Saab today completed a successful first flight with the first Brazilian Gripen E fighter aircraft, 39-6001. At 2.41 pm CET on August 26, the Gripen E aircraft took off on its maiden flight flown by Saab test pilot Richard Ljungberg. The aircraft operated from Saab´s airfield in Linköping, Sweden.
The duration of the flight was 65 minutes and included test points to verify basic handling and flying qualities at different altitudes and speeds. The main purpose was to verify that the aircraft behavior was according to expectations.
“This milestone is a testament to the great partnership between Sweden and Brazil. Less than five years since the contract was signed, the first Brazil Gripen has conducted her first flight,” says Håkan Buskhe, President and CEO of Saab.
This aircraft is the first Brazilian production aircraft and will be used in the joint test program as a test aircraft. The main differences compared to the previous test aircraft are that 39-6001 has a totally new cockpit layout, with a large Wide Area Display (WAD), two small Head Down Displays (sHDD) and a new Head Up Display (HUD). Another major difference is an updated flight control system with updated control laws for Gripen E. It also includes modifications both in hardware and software.
“For me as a pilot it has been a great honour to fly the first Brazilian Gripen E aircraft as I know how much this means for the Brazilian Air Force and everyone at Saab and our Brazilian partners. The flight was smooth and the aircraft behaved just as we have seen in the rigs and simulators. This was also the first time we flew with the Wide Area Display in the cockpit, and I am happy to say that my expectations were confirmed,” says Saab test pilot Richard Ljungberg.
39-6001 will now join the test programme for further envelope expansion as well as testing of tactical system and sensors.
39-6001 will be designated F-39 in the Brazilian Air Force and will have the tail number 4100.
Kopter Group is thrilled to be part of the Zigermeet event, which takes place in Mollis, Switzerland, on the 16th & 17th August 2019.
Mollis being the home of Kopter, the company is very proud to support the organization of this unique event, during which all types of aircraft perform one after the other breathtaking in-flight demonstrations. On this occasion, Kopter is showcasing its SH09 prototype #2 (P2) on the static display, allowing visitors to come closer to the first Swiss made helicopter.
Rafale International will also be taking part in the Zigermeet 2019 airshow at Mollis Airport, Switzerland, from August 16 to 17, 2019.
Dassault Aviation has appointed Carlos Brana Executive Vice President, Civil Aircraft.
After graduating from the Ecole Centrale de Paris and from France’s HEC, Carlos Brana began his career at Dassault in 1984 as a design engineer on the Rafale, Mirage F1 and Mirage 2000 combat aircraft programs. He was later assistant manager for the Mirage 2000 program, then contract manager for the Qatar and Taiwan Mirage 2000-5 contracts.
After joining the foreign military sales force in 1998, he led the negotiating team for the Rafale proposal in South Korea before being named Director of Military Sales for the Middle East.
Carlos Brana moved to Dassault Aviation’s business jet operation in 2005. He began as Director of Sales for Asia at Dassault Falcon Jet (DFJ). He was later named Vice President for Contracts & Specifications, and subsequently Senior Vice President for DFJ Operations, with responsibility for customer service, finance and contract management. He also oversaw activities at the Dassault Aircraft Services (DAS) affiliate, which manages company-owned service centers in the Americas.
Since 2016 Carlos Brana served as Olivier Villa’s deputy as Senior Vice President, Civil Aircraft with a special focus on worldwide Falcon business jet sales and marketing.
4 MD 450 Ouragan patrol of fighter training center
The jet engine is one of the new operational technologies
developed during the Second World War. As soon as he returned from
Buchenwald, Marcel Dassault launched his teams on this path.
The MD-450 Ouragan flew 70 years ago on February 28, 1949. It
was the first French jet fighter aircraft to be built in series
production after the Second World War. Thanks to him, Dassault was able
to test and analyze the aerodynamic and flight quality problems posed by
air compressibility.
Watch Luc Berger, the Company’s historian, presenting the history of the MD-450 Ouragan, on our WebTV.
(Bloomberg) — Qatar has made agreements with U.S. companies to spend billions on airplanes and jet engines and to develop a petrochemical complex, the White House said on Tuesday.
