Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 15, 2008 - (Page 20) HELICOPTERS FA R N B O R O U G H 2 0 0 8 PZL-Swidnik Delivers 200th AW139 Airframe Sikorsky Chief Pino Sees KC-45 and CSAR-X Protests Parallel The Boeing protest over the U.S. Air Force’s awarding a tanker contract to Northrop Grumman reads a lot to Sikorsky president Jeff Pino like his own company’s protest to the USAF over the Combat Search and Rescue helicopter contract. He says that the size of the competitor’s aircraft, the life cycle costs of an older airframe versus a newer one and transportability were all issues. In fact, he says, the Sikorsky protest over CSAR-X covered a lot of the same issues as the ones Boeing raised about Jeff Pino. the tanker contract. But now that the USAF is re-competing the CSAR-X project, he says everything feels new. A new team of Air Force officials is evaluating the bids, and they are asking new questions, a sign that the service is taking a fresh look at things. Pino notes that Sikorsky didn’t protest the award of the Presidential helicopter to the Lockheed Martin team’s EH-101 from AgustaWestland. But he does have a point to make about the transatlantic playing field not being even. Sikorsky is never asked to compete for military helicopter contracts in Europe, even when it has a product that fits well with the requirements. “We would like to be given a chance, occasionally,” he says. —David Hughes Earlier this month, PZL-Swidnik's facility in Poland handed over its 200th AW139 airframe to AgustaWestland. Since cooperation started in 1996, PZL-Swidnik has manufactured nearly 800 AW119 Ke, AW109 Power, AW109 LUH, Grand and AW139 airframes, sustaining nearly 1,000 skilled staff at its Swidnik plant near Lublin. At current production rates of 15 airframes per month it is expected that PZL-Swidnik will deliver the 1,000th airframe to AgustaWestland in the second half of 2009. Mine Detection for U.S. Army Hueys Northrop Grumman recently completed its first flight of an airborne mine countermeasures system. The Airborne Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Minefield Detection System (ASTAMIDS) was flown aboard a modified U.S. Army UH-1H Huey helicopter to validate operability and integration. All four first-flight objectives were achieved during this test exercise. ASTAMIDS is designed for the U.S. Army to be able to detect and locate minefields and to direct troops on the ground to safe avenues through these mined areas. Northrop Grumman (Chalet A1-5) has four such systems in various stages of development. Brazil's Helibras to Build Super Cougars Brazil and France have signed a protocol to build EC 725 Super Cougar transport helicopters at Eurocopter's local subsidiary, Helibras, with deliveries to the Brazilian armed forces to begin in 2010. Numbers have not been released, but Brazil's defense minister has said 50 helicopters are needed to replace air force, army and navy AS 322 Super Pumas and AS 532 Cougars. Helibras is also expected to build the civilian EC 225 for Brazil's offshore oil market. Expanding the Helibras plant in Minas Gerais will require $300 million to $400 million. Eurocopter is at Hall 4, Stand G15. Eaton for CH-53K Hydraulics Eaton has been selected by Sikorsky to design, develop and supply the primary hydraulic power generation system, associated fluid conveyance package, integrated fuel system, and cockpit lighted control panels and dimming controllers for the CH-53K military heavy-lift helicopter, currently under development for the U.S. Marine Corps. During the development phase of the program, which runs through 2014, Eaton (Hall 4, Stand F14) will provide the key contracted systems and components for five to 10 platform ship sets, in addition to a number of systems test sets. Sikorsky (Hall 3, Stand C5) expects to build more than 156 CH-53Ks for the Marines. L-3 Delivers M-TADS for Apaches L-3 Display Systems has delivered more than 800 display, video processing and power components to Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Army and international users in support of the AH-64D Apache Modernized Target Acquisition and Designation System. M-TADS is an active matrix LCD-based system that features high brightness and night vision goggle compatibility. It includes associated video processing and power modules, displays high-resolution FLIR video, and is the Apache copilot/gunner's primary interface to the helicopter's extensive sensor and targeting systems. L-3 Communications is at Hall H4, Stand A15. Indonesia Gets Russian Hips Another bone of contention. The first three Mil Mi-17-B5 Hip H medium assault/transport helicopters were delivered to Indonesia on July 3, following signature in 2005 of a contract with Russia's Kazan helicopter plant to supply six. The remaining three will arrive in the country "soon," according to Kazan's Andrei Mironov, who will oversee their assembly. Fifteen pilots and technical specialists from Indonesia visited the Kazan plant in Russia's Volga area this past spring for three months of training. The Mi-17 is a version of the Mi-8 airframe. The helicopters have been delivered to 80 countries. 20 July 15, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.