Блоги

Thunderbird Pilots, FAA Grilled
On Possible Violations


by David Fulghum

Aviation Week & Space Technology

05/25/00 07:20:50 PM U.S. EDT

U.S. Air Force Thunderbird flight demonstration pilots and FAA air controllers are being grilled about what went wrong when the eight-aircraft team left Andrews AFB near Washington, D.C. in poor visibility last week.

The team may have over flown the vice president’s residence, breached controlled airspace at Dulles Airport and came too near two civilian aircraft before being redirected into a safe area above the cloud cover during the May 22 incident.

Pentagon officials said possible violations were the result of a string of small errors that created a big problem. The Thunderbirds team wanted to leave Andrews in an eight-lane group, but the flight plan wasn’t accepted by the FAA’s computer. Subsequently they were told to make a radar-assisted trail departure with each pilot being responsible for staying in radar contact with the aircraft immediately ahead.

The pilots were instructed to take off one at a time, turn west within three mi. of Andrews, climb to 3,000 ft. within 8 mi. and keep a 7 mi. separation between the first and last aircraft in the group while adhering to instrument flying rules. Only the first and last aircraft in the line were told to have their transponders on.

The FAA controller gave the team’s lead pilot (T-1) “rapid...multiple heading changes” after which the last four aircraft (T-5, T-6, T-7 and T-8) began to drift away from the unit leader’s line of flight without his knowledge, said Capt. Guy Hunneyman, a member of the Thunderbirds unit at Nellis AFB, Nev. The fifth pilot in line lost contact with the fourth and became “slightly disoriented” creating a cascading effect that may also have led those behind him away from the main group, he said. T-6 stayed in radar contact with T-5, but…

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King Air Ditches, Sick Pilot Survives


by Mal Gormley


05/25/00 06:54:37 PM U.S. EST

A very lucky pilot and sole occupant of a Beech King Air Super 200 survived a Pacific Ocean ditching on Wednesday afternoon after becoming ill while flying home to San Diego from Parker, Ariz. The accident occurred some 160 miles off the coast of San Diego. The pilot, Mark Armstrong, 40, of Valley Center, Calif., reported to controllers that he felt sick and was vomiting, then left the frequency. The twin turboprop continued west over the Pacific without communicating and was tracked by two U.S. Navy F-18 aircraft in the area on maneuvers. The King Air continued into a military flight training area.

After Armstrong had evidently passed out, the two F-18’s drew along side the airplane but could not see anyone aboard. Eventually, however, Armstrong was seen slumped over the controls. The Navy pilots, who were now getting low on fuel, eventually succeeded in getting the now startled Armstrong’s attention and gestured for him to turn back towards land, which he did. The two F-18s returned to Miramar Naval Air Station.

About ten minutes later, one of the airplane’s engines shut down, presumably from fuel exhaustion. According to the FSDO source, the airplane then became inverted and entered the clouds. Armstrong was successful in recovering, but the remaining engine then shut down and he was forced to ditch. Before the King Air sank, Armstrong had the presence of mind to grab a hand held emergency radio and some kind of flotation equipment. He spent the next 90 minutes in the water before being rescued by the USS Bunker, which was in the area en route to Hawaii.

Armstrong spent the night in the hospital for observation. He told rescuers that he thought he had become ill after accidentally exposing himself to an unspecified household chemical and eating lunch at a fast-food restaurant. Armstrong…

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Инженерный центр "ОКБ имени Микояна" передал всю техническую и конструкторскую документацию по модернизации истребителей МИГ-29 в вариант МИГ-29СМТ на авиаремонтный завод №121 в подмосковной Кубинке. Об этом корреспонденту Агентства военных новостей сообщил главный конструктор Инженерного центра Анатолий Белосвет. Головным предприятием по МИГ-29УБ определен Нижегородский авиастроительный завод "Сокол". Для участия в модернизации самолета в версию МИГ-29УБТ в Нижний Новгород направлена бригада специалистов Инженерного центра "ОКБ имени Микояна". По данным, которыми располагает АВН, модернизации подлежат примерно 150-180 истребителей МИГ-29 не старше 10 лет. Ежегодно планируется переоборудовать по 20-40 машин. Модернизацию истребителей, поставленных за рубеж, будет проводить российско-германское предприятие MAPS. Стоимость модернизации одного МИГ-29 - от 1,4 до 4 млн долл. В результате модернизации боевая эффективность истребителя возрастет более чем в три раза. На сегодняшний день Инженерный центр "ОКБ имени Микояна" уже израсходовал на программу МИГ-29СМТ свыше 119 млн руб. собственных средств, а на программу МИГ-29УБТ - 32 млн руб.

