SAAB GRIPEN wins tender in Switzerland

Posté le 1 décembre 2011 de Toni G.

11/30/2011 – The news broke today : The Swiss Air Force is to acquire 22 Sweedish SAAB GRIPEN fighter aircraft. The Swiss government had warned that they were compelled to squeeze their budget for this $3.36 billion bid as they could not afford to purchase the 33 fighter aircraft planned for the replacement of their F-5 Tiger fleet.

In spite of its outstanding performance during the tests as well as over the battlefields in Afghanistan, and in Libya, the Dassault Rafale was not chosen. Moreover, like the EADS Eurofighter/Typhoon, it was deemed too expensive for Switzerland could not buy as many aircraft within the budget allocated.

The Gripen is a good option for Switzerland since it is the cheapest one. The version to be delivered – JAS 39E/F or Gripen Demo/NG – is believed to be an excellent one – IRST (InfraRed Search and Track); ES-05 Raven AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar & SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar); Electronic Warfare (EW) systems; Helmet Mounted Sight and Display (HMSD)…

However, this new-generation Gripen NG is a single engine fighter aircraft. It was tactically outperformed by its opponents, and last but not least, it has not yet been produced. As a matter of fact, the Swiss should be involved in the R&D works.

RAFALE likely to be turned down in UAE fighter aircraft bid

Posté le 17 novembre 2011 de Toni G.

According to the comments of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the French Dassault RAFALE multirole fighter aircraft might be rejected as he was paying a visit to the 12th Dubai International Airshow.

About the Rafale deal, he said that Dassault seemed unaware that all the diplomatic and political will in the world could not overcome uncompetitive and unworkable commercial terms.

Dassault was deemed to race ahead in this $10-billion sale to the United Arab Emirates. The contest has taken a dramatic turn as EADS Eurofighter/Typhoon seems to receive a decisive momentum, and the Boeing F-15 and F-18 programmes would be back on track in this competition.

The Rafale performances in Libya were thought to have outclassed the other allied fighter aircraft, and it clearly headed above the competition indeed. However, some commercial negotiations would have failed. To be continued…

Photo courtesy: © Xavier Cotton http://passiondesavions.blogspot.com/

US military aircraft supposedly made up of Chinese knockoff!

Posté le 13 novembre 2011 de Toni G.

CIAS 2011 – Canadian International Air Show

Posté le 15 octobre 2011 de Toni G.

The Canadian International Air Show took place in Toronto last month.

The CIAS line-up featured the RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) Snowbirds; CF-18 Hornets; US Marine tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey; USAF A-10 Thunderbolt; the American team Heavy Metal, and its L-39 Albatross & a T-33 Shooting Star; a Pitts Special S-1-11B SS or Model 11 « Super Stinker »; an Avro Lancaster; the CFB Trenton SkyHawks – the Canadian Forces Parachute Demonstration Team; a Zivko Edge 540 flown by Pete McLeod; the Misty Blues all woman skydiving team; a Sukhoi SU-26M flown by Rick Volker; an H-101 Salto sailplane flown by Manfred Radius; and the Royal Canadian Air Cadets on the Bellanca 8GCBC Scout tow plane and the Schweizer SGS 2-33A Glider.

Watch the video with interviews:

When mice take the Mickey out of airline…

Posté le 10 septembre 2011 de Toni G.

It first happened on Monday September 5, 2011. A Nepal Airlines flight was cancelled at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu.

Do you guess why? The flight attendants spotted a stowaway mouse onboard their B-757 bound to Bangkok! The small rodent fled from the galley’s pantry, and rushed from a box of drinks to the back of the cabin although the 113 passengers did not notice the tiny stowaway.

The mouse was finally caught thanks to a glue trap. The jetliner was grounded for more than eleven hours.

Then, the same Boeing 757 – this time bound to Kathmandu – was grounded at Hong Kong International Airport on Tuesday September 6, in the evening.

The reason: the pilots spotted a mouse in the cockpit just before the airplane departure. The aircraft has not been cleared to take off because this mouse was trapped but then escaped, and would still be on the loose. The 84 passengers were rerouted on a Dragonair aircraft.

As far as flight safety is concerned, an aircraft cannot take off with a mouse moving freely onboard as it can gnaw the wiring, and therefore represents a potentiel danger.

It can only be caught or trapped. However, NAC (Nepal Airlines Corporation) could not poison any mouse for a small animal can damage an airplane even if it is dead somewhere, and particularly if in contact with a vital part of the plane.

Special thanks to Mr Hermas, and LadyEleanorA who buzzed this piece of news.