http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/xml/uncomp/articleshow?msid=106610
Impressed George says MiG-21 trainer jet stays
「十分滿意」﹕印度國防部長說 MiG-21 訓練機會繼續服役
RAHUL SINGH

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, AUGUST 01, 2003 02:50:02 PM ]

AMBALA: Soon after completing his historic maiden flight on a Russian-made MiG-21 trainer aircraft here on Friday, Defence Minister George Fernandes affirmed that the aircraft would remain the mainstay of the Indian Air Force (IAF). Only those MiG-21 variants that were three to four decades old would be phased out, he added.

I am really impressed with this aircraft, he said, adding I wanted to stay in the air longer.

Fernandes flight on the MiG-21 is seen as an apparent move to silence critics, who have dubbed the Russian-designed aircraft as flying coffin and widow-makers.

He said the flight to gain first-hand knowledge of problems being encountered by pilots flying the MiG.

Asked how he compared his flight with the Sukhoi-30 in which he flew on June 22, the Defence Minister said that while the Sukhoi was a modern machine, the MiG-21 was the real fighting machine.

Defending the MiGs as the ultimate combat machine, he said the aircraft was being belittled in public eye. On procuring AJTs for the IAF to facilitate easy progression from subsonic to supersonic aircrafts, he said the trainers were in the process of being acquired and hoped the IAF would get them soon. He said, The safety of our pilots is a matter of recurring concern.

Only very old MiG-21 variants are being phased out, Fernandes told Times News Network. India was taking up the issue of spare parts with Russia at the highest level, he added.

Fernandes took off in a trainer version of the MiG-21 at 9.43 am after a two-hour delay owing to bad weather and landed 25 minutes later. The aircraft was piloted by Wg Cdr Nayani Harish, the 42 year-old commanding officer of Number 3 Squadron who is also a test pilot.

They flew at a speed of 750 kmph at a height of 5,000 metres and pulled up to 4-G. The Defence Minister didnt want to come down, said Wg Cdr Harish.

The Number 3 Squadron, among the oldest squadrons of the IAF, forms part of Number 7 Wing. Another MiG-21 had been kept as a stand-by for emergency situation.

The touchdown and landing speed of the MiG-21 is 330 kmph, which is much faster than that of the Kiran jet trainer (on which trainee pilots train), which has a landing/take-off speed of 200 kmph.

Though senior Air Force officials said that AJTs (advanced jet trainers) were the need of the hour, they asserted that their absence was not affecting the training in any way.

Air Force officials, however, dismiss the flying coffin epithet given to MiG-21. Flight lieutenant Ajay Ahlawat, a MiG-21 fighter pilot, said that MiG-21 is a great machine although he added that higher skills are required to handle it.

George Fernandes said the safety record of the combat aircraft was not a public issue.

Responding to a query if the image of the IAF had taken a blow due to the MiG crash record, he said, The MiG crash record cannot be compared with other fighter aircrafts. The upgraded MiG-21 BIS has all the hallmarks of a modern aircraft.

Earlier, apart from being made to sport a G-suit, Fernandes had to undergo a cockpit familiarisation drive, including an ejection trial in case of an emergency.

Having reached here on Thursday at 6.40 pm, the Defence Minister had also undergone the mandatory medical test. He had a high-calorie breakfast. A 30-minute sortie burns calories equivalent to that burnt by a labourer engaged in manual labour for the same period.

Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, who was present at the airbase, said that Fernandes flying from Ambala airbase was a matter of pride for Haryana.

The IAF has lost 163 MiG-21s since the jet was inducted in the force in 1963, and 102 of them since 1990. Fifteen MiG-21s have crashed since January 2002. A total of 45 pilots have lost their lives in the accidents.

Last week in Parliament, National Conference chief Omar Abdullah had referred to Fernandes flight in the relatively safer Su-30MKI jet in June and said he should also fly in a MiG-21.

Fernandes had retorted that he had asked the IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamy, to let him fly in a MiG-21 but had been unable to do so due to other engagements.

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此篇為印度國防部長飛MiG-21 的細節
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/xml/uncomp/articleshow?msid=106970
Flying raksha mantri a rare privilege: Pilot
RAHUL SINGH
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, AUGUST 01, 2003 04:20:27 PM ]

中國航天科技集團高層透露，運送「神舟五號」太空船上天的長征二號Ｆ火箭，計畫於本月下旬運往甘肅酒泉衛星發射中心。「神舟五號」載人太空船將在今秋發射升空，發射時間可能是早上六時左右。

香港大公報報導，「神舟五號」發射時間很可能是在早上六時左右，因為考慮的因素很多，其中一項是太空船有太陽帆板，需要正對太陽，才能更有效地發電；因此火箭應當在恰當的時間把太空船送到要求的位置，早上六時左右發射對太空船最有利。

Moscow: After India, Malaysia would become the second country in the world to get the state-of-the-art multirole Sukhoi Su-30 jets under the USD 900 million deal to be finalised during Russian President Vladimir Putins Kuala Lumpur visit beginning today.

Indias induction of Su-30MKI fighters earlier last year played a crucial role in materialising the deal for the sale of 18 jets to Malaysia, according to sources close to the Kremlin.

For the political reasons the Malaysian version of Su-30 has been given MKM index (Multirole Commercial for Malaysia) in stead of MKI, where I stands for India, otherwise they are identical planes, the sources said.

The sources did not rule out that Malaysian jets could be fitted with the avionics developed by HAL for the Indian version of Su-30 with thrust vectoring engines. However, being a Muslim country Malaysia could ask Russia to replace Israeli avionics used in the Indian version.

This is for the second time Malaysia has evaluated a Russian warplane on the basis of Indian Air Forces experience.

Earlier in mid-1990s, it had sought Indian expertise before signing the deal for two squadrons of MiG-29 fighters with Moscow. Under the USD 3.5 billion deal inked with Moscow, India is to get the deep license for the production of 140 Su-30MKI indigenously and is poised to become their largest producer outside Russia.

