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Identify the girl.
As far as I remember, this is one of the first pictures of a Rafale loaded with LGTR bombs. These small laser guided inert bombs are used for training purpose but the DGA is also evaluateing the possibility to use them as a limited effect weapons against military vehicles.
Identify the girl.
oops EFT
Saab fingers BAE over South African fighter deal
Financial News, 20th June 2011 11:52 GMT
UK-headquartered arms globocorp BAE Systems is back in the spotlight over allegedly corrupt business practices after its partner Saab announced that it had submitted documents to the Swedish national anti-corruption prosecutor and specifically named BAE.
Saab makes the Gripen fighters now being delivered to the South African air force, under a deal which was done with BAE providing marketing and sales expertise to Saab. Last week Saab issued a statement saying:
Saab decided to launch an investigation after details emerged in the media about a contract with a South African consultant about which Saab had no prior knowledge.
Saab has now completed a review of the contract and the financial transactions of the company Sanip Pty Ltd [owned by Saab] during the period in question.
Our review revealed that approximately 24 million rand was paid from BAE Systems to Sanip. These payments were transferred to the South African consultant shortly thereafter.
"These transactions have never entered into the accounts," says Saab's President and CEO Håkan Buskhe in accompanying tinned quotes, adding:
"A person emplyed by BAE Systems has without Saabs knowledge signed a for us unknown contract, signed for us up until now unknown transactions as well as signing the audited and apparently inaccurate financial statement for 2003."
Saab says it has passed everything it has on the matter to Chief Prosecutor Gunnar Stetler at the Swedish National Anti-Corruption Unit, and says that it will remain "at the complete disposal of the Chief Prosecutor in this case".
BAE said in a statement supplied to the BBC:
This and other matters were fully reviewed by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and formed part of the overall resolution that the company reached with the SFO in February 2010. Any questions relating to Saab and its subsidiaries should be directed to Saab.
An SFO spokesman confirmed to the Reg this morning that last year's agreement between the SFO and BAE included the provision that there would be no further prosecutions relating to matters which the SFO had been investigating to that date, which included the South African Gripen deal. Thus there would seem to be no prospect of any action by the SFO.
However BAE has a sizeable corporate presence in Sweden: the global defence mammoth owns the Hägglunds armoured-vehicles factory, the famous Bofors cannon plant and simulation business C-ITS. Until quite recently BAE liked to describe Sweden as one of its "home markets", though it no longer does so. BAE Systems AB, the company's substantial Swedish tentacle, lies firmly in the Swedish prosecutor's jurisdiction.
Alongside the agreement last year with the SFO, under which BAE agreed to pay £30m in fines in the UK, BAE also settled with the US Justice Department over a range of offences committed in different countries. The $400m US fine covered, among other things, corrupt dealings associated with its marketing of Saab Gripens in Eastern Europe and violations of US export-control laws during the same deals. (The Gripen, like all modern Western-made combat jets, contains substantial amounts of controlled US technology and its export to any third party requires US scrutiny and consent.)
BAE has just announced the formation of an advisory board which will oversee the paying-out of £29.5m compensation to the people of Tanzania, a move it agreed to make as part of last year's deal with the SFO. The firm had previously sold the poverty-stricken nation a radar system in a massively controversial £28m deal which saw large amounts of the money paid allegedly kicked back into overseas accounts. ®
Saab fingers BAE over South African fighter deal ? The Register
U.K. Typhoons Pair With Tornadoes for Libya Strikes
By ANDREW CHUTER PARIS New to the ground attack role, British Typhoons operating over Libya are pairing with Tornado GR4s to benefit from 20 years of strike experience gained by crews of the older aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan, said a Royal Air Force officer, speaking ahead of the show opening June 20.
But its not just mentoring that the Tornado crews are giving their partners. Squadron Leader Rupert Joel told reporters at the show that the older aircraft were also taking most of the load when laser-designating the Typhoons Enhanced Paveway II bombs.
Most of the weapons released by the aircraft use GPS Aided Inertial Navigation Systems for guidance, but when laser designation is also required, its the Tornado navigator who normally does the job, Joel said.
Both aircraft use the Litening laser designator pod. All Typhoon pilots in Libya are able to self-designate their own weapons using GPS or laser, but few actually use the latter option, passing that off to their Tornado buddies...
...The mixed pairs concept overcomes the current limitation of Typhoon, because the Tornado can use several types of Paveway bombs, plus Storm Shadow and the Brimstone anti-tank missile...
Main points :
Lybia :
Spectra has allowed the Rafale to enter first in the Libyan airspace while the Lybian Air defenses were still consistant Total interroperability, excellent reliability and availability demonstrated AASM demonstrated at a range of 57 km against a tank All the scalps launched have hit their target
Rafale F3+ :
First deliveries in 2013
RBE-2 AESA qualification in 2012 and deliveries in 2013
Meteor planned for 2018 or earlier Other improvements expected due to field experience : on the Canon, FBW system, introduction of concrete bombs.
French deliveries :
180 Rafale on order 98 delivered (the 100th is flying and its delivery is expected in September) 82 remaining planes to be built between now and 2018 at a rate of 11 aicrafts/year Further deliveries for french needs should continue until about 2025
Export:
Program cost increase only by 4.7% in 25 years thanks to significant optimizations to reduce production costs. Rafale global cost would be 60% less expensive than a typhoon
Dassault Aviation CEO says he's "more than optimistic" in India adding that the Rafale does have capabilities that the Eurofigter doesn't have. Indian offsets requierements are vey high and could be difficult to fulfill.
Dassault declined to answer the japan's RFQ/RFI because they are convinced that the Final choice will be american, no matter what. "We don't want to spend money to serve as a rabbit for the USA" said Edelstenne.
Switzerland competion re-opened with very good chances for the Rafale 9 Tonnes engine for the UAE can be offered without any problem Brazil FX-2 competition in stand by but should start up again in 2012