SAAB 2000, A Milestone for Pakistan Airforce

Pakistan Air Force achieved a major landmark in its Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEWC) Program with the roll out of its first aircraft - SAAB 2000 AEWC - in a simple but impressive ceremony held at the Saab facility in Sweden.

Pakistan signed a contract with Saab for the AWACS in June 2006 and the aircraft have been specially developed to the PAF's requirements.

The aircraft will be put through trials before being delivered to the PAF in 2009, according to officials.

The aircraft will also be equipped with electronic surveillance support systems for intelligence gathering and a full set of defensive aids.

Some specifications of the SAAB 2000
- Length: 27.28 m (89 ft 6 in)
- Height: 7.73 m (25 ft 4 in)
- Wing area: 55.7 m² (600 sq ft)
- Maximum Payload: 5,900kg
- Take-Off Weight: 22,800kg
- Long-Range Cruise Speed: 594km/h
- Maximum Cruise Speed@25,000ft: 685km/h
- Service Ceiling: 9,450m

Some characteristics of Airborne Early Warning & Control(AEW&C) system i.e ERIEYE
- Radar Type: Pulse-Doppler, multimode
- Radar Range: 450 km
- Altitude coverage: 20 km
- 360º coverage
- Radar warning
- Self-Protection System control/management
- Main functions: System and Sensor management,mission planning
and simulation, track data processing,weapon
management and control, identification and
allocation.
- Geographical info: Digital map
- Application software: High-level language

New-Generation Nuclear-Powered Ballistic Missile Submarine by France

Le Triomphant (S616) is the French Navy’s ballistic missile nuclear-powered submarine (SSBN), intended to replace the L'Inflexible M4 class SSBN's. The submarine was designed and built at DCN's Cherbourg shipyard. This first-of-class submarine was launched in July 1993 and entered service in 1997. The second, Le Temeraire (S617), entered service in January 2000. Construction of third Le Vigilant (S618),completed in 2004. Fourth and last Le Triomphant-class new-generation nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine rolled out on 26 Mar 2008.

The submarine carries 16 vertically launched M45 ballistic missiles.The new enhanced M51 missile, due to enter service in 2008, will carry a warhead with twelve MIRVS, and increased range of 8,000km.The submarine has four 533mm torpedo tubes and has the capacity to carry a mixed load of 18 ECAN L5 Mod 3 torpedoes and Exocet missiles. The Le Terrible will be assigned to the French Navy’s Strategic Ocean Force (FOST).

SSBN Le Terrible, the construction of which began in 2000, is the first to be equipped with the SAD M51 weapon deterrent system. The other three Le Triomphant-class boats will be upgraded to carry M51 missiles as they come up for refit.

The French defence procurement agency (DGA) appointed DCNS as prime contractor for the SNLE-NG or new-generation SSBN programme back in 1986. The development and construction of these cutting-edge naval assets has mobilised the resources not only of DCNS, the DGA and the French Navy but also those of the French atomic energy commission (CEA) and a host of industrial firms, laboratories and university departments.

SSBN Le Terrible will be fully fitted out and ready to serve with the Strategic Ocean Force in 2010.

Technical data for SSBN Le Terrible
-- Length overall: 138 metres
-- Diameter: 12.5 metres
-- Displacement, surfaced: 12,640 tonnes
-- Displacement, submerged: 14,300 tonnes
-- Speed, submerged: >25 knots
-- Complement: 111
-- Strategic weapons: 16 type M51 SLBMs
-- Tactical weapons for self-defence: torpedoes and type SM39 missiles

About DCNS Group
The DCNS group is one of Europe’s leading players on the world market for naval defence systems. To meet customer demands for more comprehensive and integrated systems, DCNS acts as prime contractor for naval shipbuilding, integration and support by combining its own development, marketing and production capabilities with those of selected partners. To manage the complexity of such projects, DCNS draws on in-house expertise in naval architecture, systems engineering, ship assembly and integration and equipment design and production as well as through-life support. The DCNS group employs some 13,000 people and generates annual revenues of around EUR 2.8 billion.

