U.S. eyes V-22 aircraft sales to Israel, Canada, UAE

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Florida (Reuters) – The U.S. government is eyeing Israel, Canada and the United Arab Emirates as possible initial foreign buyers of the V-22 Osprey, a tilt-rotor aircraft built by Boeing Co and Bell Helicopter, a top U.S. Marine Corps official told Reuters.

Lieutenant General Terry Robling, deputy Marine Corps commandant for aviation, said U.S. officials were continuing to drive down the cost of the aircraft and hoped to sell it to allies overseas to keep the production line running past 2018.

U.S. officials plan to show off the aircraft, which flies like an airplane but tilts its rotors to take off and land like helicopter, at the Farnborough Air Show outside London in July. It also made appearances at the Dubai and Singapore air shows in recent months, Robling told Reuters aboard a military aircraft after a Marine Corps event at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron Inc, and Boeing issued a news release in December after the Dubai air show, saying the aircraft had received “significant interest” from potential customers, but it did not identify them.

Boeing and Bell have been trying to generate foreign interest for years, but potential buyers were holding back to see how the plane did in combat, and because of the relatively high price of buying and operating the plane — both of which are now coming down.

Washington is increasingly looking to foreign military sales to keep the cost of weapons systems from rising as the Pentagon cuts its own orders to strip $487 billion from its planned defense budgets over the next decade.

Robling said Israel, Canada and the UAE had expressed interest in the aircraft, but had not received formal pricing and technical information for the Osprey.

The Marines will ask lawmakers to approve a five-year procurement plan for 91 aircraft that will run through fiscal 2017 — 24 less than initially planned for the period.

But the service still plans to buy those aircraft and has not changed its overall requirement, Robling said, although he acknowledged that postponing production resulted in more uncertainty given the current difficult budget environment.

Marine Corps Commandant James Amos this month told U.S. lawmakers that the Osprey, which can cruise at 290 miles an hour — twice the rate of military helicopters — has performed “exceedingly well” since being put into operation. He said it gives U.S. and coalition forces a “maneuver advantage and operational reach unmatched by any other tactical aircraft.”

 

-more at finance.yahoo.com

U.S. Navy Compromises on Ship Programs

The U.S. Navy’s topline fiscal 2013 baseline budget request of about $155.9 billion is a study in compromise, protecting some of the service’s signature programs by reducing some, delaying some, and scuttling some other programs altogether.

The request is about $9.5 billion less than planned for in the fiscal 2012 budget, and the proposed Future Years Defense Program (FYDP) includes about $58 billion less than had been planned going into the middle part of the decade.

The budget proposal adds funding for the next-generation aircraft carriers, but also includes a plan to drop to 10 carriers in fiscal 2013 from the current fleet of 11 — a temporary reduction, analysts note.

And while the budget proposal continues to support submarine programs, the spending plan reduces the level of funding for the Ohio-class nuclear-missile submarine fleet and delays the procurement of a Virginia-class sub to fiscal 2018 from 2014.

The Navy also intends to reduce the procurement of the Joint High Speed Vessel and terminate the fleet oiler replacement, T-AO(X).

Another program facing reductions across the FYDP is the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor, which has become a workhorse for the Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.

Of the $155.9 billion, the largest share is being proposed for operations and maintenance, about $49.9 billion, with about $44.2 billion being sought for personnel, $42.5 billion being requested for procurement, $16.9 billion being tagged for research and development and $2.4 billion being slated for military construction.

The proposed procurement request breaks out this way: $17.3 billion for aircraft, $3.1 billion for weapons, $13.6 billion for shipbuilding and conversion, $6.3 billion for “other” Navy procurement, $2.6 billion for the Marine Corps and $1 billion for ammunition.

Altogether, total procurement is about $32 billion less than the proposed fiscal 2012 budget, including requested cuts of about $14.6 billion for aircraft, $10.1 billion for ships, $1.1 billion for weapons, $2.5 billion for the Marine Corps, $700 million for ammunition and $3 billion for other Navy procurement.

The research and development request is about $2.3 billion less than the previous fiscal year’s, and operations and maintenance amounts are about $2.6 billion less.

-aviationweek.com

V-22 gets more lift options via software change

A test team from the V-22 Joint Program Office spent about six weeks in Logan, Utah confirming that a small software change will result in more lift capability for the Osprey.

