Well, this doesn't seem promising...Originally Posted by signatory
Greece accepts first new F-16 fighter
DATE: 23/03/09
SOURCE: Flight International
By Craig Hoyle
The Greek air force has formally accepted its first of 30 new F-16C/Ds from Lockheed Martin, with an initial batch of four fighters scheduled to arrive at its Araxos air base in May.
Air force chief of the general staff Lt Gen Ioannis Giagkos accepted the single-seat aircraft during a 19 March ceremony at Lockheed's Fort Worth manufacturing site in Texas. He says the defence and deterrent force of the Greek air force "will be significantly enhanced" following the type's arrival in Greece.
Acquired under a US Foreign Military Sales deal dubbed Peace Xenia IV, Athens' new aircraft are manufactured to the Block 52+ standard, and powered by Pratt & Whitney F100-229 engines.
The US government in January accepted Greece's first F-16C (above) and two-seat D-model aircraft under the deal, with Lockheed saying the milestones were achieved one month ahead of contract schedule.
Lockheed had previously expected to deliver all 30 F-16s this year, but confirms: "The first four aircraft will be ferried to Greece in May, with the remainder following this year and in 2010." The deal is for 20 single-seat aircraft and 10 two-seat trainers.
The Greek air force already operates 131 F-16C/Ds, according to Flight's MiliCAS database. Its new examples will deliver an attrition capability while Athens prepares to revive its long-delayed search for a next-generation strike aircraft.
Greece early this decade selected the Eurofighter Typhoon under a subsequently abandoned deal, but could later this year relaunch a competition to replace its McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms and Vought A-7 Corsairs. Up to 80 aircraft could be required, with deliveries needed by 2010-12.
Source:
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles...6-fighter.html
That's a different issue. That is ordered a/c options under Peace Xenia FMS (IV) that started long ago. Greece fly more than one type of aircraft and is expected to hold a new fighter tender soon which your article even mentioned.
Some tanker news(to me at least):
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs...d-4ad780811858...the German government has cleared A310 operations with the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Panavia Tornado, and the Boeing F/A-18. Germany is using only a hose-and-drogue system. Efforts to work with the Saab Gripen are taking place...
C.
NG specs
Hi. This is my first post here. As I'm Danish and Denmark within months are going to decide it's future fighter choice, I'm curious to the specs of Gripen NG. It has been hard to me to find any reliable and comprehensive numbers.
It is probably trivial to you, but could someone please give at link to such numbers. Thanks.
Hi Dane,
I've compiled and sourced official info on this page . You can also look at the Gripen DK Fact sheet from gripen.com but it doesnt really say that much tbh.
Gripen DK is a product in the NG airframe family (Gripen DK, IN, NL, BR, [..]) that is for the most part similar so either of those pdfs is a good look but keep in mind the final specs such as sensor suite can be of national variations and depending on delivery plan. The Gripen IN info published last month is the most recent offical basic specs on the NG a/c that I know of. The most reliable info is from after they actually built and flown the NG Demo so a few numbers has been changed over time... for the better.
Last edited by signatory; 03-23-2009 at 11:22 PM.
Excellent! Thank you very much. Does somebody know the turning radius of GripenNG vs. F35A at corner velocity?
Also, am I blind or is there no number for F414G wet thrust?
Last edited by kme; 03-24-2009 at 01:06 AM.
OK, I realized the 98 kN is wet thrust. I looked up F-18E/F and found 62 kN for dry thrust.
Still - any pointer to turning radius?
By the looks of it the installed thrust on F414G Gripen will be slightly higher than the one on the Superbug engine but not much higher, a kN or two perhaps. I doubt you'll find any good turn numbers for either LM/Saab jet and there's no final production representative model in tests so marketing should be taken with a pinch of salt. They are also different types of aircraft and will have different tactics doctrines...
Info for the Gripen 39A-D is still classified so we could only discuss air show performances that dont take alot of operative factors into respect like altitude and G-load restrictions... atm I'm out of town and can't help that much. The Saab test pilots says the NG demo has clearly better acceleration and is more responsive at lower power settings than the current models.