(中央社記者張弘光莫斯科五日專電)「蒲亭到馬來西亞賣飛機」，這是今天俄羅斯消息報國際版頭條新聞的標題，有俄羅斯總統蒲亭為打開軍工產業身先士卒的意味。據此間國際觀察家透露，這次賣十八架蘇愷-30MK到馬來西亞，對俄製戰機打入東南亞市場有極大的經濟戰略意義。

由於馬來西亞方面的期待，與蒲亭對這份十八架蘇愷- 30MK價值九億七千八百萬美元合同的高度重視。讓蒲亭在百忙中到馬來西亞訪問為此合約背書。

根據這項合約，俄羅斯要在五年內提供十八架蘇愷-30MK給馬來西亞。據俄羅斯蘇愷-30MK製造廠蘇霍伊代表指出，這批飛機是多功能戰鬥機，最大的特點是其內部軟體係依馬來西亞需要「量身打造」。與俄羅斯賣給中國及印度的同型機有差異，性能比美國製的F-16好。

俄羅斯根據此合約，除了要幫馬來西亞訓練種子飛行員外，還要在馬來西亞設立飛機維修廠。協助定期保養維修。

俄羅斯媒體指出，俄羅斯蘇霍伊飛機製造廠運用這次元首訪問，為俄製戰機塑造價廉物美售後服務形象。

According to him, the issue of adopting YAK-130s by the Air Force was prominent on the agenda of the cabinets Monday meeting devoted to the development of aircraft-building.

The YAK-130s export outlook was yet another issue under consideration, continued Aleshin. A plane can be exported only provided the manufacturing country has introduced it into the inventory. We have no problems with the technology, engines and on-board equipment--we are only in pains with the schedule of phasing the aircraft into service, emphasised the vice-premier.

As to competition with the Russian-French MiG-AT trainers, it is a delicate case and Rosoboroexport should adjust its ideas concerning MiG-AT deliveries to foreign markets, concluded Aleshin.

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Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily
August 6, 2003 Wednesday

Vol. XXI, No. 119

US Offers Export Financing to Israel, Egypt on Czech L-159s as Part of Czech F-16 Push

The US Government in early August 2003 formally notified the Israeli and Egyptian governments that they could use US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds to acquire the Czech L-159 advanced trainer/light combat aircraft. To do this, a waiver to the normal FMS funding packages for these countries was required, because the FMS threshold for US content on FMS-funded items is 51 percent. By calculating the Boeing ownership of Aero Vodochody Akciova (Aero Vodochody Ltd.), the Czech company which builds the L-159,
the US content was calculated by the US Defense Department at 47 percent.

US sources said that it was likely other countries could also qualify for the funding.

The move by the US to finance the sale of Czech combat aircraft was the first visible salvo in US efforts to overturn a Czech Government decision to buy the Saab-BAE Gripen fighter for the Czech Air Force and force a sale of US Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 60 fighters instead.

[See Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily, July 30, 2003: US-European Contest Over Czech Fighter Order Still Developing ]

As part of the inducement to the Czech Government to abandon the Gripen purchase, the US was offering to assist in boosting the viability of the Czech aerospace industry by helping the L-159 sale, for up to 50 aircraft.

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Copyright 2003 Agency WPS
What The Papers Say (Russia)
August 6, 2003
FIGHTERS TO BECOME THE BASIS OF RUSSIAN ARMS EXPORTS
Gazeta, August 5, 2003, p. 8
Ivan Yegorov
AIRCRAFT ACCOUNTED FOR 75% OF ARMS EXPORTS IN 2002 (CONVENTIONAL ARMS FOR
14.8%, NAVAL HARDWARE FOR 6%, AND AIR DEFENSE WEAPONS FOR 4%). AS BEFORE,
THE MAJOR BUYERS ARE CHINA (58%) AND INDIA (28%). THE LIST OF OTHER MAJOR
IMPORTERS INCLUDES KUWAIT (4%), CYPRUS (3%), AND VIETNAM (1%).

BODY:
Fighters will remain the most in-demand military hardware Russia sells abroad in the next seven years. Experts at the Strategy and Technology Analysis Center say that Russia can export $8-9 billion worth of fighters by 2010. The sum is considerable, particularly since the whole portfolio of Rosoboroneksport (Russian Arms Exports) to 2012 is evaluated at $13.5 billion. Unfortunately, however, the Sukhoi fighter may remain the only Russian aircraft on the world market. Aircraft have accounted for 50% of Russian arms exports for these last five years, and the trend will remain unchanged in the near future, says
Ruslan Pukhov of the Strategy and Technology Analysis Center. Aircraft accounted for 75% of arms exports in 2002 (conventional arms for 14.8%, naval hardware for 6%, and air defense weapons for 4%). As before, the major buyers are China (58%) and India (28%). The list of other major importers includes Kuwait (4%), Cyprus (3%), and Vietnam (1%). Russia sold $4.8 billion worth of arms to foreign customers in 2002 and became the second largest arms exporter in the world, after the United States.

According to Pukhov, Russian arms exporters may sell up to 190 multipurpose fighters, for $8-9 billion, by 2010. This sum is about twice the value of total annual arms exports. Supposedly, 24 SU-30 fighters will be sold to Vietnam, eight to Indonesia, 24 to China, and ten to India. Russia may even win the contest for the privilege of selling 24
aircraft to Brazil.

As for MIG-29 multipurpose fighters, 30 may be delivered to Africa, 20 to Latin America, 20 to the Mideast, and 20 to Near East. Thirty more aircraft may be sold to India for the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier (according to what information is available at this point, the $1 billion contract with India may be signed this autumn, after years of negotiations).

Sukhoi Aviation remains the leading aircraft exporter, and MIGs major rival.