The actual change calls for the V-22 rotors to be tilted about four degrees outward. This change reduces the air flow from the rotors over the wings, which allows the V-22 to carry more weight and achieve greater overall performance in hover mode.

“We did see the performance gain from the software change that we expected,” said Trevor Strand, V-22 flight test engineer. “It gives the pilot more options. He can either carry more fuel, more troops, go to higher altitudes, or some combination of the three.”

This effort was the result of about two years of work by NAVAIR engineers to improve the hover performance of the V-22. The software change that was measured and confirmed in Logan has already been implemented into some MV-22s. The plan is to upgrade all V-22s by the end of the year. The test team is currently updating performance documentation for V-22 operators.

The V-22 team averages about one off-site test event a year. Considerable research and planning goes into finding just the right spot.

“We don’t like to do all of our hover performance testing at sea level because the proprotor is not working at its maximum limits,” Strand said. “We don’t want to max out the engines at a very high altitude like 9,000 feet either so the ideal location is somewhere in between.”

Source: TheBAYNET.com

Navy’s Osprey completes successful biofuel test flight

The Navy and Marine Corps team reached another milestone toward achieving the Secretary of the Navy’s energy goals by successfully flying a Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey on biofuel Aug. 10, at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.

“This is the first Marine Corps and tilt rotor aircraft to fly on biofuels,” said Navy Secretary Ray Mabus. “This brings us one step closer to reducing our dependence on foreign oil and becoming more energy secure and independent.”

The “Blackjacks” of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (HX) 21 flew the Osprey tilt rotor aircraft at altitudes of up to 25,000 feet on a 50/50 blend of camelina based and standard petroleum based JP-5 (aviation) fuel. The camelina sativa plant is a U.S. grown, non-food feedstock plant.

The MV-22 is a multi-mission aircraft, flown by the Marine Corps, and combines the functionality of a helicopter with the long range and high speed of a turboprop aircraft.

“The MV-22 testing builds upon our successful test flights of the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, F/A-18 C/D legacy Hornet, MH-60S Seahawk as well as extensive testing in the Navy’s Patuxent River fuels lab in demonstrating that Navy and Marine Corps aircraft can safely operate on fuel produced from renewable sources,” said Rick Kamin, the Navy Fuels lead.

Story and photo from navair.navy.mil

VMM-161 becomes First West Coast Osprey squadron

As the first West Coast Osprey squadron to meet final operating capability requirements, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 161 is now “an official squadron in the Fleet Marine Force,” said Houston native Maj. Jeffery D. Cabana, the aircraft maintenance officer for the “Greyhawks.”

VMM-161 reached its FOC milestone in the allotted 18 months with 26 pilots flying approximately 2,388 flight hours, 110 maintenance personnel, 12 MV-22B Ospreys and obtaining a T-3 rating in the Defense Readiness Reporting System – allowing the squadron to enter into a Pre-deployment Training Program or Marine expeditionary unit work-up cycle.

What makes this significant for VMM-161 is that it is now eligible to enter the deployment cycle and take pressure off the East Coast VMMs – or other aviation squadrons – that are deploying more often due to the non-operational status of the West Coast squadrons, explained Capt. Ahron K. Oddman, a Greyhawks’ pilot training officer from Brooklyn, N.Y.

“It’s an added tax from which we didn’t have, but makes the West Coast MV-22 transition more seamless,” he continued.

Now that the squadron has its FMF status, the Greyhawks look forward to getting into the deployment rotation cycle as early as this fall or as late as next summer.

Source: dvidshub.net

Marines clarify Libya incident

 

Two American airmen were safely rescued in Libya last week after their F-16s crashed near Benghazi (read article here), but the United States Marine Corps dropped two 500-pound bombs during the recovery and faced questions about whether Marines had fired on villagers.

The United States military said that an equipment malfunction rather than enemy fire brought down the F-16 plane. A Marine Corps officer in the Mediterranean strongly denied that any shots were fired at civilians during the rescue.

The weapons officer was found on the ground by “the people of Libya,” said Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, the tactical commander of the United States-led effort in the country.

