UAE Also Eyeing Typhoon in Combat Aircraft Competition

DUBAI - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has asked Britain to bid the Eurofighter Typhoon for its combat aircraft fleet competition, a British government spokesman said, dealing a blow to French efforts to sell the Rafale to the Gulf state.
"We have received the request for proposal for the Eurofighter Typhoon," an official from the U.K. Defense & Security Organization said Nov. 13 on the opening day of the Dubai Airshow. "We're working on it."

No figures were immediately available for the British bid.
The U.K. Minister for International Security Strategy, Gerald Howarth, was attending the exhibition as part of London's official support to place the Eurofighter in the UAE.
The British Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Stephen Dalton, was also in Dubai, flying the flag for the Royal Air Force, which flew two Eurofighters to the show. A Eurofighter was scheduled to fly in the daily display, as was the Rafale.
Dassault Aviation declined comment.
French Air Force officers heard of the Eurofighter news on Nov. 11, through a London embassy attaché.
The UAE has been in talks with France since 2008 on a sale of 60 upgraded Rafales, but the negotiations suffered political upsets along the way and Gulf officials saw the initial $10 billion tag as excessive.
On the Rafale talks, French defense minister Gérard Longuet told journalists here "the final stage has been well engaged and a flick of the eyebrows could mean hundreds of millions of euros either way."
Each side was defending its interests, but the talks were essentially between the Rafale commercial team and the UAE, he said.
The UAE's request for a Eurofighter bid was a case of "livening up the procedure," Longuet said, adding he still expected the UAE would order the Rafale in December when the Gulf state celebrated its 40th anniversary of founding.
An important price element was the Rafale's multirole capability, which meant the same crew could perform air combat, reconnaissance and close air support missions, Longuet said. For a country with a small population, that was a big saving in crew costs.
On the UAE's Mirage 2000-9 fleet, any decision in an "innovative solution" was a decision at the state level as part of a strategic relationship, above that of the ministry or manufacturer, he said.
Some Mirage 2000-9 units were aging, others were more recent, he said.
In the official opening of the show, UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Muhammad Bin Rashid Al-Makhtum made the briefest of visits at the Rafale stand in his tour of the exhibition.
Lockheed Martin has been in talks with the UAE on F-16 upgrades, mainly communications, to allow the U.S.-built fighters to talk to the F-35, F-16 business development executive William Henry said here.
In an upgrade that took units out of service, Lockheed offered sales of new F-16s to allow operators to maintain force levels, he said.
Lockheed also has talked to the UAE about sales of the F-35, Henry said.
"As air forces look to the future, the F-35 is going to be a key element of their force planning," he said.
Lockheed sees potential sales of 50 to 100 F-16s around the world, Henry said. On top of 18 F-16s ordered by Iraq, 52 units are on the backlog.
Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Naser Al Alawi, deputy commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defense, told an air chiefs conference Nov. 12 that, in a new generation combat aircraft, the air force was looking for network capability, open architecture and interoperability.
A future weapon system would be versatile, multirole, and capable of handing modular sensors and payloads, Al Alawi said.
Other elements of the future aircraft would include upgradeable and expandable hardware and software, and the plane would be fast, agile and easily serviceable, he said.
The systems should also draw on dual use military-civil technology and offer versatility.
MBDA Chief Executive Antoine Bouvier said the European missile company has not received a request from Eurofighter or the UAE to work on an offer of weapons for the Typhoon.
The UAE Air Force flew its F-16 and Mirage 2000-9 fighters in the NATO-led coalition operation over Libya. Qatar also flew alongside with French missions.
That deployment yielded many "firsts," including the UAE's first time flying as a non-NATO member in a coalition air campaign, Al Alawi said.
Among the lessons learned from Libya were the need for integration of non-NATO elements into the alliance procedures, need for a well thought out communications plan among partner nations and the importance of exchange liaison officers, Al Alawi said.
The UAE is still in talks with the French government and industry for the Rafale, a Gulf source said.
UAE foreign minister Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan recently held a first meeting with his counterpart Alain Juppé, who has been tasked by president Nicolas Sarokzy to lead the export drive for the Rafale.
The request for a Eurofighter bid is the latest setback for France's Rafale foreign sale campaign. UAE officials asked Lockheed for information on the F-16s, on which the Gulf state has invested in co-development on its Block 60 version.
The U.S government was also out in force at the show, displaying the V22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft for the first time here, as well the F-15, F-16 and F-18 fighters. The Apache attack helicopter was also at the show.
Bilateral ties between France and the UAE were back to normal after a hitting a low patch last year, when the Gulf state viewed the Paris government as ignoring its concerns.

U.S. Air Force To Upgrade 300 F-16s

The U.S. Air Force will upgrade between 300 and 350 F-16C Block 40 and 50 fighters with new avionics and increased airframe life, a three-star general said before Congress.
Testifying Nov. 2, Lt. Gen. Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, Air Force deputy chief for operations, plans and requirements, also said the service doesn't have enough trained UAV pilots, and that the U-2 isn't quite ready for retirement.
"You hear an announcement fairly quickly from the United States Air Force, we're going to [service life extension program (SLEP)] and avionics modernize probably in the vicinity 300 to 350 F-16s,".
That number could climb to 600 aircraft, Carlisle said, but it is not likely the Air Force will have to upgrade so many jets.
The modernized jets will be crucial to maintaining the Air National Guard (ANG) and Air Force Reserve fighter force. It will also help maintain the Air Force's dwindling arsenal of tactical fighters before the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) becomes operational.
Although the service doesn't yet know when the F-35 will become operational, the aircraft will likely miss the current projected date of 2016. The aircraft will likely become fully operational in 2018, Carlisle said, but the service is not naming an official date until the new master schedule is complete.
There is money in fiscal 2012 budget to develop a modernization program for the F-16, Carlisle said. The Air Force will start developing the avionics modernization plan soon, he said.
Maj. Gen. Jay Lindell, Air Force director of global power programs, said the airframe life of the F-16 would be increased from 8,000 to "at least" 10,000 hours. That would afford the Air Force eight more years of operations using the old aircraft, he said.
"We're looking at capability through the next decade, which would be through 2030," Lindell said.
Each plane would cost $9.4 million, he said, so the Air Force wants to get its money's worth.
The scope of the modernization plan for the F-16 fleet and the fielding of the stealthy new F-35 depends on the forthcoming integrated master schedule for the new jet, Carlisle said. The F-35 will be fielded to ANG units, starting with the Vermont ANG, he said.
With the upgrades, the F-16 could be serving for decades to come.
The Navy and Marine Corps are also working on extending the life of 150 of their F/A-18 Hornets, said Marine Lt. Gen. Terry Robling, the U.S. Marine Corps' deputy commandant for aviation. The upgraded F/A-18s are slated to hold the sea services over until the F-35 becomes operational.

