There were ample warnings prior to 9/11 that a terrorist attack on American soil was being planned. But for many reasons, intelligence, national security and law enforcement organizations failed to connect the dots that could have thwarted the attack. “The warning signs were there, [but] we weren't organized [and] we weren't ready. And we suffered terribly for that,” Defense Secretary and former CIA director Leon Panetta recently told a group of business executives in a major policy speech in New York. But that was not the message Panetta was in New York to deliver.
“Tightly coupled and closely held” could describe combat-aircraft radars, but the advent of active, electronically scanned array (AESA) technology is changing the equation as systems become more affordable and easier to insert into more platforms. This trend is clear at Northrop Grumman's Baltimore plant, where “in the same facility we produce AESAs from UHF to W-band, for all Defense Department customers, in all radar domains,” says Pat Antkowiak, vice president and general manager of the advanced concepts and technology division.
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 totalled 744 aircraft, plus two prototypes. Seventy-four H models remain in U.S. Air Force service and are the subject of several modernization programs. B-52H bombers are powered by eight Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-3 turbofans of 17,000-lb.-thrust each.
Twin-engine, eight-seat, single-main-rotor light utility helicopter. The current military model is the AW109LUH, powered by two Turbomeca Arrius 2K2 turboshafts rated at 670 shp each. Armament capability for the AW109LUH includes 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 2011, 1,310 AW109s had been produced, including 70 AW109LUHs. In the 2012-21 period, more than 690 AW109s are forecast for production, including 63 AW109LUHs.
The AMX is an attack aircraft powered by a single 11,030-lb.-thrust Rolls-Royce Spey Mk 807 non-afterburning turbofan. Alenia and Aermacchi (then independent) initially pursued separate designs for Italy's attack/support requirement, but began collaborating in 1978. Embraer joined the program in 1980. The resulting single-seat aircraft made its maiden flight in 1984, with deliveries beginning in 1989. A two-seat trainer variant, the AMX-T, flew in 1990. Approximately 205 aircraft were built throughout the AMX production run, which ended in 2002.
Single- or two-seat, twin-engine air superiority fighter manufactured by Boeing, and license-produced by Mitsubishi. Most F-15 models built to date are powered by versions of the Pratt & Whitney F100 afterburning turbofan, but South Korea's F-15K and Singapore's F-15SG are powered by GE F110 turbofans, with Saudi Arabia using F110s in new and upgraded F-15SAs. The initial F-15A version first flew in 1972; deliveries began in 1974. The improved F-15C/D became the standard in 1979, but were superseded in the 1980s by the two-seat F-15E strike aircraft.
Schweizer Aircraft developed the Model 330 and 333 prior to the company's acquisition by Sikorsky in 2004. The 330 was developed from the company's piston-powered Model 300. The 330 and the improved 330SP models were both powered by a Rolls-Royce 250-C20W turboshaft derated to 232 shp. The uprated Model 333 (redesignated the S-333) offered a 100-lb. increase in useful load and a redesigned, larger-diameter rotor system. The new S-434 is an evolved S-333 using the dynamic components and four-blade rotor developed for the Northrop Grumman MQ-88 Fire Scout unmanned aircraft.
Since its introduction to combat in Afghanistan in March, about 100 of the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps new low-cost, precision air-launched missiles have been fired at enemy vehicles and troops from AH-1W Cobra and UH-1Y transport helicopters.
The single-engine AS550 utility helicopter is a military version of the AS350 Ecureuil. It is powered by a Turbomeca Arriel turboshaft. Approximately 4,266 AS350/AS550/EC130s were produced through 2011, including civil and military variants and those assembled under license. Another 31 units for military applications are slated for production between 2012 and 2021.
Malaysia's navy is still lobbying the government for budget approval to buy six anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters and more submarines. The deputy chief of the navy, Vice Adm. Mohammed Noordin bin Ali, tells Aviation Week the service still has to win budget approval for the helicopter purchase. The general consensus, in the navy and among industry executives, is that the government is likely to delay making major decisions on defense procurements until after the national elections. The government is required to call elections by the end of March.
The EC635 is the military version of the commercial EC135 light twin-turbine helicopter. It can be used for troop transport, search-and-rescue missions, and training. The latest models are the EC135P2e, powered by 667-shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206B2 engines, and the EC135T2e, with 634-shp Turbomeca Arrius 2B2s. Through 2011, 46 EC635s had been produced. Production of another 30 EC635s is forecast for the 2012-21 period.
