LONDON — The flight test program required for certification of the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) hose-and-drogue refueling system has been completed by Airbus Military. The conclusion of the tests clears the way for Spain’s National Institute For Aerospace Technology (INTA) to certify the aircraft for daylight refueling operations during the summer, according to Airbus. INTA is the military certification agency for the MRTT.
Boeing plans to complete a second X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle for the U.S. Air Force, but its launch, scheduled for 2011, will not occur until the first of the reusable spaceplane demonstrators returns from an orbital mission that could last as long as 270 days. “We may be ready to launch the second one before that, but we won’t until the first bird is back on the ground in case we need to make changes to the vehicle [based on the first flight],” says Gary Payton, Air Force deputy under secretary for space programs.
Unfavorable weather on the East and West coasts of the United States has pushed back the launch of two key military tests of technology for future space and hypersonic vehicles.
USAF Air Combat Command has approved the use of the Block 9 upgrade for the Boeing Small Diameter Bomb. The improvement includes software designed to improve the direct-attack attributes of the 250-lb., GPS-guided weapon. SDB was originally designed for about 40 mi. of standoff. The flight profile was designed to fly at high altitude for long distance and then turn downward, attacking a target from overhead, says Jim Brooks, Boeing’s SDB program manager.
The Discovery astronauts touched down at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida early April 20, ending a weather-delayed, 15-day mission to the International Space Station that now has shuttle program managers re-evaluating how they intend to fly out the three missions remaining before the shuttle’s retirement and whether there may be time and resources for an additional flight.
VXX EXTENDS: The U.S. Navy, at the industry’s behest (according to the service), has extended its request for information for the new presidential helicopter until mid-June. The 60-day push will provide enough time for all comers to respond. Sikorsky announced it would pair up with former rival Lockheed Martin to offer the H-92. Competitor AgustaWestland has not made public any teaming arrangements of its own, although the company has said it will certainly propose its EH-101 again (Aerospace DAILY, April 20).
After failing to secure a major U.S. prime contractor, EADS North America is leading a bid to build the U.S. Air Force KC-135 replacement. But company officials say they will continue to look for additional U.S. companies to join the team.
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The Obama administration immediately will begin a three-phase push to overhaul the U.S. export controls regime within a year, with the final goal a Washington system that streamlines and consolidates licensing review over a fraction of the current requests.
VIP COMMS: Rockwell Collins will upgrade and standardize back-end communications across the U.S. VIP special air mission fleet, installing secure voice, data and video systems in up to 40 aircraft under a $209 million Air Force contract. The system will include communications operator workstations, passenger voice-over-IP phones, video conferencing, and classified and unclassified local-area networks.
NASA has awarded a contract to build a testbed for optically guided rendezvous and docking in Mars orbit — a key technique that will be required for a Mars sample return mission. A sample return mission at Mars will have to gather a sample from the surface, then launch the sample into Mars orbit, where it will dock autonomously with the spacecraft that will bring it back to Earth. The Mars Orbiting Sample Retrieval Rendezvous and Docking Testbed (MOSR/RDOS) will be developed by Aurora Flight Sciences and MIT Space Systems Laboratory.
LONDON — German propulsion specialist Bayern-Chemie has carried out two “missile” test firings using a gel-propellant motor. The shots were carried out using the German military’s test range at Meppen at the end of 2009. Work on the gel-based system has been underway for several years, with funding from the German Defense Ministry. Feasibility work began in 2002, with a motor demonstration program carried out during 2007-08, clearing the way for the test flights.
GENOA, Italy — Support vessels may not be at the top of an admiral’s wish list, but the workhorses are becoming more important as many navies try to build blue-water fleets, and those with the capability seek to better manage extended missions far from home waters. France and the U.K., for example, are planning new replenishment vessels, Italy wants two refueling ships, Turkey wants one, and Greece and Spain have just added support ships to their fleets.
LONDON — The ongoing U.K. and European air traffic problem has disrupted the last stage of the latest so-called “relief in place” of British forces in Afghanistan. The British Joint Force Headquarters is carrying out “contingency planning” and “looking at alternative routes” with regard to the air bridge between the U.K. and Afghanistan, a defense ministry official says. Volcanic ash has effectively suspended commercial aircraft traffic in the U.K., and much of Europe, since April 15.
NEW DELHI — India has launched the first frontline warship for its navy, the Kamorta-class Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) Corvette, at the government-owned Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata, East India. The ship’s weapon systems and sensor suites are fully indigenous, according to a spokesman. The “X” form of the hull and superstructure gives it a low radar cross section, and the ship also claims a low level of underwater noise.
LONDON — Britain’s small and medium-sized aerospace and defense manufacturers are coping well so far with the impact of the economic downturn, but the community faces a further challenge over the coming 18 months.
BAE Systems is ordering long-lead items for the $145.1 million contract it recently received to reset 551 Bradley Fighting Vehicles — work that also should improve combat capability and incorporate later-block improvements in the vehicle, according to Roy Perkins, company director of U.S. Combat Systems Business Development for the heavy brigade combat team.
SABRE DELIVERY: The Brazilian air force on April 17 will formally take delivery of the first three AH-2 Sabre attack helicopters. The AH-2 is the designation the Brazilian air force has applied to the Mi-35. Brazil is buying twelve of the Russian-made rotorcraft. The helos will belong the 2nd squadron, 8th aviation group based at the Porto Velho air base. The approximately $300 million deal was signed in late 2008. The Mi-35 prevailed against the AgustaWestland AW129.
Former competitors Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and Lockheed Martin announced April 19 that they will team up to compete for the renewed VXX presidential helicopter program, which was shelved in June 2009 after it became mired in cost and schedule overruns. Sikorsky, a United Technologies company, lost the original bid in 2005, when Lockheed was partnered with AgustaWestland. This time around, Sikorsky will offer its H-92 (a hardened version of its S-92) medium-lift helicopter again, with Lockheed performing all the mission systems integration.
