November 2009 Archives

With its infamous Bollywood- and Marcel Marceau-themed publicity stunts, Rafael has earned a reputation for making corporate videos that are high on creativity but low on credibility.

So when Rafael's marketing staff handed me a disc last week in Israel labeled "corporate videos" I privately shuddered. How bad could these be?

As I turns out, not bad at all. The videos are conventional corporate promo material, nicely spiced with some operational footage. The best video, not surprisingly, features the Python 5, and explains Rafael's operational concept for the weapon. It also shows aerial footage of the Python 4 hit on an Iranian/Hezbollah UAV caught on the wrong side of Israel's border.  

Holiday snap: The 2,200-year-old Tower of David citadel in Jerusalem.

This blog is about to go on holiday in recognition of Thanksgiving, America's most innovative reason for a national holiday. In hono(u)r of the occasion, allow me to thank the readers, commenters and contributors who have made this blog successful over the past year. I hope you have been able to learn as much from me as I have from all of you this year.

I am not the first Flight International journalist to swing across Israel's aerospace industry. Stewart Penney, a legend among the legions of former Flight defense journos, toured the Holy Land's arms makers in 2003, and wrote:

"Despite its small size, a population slightly over 6 million and a land area smaller than that of many US states, Israel has been able to develop unique capabilities such as the Arrow, the world's only operational anti-tactical ballistic missile (ATBM) system."

To say Israel hits above its weight its grossly unfair. Rafael, for example, is striving to reach the $2 billion annual sales mark, but competes against companies collecting $30 billion every year. Yet, Israeli industry routinely finds the right product for the right market at the right time, with a few exceptions.

My three-day tour has been an incredible experience, thanks largely to my widely connected guide -- Flight correspondent Arie Egozie. I'm sure this is not a normal week, but I have been swamped with news of new weapons products. My news articles are still working their way through our publishing process, but I can give you a brief summary.

Israeli companies have exclusively revealed to me the existence of two all-new weapons -- Elbit Systems' STAR laser-guided rocket and Rafael's Spike non-line-of-sight missile. I have also been informed of advanced negotiations between Israel Aerospace Industries and EADS about launching an Airbus A320 airborne early warning platform. Rafael, meanwhile, has dropped new hints about converting the ground-based Stunner inteceptor into a Python/Derby replacement.

And I'm not even looking for news. I'm supposed to be here reporting on a special report about Israel's aerospace industry, not that I'm complaining.

I think I have discovered the source of Israeli industry's seemingly endless flow of new weapnos coming to market. Each of the three major Israeli aerospace companies I visited -- Elbit Systems, IAI and Rafael -- spend 8-10% of their annual revenue on research and development. Respectable American companies are proud to spend even half of that amount. Maybe that's a hint. 

September 13 was Capt. Yoni's first day as formation leader for the 1st Attack Helicopter Sqd of the Israeli Air Force. Wouldn't you know it, but the alarm siren rang out.

So Yoni, who cannot provide his full name, jumped into his AH-1S Cobra cockpit, and flew off to the Hebron area. An IAF F-16 pilot, later identified as Lt Asaf Ramon, son of Israeli astronaut and Columbia victim Ilan Ramon, had gone missing on a routine training flight. It was suddenly Yoni's job to coordinate the search and rescue mission from the air.

I talked to the flight-suited Yoni today inside his office today. Yoni sat at his desk. A very large picture of a dairy cow decorated the wall behind his chair, one of those wonderful artifacts of office humor that one can never truly explain to outsiders. The cow apparently belonged to another pilot in the squadron, or something like that. I just let it go.

The anecdote about the search and rescue mission came up in response to one of my questions. I asked Yoni: Was all the new technology increasingly cramping his Cobra cockpit helping him, or making his job more complicated? The search for Ramon's son, which eventually found the F-16 wreckage, seemed a good example to Yoni.

The Isreali Defense Forces rank among the most networked and sophisticated militaries in the world. That plethora of communications transmitters was very obvious on that mission. Yoni's radio channels were jammed by a chorus of calls from Ramon's search party, which included his fellow pilots, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles. Even the infantry had joined the search.

