rayak

Les installations nucléaires iraniennes dans tout le pays sont survolées par de mystérieux OVNIS volant à très basse altitude ... :shock: Bien évidemment, le pouvoir en place les accuse d'être de nationalité US, et a ordonné à son aviation de les abattre, mais celle-ci déclare ne pas avoir les compétences techniques pour s'acquitter de la besogne. Bientôt des pilotes extra-terrestres otages en Iran ? :lol: http://216.132.172.10/indiadaily/editorial/12-26a-04.asp

La Chine accélère la construction de navires de débarquement, et renforce les capacités de ses troupes de marine: December 14, 2004: China is apparently building a large quantity of amphibious shipping. Two LSDs (Landing Ship Dock) are being built in large covered sheds. They appear to be about 25,000 tons each and carry four LCAC (high speed landing craft) and four helicopters each. China is building 4-5 LSTs (Landing Ship Tank) a year. These are 4,800 tons displacement each and can carry about 2,000 tons if they are not going to run up on a beach. The Chinese prefer to avoid that, as it eventually destroys the LST, and you can carry more load if you don't. A larger number of LSMs (smaller than LSTs, but in this case almost as large as World War II LSTs) are also under construction. Large numbers of smaller landing craft are also being built, all of it apparently capable of making the 300 kilometer trip from the mainland to Taiwan. China won’t say what the eventual size of this amphibious fleet will be, but Taiwan suspects enough to land enough divisions on Taiwanese beaches to hold them. That could take another 3-4 years. It is believed that the Chinese would use a lot of civilian transport for an attack on Taiwan, meaning they could put up to nine divisions on ships. The navy's amphibious shipping would be used for the first wave, where speed is needed. But the next waves could be put ashore with civilian ferries and transports. In addition, there is an airborne division. It would be a rather ramshackle effort by American standards, but the Chinese believe it would be adequate against the Taiwanese. The key to such an invasion is keeping the U.S. Navy out of the war. Meanwhile, Chinese shipyards are also turning out submarines and surface warships. China will be able to make a serious move on Taiwan before 2010. AMPHIBIOUS OPERATIONS: Chinese Marines Mechanized December 27, 2004: China took the “armored regiment” of the 164th infantry division and converted it to the Second Marine Brigade. This brigade is organized using the new format, with one company of each infantry battalion having armored vehicles, in this case amphibious light tanks (Type 63A or Type 99). The infantry companies have amphibious armored personnel carriers. The brigade artillery battalion has self-propelled 122mm howitzers. The First Brigade is larger, and has five combat battalions (two armored, with amphibious tanks, and three infantry.) The armor battalions have two tank and one infantry companies. In addition to the two brigades, there are two marine recon battalions and two frogman platoons (think “SEALs Lite”). These are usually attached to the First Marine Brigade. There may be a skeleton Marine Brigade in Shanghai, to be used to rebuild a Marine Brigade if one of the other two is destroyed in combat. The total size of the Chinese Marine Corps is over 10,000 troops.

De toute façon, tant que les abaques de performances n'auront pas été publiées, tout ceci reste très subjectif. Mais pour ça, il faudra attendre une trentaine d'années. ;) Celles du F-4 Phantom ont été rendues publiques, mais pas celles du F-15.

Le ravitaillement en vol des hélicos me laisse toujours pantois ! :shock:

Le dernier squadron de F-4 Phantom II de l'USAF vient d'être déactivé. :( Le 20th FS était une unité US, mais qui employait des F-4F allemands pour la conversion opérationnelle. by Airman 1st Class Stephen Collier 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs 12/22/2004 - HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFPN) -- The Air Force’s last operational F-4 Phantom II squadron held its inactivation ceremony here Dec. 20. The inactivation of the 20th Fighter Squadron, known as the Silver Lobos, also signifies the end of a 33-year German-American joint fighter training program in the decades-old F-4E and F aircraft. “As we close the chapter on fighter squadron Phantoms flying over (Holloman), we must remember the book has truly not ended,” said Brig. Gen. Kurt A. Cichowski, 49th Fighter Wing commander. “There still remains, yet unwritten, lines of prose dedicated to the pilots and crews who trained here, and the bonds of camaraderie forged from the mutual bonds of our two nations. There remains a future yet undocumented that will be traced to the Airmen who trained here, and the fantastic aircraft they flew together.” During the ceremony, Lt. Gen. Klaus-Peter Stieglitz, German air force chief of staff, said, “The cooperation has been the longest-lasting military project between the U.S. Air Force and the Luftwaffe. The 20th FS will definitely be remembered for the understanding and friendship between our two air forces and nations. “The termination of the F-4 training here at Holloman, the inactivation of the 20th FS and the deactivation of the Luftwaffe’s fighter squadron symbolizes the end of an era,” he said. “However, it is not the end of our objective here at Holloman.” The German air force will continue to train its aviators here in the Tornado, a European-built fighter/bomber aircraft. Lt. Col. Mark Buccigrossi, 20th FS commander, said it is a somber time for the pilots, crew chiefs and their families. “Everyone is saddened by the inactivation,” Colonel Buccigrossi said. “The guys are going back to Germany to fly F-4s. They will continue flying them for a few more years. The detractor for us, of course, is closing the chapter of the German-American liaison. The F-4 is retiring, and it’s time for us to move on.” The bulk of the squadron’s fleet left for the Air Force’s Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. The final two aircraft will be retired Jan. 7.

