FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1986.PDF
DEFENCE PROCUREMENT TIM RIPLEY / LONDON UK revamps helicopter strategy Budget cut adds to pressure as Ministry of Defence officials are told to minimise risks in fleet reorganisation UK procurement chiefs have been the Future Rotorcraft Coherency ordered to put caution at the heart (FRC) forum have been instructed of new plans to revitalise the coun- to reorganise all UK helicopter pro- try's ageing and overworked battle- curement plans so that ministers field helicopter fleet. Ministry of can make decisions by mid-2005. Defence officials working as part of Stung by criticism from the CONTRACT Apache targeting upgrade approved The UK Ministry of Defence is to award AgustaWestland a sole-source contract to replace the targeting systems on the British Army's new fleet of 67 Boeing/Westland Apache AH1 attack helicopters. The Apache achieved initial operational capability with the UK service last August and is to become fully operational in 2007. The Apache's base line targeting equipmentis to be replaced with the Modernised Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilots Night Vision Sensor suite, to be sup plied by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control of the USA. The new system will be common with the Arrowhead targeting suite being integrated with the US Army's upgraded AH-64D Apache Longbows. UK Apache crews will also receive an improved helmet and display sighting system as part of the upgrade package, a value for which has not been disclosed. Contract signature is expected around March 2005, says AgustaWestland. WEAPONS PETER LA FRANCHI / MELBOURNE Metal Storm plans flight t trial for electronic gun Metal Storm Australia is to conduct in-flight firings of its 40mm elec tronic gun system from a Dragon fly Pictures DP-4X vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned air vehicle "in the near future", says general manager Ian Gillespie. Pending the availability of range space in the USA, the test will follow a ground-based live-firing demon stration conducted last April using a two-barrel configuration. This included single and multiple round firings with the guns in forward and downward firing profiles, with the UAV held above the ground in a rig with its engine running and rotors turning. The two gun mounts were fitted to the side of the VTOL UAV for the demonstration. National Audit Office that the UK's existing helicopter fleet is insuffi cient, officials on the Investment Approvals Board have ordered that no risks be taken with anything that could be considered a first-of- class project. Every UK helicopter programme is likely to be affected by the FRC effort, with several probably facing major reorganisa tions and budget reductions. A £1.4 billion ($2.5 billion) cut to the helicopter procurement budget announced in the UK's mid-2004 defence review has increased the pressure on the Defence Procurement Agency and the min istry's equipment capability branch, say industry sources. The UK cannot afford cost overruns or programme delays, but shortages in helicopter lift have increased pressure to field solutions in the near term. The UK's ageing Westland/ Aerospatiale Puma HC1 and Westland Sea King HC4 transports are unable to operate efficiently in the hot and high conditions of Afghanistan and the Middle East. The Royal Air Force's eight Boeing Chinook HC3s now in storage are prime candidates to replace a squadron of Pumas, but the replace ment of the Royal Navy's Sea King HC4s is proving more problematic. A plan to develop folding rotor blades for the Chinook to allow below-deck storage on aircraft carri ers is unlikely to be given the go- ahead unless the technical chal lenges can be proved as low-risk. This leaves a purchase of either a maritime variant of the RAF's The recoil impact from the firings is expected to have a negligible effect on the UAV's flight profile, says Gillespie. The prototype 40mm gun has a recoil dampening system that uses a spring absorber that sur rounds the rear half of the barrel. The two-barrel mount configuration loaded with four rounds represents the maximum payload for the DP- troop-carrying AgustaWestland EHlOl Merlin HC3 or the NH Industries' NH90 a strong near- term possibility. In the longer term, advanced versions of the Chinook and the US Marine Corps' CH-53X are also contenders. The imminent retirement of the Army Air Corps' Westland Lynx and Westland/Aerospatiale Gazelle light helicopters is driving the need to field a new scout and utility heli copter to support Boeing/Westland Apache AH1 attack helicopters. The Battlefield Light Utility Helicopter project appears to have been deemed unaffordable and a more modest sensor fit is likely, to cut costs. A new build of 38 Lynxes or a purchase of NH90s, Eurocopter EC120s or EC635s are possible. The launch of the Watchkeeper unmanned air vehicle project and the Apache's ability to fly scout mis sions make a new reconnaissance capability a low priority. Debate is also raging within the Royal Navy over its future helicopter fleet mix and whether to move to a single-type solution based on the EHlOl Merlin. The Surface Combatant Maritime Rotorcraft project to replace the Lynx HAS3/8 fleet is considered unlikely to go ahead in its current form. The industrial implications of the planning shift could also play a part in the FRC debate. The survival of AgustaWestland's Yeovil plant will be a key consideration for political reasons, but also to ensure long- term maintenance and through-life upgrade services for UK helicopters. 4X helicopter, he says. The develop mental air vehicle has a maximum take-off weight of 65 kg (1401b) and an endurance of up to 8h. Metal Storm is also working on a prototype eight-barrel mounting arrangement, with this also tested with a DP-4X. Gillespie says whether this is flown depends on ongoing DP-4X development work. www.tliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 12-18 OCTOBER 2004 19
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