At a Pentagon briefing, Admiral Locklear did not describe them as rebels but made clear that they were not forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

United States military officers said the F-16 fighter plane took off from Aviano Air Base in northeastern Italy late Monday on an airstrike mission to Libya. At some point over Benghazi, the jet experienced what military officials called an “equipment malfunction,” and at about 11:30 p.m. local time on Monday (about 5:30 p.m. Eastern time on Monday), both the pilot and the weapons officer ejected. Although details remained unclear on Tuesday, the Marine Corps said a rescue team that took off from the Kearsarge quickly located the pilot.

A Marine Corps officer said that the grounded pilot, who was in contact with rescue crews in the air, asked for bombs to be dropped as a precaution before the crews landed to pick him up.

In response, two Harrier attack jets that were part of the rescue team dropped two 500-pound bombs before a Marine Osprey helicopter landed to pick up the pilot, at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday local time.

“No shots were fired,” said Capt. Richard Ulsh, a Marine spokesman aboard the Kearsarge. “The Osprey is not armed, and the Marines barely got off the aircraft. I was in the landing center the whole time, where we were monitoring what was going on, and firing was never reported.”

 

Original article from The New York Times

NAVAIR’s V-22 getting BAE Systems’ Remote Guardian System

BAE Systems will provide the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command a defensive weapon system for NAVAIR’s V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. The system is based on the company’s Remote Guardian SystemTM, (RGS), a remotely operated defensive weapon system that provides 360° of suppressive weapons fire for the V-22.

BAE Systems’ Remote Guardian System is a common airborne defensive capability. RGS, designed to be belly-mounted on the V-22, is the first remote weapon system capable of delivering accurate, sustained fire throughout the aircraft’s flight envelope. It features a compact, retractable design that saves valuable aircraft cabin space and is compatible with the full complement of the V-22’s avionics suite.

“This system will provide vital protection to the V-22, its operators, and the Marines it will carry,” said Jim Garceau, vice president of defense avionics for BAE Systems. “The weapon system’s accuracy and ability to lock onto a stationary target in flight are critical to the defense of the aircraft.”

Under the $14 million contract, which calls for a belly-mounted, all quadrant defensive weapon capability for the Osprey, BAE Systems will produce and support RGS defensive weapon systems to be delivered by the end of 2012. The contract also includes a $12 million exercisable option for additional systems and support.

BAE Systems has been working on the RGS technology for more than four years. The work for this system will be performed at BAE Systems facilities in Johnson City, New York, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

- BAE Systems

CV-22 mission-capable rate still hovering at 54 percent

The CV-22 Osprey ended fiscal 2010 with a mission-capable rate of 54.3 percent. On any given day, from Oct. 1, 2009, to Sept. 30, half of the special operations tilt-rotor aircraft couldn’t fly their full range of missions. The Osprey’s fiscal 2009 mission-capable rate was 50.1 percent, the lowest ever.

Only the RQ-4 Global Hawk and two aging aircraft, B-1B Lancer and the C-5A Galaxy, had worse mission-capable numbers, according to the data.

The RQ-4 had a mission-capable rate of 41.64 percent. The B-1B, operational since 1986 and with a notoriously complicated hydraulics system, had a mission-capable rate of 43.82 percent. The C-5A, the massive transport first delivered during the Vietnam War, had a mission-capable rate of 52.6 percent.

No common problem such as a software glitch or engine malfunction led to the Osprey’s low rate, said Col. Peter Robichaux, who oversees the health of Air Force Special Operations Command aircraft. Most sat on the flight line waiting for replacement parts or maintainers to fix them.

For Robichaux, the Osprey’s low rate is a statistical quirk — not an indicator of the hybrid’s long-term viability.
“The numbers are a result of our small fleet size,” said Robichaux, whose AFSOC title is director of logistics. “That can drive the numbers down.”

The Air Force has 16 CV-22s and is scheduled to receive five to six more a year until 50 are on hand, probably by 2016. Taking one plane off the flight schedule for a day pushes down the mission-capable rate for that day by about 6 percentage points.

New aircraft often have low mission-capable rates for three reasons: Parts inventories can be low, technical orders explaining how to make repairs aren’t clear and even the most experienced maintainers have just a few years with the plane.

Many planes also see their mission-capable rates slowly improve as they age. The F-22 Raptor, for example, went from 51.25 percent in 2003 to 60.94 percent in 2010.

The CV-22, though, has a declining mission-capable rate. In 2006, when the first operational aircraft arrived, the rate was 61.4 percent.

