BENGALURU, India — An Indian navy Searcher UAV crash-landed on May 5, going down short of its runway near the Southern Naval Command. The UAV was on a regular sortie and the damage is repairable, according to the navy. “The UAV crashed at peak traffic time near [a] roadside. A Board of Inquiry (BoI) will find out what has gone wrong after analyzing all the possible angles,” a source tells AVIATION WEEK.
Several major studies that could affect the launch industrial base are due in the next few months. The liquid- and solid-fueled booster industrial base is facing more uncertainty now than ever after a decision from the White House to cancel most of NASA’s Constellation program, including the Ares I and V rockets.
NEW DELHI — The joint naval exercise Spitting Cobra 2010 concluded in Guam April 22 after two weeks of training and simulations between the U.S. and Indian navies. The annual joint exercise—in its seventh year—was between U.S. sailors of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) Mobile Unit (Eodmu) 5 and members of the Indian navy. The numerous training activities included demolition exercises, helicopter operations and hostage threat simulations.
NASA tested the pad abort system for the Orion crew exploration vehicle May 6, demonstrating that the solid-fuel system could pull the U.S. capsule off a failing launch vehicle, maintain its attitude and stabilize it with a thrust-vector control system, and then jettison the escape tower and parachute the capsule back to the ground in one piece. The one-minute, 35-second test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., took the capsule higher — 3,886 feet — and farther down range — 6,919 feet — than anticipated.
GENOA, Italy — Finmeccanica CEO Pier Francesco Guarguaglini is laying out an ambitious five-year road map redirecting the company’s strategy toward far greater international sales and a renewed focus on aerospace and defense. The intent is to craft a truly international company, with the CEO suggesting that by 2016 Finmeccanica could generate 50% of its revenue from outside its three “domestic markets” — Italy, the U.K. and, increasingly, the U.S.
Mark your calendars for these AVIATION WEEK Events! NextGen Ahead 2010 NextGen Ahead 2010 Conference Renaissance Washington, DC Washington, DC May 19-21, 2010 MRO Europe 2010 ExCel • London, UK September 28-30, 2010 MRO Military Europe ExCel • London, UK September 29-30, 2010 Lean Six Sigma For MRO
LAS VEGAS — Bigelow Aerospace is kicking off a marketing campaign to attract national space agencies and corporations to its privately funded inflatable space station. Space entrepreneur Robert Bigelow, 65, who made his fortune in Las Vegas real estate development, already has invested $180 million in the company and says he will commit up to $500 million to realize his dream of building commercial space habitats. “This year is our coming out year, so to speak,” he says.
JSTARS WORK: Nordam will produce engine pylons and cowl doors for two U.S. Air Force E-8C Joint Stars aircraft under a contract with Seven Q Seven, Pratt & Whitney’s partner in the JT8D-219 re-engining program for the airborne battle management, command/control aircraft. The pylons and cowl doors will be built and assembled at Nordam’s Tulsa, Okla., repair facility. Nordam is responsible for two shipsets, but the contract could grow to an additional 17 shipsets. First delivery will be in early 2011.
LONDON — Sagem’s efforts to revive its unmanned aircraft activities are slowly moving forward with the completion of another round of flight trials of the Patroller surveillance system. The latest round of trials conducted by the Safran defense business unfolded April 22-30 at Cergy-Pontoise near Paris. The trials examined the triple-redundant avionics, the in-house Euroflir imaging system that was ground controlled, and the Ka-band datalink. Sagem also says the Patroller carried external fuel tanks for the first time.
FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter addressed the issue of affordability in procurement contracts here May 4, in a subdued follow-up to Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s speech attacking big U.S. Navy programs.
FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (Navair) will spend $78 million to upgrade failing rotor blade components, hoping to field the fix to its entire AH-1Z Cobra helicopter fleet by 2014. Marine Corps Col. Harry Hewson, program manager for H-1 upgrades, said at the Navy League Sea-Air-Space symposium here May 4 that the fatigue life for the cuff and yoke — integral components of the aircraft rotorhead — is only 1,200 hours.
QUANTICO, Va. — Once again, the U.S. Marine Corps is fighting to save its Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) program. Lawmakers, defense-spending watchdogs and even Defense Secretary Robert Gates are mounting an attack on the need for, and price tag of, a vehicle that ferries Marines from ships to shore and bashes through enemy ground terrain like a tank. The program will cost the Marines between $9.5 billion and $13 billion, depending on whose figures are used.
The U.S. Army is putting Increment 1 Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) equipment through technical tests this spring. The tests are meant to make sure the software and equipment — essentially spinouts from the canceled Future Combat Systems networking soldiers, sensors and components to provide a much more complete picture of the combat environment — are ready for the higher and more demanding testing level.
FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and Lockheed Martin are responding to a flurry of international interest in their MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter as well as preparing for a competition for up to 24 aircraft for Australia. India has requested a demonstration of the aircraft before the end of 2010, according to U.S. Navy Capt. Dean Peters, MH-60 program manager at Naval Air Systems Command (Navair). “We’re prepared to do a demo, we’re just not sure of the timeline,” he said here May 4.
NEW DELHI — Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony says the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is working to expedite its numerous delayed programs. DRDO will use a consortium approach for design, development and fabrication of critical components, Project Monitoring Reviews and joint funding by the military services to try to overcome delays, Antony said. Some of the many DRDO projects that have missed their original timelines include:
LONDON — The Czech government has run afoul of relatively new European Union rules aimed at opening up competition for Europe’s defense equipment. At issue is the purchase of four EADS Casa C-295M airlifters. Brussels says the Czech defense ministry awarded the €132 million ($170 million) contract without a public tendering process. However, European Union rules now require open competition unless a national security waiver is invoked. The Alenia C-27J generally goes up against the C-295M in these types of competitions.
NEW DELHI — Ongoing flight trials of new Colored Multifunctional Displays (CMFDs) for Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters are expected to be over by mid-May. The CMFDs were produced by Samtel HAL Display Systems. They were cleared for flight testing by the Regional Center for Military Airworthiness in 2008 and flights began in April of this year. Ground testing and 10 sorties — during the day and night — have been carried out. LDP (laser designated pod) and gunfire testing is complete.
LONDON — Flight trials are underway for an upgrade to the Rafale fighter’s turbojets aimed at curing reliability problems. The French military had long listed reliability as one of its main concerns about the Rafale since the fighter has entered service. The enhanced M88, designated the M88-4E, has now completed 10 flight trials, and should enter service next year. The initial 90-min. flight test took place at the French flight test center at the Istres air base in the south of France on March 22.
QUANTICO, Va. — The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) is the linchpin of the U.S. Marine Corps expeditionary warfare strategy and the program is on track for development, delivery and deployment, service program officials said May 4 at what turned into a mini pep rally for the vehicle and its supporters.
NEW DELHI — The U.S. Navy on April 30 transferred the first two of eight P-3C Orions to Pakistan as part of its Foreign Military Sales program. The Pakistan navy will have received all eight aircraft by 2012. The aircraft will provide Pakistan with the capability to conduct maritime patrol in littoral and deep-water environments, the U.S. Navy says.
SEA LAUNCH: Energia Overseas Ltd., an arm of the Russian aerospace giant, has taken over debtor-in-possession financing for Sea Launch Company from Space Launch Services, an entity set up specifically to finance the launch service provider. Energia Overseas will provide additional funding of $30 million to Sea Launch, which will use about $19 million of the facility to repay Space Launch Services, Sea Launch said. RSC Energia is a partner in Sea Launch.