The flow of messages and cross-messages became chaotic. As formation leader, Yoni said, he realized his job required him to silence the radio traffic. "The situation was very stressful," he said. "My mission was to get everything in order." That meant putting a freeze on all radio messages, allowing people to transmit a full message only after requesting permission. The IDF crerated its battlefield network to make communications easier. In this instance, the linkages sowed confusion until they were organized.

TEL AVIV -- It's probably unfair to start my Israeli tour diary with the Lavi. It's a bit like finding a way to shoehorn Darleen Druyun's name into the beginning of a Boeing tanker article.

But there it was as I walked into the factory next door to Ben Gurion International Airport for the Lahav division of Israel Aerospace Industries. Parked behind a long line of refurbishment projects -- including two MiG-21s for an African customer, an Mi-17 and an Israeli F-16 -- was the last surviving remnant of the Lavi program cancelled in 1986. Pictured below is the B3 technology demonstrator.


The Israeli Air Force cancelled Lavi in 1987, spelling the end for IAI's future as a combat aircraft manufacturer. Asking company employees about the Lavi even today is not considered being polite.

But it's arguable that IAI ultimately benefited from Lavi's demise (although many believe China's Chengdu J-10 bears a striking resemblance to the Israeli technology -- you be the judge).

IAI's skilled engineers were free (or forced, depending on your perspective) to focus on their literally pioneering (ha! get it?) work on unmanned aerial vehicles, a market that exploded within a decade after the Lavi died.

UAVs might even become IAI's route back into the combat aircraft business. If the Israeli Air Force already operates an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV), the public is not aware of it. But the capability to produce such an aircraft certainly fits within the skill-set of IAI's workforce.

If a UCAV ever does roll out from the IAI hangar, shall we call it the Lavi II?

The DEW Line's next stop is Tel Aviv. Starting Sunday, the next and final leg of my Mid-East tour runs through Israel's robust aerospace and defense industrial complex. My guide will be the inimitable Arie Egozie, Flight International's local correspondent. My assignment is to report for a special feature scheduled for publication in late January, but I'll update my blog too.

The DEW Line pal and frequent commenter Airpower stayed on-scene in Dubai long after many of his less-patient mates in the trade press flew off, regretfully including your blogger.

Lucky that Airpower stayed. He posted two comments on my blog last night that solves the mystery about what happened at the Ministry of Defense's surprise 3pm press conference yesterday, and also what happened during the F-22's first exercise encounter with the Typhoon and Rafale.

Get ready for disappointment. Airpower writes in:

Yes, there was a surprise alright - a nasty one for Aermacchi. The Thursday announcement was cancelled by the hosts with pretty much no notice, while several Aermacchi people were actually SITTING AND WAITING in the intended conference room. Whatever is going on with the jet trainer deal it is starting to look like bad news for somebody...

Airpower refers above to the Alenia Aermacchi M346 Master, which the UAE Ministry of Defense selected last February as a jet trainer and light attack fighter. My colleague Siva Govindasamy, Flight's Singapore bureau chief, also attended the air show, and will publish a story next week in the magazine that adds a bit of context to this turn of events.

But what about the appearance of six F-22s at Al Dhafra air base this week? A Royal Air Force spokesman told Craig Hoyle, Flight's defence editor, that Al Dhafra would host equal numbers F-22s, Typhoons, Rafales and jets from the UAE and Pakistan this week as part of the advanced tactical leadership course (the UAE's Red Flag or TLP).

Airpower also comments:  

The F-22s did not participate in ATLC. They were planned in as part of the exercise, then shortly beforehand they were withdrawn. Six jets were still deployed to Al Dhafra but they did not come out to play with the other boys and girls (OK, there were no girls). The USAF representatives at the show refused to acknowledge the aircrafts' presence or explain what they were doing in the UAE. If anyone can enlighten us...

Yes, please, enlighten us. Anybody.

RQ-7 Shadow and Aerosonde-maker AAI Corp. wants to develop a new slowed rotor/compound aircraft as a cargo-carrying unmanned aircraft system, my colleague John Croft reports today.

