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Oman Considering To Acquire German Leopard Tanks

The Sultanate of Oman is interested in acquiring tanks from German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), according to a press report.

The German magazine Der Spiegel writes that a possible deal could result in delivery of more than 70 Leopard main battle tanks for about  €2 billion (US $2.2 billion).

A German parliamentary official confirmed the details of the report.

In addition to KMW, the sultanate also invited a Turkish producer to bid for the tank contract, says the article.

No spokesman at KMW was available for comment.

Turkish company Otokar developed the Altay battle tank on the basis of a South Korean license. However, in October it was made public that Austrian company AVL LIST was contracted to support Turkish engine producer Tümosan on the project.

Germany`s federal security council recently cleared the shipment of a Leopard 2 to Oman for demonstration purposes. But the export of arms to Mideast countries regularly sparks fierce debates in Germany as many people oppose such deliveries.

Shortly before the news about Oman broke, Germany`s Minister of Economics Sigmar Gabriel declared that he was not happy with the delivery of more than 60 Leopard 2s and two dozen howitzers to Qatar, but that he could not stop the deal as it was approved by the previous government.

So far, Oman has relied on the British-built Challenger 2. The Challenger, unusual among main battle tanks used by Western armies, has a rifled main gun. Experts said it is unclear if future improvements to the ammunition used by the tank will continue. The British Army is the only other operator of the tank.

Lebanon Confirms A-29 Super Tucano Purchase

Lebanon has finalized the acquisition of six A-29 Super Tucano turboprop aircraft from Embraer Defense & Security and Sierra Nevada Corporation, an Embraer official said at the Dubai Air Show Monday.

The contract, which includes logistics support for aircraft operations, as well as a complete training system for Lebanese Air Force pilots and mechanics, was approved in June by the US State Department.

"The United States Air Force has bought the Super Tucano for Afghanistan and now for Lebanon," Jackson Schneider, president and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security, told Defense News.

"The selection of the A-29 by the Lebanese Air Force is a great testament to the superiority of the Super Tucano and its ability to meet the challenges of the operating theater in the Middle East," said Schneider. "The Super Tucano is the best and most capable aircraft in the market with a proven record of success with Air Forces around the world."

He added that Embraer have now sold more than 200 aircraft with more than 30,000 combat hours to 13 clients.

"Worldwide now we are participating in 10 new sales campaigns," Schneider added.

The aircraft sale is part of a larger, more comprehensive package, including infrastructure improvements, that will be fulfilled by other parties not involved in the Ember/SNC partnership, the Brazilian company said in a statement. The planes, which are currently in operation with 10 Air Forces around the world, will be built in the company's Jacksonville, Florida, facility.

Lebanese Air Force Sources expect the first delivery of the plane by January 2017.

As the US recalibrates its strategy in Syria, it has identified increasing military aid to Lebanon as a key part of its solution.

At an Oct. 30 meeting to announce the Pentagon's new strategy in Syria, a senior US defense official identified "reinforcing" Jordan and Lebanon as a key focus area for the next year. That includes ongoing funding for the two nations, with Jordan, in particular, benefiting from "hundreds of millions" of dollars.

The LAF is completing work for specifications on weapons systems, according to Riad Kahwaji, Chief Executive of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis.

"Lebanon is looking for a larger variety of standoff weapons integrated which include Mark83 and Mark84 low drag smart bombs," Kahwaji said. He added that the program is proceeding as scheduled, and in the next few months pilots will be dispatched to the US and Brazil for training.

"We are excited at the opportunity to provide Lebanon with these aircraft, which are proving to be an innovative and cost-effective solution for demanding military organizations around the world. It is ideal for the missions and operational environment faced by Lebanon and a host of other nations. We look forward to helping the Lebanese achieve a modern Air Force through use of the A-29 Super Tucano," said Taco Gilbert, vice president of business development for SNC's ISR business area.

