STRATFORD, Conn. — The U.S. Air Force is expected to issue a draft request for proposals for its new Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH) as soon as next week, according to industry officials. This will kick off a new competition for a long-awaited replacement for the Sikorsky HH-60G after the service’s plans to buy a Boeing Chinook-based model were canceled in 2009 owing to protests from competitors.
STRATFORD, Conn. — Sikorsky plans to demonstrate use of its fly-by-wire and autonomous flight technologies on a newly purchased S-76, according to Igor Cherepinsky, who leads these efforts in the company’s Innovations Div. The aircraft was purchased this year and is being modified in preparation for a series of flight tests. Cherepinsky says he hopes for first flight late this year or early in 2013. A date has yet to be set for an optionally piloted or unmanned flight; Cherepinsky says the program is event-driven, not “marketing-driven.”
GENOA, Italy — To stave off intervention by the European Union, Italy has introduced new rules governing attempts to acquire stakes in companies of strategic importance to the country — rules that will affect the proposed sale of shares in propulsion company Avio, as well as any future attempts to gain control of defense giant Finmeccanica. Avio is likely to be the first test case for the new regime. The company is rumored to be in the sights of French aerospace group Safran, which itself is controlled by the French government.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is waging war with the Pentagon over how the department moves money between accounts, threatening to block such requests to Congress if they are used to start new programs. He has already blocked at least two requests in particular: one involving $29.2 million for a Navy ocean forecasting mission and another that would provide $38 million for an Army signals program.
LONDON — The AirTanker consortium that aims to provide air refueling services for the U.K. Defense Ministry is hopeful the government will soon accept the first of the A330-based Voyager aircraft into its inventory.
BARCELONA, Spain — Legal hurdles may be the most challenging issue to address as European NATO countries consider pooling precision-guided munitions (PGMs). The concept has gained increased interest after several NATO members during last year’s Libya air war ran short of smart weapons because of the prolonged campaign.
LONDON — The Eurofighter Typhoon consortium will be the only European aircraft maker to do battle against U.S. rivals in the South Korean F-X3 fighter competition. The Eurofighter campaign will be led by EADS CASA in Spain. The team is hoping South Korea’s interest in finding an industrial partner for the future KF-X program may offset some of the historic U.S. advantage in that country. Saab does not plan to bid the Gripen in South Korea, and Dassault also has decided it will not pursue the F-X3 program.
LONDON — A possible U.K. decision to revert back to buying the F-35B rather than the C-model should not disrupt production flows, according to prime contractor Lockheed Martin. The capacity is available to build additional F-35Bs should London pursue that route, says Stephen O’Bryan, vice president for F-35 program integration. One reason is because the U.S. near-term requirement for the B model has been reduced.
The financial performance of top global aerospace and defense companies is expected to stay flat in 2012, a British consultancy firm says. Despite the challenging environment, the aerospace and defense industry is likely to continue to develop game-changing technology innovations, according to the report, “Global Aerospace and Defense Outlook: A Tale of Two Industries,” by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited’s (DTTL) Global Manufacturing Industry Group.
CHINESE CARRIER: China plans to formally introduce its aircraft carrier into service this year, the government says. Since last year, China has been putting the refurbished aircraft carrier, formerly called the Varyag, through its paces after a rebuilding phase. The government used the 11th National People’s Congress to affirm that fielding of the carrier is planned this year. That matches the expectation in the U.S., which notes, however, that it will be only the vessel that is fielded, not a full aircraft carrier capability.
U.S. Special Operations Command (USSocom) is looking to continue the funding of its Chinook and Osprey programs, as well as key maritime assets, in its proposed fiscal 2013 budget. “Critical to meeting the demand for [Special Operations Forces] capabilities worldwide is USSocom’s ability to execute rapid acquisition of its material and service programs,” says Adm. William McRaven, USSocom commander, in a March 6 report to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Denouncing Rosoboronexport for selling weapons to Syria, a bipartisan group of senators is calling on the Pentagon to end its relationship with the Russian arms export company and more specifically, to stop buying Mi-17 helicopters for the Afghan military.
LOS ANGELES — Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) is analyzing data from the first hot-fire tests of a development launch abort engine (LAE) for Boeing’s CST-100 commercial crew vehicle.
NAVY The Boeing Co., St. Louis, is being awarded an $8,086,000 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, fixed-price-incentive-fee contract (N00019-09-C-0019) to procure aircraft armament equipment for the F/A-18 E/F and EA-18 G fighter aircraft including 57 SUU-78 A/A pylons and 40 ALE-50 well covers. The work will be performed in St. Louis and is expected to be completed in December 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
NEWPORT, Wales — EADS is exploring airborne tasks for a new communications jammer that is used to protect ground troops and VIPs from attack by remotely controlled improvised explosive devices (IEDs). A possible airborne application would be to provide helicopters with a jammer to ensure they are not at risk from an IED attack in landing zones outside protected areas, suggests an official from EADS defense subsidiary Cassidian. Moreover, unmanned aircraft could be fitted with the jamming system for convoy escort duties, the official adds.
Piggyback government payloads on commercial spacecraft probably won’t win more than 1% of worldwide satellite-market revenue in the next few years, as bureaucratic inertia and a “not-invented-here” mentality work against the cost savings that might be gained, according to a new study.
Boeing is preparing to fly a wide-area surveillance sensor on the A160 Hummingbird unmanned helicopter for the first time, ahead of its planned deployment by the U.S. Army to Afghanistan in June.
In perhaps a sign of its seriousness in wanting to balance its defense equipment plan and budget, the U.K. is contemplating reversing a key modernization decision by again switching which F-35 Joint Strike Fighter model the country will buy.
TURKISH HELO: Turkey is launching a competition for medium helicopters for use by the country’s national police force. The move comes after last year’s contest for 15 light utility helicopters for the police. The new bidding is for seven rotorcraft, associated mission equipment and spares. Bidders have until March 21 to formally receive the request for proposals from the Turkish defense armaments agency, SSM, with bids due on April 24.
