Si no me equivoco, las intenciones iniciales en el '86 eran empezar a adquirir un nuevo avión que empezase a entrar en servicio más o menos en el 2000. Las únicas opciones entonces eran el Rafale o el Typhoon. Evidentemente, también había otra y era comprar F-18C (su producción acabó en el '99), pero esto teóricamente nos daría "máquinas de matar" y tejido industrial inferior a nuestros vecinos europeos (eso sí, aun precio menor). Así que yo creo que se hizo lo correcto.
Otra cosa es que el desarrollo no haya sido un camino de rosas, y que a día de hoy todavía no tengamos el avión que nos gustaría. Sin embargo, si hay la voluntad necesaria, el Eurofighter nos podría servir perfectamente hasta que empiecen a generalizarse los VLO, y entonces saltar directamente a los UCAV, sin pasar por el F-35 como seguro va a hacer Francia y Suecia (y puede que Alemania), muy metidas ambas en el NEURON. Esto nos permitiría seguir en la punta tecnológica y con unas capacidades envidiables para lo que realmente somos económicamente hablando como país. Pero para esto hace falta voluntad política y una estrategia común de defensa de la UE, lo cual es a día de hoy una quimera...
Respecto al F-35 para Canadá, la factura es un poco más alta, de hecho la
oferta parece que es de $8.900 millones por 65 unidades ($137 millones por unidad) y $6.930 millones (como mínimo) de mantenimiento durante 20 años ($106 millones más por unidad
). Si los precios para nosotros (que no somos socios) son similares, desde luego este tampoco es el sustituto del F-18.
Entrevista (del 30 de junio) con el LtGen Aarne Kreuzinger-Janik, jefe del "Staff Luftwaffe", parte 1:
http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/604/...
MT: The EUROFIGHTER constitutes the backbone of the fighter fleet and in future also the fighter bomber fleets. How far are your procurement programmes in acquiring the suitable modern weapons for this aircraft?
LtGen Kreuzinger-Janik: The Luftwaffe has been flying the EUROFIGHTER for six years now. Unlike the British Royal Air Force, which has already established a basic air-to-ground capability, the Luftwaffe has up to now focussed on EUROFIGHTER air-to-air role in its training missions and operations. The start of flight operations in Fighter Bomber Wing 31 “Boelcke”on December 16, 2009 constitutes an important milestone, since the weapon system EUROFIGHTER will, in the medium term, be used in its air-to-ground role in this wing for the first time in the Luftwaffe.
For close air combat within visual range, all EUROFIGHTER aircraft have been equipped with the 27-mm internal gun as well as the two short-range air-to-air missiles AIM-9L SIDEWINDER and the more modern IRIS-T missile. IRIS-T has an efficient seeker head, is highly agile thanks to its thrust vectored control and is very resistant to jamming in the EO frequencies.
The integration of the air-to-air radar-guided missile AMRAAM AIM-120B already fielded for the F-4F PHANTOM was part of the main development contract for the EUROFIGHTER and may be used for all three EUROFIGHTER tranches since 2004. For EUROFIGHTER aircraft starting from tranche 2, the integration and procurement of the medium-range air-to-air radar-guided missile METEOR produced by six European nations is envisaged from 2014 onwards.
The EUROFIGHTER is well prepared for air-to-air operations with the existing and intended air-to-air armament. The main focus in the EUROFIGHTER further development is currently the integration of the air-to-ground armament. The development of the multi-role capability will be harmonized on a quadrilateral basis and implemented in the Luftwaffe in two phases in 2012 and 2016. The German Parliament agreed on the development of the first phase of the role enhancements on March 29, 2007. Thus the EUROFIGHTER aircraft of tranches 2 and 3 are designed for multi-role operations in an air-to-air and air-to-ground role.
