Defense Projects and News

France has confirmed the selection of 12 Airbus A330 aerial tankers for the French Air Force. First delivery is expected in 2018, followed by a second in 2019 and then at a rate of one or two per year, Airbus said in a statement. India and Qatar are in the "final stages of contractual negotiations" for six and two aircraft respectively, Airbus said. Airbus said France is the sixth country to order the tanker after Australia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the UK. A total of 22 aircraft are in service, it said.

(Reuters)

The F/A-18 Super Hornet infrared search and track (IRST) system, developed and integrated by Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT], received approval from the U.S. Navy to enter low-rate initial production. The IRST system consists of Lockheed Martin’s IRST21™ sensor, the GE Aviation FPU-13 Fuel Tank Assembly and the Meggitt Defense Industry Environmental Control unit. The system demonstrated its production readiness through a series of extensive assessments and reviews, including flight tests. “This ‘see first, strike first’ capability can be used in a variety of threat environments and is a game changer for our warfighters as we combat future adversaries,” said U.S. Navy F/A-18 program manager Capt. Frank Morley. IRST is expected to deploy on the F/A-18 Super Hornet in 2017.

The US Air Force will use Boeing's 747-8 airliner to replace its current fleet of two presidential aircraft, one of the most visible symbols of the United States. The decision comes a month after Boeing said it would slow production of the four-engine 747-8 aircraft to 1.3 a month from 1.5 a month because of declining orders. "The Boeing 747-8 is the only aircraft manufactured in the United States (that) when fully missionized meets the necessary capabilities established to execute the presidential support mission," said Air Force Secretary Deborah James in a statement.

Boeing welcomed the Air Force's decision to skip a competition and opt for the 747-8, citing its 50-year history of building presidential aircraft. The Air Force said it intended to award a sole source contract to Boeing, but they must still negotiate a contract and the modifications needed to adapt the jet for presidential use. The Air Force now operates two VC-25s, specially configured Boeing 747-200Bs. Details about the new contract, including cost, were not released. It said it planned to purchase enough of the technical baseline to permit competition for maintenance during the plane's planned 30-year life.

James said the Air Force One programme would use proven technologies and commercially certified equipment to keep it affordable. The Air Force decision was widely expected since the only other suitable four-engine jet is the A380 built by Airbus in France. The 747-8 is the only four-engine commercial jet Boeing makes, providing an extra margin of flight safety over twin-engine planes. But the Air Force order might not extend the life of the 747, which has failed to capture much business in recent years.

Boeing was clearly trying to preserve production so it could fill the Air Force order, said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst at Teal Group. Now that the firm order is there, he said, it might be an opportunity for the programme to end. The double-decker plane entered service in 1970, undergoing a major overhaul in 2012, with new engines and a longer fuselage. But last year, Boeing did not get any orders for 747s, despite booking a record 1,432 net orders for commercial aircraft. At the end of 2014, Boeing had 36 unfilled orders for the plane, which lists at about USD$370 million.

(Reuters)

The head of Airbus Group has promised changes at the European aerospace firm after further delays and quality problems with its A400M military transport plane. Apologising during a speech in London for the latest problems, chief executive Tom Enders said: "We have not performed as we would have wished on the A400M, and I must apologise."

"...There will be management and organisational consequences to the programme, and we will learn our lessons from this," he told UK politicians and military leaders. Airbus declined further comment. Airbus said in November there had been delays in adding advanced tactical features and refuelling on certain aircraft, some of which would have to be retrofitted. It did not rule out taking further charges on top of EUR€4.2 billion of provisions over the life of the project, which received a EUR€3.5 billion, seven-nation bailout in 2010. Enders said Airbus was working hard to deliver the A400M as rapidly as possible and would ensure Britain's air force had seven aircraft in service by the end of 2015.

The largest customer, Germany - which took delivery in December of the first of 53 of the airlifters it has ordered - criticised Airbus last week over delays and quality problems on the A400M. The project has undergone several transformations, switching from a separate Spanish-based military transport unit to come under the wing of first the France-based Airbus civil plane making unit and now an enlarged defence division based in Germany. In 2010, Enders sacked military transport head Carlos Suarez after a disagreement over how the project was being run.

Airbus last year brought back Rafael Tentor for a second stint in running the programme. He reports to Domingo Urena-Raso, the head of Airbus's recently reorganised military aircraft activities, part of the Airbus Defence & Space division which is also in the midst of restructuring. The latest delays come against the backdrop of tensions between Airbus and Germany over sweeping military spending cuts. A total of 170 A400Ms have been ordered by seven partner nations, which also include Belgium, Britain, France, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey.

(Reuters)

The B-52 Stratofortress bomber was built during the Cold War, but its digital capabilities have entered the 21st century thanks to Boeing’s [NYSE: BA] ongoing Combat Network Communications Technology (CONECT) upgrade. On Jan. 28, the U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing a full rate production contract to deliver 10 CONECT kits that modernize communication systems for the B-52 bombers today and into the future. Those technology enhancements include full-color LCD displays with real-time intelligence feeds overlaid on moving maps, several communication data links that connect via satellite to platforms and troops in the field and an onboard, high speed network that enables aircrew to respond quickly to a mission change or identify and engage new targets with their weapons. “CONECT gives the B-52 the agility and flexibility needed for the modern battlefield while also providing greater situational awareness for the aircrew,” said Scot Oathout, Boeing’s B-52 program director.

