White House and NASA officials will get their first crack at the final report of the human-spaceflight review panel headed by Norman Augustine as early as this week, after panel members compromised on the tricky issue of launch-vehicle safety in scoring exploration-architecture options.
Raytheon has captured a $13-million Army contract to develop more sensor prototypes for the Advanced Distributed Aperture System (ADAS) that provides 360-deg. situational awareness to helicopter pilots. This is the first extension of a joint capability technology demonstration contract from last year. ADAS is designed to assist pilots in low-level flight by using the information from six infrared sensors and a helmet display that shows the cockpit, engines and tail rotor.
Michael Rosin has been appointed New York-based Northeast U.S. sales manager and Liora Avrahami West Coast manager, based in Los Angeles, for El Al Israel Airlines . Rosin was head of sales for the New York borough of Manhattan and succeeds Avrahami.
Maintenance of the U.S. Air Force’s KC-10 aerial refueling aircraft will be switching to Northrop Grumman from Boeing in 2010, based on the Air Force’s award of a $3.8-billion contractor logistics support (CLS) package on Oct. 2.
The Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned rotorcraft was deployed on board the USS McInerney last week in preparation for counternarcotics missions in and around the Caribbean this year. This operational evaluation period will allow Navy operators to develop tactics, techniques and procedures for using the rotorcraft and its intelligence-collecting payload. Introduction of the Fire Scout into the Navy fleet marks the first time an automated unmanned aerial system has been delivered for shipboard operation by sailors. The aircraft has executed 600 hr.
China’s new batch of astronauts will spend a lot of time at a gleaming new facility in this capital’s northwestern suburbs, learning how to fly the Shenzhou spacecraft from the men and women who developed its life-support systems and simulators.
The piston-powered CL-215 amphibian aircraft first flew in 1967. It was powered by two 2,100-hp. Pratt & Whitney R-2800-CA3 engines. Production has ended, with a total of 125 produced. Seventeen aircraft were converted to the CL-215T configuration, which incorporates 2,380-shp. Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123AF turboprop engines and other modifications. A new-production, PW123AF-powered version is called the 415, with 71 built through 2008. An additional 23 are forecast for production in 2009-18.
These are special-purpose military aircraft based on the Boeing 707. The E-3 made its first flight in February 1972, but the E-3 AWACS and the E-6 are now out of production. Boeing is promoting 767-based AWACS aircraft instead of the E-3. The aircraft is powered by four turbofan engines, either Pratt & Whitney TF33s or CFM International CFM56-2s. The E-6A uses four F108-CF-100 (CFM56-2A-2) turbofans. A total of 76 E-3s and 17 E-6s were built. Another 707-based special-purpose military aircraft is the Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint-Stars.
Samsung began developingf the KTX-2 advanced trainer in 1992. Lockheed Martin is a participant in the program and is responsible for avionics, flight control systems and wings. The project was formally launched in 1997, and the first prototype flew in August 2002. Two versions are being developed: the T-50 trainer and the A-50 lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT). Both are weapons-capable. The T/A-50 is powered by a General Electric F404-GE-102 turbofan engine rated at 17,700 lb. thrust. Through 2008, 32 aircraft were built.
MBDA has successfully demonstrated a Zuni semi-active laser-guided rocket using its WGU-58 guidance and control system. The rocket was fired from a fighter-mounted LAU-10 launch pod at the U.S. Navy’s test facilities in China Lake, Calif. Zuni scored a direct hit against a moving target. Previous tests had involved static targets.
Seven European nations that are currently participating in the A400M transport program—Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey and the U.K.—are contracted to acquire a total of 192 A400Ms. South Africa became the first non-European participant, followed by Malaysia. Those two countries are expected to take delivery of eight and four A400Ms, respectively. The A400M is being developed by Airbus Military, a consortium of Airbus, EADS CASA, Flabel and TAI. It is powered by four EuroProp International TP400-D6 turboprop engines rated at 11,000 shp. each.
These are 3-4-seat, single-turbine-powered military training/utility helicopters. The 330 and the 330SP were both powered by a 420-shp. Rolls-Royce Model 250-C20W turboshaft engine derated to 235 shp. The new 333 uses a 420-shp. Model 250-C20W derated to 232 shp. Through 2008, Schweizer produced 32 Model 330s and 60 Model 333s. During 2009-18, an estimated 217 aircraft are forecast to be produced.
