Por Tierra Mar y Aire

Parece que en el ILA de este año Alemania dará el paso definitivo para integrar el Taurus en el Eurofighter, además del Brimstone 3: https://x.com/MBDADeutschland/status/1797266494566416698

"La Armada ya plantea una flota de seis submarinos S80 en Cartagena": https://www.infodefensa.com/texto-diario/mostrar/4898722/armada-plantea-flota-seis-submarinos-s80-cartagena

@blasdelezo En realidad se trata de equipamiento Elint/Sigint: https://www.facebook.com/Scramblemagazine/posts/on-friday-9-february-2018-the-finnish-defence-forces-dragon-shield-airborne-surv/2095022623857594/

On Friday 9 February 2018, the Finnish Defence Forces “Dragon Shield” airborne surveillance system achieved its final operational capability.

The Dragon Shield system provides larger cargo aircraft with the ability to collect electronic intelligence, communications or signals intelligence capabilities in order to enhance situational awareness for the aircrew and provide command and control nodes with better imagery intelligence.

According to Lockheed Martin, who produces this Roll-on/Roll-off integrated intelligence system, an Airbus Military C295M cargo aircraft was modified in order to integrate the Dragon Shield System.

This particular aircraft, serial CC-1 and c/n 035, was delivered to Finland on 6 March 2007 and joined the transport wing TukiLLv. This unit is nowadays based at Tampere-Pirkkala. Together with Finnish industry, Lockheed Martin heavily modified the aircraft and it was first noted with various humps and antennas in September 2013 at Tikkakoski. However, integration with all systems did not work out smoothly and it took until February 2018 before the final operational capability was achieved.

The ELINT/SIGINT unit, TukiLLv/3 Flight, soldiered on with the SIGINT modified Fokker F27-100, serial FF-1. This Fokker was delivered to the Finnish Air Force in May 1982 after a short lease that started in July 1980. The aircraft was modified to the SIGINT role somewhere in 1996 and was last noted in July 2015. Most probably the Fokker was withdrawn from use shortly after that and part of the specific role was fulfilled by the unit’s Learjet 35A.

Por aquí una foto a más resolución, donde se aprecia que no lleva la "bola" IR, que sería imprescindible para ISR: https://www.flyfinland.fi/view/12943/

• "La Fuerza Aérea de Alemania está cada vez más cerca de completar su flota de 53 nuevos aviones de transporte Airbus A400M: https://www.zona-militar.com/2025/06/01/la-fuerza-aerea-de-alemania-esta-cada-vez-mas-cerca-de-completar-su-flota-de-53-nuevos-aviones-de-transporte-airbus-a400m/

Ya han recibido 49 unidades y esperan recibir la última a finales del año que viene.

• Contrato para equipar 23 unidades alemanas con el DIRCM de Elbit Systems: https://monch.com/more-safety-for-a400m-crews/

El DIRCM se está probando en Sevilla, con la certificación prevista para este mismo 2025. Por su parte, la instalación en todas las unidades previstas se llevará a cabo cuando conincidan con los ciclos de mantenimiento y terminará en 2032.

• A400M alemanes han participado en las últimas alertas repostando a Eurofighter británicos basados en Polonia: https://www.raf.mod.uk/news/articles/royal-air-force-typhoon-fgr4-scrambled-six-times-in-six-days/

• Reino Unido recoge en su SDR la posibilidad de aumentar el número de unidades: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-strategic-defence-review-2025-making-britain-safer-secure-at-home-strong-abroad/the-strategic-defence-review-2025-making-britain-safer-secure-at-home-strong-abroad

Augmenting the existing fleet of A400M with either more A400M, civilian charter, and/or sponsored service options, reducing routine demand on RAF air transport that does not require military capability.

