China Needs To Improve Jet Engine Technology To Make J-31 Competitive With US F-35

China flew an improved version of its Shenyang J-31 Gyrfalcon stealth fighter. Compared to the previous prototype, the new version features a host of refinements and has started to resemble a genuine fifth-generation stealth aircraft in many ways. The J-31 is intended for military export markets.

It is expected to be priced around $70 million. This is half of the F-35 stealth fighter price. The fourth-generation Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale fighter jets are priced at about $100 million.

 J-31

The J-31 is believed to be powered by a pair of Russian-made Klimov RD-93 afterburning turbofans each developing roughly 18,000lb of thrust at maximum power. The Chinese hope to replace those engines with a pair of indigenous WS-13E turbofans, which are expected to develop roughly 22,000lbs of thrust.

China began development of the Taishan in 2000 to replace the Klimov RD-93 turbofan, which had been selected in the 1990s to power the JF-17 light-weight fighter. It is designed to have a life span of 2,200 hours and an improved version, providing around 100 kN (22,450 lb) of thrust with afterburner, is under development.

China Inducting J20 Stealth Fighters into PLAAF

In a Surprise move to the world China has Inducted At least six J-20s stealth fighters are in active service in PLAAF, with four tail numbers 78271，78272，78273 and 78274 identified. And another six are ready to be delivered by end of December 2016

According to the Chinese aviation expert Dafeng Cao, six J-20 stealth fighters will be inducted into the Chinese air force (PLAAF) at a formal ceremony later this month.

J-20 Black Eagle

Recent speculations refer to the J-20 Black Eagle as an air-to-air fighter with an emphasis on forward stealth, high-speed aerodynamics, range, and adequate agility. The J-20 could threaten vulnerable tankers and ISR/C2 platforms, depriving Washington of radar coverage and strike range. However one of these targets, the Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye, is reported to be optimized for spotting fighter sized stealth aircraft such as the J-20.

China developing H-20 Stealth Bomber for 2025 that will match the US B-2

The Xian H-20 is a subsonic stealth bomber design of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, due to enter service in the future. It is a "strategic project" for china. The aircraft will feature a wing design similar to that of the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, with components already being manufactured. Analysts note that the bomber may enter service by 2025, and will seek to replace China's existing fleet of Xian H-6K bombers.

Admiral Yin said the H-20 stealth bomber will certainly be on par with the United States' Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit. He noted China has gained some experience in stealth technology from the development of Chengdu J-20 and the Shenyang J-31 stealth fighters, so the material and design isn't a big problem.

The US B-2 entered service in 1997 as the second aircraft designed to have advanced stealth technology after the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk attack aircraft.

H-20 Stealth Bomber

The US Northrop B-2 is capable of all-altitude attack missions up to 50,000 feet (15,000 m), with a range of more than 6,000 nautical miles (6,900 mi; 11,000 km) on internal fuel and over 10,000 nautical miles (12,000 mi; 19,000 km) with one midair refueling.

According to the China Daily, Chinese military officials have made clear intentions to develop a strategic bomber capable of striking targets beyond the second island chain without aerial refueling, while carrying a payload of at least 10 tons.

China's first stealth bomber will be developed and produced by Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation, the same firm that makes the H-6K.

J-20 and Other News from Zhuhai Air Show 2016

China made it official this week that J-20 is coming to Zhuhai air show. All of this is quite interesting when one compares this to how long before J-10 made its first visit to Zhuhai Air Show. Clearly, China has taken a more confident and transparent approach in its military programs in the past 10 years. At this point, J-20 has started Low rate initial production batches, but has yet to achieve IOC. To that end, AVIC must be confident enough in the progress of flight-testing program to allow J-20 to appear in China’s most prominent aerospace exhibition.

A couple of years ago, PAK-FA had an epic failure when one of the prototypes had fire damage while delivering a flight performance in front of IAF officials. Certainly, the pilots were most likely instructed to put on a show to impress PAK-FA’s largest export client, but the aircraft was also clearly not up to task. The result of that embarrassing incident was extensive delays in the flight-testing program while that prototype was getting repaired. More recently, Russia finally officially adjusted the initial induction of PAK-FA to 2018. It had been obvious for quite a long time that they were not going to make end of 2016, since the fixed up prototype and new prototypes have just recently surfaced. I have not kept up to the progress of J-20 units, but it seems like the first LRIP frames may have already arrived at FTTC. FTTC should very soon start training with this new aircraft. IOC may be achieved by late next year. Of course, engine remains to be a major concern for the J-20 program. It’s still not known at this point what is powering aircraft. It would seem to be a special variant of AL-31FN, but this will be an interim solution until WS-15 is ready. At its induction, J-20 will be quite underpowered.

J-20 Black Eagle

Aside from J-20, other big-ticket items like J-10B, KJ-500, Y-20, Z-10K and H-6K will all be physically displayed in the air show. Since a real J-10B came, the serial number was finally allowed to show. Maybe after this appearance, China will allow J-10B pictures to be published without the serial numbers photoshoped. Zhuhai air show has traditionally been an occasion for China to show its latest UAV and missiles (many of which are still in conceptual stage). It will certainly be the case again this time around. While we have already seen well know UAVs like CH-5 and Wing Loong-2, we are also seeing new concepts that could very well make their mark in the export market. The latest one we saw is Cloud Shadow UAV which looks a lot like SkyWing UAVs that have already test flied.

