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French Military base in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
I am on vacation in UAE (United Arab Emirates) so I thought I would hunt for some news in here and I got a big one the day I arrived. President Nicolas Sarkozy on 25th May opened France's first permanent military base in the Gulf region built primarily to send a warning message to Iran on it's nuclear ambitions and also to compete with Britain and the US for military and commercial influence in the area. The base will host 500 personnel from the French navy, the army, and the air force. It will be able to simultaneously accommodate two frigates of the French fleet and five Dassault Rafales operating in the region. French forces in UAE have been giving support to NATO operations in Afghanistan since 2002, the only thing new is that it has been made official and public. The United States has been the only foreign country with permanent military bases in the region, and for several years, Arab Gulf officials have been talking about bringing in other military partners. The primary objective of the base would be to protect oil and gas routes. Judging from the limited number of military personnel who are to be stationed permanently on the base, the main function of the base could not be military operations but rather providing logistical, communication, and monitoring support. The growing Russian and Chinese interest in the region on the one hand and the weakening of US power and influence on the other have persuaded France to bridge the emerging security gap and establish a modest foothold in the region. In principle, having a military base in the Gulf close to hot spots such as Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan brings about a long-term commitment for the French government in world politics, at the same time it could place France in the firing line and could force undesirable involvement in regional conflicts.I think this would probably benefit both the US and France, the US doesn't want to be the only one in the Gulf whilst France may be able to find markets for its arms industry, France has historically provided much of the military hardware in the region.
Russia to start flight tests of Su-PAKFA soon
Russia is going to start flight testing of the most anticipated warplane by the end of 2009. Su-PAKFA said to be a serious competition for American F-22 and F-35 is jointly developed by Russia's United Aircraft Corporation and India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (there are reports of Brazilian involvement too. Click here to know more).
Russia's military program are notorious for delays but if the new Sukhoi warplane does fly this year, it will be the first all-new warplane since the fall of the Soviet Union. The aircraft is in it's final state of assembly. Russia, engaged in a major reform of its armed forces, badly needs to update its weaponry to fight modern wars. Serial production will start by 2010. A Indian version of Su-PAKFA called Sukhoi/HAL FGFA is said maiden flight by the end of 2012.
India used Airforce to attack it's own people
On the afternoon of March 4 1966, a squadron of jet fighters hovered over Aizawl and dropped bombs leaving a number of houses in flames and number of people dead. The next day, more excessive bombing took place for several hours which left most houses in Dawrpui and Chhingaveng area in ashes and hundreds were killed. According to local records, Hunter and Toofani fighters were deployed for the Aizawl bombardment, which became the first and only aerial attack a country had carried out against its own people. In the first wave of attack the planes used machine guns and later on used bombs. The attack came in three waves, on the second day the attack lasted for about five hours. The fighters came from Tezpur, an IAF air base in Assam. Apart from Aizawl, Tualbung and Hnahlan villages in northeast Mizoram were bombarded. The great and powerful Indian Government a terror to Pakistan and a threat to China on March 5, 1966 used Jet Fighters, something they had never done against China and Pakistan, bombed it's own people.
Surprisingly, there were no human casualties officially reported in any of the air raid, nor anything mentioned in Indian Airforce official website.There were no lawyers then among Mizos, no human rights activists. Governed by the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 and the Assam Disturbed Areas Act, 1955. Communication like Telephone, Television and the Internet had not even entered the people's imagination. On March 9, 1966 where the PM was answering a foreign correspondent, insisted that the air force was "deployed to drop men and supplies." one of the correspondent stated whether the shells of bombs, which had been dropped in Aijal, be sent to Delhi to ask the Prime Minister, 'How do you cook this ration? If these are supplies, please tell us how you cook these things'?" Strongly condemning the use of air force, MLA Hynniewta produced photographs of one unexploded bomb and some fragments of exploded bombs as proof of the Aizawl air attack, which was strongly denied by the Government of India.