At least some of the deals were previously made but were publicly touted by the Trump administration Tuesday. Among them: Qatar Airways purchasing Boeing Co. 777 freighters and large-cabin aircraft from Gulfstream Aerospace, the private jet unit of General Dynamics Corp.
“They’re investing very heavily in our country,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “They’re creating a lot of jobs. They’re buying tremendous amounts of military equipment including planes.
Qatar’s defense ministry committed to acquire Raytheon Co.’s NASM and Patriot Systems, according to the White House. In addition, a unit of Chevron Corp. entered into an agreement with Qatar Petroleum for the development, construction and operation of a petrochemicals complex in Qatar.
The agreements, whose total cost wasn’t disclosed by the White House, were announced during a visit to the White House by the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.
The deals come amid a two-year economic blockade of Qatar led by U.S. ally Saudi Arabia and supported by nations including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Trump initially appeared to support the Saudi move — echoing its assertions that Qatar supported terrorists — even though it put the U.S. in an awkward position because it has a major military base in Qatar.
But Qatar has looked to improve relations in the U.S., with the emir saying the country was committed to doubling the economic partnership between the two countries. Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al Mahmoud, who leads the Qatar Investment Authority, said earlier this year that the country’s sovereign wealth fund will look to increase its U.S. investment portfolio from around $30 billion to about $45 billion over the next two years.
The country has also made significant gestures toward increasing its spending on U.S. defense contractors, with the U.S. approving a large weapons systems purchase ahead of Sheikh Tamim’s last visit to the country. In 2017, the country signed a deal to spend $12 billion for the purchase of 36 F-15QA fighter jets.
And the U.S. has announced plans to expand and renovate the al-Udeid Air Base near Doha, which houses the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command and some 10,000 American troops. During a dinner with the leaders on Monday, Trump thanked Sheikh Tamim for Qatar’s $1.8 billion investment in the project which will be used to construct housing and entertainment facilities.
Several companies have released specifics of some of the agreements that were formalized on Tuesday.
Gulfstream said its deal is for $1 billion in corporate jets that General Dynamics announced in January without giving the customer’s name. Boeing said last month it made a deal to sell five 777 freighters at a list price of $1.8 billion.
Qatar Airways plans to use General Electric Co. jet engines for Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft, according to the White House.
A Chevron statement Tuesday said the company was signing a new agreement at the White House for a previously unannounced $8 billion U.S. Gulf Coast project. The White House statement mentions only a prior deal, announced last month, in which the company would join forces with Qatar Petroleum to build a facility in Qatar.
(Story by Justin Sink and Thomas Black, Edited by Alex Wayne, Justin Blum, and Larry Liebert)
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Airbus SE <AIR.PA> and Boeing Co <BA.N> may pull out of a bidding process to supply Canada with new fighter jets because they say the contest is unfairly tilted towards Lockheed Martin Corp <LMT.N>, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said on Monday.
The three companies competing with Lockheed Martin’s F-35 jet have already complained about the way the contest is being run, and expressed concern some of the specifications clearly favour the U.S. firm, industry sources have said in recent weeks.
Next week the government is due to release the so-called request for proposals – the final list of requirements – for the 88 new planes it wants to buy. The contract is worth between C$15 billion (£9 billion) and C$19 billion and the planes are due to be delivered between 2025 and the early 2030s.
Boeing and Airbus have now formally written to Ottawa expressing concerns about the current requirements, said two sources familiar with the matter who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the situation. The fourth bidder is Sweden’s Saab AB <SAABb.ST>.
Pat Finn, the defence ministry’s top official in charge of procurement, confirmed one of the four companies had sent a formal letter but gave no details. The final request for proposals is due out on July 17 and modifications are still being considered, he said.
“We continue to engage all four of them,” he said in a telephone interview. “We have had some comments (such as) ‘If changes are not made in such a place then we would frankly consider possibly not bidding.'”
“We are looking at those very seriously. I can’t say that we will make every change, but as far as we know we continue to have four bidders in the race.”
Airbus declined to comment. Boeing did not respond to a request for comment.
