ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Air Force’s re-engined Lockheed Martin C-5M has reached initial operating capability (IOC), with the first 16 aircraft delivered to Dover AFB, Delaware. Gen. Paul Selva, who leads Air Mobility Command, declared the modified strategic airlifter operational Feb. 21. Selva has been nominated to take over U.S. Transportation Command.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Air Force is planning to launch two new and previously classified space situational awareness satellites into geosynchronous orbit this year, according to Gen. William Shelton, who leads Air Force Space Command. The spacecraft were developed covertly by the Air Force and Orbital Sciences under the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSAP), according to service officials.
As the Office of the Secretary of Defense weighs a premature retirement of the U-2, manufacturer Lockheed Martin’s argument to save the program is that “there is no other high-altitude platform that can do the mission.”
LONDON — The U.K. defense ministry is planning to float the first of its new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers this summer. The 65,000-tonne HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to be christened by the Queen on July 4. The dock at Rosyth, Scotland, where the ship is being built, will then be flooded later that month, putting water under the carrier’s keel for the first time. The defense ministry states that sea trials will begin in 2017 and the first flight trials with the F-35B Lightning II aircraft are due to begin in 2018.
LOS ANGELES — The Australian government has approved the long-expected acquisition of Boeing P-8 maritime patrol aircraft under an initial $A4 billion ($3.6 billion) program that calls for deliveries to start in 2017.
Development of the CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter for the U.S. Marine Corps is staying on track, Sikorsky says, as the $3.5 billion program enters the ground and flight-testing phase. Sikorsky has completed the ground-test vehicle (GTV) and one of four flight-test aircraft, with the other three in final assembly at its development test center in West Palm Beach, Fla.
LONDON — The U.K. Defense Ministry has lifted a temporary halt on operations of its Airbus A330 Voyager multi-role tanker transport aircraft. The aircraft resumed flying on Feb. 21, after a 12-day halt in operations following an in-flight incident involving one of the aircraft over Turkey on Feb. 9.
Assembly of the first of Sikorsky’s two industry-funded S-97 Raider helicopter prototypes is 25% complete at its West Palm Beach, Fla., development test center and on track for a rollout in September and first flight by year’s end. The manufacturer is pinning its hopes on demonstration of the rigid coaxial-rotor Raider’s high speed and maneuverability in convincing the U.S. Army to take another look at its shelved requirement for a new armed aerial scout (AAS) helicopter.
BLACK HAWKS: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that a long-awaited $3.5 billion contract to co-produce Sikorsky Black Hawk utility helicopters has been finalized. The deal includes an initial run of 109 T-70 Black Hawks to be assembled by Turkish Aerospace Industries for the army. Sikorsky says a formal announcement will be made when the program is launched in March. The T-70 is a Turkish derivative of the S-70i international Black Hawk now assembled in Poland by Sikorsky subsidiary PZL-Mielec.
Key capabilities fielded by Britain's Royal Air Force in Afghanistan and highly prized across the NATO-led coalition face uncertain futures once the Tornado GR4 aircraft is retired toward the end of the decade. As the RAF looks ahead to a fleet comprising Typhoons and F-35Bs, there are no plans in place to retain two systems that have become invaluable in-theater.
The Indian air force may be within months of receiving its intermediate jet trainer aircraft (IJT), which has been in development since 1999. “The much-delayed Sitara IJT is likely to be operational this year. . . . All efforts are being made by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) for achieving the final operational clearance by December 2014,” Defense Minister A.K. Antony says. “Production of the aircraft will commence immediately thereafter.”
A military fly/drive vehicle inspired by miniature “multicopter” unmanned aircraft is being prepared for its first flight. Advanced Tactics Inc.'s (AT) Black Knight Transformer is the technology demonstrator for a casualty-evacuation and cargo-resupply vehicle that can drive on or off road and fly like a helicopter, manned or unmanned.
For Sikorsky, demonstrating the S-97 Raider high-speed helicopter is even more important now that the U.S. Army has decided to retire its armed scout helicopters and not replace them, at least in the near term. The company, which is building two Raider prototypes on industry funds, believes there is still room, and time, within the Army's long-term budget to acquire a small fleet of new armed scouts before it begins the heavy expenditure of replacing its large fleets of medium-utility and attack helicopters.
Sikorsky Aircraft is bringing oil and gas platform operations into the 21st century with a new satellite-based approach system that takes the human calculation and guesswork out of legacy rig approaches in instrument conditions and at night. The system offers operators an automated arrival tool to reduce crew loading while increasing situational awareness.
Israel Aerospace Industries unveiled a new unmanned air system at the Singapore Airshow, inaugurating a new class that it calls the “super-tactical” UAS. The Super Heron is some 50% larger than the basic Heron or the General Atomics Predator in order to carry a high-performance multi-sensor suite on long-endurance missions. The UAS has completed its flight tests, IAI says, and is “a fully operational system.”
The release of next week's Pentagon budget request to Congress will set the stage for one of the first of several key decisions for Boeing's defense sector, which recently came under new leadership.
Rolls-Royce is producing upgrade kits for T56 engines in anticipation of a contract from the U.S. Air Force to retrofit an initial batch of Lockheed Martin C-130H airlifters. The inventory buildup is based on Congress including $15.7 million for engine upgrades in the fiscal 2014 omnibus spending bill.
TANKER NAMED: The U.S. Air Force has finally given its newest aerial refueler, Boeing’s developmental KC-46, a name. Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh announced Feb. 20 at the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla., that the aircraft will be dubbed the “Pegasus,” referring to the winged stallion from Greek mythology. The aircraft, however, has yet to fly. The first Boeing 767-2C, a commercial jetliner outfitted with plumbing and wiring for the military refueling modifications, is slated to roll out of the factory this summer.
BAE Systems’ profits fell by £800 million ($1.33 billion) in 2013 because of reduced government spending in the U.S. Significant drops in sales were felt in the company’s U.S.-based Platforms and Services business and in cyber and intelligence, as well as in its electronic systems businesses. But overall sales were up 2%, from £17.9 billion in 2012 to £18.2 billion in 2013, thanks mainly to increased sales and new contracts in the Middle East.
Lockheed Martin has completed a company-funded flight test of its dual-mode seeker for the Joint Air-to-ground Missile (JAGM), as the U.S. Army edges towards development and production of a new version of the Hellfire missile. Originally intended as an all-new, joint-service replacement for the Hellfire with a tri-mode seeker and increased range, JAGM has evolved into a program to develop the seeker for a new version of the Hellfire, with tri-mode capability and new rocket motor as potential future upgrades.