Was it growing influence of Christianity during sixties or was it power show of Indian airforce to scare the Chinese. Until today there has been no satisfactory answer as to why India used such excessive air force against its own citizens in order to suppress an insurgency.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizoram#In
http://www.ultrabrown.com/posts/the-pie
http://www.warbirdsofindia.com/forum/vi
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2214812/The-D
http://qc.answers.yahoo.com/question/in
http://mutiny.in/2009/04/16/my-tryst-wi
http://zoindigenous.blogspot.com/2009/0
United States Airforce endroses Pentagon's plan to end F-22 production
At more than $143 million apiece, not including development costs, the F-22 has become a focus of a debate about hedging for large-scale wars versus fighting wars in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Until April 2009 F-22 has not been used in a war. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and General Norton Schwartz have hinted of transition from F-22 to F-35. Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is designed to avoid detection by radar but has less weapons payload capacity and smaller range. The multi-role F-35 is being co-developed with eight countries. Lockheed Martin stopped short of saying whether it would give up its lobbying effort to keep the F-22 production line going. Key F-22 subcontractors include Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp and United Technologies Corp's Pratt & Whitney unit, which supplies the engines. The Air Force's push to buy up to 381 F-22s had been a major irritant inside the Pentagon. Last June, Gates forced the resignations of then-Secretary Michael Wynne, and General Michael Moseley, then the Air Force chief of staff, amid strains over their drive to buy more for potential conflicts. In February, Schwartz, the Air Force's current chief of staff, said the service was trimming its request from 381 based on more recent studies. But he said he would not dispute a statement in December by Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that it still argued it needed 60 more. All odds are going against F-22, there will be many job loses if F-22 production is stopped.
F-15 Silent Eagle
Boeing unveiled a new version of F-15 called Silent Eagle, it's a improvised stealth version of F-15 Strike eagle. F-15 is a world-class fighter aircraft. Continuous avionics upgrades could keep it competitive with super-fighters like the F-22. But the F-22’s distinct advantage is that the airframe was designed to be stealthy from the start. While Boeing has done a few things to the F-15 airframe to reduce its radar return (submerged weapons carriage, an exportable radar-absorbent material coating on the airframe, and outward-canted fins,) it’s still a decidedly non-stealthy airplane. It's still not quite a fifth-generation fighter, but it's not intended to be. For instance, the F-15SE is not going to slip stealthily into defended airspace and wipe out a surface-to-air missile battery. That's still the job of the all-aspect stealthy F-22 or B-2. Boeing optimized the F-15SE to reduce the aircraft's head-on radar cross section. That's not going to fool a ground-based SAM radar, but it will make it harder for an enemy fighter entering the merge to lock-on to your aircraft with a radar-guided missile.
Boeing optimized the F-15SE to reduce the aircraft's head-on radar cross section. That's not going to fool a ground-based SAM radar, but it will make it harder for an enemy fighter entering the merge to lock-on to your aircraft with a radar-guided missile.
Friendly foreign air forces have to face the question of whether they need stealthy combat aircraft in their arsenals. In scenarios like Afghanistan and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, stealth was not as vital a factor as it was in Operation Desert Storm because of the enemy’s degraded air defenses. Stealth often becomes a hindrance because internal weapons carriage reduces the overall payload the aircraft can carry.
It's interesting to see if anybody is interested in buying the F-15 Silent Eagle, especially with the price of the F-35 rising. The F-35 was designed with an “affordable” degree of stealth in mind, but it’s quickly becoming as expensive as the F-22. "Silent Eagle" is the poor man's F-35, sacrificing the F-35's level of stealthiness for affordability, superior maneuverability, a higher top speed, a dual crew, and twin-engine reliability.
Japan is likely to be the target of Boeing's F-15 Silent Eagle marketing. The Japanese already fly F-15's but really want the F-22. With the US Congress prohibiting F-22 exports, Japan will likely settle for the F-35 unless Boeing can make a better offer (i.e., one that includes a higher degree of the plane's production in Japan) with the F-15 Silent Eagle.
Improvements in stealth over previous F-15 variants include coatings and treatments on the aircraft and there has also been a redesign of the conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) that allow for internal weapons carriage, says Boeing. Depending on the specific mission, the customer can use the CFTs that are designed for internal carriage or change back to the traditional CFTs for optimum fuel capacity and external weapons carriage.
The Silent Eagle will be able to internally carry air-to-air missiles such as the AIM-9 and AIM-120 and air-to-ground weapons such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and Small Diameter Bomb (SDB). The standard weapons load used on current versions of the F-15 is available with the traditional CFTs installed.