You could look at this video of a Czech Gripen.. At 3:08 he's doing a 360 at about 17-18m/s.
Thanks for all the info so far. I'm aware this thread is about Gripen news, but if anybody is able to read Scandinavian, you might like my little one man war for GripenNG for DK at Ingeniørens web site (http://ing.dk/debat/112839). Ingeniøren is a weekly printed magazine for professional engineers.
AESA radar for Gripen NG
Saab and SELEX Galileo will enter co-operative development of an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar for the Gripen Next Generation (NG) programme.
26.03.2009
The two companies have signed a Heads of Agreement which outlines the way forward in terms of their future working arrangements.
The agreement, which is initially aimed at Brazil’s Fighter programme, signifies the beginning of a long-term collaboration between the two Saab business units; Saab Aerosystems and Saab Microwave Systems, and SELEX Galileo.
Gripen NG is a considerably enhanced version of the already proven and in-service Gripen C/D multi-role fighter. Design for combat in the 21st Century Net Centric Warfare environment Gripen’s flexible and modular design makes continuous development and enhancement both low risk and cost effective.
The Gripen NG programme covers development of all major sensors and avionics including data communication, self-protection systems, weapons integration, as well as airframe and propulsion enhancements.
The jointly developed AESA radar will be based on SELEX Galileo Vixen AESA radar using functionality from the Vixen programme, PS-05/A and other programmes from both companies.
source: gripen.com
^ Nice.
Second-Hand Gripen Fighters Offered to Bulgarian Airforce
Svenska Aeroplan AB (SAAB) is ready to supply the Bulgarian Airforce with second-hand Gripen fighters, if the government is interested, the director of SAAB's Bulgarian branch, Daniel Boestad, told Focus-News on Thursday.
According to him, although used, the JAS 39 Gripen fighters are still among the most modern and up to date aircraft in the world. No concrete offer has been made to the government, but one made by the Swedish company back in 2006 and it still applies, says Mr Boestad.
SAAB is also prepared for the implementation of an offset, which would lead to attracting more investments to Bulgaria.
The acquiring a new multi-purpose military aircraft for the Bulgarian Airforce is among the top priorities in the plan for modernization of the Bulgarian Army. /bnn/
link
(The Swedish gov has decided that the existing A/B fleet should as soon as possible be replaced by a common C/D fleet with surplus A/B jets to be offered up for export either as is or upgraded to C/D standard.)
There should be plenty of airframe lifetime left in A/Bs. Anyone has any numbers?
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/art...hter-bids.htmlF-X2: Technical Visits and Evaluation Flights
The Air Force Command, further to the selection schedule for the Brazilian Air Force’s new multi-purpose combat aircraft, has today March 30 begun the technical visits and evaluation flights of the aircraft competing for the F-X2 program. These are intended to verify technical, operational, logistic and industrial aspects of the bids.
To fulfill these objectives and to obtain additional details about the offers submitted by the bidding companies (listed here in sequence alphabetical) Boeing (F-18 E/F Super Hornet), Dassault (Rafale) and SAAB (Gripen NG), they will be visited and evaluated as to their industrial and logistic installations, maintenance workshops, laboratories for the development of systems, and operational squadrons. In addition, the competing aircraft will be flown and tested by pilots and engineers of the evaluation commission.
During month of March, the F-X2 Project Management Group (GPF-X2) met and prepared a new series of questions and clarifications for the three participating companies, so as to resolve outstanding issues and to improve the content of the various offers with regard to the requirements of the Air Force Command.
During this process, the Project Management Group maintained its focus on the aspects of the competing bids as regards commercial, technical, operational, logistic, offset-related, technological and technology-transfer issues.
Source: Brazilian Air Force; issued March 30, 2009)(Issued in Portuguese only; unofficial translation by defense-aerospace.com)
Muito interesting!
Besides that, Signatory, any (public)beans to spill how the Demo testing is going?
Nope Caprice.