Finally, a recent national day parade in Turkmenistan showed that all of its SAMs, missiles, radar systems and UAVs are all imported from China. All of this is quite unexpected since Turkmenistan has traditionally been under the overwhelming presence and influence of Russia. At this point, China is clearly making inroads against Russia in many export markets.

China, Pakistan to deploy warships to safeguard Gwadar port

China will deploy its naval vessels in coordination with the Pakistan Navy to safeguard the Gwadar port in Balochistan and trade under a bilateral trade corridor, according to a media report on Friday.

Besides the joint deployment of warships, Pakistan is considering the purchase of super-fast vessels from China and Turkey for a special squadron to be positioned at Gwadar to secure the deep sea port, an unnamed Pakistan Navy official was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune.

“A squadron may have four to six warships,” the official said on the sidelines of the IDEAS 2016 defence exhibition in Karachi.

The super-fast vessels would be “bought soon” in view of their immediate need in the fleet and two warships had already been deployed at Gwadar, the official said.

The role of Pakistan’s maritime forces had increased since the country made Gwadar operational and expedited up economic activities under the $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the official said.


India has for long expressed concerns about the Chinese Navy’s involvement in the Gwadar port, which is at the heart of the CPEC.

The Tribune quoted another unnamed naval official as saying that Pakistan has kicked off the process of establishing the region’s largest shipyard at Gwadar. A similar ship-building project is being considered for Port Qasim in Karachi.

The two advanced shipyards will design and develop ships and other security equipment for the Pakistan Navy.

“The existing shipyard, the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, lacks capacity to meet new requirements of the force. Its (PNSC) performance, however, would improve in competition with the two under consideration,” he said.

Pakistan and France sign MoU on technical collaboration for JF-17 Thunder

KARACHI: Pakistan Air Force signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a French company on technical collaboration in production of JF-17 Thunder jets during the ongoing IDEAS 2016 defence expo on Thursday.

As per the MoU, the French company will provide technical assistance to Pakistan Air Force for electrification of JF-17 Thunder jets.

Air Commodore Waqar Haider signed the said MoU with the French company.

Earlier at the expo Pakistan also signed an agreement with Turkey to sell 52 Super Mushak basic trainers and is preparing Super Mushak jets for Nigeria and Qatar.

Vixen-1000E AESA with IRST showcased at IDEAS 2016 at Karachi

At IDEAS 2016 Leonardo showcases its Vixen 1000E with IFF and SkyWard.
Vixen 1000E is a high performance AESA radar designed for fighter/interceptor aircraft building on over 60 years of Selex ES’s fire control radar experience. At IDEAS 2016, Leonardo showcases the Vixen 1000E radar coupled with the company's SkyWard infrared search & track system and the Selex ES SIT426 Active Electronically Scanned Identification Friend-or-Foe (E-Scan IFF).

Vixen 1000E features an innovative roll-repositionable AESA antenna to provide a full ±100º field of regard allowing maximum situational awareness and platform survivability. This Wide Field of Regard (WFoR) allows the aircraft to turn away after missile launch, whilst still maintaining datalinks to the missile.

The AESA antenna is coupled to fully digital multi-channel exciter/receiver and processor Line Replaceable Units (LRUs). These provide a comprehensive mode suite which includes air-to-air, air-to-surface, interleaved and support functions, which can be readily adapted or extended in software to meet future needs.

Vixen 1000E

The SkyWard is an Infrared Search and Track (IRST) system. It has been designed and developed to satisfy the more demanding requirements of 5th generation fighter aircraft with an embedded solution. A pod configuration is also available to allow easy installation on existing platforms. It comprises two Line Replaceable Units (LRU) - a Sensor Head Unit (SHU) and a Processor Unit (PU).

The Selex ES SIT426 Active Electronically Scanned Identification Friend-or-Foe (E-Scan IFF) Interrogator is a state-of-the-art solution, which allows effective exploitation of the new capabilities offered by next-generation AESA radars, such as the SELEX Galileo Raven.

Pakistan's New Chinese Submarines will likely carry Nuclear-Capable CJ-10K LACMs

In a brief report published by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, a Pakistani-government-funded think tank, more details of Pakistan's new Chinese submarines have been disclosed. The report also assesses Pakistan's pursuit of developing nuclear submarine and desire to acquire ASW capability.

Excerpts:

To counter Indian naval buildup, Pakistan agreed to purchase eight new submarines
from China in March 2015, which will be equipped with a Stirling-cycle Air-independent propulsion (AIP)system and will be able to carry up to three nuclear warhead-carrying CJ-10K land attack cruise missiles (LACMs) each.

It has been assessed that Pakistan’s nuclear submarine is likely to be based on the Qing
Class Chinese SSK (diesel-electric submarine). Highly advanced electric propulsion system of Qing Class Chinese SSK will enable Pakistan to replace diesel engine power generation with a nuclear power plant.