Read the full article here: AAI Grabs technology stake in fledgling Carter



The aircraft shown above could be pursued under a 40-year agreement signed between AAI and Carter to develop the latter's slowed rotor/compound technology.

AAI's announcement is the latest move by a UAS supplier to target the mostly untapped market for moving cargo using unmanned aircraft. I've been trying to keep a close eye as the cargo UAS mission as it has developed over the last two years. AAI would face no shortage of competition if Carter's stopped rotor/compound designs proves feasible.

See also:

Oct 2: US Air Force and army seek unmanned cargo aircraft concepts
Aug 10: AUVSI: Lockheed/Kaman team and Boeing to face off for cargo UAV
June 15: Paris Air Show - Day 1
May 7: US Army remains undecided on cargo re-supply by UAVs

The United Arab Emirates not only attracted the Lockheed Martin F-22 to the Dubai Air Show, but also staged perhaps the first mock dogfights between F-22s, Dassault Rafales and Eurofighter Typhoons.

In parallel with the air show, the advanced tactical leadership course at Al Dhafra air base near Abu Dhabi hosted a five-nation fighter exercise, according to the UK Royal Air Force.

The France, the UK and the US each sent six of their top-line fighters to the exercise, and those were joined by jets from the UAE and Pakistan. The Abu Dhabi manoeuvres marked the first publicly-known event where the F-22 met Europe's two most advanced fighters.

The Rafale previously flew against USAF Boeing F-15Cs during the Red Flag exercise at Nellis AFB in August 2008. The USAF, however, withheld the F-22 from the Red Flag manoeuvres, which also included South Korean F-15Ks and Indian Air Force Su-30MKIs.

The Ministry of Defense for the United Arab Emirates has called a press conference at the Dubai Air Show on Thursday at 3pm.

The timing of the event -- scheduled for the show's fifth day -- is unusually late for a major announcement and especially aggravating for, um, certain aerospace journalists who (blush) took the red-eye flight to London last night.

What the MOD plans to announce is a mystery, but it could be any number of big things. I departed the Dubai Air Show after waiting in vain for three days for a major contract signing. As of yesterday evening, negotiations were ongoing for several major contracts. The announcement could involve contract signings for the Dassault Rafale, Boeing C-17, Lockheed Martin C-130J, Raytheon airborne standoff radar or Alenia Aermacchi M346. It could also involve something that we don't know anything about yet.

My Google alert for KC-X caused me a few moments of wild panic this morning. The headline for the Wichita Eagle story on my blackberry screen read: "ng would finish tankers in Wichita".

Stop the press!

Briefly ignoring the weirdly lower-case "ng", my mind instantly translated the headline as, "Northrop Grumman would finish tankers in Wichita". After all, NG is headline short-hand for Northrop Grumman, right? 

As an admittedly anorak KC-X watcher, I immediately smelled a minor scandal developing. Wichita, of course, is Boeing territory, so my interpretation of the headline appeared to suggest a new plot-twist in the competitive landscape. Moreover, Boeing had refused several opportunities to commit to basing its finishing center for US Air Force tankers in Wichita. Had Northrop Grumman struck an unexpected industrial coup, with not insignificant political spill-over?

Stand-down. After clicking the link, it was quickly obvious the headline was merely a typo, albeit an unfortunate one. The first four letters of Boeing's name had been deleted, leaving only the "ng". (No jokes about what puts the 'ng' in Boeing, please.)

But Molly McMillan's excellent article is a must-read for KC-X news spotters. Boeing has finally committed to putting KC-X finishing work in Wichita. That means Boeing has backed off program manager Rick Lemaster's statement to me in September, when he said Boeing is "looking at alternatives" to Kansas' beleaguered aviation hub.

I'm just thankful there is no "ba" in Northrop Grumman, EADS North America or Airbus.

The biggest news at the show is that nothing has really happened yet.

The United Arab Emirates has not signed deals for four Boeing C-17s, 48 Alenia Aermacchi M346s and 12 Lockheed Martin C-130Js, despite selecting the aircraft in February. The UAE also is not likely to sign a new deal for fighters, such as the Dassault Rafale. Nor is it likely to announce a contract for a new airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. That's not a huge surprise. The Abu Dhabi emirate controls the military purse strings, so the Dubai show is not a big news vehicle for them. I guess we'll have to wait for the next IDEX, which is based in Abu Dhabi. Or maybe something will happen today or tomorrow. We'll see.