• Un A400M británico también ha participado en el desfile aéreo del cumpleaños del rey: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/kings-birthday-flypast-spotted-over-114500774.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAAAECml8_uQZN1aGZi-jwK_QJkugFh2fCg3zuqtlZYWoA41rRZB2pvPaxiN8_moulGo_mrnqbQU5K5sInXfyIbB2gsHxJ28T0JM16Fn3EI7MwG7otUQ_IjsOeYUNWI4uGEQmgJ0993bWtB45iiWVkSXcjCjs4ZniwxT5QPBP4LnD

• La primera de las dos unidades para Indonesia sale del taller de pintura: https://www.flightglobal.com/indonesias-first-a400m-breaks-cover-in-seville/163308.article
  
  Source: Airbus Defence & Space
  Indonesia’s A400Ms will support both transport and air-to-air refuelling missions

• Esta unidad será entregada previsiblemente en noviembre: https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2025/06/17/indonesia-to-get-a400m-aircraft-in-november-waiting-for-h145m-choppers.html

• Airbus cree que puede conseguir de 8 a 10 pedidos anuales durante los tres próximos años, lo cual necesita para poder estabilizar la línea de producción a un mínimo de 8 unidades/año hasta 2029. Menos no es rentable: https://aviationweek.com/defense/aircraft-propulsion/airbus-defense-boss-sees-required-a400m-orders-keep-line-open

Airbus had previously warned that its A400M backlog is dwindling and that, absent additional orders, the production line could face a drawdown in the coming years. At the end of May, Airbus had delivered 131 of 178 A400Ms ordered to date.

But Schoelhorn, on the eve of the Paris Air Show, told reporters that talks with existing customers and for export deals are going well and should enable Airbus to secure the eight-10 orders it needs this year to keep the backlog stable. “There is renewed traction” in sales campaigns, he said June 13.

The eight-10 level of order intake should also be possible in each of the next three years, he added.

• Más sobre lo mismo, añadiendo que pueden ser capaces de aumentar la capacidad de carga hasta las 40T: https://www.flightglobal.com/defence/new-agreement-safeguards-a400m-production-as-airbus-eyes-fresh-sales/163446.article

Signed at the Paris air show on 16 June, an agreement between the airframer and its partner-nation customers – reached via Europe’s OCCAR defence procurement body – sets output at eight of the airlifters annually until early 2029.
...
Among international prospects for the Atlas, the United Arab Emirates’ need for a new transport fleet is the subject of a major campaign.
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Other actions stemming from the new agreement include approval to increase the transport’s maximum cargo capacity from 37t to 40t. And Airbus will continue work to explore developments which could lead to the transport being used to deploy remote carriers and unmanned air vehicles from its rear cargo ramp, and potentially to act as a stand-off jammer platform.

• Relacionada con este tema, tanto Francia como España adelantarán sus entregas: https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-release/2025-06-france-and-spain-renew-commitment-to-the-airbus-a400m-programme-with

Paris, France, 17 June 2025 – Airbus and OCCAR have reached an agreement with the A400M launch nations to secure production for the programme for the foreseeable future, improve the cost of operations, and jointly develop new capabilities. Through the agreement, France and Spain stated their intention to advance four and three A400M aircraft respectively in their delivery schedule.

• Contrato de terminales satelitales de Thales para la flota global de A400M: https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/aerospace/press_release/thales-supply-airbus-defence-spacewith-safety-satcom-its-a400m

Airbus Defence & Space has selected Thales to supply the safety satcom system of the A400M military transport aircraft programme. The A400M is a military airlifter that combines the ability to fly to long distances, carrying loads too heavy or too large for medium airlifters. Extended connectivity is thus critical for ensuring mission success and operational effectiveness.

Thales’s cockpit satcom system, the AVIATOR 700S, is the most high-performance solution on the market for pilot communication systems, providing Viasat's SB-S services + Inmarsat for military and commercial aviation. Communication via satellite enhances capabilities in communications, navigation and surveillance (CNS). Designed to meet the rigorous demands of military, government, air transport, business, and VIP platforms, this system will deliver critical date related to flight, navigation, and performance, directly to the A400M cockpit. By expanding secure connectivity and reducing pilot workload, the Thales system boosts operational efficiency. Designed to meet the latest cockpit communication standards, Thales's AVIATOR 700S system provides a sustainable solution to meet new requirements.

• Airbus propone nuevas misiones para el A400M: https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/web-story/2025-06-preparing-the-airbus-a400m-for-tomorrow

Entre ellas está la capacidad de funcionar como nodo de comunicaciones, lanzador de drones (50 de pequeño tamaño o 12 "remote carriers"), guerra electrónica y contraincendios.