In 2014-2015, Pakistan signed an agreement with a German firm “Rheinland Air Service (RAS)” to upgrade two Pakistan Navy-regional air transport (ATR-72s) into maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) with anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities. According to the Ministry of Defence Production, these ATR-72s will be ready for Pakistan by 2017-2018. Furthermore, it is possible that a third ATR-72 will ultimately be sent for conversion, especially since the platform is considered a key part of the Navy’s Aviation Vision 2030 plan.

China to Get 4 Su-35 Fighter Jets from Russia in 2016 and They Will Study the AL-117S Engine

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Air Force (PLAAF) is slated to receive the first four out of 24 Russian-made Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighter jets, the governor of Khabarovsk Krai, a federal subject located in the Russian Far East, said in a speech during the opening of a new aircraft production plan on September 15, according to local media reports.

From 2016 to 2018 the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production plant will deliver 24 Su-35 combat aircraft to China, the governor said.

The Su-35 (NATO reporting name: Flanker-E) is a Fourth++ generation, twin-engine, highly maneuverable multirole fighter jet powered by two AL-117S turbofan engines. The Russian aircraft’s powerful turbofan engine is also the most likely reason why China is interested in acquiring Su-35 fighters

 AL-117S Engine

The most advanced Chinese-made military turbofan currently in use is the WS-10, which, however, also underperforms, according to some reports

The izdeliye 117S (AL-41F1S) is an upgrade of the AL-31F that uses technology from the AL-41F. The engine produces 142 kN (32,000 lb) of thrust in afterburner and 86.3 kN (19,400 lb) dry. It features a fan 3% larger in diameter (932 millimetres (36.7 in) versus 905 millimetres (35.6 in)), advanced high- and low-pressure turbines, an all-new digital control system, and provisions for thrust-vectoring nozzles similar to the AL-31FP.

French DCNS in Indian Scorpene Submarine Leak Scandal

A massive leak of documents containing top-secret technical details of the Indian Navy’s Scorpene-class submarines has hit the French defense company DCNS which is set to build new Australian submarines.

The documents, first revealed by The Australian, contain 22,400 pages and detail secret combat capabilities of the six Indian Navy submarines designed by DCNS.

The Indian government said available information was being examined by the country’s Ministry of Defence noting that that the source of leak appeared to be from overseas and not from India.

While The Australian decided to edit sensitive information from the documents showing only a small portion of them, the news site said the documents revealed everything related to the submarine’s underwater and above-water sensors, combat management system, torpedo launch system and communication and navigation systems.

Indian Scorpene submarine

This scandal is likely to cause concerns in Australia since DCNS won a AU$$50 billion contract to build a fleet of new submarines for the Australian navy in April.

Even before the scandal, U.S. officials have been reported as saying that the U.S. feared the French defence contractor DCNS, who would be building the submarines, would leak confidential information about the U.S. technology that would be fitted on the subs.

Seeking to reassure Australia of the confidentiality of its submarine program, DCNS appeared to be blaming India for the leak.

“Multiple and independent controls exist within DCNS to prevent unauthorised access to data and all data movements are encrypted and recorded. In the case of India, where a DCNS design is built by a local company, DCNS is the provider and not the controller of technical data. In the case of Australia, and unlike India, DCNS is both the provider and in-country controller of technical data for the full chain of transmission and usage over the life of the submarines,” DCNS was quoted as saying by The Australian.

DCNS Unveils Design of French Navy’s New Medium Size Frigate

According to DCNS, the 4,000-tonne front-line frigate will be equipped for anti-submarine warfare with widened self-defence and commando-projection capacities.

The FTI will integrate the Thales Sea Fire four flat antenna radar and feature ASTER® 30 missiles from MBDA. The FTI will also be equipped with a new model hull sonar with new transducer technology for improved detection capabilities.

The new frigates are positioned between the 6,000-tonne FREMM multi-mission frigate and the 2,500- to 3,000-tonne Gowind corvettes. The inverted bow design of the FTIs ensures greater stability at high speeds, DCNS further said.

French Navy’s new medium size frigate

FTIs are expected to replace the insufficiently armed La Fayette-class light frigates. According to Thales, France envisions a five-unit order with first delivery to the navy in 2023.

Hoping to build on the international market succes of the La Fayette, DCNS is also offering an export version of the new frigate. As the company explained, the export version is named BELH@RRA® in reference to Europe’s only giant wave: the Belharra. The first “a” transformed into an @ makes reference to the highly digital nature of the frigate.

US Navy is not Buying the Cheaper and Deadlier AIP Stealth Submarines

The threat of super-stealthy diesel submarines being deployed around the world has been present for decades. Still, newer boats are coming armed with advanced anti-ship weapons and are being combined with new air-independent propulsion systems (AIP) making them near impossible to find in the ocean's depths.

In 2005, The HMS Gotland, a modern AIP submarine serving in the Swedish Navy created havoc in war games exercise. The Gotland virtually ‘sunk’ many U.S. nuclear fast attack subs, destroyers, frigates, cruisers and even made it into the 'red zone' beyond the last ring of anti-submarine defenses within a carrier strike group. Although it was rumored she got many simulated shots off on various U.S. super-carriers, one large-scale training exercise in particular with the then brand new USS Ronald Reagan ended with the little sub making multiple attack runs on the super-carrier, before slithering away without ever being detected.

