LONDON — Norway will decide next week whether the AgustaWestland AW101 or the Eurocopter EC725 will become the country’s next long-range search-and-rescue helicopter. A decision on the Norwegian All-Weather Search and Rescue Helicopter (NAWSARH) program is expected on Nov. 8, and is set to come after the two European manufacturers were downselected by the country’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security — the government department running the program — back in July. Both companies delivered their final offers to the department in early October.
BEIJING — Chinese rotorcraft maker Avicopter has slipped the development schedule of its proposed 3.1-metric-ton (6,800-lb.) helicopter, while revealing more data about the type and confirming its designation as AC332.
The U.S. Army and Alcoa are studying an unexpected potential solution to the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs): a solid aluminum ground combat vehicle body. The U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the world’s largest aluminum producer announced recently that they have launched a cooperative effort in the battle against roadside bombs and other improvised explosives used by terrorists and insurgents.
Austria’s defense ministry has ordered six Tracker mini-unmanned aircraft systems from France’s SurveyCopter, which is owned by EADS defense company Cassidian. Canada, meanwhile, has awarded MacDonald, Dettwiler & Associates (MDA) a C$11.3 million ($10.8 million) contract to provide AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven B hand-launched small unmanned aircraft. The hand-launched, short-range Trackers are the first mini-UAV to be deployed by the Austrian Armed Forces, Cassidian says, adding that a further procurement is planned between 2016 and 2017.
Click here to view the pdf Selected Asia-Pacific Countries'Defense Aviation Acquisition Plans, Fiscal 2009-2023 Selected Asia-Pacific Countries' Defense Aviation Acquisition Plans, Fiscal 2009-2023 Country Size of Existing Inventory (as of 2012) Acquired Fiscal
Hoping to gain entry into a potential U.S. market for non-toxic “green” satellite thrusters, the Swedish National Space Board will permit NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to ground test environmentally friendly propulsion technology already flight tested on a European spacecraft.
Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the U.S. chief of naval operations, emphasized the Navy’s commitment to harnessing the electromagnetic spectrum and honing its cyber warfare skills during a keynote speech Oct. 29 at the Association of Old Crows national conference on electronic warfare (EW). “We’re using the electromagnetic spectrum as a domain and as a means, and we understand and grasp it,” Greenert says. “We have to figure out how we can beat things electronically first. Why do we spend all this money kinetically if we can jam, spoof or do otherwise?”
U.S. allies and partners in the Asia-Pacific plan heavy investments in aircraft and other aviation-related assets over the next decade, according to an Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) analysis of data provided by Avascent Analytics. As a group, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand are slated to spend about $236.2 billion between fiscal 2009 and fiscal 2023, the analysis shows. The countries spent $55.7 billion during fiscal 2009-2012.
NEW DELHI — India has unveiled its newly developed Pragati surface-to-surface missile, which features a range of 60-170 km. The missile, developed by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), is being displayed at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition ADEX-2013. “It is a proud moment for all of us in DRDO and for all our industry partners,” says Avinash Chander, DRDO chief and scientific adviser to the defense minister.
ZUMWALT LAUNCHED: General Dynamics Bath Iron Works successfully launched the Navy’s first Zumwalt-class destroyer Oct. 28 at its shipyard in Bath, Maine. The lead ship of the Navy’s new destroyer class, the DDG-1000 Zumwalt is designed for littoral operations and land attack. Construction on the ship began in February 2009 and the vessel is now more than 87% complete. The shipbuilder will continue remaining construction work on the hull prior to planned delivery late next year.
NEW DELHI — India will soon begin the sale and transfer of its sonar and radar technology to neighboring Myanmar as part of its effort to boost India’s domestic defense industry. “We’ve attained total indigenization in sonars and radars,” Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) chief Avinash Chander says. “We should work for a defense industry that sells its defense products to friendly nations.”
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Ukraine, eager to push the commercialization of its Soviet-heritage space industry, will begin bilateral talks with NASA on possible cooperation in civil space exploration, including lightweight radiation shielding and a possible liquid-fuel upper stage for Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Antares launch vehicle.
SEOUL — BAE Systems has begun work on the upgrade program for South Korea’s Lockheed Martin F-16s in advance of a contract signing expected by the end of the year.
The U.K.’s MBDA is hoping that the accuracy of its Brimstone missiles will persuade the U.S. military to add a new weapon during a time when new programs are a tough sell. The U.K. has used the Brimstone in operations since 2007 and has fired the dual-mode precision strike weapon more than 300 times in Afghanistan and Libya with a 98% success rate. “The missile does not miss,” says spokesman Douglas Denneny.
South Korean aerospace and defense company LIG Nex1, preparing for the KF-X fighter program, is planning to build a demonstrator X-band radar with an active, electronically scanned array (AESA). The technology is also aimed at a future South Korean frigate program, an industry official says.
SEOUL — Commercial viability is increasingly dominating work on South Korea’s next helicopter, which, having begun as an military program, will now aim first to build a civil rotorcraft and then fashion a military version from it. A committee chaired by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin is due to meet in mid-November to decide whether to go ahead next year with full-scale development of the Light Civil Helicopter and Light Armed Helicopter (LCH-LAH) program.
MOSCOW — A Kamov Ka-52 two-seat attack helicopter crashed and burned after a hard landing at the Kamov test base in the southeast suburbs of Moscow Oct. 29. The Ka-52 test aircraft belonged to the Kamov design company, now a part of Russian Helicopters holding company.
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has introduced some improvements to create a more cost-effective, realistic simulator to train sailors responsible for directing the movement of helicopters aboard ships. ONR developed upgrades to the Helicopter Control Officer Trainer (HCOT) being used by the officers and landing signalman enlisted (LSE) personnel at naval bases in San Diego and Norfolk, Va., where courses required by the chief of naval operations are taught.
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