Italian Air Force becomes the launch customer of Piaggio Aerospace’s P.1HH Unmanned Aerial System. This decision was announced at IDEX 2015 in Abu Dhabi, in presence of the Italian Air Force Chief, Lt. Gen. Pasquale Preziosa. Piaggio Aerospace will deliver three UAS systems – 6 air vehicles and 3 ground control stations – complete with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) configuration to the Italian Air Force in early 2016.

Earlier this month Pakistani military leaders released statements commending engineers for developing a so-called 'indigenous' drone that's strikingly reminiscent of the popular Long-EZ homebuilt designed by Burt Rutan back in the '70s. Officials are calling the UAV the Burraq and they said that it has fired a laser-guided missile during testing a few weeks ago. That event would be a first for the Middle Eastern jurisdiction.

Turkey is preparing for further delays in the delivery of two A400M military transport aircraft it ordered from Airbus, according to military officials in Ankara. It signed a deal for 10 of the heavy cargo and troop carriers in 2003 as part of a group of seven European NATO nations, expecting its part of the order to be fulfilled by 2018. After four years of delays to the project, Turkey received two of the aircraft in 2014 and was due to receive two more this year. But officials said the latest deliveries are now likely to be late. Airbus will have to pay a penalty or offer services for the new delays, they said, without giving a new timeline.

"The penalty will depend on the number of days the deliveries are delayed, so the figure is not clear yet. Receiving products and services from the company is also possible," one of the officials said. Airbus Military is in the process of negotiating a new delivery schedule for the A400M but has not so far published a timetable. However, industry sources say its base production plan of 14 aircraft for this year includes two for Turkey. "We are currently discussing A400M production with all the customers and we will communicate further on that when the discussions are complete," an Airbus Military spokesman said.

Airbus clashed publicly with Turkey over the A400M last year, saying it was Ankara that was delaying taking delivery of the first aircraft as a "bargaining" move. But several buyers, notably Germany, have grown increasingly concerned about the latest round of delays, and analysts say declarations about the troubled project have tended to reflect tough negotiating positions on all sides. Turkey took part in a seven-nation, EUR€3.5 billion bailout in 2010 that was supposed to put an end to delays and technical problems with the transporter. But Airbus acknowledged last year that it faced additional delays and in February took a charge of EUR€551 million (USD$618 million).

(Reuters)

Last Boeing C-17 being manufactured in history.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has revived a plan to acquire a larger brigade-level unmanned air vehicle than its battalion-level Elbit Systems Skylark I-LE, according to sources. The requirement has been re-energised following analysis of the IDF’s operations in Gaza in 2014, after which it decided a larger UAV than the Skylark operated by its artillery corps' “Sky Rider” UAV battalion is needed. There were designs to acquire such a system some time ago, but an acquisition was put on hold until now. A future buy would provide IDF brigades with their own UAV. No specific details have been revealed, but sources claim the new UAV will be launched with the assistance of a catapult and will carry an advanced payload.

Poland has selected the Airbus Helicopters H225M Caracal for its tri-service rotorcraft acquisition. It also notes that it has cut back on the overall requirement package from 70 rotorcraft down to 50 units.

The Royal Danish Airforce is pondering mid-life upgrades to their Bombardier Challenger CL604s. If they go ahead with the plan, the upgrades are expected to be implemented by 2018. The four Danish 604s will receive a series of modifications that are inclusive of a new downlink and a multirole radar capable of carrying out surface surveillance, weather monitoring and oil slick detection. There will be a new cockpit done to the Challenger 605 standard as exists.

Japan Coast Guard has ordered the Falcon 2000 MSA platform to help in its fulfillment of its patrol duties. Overall, the Japanese Coast Guard operates around 90 aircraft mostly comprised of helicopter assets.

The United States Navy X-47B unmanned aircraft has successfully completed air-to-air refueling with an Omega tanker. The Omega K-707 tanker transferred some 1,810kg (4,000lb) of fuel using the navy’s probe and drogue refuelling method. This is the first time that an UAV has been refuelled in mid-flight.

The U.S Air Force said on April 20, the service said it will transfer conventional B-1B bombers from the responsibility of the Air Combat Command (ACC) to join nuclear-capable B-2 and B-52H bombers, as well as the LRS-B, under the direction of the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), based at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. The move becomes effective on October 1. “This realignment places all three Air Forces bombers under one command and brings the LRS-B program with it,” said Deborah Lee James, Air Force secretary. “Consolidating all of our Air Force assets in this critical mission area under a single command will help provide a unified voice to maintain the high standards necessary in stewardship of our nation’s bomber forces.”

C130J from the Royal Air Force...landing at Bern

The C-17 production process has come to an end. Boeing officially marked the end of aircraft production at a 74-year-old plant in Long Beach, California, on 29th November, with the final Boeing C-17 out of the factory complex on Lakewood, Boulevard. The aircraft left there and landed at another Boeing facility in San Antonio, Texas. This final aircraft is expected to be handed-over to the Qatar Air Force in early 2016.

Boeing and the US Air Force recently and successfully completed the first 'KC-46A Pegasus' refuelling of a combat jet using the next-generation tanker's wing-mounted hose-and-drogue system. The momentous occasion happened a couple days ago on 10 February when the KC-46 transferred fuel to a US Navy F/A-18 at 20,000ft, according to Boeing.

Boeing is moving on with tests of their new Boeing KC-46A tanker. Thr aircraft has completed a couple of refueling tests so far and is expected to conduct 6 different types of 'contacts'. The latest involved the modified Boeing 767 being topped-up itself by a KC-10 tanker. The next tests will involve it fueling an A-10, AV8 Harrier and C-17 via the drogue and boom methods.