Lockheed CP-140 (Aurora)

Originally designed for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), the Lockheed CP-140 or also known as "Aurora", is an aircraft based on the Lockheed P-3 Orion air-frame combined with the avionics of the S-3 Viking. This aircraft is a four-engine turboprop, long-range maritime patrol aircraft built by Lockheed Corporation for the Royal Canadian Air Force. According to the Greek mythology, Aurora is the Greek goddess who restored Orion's eyesight. Aurora also refers to the Aurora Borealis which is the "northern lights" that are prominent over northern Canada and the Arctic Ocean.

SPECIFICATIONS:
Armament: Sonobuoys, Forward-looking Infra-Red Camera (FLIR), magnetic anomaly detector, electronic support measures, fixed 70mm camera, hand-held camera, night vision goggles, gyrostabilized binoculars Mk 46 Mod V torpedoes, signal chargers, smoke makers, illumination flares, and may be fitted with air-to-surface missiles.
Engines: Four Alison T-56-A-14-LFE turboprop engines
Maximum speed: 466 mph
Range: 5,758 miles
Service ceiling: 35,000 ft.
Span: 99 ft. 8 in.
Length: 116 ft. 10 in.
Height: 33 ft. 9 in.
Weight: 142,000 lbs. loaded
Crew: 2 Pilots, 1 Flight Engineer, 4 Navigators, 4 AESOPs
Serial number: 140101-140118

In the early 1980's, in replacing the CP-107 Argus,  the Lockheed CP-140 Aurora was acquired. This is to further support Canada's anti-submarine warfare mission obligations for the northwest Atlantic sector which is under NATO. Since the end of the Cold War, Aurora had been used primarily by providing an all-weather mission surveillance platform in coastal surveillance and sovereignty patrols. Before that, the short deployments to Adak - Alaska, Kaneohe Bay - Hawaii, Keflavik - Iceland, St Mawgan and Kinloss - the United Kingdom and Andoya - Norway were the norm.

The Lockheed CP-140 Aurora is frequently used to search out illegal fishing, immigration, drug trafficking and polluting along the coastline. It is also used to search for violations of Canadian territorial sovereignty above and below the ocean’s surface. With its air-droppable survival pods, it can perform search and rescue duties or also known as SAR. Two Auroras flew missions over flood-ravaged southern Manitoba during the Red River Flood of 1997. The operation is known as Operation Assistance. Auroras were also employed in Operation Apollo in the Persian Gulf from late 2001 to mid-2003. In the international campaign against terrorism, 500 air patrol sorties flew as part of Canada’s role. Patrols of the Canadian Arctic continue to take advantage of the airframe's unique abilities through all this.

Sukhoi Su-30MKM

The Sukhoi Su-30MKM (Modernizirovannyi Kommercheskiy Malaysia – Modernized Export Malaysia) was selected by the Royal Malaysian Air Force and signed a contract in August 2003 when President Vladimir Putin came for an official visit to Malaysia. The Sukhoi Su-30MKM is very much like with the Sukhoi Su-30MKI, with its outer features similar to the Sukhoi Su-30MKI and it is more advance than the Sukhoi Su-35 and Sukhoi Su-37, this aircraft is much likely to be the highlight of all three aircrafts.

   

Sukhoi Su-30MKM was designed based on the Sukhoi Su-30MKI which was developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. Its air-frame,engines and advanced digital fly by wire system are the same as the Sukhoi Su-30MKI. The only difference is the composition of the on-board avionics.

SPECIFICATIONS: 
General characteristics

• Crew : 2
• Length : 21.935 m [72.97 ft]
• Wingspan : 14.7 m [48.2 ft]
• Height : 6.36 m [20.85 ft]
• Wing area : 62.0 m² [667 ft²]
• Empty weight : 18,400 kg  [40,565 lb]
• Loaded weight : 24,900 kg [54,895 lb]
• Max takeoff weight : 38,800 kg [85,600 lb]
• Power plant : 2 x Lyulka AL-31FP turbofans with thrust vectoring, 123 kN with afterburner [27,600 lbf] each.