The 1600 ton displacement Gotland Class was the first operational Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) submarines in the world.

Gotland Class Submarine

AIP system can utilize advanced batteries that are charged by 75kw generators. The Gotland has generators run by a pair of diesel and liquid oxygen fueled Stirling Engines. The result of this unique, yet remarkably simple system is two weeks of submerged air independent propulsion while traveling at about 6mph. Kockums' AIP system is virtually silent, even in comparison to multi-billion dollar nuclear powered boats that still have to pump high-volumes coolant to their reactors.

The mall and quiet sub is even more deadly with a state of the art combat management system. It features an incredible user friendly interface. During a single attack, the system can guide multiple torpedoes at once, which can result in more than a mission kill for even very large naval combatants like aircraft carriers, with each torpedo striking in a different section of the hull if ordered to do so.

Maneuverability was a key factor in the Gotland Class design and this manifests itself in the boat's "X" shaped tailplane structure. This unique design provides four independent maneuvering surfaces at its stern and is tied to another two planes mounted on the boat's sail. These control surfaces, combined with the sub's advanced and highly automated control system, allows for incredibly tight turns, dives and ascensions even in very close quarters, such as in shallow littoral environments. Due to the boat's size, automation and maneuverability, the Gotland Class has been described as the F-16 Viper of the undersea combat world.

Indian, Afghan Intelligence Agencies Supporting Terrorism in Pakistan: IB Chief

Intelligence Bureau (IB) Director General Aftab Sultan, while speaking in the Senate standing committee meeting on Tuesday, said a large number of terrorists arrested during the last three years had connections with and were working for the Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies.

“Out of the 865 terrorists arrested during the last three years, a significant number had connections with India’s RAW and the Afghan NDS,” said the chief of intelligence agency.

The IB chief also said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is endangered by foreign intelligence agencies and anti-state elements.

Replying to a question regarding missing persons during the Senate sub-committee’s meeting, Sultan stated that the IB was conducting 478 inquiries for missing persons, out of which 427 inquiries have been completed.

Earlier in March, law enforcement agencies announced the arrest of Kulbushan Jadhav, saying he had been picked up during an intelligence-based raid in Balochistan's Chaman area.

The Indian Foreign Ministry earlier had confirmed the arrested man was a former Indian Navy officer, but the Pakistani government claimed to have recovered travel documents and multiple fake identities of Jadhav, establishing him as an Indian spy who entered into Balochistan through Iran — holding a valid Iranian visa.

Jadhav was shifted to Islamabad for interrogation, during which an unnamed official said the spy revealed that he had purchased boats at the Iranian port in Chabahar in order to target Karachi and Gwadar ports in a terrorist plot. The official had said the 'RAW agent' is believed to be expert at Naval fighting techniques.

China Confirms Export of 8 Submarines to Pakistan

China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation has confirmed a project to export eight attack submarines to Pakistan, top English newspaper of China People's Daily reported.

The corporation held a conference to discuss the details of the arrangement.

The corporation's chairman Hu Wenming, said the conference aimed to continue the spirit generated by Chinese President Xi Jinping's speeches on the Belt & Road Construction Work Symposium.

S-30 Type 032 Qing-class SSK-2

Reuters reported back in April that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved the deal and called the deal could be "one of China's largest overseas weapons sales once it is signed".

The deal could cost between 4 billion to 5 billion USD, Reuters quoted a Financial Times report.

Four of the eight submarines will reportedly be built at Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KSEW) while the remaining four submarines will be built in China.

Russia has Completed the Conceptual Design of a 6th Generation Hypersonic Stealth Fighter

Russia is developing a sixth generation hypersonic stealth fighter. The plan is for a prototype to make its first flight between 2022 and 2025.

Vladimir Mikhailov—a former commander of the Russian Air Force—told the news agency that UAC has already completed the concept definition for the new warplane. Indeed, research on the new sixth-generation fighter—to include engineering design—is well underway according to Mikhailov. Mikhailov added that Russia plans to equip the prospective new warplane with long-range hypersonic missiles.

The Russians have not yet completed with fifth generation stealth fighter and they have funding issues for new military projects.

Sixth Generation Hypersonic Stealth Fighter

The Russians are not just aiming to equip the new fighter with hypersonic weapons; Moscow is designing its sixth-generation airframe to be capable of hypersonic speeds. “It will be hypersonic at several Mach, single-seat, invisible to the enemy, super-maneuverable, multifunctional and made of composite materials,” Mikhailov said. “The aircraft will have a cockpit, but will be able to fly with both a pilot and without a pilot. That is, it will combine a manned and unmanned variant.”

China's Mach 6 Hypersonic Drone Designs

Wang Zhengou of the National Defense Science and Technology University scramjet design, together with combined cycle engines, could allow China to fly Mach 6 airplanes, like this fan art, which could fly anywhere in the world in under three hours, at speeds and altitudes imprevious to modern air defenses. It is highly likely that due to the nature of material sciences and laws physics, hypersonic aircraft like the American SR-72 and its Chinese counterparts would look similar to each other (like how most modern attack submarines share the same general shape).

