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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 2052.PDF
CONTRACTS • Barco has received a contract from Sagem for CHDD-5.4/1 head-down displays (HDDs) for use in unspecified cockpit upgrades. The Belgian company has also received deals from L-3 Communications to supply 54 MFD 6.8/1-RC multifunction dis plays for retrofit to US Air Force Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft; from Eurocopterfor44 control dis play and management systems and 22 ACP-G control panels for Tigers ordered by Australia; and General Dynamics UK for 23 CHDD-6.8/1 HDDs to display digital maps for UK Royal Air Force AgustaWestland Merlin HC3 helicopters. Barco says the deals are worth around €5 mil lion ($5.65 million). • EDO has been selected by Sikorsky to develop interactive multimedia training courseware for the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche in a deal worth $7 million.! Frazer-Nash Consultancy has been selected by the UK Ministry of Defence as the safety adviser and inde pendent safety auditor for the Military Flying Training System programme. The UK company's contract to provide the same ser vice to Headquarters RAF Strike Command has been extended to 2005. • Goodrich is to produce rescue hoists for the V-22 tiltrotor under a $12 million Boeing con tract. • Raytheon is to produce two additional AQS-20 heli copter-towed minehunting sonar systems under a $12.9 million US Navy contract. • L-3KDIis to produce an improved, all-elec tronic fuze for the US Air Force's tactical munition dispenser under a contract potentially worth $15 million by 2012. • Simula has been named prime contractor for the clothing and individual equip ment portion of the Air Warrior Ensemble to be worn by US Army helicopter pilots, responsi ble for integration of flexible body armour, survival gear and over- water-equipment carriers and flotation collar, under a contract potentially worth $25 million by 2013.1 Saft America is to develop high-power lithium ion battery technology for high-rate directed energy weapons under a $20 million US Air Force Research Laboratory contract. DEFENCE CONTRACT MICHAEL PHELAN / LONDON Companies ready bids for Canadian training contest Allied Wings and Bombardier set to respond to request for proposals due in coming weeks The Allied Wings consortium and Bombardier Aerospace Defense Services will respond to the Canadian Department of National Defence's (DND) Contracted Flying Training and Support (CFTS) pro gramme request for proposals (RFP), expected to be issued in the coming weeks. The CFTS contract will cover ground training, flight training and support services for Phase I primary flying training (PFT) as well as sup port services and ground training for Phase III helicopter and multi engined aircraft training. A con tract with Bombardier to provide the service has already been extended and expires in August 2005. Any replacement service must be in place the following November, requiring a DND selec tion early next year. Allied Wings includes team leader Kelowna Flightcraft as the fixed-wing aircraft provider; Atlantis Systems International providing the ground school, simulators and training materials; Canadian Base Operators to pro vide buildings and facilities; Canadian Helicopters; and Coastal Pacific Aviation. Bill Weston, Allied Wings CFTS project co-ordinator, sees no disad vantage in not being the incum bent. "Each bidder has got a whole new fleet of aircraft and the new courseware will be the major issue. It's going to be very complex and very comprehensive," he says. Bombardier has the advantage of In-service Griffons could be used for helicopter training running the NATO Flying Training in Canada programme, which will be closely linked with the CFTS programme. Bombardier says com monality between these pro grammes could be key for external customers, which could eventually provide 30% of CFTS business. The DND has prescribed the Grob 120 and Aermacchi SF260 for PFT, while the Beech King Air C90B is the only aircraft considered suitable for multi-engined fixed- wing training. For rotary-wing training the DND's Bell CH-139 JetRangers and CH-146 Griffon helicopters could be made avail able, but bidders are also consider ing new Agusta A109s and Euro- copter AS355 Twin Squirrels. The contract includes instructors and training materials, aircraft, air field services and facilities to sup port training and student accom modation. The school will operate from Southport Aerospace Centre's former CF airbase at Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Allied Wings and Bombardier have already cleared DND pre- qualification, a process which would make it difficult for late comers to enter the competition. CAE, Lockheed Martin and Vertex Aerospace are thought to have stud ied CFTS, and may yet respond to the RFP. UNMANNED SYSTEMS Northrop Grumman polishes Watchkeeper plans Northrop Grumman is studying options for a UK-based system inte gration centre and is examining lessons from the British Army's deployment of BAE Systems Phoe nix tactical unmanned air vehicles during the Iraq war as it finalises its Watchkeeper bid. The US company is also assessing growth options for its RQ-8 Fire Scout and Ruag Ranger solution, including arming the platforms. Watchkeeper has no requirement for weapons, but the Ministry of Def ence has indicated this as a potential future need. Arming Fire Scout is being studied within the US Army's Future Combat System (FCS). Other Watchkeeper growth options include use in maritime and littoral surveillance missions, urban missions, communications relay and carriage of the Soothsayer elec tronic warfare payload. Northrop Grumman says its objective for Watchkeeper and FCS is to allow payload integration in minutes to be responsive to battle field requirements. The company says Phoenix oper ations in Iraq have shown how the UK expects to transition and oper ate its next UAVs. This includes sup- portability during operations and ensuring sortie rates remain high. Meanwhile, Watchkeeper com petitor, Thales UK, has added Cubic, LogicaCMG, Marshall Special Vehicles and Vega to its team. 18 23-29 SEPTEMBER 2003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
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