20 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial

Airbus Helicopters entend exporter le H145M en Australie gr'ce au consortium «Team Nightjar»

Airbus a annoncé le 10 juillet avoir formé avec 20 partenaires australiens le consortium «Team Nightjar» afin de pouvoir positionner son hélicoptère militaire H145M en Australie. Il s'agit de répondre aux besoins exprimés dans le projet Land 2097 Phase 4, visant à doter les forces spéciales australiennes d'une flotte d'hélicoptères multi-rôles de classe 4 tonnes. Parmi les membres de ce consortium figurent notamment, outre Airbus Helicopters, Safran Helicopter Engines Australia, QinetiQ Australia, Microflite, Kratos Australia et Cyborg Dynamics. «L'appareil bimoteur léger est une option éprouvée sur le plan opérationnel, abordable et à faible risque pour l'Australie, complétant le MRH90 Taipan par une mobilité et une connaissance situationnelle améliorées pour les opérations spéciales. En raison de sa taille compacte, le H145M sera optimisé pour les opérations en terrain urbain dense et sera rapidement déployable via un C-17A Globemaster», précise Airbus.

Air & Cosmos du 17 juillet

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  • Navy Issues Final RFP for FFG(X) Next-Generation Frigate

    21 juin 2019 | International, Naval

    Navy Issues Final RFP for FFG(X) Next-Generation Frigate

    By: Megan Eckstein The Navy released the final request for proposals for its next guided-missile frigate (FFG(X)) today, outlining the program that will get the U.S. Navy into the business of operating high-end small combatants. The service is counting on the new frigate to help the fleet operate in a distributed manner in a contested maritime environment. To that end, the final solicitation for bids for the FFG(X) program highlights a particular interest in what industry can offer in range; margins for weight, cooling, electrical and arrangeable deck area, to allow the ship to bring in new technologies as they develop; acoustic signature management; undersea surveillance; and over-the-horizon capabilities. After previous iterations of the frigate were ditched as the Navy's view of what capability it wanted evolved, the current FFG(X) effort sought to bring in industry early to ensure that requirements were in line with what technologies were currently feasible at the right price point. Those ongoing discussions led the Navy to settle on a ship that would have at least 32 vertical launching system (VLS) cells, an Aegis-based combat system, the Cooperative Engagement Capability datalink so the frigate could share targeting data with other ships and aircraft, and advanced anti-submarine warfare and electronic warfare systems. The service announced earlier this year the frigate would include as government-furnished equipment: A fixed-face Raytheon Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR) that will serve as the primary air search radar. At least 32 Mark 41 Vertical Launch System cells that could field Standard Missile 2 Block IIICs or RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missiles (ESSM) and a planned vertically launched anti-submarine warfare weapon. COMBATSS-21 Combat Management System based on the Aegis Combat System. Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) datalink that would allow the frigate to share targeting information with other ships and aircraft. Space, weight and cooling for 8 to 16 Over-the-Horizon Anti-Ship Cruise Missiles An aviation detachment that includes an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter and an MQ-8C Firescout Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. AN/SQQ-89(V)15 Surface Ship Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Combat System AN/SQS-62 Variable Depth Sonar. SLQ-32(V)6 Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 2 electronic warfare suite with allowances to include SEWIP Block 3 Lite in the future. Space, weight and cooling reservation for a 150-kilowatt laser. Further highlighting the focus on allowing the ships to be upgraded as technology evolves, the solicitation asks that bids include a “description of the flexibility in the design to accommodate efficient warfare systems upgrades by explaining equipment removal and upgrade paths with an emphasis on avoiding hull cuts or the need for dry docking,” as well as provisions for upgrading hull-mounted and towed undersea warfare sensors. Five industry teams have been involved in early design maturation efforts, which both helped industry refine their plans to be more in line with what the Navy wanted, and allowed the Navy to refine its idea of how much this new class might cost. Earlier this year, USNI News reported that costs were coming down as a result of the design maturation contracts. “$950 (million) was the threshold; $800 million is the objective,” frigate program manager with Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants Regan Campbell said in January at the Surface Navy Association symposium. “We started closer to the $950; we are trending to very close to the $800 now. We have taken some very significant costs out,” she said of the second through 10th ship of the class. The Navy intends to buy at least 20 frigates, though the first contract will only cover the first 10. After the first contract, the Navy could continue with the same builder or re-compete the program to potentially bring in a second builder, if it wanted to accelerate frigate production to keep in line with its drive to reach a 355-ship fleet and leadership acknowledgement that it will need more small combatants and fewer high-end destroyers going forward. After the release of today's final RFP, interested bidders will have until Aug. 22 to submit their technical proposals to the Navy and until Sept. 26 to submit their pricing proposal. A winner will be selected in Fiscal Year 2020 to build the frigate. Of the five companies that participated in the design maturation phase, four are expected to submit bids to the RFP. Austal USA, who builds the Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship; Fincantieri Marine, which builds the Italian FREMM multipurpose frigate; General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, who will partner with Spanish F100-builder Navantia; and Ingalls Shipbuilding, who has declined to discuss its design, all worked with the Navy to take their existing parent designs and mature them to become in line with the Navy's vision for its guided-missile frigate. Lockheed Martin, which builds the Freedom-variant LCS, was part of that effort as well but announced it would not continue on with the frigate competition. Despite the earlier design work that the Navy funded, the frigate competition is open to any bidder who has a parent design to base the frigate offering on. https://news.usni.org/2019/06/20/navy-issues-final-rfp-for-ffgx-next-generation-frigate

  • F-35 upgrades slip to 2024, drawing lawmaker’s ire

    30 mars 2023 | International, Aérospatial

    F-35 upgrades slip to 2024, drawing lawmaker’s ire

    “We currently are paying for a great capability, but we’re currently only getting a good capability fielded,” subcommittee chairman Rep. Rob Wittman said.

  • How Will Coronavirus Change The Aftermarket?

    7 avril 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    How Will Coronavirus Change The Aftermarket?

    Alex Derber If the ongoing corona-crisis does effect a structural shift in the air transport market, both the production and aftermarket sectors will have to adjust. Much has been made of aviation's ability to weather previous external shocks such as 9/11, SARS and the financial crash, but the present upheaval is likely to outdo all others in its severity, and there is a good chance we won't see demand bounce back as quickly as in the past. In fact, the best comparison may not be with other external shocks at all, but rather with the profound impact that low-cost carriers (LCCs) had upon the established airline sector. Granted, this occurred region by region on a rolling basis over many years, rather than as a discrete global event like coronavirus, but the demand hit to full-service short- and medium-haul operations was huge. The LCCs also prompted significant changes in the MRO market, including: a move away from letter checks to more flexible maintenance programs; a rise in outsourcing and full-service maintenance contracts; and consolidation as larger MRO providers sought to enhance their nose-to-tail capabilities. So, what further changes might be wrought by the present crisis? Much will depend on the extent of the disruption and the demand profile thereafter, but certain tentative predictions can be made. For example: many airlines will probably fail; the survivors will emerge as smaller operations; many older aircraft will retire earlier; and business travel may never recover its pre-crisis highs. For the aftermarket this may mean: more competition for contracts and a need to find greater cost efficiencies; a greater focus on new-technology inspection, testing and repair capabilities, such as for carbon fiber and the latest engines; and a trend towards simpler cabins. Also a fair bet, of course, is that the most significant ramifications of coronavirus for the aftermarket are ones that almost no-one is considering currently. For an in-depth look at the factors that have shaped the MRO market to this point, see the next Inside MRO. https://aviationweek.com/mro/how-will-coronavirus-change-aftermarket

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