Bell Helicopter is unveiling a new third-generation tiltrotor aircraft concept called the V-280 Valor, which it is pitching for the US Army's Joint Multi-Role (JMR)/Future Vertical Lift (FVL) programme.
The army hopes to field a new medium-lift rotorcraft to replace its fleet of Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks in the 2030s developed under its FVL effort. But the service does not simply want a new helicopter; it hopes to induct "leap-ahead" technologies that would enable its future rotorcraft to cruise at speeds approaching 230kt (426km/h). To this end, the army has launched a JMR technology demonstration effort and will select one or more companies to build a flying prototype that would be expected to take to the air in 2017.
While Bell's V-22 Osprey partner Boeing is teaming with rival Sikorsky to pitch a high-speed compound helicopter design based on that company's X-2 prototype, Bell has opted to pursue what it calls a third generation tiltrotor.
Called the V-280, the Bell concept features a V-tail, a large cell carbon core wing and a composite fuselage. Unlike the older V-22 design, the engines do not move, only the rotor-system tilts, Bell says. Coupled with a fly-by-wire system, the aircraft should have excellent high and low-speed handling qualities, the company says.
The V-280 will be able to cruise efficiently at 280kt carrying 11 passengers comfortably with a mission radius of over 250nm (463km).
The Navy's first aircraft carrier-capable unmanned fighter jet is still several years away, but its first carrier-launched helicopter is already in service and on its fifth deployment in places like Afghanistan and Africa (one was even shot down over Libya in 2011 while conducting surveillance and reconnaissance during the civil war there). The Navy currently owns roughly 30 of these little 24-foot-long unmanned, semi-autonomous helicopters, known as the MQ-8B Fire Scout, which it currently uses as non-weaponized, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms around the world.
At Sea-Air-Space, Northrop Grumman unveiled the first scale model of the next iteration in the Fire Scout series, the MQ-8C. At nearly twice the size of its predecessor (its airframe is borrowed from the Bell 407 civilian helicopter, which in some variations can seat seven passengers), the MQ-8C is a real glimpse at the future of unmanned tactical helicopter flight. And for the Navy, which plans to integrate its Fire Scouts into its next generation of combat ships (in fact, its new Littoral Combat Ships more or less depend on an unmanned vertical takeoff and landing vehicle), the MQ-8C is also a way of maintaining a capability while hopefully driving down long-term costs.
" UAVs have a really good story from an affordability perspective, " says Mike Fuqua, director of business development for Northrop Grumman's tactical unmanned systems. While they do require a shipboard maintenance team and operating crew, systems like Fire Scout are generally lighter and more fuel-efficient than manned helicopters, can devote more space to better and more complex sensor payloads, can be constructed from existing commercial components (like that Bell 407 airframe), and are tactically less vulnerable to boot. Had a manned ISR aircraft been shot down over Libya in 2011, the associated costs could've been extremely high -- up to and including the incalculable cost of human life. For this reason alone, the Fire Scout, though not inexpensive (total program cost stood at $2.8 billion as of the end of 2012), will likely continue to receive Navy support.
Three F-22s deployed to Kadena Air Base in Japan made precautionary landings over the period of three days in April for various reasons. However, none of the pilots complained of breathing problems that previous pilots had experienced in the fifth generation fighters, Air Force officials said.
It’s unclear what caused these precautionary landings, but the result of them have not incurred “unique flight restrictions” for the 12 F-22As deployed to Kadena, said 2nd Lt. Hope Cornin, a spokeswoman for the 18th Wing.
Two F-22s made precautionary landings on April 1, while another F-22 made a precautionary landing on April 3, Cornin said. No injuries were reported in any of these incidents.
The F-22 remains under a microscope as the fifth generation fighter continues to operate without the flight restrictions the Air Force had placed on the fleet because of complaints from pilots about a lack of oxygen in flight. The service worked for more than two years to figure out the problem and then come up with a solution.
Air Force leaders believe they have solved it by replacing the breathing regulator/anti-g (BRAG) valve, installing a new back-up oxygen system and changing the oxygen schedule for the F-22’s onboard oxygen generation system (OBOGS).
Plenty remain skeptical, but there have been no reported incidents since the Air Force lifted the flight restrictions to protect pilots.
Cornin pointed out that the F-22s involved with the precautionary landings never lost their flight status because of the problems experienced by the pilots.
F-22s with the 1st Fighter Wing, JointBase Langley-Eustis, Va., and the 192nd Fighter Wing, Va. Air National Guard, deployed to Japan in January and are scheduled to return to the U.S. this Spring, Cornin said.
The $47.7 billion era of the MRAP came to an official close Monday in what amounted to a retirement ceremony at the Pentagon for the production line of the lumbering vehicles that were rushed into Iraq and Afghanistan to protect troops from roadside bombs.