The Brazilian aerospace manufacturer has seen the turboprop product expanding its African presence with sales to the governments of Mali and Ghana announced at the Paris Air Show earlier this year.

Embraer has also sold the Super Tucano A-29 to four other  African customers: Angola, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Mauritania.

UAE Eyeing For AW609 Tiltrotor

The United Arab Emirates has selected the AW609 design from AgustaWestland to fulfill its requirement for a tiltrotor search and rescue aircraft, the Armed Forces' Joint Aviation Command announced Tuesday.

However, a senior Boeing official told Defense News late Tuesday that the agreement should have no impact on ongoing discussions with the UAE about Bell Boeing’s V-22 design, as the company is targeting a different mission for the Osprey.

The selection of the AW609 gives a launch customer for the search and rescue design of the aircraft.

Delivery of the first three aircraft is expected to start in the "2019 timeframe," AgustaWestland said in a news release, while the UAE holds options on three more aircraft. The systems will be operated by the UAE's Joint Aviation Command.

"The UAE is about to sign a contract for buying three AgustaWestland 609s for the Joint Aviation Command," announced Maj. Gen. Abdullah Al Hashimi, the executive director of Strategic Analysis at the UAE Ministry of Defense. "We have signed a memorandum of understanding with AgustaWestland and wanted to announce our interest in the aircrafts, [and] contracts will be signed soon."

Al Hashimi later noted that "a contract amount has not been decided as we are still negotiating."

Added Brigadier pilot Saeed Al-Ali, from the UAE Armed Forces Joint Aviation Command, "the negotiations are still going on, the deal is almost closed, but we are negotiating small things and we are going over it and it will be done soon."

Big Win for AgustaWestland

The AW609 award comes at a key time for the AgustaWestland project, given a catastrophic crash of a prototype aircraft just days ago.

A prototype AW609 crashed during a test flight in Italy on Oct. 30, killing the two pilots. Witnesses reported the aircraft descended in flames as the pilots steered away from houses to crash in a unpopulated area.

The AW609 was selected due to its capabilities and flexibility, Al Hashimi said.

"This is a longer-range aircraft, which is slightly different to helicopter search-and-rescue aircraft," he said. "The reason we bought this aircraft is because it gives a longer capacity of staying in the air, better ability of picking up the injured so the capability gives us flexibility between rotor and fixed wing."

The company claims a max speed of 275 knots and a range of 750 nautical miles for the AW609 design purchased by the UAE. However, it is possible the UAE could benefit from future system upgrades.

AgustaWestland has been hard at work trying to add upgrades to the AW609. On March 3, the Italian firm said it was planning to increase maximum takeoff weight to 18,000 pounds thanks to engine upgrades, landing gear modifications and better flight control techniques. In short, the firm said then, the AW609 would be able to fly 500 nautical miles in two hours carrying nine passengers.

The AW609 development is currently on track, an AgustaWestland official told Defense News after the contract was awarded. However, the aircraft has been not been designed to handle combat situations but to handle commercial and light operations for now.

The official added that short takeoff testing for the aircraft started last year and that the company aims to bring a maximum range of over 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) using under-wing fuel tanks.

He added that there is interest from worldwide customers to buy 60 of the aircraft, while the UAE Joint Aviation Command is the launch SAR variant customer.

"The two teams will be working together and the UAE team will tell us the specific requirements for the search and rescue on the 609," said Daniele Romiti, chief executive officer for AgustaWestland.

"The equipment inside will be dedicated to rescue and medical materials and equipment and depending on the kind of accommodation internally we can bring two or four strechers," Romiti added.

Al Hashimi added that the choice of the AW609 was not driven by the UAE's experiences in the Saudi-led Yemen operations, but instead is due to the "mission capability" provided by the tiltrotor design.

The Joint Aviation Command is familiar with AgustaWestland products, as it operates eleven AW139 helicopters.

