FARNBOROUGH — AgustaWestland will achieve two milestones during this week’s Farnborough air show: delivery of the first AW159 Lynx Wildcat to the U.K. Ministry of Defense on July 11, and the public debut of the AW169 light intermediate helicopter.
FARNBOROUGH — GE Aviation sees plenty of fighter engine and technology demonstrator work keeping it busy in the wake of its loss of the F136 alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, on which it was paired with Rolls-Royce. “We’ve moved on. We’re feeling good about where we are,” says Jean Lydon-Rodgers, VP and general manager for military systems at GE Aviation. “We have 25,000 combat and rotorcraft engines out there, and one focus for us now is to work an upgrade for every one of them.”
Hamilton Sundstrand is “anxiously awaiting” completion of the Goodrich acquisition sometime this summer, says President Mike Dumais. “For [parent company] UTC it will be transformational,” Dumais says. “Meanwhile, we are staying focused.”
FARNBOROUGH — Cutbacks in F-35 procurement and the termination of the F-22 will lead to a 30% decrease next year in Pratt & Whitney’s production of fifth-generation combat engines, seriously challenging cost-reduction goals for the Joint Strike Fighter’s F135 powerplant.
FARNBOROUGH — Finmeccanica’s Selex Galileo unit has found a fourth export customer for the Falco Tactical UAV, but will not identify the country. Pakistan was the launch customer for the Falco, and as many as 24 units are thought to be in service there. The Falco can be equipped with a variety of sensor payloads, including electro-optical and infrared sensors as well as multimode radar.
FARNBOROUGH — Thailand is to purchase two Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, joining a growing list of export customers that could help buffer the manufacturer against possible U.S. defense budget cuts. The Royal Thai Army has signed a letter of offer and acceptance to acquire the two helicopters through the U.S. government’s foreign military sales (FMS) channel.
SINGAPORE — Brazil has issued a request for proposals for two aerial refueling tankers for its air force and expects to receive bids early next month. The RFP was issued to Airbus Military, Boeing and Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), Brazil air force official Brig. Carlos de Almeida Baptista, Jr., tells Aviation Week on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Military Airlift conference in Singapore.
LONDON — Though only one year into work on its KC-46A contract, Boeing could accommodate early international orders for the aerial refueler possibly as early as 2018, says Dennis Muilenburg, president of the company’s military sector.
FARNBOROUGH — With politicians in the U.S. clamoring for a “hedge” against future missile threats, and budget cuts anticipated on both sides of the Atlantic, Raytheon is pitching a “smart defense” approach.
POOLING SATCOM: The European Defense Agency (EDA) achieved an initial operational capability milestone in the area of satellite communication through a new “pooling and sharing” procurement strategy, the organization announced July 4. EDA’s ad hoc project calls for Italy, France, Poland, Romania and the U.K. to share modest amounts of satellite bandwidth as part of a pilot initiative that aims to save money through a common procurement scheme at the European Union level.
The U.S. Air Force has completed the first flight of an aircraft using alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) biofuel on June 28, flying a Fairchild A-10 from Eglin AFB, Fla., “without any issues.” Fuel for the test flight was supplied by Gevo, which was awarded a potential $600,000 contract last year to provide up to 11,000 gal. of ATJ. Gevo uses a fermentation process to convert plant sugars and other biomass to isobutanol, which is further processed to produce a drop-in replacement for JP-8 jet fuel.
David Fulghum (Washington), Robert Wall (Washington)
The future of large aircraft used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) is undergoing a major change, with many older, tested designs shuffling toward retirement. Replacing them are penetrating manned and unmanned combat aircraft—including F-22, F-35 and unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAV) with enhanced, non-traditional ISR integrated with their attack capabilities. In addition, these designs will be linked with other stealth platforms on and under the sea and in space.
With the first phase of X-47B flight testing complete, the U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman are turning their focus to preparing the Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) for the first trials of a pilotless, tailless, stealthy aircraft on an aircraft carrier deck.
With the first phase of X-47B flight testing complete, the U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman are turning their focus to preparing the Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) for the first trials of a pilotless, tailless, stealthy aircraft on an aircraft carrier deck.
GKN Aerospace has sought for years to join forces with Volvo Aero. With the contract finally signed, GKN is emerging as a stronger supplier for engine manufacturers.
It can be assumed that China is developing a combat drone, maybe several. The technology is so obviously part of the future that the rising power cannot ignore it. But making even tentative conclusions about China's progress in the field is not easy. The country's rapid advances in fighter technology suggest it may be little more than a decade behind the West; yet even the U.S. is still years from deploying an unmanned strike aircraft with the penetration capabilities of a modern fighter.
PARIS — French defense procurement agency DGA has completed the first qualification firing test of a laser terminal guidance version of Sagem’s AASM SBU-64 precision-guided bomb. The agency’s missile test department conducted the trial May 31 from a production Dassault Rafale fighter at Cazaux air base using a bridge pier located more than 50 km (30 mi.) from the release point as a target. During the test, the target was acquired by an airborne illuminator that was activated during the last few seconds of the weapon’s flight.
Robert Wall (Madrid), Amy Butler (Washington and Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio)
The next two years could see a sea change in the shape of the worldwide airlift market, as new entrants try to secure their global positions while incumbents aim to keep production lines open. Despite tight defense budgets, operations in Afghanistan and increased demand for humanitarian support around the world have kept the airlift market relatively vibrant, a situation not hurt by the fact many air forces are operating aging airlifters.
NEW DELHI — India is preparing to install a shield to protect against intermediate-range ballistic missiles and ICBMs in some of the country’s major cities. “The final locations, which have adequate stealth features and protection against enemy sabotage, will soon be determined by the government to install the ballistic missile defense [BMD] system,” a defense ministry official says. A detailed proposal is currently being prepared for approval by the Indian government.
Click here to view the pdf Fiscal 2013: Socom-Requested Funding Increases For ISR ($ in thousands) Fiscal 2013: Socom-Requested Funding Increases For ISR ($ in thousands) Acct Line Description Request
Few military competitions will mirror the protracted, bare-knuckle fight between Boeing and EADS over the U.S. Air Force refueling tanker program. Now the two rivals are ready to take the battle on the road as other countries look to recapitalize their fleets.
Pedro L. “Pete” Rustan, who made a daring escape from Fidel Castro's Cuba as a young man and went on to design U.S. reconnaissance satellites, send a spacecraft to the Moon and develop technology used in the mission to kill Osama bin Laden, died of cancer on June 28 at home in Woodbridge, Va., near Washington. He was 65.
