Looks like the decision will be delayed until next year.Originally Posted by signatory
There will be a motion with this "solution" in this night's debate, signed by all coalition parties.
Hah.
This article seem to say not only is the test jets proposed to be delayed until 2010 but also delaying a final decision on F-16 replacement to 2012 instead of the first planned 2010 (or 2011..?).
OK well so let's see if Saab (and Boeing this time) gets another look.
*queue pause music*
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The latest Hungarian pilots (4) has now done their solo sorties on Gripen at the training centre.
link
Yes, that final decision will be left to the next government.
But more recent reports suggest to me, that what they've actually decided is absurd. They are not going to buy an actual aircraft, but are going to co-finance a first test aircraft with €100million.
huh?????????????????????????????????
I read that it's a deposit.. if they buy the jet in 2010 it will cost a bit more but they will get the jet. But if they do not buy, the US keeps the jet and sends back a majority of the money.
Typical compromise.... heh, funny how this option could suddenly arise...
Typical political solution. PvDA didn't want to buy test A/C, and now they technically haven't............. This wasn't even about the initial, real decision to buy anymore. This was a matter of principle, for a lot of the PvDA, but it wasn't a big enough one to break this cabinet, so they bended and compromised. Typical of Dutch politics. I wonder how Saab is going to respond to this, being strung out on the line again.
JUST CHOOSE A DAMN PLANE YOU SLACKERS!
The Labor (PvdA) patsies are a bunch of spineless idiots. They cannot manage to show some backbone once. This puppet regime has made its decision: we're going F-35. A bad choice, in my opinion.
Haha wat ?
From a French internet paper or blog or w/e...
24/04/2009
' Kuwait selects 12 x JAS Gripen over Rafale '
http://www.ttu.fr/francais/Articles/...alekoweit.html
The story is actually picked up by E24.Fr
It's probably a BS story.
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In more confirmed news...
Hungary doing LITENING exercises
Credit: AirPower blog
Link to more pics
how serious is this?? sounds strange. very strange..Kuwait selects 12 x JAS Gripen over Rafale
whats your personal opinion signatory?
Sounds like BS.
Never been any talk of Gripens to Kuwait.. not even on the very large map of market opportunities that Saab show to the press and that one includes all kinds of crazy countries.
AFAIK there's no directive to the military allowing negotiations with Kuwait and there's no application from Saab either. No application to show classified info. This is not needed for marketing but it's normally difficult to seriously discuss a sale without at least that preliminary approval...
The only opening I see.. is that Sweden did a push for improved trade and relations about 4 months ago with a number of ministeral meetings in Kuwait and that they took the chance to show some numbers...
(Kuwait has a tiny relationship with the SwAF today by renting flight hours on the Hercules simulator)
I'm looking for a picture (not CGI or photoshop) of Gripen with Mk 84 bomb. Can please someone help me out?
No good pic of Mk 84 but there's a few of GBU-10's which is a more relevant weapon system and is a MK 84 with LGU.
Mk 84 and GBU-10 was integrated on Gripen during the summer of 2003.
39-6
GBU-10 on station 3L and 3R
39-7
GBU-10 on station 5L and 5R
Nice pictures there sig.
I would guess the Danes visited us today cause there was an awesome air display like 2 minutes ago outside my window
yeap jontew, the Danes were there...
Other small bits of news:
Thailand accepted as full member of the Gripen User's Group.
Czech Republic has transfered their contingent for Baltic Air Policing which is due to start next week taking over from the Danish Air Force.
The Czech last week got some good photos with a historic Flying Fortress B-17 the 'Pink Lady'.
And then, something about the future..
SAAB PDF (Contains a bit more info than what I post below)The Gripen NG radar will include the innovative
swashplate feature which significantly increases
the radar performance at high angles off aircraft
boresight. This will improve situational awareness
through a wider coverage area and gives better
quality SAR images at wider angles. In BVR combat
the wide field of regard also enables tactics to
be optimised.
They showed the black Selex configuration (pictured first) at LAAD expo.Advanced mission capabilities provided with the Gripen NG AESA Radar
Improved Target Tracking
With the inherent beam agility, target tracking
can be more adaptive and time efficient. This
will increase the radar tracking performance in
a dense target environment. This facilitates the
ability to choose the right target for weapon
engagement, and to prepare the weapon with
more accurate data i.e. enhance the fire control
capability.
The beam agility will also increase the capability
to perform search for new targets within a larger
search volume while retaining the target track
updates for current tracks. This will increase the
pilot’s situation awareness.
Wide field of regard
With the swashplate solution the Gripen NG
AESA radar has the ability to cover a scan angle
up to ±100°. This will increase situation awareness
and be used to increase the quality of SAR
images. In BVR combat, wide angle scan also
allows the aircraft to maintain track on the target
whilst executing a 90° manoeuvre. This minimises
closure rate with the target, places one’s own aircraft
in the enemy’s clutter return and still allows
full guidance of BVR missiles.
Mode Flexibility
With the beam agility it is possible to interleave
different modes. This capability further increases
the situation awareness for the pilot. For example,
the pilot can use Air-to-Ground modes in parallel
to Air-to-Air search and track.
