JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia has enshrined in law its offset policy for the purchase of foreign defense equipment, setting the level of offset investment at 35%, Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro tells Aviation Week.
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is researching the possibility of using Rotating Detonation Engines (RDEs) to reduce fuel consumption in gas-turbine engines, says Kazhikathra Kailasanath, who heads NRL’s Laboratory for Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics. There are now about 430 gas turbine engines on 129 U.S. Navy ships. These engines burn about $2 billion worth of fuel each year. By retrofitting these engines with rotating detonation technology, researchers estimate that the Navy could save about $300 million to $400 million annually.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia still needs to reach a final agreement with Australia on the purchase of ex-Royal Australian Air Force C-130Hs. The Southeast Asian nation has agreed to buy six additional C-130Hs from Australia, “but the two national teams have to sit down and work out a budget price and price per unit,” Indonesia’s defense minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, told Aviation Week Nov. 6 on the eve of the IndoDefense exhibition.
LOS ANGELES — Boeing and NASA are preparing to start a new, potentially riskier phase of flight tests of the X-48C blended wing body (BWB) research aircraft at Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB in California. The unmanned aircraft, which notched up its 100th flight on Oct. 30, is a rebuilt, twin-engine derivative of the three-engine X-48B tested between 2007 and 2011.
MAPLE LEAF VEHICLES: Rheinmetall and Textron’s Canada subsidiary have signed a €160 million ($207 million) contract for the Canadian Forces Tactical Armored Patrol Vehicle (TAPV) project. The work will be performed by Rheinmetall Canada in Quebec. The deal, which runs from July 2014 to March 2016, also fulfills a portion of Textron’s participation in Canada’s Industrial and Regional Benefits Policy — i.e., local offsets — after the government’s purchase of 500 Textron TAPVs.
RIDLEY PARK, Pa. — As testing of modified CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters for Canada gathers pace, Boeing is adapting the design to provide the basis for the first new-build MH-47Gs to be produced for U.S. Army special operations forces. Canada’s CH-147F is a new-production F model with the larger, long-range sponson fuel tanks of the G, plus a new electrical system and other changes. Ottawa ordered 15 Chinooks in June 2009, with deliveries to begin in June 2013.
Boeing and NASA are preparing to start a new, potentially riskier phase of flight tests of the X-48C blended wing body (BWB) research aircraft at Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB in California. The unmanned aircraft, which notched up its 100th flight on Oct. 30, is a rebuilt twin-engine derivative of the three-engine X-48B tested between 2007 and 2011.
Four student pilots participating in an operational utility evaluation of the F-35A at Eglin AFB, Fla., have each begun the flying portion of their training, and officials there say they are on track for completion of the OUE in the next few weeks. “If we have good weather, we will be done in the next two weeks,” says Lt. Col. Lee Kloos, 58th Fighter Squadron commander at Eglin, where pilot training is taking place.
From the White House to the House of Representatives, the 2012 campaign is full of races that remain within the statistical margin of error. And a number of those too-close-to-call elections are for Senate seats in key defense industry states. Here are some to watch: Virginia: For more than three decades, one of Virginia’s senators was a former Navy secretary. In this election, neither Republican George Allen nor Democrat Tim Kaine has a military background.
Click here to view the pdf 2013 U.S. Defense Spending: Current Funding Outlook: Army RDT&ELines where 2013 request differs from the 2012 enacted amount by more than 20% ($ in thousands) 2013 U.S.
DEFENDING SHIPS: The U.S. Navy has awarded Raytheon a $22.5 million contract to continue development, test and integration of its Ship Self-Defense System (SSDS), and extend Raytheon’s support to fleet-deployed systems through fiscal 2013. The SSDS combat management system is in service on carriers and amphibious ships, including CVN, the LSD dock landing ship, LPD, LHA and LHD classes. The LHA variant is nearing initial deployment, a technical refresh of the LSD-class is almost complete, and system development is under way for the new CVN 78-class of aircraft carriers.
Answering the U.S. Navy’s call for a deeper dive into unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), Boeing is continuing to develop its Echo Ranger UUV. While many of the other UUV candidates for Navy programs are focusing on launching, operating and returning to vessels, the Echo Ranger anchors its missions from pierside. The Boeing UUV has a notably long range, though, and Boeing sees a ship-operated version of the Echo Ranger in future years, according to Mark Kosko, program manager for the company’s Unmanned Undersea Systems group.
Selected aerospace and defense contracts for the week of Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2012. AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Marietta, Ga., (FA8625-07-C-6471, P00140) is being awarded a $489,413,280 contract modification for the C-5 Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program Lot 6 material and fabrication effort. The location of the performance is Marietta The work is expected to be completed by July 17, 2015. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/WLSK, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Marietta, Ga., (FA8625-07-C-6471, P00140) is being awarded a $489,413,280 contract modification for the C-5 Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program Lot 6 material and fabrication effort. The location of the performance is Marietta The work is expected to be completed by July 17, 2015. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/WLSK, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
While the development of Chinese aircraft carriers may have garnered most of the public’s attention recently, naval defense analysts say the Asian giant’s amphibious fleet plans deserve a closer look given the vessels’ potential for far-flung missions.
SINGAPORE — Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) plans to develop a new model of the IAe C-212 twin-engine turboprop, as well as an updated variant of the IAe CN-235. The new C-212 will seat 28 passengers, whereas the current model, the C-212-400, seats 24 and the original, the C-212-100, 22 passengers, says an IAe spokesman. He says the increased passenger capacity will be achieved through more efficient use of space and a different type of seat.
The U.S. Navy may be moving at sub-light speed in developing a ship-board laser weapon, but service officials say they remain more committed than ever to the effort even though there still is no official program guiding the research and resources. “While we are still a long way from what George Lucas envisioned in ‘Star Wars,’ we are a lot closer to a laser system that will help our Navy do its mission better,” Quentin Saulter, program manager for the Free-Electron Laser (FEL) at the Office of Naval Research (ONR), says in a recent Navy blog post.
NEW DELHI — Sweden’s Saab will invest $37.5 million in Indian private sector defense shipyard Pipavav. “Finalization of the investment is expected to be made within three months, under the condition it meets the necessary approval of the shareholders meeting of Pipavav Offshore and Defense Engineering Ltd. (Pipavav) and government approvals,” according to Saab. “After the investment, Saab will hold approximately 3.5% of the capital and votes in Pipavav.”
MAYBE SO, MAYBE NO: When Congress returns later this month, the Senate majority leader has promised to take up cybersecurity legislation. But the most optimistic odds of it passing are 50-50, says Jim Lewis, director of the technology and public policy program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. It may be possible to reach a compromise on versions of a bill passed in the House and a Senate information-sharing bill, Lewis says. But such a bill would be more of a feel-good measure rather than one that substantially increases cyber protections.
