While NASA and industry are continuing to push toward a 2015 deadline set by Congress for integrating UAVs into civilian airspace (i.e., National Air Space, or NAS), the FAA is weighing concerns about the potential to compromise safety. NASA is considering a prize challenge to accelerate the integration of unmanned aircraft into the FAA's NextGen airspace system. Two competitions of increasing complexity would be run in late 2013 and 2014, with a combined prize purse of $1.5 million.
The A330 MRTT is a military tanker/transport version of the Airbus A330 airliner. The twin-engine MRTT is powered by either General Electric CF6-80E1 or Rolls-Royce Trent 700 turbofans. The aircraft entered service in 2011 with Australia as the boom-equipped KC-30A and with the U.K. as the hose-and-drogue-equipped Voyager. Through 2011, 20 green A330s were produced for eventual conversion to the MRTT configuration; an additional 12 are forecast to be built in the 2012-21 period.
The Korean Helicopter Program (KHP) is a South Korean effort to develop a military utility/transport helicopter in the 8-metric-ton class. The new rotorcraft is dubbed the Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH). The KUH, which is also known as the Surion, is slated to replace Bell UH-1Hs and McDonnell Douglas 500MDs in the South Korean army fleet. The helicopter is powered by a pair of General Electric/Samsung Techwin T700-701K turboshaft engines. Four new-build Surion prototypes have been produced.
The Rafale is available in single- or two-seat configurations, as a land- or sea-based multi-role aircraft. First flight of the Rafale occurred in 1986, and deliveries began in 1999. The Rafale A demonstrator (prototype) was powered by two GE F404-400 augmented turbofans; production aircraft use two Snecma M88-2s rated at 16,400-lb.-thrust each. The first production Rafale with Thales RBE2 active, electronically scanned array radar was delivered to the French defense ministry in October 2012.
The MD Explorer is an eight-place, twin-turboshaft helicopter. It incorporates the patented Notar system. In early 2001, MD Helicopters launched the Combat Explorer armed variant, specifically targeting the air forces of Latin America. The Combat Explorer is cleared to carry the GAU-19/A .50-caliber Gatling gun, the M2 .50-cal gun pod, and 70-mm Hydra rockets.
Short/medium-range, twin-turboprop, short-takeoff-and-landing transport developed from the Alenia G.222 as a joint venture with Lockheed Martin. The prototype C-27J, which first flew in 1999, was a modified G.222 with an upgraded cockpit and two 4,640-shp Rolls-Royce AE2100D2 engines. In a military transport role, the C-27J can carry 34-46 paratroopers, 46-68 infantry, or up to 36 stretchers and six medical attendants. In a utility role, the C-27J has up to a 24,353-lb. payload. In 2007, the aircraft won the U.S.
Sikorsky has received FAA type certification for the S-76D, the latest version of its twin-turbine intermediate helicopter. The first completed aircraft is scheduled for delivery to a Middle East VIP customer in early 2013. The S-76D has Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210S engines, composite rotor blades, Thales integrated flight-deck and autopilot, health and usage monitoring and rotor ice protection systems. The S-76D is 21 kt faster at best-range speed than the S-76C++, burns 8% less fuel at that speed, and has 1,100 lb. more useful load, says Sikorsky.
The EC665 Tiger is a tandem-seat attack helicopter designed for all-weather, day/night anti-tank, ground-support, anti-helicopter and armed escort missions. Power is supplied by two MTU Turbomeca Rolls-Royce MTR390 turboshafts, rated at 1,285 shp each. Variants include the HAC Tiger basic anti-tank version and HAP Gerfaut escort/fire-support versions for the French army; the UHT German combat support version; the ARH hybrid version selected for the Australian armed reconnaissance helicopter program; and the HAD multirole version with uprated engines.
The Harrier II (AV-8B) is a single- or two-seat, single-engine ground- attack aircraft now out of production. Through 1998, Boeing/McDonnell Douglas and BAE had built 428 Harrier II vertical/short-takeoff-and-landing (V/STOL) aircraft. AV-8Bs are powered by either a 21,450-lb.-thrust Rolls-Royce Pegasus 11-21 (U.S.-designated F402-406A) vectored-thrust turbofan or a 23,800-lb.-thrust Pegasus 11-61 (F402-408). U.K. Royal Air Force GR7 and GR9 models were powered by a Pegasus Mk 105 (21,500-lb.-thrust), and GR7A/GR9As with the Pegasus Mk 107.
