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Honeywell Micro Air
Vehicle Goes To Iraq Honeywell Micro Air Vehicle Goes To Iraq Honeywell has announced that the company’s ducted fan Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) is being deployed in Iraq to spot Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) for US troops. The US Army 25th Infantry Division previously conducted user demonstrations for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) with the gasoline-powered Transitional MAV (T-MAV) in Hawaii. A favorable outcome from the combat test could begin Army development of a diesel-fueled D-MAV. The backpack-portable MAV weighs 16 pounds and measures 13 inches in diameter. It takes off and lands vertically, flies a programmed flight plan, and downlinks streaming video to a ground station up to 10 km away. Test vehicles could store 10 minutes of imagery on-board or 60 minutes of surveillance video on the ground station. The ground station can be used to program a flight path for the MAV or control the vehicle manually. Test vehicles used two interchangeable day TV and night infrared cameras looking forward and down. DARPA awarded Honeywell a $40 million contract in 2003 for an MAV Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration. A subsequent $61 million contract was awarded last summer as part of the Army’s Future Combat Systems program; the MAV was designed to meet FCS Class I UAV requirements. Honeywell recently received two contracts from the U.S. Navy totaling $7.5 million for the manufacture of more than a dozen MAV systems as well as training and deployment support in Iraq. The MAV has completed more than 3,500 test flights over the past three years. It flew its first successful international test in Bourges, France on March 28, and it was used in a successful hostage rescue scenario in May. Kaman Wraps Up SH-2G(A) ITAS Testing Kaman is concluding hot bench tests on the Integrated Tactical Avionics System (ITAS) software of the Australian Navy SH-2G(A) Super Seasprite helicopter. Successful ground testing will lead to one week of ITAS flight tests that will fulfill contractual requirements and clear the aircraft for flight by Australian test pilots. The Australian Defence Material Organization now expects that the aircraft will be released for operational service in 2009. The Australian government signed a contract with Kaman on June 26, 1997 for 11 remanufactured SH-2G(A)s, primarily for operations from ANZAC-class frigates. The Litton/Northrop Grumman ITAS was designed to give two crewmembers control of a multi-mission equipment suite including the Kongsberg Penguin air-to-surface Missile, Telephonics APS-143 Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar, Raytheon AN/AAQ-27 FLIR, Elisra AES-210 Electronic Support Measures and Radar Warning Receiver, Northrop Grumman AN/AAR-54(V) missile warning receiver, Elisra LWS-20 laser warning receiver, and BAE ALE-47 Improved Countermeasures Dispensing System. Kaman has one SH-2G(A) at its Bloomfield, Connecticut facilities. Australia has provisionally accepted nine of 10 additional aircraft in an interim training helicopter configuration with glass cockpit and basic ITAS functionality. In March 2006 SH-2G(A) flight operations were suspended pending an enhancement to the AFCS. Australian program managers have indicated they will follow ITAS flight testing with 29 months of Phase II Automatic Flight Control System testing before they will release the aircraft to fleet pilots. Boeing Flies Turbine Engined A160T UAV Boeing Advanced Systems successfully completed the first flight of the turbine-engined A160T Hummingbird unmanned helicopter June 15 at Victorville, California. The 12-minute hovering flight verified vehicle and subsystem operations. The new A160T drives its four-bladed Optimum Speed Rotor system with a Pratt & Whitney Canada 207 turboshaft. The test aircraft is the first of 10 A160Ts being built for the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) and the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). The first A160T test marked the 37th flight for the A160 program and the first in a series of flights to demonstrate flight endurance greater than 18 hours speeds greater than 140 kt and ranges greater than 2,250 nm. Hummingbird Optimum Speed Rotor technology adjusts the rotor system revolutions per minute at different altitudes, gross weights and cruise speeds for optimum efficiency. The A160T is expected to carry a 1,000 lb payload, sustain hover out a ground effect at 15,000 ft, and attains a ceiling of 25,000 to 30,000 ft. The A160T measures 35 feet long and has a 36-foot rotor diameter. Boeing quotes gross weights from 4,000 to 6,500 lb. Boeing CH-47F Finishes Operational Testing The Boeing CH-47F has completed operational testing at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, one of the aircraft's final performance evaluations before the new cargo helicopter is fielded by the US Army in July. Bravo Company (Varsity), 7th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) flew more than 60 CH-47F test hours simulating air assault, combat re-supply, and transport operations. The Army expects its First Unit Equipped at Fort Campbell in July. The Army currently plans 452 CH-47Fs – 339 partially remanufactured from CH-47Ds and 113 built totally new. The F-model Chinook introduces the Rockwell Collins Common Avionics Architecture System and a BAE Digital Advanced Flight Control System into the cargo fleet. It has a de-tuned, high speed machined airframe to reduce vibration. The CH-47F is powered by two 4,868-shp Honeywell T55-L-714A engines and can carry payloads to 21,000 lbs. Mission radius with the Robertson Aviation Extended Range Fuel System is greater than 400 miles. In addition to the CH-47F, the Army is taking delivery of 61 MH-47G Special Operations Aircraft with enlarged fuel sponsons, air refueling capability, and Terrain Following/Terrain Avoidance radar. The MH-47G is the basis of the HH-47 selected by the US