September 2011 Archives

India defence blog Livefist has published a briefing about the proposed naval variant of Saab's Gripen fighter. The idea of a Sea Gripen is nothing new. In late May the company announced that it would set up a design centre for the proposed aircraft in the UK.

As for the presentation itself, page five caught my eye, as it shows the world's carrier fleets. Interesting to see that Saab classifies Australia's two Canberra assault ships as carriers, though Australia has consistently said that the two flat tops will operate only helicopters. Also, were all of Japan's 32 carriers de-commissioned? Could the battle of Midway be regarded as a four-ship de-commissioning? And didn't the US have a few catastrophic de-commissionings as well? 

And while I'm a fan of naval aviation, I don't know anything about Germany's three aircraft carriers - need to hop onto Wikipedia. And what are statistics about all these old aircraft carriers doing in a presentation about 21st century carrier aviation?

Back to the aircraft itself...interesting to see an illustration of the Gripen's ability to operate from roads, requiring an effective runway of just 9x600m, and that Saab is looking at thrust vectoring, which would help with STOBAR launches. 

In Martin Amis's 1984 novel 'Money' the main character has a nifty trick when running late for a flight. Before leaving home he would call JFK with a bomb threat, specifying his flight number. By the time the bomb squad worked out that the threat was a hoax, he would have arrived and checked in. Problem solved.

Interesting idea, but perhaps not something to try in 2011. Amis of course wrote Money in a far more trusting age. Too trusting, as it turned out.

In 1996 myself and two colleagues caught a flight from Boston's Logan airport to Newark. We were late and had to run for the gate. The security staff, seeing us rushing, let us pass without checking our bags or jackets.  We didn't even walk through the metal detector.

"Everything is turned off anyway," yelled one guard, waving us through. "Hope you make your flight!"

I recall that the FBI probed Logan's security around that time. Undercover agents had no problem smuggling guns and explosives aboard aircraft, and all this was duly reported in the nation's newspapers. Year's later I was not surprised to learn that the 9/11 hijackers had chosen Logan as one of their points of embarkation.

In 1998 I was with friends aboard a Japan Airlines 747 on the Tokyo-Singapore route. Since the flight was six hours delayed we had spent the day in Narita drinking Japanese beer. Despite our inebriation, the crew had no qualms about letting us visit the cockpit. There we stood, smelling of beer, chatting with the pilots. Hell, my friend actually brought a glass of whisky into the cockpit.

I'm sure Flightglobal readers have plenty of such pre-911 anecdotes. Perhaps it is not surprising that 9/11 happened, but that it took so long for it to happen. In the 80s and 90s we had but the veneer of security, when really the industry was a huge, lucrative soft target. Aside from the tragedies of 9/11 and the wars of revenge that followed, it is indeed a pity that aviation has lost its old carefree innocence.

Things are much different now. In 2002, at Changi Airport, I approached the gate for a United flight bound for the USA.  There were two lines, one longer and one shorter. A security official told me to get on the longer line, but I needed to use the restroom, so I passed by. Upon my return I joined the short line. Within moments four soldiers with assault rifles were around me, a tense security guard asking me to join the first line, which turned out to be an additional security check. I didn't argue.

Southeast Asia is entering air show season. In December there is the Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) and in February 2012 the Singapore Air Show.

The big question visitors will be asking is will Airbus bring the A400M. Malaysia is the first international buyer of the giant turboprop airlifter, with plans to acquire four. For my part I don't see it coming: the project is years behind schedule, and Airbus is no doubt focused on getting the first example of the aircraft to French Air Force by 2013 - likely before the 2013 Paris air show.

If the A400M is not at LIMA, then forget about it showing up at Singapore. LIMA is a source of immense pride (and dollars) for Malaysia. It would be a slap were the aircraft to appear in Singapore first. 

Other types that would be cool to see at either show are the F-35 and V-22 Osprey. The F-35 isn't involved in Malaysia's current fighter competition, so don't expect it at LIMA. Lockheed Martin still probably wants to sell this aircraft to Singapore as an F-16 replacement, although Singapore may well prefer to upgrade its F-16s rather than replace them.  And, of course, the F-35 has a grueling test schedule.

As for the V-22, Israel is interested in the aircraft. Since Singapore's defence doctrine more or less mirrors that of Tel Aviv, Boeing could well send one of the tilt rotors, which have started deploying to the Pacific. Aside from the V-22, which isn't really that new, don't expect much in the way of cool, new kit at either show.