• Francia parece interesada en estas versiones e incluso se habla de que podría incrementar su flota pidiendo 8 unidades más (anteriormente parecía lo contrario, que querían recortarla de 50 a 37 unidades...): https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/aerospace-news/2025/france-might-arm-the-a400m-atlas-transport-aircraft-with-missiles-to-fully-exploit-its-capacities

• Francia declara la FOC: https://www.flightglobal.com/defence/france-declares-full-operational-capability-for-a400m-fleet/163518.article

• Curiosamente, Airbus está explorando la idea de quedarse con algunas unidades para posteriormente alquilarlas: https://aviationweek.com/defense/aircraft-propulsion/airbus-explores-a400m-leasing-idea

LE BOURGET—Airbus is exploring the concept of becoming the owner and operator of some A400M military airlifters to satisfy demand from air forces that only require a small number of aircraft.

“We're having discussions, and we're building our opinion of whether or not there is a potential business case,” Airbus Defense & Space CEO Michael Schoelhorn told Aviation Week on June 19 at the Paris Air Show. “It's not a given.”

• Y ya para terminar, la exhibición aérea en el Paris Airshow de 2025:

Contrato de 141 motores para el lote 18 (22/08/2025): https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/4283984/

Raytheon Technologies Corp., doing business as Pratt and Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Connecticut, is awarded a not-to-exceed $2,878,495,761 cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price-incentive-fee, undefinitized contract modification (P00008) to a previously awarded contract (N0001923C0030). This modification adds scope for the production and delivery of 141 F135 propulsion systems in support of Lot 18 F-35 aircraft production for the Joint Strike Fighter program for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, F-35 Cooperative Program Partners, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in East Hartford, Connecticut (17.3%); Indianapolis, Indiana (10.4%); Middletown, Connecticut (8%); Kent, Washington (7%); North Berwick, Maine (4%); El Cajon, California (3%); Cromwell, Connecticut (3%); Whitehall, Michigan (3%); Portland, Oregon (2%); San Diego, California (2%); South Bend, Indiana (2%); Columbus, Georgia (1%); Hampton, Virginia (1%); Manchester, Connecticut (1%); Cheshire, Connecticut (1%); Elmwood Park, New Jersey (1%); various locations within the continental U.S. (27.3%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (7%), and is expected to be completed in February 2028. Fiscal 2024 aircraft procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $575,726,390; fiscal 2024 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funding in the amount of $537,304,610; fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $79,962,704; fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funding in the amount of $77,336,243; FMS customer funds in the amount of $513,763,860; and non-U.S. Department of Defense participant funds in the amount of $228,500,253, will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

• Debido a la escasez de controladores aéreos en Zeltweg, Austria destaca tres Eurofighter en el aeropuerto de Klagenfurt: https://www.kleinezeitung.at/kaernten/19522199/drei-eurofighter-aus-zeltweg-werden-in-klagenfurt-stationiert

• Los alemanes crean en Manching el Centro Nacional de Pruebas y Desarrollo del Eurofighter: https://www.bundeswehr.de/de/organisation/luftwaffe/aktuelles/luftwaffe-baainbw-team-eurofighter-5930748

• Artículo sobre la retirada de los T1 británicos: https://tolgaozbek.com/savunma/ingiltere-eurofighter-tranche-1lerden-sadece-2-adetini-satiyor/

Estado de la aeronave

· Se desguazaron 17 aviones: de los 49, 17 fueron retirados del servicio.
· 11 aviones en almacenamiento: Estos aviones se mantendrán listos para volar tan pronto como sea necesario.
· 10 repuestos de aeronaves: Un total de 10 aeronaves se utilizarán como fuente de repuestos para otros Tranche 1 de la flota. Estos aviones pronto comenzarán a ser desmantelados.
· 4 aviones se utilizarán para el entrenamiento de tripulaciones técnicas: La Royal Air Force utilizará 4 Tranche 1 para el entrenamiento de tripulaciones de tierra.
· 2 aviones reservados para ventas en el extranjero: Solo 2 de los aviones restantes se reservarán para ventas en el extranjero.
· 4 aviones en las Islas Malvinas: 4 aviones fueron enviados a las Islas Malvinas, donde actualmente Argentina e Inglaterra están en guerra. Estos aviones estarán en servicio en la región hasta 2027.
· 2 aviones reservados para la venta: Según la lista, 2 aviones están reservados para la venta.

