LONDON — Sagem’s efforts to revive its unmanned aircraft activities are slowly moving forward with the completion of another round of flight trials of the Patroller surveillance system. The latest round of trials conducted by the Safran defense business unfolded April 22-30 at Cergy-Pontoise near Paris. The trials examined the triple-redundant avionics, the in-house Euroflir imaging system that was ground controlled, and the Ka-band datalink. Sagem also says the Patroller carried external fuel tanks for the first time.
FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter addressed the issue of affordability in procurement contracts here May 4, in a subdued follow-up to Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s speech attacking big U.S. Navy programs.
FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (Navair) will spend $78 million to upgrade failing rotor blade components, hoping to field the fix to its entire AH-1Z Cobra helicopter fleet by 2014. Marine Corps Col. Harry Hewson, program manager for H-1 upgrades, said at the Navy League Sea-Air-Space symposium here May 4 that the fatigue life for the cuff and yoke — integral components of the aircraft rotorhead — is only 1,200 hours.
QUANTICO, Va. — Once again, the U.S. Marine Corps is fighting to save its Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) program. Lawmakers, defense-spending watchdogs and even Defense Secretary Robert Gates are mounting an attack on the need for, and price tag of, a vehicle that ferries Marines from ships to shore and bashes through enemy ground terrain like a tank. The program will cost the Marines between $9.5 billion and $13 billion, depending on whose figures are used.
The U.S. Army is putting Increment 1 Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) equipment through technical tests this spring. The tests are meant to make sure the software and equipment — essentially spinouts from the canceled Future Combat Systems networking soldiers, sensors and components to provide a much more complete picture of the combat environment — are ready for the higher and more demanding testing level.
FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and Lockheed Martin are responding to a flurry of international interest in their MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter as well as preparing for a competition for up to 24 aircraft for Australia. India has requested a demonstration of the aircraft before the end of 2010, according to U.S. Navy Capt. Dean Peters, MH-60 program manager at Naval Air Systems Command (Navair). “We’re prepared to do a demo, we’re just not sure of the timeline,” he said here May 4.
NEW DELHI — Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony says the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is working to expedite its numerous delayed programs. DRDO will use a consortium approach for design, development and fabrication of critical components, Project Monitoring Reviews and joint funding by the military services to try to overcome delays, Antony said. Some of the many DRDO projects that have missed their original timelines include:
LONDON — The Czech government has run afoul of relatively new European Union rules aimed at opening up competition for Europe’s defense equipment. At issue is the purchase of four EADS Casa C-295M airlifters. Brussels says the Czech defense ministry awarded the €132 million ($170 million) contract without a public tendering process. However, European Union rules now require open competition unless a national security waiver is invoked. The Alenia C-27J generally goes up against the C-295M in these types of competitions.
NEW DELHI — Ongoing flight trials of new Colored Multifunctional Displays (CMFDs) for Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters are expected to be over by mid-May. The CMFDs were produced by Samtel HAL Display Systems. They were cleared for flight testing by the Regional Center for Military Airworthiness in 2008 and flights began in April of this year. Ground testing and 10 sorties — during the day and night — have been carried out. LDP (laser designated pod) and gunfire testing is complete.
LONDON — Flight trials are underway for an upgrade to the Rafale fighter’s turbojets aimed at curing reliability problems. The French military had long listed reliability as one of its main concerns about the Rafale since the fighter has entered service. The enhanced M88, designated the M88-4E, has now completed 10 flight trials, and should enter service next year. The initial 90-min. flight test took place at the French flight test center at the Istres air base in the south of France on March 22.
QUANTICO, Va. — The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) is the linchpin of the U.S. Marine Corps expeditionary warfare strategy and the program is on track for development, delivery and deployment, service program officials said May 4 at what turned into a mini pep rally for the vehicle and its supporters.
NEW DELHI — The U.S. Navy on April 30 transferred the first two of eight P-3C Orions to Pakistan as part of its Foreign Military Sales program. The Pakistan navy will have received all eight aircraft by 2012. The aircraft will provide Pakistan with the capability to conduct maritime patrol in littoral and deep-water environments, the U.S. Navy says.
SEA LAUNCH: Energia Overseas Ltd., an arm of the Russian aerospace giant, has taken over debtor-in-possession financing for Sea Launch Company from Space Launch Services, an entity set up specifically to finance the launch service provider. Energia Overseas will provide additional funding of $30 million to Sea Launch, which will use about $19 million of the facility to repay Space Launch Services, Sea Launch said. RSC Energia is a partner in Sea Launch.
SAUDI HAWKS: Sikorsky Aerospace Services announced May 3 it has signed a contract with Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation Command to upgrade its fleet of Black Hawk helicopters from the UH-60A to UH-60L configuration. This is the second international modernization program under contract. The A-to-L upgrade program upgrades the T700 engine to a T701D, which increases power and reliability. Upgraded flight controls, avionics and instrument panel modifications are also included in the program.
The U.S. Army’s threat to cancel the requirement for its Non Line of Sight Launch System (NLOS-LS) has drawn the ire of lawmakers, although the service has yet to release its official determination. According to a source close to the Army program, a recent comprehensive analysis of precision fires across the service determined the requirement for NLOS-LS — to strike heavy mobile or stationary targets — is no longer there and the launch system itself is simply not cost-effective.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke will co-chair a Cabinet-level task force to construct “an economic development action plan” for Florida’s Space Coast, the White House announced May 3.
LONDON — Only days before the British general election, U.K. aerospace and defense lobby group ADS has launched its “manifesto” for the space sector. Despite warnings from all three contending political parties that the public purse will face severe challenges in the coming parliament, ADS argues: “if the U.K. is to boost its share of the global space market to 10%, public investment in space needs to rise.”
KOCHI, India — The Indian navy and coast guard soon will have dedicated hangars for their current and next-generation maritime aircraft at Kochi airport. Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) sources tell Aviation Week that 10 acres of land have been given to the navy free of charge, while the coast guard has acquired 5 acres of land from the Kerala government. The Southern Naval Command, the training wing of the Indian navy, is based in Kochi.
FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — The Pentagon’s quandary over who conducts electronic warfare and how the U.S. Air Force plans to rebuild its offensive airborne electronic attack capability — which has been largely dormant since retirement of the EF-111 almost two decades ago — may have been resolved.
The Pentagon is looking for a better way to clear training ranges of debris and unexploded ordnance (UXO), and it wants industry to help. The Defense Department is setting up a series of tests and a competition for training-range clearance using robotic technologies. Robotic range clearance should yield significant potential for time and cost savings as well as safety improvements for the personnel doing this kind of work, according to Jose Gonzalez, the Defense Department’s acting deputy director of land warfare and munitions.
Boeing has formed an operating division combining airlift and tanker fixed-wing operations within its military aircraft business unit. Called Airlift and Tankers (A&T), the division will operate from the company’s St. Louis, Mo., military headquarters and assume program management responsibility for C-17s, international and U.S. tanker programs. Military Aircraft President Chris Chadwick says the change will “introduce efficiencies that will result in cost savings for taxpayers.”
