The U.S. Air Force’s “fighter gap” is shrinking dramatically, but not because more aircraft are being acquired. The service hopes to buy 1,763 Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters in the coming years to replace 2,228 legacy fighters. The difference is because each new F-35 and the existing Lockheed Martin F-22s will be far more capable than their predecessors.
Some Republican members of the Senate Appropriations Committee are questioning whether NASA has violated stipulations of its Fiscal 2010 appropriation language by moving to terminate elements of the Constellation program early. Their questions echo concerns raised in March by a group of House lawmakers who sent a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office asking for an investigation of NASA’s actions.
BENGALURU, India — India’s Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) was set to fly April 22 for the first time with the Israeli Elta Multi-Mode Radar (MMR) onboard. An Indian defense ministry official confirmed to Aviation Week that “weather permitting, we are aiming for the flight on April 22.” Preparations were in full swing at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s (HAL) military airport for the critical flight, with last-minute mandatory safety checks underway. Airport sources confirmed that all flying activities were set to be stopped during the Tejas flight.
TOKYO — The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa’s asteroid sample return mission is on schedule to return to Earth June 13. Hayabusa has traveled about 2 billion km. (1.25 billion mi.) since its launch in May 2003. It reached the Itokawa asteroid in September 2005, successfully landing in November. After experiencing a number of nearly fatal problems, the spacecraft is now only 20 million km. (12.5 million mi.) from Earth and is scheduled to release its Sample Recovery Capsule at 40,000 km. (25,000 mi.) out.
MOSCOW — Russia’s acquisition of a majority stake in Antonov may have been on the agenda for discussion during the visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Kiev on April 21, although such a deal would not guarantee the future of the An-70 military airlifter. The moribund joint program will remain outside the scope of any tie-up between Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and the Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer until the Antonov An-70 completes government trials in the Ukraine.
PARIS — The European Union’s Risk-sharing Finance Facility (RFF) will provide a 225 million euro ($340 million) loan to help finance construction and launch of the Alphasat high-power telecom satellite mission. The RFF is a debt-based investment fund created in 2007 by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank to back high-risk innovative technology undertakings. It currently has €1 billion of funding.
EXOCET ACQUISITION: Qatar is the latest customer for MBDA’s Exocet MM40 Block 3 anti-ship missile. The Qatari Emiri Navy is buying the missile for its four Vita-class patrol vessels. The Block 3 version of the Exocet is already on order for the French navy — through upgrading the Block 2 missile — and the first firing from a Horizon-class frigate was carried out in March. The Block 3 missile is fitted with a turbojet engine considerably increasing the weapon’s engagement range.
VOLCANO FALLOUT: The Royal Air Force on April 21 suspended Eurofighter Typhoon training flights shortly after resuming its normal flying program after finding volcanic ash deposits on a few aircraft during post-flight inspection. The affected aircraft are undergoing engine checks. Typhoon aircraft on quick reaction alert were not affected by the suspension.
NEW DELHI — Controversy continues to surround India’s delayed effort to purchase Hawk Mk. 132 trainer aircraft. Charges and countercharges have been made over the past year between vendor BAE Systems and Indian government defense manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), which had promised to manufacture a certain share of the Advanced Jet Trainer after BAE delivered the initial batch.
LONDON — Nuclear deterrence and broader defense are being pushed as areas of concern as the three British party leaders have the second of three broadcast debates, Defense and aerospace lobbyist ADS worries that the “U.K. is sleepwalking to second-division status,” while setting out key issues it wants to see addressed. Meanwhile, the Conservative Party is trying to leverage vagueness surrounding Liberal Democrat policy on the nuclear deterrent.
U.S. Air Force officials are eyeing another low-yield weapon in their strategy to field a family of munitions with limited collateral damage potential. They are using a composite case for the 500-lb. MK 82 bomb with the goal of reducing the weapon’s blast fragmentation effects and shifting to an overpressure kill mechanism, says Col. Mike Fantini, Air Force headquarters division chief for combat force application requirements. The MK 82 can be coupled with a Boeing Joint Direct Attack Munition kit to form a precision-guided weapon.
L-3 Communications will not participate in the EADS-led team to deliver a new U.S. Air Force tanker, CEO Michael Strianese told analysts April 22. “The scope of work is not something we would typically do,” Strianese says. But he added, “The door is not closed, and we wish EADS well in the competition.”
BAE Systems’ Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures (Atricm) system has taken some hits on reliability in the past, but the company is attempting to change that perception following the recent positive performance of the system on CH-47 Chinooks in-theater.
TEL AVIV – Following failed attempts to produce indigenous unmanned aircraft, Russia will launch an assembly line for Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI’s) Searcher Mk II long-endurance reconnaissance UAVs.
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MEDIUM UPGRADE: U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command awarded Oshkosh Defense a $44 million award for more than 5,750 upgrade kits for the Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR), with a cap on the contract of $89 million. Work is expected to be completed in September 2010. Oshkosh will deliver more than 950 weapons-mount kits, 2,000 door-upgrade kits, and MTVR Troop Carrier upgrades that include new dual ladders, seatbelts and lift-point kits for improved transportability.
The Non-Line of Sight Launch System (NLOS-LS) industry team has unveiled a plan to offer a family of missiles that would provide the U.S. Army a more flexible set of capabilities, according to Raytheon Missile Systems.
U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus says he’s confident that the three agencies involved in the presidential helicopter program — the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the U.S. Navy and the White House Military Office (WMHO) — will work well together on the second attempt to produce a new helicopter. “They have similar expectations and aspirations in terms of what they’re looking for,” Mabus said of the three government entities.
The first full flight of India’s 5.5-ton Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) is expected in May after unspecified modifications are made. Developed by government defense manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), the two-seat variant of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) made a 20-min. initial flight on March 29 that allowed pilots to carry out low-speed and low-altitude systems checks using hover, clockwise and counter-clockwise maneuvers, and four circles of HAL’s home base at Bengaluru.
Higher military aircraft and services revenues at Boeing offset most of a double-digit decline in the company’s Network & Space Systems business during the first quarter of 2010. Network and space revenues declined 13% from the same period a year earlier, to $2.3 billion, due to “expected” lower volumes in network and tactical systems and strategic missile and defense systems, the company said April 21.
Iran has packed its “Army Day” parade displays with new equipment, fantasy forces and some worrying hints at the development of advanced capabilities. “Both the surface-to-air missile equipment and stealth aircraft mock-ups [in the parade] are judged to be bogus,” a senior Pentagon official says. “During the parade they displayed two stealth aircraft mock-ups, one manned and one remotely piloted aircraft. They are likely [variants of] the Safreh Mahi (Flatfish or Stingray) [design], which Iran announced it was testing last February.
It is only a matter of time, according to experts in U.S. military parts procurement, before a fake component in a major piece of Pentagon equipment leads to catastrophe because the Pentagon lacks the ability to track or identify the counterfeits. “One of these days, we’ll have a real problem,” says Mark Snider, founder and president of ERAI, formerly known as the Electronic Resellers Association, which operates a global database of counterfeit parts and vendors. “Something is going to cost lives that’s going to be traced back to a counterfeit component.”
