F-35 ENGINES: The U.S. Navy has awarded Pratt & Whitney a $69.6 million contract covering long-lead components, parts and materials for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s F135 engine. The contract is associated with low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot VIII, which includes 19 F135 Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) engines for the Air Force; six Short Take-off and Vertical Landing (Stovl) engines for the Marine Corps; and four Carrier Variant engines for the Navy.
MOSCOW — Newly deployed, very-high-frequency radars can counter most stealth technologies, according to engineers and executives of Russian radar specialist Nizhny-Novgorod Research Institute (NNIIRT). The company brought the newest configuration of its multi-band 55Zh6ME radar complex — designed to support the Almaz-Antey S-400 Triumph surface-to-air missile system — to the MAKS air show at Zhukovsky, outside Moscow. It also used the show to unveil the new 55Zh6UME, a single-unit, dual-band system designed for lower cost.
While some defense analysts have criticized the “small footprint” concept underlying the rebalancing of Pentagon forces to the Asia-Pacific, leaders from U.S. allies in the region seem to embrace the idea.
French defense electronics group Sagem and the Kamov Design Bureau have announced plans to develop an enhanced version of the Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopter. Revealing the plans at the MAKS 2013 air show in Moscow on Aug. 28, the two companies said the work will “address a requirement expressed by several countries.”
HOUSTON — Japan looks upon a 2014 opportunity to have a national representative command the International Space Station as a chance to demonstrate the country’s growing capabilities in the field of human spaceflight, according to the astronaut who will shoulder the task. “It means a lot to Japan, especially after becoming a reliable partner in the program,” said Koichi Wakata, a veteran Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut, to an Aug. 28 NASA news briefing.
Airbus and VSMPO-AVISMA, its major Russian titanium supplier, have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop new alloys and processes. The deal was signed at the Moscow air show (MAKS 2013). VSMPO-AVISMA has become one of Airbus’ most important suppliers of raw materials and semi-finished products since the 1990s. It currently provides 60% of the titanium needed by Airbus and its parent EADS. A broad framework contract between the companies was signed in 2009 and expires in 2020.
Russian Helicopters has achieved civil certification of its Kazan Ansat twin-engine medium helicopter. Kazan initially designed the Ansat with fly-by-wire controls, but the company struggled to have the aircraft certified for civil use, so instead it developed a new version with hydro-mechanical controls. The new version was awarded type certification from the Aviation Register of the Interstate Aviation Committee (AR IAC) at the MAKS air show near Moscow on Aug. 28.
The U.K. Defense Ministry has canceled a three-week-long training deployment of Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft to Cyprus because of sensitivities over the deteriorating situation in Syria.
Click here to view the pdf U.S. Air Force Procurement Funding Shifts:2013 Plan for Fiscal 2014 Compared to Actual 2014 Request (Then-year dollars in millions) U.S.
When it came time to make the 2014 budget request, Pentagon planners made large cuts to major U.S. Air Force airlift programs compared to spending estimates in the 2013 budget plan. In the 2014 request, lines for the C-130J, MC-130J, C-17A and C-5 programs were all cut more than 40% when compared to the 2013 plan for the 2014 outyear. However, two modification lines for the C-130 airframe got big increases. (See charts pp. 6-11.)
LONDON — Switzerland’s purchase of 22 Saab Gripen fighter aircraft has moved a step closer, after the program was given a green light by ministers sitting on the country’s national security policy committee. Committee members voted in favor of the 3.1 billion Swiss franc ($3.3 billion) program with 14 votes to nine and two abstentions on Aug. 27.
HOUSTON — Investigators assisted by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are entering the next phase of troubleshooting of the July 16 spacesuit water leak that brought all NASA-sponsored spacewalks outside the six-person orbiting science laboratory to a halt.
Aviation Week A&D Programs Aerospace & Defense Programs November 13-14, 2013 Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, Phoenix, Ariz. Strategic Priorities in a Sequestration Era. Learn which programs are being affected and where government is likely to place its bets. Register Today www.aviationweek.com/events/adp
MOBILE SATELLITE: The active Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) terminal base grew at a compound annual rate of 10% over the past five years, with more than 2.9 million active MSS terminals deployed on a global basis in 2012, according to Euroconsult. Revenues generated by the six active MSS operators reached $1.5 billion. “The industry remains very concentrated with the leading three operators, Inmarsat, Iridium and Thuraya still accounting for close to 90% and Inmarsat alone having a market share of 55%,” Euroconsult says.
LONDON — A German subsidiary of European missile manufacturer MBDA has successfully tested technology which could deliver a “dial-a-yield” capability to conventional weapons.
Looking to reduce its $8 billion annual fuel bill, the U.S. Air Force is seeking ideas for coatings and surfaces that could reduce drag on its current aircraft fleet, and potentially also benefit commercial operators. The Air Force Research Laboratory has posted a request for information (RFI) on engineered surfaces and coatings that would promote and protect drag-reducing laminar on wings, tails, fuselages and nacelles on current and future aircraft.
MOSCOW — The unique containerized version of Russia’s Novator Club missile system, integrated by the Agat company, is being developed for export with a new passive sensor. It is understood that Malaysia is the first export customer for the Club-K, which is built into modules that are outwardly indistinguishable from standard shipping containers, according to an Aug. 27 announcement at the MAKS air show at Zhukovsky, outside Moscow.
The unexpected appearance of a U.S. Navy P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft over Yemen’s capital of Sana’a starting Aug. 6 has focused new attention on the covert war against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) that has been unfolding in the nation’s hinterlands for more than two years.
Seeking ideas from nature on how to make air vehicles more autonomous, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) plans to establish a center of excellence for nature-inspired sciences. The center will investigate novel sensory systems such as smell, sound, magnetic and chemical sensing, and understand how to process their output and fuse the information to control air vehicles.
