European AFs
European air forces
TRIAL IMPERIAL HAMMER in SARDINIA
Mirages F1CR belonging to the 2/33 Savoie Reconnaissance Squadron.
Seventy French airmen along with fourteen other nations took part in an electronic warfare field test in Sardinia from September 27th to October 17th.
French AWACS
This NATO exercise called « Trial Imperial Hammer » aimed at training the armed forces to fuse information gathered from various inteligence sources – aircraft, radars, satellites. An AWACS from the 702 French Air Force Base at Avord; 2 Mirages F1CR from 2/33 « Savoie » Reconnaissance Squadron at Reims, and a C160 Gabriel from Metz took part in the implementation of this field trial together with the French Navy and the French Army.
C-160 Gabriel
The development of the information management and communication capabilities is critical to ensure support for the operations.
Source et photos: SIRPA AIR (http://www.defense.gouv.fr/air/)
RAFALE evaluation in SWITZERLAND
The next aircraft (the last one was the Gripen) being evaluated in the framework of the replacement of the Swiss F-5, is the Dassault-Aviation-manufactured RAFALE until November 7. Two two-seaters stationed at Emmen airfield – Switzerland – are being tested the same way the two Swedish Gripens were tested previously.
Latest Dassault Aviation creation, the RAFALE performed its maiden flight on July 4, 1986! Its program highlighted all the major French suppliers such as: SNECMA for the M88 engine; Thales (former Thomson – CSF) for the RBE-2 phased array radar; Dassault systems; SAGEM (electronics and optronics); and the English Messier – Dowty for the landing gear.
Unlike the Mirage 2000 which versus its American competitors, the RAFALE does not fear its opponents as far as technical performance is concerned:
- RBE-2 phased array radar
- Latest generation SPECTRA (electronic warfare system)
- OSF (Front-sector optronic system)
- a GPS (Global Positioning System)
- last but not least: a lower cost of development and maintenance compared to the majority of its opponents…
The RAFALE has a wide range of weapons at its disposal: the infrared and radar MICA missile, the SCALP (air-to-surface cruise missile) as well as the future long-range European METEOR missile. The multirole Dassault fighter aircraft is able to be equipped with various American-made bombs: Laser-guided Paveway III, for instance, but it is a shame that foreign weapons have not been licensed for the RAFALE yet.
The RAFALE fighter aircraft are parted into three standards:
- F1 standard: air-to-air-mission dedicated only. This standard fields the French Fleet Air Arm.
- F2 standard: encompasses the F1 standard, and has the air-to-surface capability to its disposal. The French Air Force is fielded with these aircraft.
- F3 standard encompasses the previous skills plus the strategic capability which enables this fighter to carry out nuclear-deterrence/strike missions, reconnaissance missions, and anti-ship-strike missions. This latter standard might field the Swiss Air Force (without the nuclear and anti-ship capabilities)
SOURCE :
Photos 1 & 2 French Air Force, Rafale 5/330 Squadron Côte-D’argent at Dijon.
Photo 3 Pascal Kümmerling, Rafale of the 5/330 at Geneva during BEX meeting in 2007.
Bern, 09th of October 2008 – Photo: Pascal Kümmerling – The second applicant to the replacement of the Tigers ( TTE ) landing at Emmen. The French RAFALE has already started the second TTE in-flight and ground-test series in Switzerland. The European EADS Eurofighter third and last applicant will follow in November.
About thirty flights are scheduled among which some night flights for the tests at Emmen. Around 50 sorties will be needed. They will be carried out by F/A-18s, and F-5s in order to make up the targets (means playing the role of targets) and the formation flying tests. The assessment flights occur within the frame of the flights share, which means that there should not be any increase in the number of sorties on the airfields that are concerned.
The sequel: The arrival of the European EADS Eurofighter is expected on November 6, 2008. The testing syllabus is the same for the three fighter aircraft.
The flight and ground tests will be examined as well as the tenders that were handed in on July 2nd, 2008. The collected data will be used as a basis for a second call for tenders in January 2009.
The choice of the type of aircraft should come after the evaluation of the second tender, assessing equipment and price, and when everything has been put down on a balance-sheet report expected in May 2009. Then the choice should be stated in July 2009.
