Varuna 2009: Indian Navy Dehli class Destroyer

Indian Navy ships are gearing up for Exercise Varuna 2009 with the French Navy. Interestingly this exercise is going to be participated by the same Indian Navy ships after completing Konkan 2009 with the Royal Navy in U.K waters.



Delhi class destroyers:

The Delhi class destroyers are guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy. Three ships of this class are in active service. 
The Delhi class vessels are the largest warships to be fully designed and built in India, although they will soon be superseded by the Kolkata class destroyers and the Vikrant class aircraft carriers. They were built at Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai.


The Delhi class has both Soviet and Western design influences, incorporating elements of the Sovremenny class destroyer, the Rajput class (Kashin-II) destroyer, and the Godavari class frigate.
These vessels are fully fitted with flag facilities. The Delhi class is also capable of operating in a NBC environment. Radar cross-section reduction is presumed to be minimal, to the extent that some sharp angles have been flattened.

In the main air defence role, a pair of 2 3S-90 launchers - one installed forward of the bridge and the other atop the dual helicopter hangar - are fitted with the Shtil SAM system. The Shtil system consists of the Russian Shtil missile and 24 such missiles are carried in a below-decks magazine. The launchers elevate up to 70° but have a limited firing arc of 30° within the centreline. The launcher groups require a crew of 20 men and weigh about 50 tons.

The Delhi class is being upgraded with the Rafael Barak point air defence missile system, which overcomes the limited firing arc of the Shtil system. It has an eight-cell vertical launch system and the missile command-to-line-of-sight (CLOS) radar guidance with a range from 500m to 10 km. The missile's maximum range is 32 km. The ship has a surveillance capacity of over 350 km and can sterilise an area of 250 km.
The ships also have a quadruple 533mm torpedo launcher, which can also be used to launch SS-N-15 'Starfish' or possibly SS-N-16 'Stallion' ASW missiles, so is capable of hitting targets ranging from 50 km to 120 km. It is also equipped with two RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers with 12 tubes. Their range is 6 km and the maximum engagement depth is 500m.

Each ship can support two helicopters, the Sea King or the HAL Dhruv. The Sea King helicopters are equipped with a Super Searcher radar and primarily used in air surveillance and anti-submarine roles. The helicopters are capable of flying four and half hours non-stop. The HAL Dhruv helicopters are primarily for utility roles. The INS Delhi has a crew of approximately 30 officers and 350 sailors.

The ships are equipped with four chaff launch systems and the BEL Ajanta radar interceptor. The TQN-2 jamming system is supplied by the Italian company, Elettronica. The ship's hull mounted active search sonar capability is based on the TSM2633 by Thales Underwater Systems or the APSOH by Bharat. The Delhi Class also has a variable depth sonar, Model 15-750 developed and manufactured in India by Indal and Garden Reach.

Ships of the class

Name	Pennant	Builder	Commissioned	Status
INS Delhi	D61 - C1	Mazagon Dock Limited	15 November 1997	Active
INS Mysore	D60 - C2	Mazagon Dock Limited	02 June 1999	Active
INS Mumbai	D62 - C3	Mazagon Dock Limited	22 January 2001	Active

F-15E Strike Eagle Hi Quality Pics

From top to bottom,armament AIM-120 AMRAAM, a SUU-20 rack with six BDU-76 training rounds (small blue bomblets) and an ACMI pod; the two LANTIRN pods and finally AIM-9 Sidewinder, another SUU-20 (empty) and another AIM-120 AMRAAM. All the CFTs stations and the centreline are empty.

F-15e armament:

F-15 weapon system will provide world-class performance and capability while improving reliability
The Eagle can be armed with combinations of four different air-to-air weapons: AIM-7F/M Sparrow missiles or AIM-120 AMRAAM advanced medium range air-to-air missiles on its lower fuselage corners, AIM-9L/M Sidewinder or AIM-120 missiles on two pylons under the wings, and an internal M61A1 20 mm Gatling gun in the right wing root

Eurofighters For Pakistan ?

Tweet by Alan Warne :

Once india's MMRCA winner is announced will the losers offer Pakistan with alternatives to the J-10/FC-20? You bet!

MMRCA, JF-17 bought by Pakistan could speed up the Indian deal

Aviation week reports that a quick order of JF-17 fighter jets by Pakistan could be the cause of the soudain hurry surrounding the MMRCA deal.

