Internationale Helicopter ontwikkelingen

[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.

[Harald]

Ik zou liever een 30mm zien, dan een 20mm.
Meer punch en bereik.

[Sparkplug]

Zien we hier een impressie van wat voor de KLu de vervanger van de Apache en de Cougar kan zijn?

Dat zou zo maar kunnen. Overigens lijkt de Apache vervanger in het filmpje het M197 20 mm 3-loops kanon te hebben. Is dit wenselijk of liever een groter kaliber, zoals het M230 30 mm kanon?

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Sikorsky - Boeing Future Vertical Lift: The Way Forward

Zien we hier een impressie van wat voor de KLu de vervanger van de Apache en de Cougar kan zijn?

[Sparkplug]

US Army awards Milestone B to Chinook Block 2

Janes

[Harald]

Sikorsky - Boeing Future Vertical Lift: The Way Forward

Sikorsky - Boeing Future Vertical Lift is a scalable design based on proven X2 Technology™. Designed for long range, high speed, superior hover performance and unmatched maneuverability, the Future Vertical Lift program will shape the U.S. military's helicopter fleet of the future.

[Ace1]

[Sparkplug]

MH-60 updates could feed into Future Verticle Lift

FlightGlobal

[Harald]

New anti-submarine helicopters for Philippine Navy to be armed with Israeli-made Spike missiles

(zou voor de NL NH90 ook een mooie aanvulling zijn, of Hellfire's )

The  Israeli-made Spike NLOS (non-line-of-sight) missiles will be used on the new AugustaWestland AW159 Wildcat helicopters of Philippine Navy.

The Spike NLOS (non-line-of-sight) missiles will be employed by the Philippine Navy as an anti-ship weapon on the AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcats helicopters that are due to be delivered to Manila by next year.

According to Rafael, the Spike NLOS (non-line-of-sight) missile "is a perfect solution for naval helicopters," with a range of 30 kilometers and a "dedicated warhead which can neutralize any target."

The missile, capable of penetrating 39 inches of armor, can be operated in either direct attack mode or by mid-course navigation based on target coordinates only. These modes enable defeat of long-range hidden targets with pinpoint precision.

http://defence-blog.com/news/new-helicopters-for-philippine-navy-to-be-armed-with-israeli-made-spike-missiles.html

[Harald]

Bell Helicopter Continues to Shape the Future of Vertical Lift

DALLAS, TX --- Bell Helicopter unveiled today its vision for the future of rotorcraft – the FCX-001. This is Bell Helicopter's first concept aircraft and presents a 3-D roadmap for delivering safer, smarter and more efficient rotorcraft solutions.

"For the past 80 years, Bell Helicopter has imagined the art of the possible and brought those dreams to life," Bell Helicopter's President and CEO Mitch Snyder said during the opening ceremony at the HAI Heli-Expo. "Six months ago, we created a dedicated team to focus on emerging technologies and how we could incorporate them into our products. Among that team's first tasks was to display visually the technologies and innovations that present a roadmap that we envision bringing to market."

Bell Helicopter formed a core group of engineers and a team of graphic designers that proved to be a highly collaborative team of problem solvers. It was through this process that the FCX-001, a concept aircraft, came to light to physically demonstrate a new way of thinking.

The concept aircraft was built to address the evolving demands of our customers and demonstrate key technologies that revolutionize the pilot and passenger experience, including:

--A new anti-torque system in the tail boom designed to change the safety, noise and performance parameters of vertical lift aircraft forever.

--Hybridized propulsion combines advanced thermal engine cores for the main propulsion with, for example, electric distribution and motors to drive the anti-torque system for more control and simpler vehicle operations and maintenance.

--An airframe that is made from advanced sustainable materials to provide structural performance and offer configurations that our customers desire. In order to provide enhanced situational awareness, visibility and room, we are exploring the right combination of material and geometry. The airframe is also our front line for energy management where we harvest, store, attenuate and distribute external energy or system energy not already employed for useful work on the air vehicle.

--A landing gear with non-traditional geometries that facilitate function when combined with advanced materials and actuation.

--Morphing rotor blades that allow aircraft to optimize performance in different flight regimes.

--A single pilot seat and an entirely new flight deck experience with the pilot controlling the aircraft through augmented reality and an artificial intelligence computer assistance system.

--A highly modular passenger cabin enhanced with the same augmented reality technology for individualized infotainment to catch up on world news, hold a video conference call, share documents with other passengers or simply watch a movie or play music to relax.

"Being a pioneer in the aircraft industry is in our DNA and we want to share this renewed passion with the world. The FCX-001 points the way for our future – a renewed focus on innovative solutions and technologies. When the time is right we look forward to sharing more of what we're doing behind closed doors," added Snyder.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/release/3/181767/bell-sees-new-fcx_001-as-future-of-vertical-lift.html

[Sparkplug]

Ik ben benieuwd hoe dat bij deze order zal gaan. Gaat wel om bescherming Amerikaanse nucleair arsenaal.

De USAF gebruikt al die tijd voor deze taak de UH-1N. Mits het benodigde budget ervoor was, hadden zij al veel eerder een nieuwer ontwerp kunnen kiezen.