French Military aviation update and discussion
- Thread starter Picdelamirand-oil
- Start date
IndoPacific_SCS_Info (@IndoPac_Info) Tweeted:
Thread: #French Rafale fighter flies with the Dassault nEUROn stealth UCAV. This flying wing stealth UCAV project is the final phase of the French Dassault LOGIDUC 3-step stealth "combat drone" program
Pic Via @WarshipPorn IndoPacific_SCS_Info on Twitter ( )
IndoPacific_SCS_Info (@IndoPac_Info) Tweeted:
2: Countries involved in this project include France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The design goal is to create a stealthy, autonomous UAV that can function in medium- to high-threat combat zones. IndoPacific_SCS_Info on Twitter ( )
IndoPacific_SCS_Info (@IndoPac_Info) Tweeted:
3: As a UCAV, nEUROn will be significantly larger and more advanced than other well-known UAV systems like the MQ-1 Predator, with ranges, payloads and capabilities that approach those of manned fighter aircraft. IndoPacific_SCS_Info on Twitter ( )
IndoPacific_SCS_Info (@IndoPac_Info) Tweeted:
4: Although the project is not yet closely defined, the nEUROn is envisioned as a competitive system with the American J-UCAS program's Boeing X-45C or Northrop-Grumman X-47B. IndoPacific_SCS_Info on Twitter ( )
IndoPacific_SCS_Info (@IndoPac_Info) Tweeted:
5: A feature being contemplated is the ability to control squad flight in automatic mode from an advanced fighter like the Rafale or JAS 39 Gripen platform, grouping the nEUROns and controlling the group in a manner similar to many combat real-time strategy computer games. IndoPacific_SCS_Info on Twitter ( )
IndoPacific_SCS_Info (@IndoPac_Info) Tweeted:
6: Specs:
Length: 9.5 m
Wingspan: 12.5 m
Empty weight: 4900 kg
Gross weight: 7000 kg
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce/Turboméca Adour, 40 kN (8992 lbf) thrust
Performance
Maximum speed: 980 km/h (609 mph)
Service ceiling: 14,000 m (45900 ft)
Armament
2 × 230 kg (500 lb) guided bombs IndoPacific_SCS_Info on Twitter (IndoPacific_SCS_Info on Twitter)
Thread: #French Rafale fighter flies with the Dassault nEUROn stealth UCAV. This flying wing stealth UCAV project is the final phase of the French Dassault LOGIDUC 3-step stealth "combat drone" program
Pic Via @WarshipPorn IndoPacific_SCS_Info on Twitter ( )
IndoPacific_SCS_Info (@IndoPac_Info) Tweeted:
2: Countries involved in this project include France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The design goal is to create a stealthy, autonomous UAV that can function in medium- to high-threat combat zones. IndoPacific_SCS_Info on Twitter ( )
IndoPacific_SCS_Info (@IndoPac_Info) Tweeted:
3: As a UCAV, nEUROn will be significantly larger and more advanced than other well-known UAV systems like the MQ-1 Predator, with ranges, payloads and capabilities that approach those of manned fighter aircraft. IndoPacific_SCS_Info on Twitter ( )
IndoPacific_SCS_Info (@IndoPac_Info) Tweeted:
4: Although the project is not yet closely defined, the nEUROn is envisioned as a competitive system with the American J-UCAS program's Boeing X-45C or Northrop-Grumman X-47B. IndoPacific_SCS_Info on Twitter ( )
IndoPacific_SCS_Info (@IndoPac_Info) Tweeted:
5: A feature being contemplated is the ability to control squad flight in automatic mode from an advanced fighter like the Rafale or JAS 39 Gripen platform, grouping the nEUROns and controlling the group in a manner similar to many combat real-time strategy computer games. IndoPacific_SCS_Info on Twitter ( )
IndoPacific_SCS_Info (@IndoPac_Info) Tweeted:
6: Specs:
Length: 9.5 m
Wingspan: 12.5 m
Empty weight: 4900 kg
Gross weight: 7000 kg
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce/Turboméca Adour, 40 kN (8992 lbf) thrust
Performance
Maximum speed: 980 km/h (609 mph)
Service ceiling: 14,000 m (45900 ft)
Armament
2 × 230 kg (500 lb) guided bombs IndoPacific_SCS_Info on Twitter (IndoPacific_SCS_Info on Twitter)
General Atomics to Weaponize French MQ-9 Combat Drones
General Atomics To Weaponize French MQ-9 Combat Drones
MQ-9 Reaper
General Atomics has won a $18 million contract action to weaponize France’s MQ‐9 Block 5 drones.
“General Atomics has been awarded a $18 million action for the France MQ‐9 Block 5 weaponization and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Pod Integration effort,” the US Department of Defense said in a statement Friday.
