26 mars 2020 | International, Aérospatial

Lockheed and Bell will compete head-to-head to build US Army’s future attack recon aircraft

By: Jen Judson

WASHINGTON — Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin-owned company, and Bell have been selected to build and fly Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) prototypes for the U.S. Army in a head-to-head competition, according to a March 25 Army statement.

The Army is planning to procure both a FARA and Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) that will slowly replace the current fleet of Sikorsky-manufactured UH-60 Black Hawks utility helicopters and Boeing-made AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. The service plans to initially field both in the 2030s.

FARA will fill a critical capability gap currently being filled by AH-64E Apache attack helicopters teamed with Shadow unmanned aircraft following the retirement of the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters.

The service has tried and failed three times to fill the gap with an aircraft.

The Army had selected five teams to provide FARA designs last spring: AVX Aircraft Co. partnered with L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, Bell, Boeing, Karem Aircraft and Sikorsky.

The Army laid out a handful of mandatory requirements that the vendors had to meet and also a list of desired requirements for initial designs, Col. Craig Alia, the Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team chief of staff, told reporters last year.

The service also looked at the vendors' execution plans and evaluated timing as well as funding profile requirements.

“The ones that were selected were clearly meeting the mandatory requirements and were in the acceptable risk level of the execution plan and the desired requirements," Dan Bailey, who is the FARA competitive prototype program manager, added. The prototype program falls under the purview of the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation and Missile Center's Aviation Development Directorate.

Lockheed unveiled its design — Raider X — at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual conference in October 2019. The company's design uses its Raider X2 coaxial technology with a focus on how it will perform “at the X.”

“One thing that always comes out is the importance of this aircraft at the X,” Tim Malia, Sikorsky's director of future vertical lift light, told Defense News in an interview last fall. “The ‘X' is defined by the Army as the terminal area where they actually have to go do the work, do the reconnaissance, do the attack mission. The operation at the X is really critical for this program and for this platform.”

That's where Raider X comes in. It's a slightly larger version of the Raider coaxial helicopter that Lockheed has been flying for several years at its West Palm Beach, Florida, flight test center.

“Through our mature S-97 RAIDER technology demonstrator, we continue to optimize our FARA solution, which will provide the Army with an integrated weapon system that combines speed, range, maneuverability, survivability and operational flexibility," Andy Adams, Sikorsky's vice president of future vertical lift, said in a March 25 statement. This approach is driving down risk and will result in an aircraft solution that is capable of executing the Army's joint all-domain operations."

Bell revealed its design — the Bell 360 Invictus — which is based on 525 technology. But its design features several key differences, including its size in order to adhere to the Army requirement of 40-foot in diameter rotor blades.

The design includes a single main rotor helicopter in a four-blade configuration, a low-drag tandem cockpit fuselage and transportability in a C-17.

“Bell is proud to continue work on the Bell 360 Invictus as part of the Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft Competitive Prototype competition,” Keith Flail, Bell's vice president of advanced vertical lift systems, told Defense News on March 25.

“We have made significant investment and begun manufacturing in order to preserve the Army's schedule for FARA CP and we are thrilled to continue our work on the Invictus,” he said. “Bell's approach from the beginning has been tailored to deliver the advanced performance required without excessive complexity in order to get critical capability in the hands of the warfighter quickly and affordably.”

The AVX and L3 team was the earliest to unveil its design for the FARA competition at the Army Aviation Association of America's annual summit in Nashville, Tennessee, in April 2019. The design uses AVX's compound coaxial and ducted fans technology. The companies said its single-engine design meets 100 percent of the Army's mandatory requirements and 70 percent of its desired attributes.

Karem announced it would team with Northrop and Raytheon and came out with its design at AUSA — its AR-40 — with a single main rotor, tilting compound wings and a rotating tail rotor.

Boeing was the last to reveal its design, coming out with it March 3. The company's clean-sheet design featured a hingeless, six-bladed, high-solidity main rotor; a four-bladed conventional tail rotor; and a propeller on the back.

The prototype aircraft are expected to start flying in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, and the flight test is expected to run through 2023. The engineering and manufacturing development phase is expect to begin in FY24.

https://www.defensenews.com/smr/army-modernization/2020/03/25/lockheed-and-bell-will-compete-head-to-head-to-build-us-armys-future-attack-recon-aircraft

