THE PENTAGON — For the past two years, U.S. Navy officials have been touting the performance of their Sikorsky MH-60R, or Romeo, helicopters, expressing a desire to buy more. The proposed fiscal 2015 Pentagon spending plan would grand that wish, by providing about $1.1 billion for 29 aircraft. That compares to the $797.3 million the Navy requested to buy 19 helicopters in fiscal 2014. The larger Romeo buy underscores the greater investment the Navy and Pentagon want to make in helicopter and tiltrotor aircraft.
NEW DELHI — Airbus Defense and Space sees an opportunity to promote C295 tactical airlifter sales to India through the Indian air force’s requirement for 56 transport aircraft to replace its aging fleet of Hawker Siddeley HS 748s. “The C295 is ideal for India, as it has the lowest-cost lifecycle of any aircraft in its category and is highly versatile, proven all around the world as a tough, reliable and high-performing workhorse,” Christian Scherer, head of marketing and sales at Airbus Defense and Space, told Aviation Week.
Japanese engineers have ground tested a turbojet in conditions equivalent to Mach 4, which they believe is the highest simulated speed at which a turbine engine has operated. The February round of tests was a step toward building an engine that, unlike ramjets, has the thrust and efficiency advantages of mechanical compression and the ability to propel an aircraft from takeoff to Mach 5.
Rostislav Belyakov, who headed the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau from 1969 to 1997, died of an unspecified illness in Moscow on Feb. 28. He was 94. Belyakov joined the bureau in 1941, two years after its establishment, and became its deputy chief designer in 1957. He was appointed general designer after the bureau's founder, Artyom Mikoyan, suffered a stroke in 1969.
Slowly, steadily Japan is building its naval aviation strength, and with it a latent capacity for local power projection. A third helicopter carrier, launched in August, is due for commissioning in 2015, while a sister ship is planned and probably under construction. In December, Japan decided to take the first steps toward increasing its amphibious capability, which will likely produce at least two ships larger than the current three, with full-length flight decks.
India has put on hold all defense contracts with Rolls-Royce following allegations that the company paid bribes to win lucrative contracts to supply Hawk advanced trainer jet engines to state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), a defense ministry official says. Not only is the decision a serious blow to the aircraft engine-maker, but it also threatens to delay upcoming Indian air force purchases and impact other existing programs.
The caption with a graphic depicting satellites and debris in Earth orbit accompanying an article in the March 3 edition (page 22) on a new U.S. satellite system to monitor other spacecraft incorrectly described a dense ring of objects. The region described was low Earth orbit, not geosynchronous orbit.
MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDH) has been awarded a contract for the integration, testing, procurement, modification and installation of a weapon system onto Afghanistan's 17 MD 530F helicopters.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has requested a Patriot Air Defence System with PAC-3 enhancement and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $1.750 billion, consisting of 202 Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC), three Missiles with containers and one Guidance Enhanced Missile (GEM) Flight Test Target/Patriot as a Target.
The government of Singapore has confirmed it has chosen the Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) to replace its aging Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers. Details of the decision emerged in a speech by Singapore’s defense minister, Ng Eng Hen, during a parliamentary committee of supply debate on March 6.
Norway and the U.K. have signed a concept agreement that will explore greater cooperation on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The accord – drawn up in London last September and signed in Oslo on March 4 – is exploring opportunities for closer engagement, particularly in the areas of pilot and technician training, possibly hinting at a joint training school for the JSF for U.K. and Norwegian personnel.
The board of aerospace and defense firm Finmeccanica has approved plans for a new organizational and operating model in a bid to return the company to profitability. The company, which is saddled with large debt and low credit ratings, says it is planning a wholesale change similar to the re-formation undertaken by EADS — which renamed itself as Airbus Group at the beginning of this year — and will focus its transformation efforts on the aerospace, defense and space sectors of the company, which will become core areas.
The introduction of the UH-72 Lakota into the U.S. Army’s flight training regime will smooth new pilot training to fly the AH-64 Apache and the UH-60 Black Hawk, senior service officials say. Speaking at Aviation Week’s Defense Technology and Requirements (DTAR) conference in Arlington, Va., Lt. Gen. William Phillips said the introduction of the twin-engine Lakota would help to reshape elements of the training regime at the Army’s training school in Fort Rucker, Ala.
A Boeing F/A-18C aircraft crashed March 1 on a training flight from the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center’s “Topgun” course at Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon, Nev., the U.S. Navy reported. The crash occurred at approximately 3 p.m. PST, on the Fallon Range Training Complex., roughly 70 mi. east of NAS Fallon, the Navy says. The pilot was killed.
As the U.S. Navy was rolling out its fiscal year 2015 spending proposal — including a $1.3 billion request for more work on the second next-generation Ford-class CVN-79 carrier John F. Kennedy — the service was awarding a contract for a like amount for work on the ship.
Launch schedule issues at Cape Canaveral, including launch of a classified U.S. government spacecraft known as Clio, may force NASA to delay its long-planned first flight of the Orion deep-space crew capsule from mid-September into October. The agency says Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin still could meet the earlier launch date, currently listed as Sept. 18.
The first of Australia’s two Canberra-class assault ships is running sea trials ahead of delivery due this year. Personnel from prime contractor BAE Systems and the Royal Australian Navy are checking the operation of the ship, to be commissioned as HMAS Canberra, on a trip from Melbourne to Sydney and back. The trial “includes both platform tests as well as testing the ship’s combat and communication systems,” says Bill Salter, the head of BAE’s maritime business in Australia.
TYPHOON ROLLOUT: Alenia Aermacchi has rolled out Italy’s first Tranche 3 Eurofighter Typhoon. The company is the second Eurofighter partner to produce a Tranche 3 following BAE Systems, which rolled out and flew its first Tranche 3 Typhoon in December. The single-seat Typhoon, the 64th aircraft for the Italian air force, was rolled out in late February, but the consortium announced the milestone on March 4. It is being prepared for engine tests at Alenia Aermacchi’s facility at Turin-Caselle and will be delivered in the first half of this year.
The U.S. Air Force is expected to offer half of the 14 launches it had anticipated would be suitable for competition from 2015-2017, limiting the near-term opportunities for Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) to duel with rival United Launch Alliance. The service inked a deal in January with ULA for 36-50 Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) cores over the next five years; 36 of them are guaranteed, and 14 were considered potentially open for bids.
The British army has been cleared to begin flying the Watchkeeper unmanned aerial system (UAS). The long-delayed system received its initial release to service (RTS) documentation from the U.K. Military Aviation Authority (MAA) on March 5. The document allows British army pilots to begin training flights with the system in segregated airspace over the Salisbury Plain Training Area in Southern England. The U.K. is purchasing 54 Watchkeeper air vehicles and 15 ground control stations.