Canada has been trying unsuccessfully for almost a decade to buy replacements for its ageing F-18 fighters. In May, Ottawa changed the rules to allow Lockheed Martin to submit a bid, prompting Boeing to take the unusual step of announcing publicly it was surprised.
“Anyone who is not Lockheed Martin has expressed a very strong view,” said one of the sources. “We have been pretty clear with the government that this is not a request for proposals that lends to our participation.”
At least one firm has expressed unhappiness that the requirements emphasize the ability to carry out first strikes on targets abroad, a strength of the F-35, said the sources.
The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insists the competition is not rigged. Finn said the defence ministry also had made changes to the requirements at the request of Boeing, Airbus and Saab.
Canada is part of the international consortium that developed the F-35. The former Conservative administration said in 2010 it would buy 65 of the jets but later scrapped the decision, triggering years of delays.
Trudeau came to power in 2015 vowing not to buy the F-35 on the grounds that it was too costly, but Ottawa has since softened its line.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
FILE PHOTO: A real-size mock of F-35 fighter jet is displayed at Japan International Aerospace Exhibition in Tokyo
FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines will provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to add a loved one’s name to one of its planes in honor of those who are cancer survivors, current cancer fighters and those who lost their battle with cancer. Anyone who makes a donation of $25 or more to Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) during the month of July can add the name of a person they stand up for to an American Airlines Airbus A321. The plane, which will begin flying this fall, will be wrapped with a special SU2C design that includes names submitted.
The campaign launches July 1 with a digital and television ad featuring Stand Up To Cancer Ambassador and superstar Tim McGraw alongside six American team members from across the U.S. Tim as well as each team member in this new campaign has been personally affected by cancer, either as a survivor or a co-survivor caring for a loved one fighting the disease.
“Every family in America has a cancer story, my own family included. Too many of us have lost our parents, children, spouses and friends to this terrible disease,” McGraw said. “I’ve been so touched by the stories of the American Airlines team members I’ve met over the past month and I’m honored to lend my voice to this campaign to help create a world where all cancer patients can become long-term survivors and have more time with the people they love.”
As part of the company’s multi-year, multi-million dollar collaboration with SU2C, 100% of donations received will go to support Stand Up To Cancer’s collaborative cancer research programs.
“Our national collaboration with Stand Up To Cancer was driven by their proven approach to cancer research and our corporate purpose to care for people on life’s journeys. In a few short years, we’ve seen donations contribute to scientific breakthroughs and more access to meaningful clinical trials,” said Elise Eberwein, Executive Vice President of People and Communications at American. “Today, we ask anyone who has been impacted by cancer join us in our shared goal to make every cancer patient a long-term survivor.”
American team members in Los Angeles and Nashville participated in the campaign, which includes pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, Customer Service agents and Fleet Service team members.
To honor its own team members, the first names added to the plane will be those of American team members who self-identified as cancer survivors or are currently battling cancer.
“We are so honored to team up with American Airlines in this empowering campaign, which offers anyone who’s been affected by cancer the chance to join our mission, publicly honor a loved one and stand up to cancer,” said Rusty Robertson, a co-founder of Stand Up To Cancer. “American Airlines continues to be a tremendous supporter of SU2C, and the critical dollars raised by this incredible campaign expands our mission to accelerate the pace of cutting-edge research and innovative cancer treatments to save lives now.”
To make a donation to SU2C and add a name to this special plane, visit aa.com/standup between July 1–31, 2019. Donors can visit aa.com/standup again in late September to see the location of their submitted names on the plane before it begins flying in September. Terms and conditions apply.
About Stand Up To Cancer
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) raises funds to accelerate the pace of research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. SU2C, a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was established in 2008 by film and media leaders who utilize the industry’s resources to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer research, and to increase awareness about cancer prevention as well as progress being made in the fight against the disease. Under the direction of our Scientific Advisory Committee, led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., SU2C operates rigorous, competitive review processes to identify the best research proposals to recommend for funding, oversee grants administration, and ensure collaboration across research programs.