Boeing states that the aircraft's canted vertical tails improve aerodynamic efficiency, provide lift, and reduce airframe weight. The go onto say that another aerodynamic improvement is the Digital Flight Control System, which improves the aircraft's reliability and reduces airframe weight. Survivability improvements include a BAES Digital Electronic Warfare System (DEWS) working in concert with the Raytheon Advanced Electronic Scanning Array (AESA) radar.
Boeing has completed a conceptual prototype of the CFT internal-carriage concept, and plans to flight-test a prototype by the first quarter of 2010, including a live missile launch. The design, development, and test of this internal carriage system are available as a collaborative project with an international aerospace partner.
Boeing says the F-15SE can match the frontal-aspect stealth performance of the export version of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The precise level stealth allowed to be exported to foreign countries is still to be determined by the US authorities who govern technology transfer rules. oeing says they're not offering the F-15SE to the US Air Force, but could the single-largest F-15 customer in the world be tempted? Obviously, the USAF is committed to buying a fifth-generation-only fleet of F-22s and F-35s, but if costs, schedule delays or performance problems start mounting, could the service be driven to "settle" for improved F-15s?
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. my favourite aerial warfare games
H.A.W.X. is set in 2021 above the skies of a world increasingly dependent on private military companies (PMCs) and elite mercenaries who have a relaxed view on the law. As these non-governmental organizations gain power, global conflict erupts with one powerful PMC attacking the United States. The game is set in the same universe as Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter; as Captain Scott Mitchell, the Ghost leader, is featured in two of the missions. Plot elements are carried over from other Tom Clancy games such as the missile defense system found in Tom Clancy's EndWar. G4's interview with H.A.W.X.'s lead designer reveals that the game takes place in between Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 and Tom Clancy's EndWar. The player begins the game as a former U.S. Air Force pilot David Crenshaw who provides fire-support missions for the Ghost team as part of an elite unit called H.A.W.X. However, shortly after the mission, the Air Force decides to deactivate the H.A.W.X. squadron and its pilots, including Crenshaw, are recruited into the PMC Artemis Global Security. Over the next six years, Crenshaw and his squadron perform various missions for Artemis and its clients, including defending valuable facilities and attacking insurgent bases. In 2021, Artemis signs a lucrative defense contract with Brazil, making it one of the most powerful PMCs in the world. However, shortly after the contract is signed, Las Trinidad, an alliance of anti-US South American states, launches an invasion on Rio de Janeiro. With Crenshaw's help, Artemis and the Brazilian military are able to push back the assault. The United States then sends in forces to help pacify the area and stages joint operations with Artemis. However, during one mission, Artemis breaks their contract with Brazil and betrays the United States, citing that Las Trinidad had offered them a better deal. Unwilling to turn on their own country, Crenshaw and his squadron sides with the United States and helps them destroy the Artemis forces in the area. Unfortunately, Artemis' actions in South America are only a diversion. The PMC stages a massive surprise attack on the United States. Though Crenshaw manages to prevent them from taking Washington DC and assassinating the President of the United States, Artemis manages to attack and capture numerous American cities and military facilities. Crenshaw then assists the American counterattack against Artemis. However, as the United States begins gaining the upper hand, Adrian Dewinter, the CEO of Artemis, announces that he has stolen some of the United States' nuclear weapons and gives the President an ultimatum, surrender in 24 hours or watch the United States be destroyed. Crenshaw, along with the Ghost Recon team and the US military, manage to restore the SLAMS missile defense shield (which is found in Tom Clancy's EndWar) and retake the stolen nukes, but Artemis still has a trump card. Artemis forces managed to smuggle one nuclear warhead into Los Angeles, California and threatens to detonate it. Crenshaw is sent to find it and he manages to destroy the warhead, ending the Artemis threat once and for all.
In the epilogue, which takes place several weeks later, it is revealed that Artemis has been completely destroyed, and Dewinter and other Artemis executives managed to escape and are now international fugitives. The conflict between the United States and Artemis also caused over 40,000 civilian deaths all across the United States, prompting the United Nations to begin a crackdown on all PMCs. The PMCs are now either forced to take on small scale support and logistical roles, or they will be dismantled. Meanwhile, Crenshaw is sent on a secret mission to assassinate Dewinter and his subordinates. Thanks to intelligence provided by Third Echelon, Crenshaw destroys Dewinter's hideout, killing him and his entire inner circle and ensuring he can never endanger the world again.
