As the recent loss of two sailors’ lives and a Sikorsky MH-53E “Sea Dragon” helicopter off the Virginia coast shows, there are no routine U.S. Navy aviation missions. Daytime training mishaps such as the Jan. 8 MH-53E incident are far from uncommon, an Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) analysis of service accident data shows.
MERIGNAC, France — Dassault Aviation is beginning work on a four-year contract to develop a new F3-R standard for the Rafale combat jet. The $1.1 billion software upgrade will enable the integration of new weapons and a next-generation laser targeting pod on the multirole aircraft. The agreement was signed Jan. 10 by French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier during a visit to the company’s aircraft production facility in Merignac.
Proximity to congested northeast U.S. airspace is one reason Griffiss International Airport in central New York state has been selected to operate one of six unmanned aircraft system (UAS) test sites selected by the FAA. Partnered with the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (Nuair)—a consortium of public entities, private industry and academic institutions—Griffiss will operate test ranges in New York and Massachusetts.
BAE Systems has begun flight trials of three-dimensional printed metallic components on the Panavia Tornado combat aircraft, as the company explores the potential benefits of the method. A one-off component—a bracket made from printed stainless steel and designed to carry a fixed thermal-imaging camera—has been fitted to a U.K. Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 the company uses for flight testing. The bracket was produced in a fraction of the time and cost that similar items would have previously taken.
The first of two Boeing C-17 Globemasters destined for the Kuwait Air Force has emerged from the production line at Long Beach, Calif. Boeing has not yet formally announced Kuwait as a customer for the airlifter, but the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency detailed a request from Kuwait for a single C-17 in September 2010. The country registered interest in a second aircraft in April 2013. The aircraft, KAF342, is yet to make its initial flight and first appeared outside on Jan. 6.
Now it will be called Airbus Group, instead of European Aerospace, Defense and Space Co. (EADS), a name it used proudly for the last 13 years. This is a formidable rebranding initiative for a global 144,000-employee group headquartered in the Netherlands (for fiscal reasons only). The new title, which is scheduled to be ratified in May by the shareholders, has been in use since Jan. 1.
Details of closely held efforts to make the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet more stealthy have been revealed, perhaps inadvertently, by the appearance of a full-scale test specimen at the U.S. Air Force “boneyard” in Arizona. Lacking wings and its forward fuselage, it appears to be part of a radar cross-section (RCS) model to measure the effects of changes to the fighter's structure and engine nozzles.
Barely a decade ago, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) demonstrated that driverless vehicles could navigate desert roads and negotiate city streets. Now car manufacturers from Audi to Toyota are promising that autonomous driving technology will make their vehicles safer by the middle of this decade.
Textron's Scorpion two-seat advanced trainer is now in the flight-test phase. The company's public relations efforts remain minimal, although this is a valuable initiative, company-funded programs of such magnitude being a rare occurrence. But can an all-new military aircraft expect export success in the absence of domestic orders? Can Textron overcome such a handicap ? On the opposite side of the Atlantic, Dassault Aviation has not developed the Alpha Jet's long-overdue successor: Perhaps they should talk and jointly create a global product.
SECRETARIAL WORK: U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, who was confirmed for the post by the Senate on Dec. 13, says she will get personally involved in monitoring progress of the Air Force’s top procurement programs. During a Jan. 9 town hall meeting, James said she is “going to look to get involved with some of these big programs and do program reviews.” Among the top procurement priorities for the Air Force are the F-35, Long-Range Strike Bomber and KC-46 refueler.
Specialists from the U.S. Army’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center are slated to depart for the Mediterranean later in January aboard the MV Cape Ray to destroy chemical weapons from Syria. Sea trials for the mission have already begun. The U.S. reportedly has never disposed of chemical weapons aboard a ship before. Leased to the U.S. Navy for the operation, the 650-ft. roll-on/roll-of ship is part of the U.S. Maritime Administration’s (Marad) ready reserve force.
Manned and unmanned aircraft promise to give Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) more flexibility and punch than initially envisioned, says Vice Adm. Tom Copeman, commander of U.S. Naval Surface Forces. “On a ship under $400 million, you have the same aviation capability as a DDG [destroyer],” Copeman noted Jan. 6 during a media roundtable about the initial Western Pacific deployment of LCS-1, the USS Freedom. “You have a lot of capability other than just what the mission package said.
U.S. lawmakers have stalled the Air Force’s on-again/off-again, multibillion-dollar efforts to field upgraded avionics and navigation systems for its aging C-130s.
ABOARD THE USS LAKE ERIE — There is something about a U.S. guided-missile cruiser (CG) or destroyer (DDG) equipped with an advanced Aegis combat system tailored especially for ballistic missile defense (BMD) that sends quite a message to partners and potential foes alike, Navy officials say.
A concept for constructing satellites from building-block “satlets,” under development for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), could allow a spacecraft to be assembled quickly around the payload for a specific mission or service, says developer NovaWurks. Instead of integrating the payload into a large satellite bus that provides the required mechanical, propulsion, power, thermal, communications, processing and other functions, the spacecraft would be assembled around the payload by connecting multiple satlets together.
The global aerospace and defense sector should see revenue growth of 4-6% in calendar 2014, with high single-digit or low double-digit growth in commercial aerospace outpacing ongoing declines in defense, according to Deloitte’s 2014 Global Aerospace and Defense Industry Outlook.
LONDON — U.S. military investigators have begun examining the wreckage of a U.S. Air Force Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter that crashed into a marsh in Norfolk, U.K., killing four airmen.
The Norwegian government could fine AgustaWestland if two of the company’s former executives are found guilty of corruption charges related to a deal for VVIP helicopters in India.