"India wants to expedite the deal in part because Pakistan is expecting a speedy delivery of 50 JF-17 aircraft, which originally were to be spread out over two years, according to defense ministry officials."

Accordind to Aviation weeks, the offset negociations would have already been initiated

“The negotiation for crucial commercial terms will begin next month,” says Michael Christie, senior vice president at BAE Systems India. BAE is part of the Eurofighter consortium, along with Alenia Aeronautica and EADS. 

In the meatime, French Defense Minister Gerard longuet will meet his Indian counterpart, Mr. AK Antony, Thursday 26th. For sure the Rafale proposal and the Mirage 2000 upgrade will be at the heart of the debates. So everything seems to converge toward a quick decision on which fighter (Rafale or Typhoon) will be chosen.. even if the final deal is not expected to be signed before the end of 2011

PAF F-16A clean sweep Typhoon

A special feature posted on the PAF Falcons web site provides a fascinating transcript of a one-on-one interview with an anonymous, although apparently very senior, Pakistani Air Force F-16 pilot. It reminds me of YouTube Terry's infamous indiscretions.

The Pakistani pilot manages to embarrass the pride of the Royal Air Force, candidly describe Israeli air-to-air prowess and explain how the US keeps the F-16 Block 52's secrets away from the Pakistanis and -- by extension -- the Chinese.

On the RAF Typhoon:

On one occasion - in one of the international Anatolian Eagles - PAF pilots were pitted against RAF Typhoons, a formidable aircraft. There were three set-ups and in all three, we shot down the Typhoons. The RAF pilots were shocked.

Q: Any particular reason for your success?

A: NATO pilots are not that proficient in close-in air-to-air combat. They are trained for BVR engagements and their tactics are based on BVR engagements. These were close-in air combat exercises and we had the upper hand because close-in air combat is drilled into every PAF pilot and this is something we are very good at.

On the Israelis:

Q: What are the Isrealis afraid of?

A: What they fear most is that we might learn about their tactics, especially BVR countermeasure tactics, which they have mastered.

Q: I heard a rumour that the TuAF once gave PAF pilots the opportunity to fly with and against the Israelis in A. TuAF F-16s pretending to be Turkish pilots - even letting them sit in the Turkish-Israeli ACMI de-briefs?

A: No comments.

On US concerns about the Chinese:

To recall an interesting little story: soon after the first F-16s were delivered to Pakistan in the mid-80s, the PLAAF Chief visited Sargodha. The Americans were there as well. As a gesture of courtesy, the PAF showed the PLAAF Chief one of the F-16s and let him sit in the cockpit. Some US technicians were there looking on. As soon as the PLAAF Chief sat in the F-16 cockpit, the first thing he did was to start measuring the HUD with his fingers, you know, when you extend your little finger and thumb to measure something? This worried the Americans.

On US export control practices:

They have ways of keeping an eye on the Block 52s without being personally present. The main concern is the transfer of cutting-edge technology - the avionics and radar, the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) the Sniper pod. They have put digital seals all the sensitive technologies, which can only be opened via a code, which only they know. If there is a malfunction or these parts need to be serviced, they will be taken out of the Block 52s and shipped back to the US for repairs/servicing. If we try to pry open these systems without the codes, inbuilt alarms will be relayed to the Americans, which will be a breach of the contract.

Q: Will the Americans be able to track the locations of the Block 52s through some sort of tracking devices hidden inside the aircraft?

A: If there are tracking devices then they will be inside the sealed systems, like the avionics suites or the sniper pods because we will not have the ability to look inside. If their Predator and Reaper drones are transmitting their GPS locations via satellite so can a Block 52 F-16.

Even though Turkey produces the F-16, there are some components that are manufactured in the US and only come to Turkey for the final assembly. In one incident, a Turkish Block 50 crashed and the pilot was killed. They salvaged the wreckage and laid it out in hanger and started putting together the pieces to find out the cause. They found a piece of sealed equipment which had cracked open and inside they found some device that looked like a bug. Upon inquiry, it turned out to be a tracking device.

Block II JF-17 Thunder To Enter Into Production Next Year

The Pakistan Air Force will start receiving the improved version of the JF-17 Thunder fighter jet Block II. The Block II Thunder will include newer and improved capabilities including data link and electronic warfare capabilities aerial refuelling, new radar & avionics.