“ For sure we’re still at war, ” said Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, “ but MRAP production and fielding has ended. ” “ A new strategic era is dawning ” in which the Pentagon projects that there will be little use for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle in a faster and lighter military, Carter said.
“ We’re here to end an era in the history of the MRAP program and begin a new one, ” Carter said.
MRAP oversight and management at the Defense Department was transitioning from the Joint Program Executive Office, which had focused on production, to the Services and Special Operations Command, which will mothball most of the fleet and look to sell as many as they can to allies.
The demand for more heavily-armored vehicles came from the field as casualties mounted for troops riding in flat-bottomed Humvees from attacks by “ improvised explosive devices, ” or roadside bombs – the biggest single killer of U.S. and allied troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The military initially responded with jammers to foil the triggering devices and up-armored Humvees, Carter said, but the enemy countered with “new triggers and bigger bombs to tear our vehicles apart. ”
In 2007, prodded by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the Pentagon’s often creaky acquisitions systems began a crash program to build and field MRAPs, and within 27 months more than 700 were deployed, Carter said.
Through September this year, a total of 27,740 MRAPs rolled off the assembly lines of seven manufacturers, including BAE Systems, Oshkosh Defense and Navistar, and 12,726 remain in theater in Afghanistan, according to Defense Department figures. About 870 have been sold to foreign militaries and another 700 are on order for allies.
Five versions of the MRAP were produced, weighing from 13–28 tons, with the last being the M-ATV (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All Terrain Vehicle) for use on rougher roads in Afghanistan. All the models featured the V-shaped underbody to disperse bomb blasts.
The cost for individual production models of the MRAP ranged from $535,000 to $600,000, but field models including spare parts and upgrades came to an average of $1.29 million, the Pentagon said.
Pentagon officials and military analysts have given various estimates on how many lives were saved by the MRAPs, but most put the range in the thousands. ”
Vice President Joe Biden, who joined Carter at the ceremony in the Pentagon auditorium, recalled “ getting considerable pushback on the floor ” from Democrats and Republicans when he argued for the MRAP as a senior Democrat from Delaware in the Senate in 2007.
The opponents argued that a new land vehicle was expected in five years, and pouring money into the MRAPs would be a waste of funds, Biden said. He said he countered by quoting the then-Marine Commandant, Gen. James Conway, as calling the MRAP “ the highest moral imperative I have as Commandant. ”
The funding was approved and since then “ we’ve got a whole lot of men and women coming home in one piece. You saved thousands of lives, ” Biden told the audience, many of whom worked in the MRAP program.
Carter said the transition from the MRAP program was “ part of a larger transition ” for the entire military under the strategic guidelines ordered up earlier this year by President Obama calling for lighter and smaller armed forces that would seek to avoid long-term ground wars such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
Last April, Army and Marine generals forecast to the House Armed Services Committee that the MRAPs would be phased out of future contingency planning.
Marine Lt. Gen. Richard Mills testified that “ The Marine Corps has a little over 4,000 of them. We intend, as we come out of Afghanistan, to retain about 2,500. ”
“ Some of those will be put into a training status so that our Marines remain familiar with them, are able to maintain them and operate from them, ” Mills said. “ And some will be put into a status of bubble wrap, if you will, to be used if the need arises again for us to be able to use them given the terrain, given the threat, etc. ”
Boeing unveils updated F/A-XX sixth-gen fighter concept
Boeing is unveiling an updated version of its F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter concept at the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space Exposition in Washington DC this week.
The tail-less twin-engine stealth fighter design comes in " manned and unmanned options as possibilities per the US Navy, " Boeing says. The design features diverterless supersonic inlets reminiscent of those found on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The Boeing concept also features canards, which is somewhat of a surprise because the motion of those forward mounted control surfaces is generally assumed to compromise a stealth aircraft's frontal radar cross-section. But the lack of vertical tail surfaces suggests the aircraft would be optimized for all-aspect broadband stealth, which would be needed for operations in the most challenging anti-access/area denial environments.
Also of note in the manned version of the company's F/A-XX concept is the placement of the cockpit-rearward visibility appears to be restricted without the aid of a sensor apparatus similar to the F-35's distributed aperture system of six infrared cameras.
The Boeing F/A-XX concept is a response to a USN request for information (RFI) from April 2012 soliciting data for a replacement for the service's Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler fleets in the 2030s. The Super Hornet fleet is expected to start reaching the end of the jet's 9000h useful lifespan during that time period.