• Eurofighter británicos destacados en Akrotiri participaron en ataques a Yemen a finales de marzo (unas seis horas de misión): https://www.itamilradar.com/2025/03/29/raf-eurofighters-likely-involved-in-strikes-against-houthis-in-yemen/
  

• Más sobre el despliegue italiano en Rumanía (cuatro unidades), denominado operación "Black Storm II": https://www.difesaonline.it/news-forze-armate/missioni/quattro-eurofighter-italiani-subentrano-ai-velivoli-spagnoli-continuare

• Los italianos concluyeron a finales de marzo la segunda fase de la campaña de pruebas y evaluación operativa (OT&E) del Meteor: https://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/news/meteor-conclusa-in-scozia-la-seconda-fase-della-campagna-di-operational-test-and-evaluation-ote-del-missile/

• Fechas de los festivales en los que participará el Eurofighter español: https://www.air-shows.org.uk/2025/04/airshow-news-spanish-air-force-solo-jet-display-dates-2025/

· France 24th-25th May – Meeting National de l’Air, BA123 d’Orléans-Bricy, France (Ala 11)

· Spain 14th-15th June – AIRE 2025, San Javier, Murcia, Spain (Ala 11)

· United Kingdom 18th-20th July – Royal International Air Tattoo, RAF Fairford, United Kingdom (Ala 14)

· Spain 25th-27th July – Festival Aéreo Internacional de Gijón, San Lorenzo, Spain (Ala 11)

· Poland 30th-31st August – Radom International Airshow, Radom AB, Poland (Ala 14)

· Spain 5th-7th – Festival Aéreo Internacional Torre del Mar, Vélez-Málaga, Spain (Ala 14)

· Spain 20th-21st September – Festa al Cel, Salou, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain (Ala 14)

· Spain 8th November – Jornada de puertas abiertas 75 aniversario B.A Son San Juan, Spain (Ala 11)

• "Primer mantenimiento ML3 del Auxiliary Power Unit Eurofighter en la Maestranza Aérea de Sevilla": https://ejercitodelaireydelespacio.defensa.gob.es/EA/ejercitodelaire/es/Actualidad/Noticias/Noticia/d6838531-8a1e-11ef-879f-005056a2cb59/#gsc.tab=0
  

Actualización de noticias del mes de abril, primera quincena.

• "Los Eurofighter del Ala 14 del Ejército del Aire estarán en el Gran Premio de Fórmula 1 de Madrid en septiembre": https://www.infodefensa.com/texto-diario/mostrar/5833441/eurofighter-ala-14-ejercito-aire-estaran-gran-premio-formula-1-madrid-septiembre

• Habrá un Eurofighter en el Festival Aéreo Internacional San Javier a principios de mayo: https://x.com/EuroAirshow/status/2041855001748807955

• BAE Systems potencia al Eurofighter Typhoon con el sistema de armas de precisión APKWS: https://www.hispaviacion.es/bae-systems-potencia-al-eurofighter-typhoon-con-el-sistema-de-armas-de-precision-apkws/
  
  Foto: BEA Systems

BAE Systems ha realizado con éxito un disparo de prueba del APKWS en Eurofighter Typhoon, marcando un hito en la búsqueda de soluciones de armamento de bajo coste y alta precisión.
...
Se espera que la próxima fase de pruebas incluya enfrentamientos contra objetivos aéreos, consolidando el uso de este armamento en misiones de defensa aérea. El APKWS ya ha sido desplegado operativamente en plataformas como el F-16 y el A-10, así como en helicópteros, ofreciendo una alternativa de menor coste frente a los misiles guiados tradicionales.

• Otro artículo al respecto con un poco más de información: https://aerospaceglobalnews.com/news/eurofighter-typhoon-apkws-low-cost-drone-defence/
  

• Y un vídeo: https://x.com/Gabriel64869839/status/2042341017328799837

• Más sobre el derribo de drones por parte de los británicos sobre Oriente Medio: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-892150

"UK Typhoons and F-35 jets, supported by Voyager and Royal Navy Merlin and Wildcat helicopters, have continued their defensive missions over the Eastern Mediteranean, Jordan, Bahrain, and the UAE," the post read.

Four RAF pilots have achieved the "ace" status due to the mission, the ministry added in a separate statement, having "aving blasted Iranian drones out of the sky during operations in the Middle East, protecting British interests, partners, and personnel in the region."