- AirForceTimes -

Final Osprey Trainer delivered to the Marines

The strategic alliance between Boeing and Bell Helicopter, called Bell Boeing V-22 Program, has delivered the sixth and final MV-22 Osprey Containerized Flight Training Device (CFTD) to the U.S. Marines.

The CFTD trains aircrew on basic aircraft familiarization and handling qualities. Additional training capabilities include systems/subsystems operation, communication, malfunctions, day and night flying, use of night-vision goggles, formation flying, aerial refueling and landing on ships. The device is intended to train crews for any task that might be performed in the aircraft, while limiting the monetary and environmental costs and safety risks of in-flight training.

In the past year, the team has delivered five CFTDs to the Marines, as well as upgrades to two trainers delivered previously.

“The V-22 Integrated Product Team has made all of these early deliveries possible,” said Mark McGraw, vice president, Boeing Training Systems & Services. “They delivered three devices on this contract early, and all of them for the lowest per-unit cost our customer has seen.”

All CFTDs can be locally networked to allow for more robust training capabilities. The CFTDs at MCAS New River also are able to network with AV-8 Harriers at MCAS Cherry Point, N.C.

The V-22 Osprey is a tiltrotor vertical/short takeoff and landing (VSTOL), multi-mission air-craft developed to fill multi-Service combat operational requirements. The MV-22 replaces the current Marine Corps assault helicopters in the medium lift category (CH-46E and CH-53D), contributing to the dominant maneuver of the Marine landing force, as well as supporting focused logistics in the days following commencement of an amphibious operation.

The Air Force variant, the CV-22, replaces the MH-53J and MH-60G and augment the MC-130 fleet in the USSOCOM Special Operations mission. The Air Force requires the CV-22 to provide a long-range VTOL insertion and extraction capability. The tiltrotor design combines the vertical flight capabilities of a helicopter with the speed and range of a turboprop airplane and permits aerial refueling and world-wide self deployment.

- asdnews.com
- globalsecurity.org

Rise In Military Global Helicopter Sales

Teal Group expects civil deliveries to fall 20.8% in 2010, on top of a 13.3% decline in 2009, after experiencing “unprecedented growth rates in 2003-2008 … that transformed the industry,” the consultancy’s World Rotorcraft Overview says.

“By contrast, the military rotorcraft market continues its impressive rise, with deliveries growing 7 percent by value in 2010, following record 25.4 percent growth in 2009 and a 12.2 percent compound annual growth rate in 2003-2009,” Teal Group’s report says.

Also, the consultancy forecasts even greater growth for the military market, hitting a “new high plateau” by 2013. “The drivers are quite strong – aging, worn-out fleets, and the great importance of force mobility for almost every conceivable military mission,” Teal Group says. And the situation looks like it could also improve for the civil market.

The report says “Assuming the developed world suffers from weak economic growth (but no double-dip recession) for another 12 months, we expect the civil market to recover starting in 2012.”

Teal Group forecasts production of 15,459 rotorcrafts worth $174.6 billion in 2010-19. This includes 8,917 aircraft for civil users, worth $42.9 billion, and 6,542 military aircraft worth $131.7 billion.

These figures are all in 2010 dollars and represent very strong 84% growth over the previous 10 years, 2000-09, when production totaled 9,405 and was worth $95.1 billion – a $65.4-billion military market and $29.7-billion civil market.

“These numbers understate the actual size and importance of this market,” the report says. “Very high levels of utilization in tough operating environments, coupled with aging fleets, mean strong and profitable aftermarket work for the primes.”

US Marine Corps jumping from a V-22 Osprey helicopter at 10,000 feet above ground

And there’s even more work in upgrade contracts, the consultancy says. “Our numbers cover some of the more extensive rebuilds, but there’s considerable work that isn’t captured in our forecast.”

As for the rotorcraft manufacturers, Teal Group says further industrial consolidation would be very difficult. Also, because the business is proving so profitable, Teal Group says no company wants to sell its rotorcraft industry assets. But the consultancy does not rule out trans-Atlantic cooperation on a new heavy-lift helicopter.

Still, U.S. companies will continue to dominate the military side of this industry, particularly due to higher levels of defense spending and thanks to the expensive V-22 Osprey tiltrotor.

Each V-22 Osprey costs USD 67Million. Primary users of this vertical takeoff and landing, and short takeoff and landing helicopter are the US Marine Corps and US Air Force.

-aviationweek.com

-wikipedia.org