 The JF-17 Thunder Block II will also expend its inventory of new generation precision guided weapons including cruise missiles. Pakistan and China are also developing a two-seater version of the JF-17 Thunder.

The deliveries of the Block II Thunder to Pakistan Air Force are scheduled to start from the second half of the 2012 and will continue till 2015. From 2016, JF-17 Thunder Block III will enter into production .

Pakistani Air Chief Marshall Rao Qamar Suleiman has said at the Dubai Air Show, “We offer performance comparable to U.S. and European fighters when it comes to radar, dogfight missile, range and BVR [beyond visual range] capabilities, for one third of the cost.”

The officials of the joint marketing team for the promotion and sale of the JF-17 Thunder has said that at-least five middle eastern countries has shown interest in the JF-17 Thunder and will be test flying the aircraft for in future to experience its performance first hand.

The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) is also evaluating the FC-1/JF-17 Thunder and will take decision regarding its induction into the service in near future.

 

Saudi, U.S. Finalize F-15SA Sale

Though Saudi Arabia’s buy of F-15SAs from Boeing gives the company’s St. Louis production line much-needed work, the company’s hopes of selling a semi-stealthy version of the F-15 abroad continue to dim.

The first of Saudi Arabia’s Boeing F-15S refurbished into the F-15SA configuration will be delivered in 2014 with the first new-build F-15SA’s to follow a year later as part of a $29.4 billion weapons sale to the kingdom.

The Obama administration hailed the deal Dec. 29 as providing $3.5 billion in annual impact to the U.S. economy and “supporting” 50,000 jobs in the aerospace industry, as well as the manufacturing sector writ large. However, some of the modification work of older F-15s and structural subassembly fabrication will be handled in Saudi Arabia through the Alsalam Aircraft Company.

The fighter sale is welcome for Boeing, which had already begun work on the aircraft in hopes that a deal would get signed for Saudi Arabia or for more orders from South Korea. With Japan’s recent announcement selecting the F-35A over the Typhoon or Boeing F-18 Super Hornet, it is unlikely Boeing will get an additional sale to Seoul, which is thought to be eager to follow Tokyo’s lead. And, as hope of selling to South Korea wanes, so does the prospect for a buyer of the so-called Silent Eagle variant unveiled by Boeing in March 2009. This kit includes internal weapons bays using a conformal fuel tank design and 15-deg. canted V-tails. South Korea and Israel were potential customers; Israel has already selected the F-35 for its new fighters. Boeing executives say they will await Seoul’s formal request for proposal, however, to see if the Silent Eagle is a contender.

Boeing’s deliveries of F-15SGs to the Royal Singapore Air Force and F-15Ks to South Korea conclude in the third quarter of 2012. Production rate has been one aircraft per month, which can be accelerated if required for Saudi Arabia. A forthcoming definitized contract will spell out the timing.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia finally signed the new F-15SA deal, announced in October 2010, on Dec. 24 in Riyadh, says Andrew Shapiro, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs. Though he declined to single out Iran as a regional troublemaker, Shapiro did acknowledge that Tehran is one area to which the sale “sends a strong message … that the U.S. is committed to stability in the Gulf and broader Middle East.”

Included are 84 new F-15SA aircraft from Boeing as well as the refurbishment of 70 F-15Ss to the SA configuration (Aerospace DAILY, Oct. 21, 2010).

The deal with Saudi Arabia includes Raytheon advanced, electronically scanned array (AESA) radars for the F-15s, plus 10 Goodrich DB-110s, an internationally marketable version of the Senior-Year Electro-Optical Reconnaissance System flying on the U-2, and an infrared search-and-track capability. Sniper and Lantirn targeting and navigation pods are also part of the package, along with Digital Electronic Warfare System.

The weapons package features AIM 120C7s, the AIM-9X Sidewinder for air-to-air engagements. Also included are 500-lb. dual-mode laser-guided munitions, 2,000-lb. Paveway III laser-guided bombs and Sensor-fuzed Weapons including the Wind-corrected Munitions Dispensers and 2,000 lb. Joint Direct Attack Munitions for hitting ground targets. The AGM-84 Harpoon Block II, which does not include the Block III data link package for in-flight retargeting, is built-in for engagement of ships and the Saudis are also buying the AGM-88B High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile.