Pilots for UAVs

In his testimony, Carlisle said the Air Force doesn't have enough pilots for its growing fleet of drones. He said the service was on its sixth surge for providing Predator and Reaper combat air patrols (CAPs). But to attain the required 60 CAPs, the Air Force has had to press instructor pilots into active service and shut down its elite Weapons School course for the unmanned planes, he said.
"Our issue today is our ability to train our sensor operators and pilots," Carlisle said.
The Air Force will likely have to ratchet down the number of CAPs to reconstitute its ability to train and field new unmanned aircraft pilots, he said. The community has grown quickly; it is now the single largest group of aviators in the service.
Reconstituting the training force and rebuilding the expertise at the Weapons School will take about a year, Carlisle said. Once the Air Force can rebuild its schoolhouses, the Air Force can get back on track to fielding 65 CAPs as required by the forces deployed in combat.

No Retirement for U-2

Of the Air Force's U-2 spy planes, Carlisle said the Air Force won't be retiring them until a technical shortcoming with the RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude unmanned aircraft is resolved.
Although the Air Force plans to replace the venerable U-2 with the new unmanned aircraft, the Global Hawk's sensors are still not capable of measuring up to the standards set by the five-decade old Dragon Lady.
"The Global Hawk, the RQ-4, will be the replacement," Carlisle said. "It is not there yet. The sensors suite is not there. It cannot match what the U-2 does."
There is a high-altitude transition team, but the U-2 will be maintained until the Global Hawk can match the older plane. With the sensors on the Block 40 Global Hawk, the unmanned plane will "start to get close to that," Carlisle said.
The U-2 will be around through 2014 and 2015, but the Global Hawk should be able to start matching its capabilities by then, he said.

F 35 Sea Trials

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U.S. Ready To Sell F-35 to India: Pentagon

WASHINGTON - The U.S. would be prepared to sell India the new F-35 fighter jet, the Pentagon said Wednesday, after New Delhi rejected a U.S. offer of older aircraft in a major competition this year.
In a report to Congress on U.S. defense ties with India, the Pentagon said India was a vital partner and that Washington wanted to bolster security cooperation with New Delhi, including joint exercises and high-tech arms sales.

In the first round of a contest for a combat aircraft contract, India in April shortlisted France's Dassault and the European Eurofighter consortium while rejecting the U.S. offer of F-16 and F-18 jets.
"Despite this setback, we believe US aircraft, such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), to be the best in the world," said the Pentagon report, referring to the radar-evading F-35 jet.
"Should India indicate interest in the JSF, the United States would be prepared to provide information on the JSF and its requirements ... to support India's future planning," it said.
Mindful of China's rise and growing military reach, President Barack Obama has placed a high priority on deepening ties with India.
The U.S.-India defense relationship has expanded rapidly over the past decade and the administration sees India as a natural partner and global "player," Robert Scher, deputy assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia, told reporters.
India has made no request for more information on the F-35, but the U.S. invitation was "an example of the high regard that we hold India's military modernization," Scher said.
In the April contest for a new multirole fighter for India, Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon beat out U.S. aerospace giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin, as well as Sweden's Saab AB and the Russian makers of the MiG 35.
The U.S. report noted that India is working with Russia on developing a fifth-generation fighter aircraft.
The Pentagon touts the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as the premier fifth-generation fighter equipped with stealth technology, but the program faces rising costs, with a price tag of nearly $150 million each.
The two U.S. senators who asked the Defense Department for the report welcomed the document but said Washington needed to work to expand its security relationship with India.
"While the report shows that tremendous progress has been made in military-to-military relations over the past ten years, we believe that there is much more that can be done," Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said in a statement.

New Bomber Won't Be Nuclear-Capable at First: USAF Chief

The U.S. Air Force's top uniformed officer said the service's new Long Range Strike bomber will be built with nuclear capability but will operate as a conventional strike aircraft initially.
Testifying before Congress on Nov. 2, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said deferring the new aircraft's nuclear certification until the B-52 and B-2 bombers start to retire would help the service manage costs.

"The reason is that we're trying to control costs," Schwartz said.
Testing for the nuclear role is much more elaborate than testing for conventional weapons.
Nonetheless, "the airplane will be dual-capable," Schwartz said.
Schwartz reiterated that the aircraft will be designed and built with all the hardware for both the nuclear and conventional missions from the outset.
"This will not be backed in later," he said.
At least for the time being, the service's Air Combat Command (ACC) is the lead command for developing the new bomber, Schwartz said. That is because ACC has the capability and expertise to build requirement.
The Global Strike Command is still not fully up to speed, Schwartz said. Eventually, however, the command might take over the program, he said.
For the nuclear mission, Schwartz appealed to the congressional committee to ask the Department of Energy to modernize and upgrade the B-61 nuclear bomb.
During the rest of his testimony, Schwartz reiterated that defense cuts beyond the current $450 billion would seriously damage the U.S. Air Force. Already, he said, the service is looking at divesting itself of "hundreds" of aircraft.
Entire fleets, including the entire logistical train, may have to be removed if further cuts are made, Schwartz said.
Lt. Gen. Herbert Carlisle mirrored those sentiments later in the afternoon during his testimony.
Schwartz also stressed the importance of the KC-46 tanker, F-35 fighter and the new bomber. However, this time, he added the MQ-9 Reaper to his three priority programs.
Cyberwarfare is the only area in which the Air Force or Defense Department forces might expand, Schwartz added.