The U.S. intelligence community, the collection of 16 federal agencies chaired by the director of national intelligence, is usually loathe to talk about its budget, believing that to reveal funding specifics would provide foreign adversaries with insight into U.S. clandestine activities. But when it comes to impending budget cuts related to sequestration, America's intelligence czar has a clear message of gloom and doom.
Orhan Abbas has been appointed senior vice president-commercial operations for the Americas by Emirates. He was vice president for India and Nepal, and had held senior commercial positions in Tanzania, South Africa and the Middle East.
A twin-engine, tandem-rotor, medium/heavy-lift transport helicopter, the CH-47 first flew in 1961. The current CH-47F production model is powered by two 4,733-shp Honeywell T55-714A turboshafts. The U.S. Army's MH-47G special-operations helicopter is based on the CH-47F. Through 2011, 1,361 CH-47s had been produced, inlcuding license production by AgustaWestland in Italy and Kawasaki in Japan. Approximately 326 new CH-47s are forecast to be produced from 2012 through 2021.
The Hawker Beechcraft King Air series of pressurized, twin-turboprop utility aircraft see widespread use in a variety of roles. Uses include utility, medevac, training, and VIP transport, while highly modified King Airs also are used as maritime patrol and ISR platforms. In U.S. military service, King Air variants are designated C-12. The MC-12W Liberty ISR aircraft is a recent version. First flight of a King Air took place in 1964 and to date more than 6,000 aircraft in the series have been built (for civil and military applications).
The Saab Gripen is a single-engine multirole fighter built in Sweden. A prototype made its first flight in 1988, and deliveries of the JAS 39A/B began in mid-1993. The improved JAS 39C/D followed in 2003. Power for the Gripen comes from a single Volvo/GE RM12 turbofan engine rated at 18,000- lb.-thrust with afterburning. Sweden and Switzerland plan to jointly develop the next-generation JAS 39E for entry into service beginning in 2018.
Hafei Aviation Industry Co. Ltd. builds the Z-9, a version of Eurocopter's AS365 Dauphin twin-turboshaft multipurpose helicopter. Z-9 deliveries began in 1982. Initial Z-9s were assembled from Aerospatiale-supplied kits, incorporation of an increasing proportion of Chinese-made equipment culminating in the completely indigenous Z-9B. The Z-9 is powered by Zhuzhou WZ-8 turboshafts, while the Z-9WE attack variant has Turbomeca Arriel 2C engines.
The F-CK-1 Ching-kuo (also called the Indigenous Defense Fighter) is a light fighter aircraft developed by the Taiwan state-owned aerospace company Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC) in the 1980s. Powered by two ITEC (Honeywell/AIDC) F125-100 afterburning turbofans, the aircraft entered service in 1994 and 134 F-CK-1A/Bs were completed by the time production stopped in 1999. Beginning in 2006, the aircraft were upgraded to F-CK-1C/Ds with new avionics, radar and weapons.
The Su-27/30/35 series is a family of twin-engine, single- and two-seat interceptor/multirole aircraft. Development of the Su-27 began in 1969, and a prototype made its initial flight in 1977. Power for the Su-27 comes from two Saturn/Lyulka AL-31F turbofans, each rated at 27,557-lb.-thrust with afterburner. Derivatives include the two-seat Su-30M multirole combat aircraft, Su-33 carrier-based naval aircraft and Su-34 fighter/bomber.
Large twin-engine fighter under development by Sukhoi, designed to compete with the stealth capability of Lockheed Martin's F-22 and F-35. The $8-10 billion estimated program costs are to be split between India and Russia. Total program requirements for the two countries could reach 500 aircraft. A prototype T-50 made its first flight in January 2010, powered possibly by a derivative of the Saturn 117S afterburning turbofan. Other reports have the fighter being powered by an all-new engine design.
The expense of an unmanned Mars sample-return mission (AW&ST Oct. 1, p. 36) should revive interest in the SCIM (Sample Collection for Investigation of Mars) concept, a low-cost alternative that was nearly selected as a Mars Scout mission in 2007.
The non-profit California-based B612 Foundation has received an independent program concept and implementation review of its proposed asteroid-hunting Sentinel Space Telescope, according to mission director Harold Reitsema.
Lockheed Martin's F-35 design was selected as the winner of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program in 2001. The JSF program calls for three versions: the F-35A conventional-takeoff-and-landing model, the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing (Stovl) F-35B, and the carrier-capable F-35C. Production F-35s are powered by a single Pratt & Whitney F135 afterburning turbofan engine rated at 40,000-lb.-thrust. In the B model, in Stovl mode, this engine drives a Rolls-Royce lift fan via a shaft and gearbox. The U.S.