The F-15 sale is part of a roughly $60 billion weapons request from Saudi Arabia that was long rumored before it was detailed, and it includes another $25.6 billion worth of helicopters and associated equipment: 36 AH-64D Apaches, 72 UH-60Ms, 36 AH-6i Light Attack Helicopters and 12 MD Helicopters MD-530Fs. These orders are still pending approval, according to a defense official. Already, Saudi Arabia has signed a letter of agreement for 36 Apaches.

Pak-Fa Impact on future USAF

Solomon reminded me that I hadn't commented on reports of the USAF leadership's view of the Sukhoi T-50, the prototype for the Russian PAK-FA future tactical fighter. That's because at first sight I found the statements unremarkable - but then I realized that, in itself, that is worthy of comment.

In the Cold War, you could rely on the Pentagon and the USAF to play up the Soviet threat for all it was worth. The MiG-25? Not only Mach 3 but an agile dogfighter. The Tu-22M Backfire was a B-1 equivalent with the range for strategic attacks against the US. And if you disagreed with the USAF that the nation consequently needed lots of F-15s and B-1s, you were clearly some kind of fluoride-swilling crypto-Commie prevert.

There was actually a running fight between the military intelligence agencies and the CIA, which bypassed the Pentagon and took its data to black-program teams within industry. The most public rumpus was over Backfire, where the boss of USAF intelligence tried to force McDonnell Douglas to recant the conclusions of a CIA-contracted team within the company, whose estimates of the bomber's performance were lower and far more accurate than those of Air Force analysts and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

So it's ironic to see USAF leaders downplaying the potential of the T-50,as in this report from Air Force Times. “I didn’t see anything … that would cause me to rethink plans for the F-22 or F-35,” Air Force Secretary Michael Donley was quoted as saying.  Pacific Air Forces commander Gen. Gary North, added: “I guess the greatest flattery is how much they copy you.”

Donley's comment, of course, is a demonstration of the Mandy Rice-Davies principle in action: He would say that, wouldn't he? His immediate predecessor was canned for (among other things) expressing incorrect and counter-revolutionary sentiments regarding his boss's F-22/F-35 plan. 

Gen. North, meanwhile, is falling into the old technical intelligence trap called mirror-imaging:  we want the B-1, so the Soviets must want a B-1 as well. The PAK-FA's front end bears a superficial resemblance to the F-22, but its hindquarters could not be more different, and - just for starters - it's a reasonable assessment that the Russian concept of balancing stealth with other requirements is very different from that which informed the F-22 design. 

I'm not sure that anyone has an accurate assessment of the PAK-FA threat, in terms of timing, numbers and detailed capability - that will depend on how fast the Russia-India relationship can move things forward, which in turn depends on money, as well as on technical resources. But it is pretty clearly a supercruiser, probably a good one, with some unique features that are there to combine speed and high agility without counter-stealthy aerodynamic surfaces all over the place. 

And had you started thinking about this kind of design in the late 1990s, and if "eating F-35s for breakfast" was on the requirements list, you'd end up with something like T-50. So I'd suggest that writing it off as a me-too F-22 is a bit premature.




By Bill Sweetman 

Pak-Fa Stealth Fighter Gallery 1

The Sukhoi PAK FA (Russian: Перспективный авиационный комплекс фронтовой авиации, Perspektivny aviatsionny kompleks frontovoy aviatsii, literally "Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation") is a twin-engine jet fighter being developed by Sukhoi OKB for the Russian Air Force. The Sukhoi T-50 is the prototype for PAK FA.^[12] The PAK FA is one of only a handful of stealth jet programs globally.^[13]

The PAK FA, when fully developed, is intended to be the successor to the MiG-29and Su-27 in the Russian inventory and serve as the basis of the Sukhoi/HAL FGFAbeing developed with India.^[14][15] A fifth generation jet fighter, the T-50 performed its first flight 29 January 2010.^[3][16] Its second flight was on 6 February and its third on 12 February 2010. As of 31 August 2010, it had made 17 flights and by mid-November, 40 in total. The second prototype was to start its flight test by the end of 2010, but this was delayed until March 2011.^{[17][18][19][20][21]}

Sukhoi director Mikhail Pogosyan has projected a market for 1,000 aircraft over the next four decades, which will be produced in a joint venture with India, 200 each for Russia and India and 600 for other countries.^[22] He has also said that the Indian contribution would be in the form of joint work under the current agreement rather than as a joint venture.^[23] The Indian Air Force will "acquire 50 single-seater fighters of the Russian version" before the two seat FGFA is developed.^[24] The Russian Defense Ministry will purchase the first 10 aircraft after 2012 and then 60 after 2016.^[25][26] The first batch of fighters will be delivered with current technology engines.^[27] Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, has projected that Vietnam will be the second export customer for the fighter.^[28] The PAK-FA is expected to have a service life of about 30–35 years.

