F/A-18 Hornet/Super Hornet - discussione ufficiale

[fabio-22raptor]

Cercando news a proposito dell'F-18 mi sono imbattuto per caso in un articolo da parte di una testata (un filino pro-russa, ma un filino proprio ) che riporta la notizia di uno sconfinamento da parte di un aereo cargo russo che pochi giorni fa' ha violato (o quantomeno ci e' andato vicino) lo spazio aereo Finlandese... intercettato dagli F-18 e' stato prontamente rispedito al mittente sotto scorta.. certo che la Russia passa spesso da queste parti... l'anno scorso in G.B. si sono registrate 11 violazioni con cadenza quasi mensile... scusate se sono andato un po' OT .. e rinnovo la richiesta al post sopra: anime pie aiutatemi voi

Modificato 16 Maggio 2013 da fabio-22raptor

[TT-1 Pinto]

Ora lo chiamano "Advanced Super Hornet" .... ed un dimostratore volerà a breve ....

La speranza di Boeing è di venderlo alla US Navy .... nel caso la messa a punto dello F.35C vada ulteriormente per le lunghe ....

 

Boeing va faire voler son Advanced Super Hornet ....

 

Le Super Hornet n'a pas encore dit son dernier mot.

Pour preuve, Boeing envisage de faire voler d'ici la fin de l'été un démonstrateur de l'Advanced Super Hornet, prochaine évolution prévue pour l'actuel F/A-18E/F.

Ce démonstrateur permettra d'évaluer les performances aérodynamiques de deux améliorations qui seront apportées à l'avion ....

 

Fonte .... http://www.air-cosmos.com/defense/boeing-va-faire-voler-son-advanced-super-hornet.html

 

[fabio-22raptor]

Speranza vana direi...a meno che l'F-35 non accumuli una buona decade di ritardi credo che l'US Navy tirerà avanti ancora con i S.H. "normali" senza sobbarcarsi ulteriori spese.. ha in ballo l' X-47B, l'F-35 ( e sicuramente altri programmi di cui non sono a conoscenza in campo prettamente navale).. in tempi duri come questi.........

[fabio-22raptor]

Trident Fury: rifornimenti in volo per i CF-18 grazie ad una "giant gas station in the skies"

 

http://www.canada.com/giant+station+skies/8412325/story.html

[TT-1 Pinto]

"Advanced Super Hornet" .... dettagli ....

 

F/A-18F CFT & Weapons Pod mockup in St Louis ....

 

While it has been known for sometime that Boeing and the US Navy intend to fly a modified F/A-18F Super Hornet equipped with conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) and a weapons pod later this summer, some new details are emerging.

 

Fonte .... http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2013/05/fa-18f-cft-weapons-pod-mockup.html

 

[holmes7]

http://www.militaryaerospace.com/articles/2013/05/AMPD-Hornet-Honeywell.html

 

 

 

[holmes7]

Sembra vicino l'accordo con il Brasile.

 

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/awx_06_05_2013_p0-585638.xml

[fabio-22raptor]

Davvero molto strano ... ho sempre visto il brasile più propenso a rivolgersi alla Russia, visto anche le linee comuni che seguono in quanto membri del BRICS, e le politiche di "vicinanza" a paesi non propriamente filo-statunitensi...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Sembra vicino l'accordo con il Brasile.

 

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/awx_06_05_2013_p0-585638.xml

 

E' un link che è stato postato in un'altra discussione tre giorni fa ....

 

http://www.aereimilitari.org/forum/topic/15271-riaperta-la-competizione-per-il-caccia-brasiliano-f-x2/?p=299432

 

Nihil novi sub sole ....

[TT-1 Pinto]

La sfida di Boeing ....

 

BOURGET 2013 : Boeing défie le Rafale de Dassault aux Emirats et en Malaisie ....

 

Aux Emirats Arabes Unis comme en Malaisie, deux pays qui cherchent à moderniser leur aviation de combat, le Rafale n'est pas seul en piste.

A l'occasion d'une table ronde organisée ce matin au profit de la presse spécialisée, des dirigeants de Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) ont rappelé que leurs propres produits étaient actuellement en compétition avec le chasseur français sur ces deux campagnes export.

 

Fonte .... http://www.air-cosmos.com/defense/bourget-2013-boeing-defie-le-rafale-de-dassault-aux-emirats-et-en-malaisie.html

[fabio-22raptor]

Marine F/A-18s from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 also are flying in the exercise:

 

http://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pages/2013/June%202013/June%2014%202013/Building-Air-Coalitions-in-Jordan.aspx

[fabio-22raptor]

Un piccolo contrattino :

 

 

 

Boeing's smaller contract win was a $9 million firm-fixed-price delivery order against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement, whereby Boeing will supply 30 retrofit kits, including radomes for the AN/APG-79 active electronically scanned array radar, for installation aboard Navy F/A-18 E/F aircraft. Work on this contract should be complete by January 2016.