INS Vikramaditya Hits Delay, Hidden Truths

On January 20, 2004 India and Russia signed a deal to refurbish and convert the 40,000t Soviet/Russian Admiral Gorshkov into a full carrier by removing the guns, anti-shipping and anti-air missile launchers on the front deck, replacing them with a full runway and ski jump, changing the boilers to diesel fuel, enlarging and strengthening the rear aircraft elevator, and many other modifications. The announced delivery date for INS Vikramaditya was August 2008 – an ambitious schedule, but one that would allow the carrier to enter service in 2009, around the time as their 29,000t light carrier/LHA INS Viraat (formerly HMS Hermes, last of the Centaur class) was scheduled to retire. The new ship will berth at the new Indian Navy facility in Karwar, on India’s west coast.

Initial reports of delays sparked controversy in India, but even the Ministry has now admitted their truth. The INS Viraat’s retirement is now set for 2010-2012 – but even that may not be late enough, as slow negotiations and steadily-lengthening delivery times will push delivery of the Gorshkov back to 2010 at the earliest. Reports of delivery in 2012 or later have surfaced, even as the delivery date for India’s 37,500 ton indigenous carrier appears to be slipping back well beyond 2013.

Right now, there are 2 major concerns in India. One is that slipping timelines could easily leave India without a serviceable aircraft carrier. The other is the extent of the cost increases, especially if more increases are added once India has paid for most of the budgeted work and is deep into the commitment trap. The carrier purchase has now become the subject of high level diplomacy, involving a shipyard that can’t even execute on commercial contracts – and a rumored offer from the USA that would have far-reaching ripple effects.

Chengdu Jian-10 (J-10) Vigorous Dragon

Name: J-10
Manufacturer: Chengdu (China)

Dimensions
Wing Span: 28.81 ft. / 8.78 M
Length: 47.80 ft. / 14.57 M
Height: 15.68 ft. / 4.78 M
Wing Area: 355.21 Sq ft. / 33.00 Sq M
Max. Takeoff Weight: 40,786 lb. / 0 Kg

Power & Performance
Max Thrust: 27,557 lb.
Military Thrust: 17,857 lb.
Max. Thrust Loading: 0.68
Maximum Wing Loading: 114.82 lb. / 560.61 Kg
VMax High Altitude / VMax Low Altitude: 2.0 / 1.2
Operational Ceiling: 59,055 ft. / 18,000 M

Armament
1 x 23mm cannon, 4,500 Kg external stores

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Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon
The Chengdu Jian-10 (J-10) Vigorous Dragon represents a remarkable milestone in the development of the Chinese aerospace industry. Although a very large amount of foreign assistance was involved, the J-10 is one of China's first modern indigenous aircraft designs to go into service.
The Chengdu Jian-10 (J-10) is a single seat, single engine, all-weather, multi-role fighter aircraft of Chinese design. Like many of the European fighter aircraft designs of the 80s, the J-10 is a canard-delta winged aircraft.

Advantages
Delta winged aircraft have several advantages. The high sweepback angle and large wing area are very favorable for high speed, high altitude flight. The long chord at the wing root provides space for fuel and helps to make construction easier.

Dis-Advantages
Unfortunately, delta wings also come with several disadvantages. Speed bleeds off quickly in turns, a problem in hard turning dogfights. In addition, takeoff and landing distances are long, and speeds tend to be high.
To compensate for these disadvantages, aircraft designers turned to the canard foreplane. Unlike a horizontal tail, canard foreplanes provide added lift without the reduction in supersonic maneuverability that tailed aircraft have.

Features
The J-10 features a tall single vertical tail and two ventral fins. Like the Swedish Gripen it is a single engine aircraft.
The aircraft operates a quadruplex fly by wire control system and a "glass" cockpit uses a head up display (HUD), multi-function displays (MFDs) to display radar and flight information; and a hands on throttle and stick (HOTAS) controls.

Radar
The radar is reported to be the Russian Phazotron Zhemchoug (Pearl), a derivative of the radar used on the Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker.

Weapons
The J-10 is armed with an internal Type 23 23mm twin barrel cannon and has 11 external hardpoints, 5 on the fuselage and 3 under each wing. The J-10 can carry the PL-11 semi-active radar homing medium range air-to-air missile, PL-12 active homing medium range air-to-air missile, or the PL-8 IR homing short-range air-to-air missile. It can also carry a variety of bombs, rockets, and other external ordinance.