F4 Phantom fighter jet pictures gallery

US NAVY PHANTOM

Royal Navy Phantoms




RAF Phantom FG.1


Seen at RAF Wattisham, this F-4J (UK) Phantom of 74 Sqd has now been painted in the correct shade of grey for the RAF. Armed to the teeth with Sidwinders, the F-4 was still a potent weapons system right upto its retirement from RAF service

f4 Phantom Cockpit.

upgraded F-4E 2020 Terminator ground attack bombers

US NAVY McDonnell Douglas A-4E Skyhawk VC-1 and Marines McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II VMFA-235

A Fighter Squadron 74 (VF-74) F-4J Phantom II aircraft lands aboard the attack aircraft carrier USS AMERICA (CVA-66).

Japanese Phantom

USMC - McDonnell Douglas F-4S Phantom II

On board the USS Midway Museum, an F-4 Phantom II in VF-51 circa 1974-5 colors.

Lieutenant Colonel Charles "Tuna" Hainline, an F-4 Phantom pilot from Holloman Air Force Base, and Lieutenant Colonel Michael "Dozer" Shower, an F-22A pilot from Langley Air Force Base, fly in echelon formation over the mountains of Tucson, Arizona during the final portion of the Air Combat Command Heritage Conference held at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base March 5, 2006. This year's conference inaugurates nine years of flying old warbirds with modern day fighters to include the Air Force's newest stealth fighter. (U.S. Air Force Photo by TSgt Ben Bloker)

Originally developed for the US Navy, the Phantom proved to be superior to the Sir Force's F-106 and was adopted by that service as well. It was the top US fighter during the Vietnam War, and continued to serve as a fighter-bomber and wild weasel (air-defense suppression) into the 1990s

INS tabar repulses Somalia pirate attack

“INS Tabar encountered a pirate vessel in south west of Oman with two speedboats in tow. This vessel was similar in description to the 'mother vessel' mentioned in various piracy bulletins. INS Tabar closed in on the vessel and asked her to stop for investigation,” Indian Navy spokesperson Neerad Sinha said.
An Indian Navy ship successfully repulsed a pirate attack and fired at their 'mother vessel' in the dangerous waters of the Gulf of Aden near Somalia, an official said on Wednesday, even as the world's largest supertanker Sirius Star remained hijacked by Somali sea bandits.
INS Tabar (F44) (translated as battle axe) is the third of the Talwar-class frigates of the Indian Navy. The frigate was commissioned on 19 April 2004 in Kaliningrad, Russia. INS Tabar is the first vessel in the Talwar class to be armed with supersonic BrahMos (PJ-10) anti-ship cruise missiles. She is also equipped with Barak missiles.
The stealth frigate INS Tabar, which is currently in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden for Anti-Piracy Surveillance and Patrol Operations, was fired at by pirates on board a ship suspected to be the 'mother vessel' late on Tuesday.



Another ship hijacked off Somalia

Following repeated calls, the vessel threatened to blow up the INS Tabar if it closed in. “Pirates were seen roaming on the upper deck of the vessel with guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers. The vessel continued threatening calls and subsequently fired upon INS Tabar.

“On being fired upon, INS Tabar retaliated in self defence and opened fire on the mother vessel. As a result, fire broke out on the pirate vessel and explosions were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored on the vessel,” Sinha said.

Amidst all the action, two speedboats broke off to escape. “INS Tabar chased the first boat which was later found abandoned. The other boat made good its escape into darkness,” Sinha added.



The INS Tabar had last week in a daring rescue mission foiled an attempt by pirates to hijack two ships - one Indian and a Saudi Arabian merchant vessel.