Russias obligations to China by the end of 2002 included deliveries of nineteen SU-30MKK and systems for licensed production of between 180 and 185 SU-27SK aircraft. Moreover, 76 SU-27SK and SU-27BK, 57 SU-30MKK, and systems for licensed production of SU-27SK aircraft in Shengyang. Future contracts may include production of about 200 SU-27BK and SU-30MKK
fighters.

By the end of 2002 the Indian Air Force received eighteen SU-30K, ten SU-30MKI, and ten MIG-29 aircraft. The remaining contracts include delivery of 22 SU-30MKIs and licensed production of 140 aircraft. Ten SU-30MKI may be delivered to India additionally.

By Craig Hoyle, JDW Aviation Editor, & Clifford Beal, JDW Editor,
London

The UK MoD has ended months of speculation and lobbying by placing a £800 million ($1.29 billion) contract with BAE Systems to supply the Royal Air Force (RAF) with an advanced jet trainer (AJT) to enter service in 2008.

The deal secures BAE Systems jobs and throws weight behind renewed efforts to export the winning Hawk lead-in-fighter trainer.

Announced on 30 July, the deal will lead to the delivery of 20 Hawk Mk 128 trainers, with an option for a further 24 aircraft, for use during the instruction of pilots selected to fly the Tornado GR4, Harrier GR7/9, Typhoon and, later, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The total AJT programme is worth £3.5 billion, which includes the £800 million acquisition cost and the cost of operating, supporting and maintaining the aircraft over 25 years.

A failure to secure the Hawk deal before 1 August would have led BAE Systems to launch a 90-day consultation period over the probable loss of 470 jobs at its Brough, Yorkshire, manufacturing site. The company recently cut 450 jobs at the site and notified staff of the possible redundancies last May. The order was handled as a sole-source, non-competitive contract award.

According to a spokesman for Finmeccanica, which now owns the Aermacchi M346 trainer project, the decision was always one for the UK MoD alone and there had never been a real contest as no formal bid was solicited by the ministry or submitted by Aermacchi for the RAF trainer requirement.

The UKs need for a new-generation Hawk stems from the training gap that will face the RAF as it moves its current and trainee pilots on to the all-digital, fly-by-wire Typhoon. The services 98 Hawk T1/1A trainers - which entered service from 1976 - have outdated analogue instruments incompatible with the advanced systems used in modern fighters.

莫斯科國家航太展 展示最新戰機

莫斯科國家航太展八月十九號在莫斯科郊外舉行，俄國空軍將利用這個機會，展示改良型俄國戰機，吸引外國訂單。

俄國從九零年代初期開始舉行莫斯科國際航太展，兩年舉行一次，主要展示俄國戰機，也展示一小部分西方戰機。今年莫斯科航太展在朱可夫空軍基地舉行，美國打算把F-15戰機跟其他幾種戰機送到莫斯科展覽，烏克蘭準備把An-70運輸機送去展覽。

據了解，十多名清一色三十多歲的太空人都來自中共空軍戰機駕駛員，他們從週一到週五都在北京新建的「航太城」受訓。

/RIA-Novosti

http://www.avia.ru/english/articles/doc145.shtml
Air Force Has Big Modernization Plan
俄國空軍提昇軍備的大計劃
Monday, August. 11, 2003
The Moscow Times
Just a day after the air force lost three aircraft within 24 hours, officials presented ambitious plans Friday to rejuvenate the aging fleet, which has suffered from poor maintenance and insufficient pilot training. Air force chief Colonel General Vladimir Mikhailov said the air force next year should start receiving a modernized version of the MiG-29 fighter, called the MiG-29SMT, and an upgraded variant of the MiG-31. Both modernization programs have been dragged out for years because of the militarys money crunch.
The air force has purchased just a handful of new aircraft since 1991 despite continuous official pledges to upgrade the fleet.
A new long-range air defense missile, the S-400, is also set to enter service next year, Mikhailov said. He would not specify how many systems would be delivered in 2004.
His deputy, Major General Dmitry Morozov, said the air force also will receive new Mi-28 helicopter gunships, 50 of which are set to enter service throughout the period until 2010.
The announcement followed the loss of three military aircraft Thursday.
An Mi-8 helicopter crashed on a routine training mission in the southern Saratov region, and its crew survived the crash with injuries. The crash occurred when the helicopters engine developed a strong vibration, and the pilot attempted an emergency landing in a field, narrowly escaping a gas station. Another Mi-8 was downed by rebel fire in Chechnya and the pilot killed.
An Su-24 jet bomber crashed into a mountain slope while attempting to land in adverse weather conditions, killing both pilots.
Mikhailov said crew error and a flight controllers mistake contributed to the crash.
Mikhailov lamented inadequate aircrew skills, saying military pilots now fly an average of 40 hours a year, less than the required minimum of about 100 hours. Pilots from Western air forces log several hundred hours a year.
The shortage of funds, which limits pilot training, has also made it hard for the military to adequately maintain its aircraft, contributing to an increasing number of crashes in recent years.
Mikhailov said the money crunch also has led to the loss of the militarys ability to control air traffic over a large swath of Russia.
He also said military radars now control only about one-third of Russias northern border.
Today, on-duty radars cover mainly the western and southern borders of Russia, while in the north and internal regions of the country it ... covers only 35 percent of the territory, he said.
The problem is there and is complicated, but it could be resolved, he added.
The modernized military aircraft will be presented at the Moscow International Show, which opens at the Zhukovsky air base outside Moscow on Aug. 19.