Zut, j'ai été grillé au poteau ;) http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2004/q4/nr_041222g.html

A priori cassé au décollage: :evil: "A US Air Force pilot escaped with his life on Monday when his FA-22 "Raptor" fighter jet crashed in a ball of flames during take-off in the western state of Nevada, defence officials said. The brand new jet ploughed into the ground as it attempted to lift off from Nellis Air Force Base in southern Nevada at about 3:45 pm (2345 GMT), an official at the base told AFP. "The plane crashed on the runway take-off but the pilot managed to eject to safety," the official, who declined to be identified, said. The pilot was rushed to hospital and a safety board has been set up to investigate the crash, the air force official added." Voir aussi ci-dessous: http://www.kvvutv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2716819&nav=2NixUP3M

Un de cassé, au prix ou ça coûte : :x http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20041220-084623-6913r.htm

Je n'ai pas les mêmes infos (mais les nouvelles locales doivent être meilleures ...): Selon Air Force Monthly (janvier 2005), le vice-président brésilien et son ministre de la défense Jose Alencar ont déclaré le 23 novembre que le programme F-X était une nouvelle fois reporté jusqu'à au moins en 2005. Cette déclaration a été faite lors de la visite de Poutine. Rappelons que l'argument commercial russe est la vente de Su-35 contre l'achat de 50 avions commerciaux Embraer. La commande initiale serait seulement de douze appareils, mais les besoins réels s'élèveraient à une soixantaine de machines.

Je me permettrais de rappeler que Boeing a risqué sa chemise en de nombreuses occasions (le 707 et le 747 sans remonter trop loin), alors que Airbus, confortablement adossé dès sa naissance à des financements publics, n'a jamais du en passer par là.

Ces forums sont très légèrement pro-Airbus et très légèrement anti-Boeing :lol: Compte tenu du dérapage budgétaire de l'A380, le financement de l'A350 reste très obscur.

Du AH-64A au AH-64D, il y a de nombreuses années d'écart et d'évolution, ce n'est pas comparable avec toutes ces versions du Tigre qui vont être construites simultanément ... Un beau casse-tête en perspective sur la chaîne d'assemblage :evil: Rien n'empêche un Apache de se POSER sur un LHA/LHD. Si cet hélico n'a pas été navalisé, c'est sans doute parce qu'avec leurs nombreux AH-1, les Marines ont déjà ce qu'il faut.

Quand la Grèce, l'Espagne et le Portugal ont été admis dans l'UE, leurs économies n'étaient guère plus avancées que celle de la Turquie. Et leurs démocraties étaient alors bien jeunes. Combien en France ont freiné des quatre fers pour empêcher leurs adhésions ...

La Turquie, du temps de l'Empire Ottoman, a de plus été présente en Europe pendant plusieurs siècles. Une des raisons de cette longévité était que les Ottomans laissaient la liberté de culte aux peuples conquis.

Vous n'avez rien compris, c'est Cuba qui va être envahi :lol: Les Cubains organisent leurs plus grandes manoeuvres depuis vingt ans pour contrer "la détermination de l'administration US à détruire la révulution cubaine". http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4092647.stm

Et quelques uns pour l'Armée de l'Air de ces 777F, on peut en rêver ? :?

C'est quand même curieux cette manie de couper le Tigre en quatre: les Américains ne s'emm... pas autant à faire des versions du AH-64. Le AH-64D qu'ils ont et qu'ils ont vendu un peu partout semble suffisamment polyvalent pour éviter cette débauche de dérivés . :?

Les taux de change jouent aussi: en ce moment, l'Euro n'arrange pas les affaires d'Airbus.