Sur le même sujet

24 janvier 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - January 23, 2020
ARMY Brayman Construction Corp., Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $319,592,539 firm-fixed-price contract for labor, rehabilitation of recreational areas, equipment, supervision and modifications to the stilling basin of the Bluestone Dam in Hinton, West Virginia. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Hinton, West Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2029. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance, civil works funds in the amount of $319,592,539 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington, West Virginia, is the contracting activity (W91237-20-C-0004). Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $12,847,708 cost-no-fee and firm-fixed-price contract for information technology support services. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work will be performed in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $12,847,708 were obligated at the time of the award. 411th Contracting Support Brigade, Seoul, South Korea, is the contracting activity (W91QVN-20-F-0157). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Simulab Corp., Seattle, Washington, has been awarded a maximum $36,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for hospital equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency electronic catalog. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with 102 responses received. Location of performance is Washington, with a Jan. 22, 2025, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DH-20-D-0029). NAVY PAE Applied Technologies LLC, Arlington, Virginia, is awarded a $32,967,099 modification (P00342) to a previously awarded contract N66604-05-C-1277 to extend the period of performance for six months and increase target cost for Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC). AUTEC is the Navy's large-area, deep-water, undersea test and evaluation range. Underwater research, testing and evaluation of anti-submarine weapons, sonar tracking and communications are the predominant activities conducted at AUTEC. The contractor performs AUTEC range operations support services and maintenance of facilities and range systems. In addition, the contractor is responsible for operating a self-sufficient one square mile Navy outpost. This modification increases the value of the basic contract by $32,967,099. The new total value is $885,984,261. Work will be performed in Andros Island, Commonwealth of the Bahamas (80%); and West Palm Beach, Florida (20%), and is expected to be completed in September 2020. No funding will be obligated at time of this modification award. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Newport Division, Newport, Rhode Island, is the contracting activity. https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2064381/source/GovDelivery/
25 avril 2024 | International, Aérospatial

Ukraine's ambassador slams Canada for Airbus sanctions waiver on critical Russian mineral | CBC News
Ukraine's ambassador to Canada has called out the Trudeau government over a decision to grant Airbus Defence and Space a waiver that will allow the European aerospace giant to continue to use Russian titanium in the manufacture of its aircraft engines. It comes after the company vowed to find a new supplier in 2022.
14 janvier 2019 | International, Aérospatial

Modernisation and Procurement Opportunities in the Global Combat Aircraft Market to Exceed $101 Billion by 2026
Renewed emphasis on stealth, sensor fusion, MUM-T, and active protection systems will ignite new growth opportunities, finds Frost & Sullivan LONDON, Jan. 14, 2019 /CNW/ -- The global combat aircraft market is set for rapid growth. Geographical instability, territorial and border disputes, and the need to replace ageing fleets with modern fourth-/fifth-generation multirole fighters that have longer ferry range, higher payload capacity, and better survivability against integrated air defence networks are key factors fuelling a phenomenal CAGR of 39.0% to 2026. Frost & Sullivan anticipates planned and perceived modernisation and procurement opportunities in the market to exceed $101 billion and revenues to reach $493.14 billion by 2026. "Geopolitics aside, the combat fleet in many countries such as India, Vietnam, and Malaysia are reaching obsolescence fast and replacements must be procured to ensure that power projection capabilities of these countries are maintained. There is a global renewed emphasis on stealth, sensor fusion, manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) capability, and active protection system upgrades," said Arjun Sreekumar, Industry Analyst, Defence at Frost & Sullivan. "To harness lucrative growth opportunities, players should offer a combination of low-cost platforms, aggressive marketing, and flexible payment mechanisms." For further information on this analysis, please visit: http://frost.ly/331 Growth opportunities from a regional perspective include: Geopolitical issues necessitate new procurement and modernisation in the Middle East in countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates Modernisation of existing systems or procurement of second-hand aircraft rather than pursuing expensive acquisition programs in former Soviet bloc countries and other developing countries with smaller economies or low economic growth Collaborative new platforms planned in Europe (Franco-German next-generation fighter) and the Asia-Pacificregion (Japan and Indonesia) Russia and China modernising quickly and phasing out outdated inventory The United States seeking several upgrade programs for its current combat aircraft inventory to extend service lives into the 2030s, until the F-35 and new fifth-/sixth-generation multirole fighters can be procured "Older generation combat aircraft will find future air combat environments challenging in the face of new air and ground-based sensors and weapons capabilities, increased digitalisation of battlespace, and forces moving towards collaborative network-centric operations," noted Sreekumar. "The installation of new generation electronic countermeasures will be a minimum survival requirement in a rapidly evolving environment." Frost & Sullivan's recent analysis, Global Combat Aircraft Market, Forecast to 2026, covers the global market for new aircraft and upgrades specific to combat aircraft. It lists the key aircraft fielded by different countries based on their mission and types and traces their upgrade evolution. Segments such as strike, fighter, and multirole fighter across fixed-wing aircraft types are assessed with market share and the competitive environment discussed for players such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Dassault Aviation, Saab, Eurofighter Jadflugzeug GMBH, Mikoyan MiG, and Sukho. Revenues are broken down by new procurements, upgrades, regions, and combat aircraft types. About Frost & Sullivan For over five decades, Frost & Sullivan has become world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion. Global Combat Aircraft Market, Forecast to 2026 MD43_16 Contact: Jacqui Holmes Corporate Communications Consultant E: jacqui.holmes@frost.com Twitter: @FrostADS LinkedIn: Frost & Sullivan's Aerospace, Defence and Security Forum Website: http://www.frost.com/ADS SOURCE Frost & Sullivan https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/modernisation-and-procurement-opportunities-in-the-global-combat-aircraft-market-to-exceed-101-billion-by-2026-855358362.html

Toutes les nouvelles