Chinese Hypersonic UAV

Scramjet engines mix together air and liquid fuel at supersonic speeds, to result in the rapid combustion that propels aircraft and missiles at hypersonic speeds over Mach 5. In September 2015, Professor Wang received an award from the Chinese Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics (CSAA) for the successful development of China's first scramjet engine over the past decade. In fact, Professor Wang took the top billing at the 2nd China Aeronautical Science and Technology Conference (CASTC2015) Feng Ru Aviaion Science and Technology Elite Awards (Feng Ru was an early 20th century Chinese aviation pioneer). CSAA took pains to mention that the kerosene-powered scramjet engine has successfully conducted flight tests, which makes China the second nation in the world, after the American X-43 and X-51 test vehicles, to develop a working scramjet engine for sustained atmospheric hypersonic flight.

China May Be Close to Deploying Mach 10 Hypersonic WU-14 Missile

China this week carried out another test of a new high-tech hypersonic glide vehicle, an ultra high-speed missile designed to deliver nuclear weapons and avoid defenses.

The latest test of what the Pentagon calls the Wu-14 hypersonic glide vehicle was carried out from the Wuzhai missile test range in central China. The test was judged successful, according to defense officials familiar with details of the event.

Current U.S. defenses are designed to track missiles that travel in predictable flight paths and are unable to counter maneuvering warheads and glide vehicles.

The latest Wu-14 test took place Wednesday.

WU-14 Hypersonic Missile

It was the fifth test of the glide vehicle and the second since June.

China has had two successful hypersonic missile tests in a span of two months.

The weapon is launched as the last stage of a missile that reaches speeds of around Mach 10, or 10 times the speed of sound—around 7,680 miles per hour.

Military analysts said the Chinese test schedule indicates that China may be close to deploying the high priority weapon.

A defense official, however, said the Wu-14 is viewed as a serious emerging strategic threat that could complicate U.S. nuclear deterrent efforts.

US Army testing self driving supply trucks

US Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, or TARDEC, has been testing robotic trucks for the Army in Michigan and Michigan will be the main location for developing autonomous technology for commercial trucks.

TARDEC is developing its vehicle-to-infrastructure capabilities to increase safety, reduce distracting tasks and carry supplies for soldiers, he said.

Autonomous trucks USA Army

In June, the four-vehicle convoy of tractor-trailers on Interstate 69, about 40 miles east of Flint, Mich., showed the trucks’ ability to communicate with roadside units set up by the Michigan Department of Transportation. The so-called vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) connectivity is a crucial step toward building a network of autonomous commercial trucks and passenger vehicles.

Eventually, V2I will be able to send vehicles information about traffic signals and relay information about collisions on the road, among other data.

Russia's AESA Radar for T-50: The way to Success

The key feature of the PAK FA Future Tactical Fighter, as the T-50 fifth-generation fighter being developed by Sukhoi is known, is its integrated multifunction radar system wrapped around active electronically scanned arrays (AESA). The radar system is designed for a wide range of tasks, such as seeking for and acquiring aerial and ground targets, supporting the use of weapons, navigating, mapping, jamming, etc.

The AESA radar is being developed by V. Tikhomirov Scientific-Research Institute of Instrument Design (Tikhomirov-NIIP), the Russian leader in the development of phased-array radar systems for aircraft and army air defence systems. The developer has demonstrated prototype AESAs developed for the PAK FA at previous MAKS air shows. The work on them has made considerable progress since then. Take-off met with Tikhomirov-NIIP Director General Yuri Bely and asked him to describe the trials of the AESA radar on Russian fifth-generation fighter and the results.

Mr. Bely, would you comment on what you displayed at the MAKS 2015 air show, please?

We have demonstrated experimental and prototype AESAs design for Sukhoi T-50 fighter during previous MAKS airshows. We unveiled the X-band forward-looking AESA in 2009, the side-looking one in 2013 and the wing-mounted L-band AESA before that. Until recently, we have showed them separately, and now we have demonstrated the whole of the PAK FA's AESA system in an animated presentation - the way it will fit the aircraft. Firstly, we are not sitting on our hands, and our AESA programme has made considerable progress. We have released the updated design documentation, the forward- and side-looking AESAs have lost weight by far, their hardware has become smaller and their performance higher. These improved AESAs based on a more advanced technology have been displayed this time around at MAKS 2015.

The refined technology resulted from the bench and flight tests we have run for several years. Our AESAs have been flying on the T-50 prototypes for as long as three years. Mind you, there has been no significant failures of our equipment during the flight trials, the characteristics of AESAs have not degraded. When we have an opportunity during the tests to dismount the equipment from the plane, we bench-test it, compare it with its initial condition and see that its parameters remain normal. Therefore, we are certain that we follow the right way and that the fifth-generation fighter carrying our AESA will meet all requirements after it has entered service with the Russian Air Force.

What are the preliminary results of the tests?

