Defense Projects and News

Leonardo has finally released details of its 26 May contract award from the US Navy to provide its Osprey 30 flat-panelled radar for the Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned air vehicle. Earlier this year, the navy announced that it had contracted the company to provide the sensor, but a protest from rival bidder Telephonics to the US government delayed any further details being released. The protest has now been dismissed, and Leonardo confirms that an initial batch of five active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars has been ordered. These will be delivered to US Naval Air Systems Command in the first financial quarter of 2017. This initial delivery will be used for integration, test and evaluation on-board the Bell Helicopter 407-derived MQ-8C, and the USN holds an option to buy a larger quantity for operational use. (FG)

Israel has taken delivery of their latest C130J aircraft from Lockheed Martin. It is the fourth aircraft of the type to be delivered to them and their Air Force expects to have a few more handed over before the year terminates.

A key part of the sensor updates to the Dassault Rafale involves a brand new targeting pod. Disclosing first details of an ongoing test campaign involving its targeting long-range identification optronic system (TALIOS) pod, Thales says the payload has been successfully flown using a Dassault Mirage 2000 testbed and a single-seat Rafale. Thales has a few orders for the pod and series production of the system will begin in 2018, following the completion of performance measurement tests next year, the company says.

Airbus Defence has delivered the first A400M to the Spanish Air Force. The Spanish Air Force ordered 27 aircraft of the type. The first unit which is MSN44 will be positioned in the North East of the country in Zaragoza. “Every delivery to every customer is of huge importance to us, but being able to hand over the first aircraft to Spain from our final assembly line in Seville is a source of particular pride,” says Fernando Alonso, Airbus Defence & Space’s head of military aircraft.

Raytheon Systems' Paveway IV laser-guided bomb has been dropped from a Lockheed Martin F-35B, paving the way for integration of the weapon on the UK’s future Joint Strike Fighter fleet. Carried out as part of a UK effort, the test took place at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California using a US Marine Corps-operated F-35B. It was used to collect data on the interaction between the munition and the aircraft’s on-board computers and will be followed by live firings in the coming months.

First upgraded NATO E3A AWACS aircraft has been delivered. Thirteen more are to be upgraded in similar fashion by Boeing. “The United States and many other nations have air space regulations in place that will require digital cockpits in the coming years,” Boeing says. “By updating the AWACS analogue systems to a digital flight deck, US and NATO AWACS fleets will be able to meet current and identified future air traffic management requirements for flying in worldwide airspace.” The upgrade includes installation of five Rockwell Collins full-colour glass displays to replace old analogue dials and displays and other general cockpit upgrades were done. NATO has a fleet of 16 E3-A AWACS aircraft and the USAF has 31 in different variants.

Antonov rolled out the new An-132D multipurpose turboprop transport on 20 December in Kiev, Ukraine, as the Saudia Arabia-backed project prepares to enter the flight test phase. The roll-out of demonstrator comes about two years after Antonov launched the project, which updates the 40-year-old An-32 design with Honeywell avionics, Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150A engines and other improvements. Assembly of the first aircraft is in Ukraine, but series manufacturing will transition to Riyadh, with the involvement of Taqnia Aeronautics and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. The Kingdom owns a 50% share of the intellectual property invested in the design of the An-132. (FG)

Textron AirLand, LLC, a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, recently announced the successful maiden flight of the first production conforming Scorpion jet. This program milestone closely follows the recent successful weapons capability exercise on the prototype Scorpion completed in early October. The Scorpion jet is a bold new direction for tactical aircraft designed to excel in roles ranging from intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to close air support and armed reconnaissance. The aircraft took off from McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita and conducted a range of maneuvers during the one hour and 42 minute flight. The multi-mission, twin-engine jet performed extremely well and was piloted by experimental test pilots Don Parker and Dave Sitz, who verified the avionics and aerodynamic performance as well as a number of aircraft systems. The latest version of the Scorpion incorporates a number of improvements based on target customer feedback as well as results from the extensive flight test program. The program has accumulated more than 800 flight hours in both test and real-world operational settings.

China confirms that it has received the first four units in a 24 batch order of SU-35 fighter aircraft. The thrust-vectoring type fighter is the latest in the SU-35 line and features the Tikhomirov Irbis-E passive phased array radar along with a modern cockpit. With China developing the Chengdu J-20 fighter this perhaps is the last order China will make for an advanced fighter from overseas.

