January 30, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By: Tom Kington
ROME – Italy's Leonardo has dropped plans to develop a new, single-engine helicopter and opted instead to buy a small Swiss firm that has already built one.
The Italian defense giant announced on Tuesday it was purchasing Kopter Group AG, which has developed the SH09, a five- to eight-seater helicopter built with carbon composite materials which first flew in 2014.
A clean-sheet design developed by a small group of engineers, the SH09 maximizes pilot view as well as interior space with a maximum takeoff weight of 2,850 kg, while its Honeywell HTS 900 engine provides an 800km range and 140 knots top speed.
With the purchase, which is worth $185 million plus future pay-outs linked to the success of the program, Leonardo said it was saving itself the resources it had planned to use designing its own new helicopter in the category.
“This acquisition will replace the planned investment aimed at the development of a new single engine helicopter,” the firm said.
“Kopter's SH09, a new single engine helicopter, is a perfect fit for Leonardo's state of the art product range offering opportunities for future technological developments,” it added.
The Swiss company's skills would also be used to develop new technologies like hybrid and electrical propulsion, Leonardo said.
A company spokesman said the SH09 was viewed as a civil program in the short term. "The priority is the civil market but in the future, we will see – a military application is not excluded. However for now our AW119 is our military product in the light, three-ton, single-engine class," he said.
The purchase is an unusual step for the Italian firm, which has hitherto designed its own helicopters such as the AW139 and AW101, formerly under the AgustaWestland brand, which was retired before the company changed its name from Finmeccanica to Leonardo in 2016.
“Within the Helicopter Division of Leonardo, Kopter will act as an autonomous legal entity and competence centre working in coordination with us,” Leonardo said.
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/01/29/leonardo-buys-swiss-helicopter-firm/
August 18, 2024 | International, C4ISR, Security
OpenAI uncovers and blocks Iranian covert operation using ChatGPT to generate content targeting US presidential election and global events.
March 22, 2021 | International, C4ISR
The DoD Small Business and Technology Partnerships Office announces the pre-release of the following Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) topic: Army Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) 21.4 SBIR Topic A214-005: “Waveform Challenge for Tactical Radios,” published at: https://rt.cto.mil/wp-content/uploads/Army_21.4_ASO_Announcement_4.pdf IMPORTANT DATES: April 1, 2021: DSIP pre-release (March 16, 2021 on beta.SAM) April 1, 2021: Topic Q&A opens to questions June 1, 2021: BAA opens (begin accepting proposals in DSIP) June 1, 2021: Topic Q&A closes to questions at 12:00 PM ET June 18, 2021: BAA closes, full proposals must be submitted in DSIP no later than 12:00 p.m. ET Full topic and instruction document is available at: https://beta.sam.gov/opp/23a3541bee074eea8deef2abcdf1bbef/view. IMPORTANT: A prize competition, xTech|SBIR Waveform Challenge, will be used to identify small business concerns that meet the criteria for award of a Phase I or Direct to Phase II (D2PhII) SBIR contract under 10 U.S.C. §2374a. Winners selected from the xTech|SBIR Waveform Challenge prize competition will be the only firms eligible to submit a Phase I or D2PhII SBIR proposal under this announcement. A separate xTech|SBIR Waveform Challenge prize competition announcement will be issued concurrent with this BAA and can be found by selecting the xTech|SBIR Waveform Challenge tile at: https://www.xtechsearch.army.mil/ Topic Q&A During pre-release, proposers can contact TPOCs directly. Once DoD begins accepting proposals on June 1, 2021, no further direct contact between proposers and topic authors is allowed. Topic Q&A will be available for proposers to submit technical questions at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login beginning April 1, 2021. All questions and answers are posted electronically for general viewing. Topic Q&A will close to new questions on June 1, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. ET but will remain active to view questions and answers related to the topics until the BAA close. DSIP Help Desk Contact Info Phone Number: 703-214-1333 Email: DoDSBIRSupport@reisystems.com Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET Thank you for your interest in the DoD SBIR/STTR Program. DoD SBIR/STTR Support Team To sign up and receive upcoming emails, please follow this link: https://secure.campaigner.com/CSB/Public/Form.aspx?fid=667492&ac=g9gk
September 4, 2024 | International, Aerospace
This initiative aims to ensure these helicopters can continue to support the special forces and the Army until the new fleet becomes operational.