Western, Arab Warplanes Converge on Italy for Libya Mission

ROME - Western and Arab warplanes were converging on Italy's air bases March 20 to join the international campaign to cripple the ability of Moammar Gadhafi's forces to attack Libyan civilians.
France, which spearheaded the U.N.-mandated Operation "Odyssey Dawn" with air strikes on Libya on March 19, also sent its aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to join the campaign on March 20.

The French Navy's flagship set off from the southern French naval port of Toulon at about 1:10 p.m. and was expected to reach the Libyan coast within 48 hours.
Meanwhile aircraft from the United Arab Emirates were due to arrive March 20 at the Decimomannu air force base on the Italian island of Sardinia, which is already hosting four Spanish F-18 fighter jets that arrived on March 19.
The UAE, along with Jordan, Morocco and Qatar, was among Arab nations that took part in a summit in Paris on March 19 on the Libyan crisis.
The Italian air bases are a key staging point for strikes by Western-led coalition forces to destroy Libya's air defenses and impose a no-fly zone to prevent Gadhafi's forces from crushing a popular uprising.
Italian Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa said Rome also assigned eight combat aircraft, including four Tornado jets, for the operation and they can be used "at any time".
And British Defence Secretary Liam Fox said Typhoon and Tornado jets would fly this weekend to the Gioia del Colle air base in southern Italy, where they will be ready to deploy as part of the mission dubbed "Operation Ellamy".
Six Danish F-16 fighters were also ready to take off from Italy's Sigonella air base March 20 to join Odyssey Dawn which saw U.S., British and French forces hammer Libyan forces from the air and sea.
In the West's biggest intervention in the Arab world since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, mounted exactly eight years earlier, U.S. warships and a British submarine fired more than 120 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Libya on March 19.
This prompted Gadhafi to warn March 20 of a long war in the Mediterranean "battlefield" as Tripoli reported dozens of deaths.
Belgium said March 20 six of its F-16 fighter-bombers would be operational Monday for the Libya mission.
"We will be able to take part in operations under the command of the coalition from tomorrow," said Defense Minister Pieter de Crem, who added that 250 people would be assigned to support the six aircraft and their pilots.
In addition to its four F-18 fighter jets, Spain sent a refueling aircraft to Italy and said it would also deploy an F-100 frigate, an S-74 submarine and a CN-235 maritime surveillance plane to help enforce an arms embargo on Libya, once parliamentary approval has been received.
Spain had already announced on March 18 it would allow NATO to use two military bases, at Rota and at Moron de la Frontera in the south of the country, for the operation over Libya.
The U.N. Security Council last week passed a resolution approving "all necessary measures" to impose a no-fly zone in Libya, protect civilian areas and pressure Gadhafi into accepting a ceasefire.
The Security Council last month also ordered an arms embargo against Libya and other sanctions against Gadhafi's family.

BAE, Dassault To Work Together On MALE Vehicle

Europe's two leading military aerospace companies have agreed to collaborate in the design of a medium altitude long endurance unmanned aircraft system to compete for an emerging Anglo-French joint program.
BAE Systems and Dassault Aviation said they had signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate of the design, development, production and support of a MALE vehicle.

The two companies have been working toward a possible tie-up for months and have already completed a joint feasibility study on a MALE vehicle for the British and French Governments.
The MoU comes in the wake of the Anglo-French defense co-operation treaty signed by the two governments in November. A possible joint UAS program was touted then as one of the most likely projects to proceed in the short term.
The UAS could be loosely based on the work already done by BAE in its Mantis demonstrator program, said a BAE spokeswomen.
The Mantis vehicle, part funded by the UK government, tested a number of technologies, including autonomous flight in a limited flying program, which ended last year.
BAE said it had no imminent plans to get Mantis back in the air but was "considering how to get the best value from the work already done going forward."
"The new vehicle won't be Mantis with another name, but we will be looking at the technologies it used," she said.
The two governments are yet to formally launch a competition for joint MALE program, but are expected to do so in the coming months.
EADS with the Talarion system is likely to be among the other contenders for the requirement.
Kevin Taylor, BAE's managing director for military air and information, said in a statement that solution from the two companies will "ensure that the UK and France maintain their status as leading providers of aerospace capability.
BAE and Dassault both lead programs to develop the Taranis and Neuron unmanned combat air vehicles respectively. The BAE spokeswoman said for the moment the MoU was limited to the MALE system "but might lead to other things."
Both companies are seeking to fill the void in military aerospace design and production work beyond the rundown of the Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale fighter programs, which currently sustain of thousands of jobs in the UK and France.
In Britain the new UAS would be aimed at a Ministry of Defence program known as Scavenger. The MoD has been looking at future ISTAR requirements ranging from MALE systems up to space-based capabilities for delivery starting around 2015.
General Atomics with new versions of the Reaper, Northrop Grumman with a variant of the Global Hawk and EADS have had discussions with the British over filling aspects of the requirement.
France has a near-term requirement for a MALE machine for Afghanistan but is looking to the deal with Britain to fill a long-term capability need.

