Designed by Sukhoi and descended from the Su-27, the Sukhoi T-50 is a multi-role fighter that may have electronics to rival the F-22’s. Decade of Airline Excellence Awards 2020But while the F-16 remains a potent fighter, potential adversaries have caught upthe latest Russian aircraft like the Sukhoi Su-35 can match or exceed the Viper in many respects.In 2010, the Russians flew a counterpart to the F-22 Raptor. Sukhoi to counter new American fighters such as the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon in air combat. It was designed by Sukhoi’s department of aeronautical design under the leadership of T. The Sukhoi Su-27 is a supersonic, all-weather tactical fighter and interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union.Lockheed believes all international sales of the fighter will now go through the IDIQ contract and the Foreign Military Sales process, with the exception of the potential F-21 variant the company is proposing for the Indian air force’s 110-unit fighter programme.The USAF and Lockheed believe that by using the same contract over and over again, instead of writing new contracts for each customer, time will be saved in the sales process of the fighter.“It’s a way to streamline contracting, make the pricing as transparent as possible in an environment,” says McDonald. The standardised items in the contract are at the lowest possible price, adds McDonald.The idea for a standardised F-16 pricing list came from the USAF’s System Program Office. “And, it takes a lot of money to develop those individual contracts for each individual country.”Now, the US government’s Foreign Military Sales process will start with a base model of F-16 that comes with a standardised price and a standard set of features, including avionics, mission systems, an active electronically scanned array radar, electronic warfare suite, Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System and an engine, among other typical items. As much as I love US military air craft the SU-27 is superior compared to the F-.Yet, Lockheed believes it can sell even more – faster – with the help of a new base model configuration.As part of an indefinite-delivery and indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) fixed-price-incentive contract, which has a $62 billion ceiling and was granted by the US Air Force (USAF) in August, the company plans to offer standardised examples of its new-build F-16 Block 70/72 aircraft.The traditional process of pricing and customising the F-16 for foreign buyers was cumbersome, says JR McDonald, vice-president of business development in Lockheed’s integrated fighter group.“The development of the pricing, and the back and forth with the country on the pricing, and then the actual pricing when we deliver it to them in the form of an offer and acceptance letter, that takes a very long time,” he says. One widespread suspicion is that it will not be as stealthy, he says.The SU-27 is faster has better radar & armaments than the F-16.McDonald points out that many former member states of the Soviet Union, especially those still flying aged Mikoyan MiG-21 and MiG-23 or RAC MiG-29 fighters, are on the market for new jets. The third will span the remainder of the contract.Lockheed has already secured two contracts via the IDIQ totalling 90 aircraft: 66 examples of the F-16 for Taiwan and 24 for Morocco.The manufacturer believes now is a particularly ripe time to offer a commoditised F-16. Lockheed is already in negotiations with the US government for the second period, which will last two or three years. The initial pricing period will be relatively short. Speciality technologies to be incorporated into the F-16 as part of an offset agreement with a foreign nation would be handled via a separate contract also.The USAF plans three pricing periods over 10 years for the base model F-16. Lockheed builds the F-16 at its Greenville, South Carolina facility, which started producing the fighter in 2019 after final assembly was moved from Fort Worth, Texas.Should a customer want a particular item, say a different head-up display, that request would be fulfilled via a separate contract, while the rest of the base model fighter would be configured with the standard IDIQ contract.
From what he says, I understand they receive threats. “For instance, yesterday I talked to the Indonesian chief of the air force and he mentioned CAATSA, the US law. Rostec is the Russian government-owned holding company which controls Sukhoi and RAC MiG’s parent company United Aircraft.“We feel like some nations are more cautious,” said Kladov in August 2019. The MiG-23 was introduced into service in 1970.Some customers of the former Soviet Union that have attempted to renew their fleets with Russian-made aircraft have been frustrated by the USA’s Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which punishes countries for buying from Moscow, said Viktor Kladov, director of international cooperation and regional policy for Rostec at the 2019 MAKS air show. And, there are 214 MiG-23s still in service, many within the air forces of African nations, such as Angola and Ethiopia. The MiG-21 was introduced into service in 1959. Xgimp image editorThen in July, the nation’s plans appeared to change again when it reportedly made an offer for Austria’s 15 Eurofighters.Sanctions have no role in countries deciding to switch from Russian fighters to the US-made F-16, insists McDonald. The country appeared to attempt avoiding financial sanctions with a cash and barter arrangement with Russia that might include local farm products such as palm oil and coffee. So, they are very cautious.”In November 2019, Jakarta said it planned to buy two squadrons of F-16 Block 72 fighters, while also buying a squadron of Sukhoi Su-35s. If as a punishment measure, let’s say, American manufacturers stop supplying spares, stop supporting American-made equipment, then there will be a breach in security in national defence in Indonesia.
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