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[muck]

A Belgian F-16 was seriously damaged at Leeuwarden Air Base today. According to the Dutch military, the fighter jet experienced an unspecified malfunction, causing it to suddenly accelerate on the ramp and hit a nearby building. The pilot ejected and suffered a broken leg upon landing; a crew chief tethered to the aircraft suffered injuries as well. Five Belgian F-16s are stationed at Leeuwarden for training purposes. (Source, Dutch)

 

[Fluff]

A Belgian F-16 was seriously damaged at Leeuwarden Air Base today. According to the Dutch military, the fighter jet experienced an unspecified malfunction, causing it to suddenly accelerate on the ramp and hit a nearby building. The pilot ejected and suffered a broken leg upon landing; a crew chief tethered to the aircraft suffered injuries as well. Five Belgian F-16s are stationed at Leeuwarden for training purposes. (Source, Dutch)

brrrrb, I'm struggling to imagine how this happens - these are fairly old F16's, so I'd think its a mechanical linkeage, which if without an input, should default to low thrust, not high thrust.

I'd love to see the flight recorder......

Anyway pilot's alive, so it must be the groundcrews fault.

Crew chief will now adopt the Vietnam style, i.e. dont strap your helmet/headset on.

 

[BCNTM]

Swiss go American after deciding to buy F-35A fighter jets and Patriot missiles​

ZURICH (Reuters) -Switzerland has chosen Lockheed Martin’s F-35A Lightning II as its next-generation fighter plane, the government said on Wednesday, a move that will likely trigger another hotly-disputed referendum over the plan. Neutral Switzerland will buy 36 F-35As after an evaluation found it had “the highest overall benefit at the lowest overall cost,” the government said.

Full Story,

Swiss pick U.S. F-35 jet and Patriot missiles for defence needs

Switzerland has chosen Lockheed Martin's (LMT.N) F-35A Lightning II as its next-generation fighter jet, the government said on Wednesday, angering opponents who have pledged a new referendum to overturn what they dubbed an unnecessary "Ferrari" option.

www.reuters.com

Gotta spend all that 'lost' nazi gold somewhere...............

 

[Fluff]

Gotta spend all that 'lost' nazi gold somewhere...............

I dont think its 'lost' anymore......

 

[muck]

Gold won't be enough, I'm afraid. The Swiss opposition has already initiated another referendum, aiming to force the Swiss government not to buy American war planes until 2040. Considering the close outcome of the last referendum and now with the hard-right's support to boost, they have a real shot at striking the procurement down once more. (Source, Swiss)

brrrrb, I'm struggling to imagine how this happens - these are fairly old F16's, so I'd think its a mechanical linkeage, which if without an input, should default to low thrust, not high thrust.

I'd love to see the flight recorder......

Anyway pilot's alive, so it must be the groundcrews fault.

Crew chief will now adopt the Vietnam style, i.e. dont strap your helmet/headset on.

Could the brakes have failed, e.g. during pre-flight engine spool-up? I seem to remember you were RAF ground crew, any ideas?

 

[Fluff]

Gold won't be enough, I'm afraid. The Swiss opposition has already initiated another referendum, aiming to force the Swiss government not to buy American war planes until 2040. Considering the close outcome of the last referendum and now with the hard-right's support to boost, they have a real shot at striking the procurement down once more. (Source, Swiss)

Could the brakes have failed, e.g. during pre-flight engine spool-up? I seem to remember you were RAF ground crew, any ideas?

I had a look, it was on take off, so not on engine start. Still strange, if steering fails throttle back, if throttle stuck kill the engine....and they have a brake Shute. Very bizarre.

 

[muck]

I don't mean to be the arsehole here that starts pointing fingers, but the Belgian Air Force has had its fair share of strange accidents over the past few years. There was the F-16 that was destroyed on the ground by a mechanic accidentally firing another jet's cannon. There was the jet that developed engine problems while flying way too low and crashed, its unfortunate pilots ending up parachuting into power lines. And now this.

 

[morris]

Italian Navy aircraft carrier to get first F-35B ‘within a few days’

The Navy previously took delivery of two other F-35Bs, which were sent to the U.S. to join a training program for pilots and technical personnel.

www.defensenews.com

The fighter jet is undergoing final checks at the Cameri air base in Italy, home to the country’s F-35 final assembly and checkout facility, which is due to turn out 90 F-35s for Italy, including 30 F-35Bs.

 

[Picanha]

Well they can then directly divert all data to China Switzerland is developing itself to some kind of "enabler".

Now the federal government announced that they will store federal data on Chinese cloud servers.