The Italian Navy and Army have suggested they would be interested in acquiring the aircraft.

V-22 Requirement Remains

A senior Boeing official told Defense News that the UAE is talking with the V-22 team about "a different capability" than the search and rescue capability filled by the AW209 design.

"That's not what they're talking to us about," the official said. "We've been talking in a different direction, much more than search and rescue."

In a statement, Bell made it clear the AW609 deal should not impact a potential agreement with the UAE on the V-22.

“There was not a competition for the search and rescue mission requirement for which the AW609 was selected,” Bell spokesperson Bridget Hall said in a statement. “The V-22 and the AW609 are simply not competitors in the market – one is a civil/commercial aircraft that may eventually be certified for use and the other is a military platform that is currently in production and is in operation around the world.”

“While we cannot disclose any specifics in the case of potential FMS sales, there are ongoing government-to-government discussions about the V-22 for other missions, as the V-22 has the unique capability to fulfill missions other platforms cannot.”

The V-22 is used primarily by the US Marines, which has a standing requirement for 360 MV-22 units around the world. The US Air Force has a requirement for 52 of the CV-22 variant. The Navy recently selected the aircraft to replace the C-2 Greyhound for the carrier-onboard-delivery mission, and will buy 44 aircraft.

Before the AW609 announcement, Richard Harris, Bell's vice president for international military business sales, told Defense News that the UAE has "a lot of interest right now" in the V-22.

In addition, he said the company expects to see interest from other countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

"If you take a look at some of the other Gulf states and how they've been increasing their involvement in areas like Yemen and what's happening with ISIS, everybody has a vested interest in personnel recovery, combat search and rescue. I think there's some special ops forces missions that this aircraft does very well," Harris said.

Harris added that he anticipates demand in the Pacific region in the coming years, particularly from South Korea, Singapore and Australia.

Col. Dan Robinson, V-22 program manager, told reporters during a news conference an hour after the deal was announced that he is “not that concerned” that the UAE chose a different tiltrotor platform for the search-and-rescue mission, because the V-22 has the unique capability to fulfill missions other platforms can’t.

The Navy is in negotiations for the third multiyear contract for the aircraft. Bell-Boeing and the Navy are desperately seeking additional international and domestic customers to reduce the aircraft’s unit cost. The program office needs a commitment by June 2016 to include the additional customers in the base multiyear contract, Robinson said.

“The quantities of the first three years from a production line, smooth flow perspective is not what we’re looking for or what Bell-Boeing is looking for,” Robinson said. “There is an opportunity with capacity there for foreign military sales to help us out there.”

The multiyear strategy, which must be approved by Congress, could reduce unit cost of the aircraft by 10 percent, Robinson said.

During the interview, Harris touted the V-22's speed and versatility.

"A helicopter sitting there cruising at 100, 125 miles an hour just can't keep up with a V-22, which can take off and ... immediately transition to be an aircraft going 250, 260 miles per hour," Harris said. "That dynamic alone … it kind of makes everything else before it obsolete.

AVIC Gives A Shock With Its New Stealth Fighter

Chinese airframer AVIC has delivered a shock at Dubai by revealing a surprising level of detail about its proposed FC-31 Gyrfalcon fifth-generation multi-role fighter, even though the type has yet to secure a launch customer.

The aircraft being promoted appears to be a follow-on development of the company’s J-31, a mysterious black fighter aircraft that appeared in at the flying display at Airshow China in Zhuhai last November. The J-31 had its first flight in 2012, but virtually no details have been publicly released.

In a Dubai press briefing, Gyrfalcon designer Lin Peng said the FC-31 is envisaged as a low-observable jet with “multi-spectrum, low-observability characteristics.”