 

Supporto tecnico e logistico per il Kuwait:

 

 

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress (link opens in PDF) on Monday of plans to conduct a Foreign Military "Sale" of technical and logistics support services for F/A-18 C/D fighter jets to the government of Kuwait.

According to the DSCA, contractors General Dynamics, Boeing , and Wyle Laboratories are in line to perform avionics software upgrades and engine component improvements and to sell ground support equipment, spare parts, technical documentation, and other "technical and logistics support services" to Kuwait for an estimated $200 million.

The DSCA justifies the "sale" by saying it will "contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East."

The DSCA further assures Congress that "the proposed sale of this support will not alter the basic military balance in the region," nor will there be any "adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale."

 

Missile Launch:

 

[fabio-22raptor]

I piani del Departement of Defense ignorano la sequestration:

 

Fonte: Breaking Defense

 

Nell'articolo è compreso il rapporto del DoD per il Congresso.

 

 

WASHINGTON: The second comprehensive report to Congress on the Pentagon’s aviation fleet paints a pretty robust picture of the fleet in most respects all the way out to 2043. But there’s a rub: like the Obama Administration’s budget request, the report doesn’t takesequestration into effect. (You can read the report below.)

DoD Aircraft Report to Congress

One of the Pentagon report’s most important clients, the chairman of the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee, Rep. Randy Forbes, offered a subdued view of the absence of sequestration cuts:

“Although this report fails to incorporate sequestration cuts, it does provide a comprehensive perspective on how the department believes it needs to prioritize its airpower investments over the next thirty years,” he tells us in an email.

But he raised questions about the strategic assumptions underpinning the study. The study does take into account last year’s strategy with its Pacific pivot.

“I wonder if the assumptions we have adopted to drive our thinking from the past two decades are the most appropriate to be influencing our planning for the coming three decades? Potential competitors now enjoy strategic depth, advanced integrated air defense systems (IADS), and precision guided weapons [more powerful than] what our airpower faced in Iraq or Bosnia in 1991, 1995, and 2003,” Forbes says.

Forbes raises questions that would resonate with the Marines and strategic elements of the Air Force: “Can we count on assured access to local airfields in future operational scenarios for our tactical land-based aircraft? Can we be certain that the Carrier Strike Group will be able to sail through contested waters in the Western Pacific or Northern Arabian Sea? To me, meeting this challenge requires a sustained investment in our long-range strike capabilities that will be placed in jeopardy if we continue to allow sequestration to wreck our procurement accounts.”

Because of that, he is closely watching the Navy’s handling of the Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program and what kind of mix of manned and unmanned aircraft the service decides on.

Fairly predictably, Forbes cautions against shutting down the F-18 fighter line, saying he thinks, “it would be premature for the Navy to allow the F-18E/F production line to shut down before we have full confidence that the F-35C is ready to move to full-rate production and we can confidently take the risk of having just one naval strike-fighter production line open.”

In terms of long range strike, the aviation plan notes that it does not allow for any planes being destroyed or permanently grounded and it continues to state the (deliberately) vague Air Force plan for 80 to 100 new Long Range Strike aircraft, with Initial Operating Capability (IOC) planned for the mid-2020s.

[fabio-22raptor]

L'F-18 Super Hornet ecologico e le dichiarazioni di Obama ...

 

 

U.S. President Barack Obama with the Navy's F/A-18 Green Hornet. Credit: Official U.S. Navy Imagery/ CC by 2.0

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 5 2013 (IPS) - The United States military, an organisation that consumes 90 percent of the country’s federal oil allowance, is trying to become a greener institution.

The U.S. Navy has said that by 2016 it will run one of its 11 carrier strike groups using biofuel. In a test run of the new approach in the Pacific Ocean, a novel mixture of jet fuel, algae and cooking grease powered FA-18 Super Hornets, a type of fighter aircraft.

Within a decade, half of the Air Force and Navy’s fuel needs will be met by alternative energy sources, according to Christopher Merrill, director of the International Writer’s Program at the University of Iowa.

Merrill, who penned an essay for Orion Magazine titled ‘The Future of War‘, suggested that with climate change posing an increasing threat to U.S. national security, another name for this pioneering strike group could be the Great Green Fleet.

"I view this as somebody trying to...figure out what (we) are going to have to do to defend the country."
-- Christopher Merrill

The military also believes that the threat of climate change to U.S. security is not simply a temporary trend, Merrill said.

“I don’t view this as a one-off thing, I view this as somebody trying to look into the future, trying to figure out what (we) are going to have to do to defend the country,” Merrill said.

Climate change and security

In 2010, the Department of Defence recognised in its Quadrennial Defence Review (QDR) that climate change and energy will both play “significant roles in the future security environment”.

