LONDON — Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, known as SSM, has finalized a deal for the Hurkus turboprop training aircraft for use by the Turkish air force. The SSM signed a series production agreement for 15 aircraft with Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) on Dec. 26. The aircraft will be Hurkus-B variants configured with a digital cockpit developed by Turkish electronics firm Aselsan. The first aircraft is due to be delivered in 48 months.
After shortlisting 25 proposals from 24 states, the FAA has selected six test sites across the U.S. to conduct civil unmanned aircraft system (UAS) research. Geographic and climatic diversity were key requirements for the selection. The six selected operators are: the University of Alaska, the state of Nevada, New York’s Griffiss International Airport, North Dakota Department of Commerce, Texas A&M University, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Canada has cancelled a planned C$2 billion ($1.9 billion) purchase of armored vehicles, saying they are no longer required. BAE Systems, General Dynamics and Nexter were competing for the contract to supply 108 heavily protected Close Combat Vehicles (CCV). Conceived to meet threats encountered in Afghanistan, the CCV armored personnel carrier was intended to fill the protection, mobility and firepower gap between the Canadian army’s Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) and Leopard 2 main battle tank.
NEW DELHI — Almost 30 years after it was conceived, India’s indigenously designed and developed Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) has reached the second phase of its long-awaited Initial Operational Clearance (IOC II), clearing the way for its induction into the Indian air force. The LCA, manufactured by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), will now be called Tejas Mk. 1. It will be called Tejas Mk. 2 after receiving its final operational clearance (FOC), slated for the end of 2014.
HONOLULU, Hawaii — The U.S. Navy is seeing the price of Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) hulls decreasing and the service is now looking at developing more common ship systems to further reduce costs, says Rear Adm. Brian Antonio, LCS program executive officer. “Both shipbuilders right now are showing great progress,” Antonio tells Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN). “And we’ve delivered seaframes that meet the high-level requirements and knock down challenges.”
Teams using robots developed by companies now owned by Google took five of the top eight places in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (Darpa) Robotics Challenge trails, staged in Homestead, Fla., on Dec. 20-21. A humanoid robot designed by Tokyo-based Schaft scored highest among 16 teams that took part in the trials to demonstrate the ability of robots to perform a series of disaster-response tasks from climbing a ladder to driving a vehicle.
LONDON — Denmark’s decision to select the Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk as its future shipboard helicopter did not break procurement regulations, a national watchdog has ruled.
With the first set of Pratt & Whitney engines delivered for the U.S. Air Force’s KC-46 test aircraft, Boeing is planning to roll out the first green 767-2C next year. The 767-2C is the customized commercial platform on which the KC-46 is designed. The 2C includes provisions — such as customized plumbing — to support the KC-46’s refueling mission.
Defense spending in Europe has taken a marked downward turn, according to figures released by the European Defense Agency (EDA) in September 2013, with investments being hit particularly hard. In 2011, total defense expenditures by EU member states—excluding Denmark, which has opted out of the EU's Common Security and Defense Policy, and Croatia, which became a member in mid-2013—fell by €1 billion to €192.5 billion ($265 billion), a drop of over 2%.
Japan's 2014 defense budget request asks for a 3% increase over the 2013 budget, continuing the sudden upward trend set in motion by the right-wing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe upon his December 2012 return to power. The previous center-left government planned a 1.3% decrease in defense spending, which had already seen 10 consecutive contractions since 2003.
Asia-Pacific nations are expected to spend about $1.4 trillion on military programs in 2013-18, an estimated 55% increase over the $919.5 billion the countries spent during 2008-12, according to an AW&ST analysis of data provided by Avascent Analytics.
Canada's armed forces, facing a familiar combination of a declining budget and aging fleets, have a third problem: a lack of public and political confidence in the nation's acquisition process after a series of failures and embarrassments, including a 28-year effort to replace naval Sea King helicopters that has already seen one program canceled, and a second one started that is now running at least four years late. The acquisition of four trouble-plagued ex-Royal Navy submarines has been another public problem.
India's defense budget for 2013-14 was a more modest expansion than the double-digit increases of previous years, reflecting slower economic growth. However, the budget is nonetheless heading toward the $50 billion mark, including an estimated $15 billion on new air platforms (for the air force and navy) in the next two years.
Under growing pressure to tighten budgets, France is slowing deliveries of major military equipment and stretching out development of new platforms over the next six years.
In 2014, the U.S. Army will select among four competing designs—two tiltrotors and two coaxial-rotors—for two high-speed rotorcraft it plans to fly in 2017 under the Joint Multi Role technology demonstration, a planned precursor to the Future Vertical Lift Medium program to replace first the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and later the Boeing AH-64 Apache beginning in 2035.
By this time next year, the last British combat troops should be leaving Afghanistan, ending more than a decade of combat operations in that theater. Those operations have reshaped the U.K. armed forces. The British Army's counter-insurgency strategy, codenamed Operation Entirety, has molded training, equipment and doctrine to prepare troops for the theater.
DEFENSE: Global hotspots and country-by-country analyses of national priorities, budgets and programs. See pages 38-47. MILITARY AVIATION: Rivals upgrade their combat aircraft as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter begins to gain international traction. Special missions become a key part of transport market. See pages 58-67. UNMANNED AIRCRAFT: Europe finally may be getting its act together on UAS, but China and civil developments are moving faster. See page 68.
The German government's draft defense budget for 2014 is around €32.8 billion ($45 billion), a €400 million decrease compared to 2013. The budget will be reduced to around €32.1 billion by 2016 as the Bundeswehr—Germany's armed forces—reduces personnel in line with its transformation. End-strength has already been cut to near its planned maximum of 185,000.
Graham Warwick (Washington), Larry Dickerson (Forecast International)
Turkey's revelation in October that it was negotiating to buy air-defense systems from China shocked not only its NATO allies, but also Western missile manufacturers. Although not a done deal, Ankara says China's offer of CPMIEC FD-2000 anti-missile systems costs less and promises better technology transfer.