Development
The J-10 has been strongly influenced by other countries. Israel and Russia have provided a significant amount of technical expertise to the aircraft's development. The J-10 design is strongly influenced by the cancelled Israeli Lavi fighter program. The Lavi fly-by-wire control system software was reportedly transferred to the Chinese after the cancellation of the Lavi project. Both the China and Israel deny this rumor. Russia has provided a great deal of technical support in the form of avionics and power plants.
US technology and influence may also be a part of the J-10. Pakistan is rumored to have allowed the Chinese access to their F-16As. The nose and tail of the J-10 are also very reminiscent of the F-16.

Engine
The J-10 originally intended to use the domestically developed WS-10 Taihang turbofan engine. The WS-10 is derived from the commercial CFM-56 turbofan engine technology powering many of today's commercial airliners. CFM is a partnership between GE and SNECMA. It uses GE supplied technology from the F101 / F110 military turbofan program in the design of the compressor, combustor, and high -pressure turbine. SNECMA supplied technology for the fan, gearbox, and low-pressure turbine.
Unfortunately for China, the CFM-56 engine technology and technical information was embargoed by the US shortly after the crackdown following the 1989 Tienanmen uprising. This has slowed WS-10 development a great deal and the Chinese designers were unable to achieve the required engine performance in time to meet the J-10 development needs.
Recent announcements by the Chinese press in 2007 stated that the J-10 would fly with an indigenous Chinese built engine within the year. This is undoubtedly an important milestone for the WS-10 designers. However, the exact timing for when a WS-10 powered J-10 may enter frontline service is still uncertain.
The WS-10's developmental problems forced CAC to use a variant of the Saturn-Lyulka AL-30F turbofan, which powers the Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker. In order to fit within the J-10 airframe, the AL-30F has been slightly modified. The gearbox has been moved to the underside of the engine. The airframe intakes and ducts have also been changed to accommodate the AL-30's installation and airflow requirements.

The USA’s Electronic Growler

With the retirement of the US Air Force’s long-range EF-111 Raven “Spark ‘Vark,” the aging 4-seat EA-6B Prowlers are now the USA’s sole remaining tactical aircraft type for radar jamming, communications jamming and information operations like signals interception. They’ve been predictably busy as a result. In Iraq, they’ve been used for everything from escorting strike aircraft against heavily defended targets during the opening days of the war, to disrupting enemy IED attacks by jamming all radio signals in an area.

New Submarine Rescue System

It is a new submarine rescue system, owned jointly by France, Norway and the UK, has completed trials off the coast of Norway. The “SRV1” system is managed by the UK MoD’s Defence Equipment & Support team on behalf of the 3 nations.

The system consists of a free-swimming rescue vehicle with an A-frame portable launch and recovery system, a transfer-under-pressure facility to safely decompress personnel from a pressurised submarine, and an intervention system for survey and rescue preparation…

“SRV1” is designed and built by Perry Slingsby System Ltd of Kirkbymoorside. It will have a crew of 2 pilots and an attendant, can rescue 15 people at a time and will normally operate a 4-hour cycle, with an expected cycle of no more than 72 hours from notice received to deployment anywhere in the world. Once on station, it can operate in sea state 6 (5m/16 ft high waves) and remain on station in 10m/30 ft seas. SRV1 is powered by advanced sodium nickel batteries with higher power-to-weight/space ratio than the lead acid batteries used in current rescue vehicles, and a fibre optic umbilical provides video, communications and data link to the command team on the mother ship.

Global Hawk (UAV) Flight Endurance Record

This is a pic of Northrop Grumman Corporation’s RQ-4 Global Hawk(UAV).The interesting thing which iam gonna mention here is that this Unmanned Aircraft(UAV) set an endurance record for a full-scale,on March 22, 2008.It completed a flight of 33.1 hours at altitudes up to 60,000 feet over Edwards Air Force Base.
(This record will be broken in the future as technology is changing day by day but it was also a great milestone for Global Hawk Team.)