YouTube videos make it look easy, and for pilots, it is easier than in a Harrier. But landing vertically at night, in crosswind, on the moving deck of a ship relies on the highly integrated and automated flight and propulsion controls of the Lockheed Martin F-35B.
While the U.S. Army and Navy are making progress on developing land- and ship-based high-energy lasers, the Air Force is struggling to define compelling operational requirements for directed-energy weapons, suggests a new report by the National Research Council (NRC).
NON-PROPRIETARY: The government push to retain data rights to the weapon systems it buys and promote open architectures to avoid overreliance on original equipment manufacturers is an undeniable trend of the future in U.S. and allied defense acquisition, claims a recently retired Pentagon official. David Van Buren, formerly U.S.
Unless Congress changes the nation’s financial course, the U.S. Navy will be forced to make some drastic cuts in aircraft and ship numbers to accommodate a loss of about $14 billion due to sequestration and other budgetary issues, says Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending the U.S. Navy delay the detail design and construction contract for the Ford-class CVN-79 John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier until it sorts out some programmatic shortfalls. The Navy and Defense Department (DOD) have rejected the recommendation, which, GAO contends, is a mistake. “DOD’s current schedule for awarding this contract undermines the government’s negotiating position,” GAO says in a new report.
LONDON — A series of aerial refueling trials to boost European interoperability have begun in Italy as part of a project developed by the European Defense Agency (EDA). The Collective Air-to-Air Refueling Clearance Trial aims to obtain refueling clearances for the Italian air force’s Boeing KC-767 tanker aircraft.
Alenia Aermacchi has signed a series of agreements with Polish aerospace companies as it pushes its M-346 to meet the country’s jet trainer requirement. Under its Advanced Jet Trainer program, the Polish air force is looking to purchase a fleet of between eight and 16 lead-in fighter trainers to train the country’s Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots. The air arm needs to begin training in-country as the current contract for F-16 crew training in the U.S. is due to end in 2016.
LONDON — Investigators probing the crash of a Eurocopter AS332L2 Super Puma in the Shetland Islands in August say they have not yet found any evidence of technical failure onboard the helicopter. Four oil workers died when the CHC Scotia-operated Super Puma ditched into the North Sea just minutes before it was due to land at Sumburgh Airport in the Shetlands on Aug. 23. Twelve passengers and the two pilots survived, although one of the crew was seriously injured.
TEL AVIV — Disappointed with the delay in the U.S. decision to launch a strike against the Syrian regime, Israel is bracing for possible consequences. The Israel Air Force (IAF) was placed on high alert, took delivery of a sixth counter-rocket Iron Dome system and is preparing to deploy a seventh. “Israelis should carry on with their daily routine,” declared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but at the same time he allowed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to draft an additional 1,000 reserve servicemen, mostly from the Air Defense Corps.
TEL AVIV — Amid rising tension in the Middle East, Israel and the U.S. tested a ballistic target, alarming Russia’s warning systems. Scheduled in advance, the Israeli Missile Defense Organization and U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) test-launched a new generation of ballistic target dubbed “Silver Sparrow” on Sept. 3. Developed by Israeli defense company Rafael, the target simulates a 1,500-km (930-mi.) range ballistic missile, similar to the Iranian Shehab 3.
EXPORT CONTROL: The U.S. Air Force has identified 15 of its weapons programs and systems that are most popular for export to allies and is moving to streamline its own approval system to expedite their export, when allowed, according to the armed service’s deputy undersecretary for international affairs. Heidi Grant told the ComDef 2013 conference in Washington Sept. 4 that the internal posturing is aimed at trying to avoid starting from the beginning of the export-license-vetting process each time there is a request.
The Pentagon has added $12 million to its 2014 spending plans to equip its Boeing 737-based C-40s with a fuel-tank inerting system, the same upgrade mandated for U.S. operators of Boeing commercial aircraft. The 2013 spending plan anticipated about $1 million more than fiscal 2014-17 for various required modifications. In the fiscal 2014 request, the figure jumped $6.1 million for 2014 and another $6 million for the outyear estimates through fiscal 2017.
U.S. Pacific Command’s interest in rapidly fielding a high-power microwave (HPM) counter-electronics weapon is revealed in a new National Research Council (NRC) report on U.S. Air Force directed-energy research and development. The report summarizes three workshops held from February to April, and does not address possible budget cuts, but provides new details of several Air Force directed-energy weapon R&D programs then under way.
As the U.S. Defense Department struggles with life under the full effect of the 2011 Budget Control Act and its annual sequestration cuts, the Pentagon’s acquisition chief is looking at allowing short-term cost exceptions for rotorcraft and post-Joint Strike Fighter research efforts. Frank Kendall, the acquisition chief, told the ComDef 2013 conference Sept. 4 that he is looking to follow in the footsteps of earlier defense officials in the 1990s who identified and fostered specific technology development efforts even as overall budgets dropped.
In the latest of a series of initiatives to identify and develop regional sources of aviation biofuels, Airbus as signed an agreement with Russian biotechnology firm RT-Biotekhprom for the first study to assess local feedstocks for their sustainability.
The Bell/Boeing MV-22 team is confident the tiltrotor can safely refuel F/A-18Fs in midair after conducting the first proximity test between the two last week. A Navy Hornet flew within 30 ft. of the MV-22’s drogue chute in a lateral offset position during an Aug. 29 flight trail, says Chad Sparks, advanced derivatives manager for Bell/Boeing. This was the fourth in a series of tests paid for by Bell/Boeing as the team examines alternative missions for the V-22.
LONDON — Members of the British Parliament have described the U.K.’s plan to purchase the Joint Strike Fighter for the carrier strike role as high risk because of the defense ministry’s lack of control of the program.
ARMY Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, Stafford, Conn., was awarded a $25,582,725 firm-fixed-price, option-eligible, multi-year contract modification (P0004) of contract (W58RGZ-12-D-0212) for the overhaul of 250 UH-60 Blackhawk main rotor blades. Performance location and funding will be determined with each order. This contract was a non-competitive acquisition with one bid solicited and one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command – Redstone Arsenal (Aviation), Redstone Arsenal, Ala. is the contracting activity.
LONDON — Rolls-Royce has completed the sale of its share in the RTM322 turboshaft program to Turbomeca. The two companies announced Rolls-Royce’s sale of its 50% share in the engine program in April, formally completing the €293 million ($382 million) transaction on Sept. 2.