Pentagon Clears F-35 Test Fleet to Fly Again

The F-35 Lightning II test fleet has been cleared for flight, but the U.S. Air Force's production aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., are still grounded, the Pentagon announced Aug. 18.
An Air Force safety investigation board is continuing its investigation of the failure of the AF-4's Integrated Power Package on Aug. 2, which led to the grounding of the entire fleet of 20 aircraft. The AF-4 is the fourth conventional takeoff and landing variant produced by Lockheed Martin.

A government and contractor engineering team determined that flight operations of the test aircraft could continue after reviewing data from ground and flight tests, and revised the test monitoring procedures that govern the IPP. Ground operations of the test fleet resumed Aug. 10.
"The root cause investigation indicates that an IPP valve did not function properly," a release from the F-35 Joint Program Office states. "Monitoring of valve position is a mitigating action to allow monitored operations. A permanent resolution is in work."
The IPP, which is built by Honeywell International, combines the functions performed by an auxiliary power unit, emergency power system and environmental controls.
The Air Force's test F-35s are at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., with U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps' variants based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. The Air Force's aircraft at Eglin, which do not have test instrumentation, will be grounded until the investigation is finished and any required corrective actions are completed.

F-35 Fleet Cleared For Ground Operations

The F-35 Lighting II fleet has been cleared to resume ground operations after a preliminary investigation found the cause of an electrical subsystem failure, but a Pentagon official refused to speculate when the next-generation fighters will be back in the air.

An Air Force F-35 Joint Strike Fighter sits on a taxiway in July after the fighter's arrival to its new home at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The Lightning II fleet, parked for the past week, has been cleared for ground operations after a preliminary in (Samuel King Jr. / U.S. Air Force)

Investigators on Wednesday determined a malfunctioning control valve caused the integrated power package of AF-4, the fourth conventional takeoff and landing version, to fail Aug. 2, said Joe DellaVedova, a spokesman for the F-35 program.

The IPP, built by Honeywell International, combines the functions that are performed by an auxiliary power unit, emergency power system and environmental controls. Lockheed Martin Corp. makes the aircraft.
All 20 of the Lightning IIs have been parked for the past week, the second grounding this year because of electrical problems. In March, faulty maintenance procedures caused a dual generator on the same AF-4 to shut down.
Ground operations will now continue at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., where the AF-4 that malfunctioned is assigned, and Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., Della Vedova said.
"We are in development tests of this airplane. There will be discoveries, we want to find discoveries," he said. "We want to find and implement fixes to get this airplane flying again. Today was one step down that road."

With No 'Plan B,' U.S. Marine Corps Shows Off F-35B

NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md. - In a graphic demonstration of the U.S. Marine Corps' strident support of its F-35B version of the tri-service Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), the service flew the first-ever live demonstration the aircraft's short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) capability before reporters on July 29.

BF-01, the first F-35B short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) Joint Strike Fighter built for the U.S. Marine Corps, performs a slow flyby for media July 29 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. (Christopher P. Cavas / Staff)

Piloted by Marine Lt. Col. Fred Schenk, the F-35B accelerated down the runway and lifted off in less than 450 feet. Once in the air, it flew past the assembled reporters and senior Marine Corps, Navy and industry brass at 60 knots airspeed. Schenk brought the plane, designated BF-1, to a hover and landed it vertically.

The display was all the more impressive because it was made during a humid summer day when temperatures exceeded 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat and humidity reduce aircraft and engine performance.
Moreover, BF-1 is a test aircraft, not a mature production plane. That is not without risk and the service took precautions. Multiple aircraft had been prepared as back-ups, test pilots at the base said.
At least one backup aircraft, BF-3, flown by test pilot Marine Lt. Col. Matt Kelly, went on to conduct a test sortie after BF-1 successfully flew its demonstration. BF-4, which is a mission systems test plane, was also on standby in case both aircraft aborted.
U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Jim Amos, himself an F/A-18 Hornet pilot, reiterated that the F-35B is vital to his service. The Corps' position is that the service has no backup plans if the F-35B does not make it though the two-year probation period that then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates placed upon the variant when it encountered technical problem and fell behind in flight testing.
"There is no Plan B," Amos said. "We need this airplane."
Asked what would allow the F-35 to exit probation, Amos said that the exit criteria have not yet been set. But he voiced confidence the jet would meet whatever those requirements might be.
Lt. Gen. Terry Robling, the service's deputy commandant for aviation, said the F-35B's progress in test flights since last year was "amazing." The F-35B caught up on last year's test points, and is now head of this year's flight test schedule, he said. Soon, in September, the F-35B will go to sea onboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp, he said.
Robling also expressed confidence that the STOVL version, which is the most expensive version of the jet, will come down in price as production increases.
"As soon as that ramp goes up, the costs will start coming down dramatically," he said.
Robling and Amos both reiterated the Corps' argument that the service needs an aircraft that can be based anywhere, which is the primary requirement behind the F-35B. The F-35B model will allow the Navy and Marine Corps to effectively double the number of aircraft carriers in the U.S. fleet because amphibious assault ships would be able to carry strike aircraft.
However, the service is also buying five squadrons of the carrier variant F-35C model planes to support the Navy's carrier fleet. Robling said that even though the service is buying some 80 C-models, the F-35B can also operate from a Navy carrier.
The F-35B will also play in the DoD's Air-Sea Battle concept, Robling said. Despite sacrificing some range, the jet retains all the capabilities of the Air Force and Navy versions. The F-35B would also support the land component of Air-Sea by providing support to Marine ground operations with having to rely on a carrier, he said.
Robling reiterated the Marines' need for a fifth-generation fighter to counter emerging threats such as advanced Russian and Chinese aircraft.
"It's absolutely the aircraft that we need to counter the fifth-generation aircraft that are coming online in places like China, "Robling said. "If we take this fifth-generation aircraft away, there is not another one on the drawing boards in the United States."

