Il giornalista Robert Wall fa il punto, su "Aviation Week & Space Technology", sull'attuale situazione del mercato dei caccia ....

 

 

Fighter Contenders See Multiple Export Opportunities

 

By Robert Wall - July 09, 2012

 

Source ....

 

With India, Japan and Switzerland having made their fighter decisions, the market is starting to turn to smaller campaigns as aircraft makers look to build backlogs to sustain production lines that may otherwise be nearing their end.

 

Competitions in South Korea and Brazil still attract industry players, but after those, the list of buyers thins out to countries with more limited budgets seeking to buy smaller numbers. That means manufacturers are starting to pay attention even to small countries like Botswana, and its eventual F-5 replacement needs.

 

That is not to say the incentive to promote high-end offerings is diminishing. Being able to deliver the most advanced systems possible remains an issue of more than bragging rights. That has Eurofighter officials eager to show that they are finally making progress in the increasingly important realm of active, electronically scanned array technology, where the European consortium has been trailing rivals.

 

The first Captor-E is due to be delivered in the second quarter of 2012, says Bob Mason, vice president for radar marketing and sales at Selex Galileo, one of the partners in the Euroradar consortium. The first Typhoon with the radar will fly next year. Most of the work so far has been financed by industry. A government-funded development contract is now expected in 2013. Industry still hopes to be able to field the system in 2015, although delays in the government's financing of the development program means the in-service date could slip into 2016.

 

The repositioner, designed to maintain IFF (identification friend or foe) polarity and increase the pilot's field of regard using the sensor, and upgraded back end with increased processing are now coming together, Mason says. The development is “low- risk,” he asserts. The basic radar will have air-to-air, air-to-ground and synthetic aperture radar modes.

 

The radar is intended for Tranche 3A fighters, but could be retrofit on Tranche 2 aircraft as well.

 

Pressure is mounting on Typhoon for sales in export markets, having already failed in Japan, India and Switzerland. South Korea, where the Typhoon is squaring off against the Lockheed Martin F-35 and Boeing F-15 Silent Eagle, is seen as a long shot, given the strong U.S. military presence on the peninsula. Malaysia is seen as a potential buyer, and the consortium also still hopes to make inroads in the United Arab Emirates, which has been in on-again, off-again talks with France to buy the Rafale.

 

For the Saab Gripen, last year's win in Switzerland and the subsequent commitment by Sweden to buy 60-80 of the new model E/F-standard aircraft has provided a shot in the arm, but export successes globally have been few.

 

Brazil could provide an important test case, opening the door not just to a new market but potentially to an entire region. Brazil's decision has been delayed numerous times, but Eddy de la Motte, vice president for marketing of the Swedish fighter, notes that “we get the feeling it is the end game.”

 

Saab could deliver the first Gripen E/F (also called the NG) fighter four years after a contract award, but it is still unclear if that is the schedule Brasilia will insist on, or whether it will join the combined Swiss/Swedish Gripen E/F development schedule, which would see the first fighter handed over in 2018.

 

The first Gripen E/F prototype is due to fly late next year if the Swiss and Swedish governments can agree on the development path forward. The effort would likely require some funding from Saab, too.

 

Meanwhile, the Selex Galileo Raven ES-05 active, electronically scanned array radar is to fly on the Gripen NG demonstrator soon, at which time the cockpit displays and sensor will be put through their paces.

 

The Swedish government has an offer on the table for potential export buyers, to accelerate its purchase if another country wants the Gripen E/F early but does not want to be the lead buyer. That offer remains open, de La Motte says.

 

A win in Brazil could open the door to other fighter deals in South America, adds Frederik Gustafson, regional director for Gripen exports in the Americas. “There is a huge need for new fighters in the region and the economies are growing,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Aerospace Forum Sweden 2012. There are more than a handful of countries that are looking to buy in the next five years, he added.

 

But that is not the only region where Saab is working to meet its target of selling 300 fighters over the next decade. In Thailand, were it has already sold 12 Gripens (six are delivered with six to follow next year), it is hoping for additional deals. Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and, “in a couple of years” Vietnam may also offer opportunities, de La Motte says.

 

Efforts also continue to extend the fighter lease deal with the Czech Republic and secure orders in Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Slovakia. Gripen also still hopes to convince Denmark and the Netherlands to defect from the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter program.

