Jamie Hunter reports from Paris.
The first day of the 100th anniversary Paris Air Show on 15 June was a washout - the heavy clouds that hung over Le Bourget seemed indicative of the gloom that has hit the aviation industry. However, industry officials were keen to talk of the robust nature of the defence sector, with the buzzword of the week being 'affordable'. One of the stars of the sparse static park was a Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ER demonstrator in the guise of the USAF's new MC-12W 'Project Liberty'. The first USAF aircraft was deployed to Balad, Iraq, in June and it made its debut combat mission here on 10 June. The MC-12W is attached to the 362nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron at Balad and is now providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) coverage for US and Iraqi forces. The aircraft features a mission system from L3 and can provide full-motion imagery and signals intelligence for ground commanders. The aircraft also has beyond line of sight communications capability and self-protection systems. Terry Harrell of Hawker Beechcraft said that the MC-12W has a range of 1336 nautical miles, and it can fly 6-8 hour missions with its 2800 lbs payload. Harrell also acknowledged that a self-funded company study is likely to test wing hardpoints, one each wing, to accommodate either a targeting pod or a 500lb weapon for light precision attack. The demonstrator at Le Bourget also featured a dorsal hump, planned to house the forthcoming Ku-band satcoms antenna. The USAF has 31 MC-12Ws on firm order, with another six to be signed for in July. The first seven aircraft are not new build, and will be upgraded from current 350 standard to the ER configuration, a process that takes around four weeks per aircraft. It is understood that the USAF could increase its order to as many as 75 aircraft, with Harrell suggesting that a further 150 aircraft worth $2.5 bn could be delivered worldwide to meet a range of roles from anti-piracy to signals intelligence. The Hawker Beechcraft/L3 team have proved their ability to deliver quick deployment missionised aircraft within months.
The great US 'legacy' fighter battle
Boeing's vice president of business development for tactical aircraft Tom Bell started his presentation by saying that 'what the world wants is a true multi-role capability. Gone are the days of just air dominance'. He also said that current economic instability is threatening programs that were previously seen as safe development projects.
He described the company's F-15SE Silent Eagle concept as a 'cost effective aircraft that is evolving to meet needs'. However he was clear that the Silent Eagle is only aimed at export and that he sees no opportunity for domestic sales despite the well-publicised concerns over Air National Guard fighter shortfalls. He did however say that a flight test program for the F-15SE would be decided over the next four months and that no formal plans were in place. He also said that the Conformal Weapons Bays (CWBs) will not carry any fuel. This marked a big change in the previous information from Boeing, which had indicated that a flight test program was planned for 2010 and that the CWBs may carry some fuel. Bell's disclosure led to much speculation that a flight test program was now off the agenda and that F-15SE may have attracted little interest. Just two days later Boeing issued a press release saying 'Boeing will dedicate funding to further development of the F-15 Silent Eagle program, with the goal of a flight demonstration in the third quarter of 2010'. Boeing Integrated Defense Systems President and CEO Jim Albaugh said: 'We know from talking with current international F-15 operators that they are very interested in the capabilities of the Silent Eagle. Making this commitment to get the program through to a flight demonstration will ultimately help international customers understand how this aircraft meets their need for a flexible, long-range, large-payload, high-speed, multi-role strike fighter with reduced observability'.
Across at Lockheed Martin, John Larson said that he still sees opportunities for international F-16 sales after the last Turkish jets roll off the line in 2012. Lockheed Martin currently has a 95 aircraft backlog, but that he also foresees no orders from the ANG to boost 'legacy' platforms. He was also at pains to say 'you can't retrofit stealth'. A clear dig at F-15SE and also an indicator of how Lockheed Martin would prefer to steer customers towards F-35 rather than prolong the inconvenient F-16 line at Fort Worth.