---
Old but valuable article from 2001 with a pair of added example display images to fill up this post:
Let's call it a history lesson.
DATALINK FUNCTIONALITY
Gripen News 2001:01
By Rob Hewson
Though the concepts of ‘information warfare’, ‘data superiority’ and 'battlespace awareness’ have become clearly defined in recent years, they are not new ideas for the Gripen team.
Saab’s combat aircraft have been fighting the information war for nearly 40 years, since the first operational datalink systems were fielded in the Swedish air force’s Saab J 35 Drakens. Since then the sophistication and capability of the datalink technology now embodied in the Gripen has increased one hundred-fold.
It cannot be over-emphasised that the Gripen datalink system is neither a laboratory toy nor a ‘capability demonstration’. It is not part of a ‘wish list’ for future product improvement – it is a real-world, fully-implemented and 100 per cent proven system that is an integral part of every Gripen built, and every Gripen mission flown.
The Tactical Information Data Link System (TIDLS) is central to Gripen’s warfighting capability. TIDLS is an extension of the proven ‘fighter link’ system deployed with the JA 37 Viggen in the 1980s. The system is in-service in Swedish Gripens and fully available for export through the Saab-Gripen partnership. Though its very existence was once a national military secret, Swedish pilots think of, and use ‘the link’ (as it is universally known), as a fundamental piece of mission equipment. When discussing fighter operations it is difficult for them to speak of the link as a stand-alone item. It is so thoroughly integrated into their way of flying and fighting that they express genuine mystification at how anyone can survive without it.
In BVR (beyond visual range) combat, where information and situational awareness are the keys to success, a datalink system gives the aircraft using it unrivalled battlespace awareness. In a Gripen formation each aircraft instantly knows what the others are seeing, what the others are doing – and what they are going to do next. Each aircraft has access to the radar and sensor data of the others, allowing a small number of aircraft to defend a wide area. The system is immune from disruption and jamming and allows pilot’s not only to stay ahead in the information war, but to win it.
Gripen’s datalink has two elements – an air-to-ground connection and an air-to air link with other aircraft. Up to four aircraft can be active (transmitting) on the datalink at any one time and an unlimited number can be passive, receiving data from other sources. The datalink net is effective over many hundreds of miles and extensive testing has shown the system to be unjammable. After his first encounter with Gripen and its datalink, one 25-year Saab Viggen veteran remarked, “I have been blind for 25 years.”
The uses of the datalink are limited only by one’s imagination. As its most basic function the link can transmit radar, sensor and aircraft status data to anywhere on the current command and control chain, or to any other Gripen.
Data can be exchanged with an AWACS aircraft, and by using an AWACS radar a much large air picture can be datalinked to a Gripen or a formation of Gripens, greatly increasing their combat reach. An airborne Gripen can datalink real-time combat information straight into the cockpit of another aircraft being re-armed and refuelled on the ground. The pilot of that aircraft will thus be fully-briefed on the current tactical situation, and the status of the rest of his squadron, before he ever leaves the ground to re-join the fight.
In air-to-air combat, the datalink allows aircraft to take advantage of Gripen’s excellent radar and its inherent stealthiness. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the BVR arena. With air battles being fought at longer and longer ranges, the concept of ‘first look, first shot, first kill’ applies to everyone. Gripen’s datalink allows teams of defending aircraft to categorise, prioritise and allocate their targets with speed and efficiency – but beyond this essential capability, the datalink allows Gripen to do much more. For example, by using the link, teams of aircraft can conduct stealthy long-range engagements, killing targets without ever betraying their own presence. Using target data from its own radar, or another source such as an AWACS, one Gripen can datalink that information to a second aircraft with its own radar and active sensors shut down. With no emitting radar the second Gripen is less likely to be detected by an enemy aircraft, giving it an overwhelming surprise advantage.
Even more elaborate tactics call for one Gripen to provide mid-course guidance for another aircraft’s missiles, using the datalink to set up the shot. This allows a ‘stealthy’ shooter to engage targets far beyond its own radar range, and keeps the defenders out of range of a return shot.
