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Les flottes de bombardiers sont différentes en nombre et en qualité selon les pays, mais parmi les pays européens la Grande Bretagne affiche une supériorité tant qualitative que quantitative, en net décrochage avec les moyens de combats français, de part une plus grande polyvalence et un format supérieur au notre.
http://www.senat.fr/rap/a08-102-5/a08-102-515.html#toc220
Général de corps aérienPour mémoire, l'Allemagne et la Grande-Bretagne ne disposent pas de composante aéroportée de dissuasion.
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Général de corps aérien
Sous-lieutenantOn 31 March, the UK Ministry of Defence announced that it had completed the process of decommissioning the Royal Air Force's WE-177 nuclear free-fall bombs. The original schedule, announced by the previous Conservative Administration in 1995, aimed to complete decommissioning by the end of 1998. No details were given about plans for the storage and destruction of the bombs and weapons-grade materials.
http://www.acronym.org.uk/dd/dd25/25raf.htm
Général de corps aérien
Commandant
Sous-lieutenant
AdjudantRAF's Harrier fleet may face early retirement
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is discussing plans to withdraw the entire Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Air Force (RAF) Harrier GR.9 fleet from service in less than five years, in an attempt to save more than GBP1 billion (USD1.5 billion), Jane's has learned.
The discussions come as budget planners finalise their efforts to reconcile the MoD's equipment programme and force structure with limited available funding.
Jane's understands that the ministry's defence board reviewed the proposals at its meeting in the last week of November, after senior RN officers had objected. They had stressed that the withdrawal of the Harrier aircraft five years ahead of their scheduled out-of-service date of 2018 would create a major capability gap ahead of the introduction of the first Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs).
RN officers have been lobbying hard for at least a squadron of up to 20 BAE Systems Harriers to remain in service until the arrival of the JSFs towards the end of the next decade.
Sous-lieutenantA next-generation precision guided bomb that can hit targets 24 hours a day and in all-weathers has entered service with the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as part of a £400M programme. The weapon, known as Paveway IV will be fitted to the Harrier GR9s, Tornado GR4s, Typhoon and ultimately the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). The highly sophisticated weapon, provided by Raytheon Systems Ltd, UK, can be guided on to a target through use of Global Positioning System satellite technology or through laser guidance. Pilots can programme the weapon from the cockpit from the ground for pre-planned missions or while the aircraft is in flight using data provided by the aircraft's on-board sensors. The Paveway IV can also be reprogrammed mid-flight should targets alter or to reflect changes to conditions on the ground…
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/cgi-bin/client/modele.pl?prod=100481&session=dae.43399500.1228924985.ZTSsRH8AAAEAAB8SeUYAAAAk&modele=release
CapitaineRafighter a écrit
[…]Pilots can programme the weapon from the cockpit from the ground for pre-planned missions or while the aircraft is in flight using data provided by the aircraft's on-board sensors. The Paveway IV can also be reprogrammed mid-flight should targets alter or to reflect changes to conditions on the ground…
AdjudantUK cuts Future Lynx deal, delays new carriers
The UK Ministry of Defence has reduced its production order for AgustaWestland's Future Lynx and delayed the availability of its two Future Aircraft Carriers (CVF), but has deferred any more drastic budget decisions until next March.
Defence secretary John Hutton says the decision to delay the in-service dates of the Royal Navy's 65,000t CVF was made because "there is scope for bringing more closely into line the introduction of the Joint Combat Aircraft and the aircraft carrier". Lockheed Martin's F-35B Joint Strike Fighter is the UK's favoured candidate for the JCA requirement.
Hutton reaffirmed the UK government's commitment to the Future Lynx project, but AgustaWestland subsequently confirmed that its order has been reduced from 70 airframes, saying that 62 "will initially be procured". Its order now covers the delivery of 34 aircraft to the British Army and 28 to the RN - reductions of six and two aircraft, respectively.
The fuselage for the programme's first flight-test aircraft was delivered to the manufacturer's Yeovil site in Somerset in November, and operations will start from 2014. "We also look forward to working with the MoD to provide the training and support solutions for Future Lynx," it says.
The MoD has meanwhile approved a £70 million ($105 million) upgrade, under which 12 of the army's current Lynx AH9s will have their Rolls-Royce Gem engines replaced by the Future Lynx's CTS-800-4Ns. "This will give commanders more helicopters able to operate effectively all year round in the hot and high altitude in Afghanistan," it says. The first four upgraded helicopters will be returned to use in late 2009, with the remainder to follow in 2010.
Hutton also confirmed plans to deploy Royal Air Force-operated AgustaWestland AW101 Merlin HC3 transport helicopters to Afghanistan next year, "once they have completed their mission in Iraq". An additional £635 million has also been agreed to fund new urgent operational requirement deals to support the armed forces in 2009-10, he says.
Speculation had grown over recent weeks that a funding shortfall could affect several major aerospace projects during the MoD's Planning Round 2009 process, but Hutton's 11 December announcement made no mention of projects such as BAE Systems' Nimrod MRA4 or the Eurofighter Typhoon.
"Any further significant changes to the equipment programme will be announced following the conclusion of the MoD's current planning round in March," says Hutton.
Sous-lieutenant
Sous-lieutenantPour le compte d'EADS, Messier Services UK, filiale du groupe français Safran, assurera la révision des trains d'atterrissage des avions Tornado de la Royal Air Force. D'une durée de huit ans et demi, le contrat, dont la maîtrise d'ouvrage est assurée par BAE Systems, concerne 134 appareils. Son montant n'a pas été précisé. Il permet à l'unité militaire Messier Services de Gloucester de tourner à plein régime au minimum jusqu'à l'horizon 2016…
http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/safran-revisera-les-avions-tornado-de-la-royal-air-force-pour-eads.154660
AdjudantUK signs new support deals for Gazelle, Puma and Sea King helicopters
By Craig Hoyle
Rolls-Royce has secured a new, 10-year contract to support the Gnome engines which power the UK Ministry of Defence's Westland Sea King transport, surveillance and search and rescue helicopters.
Worth £258 million ($380 million), the availability-based deal will support a total of 96 Sea Kings currently in service with the UK Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, says R-R.
"Rolls-Royce will undertake all aspects of engine support, including the provision of replacement engines to meet customer demands, and technical support both at operating locations and from the Rolls-Royce Operations Centre in Bristol," the company says. Main repair and overhaul work will be undertaken at its facilities in Ansty in the West Midlands, and in Germany.
"This innovative contract offers quantifiable benefits in both financial and availability terms for the Sea King fleet," says Pete Worrall, director general helicopters for the UK Defence Equipment and Support organisation. Martin Fausset, managing director of Rolls-Royce Defence Aerospace, notes: "We can now provide the front line customer a higher level of availability for operations at a guaranteed price."
Meanwhile, Eurocopter has received a contract to provide through-life support services for the RAF's SA330/Puma HC1 transports (above) and the British Army's Gazelle AH1 observation helicopters until March 2013, with its deal replacing four previous arrangements. The company also expects to sign a service life-extension deal in 2009 to upgrade some of the RAF's Puma fleet to an enhanced HC2 configuration.