Pentagon Seeks To Reduce Subcontractor Costs for F-35

The Pentagon is looking to lower subcontractor costs as it attempts to bring down the price tag of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, the Pentagon's director of defense pricing said.

THE PENTAGON'S DIRECTOR of defense pricing, Shay Assad, said the agency is trying to lower subcontractor costs for the F-35 Lightning II program. (LOCKHEED MARTIN)

"What we've learned is that a lot of the money that we're spending is at the subcontract level," Shay Assad told reporters July breakfast with reporters in Washington.

"We're following money," Assad said. "We want to make sure we have a complete understanding of what we think a fair and reasonable subcontract price should be, and we do expect Lockheed Martin to develop their own position."

The U.S. Defense Department expects to have a better picture of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program costs in the fall. Prior estimates have pegged the cost of the overall JSF program - which includes more than 2,400 U.S. jets and an expected 700-plus international order - at more than $380 billion.

This comes as the Pentagon prepares to enter negotiations for the fifth batch of low-rate, initial production (LRIP) jets.

Assad said DoD officials are currently evaluating Lockheed Martin and subcontractor proposals for that batch of aircraft.

"We expect that sometime in the fall we'll commence negotiations, and if it goes according to plan, we should have a deal sometime by the end of the year," he said.

Asked if Lockheed's LRIP-5 price shows a downward trend, Assad said: "We're expecting a downward trend."

DoD is "getting a much clearer view each day" of F-35 cost projections, he said.

The Pentagon is also evaluating earned value management, which had been previously "disapproved" by the Defense Contract Management Agency, according to Assad.

"They have a path, and we're satisfied that if they stay on that path, they'll be OK," he said. "One of the problems is just the ability to accurately forecast their work."

"I think that by the end of this year, they'll be in pretty good shape in terms of having reliable projects and forecasts," Assad added.

Lockheed is getting better at determining common features across the three multiservice jets, which will be operated by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as allies.

The Air Force version is a conventional jet that takes off and lands on a runway, but the Navy version is build to operate off aircraft carriers and the Marine Corps version can launch off smaller ships or runways and land vertically.

"What we're finding is that we're getting much more precise about what is the commonality amongst these things and how should we build those common items, because that's where we'll save some money," Assad said.

The current LRIP-4 batch is the first in which all three versions of the JSF are being built at the same time.

"I would say by the end of this year, early next year, we'll have some very good insight into what the production differences are in the aircraft in terms of what they should cost," Assad said.

The Pentagon is also exploring the possibility of having Lockheed build all Air Force jets for a period, then switching to a different variant, and so on.

That review is expected to wrap up in 60 to 90 days, Assad said.

1st Catapult Launch for F-35C Joint Strike Fighter

For the first time, an F-35C Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) was propelled into the air July 27 by a steam catapult, marking a significant milestone in the test program to qualify the aircraft for carrier operations.

AN F-35C SHOOTS down the track Wednesday during the first steam catapult launch of a Joint Strike Fighter. (Lockheed Martin)

The aircraft, dubbed CF-3, was launched at the U.S. Navy's aviation test facilities at Naval Air Station Lakehurst, N.J., Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) said in a press release. It was flown by Navy test pilot Lt. Chris Tabert, the most junior test pilot yet to fly any variant of the F-35.

Using more junior aviators to test the aircraft is "a deliberate shaping of the test force," NAVAIR said, with the aim of balancing "experienced military and contractor test pilots with newly qualified test pilots with recent fleet experience."

The F-35C - the carrier variant of the JSF program - was launched by a TC-13 Mod 2 test steam catapult, similar to the catapults used by all the Navy's aircraft carriers.

Further tests lie ahead at Lakehurst, including launching the aircraft at varying catapult power levels, testing degraded catapult configurations, and jet blast deflector testing.

DoD Strives To Curb Rework From F-35 Production

The F-35 Lightning II is proving to be as stealthy as promised; now the challenge is turning production from a somewhat handcrafted affair to a dependable industrial process, the deputy director of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program said July 27.

"The challenge that we see ahead is not necessarily achieving [very low observable] capabilities," said Air Force Maj. Gen. C.D. Moore. "The challenge is produce-ability. To be able to produce beyond four a month, six a month, eight a month, you need to be able to get your processes down to where you're not doing artisan type of work."

Right now, jets need to be reworked depending upon whatever corrections need to be made due to design changes or errors. Instead, what needs to happen is that aircraft have to be built so that such reworks are not needed, Moore said.

"That's still ahead of us to make [sure] we can do that and produce a plane the first time, every time," he said.

In the meantime, test pilots at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., continue to put the jet through maturity tests using the same syllabus as the first student pilots at the 33rd Fighter Wing, the first F-35 training unit. About 80 percent of those tests have been completed, Moore said. Remaining tests include two-ship sorties.

The data gathered will be used by the Air Force and Navy air systems commands to determine whether to certify the jets as airworthy and ready to start training.

Training will start at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., after an operational utility evaluation in the fall, Moore said.

Planning has already started for a second training site for the F-35 which should be up and running by 2014. The Air Force has not yet set a location, Moore said.

Toxins Grounded F-22s: Sources

The U.S. Air Force's fleet of F-22 Raptor fighters has been grounded since May 3 due to toxins entering the cockpit via the aircraft's life support systems, sources with extensive F-22 experience said.