26.05.00 14:50:11 /АВН/
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Как сообщил исполнительный секpетаpь межpегиональной оpганизации пилотов и владельцев воздушных судов Татьяна Долгих, с 16 по 20 августа в Домодедово под Москвой будет пpоведен авиасалон "Деловая и частная авиация-2000". По данным источника, pазосланы пpиглашения свыше 120 pоссийским пpедпpиятиям и частным лицам и 70 - заpубежным. На авиасалоне будет действовать наземная экспозиция самолетов и веpтолетов. Пpоведение авиасалона пользуется поддеpжкой пpавительств России и Москвы, а также администpации Московской области.

26.05.00 15:51:24 /Финмаркет/
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Как отметил главный констpуктоp АО "ОКБ Сухого" Геннадий Литвинов, программа создания 26-ти местного самолета С-80, стоимостью около 40 млн долл., до настоящего времени на 2/3 финансировалось Комсомольским-на-Амуре АПО. Но сейчас основное бремя расходов на сертификацию С-80 будет нести разработчик - АО "ОКБ Сухого" за счет средств, получаемых от экспорта истребителей "Су". По данным источника, на сегодня выполнено более 50 пpоц. pабот по НИОКР. Расчетная цена самолета не оглашается, но оpиентиpовочно составляет около 5 млн долл. Потребность в самолете С-80 оценивается в 300-500 машин.

26.05.00 15:41:58 /Финмаркет/
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На самаpском АО "Авиакоp" запущены в пpоизводство 5 самолетов Ан-140. Об этом сообщил зам. гендиpектоpа по маpкетингу и пpодажам самаpского АО "Авиакоp" Сеpгей Гpачев. По его данным пеpвый Ан-140 может быть собpан быстpо, но пока на него нет конкpетного покупателя. Пеpеговоpы ведутся с авиакомпаниями по pазличным схемам пpодажи. 52-местный самолет Ан-140 стоит пpимеpно 6-8 млн долл. Потpебность России и стpан СНГ в нем оценивается не менее, чем в 1000 машин.

26.05.00 15:54:29 /Финмаркет/

Журнал "Аэрокосмические новости"/
Разрабатываемый в АО "ОКБ им. Яковлева" беспилотный летательный
аппарат "Эксперт", относящийся к 5-му поколению, предназначен для замены в
войсках БПЛА "Пчела" комплекса беспилотной воздушной разведки "Строй-П". Он
также предназначен для ведения воздушной разведки и контроля окружающей среды
по различным физическим параметрам.

Журнал "Аэрокосмические новости"/
В авиационном отделении Ракетно-космического завода Государственного
космического научно-производственного Центра им. Хруничева началось
изготовление деталей многоцелевого самолета Т-440 "Меркурий".

Triton trimaran demonstrator set for July trials

RICHARD SCOTT JDW Naval Editor
London

The forerunner of what could be a new generation of trimaran warships, the demonstrator vessel RV Triton, was launched on 6 May from the Southampton yard of UK shipbuilder Vosper Thornycroft (VT). Triton will initially be used to assess the structural and seakeeping performance of the trimaran design in order to determine whether such a hullform would be suitable for the Future Surface Combatant (FSC) due to enter service with the UK Royal Navy from 2013. It will later become available for use as a general-purpose trials asset.

Built for the UK Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) under a Ј13 million ($19.9 million) contract awarded in July 1997, Triton is the world's largest ocean-going trimaran. At 90m waterline length, it is approximately two-thirds the envisaged length of the FSC, therefore allowing an accurate scaled comparison of in-water performance. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been studying the potential benefits in using the trimaran hullform for warships since the early 1990s. Research led by DERA, coupled to complementary studies undertaken elsewhere in the MoD, industry and academia, have highlighted several theoretical advantages for trimaran hulled warships compared to conventional monohulls.

According to DERA and VT, the slender central hullform with outriggers offers 20% reduced resistance through the water at high speeds compared to an equivalent monohull. As it is the top speed power that determines the size of the machinery fit, the reduction in powering requirements should be reflected in machinery cost savings through life. Other likely advantages include greater stability, which allows for above-water sensors to be mounted atop higher mastheads; improved seakeeping performance, meaning higher speeds can be maintained in heavy seas; a 40% increase in upper deck area, providing more s…

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Information operations - coming of age?

