ON THE RADAR: Eurofighter partner nations could advance the development of an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for the Typhoon as early as the start of July. A full-scale development program would aim to have an AESA radar available for the fighter in 2015. The partner-nation effort would run in parallel to a U.K. technology demonstrator.
BENGALURU, India — India is setting up its first shore-based test facility (SBTF) to flight test the naval version of its homegrown Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).
ST. LOUIS — Boeing expects to begin test trials of its Phantom Ray unmanned combat aircraft demonstrator soon. On June 24 or 25 the company planned F404-GE-102D engine runs on the company-funded effort that builds on X-45C residual hardware, said Darryl Davis, Phantom Works president. First flight would take place in December. The company plans to complete up to 10 flights in the first six months of testing.
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ST. LOUIS — As Boeing explores design concepts for a potential future U.S. Navy fighter, the company is looking at a single configuration that could offer variable levels of agility depending on whether the aircraft is manned or unmanned.
U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (Navair) signed a contract June 18 for the first two Marine Corps new-build AH-1Z, or Zulu, Cobra helicopters, while continuing to manage integration of new systems aboard the legacy AH-1W, or Whiskey.
There are concerns that other recession-hit countries could follow Denmark’s lead in withdrawing from NATO’s 15-nation, $1.7 billion Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) program to buy eight radar-equipped Northrop Grumman Global Hawk unmanned aircraft.
MRO MILITARY EUROPE 2010 ExCeL, London, UK September 29-30, 2010 Learn to maintain military assets longer; sustain aircraft beyond forecast; recover from budget cuts, delays and program cancellations, and develop new strategies required to deliver and support equipment. Learn more at www.aviationweek.com/events Click here to view the pdf
Boeing projects the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet production line will remain open past 2020, even though a planned third U.S. Navy multi-year production program would conclude before then. Still uncertain is what the production rate will be during the next multi-year buy; current plans call for a purchase of 124 F/A-18E/Fs over four years, but the number of aircraft and the timeline could still change, says Mike Gibbons, the company’s program manager. He expects the multi-year buy would yield $500 million in savings over annual lot buys.
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“Game-changing” technology for future space exploration should include nuclear-fusion propulsion that could enable trips to Mars in the two weeks NASA’s space shuttles normally spend in space, according to a panel of longtime space science experts.
U.S. Air Force service acquisition executive David Van Buren agrees with Lockheed Martin officials who last week characterized the negotiations on the F-35 Lot 4 buy as “intense.” “I would say that is accurate,” Van Buren told reporters June 18. Steve O’Bryan, vice president of F-35 business development for Lockheed Martin, says the “handshake agreement” on Lot 4 features an aircraft price 20% below the estimate collected by the Pentagon’s Cost Analysis and Program Evaluation (CAPE) office.
BENGALURU, India — The Tejas Light Combat Aircraft’s (LCA) naval prototype (NP-1) will be rolled out for the first time on July 6 here in Bengaluru, with Chief of Naval Staff Adm. Nirmal Verma on hand, sources tell AVIATION WEEK. The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), which is in charge of the design and development of Tejas variants, and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), ADA’s principal partner and main manufacturer, are currently giving the aircraft a final structural fine-tuning at HAL’s Aircraft Research and Development Center.
AIRCRAFT SUPPORT: The U.S. Navy is awarding Honeywell International, Inc. of Tempe, Ariz., a $35 million contract for support for auxiliary power units for the F/A-18, P-3, S-3, C-2, and KC-130 F/R; F404 main fuel controls used on the F/A-18 aircraft; the P-3 engine driven compressor; and support for the Australian F/A-18 Super Hornet. Work is expected to be complete by June 2011.
ST. LOUIS — Boeing next month plans to fly an F-15E fitted with the conformal weapons bay being developed for the stealthy Silent Eagle variant. The conformal weapons bay (CWB) is to demonstrate the ability to shoot the AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 Amraam air-to-air missiles that have been moved from wing pylons to the internal bay to reduce the aircraft’s radar cross section. The CWB test activity is seen as a major risk reduction effort for Silent Eagle (Aerospace DAILY, June 24, 2009).
President Barack Obama relieved U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal of his command of U.S. and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) forces in Afghanistan June 23, in what amounted to a rapid-fire change of command in America’s primary war.
PARIS — Work on the new Soyuz launch site at Europe’s South American spaceport near Kourou, French Guiana, is proceeding rapidly, while Russia continues to lay the groundwork for a new cosmodrome that could offload operations from the venerable Baikonur site in Kazakhstan.
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. — The U.S. Marine Corps says MV-22 performance and reliability are improving, but operators are still pushing for further enhancements, including improving the system’s firepower. The Marines have been using the GAU-17 mini-gun interim weapon system in deployed operations (they can also ramp-mount a machine gun). While the weapon has proved useful, Marine officials say the system could be improved.
SATPHONE CHALLENGE: Inmarsat has upped the ante in its challenge to global satphone leaders Iridium and Globalstar with a new phone that it says will be the most robust and competitively priced on the market. The IsatPhone Pro, rolled out on June 15, offers 492 Kbps. of worldwide service for telephony, text and e-mail — far more than Globalstar and Iridium, which will not introduce their next generation systems for another two to seven years. Retailing at $699, IsatPhone Pro weighs just 279 grams (9.8 oz.), including battery, and offers up to eight hours talk time.
Retired Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio), the first American to orbit the Earth, worries that the U.S. is about to relinquish its leadership in space exploration, and wants NASA to keep flying the space shuttle at least twice a year to keep its edge.
2009 PENTAGON SPENDING ON TRACKED AND WHEELED VEHICLES 2009 PENTAGON SPENDING ON TRACKED AND WHEELED VEHICLES CONTRACTOR NUMBER OF CONTRACTS AND MODIFICATIONS TOTAL AMOUNT FOR CONTRACTS AND MODIFICATIONS AVERAGE AMOUNT PER TRANSACTION BAE SYSTEMS 326 $5,055,546,444 $15,507,811.18