E-2D reaches Milestone C
Northrop Grumman's E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Program seems to have shaken off its problems and has been awarded a $432 m contract for Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP). The contract was awarded following successful completion of a Milestone C review. LRIP Lot 1 includes two aircraft (down from three) and an acquisition contract for two LRIP Lot 2 aircraft, as a follow on to the two aircraft currently in the $1.9 billion System Development and Design (SDD) contract, awarded in August 2003.
The program has been re-baselined following the triggering of a Nunn-McCurdy review late last year. This has seen one aircraft removed from Lot 1, and as Jerry Spruill of Northrop Grumman said. The company is 'very confident' at its ability to go ahead and execute the program to cost constraints. He also said at the Paris show that the SDD phase was show 'stunning system performance'. One of the two SDD aircraft has now moved to NAS Patuxent River for carrier suitability testing to begin. Northrop Grumman is now discussing a multi-year production deal with the US Navy for the E-2D with full rate production planned from Lot 5 onwards. The Navy still plans to buy 75 aircraft.
ARH news
Bob Fitzpatrick, senior vice president of business development at Bell Textron spoke of the Army ARH program, in relation to the 2008 termination of its ARH-70A platform chosen to meet the US Army's Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) requirement. Based on the commercial Bell Model 407, the ARH-70A Arapaho was selected by the US Army over the competing Boeing MH-6 in 2005 but costs associated with the Bell project spiralled up almost 70 per cent, with a whopping four-year delay accrued. The Army needs a replacement for its OH-58D Kiowa Warriors fast and ARH calls for 512 new helicopters. The delays and cost increases triggered the Nunn-McCurdy automatic review as mandated by Congress, the project was frozen. System integration issues plagued the project and when quizzed about the problems, Fitzpatrick said that the problems arose because Bell and the DoD 'couldn't agree on costs to meet requirements'.
Bell is currently delivering commercial Bell 407s to Iraq, very different to the proposed ARH-70s, and these are being delivered 'green' to the systems integrator. Bell is underway with the proposed OH-58D upgrade and is currently upgrading a OH-58C to D-model standard.
Meanwhile, Boeing has unveiled its AH-6i version of the 'Little Bird'. The company is 'watching' requirements and is likely to offer the revised AH-6 for the re-competed ARH contest.
Patria delivers Hawks
Patria delivered the first upgraded BAE Systems Hawk Mk51A to the Finnish AF on 16 June at the Paris Air Show. Patria received a contract earlier this year worth Eur 10m for the serial upgrade programme following a successful prototyping phase that included a single Mk51. This aircraft made its maiden flight in September last year.
In addition to its existing Mk51 Hawks, Finland purchased 18 low-houred Hawk Mk66s from Switzerland in 2007. The current plan calls for 11 Mk51As and the 18 Swiss Hawks to be upgraded, added to the single prototype Mk51 this will mean an upgraded fleet of 30 aircraft in total next year. The aircraft will be better suited as lead in fighter training aircraft (LIFT) for the new Nordic Pilot Training Centre (NPTC) that is being established at Kauhava. Major General Jarmo Lindberg, Commander of the Finnish Air Force said: 'As the result of the upgrade, the Hawk will remain a valuable training asset, and the upgrade will also step up training effectiveness; with the modernised Hawks, the Finnish Air Force can also offer quality fast jet training well into the 2020's to the Finnish fighter pilots and potential international partners alike'.
The so-called 'Level 2' LIFT upgrade features an impressive full glass cockpit with new CMC Electronics head up display (HUD) with up front controller, a new central 5x7 in multi-function display, GPS/INS, mission data recording and HUD-repeater in the rear seat. Many of the existing instruments have been refurbished and re-used alongside the new MFDs. It is expected that Poland may become an export customer for some of the upgraded Mk66 Hawks.
The armed AT-802U from Air Truck made its debut at Paris. This is an armed utility version of the popular Air Tractor AT-802. The aircraft is being offered as a counterinsurgency attacker and intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) platform for use in asymmetric warfare.
All photos Jamie Hunter.
Full versions of these reports and full coverage from Paris 2009 will appear in the forthcoming issue 10.4 of Combat Aircraft magazine.
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