But we've kept ourselves fairly busy anyway. Here's most of the stories I've published from the show by the end of Day 1.

• UAE reveals fifth generation fighter ambitions
  
• Northrop frustrated by radar export delays
  
• Boeing aims to win India deal with engine offer
  
• Australia poised to receive first delayed Wedgetail
  
• Air force chiefs debate warfare strategies
  
• L-15 makes desert debut
• Dubai debut for F-22 prompts Paris review

Today's lesson: Never count out the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. 

This was supposed to be a big show for the Dassault Rafale. But after the first day it's already clear the United Arab Emirates isn't any closer to signing a long-awaited contract.

Meanwhile, the previously beleaguered F-35 -- beset by recent cost overrun predictions and a frustrating flight test delay -- has stormed back into the picture -- big-time. First, Lockheed re-energized its flight test program with two big announcements The BF-1 flight test article finally crossed state lines, launching its epic journey to Patuxent River, Maryland, where it will finally make the transition from forward flight to vertical landing. AF-1, meanwhile, finally got off the ground (see above), becoming the fourth different variant of the F-35 to make its debut flight since 2006.

But the F-35's biggest moment at the show did not come courtesy of Lockheed public relations department. Instead, it came from Brig Gen Ibrahim Naser Alalawi, deputy chief of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence. Addressing the Dubai International Air Chiefs conference on Saturday, Alalawi shocked the audience by exposing the UAE's previously secret longing for a fifth generation fighter. Hence:

Dubai 09: UAE reveals fifth-generation fighter ambitions

A top United Arab Emirates military leader aspires to obtain a fifth-generation fighter in the very near term, suggesting a potential new sales coup for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

"I hope that within a couple years the UAE, like many other countries, will have a fifth-generation fighter," says Brig Gen Ibrahim Naser Alalawi, deputy commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence. Alalawi was speaking at the Dubai International Air Chiefs conference held yesterday morning at Dubai's Knowledge Village Conference Centre.

Lockheed's F-35 is expected to be the only fifth-generation fighter available for sale for perhaps another decade. The Chinese J-12 and the Russian/Indian PAK-FA remain in the early stages of development.

The UAE has previously not been named among the several countries - including the UK, Australia and Israel - planning to buy the first export F-35s scheduled for delivery after 2013.

The US Air Force showed off the always crowd-pleasing Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor in the 2:58 pm slot at the Dubai Air Show today. There are a few moments, especially in the first minute, when I lost track of the aircraft, but bear with me. I don't think I missed any big shots, like the F-22's famous J-turn, for example. Please enjoy.

The US Air Force showed off the always crowd-pleasing Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor in the 2:58 pm slot at the Dubai Air Show today. There are a few moments, especially in the first minute, when I lost track of the aircraft, but bear with me. I don't think I missed any of big shots, like the F-22's famous J-turn, for example. Please enjoy.

The US Air Force showed off the always crowd-pleasing Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor in the 2:58 pm slot at the Dubai Air Show today. There are a few moments, especially in the first minute, when I lost track of the aircraft, but bear with me. I don't think I missed any of big shots, like the F-22's famous J-turn, for example. Please enjoy.

DUBAI -- Lebanon's air force officials on Saturday revealed making a desperate modification to a Bell Helicopter UH-1 Huey to drop bombs amidst a bloody war against a barricaded terrorist haven in 2007.

The Lebanese military resorted to the "Huey bomber" idea after a failed attempt to restore Hawker Hunter jets to flying status. Lebanon's Hunters have been parked for more than 20 years since being crippled during Lebanon's long civil war ending in 1990.

In May, 2007, fighting erupted between Lebanese troops and Fatah al-Islam militants barricaded inside Naher Al Bared, a populous Palestinian refugee camp. The siege dragged on for three months, killing 130 people and wounding more than 1,500.