While Dassault Falcon may be feeling the squeeze from "difficult market conditions" for their business jets, the Defense side of things for the company seem to be doing a bit better. The Dassault Rafale saw rising output in 2016 with the company delivering 9 brand new of the fighter aircraft type. This represents 1 more unit than what Dassault shipped in 2015. 3 Rafale aircraft were delivered to Egypt while the other 6 went to the French Air Force. Dassault has orders to fulfill from Qatar and India at this point.

A milestone has been reached in relation to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). The 200th aircraft was delivered to Japan in an announcement made today. The milestone is the 200th overall since the first was handed over to the USAF in 2011 but is the second F-35A for Japan (AX-2). Japan has 42 F-45A aircraft on order from Lockheed Martin.

Beechcraft Corporation, a subsidiary of Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, announced at the Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) conference in Dubai that the company is now offering Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6A-67A engines for improved performance on its King Air 350HW and King Air 350ER turboprops. In addition, the company is offering an increased gross weight option for these platforms, increasing the maximum takeoff weight to 17,500 pounds. Both enhancements are now FAA and EASA certified and offered as factory options for new aircraft or as aftermarket modifications.

“The King Air 350 platform is renowned as a worldwide mission enabler and these optional enhancements will offer customers added performance and payload for special mission operations,” said Bob Gibbs, vice president of Special Mission Aircraft. “We have successfully modified a fleet of NATO air force-operated King Air 350ER aircraft with these upgrades, and we are excited to offer these options to provide more value to our special mission customers.”

The USAF has given a contract to Boeing for the third lot of Boeing KC-46A tanker aircraft worth $2.1 billion. The contract will cover 15 tanker aircraft, as well as two spare engines and five wing refueling pod kits. Work is expected to complete by 30 July 2019, according to the 27 January contract announcement.

Leonardo is at the LIMA show displaying the ATR72-600MPA (Maritime Patrol Aircraft) which of course is the surveillance variant of the civilian ATR72-600 in commercial aviation. Eduardo Munhos, head of sales for Leonardo’s aircraft division, says that apart from Malaysia, Leonardo has spoken with several countries about the MP variant, including the Philippines. The aircraft has been on display at LIMA show in Malaysia at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA)

The sixth Boeing KC46A has joined the testing program. It took to the skies at the end of April for the first time. The latest addition is Boeing's second low-rate initial production example. "Adding another tanker will help us to become even more efficient and significantly improve our ability to complete test points," says Jeanette Croppi, its KC-46A tanker test team director. Boeing has so far logged 1,600 flight hours with its previous five aircraft since the first flight of a 767-2C prototype in December 2014. The fleet has also made more than 1,200 wet contacts during which fuel has been transferred to a variety of receiver aircraft.

The first F-35B to be assembled outside the U.S. was rolled out in Italy on Friday at a ceremony at the country’s assembly line, attended by the country’s top military brass. The aircraft, BL-1, will fly for the first time in late August and is due to be delivered to the Italian ministry of defense in November, Lockheed Martin said in a statement. An Italian pilot will then fly the jet in early 2018 to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, for “Electromagnetic Environmental Effects certification,” Lockheed Martin said. (Defense)

Airbus has successfully flight tested the A330 MRTT with Automatic Air Refuelling (AAR). This particular test look place on March 21st but Airbus Defense has only now announced the event. The boom of the company’s A330 MRTT demonstrator was steered into the receptacle of a Portuguese air force F-16 using image processing software that the company has been developing for more than a year. The system can easily be taking over by manual control of an AFO and requires no additional attachments or appendages. To date, 51 A330 MRTTs have been ordered by nine countries.

According to the Washington Post, a pair of Chinese J-10 fighters conducted what is being termed as an unprofessional intercept of a U.S surveillance aircraft. The United States aircraft in question was a P-3 Orion Navy surveillance aircraft and was operating in international waters when the incident happened. One of the Chinese J-10s came within 200 yards passing ahead of the P-3 and then went about 100-feet above it while the other stayed about 750 yards to the right.

The Saab Gripen E has made its first flight after flying from the company's Linköping site in Sweden today. The aircraft climbed to as high as 13,000 ft and flew at 300-knots. Saab expects the aircraft to make the stipulated 2019 delivery date for its initial customers.

A United States F-15E Strike Eagle reportedly shot down an armed UAV. It is described as an Iranian-built Shaheed-129 UAV and is said to have been advancing towards coalition forces on the ground and after showcasing hostile nature it was shot down. This would be the second time in a month or so that the U.S has shot down an Iranian UAV.