http://www.avia.ru/english/articles/doc144.shtml
Air Force Sees No Use for An-70s
俄國空軍聲稱不需要 An-70
Monday, August. 11, 2003
The Moscow Times
Even if Russian and Ukrainian producers build the beleaguered An-70 military transport aircraft, the Russian air force will not buy the planes, its commander-in-chief said Friday. Let anyone who wants buy the An-70, but it will not be the air force while Mikhailov is at its wheel, Colonel General Vladimir Mikhailov told reporters Friday.
The government has repeatedly reassured Ukrainian colleagues that it still supports the highly political program.
Next year the technical development of the project will be completed to incorporate existing comments, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov was quoted by Interfax as saying last month.
The An-70 project has suffered continual setbacks since design work began in 1986.
Originally touted by Ukrainian design firm Antonov as the future transport aircraft for NATO countries, Europe spurned it in 2000 in favor of the Airbus A-400M airlifter.
In 2001, two of the sole prototypes four engines died shortly after takeoff in Omsk. A snowy crash landing saved the pilots but seriously damaged the aircraft.
In February 2003, Russian and Ukrainian sides agreed that test flights of the aircraft would not resume until malfunctions are eliminated.
Mikhailov said he strongly opposes allowing the underdeveloped and unsafe aircraft to take part in demonstration flights at the Moscow Air Show, or MAKS, which kicks off Aug. 19.
If somebody takes that decision, let it be then. I will be praying at night so that the following day nothing happens at MAKS, Mikhailov said.
Mikhailov said he favors the Il-76MF, an upgrade on the Il-76, the workhorse of the transport sector. The Il-76MF costs half as much as the An-70.
The An-70 has a maximum payload of 47 metric tons and needs a mere 600 meters for takeoff. The first craft is slated for assembly in 2004.
But while the Ukrainian government has tentatively committed to 65 aircraft and Russia to 164, both sides have failed to come up with the required financing.
Russia has contributed $20.8 million and Ukraine has contributed $28 million, while the designers have invested about $130 million of their own money, Vedomosti reported.
Boris Alyoshin, Kasyanovs deputy in charge of industry, said earlier this month that $48.2 million owed by the Defense Ministry under the An-70 program will be included in the state arms procurement budget.
Overall, another $85 million is needed to complete the test program.
Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Moskovsky last week called for research and development works to be completed.
Whatever is holding this work back, or sabotaging it, is categorically wrong, Interfax quoted Moskovsky as saying.
Leonid Terentyev, head of the Moscow-based Medium Transport Aircraft Consortium of Ukrainian and Russian designers and manufacturers, blamed the air force for sabotaging the project.
Mikhailov has not even seen the aircraft, yet maintains it is faulty. Meanwhile, all the drawbacks have been eliminated, Terentyev said by telephone. They are holding it back.
Politics aside, the air force cannot afford the $50 million price tag per An-70, said Konstantin Makiyenko at the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies.
There will not be any en masse purchase of the craft, Makiyenko said. The money should be spent instead on the armed forces in Chechnya, he added.
Soldiers and officers fighting in Chechnya should know the names of each government official who throws his support behind this program. Helicopters will continue to crash, they will get neither new re-equipped nor small arms because money will be spent instead to finance the An-70, he said.

MIG FIGHTERS FLY TO AFRICA
飛往非洲的米格戰機
Vedomosti, August 8, 2003, p. A4
Alexei Nikolsky

THE MIG AIRCRAFT CORPORATION WILL SELL SIX MIG-29 FIGHTERS TO TANZANIA FOR
AROUND $50 MILLION. THIS SALE COINCIDES WITH THE MIG CORPORATIONS STRATEGY.

Vedomosti reports that the MiG aircraft corporation will sell six MiG-29
fighters to Tanzania for around $50 million. Thus far the Tanzanian Air
Force has been using China-made MiG fighters.

A high-ranking Russian diplomat said that the MiG corporation and the
Tanzanian Defense Ministry reached an agreement to sell six MiG-29 fighters
after the Tanzanian foreign ministers visit to Moscow in July.
Rosoboronexport and the MiG corporation do not comment on this report. In
the meantime however, a high-ranking representative of the Russian
military-technical cooperation sector confirmed that Russia and Tanzania
reached this agreement. A contract is to be signed in the near future.

The reference book Military Balance says that Tanzanias military spending
did not exceed $150 million a year in the 1990s. The Tanzanian Air Force has
around 20 Chinese clones of the Soviet MiG-17, MiG-19 and MiG-21 fighters.
However, Military Balance reports that not all the fighters are
combat-ready.

Sergei Pokidov, an expert at the magazine Weapons Exports, says that the
sale of the MiG-29 fighters to Tanzania coincides with the MiG corporations
strategy. According to the corporations plan, the MiG-29 must replace
Chinese clones of the MiG fighters in Asian and African countries, including
Tanzania.

The corporation has sold 12 MiG-29 fighters to Sudan ($120 million) and six
MiG-29 fighters to Eritrea (around $60 million) within the framework of the
new African strategy in 2002-2003. At an air show in Zhukovskoye in 2001,
the MiG corporation announced its intention to sell six fighters to Uganda
and four fighters to Kongo. Meanwhile, there are no reports on these sales.

Korean F-15Ks Specialized for Air, Sea and Ground Combat
By David A. Fulghum
August 10, 2003

Boeing is nearing completion of its design for the Republic of Korea (ROK) Air Forces F-15K, as part of a $4.2-billion deal that will provide Seoul with the 40 most modern F-15s in the world--specialized for air-to-air combat as well as ground attack and maritime strike.

They will be the first F-15s with 15 smart weapons stations--six more than current operational F-15Es--that could arm the aircraft with 15,500-lb. joint direct attack munition bombs, if desired, said Steve Winkler, Boeings director of F-15 production programs. Smart weapons stations allow updated target information to be transferred into weapons up to the point of launch for greater accuracy. First flight is slated for March 2005 with delivery of two aircraft to South Korea to follow in November 2005.

A $3.6-billion direct commercial sale buys the aircraft from Boeing, according to company documents. A $300-million foreign military sale provides F-15E training from the U.S. Air Force, cryptographic equipment and AIM-120 medium-range missiles. The U.S. Navy is to supply AGM-84 Harpoon, Slam-ER and AIM-9X missiles. A second $300-million contract with Samsung TechWin covers the General Electric F110-129 engines. It is the first time production F-15s have come equipped with GE engines.