The first flight of the T-50 prototype (the third flying example) with the activation of the forward-looking AESA radar took place in Zhukovsky on 26 April 2012. We started the intensive flight tests of the AESA radar in the summer of the same year. To date, the AESA radar has passed its preliminary tests, and we submitted the forward-looking radar for its official trials onboard an aircraft.

Russian Air Force Fielding Su-35S Fighters

 The common day of materiel acceptance by the Russian Defence Ministry, the Sukhoi company delivered two Su-35S supermanoeuvrable multirole fighters to the Russian Air Force at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant - the first two of 14 to be delivered this year.В Thus, as many as 36 out of the 48 aircraft of type stipulated by the contract landed in 2009 have been fielded with combat units since 2011. Two squadrons of the Fighter Air Regiment stationed at Dzyomgi AFB in the Khabarovsk Territory converted to the type in 2014 with four Su-35S fighters were ferried to the Air Force Training and Operational Evaluation Centre in the city of Lipetsk in late May 2014. Here they are used by the centre's personnel to test new tactics being developed for the advanced fighter and for the training of the flying and ground crews of RusAF combat units converting to the type.

 Su-35S Fighters

The Su-35S single-seat supermanoeuvrable multirole fighter is the summit of the evolution of the Su-27 fourth-generation aircraft family. The Su-35S's development involved a wide range of solutions and technologies used under the PAK FA (T-50) fifth-generation fighter development programme. Therefore, despite its outward similarity to the ubiquitous Su-27 and Su-30, the Su-35S is rightfully regarded as an aircraft featuring radically advanced capabilities, which attributes it to Generation 4++.

The advanced fighter's features setting it apart from the rest of the Su-27 family are the latest avionics suite that is based on a digital information management system and the advanced Tikhomirov-NIIP Irbis electronically scanned radar. The latter enjoys the unique aerial target acquisition range and a beefed-up simultaneous multiple-target tracking and engagement capability (tracking 30 and engaging eight aerial targets or tracking four and engaging two ground targets).

The flight tests have proven the basic characteristics of the latest electronically scanned radar, with most of the latter's operating modes having been tested. In particular, test sorties have proven the unique ability of the Irbis to acquire threats at a range of more than 400 km.В

Russia to Get Newly Developed Mi-38

At the HeliRussia 2016 show on 19-21 May 2016, Russian Helicopters holding company announced that the Russian Defence Ministry would be launch customer for the Mil Mi-38 advanced multirole helicopter. "The Russian Defence Ministry, in conjunction with Russian Helicopters, has decided on the procedure for and schedule of the acquisition of Mi-38 helicopters for the Russian Air Force. The feasibility of including the aircraft into the next armament programme's draft is being considered," the manufacturer said in a press release. "The decision provides for the joint flight tests of the new version of the Mi-38 medium multirole helicopter equipped to meet the requirements of the Defence Ministry and made of Russian-manufactured parts and components only. The advanced helicopter will take a number of flight tests for compliance with the military's requirement. Its acquisition will be planned based on the results it produces in the trials."

Mil Mi-38

Kazan Helicopters is expected to build the first two Mi-38s for the Defence Ministry in 2017.

As is known, the Mi-38-2 transport version powered by Russian-made Klimov TV7-117V engines and equipped with the Russian-made VR-382 main gearbox, TA14-038 auxiliary power unit and IBKO-38 avionics suite was certificated by Russian aviation authorities late last year, with its type certificate issued on 30 December 2015. According to the Mil Helicopter Plant's 2015 annual report, so far the transport version of the Mi-38-2 is certificated for flight at a maximum speed of 250 km/h with a maximum takeoff weight of 14,200 kg and with a maximum lifting capacity of 4,200 kg. The helicopter's operational envelope is to be expanded, the restrictions are to be lifted gradually and it is to be certificated in line with its design characteristics (maximum takeoff weight 15,600 kg, that with underslung cargo - 16,200 kg, lifting capacity 6,000 kg in the cabin and 7,000 kg underslung, maximum cruising speed 285 km/h), including its passenger version, in 2016 through 2018.

Russia May Be Hacking USA More Than China

In a rare bit of good cyber security news, Chinese hacking thefts of American corporate secrets have plummeted in the 13 months since China signed an agreement with the Obama administration to curb economic espionage, U.S. officials and outside experts say.

Analysts say the success may hold lessons for how the U.S. should deal with Russia, which at the same time has stepped up a different sort of hacking campaign that officials says is aimed at undermining confidence in the American election.

The change in China's behavior "has been the biggest success we've had in this arena in 30 years," said Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder of Crowdstrike, a cyber security firm that tracks computer network intrusions.

"And it wasn't anything we did in cyber space -- it was the threat of sanctions and the impact on their economy."

Alperovitch said his firm has observed a 90 percent drop in commercial hacking against U.S. firms attributable to Chinese government actors. U.S, intelligence agencies also have reported a sharp falloff, according to officials briefed on the matter.

To be sure, Alperovitch and others say, Chinese intelligence agencies are still hacking to steal national U.S. security secrets, including attacking defense firms. But those attacks are considered commonplace, because they are exactly what the National Security Agency does to China and other U.S. adversaries.

