SAAB Gripen NG E/F went under crucial trial in Switzerland as the Swiss air force prepares itself to replace the ageing F-5 fleet.
SAAB has vowed to integrate Gripen with more advance avionics in order to pitch the jet.
Two USAF pilots refused to fly daily routine sorties after continuous malfunctioning with OBOGS (Oxygen Generating On Board System) of F-22 Raptor.
Captain Josh Wilson and Major Jeremy Gordon now fear for their safety.But by speaking out, the two celebrated servicemen now fear that the military will come out against their own personnel and perhaps even penalize them for voicing their concern
oyal Air Force Typhoon from squadron no.11 approaching for a low fly landing at RAF Northolt AB in London,Typhoons will be deployed at Olympic games to protect the event from another ''9/11'' scenario.
F-22 Raptors seen in this pic from Holloman landing at Moron airbase, in Spain, on Apr. 17, 2012.
The six F-22 Raptors currently at Al Dhafra, UAE, belong to the 49th Fighter Wing, based at Holloman AFB, New Mexico flew to Moron, Spain, on Apr. 17 and departed again for their final destination on Apr. 20.
The following screenshot comes from a video recorded by the HUD (Head Up Display) of a Eurofighter Typhoon and it is the first (and only) Typhoon HUD capture ever made public.
It shows an F-16 in the wrong place at the wrong time: in front of a high maneuvering plane capable to point its nose when it wants to.
During a dissimilar air combat training (DACT), the “Viper”, in clean configuration and maneuvering under high G-forces, is killed by a Typhoon with a gun shot scored while flying at 8,200 feet, less than 5 degrees AOA (Angle of Attack), Mach 0.46, pulling 1.8G.
According to the source who sent it to me, the rest of the video shows that the Typhoon, after downing the F-16, continues maneuvering vertically, accelerating a bit to climb and descend again for a second shot on the same target.
The video answers to the some articles published in 2011 about claims that Pakistan Air Force’s pilots scored Typhoon kills during DACT taking place in Turkey, during Ex. Anatolian Eagle. According to such reports, Pakistani pilots on exchange with the Turkish Air Force, and flying TuAF F-16s, scored kills against RAF Typhoons in WVR (Within Visual Range) gun contests (even if no evidence was provided to support claims fueling the theory that the of fighter pilot tall story).
Since I don’t think I need to explain once again why DACT WVR is important and why any simulated kill should be taken with grain of salt, let me just add (paraphrasing someone else’s words:
F-16s from 31st FW,Aviano AB at Thracian Star 2012, a month-long joint training exercise focused on increasing interoperability with the Bulgarian air force's MiG-29.
USAF deploys its first upgraded F-22 Raptor.
"The 525th Fighter Squadron was the first Combat Air Forces squadron to receive an [Increment] 3.1 modified aircraft," says squadron commander Lt Col Paul "Max" Moga. "The capabilities this incremental upgrade brings are a complete game-changer for the F-22, making it even more lethal and survivable in combat."
The unit's flagship, tail number 4115, is the first aircraft to be equipped with the modifications, which add a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capability, electronic attack, better geo-location capabilities to find enemy radars, and the ability to carry eight 113kg (250lb) GBU-39 small diameter bombs (SDB).
The Increment 3.1 upgrade allows a pilot manually to designate two ground targets at a time using two weapons each, according to Lockheed, enabling an F-22 to hit four separate targets with its eight weapons. By contrast, the USAF's previous Increment 2 configuration enabled each aircraft to strike two fixed targets using its two 454kg Joint Direct Attack Munition satellite-corrected, inertially guided bombs.
"A four-ship of Increment 3.1 aircraft can successfully find, fix, track, target and engage targets in the most challenging of anti-access environments," Moga says. "Stealth and speed, combined with an advanced electronic attack capability, allow pilots to operate with impunity while achieving their mission objectives."
The Northrop Grumman APG-77 radar's SAR mode creates black and white photo-quality images of the Earth's surface, allowing pilots to pick their own targets, while the new electronic attack capability allows the F-22 to jam enemy radars using the sensor.
A future Increment 3.2 upgrade has been split into smaller packages called A, B and C. The first is scheduled for fielding in 2014, while the second would begin retrofits in 2017. The third has not yet been fully defined, but the USAF is trying to add open-architecture hardware and software.
Further elements of the future upgrade package include adding Raytheon's high off-boresight AIM-9X and AIM-120D Amraam missiles, and the ability to independently retarget up to eight SDBs against eight separate targets. The Raptor will also gain an automatic ground collision avoidance system and electronic protection to defend it from enemy jamming.