Performance

• Max speed : 2,120 km/h [1,317 mph] at altitude 1,350 km/h [839 mph] near ground level.
• Range : 3,000 km at altitude 1,270 km near ground level with no external fuel tanks.
• Endurance : 3.75 hours [up to 10 hours with in-flight refueling]
• Service ceiling : 17,300 m
• Rate of climb : >300 m/s
• Wing loading : 401 kg/m²
• Thrust/weight : 1.1      

Armament

• Guns: 1 × 30 mm GSh-30-1 gun (150 rounds)
• Hardpoints: 12 (2 × wing-tip AAM launch rails, 6 × pylons under-wing, 2 × pylon under-engine nacelle, and 2 × pylons in tandem in the "arch" between the engines. It can be increased to 14 using multiple ejector racks. with a capacity of 8 tonnes of external stores.

Air-to-air Missiles:

• • 10 × R-77 (AA-12) active radar homing medium range AAM
    • 6 × R-27ER (AA-10C) semi-active radar guided, long range AAM
    • 6 × R-27ET (AA-10D) Infrared homing extended range version, long range AAM
    • 2 × R-27R (AA-10A) semi-active radar guided, medium range AAM
    • 2 × R-27T (AA-10B) infrared homing seeker, medium range AAM
    • 6 × R-73 (AA-11) short range AAM
    • 3 × Novator KS-172 AAM-L
    • 4 × MBDA MICA (unknown variant) short to medium range AAM

Air-to-surface Missiles:

• • 3 × Kh-59ME TV guided standoff Missile
  • 3 × Kh-59MK active radar homing anti-ship missile
  • 4 × Kh-35 anti-ship missile
  • 6 × Kh-31P/A anti-radar missile
  • 6 × Kh-29T/L laser-guided missile and provisions to carry combinations of:
• Rockets:
  
  • 4 × S-8 rocket pods (80 unguided rockets)
  • 4 × S-13 rocket pods (20 unguided rockets)
• Bombs:
  
• 8 × KAB-500L laser-guided bombs
• 3 × KAB-1500L laser-guided bombs
• 8 × FAB-500T unguided bomb
• 28 × OFAB-250-270 unguided bombs
• 32 × OFAB-100-120

Lockheed SR-71 (Blackbird)

Created by Kelly Johnson, the Lockheed SR-71 also known as the "Blackbird" or "Habu", was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960's by Lockheed and its Skunk Works. It was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft which was designed as a high-speed high altitude aircraft, providing pre-attack and post-attack reconnaissance. During reconnaissance missions the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes to allow it to out race threats. If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and out-fly the missile.

SPECIFICATIONS: 
Armament: None
Engines: Two Pratt & Whitney J58s of 32,500 lbs. thrust each with afterburner
Maximum speed: Plus 2,000 mph
Range: Plus 2,900 miles
Service ceiling: Plus 85,000 ft.
Span: 55 ft. 7 in.
Length: 107 ft. 5 in.
Height: 18 ft. 6 in.
Weight: 170,000 lbs. loaded
Crew: Two
Serial number: SR-71A: 61-7950 to 61-7955, 61-7958 to 61-7980 | SR-71B: 61-7956 and 61-7957 | SR-71C: 61-7981

Constructed of 93% titanium alloy and composites, it produces original stealth technology. The application of a special paint giving it a higher thermal emissivity when cruising at high Mach. The paint also contains tiny iron balls that dissipates electromagnetic radiation. The paint alone adds over 60 lbs to the jet.  In order to match the strength of the aircraft's titanium structure; special fuels, hydraulic fluids, electronics, and glass had to be developed. The Blackbird was both a miracle of design and of production. The reasons behind this is due to its performance had to overcome not only the sound barrier, but also the heat barrier. The  skin temperature of the craft exceeded 1,050 °F.

The USAF tried retiring the Blackbird in 1987, since the SR-71 fleet was so expensive to maintain. The SR-71 program was completely shut down with its first official retirement in 1989. The requirement of expedited reconnaissance became clear during the 1993 conflict in Middle East which lead to the re-examination of SR-71 program by congress. The renewal of the Blackbird fleet was the result from the congress.  Due to this, the Blackbird project was finally (and permanently) retired in 1998. Two last flying Blackbirds were given to NASA which flew until 1999. All but two SR-71’s (the ones given to NASA) are now in museums for people to see.