At issue in the agreement President Obama signed with President Xi Jinping in September 2015 was hacking to steal corporate intellectual property to benefit Chinese firms. The U.S. says it doesn't do that, but China did it with impunity for years, in what a former NSA director called the biggest transfer of wealth in modern history.

After years of pressure, Obama elevated the issue and threatened sanctions on China. The U.S. also indicted five members of the People's Liberation Army in 2014, accusing them of commercial hacking.

In the agreement, China essentially promised to stop doing it.

China May have Operational J-20 Stealth Fighters by 2017

The first J-20 squadron expected to be fully delivered by year's end, the China Flight Testing Evaluation regiment will being developing operating procedures, tactics and technical proficiency to bring the J-20 to combat readiness. At this pace, it is expected that in 2017-2018, the Chinese Air Force will have its first operational stealth fighter squadron.

J-20

The first J-20 squadron expected to be fully delivered by year's end, the China Flight Testing Evaluation regiment will being developing operating procedures, tactics and technical proficiency to bring the J-20 to combat readiness. At this pace, it is expected that in 2017-2018, the Chinese Air Force will have its first operational stealth fighter squadron.

The J-20 currently relies on Russian AL-31 series turbofan engines (the powerful domestic WS-15 engine will enter service in 2019-2021), everything else on the J-20 is Chinese; its stealth coating, infrared sensor, powerful AESA radar, are all domestically made.

J-20

Development of the WS-15 began in the 1990s. The thrust target was reported as 180 kilonewtons (40,000 lbf) in 2012. In 2009, it was known that the prototype was able to achieve 160 kilonewtons (36,000 lbf).

China has about a ten year lead on building and using domestically developed stealth fighters versus other Asian rivals (domestic Indian, Japanese and Korean stealth fighters are not expected to enter service until after 2027). In addition to J-20 and the soon to follow in production J-31 stealth fighter, Chinese plans also call for stealthy drones, bombers and advanced cruise missiles.

China Puts Development Of Fighter Jet Engines High on Agenda

China is determined to develop new technologies that can benefit national defense in the next five years, according to the draft outline of the 13th Five-Year Plan.

China will put great emphasis on aircraft engines and gas turbines, making those two fields top items on the list of 100 significant projects to be developed during the 13th Five-Year Plan.

WS-15

According to the expert, an advanced engine, to some extent, decides the performance of military aircraft including fighters, and aircraft engines have long been a bottleneck that constrains the development of China's domestically produced military aircraft.

Besides engines, China plans to accelerate the development of large planes. China's first domestically produced large plane, C919, will make its maiden flight in 2016, and is likely to be used for ordinary flights within the 13th Five-Year Plan. Furthermore, China's domestically developed cargo aircraft Y-20 will be put into military use in 2016.

As for aerospace, the list shows that China is set to develop space platforms like next-generation or heavy-lift launch vehicles, as well as next-generation satellites and an on-orbit service and maintenance system for space vehicles and deep space exploration. This plan covers vehicles, applications satellites, deep space exploration and the manned space program.

China's Z-10 Thunderbolt Pilot headgear

China's Z-10 Thunderbolt Pilot headgear

Chinese J-10's Encounter with French Rafale

Pakistan's Al Khalid Main Battle Tank

China’s Expert Fighter Designer Knows Jets, Avoids America’s Mistakes

There’s aircraft designers, and then there’s ace designers. There are thousands of engineers around the world producing planes, but ace designers only come along once every few decades.

The United States had Kelly Johnson, the designer of the SR-71 Blackbird. Germany’s Willy Messerschmitt produced a line of famous fighter planes. The Soviet Union’s Mikhail Simonov created the muscular Su-27 fighter-bomber to compete with America’s F-15 Eagle.
Each of these aces were highly skilled, but they also owed much of their success to circumstance. They came along when their respective governments invested millions — or billions — of dollars into transforming brainpower into cutting-edge combat aircraft.

This intersection of engineering genius and lavish spending appears to have produced an ace designer in China. In recent years, an obscure engineer named Yang Wei has rapidly risen to the leadership of the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute — a major warplane manufacturer responsible for quickly churning out Beijing’s top warplanes.

Yang Wei (aircraft designer)

Yang is principally responsible for two fighter jets that we know about. One of these is the J-20, China’s first stealth fighter. He also headed the development of the JF-17 Thunder, a modern and evolutionary improvement of the early MiGs developed by the Soviet Union a half-century ago.
What we know about Yang is that he was born in 1963, and enrolled at the Northwestern Polytechnical University in 1978 at the age of 15. He completed two degrees and became a control systems engineer at Chengdu.

In a 2011 profile, the state-owned journal Science and Technology Daily described Yang as the brains behind China’s 1980s innovations in electronic fly-by-wire controls. The journal credited him with implementing “all-digital simulation” tests for aircraft, “breaking the blockade of foreign technology.”

This is overstated, but there’s no doubt Yang is highly influential. By the age of 35, he rose to Chengdu’s leadership and worked on the J-10, one of China’s most numerous warplane types. The J-10 was a tricky aircraft to build and was beset by numerous design flaws, including a notable failure in its fuel system in the late 1990s. But Yang’s solutions later worked their way into the JF-17; a practice known as “parallel development”, according to the journal.