Britain in Eurofighter Talks with Indonesia: Report

LONDON - Britain is in talks with Indonesia on the possible sale of Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft despite concerns over Jakarta's human rights record, The Times newspaper reported March 10.

Britain is reportedly in talks to sell 24 Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Indonesia for about 5 billion pounds ($8.1 billion, 5.8 billion euros). (RAF)

Indonesia informally approached Britain over the potential acquisition of up to 24 jets. The previous Labour government banned defense exports to the country in 1999 amid claims it had used British-made planes to bomb civilians.

The sale would be worth around 5 billion pounds ($8.1 billion dollars, 5.8 billion euros) in total, the paper said, but would be hugely controversial in light of current concern over the source of weapons being used against Arab rebels.
British military company BAE Systems has separately offered to upgrade Indonesia's fleet of Hawk jets, it said.
Gerald Howarth, a British defense minister, will discuss the potential sale when he attends a defense summit in Jakarta later this month, the Times said.
"I fully expect that to be the case," Howarth told the paper. "Typhoon is on their agenda. Their interest shows the extent of interest by countries around the world in what is one of the most sophisticated aircraft anywhere."
Human rights group Amnesty International accuses Indonesia of rights violations including police torture and a restricted media.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour government blocked the sale of jets after it was claimed that Indonesia's Hawk fleet had bombed East Timor rebels.
Kaye Stearman, a spokeswoman for Campaign Against Arms Trade, told the Times: "From 1994 to 1999 Indonesia bought half of its military equipment from the U.K., backed by U.K. export credits.
"The people of Indonesia have accumulated huge debts which they are still paying off. The Hawk jets and other British-made weaponry were used by Indonesia in East Timor, West Papua and Aceh.
"With such a dreadful record, BAE and the British government should not be trying to sell more weapons to Indonesia," she added.
Eurofighters were grounded last year in several countries due to the problematic ejectors after a crash killed a Saudi pilot.

Report: Brazil Delays Fighter Jet Decision Until 2012

BRASILIA, Brazil - Brazil is postponing a long-awaited decision on a multi-billion-dollar purchase of 36 fighter jets until next year as a result of massive budget cuts, a Brazilian newspaper reported Feb. 19.

From left: Dassault Aviation’s Rafale, Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet and Saab’s Gripen NG, all in the mix for the Brazil fighter jet deal. (Dassault Aviation/The Boeing Co./Saab Group photos)

Major daily O Estado de Sao Paulo cited four unnamed government ministers as saying new President Dilma Rousseff saw no "climate" for the acquisition in 2011, and that such a move in the midst of a $30 billion slash in the year's budget would be an "inconsistency."

