Unmanned aircraft makers and their big-league lobby group, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), continue to try to raise awareness in Washington about what they say are limitations put on the technology and its future benefits by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
While U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) officials acknowledge it is common for first-of-class ships to experience ship-service diesel generator (SSDG) faults like the first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-1) is suffering now, the LCS-1’s issues are of greater concern because the U.S. Navy has already started a production-rate buy of those vessels.
DMON FOLLOW ON: The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a contract worth up to $490 million to continue providing network and integration services under the Distributed Mission Operations Network (DMON) 2.0 service contract. “The DMON enables dissimilar aircraft platforms located across the globe to seamlessly interoperate and train together in a realistic virtual environment,” the company says. The five-year contract could be extended through June 2023, if all options are exercised. Most of the work will be performed in Orlando, Fla.
The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have agreed to a handshake deal for the latest two lots of F-35 airframes, and based on cost projections the program for the first time is targeting a unit price under $100 million, excluding engines and retrofits. The deal covers 36 aircraft in low-rate, initial production (LRIP) lot 6 and another 35 in LRIP 7. Mandatory cuts handed down by sequestration in the fiscal 2013 budget did not ultimately affect the number of aircraft in LRIP 6, as once thought.
PARIS — With no objection from U.S. lawmakers, France can proceed to negotiate the purchase of up to 16 U.S. medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial systems (UAS), the first two of which are expected to be delivered this year. France has requested the General Atomics-built MQ-9 Reapers, mobile ground stations and associated parts, training and logistics support to fill a gaping shortage in the nation’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance coverage as it continues military operations against Islamic rebels in Mali.
The Chinese air force appears to have had enough of being held responsible for the country’s notorious flight delays, or is at least trying to shift the blame. The largest cause of flight delays is poor airline management, not the air force, according to statistics issued through official media by “relevant departments.” And, contrary to common belief, civil aviation gets plenty of air space, says a report by the China News Service, a state news agency.
AeroVironment’s Puma AE unmanned aircraft system (UAS) is to be used for commercial missions in the Arctic following receipt of restricted-category type certification from the FAA. Insitu’s ScanEagle also received type certification and operational approval for Arctic flights. AeroVironment expects the 13-lb., hand-launched Puma AE to be deployed later this summer to support oil-spill monitoring and wildlife observation in the Beaufort Sea off the coast of Alaska’s North Slope inside the Arctic Circle.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) wants to slow purchases of the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship program, in accordance with recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommendations concerning the troubled effort. LCS is envisioned as comprising more than one third of the Navy’s future surface combatant fleet. The Navy plans to spend $40 billion on 52 LCS seaframes and 64 “plug and play” mission modules designed to be easily swapped on and off the ship, McCain said during a July 30 speech on the floor of the Senate.
Aurora Flight Sciences is making improvements to its Skate small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for operations in Afghanistan, where it is being used by dismounted patrols to provide surveillance with a 1-km. range. Several Skate systems have been deployed since March, and more are being delivered, making it the first Aurora unmanned aircraft to be used operationally in theater, says Carl Schaefer, director of small UAS products.
One-third of the way through its KC-46 development contract, and with the program’s comprehensive critical design review (CDR) now under way, Boeing has spent about 45% of the program’s funding. Company officials recently began the CDR with the U.S. Air Force, which selected Boeing’s 767-200ER-based design over an EADS A330-based option in 2011. The government has capped the contract at $4.9 billion, and government auditors predict Boeing might have to put as much as $400 million into the program in order to deliver the first 18 KC-46s in 2017 as required.
The Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee approved a $594.4 billion bill to fund the Pentagon and its wartime operations in fiscal 2014 that guts the administration’s request to purchase 20 Embraer Super Tucanos for the Afghan Air Force under the Light Air Support (LAS) program. The draft of the defense spending bill would slice $416.8 million for LAS and also remove all funding for the purchase of Mi-17 helicopters for Afghanistan.
LONDON — The U.S. Navy program to find a replacement for the “Marine One” Presidential helicopter is looking set to become a one-horse race following the withdrawal of AgustaWestland and Northrop Grumman. The two companies had partnered to offer the AW101 three-engined helicopter for the VXX requirement to replace the aging fleet of Sikorsky VH-60 Whitehawks and VH-3 Sea Kings, but have decided to withdraw after analyzing the request for proposal documents.
LONDON — SonAir of Angola has become the first oil and gas operator to return its EC225s back to flight operations over hostile environments, following the certification of interim fixes to a crucial component of the helicopter’s gearbox. The company conducted a series of flights to offshore platforms in the Atlantic Ocean from Luanda, following the restoration of two of its EC225s, from a fleet of 11, back to flight status. The aircraft have been fitted with the interim fixes developed by Eurocopter and approved by EASA on July 9.
AeroVironment’s Puma AE unmanned aircraft system (UAS) is to be used for commercial missions in the Arctic following receipt of restricted-category type certification from the FAA. Insitu’s ScanEagle also received type certification and operational approval for Arctic flights (Aerospace DAILY, July 26). AeroVironment expects the 13-lb., hand-launched Puma AE to be deployed later this summer to support oil-spill monitoring and wildlife observation in the Beaufort Sea off the coast of Alaska’s North Slope inside the Arctic Circle.
LONDON — The U.K. Royal Air Force’s (RAF) fleet of Vickers VC10 air-to-air refueling tankers is drawing closer to retirement. The RAF now has just three VC10s left in the inventory following the retirement of the oldest in the fleet — XR808 — which was flown into the former U.S. Air Force airbase at Bruntingthorpe on July 29.
FRANKFURT — Berhard Gerwert is expected to be named as the CEO of EADS’ new joint defense and space unit. Industry sources tell Aviation Week that the current CEO of EADS defense division Cassidian will run the joint entity. The future of Astrium’s current CEO, Francois Auque, is unclear.
AAR Corp. sees solid growth in its commercial airframe and component maintenance businesses near-term, continuing a steady upward trend that is helping the maintenance, airlift, and cargo systems supplier offset declining demand from its defense customers.