The F-15Ks will be multi-role fighters and strike aircraft, the latest in the lineage that includes the U.S. Air Forces F-15E, the Royal Saudi Air Forces F15S and the Israel Air Forces F-15I. USAF will provide F-15E training to the Korean aircrews, and Boeing will subsequently provide additional training on the F-15Ks maritime systems and the latest modifications. Many of the modifications are on the U.S. fighter road map to be added at a later date.

Another wrinkle, in addition to the maritime package, is the decision to equip the F-15Ks with the General Electric F110-129 engines, said other aerospace industry officials. Korea had equipped its F-16 frontline combat aircraft with Pratt & Whitney engines. But with the worry that a systemic engine problem could ground the whole fleet, planners decided to diversify their engine suppliers.

Boeing is currently completing the aircrafts subsystem designs. These include major pieces of avionics including upgraded jammers, radar warning receivers and chaff/flare dispensers.

The Koreans have ordered a software development test facility so they can develop their own upgrades for the aircrafts advanced core processor and programmable armaments control set, Winkler said. While the U.S. doesnt turn over source codes for the radar and electronic warfare equipment, Korea has ordered an electronic warfare programming station that allows Korean specialists to modify the threats, techniques and parameters, he said.

THE AIRCRAFT will come with the APG63(V)1 radar (air-to-ground and air-to-sea search and track modes added) using a mechanically scanned antenna, Winkler said. Again there is the option to later upgrade to an active electronically scanned array. AESA radars are more powerful and multifunctional, according to other aerospace officials. While many aspects are classified, it offers longer range and better discrimination of small, stealthy targets like cruise missiles even in ground clutter. It also can simultaneously be used to jam enemy electronics, they said. The F-15s large radar housing allows installation of an antenna with thousands of elements which makes the system virtually maintenance free and extremely reliable.

An infrared search and track system (IRST) allows the aircraft to operate in an electronically passive mode to avoid revealing its position or identity. The system also offers a multi-spectral view of the battlefield and environment for better situational awareness. There is also a third-generation targeting and navigation pod, as well as a night-vision-compatible cockpit.

Along with its expansive range of weapons and sensors, the F-15K will carry real-time communications data links for establishing a targeting network with airborne early warning and control aircraft and electronic warfare aircraft. These capabilities look ahead to Koreas E-X program.

It appears that the South Korean Air Force is heading in the direction of establishing a network, Winkler said. They wanted Link 16 [data links] on their F-15Ks. It makes a lot of sense for a command and control network.

In meeting Koreas special needs, the new aircraft will carry: a single box Identification Friend or Foe system that includes interrogator, transponder and cryptographic function; ARC-232 combination UHF/VHF radio; dual embedded GPS/INS navigation systems; Advanced Display Core Processor and 6-in. LCDS displays; a new Tacan; Link 16 fighter data link (for network-centric operations) and a joint helmet-mounted cuing system that in combination with the AIM-9X will give an improved air-to-air as well as ground and maritime strike capabilities.

Russian Low-Observable Technology Research Detailed
By Douglas Barrie
August 10, 2003

Elements of Russias defense and commercial aerospace industry are making some progress, albeit painfully slow. Another fifth-generation fighter effort is getting underway, this time with Sukhoi rather than MiG in the lead. MiG, meanwhile, is trying to push ahead with series production of the Tupolev Tu-334 regional airliner. Both in the military and commercial sectors, Russian industry continues to face demanding challenges. In the following report, Aviation Week & Space Technology considers changes in the commercial marketplace, and looks at technologies that may yet eventually be utilized on some of the countrys next generation of combat platforms and weapons.

The Soviet-era moniker of the 2nd Central Scientific Research Institute is a title that hardly sets the imagination racing; however, it has played a key role in Russian low-observable research for the past three decades.

The institute, or TsNII as it is abbreviated in Russian, is tasked with examining the application and development of Russian low-observable (LO) technology, while also considering the stealth characteristics of foreign platforms.

Traditionally most closely associated with the now defunct Russian air defense force (PVO), since subsumed within the air force, the institute has been involved in the design and development of systems from all the services, both tactical and strategic. In the case of its work for the PVO, this was primarily driven by establishing requirements for Russian air defense systems. In particular, the institute looked at determining the radar cross-section characteristics of potential threat platforms.

Irrespective of the state of Russian defense expenditure, the work carried out by TsNII is feeding into the air forces ambitions to modernize both its tactical and strategic inventory. While the Su-27 Flanker and derivatives such as the Su-27IB, when it eventually enters service, will form the core elements of the air forces fighter and strike capability for the next 10 years and beyond, new platforms eventually will need to be fielded. These will include whatever finally emerges from the Sukhoi-led effort to develop a fifth-generation multirole tactical aircraft; realistically, this is likely to be fielded in reasonable numbers no earlier than around 2015.

The institute would also have been closely involved in the predecessor to this program, the MiG 1.42 multirole frontal fighter (MFI). While a prototype of the MFI, the 1.44, was finally flown, the Russian defense ministry abandoned it, primarily because of a lack of funding.

Ostensibly generic designs shown by TsNII (see illustrations on this and following pages) are in keeping with the scant public information available on long-running air force programs to develop a strategic long-range land attack cruise missile, and the development of a bomber aircraft as a successor to the Tu-22M3 (Backfire C).

While senior Sukhoi officials say it is too early to discuss the airframe design for the fifth-generation fighter (sometimes known as the PAK FA), the TsNII fighter concept likely reflects elements of the current state of thinking on such a program. The design also has certain similarities to Sukhois S.32/S-37 forward-swept-wing fighter project. The institute dates its involvement in the development of the S-37 technology demonstrator to 1996.