The decision to tear down an F136 test engine for closer inspection following discovery of turbine damage has halted development testing on the alternate powerplant for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, at least temporarily. The second development F136 is being torn down and checked after “dings and nicks” were found on turbine blades during inspection following an extended maximum-thrust test run, says the General Electric/Rolls-Royce (GE/RR) Fighter Engine Team. The incident occurred Oct. 2, but was only acknowledged publicly Oct. 7.
Hopes are fading among senior Pentagon officials for a quick expansion of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) into a major Air Force command.
First flight of the Rafale occurred in 1986, and initial deliveries began in 1999. The Rafale is available in single- or two-seat configurations, and serves as a land- or sea-based air superiority, air combat and ground attack aircraft. The prototype was powered by two GE 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. A total of 62 Rafales were produced through 2008. Production of approximately 163 Rafale aircraft is forecast in 2009-18.
U.S. regional airline owner Trans States Holdings has broken the sales drought for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet, signing a letter of intent for 50 of the aircraft with options on 50 more. Deliveries will run for five or six years, beginning in 2014, when Mitsubishi Aircraft expects to deliver the first MRJ to All Nippon Airways, the only other customer.
Frank Morring, Jr. (Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China)
Seven new Chinese astronauts will soon start their spaceflight training—including the first two women in the expanded corps of 21—as China moves ahead on a path aimed at launching a 20-metric-ton station by 2020.
The series consists of single- and twin-engine, single-main-rotor attack helicopters. Through 2007, Bell delivered approximately 2,300 AH-1s of all variants, while Fuji delivered about 90. Presumably the final iteration of the Cobra, the AH-1Z is an improved version of the AH-1W for the U.S. Marine Corps and for export. Powered by two GE T700-GE-401 turboshaft engines rated at 1,723 shp. each, the AH-1Z features a four-blade composite main rotor and uprated (2,625-shp.) transmission, providing 30% more power to the rotor.
The F-16 fighter was initially produced by General Dynamics, which was later acquired by Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin continues to build the aircraft, which has also been manufactured under license by a number of companies. The first F-16 prototype flew in 1974. The F-16A, F-16C and F-16E are single-seat fighters, while the F-16B, F-16D and F-16F are dual-seat, combat-capable trainer versions. The F-16 is powered by a single turbofan engine, either the GE F110 or the Pratt & Whitney F100. About 4,431 F-16s were manufactured through 2008.
Lufthansa has become Europe’s largest airline group through its recent acquisitions (see p. 40). But it is now seeking to make its core business more efficient, along with its long-haul hub in Frankfurt, where a Boeing 747-400 departs from Runway 7 Left. Joseph Pries photo.
An antiarmor/ground attack/utility helicopter, the AW129 is powered by two Rolls-Royce GEM 1004 turboshaft engines rated at 890 shp. each, or two LHTEC CTS800 engines rated at 1,373 shp. each. First flight occurred in 1983, with Agusta delivering 65 aircraft, including five prototypes, through 2003. The AW129 was recently selected to fill a Turkish army requirement for up to 92 attack helicopters.
The Mitsubishi F-2 is a single- and twin-seat air combat fighter/interceptor aircraft based on the Lockheed Martin F-16C Block 40 aircraft. The first F-2 prototype flew in October 1995, and initial production deliveries followed in September 2000. Lockheed Martin supplies various components for the F-2. The aircraft is powered by a single 29,500-lb.-thrust GE F110-GE-129 turbofan engine, license-produced by IHI. Approximately 79 F-2 aircraft were built through 2008, plus four flying prototypes.
In an article in the Oct. 5 edition (p. 40), the manufacturer of the of EchoStar’s Nimiq-5 satellite was misidentified. The spacecraft was built by Space Systems/Loral. The cover photo description in the Table of Contents (p. 4) for the Oct. 5 issue should have listed the manufacturer of the U.S. Navy MH-60R helicopter as Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin.
A tandem-seat, antitank/fire support helicopter designed for all-weather, day/night antitank, ground support, antihelicopter and armed escort missions, the tiger is powered by two MTU Turbomeca Rolls-Royce MTR390 turboshaft engines rated at 1,285 shp. each at takeoff. Variants include the HAC Tiger, a basic antitank version for the French army that can carry antiarmor missiles and Mistral air-to-air missiles; HAP Gerfaut, an escort and fire support version for the French army that can carry a chin-turret-mounted 30-mm.