A new paradigm of warfighting or the greatest failure of NATO's Operation 'Allied Force'? Andrew Rathmell examines the advances made in information operations and looks beyond the 'cyber-hype'to the reality behind the myths.

TEN YEARS ago Operation 'Desert Storm' was hailed as the 'First Information War'. However, since the conclusion of NATO's Operation 'Allied Force' over Kosovo, senior US officers have complained that the USA is still not using Information Operations (IO) effectively.

According to Admiral Ellis, commander of the air campaign: "

roperly executed, IO could have halved the length of the campaign", but the IO operators were "too junior and from the wrong communities to have the required impact on planning and execution". Noting that "all the tools are in place... [but] only a few were used," he has concluded that IO was "perhaps the greatest failure of the war". Outgoing NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Wesley Clark has expressed similar views, arguing before the US Senate that effective use of IO, if integrated with other measures, could have obviated the need to use conventional military force.

These sober assessments refute media hype about the extensive use of 'cyberwar' and 'netwar' in the Kosovo campaign. While a variety of IO tools and techniques were used by all parties in the Kosovo conflict, the vision of IO as a new paradigm of warfighting remains a goal rather than a reality. The US Department of Defense (DoD) is investing heavily in turning IO into a core capability, but IO remains an emerging concept. For other nations, future opportunities and problems proffered by IO visionaries remain further away still.

In the civilian and commercial arenas, a parallel set of developments is underway. E-business and e-government are on an exponential growth curve, with ever more corporations and governments rushing to join…

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Boeing to Refit Israeli F-16 Fighter Jets to Carry Smart Bombs

VCI Internet Properties
(IsraelWire-5/22) Boeing Aircraft will receive an $8.4 million contract to upgrade Israel Air Force F-16 fighter jets to drop the company's new satellite-guided smart bomb, the company and military officials said Tuesday.

According to the BridgeNews report distributed by the IMRA News Agency, the contract will provide for the upgrading of F-16 jets to enable them to deliver the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM).

Boeing makes guidance kits that convert so-called dumb bombs into weapons guided by Global Positioning System satellites.


© V.C.I. Internet Properties Ltd. 1999. All rights reserved.

U.S. Begins Domestic Anti-Terrorism Exercise


by Ted Gogoll


05/23/00 08:29:40 AM U.S. EDT

A multi-agency U.S. government team has begun a 10-day crisis management exercise to assess U.S. capabilities against integrated, no-notice terrorist threats and acts.

Exercise Top Off 2000 is being staged in various cities around the country, bringing together the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FBI, Energy Dept., Environmental Protection Agency, and the Health and Human Services Dept. along with state and local agencies in a $3.5 million program to pinpoint the weaknesses in the nation’s anti-terrorism capabilities. The combined agencies make up the Joint Task Force Civil Support (JTF-CS), based in Norfolk, Va. – a newly established unit under the U.S. Joint Forces Command – with control over DOD forces which support a lead federal agency for managing the consequences of weapons of mass destruction incidents in the U.S.

“Our mission is to save lives, prevent injury and restore life critical infrastructure,” said Army Brig. Gen. Bruce Lawlor, JTF-CS commander. “We have many strengths, including our organization, size and logistics structure. Our inherent strengths lie within our transportation, medical and food services skills.”


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Ryan Insists USAF Supports
Joint Strike Fighter


by Robert Wall


05/23/00 11:54:39 AM U.S. EDT

Under fire for the perceived lack of U.S. Air Force support for the Joint Strike Fighter program, the service’s Chief of Staff, Gen. Michael Ryan, today insisted JSF enjoys full support and full funding in the USAF’s long-term budget plans.

“I can’t show greater support than that,” Ryan said at a DFI International-sponsored event in Washington. The multi-role JSF is supposed to replace A-10s and F-16s for the Air Force.

Ryan also presented an update on the Lockheed Martin F-22 fighter’s progress, noting that the development of the critical Block 3 software the service has to fly this year is still on track. However, the chief expressed frustration that a canopy cracking problem being experienced on the stealth fighter is hindering flight test progress. Several canopies have cracked and flight-testers will have to wait several weeks for replacements. But Air Force acquisition officials at this point aren’t overly worried about the effect on the development program, noting the focus right now is on getting the software developed – and that can continue without worrying about the canopy problem.


