Based in London, Tony covers European defense programs. Prior to joining Aviation Week in November 2012, Tony was at Shephard Media Group where he was deputy editor for Rotorhub and Defence Helicopter magazines. Tony has covered avionics, unmanned vehicles, the supply chain and cyberwarfare.
ABU DHABI – Ankara has chosen Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) to lead the development of the country’s first truly indigenous helicopter. An executive committee of senior government officials, including Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan, gave the go-ahead for the project in late 2012. According to Yilmaz Guldogan, vice president of strategy and technology management at TAI, a deal should be signed in the second half of this year, with the aircraft’s development expected to take between four and five years.
More than two decades have passed since the last commercial helicopter was built in the U.K., but civil rotorcraft production could be on the verge of a comeback. While the last flirtations with the commercial sector—in the 1980s by what was then Westland were not especially successful—AgustaWestland, the helicopter manufacturing arm of Italy's Finmeccanica, believes it is time for its Yeovil-based U.K. subsidiary to reembrace the commercial world.
L-3 Communications is exploring whether a German concept from World War II could boost the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability of small naval vessels. During the war, the Germans developed the Focke-Achgelis FA 330 Bachstelze (Wagtail), an unpowered autogyro capable of lifting a man. It was towed behind prowling U-boats and used to spot targets and possible threats. The pilot would bark sightings by telephone to the submarine.