• Sobre las configuraciones que se están volando en este escenario: https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/aerospace-news/2026/uk-typhoon-fgr4-fighter-jet-shows-heavy-air-defence-loadout-in-middle-east-air-operations
  
  A newly released UK Ministry of Defence image shows an RAF Typhoon FGR4 armed with Meteor and ASRAAM missiles, highlighting Britain’s layered air combat posture in the Middle East (Picture Source: UK MoD)

• CAE entrega su generador de imágenes Prodigy para Austria, mejorando su capacidad de simulación: https://www.afm.aero/cae-prodigy-achieves-military-milestone-with-deployment-on-german-and-austrian-armed-forces-simulators

• Tras seis meses y unas 650h de vuelo, termina el despliegue de Eurofighter alemanes en Rumanía: https://www.pressreader.com/romania/nine-o-clock-daily-9jgg/20260406/281565182315174

• Alemania prueba el despliegue rápido de cinco Eurofighter en el aeropuerto civil de Lübeck:

• Una curiosidad sobre los EJ200 y cómo se soldan los blisk ("bladed disk" o "integrally bladed rotor"): https://x.com/Jordan_W_Taylor/status/2042866998766399553

On early engines, something called ‘fretting corrosion’, between tight-fitting parts in the EJ200 compressor, was cutting component life down to a mere 400 hours, rather than the 4,000 they’d been designed for. This occurred due to wear between the tight-fitting compressor blades and disc subject to colossal cyclic stresses, and needed to be eliminated somehow.

The solution was to change how they were made: Rolls-Royce elected to replace the conventional compressor disc (with retaining slots for the blades) with a single-piece, fully machined bladed disc, called a ‘blisk’. The rationale was simple: You can’t get wear between tight-fitting parts if there is only one part! To achieve this, Rolls-Royce needed to pursue a new and very unusual type of welding.

Simply put, it needed to use friction, -ridiculous friction!- to join the jewel-like blades to the machined disc. Think of it like rubbing your hands together to keep warm on a cold winter’s day, but taken to absurd extremes, ending with your hands becoming merged together. Uncomfortable body horror, but impressive.

Friction welds were already performed on the shafts that run up the middle of jet engines, to join multiple pieces by spinning them up and forcing them together until frictional heating, and ludicrous pressure, bonded shafts together. The advantages of this are significant: Friction welding creates minimum heat affected zones (HAZ), extremely low porosity and high quality welds with favourable microstructure that’s well-suited to highly-loaded assemblies like jet engines. It also works well with dissimilar metals, and can be done very, very quickly, with low-ish energy costs.

In linear friction welding, a specialized fixture holds a part such as a compressor blade and applies it to the workpiece with many tens of tons of compressive force, while vibrating 20-125 times a second at very low amplitudes of just a few millimetres. This rapidly generates exactly the same kind of frictional and compressive load that woks so well with rotating friction welding, and lets you weld blades onto compressor discs, which can be further machined down into finished ‘blisks’ at leisure, saving weight and adding extra life to the engine.

But it’s not straightforward. Friction welding is one of those weird hyper-specialised processes that’s thrives in strange niches, too awkward and specialised for mere mortals. The capital cost of friction welders, especially LFW machines, is nothing short of astronomical, so you only pick this as a weld method if the output justifies the expense… as it does with jet engine compressor blisks, where it nets you a juicy weight saving as well as eliminating fretting corrosion risk.

• Los blisk no se adoptaron en un principio en el HPC debido al escepticismo, por lo que los 85 primeros motores tenían un diseño más convencional. Por cierto, MTU también contribuyó al desarrollo: https://www.mtu.de/fileadmin/EN/5_Investors/7_Financial_Reports/PDFs/2019_Annual_report.pdf

In 1995, when Arthur Schäffler first unveiled the new full-blisk low-pressure compressor to the four Eurofighter customers for their EJ200 jet engine, the response was less than enthusiastic. “Heated discussions broke out immediately,” recalls the then Technical Director of the EJ200 consortium Eurojet, thinking back to that meeting in London. The representatives from Spain, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom had some grounds for their skepticism. Although a first blisk had already been used in a helicopter engine back then, the blisks that MTU’s Schäffler was proposing had a much greater diameter than the helicopter component. “With the EJ200 blisks, we’d gone out to the very frontier of development technology,” says the engineer, who is now 81 years old. Driven there by necessity, the MTU engineers were forced to try the new technology in order to fulfill the service life requirements for the EJ200. The high rotational speeds of the rotors in the jet engine—and thus the centrifugal forces—were so great that fretting corrosion became a problem for the conventional individual blade technology. Fretting corrosion here refers to the formation of little pits on the surfaces of the blade root and rotor groove, which can lead to cracks and ultimately to loss of the blade.