The fighter will be capable of a range of missions, including offensive/defence counter air, deep strike, suppression of enemy air defences, interdiction, close air support, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

In a video shown during the presentation, a squadron of FC-31s communicated with each other through secure datalinks. Another slide showed how the aircraft’s small cross section reduces the threat radius of enemy sensors and weapons.
No details were given about the FC-31’s sensor suite or weapons, but AVIC says this equipment and communications equipment can be tailored to customer requirements.

The aircraft has six external hardpoints, with an internal weapons bay that can carry a further four munitions. Payload is 8,000kg (17,600lb), of which 2,000kg can be carried internally. Combat radius with internal weapons is 648nm (1,200km), and maximum take-off weight is 25,000kg (55,000lb).

The first flight of a production example is planned for 2019, followed by initial operating capability in 2022 and final operating capability three years' later.

AVIC’s disclosures were striking given the veil of secrecy that has covered the J-31 programme – at Zhuhai, company representatives flatly declined to discuss the aircraft or its performance characteristics.

Still, there is a great deal of mystery about the FC-31. AVIC did not allow time for a question and answer session after the briefing, obliging reporters to crowd around executives as they attempted to exit the chalet.

During this ad hoc Q&A it emerged that the FC-31 has yet to find a launch customer, although there are discussions with the Chinese air force. Executives also decline to comment on the engines that power the J-31, believed to be the Klimov RD-93s that power the RAC MiG-29, or the powerplants for the FC-31.

Achieving the first flight in 2019 is also contingent upon securing a "well-funded" customer, it says.

Defense Exhibitors At Dubai Airshow - 2015

Defence suppliers are flocking to do business at the Dubai Airshow, taking place from 8-12 November 2015, with many key names confirmed to exhibit at Dubai World Central (DWC). In addition, first time exhibitors have chosen this year to join the market leaders from all over the world when they converge on Dubai.

Some of the key exhibitors in this sector include Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing and Dassault, with new exhibitors including Oshkosh and Roketsan. Roketsan, exhibiting at the Dubai Airshow for the first time in 2015, is a Turkish company which designs, develops and manufactures rockets and missiles including air defence systems, precision guided systems and turnkey facilities.

The Dubai Airshow will see the return of the prestigious Delegations Programme in which civil and military delegations from across the world are invited to participate, co-ordinated by show organisers F&E Aerospace, in conjunction with Dubai’s Department of Civil Aviation Authority, the Government of Dubai and the UAE Ministry of Defence.

In addition, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles continue to capture the industry’s interest, and will be represented at the show. Major participants in the UAV sector at the 2013 show included Adcom, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman, Saab and Tawazun; all of whom will be returning this year.

Michele van Akelijen, Managing Director of organisers F&E Aerospace, says, “The Dubai Airshow is the most effective the way to do business in the Middle East, and the networking value is immeasurable. The region’s business culture is all about face-to-face communication and where personal business relationships are highly valued.”

Organised under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Dubai Airshow is held in co-operation with the UAE Armed Forces, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Dubai Airports.

Source: Dubai Airshow Web

UAE decides against Typhoon

 

Official Eurofighter logo

The United Arab Emirates has chosen not to purchase Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft despite high-level talks between UK and UAE officials, according to BAE Systems.
 

An RAF Typhoon in flight

“The UAE have advised that they have elected not to proceed with these proposals at this time,” says a 19 December media release from BAE.

“BAE Systems and the UK government have been in discussions with the government of the United Arab Emirates regarding a range of defence and security capabilities, including the potential supply of Typhoon aircraft,” BAE adds.

Typhoon was seen as a challenge to France’s Dassault, which for years has been seeking to sell its Rafale fighter to the UAE.
 

German ground crew mount an IRIS-T to a Eurofighter

But two years ago on the day before the Dubai air show, news broke that the UAE had asked the Eurofighter consortium to submit a proposal.

BAE’s media release says “all parties have invested significant effort in drawing up Typhoon proposals for the UAE.”

“Recognising the risk, scale and complexity of such a transaction, the group had not built this prospect into its planning assumptions,” it adds.