The swing-role Gripen’s datalink functions are also fully applicable to attack missions. As in the air-to-air role, target data can be uplinked to aircraft from the ground and attack profiles can be set up and then linked to all aircraft at the flick of a switch. Reconnaissance aircraft returning from a target, or other aircraft which spot a target of opportunity while on another mission, can relay precise targeting information directly to Gripens
in the air or on ground. In this way quick, accurate strikes can be launched before the target ‘spotters’ are ever back at base. The real-time targeting and reconnaissance capability of the link, using just Gripen’s own radar and no other specialist equipment should not be underestimated.
Above all the Gripen’s datalink provides total situational awareness. With the system in place, every Gripen pilot can be confident that they know where their friends and enemies are, and what they are doing, at all times –this lone makes the datalink invaluable.
Gripen News 2001-01
.............................
linkViorel Oancea: Romania needs 24 new multirole aircraft
MoD state secretary says that the decision will be made at the future meeting of CSAT, subject to two things: “the necessary resource for the acquisition of these aircrafts and the operation capabilities of the aircrafts.”
published in issue 4403 page 3 at 2009-04-02
The MiG 21 Lancer aircrafts will be scrapped in two years, and MoD is making efforts to find funding sources for the acquisition of new military aircrafts. But things do not stop here. In 2010-2011, all the combat aircrafts of Romania will be scrapped because their exploitation period expires. The daily “Adevarul” wrote in the edition of yesterday that the General Staff of the Air Forces (SMFA) still has another 80 MiG 21 Lancer aircrafts, only half of them still functional. The same as their aircrafts, the pilots are only half trained, because the number of 120 flight hours, which was approved in 2008, has been significantly reduced, situation which was acknowledged at the last MoD balance sheet meeting of last year by minister Mihai Stanisoara.
According to the state secretary Viorel Oancea, chief of the Department on defence policy and planning from MoD, the Romanian Army needs 24 new multirole aircrafts. If there is not enough money for 24 aircrafts, the minimum number of aircrafts that must be procured is 16, the state secretary also said.
In spite of the poor financial situation with which the ministry is faced, Oancea considers that it is not opportune to buy second-hand aircrafts, mentioning that “we are too poor to buy cheap things.” “The decision will be made by CSAT subject to two things: the necessary resource for the acquisition of these planes and the operational capabilities of the aircrafts. Plus maintenance. There are certain cases in which the aircrafts cost less, but when you see the cost of maintenance, you begin to ask yourself questions,” Viorel Oancea explained. The variants studied by MoD leadership refer to the new multirole aircrafts F-16, F-18, Gripen, Typhoon or Rafale.
For the multirole combat aircraft, MoD management tried in the past two years to organize an acquisition programme. The variant of the auction was replaced subsequently with that of the competitive dialogue, which allows separate negotiations, behind closed doors, with each of the bidding firms. But, the relevant minister made a promise, saying that multirole aircrafts will be purchased during his term of office, namely in the next four years.
According to the daily “Adevarul,” Romania is in a bad position also in terms of anti-aircraft defence. The only big unit of this type which remained is the Brigade 1 Land-to-air Missiles, but its mission is only to defend the South of Romania, especially Bucharest. The main weapons of this brigade are the Volhov missiles, made in the former USSR. They are over 40 years old, their last upgrading taking place in the ‘80s. SMFA has a strategic programme of acquisition of land-to-air missiles. Like the other strategic programmes of the Army, this one also languishes.
None of the procurement programmes of MoD refers to attack helicopters, although NATO leaders requested the member countries to consider such crafts, especially for the missions in Afghanistan.
The lack of money affected also the Air Forces, whose procurement programmes were cut by 50 per cent. The money for the Spartan transport aircrafts was allotted late, which delayed the delivery schedule. Thus, the first of the six Spartan aircrafts bought from the Italian firm Alenia Aeronautica had to arrive in Romania in early 2008, but they have not yet reached SMFA.
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