By August, the terrorist group had been isolated into a small area of the camp measuring 250m long by 200m wide, a Lebanese officer identified only as Lt Col Yassine told the Dubai International Air Chiefs conference.

At that time, Lebanon's post-civil war air force was limited to just four Robinson R-44 helicopter trainers, a handful of UH-1s and Aerospatiale Gazelle helicopters recently donated by the United Arab Emirates.

Lacking proper bomb-dropping aircraft, Lebanese officers hatched a plan to modify the Huey with a bomb release system. The modifications fitted a mix of bombs, ranging from 50kg to 400kg. The air force also calculated the precise envelope required to hit targets within a minimum range for accuracy.

The release envelope for the UH-1 bomber release was extremely tight. The pilot had to fly at precisely 90kts forward air speed and above 500m (1,500ft), Yassine said. Even a slight deviation from the speed and altitude parameters could throw off accuracy by several meters, he added.

In one month, Lebanese UH-1s performed 98 bombing sorties against the Fatah al-Islam haven inside the camp. The bombing opened up paths through the rubble of the camp for Lebanese infantry and armoured units to advance, Yassine said. By 2 September, fighting inside the camp had ceased, as the last remnants of Fatah al-Islam had been killed or surrendered.

China's latest aerospace export candidate - the L-15 Falcon advanced jet trainer -- will be on full display at the Dubai Air Show, a rare glimpse of the supersonic aircraft outside its home country.

The L-15, a product of Hongdu Aviation and a look-alike of the Yakovlev Yak-130, is making the rounds of major air shows seeking its first export order. Its appearance in Dubai follows the two-seat jet's debut at the MAKS air show in Moscow three months ago.

Since entering flight test in 2006, the L-15 has been linked to sales discussions in China, Russia and Venezuela. The Middle East could prove fertile ground for potential sales. Jordan, in particular, is looking for a new lead-in trainer as it receives upgraded F-16s. Recent F-16 fighter sales in Oman, and requirements for new fighters in Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar also could attract interest in China's L-15.

The L-15 that joins the flying display in Dubai is likely one of the first three prototypes powered by ZMKB Progress DV-2 engine. Hongdu has selected Ukraine's Ivchenko-Progress AI-222-25F engine for production versions.

As Hongdu travels to the Middle East seeking export orders, the status of the L-15 inside China remains uncertain.

The L-15 is competing with the Guizhou Aircraft Industry Corporation JL-9 to win a contract to supply and advanced lead-in jet trainer for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).

Perhaps seeking to mitigate the risk of a contract loss, Hongdu has started publicly discussing new variants of the L-15, including one-seat, armed and naval versions.

DUBAI -- Exhibit booths are still under construction inside the three main halls of the Dubai Airport Expo here, but there are a few things worth spotting already.

China's CATIC exhibit space tucked into the back corner of the West Hall is always a must-see. It's only half-completed this morning, but a poster on display reveals at least three new Chinese UAV projects. If they've been reported previously, I can't find any references.

Will the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait finally end Rafale's export drought? Will Saudi Arabia buy 72 more F-15Es? Will the UAE shock Northrop Grumman and buy the Saab 2000 Erieye rather than the E-2D Hawkeye? How cool will it be seeing the F-22 buzz the Burj Al Arab hotel (okay, unlikely, but I can dream)?

As I prepare to board my flight this evening, these are among the many questions I'm looking forward to answering at the Dubai Air Show, which starts on Sunday.

Because of the time change, I lose tomorrow to flights and layovers. In the meantime, please enjoy browsing the scene-setter features I wrote for Flight International's Dubai Air Show preview issue.   

• UAE stockpiles weapon systems: Building an arsenal
• Saudi Arabia's military muscle: Robust Riyadh
• Iraq gathers arms for 2012: Starting from scratch
• NATO-like coalition takes shape: Fractious friends
• US aid for Israel's neighbours: Border security

Spotters: I challenge you.

US Africa Command yesterday released the photo above of the MQ-9 Reaper returning to its new Seychelles base after an anti-piracy mission on November 4. The photo shows a payload under the wing that I am unable to identify. I believe it is a signals intelligence sensor of some kind. It could also be just a fuel tank. Or, maybe even a wide area camera, assuming there's a lens on the bottom of that thing. Click on the image to see the full-size picture.

