Taiwan’s ambitious programme to develop an advanced fighter to replace its fleet of F-5s and F-104s began in 1982, after the US government placed an embargo on the sale of the Northrop F-20 and any comparable fighter. The same restrictions were not placed on technical assistance, however, and US aerospace companies have collaborated closely with AIDC to develop an indigenous fighter and weapons system. Assistance has been provided by General Dynamics (airframe), Garrett (propulsion), Westinghouse (radar) and a Smiths Industries-led team (avionics).
F-CK-1 Ching-kuo
by Larkins Dsouza on June 17th, 2010 No Comments »
Light Combat Helicopter
by Pratik Sawerdekar on April 2nd, 2010 No Comments »
India’s long awaited Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) in works since 2006 finally flew after months of speculation. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) had announced that the attack helicopter will take to skies for the first time in February 2010 but it didn’t happen. The LCH finally flew on March 29 which was a rather quite affair with only the HAL engineers forming the spectator base. The Monday’s test was not an official test according to HAL but was just a confidence building flight. The official test flight will take place sometime in April in front of VIP’s and defense staff.
RQ-170 Sentinel “Beast of Kandahar”
by Larkins Dsouza on December 26th, 2009 1 Comment »
The RQ-170 Sentinel is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by Lockheed Martin and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It has been deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Beast of Kandahar, an aircraft, which was photographed in Afghanistan in 2007, is a surveillance aircraft, confirms US Air Force. The US Air Force on 8th December confirmed for the first time that it is flying a stealth unmanned aircraft known as the “Beast of Kandahar,” a drone spotted in photos and shrouded in secrecy.
F-15 Silent Eagle
by Larkins Dsouza on March 25th, 2009 No Comments »
Boeing unveiled a new version of F-15 called Silent Eagle, it’s a improvised stealth version of F-15 Strike eagle. F-15 is a world-class fighter aircraft. Continuous avionics upgrades could keep it competitive with super-fighters like the F-22. But the F-22’s distinct advantage is that the airframe was designed to be stealthy from the start.
F-16IN Super Viper
by Larkins Dsouza on February 5th, 2009 1 Comment »
The F-16IN Super Viper is a unique new fighter sharing a heritage with the world’s only fifth generation fighters – the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter and the F-22 Raptor. Evolutionary integration of fifth generation technologies makes the F-16IN the most advanced fourth generation fighter in the world today. This ultimate fourth generation fighter is tailored exclusively to meet or exceed all of India’s Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) requirements.
Mig- 35
by Larkins Dsouza on November 10th, 2008 2 Comments »
The MiG-35 (single seat) and MiG-35D (double seat) are the “4.5+” generation multi-role fighters, exhibiting the further development of the MiG-29K/KUB and MiG-29M/M2 fighters in the field of the combat efficiency enhancement, universality and operational characteristics improvement.
Sukhoi/HAL FGFA a Indian Stealth Fighter
by Larkins Dsouza on October 27th, 2008 19 Comments »
The Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) being jointly developed by India and Russia will look substantially different for the two countries. While the Russian version will be a single-pilot fighter, the Indian variant will have a twin-seat configuration based on its operational doctrine which calls for greater radius of combat operations. The program is initiated to develop a fifth generation fighter aircraft to fill a role similar to that of Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II, the world’s first fifth-generation fighter jets.
PAKDA a Russian Stealth bomber
by Larkins Dsouza on July 6th, 2008 21 Comments »
The PAK DA (or PAK-DA), is a next generation strategic bomber which is being developed by Russia. It stands for Perspektivnyi Aviatsionnyi Kompleks Dalney Aviatsyi which means Future Air Complex for Strategic Air Forces. The PAK DA is going to be heavily based on Russia’s current supersonic bomber Tupolev Tu-160 and is expected to have it’s maiden flight by 2015.
Ekranoplan: Caspian Sea Monster
by Larkins Dsouza on May 2nd, 2008 No Comments »
During the mid-1960s chilly height of the Cold War, US photo reconnaissance spotted a strange apparition on the shores of the Caspian Sea – a gigantic 100m-long aircraft with inexplicably truncated square wings. US Intelligence dubbed the beast the “Caspian Sea Monster”, unaware that the Russians were developing not, as they thought, an enormous conventional seaplane, but rather a 550-ton water-hugging behemoth designed to use the ground effect to skim the ocean at high speed, undetected by radar.
Embraer C-390
by Larkins Dsouza on March 18th, 2008 No Comments »
Embraer C-390 is a medium-sized twin-engined jet-powered military transport aircraft proposed by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. It will be the heaviest aircraft that the company has made so far, and will be able to transport up to 19 tons of cargo, including wheeled armored vehicles. Size-wise it is an aircraft between the twin-turboprop C-27J Spartan, with an 11.5 ton payload and the C-130J Hercules with a 21.7 ton payload. The aircraft will incorporate many of the technological solutions from the Embraer E-Jets series.
