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Pakistan's Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircrafts

Well, some say Wedgetail was superb... I preditced it would be a big problem.

Unworkable Wedgetail radar may kill off $3.5b aircraft deal

AUSTRALIA'S most troubled defence project, the $3.5 billion purchase of six early warning aircraft, is more than four years late and could collapse.

Things are so bad that US radar experts have been called in to assess whether the vital Project Wedgetail will get off the ground.

Senior military officers have admitted the prime contractor, US giant Boeing, and its sub-contractors have no idea how to fix the main problem - an unworkable radar system.

Without the radar, the planes, which are vital for detecting incoming hostile aircraft and directing a battle, would be virtually useless.

Program manager Air Vice-Marshal Chris Deeble told a Senate inquiry the first modified Boeing 737 aircraft would not be delivered until at least 2011, more than four years behind schedule.

Last year, Boeing promised to deliver the first plane next year, but later shifted it back to 2010.

Air Vice-Marshal Deeble's frank admission is the first indication of even greater problems.

"I believe that we could, if we worked through some of these significant issues, look at initial operational capability at around the end of 2011 and a full operational capability around 2012," he told the Senate.

Air Vice-Marshal Deeble qualified his timetable by saying it depended on solving the technical issues with the MESA radar built by US firm Northrop Grumman.

The radar is the centrepiece of the Wedgetail airborne early warning and control system.

It will be housed inside a large dorsal fin on the aircraft's roof and is supposed to allow operators to conduct simultaneous air and sea searches, control fighter planes and conduct area searches.

In a desperate bid for answers, the Defence Materiel Organisation has contracted the world-leading independent radar house MIT Lincoln Lab to investigate.

"That will be important for us to understand the baseline performance and any path forward for remediation of any shortfall of the radar," Air Vice-Marshal Deeble told the Senate.

He was confident the project team would eventually provide the RAAF with six workable aircraft, but had no idea how long that would take.

The RAAF is the first air force to use the MESA radar and therefore the guinea pig for a new system.

Boeing has declared forward losses of $1.5 billion on the global project.
 
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take it easy buddy... JF-17, MBT-2000/Al-Khalid, Y-8/ZDK-03 AEW&CS, etc are all joint ventures.. its just the begging of PAK-China cooperations..



unfortunately we have corrupt politicians who are western puppets which is also hindering pak-china full scale cooperations.. once this War on Terror is over then i think cooperations will hit full scale.. :cheers:


thats why we are suffering till now because of these american western puppets.
 
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well tell me any chances that IAF manage to hit the Saab AEWS during the war
it ll be greatlose
 
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i think chaff flare is also installed in enrieye to avoid indian heat seeking missile.

any airforce if it is in war their first priority would be finishing enemy awacs so they can brake enemy backbone and its radar capability to 50%
 
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Do we have any new pic's of the birds?
 
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Pak to get Chinese AWACS for $278m
19 Dec 2008, 0045 hrs IST, REUTERS


ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is to buy an airborne warning and control system (AWACS) from China to boost its air defences, a Pakistani newspaper reported on Thursday.

The News said a $278 million agreement had been struck for Pakistan to get the Chinese system within four years, on a deferred payment basis. Pakistani defence procurement officials were not immediately available for comment.

The report comes as relations between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India have been severely strained by last month’s militant attacks in Mumbai.

Pakistan would be the first country to buy the Chinese AWACS system which China only started producing in 2004, the News said.

Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding with China in November 2006 for long-term collaboration in defence production including development of an airborne early warning surveillance system. China and Pakistan have been allies for years and China is Pakistan’s biggest supplier of defence equipment.

Pak to get Chinese AWACS for $278m-Pakistan-World-The Times of India
 
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Pak to get Chinese AWACS for $278m
19 Dec 2008, 0045 hrs IST, REUTERS


ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is to buy an airborne warning and control system (AWACS) from China to boost its air defences, a Pakistani newspaper reported on Thursday.

The News said a $278 million agreement had been struck for Pakistan to get the Chinese system within four years, on a deferred payment basis. Pakistani defence procurement officials were not immediately available for comment.

The report comes as relations between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India have been severely strained by last month’s militant attacks in Mumbai.

Pakistan would be the first country to buy the Chinese AWACS system which China only started producing in 2004, the News said.

Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding with China in November 2006 for long-term collaboration in defence production including development of an airborne early warning surveillance system. China and Pakistan have been allies for years and China is Pakistan’s biggest supplier of defence equipment.

Pak to get Chinese AWACS for $278m-Pakistan-World-The Times of India

Is it the price of 4 units as described by ACM. If so, it is real friendship price and one indeed which PAF could not have ignored. However, the news does not clarify numbers.
Araz
 
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The news is confirmed. As far as the price is concerned I think its for one system. The payment mode is deferred so perhaps Pakistan will pay for the rest of the systems later.
 
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Pakistan purchase this one ???

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Escorting the AEW and Refuellers


Consider an AEW on patrol, at say, 400 miles from the fighter's base. If two fighters are to be deployed as escorts they will need to be replaced at regular intervals. Assuming that air refueling is not used, this interval becomes increasingly small. The fighter jets would fly at about Mach 0.8 en route to the patrol point. Thus the journey outbound will take about 50 minutes. Add upto 10 minutes for the taxi, take-off and climb and 1 hour should be allowed for trip toward patrol area. Same amount of time would be required for return trip.

Now most fighter jets have endurance of upto 3 hours with external fuel tanks and this gives 1 hour of combat air patrol or escort patrol. Put another way, a replacement pair will have to be launched every hour if continuous cover is to be maintained and 6 aircrafts are actively involved at any one time (2 on patrol, 2 returning and 2 outbound). Add 2 extra on ground alert as back-up, a 20% allowance for serviceability and a total of 10 emerges. All this to provide 2 fighters to protect one AEW.

Reference: Air Defence by Group Captain M B Elsam, RAF.

Now with PAF going for 5 AEWs, it comes out to be 50 fighters for escort only, if all 5 AEW are to be used in wartime or tense time. The key is air to air refuelling. I appreciate the decision of PAF to acquire the Air to Air Refuellers alongwith AEW. Only refuellers make the escorting an affordable option.

Now if F-16s cant be refuelled by IL-78s, then I fear F-16s would not be able to continuously provide escort to AEWs until a suitable Refueller is acquired. Till then Mirages or may be in future F-7PGs would be employed if F-7PGs are also made capable of AA Refuelling.

Infact with a large number of AEW/Refuellers of PAF and MPA of PN, we not only need very capable escort fighters but also need to make them capable of refuelling so that escort becomes feasible and affordable.
 
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