In other words, what Yang seems to have done is establish an alternative philosophy to Western fighter design — illustrated by the stealthy, but expensive and problem-prone F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. China now builds fighters cheaply, quickly and simply. This is not to say Yang’s fighters are perfect or even fundamentally new.

US F/A-18 Jets Painted in Russian Colors Why?

US  F/A-18 Jets

China To Develop Next Generation AWACS Aircraft On Y-20 Transport Plane Platform

China is likely to develop a new-generation airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft based on the locally-made Y-20 multi-purpose transport plane inducted into the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force earlier this year.

"It is indeed possible that China will modify the AEW&C aircraft based on Y-20, which conforms to the laws on technical development of AEW&C aircraft around the world," Military expert Wang Mingliang said in an interview with the People's Daily Online.

The Xian Y-20 large transport aircraft, the first Chinese designed 200-ton-class, multi-purpose, large transport aircraft, was officially commissioned in the PLA Air Force in July this year. It can be configured for airborne early warning and control (AEW&C), anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and aerial refueling missions.

According to China Military Online, the Chinese Air Force currently has KJ-200, KJ-2000 and KJ-500, the first two being the earliest AEW&C aircraft of China. They use different radar antenna, and KJ-2000's "mushroom head" can detect surrounding air space without any dead zone and with a longer detection distance, resulting in an overall performance superior to that of KJ-200 that is fitted with the "balance beam" radar, according to Wang Mingliang.

Pakistan’s Next-Generation Fighter Jet Program Indigenization will be critical Says PAF Cheif

ACM Sohail Aman was able to offer interesting details regarding success accrued from the JF-17 Thunder, the PAF’s plans for a next-generation fighter, the vision behind Kamra Aviation City, and the rationale of setting up the Airpower Centre for Excellence (ACE). This week, we will take a look at ACM Sohail Aman’s vision in regards to the development of a next-generation fighter.

Just as important as the acquisition of a next-generation fighter itself, the CAS definitively established the need to build a sufficiently capable indigenous base to source and support that fighter. The rationale is driven by the reality that a next-generation aircraft is dependent upon financial and political strings that not only inhibit the PAF from progressing in terms of its modernization needs, but also limit the country in terms of its independence. Breaking away from this dynamic is the principal objective of the current PAF leadership, and a set of objectives for 2030 have been put into motion.

If the JF-17 paved the groundwork for such goals, the next-generation fighter would essentially form the pillars of what would hopefully be – one day – a capable domestic aerospace industry. The PAF is hoping to use the development of a next-generation fighter as a means to master most of the core technology necessary to produce and support the fighter with the minimum of dependency on an external source.

The nucleus of this ambitious objective is Kamra Aviation City. Naturally, before the thought of even trying to absorb the necessary technology can come into play, the CAS has recognized the need to build the requisite intellectual capital and human resources capacity. Kamra Aviation City is being established in very close proximity to Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), and it will serve as a home for educational as well as research institutions designed to produce the skilled personnel necessary to work on in-sourcing the technology used on a next-generation fighter.

The physical infrastructure will be ready in three to five years, but the necessary level of capacity (especially in terms of skilled personnel) will come to fruition in 10-15 years. Kamra Aviation City will be home to institutes capable of producing masters and PhD-level aerospace and aeronautical development professionals. The PAF is collaborating with several friendly countries on the matter, but what that means in specific terms was not made known.

Pakistani Hackers Hack into Indian Planes, Force them to listen to “Dil Dil Pakistan”

NEW DELHI – While India is busy in staging ‘surgical strike’ drama, Pakistani tech experts are up to some real job by teasing the pilots of Indian planes landing into the airports close to the Line of Control (LOC) in Occupied Kashmir.



 According to the Times of India newspaper, Pakistan hackers have been breaching networking protocols of Indian airports for some time now. The tech pirates block communication between the pilots and the control tower just before landing and start playing Pakistan’s patriotic songs like “Dil Dil Pakistan” in the cockpit.

A senior pilot, who regularly takes flights to Jammu and Thoise Air Force base, was mentioning by the newspaper as saying that Pakistan hackers have been so by matching the frequency of the communication between the plane and the control tower.


 The report further added that Indian pilots have now adopted an alternate communication process to avoid getting hacked by Pakistanis.

Pakistan to export 100 Mushshaq Trainer Aircrafts to Turkey

ISLAMABAD: (APP) In next two years Pakistan will export 100 trainer jets (Mushshaq) to the brotherly country Turkey, Chairman Standing Committee of Senate on Defence Production Lt Gen (R) Abdul Qayyum, here on Tuesday said.

This is for the first time, after joining the aircraft manufacturing club, Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) would export such a high number of aircraft to any other nation.

Super Mushshaq Trainer

Talking to APP, after chairing an in-camera deliberations of the meeting, he congratulated the nation that its aircraft manufacturing has received acclaims by the international community which helped the country to manage supply order for export of aircraft in 
such a sizeable number.