Airbus and Boeing led the news, but perhaps the biggest surprise at June's Paris air show as Bell Helicopter's decision to power its new light single with a Turbomeca engine. To fly in 2014, the long-awaited JetRanger replacement will be powered by a 450-550-shp Arrius, the first new Bell to have a French engine.
Carbon in its many forms is transforming manufacturing, from electronics to structures. Aerospace uses carbon in fiber form, but new nano-structured materials are emerging that promise improved properties and expanded applications.
JAMMER PROTEST: BAE Systems filed a protest July 18 of the $279.4 million contract the U.S. Navy awarded Raytheon to develop the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) pod to replace the ALQ-99 tactical jamming system now carried by the EA-18G Growler. NGJ is planned to become operational in 2020. A Northrop Grumman/ITT Exelis team also bid for and lost the program. The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s decision on the protest is due by Oct. 28.
U.S. partners and allies in the Asia-Pacific region are about to embark on a spending spree for military purchases and research and development (R&D), according to an Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) analysis of data provided by Avascent Analytics.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V lifted off July 19, carrying the second of the U.S. Navy’s new narrowband communications satellites. Liftoff occurred at 9:00 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite, made by Lockheed Martin, was lofted from an Atlas V 551, meaning it used a 5-meter fairing and five strap-on solid-rocket boosters. A 44-min. launch window opened at 8:48 a.m. EDT, but the launch was put on hold temporarily due to high upper-level winds.
ASPEN, Colo. — National Security Agency (NSA) Director Gen. Keith Alexander says the U.S. Intelligence community has “concrete proof” that terrorists are making changes in how they communicate, following the secret surveillance programs revealed by a rogue former NSA contractor.
The U.S. Army is still considering going forward with the Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) program, aimed at replacing the aging OH-58 Kiowa Warrior, with a variant of an off-the-shelf design, the service’s top procurement officer said July 18.
The U.S. Army did not properly scrutinize some parts purchases for the CH-47F Chinook helicopter, allowing manufacturer Boeing to overcharge for some items, according to the Pentagon Inspector General (IG).
BEIJING — Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has published a drawing of a moderately stealthy fighter concept based on its T-50 series of supersonic trainers and light-attack aircraft. The concept aircraft is far smaller and less ambitious than the all-new, twin-engine KF-X designs promoted by South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development, the leading proponent of building an indigenous South Korea fighter.
The U.S. Navy has awarded Boeing a $17 million contract for the first phase of integrating Raytheon’s Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) pod onto Boeing’s EA-18G Growler aircraft. The phase 1 hardware integration will ensure the designs of the required modifications are suitable for the technology development stage of the NGJ pod program, according to the contract announcement.
ASPEN, Colo. — The U.S. Defense Department is mobilizing 40 new cyber teams, totaling an estimated 4,000 workers from existing military cyber positions, for both offensive and defensive missions in cyberspace, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said July 18.
Despite the effects of sequestration and continuing budget resolutions, the U.S. Navy brass feels it is anchored securely when it comes to ships, aircraft and other platforms. What the service is looking to develop now is better command-and-control capability. “We’ve got the platforms,” says Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations. “What do we need? It is command-and-control, [including] the organization and the staff. That’s what we’ve got to work on,” he said July 11 during a Center for Strategic and International Studies event.
The kill vehicle failed to separate from the third stage of a Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) during the failed July 5 flight test of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, preventing the GBI from destroying its target, says Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. James Syring.
The U.S. Navy is planning to loft its second in a series of next-generation narrowband communications satellites on Friday, July 19. The United Launch Alliance Atlas V is slated to boost the second Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) spacecraft during a 44-min. launch window that opens at 8:48 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral. The launch vehicle is an Atlas V 551, meaning it will use a 5-meter fairing and five strap-on, solid-rocket boosters.
Whether it is the Airbus A380 or Boeing 787, program issues leading to delays and redesigns have some in the aerospace industry arguing that traditional systems engineering is broken. But Dassault Systemes attributes the problem to design tools that have failed to keep pace with program complexity.
LONDON — A series of upgrades for the Raytheon Paveway IV precision-guided bomb will form the first phase of development for the U.K.’s Selected Precision Effects at Range (Spear). The Spear program is developing a new generation of air-to-ground weapons for the U.K.’s combat aircraft including the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. The first phase, Spear Cap (Capability) 1, sees several improvements in the capability of the Paveway IV.
TEL AVIV — Despite ongoing political upheaval in the Middle East, Israel is launching the most drastic cut to its armed forces to date. The Israel Defense Force (IDF) has presented a plan to downsize its ground, air and naval forces, cutting units, platforms and personnel, and may face another round of reductions. “It’s a revolutionary plan,” said Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. “In a few years we will see a different IDF.”
FOURTH ESTATE: Making good on promises to trim the “fourth estate” of offices, staff and services outside the three branches of the military, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has announced a 20% reduction in funding for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff and the Military Service Headquarters over fiscal 2015-19, amounting to an estimated $1.5-2 billion in savings.
AEHF CHECKOUT: Technicians at Cape Canaveral will spend the next several months preparing the third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-3) military communications satellite, after the U.S. Air Force and manufacturer Lockheed Martin Space Systems delivered it with a C-5 Galaxy flying out of Travis AFB, Calif. Launch from Complex 41 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V is scheduled for this fall.
