Internationale Helicopter ontwikkelingen

[Ronald Elzenga]

Als China een aanvalshelikopter vanaf hun Type 075 LHD wil gebruiken, dan zou de Z-19 een kandidaat moeten zijn.

Wat dacht je van de zwaardere CAIC Z-10?! die wordt al op schepen ingezet. Z-19 zou dan als verkenner erbij kunnen. Een mix die de Amerikanen ook voorzagen met hun Apache en beoogde Comanche.

[Sparkplug]

Waarschijnlijk wel. Iig gebaseerd op een platform dat het kan (Z9). Maar niet echt noodzaak nog denk ik.

Als China een aanvalshelikopter vanaf hun Type 075 LHD wil gebruiken, dan zou de Z-19 een kandidaat moeten zijn.

[Ace1]

Export version of China's Z-19 attack helo makes maiden flight

Janes

Is die Harbin Z-19 ook maritiem inzetbaar?

[Harald]

Boeing could deliver Block II Chinook to international customers in 2026

FlightGlobal

Laat Boeing die 2 extra bestelde Chinooks maar in block II leveren en daarna de huidige F's block I upgraden naar block II

[Sparkplug]

Export version of China's Z-19 attack helo makes maiden flight

Boeing prepares for Chinook Block 2 flight trials, notes notional Block 3

Janes

[Sparkplug]

Boeing could deliver Block II Chinook to international customers in 2026

FlightGlobal

[Sparkplug]

Boeing contracted to remanufacture 38 UK Apaches to AH-64E standard

Janes

[Sparkplug]

Next-generation NATO rotorcraft could overlap with FVL

FlightGlobal

[Harald]

Leonardo presents AW101 Royal Navy ultimate multi-mission maritime helicopter at IDEF 2017

Leonardo Helicopters presented the AW101 Royal Navy ultimate multi-mission maritime helicopter at the 13th International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF 2017).

The AW101 combines the most advanced technologies, mission equipment, security features, outstanding comfort and manufacturing expertise to deliver a superior helicopter system.

With its latest-generation integrated avionics, navigation, communications, safety and security systems, the AW101 offers a unique solution to the most extreme operational requirements of the 21st Century.

AW101 provides the highest levels of safety, reliability and availability. Operating world-wide,  day and night, in all weathers and extremes of temperature, AW101 equipped with advanced communications, navigation, search and rescue mission equipment and systems, sets the standard by which other SAR helicopters are judged.

Also, the 15 tonne class AW101 provides operators with complete multi-role maritime capabilities, including: Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO), Anti Surface Warfare (ASuW), Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW), Airborne Surveillance and Control (ASaC), Airborne Mine Countermeasures (AMCM), VERTREP,  Amphibious Support and Search and Rescue (SAR).

Designed from concept to operate in the harshest maritime environments, including high sea state with associated deck motion conditions and equipped with the most advanced technologies and maritime mission systems and exceptional One Engine Inoperative (OEI) performance, the AW101 extends operational theatre horizons to provide force projection for Maritime Commanders.

http://defence-blog.com/news/leonardo-presents-aw101-royal-navy-ultimate-multi-mission-maritime-helicopter-at-idef-2017.html

[Harald]

USAF to equip CV-22s with ballistic protection

The US Air Force (USAF) is to fit ballistic protection to its fleet of Bell-Boeing CV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, it was disclosed on 4 May.

The Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) will on 9 May contract Florida-based The Protective Group to fit the protective measures under the CV-22 Advanced Ballistic Stopping System programme, according to a notification listed on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website. A contract value will be disclosed at the time of award.

The FedBizOpps listing notes, "The Advanced Ballistic Stopping System (ABSS) is a composite ballistic protection panel system designed and fabricated to provide ballistic protection for the aircrew and critical components on the CV-22 tiltrotor aircraft. Multiple configurations can be installed based upon mission need/requirements."

The Protective Group has already provided 16 ABSS kits to AFSOC, though the notification does not specify for which platform. The Protective Group is the original equipment manufacturer for the CV-22 ABSS system, and is the only source of supply for the requested parts listed above, the USAF said.

According to the company's website, The Protective Group supplies ballistic protection for a number of different aircraft types and for a number of different operators. As the company notes, "The Protective Group's Ballistic Protection System (BPS) protects over 90% of the [Department of Defense's] rotary-wing fleet, with over 2,000 BPS systems delivered to the Iraqi and Afghani theatres." The ABSS system is reported to be 50% lighter than the BPS.

The USAF has to date received 46 of its planned 51 CV-22Bs, with deliveries set to run through to the end of 2019. CV-22Bs are currently operated by the 71st Special Operations Squadron (training) at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico; the 8th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field in Florida; the 20th Special Operations Squadron at Cannon AFB in New Mexico; and the 7th Special Operations Squadron at RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom.

http://www.janes.com/article/70122/usaf-to-equip-cv-22s-with-ballistic-protection

[Sparkplug]

Russia completes initial Ka-52K sea trials

Janes

[Harald]

Officials deny Apache sale to Poland, despite systems contract

While Poland is known to be considering the AH-64E Apache for its Kruk (Raven) attack helicopter programme, officials have denied that any particular platform has yet been chosen.

The US Army and Boeing have told Jane's that Poland has not selected the AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter for its Kruk (Raven) requirement, despite the country being included in a related contract announcement posted on the US Department of Defense (DoD) website on 28 April.

