Page 34 - World Airnews Magazine February Edition 2021

FIGHTER DEFENCE

UPGRADED MIRAGE 2000D ISRAEL, INDIA

FIGHTER DELIVERED MISSILE TEST

he first Mirage 2000D to undergo a
Tmajor mid-life update (MLU) pro- successful test of the MRSAM, air and missile defence sys-
gramme has been delivered to the Armée Atems jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)
de l ’Air et de l’Espace or AAE, France’s air and DRDO India was conducted recently at a test range in India.
and space force. MRSAM is an advanced path breaking air and missile defence

Built by Dassault Aviation, in conjunction system provides protection against a variety of aerial platforms.
with the Clermont-Ferrand facility of l’Ate- It is used by the Indian air force, Army Force, Indian navy and
lier Industriel de l’Aéronautique or AIA, the Israeli defence forces. The system includes an advanced phased

French air force’s maintenance organisation, array radar, command and control, mobile launchers and intercep-

the fighter was taken to the AAE air base tors with advanced RF seeker.
118 at Mont-de-Marsan earlier last month. The test, conducted at the Indian test range, validated all compo-

Aircraft no. 639 will now be used for an nents of the weapon system to the customer’s satisfaction.

extensive series of trials with the aim of Israeli specialists and Indian scientists and officers participated in

clearing the Mirage 2000D MLU model for and witnessed the test.
operations from early 2022. The flight test demonstrated different extreme reference scenar-

Tests will include a thorough evaluation of ios, validating various system capabilities.

the aircraft’s new systems under various op- As part of the test the MRSAM interceptor was launched from a
erational conditions, including hot-weather The MLU programme was approved in late 120 GL lightweight laser-guided missile. land based mobile launcher and successfully hit its threats.

trials to prepare for overseas deployments 2015, but funding was delayed until the 2019- The avionics are modernised with a new The scenario began by targeting the threat detected by the

and will be conducted by the French centre 25 military procurement law came into force. central navigation/attack system with systems digital MMR radar and launched the MRSAM interceptor

d’Expertise Aérienne Militaire or CEAM (air Dassault was contracted in 2016 and in 2017 improved interfaces, and the aircraft will toward its operational trajectory. The interceptor acquired the

warfare centre) and the DGA-EV test centre. a demonstrator aircraft was produced to test have the Rafale’s Thales Talios targeting target and successfully intercepted it.

France embarked on the MLU project in various aspects of the modernisation. pod in place of the current Damocles. New

order to maintain a combat fleet across It was displayed at the Paris Air Show in datalinks will improve connectivity. All the weapon system’s elements met the test goals successfully.

both AAE and Marine Nationale forces of 2017 and work on production conversions After modernisation, the 55 Mirage "Every trial in an air defence system is a complex operational

225 aircraft, the bulk of which comprise began two years later. 2000Ds will return to their current AAE event and the COVID-19 limitations significantly increase the com-

Dassault Rafales. The upgrade improves the Mirage 2000D’s units at BA133 Nancy-Ochey where the plexity. This trial is yet another testimonial to the strong partner-
ship between IAI and India and the two nations. IAI is proud to lead

To make up the numbers, it was decided air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities three front-line squadrons - Escadron de this impressive cooperation with DRDO and the Indian forces and

to retain 55 Mirage 2000Ds and to equip through the addition of weapons such as Chasse 1/3 “Navarre”, EC 2/3 “Champagne” is dedicated to its continued success," Boaz Levy IAI president and

them for an operational life until at least the MBDA Mica IR air-to-air missile and the and EC 3/3 “Ardennes”. The remaining un- CEO said. Q

2030. The type first entered service in 1995 Sagem AASM precision-guided bomb. modified Mirages are expected to be used

and 86 production aircraft were delivered. The aircraft will also add the Thales BAT- as a source for spares. Q
GENERAL
FIGHTER AVIATION
BILLION DOLLAR F-35 50 MORE GA AIRPORTS
CONTRACT

hour by fiscal year 2025. In FY2018, it cost Programme Office has been examining the he number of certified general aviation airports in China

(US) $44,000 per hour to fly the F-35A, the idea and negotiating with the manufactur- Tgrew from 246 at the end of 2019 to 299 in August last

he F-35 Joint Programme Office conventional take-off and landing variant. er. year, according to data from the Civil Aviation Administration of
Tawarded Lockheed Marti n, and The short-term contract “funds industry The programmes of record for the US China (CAAC).

its suppliers BAE Systems and Northrop sustainment experts supporting operations armed services, as well as international The new airports expand on several years of previous

Grumman, a (US) $1.28 billion ‘undefini- worldwide, individual bases, depot main- partners and foreign military sales custom- growth in the country, which reported just 76 certified GA air-
tenance, pilot and maintainer training, and

tised contract action’ to support operations sustainment engineering across the globe,” ers, amounts to more than 3,000 aircraft. ports in operation in 2017. Another 76 GA-oriented airports

So far, Lockheed Martin has only delivered

and sustainment of the global F-35 fleet said Lockheed Martin. about 610 examples of the F-35 to nine were under construction at the time the data was collected.

through 30 June 2021. “It also covers fleet-wide data analytics nati ons. Among the 299 certified GA airports, 111 were listed as

The deal will pay for sustainment of the and supply chain management for part re- As military budgets are expected to heliports and one as a ‘water aerodrome’.

worldwide F-35 fleet while negotiations pair and replenishment to enhance overall tighten, shrunken by competing demands At the remaining airports, 63 percent had runway lengths

continue for a long-term contract, said supply availability.” on government budgets, including repaying between 400 and 800 metres (1,312-2,625 feet), 23 percent

Lockheed Martin recently. In June, the programme office launched debt accumulated during the coronavirus between 800 and 1200 metres (2,625-3,937 feet) and five

Lockheed Martin is in talks with the a market research effort ahead of a plan to crisis, there is pressure on Lockheed Martin percent between 1200-1600 metres (3,937-5,249 feet).

F-35 Joint Programme Office for a perfor- grant a three-year PBL contract for FY2024 to reduce the operating cost of the F-35. Just six percent of the country’s certified GA airports had

mance-based logistics (PBL) contract that it to FY2026. Lockheed Martin originally If the company isn’t able to significantly runways longer than 1600 metres (5,249 feet) while eight

says would help reduce the operating costs proposed the idea of a PBL contract to shrink the fighter’s lifetime cost, some air percent had runways less than 400 metres (1,312 feet). Q

of the stealth fighter to (US) $25,000 per reduce operating costs and the F-35 Joint forces may buy fewer aircraft. Q

World Airnews | February 2021 World Airnews | February 2021
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