December 31, 2008: Brazil is buying fifty French EC-725 transport helicopters. These will cost $54 million each. This will include crew and technical training, as well as a supply of spare parts. The 11 ton EC 725 is similar to the U.S. ten ton UH-60, but superior enough to snag a lot of potential sales away from the American chopper.

บราซิลกำลังจะซื้อเฮลิคอปเตอร์ EC-725 จำนวน 50 ลำในราคาลำละ 54 ล้าน จากฝรั่งเศส แทนที่จะซื้อ UH-60 จากสหรัฐ

แม้ว่า deal นี้สหรัฐจะแห้ว แต่ก็ไปได้ deal ที่อินเดีย โดยอินเดียจะซื้อเครื่อง P-8 จำนวน 8 ลำราคาลำละ 220 ล้าน

P-8 Replacing Tu-142

December 29, 2008: India is buying eight U.S. P-8 maritime reconnaissance aircraft, for about $220 million each. This deal has been stalled for months, but the growing expense of maintaining their Russian Tu-142M aircraft, and the need for a more capable recon aircraft, has made the P-8 buy certain. The first P-8I will arrive in 2014.

Last year India received another Russian built Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance aircraft. Beginning in 1988, when it received three of these aircraft, India has bought more and now has a fleet of eight in service. The Tu-142, which was introduced in the 1970s, is the patrol version of the Tu-95 heavy bomber. This aircraft entered service 51 years ago, and is expected to remain in service, along with the Tu-142 variant, for another three decades. Over 500 Tu-95s were built, and it is the largest and fastest turboprop aircraft in service. Russia still maintains a force of 60 Tu-95s, but has dozens in storage, which can be restored to service as either a bomber or a Tu-142.

The 188 ton aircraft has flight crew consisting of a pilot, copilot, engineer and radioman, and an unrefueled range of 15,000 kilometers. Max speed is 925 kilometers an hour, while cruising speed is 440 kilometers an hour. Originally designed as a nuclear bomber, the Tu-142 version still carries up to ten tons of weapons (torpedoes, mines, depth charges, anti-ship missiles, sonobuoys) and a lot more sensors (naval search radar, electronic monitoring gear). There are two 23mm autocannon mounted in the rear of the aircraft. The mission crew of a Tu-142 usually consists of eight personnel, who operate the radars and other electronic equipment. Patrol flights for the Tu-142 can last twelve hours or more, especially when in-flight refueling is used. Maximum altitude is 45,000 feet, although the aircraft flies much lower when searching for submarines. India requires aircraft like these for patrolling the vast India ocean waters that surround the subcontinent. India wanted to upgrade the electronics on its Tu-142s, but has been put off by the high price, and low performance, of what the Russians have offered.

The P-8A Poseidon is based on the widely used Boeing 737 airliner. India will get a version customized for their needs. Although the Boeing 737 based P-8A is a two engine jet, compared to the four engine turboprop P-3, it is a more capable plane. Cruise speed for the 737 is 910 kilometers an hour. This makes it possible for the P-8A to get to a patrol area faster, which is a major advantage when chasing down subs first spotted by sonar arrays or satellites. The P-8 has a crew of 10-11 pilots and equipment operators, who operate the search radar and various other sensors. The 737 has hard points on the wings for torpedoes or missiles.

The B-737 is a more modern design, and has been used successfully since the 1960s by commercial aviation. The Boeing 737 first flew in 1965, and over 5,000 have been built. The P-8A will be the first 737 designed with a bomb bay and four wing racks for weapons. The U.S. P-8 costs about $275 million each.

(นี่ก็พ้นเทศกาลปีใหม่ไปแล้ว เพื่อนๆ สมาชิกยังไม่กลับมาเฝ้าบอร์ดกันอีกรึ บอร์ดไม่ค่อยขยับเลย)