The Tornado is a two-seat interdictor-strike and air-defense aircraft that first flew in 1974. All Tornado versions are powered by two Turbo-Union RB199 afterburning turbofans. Production was completed in 1998 after 992 aircraft had been built.
USN Rear Adm. (lower half) Randolph L. Mahr has been assigned as deputy director of the Joint Strike Fighter Program in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Acquisitions, Technology and Logistics at the Pentagon. He has been commander of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Div./assistant commander for research and engineering of Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. Rear Adm. (lower half) Troy M. Shoemaker will be chief of naval air training at Corpus Christi, Texas. He has been commander of Carrier Strike Group Nine, Everett, Wash. Rear Adm.
The AW139M is the military version of the AW139, a twin-engine, 15-passenger, commercial helicopter used for search-and-rescue and offshore work and powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67C turboshaft engines rated at 1,679 shp each. The AW149 is a slightly larger military transport version powered by two 2,000-shp-class GE CT7-2E1 engines. The AW149 prototype first flew in November 2009. Armament capabilities of the AW149 are: 70-mm and 81-mm rocket launchers; 7.62-mm, 12.7-mm, and 20-mm machine guns; and provision for air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles.
The F-22 is a single-seat, twin-engine, stealthy supersonic aircraft selected in 1991 as the U.S. Air Force's next air superiority fighter. Initial flight occurred in 1997. Propulsion is provided by two 35,000-lb.-thrust Pratt & Whitney F119-100 afterburning turbofans. Some 177 F-22s were produced through 2011, including test aircraft. The last of 187 F-22s was delivered to the Air Force in early 2012, and production has ceased.
The KC-390 is a twin-turbofan military transport under development by Embraer and the Brazilian air force. As envisioned, the KC-390 will be able to carry a payload of 50,705 lb. Embraer has selected International Aero Engines' V2500-E5 turbofan (27,000-29,000-lb.-thrust) to power the new aircraft. First flight is planned for 2014, with service entry in 2016. To date, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic and Portugal have committed to join Brazil in developing and acquiring the KC-390. From 2014 through 2021, 98 KC-390s are expected to be produced.
The E-2 Hawkeye is an aircraft carrier-capable, airborne early warning and control aircraft. First delivery of the initial E-2A model occurred in 1964. The improved E-2C first flew in 1971 and was produced through 2009. The latest version is the E-2D, which is now in the final stages of development for the U.S. Navy. The E-2D upgrades include two Rolls-Royce T56-427A turboprops rated at 5,100 shp each, and a more powerful electronically/mechanically scanned radar with improved capability for surveillance of air and ground targets.
As long as “Aviation” appears on your masthead, may Pierre Sparaco remain a part of what's inside your publication. Interesting and apropos as it may be, and as tech-heavy as most of your content has to be, I find in Sparaco's typical commentary a heartening emphasis on the human aspects of the industry.
The U.S. Air Force's Reusable Booster System (RBS) lacks a mature business case, but the service should continue to pursue key technology challenges as well as a pathfinder flight-test program, says a National Research Council panel.
The basic design phase for CFM International's all-new Leap engines is almost over. But soon the next challenge looms: turning the new design into a production reality. As the first test components take shape, CFM is seeking to complete most of the learning curve ahead of production ramp-up.
The Su-25 is a twin-engine, single- and tandem-seat, ground-attack and training aircraft powered by two Tumansky/Soyuz R-195 turbojets rated at 9,921-lb.-thrust each. First prototype flight occurred in 1975. A number of versions have been produced, the most recent of which, the Su-25TM, has new avionics and increased fuel capacity. Production of the Su-25 ended in the 1990s after more than 1,200 were built.
Your correspondent Steve Parker, in discussing Bombardier's “thinner, shorter-pitch seats” (AW&ST Oct. 8, p. 8; Sept. 24, p. 14) is, with the help of Wizz Air and the charge for carry-ons, presaging a synergism. Obviously the ultimate way to fly will involve being charged by the pound and given a seat to match your body weight. It will be tough on the fatties, but my wife will love it. Oceanside, Calif.
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.