Service leaders grounded the stealthy twin-engine fighter after pilots suffered "hypoxialike symptoms" on 14 occasions. The incidents affected Raptor pilots at six of seven F-22 bases; the exception is Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.

But despite an investigation that has spanned nearly three months, no one yet knows what toxin or combinations of toxins might have caused the incidents, nor is it clear exactly how the chemicals are entering the pilots' air supply, sources said.

Toxins found in pilots' blood include oil fumes, residue from burned polyalphaolefin (PAO) anti-freeze, and, in one case, propane. Carbon monoxide, which leaves the blood quickly, is also suspected.

"There is a lot of nasty stuff getting pumped into the pilots' bloodstream through what they're breathing from that OBOGS [On-Board Oxygen Generation System]. That's fact," one former F-22 pilot said. "How bad it is, what type it is, exactly how much of it, how long - all these things have not been answered."

The blood tests were performed after each of the 14 incidents in which pilots reported various cognitive dysfunctions and other symptoms of hypoxia. One couldn't remember how to change radio frequencies. Another scraped trees on his final approach to the runway - and later could not recall the incident.

"These guys are getting tested for toxins and they've [gotten] toxins out of their bloodstreams," the source said. "One of the guys was expelling propane."

This source, along with the others, requested anonymity for fear of retribution.

The line of inquiry may shed new light on the death of Capt. Jeff "Bong" Haney, a 525th Fighter Squadron pilot who was killed when his F-22 crashed last November near Anchorage. Sources said that in Haney's last few radio calls before his jet disappeared, he sounded drunk, a classic sign of hypoxia. Haney was known as a prodigiously skilled aviator who was in line to attend the elite Air Force Weapons School.

Air Force officials have said they have not yet completed the investigation into the crash.

Asked for comment about the possibility that F-22 pilots had been exposed to carbon monoxide, an Air Force spokesman, Maj. Chad Steffey said, "The safety of our aircrews is paramount, and the Air Force continues to carefully study all factors of F-22 flight safety."

Asked about other toxins, Steffey referred questions to the Air Force Safety Center at Kirtland AFB, N.M., where officials did not repond by press time.

Officials with Lockheed Martin, which builds the aircraft, said they are cooperating with the investigation but cannot comment further.

Carbon Monoxide?

Beside the various toxins found in the pilots' blood, carbon monoxide is another potential cause of the hypoxia incidents.

The gas, one of many generated as exhaust by the plane's jet engines, might be getting into the cockpit, sources said.

Part of the problem, at least for pilots flying from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, where many of the known incidents have occurred, may be the startup procedures used in winter, one source said.

Because of the harsh climate, pilots often start their jet engines inside a hangar before taking off. That could allow exhaust gases to be trapped in the building, sucked back into the engines, and ingested into the bleed air intakes that are located within the engines' compressor sections that supply the OBOGS, sources said. The layout, sources added, is standard for modern jet aircraft.

But another source said that many of the hypoxia incidents have occurred well into flights or even during a day's second mission, long after the plane has left the Elmendorf hangar.

The U.S. Navy had problems with the OBOGS on its F/A-18 Hornet, which sucked carbon monoxide into its oxygen system during carrier operations. Between 2002 and 2009, Hornet aviators suffered 64 reported episodes of hypoxia, including two that killed the pilots, according to the July-August 2010 issue of "Approach," a Navy Safety Center publication.

The Navy modified the planes' OBOGS, has had no recent similar incidents and is not currently investigating the systems, Naval Air Systems Command officials said.

USAF Expands Investigation

In January, a safety investigation board led by Maj. Gen. Steven Hoog began looking into the the OBOGS on the F-16, F-15E and F-35 fighters; the A-10 attack jet and the T-6 trainer, according to May statements by officials with the service's Air Combat Command, which oversees combat aircraft.

In May, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley had ordered the service's Scientific Advisory Board to conduct a "quick-look study, gather and evaluate information, and recommend any needed corrective actions on aircraft using on-board oxygen generation systems," according to a July 21 statement by service officials.

The release indicated that the service is now looking at more types of aircraft: the B-1 and B-2 bombers and the CV-22 tilt-rotor and "other aircraft as appropriate."

According to the release, the investigation is conducting a "series of carefully controlled in-flight tests, the team will examine the subsystems identified in reported incidents. These include the pressurization system, mask and cockpit oxygen levels."

The release said the Scientific Advisory Board investigation followed the grounding of the F-22 fleet, but did not say whether it superseded, replaced or is merely accompanying the Hoog investigation.

One source said that F-22 test pilots at Edwards AFB, Calif., last week started flying sorties as the investigate OBOGS concerns as part of the Air Force safety investigation.

Air Force officials have confirmed only that some test pilots at the base are flying their jets under a special waiver granted to them to test an unrelated software upgrade.

However, the operational fleet remains grounded, with pilots and ground crews practicing in simulators as much as they can. But that is not a real solution because the pilots won't be able to maintain currency, one former F-22 pilot said.

"After 210 days, they've got to start retraining everybody," he said.

It would take weeks for the instructor pilots at Tyndall to re-qualify themselves and then start to train others, the former pilot said. Pilots with lapped currencies would be re-qualifying each other.

It would take four to six weeks afterward to re-qualify the operational squadrons. Service officials confirmed that 12 Raptors are stranded at Hill AFB, Utah, but declined to identify their squadron. The jets came to the desert base for a Combat Hammer exercise in which pilots and ground crews practice loading and releasing live air-to-ground weapons. Service officials said the jets are from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley AFB, Va.

Meanwhile, Lockheed can't deliver new Raptors to the Air Force because the company and the Pentagon's Defense Contract Management Agency are unable to fly required test sorties needed to certify the jets meet specifications. Four aircraft have technically been delivered to the service but can't fly to their new home at Langley AFB.