The game got some pretty good reviews from Game Informer, play.tm, TeamXBOX and X-play. HAWX is not a flight simulator, so don’t expect micro-management, accurate payloads, landings and take-offs. Expect close dogfights, while waves of enemy units crash over the horizon’s hazy clouds to re-enforce their troubled comrades.
Saras crashed near Bangalore
A Saras prototype, an Indian indigenous multi-role transport aircraft, which was on a test flight, crashed near Bidadi, 30 km from Bangalore, on 06/03/09 killing three Indian Air Force officers. It turned abruptly and started losing height, after a couple of somersaults in mid-air, it crashed. Loud blasts were heard, except the tail-end of the aircraft, everything was burnt. The reason for the crash is yet to be investigated.
Aircraft debris, including the propeller and parachute, were found around the area and some partially burnt parts were recovered as much as 500 meters away from the crash site.
Pilot Wing Commander K. Praveen, co-pilot Wing Commander D.K. Shah and flight test engineer Squadron Leader S. Ilyaraja were charred to death as the flight burst into flames soon after it crashed in an open field.
B-2 Bombers and F-22 fighters deployed in Guam
The USAF deployed B-2 Bombers and F-22 fighters to Guam on 27/02/09. This is the first time the two types of aircraft operate together. The pairing of advanced B-2 bombers and F-22 fighters in the region follows what the United States and its allies suspect are preparations by North Korea to test fire a long-range Taepodong-2 missile capable of striking U.S. soil. North Korea said on Tuesday it planned to launch a satellite on a rocket as a part of a peaceful space program.
The F-22s were brought from Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska to take advantage of better winter flying weather in Guam. Guam is a U.S. oversea territory about 3,400 miles southwest of Hawaii.
Sources:
U.S. pairs B-2 bombers, F-22s in Guam for first time
Google "U.S. pairs B-2 bombers, F-22s in Guam for first time"
Aero India 2009
The 7th Aero India was organized by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. It was managed by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at Air Force Station Yelahanka, Bengaluru, India from February 11-15, 2009.
Aero India has already carved a niche for itself globally as a premier aerospace exhibition, with six successful editions organized between 1996 and 2007.The show aims at bringing under one roof, exhibitors from all around the globe to showcase the best in aviation. Aero India includes both flight and static displays of a wide range of civil and military aircrafts from leading manufacturers, vendors and suppliers.
India’s opening up of the defence sector to foreign direct investment, the ongoing modernization plan of its Armed Forces and enormous new opportunities in the civil aviation sector have opened innumerable new avenues for investment. Aero India 2009 will provide an ideal window of opportunity for companies to not only network with the Indian Industry but also 
to benefit from the sharing of expertise in the fields of R & D production and product support with other global players. Aero India 2009 will showcase the latest in the field of Military and Civil aircrafts, vital components for aircraft engines, avionics systems & sub systems, airfield radars and new age technologies used in the defence sector.
The US had an extensive presence at Aero India 2009. The US contingent will include more aircraft, sophisticated equipment, and greater participation of VIPs than at any previous Aero India show.
Top of the line aircraft such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, C-17 Globemaster III, C-130J Hercules and KC-135 Stratotanker will be on display and participate in numerous flight demonstrations. US Ambassador David C Mulford and other top military leaders and defence department officials were attended.
Officials said US participation in Aero India highlights the US desire for increased defence cooperation with India and the importance it places on international defence cooperation in general.
The curtains came down over the five-day AeroIndia 2009 air show at the Yelahanka Air Force Base on Sunday evening, with a slew of record attendances. Over 200,000 visitors attended the show, including 50,000 business visitors. This was the seventh edition of the prestigious event, which first opened for exhibition and business in 1996.
Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) officials, the organizers of the event admitted that hundreds of people were turned away on the last day and that all the tickets for the show were sold out. This has led to considerable heartburn among large sections of the public, and even the media.
Other statistics let out by the ministry of defence expo officials suggest that as many as 588 business-to-business (b2b) meetings took place at the show, including 350 between Indian and foreign companies and the rest between Indian business houses.
The newly introduced software, enabling online registration and enhancing business propositions amongst companies worldwide, is also being claimed to be a success.
Some 592 exhibitors, from 25 countries, participated in the show. Of these 303 were overseas firms and 289 domestic.
The participating countries included UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Malaysia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Netherlands and Ukraine.
A biennial event, the eighth edition of Aero India will now be held from 9-13 February 2011.
Photos by Navneeth D
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