The military’s look towards a more sustainable future was confirmed by a report released by the Executive Office of the President last month, which affirmed U.S. President Barack Obama’s commitment to lower U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent of 2005 levels by 2020.

The report rendered the effect of climate disasters difficult to ignore: last year was the second most expensive year on record for the United States, with 11 weather-related natural disasters costing over 110 billion dollars in damages.

Marcus King, associate research professor of international affairs at the George Washington University, believes that threats from climate change would affect not only the United States through phenomena such as sea-level rise and droughts but the rest of the world as well.

The United States ought to be concerned that other nations, including U.S. allies, “could be constrained because they don’t have (the) adaptive capacity (to deal with climate change),” King told IPS.

Some, such as journalist Thomas Friedman, believe that issues around food security in Syria were the catalyst for the uprising there that began two years ago. And as climate change causes more humanitarian crises, the U.S. Navy will continue to assist in disaster relief and recovery, King pointed out.

“Once you look at global climate change as a threat, Africa has the least resistance…(and) it’s of strategic importance to the U.S.,” King said.

The Department of Defence recognised the potential increase in the Navy’s response to disasters abroad, reporting in the QDR that climate change is one factor “whose complex interplay may spark or exacerbate future conflicts”, along with cultural tensions and new strains of diseases.

Good PR?

But Leah Bolger, formerly with the U.S. Navy and now a peace activist, believes the green move to be more a publicity stunt than a progressive statement signalling changing times.

“I spent my (twenty) years in the military ambivalent about what the military policies were in foreign policy. It was a job…I didn’t really question my part in the military machine,” Bolger told IPS.

Now, however, Bolger called the Navy’s decision to make one carrier strike group green by 2016 “laughable”.

“(The green move is) like a page out of a PR book – something they can put out in their public affairs office to say, ‘We’re so mindful of the environment,’” Bolger said.

Still, one additional advantage of the green move is that the potential demand for alternative fuels could create a new market, Merrill told IPS. Already tax credits are being granted to wind farms, according to him.

“Once that market gets established, it’s likely that you’ll see the kind of innovations that came in the wake of the invention of the Internet,” he predicted.

Nevertheless, a change in the military’s energy consumption doesn’t necessarily mean a change in the behaviour of Americans, who consumed 19 percent of the world’s total energy resources in 2010, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, despite comprising around five percent of the global population.

Even if Americans knew about the Great Green Fleet, Bolger said, it wouldn’t do much to change their habits.

While the Great Green Fleet doesn’t necessarily improve the operational abilities of the Navy, the impetus is noble, King said. “If they have the ability to create demand (for alternative fuels)… I think that’s great, as long as it’s consistent with national security, which it is.”

[fabio-22raptor]

Nuovo Pod per i Growler:

 

Fonte: Aviation Week

 

 

Raytheon has been selected to develop the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) pod to replace the ALQ-99 tactical jamming system now carried by U.S Navy Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic-attack aircraft.

The company has been awarded a $279.4 million contract for the 22-month technology development phase of the program. NGJ is planned to become operational in 2020, providing increased jamming agility and precision and expanded broadband capability for greater threat coverage.

Raytheon was one of four contractors involved in the 33-month technology maturation phase of the NGJ program. The others were BAE Systems, ITT Exelis and Northrop Grumman, but the Defense Department contract announcement says only three bids were received.

Under the TD phase, Raytheon will “design and build critical technologies that will be the foundational blocks of NGJ,” says Naval Air Systems Command. The complete system will be flight tested on the EA-18G in the follow-on, 54-month engineering and manufacturing development phase.

Raytheon confirms receipt of the award and says it offered “an innovative, next-generation solution that meets current customer requirements and potential future needs.” All the competitors based their designs for the NGJ pod on active, electronically scanned array jammer antennas.

[fabio-22raptor]

La boeing si fà sotto con nuovi contratti:

 

 

The U.S. Department of Defense announced the award of 10 separate contractsWednesday, worth a bit over $340 million in aggregate value. Among the several recipients, one company came away as the clear winner of Pentagon largesse:Boeing .

Boeing won three of the contracts on offer, claiming more than $100 million in new revenues as its prize. Specifically, the company was awarded:

• $75.6 million: in the form of a firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursable contract to develop courseware to train Royal Saudi Air Force fighter pilots to fly the "unique, non-commercial" F-15SA variant of Boeing's F-15 fighter jet. Work on this foreign military sales contract should be complete by July 19, 2019.
• $17 million: as a cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order to do "phase 1" work on integrating Raytheon's new Next Generation Jammer hardware into the design of Boeing's EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft. Work on this project should run through October 2014.
• $8.1 million: as a firm-fixed-price delivery order to supply 84 AYC 1439 A1 retrofit kits needed to upgrade Navy F/A-18 E/F fighter jets. This contract should be completed by February 2016.