This contract provides for the weaponization of the French Air Force MQ‐9 Block 5 aircraft and integration of the FMS Pod onto the French Air Force MQ‐9 Block 5 aircraft.
Work is expected to be complete by November 30, 2021.
The MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is a UAV capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations. It is the first hunter-killer UAV designed for long-endurance, high-altitude surveillance. Predator B has an endurance of over 27 hours, a speed of 240 knots true airspeed, can operate at an altitude of up to 50,000 feet, and has a 3,850 pound (1,746 kg) payload capacity that includes 3,000 pounds (1,361 kg) of external stores.
General Atomics To Weaponize French MQ-9 Combat Drones
MQ-9 Reaper
General Atomics has won a $18 million contract action to weaponize France’s MQ‐9 Block 5 drones.
“General Atomics has been awarded a $18 million action for the France MQ‐9 Block 5 weaponization and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Pod Integration effort,” the US Department of Defense said in a statement Friday.
This contract provides for the weaponization of the French Air Force MQ‐9 Block 5 aircraft and integration of the FMS Pod onto the French Air Force MQ‐9 Block 5 aircraft.
Work is expected to be complete by November 30, 2021.
The MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is a UAV capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations. It is the first hunter-killer UAV designed for long-endurance, high-altitude surveillance. Predator B has an endurance of over 27 hours, a speed of 240 knots true airspeed, can operate at an altitude of up to 50,000 feet, and has a 3,850 pound (1,746 kg) payload capacity that includes 3,000 pounds (1,361 kg) of external stores.
Un drone militaire de plus d’une tonne s’écrase près de la base aérienne d’Istres
A military drone of more than one ton crashes near the air base of Istres
For reasons still unknown, the "Patroller" of 18 meters wingspan, designed by Safran, crashed not far from the base from which he had just taken off.
The Patroller crashed not far from the base from which he had taken off. (Illustration) Wikicommons @MathieuFamas
By Le Parisien with AFPDecember 7, 2019 at 9:57 pm
A "tactical" drone 18 meters wide and over a ton crashed Friday night near the airbase of Istres (Bouches-du-Rhone), without causing a victim, for a reason still unknown , we learned Saturday from its manufacturer Safran.
The "Patroller" crashed Friday at Saint-Miter-les-Remparts at 15h58 during a flight of "industrial reception" conducted from the air base 125 Istres, explains in a statement Safran group, equipment manufacturer in the aeronautics.
A military drone of more than one ton crashes near the air base of Istres
For reasons still unknown, the "Patroller" of 18 meters wingspan, designed by Safran, crashed not far from the base from which he had just taken off.
By Le Parisien with AFPDecember 7, 2019 at 9:57 pm
A "tactical" drone 18 meters wide and over a ton crashed Friday night near the airbase of Istres (Bouches-du-Rhone), without causing a victim, for a reason still unknown , we learned Saturday from its manufacturer Safran.
The "Patroller" crashed Friday at Saint-Miter-les-Remparts at 15h58 during a flight of "industrial reception" conducted from the air base 125 Istres, explains in a statement Safran group, equipment manufacturer in the aeronautics.
Et si l'Indonésie s'offrait des Rafale et des sous-marins Scorpène ?
What if Indonesia had Rafale and Scorpene submarines?
By Michel Cabirol | 01/17/2020, 6:00 AM | 451 words
Already sold in India and Malaysia, the Scorpene could well dock in Indonesia (Credits: DCNS)The Indonesian Minister of Defense explained to France that his country wished to arm itself to counter the Chinese threat. Jakarta is interested in 48 Rafale, up to 4 Scorpene and 2 Gowind.
What if Indonesia had Rafale and Scorpene submarines?
By Michel Cabirol | 01/17/2020, 6:00 AM | 451 words
Already sold in India and Malaysia, the Scorpene could well dock in Indonesia (Credits: DCNS)The Indonesian Minister of Defense explained to France that his country wished to arm itself to counter the Chinese threat. Jakarta is interested in 48 Rafale, up to 4 Scorpene and 2 Gowind.
In the region, all those who want to counter the Chinese threat are led, at one time or another, to ask France if it cannot help them.Et si l'Indonésie s'offrait des Rafale et des sous-marins Scorpène ?
What if Indonesia had Rafale and Scorpene submarines?
By Michel Cabirol | 01/17/2020, 6:00 AM | 451 words
Already sold in India and Malaysia, the Scorpene could well dock in Indonesia (Credits: DCNS)The Indonesian Minister of Defense explained to France that his country wished to arm itself to counter the Chinese threat. Jakarta is interested in 48 Rafale, up to 4 Scorpene and 2 Gowind.
