South Korea is backing studies for a 90-seat turboprop airliner, identified as a strategic program for its aerospace industry, while China’s Avic Aircraft separately negotiates with engine makers for its proposed 76-seat propliner. The two Asian aircraft would become competitors, and perhaps successors, to the Bombardier Q400 and ATR 72.
Airline interest in re-engined transports is gathering momentum as expectations rise that Airbus will confirm plans to launch an upgraded A320 family powered by advanced turbofans this month.
Daewoo began design studies of the two-seat KTX-1 turboprop trainer in 1988, with the first prototype flying in 1991. The first two prototypes were powered by the 550-shp. Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25A turboprop; subsequent aircraft have been fitted with 950-shp. PT6A-62 turboprops. Through 2009, 124 units were produced, while another 53 aircraft are expected to be built in 2010-19. In 1999, the aerospace businesses of Daewoo, Hyundai and Samsung were consolidated into Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).
Simon Roads has become director of completion sales for the Hawker Beechcraft Corp. , Wichita, Kan. He was a completions sales executive at Gulfstream Aerospace in Dallas.
The Schweizer S-300C (previously 300C) is a piston-powered, 2-3-seat light utility and training helicopter. An S-300 made its first flight in 1969, while the S-300C variant flew in 1984. Specially configured models of the S-300C are offered for a variety of dedicated military missions, including introductory pilot training and scout/observation. Through 2009, 1,223 civil and military Model 300 helicopters were produced by Schweizer, and another 511 are expected in 2010-19.
The Eurocopter EC120 is a single-turbine helicopter primarily used in the military arena for flight training. Power is supplied by a Turbomeca Arrius 2F turboshaft engine rated at 504 shp. Through 2009, 657 EC120s were produced, with another 42 expected to be built in 2010-19 solely for the military market.
The current military model of this twin-engine, eight-seat, single-main-rotor multipurpose helicopter is the AW109 LUH, which is powered by two Turbomeca Arrius 2K2 turboshaft engines, rated at 670 shp. Armament capability for the AW109 LUH is as follows: 7.62-mm. and 12.7-mm. machine guns, rocket launchers, anti-tank missiles (TOW, HOT or Hellfire) and/or air-to-air missiles (Stinger or Mistral). Through 2009, 1,285 AW/A109s of all variants were produced, including 68 AW/A109 LUHs. In 2010-19, 87 AW109 LUHs and 670 of all other -109 types are expected to be produced.
Marketing of the 767 AWACS, also known as the E-767, began in 1991 as a follow-on to the 707 AWACS. The E-767 is powered by two GE CF6-80C2 turbofan engines rated at 61,500 lb. thrust and has a crew of two plus 19 AWACS mission specialists. System suppliers include Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. The 767 AWACS competes with Boeing’s 737 AEW&C aircraft and the Northrop Grumman E-2D. Only four E-767s have been produced; all are in service with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
The Typhoon is a delta-wing, single- and two-seat, supersonic, air superiority combat fighter produced by Eurofighter—a consortium that includes Alenia, BAE Systems and EADS—and sponsored by the governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. The aircraft is powered by two Eurojet EJ200 axial-flow, low-bypass, augmented turbofans rated at approximately 20,250 lb. thrust each with reheat. The initial prototype flew in 1994, with deliveries commencing in 2002.
Now in the definition stage, the Mako is envisioned as a family of single- and two-seat, supersonic advanced trainer and light combat aircraft. There has been little movement by EADS regarding future development and no firm customers. The planned engine is a single, 16,860-lb.-thrust General Electric F414MT turbofan. The Mako program began in 1989 (as the AT-2000 program) as a collaboration between Dornier (since merged into EADS) and Aermacchi (which left the program in 1994).
The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) Dhruv/ALH is a twin-turboshaft-engine, single-main-rotor, multirole helicopter powered by Turbomeca TM333-2B2 turboshaft engines rated at 1,000 shp. each. Development for a variant equipped with a new engine is ongoing, and first flight for a Dhruv powered by Turbomeca/HAL Ardiden 1H turboshaft engines took place in August 2007. The Ardiden 1H, produced and marketed in India under the name Shakti, was certified in December 2007 by the European Aviation Safety Agency.
Preliminary design studies for the B-52 heavy bomber began in 1946 and a prototype made its maiden flight in 1952. Production ran until 1962 and reached a total of 744 aircraft, plus two prototypes. Eighty-five H models remain in U.S. Air Force active service (nine in the Reserve) and are the subject of several modernization programs. B-52H bombers are powered by eight Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-33 turbofans rated at 17,000 lb. thrust each.
