Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 16, 2008 - (Page 78)

FA R N B O R O U G H 2 0 0 8 RAF May Join UAE as Hawkeye E-2D Buyer Britain’s Royal Navy could join the United Arab Emirates as a customer for Northrop Grumman’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, but availability of the new, carrier-based twin turboprop is likely to hinge on export approval for its Lockheed Martin APY-9 radar. “There’s a process we need to go through with the U.S. government, and it’s underway now,” says Capt. Tom Carroll, head of the NAVAIR foreign military sales desk. “We’ve had discussions with the UAE and some talks with the UK. We should have a decision—positive or negative—in 2009. The radar is the heart of the issue.” Meanwhile, development of the E-2D continues full-speed at Northrop Grumman’s facilities in St. Augustine, Florida. First flight occurred in August of last year, with the first aerial test of the production mission avionics following on December 14. Two prototype aircraft have completed 130 test flights totaling 369 hours, and one has already participated in an actual search and rescue mission, according to Carroll. On May 2, E-2D No. AA2 was performing a radar test off the Florida coast when another aircraft informed it via radio of a sailboat in distress. The E-2D established contact with the sailboat SABR is a lower cost AESA alternative for existing F-16 fighter jet operators. via marine radio channels, and then with the Coast Guard. The combined Northrop Grumman/U.S. Navy crew then handed off the surveillance to a U.S Air Force AWACS aircraft. The Coast Guard ultimately rescued the sailboat’s crew. While the U.S. Navy has the stated intention of acquiring 75 E-2Ds, it has allocated funding for only the two flying prototypes and three preproduction aircraft. The next critical steps for the Advanced Hawkeye are an operational assessment, followed by the “Milestone C” production decision. “We will be seeking funding for more to come,” Carroll adds. -Paul Richfield RAH-70 Flies in Face of Cost Alarms Despite its cost escalation troubles, the RAH-70 armed reconnaissance helicopter continues in development, Bell confirmed at the Show this week. The company has now covered 51% of the contracted System Development and Demonstration phase, with four of the six SDD aircraft having flown and No. 5 in final assembly. Helicopter SDD-1 has been relegated to ground training after a “hard landing,” but the three remaining flyers have logged 1,300 hours so far. At stake are orders for 512 aircraft to replace a depleted fleet of Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warriors, including 144 with reserve and National Guard units. Limited User Test 1 was completed by the Army last year, while a second hands-on progress evaluation is scheduled for late spring of 2009. Cost problems stem, in part, from the conversion of a $2.5 million civilian helicopter into a $9.5 military equivalent due to “missionization” changes for the military and to the Army’s refusal to accept FAA (civil) qualification of the airframe. Says Bell of this recent crisis: “Our numbers haven’t changed — Paul Jackson since 2007.” New Northrop Grumman AESA Targets Allied F-16s Northrop Grumman’s new Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) has a target: 25 international F-16 operators seeking to trade their dated multi-scan radars for state-of-the-art automatic electronically scanning arrays (AESA). It’s an easy swap, according to the U.S. defense and industrial giant. All they have to do is unbolt and remove their F-16s’ existing APG-68 M-scan radar (or first-generation APG-80 AESA), and replace it with SABR, which comes as a complete kit at an “economical” price. For their trouble, they get a modern AESA with air-to-air and air-to-ground modes, along with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mapping and Ground Moving Target Indication (GMTI). These 78 functions match those of flagship AESA’s, like the F-35 Lightning II’s APG-81—almost. “It has to have less performance, of course, due to export issues,” says Mark Gaertner, director of business development for Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems Division. “We’ve got a new export policy coming out and are working very hard to ensure SABR is a candidate.” Despite this uncertainty, SABR development is moving forward at a brisk pace. The radar first flew aboard a Sabreliner test bed aircraft earlier this year, and the system is poised for safety of flight qualification and proving runs aboard F-16s. As its transmit/receive (TR) modules can be scaled up or down, SABR is suitable for a variety of platforms and missions. According to Gaertner, potential applications include the C-130 Hercules; various intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft; ground stations and various tactical aircraft programs as well. “We’d love to sell it to Eurofighter,” he says. —Paul Richfield RAH-70 July 16, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 16, 2008

Bombardier, Shenyang $5 Billion for Composites 787 and Seven V-22s for Export Sale? Saving Fuel at SFO Raytheon Roars Into UAVs Bell Eyes ARH-70A Costs All According to Plan We Fly the PC-12NG Russia’s T-50 PAK-FA Optimistic in Israel ICAO Sim Classifications Pratt to Power New Drone Russian Conglomerate

Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 16, 2008

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