In the first phase of the role enhancements, the GBU-48, formerly known as GBU-16, will be rolled out from 2012 onwards as an all-weather capable short range precision bomb. The Laser Designator Pod LITENING III will be integrated as an electro-optical target designator to mark ground targets. After completion of the required field test, the training of the crews and the reconfiguration of the EUROFIGHTER to the new armament, EUROFIGHTER can be deployed in its air-to-ground role starting in 2014.
In the process of preparing for more probable missions, close air support is gaining importance also for the EUROFIGHTER. To this effect, the Luftwaffe plans to field the TROJAN IMPROVED PENETRATOR (TIP) with a modified GBU-48 from 2014 [la HINT], combining an increased penetration capacity with significantly reduced explosive power. This adapted target effect and the resulting minimisation of collateral damage makes the TIP an optimized weapon for close air support in areas near to friendly or allied ground troops and in urban terrain. The usability of this TIP-concept is currently being investigated in a study. This modification preserves the outer design as well as the mechanical and aerodynamic properties of the original MK-83 bomb body so that no further cost-raising adaptations of the original integration into the EUROFIGHTER would be required. Different variants of the TIP for target effects tailored to the intended degree of effect will expand the range of operational options.
Integration or procurement contracts on further weapons for an air-to-ground capability for the EUROFIGHTER of the Luftwaffe going beyond the first phase of role enhancements have not yet been concluded. The integration of further air-to-ground weapons in the context of the second phase of role enhancements to be integrated in 2016 has to be considered in a holistic consideration involving the capabilities of other platforms, including future unmanned systems. For Germany, this implies investigating, among other opportunities, the air-to-ground standoff capability as well as the use of the EUROFIGHTER for manned reconnaissance operations with an integrated RECCE pod. Up to now, Germany has pursued the integration of the long-range stand-off missile MAW TAURUS already procured and currently used on the TORNADO. But the Luftwaffe is also, in general, interested in the ideas followed by the other EUROFIGHTER nations, such as the SMALL DIAMETER BOMB. For the Luftwaffe there is no alternative to the equipment with a modern E-scan radar in order to provide a capability for simultaneous multi-role operations in an air-to-air and air-to-ground role and to improve the resolution in air-to-ground operations.
...
Parte 2:
http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/605/...
MT: General, in autumn 2009, the Luftwaffe has participated in the protection of Baltic airspace for the first time with the Eurofighter. How did this fighter perform in actual operational missions? How do rate reliability, sustainability and agility of the Eurofighter?
LtGen Kreuzinger-Janik: The first EUROFIGHTER operation was assigned as early as in June 2008. Since then, NATO's Quick Reaction Alert in Fighter Wing 74, the first operational EUROFIGHTER Fighter Wing of the Luftwaffe, has been provided with the EUROFIGHTER to secure the airspace over southern Germany.
Both the alert scrambles regularly initiated by NATO in Fighter Wing 74 and the successful NATO readiness verification in October 2008 prove the operational efficiency of the EUROFIGHTER in an air defence role. The EUROFIGHTER offers new operational possibilities due to its aerodynamic performance concerning speed, climb performance, agility, range and endurance and especially because of its modern avionic system and its data exchange capability allowing the aircraft to participate in joint and combined networked operations. The EUROFIGHTER has an enormous technological growth potential.
The EUROFIGHTER was first deployed in a NATO mission abroad in 2009 during a two-month deployment to Lithuania within the framework of NATO Baltic Air Policing. This mission constituted a milestone for the employment of EUROFIGHTER as an interceptor.
During the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission, flight operations with the EUROFIGHTER went smoothly, NATO procedures could be carried out within the given time-frame. Two NATO Alpha scrambles were carried out with EUROFIGHTER to identify aircraft. Both targets were successfully intercepted and reconnoitred in due time. Furthermore more than 70 training missions were flown with the EUROFIGHTER. Just as for the NATO Quick Reaction Alert in Germany, the EUROFIGHTER aircraft were equipped with the internal gun and the modern air-to-air missile IRIS-T.
During Baltic Air Policing 2009, valuable experience was gained for the further operational development of the EUROFIGHTER and the improvement of its worldwide deployability.