Low Probability of Intercept
The AESA radar has qualities that makes the
aircraft more difficult to detect by an enemy and
thereby increases the aircrafts survivability. These
qualities include lower radar cross section, ability
to operate with reduced output power levels
and side-lobe levels, and the agile beam used for
random search and track patterns.
Flexible beam and waveform control makes it
possible to optimize modes for long and short
range target acquisition. The AESA system is
also able to be cued by other onboard sensors,
eg Infra-Red Search and Track (IRST) or by data
from off-board resources such as Erieye. This will
increase the pilot’s situation awareness and make
it possible to take action earlier.
Improved Electronic Counter-
Counter Measures
Future adaptive beam forming facilitate improved
target detection in presence of several jammer
signals. Situation awareness can then be maintained
even in a dense RF-environment. This is
important for survivability.
Increased Operational Availability
The modular design of the antenna, including
the large numbers of transmit/receive modules,
ensures graceful degradation. This means that the
antenna will maintain excellent performance even
with a percentage of failures. This ensures high
availability which is an essential pre-requisite for
high intensity operations.
Last edited by signatory; 04-29-2009 at 12:41 PM.
Special
I planned a better special about this but it's been on ice for far too long now so here's a bit of info on something that some of us has been aware of for a while but others probably will see as news. Especially what I write towards the end.
The subject is big, technically complicated, and clouded in secrecy so this is just my summary in simplified English to give some pointers on what may or may not become a operative system on Gripen.
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LORA / CARABAS
- wide area detection of concealed objects -
CARABAS is the name of a VHF/UHF SAR program that originally began in 1985 for a new type of reconnaissance. The program is financed by the Swedish state, the Air Force and industry.
At first CARABAS gave the capability for wide-scan detection of targets concealed in foliage and camouflage. Essentially man made hidden objects could be detected at better details and discrimination than traditional microwave SAR. Power lines, jeeps, concealed SAM launchers, helicopters, bridges, and so on.
SAR is not all the same.
To show the technology difference between microwave SAR systems such as ASTOR, U2 or ERJ-145RS with a CARABAS VHF SAR :
That was 2002 and was the year when a significant upgrade took to the air in project LORA (Low Frequency Radar) the next major phase of the CARABAS program.
LORA extended the VHF to a larger band and added a multichannel UHF array to provide a unique capability of detecting individual persons under trees and camouflage and perhaps more importantly adding a GMTI (Ground Moving Target Indication) capability.
The system could now do wide area search to provide data on men or man-made objects that were in movement under tree lines. Non moving objects small as barbed wires or temporary cable lines. A stealthy design doesn't help concealment at all. With a coverage rate of several sq km per second in all weathers the information could be used on its own or distributed to a multi-sensor network or used to guide other onboard sensors.
The program has also moved into new areas. Urban environments and maritime surveillance.
The now more mature CARABAS-II/LORA can produce 2D images of a floor plan inside a building, basically walls and rooms with people, while research into a internal 3D mapping solution show good progress but still require more R&D to be a reliable system. Further frequency bands has been trialled for additional features. The system is in design scalable and could find its way into several platforms from small to large. Public information on CARABAS is by all accounts delayed by several years and especially on one version that is of special interest.
The Gripen version.
From 2005 Ericsson Microwave Systems and Sweden's Defence Research Agency FOI began studies to produce a version for the fighter jet Gripen and other smaller platforms such as UAVs. A small tactical UAV proposed by SAAB (now owner of Ericsson MW) would at 5000 meters standoff cover 100 square meters per second. A high altitude UAV is said to be able to cover 2 sq. km / s.
As this illustration show the power requirements for a small system is moderate. Being scalable the technology can deliver anything from 0.1 square km /s to 10 square km / s depending on platform and altitude. A Gripen solution would obviously be on the lower side of coverage speed but has the advantage of aircraft speed to sectors of interest.
As a larger strategic reconnaissance system that could unlike optical sensors still detect concealed hostile objects in all weathers the military application of such a system is a bit sensitive and still under development so in public we only get to really discuss the older versions.
That Sweden and SAAB is proposing the technology to potentional Gripen export customers is clear and in particular doing so towards India and Brazil. Saab recently took the chance to highlight the technology at Aero India '09. There's no public image of a Gripen version but Saab does confirm a fighter jet version in recent public marketing. Since 2005 a pod-based solution has been mentioned semi-officially and also by a few rumours.
There is apparently no other military system at this stage in development of its kind and the civilian applications is also interesting. A few years ago CARABAS-II was used to calculate storm damage by producing images of wind-thrown trees. This makes it likely to be categorized as a dual-use system just like the EriEye surveillance system.
Back in 1999, FOI claimed that a set of 5-10 CARABAS UAVs could map the entire country of Sweden within hours and detect any man made changes over 1m size. This was said even before the more advanced LORA had been developed. FOI gave both the SCUD-hunt in Saddam's Iraq and NATO campaigns in Kosovo as clear examples where a CARABAS system would have made a notable difference.
It's clearly not for everyone and it's unclear what technical limitations is in the systems at this stage but the possible use (military or civilian) by countries such as Brazil and India might be interesting and should as a technology not be forgotten when discussing the contents of a total Gripen package on offer even if they would decide to integrate it on another platform.
Sources:
[1], [2],[3], [4], [5],[6] [7] [8]
Last edited by signatory; 04-29-2009 at 08:30 PM.
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