20 years, as legacy fighters retire faster than fifth generation replacements appear. The...

The U.S. Air Force has begun peering into the far blue yonder for a futuristic aircraft to replace Lockheed Martin Corp's F-22 fighter, a move that has cheered the aerospace industry. The Air Force in a written solicitation this week sought concepts for a next-generation tactical aircraft to begin operating in roughly 2030, apparently with a pilot aboard. Experts cast such a system as a would-be successor to the radar-evading F-22 Raptor, the top U.S. air superiority fighter. The single-seat, twin-engine F-22 was designed as a response to Soviet combat aircraft in the 1980s and is barred by law from...

Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced that the company has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) for KAI to design, develop and manufacture the Conformal Weapons Bay (CWB) for the F-15 Silent Eagle. "KAI is a leading aerospace company with world-class core technical capabilities that complement Boeing's," said Roger Besancenez, Boeing F-15 program vice president. "We are excited about KAI's growing role on the development and production of key technologies for Boeing aircraft." The CWB is an innovative internal carriage that will minimize the F-15SE's radar signature and significantly increase its tactical options. The F-15SE...

Lockheed Martin is looking at revamping several of the F-22's most critical systems with hardware from the F-35. The initiative would create a common architecture that links upgrades of the radar, electronic warfare suite and communications, navigation and identification (CNI) system to both aircraft. The concept requires "significant initial investment", but "could yield some cost savings in the long term", the manufacturer says. Lockheed developed the F-22 about a decade ahead of the F-35. Both aircraft share the company's "fifth-generation fighter" slogan, but major subsystems are based on different architectures. So improving hardware or software on the F-35 yields no...

Given the global buzz around the Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) ongoing $10-billion procurement of 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), my suggestion to scrap the process and, instead, go in for a straight buy of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightening II fighters is admittedly radical. But consider this: when the F-35 enters service, a couple of years from now, it will comfortably outclass every one of the six fighters that the IAF is currently evaluating. Thereafter, through the entire 30-40 year service life of the selected MMRCA, the IAF will fly a second-rung fighter when it could have gotten the best....

Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) will be playing a critical role in the design and development of the much-vaunted Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) programme , contrary to expectations , the state-owned defence undertaking’s chairman and managing director told ET. With the $30-billion agreement scheduled to be signed during Russian president Dimitry Medvedev’s visit to India in December , questions had been raised about the company’s exact role, considering it will be India’s primary development agency for the programme. “We will be part of the team designing the aircraft’s fuselage and airframe, and will be manufacturing the same in India as well....