Current members of the SU2C Council of Founders and Advisors (CFA) include Katie Couric, Sherry Lansing, Lisa Paulsen, Rusty Robertson, Sue Schwartz, Pamela Oas Williams, Ellen Ziffren, and Kathleen Lobb. The late Laura Ziskin and the late Noreen Fraser are also co-founders. Sung Poblete, PhD, RN, has served as SU2C’s president and CEO since 2011.
For more information on Stand Up To Cancer, please visit StandUpToCancer.org.
About Tim McGraw
His unparalleled career includes 43 number one radio singles, 16 number one albums and countless industry awards and accolades. His unique chart achievements include having three singles in the Top 20 of the radio charts on multiple occasions, as well as having two singles spend over 10 weeks at number one. His last solo project spawned one of the biggest hit singles of all-time, “Humble and Kind,” whose message continues to impact fans around the world including a Spanish version sung by McGraw. He has routinely been cited as one of the biggest touring artists in the history of country music.
53rd International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport
PARIS (Reuters) – U.S. arms makers say European demand for fighter jets, missile defenses and other weapons is growing fast amid heightened concerns about Russia and Iran.
The U.S. government sent a group of unusually high-ranking officials including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to the Paris Airshow this year, where nearly 400 U.S. companies were showcasing equipment as the United States and Iran neared open confrontation in the Persian Gulf.
Lockheed Martin, Boeing and other top weapons makers said they had seen accelerating demand for U.S. weapons at the biennial air show despite escalating trade tensions between the United States and Europe.
“Two Paris air shows ago, there weren’t a lot of orders,” said Rick Edwards, who heads Lockheed’s international division. “Now … our fastest growth market for Lockheed Martin in the world is Europe.”
Many European nations have increased military spending since Russia’s annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine in 2014, bolstering missile defenses and upgrading or replacing ageing fighter jet fleets. NATO members agreed in 2014 to move toward spending 2% of gross domestic product on defence.
Eric Fanning, chief executive of the Aerospace Industries Association, said the NATO pledge and European concerns about Russia were fueling demand. “I do think it reflects the increasing provocations of Russia,” he said.
Industry executives and government officials say growing concern about Iran’s missile development program is another key factor. Tehran’s downing of a U.S. drone came late in the air show, but executives said it would support further demand.
“Iran is our best business development partner. Every time they do something like this, it heightens awareness of the threat,” said one senior defence industry executive, who asked not to be named.
Edwards said Lockheed’s F-35 stealth fighter, selected by Belgium, is poised to win another new order from Poland, while Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania are also working to replace Soviet-era equipment.
Edwards and other executives say they see no impact from the ongoing trade disputes between U.S. President Donald Trump and the European Union.
U.S. Army Lieutenant General Charles Hooper, director of the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), said Europe accounted for nearly a quarter of the $55.7 billion in foreign arms sales his agency handled in fiscal 2018.
Hooper said the U.S. government was making concerted efforts to speed arms sales approvals and boost sales to help arm allies with U.S. weapons.
Ralph Acaba, president of Raytheon Co’s’s Integrated Defense Systems business, said the company was boosting automation and working to deliver the Patriot missile system and other weapons in half the five-year period previously typical.
“Europe is really big for us now, and that’s a big change in just the last few years and even the last 18 months,” he said.
In addition to wooing new Patriot customers, Raytheon is upgrading existing systems for customers like Germany, which is likely to finalize a contract worth potentially hundreds of millions of dollars to the company in coming months.
Thomas Breckenridge, head of international sales for Boeing’s strike, surveillance and mobility programs, is eyeing contracts wins for Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets in Germany, Switzerland and Finland.
“There’s a huge appetite in Europe for defence as a whole,” he said.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Jan Harvey)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Defense has a “handshake” agreement with Lockheed Martin Co to cut 8.8 percent from the price of its latest order of F-35A fighter jet, shaving a year from the time frame in which each aircraft will cost less than $80 million, a Pentagon official said on Monday.
The Pentagon said over three years the agreement will be worth $34 billion for 478 F-35 fighter jets. It is preliminary and a final deal is expected to be sealed in August for the 12th batch of jets, one of the most expensive aircraft ever produced.
The preliminary agreement details the first year, and lays out agreed upon options for two additional years. The options are there because official purchases cannot be made until the U.S. Congress approves an annual budget for those years.
