Operating the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) will force the service to re-evaluate its traditional staffing paradigm, according to the LCS Concept of Operations (conops), which was obtained by the Aviation Week Intelligence Network. “Many existing Navy policies and regulations must be revised to accommodate LCS for various reasons, principally seaframe design and/or minimum manning,” says the current LCS “Platform Wholeness” conops, Revision C, dated September 2009.
A recent report by Canada’s auditor general questions the process its government used to select the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to replace its F-18s. The auditor cites a lack of coordination among Canada’s relevant defense and procurement officials, a downplaying of the F-35’s actual cost and a seemingly fast-tracked process that led to a sole-source decision for the stealthy Lockheed Martin fighter.
Insitu has become the latest unmanned aircraft manufacturer to fly a fuel-cell powerplant in one of its designs. A 1,500-watt (2 hp) fuel cell produced by United Technologies and a hydrogen fueling system developed by the Naval Research Laboratory were integrated into a ScanEagle UAV, which met its performance targets on a 2.5-hr. test flight.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE: The U.S. Army is watching closely as the first General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned-aircraft unit to deploy as part of a combat aviation brigade begins operations in Afghanistan. “Will it be the brigade commander tasking those 12 Gray Eagles or will they become divisional assets?” asks Col. Grant Webb, UAV capability manager for Training and Doctrine Command.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Bell has received a U.S. Army contract for nonrecurring engineering on a “new-metal” cabin for the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, with the first new-production cabin to be delivered late in 2014. Although the new cabin is planned only for wartime-replacement aircraft converted from OH-58As, restarting airframe production is a key element in Bell’s strategy to meet the Army’s Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) requirement to replace the OH-58D.
The U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) is funding a program to develop a fleet of “smart robocopters” to hunt down pirates in congested seas. A new sensor on unmanned aircraft will be able to distinguish small pirate boats from other vessels, ONR officials say. The Multi-Mode Sensor Seeker (MMSS) is a mix of high-definition camera, mid-wave infrared sensor and laser-radar (ladar) technology, ONR says.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — MD Helicopters Inc. (MDHI) has made an unexpected bid to enter the race for the U.S. Army’s Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) requirement, with an upgraded version of its MD 530F light helicopter. First flown in March, the MD 540F has the six-blade rotor from the larger MD 600 and new composite blades, giving it a 4,000-lb. gross weight, up from the 530F’s 3,100 lb., and almost 500 lb. more useful load.
While the U.S. Navy says the “critical technologies” for the service’s proposed Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) are “expected to be nearing maturity and demonstrated in a relevant environment” before the Navy has to make vital decisions about the program, those technologies are “currently immature,” the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) notes in its recent update on major Pentagon programs.
NEW DELHI — That the BrahMos high-speed anti-ship missile is a formidable weapon is not in doubt, but its air-launch suitability remains a question. Now industry is pursuing a dual path to ease those concerns.
NORFOLK, Va. — BAE Systems is looking to leverage its expertise working on U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers to develop relationships in Spain in the wake of the Pentagon’s plans to base four destroyers in Rota. “We’re trying to position ourselves with the Spanish shipyards in the area and with the Navy to execute maintenance on those ships,” says Russell Tjepkema, vice president and general manager of BAE’s Norfolk, Va., ship repair yard.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Apr. 17 - 19 — 13th Annual Science & Engineering Technology Conference/Defense Tech Exposition, "Outlook for Defense S&T in a Time of Austerity: Maintaining the Warfighter’s Edge During a Period of Transition," Embassy Suites Hotel at Charleston Convention Center, Charleston, S.C. For more information go to www.ndia.org/meetings
A sprinter’s speed, reliance on aircraft and unmanned systems, and flexibility to deploy in disparate environments with different U.S. Navy vessels will anchor mission success for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) fleet, according to a copy of the LCS concept of operations (conops) obtained by the Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN).
The U.S. Air Force is modifying a request for proposals (RFP) for the botched Light Air Support (LAS) aircraft and plans to release it to industry within the next three weeks, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley says. The service originally selected Sierra Nevada/Embraer to build 20 Super Tucanos for use in Afghanistan, over a rival Hawker Beechcraft AT-6-based design. But the $355 million contract was abruptly terminated earlier this year after Hawker Beechcraft filed suit in federal claims court.
Aviation Week NextGenahead Air Transportation Modernization Conference April 23-25, 2012 Washington, D.C. Join leaders for discussions on moving NextGen forward in tough times and maximizing “NowGen” benefits for NextGen advancement. www.aviationweek.com/events/nextgen
The U.S. Navy this week officially started construction on DDG-1002, the third and final Zumwalt-class destroyer. “Designed for sustained operations in the littorals and land attack, the multimission DDG-1000 class destroyers will provide independent forward presence and deterrence, support special operations forces, and operate as an integral part of joint and combined expeditionary forces,” the Navy said in a statement about the start of the DDG-1002 ship.
NASA’s scientifically productive and publicly popular Kepler mission, launched three years ago to seek evidence for Earth-like planets in the habitable zones of stars in the Milky Way galaxy, was one of nine maturing astrophysics programs that won endorsement for an extension this week, following an agency sponsored Senior Review Committee evaluation.
Boeing officials say they plan to emulate the certification process used for its commercial aircraft as much as possible to speed acceptance of the KC-46A refueling tanker being designed for the U.S. Air Force.
Lockheed Martin and Raytheon/Boeing are awaiting guidance from the U.S. Army on the restructured Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) program, and are expecting technology work to continue in lieu of moving into development and procurement. “JAGM is not dead,” says J.R. Smith, Raytheon’s business development manager for advanced missiles and unmanned systems. The weapon is intended to replace Hellfire, air-launched Tow and Maverick missiles.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A program to develop a 3,000-shp turboshaft will transition to the U.S. Army’s utility helicopter program office this year, with the goal of fielding more powerful engines on the Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk in 2019 to improve hot-and-high performance. General Electric and Honeywell/Pratt & Whitney are developing competing turboshafts under the Affordable Advanced Turbine Engine (AATE) technology demonstration, which will wrap up in fiscal 2013.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Boeing is preparing to fly an aerodynamic prototype for the MC-12S Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance System (EMARSS) — a program the U.S. Army plans to terminate after completing development in 2013. A Boeing-owned Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ER is at Summit Aviation being modified to the MC-12S external configuration, including extended sensor nose and fuselage-top Ka/Ku-band radome, and is expected to fly in May.
The Dutch defense budget is too tight to achieve the ambitions for the Royal Netherlands Air Force’s (RNLAF) F-16s, the Netherlands Court of Auditors concludes in a report on the fighter replacement effort. Auditors concluded that there is a growing imbalance between the Dutch government’s stated goals, the budget for flying hours, the number of pilots and the number of aircraft.