An Indian Naval helicopter with marine commandoes had reached the spot immediately after receiving an SOS. The rescuers noticed at least four or five high-speed attack boats with around five-armed pirates each who were attempting to capture the Indian ship and the Saudi vessel.

INS Tabar has been patrolling the Gulf of Aden since Nov 2. During this period, she has successfully escorted approximately 35 ships, including a number of foreign flagged vessels, safely during their transit through pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden.

Sirius Star, which was sailing under a Liberian flag, had been seized Saturday by Somali pirates. It is 330 metres long and can carry up to two million barrels of oil.

The latest incident comes a few days after the Japanese merchant vessel Mt Stolt Valor was released Sunday. It had been hijacked by Somalian pirates Sep 15 and had 22 crewmembers on board including 18 Indians.

Navy Harpoon anti-ship missiles

Navy Harpoon anti-ship missiles

ATLANTIC OCEAN (April 29, 2009) A Harpoon missile is launched from the guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) during the sinking exercise portion of UNITAS Gold. This year marks the 50th iteration of UNITAS, a multinational exercise that provides opportunities for participating nations to increase their collective ability counter illicit maritime activities that threaten regional stability. Participating countries are Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Germany, Mexico, Peru, U.S. and Uruguay. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Patrick Grieco/Released)

Even as some Navy commanders quietly worry about the potential threat from foreign anti-ship missiles, fewer American warships have gone to sea in the past decade with anti-ship weapons of their own. But that might change.
The Harpoon is a subsonic active homing anti-ship sea-skimming missile. It provides a long-range attack capability against hostile surface targets.

POINTS:
The Harpoon missile has a range of 70 nautical miles at a speed of 0.9 Mach.
The Harpoon is an all weather "fire and forget" missile with it's own internal guidance that takes the missile all the way to the target.
The ship carries 8 harpoon missiles.
The missile is comparable to the French-made Exocet, the Swedish RBS-15, the Russian SS-N-25 Switchblade, the British Sea Eagle and the Chinese Yingji

The Harpoon anti-ship missiles has also been adapted for use on the F-16 fighter plane, in use by the USA, Singapore, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. It has been carried by several US Navy aircraft, including the P-3 Orion , the A-6 Intruder, the S-3 Viking, the AV-8B Harrier II jet, and the F/A-18 Hornet.
AGM-84G Harpoon Air-to-surface missile for F-16
Wingspan 3 ft (0.91 m)
Operational
range 58–196 mi (93–315 km) depending on launch platform
Flight altitude Sea-skimming
Speed 537 miles per hour (864 km/h)(240 m/s)
Guidance
system Active radar
Launch
platform multi-platform:
RGM-84A surface-launched
AGM-84A air-launched
UGM-84A submarine-launched


The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Office of Naval Research issued a $10 million contract to defense giant Lockheed Martin on June 30 to begin work on a “Long Range Anti-Ship Missile.” If the project moves forward, the Navy could begin buying an advanced, high-speed missile that would ride in cruisers’ and destroyers’ Mk 41 Vertical Launch System tubes.

In a statement, DARPA spokeswoman Jan Walker said the goal was to develop a weapon that can think and hunt without much help from its firing ship.

Today, the only anti-ship missile in the surface fleet is the RGM-84 Harpoon, carried in X-shaped racks on the sterns of cruisers and early-model destroyers. The Navy withdrew the anti-ship versions of its BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles in 1995, converting them to the land-attack variant now in cruisers’ and destroyers’ VLS tubes.

Many of today’s newer destroyers have no Harpoon launchers and, as such, no anti-ship missiles. Instead, if the ship needed to sink an enemy ship at long range, it could launch a helicopter armed with Harpoons, AGM-119 Penguins or AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. Attack jets also can carry anti-ship missiles.

U.S. commanders became wary of ship-launched anti-ship missiles in exercises in the 1980s, during which they missed or hit neutral ships about as often as they found their targets, naval weapons expert Norman Friedman said. The weapons suffered from the classic problem of needing good information about their targets.

Friedman said he was skeptical about the prospects for DARPA and ONR’s new missile. Although sensors have gotten better in the age of unmanned aerial vehicles and higher-tech satellites, the classic target-finding problem still remains, he said.

“There are constant efforts to make hypersonic missiles — you see claims about them — but they don’t seem to go anywhere.”

