Statement On Apache For IAF In Indian Parliament, Future Attack Copters For Army


After formally announcing the CH-47F Chinook's victory in the Indian Air Force's heavy copter competition last week in Parliament, the Indian defence minister has now officially confirmed Boeing's AH-64D Apache Block III win as well. Here's the full statement in Parliament today:

Indian Air Force (IAF) is procuring Chinook Ch-47F heavy-lift helicopters and AH-64D Block-III Apache helicopters from Boeing Company of USA. In the two separate proposals initiated by Indian Air Force (IAF) for procurement of 15 Heavy Lift Helicopters and 22 Attack Helicopters, M/s Boeing of United States of America (USA) with Chinook CH-47F(I) and 'Apache' AH-64D respectively, has emerged as the L1 Vendor. The Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) cost for 15 Heavy Lift Helicopters and 22 Attack Helicopters is Rs.2468.41 Crores and Rs.3094.98 Crores respectively. However, final cost of the Contracts would depend upon outcome of the Contract negotiation with the L1 Vendor.

Importantly, the government also reiterated its recent decision on future attack copter purchases going straight to the Army:

Government has decided to let the Army to have its own heavy duty attack helicopter. The decision to vest the future inductions of attack helicopters with the Army has been taken keeping in view the operational requirements in the field.

The Minister also made the following statement in response to a question on media reports of faulty Chinese-built spares in US aircraft for India:
While Government is aware of certain media reports regarding possible usage of Chinese counterfeit electronic parts in military aircraft manufactured in the US, no P8I aircraft has so far been delivered to India. Moreover, during the last four years of operation of the US defence equipment including C-130J transport aircraft, IAF have not encountered any faulty spare parts and equipment. It has been confirmed from M/s. Boeing, the vendor of P-8I, that no counterfeit parts have been installed on the aircraft to be supplied to India. Besides this, the Indian Air Force (IAF) have acquired a list of supplier from the US Government with respect to aircraft procured from the USA and none of the suppliers are found to be Chinese manufacturers.

Navy launches world's most advanced nuclear aircraft carrier





Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today via video message at the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) inactivation ceremony that the third Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier will be named USS Enterprise.

“Mabus selected this name to honor USS Enterprise (CVN 65), the Navy’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which was inactivated today in Norfolk, Va. Commissioned in 1961, CVN 65 served for over than five decades”, according to the news release dated December 1, 2012.

“The USS Enterprise was the first of its kind, and for 51 years its name has been synonymous with boldness, readiness and an adventurous spirit,” said Mabus. “Rarely has our fleet been without a ship bearing the name. I chose to maintain this tradition not solely because of the legacy it invokes, but because the remarkable work of the name Enterprise is not done”, Mabus said (source: http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=15708 ).

The new USS Enterprise, designated CVN 80, will be the “ninth ship to bear the name.”
USS Enterprise and subsequent Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers will provide improved “warfighting capability, quality of life improvements for Sailors and reduced life cycle costs.”

The Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier will be 1,092 feet in length and have a beam of 134 feet. The flight deck will be 256 feet wide, and the ship will be able to operate at speeds in excess of 34 knots.” The Ford class has a unit cost of over $13.5 billion dollars. Enterprise will be built by Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia.




Army Pilot Stage Mutiny Against Chopper Fears

According to whistleblowers, safety concerns with the Tiger helicopter have prompted several pilots to commence discharge procedures. In the past year, 22 helicopter pilots have left the army. Picture: Gary Ramage

DOZENS of Army pilots have conducted a mini-mutiny by going on "strike'' and refusing to fly new Tiger attack helicopters after aircrew were hit by cockpit fumes for the third time this year.
The latest emergency occurred at the Cultana military training area in South Australia on November 4 after earlier incidents in March and July. The fleet was not grounded after the third incident.

"The crew applied the standard procedure for smoke or fumes in the cockpit and landed safely at El Alamein Airfield,'' Defence told News Limited.

Pilots were angered by the decision not to suspend flying and aircrew from the Darwin-based 1st Aviation Regiment voted against flying, effectively a mutiny, until all safety concerns were addressed.

The emergency was isolated to the air conditioning unit of a single European built and Brisbane assembled Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH).


Tiger flying was "suspended'' in March and July this year due to cockpit fumes and since 2007 the aircraft has recorded 24 "fume incidents'' which is on a par with other military aircraft.

Defence refused to acknowledge that pilots had actually refused to fly and put the lack of flying down to "a prolonged period in the field and absence from home''.

It did acknowledge aircrew concerns and said a lull in activity was not unusual during "maintenance reset and administration catch-up on return to the unit''.

"Steps being taken by the Chain of Command to address 1st Aviation Regiment aircrew concerns have the full support of the aircrew,'' Defence said.

The army is still flying its Tiger training aircraft at Oakey in southern Queensland and other nations including Germany and France, that chalked up 4000 Tiger hours in Afghanistan, continue to operate the machines.