 

This year, the Czech Republic is due to make a decision on whether it will extend the fighter lease beyond 2015. The Czech air force currently operates 12 single-seat and two dual-seat Gripens under a lease deal that expires in 2015. The goal is to complete negotiations this year on how to preserve fighter capability.

 

The leading candidate, preferred by the air force, is an extension of the lease deal with the Swedish government, with 5-, 10- and 20-year options being discussed (the 10-year option is seen as the most likely). A decision should be taken this year to allow time for a fall-back plan in case the lease deal does not materialize, says air force chief Brig. Gen. Jiri Verner.

 

Securing additional orders is critical not only for European manufacturers, seeing a potential end of their production lines in this decade in the absence of additional orders. Boeing is looking to both additional F/A-18 purchases by the U.S. and fighter export campaigns to sustain its two fighter production lines—the F-15 and F/A-18—beyond their currently expected lives.

 

The current multi-year program with the U.S. Navy runs until about 2015, but Dennis Muilenburg, CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security (DSS), sees scope for sales of additional EA-18Gs to the Pentagon to extend production. “We see an opportunity domestically for the joint electronic attack requirement,” he tells reporters. But whether there is enough demand for a fourth multi-year contract is unclear he notes.

 

While Muilenburg acknowledges that the existing backlog sees pressure on the F-15 and F/A-18E/F production lines in the 5-10-year time frame, he argues that both products have shown resilience and been able to extend their lives.

 

Several important decisions affecting exports loom in the coming months. Before year-end, Brazil is to announce its F-X2 fighter decision where the F/A-18E/F is competing against the Gripen NG and the Dassault Rafale. South Korea is also expected to make its choice between the F-15, Lockheed Martin's F-35 and the Typhoon.

 

Boeing also foresees more clarity to emerge on Australia's plans in the third quarter. That is when a decision is likely on the mix between the F-35s and F/A-18Fs and whether additional Super Hornet purchases will be made, says Mark Kronenberg, vice president- international business development at Boeing DSS. “I don't think they are going to walk away completely from the F-35, but the mix is a factor,” he argues.

 

Boeing sees Denmark as an opportunity for the F/A-18, as well as some nervousness among F-35 buyers that could generate opportunities, Kronenberg says.

 

The Middle East is viewed as another potential hot spot for deals, with Qatar and Kuwait seen as potential F/A-18E/F buyers. Kronenberg notes that “in Kuwait you are starting to see movement I had not seen two years ago.”

 

The United Arab Emirates might be an opportunity for Boeing, but Kronenberg sees that as an F-15 market.

 

Extending the production lines is vital for Boeing to maintain skills until future programs—FA-XX for the U.S. Navy and F-X for the U.S. Air Force—advance beyond the concept study phase. However, Muilenburg notes that skills will also be sustained through other efforts, including work in unmanned aircraft and the USAF's next-generation bomber effort.

 

Le notizie dal Giappone si rincorrono ...

Ora, secondo alcune fonti, il paese asiatico intenderebbe acquistare un' ulteriore aliquota di F-35A ... questa volta però direttamente dagli Stati Uniti ...

... https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-defence-f35-exclusive/exclusive-japan-to-buy-at-least-20-more-f-35a-stealth-fighters-sources-idUSKCN1G507W

Certo che ... spendere una valanga di quattrini per realizzare in casa propria una FACO e andare poi a comprare gli aerei negli USA, sia pure ad un prezzo inferiore, non può non lasciare perplessi ...

Pensavo volesse i B , per farli decollare dalle isole vicino alla Cina, con piste troppo corte.

Gli A se li può costruire a casa sua.

Pensavo volesse i B , per farli decollare dalle isole vicino alla Cina, con piste troppo corte.

Gli A se li può costruire a casa sua.

 

Infatti ... la notizia relativa ai B risale a pochi giorni fa e la puoi leggere in questa stessa pagina ...

Canada ... Boeing rientra nella competizione ...

The Canadian government has announced that five bidders — Boeing, Dassault, Eurofighter, Lockheed Martin and Saab — are eligible to compete for a long sought-after contract to replace the country’s 88 CF-18 fighters.

The disclosure of the Future Fighter Capabilities Project (FFCP)’s official Supplier’s List (*) ends a mystery about whether Boeing would decline to participate after angering Canadian government officials.

Fonte: flightglobal.com ... Boeing rejoins competitive field for Canadian fighter deal ...

