20 avril 2021 | International, Aérospatial
L'avionneur a annoncé lundi avoir mené avec succès une campagne de certification de ravitaillement en vol pour hélicoptères. Le groupe souhaite finaliser la campagne de certification complète au plus tard à la fin de l'année. Les essais, en coordination avec la Direction Générale de l'Armement et l'armée de l'Air et de l'Espace française, ont impliqué deux hélicoptères H225M (Airbus Helicopters). Dans un communiqué de presse, le groupe précise qu'« au cours de ces vols, un total de 81 contacts et des transferts de 6,5 tonnes de carburant ont été réalisés, dont le ravitaillement simultané de deux hélicoptères pour la première fois. Avec cette capacité, l'A400M devient l'un des rares avions ravitailleurs au monde capable d'effectuer de telles opérations ».
Zonebourse.com, Airrecognition.com, Actu-aero.fr
22 juin 2023 | International, Aérospatial
The aerospace unit of General Electric on Thursday announced it had signed an agreement with India's state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics to jointly make engines in India to power fighter jets for the Indian Air Force.
5 mars 2019 | International, Aérospatial
Gareth Jennings, London - Jane's Defence Weekly The US Air Force (USAF) has issued a draft request for proposals (RFP) for its Open Skies Treaty Aircraft Recapitalization (OSTAR) requirement. The draft RFP, released on 28 February, sets out the preliminary requirements for two aircraft to replace the USAF's current pair of Boeing OC-135B platforms that have performed the role since 1996. As noted in the solicitation, the aircraft will be a new-build platform that will be equipped with a Digital Visual Imaging System (DVIS), Mobile Digital Ground Processing System (MDGPS), and other mission kit. According to the draft RFP, the OSTAR programme will be delivered in three phases: the first phase covering aircraft production and modification, the second covering delivery of the aircraft and operational testing, and the third covering the aircraft's entry into service. The programme will run from February 2020 to February 2030, and will be valued at no more than USD648 million. A final RFP is due to be released in May. The USAF's current OC-135B Open Skies platforms are crewed by three pilots, two navigators, and two sensor maintenance technicians (the DTRA mission flight crew), one mission commander, one deputy mission commander, two sensor operators, and one flight follower. The aircraft are assigned to Air Combat Command (ACC) at the 55 Wing, 45th Reconnaissance Squadron, Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska for operations, training, and maintenance. https://www.janes.com/article/86954/usaf-issues-draft-rfp-for-new-open-skies-aircraft
16 juillet 2020 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité
By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — After decades of trying to break into the U.S. military aircraft market, Airbus is shifting course with a new strategy that prioritizes selling off-the-shelf sensors, data, space and intelligence capabilities that have been customized for U.S. government buyers. During a Wednesday discussion with reporters about the new direction for the business, Chris Emerson, the new chief executive of the Airbus U.S. Space and Defense division and formerly the president of Airbus Helicopters, said he wanted to move the company's focus in the United States away from the major fixed-wing platforms that are the company's bread and butter in Europe. Instead, he hopes to expand the company's presence in the growing space and intelligence markets, particularly with low-cost satellites like those made by its joint venture One Web, geospatial intelligence and imaging, and space-based sensors. “We know the Air Force needs an A400M, but I can spend 10 years trying to convince the Air Force and all the politicians that they should buy an A400M. And ultimately they will buy C-130s,” Emerson said. “So let me focus this energy, this great leadership team, on achieving something that is tangible today that the customer really needs. Yes, it's not traditional for Airbus, but it will bring the value and we'll have a better foundation if one day my successor says, ‘You know, I want to be a big platform competitor.' At least we'd have built up trust and proven that we could really meet the requirements that are demanded of it.” Although Airbus is a juggernaut in the international military and commercial aerospace market, it has always struggled to find its place among the U.S. defense prime contractors as major aircraft manufacturers. It famously lost the KC-X contract to Boeing in 2011 after a bloody and prolonged battle. Since then, the company's biggest procurement victory has been continued sales of its UH-72A Lakota helicopter to the Army. “I remember I spent eight years thinking we could bring real value on air-to-air refueling for the Air Force. But I spent eight years, and I'm frustrated because I look at it and we didn't succeed,” Emerson said. “I've asked the team, ‘Let's find a roadmap where we can actually make a mark with the customers.' And that means, I'm not going to go look at competing with Boeing and the Lockheeds and Northrop, but I'm going to look at other areas.” The U.S. customer is increasingly making investments into technologies that can augment or accelerate decision-making, he said. “That's where we start to look everything beyond an air breathing platform. We started to look at the data, the intelligence, that they need,” he said. “It could be intelligence that is geospatial-related, either Earth observation, or electro-optical, or synthetic aperture radar, or a blend that we're pulling in multi-source information.” Airbus already develops those types of capabilities in its commercial air and space businesses, and could quickly adapt them to U.S. demands, he said. When there are opportunities to offer Airbus aircraft to the U.S. military, the strategy will be to partner with American primes, Emerson said. For instance, last year Airbus and Lockheed signed a memorandum of understanding to market aerial refueling services to the U.S. Air Force using the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport. Asked on Wednesday whether the two companies planned to compete for tanker leasing opportunities currently being considered by the Air Force, Emerson said Lockheed takes the lead on interactions with the U.S. military on aerial refueling. He added that UH-72s will continue to be manufactured alongside Airbus's commercial H125 helicopter in Columbus, Miss., but modifications, support and contracting will be performed by the Airbus U.S. Space and Defense. In addition to naming Emerson as head of the company's U.S. defense and space business, Airbus also appointed a five-person board of directors — which includes former National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency director Letitia Long and William Shelton, a retired Air Force four-star and former head of Air Force Space Command — aimed at deepening ties with the U.S. military, space and intelligence agencies. It also named a seven-person team of advisers made up of former national security officials. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/07/15/airbus-us-pivots-business-strategy-away-from-selling-big-platforms-to-the-pentagon/