BEIJING — South Korea’s technologically ambitious Agency for Defense Development aims to test a scaled demonstrator for a stealthy combat drone by 2013. Korea Aerospace Industries is well placed to win the project, since it has already embarked on company-funded work to acquire technology in this field, going as far as designing an aircraft that it calls K-UCAV and flying a 20 percent scale model of it.
The U.S. Navy is planning to demonstrate an armed, sensor-equipped, carrier-based unmanned combat aircraft system (UCAS) by 2018, as a follow-on to carrier-suitability and autonomous aerial-refueling demonstrations planned for completion in 2013. A request for information (RFI) will be released this year, according to Rear Adm. William Shannon, program executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons, speaking Feb. 17 at Aviation Week’s Defense Technology and Requirements conference in Washington.
LONDON — Difficult market conditions, disappointment in the land systems sector, and the cost of embarrassing admissions in two corruption investigations pushed BAE Systems into the red for 2009, but only just. The company recorded a £45 million ($70 million) loss for the financial year, compared to a £1.7 billion profit in 2008. Sales were up 21 percent to £22.4 billion, with the order book at a record level of £46.9 billion.
LONDON — The Pakistani air force announced Feb. 18 that the JF-17 fighter has formally entered the military’s inventory after the first locally built model was unveiled in November. During the inauguration ceremony at the Minhas air base in Kamra (where the Pakistani production line is located), service chief Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman announced that the JF-17 would participate in the upcoming Hi-Mark 2010 exercise.
General Atomics-Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) expects to get the go-ahead from FAA to start tests of the stealthy, turbofan-powered unmanned Predator C Avenger at the U.S. Air Force’s Edwards Air Force Base test range in California.
Spacewalkers Bob Behnken and Nick Patrick got an early look out the seven-windowed cupola they helped install on the International Space Station (ISS) early Feb. 17, peering down at the Earth from the view of what is sure to be one of the most popular spots on the orbiting facility for years to come.
NEW DELHI — Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is in negotiations with Indian public sector company Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) concerning a joint venture program to produce advanced imaging infrared seekers for the Python 5 missile.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems has completed baseline integration system testing (BIST) for the second geosynchronous satellite (GEO-2) in the Space Based Infrared Systems (Sbirs) constellation at its Sunnyvale, Calif., plant. BIST included nearly 200 scripted tests to verify subsystems and characterize the overall performance of the spacecraft. The test results establish a performance baseline for the remainder of GEO-2’s test program.
NEW DELHI — Boeing will hold discussions with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to view areas of common interest that could lead to future business opportunities, according to Roger Krone, president of Boeing Network and Space Systems. For the moment, the scope of partnership is limited, as the civil space cooperation agreement between India and the U.S. has yet to be signed.
EXPLOSIVE DISCOVERY: New findings from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory are providing insights into the supernova explosions that allow astronomers to measure the accelerated expansion of the universe. The results show the mergers of two dense stellar remnants — white dwarfs — are the likely cause of many Type 1a supernovae, which serve as “cosmic mile markers” because they can be seen at great distances and follow a reliable pattern of brightness, according to NASA. “It was a major embarrassment that we did not know how they worked.
LONDON — In response to a government plan for how to handle cost overruns for the A400M military airlifter, EADS says it is looking for additional information and clarifications before it is ready to sign on the dotted line. On Feb. 15, the seven core governments behind the A400M program spelled out their plan to provide around €2 billion ($2.75 billion) in additional funding (or cost relief) and €1.5 billion in loans to handle the roughly €5.2 billion cost overrun.
While U.S. military acquisition and program officials continue to say they have stretched and innovated to focus on both conventional and irregular conflicts, they express a lack of direction and confusion when it comes to the day-to-day information war. Evidence of this poorly understood conflict is often most visible as constant cyber probes and attacks that can’t be traced to any government.
Eight German air force personnel have completed training in Israel to operate the Heron unmanned aerial vehicle due for deployment to Afghanistan next month. The government last year signed a contract with Rheinmetall to provide the Heron on a fee-for-service basis to meet urgent intelligence-gathering requirements in Afghanistan (Aerospace DAILY, Oct. 30). The UAVs will augment Germany’s reconnaissance Tornados already deployed to Mazar-e-Sharif.
LONDON — The Swiss parliament has approved the country’s latest arms spending package, which is valued at 529 million Swiss francs ($495 million). The spending plan includes outlays for two more PC-21 turboprop trainers, bringing the fleet to eight units from six (the initial batch was ordered in the spending package four years ago). After gaining initial experience with the PC-21, the military determined it needed two additional training aircraft to boost training output to six to eight pilots per year.
FIRED UP: The U.S. Navy is looking at a possible demonstration of an armed Fire Scout vertical takeoff unmanned aerial vehicle (VTUAV) by the end of the year, according to Rear Adm. William Shannon. The admiral, program executive officer for Navy and Marine Corps UAV and strike weapons, told Aviation Week’s Defense Technology and Requirements conference in Washington Feb. 17 that armament is not yet part of the Northrop Grumman program of record. He says the Coast Guard also is still interested in the VTUAV, even while the Army has lost interest.
The U.S. Navy and Air Force will unveil an official version of a new joint battle concept by this summer, according to Navy leadership. The so-called Air Sea Battle concept emerged in the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). The services will be ready “to brief out the full concept and initiatives by spring or summer 2010,” according to Rear Adm. Brian Prindle, director of assessment in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
The U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command announced plans this week to spend more than $1 billion on 1,200 new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs) that will be sent to Afghanistan. The Corps awarded General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada a $227.4 million delivery order to produce 250 RG-31 Mk5E vehicles, which would add to the fleet of 1,402 RG-31 Mk5 vehicles already supplied to the U.S. military by General Dynamics. The vehicles will be produced at BAE Systems Land Systems OMC of Benoni, South Africa, with a delivery completion date of October 2010.
LONDON — Team members in Europe’s effort to integrate unmanned aircraft into civil airspace have now formally kicked off work to try to resolve the thorny technical and regulatory issues that have so far limited UAVs to segregated air space in Europe.
The sales slowdown Saab projected earlier in the year is now reflected in the aerospace and defense company’s full-year results, with sales coming in just below the 5 percent growth target for 2009.
Moscow has signed a weapons contract with Libya, but Russia’s Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation and Rosoboronexport are staying quiet about the details. However, U.S. analysts say the deal includes 12 Su-35 fighter aircraft — the latest of the Su-27 Flanker line — and six Yak-130 trainers/light combat aircraft worth about $1 billion of the $1.8 billion package. Delivery of the Yaks is currently planned for 2011-12.
NEW DELHI — AgustaWestland and Tata Sons have signed a Shareholders Agreement for the formation of an Indian joint venture company to build a final assembly line in Hyderabad in South India for the AW119 helicopter. The agreement was signed here by Giuseppe Orsi, CEO of AgustaWestland, and Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Sons. The joint venture company will be responsible for AW119 final assembly, completion and delivery, while AgustaWestland will retain responsibility for worldwide marketing and sales.