(*) ... https://www.canada.ca/en/public-services-procurement/news/2018/02/canada_releases_listofeligiblefuturefightersuppliers.html ...

Belgio ... Regno Unito e Stati Uniti si fanno avanti ... e presentano le loro offerte ...

 

http://www.air-cosmos.com/belgique-les-etats-unis-et-le-royaume-uni-deposent-leurs-offres-107211

 

http://www.dsca.mil/major-arms-sales/belgium-f-35-joint-strike-fighter-aircraft

 

 

Udite... udite ...

 

https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/02/20/belgium-wants-to-buy-rafale-fighters-for-naval-capability-says-french-lawmaker/

 

Ammesso che tutto ciò risponda al vero e, alla fine, si concretizzi ... mi sto chiedendo se la CdG non sia una portaerei troppo piccola per poter ospitare anche un contingente di volo non francese ...

 

Più che altro è troppo piccola per ospitare simili...corbellerie.

D'accordo che le spese militari in Europa sono tornate a crescere, ma se dei governanti belgi comprassero dei costosissimi caccia navali per imbarcarli (quando, come e perché?!!) su una portaerei Francese, verrebbero semplicemente messi alla berlina.

Certo, l'EF-2000 e l'F-35A non possono essere imbarcati, ma evidenziare punti a favore tanto ipotetici quanto totalmente inutili di una proposta concorrente, lascia il tempo che trova.

 

 

Le notizie dal Giappone si rincorrono ...

Ora, secondo alcune fonti, il paese asiatico intenderebbe acquistare un' ulteriore aliquota di F-35A ... questa volta però direttamente dagli Stati Uniti ...

 

Anche qui, credo si tratti nulla più di un'ipotesi.

Quando i Giapponesi hanno deciso di realizzare la loro FACO lo hanno fatto col preciso scopo di portare lavoro all’industria nazionale e acquisire know how, ben sapendo che il costo dell’operazione sarebbe stato elevato, sia per le spese non ricorrenti della realizzazione di uno stabilimento da zero, che per le spese ricorrenti della lavorazione in Giappone.

Probabile ci siano lotti successivi, viste le necessità di riequipaggiamento, ma credo saranno realizzati sempre allo stesso modo, in particolare se i nuovi lotti si inseriranno come immediato seguito dei precedenti, in modo da avere un minimo di efficienza produttiva.

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/saudi-arabia-uk-sign-memorandum-intent-purchase-48-typhoon-jets/

Altri eurofighter per l'Arabia saudita

F-35 ... a Taiwan interessa da tempo, ma ... saranno gli USA disposti a concederlo ?

Taiwan has flagged continued interest in the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet, possibly as part of an upcoming new round of arms purchases from the United States.

Speaking to parliament, Defense Minister Yen Teh-fa confirmed Taiwan’s long-standing interest in the F-35, although he did not mention which variant of the F-35 or how many aircraft Taiwan was interested in acquiring.

However, previous reports have said Taiwan is interested in the F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing, or STOVL, version, which is also used by the U.S Marine Corps, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Japan and Singapore are also reportedly interested in this variant.

Fonte: defensenews.com ... Taiwan renews interest in F-35 to counter Chinese first strike ...

Una bella ondata di tejas in India nei prossimi anni

http://www.defenseworld.net/news/22167/Indian_Air_Force_Commits_To_Purchase_324_LCA_Tejas#.WrBEKtDcnqA

 

F-35 ... a Taiwan interessa da tempo, ma ... saranno gli USA disposti a concederlo ?

... defensenews.com ... Taiwan renews interest in F-35 to counter Chinese first strike ...

 

 

E, negli USA, un senatore lancia, prontamente, un'esortazione ... https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/03/26/give-taiwan-the-f-35-to-deter-china-top-senators-tell-trump/

La Croazia fa shopping in Israele

https://thedefensepost.com/2018/03/28/croatia-israel-f-16-fighter-deal/

Pare che siano F-16C/D

E dovrebbero pagarli a rate

Golfo Persico ... mercato in movimento ...

Kuwait ... dopo quello dei Tifoni ... parte l' ordine per i Super Hornet ...

... https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2018/03/30/boeing-and-kuwait-cement-super-hornet-deal/...

Qatar ..... acquistati, dopo i primi 24, altri 12 Rafale .....