As the Arab Spring progresses, Israel is being surrounded by what its intelligence community calls Safar—bad lands, wilderness, no man's land. These enclaves are administered by weak governments with limited influence where the rule of law is often absent.
The Mitsubishi F-2 is a single- and twin-seat air combat fighter/interceptor aircraft based on the Lockheed Martin F-16. The first F-2 prototype flew in October 1995, with production deliveries following in September 2000. Lockheed Martin supplies various components for the F-2. The aircraft is powered by a single 29,500-lb.-thrust GE F110-129 augmented turbofan, license-produced by IHI. Ninety-eight F-2 aircraft were built, including four flying prototypes. Production ended in 2011.
Oct. 30-31—Precision Strike Technology Symposium: “Precision Strike's Role in Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership.” (Secret/U.S.-Only Level) Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Kassiakoff Center. Laurel, Md. Call +1 (703) 247-2590 or see www.precisionstrike.org/2PST.htm Oct. 30-Nov. 1—American Helicopter Society Southeast U.S. Chapter's 15th Biennial Helicopter Military Operations Technology Specialists' Meeting. Crowne Plaza Williamsburg, Fort Magruder, Va. See www.vtol.org/events/helmot-xv
The cutthroat competition in the Australian long-haul market is just as prevalent in the regulatory arena, as several airlines are proving with their vociferous opposition to a partnership proposed by Qantas and Emirates. While it would be a major surprise if permission were not granted by Australian regulators, the heated debate underlines how high the stakes are—not only for Qantas and Emirates, but for all of the international carriers serving this region.
Boeing is hoping that a new, Ground-Based Small-Diameter Bomb (SDB) concept will dramatically change the way the U.S. Army handles ground fires and expand the portfolio of capabilities offered by the 250-lb. glide weapon.
First flight of the AW129 attack helicopter occurred in 1983 and AgustaWestland has delivered 66 aircraft, including prototypes, through 2011. The Turkish army selected the AW129 in 2007 for a requirement for 51 attack helicopters, plus 41 options. To be built locally by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), this version is known as the T129 and is powered by LHTEC (Honeywell/Rolls-Royce) CTS800 turboshafts. An estimated 93 T129s are forecast for production in the 2012-21 period.
The multinational F-35 program last week conducted its second weapons drop and gained two fully installed full-mission simulators. On Oct. 17, a conventional-takeoff-and-landing F-35, AF-1, performed its first weapons drop, jettisoning a 2,000-lb. Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), during a flight test at Edwards AFB, Calif. The program's first weapons drop took place this summer with an F-35B, designed for short-takeoff-and-landing, dropping a 500-lb. JDAM. While weapons-testing continues, the U.S.
The “cracked and broken path” of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, as discussed in a recent editorial (AW&ST Oct. 1, p. 58), can be traced back to an early-1990s Defense Department decision. This was to subsume the then-successfully developing U.S. Navy/Marine Corps program for the AV-8B Harrier replacement vertical-short-takeoff-and-landing (Vstol) aircraft and use that engineering design as the ostensive developmental base for one grand Pentagon acquisition project designated Joint Strike Fighter.
The Kawasaki OH-1 is a tandem-seat, twin-engine, armed scout helicopter developed for the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force. The aircraft is powered by a pair of Mitsubishi TS1-M-10 turboshafts, rated at approximately 885 shp each. First flight of an OH-1 prototype occurred in August 1996 and 31 OH-1s had been built through 2011; another three are expected this year.
The S-300C is a piston-powered, 2-3-seat light utility and training helicopter model acquired by Sikorsky when it bought Schweizer Aircraft in 2004. The S-300C has its roots in the Hughes Helicopter Model 269/300 family of helicopters, and Schweizer produced its first 300C in 1984 after signing a deal with Hughes. Through 2011, 1,245 civil and military Model 300 helicopters had been produced by Schweizer, and another 24 for military use are forecast for production through 2021.
The SW-4 is a Polish light single-turbine helicopter powered by the 458-shp Rolls-Royce 250-C20R/2. First flight occurred in 1996, but deliveries to the Polish air force did not start until 2004. AgustaWestland acquired PZL-Swidnik in January 2010. By the end of 2011, some 32 SW-4s had been built. Production of 35 SW-4s is forecast over the next decade.