Air Force as its next Combat Search and Rescue helicopter. Lockheed Martin Hellfire II Missile Arms French Tiger The French government has selected the Lockheed Martin Hellfire II missile to arm its Hélicoptère d'Appui Destruction (HAD) Tiger attacks. The French Army, is due to field 40 HAD Tigers by 2012, and the precision-strike missiles will be purchased under a Foreign Military Sales agreement. Eurocopter, with Lockheed Martin’s support has already begun integration of HELLFIRE II on the HAD Tiger at its facility in Marignane, France, under contract with the multi-national European Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation,. Ground tests are scheduled for October 2007 and flight tests beginning in March 2008. Laser-guided Hellfire has already been integrated with Eurocopter Tigers ordered by Australia. The modular HELLFIRE II can use three semi-active laser warheads: the AGM-114K has a high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead for armored threats; the AGM-114M blast fragmentation missile defeats “soft” targets including boats, buildings, bunkers, and lightly armored vehicles; the AGM-114N metal augmented charge (MAC) missile maximizes lethality in enclosures and caves. Belgium, Germany Add NH90 Orders NHIndustries has announced a purchase contract from the Belgian Armed Forces for 10 NH90s including four Tactical Transport Helicopters and four NATO Frigate Helicopters, plus two optional tactical transports. The aircraft will be operated by the new Air Component of the Belgian Armed Forces. Belgium is the 14th customer for the NH90 and the sixth country to join NAHEMO, the international NH90 program organization. Germany has meanwhile signed a formal order for 42 more NH90 helicopters -- 30 of these to be operated by German Army Aviation and 12 by the German Air Force. These aircraft are in addition to the initial batch of 80 NH90s ordered in June 2000. The German Army became the first customer to take delivery of NH90 in December 2006. The additional 30 NH90s for German Army Aviation will be the same configuration as the 50 TTHs previously ordered. The 12 aircraft for the Air Force will feature rear ramps and provisions for armor protection and machine guns. Including this additional order, the total NH90 buy for the German Air Force amounts to 42 aircraft. Sikorsky UH-60M Gets Bahrain Order Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has announced the signing of a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) from the Kingdom of Bahrain to procure nine UH-60M Black Hawks from the U.S. Army through Foreign Military Sales. With the sale, Bahrain becomes the international launch customer for the newest and most advanced Black Hawk. The new helicopters will provide the Royal Bahraini Air Force with multi-mission capability including combat search and rescue. The US Army currently plans to buy 1,227 UH-60Ms for utility, Medevac, and command-and-control missions. The UH-60Ms now being delivered to the US Army incorporate wide-chord composite main rotor blades, redesigned fuselage, an integrated cockpit, General Electric T700-GE-701D engines, and other systems improvements for greater lift and survivability. The Block II UH-60M will introduce the Rockwell Collins Common Avionics Architecture System, composite aft fuselage, and other refinements. Sikorsky Aircraft has also announced a Letter of Offer and Acceptance from the Royal Thai Navy to become the first international customer for the MH-60S naval helicopter. The MH-60S integrates a marinized Black Hawk airframe with a Lockheed Martin digital cockpit. The agreement, signed by the U.S. Navy and the Royal Thai Navy, calls for deliveries in 2009. FAA Evaluates Synthetic Vision Workload The Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical Center is concluding comparative instrument approaches using an S-76A helicopter equipped with the Chelton synthetic vision system. The aircraft supplements its certified Honeywell Electronic Flight Instrumentation System (EFIS) with a developmental Chelton EFIS providing highway-in-the-sky symbology. At the Safety Research and Development area near Atlantic City, New Jersey, FAA pilots fly repeat approaches using the Honeywell EFIS and the Chelton display with and without sky box symbology. FAA aircraft certification and flight standards offices will use the subjective workload scores to support future rulemaking on synthetic vision systems. “They will be in a position or have knowledge sufficient to make a policy decision, whether it be a cert action or for an applicant in the field,” explains program manager Ken Knopp. Chelton and the FAA have already certified synthetic vision EFIS displays in the Eurocopter AS350/355 and EC120B helicopters and in the Bell 204/205. The systems provide forward-looking three-dimensional graphic imagery derived from topographical databases. Multi-screen systems also include a moving map, Terrain Avoidance Warning System, and a full Flight Management System. The FAA S-76 has a single Chelton display in addition to the Honeywell cockpit and a repeater display for a flight engineer in back. Pilots fly a portfolio of a dozen approaches and score workload at five points in the approach. “We’re trying to look more at workload assessment and task management,” says Mr. Knopp. “We want to make sure an experienced pilot is not going to be over-tasked in different phases of flight.” Workload measurements will also be correlated also with pilot experience. Mr. Knopp says, “In my opinion, for someone who doesn’t have a lot of flight experience, it’s very easy to transition to the new technology. For the highly experienced pilots, they may not be able to transition as quickly or easily.” Multiple reports will provide aircraft certification and flight standards administrators ground for future investigations. “Essentially, this is going to give people in aircraft cert and flight standards the platform to come to us with questions,” says Mr. Knopp.
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