Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, September 1, 2014

HELO DEALS: India’s defense ministry has cleared Boeing’s offset proposals in its $2.5 billion deal for 15 Chinook CH-47F and 22 AH-64D Apache helicopters.The proposals will now be placed before the Cabinet Committee on Security for final approvals. These deals are expected to be signed during the current financial year, ending March 31, 2015. However, there are indications the deal may be inked during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S. in late September. The details of the offset proposals in this contract are not yet made public.

NEW DELHI—India's government has decided to begin the bidding process by NHIndustries and Sikorsky for the purchase of 16 multi-role helicopters for its navy. NHIndustries is offering its NH90 and Sikorsky is bidding with its S-70B Seahawk to replace the navy’s 19 aging Westland Sea Kings. Field trials of the helicopters were evaluated in 2011. The aircraft will be used primarily for anti-submarine/surface warfare, with secondary roles including search and rescue, utility transport and casualty evacuation.

Raytheon delivered the first Block 2 variant of its Rolling Airframe Missile system to the U.S. Navy as part of the company’s 2012 Low Rate Initial Production contract. RAM Block 2 is a significant performance upgrade featuring enhanced kinematics, an evolved radio frequency receiver and an improved control system, the company says.

NEW DELHI—India has yet again scrapped its efforts to acquire 197 light reconnaissance and surveillance helicopters (RSH) for its army and air force, shattering the hopes of Airbus Helicopters and Russia’s Kamov. Airbus Helicopters’ AS 350 Fennec and Kamov’s 226 Sergei successfully completed their field trials in December 2010. Officials from the teams were unavailable for comment.

A photograph taken by a German aviation enthusiast has revealed a possible new variant of Airbus’ EC135 light twin-engine helicopter. The image, taken at the Airbus Helicopters plant at Donauworth, Germany, in mid-July, shows that Airbus has reused its long-serving EC135 prototype D-HEEX and converted the aircraft with a five- or possibly six-blade main rotor system and a new design fenestron anti-torque system, with a stabilizer fitted on top of the vertical tail rather than as part of the tail boom.

LONDON—The U.K. Royal Navy’s last Invincible-class aircraft carrier, HMS Illustrious, has been decommissioned. The 22,000-ton ship, which has been used as a helicopter carrier since the retirement of the Sea Harrier fleet in 2006 and the withdrawal of the Harrier GR9 in 2010, was formally retired during a ceremony in Portsmouth on Aug. 28.

Google has completed initial trials in Australia using an unmanned aircraft to deliver goods and will continue research with the goal of developing a delivery service. Amazon, meanwhile, has petitioned the FAA to allow outdoor research and development testing for its Amazon Prime Air package delivery service using unmanned aircraft. The Google X research team has been working on the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) delivery concept since July 2012, when Nick Roy joined from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to lead the effort, called Project Wing.

London European oil and gas helicopter operators Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen (NHV) and Blueway Group are to merge, in a move that will make the group one of Europe’s largest helicopter operators. The merger, announced Aug. 28, will see Ostend, Belgium-based NHV purchase Blueway’s stakes, owned by Reiten & Co Capital Partners and Helicopter Transportation Group.

Efforts by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to restage the drop test of a low-boom supersonic aircraft model have been called off because of weather at the test range in northern Sweden. The month-long window for the D-Send 2 drop test at the Esrange Space Center closed on Aug. 22. “As meteorological conditions were not ideal, JAXA was not able to carry out the test flight within the test window period,” the agency says.

In observance of the U.S. Labor Day holiday, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report will not publish a Sept. 2 issue. The next issue will be dated Sept. 3. Aviation Week Intelligence Network subscribers can visit awin.aviationweek.com for updates.

SYDNEY—The Japanese defense ministry has requested a 2.4% rise in funding to ¥4.9 trillion ($47.2 billion) for the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2015. The proposed budget includes funding for Lockheed Martin F-35s for the Japanese air force as well as funding for a seventh and eights Aegis destroyer for the navy.