“The first 85 EJ200 engines that were delivered without blisks in the high-pressure compressor in stages 1 and 2 were thus limited to 400 flight hours—whereas the design had planned for 4,000 hours,” says Christian Köhler, who joined MTU in 1990 and is today the Chief Engineer of the EJ200 program. The blisks resolved the problem and fully convinced the customers of the integrated disk-blade solution. By the start of 2019, 558 jets had already been delivered with the EJ200 engines—and more are on order. MTU’s blisk experience was then further utilized in an experimental high-pressure compressor that was developed as part of the HDV12 technology program and which fit more or less exactly into the PW6000 engine for the A318. “This allowed us to show Pratt & Whitney our technological abilities,” Köhler says. With a few modifications, the high-pressure compressor is a standard component in the PW6000 today, and for blisk technology this represented the leap into commercial business.

• Un vídeo al respecto:

@blasdelezo , el artículo es bastante malo. En primer lugar, la nomeclatura LTE ya se ha abandonado en favor de la más clásica MLU. Después cita la capacidad de guerra electrónica, pero esta se va a implantar antes con la versión especializada alemana y también con el Mk2 británico/Mk1 Step 2 germano-español. En tercer lugar habla de la capacidad MUM-T, pero eso es otro programa distinto... de nuevo anterior a la MLU y con versiones propuestas distintas, como por ejemplo la alemana sobre pod Litening. Lo de que "será capaz de comandar paquetes de fuerzas multidominio, incluyendo satélites, fragatas y fuerzas especiales, directamente desde la cabina" mejor ni lo comentamos.

Un par de noticias que se me quedaron colgadas de marzo:

• Primera foto de un T4 alemán (recordemos que tenían que comenzar las entregas el año pasado): https://x.com/PAFFalconsPK/status/2037558810378985596
  
  Photo by: Dietmar Fenners

• Los británicos comienzan a producir las unidades turcas: https://www.zona-militar.com/en/2026/03/27/the-united-kingdom-has-begun-production-of-the-new-eurofighter-fighters-for-the-turkish-air-force/

• Unidades desplegadas por RU en el exterior: https://x.com/ArmchairAdml/status/2037520382962307434
  

Parece que el piloto implicado en el último accidente de un F-35B (New Mexico, 28/5/2024), se encuentra estable: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-pilot-f-35b-crash-kirtland/

Esta unidad accidentada era una instrumentalizada de pruebas configurada como TR2 y entregada en septiembre de 2023. Esta flota es muy escasa y con mucha demanda, por lo que la pérdida es significativa.

Contrato relacionado con los motores (29/05/2024): https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/3790490/
NAVY

"Raytheon Technologies Corp., Pratt and Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Connecticut, is awarded a not-to-exceed $380,604,448 modification (P00053) to a previously awarded, cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price incentive (firm-target), cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable contract (N0001921C0011). This modification adds scope and increases contract ceiling to provide for F135 propulsion system annual sustainment including program management, financial and administrative activities, propulsion integration, replenishment spare part buys, engineering support, material management, configuration management, product management support, software sustainment, security management, Joint Technical Data updates, and support equipment management. Additionally, this effort includes depot level maintenance and repair for all fielded propulsion systems at the F-35 production sites and operational locations, as well as training in support of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) participants, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in East Hartford, Connecticut (40%); Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (21%); Indianapolis, Indiana (12%); Windsor Locks, Connecticut (6%); West Palm Beach, Florida (6%); Brekstad, Norway (4%); Leeuwarden, Netherlands (3%); Iwakuni, Japan (3%); Williamtown, New South Wales, Australia (2%); (1%); Cameri, Italy, and Marham, United Kingdom (1%); and Fort Worth, Texas (1%), is expected to be completed in August 2024. Fiscal 2024 operations and maintenance (Air Force) funds in the amount of $91,144,011; fiscal 2024 operations and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $54,514,229; fiscal 2024 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $16,667,989; non-U.S. DOD participant funds in the amount of $49,397,375; and FMS funds in the amount of $25,311,056, will be obligated at time of award, $162,326,229, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity."

