LONDON — The Turkish National Police have begun operations with the first seven of 15 Bell 429 helicopters ordered in early 2012. The force signed the contract following a competitive tender in March 2012, making it the largest single operator of the new Bell light twin helicopter so far. The Model 429s will replace a fleet of single-engine MD 600 helicopters, which have been operated by the organization since the early 1990s.
ARMY Northrop Grumman, Huntsville, Ala., was awarded a $39,200,000 modification (P00095) to a previously existing cost-plus-incentive-fee, multiyear, option-included contract (W31P4Q-08-C-0418) to provide research and development services in support of integrated air missile defense. The estimated completion date is Sept. 30, 2015. Fiscal 2013 research, development, test and evaluation funds are being obligated on this award. The Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE
BEIJING — The South Korean air force has raised its requirements for stealthiness in its next fighter, according to a newspaper report that suggests the Lockheed Martin F-35 is now the only acceptable candidate in the F-X Phase 3 competition.
FISCAL DESPAIR: Last week saw the chiefs of staff of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy testify for the second time on Capitol Hill about the “insidious” effect of the automatic, widespread budget rescissions known as sequestration, as well as the problem for national security under continuing resolutions of past appropriations. This week will see the second public meeting of the second so-called super committee of lawmakers charged with crafting any kind of budget deal. The Nov.
Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-1) USS Freedom is in need of yet another set of repairs in order to leave its Singapore pier and get to sea, U.S. Navy officials say. The ship has been plagued by problems during its first Western Pacific deployment.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The echoes had barely died down from the speeches marking the christening of the CVN-78 aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford before Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations, began citing all of the work that still needs to be done not only on the Ford but also on the whole forthcoming carrier class that bears its name.
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has delivered its first F-35 Lightning II centre fuselage to Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin at a ceremony held at TAI's facilities in Ankara, Turkey today.
The U.S. Navy is searching for even greater Electromagnetic Spectrum Maneuver Warfare (EMMW) capabilities. “Our initial focus on mastering EMMW has been on the cyberspace mission area, putting in place the required manpower structure and creating the necessary organizational constructs,” Vice Adm. Ted “Twig” Branch, deputy chief of naval operations for information dominance, says in a recent electronic post.
The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Surface Warfare Mission Package successfully completed the second phase of its developmental testing recently aboard LCS-3 USS Fort Worth, Naval Sea Systems Command confirms. The Fort Worth finished the testing at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Div.’s Point Mugu range off Southern California Oct. 1-25, Navy officials say.
The U.S. Marine Corps is not adjusting its plans to buy a fleet of Lockheed Martin KC-130Js refuelers, despite recent testing and interest in outfitting its Bell/Boeing MV-22 Osprey with an aerial refueling system. Forty-six of 79 planned KC-130Js have been delivered, says Lt. Col. Richard Roberts, KC-130J requirements officer for the Marine Corps. Those plans have not changed since flight trials in August where a MV-22 Osprey outfitted with a hose-and-drogue refueling system conducted close approaches with an F/A-18C receiver.
A U.S. land-based anti-ship missile (ASM) network in the Asia-Pacific could help neutralize China in the region, a recent Rand report says. “A land-based ASM capability would be relatively easy to create in the U.S. armed forces and could be seen as a 21st-century extension of the Army’s earlier coastal defense role,” Rand says in its report, released earlier this month.
U.S. Air Force officials hope to finalize negotiations on a multibillion dollar contract for up to 50 Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) cores by the middle of next month, according to the program’s manager.
The U.S. Navy started its first E-2 Hawkeye and C-2 Greyhound Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) operations at Wallops Flight Facility, Va., earlier this month, in the wake of an agreement with NASA to support FCLP training for squadrons operating from Naval Station Norfolk Chambers Field, also in Virginia.
Europe’s Sesar air traffic management (ATM) modernization program has funded nine projects to demonstrate the integration of unmanned aircraft systems into non-segregated airspace. The projects will support plans to begin integration of UAS into European airspace in 2016. Backed by €4 million ($5.4 million) in funding from the Sesar Joint Undertaking (JU), the demonstrations include integrated pre-operational flight trials and are expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2015.
U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command recently formally established a Regional Maintenance Center detachment in Rota, Spain, to support four Arleigh Burke-class destroyers scheduled to be forward-deployed there starting in 2014. The detachment will provide management, industrial, engineering, technical and contractor oversight services for the vessels. Proper maintenance will be key in establishing U.S. destroyer basing plans in Spain.
ODDS ON SEQUESTRATION: A month into the second so-called super committee of lawmakers in Congress, many aerospace and defense observers in Washington still expect a full-year continuing resolution and for the next, larger round of sequestration budget cuts to take effect early next year. United Technologies’ lobbyists and government affairs consultants expect as much by a ratio of 2 to 1, according to Jay DeFrank, vice president for communications and government relations at the conglomerate’s Pratt & Whitney engine maker. DeFrank spoke Nov.
Europe’s Sesar air traffic management (ATM) modernization program has funded nine projects to demonstrate integration of unmanned aircraft systems into non-segregated airspace. The projects will support plans to begin integration of UAS into European airspace in 2016. Backed by €4 million ($5.4 million) in funding from the Sesar Joint Undertaking (JU), the demonstrations include integrated pre-operational flight trails and are expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2015.
Key documents laying out the path to integration of unmanned aircraft in national airspace have been released by the U.S. government, but achieving the goals will require “predictable and reliable” funding for the NextGen airspace modernization program, cautions FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.
