Aurora Engineering Partnership awarded £13m contract by Defence Equipment and Support to provide specialist maritime combat systems

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  16 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  USAF Inches Closer To KC-46 Vision System Decision

  Lee Hudson The head of the U.S. Air Force's mobility fleet needs more data from Boeing on the KC-46 Remote Vision System (RVS) upgrade plan to determine if an interim fix is worth taking the maintenance downtime. Boeing is upgrading the RVS to version 1.5, which is now renamed the enhanced RVS that the company promises will deliver sharper imaging, Air Mobility Command chief Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost told reporters Sept. 14. “But the proof is in the pudding when it comes to whether or not it actually would provide additional operational capability or additional safety,” she said. Van Ovost and the head of the Pentagon's operational test and evaluation office met with Boeing on Sept. 4 for KC-46 briefings. Toward the end of September, Van Ovost expects a briefing on why the Pentagon should implement enhanced RVS at no cost to the Air Force. Air Force Research Laboratory personnel will participate in the discussion on whether the service should pursue enhanced RVS or wait until 2.0 comes online, she said. Boeing began flight testing the enhanced RVS in June, which includes numerous software changes and a few hardware updates. If the government opts not to deploy the upgrade, the fixes identified for RVS 1.5 will flow into the 2.0 version that is slated for fielding in the second half of 2023. “If the Air Force decides to deploy initial RVS enhancements we could provide aircraft with those during the second half of 2021 (calendar year),” Mike Hafer, KC-46 global sales and marketing at Boeing, said in a Sept. 15 statement. “The full suite of state-of-the-art enhancements, commonly known as RVS 2.0, should be installed in tankers we deliver starting in late 2023 or early in 2024.” https://aviationweek.com/shows-events/afa-air-space-cyber-conference/usaf-inches-closer-kc-46-vision-system-decision

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  29 novembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial

  Bell pitches Viper attack helo to replace Japan’s Cobra copters

  By: Mike Yeo TOKYO — American company Bell is promoting its AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter at the Japan International Aerospace Exhibition in Tokyo as its entrant for Japan's attack helicopter replacement program. The East Asian U.S. ally is seeking a new helicopter to replace the approximately 70 Bell AH-1S Cobra helos currently in use by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. The country had released a request for information in May seeking a new helicopter. Speaking to Defense News at the show, retired Lt. Gen. George Trautman, a former U.S. Marine aviator and commander of all Marine Corps aviation who now works as an adviser for Bell, said the company responded to the RFI through the U.S. government with 50 AH-1Z helicopters. John Woodbury, Bell's director of global military business development in the Asia-Pacific region, added that the RFI called for an attack helicopter with “marinization and shipboard compatibility,” with Trautman asserting that the AH-1Z can “operate onboard ships far better than the competition.” The representatives from Bell said there's more to marinization than additional corrosion protection from saltwater. They said this also includes foldable rotor blades and other measures that reduce the stowage footprint onboard the limited space on ships, as well as a design that minimizes electromagnetic interference. The requirement for the new attack helicopter to operate from ships suggests Japan plans to use them on Izumo-class helicopter destroyers or the smaller Hyuga-class of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, which are equipped with a long flight deck to operate multiple helicopters. Japan will likely require at least a degree of technology transfer and local production for the new helicopters. Bell's relationship with Japan reaches across 65 years, including the company's partnership with Fuji Heavy Industries (now Subaru) for production of Japan's AH-1S helicopters. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/japan-aerospace/2018/11/28/bell-pitches-viper-attack-helo-to-replace-japans-cobra-copters

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  17 juin 2022 | International, Aérospatial

  Netherlands Selects C-390 As Hercules Replacement

  The Netherlands has selected Embraer's C-390 airlifter as the replacement for its long-serving Lockheed C-130 Hercules fleet.