" The intent of this research is to solicit industry inputs on candidate solutions for CVN [nuclear-powered aircraft carrier] based aircraft to provide air supremacy with a multi-role strike capability in an anti-access/area denied (A2AD) operational environment, " the navy RFI stated. " Primary missions include, but are not limited to, air warfare (AW), strike warfare (STW), surface warfare (SUW), and close air support (CAS). "
Navy leaders had said at the time that they expect any new F/A-XX design to have greatly increased range and offer far superior kinematic performance compared to existing tactical aircraft.
X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator (UCAS-D)
The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator (UCAS-D) completed its first ever carrier-based catapult launch from USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) off the coast of Virginia
Boeing builds A-10 wings for U.S. Air Force to help keep aircraft operating through 2035
September 5, 2013
By Courtney Howard
ST. LOUIS, 5 Sept. 2013. Boeing (NYSE:BA) won a follow-on order from U.S. Air Force officials to deliver 56 replacement wings for the organization’s A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, helping to increase mission readiness and decrease maintenance costs.
The A-10 Thunderbolt II, also known as the Warthog, is a twin-engine, single-seat aircraft that provides close-air support of ground forces and can be used against all ground targets, including tanks and other armored vehicles. The aircraft is currently supporting operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Boeing is on contract to build up to 242 wings at its plant in Macon, Ga. Refitting the fleet with new wings will improve the mission availability of A-10s by an estimated 4 percent and will help save the Air Force an estimated $1.3 billion in maintenance costs during the next 30 years, according to a spokesperson.
This latest order is valued at $212 million. Including this agreement, the Air Force has ordered 173 wings. The efforts of Boeing, its suppliers, and the Air Force will allow the A-10 fleet to operate into 2035, adds the spokesperson.
Hypersonic Successor to Legendary SR-71 Blackbird Spy Plane Unveiled
BY JASON PAUR 11.01.13
Lockheed Martin SR-72
Lockheed Martin’s famed Skunk Works has finally unveiled the long-awaited successor to the SR-71 Blackbird. Aviation Week and Space Technology’s Guy Norris pulled the covers off the project that Lockheed Martin is simply calling the SR-72. The new airplane will be roughly the same size as the record-setting Blackbird, but will be able to fly twice as fast as the jet that still holds the speed records.
The new spy plane will be capable of Mach 6 cruise speeds, making it the first hypersonic aircraft to enter service should it be produced. Only the rocket-powered North American X-15 was able to regularly fly those speeds, and the three examples built were used for research. The SR-71 Blackbird is legendary in aviation circles for its Mach 3 capabilities, and different iterations served as a spy plane for 35 years until its retirement in 1998. It still holds several records, including a flight from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. in 64 minutes, 20 seconds.
The new SR-72 has long been rumored and debated, and is part of the U.S. Air Force’s plan for hypersonic capabilities that will allow fast reaction for gathering intelligence around the world. A Mach 6 airplane fills the gap between current surveillance aircraft that can loiter for long periods of time, but don’t have the ability to transit to a new area quickly.
The SR-72 is also expected to have optional strike capabilities, according to Aviation Week.
The key to the new airplane, as it was with the SR-71, will be the engines. Lockheed Martin told Aviation Week the company has been working with Aerojet Rocketdyne to build an air breathing engine that combines both a traditional turbine and a scramjet to deliver the Mach 6 performance.
Normal turbine jet engines have problems operating at speeds beyond Mach 2. The original SR-71 used a complicated system of a movable nose cone on the engine, along with vents that prevented shockwaves from interfering with the flow, and slowed the air down enough so that it could be ingested by the engine. Though “ unstarts ” were a regular problem for Blackbird pilots, and caused problems throughout the life of the airplane.
The new SR-72 will use a turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) that will employ the turbine engine at lower speeds, and use a scramjet at higher speeds. A scramjet engine is designed to operate at hypersonic velocities by compressing the air through a carefully designed inlet, but needs to be traveling supersonic before it is practical to begin with. So far research projects from NASA, the Air Force and other Pentagon entities have not been able to solve the problem of transitioning from the subsonic flight regime, through hypersonic flight with a single aircraft.
Lockheed Martin told Aviation Week it has found a way to use existing turbine engines, and by lowering the operating speed of the scramjet, make a transition to hypersonic speeds possible.
The aerospace company says it may have a scaled demonstrator of the SR-72 technology flying by 2023. That airplane would be smaller, about the size of the current F-22 fighter and would be optionally piloted. The SR-72 could enter service by 2030.
EA-6B Prowlers of Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron Two (VMAQ-2) takeoff on their last combat missions from Al Udied Air Base, Qatar on November 2, 2018. After 40 years of faithful service, the EA-6B Prowler is being retired. Following this deployment the Prowlers will be preserved at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group in Tucson, AZ (aka The Boneyard).
Post time 12-4-2013 12:46 PM
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