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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 1060.PDF
DEFENCE TENDER PETER LA FRANCHI / CANBERRA Australian helicopter RFP looks for up to 48 aircraft Air 9000 programme requirement includes possible trade-in of army's S-70A-9s Tenders for the Australian Department of Defence's Project Air 9000 helicopter rationalisation pro gramme have been released with contenders to provide options for the supply of up to 48 new aircraft between 2006 and 2011. The request for proposals (RFP) calls for options on the trade-in of Australia's 36 Sikorsky S-70A-9 Black Hawks if the acquisition and strategic industry partnership requirements of the project result in a decision not to upgrade the aircraft and instead withdraw them from service. The proposed strategic partner ship contract is for a 20-year period, based on a single helicopter supplier working with the Australian DoD to rationalise existing Army and Royal Australian Navy rotary wing fleets to just four core types. However, the RFP also says the Australian DoD will reserve the right to acquire heli copter systems outside that frame work if it chooses. The baseline delivery schedule for a 48-aircraft deal would see four del ivered before the end of 2006, eight by the end of 2007, ten in both 2008 and 2009, and four in 2011. The ten- The RFP calls for options on the trade-in of Australia's 36 Sikorsky S-70A-9s der asks for data on cost impacts of delaying the acquisition cycle by a year, and options on any earlier del ivery schedule proposed. The RFP documentation details nine separate acquisition options ranging from the purchase of six to 48 aircraft plus support, and the pos sible trade-in of the S-70A-9s, to the purchase of 12 aircraft and upgrad ing the 36 S-70A-9s to the same stan dard as the new helicopters. If full standardisation is not con sidered feasible or cost-effective, costs are sought against an upgrade for commonality of mechanical and avionics systems to the maximum extent practical and for refurbish ment of the airframe to provide a life of type extension and to incorporate essential marinisation features. The project is being competed for by Sikorsky, with Boeing Australia offering new-build and second-hand Black Hawks, and new-build S-92s. Eurocopter is teamed with Australian Aerospace and ADI and is offering NH-90s. AgustaWestland has teamed with BAE Systems Australia to bid EH101sandA129s. EVALUATION BRENDAN SOBIE / SINGAPORE Taiwan to send delegates to USA to size up Bell and Boeing attack rotorcraft programmes Taiwan is sending a delegation to the USA next month to evaluate the Bell AH-1Z and Boeing AH-64D, ahead of a platform selection to equip three new attack helicopter brigades. Boeing hopes Taiwan will start the procurement process by year-end, since the Apache Longbow is the only candidate currently available. But budget constraints threaten to delay procurement until at least next year, which would give Bell the opportunity to offer the new AH-1Z. Taiwanese industry sources say Taiwan's army has arranged a June visit to Boeing's Apache facility in Mesa, Arizona. The delegation also plans to view the AH-1Z, which is being tested by the US Marine Corps at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Taiwan has a requirement for 75 attack helicopters, enough to field three new brigades, although ini tially it may only acquire 20 and field one brigade. The army has been eval uating the Apache for the past two years and was cleared to receive data on the aircraft a year ago Flight International, 30 April-5 May, 2002). Taiwan, however, has not yet bud geted for any new attack helicopters and there are several competing mil itary requirements vying for scarce funds in its fiscal year 2004 budget. Attack helicopters are not in the USA-prepared top three Taiwan military acquisition priority list, which includes submarines, missiles and CISR. But if the Taipei govern ment will fund a helicopter pur chase in 2004, a letter of offer and acceptance could be signed by year- end and the first aircraft would be on line in 2007. In this event the Apache would be the only candidate, as the AH-1Z is not due to reach initial operational capability until late 2007 and the German government has refused to make the new Eurocopter Tiger HAP available to Taiwan. FLIGHT TESTING VECTOR in high AoA landing The Boeing/EADS X-31 has demonstrated an automated thrust-vectored landing at 24° angle of attack (AoA) and 121kt (224km/h), a 31 % reduction from the aircraft's normal touchdown speed. The landing, at the US Navy's Patuxent River, Maryland, test centre, completed the three-year US/ German VECTOR extremely short take off and landing (ESTOL) demonstration programme. The X-31 typically lands at 12° AoA and 175kt, and requires a 2,400m (8,000ft) ground roll. On the final landing, the pilot required just 520m to slow the aircraft enough to turn a com plete circle in the middle of the runway. The ESTOL landings were fully automatic, the X-31 guided to the ground by the dif- ferential-GPS integrity beacon landing system, which is accu rate to within 2cm (0.8in). Two thrust-vectoring X-31s were built by Rockwell and MBB for the Enhanced Fighter Manoeuvrability programme, a joint venture between the US Navy, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, NASA and Germany, conducted between 1990 and 1995. One crashed and the surviving aircraft was returned to flight in 2001 for the VECTOR programme. • NASA has completed the first phase of the flight testing of a modified Boeing F/A-18 under the Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW) programme. The AAW project aims to determine the advantages of twisting flexible wings for roll control at transonic and supersonic speeds, and will help design lighter, more flexible high aspect-ratio wings for future combat aircraft. The first phase of testing cov ered 50 data-gathering flights at altitudes from 5,000ft (1,530m) to 25,000ft and speeds from Mach 0.8 to 1.3. Boeing Phantom Works will use the data to develop control-law software for the second phase of AAW tests, planned for early 2004. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 13-19 MAY 2003 19
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