Et les Allemands et les Australiens, ils rament autant que nous ? :cry:

Espérons que cette EUFOR ne se limitera pas à ... un changement d'étiquettes :rolleyes: :lol:

Un F-18 de la RAAF armé en "Air Dominance Loadout" Pas moins de DOUZE missiles air-air (et un bidon), une charge que je croyais réservée aux F-18E/F ! :shock:

Deux reportages sur l'armée française hier soir: :arrow: Un sur M6 et des maneouvres en plein centre de Nîmes pour tester la digitalisation des fantassins -> l'armée française au top :) :arrow: Et un autre sur Arte, sur la Côte d'Ivoire. On y suivait une section descendant de la zone Nord, et qui à un moment, communiquait EN MORSE !!! :shock: Comment est-ce possible une chose pareille :?:

Le Jaguar et le A-10 ne sont pas du tout dans la même catégorie. Par exemple, inutile d'être supersonique pour faire du CAS.

Le A-10A va devenir A-10C, et on a pas fini de le voir : ;) WARPLANES: A-10C Does it All November 23, 2004: The U.S. Air Force is beginning it’s A-10 upgrade, that will convert most of the current A-10A aircraft to A-10Cs (the A-10B was a two seat version produced in small quantities). Most of the changes will not be visible, and many will be in the cockpit. The pilots will now have color LCDs, new instruments and a new joystick with enough buttons on it to allow the pilot to control just about everything without having to fiddle with any other controls. This is called HOTAS (Hands-On Throttle And Stick). The A-10C will be able to use JDAM (GPS guided) smart bombs, as well as many current, and future, missiles. This makes the A-10 even more versatile. The air force has been trying to dump the A-10 for some two decades now. But the army combat troops like it, as do the air force pilots who fly it and, most importantly, so does the media. The A-10C will be the most versatile combat warplane the air force operates. The A-10 is the only warplane that can get down low (the better to figure what is really going on), and deliver effective firepower (via the 30mm automatic cannon). The A-10C will also be able to drop smart bombs from higher altitudes, making it able to deal with just about any combat support mission that comes up. In addition, the A-10 is designed to operate from crude airbase facilities and, in general, take a lot of punishment and keep going. ____________________ The move to enhance the A-10 fleet further is spearheaded by a “Precision Engagement” (PE) program at Langley AFB, Virginia. With a goal of improving the A-10’s maintainability, sustainability, and combat capability, PE begins flight-testing this winter. “The A-10 in 2010 will not be your Daddy’s Hog,” says Lt. Col. Robert “Mumbles” Silva, an A-10 pilot leading the program with a team of eight and access to A-10 units nationwide. “We’re bringing the airplane into the new century.” PE will eventually be applied to the entire A-10 inventory, probably starting with a Guard unit in FY2006. It will turn the A-10A into the ‘A-10C,’ equipped with dual high-resolution cockpit displays, either LITENING AT or Sniper XP targeting pods, a hands-on throttle and stick, digital stores management system, GPS and wind-corrected munitions, datalink communications, and more. Concurrently, an upgrade to the A-10’s turbofan engines, long criticized for performance, is planned, allowing for a 10 percent increase in takeoff thrust, and up to 30 percent at medium altitudes; that translates into 5,000 lbs. of increased payload. “Everything together will have a synergistic effect,” Silva says. “The engines will allow us to ingress above the infrared missile and AAA threat, as well as allow us to effectively employ the [GPS-guided] JDAM and wind-corrected munitions. The data link will digitally connect us to the battlefield, and because we’ll be able to transmit targeting data to and from the airplane, we’re going to shorten the kill chain. We’re replacing a good number of troublesome avionics components, and adding a new portable testing station, which allows us to troubleshoot the system with one hookup. When we deploy, we’ll have more aircraft available.” Silva says that while recent combat experiences didn’t accelerate the program, the lessons learned solidified the reasons for doing it. Maintainers like Miclon welcome the changes. “The Guard is intimately involved in PE,” he said. “We see so much improvement that will come from it; the pod alone is an exceptional tool from the pilot’s perspective. While the missions today are very different from when we first received the aircraft new, it’s still basically a very mechanical airplane. It’s going to become a whole different animal.” http://www.sponauer.com/eastcoasthogs/ (Si quelqu'un avait le petit shéma illustrant ce programme en taille réelle ...) Encore un engin pratique pour guerroyer en Afrique. ;) A quand le même en Europe ? Ce n'est quand même pas un avion très compliqué à faire, ni qui coûte très cher ? A défaut, construire le Su-25 sous licence avec armement et avionique européens ?

La Marine Italienne a elle aussi participé avec ses AV-8B. 8)