At least two additional aircraft have been completed but remain at the factory undelivered.

USAF Expands Oxygen-Systems Investigation

The U.S. Air Force has released a few additional details about its safety investigation into aircraft oxygen systems.
In May, the service's Air Combat Command had said that a safety investigation board, led by Maj. Gen. Steven Hoog, had been looking into the oxygen systems on a number of Air Force aircraft since January.

Now a July 21 press release says Air Force Secretary Michael Donley has ordered the service's Scientific Advisory Board to conduct a "quick-look study, gather and evaluate information, and recommend any needed corrective actions on aircraft using on-board oxygen generation systems."
The release said the Scientific Advisory Board started its study in May, but not whether it supersedes, replaces or merely accompanies the Hoog investigation.
The release indicates that the service is now looking at more types of aircraft. Previously, Air Force officials had said the investigation concerned the On-Board Oxygen Generation Systems (OBOGS) on the F-16, F-15E, A-10, F-35 and T-6 aircraft.
The release adds the B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit, CV-22 Osprey and "other aircraft as appropriate."
The Scientific Advisory Board study is being led by retired Air Force Gen. Gregory Martin, who commanded Air Force Materiel Command and U.S. Air Forces in Europe.
"The team will expand on previous safety and accident investigations and may include other agencies or industry partners," the Air Force release said.
According to the release, the investigation will conduct a "series of carefully controlled in-flight tests, the team will examine the subsystems identified in reported incidents. These include the pressurization system, mask and cockpit oxygen levels."
The Air Force, which grounded its F-22s in May, has not grounded any other types in connection with the investigation into oxygen systems.
Earlier July 21, the Air Force had said it had no additional information when asked whether carbon monoxide leaking into the cockpit was the most likely culprit behind the F-22 grounding.

Breakthroughs Promise Cheaper Titanium

Titanium will become far less expensive and far easier for manufacturers to use, says U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
New extraction and processing methods mean "the cost of titanium will drop by a factor of two to five," Chu said July 19 at the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force Energy Forum in Arlington, Va.

And a new manufacturing process uses lasers to fuse powdered titanium into a far greater range of shapes than currently possible, allowing "remarkable structures," Chu said.
Chu spoke about lightweight components that would increase fuel efficiency in ground vehicles.
But the aerospace industry would also benefit, said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst at the Teal Group, Fairfax, Va.
"It's huge," Aboulafia said. "Because of the rise of exotic materials, titanium plays a huge role."
Titanium, which is generally used as an intermediary between traditional aluminum structures and the newer composite materials that are increasingly dominating aircraft structures, is currently used relatively sparingly due to its high price. A drop in cost could allow it to be used in more airframe components.
Aboulafia said the metal's cost has helped push costs up on various defense programs, including the Pentagon's F-35 program and U.S. Air Force's C-5 modernization program. He added that anything that can be done to decrease material costs helps to increase the Defense Department's buying power.

F-22 Deliveries Halt as Grounding Continues

Deliveries of F-22 Raptors to the U.S. Air Force have been halted due to the continuing suspension of flight operations for the stealthy fifth-generation air superiority fighter.

A new F-22 Raptor sits at the Lockheed Martin production facility at Marietta, Ga., one of four that have technically been delivered to the U.S. Air Force but have yet to fly to their home base at Langley AFB, Va., because of a service-wide grounding (Lockheed Martin)

Even though manufacturer Lockheed Martin continues to build the aircraft at its Marietta, Ga., factory, the company is unable to do required flight testing for each aircraft as it leaves final assembly. Nor can government test pilots from the Pentagon's Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) fly their acceptance flights for new aircraft as they are readied for delivery.

"Our final assembly is scheduled through December 2011. That is still ongoing at Marietta. We delivered aircraft 4181, and that was on June 22, to the Air Force, so they have that as their aircraft," said Lockheed spokeswoman Stephanie Stinn. "After that aircraft, we can't do the required acceptance flights."
Technically, four aircraft have been delivered to the Air Force, but are being stored at Marietta pending the lifting of the flight restrictions. When the Air Force resumes F-22 flight operations, those aircraft will be flown to Langley Air Force Base (AFB), Va.
Two further aircraft, 4182 and 4183, have been completed, but the company and DCMA can't do required flight testing on those jets, Stinn said. The aircraft are being stored in a near-flight-ready status, she said.
Aircraft "4182 and 4183 were scheduled to deliver in July, but they're not in a position to do any sort of test flights, so we can't deliver," Stinn said. "Maybe early August, but we don't have a definitive date."
Aircraft 4182 and onwards, which have not undergone any of their acceptance flights, have yet to receive their final stealth coatings. The coatings are applied only after a number of flight tests have been completed, and as a result, a backlog is slowly building up.
Before the stealth coatings are applied, the aircraft fly coated only with a primer.
The Raptors have been "stood down" since May 3, according to Air Force spokeswoman Capt. Jennifer Ferrau, due to a suspected problem with the aircraft's oxygen generator.
According to one Air Force document, after reviewing work on a study of the F-22 On-Board Oxygen Generation System (OBOGS), the chief of Air Combat Command, Gen. William Fraser, instituted a temporary flight restriction for the F-22 and directed a Class E Safety Investigation.
The investigation, which began in January, includes the OBOGS installed in the A-10, F-15E, F-16, F-22, F-35 and T-6 aircraft. Fraser appointed Maj. Gen. Steve Hoog, commander of Ninth Air Force, as the investigating officer.
The flight restriction applies to all F-22 crews, but test pilots at Edwards AFB, Calif., are operating under a flight waiver that allows them to fly certain test sorties. Air Force officials at Edwards could not immediately say what kind of test sorties those aircraft are flying.
The grounding is hurting the readiness of operational F-22 pilots, who cannot maintain their currency on the twin-engine jet. The Air Force is using simulators to ease the problem as much as it can.
"Pilots and ground crew continue to train in simulators and perform ground tasks to stay as proficient as possible. Once the aircraft are cleared to fly again, there will be a period where the pilots will need in-flight training to become fully proficient on the aspects of flying that simulators cannot replicate," Ferrau said. "Some live flight is required for high-G maneuvering flight, a true outside visual, and in-flight decision-making in a dynamic environment where simulators are lacking."

