Saab Touts Sea Gripen for India and Brazil

Saab is responding to an Indian Navy (IN) request for information (RfI) regarding future carrier-capable fighters with a new development of the Gripen NG, dubbed the Sea Gripen.

India's RfI, selectively released to bidders over recent weeks, seeks detailed information on a common aircraft design for conventional aircraft carrier operations and short take-off but arrested recovery (STOBAR) operations.

Beyond the (much delayed) entry into service of the INS Vikramaditya (the rebuilt former Russian Navy vessel Admiral Gorshkov ), India has ambitious plans to build three indigenous aircraft carriers (IACs). Near-term procurement of the MiG-29K should equip Vikramaditya and IAC 1. The IN's RfI is looking for a follow-on type to operate from IAC 2 and 3.

Jane's understands the RfI has been issued to Boeing, Dassault, Eurofighter, Lockheed Martin, Sukhoi and Saab. While India is notionally developing a naval version of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, the RfI is a recognition that this troubled programme might not be able to deliver an operational combat aircraft in the necessary timescale. India hopes to commission IAC 2 and 3 in the second half of the next decade.

Prior to receiving the RfI Saab had completed detailed design pre-studies for the Sea Gripen in response to earlier interest from Brazil and others. In fact, designs for a navalised Gripen date back to the 1980s in Sweden. For Saab the Indian requirement is particularly important because of its potential links with Brazil's F-X2 fighter competition. The Sea Gripen would be part of the long-term industrial development package for India and Brazil, should either country select the Gripen NG. The Indian RfI also makes a specific request that India's chosen aircraft should be exportable.

Saab's Sea Gripen project leader is former Swedish Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Peter Nilsson, now vice-president of operational capabilities for the Gripen. "You have the Rafale, Super Hornet, even - some day - the JSF [Joint Strike Fighter], but no affordable option for nations that want independent seapower. Gripen has a built-in carrier capability that was part of the original design consideration. It is made for precision landings on a short strip. The aerodynamics, handling and landing qualities are all there. You don't have to mess with it," he told Jane's .

The Sea Gripen is made possible by the inherent performance characteristics of the Gripen and the structural changes introduced with the Gripen NG. It has been designed to operate from 'full-spec' carriers at a maximum take-off weight of 16,500 kg and a landing weight (with weapons and fuel) of 3,500 kg. The same basic design parameters make it well suited to STOBAR operations. Any Gripen can already operate from a standard Swedish 'roadbase' strip of 800 m x 17 m, without arrestor hooks or brake chutes. Existing flight control qualities and low approach speed make the Gripen further suited to the carrier environment.

Some of the changes demanded for the Sea Gripen include a stronger, longer nose gear, with larger tyres and a new shock absorber; a new main undercarriage capable of absorbing a 6.3 m/sec sink rate; a strengthened arrestor hook, repositioned from the current design; removal of corrosion risks from the airframe using new manufacturing techniques/materials; and integration with an approach/landing system.

The result will be an aircraft with an empty weight of under 8,000 kg with a total fuel and weapon load of around 8,500 kg. Combat radius is estimated at around 1,250 km in a maritime strike profile or 1,400 km in an offensive counter-air profile. For carrier operations the aircraft will have a service life of 8,000 flight hours with an even distribution between shipborne and land-based operations. Nilsson says the design work done so far has been a serious adjunct to the Gripen NG and has a very real footing. Asked about the inherent difficulties in taking any land-based fighter and putting it on a carrier, Nilsson replied: "If you were starting with an ordinary fighter you would have a much bigger problem."

"We have an engine [General Electric's F414] cleared for naval ops by the US Navy. We have thoroughly studied the load paths through the airframe. The Gripen is already built for high sink-rate landings in road base operations. So we need a new nose gear and undercarriage and we'll have to change some of the internal structure, but it's been analysed and it's possible. We built an arrestor hook into the Gripen NG proposal for Norway. That will have to be strengthened for carrier ops, with a new attachment point, but the work is there. Today's Gripen NG has a better wing attachment design with a more distributed load path than the current Gripen.