Who has Harpoons?
Newly built Navy surface combatants were outfitted with Harpoon anti-ship missiles until 1999, with the commissioning of the destroyer Porter, the last Flight II Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.

Starting with the first Flight IIA ship, Oscar Austin, the Navy deleted that feature from new destroyers. So that ship through the as-yet-unnamed DDG 115 do not or will not carry Harpoon missiles.

All 22 cruisers carry Harpoons.

Sukhoi PAK-FA : 3rd prototype flies

MAKING ITS maiden flight from Komsomolsk-on-Amur on November 22 was the third prototype of the Sukhoi T-50/PAK FA fifth-generation fighter. The aircraft, flown by test pilot Sergey Bogdan, was airborne for just over an hour before landing back at the KNAAPO factory airfield.
The flight was deemed a success, with all tests of stability and evaluation of engine performance proceeding as planned. The pilot reported reliable operation of all systems and components.
Maiden flight of the first prototype took place on January 29, 2010, also at Komsomolsk-on-Amur, followed by the second aircraft on March 3, 2011. Both prototypes made their public debut at the MAKS 2011 International Aviation and Space Salon in Zhukovsky, Moscow. The aircraft have now completed more than 100 test flights.

General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon.

General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon of Pakistan Air Force seen at Air Show Türkiye – 2011 - celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Turkish Air Force .Thanks to all those photographers at Air Show Türkiye – 2011 for providing us these excellent pics.
 


This is my most favourite shot of any PAF F-16A . 

Thanks to all those photographers for providing us these excellent pics.

Su-30 mki vs Ef-2000

'British Typhoons Whacked India's Sukhois in Joint Exercises'

RAF Fairford (Britain), Jul 24 (IANS): Britain's frontline fighter jet Eurofighter Typhoon, shortlisted for India's $10.4-billion combat jets tender, whacked the Indian Air Force (IAF) warhorse Sukhoi in one-on-one dog fights during bilateral air war games, if Britain's air chief is to be believed. "Well, they lost," was Stephen Dalton's response when IANS asked how the Russia-developed India-manufactured Su-30MKI air superiority jets performed against the Royal Air Force's (RAF) Typhoons when they matched their wits during the joint exercises in recent years. However, he was quick to add that the two aircraft are different in technologies, and that Typhoons are next generation, and hence there is no comparison. Dalton was interacting with IANS at the recently held Royal International Air Tattoo military air show at the RAF base here. The two aircraft were pitted against each other during 'Indradhanush' exercises in 2007 at Waddington in Britain and in 2010 at Kalaikunda in India. Interestingly, the IAF had claimed in 2007 that Sukhoi's performance against Typhoon had convinced the RAF of its superiority. "The RAF pilots were candid in their admission of the Su-30 MKI's observed superior manoeuvring in the air, just as they had studied, prepared and anticipated," an Indian defence ministry release had said during the July 2007 Indradhanush. It was, however, fair to Typhoon, saying the IAF pilots were impressed with its agility in the air. Dalton was also all praise for the IAF for training its pilots to put any aircraft they fly to best use. "The issue is you are comparing technology and people. So, more often than not, technology can give you a great edge, a great lead. But actually it is always the people (behind the machines) who make the difference at the end of the day," he said. "It is not just how the aircraft did in the air. It is also about how the individual thinks, how they work, and their willingness to develop and to experiment. "I have always found the IAF to be extremely good. Yes, technology is a significant element, but also the individual is really important in this," he added. Dalton also indicated that the IAF inventory of Sukhois, MiGs and Mirages are no match to the Typhoons. "Nothing that India has got is anything anywhere near this (the Typhoon). I would say that absolutely. This airplane is phenomenally different in both performance and technology in anything they (IAF) got right now," he said. But, he added, it was not criticism, as Typhoon is the product of next generation technology. "I would say the IAF crew that I have worked with and seen are every bit as clever as any other air crew in the world, and in many cases better. It is all about the man as the machine that they operate," he added. Dalton said the cooperation between the RAF and the IAF will continue, as Britain valued this relationship. "IAF has a lot of experience and I would like to suck that out and use it, quite frankly," he added.

Jf-17 Wallpapers

Got these two Jay- Aef Seventeen, yeah u heard me JF-17 wallpapers. Thanks to Pakwalls.com , Visit his website for more wallpapers  about Pakistan .These would make good desktop backgrounds.