USA verso vendita record armi a Arabia Saudita

[vorthex]

ai tempi del contratto nessuno dei due aerei europei aveva reale esperienza di combattimento (non che adesso lo sia davvero), al contrario dell'F-15E, da cui deriva il Silent Eagle e che, comunque, risulta una macchina più matura e completa.

inoltre, in base a quali dati l'RCS del Silent Eagle equivarrebbe a quella di un camion, magari anche superiore ai 2 delta-canard europei? non che sia una stealth, ovvio, ma intanto chi ha le stive interne?

 

dimentichiamo poi, che il contratto prevede anche un congruo numero di elicotteri d'attacco e per operazioni speciali... magari potevano comprare Rafale, Tigre e Cougar... uguale proprio

[TT-1 Pinto]

.... visto che l'F-15 Silent Eagle non è pronto e provato in combattimento ....

Cosa che viene evidenziata in questo articolo scritto da Amy Butler e apparso oggi sul sito di "AW&ST" ....

 

AviationWeek.com

 

Saudi, U.S. Finalize F-15SA Sale

 

By Amy Butler - Washington - Dec. 30, 2011

 

 

Though Saudi Arabia’s buy of F-15SAs from Boeing gives the company’s St. Louis production line much-needed work, the company’s hopes of selling a semi-stealthy version of the F-15 abroad continue to dim.

 

The first of Saudi Arabia’s Boeing F-15S refurbished into the F-15SA configuration will be delivered in 2014 with the first new-build F-15SA’s to follow a year later as part of a $29.4 billion weapons sale to the kingdom.

 

The Obama administration hailed the deal Dec. 29 as providing $3.5 billion in annual impact to the U.S. economy and “supporting” 50,000 jobs in the aerospace industry, as well as the manufacturing sector writ large. However, some of the modification work of older F-15s and structural subassembly fabrication will be handled in Saudi Arabia through the Alsalam Aircraft Company.

 

The fighter sale is welcome for Boeing, which had already begun work on the aircraft in hopes that a deal would get signed for Saudi Arabia or for more orders from South Korea. With Japan’s recent announcement selecting the F-35A over the Typhoon or Boeing F-18 Super Hornet, it is unlikely Boeing will get an additional sale to Seoul, which is thought to be eager to follow Tokyo’s lead. And, as hope of selling to South Korea wanes, so does the prospect for a buyer of the so-called Silent Eagle variant unveiled by Boeing in March 2009. This kit includes internal weapons bays using a conformal fuel tank design and 15-deg. canted V-tails. South Korea and Israel were potential customers; Israel has already selected the F-35 for its new fighters. Boeing executives say they will await Seoul’s formal request for proposal, however, to see if the Silent Eagle is a contender.

 

Boeing’s deliveries of F-15SGs to the Royal Singapore Air Force and F-15Ks to South Korea conclude in the third quarter of 2012. Production rate has been one aircraft per month, which can be accelerated if required for Saudi Arabia. A forthcoming definitized contract will spell out the timing.

 

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia finally signed the new F-15SA deal, announced in October 2010, on Dec. 24 in Riyadh, says Andrew Shapiro, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs. Though he declined to single out Iran as a regional troublemaker, Shapiro did acknowledge that Tehran is one area to which the sale “sends a strong message … that the U.S. is committed to stability in the Gulf and broader Middle East.”

 

Included are 84 new F-15SA aircraft from Boeing as well as the refurbishment of 70 F-15Ss to the SA configuration.

 

The deal with Saudi Arabia includes Raytheon advanced, electronically scanned array (AESA) radars for the F-15s, plus 10 Goodrich DB-110s, an internationally marketable version of the Senior-Year Electro-Optical Reconnaissance System flying on the U-2, and an infrared search-and-track capability. Sniper and Lantirn targeting and navigation pods are also part of the package, along with Digital Electronic Warfare System.

 

The weapons package features AIM 120C7s, the AIM-9X Sidewinder for air-to-air engagements. Also included are 500-lb. dual-mode laser-guided munitions, 2,000-lb. Paveway III laser-guided bombs and Sensor-fuzed Weapons including the Wind-corrected Munitions Dispensers and 2,000 lb. Joint Direct Attack Munitions for hitting ground targets. The AGM-84 Harpoon Block II, which does not include the Block III data link package for in-flight retargeting, is built-in for engagement of ships and the Saudis are also buying the AGM-88B High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile.

 

The F-15 sale is part of a roughly $60 billion weapons request from Saudi Arabia that was long rumored before it was detailed, and it includes another $25.6 billion worth of helicopters and associated equipment: 36 AH-64D Apaches, 72 UH-60Ms, 36 AH-6i Light Attack Helicopters and 12 MD Helicopters MD-530Fs. These orders are still pending approval, according to a defense official. Already, Saudi Arabia has signed a letter of agreement for 36 Apaches.

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

Intanto .... si sta ancora trattando per i "Typhoon" ....

 

BAE confident of closing improved Typhoon deal with Saudi Arabia 

 

By: Craig Hoyle (London 02:50 5 Jan 2012)

 

Source:

 

BAE Systems is confident of concluding talks with Saudi Arabia to adapt the terms of the country's Project Salam acquisition of 72 Eurofighter Typhoons, but has confirmed that the deal's increased price remains a topic of discussion.