"The Gripen already has a salt water protection requirement. It does need more study but we already have an aircraft designed to operate in -50C and +50C, from the Arctic to hot-and-high with severe humidity. We don't build fighters for nice sunny days." Saab expects to make initial presentations to the IN in January 2010 and submit an RfI response the following month.

http://defense-studies.blogspot.com/2009/12/saab-offers-sea-gripen.html

SAAB ได้ข้อมูลเสนอความเป็นไปได้ในการพัฒนา Sea Gripen สำหรับปฏิบัติการบนเรือบรรทุกเครื่องบินแบบปกติอย่างเต็มรูปแบบ
ซึ่งสำหรับอินเดียความล่าช้าในการต่อเรือ INS Vikramaditya จากรัสเซีย และการเดินหน้าในโครงการต่อเรือบรรทุกเครื่องบิน IAC เองในประเทศ ทำให้อินเดียมีแผนจะจัดหา MiG-29K เพิ่มเติม
ส่วนบราซิลเองนั้นก็มีเรือบรรทุกเครื่องบิน Sao Paulo ที่ประจำการด้วย A-4KU รุ่นปรับปรุงซึ่งก็ใช้งานมานาน โดย SAAB gองก็ฌสนอ Sea Gripen ที่มีสมรรถนะสูงกว่าแทนในอนาคต
โดยเรือของอินเดียนั้นจะเป็นแบบ STOBAR (บินขึ้นด้วย Ski-Jump ลงด้วยขอเกี่ยวและลวด) ส่วนของบราซิลจะเป็นแบบปกติบินขึ้นด้วยรางดีด ลงด้วยขอเกี่ยวและลวด
ทั้งนั้น SAAB สามารถพัฒนา Sea Gripen ให้ปฏิบัติการจากเรือได้ทั้ง2รูปแบบ

Sea Gripen นั้นมีแนวความคิดในการพัฒนามาตั้งแต่ช่วงปี 1980s แล้ว โดย Sea Gripen จะพัฒนาจาก Gripen NG น้ำหนักตัวเปล่า 8ตัน น้ำหนักวิ่งขึ้นสูงสุด 16.5ตัน รัศมีปฏิบัติการ 1,250-1400km
เครื่องยนตร์ GE F414 และมีความทนทานต่อสภาพไอเกลือในทะเลตามมาตรฐานอากาศยานที่ปฏิบัติการทางทะเลครับ

Sunday Telegraph

The British Army is introducing a new camouflage design for all its soldiers after tests showed that it made them less likely to be seen by the enemy.

The new uniform has a combination of seven colours which help troops to merge into the background. Commanders hope the move – the biggest change to the uniform for more than 40 years – will help to reduce casualties in Afghanistan.

The design will replace both the "desert" camouflage used on operations in the country as well as the darker coloured, "temperate" – or "woodland" – camouflage worn by forces stationed in Europe and elsewhere.

Called "multi terrain pattern", or MTP, the camouflage will first be used in Afghanistan, from March next year. From 2011, it will be rolled out across units based elsewhere in the world. The old designs are to be phased out completely by 2016.

The uniform has been designed to give cover to soldiers operating in all types of terrain, across the globe. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) hope this will be of particular help in Afghanistan, where soldiers can find themselves, within a matter of minutes, crossing from arid desert to the lush vegetation of the "Green Zone" along the Helmand River, where their lighter coloured camouflage – designed for use in Iraq – does not offer the best cover. Indeed, when operating in the greener areas, which turn brown in the winter when the rains come, many troops revert to the "woodland", European camouflage.

British forces operating in Afghanistan reached a grim milestone earlier this month, with 100 servicemen killed this year and the new uniform has been designed to give them a new advantage in their fight with the Taliban.

The design is derived from a camouflage called MultiCam, which was developed by an American company, Crye Precision, in association with the US Army. However, it was not ultimately adopted by Washington for its main uniform, although some units may still use it in the future. It is now available commercially and is used by sports gunmen.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has paid the US company an undisclosed sum for use of the new design and has secured intellectual property rights over the MTP camouflage to prevent others from using it without permission.

It comprises a total of seven colours, although the exact colours are not released by the MoD in order to make it harder to reproduce. The kit is to be produced by a Northern Irish company, but will be made in China.