The bomber design almost certainly corresponds to a notional layout of the Sukhoi T-60S, a program originating in the 1980s. While the exact status of this project remains highly uncertain, the purportedly generic strategic cruise missile design is much further along the developmental path. The layout is redolent of the Raduga Kh-101 and Kh-102 cruise missile design. This program, also begun in the mid-1980s, was intended to develop a successor to Radugas Kh-55 (AS-15 Kent) strategic cruise missile. While fulfilling the strategic nuclear role in the guise of the Kh-102, the weapon was also intended to provide the air force with a conventional long-range land attack capability.

THE TSNII ILLUSTRATION (see p. 53) shows a missile powered by an unducted turbofan engine, and Raduga is initially thought to have intended to use such a propulsion unit with the Kh-101. However, probably for reasons of developmental difficulty, the design bureau eventually opted for a less risky approach based on a conventional turbojet or turbofan powerplant.

Given the sensitive nature of the program, Raduga remains reluctant to discuss the development. The missile, in its nuclear guise of the Kh-102, would keep the air force in play as part of Russias strategic deterrent. Senior officials, however, have stressed that the design bureau continues to work to meet the strategic needs of the Russian military. Both ground and flight trials of the Kh-101 are believed to have taken place. The display material from the TsNII suggests it was working on signature control and measurement on the missile as early as 1990.

Almost irrespective of whether any of the generic designs make it into production, they provide a valuable insight into Russian thinking and research into reducing platform signature across the electromagnetic spectrum.

Soviet and, latterly, Russian specialists have taken a different approach to the development of LO technology from that of their U.S. counterparts. Considerable elements of this divergence in design philosophy can be attributed to technological gaps--mainly in the production manufacturing process--and, more recently, to a lack of finance.

Russian aircraft designers also have taken what they consider to be a balanced approach to LO technology, arguing they did not want to compromise the aerodynamic performance in order to reduce the aircrafts radar cross section (RCS). Such a strategy has now been adopted in the U.S., with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter reflecting a more balanced compromise between aerodynamic performance and RCS than the first-generation F-117. Russia, however, has yet to be in a position to field what would be classically considered an LO platform.

During the 1980s and 90s, TsNII provided input on a number of programs, which according to information from the institute had a considerable impact on the observability of both aircraft and missile platforms. These included the Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack bomber, the NPO Mashinostroenia 3M-55 Onyx/ Yakhont (SS-NX-26) antiship missile, a strategic cruise missile (Raduga Kh-101) and the Sukhoi S-37. Claimed reductions, presumably compared with an unmodified platform, range from a factor of six in the case of the Tu-160, to 10 for the S-37, and 14 for the Kh-101 design. TsNII also has an outdoor radar range for cross-section measurement.

TsNII has been examining the application of both passive and active LO technologies to reduce platform signature.

In terms of the airframe, the institute has examined modifying the approach taken to the design and manufacture of leading and trailing edges, and ensuring any surface structural joins are covered. Even the late Soviet-era approach to series manufacture resulted in a relatively clean structure only where it was aerodynamically significant; elsewhere on airframes, including the Su-27, the finish is perhaps best described as robust. Even comparatively small surface gaps--for example, around access panels--can significantly impact RCS. Widespread use of radar absorbent material (RAM) for the airframe is also proposed.

Alongside reducing the inherent radar reflectivity of basic structures TsNII has also examined utilizing absorbent coatings as a means of further cutting platform RCS. Unconfirmed reports suggest RCS trials were carried out using a MiG-29 airframe from the Gromov Flight Tests Research Center at Zhukovsky, near Moscow, in the late 1990s. In terms of external or semi-conformal weapons carriage, TsNII argues these should be protected by RAM material to avoid increasing the RCS.

In the case of the MiG 1.44 prototype of the 1.42 MFI, main weapon carriage appeared to be in a semi-recessed bay under the center fuselage section. For the production standard aircraft, there were suggestions the intention was to have an internal bay. With the S-37, the aircraft appears to have up to six rectangular box-shaped internal bays: four across the main fuselage section, and a further two beginning just to the rear of the nose wheel bay. Tactical missile house Vympel designed a variant of its R-77 (AA-12 Adder) medium-range air-to-air missile with folding lattice control fins specifically for internal carriage.

As well as considering approaches to reduce the RCS of the basic airframe, the institute has also worked on reducing the reflectivity (and detection) of aircraft antennas, both in the main radar and the communications antennas. In the latter, conventional antennas are replaced by a conformal design.

A number of techniques have been explored to reduce the return from aircraft or missile primary radar, since an antenna array presents a potentially large reflector of radio-frequency (RF) energy. These include the use of frequency-selective materials transparent to the onboard radar, but not to other frequency ranges, along with the use of reflective structures that direct received RF energy onto areas of RAM in front of the antenna bay.

TO DEAL WITH RF reflection from within the intake bay or from engine blades, TsNII has considered several approaches. The now-standard adoption of an S-curve intake structure to avoid the engine blades being directly exposed is suggested, along with the use of RAM lattice grills within the intake duct. These could either be fixed or retractable.

As with their Western counterparts, the institutes route to reducing the reflectivity of major cockpit furniture, such as a head-up display or ejection seat, involves the use of metallic canopy coatings.

With regard to the application of active stealth, TsNII has been looking at the use of discrete plasma fields as a means of avoiding either an aircraft or a missile radar significantly contributing to the platform RCS. Considerable effort was expended in the latter years of the Soviet Union assessing the potential application of plasma for military purposes.

Plasma is potentially a highly effective dissipator of RF energy; however, the generation of such a field requires considerable power in itself. Providing a plasma field for an entire platform has so far proved prohibitive in terms of power generation. Nevertheless, providing a field for a specific element of the airframe that would otherwise act as a major RF reflector appears considerably more plausible.