France, Sweden and the United States are vying for the contract, which has an initial value estimated at $4 billion to $7 billion, with the possibility of many more aircraft in the future as the Brazilian Air Force seeks to revamp its fleet of fighters.
Rousseff met for more than three hours Feb. 15 with Defense Minister Nelson Jobim to discuss the budget restrictions, and while Jobim told reporters that the pending deal would not be impacted by the cuts, he also said there were "no budget expenditures this year" for the fighter contract.
Jobim also stressed the military would take its time to choose the best bid and begin complex negotiations on technical matters and the terms of the deal, but he said he expected a decision in 2011. Sources in the president's office and the defense ministry told AFP that the purchase process was ongoing.
The intense competition for the contract has dragged on for years, with Rousseff inheriting the purchase decision from her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The shortlist for the jets is made up of the French-made Rafale, Saab Group of Sweden's Gripen NG and the U.S. F/A-18 Super Hornet, and speculation has swirled about which bid is in favor.
Lula declared a preference for French planes but ultimately left the decision to Rousseff, who has not shown any favoritism during her first 45 days in office.
Brazil insists on the unrestricted transfer of technology as part of the deal, as it intends to use the vast project to develop its aviation industry and become a regional provider.
In January, the French defense minister said his country was confident of scooping the contract. Earlier this week the Pentagon assured that Brazil would get a "significant transfer of technology" by buying U.S. fighter planes from The Boeing Co.

BAE Displays Model of Navalized Typhoon for India

BANGALORE - BAE Systems responded to an Indian Navy request for information on a new naval fighter last year with an offer based on the Typhoon combat jet.

BAE Systems responded to an Indian Navy request for information on a new naval fighter with an offer based on the Typhoon combat jet. Above, a Eurofighter Typhoon takes off in June 2009. (Alan Lessig / Staff file photo)

At the Aero India 2011 show, which opened here Feb. 9, the company took the wraps off what it thinks an Indian naval Typhoon might look like. The design may be aimed squarely at the Indians, but with questions still being asked by some sections of the U.K. government over the price of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), which is destined to equip a new Royal Navy aircraft carrier, the re-emergence of the naval Typhoon was a reminder options do exist.

Asked about the naval Typhoon at the show, Peter Luff, the British defense minister visiting Aero India in support of London's increasing export drive, ruled out interest in any platform other than the Joint Strike Fighter.
Paul Hopkins, BAE's vice president of air business development, said the work done on the naval Typhoon was solely geared toward the Indian Navy.
That said, the previous Labour administration eyed a navalized Typhoon as a possible plan B during negotiations with the U.S. over JSF technology transfer, and some of the work supporting the Indian request for information stems from that period.
Pictures displayed by BAE showed an aircraft model with a number of modifications compared to the land-based Typhoon being offered to the Indian Air Force in a contest to provide a medium, multirole combat aircraft. Most obvious is the conformal tanks and thrust vectoring nozzles, but other more subtle changes included a beefed-up undercarriage, some strengthening of the airframe and other requirements needed to take Typhoon to sea.
A small deployable flap on the upper wing could also be fitted to improve handling during take-off if thrust vectoring was not incorporated in the requirement.
Hopkins said BAE has done sufficient work to establish whether a naval Typhoon for the Indian Navy is feasible. Now the company has at least two hurdles to overcome.
First, Typhoon has to beat out opposition from the F/A-18, Rafale, Gripen, F-16 and MiG-35 for the Air Force order. Then the Indian Navy needs to decide whether it will continue to use ski jumps on its expanding aircraft carrier force or start to switch to a catapult and arrestor gear configuration.
"If it's a decision for a catapult, then we are not a contender," said Hopkins.
Meeting catapult requirements would add too much weight to the aircraft, blunt performance and add substantially to modification costs.
The more modest changes needed to launch from a ski jump and recover using an arrestor hook would add only around 500 kilograms to the aircraft weight, said Hopkins.
Air Force Typhoons already carry an arrestor hook for emergency landings although this would require strengthening.
Hopkins said a naval Typhoon would be capable of operating from the 45,000-ton Russian carrier Admiral Gorshkov, now being converted for the Indians into a vessel that can accommodate short takeoff but arrested recovery (STOBAR) flight.
Pictures of the Typhoon were shown on the BAE stand with the converted Russian carrier in the background.
BAE wasn't the only company with a fighter without a naval pedigree to respond to the Indian request for information.
A naval version of a STOBAR-capable Gripen is also being developed by Saab.
The F/A-18 and Rafale are already up to speed as land-based and naval fighters, and offer a ready-made catapult-launched solution once the Navy has a formal requirement for a new fighter.
Last month, the U.S. added to the possible naval contenders by saying it would make the JSF available if India asked.