LONDON — BAE Systems is leading the Eurofighter consortium’s push to sell the Typhoon to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). RMAF officials are on the hunt for a new multirole combat aircraft (MRCA) to replace the country’s aging Mikoyan MiG-29 fleet. The Typhoon is up against Saab’s Gripen, the Dassault Rafale and Boeing’s Super Hornet. BAE is confident the U.K.’s ties with the country will give it an advantage.
LITTLE CREEK, Va. — While the U.S. Navy ponders canceling or delaying various deployments, repairs and other operations, the service plans to keep pace with the more robust inspection schedule that it recently implemented for a good part of its fleet. In order to do so, says Rear Adm. Robert Wray, president of the Board of Inspection and Survey (Insurv), the service may have to rely more on uniformed inspectors than civilian technicians to scrutinize the ships as well as the systems, equipment and components aboard.
A team of researchers from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) has developed a shipping resupply computer program that aims to save the Navy millions of dollars in fuel costs. Called the Replenishment at Sea Planner (RASP), the program creates a schedule that minimizes the distance supply ships have to travel and identifies routes that allow vessels to travel at speeds optimal for fuel conservation, says NPS research associate Anton Rowe of Honolulu, who wrote the detailed code that makes RASP work.
AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training, Orlando, Fla., is being awarded a $20,560,000 contract modification (FA8621-11-C-6288, P00020) for procurement of one C-130J weapon system trainer device for Air Mobility Command. The location of performance is Marietta, Ga. and Tampa, Fla. Work is expected to be completed by June 30, 2016. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2013. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/WNSK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. NAVY
TEL AVIV — Israel’s defense ministry says it carried out a successful flight test of the Arrow 3 missile interceptor. The test was conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. The interceptor was launched into space Feb. 25 at around 6 a.m. local time from a coastal military launching pad in central Israel. The missile flew for more than 6 min., testing Arrow 3’s fly-out capabilities at altitudes well more than 100 km (60 mi.). The test plan did not include an actual intercept, so no target was used.
NEW DELHI — In a clear confidence-building measure amidst chronic last-lap delays, India’s homegrown Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) will be deployed for the first time in an air force exercise, code-named Iron Fist, over the Thar Desert in western India. Set to begin Feb. 22, Iron Fist will see the Tejas for the first time fire air-to-air and strike weapons while flying in battlefield conditions with other Indian air force (IAF) aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, Mirage 2000H, Jaguar, MiG-21, MiG-27 and MiG-29.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Feb. 25 - 26 — Social Media Within the Military and the Defence Sector Europe, Movenpick City Centre Hotel, Amsterdam, Netherlands. For more information go to www.smi-online.co.uk Feb. 26 - Mar. 2 — Australian International Airshow and Aerospace and Defense Exposition, Avalon Greelong Airport. For more information go to www.airshow.com/au/airshow2013
Andrew Mellon AuditoriumWashington, D.C.March 7, 2012The Aviation Week Laureate Awards recognize individuals and teams for their extraordinary accomplishments. Their achievements embody the spirit of exploration, innovation and vision that inspire others to strive for significant broad-reaching progress in aviation and aerospace. Join us at this black tie dinner and celebrate the best of the industry’s best!www.aviationweek.com/events/current/lau/index.htm
BEIJING — Pratt & Whitney is working with IHI Corp. to determine how much of the F135 fighter engine can be built in Japan for local requirements. The U.S. manufacturer expects to go through the same process with Samsung Techwin in South Korea should that country follow Japan in ordering the fighter that the F135 powers, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning, says Bennett Croswell, president of Pratt & Whitney’s military engine division.
NEW DELHI — The Indian army has decided to buy 20 Cheetal helicopters and associated equipment from state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) to fill a serious need for the multirole aircraft. “We have signed a contract worth [$77 million] with the defense ministry to supply 20 Cheetals to the army over the next four years, besides providing training to its pilots and technical crew,” a HAL spokesman said.
Sikorsky says its contender for the U.S. Army’s Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) requirement, the S-76 Raider, will have a $15 million flyaway cost, compared with an estimated $12 million for an off-the-shelf helicopter. The bold statement is being made to counter claims that the all-new Raider is unaffordable. “There are too many misperceptions out there. It’s time to put in print that this is a $15 million aircraft,” says Steve Engebretson, the company’s AAS program director.
Northrop Grumman is preparing to demonstrate its proposed replacement for the U.S. Air Force’s transportable air defense radars, drawing heavily on a mobile system already under development for the U.S. Marine Corps. Northrop, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon were awarded competitive contracts in August 2012 as a precursor to engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) of the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar (3DLRR).
ABU DHABI — The first batch of KAI Surion utility helicopters has joined the Republic of Korea army for trials. According to KAI officials at the IDEX exhibition in Abu Dhabi, four of the 8.7-ton aircraft, which are also known as the Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH), were delivered to the Korean army in November and are currently undergoing army flight trials in preparation for the beginning of operations later this year.
AT A DISADVANTAGE: The number of Pentagon contracts worth $20 million or more awarded directly to a company under Small Business Administration 8(a) eligibility fell “significantly” from fiscal 2008 to 2012, congressional auditors report. The fall-off comes after an October 2009 law that required a formal, written justification for each award, prompted by concern that bigger businesses were still able to game the federal system or that small and so-called disadvantaged businesses were not being sought out earnestly.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Air Force’s KC-46 development contract with Boeing can survive sequestration at least for fiscal 2013, but its expected effects, combined with operating under a continuing resolution, will drive the service to break the fixed-price deal as soon as the fall.
Finmeccanica has named Daniele Romiti the new head of AgustaWestland following bribery allegations surrounding the sale of 12 helicopters to India in 2010. Romiti, who is currently the helicopter company’s chief operating officer, was named to the post on Feb. 21 as part of a wide-ranging reorganization. Romiti succeeds Bruno Spagnolini, who was placed under house arrest earlier this month. Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi was also arrested. He was the head of AgustaWestland at the time the alleged corruption took place.
A new mission directorate at NASA headquarters, set up to give more emphasis to technology development for a wide range of potential missions, will be able to push technology readiness level (TRL) more efficiently than mission-oriented work, according to the engineer selected to head the new organization.
As if further evidence of its resolving power was needed, NASA’s Kepler planet finder has located a planet circling a star similar to the Sun that is only slightly larger than the Moon. Called Kepler-37b, it is the smallest planet yet observed, smaller than any in the Solar System and one of three circling a star about 210 light years from Earth. None are bigger than Mercury, all orbit their star, Kepler-37, closer than Mercury does to the Sun and all are outside the habitable zone where liquid water might support life.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Air Force could have to trim as many as three F-35As from its fiscal 2013 purchasing plans if sequestration takes effect March 1, according to Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh. This would affect deliveries for low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot 5, a contract only finalized late in 2012 after a year of tough negotiations between the Pentagon and prime contractor Lockheed Martin. The $3.8 billion contract includes 32 U.S. aircraft, of which 22 are F-35As designed for the Air Force.