While other TsNII material addresses discrete-plasma-field generation to shield combat aircraft radar, work has progressed at least as far, if not further, in its use with certain classes of cruise missiles.

A plasma-generation system, dubbed Marabu, was reportedly in development for use with the Chelomei (now NPO Mashinostroenia) 3M-25 Meteorit. Chelomeis ambitions of developing a universal cruise missile for submarine, surface and air launch came to nought, although versions were repeatedly tested in the late 1980s and early 90s.

NPO Mashinostroenia previously confirmed an interest in the use of plasma as a means of reducing radar signature, but maintains no such system has yet been deployed on any of its missiles that have entered service.

The intended high-altitude flight cruise profile of the 3M-25 lent itself particularly well to the potential use of an onboard plasma generation. Power requirements are substantially less at high altitude than at low. Given the design of the 3M-25, signature-reduction techniques were aimed at cutting the range at which defensive platforms could detect the system, decreasing the available response time and thus complicating any attempted countermeasure or interception. Competitor design bureau Raduga also has looked at potential applications of plasma fields, but it has argued that for use with cruise missiles with a predominantly low-level flight profile, the power requirements are too great.

ONE RADUGA DESIGN, however, that could have benefited from such a system was the program publicly described as GELA, which likely corresponds to the Kh-90 designation. This missile project, a handful of which were test launched in the early 1990s, appears to have been at least partly intended to develop a successor missile to the Kh-22 (As-4 Kitchen).

Lack of Intelligence
Americas secret spy satellites are costing you billions, but they cant even get off the launch pad

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/030811/usnews/11nro.b1.htm

The Watchdogs arent watching

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/030811/usnews/11nro.b2.htm

Birds of a (pricey) feather

(中央社記者張弘光莫斯科特稿)俄羅斯為全面搶攻全世界軍火市場，對今年第五屆俄羅斯二○○三國際航空展特別重視，俄羅斯國內最頂尖五家的飛機製造廠將在八月十九日到二十四日，分別當綱扮演當天表演角色。

開幕式為「蘇霍伊」日，蘇霍伊現在的全稱是蘇霍伊試驗設計局聯合股份公司，其前身是蘇霍伊試驗設計局。該局最早建於一九三九年，首任設計師是蘇聯飛機設計大師蘇霍伊。

蘇霍伊飛機設計局是俄羅斯戰鬥機研製領域的龍頭。在六十二年的發展中，蘇霍伊設計局一直致力於發展蘇愷戰機。至今，該設計局研製出一百多個型號的各類戰鬥機，五十多種投入批量生產，其中以蘇─27和蘇─37戰鬥機水準最高。

「蘇霍伊」現有五萬多名員工，下轄兩個設計局，三家工廠，年收入超過十億美元。主要產品有蘇─24、蘇─25、蘇─27、蘇─30、蘇─33等戰鬥機。目前蘇霍伊出產的軍用飛機的出口額占全俄羅斯所有武器出口額的百分之四十，占俄羅斯戰鬥機出口額的百分之六十三。

蘇霍伊設計局自許成功秘訣主要有二：一是注重自己品牌，公司以是以永不停止的飛行中的試驗室自居。只為了保持科技實力，蘇霍伊設計局與伊爾庫茨克航空生產聯合體、阿穆爾共青城航空生產聯合體、新西伯利亞航空生產聯合體以及塔干羅格航空科技公司等航空企業進行大聯合，形成戰機設計到最後銷售的一貫作業。

在八月十九日當天在朱可夫斯基俄羅斯國際航空展MAKC- 2003開幕式，圖波列夫204.214.334三架新型巨型客機將以空中分列式拉開航空展序幕。航空展的第二天主辦單位安排為「圖波列夫日」。

圖波列夫航空科技聯合體主要研發「圖」系列的轟炸機和運輸機。其前身是圖波列夫試驗設計局，建立於一九二二年，首任設計師是A﹒H﹒圖波列夫。一九三七年，圖波列夫設計的圖─25型飛機，首次完成由蘇聯經北極到美國的不著陸飛行。

　　據上海「解放日報」報導說，ＡＲＪ２１飛機專案實質性啟動，
意味著繼二十世紀九○年代總裝麥道八二、麥道九○飛機之後，
上海飛機整機生產的再次起步。

　　報導說，在日前完工的預發展總體方案顯示，ＡＲＪ２１飛機設計以上海、
西安為基地，借助全大陸民機研發力量，按照中國的自然環境來建立設計標準的飛機
。它以格爾木機場和擬建中九寨黃龍機場作為臨界條件
，並用西部五十七條航線來檢驗飛機的航線適應性。
與同類支線飛機相比，ＡＲＪ２１客艙寬度比競爭飛機寬十五至二十五英寸。
同時，ＡＲＪ２１從研製開始就對飛機的全壽命成本進行嚴格控制，
通過採用長壽命結構設計，預計飛機的造價與加拿大、
巴西等開發過的同類型飛機相比
，在價格上可便宜百分之十左右。

　　中航商用飛機公司負責人表示，目前ＡＲＪ２１的開工前準備工作進展十分順利
，首架飛機的不同部分將於年底在上海飛機廠、
西安飛機廠等地同時開工。先生產八十五座的基本型，再生產加長型和通用型
，飛機最終在上海總裝，這將為上海和中國航空工業注入新的動力。

由於今年巴黎航空展美國因為伊拉克戰爭因素消極抵制法國。但是這次2003俄羅斯航空展，美國民航與軍機製造廠精銳幾乎全部出動參加這次展示會，給足俄羅斯面子。

俄羅斯今年首次在國際航展亮相的圖-334民航客機，十八日從烏里雅克夫斯基飛機製造廠出爐，完成試飛準備今天在開幕式做空中展出。據主辦單位指出，這次航展除邀請全世界各國相關產業業者、學術界與媒體參觀，十九日到二十一日為商業洽談，二十二日到二十四日則開放民眾參觀，俄羅斯空軍與義大利等國空中特技隊將做空中戰技表演。