Australia is buying F-35s.Australia
Your aircraft is the only one with a refuelling trunk.
Already 6 years and still going on today
The Flying White Elephant
Now Wired is reporting that the F-35 Lightning II, intended to serve as America’s fighter-bomber of the future, has had its performance requirements downgraded. The Pentagon is admitting that the aircraft will be delivered “heavier, slower and more sluggish” than it had hoped. The Lightning II will be more vulnerable and less capable in combat.
Worse, these are hardly the F-35’s first problems—it’s endured a litany of technical and budgetary issues. Acquisition plans have been dramatically scaled back—while America originally intended to have nearly 1,600 aircraft in operation in 2017, it now aims for just 365—and the aircraft has been temporarily barred from operating near thunderstorms amid fears that a strike could cause it to explode. Some are even skeptical that it’s stealthy enough to operate in a modern threat environment. The aircraft was designed to be used by multiple countries and multiple armed services while retaining many of the same features and parts. Instead, the F-35 may be a jack of all trades and a master of none.
Understandably, foreign buyers are cutting back on their purchase plans, and the project is facing ever-increasing scrutiny from lawmakers and the media. The United States needs to ask itself several questions.
First, are cost overruns, performance issues and long development periods a necessary element of modern fighter development, or is there something wrong with the development and acquisitions process? There’s no denying that the F-35 has some extremely sexy technology on board—among other things, its advanced helmet allows the pilot to see in any direction (including through the aircraft, thanks to cameras). Getting such technologies to operate smoothly on their own and with each other was always going to be a complex and time-consuming process.
The complexity is compounded by the fact that this is a combat aircraft, so it will need both high reliability and relatively quick, simple maintenance to avoid becoming a liability in war. Still, it is somewhat boggling to see other heavy industries turning around projects quickly, Chinese aircraft manufacturers (historically regarded as third-rate copycats) spewing out prototypes, and advanced technologies being swiftly adopted throughout the economy even as the F-35 struggles to become operational in less than two decades. The Empire State Building was built in a little more than a year; the GBU-28 bunker buster was developed in a few weeks in 1991, and an adapted version is still in use. Has innovation really gotten so much harder?
Second, are politics at play? It’s hard not to see a political-economic factor in the mediocrity: the program’s defenders regularly tout the number of people it employs as an argument against cuts, and components of the aircraft are manufactured in
forty-eight states and around the world. Any legislator voting against the project would thus face accusations of killing jobs in his own state; any legislator defending it can tout the in-state jobs she’s saved from the axe. This reduces the political risk to the program, warping incentives to make the aircraft quickly and cheaply. Defense spending may be an inefficient way of propping up the economy, but it’s an efficient way of propping up incumbents.
Third, are we approaching a decision point with the F-35, or have things already gone too far to try a new tack? The average age of America’s tactical aircraft fleet has been steadily increasing for two decades, and the capabilities of potential enemies like Russia and China have been improving. At some point, our current large fleet of older aircraft might be less effective than a small, mediocre but modern fleet of F-35s. That’s not certain, though—if the F-35 turns into a true logistics and maintenance nightmare, or if its stealthiness only provides a marginal increase in survivability, it could be less effective than our current set of aircraft. Still, if we can’t find a way to develop good aircraft in a short time, backing out on the F-35 could see us using forty- and fifty-year-old fighters.
Fourth, is this really the aircraft of the future, or are there alternatives? Modern air defenses can be defeated by stealth, but they might also be defeated with massive swarms of cheap drones or, as the Israelis have repeatedly shown the Syrians, with advanced electronic-warfare capabilities. In low-intensity conflicts, modern jet aircraft might even be inefficient—the high speeds and powerful engines they need to survive against other combat aircraft leave them unable to linger and observe. The F-35’s unclear survivability in spite of its advanced technology suggest a new philosophy is worth exploring.
Fifth, what does all this portend for our ability to maintain military supremacy? If America’s political system and economy, when working together, are simply incapable of deploying new military technologies quickly and in a useful form, our enemies will make relative gains as advanced technologies become more accessible to lesser powers. Washington will find its options constrained.
The struggles of the F-35 may be an omen of American military decline. In this case, at least, our virtues have been overwhelmed by our vices. Let’s hope our leaders heed the warning.
True so far.
Though that wasn't the original assertion. I believe the point was that most countries in Indo-Pacific (with exception of Japan & SK) who are opposed to China are finding something of worth in the portfolios of French companies. In many cases, that something is either of better capability, or more cost-effective (or both) than the competition. Resulting in orders.
Especially true of India & Australia.
Not so true: there are also countries that could buy the F-35 but do not want to, such as India.