LOS ANGELES — Sikorsky’s CH-53K for the U.S. Marine Corps took a further step towards flight with delivery of the first General Electric GE38 turboshaft engine for ground testing. The engine, which is 57% more powerful and has 18% lower specific fuel consumption than the T64 engine powering the current CH-53E, is the first of five ground-test and 20 flight-test engines slated for the program. The ground evaluation phase will include ingestion tests plus high-cycle fatigue testing.
While the U.S. Marine Corps has already developed a strategy for resetting the aviation equipment that it has used in Afghanistan, it has yet to do so for the ground equipment it has been using in the conflict, according to Congressional auditors.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Aug. 8 - 11 — AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference, "A presentation and discussion of all technical areas related to atmospheric flight," Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Ore. For more information go to http://www.aiaa.org
LONDON — With demand for radio-frequency spectrum growing at a steep rate, the European Defense Agency (EDA) is exploring whether member states can devise a pooling mechanism to make better use of available bandwidth. “Increased spectrum sharing is essential to addressing today’s serious scarcity of available spectrum, notably to enhance situational awareness systems taking into account mobility of radio-frequency equipment,” EDA says in announcing plans to order a study on the pooling concept.
BEIJING — The China Daily’s July 12 report of an unexpectedly long range for the DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile was unfounded, says a China-watching defense analyst. The newspaper, which acts as a government mouthpiece directed at the outside world, quoted a range of 2,700 km (1,600 mi.) for the potentially revolutionary missile, well ahead of the Pentagon estimate of 1,500-plus km.
The U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR) is making sea-based aviation a priority for future funding. “We will be putting resources into this category,” says Rear Adm. Nevin Carr, chief of naval research and director of test and evaluation and technology requirements. “We will make budgeting moves based on this. This is a signal to industry — we have interest here.”
ADVANCED AWARDS: Northrop Grumman says recent Pentagon contract awards for its E-2D program actually amount to about $795 million, including a $34 million modification to a previously awarded contract for the procurement of one additional low-rate-initial-production (LRIP) Lot 2 Advanced Hawkeye. Last month the Pentagon announced a sole-source, firm-fixed $761 million contract for five LRIP Lot 3 E-2Ds for the Navy. Included in that contract were long-lead materials for five LRIP Lot 4 Advanced Hawkeyes (Aerospace DAILY, July 26).
The White House’s National Security Council late last month released its “Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime,” while at the same time President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order identifying 56 different actions to tackle international criminal organizations.
The U.S. Army is devising a new way to operate unmanned ground systems like the PackBot or Talon that will allow soldiers to remain further away from the action. Unmanned ground systems have long since proven their utility in Iraq and Afghanistan by allowing soldiers to search for roadside bombs or peek around corners from a (usually) safe standoff distance, but the operator often has to be close enough that they could be injured, or worse.
With defense budgets in the U.S. about to go though some painful contractions — putting large-scale ground vehicle programs like the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and the Ground Combat Vehicle at risk — military truck makers may take a harder look at the international market.
U.S. Navy officials view the four-month milestone maintenance of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Freedom — which started the last week of July — as a chance to do a deeper-dive review of several of the ship’s systems.
BEIJING — Chinese space launcher builder CALT has made 170 modifications to the Long March 2F rocket that will loft the Tiangong 1 docking target, says national space conglomerate CASC. The modifications are not specified. But when Aviation Week last year saw the launcher under construction in Beijing, officials said its structure had been altered. CASC now says that five technologies are being tried for the first time on the rocket, but it is withholding specifics.
U.S. Navy officials with insight into the Next-Generation Jammer (NGJ) and EA-18G Growler predict a lot of challenges in making them affordable, interoperable and upgradable enough to get the maximum capability out of them for as much as 40-50 years.
SINGAPORE — South Korea and Indonesia have opened a joint research center that will spearhead joint development of the KF-X fighter, according to news reports from both countries. The KF-X will eventually replace Indonesia’s Lockheed Martin F-16s and South Korea’s Northrop F-5s. The facility is in Daejeon, a city in the center of South Korea where the Korea Aerospace Research Institute has its main laboratories.
NASA has found “circumstantial evidence” of liquid water flowing on the surface of Mars at its southern mid-latitudes during the planet’s warmer spring and summer months. Images from the agency’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) show dark features appearing and extending down steep slopes during the planet’s late spring and summer, fading in winter, and returning the following spring.
Loral Space & Communications says it is focusing on a potential spin-off of its satellite manufacturer, Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), rather than Telesat, the Ottawa-based fixed satellite services operator in which it shares partial ownership. Earlier this year, the company said it was exploring “strategic alternatives” involving both SS/L and Telesat. Loral shares Telesat’s ownership with Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board.
TIME OUT: Flight and ground tests of the 20-strong F-35 Joint Strike Fighter force could be suspended “for a few weeks,” according to an industrial source close to the program, after the secondary power system of F-35A AF-4, a USAF-variant test aircraft, failed on Aug. 2 at Edwards AFB, Fla., during a ground maintenance engine run (Aerospace DAILY, Aug. 4). However, a government source says that foreign object damage has not yet been ruled out, and notes that such a finding would allow a more rapid return to flight. A clearer picture is expected to emerge next week.
Sept. 28, 201I IFEMA, Madrid, Spain This event provides a forum for knowledge delivery and information exchange on defense sustainment in Europe. Attendees will benefit from fist-hand information from Military and Defense agencies on how they’re overcoming current challenges and changes facing maintenance and sustainment, including budgets, cutbacks, and shifting mission requirements. Co-located with MRO Europe! Learn more and register today at www.aviationweek.com/events
The U.S. Army is hosting an industry day at multiple locations in El Paso, Texas, as well as at nearby Ft. Bliss and White Sands Missile Range, N.M., on Sept. 8 to give industry representatives a chance to ask service leadership about what technologies it is looking to test in its next Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) in October.
LONDON — The Ghanaian government has signed a deal with Airbus Military to acquire two C295 tactical transports, further expanding the EADS subsidiary’s footprint in Africa with small airlifters. The aircraft are to be delivered early next year, Airbus Military says. The C295s are slated to be used beyond just troop transport, also serving in medical evacuation roles, paratrooping and humanitarian assistance roles. Airbus Military notes that it is the first deal with the Ghanaian government.
HOUSTON — Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation vehicle, the CST-100, will climb to orbit aboard the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket through a series of unpiloted and piloted test flights planned for 2015-16, officials from the two companies announced Aug. 4.
INDIAN DEFENSE: The Indian government is working on a new defense spending plan to supersede the long-term integrated perspective plan (LTIPP) now in force. The currency LTIPP covers the period from 2002 to 2017, with the new document, now being drafted, due to cover the 2012-2027 time frame, Defense Minister A.K. Antony tells legislators in a written response to questions. Antony notes that the planning exercise is not a standalone activity. It comes along with continued assessment of the country’s security situation.
The U.S. Coast Guard still needs to get a handle on the costs of its Deepwater modernization program, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) “The Deepwater Program continues to exceed the cost and schedule baselines approved by DHS [Department of Homeland Security] in 2007,” GAO says in its new report.
TEL AVIV — Precision weapons and unmanned aircraft are two areas in which the Israeli military can rightly claim a leadership position. But just how closely the two areas have been linked is only now starting to become clear.