Turkey Still Hopes To Order First F-35

ANKARA - Although Turkey still plans to buy about 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, it has not formally committed to the U.S.-led program. To do so, it needs to submit a purchase order for a first batch of six aircraft before the end of this year.
"We will have talks [with the Americans] in the months ahead in an effort to resolve some matters," said Murad Bayar, chief of the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, the government's defense procurement agency. "If we manage to reach an agreement, we expect to order the first six aircraft this year. We expect to reach a deal."

The F-35, whose production is led by Lockheed Martin, will be built by a consortium of nine countries, including Turkey. Other members of the consortium are Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Norway and Denmark.
A few years ago, when Turkey's planned buy of about 100 jets was expected to cost approximately $10 billion, Turkish companies grabbed project work worth up to $5 billion. But the unit price has gone up over the past two years, exceeding $12 billion, according to Turkish officials.
Now Turkish companies seek to raise their share to around $6 billion to stay near the planned 50 percent figure. In addition, the U.S. remains reluctant to share millions of lines of source code that make the plane's flight possible. But Turkey wants access to part of the source code related to operational needs.
But placing an order for the first six aircraft before the end of this year is related mostly to early deliveries, around 2014 and 2015, and failure to do so would not undermine participation in the program, Bayar said.
"If we don't place the first purchase order by the year end, it would not necessarily mean that we have failed to agree. It may mean that we, at this point, may not have the finances," Bayar said. "Anyway, we hope that none of this happens."
The F-35 comes in three variants for conventional takeoff and landing, short takeoff and vertical landing, and for aircraft carrier operations.

$2.7B Turk Sub Deal With Germany Takes Effect

ANKARA - A 2 billion-euro ($2.7 billion) deal between Turkey's arms procurement agency and Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems for the joint manufacture of six submarines formally took effect July 1, the German group announced.
"The 2 billion-euro order for six U214 submarine material packages placed with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems by the Republic of Turkey has entered into force with receipt of the advance payment," the group said in a statement July 1.

"As a longstanding partner and supplier to the Turkish Navy, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems can now begin executing the order," the statement said. "The order will contribute to securing employment at [ThyssenKrupp's] HDW in Kiel, as well as at many subcontractors in Germany and Turkey, for the next 10 years."
A major loan deal on the last day of 2010 between German banks and the Turkish Treasury rescued the contract between the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, the Turkish government's procurement agency, and German shipyard Howaldswerke Deutsche Werft (HDW), Turkish procurement officials said earlier. Since then, the two sides had discussed the loan's conditions, and that process ended successfully in late June.
Turkey and HDW, an affiliate of the ThyssenKrupp conglomerate, originally signed the submarine contract in July 2009, but no price was disclosed at the time. Turkey originally selected HDW over French and Spanish rivals in the summer of 2008, when officials said the German offer was worth 2.5 billion euros.
Renegotiations over price and a clear road map for Turkish local participation led to a final agreement on a price reduction of more than 500 million euros, bringing down the program's final cost to about 2 billion euros.
Under the Turkish modern submarine program, the non-nuclear vessels will be built at the Navy's Golcuk Shipyard on the Marmara Sea coast near Istanbul. The submarine program will become Turkey's largest defense modernization project after a planned $13 billion deal to buy 100 next-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighters for the Air Force.
Ankara is hoping the U214 submarines will enter service shortly after 2015, two years later than the original schedule when the program was launched a few years ago.
With a decision to proceed, Turkey scrapped a modernization plan for its older Ay-class submarines, also built by HDW.
Turkey also is building its own corvette-type ships and hopes to produce its own frigates by the end of this decade. Several Turkish shipyards are producing patrol boats, coast guard boats and other amphibious platforms.

Lockheed Shifts F-35 Management Team

Lockheed Martin is shifting some of its executives in order strengthen its most important programs, the company said June 27 in a news release.
In perhaps the most significant move, Orlando Carvalho, Lockheed's Mission Systems & Sensors chief, will become the deputy to F-35 general manager Larry Lawson.

"These appointments will strengthen our performance on high-priority programs and provide growth and development opportunities for key executives," Christopher Kubasik, Lockheed's president and chief operating officer, said in the news release. "They build on our commitment to leverage our talent seamlessly across the enterprise to meet the needs of our customers."

U.S. Navy JSFs Resume Flight Ops After Glitch

Flying operations for the U.S. Navy's Lockheed Martin F-35C Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) test program resumed June 23 after a six-day suspension to fix a software problem.

U.S. Navy F-35Cs resumed flight operations June 23 after a software problem temporarily halted flying tests. (Andy Wolfe, Lockheed Martin / U.S. Navy)

The aircraft were grounded June 17 when engineers at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., discovered a "logic fault" that could have prevented the proper action of aircraft control surfaces - the flaps, rudders and other movable elements that maneuver the plane through the air.