This year’s agreement will lower the cost of each F-35A, the most common version of the aircraft, to $81.35 million, Under Secretary of Defense Ellen Lord said, down from $89.2 million under a deal inked in August 2018.
Under the options covering the second and third years of the purchase, the price of each jet will drop below $80 million, Lord said. In those later years production would be around 160 jets per year.
The F-35 program has long aimed at growing the fleet to more than 3,000 jets and bringing the unit price of the F-35A below $80 million through efficiencies gained by ordering larger quantifies.
“I am proud to state that this agreement has achieved an estimated 8.8% savings from Lot 11 to Lot 12 F-35A’s, and an estimated average of 15%” reduction across all variants from Lot 11 to Lot 14, Lord said in the statement. That savings exceeded expectations in a RAND Corp study.
“The unit price for all three F-35 variants was reduced and the agreement will include an F-35A unit cost below $80 million in Lot 13, exceeding the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin’s long-standing cost reduction commitment earlier than planned,” the Lockheed Martin F-35 program general manager Greg Ulmer said in a statement.
While being a major part of Lockheed’s revenue, the F-35 has recently been holding competitions to find less expensive subcontractors to help control costs.
The new pricing could encourage more foreign customers to join the F-35 program. Lockheed executives have said that any country with an F-16 jet, the predecessor to the F-35, is a potential customer. This could put the market size at about 4000 jets, Lockheed CEO Marillyn Hewson recently told an investor conference.
Vice Admiral Mathias Winter, the head of the Pentagon’s F-35 office, has testified to Congress, that “future potential foreign military sales customers include Singapore, Greece, Romania, Spain and Poland.”
Foreign military sales like those of the F-35 are considered government-to-government deals where the Pentagon acts as an intermediary between the defense contractor and a foreign government.
Other U.S. allies have been eyeing a purchase of the stealthy jet including Finland, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.
(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Bill Rigby and David Gregorio)
FILE PHOTO: A Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II aircraft takes part in flying display during the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris
Defence Minister says $1.2 bln is a reasonable price
Final talks to start once Bulgaria gets draft contract
Cost will be based on final Bulgarian requirements-U.S. Embassy (Adds defence minister comment, U.S. embassy to Sofia)
SOFIA, June 4 (Reuters) – NATO member Bulgaria expects the United States to offer to sell it eight new F-16 fighter jets for its air force at a discounted price of $1.2 billion, the defence ministry said on Tuesday.
The U.S. State Department approved the possible sale of eight F-16 aircraft and related equipment at an estimated cost of $1.67 billion, a Pentagon agency said on Monday.
Bulgaria, which is also a member of the European Union, is looking to replace its ageing Soviet-made MiG-29s and improve compliance with NATO standards.
A deal for Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Block 70 would be the Balkan country’s biggest military procurement since the fall of Communist rule some 30 years ago.
The defence ministry said the U.S. approval outlined the upper threshold of the cost and it expected a draft contract from Washington within two weeks.
“There is a two-week timeline in which the U.S. government will present to Bulgaria a draft Letter of Offer and Acceptance in which the expected price for the eight jets with a package of necessary related equipment will be within $1.2 billion,” the ministry said in a statement.
The expected price comes above the initial estimate for the deal at 1.8 billion levs ($1 billion) but the Bulgarian parliament has given the defence ministry a green light to go over that.
Defence Minister Krasimir Karakachanov said that the deviation from the initial budget should not be big.
“About 2 billion levs ($1.2 billion) is the upper threshold of a reasonable price,” he told reporters.
The U.S. Embassy in Sofia said that the Departments of State and Defense allow for a margin in all notifications to the U.S. Congress and that the actual cost will be based on Bulgaria’s final requirements.
Final talks on the deal will start once Sofia receives the draft contract. The cost’s reduction would most likely be achieved by scaling down some of the related equipment, local analysts say.
“At that stage…the Bulgarian government may re-scope and re-define the requirements before arriving at the ultimate cost,” the embassy said in a statement. ($1 = 1.7397 leva)
(Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova Editing by Keith Weir)