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Canadian Weather No Barrier
To Air Combat Exercise


by William B. Scott


05/24/00 08:45:02 AM U.S. EDT

COLD LAKE, ALBERTA — The annual Maple Flag international air combat exercise is into its second week of large-scale air operations here, unhampered by unusual weather. Hosted by Canada's 4 Wing, the exercise dealt with unexpected challenges from a freak snowstorm on May 17. For the first time, Maple Flag is being conducted under all-weather rules — a consequence of “lessons-learned” during the Kosovo air campaign a year ago — allowing pilots to deal with realistic conditions that complicate bombing missions.

Maple Flag is similar to the USAF-hosted Red Flag, but is conducted over wooded terrain dotted with lakes, emulating a European combat zone. Flying in a relatively unrestricted environment, large strike “packages,” made up of 40-50 fighters, battle opposing forces employing airborne and ground-based electronic threats.

Approximately 118 aircraft from Canada, Singapore, the Netherlands, the U.S., the U.K., Germany, New Zealand and Sweden will participate in the 6-week exercise, which is broken into three separate flying periods between May 15 and June 23.


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Joint Strike Fighter Engine Ready To Fly


by Jim Mathews


05/25/00 06:59:49 AM U.S. EDT

Enginemaker Pratt & Whitney’s JSF119 engine for the Joint Strike Fighter has finished flight clearance testing in time for this summer’s JSF concept demonstrator flight tests, P&W reports this morning.

“The engines are no longer concepts, or designs that need to be proven – they are real engines that are ready to be flown. They have done exceedingly well in ground testing that’s required for flight certification,” says P&W JSF119 Program Director Bob Cea.

Boeing engine JSF119-614 and Lockheed Martin engine JSF119-611 went through performance testing at all power ranges within their full flight envelopes. Altitude testing at the USAF’s Arnold Engineering and Development Center essentially clearing the conventional takeoff as well as short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) engines for up-and-away flight. Sea level accelerated mission tests at P&W’s West Palm Beach, Fla., test facilities demonstrated engine durability for both CTOL and CV (carrier-based) variants.

Both engines have been installed in their respective demonstrator aircraft and overall aircraft systems checks are well underway . P&W says JSF119s also continue to perform well in ground testing of the Boeing and Lockheed Martin STOVL propulsion systems.


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Marines OK Return To Flight For Ospreys


by Robert Wall


05/25/00 02:01:23 PM U.S. EDT

The U.S. Marine Corps has authorized MV-22 Ospreys to resume flight operations, lifting a grounding order that followed the April 8 crash of an Ospreys in which 19 Marines died. Initially, pilots will be re-familiarized with the aircraft, which is normal after an extended interruption of flying operations.

Only after completing this phase of the return-to-flight activity will the operational evaluation of the V-22 continue. In a symbolic gesture to demonstrate confidence in the tiltrotor, the Marine Corps’ commandant, Gen. James Jones, and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Michael E. Ryan, will be on the first MV-22 to carry passengers.


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Army Postpones Test For
Missile-Defense Laser


by Robert Wall


05/25/00 02:10:39 PM U.S. EDT

Israel will have to wait a little longer for a U.S.-developed laser system to protect it against Katyusha rockets. The U.S. Army postponed its first attempt to shoot down a Katyusha rocket with the Tactical High-Energy Laser (THEL, pictured). A mirror in the laser was damaged during testing at the White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

It will take about two weeks to fix the laser, Army officials say. THEL was conceived as a quick development program in 1996 to defend against rockets launched by Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists. But the high-energy laser system’s development has been slowed by technical problems. The Army hopes to be able to resume THEL testing and achieve the first intercept in June.


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Как сообщил зам. технического диpектоpа пpоизводственного центpа им. Воpонина (б. МАПО) Олег Чуканцев, к осени текущего года могут быть заключены контpакты на пpодажу 25 самолетов Авиатика-890 с их поставкой до сеpедины 2001 года по цене 25-40 тыс. долл. По словам источника, сельхозваpиант самолета будет сеpтифициpован к концу 2000 года. Ведутся пеpеговоpы с фиpмой "Авиатика-Уpал" о финансиpовании сеpтификации Авиатика-890У с ее завеpшением в начале 2001 года. Всего пpодано около 300 самолетов Авиатика-890 в 17 стpан миpа. Спpос на сельхозваpиант оценивается в 800-1000 машин.

25.05.00 17:22:24 /Финмаркет/
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