I have emailed AFRICOM's public affairs office, asking them to identify the payload. I'm not optimistic that I'll get a useful response.

In the meantime, what do you guys -- and my blog commenters seem to be an all-male group, by the way -- think?

Insitu has adapted the ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system to carry a mid-wave infrared camera simultaneously. The NightEagle requires modifying the ScanEagle with a bulbous nose and a third fin. The above is a screen shot from an Insitu Webex briefing for press, which is currently ongoing.  

Good news: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is hiring for a new head of corporate communications!

Bad news: Applicants may discover they are walking into a somewhat weird situation.

Explanation: Anantha Krishnan, former aerospace beat reporter for Times of India, served for four years as the head flack at HAL, the Indian state's predominant aerospace company. Krishnan's tenure is noted for launching the MSM in-house magazine. The company spokesman apparently left the company under mysterious circumstances, but not before sending out a bizarre farewell letter to HAL employees, which of course found its way into the Indian blogosphere (thank you, LifeFist).

The letter is not extremely strange until near the end, where the company spokesman slips in some thinly veiled innuendo.

"If YOU are still wondering why I have to leave, I request YOU to treat it as yet another unanswered mystery of our times. Be honest, straightforward and always speak out, if YOU are confident that YOU are right."

Hmmm ... "honest, straightforward and always speak out", eh? Did I mention this came from the head of corporate communications? 

Japan's lobbying to buy Lockheed Martin F-22s surely continues. But the country that assembled the F-2 fighter and designed the 787's advanced wing may want to build its own stealth fighter, the Shinshin ATD-X. This video posted on YouTube last week does a good job of introducing the Shinshin's design concept. (I'll excuse the Japanese reporter for relying on my competition for reference.)

Flight International test pilot -- and former Red Arrows team leader -- Peter Collins (above right) gives the Dassault Rafale a ringing endorsement in this week's magazine. "If I had to go into combat, on any mission, against anyone, I would, without question, choose the Rafale," Collins concludes in his six-page flight test report published in our Dubai Air Show preview issue.

Read the full article here.

Collins' report is timely because the Rafale appears to be nearing the end of a two-decade-old search for an export customer. If all goes perfectly well for Dassault, Brazil, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates could all be signed up as customers by the end of November (although that's still a big 'if'.)

If you want to cut to the chase, here's is the text from the last page of the excellent report.

It is worth remembering that stealth-optimised, or fifth-generation fighters such as the Lockheed F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter are not only likely to be hugely expensive, but they can only preserve their stealth characteristics by carrying a very limited weapons load in their internal weapon bays.

Therefore, in the current and predicted financial defence climate, it could well be that so-called fourth-generation fighters will remain the aircraft of choice for most nations - perhaps even including the UK.

Moreover, the fact that the Rafale is the only European fighter in production that is carrier-capable gives it, in my opinion, a distinct advantage in any future export "fly-off" competition as a single combat type that can equip a country's air force and naval air arm.

In answer to my own evaluation objectives, it was obvious the Rafale has earned its omnirole definition, even though I barely scratched the surface of its sensor and weapon capabilities. The aircraft has an incredible level of performance befitting a fourth-generation type, and despite flying a highly complex and demanding evaluation sortie, I felt completely at home in the aircraft and retained full situational awareness. If it could keep me safe, it would also do the same for young first-tourist pilots coping with tactical operations.

The classic definitions of aircraft combat roles really do not do justice to this aircraft; the Rafale is Europe's force-multiplying "war-fighter" par excellence. It is simply the best and most complete combat aircraft that I have ever flown. Its operational deployments speak for themselves. If I had to go into combat, on any mission, against anyone, I would, without question, choose the Rafale.

Boeing decided last week to move the second 787 production line to Charleston, South Carolina. As a primarily military aviation journalist, I, of course, immediately wondered what this means for Boeing's KC-X tanker bid. (I apparently wasn't the only one.)