Poland is known to be considering the AH-64E Apache Guardian as one of a number of future attack helicopter types, and the country's inclusion alongside other current international operators of the type in a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract for Apache sighting systems appeared to indicate that a selection had indeed taken place.

"Lockheed Martin, Orlando, Florida, was awarded a USD332,136,017 firm-fixed-price foreign military sales (United Kingdom, Egypt, India, Korea, Republic of Indonesia, Taiwan, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Poland) contract for Modernised Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor System, subcomponent production, and technical services for the Apache attack helicopter," the notification read.

However, in response to a request for clarification from Jane's, a representative for the US Army said that Poland has not yet opted to buy the Apache, while Boeing noted that the country has not made any decision regarding its Kruk requirement. While Jane's has been assured that no decision has taken place, however, neither the US Army nor Boeing said why the country had been included in the Apache sighting system contract. The Polish Ministry of National Defence (MND) had not responded to the request by the time of publication.

Poland is currently in the midst of a helicopter recapitalisation effort to replace its Warsaw Pact-era inventory, with the emphasis currently on acquiring a new special forces type to replace its ageing Mil Mi-8/17 'Hip' platforms, as well as an anti-submarine warfare type to replace the Mil Mi-14 'Haze'. It had been understood that the Mi-24 'Hind' assault platforms to be replaced by the new Kruk attack helicopter programme would remain in service for the foreseeable future.

http://www.janes.com/article/70000/officials-deny-apache-sale-to-poland-despite-systems-contract?utm_content=bufferd4a33&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

[Harald]

Armed reconnaissance still biggest gap in US Army aviation

The Army repeatedly stressed at the Army Aviation Association of America's annual summit that the biggest gap it has is the one left open when it retired its armed reconnaissance helicopter — the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior — without replacing the fleet with a new aircraft.

And the service won't get to replace it with the first variant of its Future Vertical Lift aircraft because a medium-lift helicopter — that would meet more of an Army utility mission — is seen as a bigger need across the joint force, according to Army officials at AAAA. Since FVL is a joint program, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Special Operations also have a strong voice in the matter.

The Army is gearing up to start its FVL program of record that will field a family of new helicopters starting in the early 2030s with a medium-lift variant it is calling capability set 3. The future variants are currently organized as capability sets 1 through 5, with 1 being the lightest aircraft, where an armed reconnaissance helicopter would fit, and 5 being a heavy-lift cargo aircraft.

The Army has tried three times to replace the Kiowa Warrior with a new helicopter. The first attempt was with the Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche, which was canceled in 2004 after spending $7 billion on the program and never reaching full-rate production.

Then Bell Helicopter's armed reconnaissance helo — the ARH-70 Arapaho — was canceled in 2008 due to delays and cost overruns.

Finally, the Army hosted a demonstration where it put industry's armed aerial scout offerings through the paces to try to find something that could be purchased quickly to replace the Vietnam-era Kiowas. But as declining defense budgets loomed in 2013, the service determined its wallet was too skinny to buy anything and decided instead to fund a service-life extension program for the Kiowa.

..../....

http://www.defensenews.com/articles/armed-reconnaissance-still-biggest-gap-in-army-aviation

[Harald]

V-280 on time, on the money

With five months to go until the V-280 Valor embarks on its first flight, testing and simulations are keeping the tiltrotor's aggressive timeline on track.

The mid-sized Capability Set 3 requirements for the US Army's Future Vertical Lift programme is currently being investigated under the Joint Multi-Role technology demonstration programme by Bell and Boeing-Sikorsky with their SB>1 Defiant.

According to an update provided by Bell Helicopter on 24 April, the V-280 flight test vehicle was now '95% complete' at the company's facility in Amarillo, Texas, and remains 'well on track' for its first flight in September 2017.

At a press day in January this year, Scott Allen, manager of the FVL build team at Bell Helicopter, told Shephard about the challenges experienced at the testing stage of the programme.

'We have an aggressive schedule to get through – the good news is we know where the biggest challenges are and we are mitigating them,' Allen explained.

'One is pure logistics. The wing on the demonstrator aircraft is actually fastened to the fuselage, it's not held on like the V-22 which has a ... cable system and four bolts and a spherical bearing setup that pins that wing to the fuselage. This wing is actually attached,' Allen said.

The V-280 is the third out of four recent clean sheet designs created within a digital environment by the company, with the others comprising the V-247 Vigilant, the 505 Jet Ranger X and the 525 Relentless.

The production and design of the V-280 was influenced by the lessons learned from the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey, down to the intricacies of the aircraft such as part counts as a way of keeping down costs.

Allen explained that while the V-22 has 7,000 drill holes on its wing, the V-280 had substantially fewer, which had helped to ensure the estimated cost of the V-280 will be half that of the V-22.

'A key point is to keep it simple due to the potential number for production... We've only got 20% of a part count of a V-22 wing. So, the bottom line is we have got an 80%-part count reduction. The wing is 100% composite with the exception of a few metallic [elements],' he said.

https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/rotorhub/quad-2017-v-280-time-money/

[Ace1]

Overigens lijkt de Apache vervanger in het filmpje het M197 20 mm 3-loops kanon te hebben.

Dat was mij ook al opgevallen.