 

The Royal Saudi Air Force has so far received a first batch of 24 Typhoons under a deal signed in 2007, with these having been completed using BAE's final assembly line for the type in Warton, Lancashire, northwest England.

 

Riyadh has stepped back from its original plans to assemble the remaining 48 aircraft in Saudi Arabia, and instead favours the establishment of a domestic facility to perform maintenance work and future upgrades to the Eurofighter.

 

BAE revealed in February 2011 that it was discussing completing the remaining Typhoons in the UK, and that its customer was also seeking to have its last 24 examples adapted "for subsequent insertion of Tranche 3 capability". (*) This referred to the possible introduction of equipment such as a developmental active electronically scanned array radar and advanced air-launched weapons.

 

In a trading statement issued on 4 January, BAE said: "Good progress on these discussions has been made in recent weeks, with budgets approved in the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] in December on all items other than the price escalation, where negotiations will now continue into 2012."

 

Funding has also been put in place to deliver the next five years of support for a broad-ranging Saudi/British defence cooperation programme, it added, with this "including an upgrade of the training environment".

 

Formal contracts linked to the remainder of Project Salam and the defence cooperation programme "are being progressed" in Saudi Arabia, according to BAE.

 

The development comes as Riyadh has also signed an agreement linked to a proposed $29.4 billion programme to upgrade 70 of its existing Boeing F-15S fighters and acquire 84 new-generation F-15SAs.

(*) .... http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/saudi-arabia-seeks-tranche-3-capabilities-for-typhoon-fleet-353336/

[marco9023]

Sono così terrorizzati dall'iran?

Come si diceva qui nel forum non sono in grado di difendersi da soli quindi o in arabia la pensano diversamente o mi/ci sfugge qualcosa.

In ogni caso è molto probabile che l'iran come lo conosciamo noi finisca prima che arrivino gli aerei ai sauditi....

[TT-1 Pinto]

Il contratto è andato definitivamente in porto ....

 

Boeing has received a previously announced contract worth $11.4 billion to supply Saudi Arabia with 84 F-15SA Strike Eagle fighters, the US military announced on 8 March.

Fonte .... http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/us-finalises-114-billion-saudi-order-for-f-15s-369304/

[Andrea75]

Un' articolo che parla dell'acquisto di armamenti da parte dell'Arabia Saudita source

L'articolo sottolinea la scelta dell'F-15, invece di un caccia di 5° gen. come l'F-35

 

A favore dell'F15:

... un aereo da combattimento, indipendentemente dalla sua generazione, deve appunto combattere con efficienza ed efficacia. Questo spiega l’affermazione dell’F-15 in una gara così importante, in cui il cliente saudita ha privilegiato l’affidabilità e la combat readiness di un aeroplano supercollaudato, qualità inequivocabilmente dimostrate dall’Eagle in circa 40 anni di operazioni, sia in missioni di caccia ed intercettazione, sia di strike ed attacco.

Per giunta, quando il gioco si fa duro ed è necessario utilizzare armi quali le bombe “bunker buster” GBU-28 da oltre 2.200 kg, l’Eagle rimane l’unica opzione possibile.

 

Da notare che gli F-15SA (al cui standard saranno poi trasformati anche i 72 F-15S già in servizio, nell’ambito del medesimo contratto), adottano molti componenti equivalenti a quelli montati dal Lightning II, tra cui il radar AESA Raytheon AN/APG-63(V)3 (già sperimentato su alcuni F-15C USAF dispiegati in Alaska e sugli F-15SG di Singapore) e la suite di autoprotezione BAE Systems (North America, la ex Loral) DEWS, praticamente identica a quella dell’F-35.

 

Io però mi domando:

L'Arabia stà acquistanto armamenti e assetti di prim'ordine, però poi - in caso di necessità - li saprà effettuvamente utilizzare? A che livello di addestramento / operatività sono le FF.AA. saudite?

[cama81]

è notorio che i paesi arabi ricorrano a mercenari e contractors per sopperire alle lacune delle loro risorse umane , se acquistano tot F-15 la boeing garantirà loro un certo numero di consiglieri e istruttori

 

per lacune nelle RU ,mi riferisco a gap demografici e di istruzione diffusa , se è vero che i principi e l'elite studiano da anni nelle nostre migliori scuole , altrettanto non si può dire per la plebe . così si ritrovano ad avere piloti sauditi ,ma non tecnici e logistici

Modificato 26 Marzo 2012 da cama81

[Andrea75]

è notorio che i paesi arabi ricorrano a mercenari e contractors per sopperire alle lacune delle loro risorse umane , se acquistano tot F-15 la boeing garantirà loro un certo numero di consiglieri e istruttori

 

per lacune nelle RU ,mi riferisco a gap demografici e di istruzione diffusa , se è vero che i principi e l'elite studiano da anni nelle nostre migliori scuole , altrettanto non si può dire per la plebe . così si ritrovano ad avere piloti sauditi ,ma non tecnici e logistici

 

Nel caso in cui si dovesse arrivare al dunque, temo si scoprirà che i sauditi hanno acqustato assetti validi e molto costosi, ma che non sono in grado di far funzionare come dovrebbero.

 

Aggiungo

l'acquisto serve:

a) per ingraziarsi gli USA;

b) per sperare di incutere timore all'ingombrante vicino regionale.