This mission demonstrated that the procedures for the deployment and spare parts supply of the EUROFIGHTER also work outside Germany. In addition, valuable insights into technical-logistical operations could be gathered which will be considered for future deployments and operations. In spite of near winter conditions the contingent had a very high aircraft availability rate with its four EUROFIGHTER aircraft in its daily flight operations.
The EUROFIGHTER has proven its quality during this operation on an unknown airfield with an unfamiliar infrastructure and organisation. The robust flight operations, the sustainable operational readiness and the ability to implement NATO procedures within the time-frame in line with NATO standards demonstrated that the EUROFIGHTER is reliable for NATO missions and clearly indicate that this modern weapon system has gained a firm operational role in air defence and will be the main pillar of flying air defence in the future.
At the same time, the deployment of this modern combat aircraft only one year after the establishment of the Quick Reaction Alert in Germany illustrates the high political-military significance of integrated NATO air defence for Germany. The special political-military significance of Baltic Air Policing was also underlined by the visit of NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen together with the Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite to the German EUROFIGHTER contingent in October 2009.
MT: How do you assess the current significance of air power? How much did the “lessons learned”in recent wars like in the Balkans, in Iraq or in Afghanistan change national defence concepts or operational procedures with regard to the Luftwaffe?
LtGen Kreuzinger-Janik:
...
Nevertheless, out of both operations, over the Balkans and Afghanistan, the Luftwaffe derived common lessons learned, which were considered in our national concepts and operational procedures.
• There is a significant requirement for reliable, precise and sustaining reconnaissance and surveillance to ensure a timely and stringent decision making process. We will cope for this requirement by introducing different types of unmanned aerial vehicles in the Luftwaffe like the HALE (High Altitude long Endurance) System EUROHAWK for Signal Intelligence as well as MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) System HERON 1 for Imagery Intelligence in due course. In addition, the Luftwaffe has enhanced the tactical reconnaissance capabilities provided by the RECCE Tornados by introducing a state of the art, digital reconnaissance pod.
• We need strategic and tactical air lift capabilities to deploy our forces quickly and globally. The A-400M will, if the decision for procurement is made, closes this significant capability gap for the Bundeswehr. In the meantime, the C-160 TRANSALL and air transport capabilities provided through the SALIS Programme by civilian contractors have to ensure the tactical and strategic air lift requirements.
• Air assets need to be able to strike targets, day and night, quickly, with high precision and scalable effects in order to reach the desired result while preventing collateral damage. By enhancing our air to ground capabilities by introducing different types of precision guided ammunition for our platforms Tornado and later on also EUROFIGHTER, the Luftwaffe will satisfy this requirement in the upcoming years.
• Our air assets need to be fully interoperable with our NATO Partners to allow a network-enabled warfare in a joint and combined environment. This requirement is a key tenet for all equipment introduced to our forces. Especially the air operations in Afghanistan demonstrate clearly, that in an complex, highly dynamic scenario, air assets need to be fully operable in terms of communication and data links, in order to coordinate closely with ground forces also from ISAF Nations in order to enable flexible and effective deployment of air power.
In summary, the main lessons learned of the recent deployments of the Luftwaffe are straight forward: We need to continue the process of “Transformation”of the Luftwaffe to support our political leadership in order to meet today's challenging global security requirements. Due to limited resources, we need to give priority to the most likely scenarios, while preserving our capabilities to ensure the integrity of our national and Partners airspace.
Otra cosa más. Algo sobre la R2 que no sabía:
http://www.ainonline.com/news/single-ne ... nue-25256/Under the R2 upgrade, the aircraft are receiving structural upgrades (notably in the fin-tip area), a revised fuel system with enhanced transfer rates, new software and precision air-to-ground capability. A Block 1 aircraft takes around a year to modernize, while Block 2 aircraft require around seven months. The entire process is due to be completed by the end of 2012.
Un saludo.