... https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2018/03/30/qatar-makes-down-payment-to-dassault-for-12-more-rafale-jets/...

...

Qatar ..... acquistati, dopo i primi 24, altri 12 Rafale .....

... https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2018/03/30/qatar-makes-down-payment-to-dassault-for-12-more-rafale-jets/...

 

 

In realtà il contratto di 12 velivoli supplementari è stato firmato a dicembre 2017.

 

http://www.aereimilitari.org/forum/topic/994-dassault-rafale-discussione-ufficiale/?p=324488

 

Ora il Qatar ha pagato la prima tranche del contratto che a tutti gli effetti entra in vigore.

 

http://bourse.latribune.fr/webfg/articles/marches/dassault-aviation-levee-dune-option-de-12-rafale--3215275.html

 

https://www.dassault-aviation.com/fr/groupe/presse/press-kits/entree-vigueur-de-levee-doption-de-12-rafale-supplementaires-qatar/

 

 

Kuwait ... ulteriori dettagli dalla pagina 'CONTRACTS - March 30, 2018' del DoD ...

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is being awarded an undefinitized contract action with a not-to-exceed value of $1,165,068,022 for long-lead non-recurring engineering required to develop a baseline configuration for the production and delivery of 22 F/A-18E and 6 F/A-18F Super Hornets in support of the government of Kuwait.

In addition, this contract provides for long-lead radar warning receivers and aircraft armament equipment.

Work will be performed in Hazelwood, Missouri (47.2 percent); Goleta, California (22.3 percent); El Segundo, California (20.1 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (3.2 percent); Bloomington, Minnesota (1.7 percent); Mesa, Arizona (1.6 percent); Orlando, Florida (1.5 percent); Greenlawn, New York (0.8 percent); Deerfield Beach, Florida (0.5 percent); Wayne, New Jersey (0.4 percent); Torrance, California (.3 percent); Stillwater, Oklahoma (0.2 percent); and Minneapolis, Minnesota (0.2 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2022.

Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $275,850,901 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(f)(2)(E).

The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-18-C-1025).

Inoltre ... flightglobal.com ... Boeing awarded contract to deliver 28 Super Hornets to Kuwait ...

I nuovi Aero L-39 vanno in Senegal

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/release/3/192156/senegal-orders-4-aero-vodochody-l_39ng-light-attack-aircraft.html

La Russia teme lo scavalcamento da parte della Cina ...

The recent release of the latest Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report on the worldwide trade in weapon systems has observers in Moscow asking unhappy questions.

Their chief concern is that gains made in 2012-2017 by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in different regions are ultimately at the expense of sales that might otherwise have been made by Russian suppliers.

The issue was addressed in the last week of March by the editors of the Russian-language Nezavisimoye Voyennoe Obozreniye (NVO), one of the nation’s most authoritative defense periodicals.

The PRC’s previous market share has been small, the editors write, and the nation has been more along the lines of a large-scale importer of weapons - particularly those from Russian manufacturers.

What has become the cause for worry, says the publication, is that “in a short historical period of time, Beijing has made a sharp turn upwards and has broken into the ranks of the top five leading exporters - turning the process of military-technical cooperation with foreign nations into an effective instrument of political and economic influence.”

Fonte: ainonline.com ... Russia Fears Losing Ground to the PRC in World Arms Market ...

Pacifico Occidentale ... si accentua la pressione commerciale da parte degli USA ...

... https://news.usni.org/2018/06/07/international-sales-key-to-f-35-program-health-u-s-foreign-policy

Il Bahrain ordina la versione 'Block 70' dell'intramontabile F-16 ...

Lockheed Martin has signed an initial contract worth $1.2 billion to launch production of the F-16 Block 70 on a new final assembly line in Greenville, South Carolina for the Royal Bahraini Air Force.

The undefinitised contract for 16 examples of the latest version of the 45-year-old F-16 keeps the programme in production as Lockheed continues to market the single-engined fighter for new orders in India and elsewhere.

Fonte: flightglobal.com ... Bahrain order keeps F-16 production ticking over ...

Dagli USA ... un 'aiutino' a Taiwan ...

Quote

The USA has approved the sale of $330 million in spare parts for several aircraft types operated by Taiwan.
If accepted by Taiwan, the package covers both the repair and replenishment of spare parts for types such as the Lockheed Martin F-16, C-130, Northrop F-5, and the AIDC IDF (Indigenous Defense Fighter), says the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (*).