Otro contrato más relacionado con el motor (30/05/2024): https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/3791872/
"Raytheon Technologies Corp., doing business at Pratt and Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Connecticut, is awarded a $301,762,768 modification (P00002) to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive (firm-target), cost-plus-incentive-fee advanced acquisition contract (N0001923C0030). This modification procures Lot 19 long-lead time materials as well as the manufacture, assembly, inspection, acceptance, and delivery of 108 conventional takeoff and landing F135 propulsion systems, 27 short takeoff and vertical landing F135 propulsion systems, and 13 Carrier Variant F135 propulsion systems. Additionally, this effort provides global spares requirements to include spare engines, power modules, and other hardware supporting the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corp, non-U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in East Hartford, Connecticut (17%) (labor surplus area); Indianapolis, Indiana (10%); Middletown, Connecticut (8%); Kent, Washington (7%); North Berwick, Maine (4%); El Cajon, California (3%) (labor surplus area); Cromwell, Connecticut (3%); Whitehall, Michigan (3%) Portland, Oregon (2%); San Diego, California (2%); South Bend, Indiana (2%); Columbus, Georgia (1%); Hampton, Virginia (1%); Manchester, Connecticut (1%), Cheshire, Connecticut (1%); Elmwood Park, New Jersey (1%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (34%), and is expected to be completed in June 2027. Fiscal 2024 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $45,759,000; fiscal 2024 aircraft procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $21,319,250; fiscal 2024 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $18,408,000; FMS customer funds in the amount of $195,364,769; and non-U.S. DOD participant funds in the amount of $20,911,749, will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity."

Hola a todos, un placer estar otra vez por aquí.

Para ir probando, pongo esta noticia sobre las mejoras que están introduciendo los británicos, con las que esperan lograr nuevas ventas: https://www.flightglobal.com/defence/technology-enhancements-to-boost-eurofighter-sales-appeal-bae-says/158396.article

Además de las ya conocidas del radar ECRS Mk2 y el HMD Striker II, se habla como novedad de una computadora de misión unificada con 200 veces más capacidad, pensada para la LTE y que se sumaría a la nueva pantalla panorámica de presentación de datos. Respecto a la computadora, el hecho de que hablen de "unificada" hace pensar que por fin se dará el salto de la arquitectura federada a la modular integrada, como ya tienen los 5ª y el resto de Eurocanards

Nuevas operaciones de los Eurofighter británicos en Yemen: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/statement-on-air-strikes-against-houthi-military-targets-in-yemen-30-may-2024

"On Thursday 30 May, UK forces participated in a joint operation with US forces against Houthi military facilities to degrade their ability to persist with their attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which have thus far killed innocent merchant mariners from Vietnam and the Philippines, damaged several merchant ships, and sunk the bulk carrier Rubymar.

Intelligence had confirmed two locations near Hudaydah as being involved with the Houthi anti-shipping attacks, with a number of buildings identified as housing drone ground control facilities and providing storage for very long range drones, as well as surface to air weapons used to impede coalition operations to safeguard shipping in the region. Furthermore, a set of Houthi facilities at Ghulayfiqah, further south on the Yemeni coast, had also been identified as being involved in the command and control of their anti-shipping campaign.

Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s therefore conducted strikes on the target buildings at these three locations, using Paveway IV guided bombs. As ever, the utmost care was taken in planning the strikes to minimise any risk to civilians or non-military infrastructure. Conducting the strikes in the hours of darkness should also have mitigated yet further any such risks. As ever with such missions, RAF Voyager tankers provided essential air refuelling support to the Typhoons."

@elgranmazapan , es la feria aeronáutica de Berlín. Se celebra la semana que viene: https://ila-berlin.de/en

@bandua , cada uno tiene sus pros y sus contras. En primer lugar, decir que el EJ200 es más capaz, desarrollando más potencia con menor peso y en principio menor consumo (mayor índice de derivación). Otra ventaja es que eludes los controles de exportación de EEUU. Sin embargo, como contras tiene el precio, no tiene una versión desarrollada para monomotores y no está integrado en el Hürjet. Esto llevaría inevitablemente a mayores costes y plazos más abultados. Y si se quiere exportar hay que preguntar a Alemania...