The 787 move to Charleston potentially shifts South Carolina's GOP-leaning political delegation into the pro-Boeing camp, perhaps helping offset Northrop Grumman's support from Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and West Virginia. South Carolina already had reason to be miffed. Remember during the last competition when Northrop Grumman spurned South Carolina for the final boom assembly location?

But I also wondered if there might be an industrial angle to Charleston/KC-X story.

Boeing told me in September that they were looking for a low-cost location for the KC-X finishing center, perhaps shifting the work away from Wichita, Kansas.

So I asked Boeing's KC-X spokesman last week if Charleston was in the running. I got a surprisingly direct answer a few days later.

"Our answer is no," the spokesman said.

Well, thank you. That answers that - sort of. So if Charleston is ruled out, where could Boeing install the finishing center if they win the KC-X contract? The answer is not trivial because it comes with both cost and political consequences.

Hmm ... could it be here? 

Alcoa's famed Cleveland Works builds the single-piece, aluminum bulkheads for the Lockheed Martin F-35, perhaps the most complex and expensive structural parts of the aircraft.

So Lockheed must have been very worried a year ago when Alcoa decided to shut down the massive, 50,000-ton hydraulic press -- a Cold War industrial monument -- rather than invest $68 million to fix a crack in the foundation. The shutdown threat spread concerns far beyond the F-35 program. It would have added more devastation to the Cleveland economy, and eliminated one of the USA's most important domestic manufacturing capabilities.
 
Happily, that situation now appears resolved. Thanks to massive state and local tax subsidies, and the long-term commitment of the F-35 full-rate production, Aloca has decided to repair the famed press.

Bloomberg reports today:

Alcoa to Fix Largest Cold War Era Press to Build F-35 Parts

Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, is set to invest $110 million to repair one of the nation's biggest pieces of industrial machinery to help boost output for Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 fighter jet.

The 50,000-ton Cleveland Works press, which has been out of service for more than a year, will be completely disassembled and renovated, said Bill Christopher, head of Alcoa's engineered-products division. New York-based Alcoa aims to complete the project by the end of 2011's second quarter, aided by $21 million in state and local tax credits.

A thousand bonus points to the South African Air Force for managing to write this news release with an exclamation point and a hint of humor:

Astra lands minus passenger

By Dean Wingrin

In a highly unusual incident, a SAAF Astra training aircraft landed with one person less than which it took off!

The PC-7 MkII Astra, a two-seat training aircraft, is the aircraft flown by the SAAF's Silver Falcon aerobatic team. A member of the aerobatic team, Capt Gerhard Lourens, who occupies the number four position in the five man team, was flying with a passenger in the rear seat yesterday when the passenger unintentionally initiated the ejection seat.

The ejection seat is normally only used when the pilots need to exit the aircraft in a dire emergency as the aircraft is about to crash.

The unknown passenger landed without serious injury, apart from that to their pride. The Astra landed safely, but has suffered damage from the ejection.

 

The US Air Force's acquisition community apparently has gone all 'soup Nazi' on the Afghan National Army Air Corps.

A market survey released last week by the Aeronautical Systems Command on behalf of the ANAAC basically rules out vendors selling light attack jets.

That's despite a) the availability of two jet fighters for ANAAC's requirement, and b) the USAF's top combat adviser in Afghanistan publicly saying that only jets are suitable.

The ASC solicitation twice says it wants intdustry to submit data on only turboprops for Afghanistan's light attack fighter requirement.

I reported in late September that AleniaAermacchi wants to pitch surplus Italian Air Force AMX jets. A few days later, I met with ANAAC chief Maj Gen Mohammed Dawran and USAF Col Brad Grambo in Naples, Italy. In addition to confirming that the Aero Vodochody L-159 was another candidate, Grambo outspokenly endorsed jets as the only sensible option for Afghanistan's terrain.

"It's a country the size of Texas," Grambo told me. "How are you going to cover that with a [turboprop] aircraft that cruises around at 200-250kt [370-460km/h]?"

Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) made a big splash at the Seoul Air Show a couple of weeks ago, showing off an Avenger-like unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV). KAI also released a video that introduces several new design concepts for unmanned air vehicles.