BRUSSELS — Small UAVs have represented the largest number of losses in Germany’s unmanned fleet since their introduction over the last decade. The greatest losses were of LUNA tactical reconnaissance UAVs, according to the latest figures from the Bundeswehr. LUNA losses totaled 56 — 45 destroyed, including 24 that crashed, and 11 missing. Some 23 Aladin mini-UAVs were destroyed, including six that crashed, and another 10 that went missing. Two Mikado micro-UAVs crashed, and two others went missing.
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The spacecraft bus that will power and point the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) passed its critical design review five months early, as the deep-space infrared instrument continues moving toward its targeted 2018 launch date.
Virgin Galactic’s plans to supplement its suborbital human spaceflight business by launching small satellites from its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft are advancing with hot-fire ground tests of the two kerosene-fueled rocket engines it has designed for the application. Developed and built by Virgin Galactic engineers, the 3,500-lb.-thrust NewtonOne and 47,500-lb.-thrust NewtonTwo are the first- and second-stage engines, respectively, for the company’s planned LauncherOne rocket.
Recent Chinese hypersonic missile tests have rekindled debate about the use and proliferation of such weapons, as well as concern over the U.S. ability to defend against them. Of particular concern to the U.S. Navy is what the tests mean for the development of the Chinese anti-ship ballistic missile. “Known as the DF-21D, this missile provides the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) the capability to attack large ships, including aircraft carriers, in the western Pacific,” the Pentagon says in its most recent annual report on Chinese military capabilities.
LONDON — Senior British officers have expressed a desire for a new training and support helicopter, which could be used as a surrogate training platform for more expensive types, such as the Boeing CH-47 Chinook.
HOUSTON — Competition remains a crucial factor in the final stages of the NASA-funded Commercial Crew Program (CCP), according to Michael Lopez-Alegria, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF). CCP is intended to restore the U.S. ability to transport humans to low Earth orbit lost when NASA’s space shuttle fleet retired in 2011.
OMAN BUYS: Raytheon has received a contract from Oman worth up to $1.28 billion for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (Nasams). The direct commercial sale includes ground-support equipment, training and technical assistance. Raytheon will supply the system with its partner Kongsberg. Nasams is already deployed in Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the U.S. and an undisclosed additional country.
BOLDEN RECOGNIZED: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Jr., a former astronaut, will receive the National Space Trophy for career contributions to human spaceflight, in Houston on April 11. The Rotary National Award for Space Achievement (RNASA) foundation announced its annual trophy selection on Jan. 21. Bolden became the agency’s administrator on July 17, 2009.
The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship LHD-8 USS Makin Island — the first U.S. Navy ship to deploy using a hybrid-electric propulsion system — completed a nine-day scheduled sea trial earlier this month, following its 13-month Phased Maintenance Availability (PMA).
LONDON — U.K. defense officials say the Boeing AH-64E Apache is the “desired” option as the country moves to update its heavily utilized Apache attack helicopter. Officials are currently examining a range of options for the Apache Helicopter Capability Sustainment Program (AHCSP), which will deal with the growing issue of obsolescence in the U.K.’s AgustaWestland-built Apaches, which are at the AH-64D Block I standard.
The U.S. Air Force is expected to decide whether to stick with Boeing’s original next-generation, secure communications terminal or opt for a competing design from Raytheon as early as March, according to industry officials.
NEW DELHI — India is preparing to conduct sea trials of its first indigenously built nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, the INS Arihant, which the navy hopes to induct into service by the end of 2014.
The Lockheed Martin Kaman K-Max unmanned cargo helicopter is being considered for possible shipboard operations. “We have looked at this — how do we take them to a sea-based environment,” says Jon McMillen, Lockheed K-Max business development manager. The industry team must determine which sensors will have to be employed with the aircraft, he said last week during a media briefing.
While the U.S. Navy is eyeing a smaller Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) fleet than previously envisioned, the ships could still offer greater aviation support potential. Navy officials say the program of record still calls for 52 ships, but they acknowledge the Pentagon is considering reducing that acquisition by as many as 20 because of budgetary and other concerns. Sources familiar with the program say Navy officials privately have indicated they could accommodate future fleet plans with a minimum of about three dozen LCS vessels.
ARLINGTON, Va. — As the U.S. continues to rebalance its military forces and resources back toward the Asia-Pacific region, service leaders are starting to get a handle on what they will need to regain a better naval footing in the area. It is a different Asia-Pacific than the U.S. knew when it started to focus more of its military might in the Middle East more than a decade ago.
The U.S. Navy recently awarded Bechtel Plant Machinery of Monroeville, Pa., a $593.1 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for nuclear propulsion components. No completion date or additional information is provided on naval nuclear propulsion program contracts. The award comes in the wake of a recent $7.1 billion contract modification to a previously awarded contract for naval nuclear propulsion work at the Bettis & Knolls Atomic Power Laboratories.
BEIJING — China has begun flight testing a high-bypass ratio turbofan that will greatly improve the performance of the Y-20 heavy airlifter and potentially power the C919 commercial aircraft. The engine is the WS-20, according to local media that have published photographs of it in the left inboard position of an in-flight Ilyushin Il-76 used as a testbed. WS-20 is apparently the military name of the powerplant, which has also been called SF-A for civil purposes.
COLLISION THREAT: Catastrophic collisions of space junk and orbital assets are likely to occur every five to nine years, and the space debris population may have already reached a “tipping point,” U.S. congressional researchers say in their latest review. “Many experts now believe that mitigation efforts alone are insufficient to prevent the continual increase of space debris,” the Congressional Research Service reported earlier this month. “A growing view among experts holds that some level of active removal of debris from the space environment is necessary.
Deserts could become sources of biofuel, based on research conducted by Boeing and partners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The research has shown that saltwater-tolerant plants called halophytes, grown in coastal deserts and fed by seawater, can produce biofuel “more efficiently than other well-known feedstocks,” Boeing says.
Aviation Week 2013 Military Fleet & MRO Forecast! 2014 NOW HERE!!! Stop Guessing What the Future Holds With Aviation Week’s Military Fleet & MRO Forecast. This 10 year, year-over-year forecast provides an in-depth understanding of what’s to come so you can locate new business opportunities. To schedule a personal demo, call 866.857.0148 or +1.515.237.3682