These aircraft belong to the 1/7 « Provence » Fighter Squadron stationed at Saint Dizier – Robinson. The « Provence » was the first squadron that had been operational with the RAFALE. The first 1/7 RAFALE flight happened in 2006. Photos: Pascal Kümmerling.
VERY SPECIAL THANKS to Pascal Kümmerling since this post is adapted from his articles on his blog called AVIA NEWS: http://psk.blog.24heures.ch/
FRENCH AIR FORCE BASES TO CLOSE DOWN:
The French Prime minister François Fillon has addressed an official statement this morning:
After the reform, “The French Army will have shed 20 Regiments/Batallions”, The Air Force will have shed 11 Air Bases,and the Navy will have shed “a Fleet Air Arm Base”.
The units or sites concerned are small, medium, and large ones – from tens of people up to 2,502 people as far as Metz AF Base is concerned.
- As early as 2009, the French government plans the closing down of the AF Base 101 stationed at Toulouse.
- In2010 Colmar-Meyenheim (Haut-Rhin) AF Base 132 should close down (1,276 people).
- From 2011 -2012, Nîmes Garons Fleet Air Arm Base (1,332 people) will close down, as will the AF Base 112 stationed at Reims (1,545 people), and Taverny Air Base (Val-d’Oise, 986 people) as well. The AF Base 128 (Metz-Frescaty, Moselle, 2.502 people), AF Base 103 of Cambrai-Haynecourt (Nord, 1,364 people), AF Base 217 at Bretigny-sur-Orge (Essonne, 1,955 people). Overseas AF Bases: 365 Lamentin (650 people) in Martinique in the French West Indies, and overseas AF Bases 190 Papeete – Faa’a (Tahiti), in Polynesia (920 people), and AFB 181 Sainte-Clothilde, La Réunion. The radar Air Force Base 943 Nice Mont-Agel is to be shed too.
While 83 military sites will close down, it is deemed that around 60 sites will be operationally-meant reinforced. Evreux (Eure) Air Force Base 105 is expected to get a reinforcement up to 800 people.
The French government plans 54,000 jobs to be axed in the Armed Forces and Defense within a seven-year period. The current France strength is 320,000 (without the Gendarmerie). The French Air Force should reach down to 50,000 strength.
AVORD AIR BASE: First upgraded EMB 121 Xingu aircraft for the French military makes its maiden flight
You can read the article at this address:
EADS Socata last month announced the first flight of an avionics-upgraded Embraer EMB 121 Xingu of the French Military Air Transport Flight School, based in Avord.
The 1-hour, 15-minute flight validated the system improvements implemented during a 15-month intensive avionics modernization program led by EADS Socata for the French armed forces in-service Xingu fleet.
This avionics upgrade provides the twin-engine Xingu training/transport aircraft with a glass cockpit environment that meets today’s air traffic environment. Its configuration is built around two Sagem Avionics 10-inch ICDS-10 displays for primary flight information and one ICDS-10 multifunction display for engine instrumentation.
Completing the new avionics suite are the Garmin GNS 430 navigation/communications system, a Garmin SL30 communication and navigation set with 8.33 kHz spacing, and a Garmin GTX 330D Mode S transponder with antenna diversity.
The improvement package also will include mission preparation software.
EADS Socata’s flight test program with the upgraded EMB 121 will last three months, and is to involve the rework of a second Xingu from the French Navy to complete the contract’s first installment. A successful conclusion of this work will lead to the start-up of a second contract phase – scheduled through several additional installments, with the supply of avionics kits for retrofit of the French Armed Forces – remaining 39 EMB 121 Xingus.
In service since 1982 with the French Air Force and the French Navy, the EMB 121 Xingu is operated by the Military Air Transport school based in Avord to train transport and patrol aircraft crews from France and certain participating countries. They serve also as liaison aircraft within the French Navy.
« This maiden flight successfully concludes the first installment of this major avionics retrofit program, » stated Raphaël Maître, EADS Socata’s Vice President of Customer Service. « It highlights our know-how in this field, and underscores our ability to offer military customers high-quality service in accordance with program specifications and budgetary envelope. »
Special thanks to FRONTIER INDIA DEFENCE & STRATEGIC NEWS