F-35 AF-1 & AF-2 Arrival at Edwards Air Force Base. Photo: Lockheed Martin

Our first impressions from the Farnborough AirShow this year are that short termed, urgent requirements, have finally reached the air forces, traditionally known for their long term visionary and meticulous planning processes.

The recent conflicts fought at high profile, in Southwest Asia and Iraq, leave the military with minimal tolerance for error and, under these circumstances, they want everything right now and at the lowest cost.
With the absence of a major enemy, western air forces tend big ticket spending on buying new aircraft, while dragging procurement decisions on almost everything that does not directly support current combat requirements.

Fighter aircraft development and procurement programs are only one symbol of this trend. With a single, next generation fighters dominating the market for the foreseeable future, and the apparent commitment to buy few thousands F-35s over the next decades, the options open for air forces drill down to two – act now or wait and see. Some have already made their choices. The Canadians have recently decided in favor of the next generation fighter, as well as the Australians and British, but firm orders for production quantities are still pending. The U.S. Marine Corps are the most desperate for the new fighter, and the new accelerated test plan, currently underway, seems to brighten the future for the corps’ aviation, held in limbo as its current Vertical Take Off Short Landing (V/STOL) AV-8B and F/A-18C/D Hornets wear out under an extremely intensive operational regime.

Lockheed Martin, which has the highest stakes in the next generation fighter, opted to avoid the debate and visibly maintained a low profile with its F-35 program at Farnborough, leaving the scene for the competition. Wether this was a wise move or not, the future will tell, but it should certainly be scrutinized and questioned by the media.

Continue Reading the Full Review On Defense-Update.com

F-22A Raptor, 5th Generation fighter. Photo: Tamir Eshel

Our first impressions from the Farnborough AirShow this year are that short termed, urgent requirements, have finally reached the air forces, traditionally known for their long term visionary and meticulous planning processes.

The recent conflicts fought at high profile, in Southwest Asia and Iraq, leave the military with minimal tolerance for error and, under these circumstances, they want everything right now and at the lowest cost.
With the absence of a major enemy, western air forces tend big ticket spending on buying new aircraft, while dragging procurement decisions on almost everything that does not directly support current combat requirements.

Fighter aircraft development and procurement programs are only one symbol of this trend. With a single, next generation fighters dominating the market for the foreseeable future, and the apparent commitment to buy few thousands F-35s over the next decades, the options open for air forces drill down to two – act now or wait and see. Some have already made their choices. The Canadians have recently decided in favor of the next generation fighter, as well as the Australians and British, but firm orders for production quantities are still pending. The U.S. Marine Corps are the most desperate for the new fighter, and the new accelerated test plan, currently underway, seems to brighten the future for the corps’ aviation, held in limbo as its current Vertical Take Off Short Landing (V/STOL) AV-8B and F/A-18C/D Hornets wear out under an extremely intensive operational regime.

F-35 AF-1 & AF-2 Arrival at Edwards Air Force Base. Photo: Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin, which has the highest stakes in the next generation fighter, opted to avoid the debate and visibly maintained a low profile with its F-35 program at Farnborough, leaving the scene for the competition. Wether this was a wise move or not, the future will tell, but it should certainly be scrutinized and questioned by the media.

Continue Reading Full Review On Defense-Update.com

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner departing Farnborough, escorted by two Battle of Britain Memorial flight Spitfires, on a 'Photo Op' flyby. Photo: Tamir Eshel

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner departed today from Farnborough airfield in the U.K., back to back to the USA, to continue the flight testing program.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner over Farnborough

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Takeoff at Farnborough

Boeing B787 Dreamliner Over Farnborough

Photos: Tamir Eshel

FanWing demonstrated in flight over Farnborough a the 2010 airshow aerial display. Photo: Tamir Eshel

The FanWing STOL UAV technology demonstrator began flight testing in 2007. The FanWing concept uses a cross-flow fan along the span of each wing. The fan pulls the air in at the front and then expels  it over the wing’s trailing edge. In transferring the work of the engine to the rotor, which spans the whole wing, the FanWing accelerates a large volume of air and achieves unusually high lift-efficiency.

A STOL surveillance UAV based on the flight demonstrator shown at Farnborough shows unusually short take-off ability, as it leavs the ground after rolling for only one to three meters. The short-take-off capabilities make the application useful for operations originating from a  rooftop or short section of road. Such a vehicle could be developed as an urban surveillance UAV, that could fly slowly, manoeuvring through ‘urban canyons’, taking off and landing on rooftops, without using a catapult for takeoff or parachute for landing. An operational electrically powered FanWing UAV could weigh around 12 kg and carry 2kg of payload.

The Pakistani Air Force  new JF-17 Thunder, developed and produced by the Chinese company Chengdu Aerospace Company (CAC) is here at Farnborough for the first time. The Thunder is displayed for the first time at an international airshow. Serial production JF-17 for the Pakistani Air Force – the PAF has a requirement for about 250 aircraft to assembled in Pakistan until 2025, part of which will be configured as ‘stealthy 5^th Generation’ fighters.

The first locally assembled JF-17 was handed over to the Pakistani Air Force in 2009, two years after the first aircraft was delivered from China. The two aircraft at Farnborough are from the PAF No. 26 ‘Black Spiders’ squadron, which stood up earlier in 2010 (February 2010). The aircraft were shown here with typical weapons, including air to air missiles, C-802A anti-ship missile, L-6 stand-off gliding bomb, KG300G Airborne Self-Protection Jamming Pod. WMD-7 Day/Night Targeting POD.

“No Human Occupants” warns the sign below the cockpit of the Mantis - displayed at BAE Systems pavilion.

The company presented here several UAV models, among them this full scale Mantis, that recently its first flight testing series. Taranis is expected to begin flight testing next year but is not considered to develop into an operational program before the middle of the next decade (2024) as a possible alternative for the Tornado GR-4 replacement. In the foreground is the Demon, a proof of concept flying scale model built of carbon fibers, developed by the Carnfield University Aircraft Design Center to test fly a flapless control configuration.

The long awaited flight demonstration of unmanned systems was impressive for the sharp eyed enthusiasts equipped with high power binoculars or long telephoto lenses, but for the average enthusiast the UAV demonstration hasn’t been noticed… About six small unmanned vehicles flew at a distance of

More than 500 meters from the flight line. Although the flight display was included in the official dily plan, the vehicles were not announced, and most of them were so quiet that their flight was noticed only to few spectators including myself. Therefore, this short photo review completes the missing link.

On display yesterday were:

• SR-30 UAS displayed by Advanced UAV Technology (AUAVT)
• Aeryon Labs Scout (quad-copter)
• MicroB from BlueBird AeroSystems
• FanWing UAV technology demonstrator
• Vigilante from USTL
• Aurora Flight Sciences Skate
• Bonningtons Surveyors MicroDrone MD4-200
• YellowPlane sUAS

Airbus A400M parked at Brize Norton, on its way to Farnborough 2010. The base supports the Royal Air Force transport operations and operates the C-17 and C-130J transport aircraft also shown in this picture. (EADS Photo).

The impressive flight display of the Airbus A400M Grizzly demonstrated the aircraft ability to take off and land on short runways, including reverse taxying to maneuver on short and narrow runways. On its flight display the A-400M performed a tight turn with 120 degree bank. The aircraft can perform such maneuver with cargo. This capability could be useful on evasive maneuvers and rapid repositioning on steep approaches. Airbus Military officially designated the aircraft as ‘Grizzly’ at a ceremony at Farnborough on Monday 19 July here at the Airshow. (Video to follow)