EU-DIGEST

The five major Nordic nations have signed an agreement to share warplanes. State officials from Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland and Denmark said on Thursday (November 8) that an additional plan is also under consideration that would see the five nations share military-related costs, ground equipment and some operational tasks, including surveillance and tugboat operations.

Aircraft in the agreement include a dozen C-130 Hercules cargo planes, provided by Denmark and Sweden, as well as three Norwegian EADS CASA C-295 planes. However, the deal will not include fighter jets, according to reports.

Denmark’s defence minister Nick Hækkeru told the Jyllands-Posten newspaper, “The best solution would be to pool our resources so that we can access each other’s planes. Some planes are always unavailable, either due to servicing or repairs. This is an opportunity for a Nordic co-operation for the operative use of planes, maintenance, education and training exercises.”

Experts say the move highlights growing cuts to military spending in the European region, although some say cost savings through sharing programmes could also entail conflict.

Read more: Nordic nations to share warplanes | IceNews - Daily News

On the morning of September 11, 2001, a Saudi pilot trained to fly in the US slammed a Boeing 757 jetliner into the Pentagon, killing more than 180 people.

Less than a decade later, with the Middle East in a state of upheaval and following the recent arrest of a Saudi college student on bomb charges, the Pentagon is planning to bring dozens of Saudis to the US to train them to fly - and to kill. Since 2007 alone, more than 1,000 Royal Saudi Air Force personnel have attended USAF training programs, including pilot, navigator, logistics, maintenance and explosive ordnance disposal training, as well as professional military education courses."

The air force failed to answer repeated requests for further information about Saudi air combat training and the use of armaments by Saudi pilots flying in the US.

When the subject of security concerns were brought up to US Senator Risch, he stayed mum, a spokesman telling me that he "is deferring any comment until a formal announcement is made about the training mission".
But when the same question was posed to US Senator Crapo, he pointed out that the "US air force has been training members of the Saudi Royal Air Force on US soil for over 25 years" and that Saudi Arabia "screens each individual prior to assignment in the US".

For more America's Saudi air war - Features - Al Jazeera English

Europe's most advanced stealth jet Eurofighter launching an air to ground missile

For the complete report from defpro.com click on this link

Italian Air Force: over 10,000 flight hours flown by the Eurofighter Typhoon

Alenia Aeronautica records with great satisfaction another important result reached by the Eurofighter program in Italy: the Air Force’s pilots have surpassed 10,000 flight hours on the Eurofighter Typhoon, the new-generation defence aircraft in service with two squadrons in Italy. The aircraft, that operates in Italy from Grosseto and Gioia del Colle air bases, has started being employed three years ago in missions of air police and quick-reaction alert for the airspace control, having inaugurated such operations during the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

Since 2006 four other air forces have joined ItAF and the Typhoon fleet in service in Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain and Austria have by now surpassed the total of 50,000 flight hours. By the end of the year also the first Typhoons for the Saudi Arabian Air Force, first Eurofighter’s non-European customer, will be delivered. The Eurofighter Typhoon is a milestone for the Italian aeronautical industry that with a share of 19% of the programme provides long-term job for 24,000 resources within some 200 companies, and in particular for the Finmeccanica companies, which play an important role with their 36% of industrial participation, in the definition, design, development and production of the new aircraft, the European industry’s technological frontier.

For the complete report from defpro.com click on this link

Russia's 5th generation fighter aircraft RAFKA

"Russia's fifth-generation fighter, known as the PAKFA (Advanced Tactical Aviation Aircraft), has emerged as a key tool of the Russian aerospace and defense industry even before the aircraft has completed its first flight. Rosoboronexport has aggressively pitched component production partnerships to a number of Russia's largest arms markets in order to garner risk/cost-sharing agreements and insure continued Russian market access. However, with the PAKFA program under increasing tension and the West's major aerospace firms seeking to shore up additional orders for soon to be closed fourth-generation aircraft production lines, Russia faces the prospect of declining presence in the world's most high sought after arms markets."

A new Lockheed scandal in the Netherlands? Technical problems and cost overruns make Lockheed-Martin F35 not a good investment for Dutch tax payers

eu-digest

Netherlands: JSF (F35 Lockheed-Martin) purchase could be postponed until 2011 or 2012

Following earlier Dutch press reports that the three Government coalition partners had agreed on taking a decision about the Lockheed-Martin JSF as a possible replacement for the F-16 Dutch fighter plane, by 2010 at the latest, Government sources in The Hague now say the decision probably would be put off until 2011 or even 2012. In the meantime, only one or two test planes would be purchased. The Dutch participation in the development of the American fighter plane has been a source of major controversy in parliament, after the Governments initial decision to get involved back in 2002. The center right Christian Democrats (CDA) are in favor of proceeding with the 2010 deadline but the Labor party (PVDA) has difficulty swallowing the idea of the JSF. The small orthodox Christian coalition member (Christen Unie) also wants more clarity about the exact cost of the JSF before taking a final decision. Consequently the JSF (or Lockheed F-35) has become a very hot political issue in the past few weeks. A majority in parliament, which included coalition Labor, last week sent the annual JSF report back to defense minister Jack de Vries for further clarification. Mr. de Vries is also being criticized for appointing a radical Muslim cleric as a religious counselor to Muslims serving in the Dutch military forces in Afganistan. As a result of all the controversy surrounding the ministry of defense the planned debate about the purchase of two test planes was postponed until next week. Should the Dutch parliament approve the purchase of the test planes next week, Dutch fighter pilots will take part in the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) phase in 2013. Apart from the US, the only other country still involved in the IOT&E phase is Britain. Taking part in the IOT&E phase will cost the Netherlands some 274 million euros.

Many politicians believe it would probably be a wise move for the Dutch Government to postpone the decision or even cancel the purchase of the F35 all together. The plane is not only plagued by technical problems but also by cost overruns. One of the main problems is that the F-35 is having serious difficulties getting rid of excess heat. This will require a redesign. A look at the history of the aircraft also shows several problems that already required some redesign, including airframe fatigue problems. It is also strange that the Netherlands is gambling on the purchase of a basically untested US fighter aircraft when there are proven high quality EU made stealth fighter aircraft like the Gripen, Rafale and Eurofighter available. It is also interesting that it is once again a purchase from Lockheed that is causing an upheaval in Dutch political circles. Back in the late 1970’s Prince Bernhard, husband of the former queen Juliana, had pocketed a million-dollar bribe for ensuring that the Dutch government would choose Lockheed planes for their military needs. Bernard at that time was the Chief of the combined Dutch military forces, which included the air force.