記者盧德允／嘉義空軍基地報導
http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NAT1/1514252.shtml

空軍自美採購的AIM-120先進中程空對空飛彈「近期」可望交貨，有關官員透露，一般國家接收該型飛彈後需六個月才能擔任戰備，但我空軍已選派種子教官在美接受訓練，所以飛彈一旦回國，三個半月就能派上用場。

國內媒體昨天參訪號稱「戰隼搖藍」的嘉義空軍第十四戰術戰鬥機（獨立）隊，了解空軍培訓Ｆ酖十六飛行員情形。由於AIM-120何時運交屬於機密，相關官員受上級嚴令不得洩密，談到這個問題時，都是「不能說」。空軍高層上個月對媒體談及「AIM-120 需裝船海運，看船期在兩個月內可以回來」。

Ｆ-十六係多功能且操縱複雜的戰機，飛行員需要熟習的空對空和空對地和夜戰戰術相當多，我國每年選派數名飛行員赴美亞歷桑那州路克空軍基地受訓，已是公開秘密，而在去年我方飛行員首度獲選進入美國戰機訓練最高學府「空軍武器學校」受訓，並完訓二名飛官，今年四、五月又完訓五名資深空地戰術教官。

嘉義四五五聯隊已經有不少飛行員具備夜戰攻擊能力，臂上掛有夜間導航與標定莢艙「開路者／神射手」(Pathfinder/Sharpshooter) 的專長臂章，可配合雷射導引炸彈作「摘除式打擊」，是台海防衛的重要反制武力。

　　米格戰鬥機研發生產聯合中心的前身是米格試驗設計局，在它六十年的發展歷程中，研發生產的五十種米格系列戰機享譽世界。在前蘇聯時代，米格戰機是俄國與西方國家對抗的主力，蘇聯解體後，俄羅斯政府雖曾強調不可民營化企業，如今也難抵擋民營化的腳步。

　　米格戰鬥機研發生產聯合中心有關人士對此事表示毫不知情，但來自俄羅斯政府消息都已證實此事，包括披露總理卡西雅諾夫八月十八日批准此案的文號。

（中央社記者盧健輝香港二十七日電）香港政府一架飛行服務隊直升機昨晚執行任務時失事墜毀，一名機師及一名機員證實死亡。行政長官董建華等多位政府高官對殉職飛行服務隊員深表哀痛。

直升機昨晚奉召前往長洲接載一名傷者到醫院，途中突然與總部失去聯絡。其後大批搜索人員通宵在現場一帶進行海陸空大搜索，直至今晨一時許在大嶼山鳳凰徑尋獲直升機殘骸，大約三時前發現機師及機員仍被困於直升機殘骸中。四時送院後證實死亡。

一架政府飛行服務隊直升機，昨晚於大嶼山東涌附近的山邊失事墜毀，一名機師及一名機員死亡。

直升機昨晚約十時三十分於赤鱲角總部前往長洲接載一名傷者到醫院，於晚上十時四十一分與總部失去聯絡。

海陸空搜索救援行動隨即展開。行動由民航處統籌，兩架政府飛行服務隊直升機、數艘水警輪、海事處及消防處船隻，以及民安隊山嶺搜索及搶救中隊均參與是次搜索行動。

消防員於今晨一時十八分於大嶼山鳳凰山鳳凰徑對上約三百米山邊尋獲直升機殘骸，並於大約上午三時前發現機師及機員被困於直升機殘骸中。機師及機員於今晨大約四時送院後證實死亡。

政府飛行服務隊、民航處及消防處今日上午八時將召開記者會交代今次意外。出席者包括，政府飛行服務隊總行動主任李鈎濟機長、政府飛行服務隊副經理（行動）梁冠平、民航處副處長羅崇文及消防處區長葉明。

http://www.mpinews.com/content.cfm?newsid=200308270712gb30712y

服役不到半年就掉下來了...
香港飛行服務隊EC155B1直升機墜山2死[10:34]

2003/08/27

香港政府飛行服務隊成立十年來首次發生致命意外，一架直升機昨晚在大嶼山鳳凰山墜毀，一名機師及一名隊員喪生。

在墜機意外中喪生的，分別是政府飛行服務隊的一級機師彭富國，以及三級空勤主任陳文狄。

政府飛行服務隊總監畢耀明表示，彭富國現年34歲，已婚，有一子。他七年前加入飛行服務隊，有4,000飛行小時經驗。畢耀明形容，彭富國是經驗豐富的機師，飛行技術在隊中屬資深及技術好的，他的飛行技術無可置疑。

另一名喪生隊員陳文狄，亦有5年飛行經驗，有2,200飛行小時。他曾於2002年獲得銅英勇勳章。

意外在昨晚十時許發生。當時剛上班的彭富國和陳文狄接獲首宗任務，直升機約十時三十分於赤鱲角總部前往長洲接載一名傷者到醫院。但直升機於晚上十時四十一分與總部失去聯絡。

海陸空搜索救援行動隨即展開。行動由民航處統籌，兩架政府飛行服務隊直升機、數艘水警輪、海事處及消防處船隻，以及民安隊山嶺搜索及搶救中隊均參與是次搜索行動。

消防員於今晨一時十八分於大嶼山鳳凰山鳳凰徑對上約三百米山邊尋獲直升機殘骸，並於大約上午三時前發現機師及機員被困於直升機殘骸中。機師及機員於今晨大約四時送院後證實死亡。

昨晚出事的是EC155B1型「海豚」直升機，飛行服務隊現時仍有四架同一型號直升機在服役。昨晚發生意外之後，飛行服務隊已檢查其他四架同類直升機，全部無問題，可以飛行。

港府多個部門今早召開聯合記者會，民航處宣布成立調查組，調查今次飛行服務隊直升機墜毀意外。