The Army's 22 Tigers (16 in Darwin) were built by European giant EADS and its subsidiary Eurocopter and assembled in Brisbane by Australian Aerospace at a cost of $2 billion.

A well-placed source said many military pilots were shocked that army pilots were allowed to vote not to fly effectively defying senior officers who judged the aircraft safe to operate.

"Usually you have to fight to stop military pilots from flying,'' a source said.

Defence confirmed that the 1st Aviation Regiment fleet had not flown since the incident at Cultana Training Area on November 4.

"There has been no scheduled operational flying of the ARH aircraft by the 1st Aviation Regiment in Darwin since the fumes incident at Cultana,'' it said.

During the emergency, the two-person crew of the tandem Tiger Helicopter had to open small weather windows inside the cramped cockpit as they conducted a sideslip manoeuvre to rapidly circulate air and dissipate the acrid fumes.


Read more: http://www.news.com.au/business/worklife/army-pilots-stage-mutiny-over-chopper-fears/story-e6frfm9r-1226530364627#ixzz2V89pDZOC

Vietnam Soldiers Exercise with Missiles on the Shoulder

Recently, Non Army forces and the Northern People's Non participate in live firing exercises in shooting TB1.
Tactical maneuvers, firing of Non Army forces and the Northern People's Non 2012 took place in the country towards the 40th anniversary of victory "Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu in the air" (12/1972-12/2012).



The Gunners export 12.7 mm from the University's team, 16, 141 Regiment, 312th Division (legion 1) standard firing practices























The export team 12.7 mm of the regular army target practice to destroy low-flying aircraft in daytime conditions.

This is an integrated testing for the division and each artillery gunners of the unit. Although the Gunners made all shot in daytime and night conditions are difficult, but each hail of bullets fly out of the barrel of the cannon is a target destroyed.



Join manoeuvres, firing the gate teams militia of the provinces and cities in the north.

Coordination between the statistics, the export team; cleverly making use, creativity between theory and practice, skilfully manipulating shot in the last shot of the gunner from the military regions, army corps, troops who has helped 100% export team to destroy the target. It, confirmed bravery, qualifications and ability to handle situations in combat and mastery of technical equipment and weapons of the soldiers not.

The tireless efforts of the officers and soldiers of the artillery unit key non-military and militia forces today as a manifestation of belief, determination followed the heroic tradition of air force hero in the "Dien Bien Phu on" 12/1972.

Pictures of the rehearsal (courtesy of BaoDatViet)

Observers detect airborne targets.

Export team A-72 missiles (Vietnam called SA-7) in the 241 Brigade (1st Corps) aircraft target practice shot fired.

The export team low-range missiles, the A-72 in Military Region 1 target coordinate destroy low-flying aircraft.

Export team-aircraft guns 12.7 mm drill size radiation at night




The joy of the soldiers after the shoot down "enemy aircraft" flying targets M96.












Japan Aims To Launch F-3 Development In 2016-17




Sometime around 2030, if U.S. Air Force plans come to pass, a fighter that leaps ahead of Lockheed Martin F-22 and F-35 technology will enter U.S. service. At about the same time, if Japan's plans come to pass, a similarly advanced fighter will enter service on that side of the Pacific.

It might be the same fighter. Merging Japan's 2030s requirement into evolving U.S. plans for post-F-35 fighters seems to make great industrial sense. Japan plans to begin developing a homegrown fighter within five years, with the aim of beginning production under the designation F-3 around 2027. The defense ministry wants to lay the groundwork to go its own way by investing in stealth technology and building its own powerful fighter engine.

IHI Corp. is to develop a technology-demonstrator engine of 15 metric tons (33,000 lb.) thrust, according to an official document seen by Aviation Week.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is already building a small airframe technology demonstrator, the ATD-X Shinshin, which the ministry expects to test in the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2014. Mitsubishi Heavy is also very likely to build the F-3, which Japanese officials expect will carry a pilot.

Full-scale development would begin in 2016 or 2017 and the first prototype would fly in 2024-25, according to the ministry's plans. Series production is to begin in 2027 and the type would begin replacing Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-2 strike fighters in the first half of the 2030s. In the second half of that decade it would begin replacing Boeing F-15Js. The F-15s are older but are likely to remain the mainstay of Japan's air-defense squadrons, with suitable upgrades (see following article).

The exact status of the ministry's plans is unclear, but they probably represent what it hopes to achieve, with some expectation of obtaining approval. It projects production of about 200 F-3s, which would follow the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning into Japanese service. Japan has decided to buy 42 F-35s and may build parts of them. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force tentatively plan to begin fielding new fighters in 2030-35, the former sometimes using the name F/A-XX and the latter referring to its proposed F-X.

Two years ago, the ministry disclosed a research effort for what it called the i3 Fighter, intended to assemble a suite of advanced technologies for a future combat aircraft—or, some suspect, to be offered to the U.S. as a Japanese contribution to the next U.S. fighter. The ministry's Technical and Research Development Institute is leading the i3 Fighter work. 

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