This single- or two-seat, twin-engine, air superiority fighter is manufactured by Boeing and license-produced by Mitsubishi. All F-15 models built to date are powered by versions of the Pratt & Whitney F100 turbofan engine except the new F-15K, which has two General Electric F110-GE-129 turbofans rated at 29,000 lb. thrust each, and Singapore’s F-15SGs, which are also F110-powered. The initial version in the F-15 series was the F-15A, which first flew in 1972, followed by deliveries in 1974.
The U.S. Air Force is lumping several B-52 sustainment contracts into a single, sole-source deal for Boeing with a ceiling of $11.9 billion. The deal will allow for engineering sustaining contracts, studies and production in support of continuing operation of the B-52 bomber, dubbed the Buff. It is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contract covering eight years of work.
The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is a single-seat multirole fighter/attack aircraft designed for an Indian military requirement. A two-seat trainer version is also being developed. Initial production aircraft are powered by General Electric F404-GE-IN20 augmented turbofans rated at 18,700 lb. thrust each.
General Electric and its F414 engine have defeated the Eurojet EJ200 to become the lowest bidder in the competition to power the Indian Light Combat Aircraft Mk. 2.
The start of Fiscal 2011 will look a lot like Fiscal 2010 because after failing to finish regular appropriations, Congress squeaked out a continuing resolution to keep the federal government going until Dec. 3—but only at Fiscal 2010-enacted levels for almost everything, including the Defense Department. Still, the resolution brings some changes. It “adjusts” the current rate for operations for the Foreign Military Financing program to include $965 million that was advanced for Israel, Egypt and Jordan in a Fiscal 2009 supplemental spending law.
Andrew Pramschufer (see photo) has been named as chief operating officer of Ontic ’s operations in California. He was vice president-manufacturing and distribution for the Dacor Corp.
This family of single-main-rotor, single- and twin-engine utility helicopters has been available in a variety of models, built by Bell Helicopter Textron and several licensees. Models currently in production, or forecast for delivery through 2019, include the UH-1Y improved four-blade variant, with the first 10 units for the U.S. Marine Corps to be upgraded UH-1Ns. In addition, Bell will continue production of Model 412 helicopters and Fuji UH-1Js. More than 14,927 of UH-1/212/412 helicopters were delivered through 2009, with another 338 expected in 2010-19.
Willard “Bill” Hagan has been appointed president and Herb Mardany senior vice president of AmSafe Industries of Phoenix. Hagan was president and Mardany vice president/general manager of subsidiary AmSafe Aviation.
A concept demonstrator for a robotic explorer designed to hop, rather than rove, over a planetary surface is being prepared for a hovering flight at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Cambridge, Mass. Developers from Draper working with Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate students believe the hopper concept will make it easier for explorers to access challenging sites and travel greater distances, and thus collect more data during a mission.
Something is out of whack with the editorial “Defense Overhaul Is Overdue” (AW&ST Aug. 23/30, p. 74). It begins with a chart showing defense spending in 2005 dollars, implying that the U.S. has with its current wars approached World War II spending levels. This is so only if you think it is appropriate to ignore the fact that $800-plus-billion in 1945 represented 40%-plus of the gross domestic product and produced 12 million soldiers while the same amount today is only 4.5% of GDP and buys a quite different and still very powerful military.
The MiG-AT is an advanced jet trainer in development. A prototype made its first flight in 1996; a pre-series aircraft flew in 2004. The aircraft uses two 3,175-lb.-thrust Turbomeca/Snecma Larzac 04-R20 turbofan engines, although aircraft have also been tested with Soyuz RD-1700 and Saturn AL-55I engines. Also being developed is a single-seat light fighter/attack version of the MiG-AT, called the MiG-AS. Two flying prototypes and four additional airframes have been produced.
The first flight of the J-10 combat aircraft occurred in March 1998. The single-engine, single- or two-seat interceptor/ground attack aircraft is powered by a Lyulka Saturn AL-31FN turbofan rated at 27,560 lb. thrust) with reheat, although the Chinese have been working on a version powered by the indigenous WS-10 engine. About 149 J-10s were produced through 2009 and production estimates stand at 276 more for the 2010-19 period.
The Rafale is available in a single- or two-seat configuration and can serve as both a land- and sea-based air superiority, air combat and ground attack aircraft. First flight of the Rafale occurred in 1986, and initial deliveries began in 1999. The prototype was powered by two General Electric F404-GE-400 augmented turbofans (16,860 lb. thrust each); production aircraft use two Snecma M88-2 augmented turbofans rated at 16,400 lb. thrust each.
