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.
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.
EADS’s board of directors is scheduled to meet today to approve sweeping changes to the group that, if approved, will renamed the company Airbus Group and reduce the number of divisions from four to three. The new structure will merge EADS’s defense and space operations into one entity, which will be called Airbus Systems. Berhard Gerwert, currently head of EADS’s defense unit Cassidian, is expected to be named CEO of the new unit, industry sources tell Aviation Week. The future of Francois Auque, CEO of EADS’s Astrium space division, is unclear.
Both the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) seaframes and concepts of operations (Conops) need to be modified to accommodate ship limitations, U.S. Navy officials acknowledge. “The ships’ current characteristics limit operations to a greater extent than envisioned by the Conops and ROC/POE (Required Operational Capabilities and Projected Operational Environment) developers,” Rear Adm. Samuel Perez wrote in a special Navy-ordered review of the LCS.
TSA TO-DO: House Republicans are pushing a bill that would require the Transportation Security Administration to publish a “strategic multiyear technology investment plan,” as well as conduct a cost-benefit analysis for purchases and create an inventory tracking system. “For too long, TSA has struggled with efficiently testing, investing in and deploying new technology,” says House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas).
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has flown an improved version of the MQ-1C Gray Eagle as it positions to take over production and support of the engine for the U.S. Army’s current version of the Predator-family unmanned aircraft.
Insitu is planning to launch the first U.S. commercial unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operation following receipt of FAA type certification for its ScanEagle UAS on July 19. No details are available yet, but the operation is expected to be in the Arctic. Restricted-category type certifications for the 44-lb., gasoline-powered ScanEagle and the 13.4-lb., battery-powered AeroVironment Puma AE are the first to be issued by the FAA under Part 21.25 of the federal aviation regulations.
The Royal Navy is investing heavily in a multi-mission capability for its future fleet of shipborne helicopters, but the service is paying the price in terms of shrinking fleets and greater demands on support services and training.
There were more than 2,000 exhibitors at last month's Paris air show, and my guess is that at least one-third were involved in metal forming or cutting. And all of these companies depend on “subtractive” manufacturing techniques such as turning, milling and cutting to produce their aerospace parts. It was clear that many senior executives are acutely aware of and talking about the emergence of “additive” manufacturing (AM)—sometimes known as “3-D printing”—as the next major change-and-disruptive technology in aerospace manufacturing.
