AD-150 HIGH-SPEED VTOL DRONE

Thanks to its HTAL (High Torque Aerial Lift) advanced tilt-duct propulsion system, the AD-150 Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) has been designed to take off and land vertically (VTOL) as well as reach a speed of about 300 knots.

It is still being developed by American Dynamics Flight Systems. Its airframe is to be made up of carbon fiber and kevlar materials. It could be one of the most effective drones of its generation with its versatile payload configuration; GCS interfaces; and interoperable data links. Its Pratt and Whitney engines could be feed with Jet-A; JP-4; and JP-5 fuel.

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Sukhoi Su-35BM vs Eurofighter Typhoon

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RAFALE, GRIPEN, TYPHOON for Swiss AF – Purchase postponed!

Dassault RAFALE fighter aircraft aerobatics
RAFALE - Photo © Xavier Cotton - http://passiondesavions.blogspot.com/

08/26/2010 Article adapted from AVIANEWS

As far as the Swiss Air Force is concerned, there has been two options so far – the choice of new fighter aircraft or postponement thereof, the second alternative has been chosen. You will find hereafter the Avianews webmaster’s analysis:

This is the Swiss Federal Council Message:

« However, given the current state of federal finances and priorities taken as a whole, the time of acquisition is postponed to no later than 2015. The Federal Council decided on the proposal of DDPS (Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports) to postpone the replacement of 54 obsolete combat aircraft F-5 Tiger Air Force. The Head of the DDPS, Ueli Maurer held a news conference on the postponement which is expected to last at most until 2015. The Federal Department of Finance and the DDPS together confirm by the end of 2011 the conditions for an acquisition during the second half of the decade.  »

The reasons for non selection:

First, this is an organizational problem from the financial organization of Armée XXI. Remember, the people had voted for the new military organization with a comfortable 70% « yes »! id est a military downsized with a budget of only 4.3 billion Swiss Francs now. However, the parliament has never put forward this budget that painfully reaches 3.6 billion. The Swiss People is reportedly disappointed by such loss of income, and deception as well.

No F-5 replacement:

Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 on apron
Typhoon FGR4 - Photo © Xavier Cotton http://passiondesavions.blogspot.com/

Replacing the F-5 is out of the question anymore but to get prepared for the next generation of F/A-18 from 2025. Consequently, there is more urgency to acquire a large number of aircraft as a whole block but split into several ones.

Consequences:

The losers in this case are the Swiss industry and jobs. Indeed, if the cost of a fighter plane is expensive, the returns on partnerships to « Offsets » were significantly higher and would have revitalized both the Swiss manufacturing industry and employment.

Competitors:

The three companies will meet in a few years for a new offer and therefore cannot comment on this « no choice »!

Dassault must be disappointed for they would certainly have won the contract with his Rafale. The version of the Rafale-04T was proposed with more powerful engines, the wiring for the METEOR missile, the new targeting pod Damocles XF and the brand new IDM (Improved Data Modem).

It bodes well for Saab because they now may complete the Swedish version of the Gripen E / F (NG), whose development is not completed yet and find a buyer with the Swedish Air Force (SwAF). Indeed, it must order the Gripen E / F by 2015.

EADS Eurofighter will be able to finalize its AESA E-scan radar and they are likely to reduce maintenance costs of the aircraft as promised this summer to the Switzerland Economy Minister Doris Leuthard at the ILA Berlin Airshow.

… To be continued …

Photos © Xavier Cotton http://passiondesavions.blogspot.com/

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RAAF AP-3C Orion Flight Engineers

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New English/French DICTIONARY of AERONAUTICS

Dictionnaire aéronautique de Pierre Boi

Passionné(e) d’aviation ?

La nouvelle édition du

DICTIONNAIRE AERONAUTIQUE

Thématique et Illustré vient de paraître

Médaillé par l’Académie Nationale de l’Air et de l’Espace (ANAE) dès sa 1ère édition .

(Cliquez sur la couverture à  droite pour l’agrandir et lire le résumé)

Nouvelle édition 2010

substantiellement augmentéePlus de 60 000 mots et expressions (traduits et expliqués) ; plus de 1 500 abréviations.

Thématique : Tous les domaines de l’aéronautique traités en 15 chapitres distincts :

– Recherche simplifiée de termes appartenant à un domaine précis.

– Possibilité d’utiliser le dictionnaire comme un livre de vocabulaire spécialisé.

Illustré : 66 planches d’illustrations clairement légendées.

– Pourvu d’un index complet, anglais et français, pour recherche rapide de tous les sens possibles d’un terme.

– Réalisé sous l’égide d’éminents spécialistes, dont :

– Pilotes de chasse et de ligne français, anglais et américains.

– As de voltige aérienne.

– Leader de la prestigieuse Patrouille de France.

– Ingénieurs spécialistes des divers domaines de l’aéronautique.

L’auteur Pierre BOI, a reçu la médaille de bronze de l’ANAE en 1998 pour la première édition de ce dictionnaire aéronautique.

Edité par :

LA MAISON DU DICTIONNAIRE

98 Bd du Montparnasse – 75014 PARIS

Tél. : 01 43 22 12 93 – Fax : 01 43 22 01 77

site : http://www.dicoland.com

– Présentation détaillée du Dictionnaire Aéronautique sur le site : www.chez.com/petwood

– Pour commande en librairie : N° ISBN : 978-2-856-08229- 4

Code livre : 39224108

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