[fabio-22raptor]

Joint Standoff Weapon per il S.H:

 

 

Raytheon recently received an $80.5 million production contract award from the U.S. Navy to procure Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) C-1′s for the Super Hornet. This is the second order for the weapon system.

More from the company’s news release:

“JSOW C-1 enables the warfighter to precisely engage targets well beyond most enemy air defenses, thus limiting the threat of adversarial forces,” said Celeste Mohr, JSOW program director for Raytheon Missile Systems. “JSOW is exceptionally dependable and provides immeasurable value to the warfighter.”

The JSOW C-1 adds a weapon datalink radio and modified seeker software to the existing JSOW C, which increases the anti-surface warfare mission capability. The weapon is designed to provide fleet forces with the capability and flexibility to engage moving maritime targets, while retaining its robust capability against stationary land targets.

“With more than 400 JSOW A’s employed in combat, this weapon has stood the tests of time,” said Harry Schulte, vice president of Air Warfare Systems for Raytheon Missile Systems. “Furthermore, the JSOW program has sustained on-time deliveries for 11 years while concurrently maintaining costs. The JSOW has a remarkable record of reliability, resourcefulness and accuracy.”

Work on the contract will be performed in Tucson, Ariz.; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; McAlester, Okla.; and Dallas, Texas. Delivery of the missiles is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2014.

About the Joint Standoff Weapon JSOW is a family of low-cost, air-to-ground weapons that employs an integrated GPS-inertial navigation system and terminal imaging infrared seeker. JSOW C-1 adds the two-way Strike Common Weapon Datalink to the combat-proven weapon, enabling a moving maritime target capability. JSOW C-1 will provide an advanced anti-surface warfare solution on the F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft.

[holmes7]

Battaglia sul nuovo jammer

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/25/raytheon-protest-idUSL1N0FV0VC20130725

[TT-1 Pinto]

Battaglia sul nuovo jammer

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/25/raytheon-protest-idUSL1N0FV0VC20130725

The U.S. Navy has told Raytheon Co to stop work on a next-generation electronic jamming system contract the company won on July 8, after BAE Systems Plc formally protested the contract award.

 

Un tipico caso di "Contrordine .... compagni!" ....

[fabio-22raptor]

Ce la faranno i nostri eroi a decidersi su quale societa' puntare? Lo scopriremo nelle prossime puntate. Intanto ne fa' le spese il Growler che vede diluirsi i tempi di acquisizione e integrazione..

[fabio-22raptor]

Accelerando il dialogo con il Pentagono:

 

 

 

Kuwait: Efforts to accelerate F-18 Super Hornet deal

The Kuwaiti Defence Ministry is said to have decided to accelerate the talks with the Pentagon on a deal for the Boeing F-18 Super Hornet. The following 401-word report sheds light on the subject and tells what about the Kuwaiti contacts with the Pentagon. It also tells what about the position of Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad.

[TT-1 Pinto]

Un Super Hornet equipaggiato con i CFT sperimentali ha effettuato il primo volo ....

 

Super Hornet Flies With CFTs ....

 

Boeing is not saying much officially, but an F/A-18F fitted with prototype conformal fuel tanks made its first flight from St Louis on Monday.

The company plans to add a centerline weapons pod and carry out a series of aerodynamic and radar cross section tests this month in support of the proposed Advanced Super Hornet program.

 

Fonte .... http://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.aspx?plckBlogId=Blog:27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog:27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post:c460db51-23c5-482a-bf29-c2832e87a2b4

 

Alcune recenti immagini di un Super Hornet che monta i mock-ups delle future attrezzature .... http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2013/05/fa-18f-cft-weapons-pod-mockup/

[holmes7]

Dati ad alta velocita per il Growler.

http://www.4-traders.com/THE-BOEING-COMPANY-4816/news/The-Boeing-Company-Boeing-US-Navy-Demo-New-Targeting-and-Data-Systems-on-EA-18G-17178010/

[TT-1 Pinto]

 

Boeing has released this photo of a US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet in the air equipped with conformal fuel tanks and a weapons pod near Saint Louis, Missouri.

The hardware is not functional, but is designed to test the aerodynamic qualities of the tanks and pod.

Some advanced low-observables treatments are also expected to be tested on the jet which is being leased by the company for the trials.

 

Fonte .... http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2013/08/boeing-fa-18f-super-hornet-flies-with-cfts-and-weapons-pod/#sthash.Bodo9grq.dpuf

[fabio-22raptor]

Ricordate l'incidente che l'anno scorso coinvolse un F-18 che andò a schiantarsi contro un complesso residenziale negli USA (Virginia Beach) ?

 

La Marina ha rilasciato le registrazioni delle comunicazioni radio effettuate nei momenti del crash:

 

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