Fonte: flightglobal.com ... USA approves support package for Taiwan air force ...

(*) ... Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) – Foreign Military Sales Order (FMSO) II Case ...

I soliti attori per la telenov... ehmm no, volevo dire per la RFP canadese per 88 nuovi caccia, possono presentare il curriculum...ehmm no, volevo dire le proposte.

Quote

n a notice posted online 26 October, Ottawa listed five suppliers eligible to replace its fighter fleet with 88 advanced jets: Dassault Aviation, maker of the Rafale; Saab, maker of the JAS 39 Gripen; Airbus Defense, a major partner in the Eurofighter joint venture, which makes the Typhoon; Lockheed Martin, maker of the F-16 and F-35; and Boeing, maker of the F/A-18 Super Hornet and F-15E Strike Eagle. Only these five will be allowed to submit proposals.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/ottawa-issues-draft-rfp-for-88-fighter-requirement-453205/

La Turchia ha finalmente deciso ... il motore del futuro caccia TF-X sarà dunque americano ... 
Ma dovrebbe equipaggiare soltanto alcuni lotti del velivolo ... in attesa che venga realizzato un motore di progettazione nazionale ...

Quote

 

Turkey’s aerospace authorities have chosen General Electric’s F110 family of engines to power the prototype and an initial batch of what will become Turkey’s first indigenous fighter jet, the TF-X.
A senior procurement official confirmed the choice, saying that the twin-engine TF-X will be powered by the F110-GE-129 or the F110-GE-132 engine.
“This is a stopgap solution until we have built our indigenous engine for the TF-X,” the official said.
Under the deal, the first prototype of the TF-X and an unknown number of initial batches would be powered by the F110 engine.

 

Fonte: defensenews.com ... General Electric beats Rolls-Royce to power Turkey’s indigenous fighter jet ...

http://www.portaledifesa.it/index~phppag,3_id,2643.html

La scelta del motore americano mi pare un po’ di basso profilo.

Se l’idea è di partire da un vecchio, ma grosso motore come l’F110 e di utilizzarne 2, è anche perché non mi pare Rolls Royce avesse nulla di disponibile in quella classe di spinta. L’EJ200 è un motore di classe inferiore e quindi qualcosa di comparabile all’F110 andava sviluppato con tempi e costi tutti da definire.

I turchi hanno già esperienza sull’F110: derivarne un motore (che non so quanto si discosterebbe dall’originale) forse è una scelta adatta al livello tecnologico di TRMotor e della Turchia che sta imboccando la strada della produzione indigena e una scelta adatta al garantirsi da eventuali veti, come sta succedendo per l’F-35 che adotta un motore più avanzato.

Canada ... la Francia si ritira dalla gara destinata a trovare un successore ai CF-18 attualmente in servizio ...

Quote

Dassault Aviation has withdrawn from Canada’s competition to buy 88 new fighter jets over concerns that interoperability and intelligence sharing requirements were too extensive, according to industry sources.
Dassault had been approved by the Canadian government for the competition and intended to offer the Royal Canadian Air Force the Rafale fighter jet.
A draft bid package for 88 fighter aircraft has been issued to companies for their feedback by the end of this year, said Pat Finn, assistant deputy minister for materiel at Canada’s Department of National Defence. 
From there, the final bidding instructions for the CAN$16 billion (U.S. $12.2 billion) procurement will be issued and bids required by May 2019, he added.
Dassault, however, reviewed the draft request for proposals and determined the Canadian requirements for intelligence data sharing and interoperability, particularly with U.S. forces, would be difficult to meet, sources noted.

Fonte: defensenews.com ... Dassault withdraws from Canada’s fighter jet competition ...

Finlandia ... si comincia a negoziare ...

Quote

Finland has held initial negotiations with five potential bidders for its H-X contest aimed at replacing the country's fleet of 62 Boeing F/A-18C/Ds.
Project manager Lauri Puranen, writing in a blog post on the Finnish defence ministry website, says all five airframers involved were invited to participate in "pre-bid dialogue".

Fonte: flightglobal.com ... Finland holds early talks in F-18 replacement contest ...

Sostituzione degli F-2 ... il Giappone sfoglia la margherita ...

... flightglobal.com ... ANALYSIS: Tokyo contemplates its future fighter plans ...