Comment on data storage at Alibaba – Switzerland makes itself an aid to China’s industrial policy

– Switzerland is making itself an aid to China’s industrial policy The Swiss Confederation wants to store data on cloud servers operated by Alibaba. The Chinese gain an important reference customer in the race against the Americans. Holger Alich Published: 06/29/2021, 10:00 PM A woman poses in...

switzerland.in-24.com

They have a history of making money with dictatorships.

 

[Picanha]

 

[BravoZulu]

Germany:
PSM, a joint venture (JV) company of Rheinmetall, has secured a $1.24bn (€1.04bn) order to upgrade the first lot of Puma infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) of the German armed forces (Bundeswehr).

The order involves upgrading a total of 154 vehicles. Rheinmetall’s share in the order will be around €501m.

The overhauling works are scheduled to begin next month and are expected to complete in 2029.

Bundeswehr plans to upgrade its existing fleet of 350 Puma vehicles up to S1 enhanced design status. However, 13 driver training vehicles will not be included in this modernisation programme.

The revamped IFV will feature standoff-capable effectors such as the MELLS multirole lightweight guided missile system, additional sensors including the new driver’s vision system and an improved command-and-control architecture among other features.

Around 40 Puma IFVs have already been upgraded to S1 status for the NATO High Readiness Joint Task Force VJTF 2023.

https://www.army-technology.com/news/rheinmetall-jv-upgrade-bundeswehr-puma-ifvs/

 

[muck]

I had a look, it was on take off, so not on engine start. Still strange, if steering fails throttle back, if throttle stuck kill the engine....and they have a brake Shute. Very bizarre.

The accident did indeed happen during pre-flight checks, says a Dutch response to a request for comment by aviation magazine Flug Revue. Rather than responding to the pilot's control inputs, the engine spooled up unchecked, and so violently that the aircraft was described as "vaulting over its wheel chocks" and accelerating uncontrollably across the ramp. The pilot ejected after the wheel chocks had failed. (Source, German)

 

[BCNTM]

I don't mean to be the arsehole here that starts pointing fingers, but the Belgian Air Force has had its fair share of strange accidents over the past few years. There was the F-16 that was destroyed on the ground by a mechanic accidentally firing another jet's cannon. There was the jet that developed engine problems while flying way too low and crashed, its unfortunate pilots ending up parachuting into power lines. And now this.

Export version - without Israeli upgrades

 

[morris]

Italian Coast Guard patrol boat G94 CAPPELLETTI sank in the morning Jul 1 off Capo Bruzzano, Calabria, engulfed in flames and smoke. Fire broke in engine room, crew couldn’t take it under control and had to abandon the boat. All 9 crew were rescued by another patrol boat. Cause of fire unknown, G94 CAPPELLETTI recently was deployed in operations aimed at curbing illegal migrants inflow, so sabotage version is on the list.

 

[Mike1976]

I find it strange that the landing gear of the aircraft is retracted ...

 

[downsizer]

I find it strange that the landing gear of the aircraft is retracted ...

I don't think it is, if you look at the photos you can see marks where it went onto the grass where the UC would be. Might bet is they sunk in soft ground or where ripped off.

 

[Fluff]

I don't think it is, if you look at the photos you can see marks where it went onto the grass where the UC would be. Might bet is they sunk in soft ground or where ripped off.

the tyre marks indicate the brakes were on. No brakes on nose wheel. So pilot tried, but cant understand how he couldnt cut the fuel, even if the engine was running away.

 

[morris]

France to Acquire an Additional Reaper Block 5 – UAS VISION

www.uasvision.com

France has signed for an additional General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) MQ-9 Reaper Block 5 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), with the US Department of Defense announcing a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) award on 28 June.

Valued at USD 79.42 million, the contract, in support of the French MQ-9 Block 5 aircraft procurement programme, will run through to 29 March 2024.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, has been awarded a $79,420,164 order (FA8689-21-F-2805) to previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract FA8689-20-D-2020 for the France MQ-9 Block 5 aircraft procurement program.

 

[Picanha]

Don't know if it was already posted the ASCALON Tank gun:

Nexter Develops A Scalable Gun for Future Tanks - Defense Update:

Nexter-KNDS unveiled today an innovative concept for a large caliber gun system for main battle tanks designed to overmatch the heavy threats expected in the 2040-2050 timeframe. The "Autoloaded and SCALable Outperforming guN" (ASCALON) concept is designed to cope with the latest generation of...

defense-update.com

Rheinmetall now fears being shut out, their proposal is just a scaled up 120mm. No innovation.

 

[muck]

This is a worringly timid proposal and, once again, underlines both parties' divergent ideas. Which, I'm afraid, will turn out to be irreconcilable.