NEW DELHI — U.K.-based Cobham is in discussions with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. and India’s Aeronautical Development Agency about retrofitting a retractable refueling probe on the current model of the Light Combat Aircraft as well as the Mk2 version. While Cobham is not certain how the business model will be globally tendered, the company’s experience will be a definite advantage, according to Lee Griffiths, director of Cobham India.
The 30th MC-12W Project Liberty intelligence collecting aircraft — the final system slated for operational use — is beginning to execute combat sorties in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to U.S. Air Force officials. A total of 37 of the modified King Air 350 and 350ER aircraft are due to be delivered to the Air Force; seven are being dedicated to pilot training in Meridian, Miss. Two of the aircraft remain to be delivered to Air Combat Command for that purpose, and all 37 will be delivered by the end of October, according to Air Force officials.
DOMINATING MARKET: Boeing plans to market the Dominator medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft developed by Israel’s Aeronautics Ltd. The aircraft is an unmanned version of Diamond Aircraft’s DA42 twin-engined, four-seat light aircraft. Powered by two Thielert turbo-diesels, the 2,640-lb. gross-weight Dominator has an endurance of 28 hr. at up to 30,000 ft. carrying a 900-lb. payload. The aircraft made its first flight in July 2009. Late to enter the UAV market, Boeing is fleshing out its portfolio through acquisitions and marketing agreements.
FARNBOROUGH — European missile manufacturer MBDA’s first Concept Visions effort examines very light guided weapons for infantry units intended for a notional capability around 2030. The Concept Visions approach is effectively a quick look at the art of what may be possible in the guided weapons arena given emerging requirements combined with technology trends, all at a relatively low cost of £500,000 ($760,000).
FARNBOROUGH — AgustaWestland plans to have its new AW169 helicopter available in 2015, with its eye on the government and emergency medical services markets. The AW169 is being designed to fit a hole in Agusta’s product line between the AW139 and the Grand. The new model has a design weight of 4.5 metric tons, measuring 13 meters in length and 2 meters wide.
FLYING BACN: Northrop Grumman flew the first Global Hawk unmanned aircraft equipped with the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) payload on July 14 from Palmdale to Edwards AFB in California. Two Block 20 aircraft are being equipped with the BACN voice and data communications gateway for deployment by year’s end to meet an urgent requirement to improve air and ground communications in Afghanistan. Developed by Northrop, the BACN payload is also installed on three Bombardier Global Express business jets leased by the U.S. Air Force.
FARNBOROUGH — Boeing is in production on at least one “proprietary” strike weapon system, claims Shelley Lavender, vice president and general manager of global strike systems. But Lavender refused July 20 at the Farnborough International Airshow to provide more information when pressed. “I have nothing further for you on that,” the executive said.
September 29-30, 2010 ExCeL, London, UK Learn to maintain military assets longer; sustain aircraft beyond forecast; recover from budget cuts, delays and program cancellations, and develop new strategies required to deliver and support equipment. Learn more at www.aviationweek.com/events
FARNBOROUGH — The U.S. Air Force is likely nearing a point in the KC-135 replacement source selection to determine whether the three competitors are compliant with the requirements of the competition and can be evaluated, according to an industry official with acquisition experience.
FARNBOROUGH — U.S. export controls could harm the nation’s advantage in unmanned aircraft technologies by encouraging foreign competitors to develop their own systems, Northrop Grumman’s top executive warns. CEO Wes Bush says the nation should learn its lesson from the satellite industry, where blanket restrictions imposed on the sale or sharing of technologies spurred the rise of new competitors in commercial satellites and some lower-end military communications technologies.
FARNBOROUGH — Liam Fox, the British secretary of state for defense, is committing the government to providing a revamped Defense Industrial Strategy to industry shortly after it concludes its strategic review. Fox, in a keynote address at the Farnborough International Airshow here July 20, told an audience of senior industrialists that a “new Defense Industrial Strategy” would be published this year. The outcome of the government’s Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR) is expected to be made public in late October.
The House Science Committee has introduced a five-year NASA authorization bill that incorporates most of the elements of the authorization already moving through the Senate, suggesting for the first time that a compromise version of President Barack Obama’s proposed space policy could be enacted and funded during this fiscal year.
AVENGER: A second Avenger unmanned aircraft is in production and will fly late this year, with a third to follow, according to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. Compared with the first Avenger, which flew in April 2009, the second example of the jet-powered Predator-family UAV has a 6 ft.-longer fuselage, at 44 ft., and twice the payload capacity, at 6,000 lb. General Atomics says the 400-kt. UAV can fly at up to 50,000 ft. for 20 hr. The Avenger is being proposed for the U.K.’s Scavenger deep and persistent surveillance UAV requirement.
SILENT LAUNCH: Boeing launched an AIM-120 missile from a prototype conformal weapons bay (CWB) on its F-15E1 testbed aircraft on July 14. The 80-min. flight from Pt. Mugu, Calif., validated the flightworthiness of the CWB and deployment of the missile from the internal bay, the company says. The CWB is a key feature of the stealthier F-15SE Silent Eagle, and reduces radar cross-section by enabling bombs and missiles to be carried internally. Boeing is awaiting an export license to supply data on the Silent Eagle to South Korea, the first potential customer.
FARNBOROUGH — Montreal-based CAE is promoting technology to help guide pilots through poor-visibility landings using “data fusion” to combine information gleaned from multiple sensors and sources in real time.
LONDON — Sikorsky Aircraft is aiming to double its international sales to about $2 billion by 2014, looking for new ways to keep growing as U.S. defense spending levels off.
LONDON — The ability to deliver medium/heavyweight helicopters by April 2013 will likely be key to an ongoing helicopter competition in Sweden. The country is eager to field the helos and have them in Afghanistan by the appointed date to be used for medical evacuation duties, Swedish air force chief Maj. Gen. Anders Silwer says. “We’ve had too few helos” in inventory, he notes.
LONDON — EADS North America Chief Executive Officer Sean O’Keefe says he plans to mushroom the company’s revenues to $10 billion by 2020, and winning the U.S. Air Force KC-X refueling tanker competition is a large part of achieving this goal. Revenue in 2009 was $1.2 billion, according to O’Keefe’s spokesman, Guy Hicks. The KC-X program to replace 179 KC-135 refuelers is estimated to be worth about $35 billion. Each contestant must meet 373 mandatory requirements, and a winner will be determined largely on cost.
LONDON — In response to the pending contraction in European defense spending due to deep national fiscal problems, EADS will need to step up its effort to globalize, says Stefan Zoller, CEO of EADS Defense & Security. Just how deeply the European budget crisis will affect EADS and defense markets more generally is not certain. But Zoller notes that “it is quite clear that European markets will decline or will be stable at the best.”
FARNBOROUGH — Lockheed Martin and Alenia officials say an agreement to build a final assembly and checkout (FACO) facility in Italy for the stealthy F-35 fighter has finally been inked after an extended negotiation period.
AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., of Sunnyvale, Calif., was awarded a $34,804,061 contract modification which will exercise the fourth option for Space Based Infrared Systems Highly Elliptical Earth Orbit payload three Launch and Early On-Orbit Support. At this time, $548,174 has been obligated. ISSW/PKF, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity (FA8810-08-C-0002; P00012).