Respecto al F404, esta es la opción barata y ya desarrollada. Sin embargo, además del menor rendimiento, tiene el gran inconveniente de que la producción tiene ahora mismo un cuello de botella (dos años de retraso para los Tejas de la India encargados en 2021). Esto genera incertidumbres sobre si llegarían a tiempo para cubrir nuestras necesidades, ya que primero habría que cubrir las necesidades de EEUU y la India antes de proveérselas a un rival en el mercado.

Sinceramente, creo que ahora mismo ya estamos en plazos imposibles. Recordemos: https://www.outono.net/elentir/2024/05/24/los-cuatro-candidatos-del-ejercito-del-aire-de-espana-para-reemplazar-a-sus-viejos-f-5m/

En marzo del año pasado, el Ministerio de Defensa de España afirmó estar trabajando en la elección de un sustituto para el F-5M: "el compromiso del Gobierno es que estará completado a finales del año 2023 en consecuencia, en el año 2024 ya tendremos madura la cuestión para poder garantizar que en 2028 estarán ya en el país los nuevos aviones para la formación de nuestros pilotos de caza y ataque". Sin embargo, ya estamos a punto de acabar mayo de 2024 y todavía no ha sido elegido un sustituto.

Y como todo puede empeorar, metemos a Airbus por el medio.

"Semana importante en las ventas de Navantia: la Armada india prueba el submarino S-80": https://theobjective.com/tecnologia/2024-06-24/ventas-navantia-armada-india-submarino/

En el F-15EX las cosas van un poco mejor, pero aún así hay casi un año de retraso: https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-24-106831.pdf

Ese sobrecoste del 32% es debido a que se van a adquirir más unidades de las previstas inicialmente, pasando de 78 a 104. Sobre los retrasos:

Program officials said the recent production issues are because of Boeing’s new forward fuselage manufacturing process. Boeing is using new, automated manufacturing processes to drill holes prior to assembling the forward fuselage. Korea Aerospace Industries built the forward fuselage for earlier aircraft. According to program officials, Boeing has experienced increased quality deficiencies after switching to this new manufacturing process, including improperly installed tubing and wires that required timeconsuming rework.

While Boeing developed quality improvement plans for specific risk items, officials noted that rework continued in other areas of the forward fuselage. Recent Boeing data suggest that the cost of rework has more than quadrupled over the past year. Boeing is still refining the forward fuselage’s new, automated manufacturing process, which could result in increased rework costs and additional schedule delays. To mitigate future rework costs, program officials stated that Boeing plans to increase training and transfer experienced manufacturing staff from other product lines, such as the F-18.

El EPAWSS lo analizan aparte. A este programa le han metido las tijeras y muchos de los F-15E (y todos los C) que lo iban a montar se quedarán sin él, pasando de las 413 unidades inicialmente previstas a tan sólo 206, incluyendo las que van para el F-15EX.

Artículo analizando las posibles causas de los actuales mínimos en producción naval estadounidense de los últimos 25 años: https://www.defensenews.com/news/your-navy/2024/08/11/navy-warship-production-in-worst-state-in-25-years-whats-behind-it/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=tw_dfn

La falta de mano de obra en los astilleros y la dificultad para retenerla parecen ser las principales causas. A esto habría que sumar los requisitos cambiantes para los nuevos diseños, que también es causa de numerosos retrasos y sobrecostes.

"El día 11, en Alaska, se realizó la misión donde el capitán Bruno Herrero del Ala 14 ejerció como Mission Commander": https://x.com/EjercitoAire/status/1811886256948936877

En la misma participaron un total de 50 aviones dentro del bando Blue entre F22, F35, F18, Rafale y Eurofighter. Además se contó con el apoyo de helicópteros y aviones de reabastecimiento A400 y A330.

En el lado opositor se encontraba una numerosa flota de aviones de cuarta y quinta generación que contaba con un fuerte sistema de baterías antiaéreas para establecer un sistema A2/AD (Anti Access Area Denial) que impidiese la operación del bando Blue.

Este tipo de misiones constituyen una gran oportunidad de adiestramiento para los pilotos del Ejército del Aire y del Espacio capacitándoles para operar en los escenarios más desafiantes.

Primera mujer estadounidense en conseguir una victoria A-A: https://x.com/ric_cole/status/1815068174993236182