ALE-55 Towed Fighter Decoys for US Navy, Australia

AN/ALE-55

The AN/ALE-55 (V) is a related system made by BAE, consisting of an electronic frequency converter (EFC) and a fiber optic towed decoy (FOTD). It works together with an aircraft’s onboard electronic warfare (EW) equipment, throughout the entire ECM cycle of Suppression (harder to acquire or track the towing plane), Deception (active jamming techniques aimed at enemy launchers); and Seduction (active jamming aimed at the missile, and being a decoying target itself if all else fails).

The ALE-55 was introduced after Raytheon’s similar ALE-50 towed decoy, but it is carving out a parallel market share, and has been ordered by the USA and Australia to equip F/A-18 Hornet & Super Hornet aircraft.

Turkey Orders 30 F-16C Block 50s etc. for $2.9B

TuAF F-16s

More than 200 F-16 aircraft currently make up the backbone of Turkey’s current fighter fleet. On Sept 28/06, the US DSCA (Defense Security Cooperation Agency) notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Turkey of 30 more F-16C Block 50 aircraft, as well as associated equipment and services. The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $2.9 billion. This sale is in addition to Turkey’s billion-dollar upgrade program for its existing F-16 fleet, which aims to bring all of its aircraft to a common configuration.

Turkey is one of 5 countries that has built F-16s locally (USA, Belgium, Netherlands, South Korea, Turkey), and the final Turkish F-16 under this contract will be delivered in 2013. This article will cover the deal, as its component contracts and agreements come together.

Rapid Fire Dec. 18, 2012: Russian Armament Exports

• Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country will export more than $14B worth of arms in 2012. Their military sales doubled to $10B from 2005 to 2010, but while growth continued to be steady in past years it is now slowing down, as new orders in 2012 amounted to about $15B. Reuters | RIA Novosti | Voice of Russia.

• US Senator Daniel K. Inouye [D-HI] passed away yesterday at age 88. A bona fide WWII war hero, he was the Senate’s president pro tempore and the Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations as well as its Defense subcommittee. Patrick Leahy [D-VT] succeeds him as the Senate’s most senior member, and is likely to also take the committee chair. Statement from Sen. Inouye’s office | NYT | WaPo.