Lt Col Toby Evans, who has been involved in the new design, said: "The strength of this is that sometimes it looks very green, Sometimes it looks very brown. It seems to work well wherever you are. Because of the variety of colours, there is always something to pick out which is quite close to the background."

The design process, which has taken six months and cost 250,000pound, involved a combination of computer analysis, where the colours from a variety of Afghan landscapes were studied, performance tests and also a "focus group" session, involving servicemen.

The MoD said the tests showed that soldiers wearing the new design were less likely to be spotted than those dressed in other camouflage and when they were, it took three times longer to be picked out than those in the next best performing pattern.
The focus group phase involved a "fashion show" of up to 60 soldiers. Modern-style "digital" or "pixilated" camouflages, which are used by, among others, the Canadian and Germany military, were rejected as being "too 1990s."

Lt Col Gary Jackson, who was involved in the process, said: "I think Richard Holmes (the historian) said, 'there's something of the dandy in all military people'."
Other designs filtered out included some that bore resemblance to uniforms of the Second World War Waffen SS units.

The final design retains the same distinctive "splash" patterns as previous British uniforms.
As well as the clothes, new helmets, body armour and webbing – belts with pouches – will also be introduced in the new design which will be used by the Royal Marines and the RAF Regiment. More formal, "service dress" will remain the same.

Lance Cpl Alex Wood, from 40 Commando Royal Marines who served in Afghanistan last year and will be returning in March when the new uniform will be first used, said: "I think it will be quite useful. In the Green Zone, we were using the green camouflage tops and desert bottoms, to get the right match."

Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, said: “This new camouflage will help our troops blend into different environments in Helmand Province to stay hidden from the Taliban. Patrols take our troops through the Green Zone, scrubland, desert and arid stony environments and it is crucial that the camouflage can work across all of them.

“We are striving to provide our brave troops with the very best personal kit and equipment and the new Multi-Terrain Pattern is just one example of how we are supporting our troops on the Afghanistan frontline.”

credit: vor033

มีข้อมูลว่ากองทัพอังกฤษมีแผนจะเปลี่ยลายพรางใหม่จากแบบ DPM ซึ่งใช้มาหลายสิบปี
มาเป็นลาย Multi-Cam ซึ่งใช้งานได้หลายภูมิประเทศของ Crye Precision LLC ภายในปี 2010-2011
โดยจะเริ่มใช้ที่อัฟกานิสถานในราวเดือนมีนาคมปี2010 และเปลี่ยนไปจนครบทุกหน่วยในปี 2016 ครับ

Albania buys 5 Eurocopter military helicopters

TIRANA, Albania

Albania signed a euro78.6 million ($113.2 million) deal Friday to buy five military helicopters from France-based Eurocopter

The Defense Ministry said the AS 532 AL Cougar transport helicopters will be delivered over the next three to four years by Eurocopter, a branch of Airbus parent company EADS.
Former Communist Albania, which joined NATO in April, is engaged in a major military overhaul to come in line with alliance standards, replacing its antiquated Russian and Chinese-made tanks, aircraft and naval ships.
It plans to convert its conscript army into a fully professional force next year

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9CLODDG4.htm

แอลบาเนียได้ลงนามสัญญาจัดหามูลค่า 78.6 million Euro สำหรับ ฮ.ลำเลียงทางทหาร Eurocopter AS 532 AL Cougar จำนวน5ลำในอีก3-4ปีข้างหน้า
โดยแอลบาเนียเพิ่งจะเข้าร่วมกับ NATO ในเดือนเมษายนปี 2009นี้ และกำลังเข้าสู่การเปบลี่ยนการใช้อาวุธแบบเก่าจากรัสเซียและจีนสมัยคอมมิวนิสต์มาเป็นมาตรฐาน NATO

Eurocopter AS 532 AL Cougar เป็น ฮ.ลำเลียงอเนกประสงค์ สองเครื่องยนตร์ขนาดกลาง นักบินสองนาย รุ่นลำตัวยาว
ซึ่งสามารถบรรทุกน้ำหนักได้สูงสุด 4.5ตัน หรือลำเลียงกำลังพลได้29นาย
โดยสามารถติดอาวุธได้ตั้งแต่ กระเปาะปืนใหญ่กล 20mm และจรวด 68mm เป็นต้นครับ