Airbus: FSTA Tests Succeed, Boom Tests on Hold

LONDON - Airbus Military said it successfully tested the final hose-and-drogue system destined for Britain's Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) program by refueling two Spanish Air Force F/A-18 fighter jets while in flight on Jan. 21.
A company spokeswoman also confirmed that Airbus has, for the time being, ceased test flying using its new flight refueling system. Part of the equipment broke off during contact with a Portuguese Air Force F-16 during Jan. 19 tests on an aerial refueling plane built for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

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On Jan. 21, the Cobham-designed fuselage-hose-and-drogue refueling unit was tested in a series of "wet contacts" with the F/A-18s during a three-plus-hour sortie by the A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft, Airbus said.
Situated on the fuselage, the system is similar to the Cobham units fitted under the wings of the British-bound refueling plane, but with a higher rate of fuel transfer. The wing systems have already been tested.
Airbus parent EADS is leading a consortium to supply 14 A330 tanker planes for use by the U.K. Royal Air Force as part of a private finance initiative.
The first aircraft is to be handed over at year's end.
Meanwhile, investigations continue into the loss of part of the new Airbus-designed aerial refueling boom system during testing on the A330 destined for the RAAF.
The spokeswoman said Airbus could not give any details of the incident at this time. She said it was not unusual for aircraft equipped with boom flight refueling systems to suffer a break.
The first of the RAAF jets is earmarked for handing over next month, and discussions are underway between Airbus and its customer as to whether the delivery will go-ahead on schedule.
Australia has purchased five A330 MRTT planes and will become the first operator of the airliner-based system, which also has been sold to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the U.K.
The A330 and boom system is currently embroiled in a competition with Boeing to supply the U.S. Air Force with a new tanker plane.

Canada Signs Deal For New Radar Systems

OTTAWA - Canada on Jan. 25 announced a C$55.6 million ($55.7 million) contract to modernize two military radar systems said to play a major role in defending North American airspace.
The deal, announced by Defense Minister Peter MacKay, is part of a major effort by Canada to upgrade its Air Force, a drive that includes the acquisition of new F-35 fighter jets.

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The radars will replace aging systems in Alberta and Quebec, providing "long-range air surveillance and aerospace control capability" in support of military operations in Canada and abroad, a statement said.
They will be delivered starting in February 2013.
MacKay also announced the purchase of 14 aircraft cargo loaders for C$5.6 million ($5.6 million) from TLD America.

Russia's Mistral Deal Worries Scandinavians

HELSINKI - Russia's decision to purchase four Mistral assault ships from France has raised fears in Sweden that at least one of the vessels could be deployed in the Barents Sea. Swedish Defense Minister Sten Tolgfors warned that such a deployment would heighten security tensions in the High North at a time when relations between Russia and its Nordic neighbors were improving.
"Mistral will add to the development of Russian military capability and we will need to take note of this as well. A stronger Swedish Air Force with sea-targeting capabilities, together with the modernization of our submarine fleet, are some of the decisions that I see as relevant when the effect of the Mistral is discussed," Tolgfors told the Society and Defense National Conference in Stockholm on Jan. 21.

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The Norwegian government has yet to respond officially to the Mistral purchase.
Norway has been steadily improving contacts with Russia and has launched a range of common cooperation projects since 2008. These include joint naval exercises, air and sea rescue operations, and new cooperation covering border controls.
Military reports in Sweden suggest that Russia will locate at least one Mistral-class helicopter carrier in Severomorsk, the main base for Russia's Northern fleet on the Kola Peninsula and which borders the Barents Sea.
"The Swedish government needs to ask, and our military need to know, just what implications Russia's purchasing of Mistral-class vessels will mean for this country's defense, as well as security in the Baltic Sea," said Mikael Oscarsson, a member of the Parliamentary Defense Committee of the Riksdag, Sweden's parliament.
Tolgfors said that a higher proportion of Russia's annual budget is being directed at modernizing its military into a smaller, but more mobile and better trained force with greater firepower.
"Russian military power is a fraction of its Soviet predecessor. In the late 1980s, the Soviet Union had 78 Army divisions and two brigades in our region. Now it has a bomber division and seven brigades. It had 20,000 tanks in our neighborhood. Now they have 300. Russia had 120 primary surface vessels. Now it is 15. It had over 160 submarines. Now it has 24," said Tolgfors.
Sweden, and its Nordic and Baltic neighbors, have very good reason to question Russia's acquisition of Mistral attack ships, said Tolgfors.
"Today, Russia has only the ability to conduct a limited attack on an unskilled opponent over the land border in its immediate neighborhood. Sweden's defense research agency, FOI, believes that Russia, by 2015, will have the ability to conduct sporadic military operations against smaller neighbors, and sporadic minor military operations far beyond its own territory using its naval and air force assets," said Tolgfors.

U.S. May Allow India to Join JSF Effort

The United States is open to Indian participation in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, and eventual purchase of its fifth generation F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter, Pentagon acquisitions Chief Ashton Carter said Jan. 26.

Pentagon acquisitions Chief Ashton Carter said there is "no principle" that would prohibit India from participating in the JSF program. (Senior Aiman Julianne Showalter / U.S. Air Force)

"There is nothing on our side, no principle which bars that on our side, Indian participation in the Joint Strike Fighter. Right now, they're focused on these aircraft which are top-of-the-line fourth-gen fighters," Carter said.

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However, the decision to pursue the F-35 is India's alone.
In a follow-up email, Pentagon spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin said, "If, at some point down the road, India were interested in purchasing JSF from us, then we would engage the Indians in an open, transparent manner at that time. But this would obviously be something that the Indian government would have to decide it wanted or needed."
Carter was speaking at the release of a report by the Carnegie Endowment's Ashley Tellis on India's Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) program. The Indian contract calls for the purchase of 126 fighters and is valued at more than $10 billion, Carter said. Competitors include the Lockheed Martin F-16IN Super Viper, Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale, Saab JAS-39 Gripen and the Mikoyan MiG-35.
Carter touted the American-built F-16 and F/A-18 as being the most technologically advanced aircraft in the competition.
"I think that, without saying anything disparaging about the other entrants, both F/A-18 and the F-16 offers include the best technology," he said.
Tellis echoed Carter's comments, saying the two U.S. competitors offered the best capability for the lowest price. Of particular interest to India are the American fighters' Active Electronically Scanned Array radars (AESA), he said. The European and Russian aircraft do not currently have operational AESA radars available. The U.S. military, meanwhile, is currently operating its second generation of AESA radars.
The most important factors in any Indian decision will likely be technology transfer and industrial participation, Carter said. Carter also stressed the importance of lifecycle costs because 70 percent of a weapon's total cost resides in not in the initial purchase price, but rather in sustainment. According to Tellis, both the F-16 and F/A-18 offer the lowest lifecycle costs out of the aircraft on offer.
Carter also stressed the importance of transparency.
"I'm committed to in our process, both with respect to India and in our own internal processes, an open and transparent process, and I think we can promise the Indian government that," he said.