FARNBOROUGH — Lockheed Martin has finally begun delivery of the latest lot of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to the Pentagon after a roughly six-month delay. The Pentagon has accepted delivery of three conventional-takeoff-and-landing (CTOL) variants and one short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing (Stovl) version, says Marillyn Hewson, the incoming chief operating officer of Lockheed Martin, F-35 prime contractor.
FARNBOROUGH — Rockwell Collins Chairman and CEO Clay Jones expects U.S. defense budgets to decline in 2013 and 2014, regardless of whether Democratic President Barack Obama or presumed Republican nominee Mitt Romney win the U.S. presidential election in November.
TEL AVIV — The new chief at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) plans to push the company to spend more on R&D and increase investments in technologies including advanced cyber, stealth, radar, communications, air defenses, gallium nitride microchips and unmanned aircraft. On the commercial side, the emphasis will be on producing longer-range executive jets.
Hamilton Sundstrand is “anxiously awaiting” completion of the Goodrich acquisition sometime this summer, says President Mike Dumais. “For [parent company] UTC it will be transformational,” Dumais says. “Meanwhile, we are staying focused.”
FARNBOROUGH — Cutbacks in F-35 procurement and the termination of the F-22 will lead to a 30% decrease next year in Pratt & Whitney’s production of fifth-generation combat engines, seriously challenging cost-reduction goals for the Joint Strike Fighter’s F135 powerplant.
OFFICIAL NAME: Airbus Military’s A400M airlifter was officially named “Atlas” in a ceremony held July 6 at RAF Fairford. Peter Luff, U.K. minister for defense equipment, support and technology, and senior representatives of participating nations’ air forces attended. Previously known as “the Grizzly” by the flight-test crews, Atlas has been ordered by Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Spain, Turkey and the U.K. First deliveries to the French air force are expected by year’s end, with the 174-strong order book stretching well into the next decade.
VISITING FARNBOROUGH: Unlike in Washington, internal squabbling is nowhere to be found among the U.S. politicians at this week’s Farnborough air show. The U.S. delegation boasts eight senators and eight state governors, all on hand flexing their muscles to win international business. Last year the U.S. posted $86 billion in export sales and had a positive trade balance of more than $47 billion, says Francisco Sanchez, under secretary of Commerce for international trade. “That’s the largest trade surplus of any manufacturing sector,” Sanchez says.
FARNBOROUGH — Finmeccanica’s Selex Galileo unit has found a fourth export customer for the Falco Tactical UAV, but will not identify the country. Pakistan was the launch customer for the Falco, and as many as 24 units are thought to be in service there. The Falco can be equipped with a variety of sensor payloads, including electro-optical and infrared sensors as well as multimode radar.
September 20-21, 2012 Hyatt Regency Miami, Miami Fla. AIRLINES ATTEND FOR FREE! PLUS: Sign up for your FREE showcase pass and fnd the right IT system to ft your existing procedures, systems, and equipment! Transforming the Enterprise with Cutting-Edge IT The only event solely focused on MRO IT and the disparity between maintenance operations and existing technologies.
FARNBOROUGH — Armenia is planning to order a commercial communications satellite from Russia under the terms of a memorandum of understanding signed July 9 during the Farnborough air show. Vladimir Popovkin, director of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said the satellite — Armenia’s first — is expected to carry 15 transponders, though details of the satellite’s development and launch are still being negotiated. Popovkin expects a contract to be signed by year-end.
FARNBOROUGH — Thailand is to purchase two Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, joining a growing list of export customers that could help buffer the manufacturer against possible U.S. defense budget cuts. The Royal Thai Army has signed a letter of offer and acceptance to acquire the two helicopters through the U.S. government’s foreign military sales (FMS) channel.
SINGAPORE — Brazil has issued a request for proposals for two aerial refueling tankers for its air force and expects to receive bids early next month. The RFP was issued to Airbus Military, Boeing and Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), Brazil air force official Brig. Carlos de Almeida Baptista, Jr., tells Aviation Week on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Military Airlift conference in Singapore.
LONDON — Though only one year into work on its KC-46A contract, Boeing could accommodate early international orders for the aerial refueler possibly as early as 2018, says Dennis Muilenburg, president of the company’s military sector.
FARNBOROUGH — With politicians in the U.S. clamoring for a “hedge” against future missile threats, and budget cuts anticipated on both sides of the Atlantic, Raytheon is pitching a “smart defense” approach.
FARNBOROUGH — The formal rollout of the first Ulyanovsk-built Ilyushin Il-76 heralds the transfer of manufacture of the four-engine transport to Russia from Uzbekistan. Production of the Il-76 at Tashkent effectively ended two decades ago with the Soviet Union’s collapse, leaving the TAPO plant to slowly complete its stock of 40 “white tails” from a total run of 960.
FARNBOROUGH — AgustaWestland will achieve two milestones during this week’s Farnborough air show: delivery of the first AW159 Lynx Wildcat to the U.K. Ministry of Defense on July 11, and the public debut of the AW169 light intermediate helicopter.
FARNBOROUGH — GE Aviation sees plenty of fighter engine and technology demonstrator work keeping it busy in the wake of its loss of the F136 alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, on which it was paired with Rolls-Royce. “We’ve moved on. We’re feeling good about where we are,” says Jean Lydon-Rodgers, VP and general manager for military systems at GE Aviation. “We have 25,000 combat and rotorcraft engines out there, and one focus for us now is to work an upgrade for every one of them.”
Click here to view the pdf 2013 Markup: Lines Increased Only By House Appropriations ($ in thousands) 2013 Markup: Lines Increased Only By House Appropriations ($ in thousands) Description Request HAC $ Change % Change
LONDON and PARIS — Europe may still be playing catch-up with the U.S. when it comes to unmanned combat air vehicles, but in some respects European companies already have more riding on the long-term future of these endeavors than do their North American rivals.
NEW DELHI — India is increasing the budget for its planned defense fiber-optic network by 52.3 billion rupees ($952 million), for a total of 130 billion rupees ($2.3 billion), to keep up with cost growth on the project. “The cost estimate of the project escalated due to [a] change in specifications and other requirements emanating from the users, which includes the network for [the] army, navy and air force,” a government official says.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) JULY 9 - 10 — Military airlift Asia-Pacific, “The perfect opportunity to discuss current airlifting capabilities and operations that are happening across Asia-Pacific,” Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore. For more information go to www.www.militaryairliftasiapac.com <http://www.militaryairliftasiapac.com
POOLING SATCOM: The European Defense Agency (EDA) achieved an initial operational capability milestone in the area of satellite communication through a new “pooling and sharing” procurement strategy, the organization announced July 4. EDA’s ad hoc project calls for Italy, France, Poland, Romania and the U.K. to share modest amounts of satellite bandwidth as part of a pilot initiative that aims to save money through a common procurement scheme at the European Union level.