The Navy stressed that no actual fault took place on any aircraft in the air or on the ground.
The software problem affected the "safety mechanism that ensures the wings are folded properly," said Lt. Courtney Hillson, a Navy spokesperson at the Pentagon. "It's the mechanism that prevents the flaps from moving in flight."
The safety monitoring function for the folding mechanism should be turned off during flight, Hillson said, but the software was not properly turning off the function.
The problem has yet to be fully corrected, but the aircraft have resumed flying with certain restrictions, according to a statement from Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) at Pax River.
"A software fix is in progress, and the team has structured temporary maneuvering limitations to ensure it is not a safety hazard," NAVAIR said in the statement.
"Finding issues such as this is the purpose of aircraft test and evaluation," Hillson said. "By finding and correcting such issues, the test team is delivering a better product to the fleet."
The first of three F-35Cs in the Navy flight test program began operating from the Pax River test center in November. The C model differs from the A model for the Air Force and the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing B version for the Marine Corps in that it has folding wings for storage aboard an aircraft carrier.
The Navy JSF team "is still on track to commence initial carrier suitability testing next week with jet blast deflector testing in Lakehurst, N.J.," NAVAIR said June 24 in its statement.
The deflector tests at the Navy's carrier aviation test facility in Lakehurst will be followed in late July or early August by catapult launch and arrested recovery tests, Hillson said.

Western Jetmakers Vie For Asian Contracts

TAIPEI - As Western defense budgets crash, East Asian democracies could spend $23 billion within the decade on new fighter aircraft and upgrades, providing lucrative markets for European and U.S. aerospace and defense companies.

Japan released a request for proposals (RfP) in April for 40 fighters for its F-X program. The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and Eurofighter Typhoon are fighting over the $4 billion deal. Bids are due in August with a contract award by the end of the year. The F-X will replace the Mitsubishi F-4EJ Kai Phantoms due for retirement in 2015.

South Korea is expected to issue an RfP in January for its F-X Phase 3 program. While 60 aircraft likely will be involved, it may come in two tranches, with the first being 40. The Boeing F-15, Typhoon and F-35 are already positioning themselves for the $9 billion deal. The FX Phase 3 will replace aging F-4 Phantom and F-5 Tiger fighters. The RfP is expected for release in January.

Taiwan is an exception. Due to Chinese pressure, the U.S. ignored a 2006 request for 66 F-16C/D Block 50/52 fighters for $5.5 billion. Taiwan also awaits a reply to a $4.5 billion request for an upgrade package for older F-16A/B Block 20 fighters in 2009.

With Western defense budgets under review and increasing pressure to pursue new market opportunities, European and U.S. combat aircraft manufacturers are "vigorously" engaging the East Asian fighter market, said Doug Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace, U.K.-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"While Japan and South Korea have traditionally been U.S. combat aircraft customers, the present round of acquisition programs offers Europe an opportunity to break into the market," Barrie said.

European companies face an "uphill battle" to wrestle control of the fighter market from the U.S., which has "locked in markets" for fighter sales to the region for decades, said Richard Bitzinger, a defense industry analyst at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore.

"The big question will be if the Europeans can break into this market," Bitzinger said. If not, there is future potential for European aerospace companies to participate in indigenous fifth-generation fighter programs in Japan and South Korea, but in terms of new fighter sales, "these countries are still owned by the USA," Bitzinger said.

Barrie said the Typhoon had its best shot at winning in South Korea, despite the fact Boeing won both F-X Phase 1 and 2 with 60 F-15K Slam Eagle fighters. Boeing might propose the stealthy F-15 Silent Eagle in an attempt to edge the Typhoon out of the competition, he said.

In Japan and South Korea, there is a major effort by the competitors to provide local production opportunities.

"The fighter choice in both countries will send a political signal as to the extent to which, if any, South Korea or Japan wants to begin to build a substantial defense-industrial relationship with their respective relationships with Washington," Barrie said.

Japan's F-X program experienced delays over an intense Japanese lobbying effort begun in 2007 to force Washington to release exports of the F-22 Raptor, but the U.S. Congress blocked the effort. After the F-22 rejection, Tokyo set its sights on the F-35, only to see the JSF effort dogged by delays and cost overruns, which postponed the F-X RfP last year.

Tokyo highlighted its interest in stealth by pursuing an indigenous fifth-generation fighter program. Now, Japan is "using their own fifth-generation fighter [TFX] as a bargaining chip" in the competition, but it is still in the research-and-development stage and "hideously expensive," Barrie said.

Japan is desperate to secure local manufacturing options for the F-X, but it is prohibitively expensive for only 40 aircraft. Manufacturing costs could be driven down by the procurement of more fighters to replace F-15Js, increasing the number of F-X fighters to more than 100 and lowering manufacturing costs.

Unless the F-X fighters are produced in Japan, the local fighter manufacturing industry faces dire straits. Japan's only remaining fighter production line, the Mitsubishi F-2, will end in September.

There are also budget concerns after Japan's devastating triple disaster - earthquake, tsunami and a nuclear power plant crisis - and many wonder how the estimated $300 billion price tag for the catastrophe will affect the F-X budget.

Cost issues could push Japan to select the Super Hornet or the Typhoon. Eurofighter officials have been promoting the Typhoon as a flexible, inexpensive alternative to the F/A-18 and F-35. A European industry source in Tokyo said technical restrictions hamper F-35 exports, while Eurofighter has "no black box policy," which means wider options for Japanese industry participation.

Yet the Japan-U.S. military alliance and pressure to procure a U.S. fighter may keep Tokyo from picking a European fighter.

Taiwan's request for new F-16C/Ds is seen as a follow-on request for an earlier procurement of F-16A/Bs in the 1990s. Despite Beijing protests, the U.S. Congress recently called for the White House to release new fighters and upgrade packages, including a request for a follow-on F-16 trainer program for Taiwan's 21st Tactical Fighter Squadron based at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. In dollar amounts alone, as the U.S. economy declines, increased pressure on the White House to release the F-16s might be too great to withstand.

"In the case of Taiwan, irrespective of posturing on the part of Beijing, the delivery of F-16 Block 52s should proceed," Barrie said.

Taiwan bought $16.5 billion worth of U.S.­built arms and equipment from 2007 to 2010. Sales included 12 P-3C Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft, 30 AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters and 60 UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters. Taiwan has requirements for signal intelligence aircraft, attack jet trainers, basic aircraft trainers and UAVs.