RAF flies the Joint Strike Fighter
NAOO uses hot Gulfstream
Profits down but hopes up
Saudi Arabia defers Typhoon assembly
Rovers to Afghanistan
Hands across the sea
Eurocopter seeks state support
RAF flies the Joint Strike Fighter
Above: On January 27, Sqdn Ldr Steve Long flew the F-35B for the first time at NAS Patuxent River, Md., the first time an RAF pilot has flown the STOVL version currently planned as part of the new equipment destined for the Royal Navy's Elizabeth class aircraft carriers and the RAF. (Photo, Lockheed Martin)
RAF Sqn Ldr Steve Long piloted BF-2, the second short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B, over Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., on January 27, the first UK active-duty service pilot to do so, logging the aircraft's 18th flight. Long departed at 9.55am local time and flew the aircraft to 20,000ft before landing approximately 1hr 20min later. ‘Flying the F-35 was exactly like the simulators that I've been flying for over 18 months now, which gives you a lot of confidence in all the modelling and simulation work that has been done in all the other areas of the flight envelope’, Long said, adding that it was a ‘privilege’ to fly the F-35. ‘What this aircraft really gives the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy is a quantum leap in airborne capability because of the sensor suite it carries. An F-35 pilot will have an unprecedented level of situational awareness about what's going on in the airspace around him or her, and also on the battlefield or ocean below. Not only that, but the F-35 will plug into coalition battlefield networks and be able to pass that picture on to all other players in the network’.
With the capability to operate from a variety of ships or austere runways, the F-35B can deploy closer to shore or near front lines, shrinking distance and time to the target, increasing sortie rates and greatly reducing the need for support assets. The UK’s Joint Combat Aircraft Project team leader, Air Commodore Graham Farnell, said the UK has been closely involved in JSF since its inception. ‘It is therefore an honour to witness an RAF pilot flying BF-2 during this important phase of the F-35B flight test’, Farnell said. ‘Squadron Leader Long has been preparing for this opportunity since his arrival in the US well over a year ago, and this occasion is a testament not only to the work undertaken in the Integrated Test Force, to which the UK provides considerable expertise, but also to the wider JSF community in both government and industry. The UK is now preparing pilots and maintainers for initial training at Eglin so that we can begin operating our aircraft in 2011, alongside our colleagues from the United States Marine Corps’, he said.
Sqn Ldr Long is the third active-duty service member to fly the F-35, the aircraft having also been flown by USAF and US Marine Corps pilots. Long has more than 2,200 hours of flight time and currently flies the F-18A/D with the US Marines. He joined the RAF in 1995, and his operational experience has included more than 100 sorties over Kosovo and Bosnia, Sierra Leone and Iraq, including three months of embarked time aboard HMS Illustrious, and seven months on the USS Bonhomme Richard.
To date, the UK has invested $2bn in the F-35's development – the largest contribution among the program’s eight partner nations. The Joint Combat Aircraft (JCA) program announced in December that the United Kingdom received financial approval to purchase its third F-35B operational test aircraft, reinforcing its commitment to the JSF program’s upcoming Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) phase.
NOAA uses hot Gulfstream
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is using a Grumman Gulfstream IV aircraft, known for investigating Atlantic hurricanes, to fly over the north Pacific Ocean and fill gaps in atmospheric observations, which will enhance forecasts of winter storms for the entire North American continent through improved computer modelling. The highly specialized twin turbofan jet will be stationed at Yokota Air Force Base in Japan before repositioning to Honolulu in March. From these locations, the aircraft will be operated by the National Centres for Environmental Prediction, a division of NOAA’s National Weather Service, flying into regions from which there is little data where it will collect information such as wind speed and direction, pressure, temperature and humidity. This data will be sent via satellite to global operational weather forecasting centres and fed into sophisticated computer forecast models. ‘These flights will help us better observe and understand the current state of the atmosphere over the Pacific, where most of North America’s weather originates, in order to better predict future conditions across the U.S. and Canada three to six days in advance’, said Louis Uccellini, director of the National Centres for Environmental Prediction in Camp Springs, Md. The high altitude, high speed NOAA Gulfstream IV is based at the NOAA Aircraft Operations Centre, located at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla.
Profits down but hopes up
The US Air Transport Association has reported that 2009 saw the worst fall in US airline revenue ever recorded. The seven major carriers lost 18% of their revenue, dropping well below the previous loss of 14% recorded in 2001. Yield was down too, at 13%, and passenger volume was down by 9%. Several indicators evince hope for 2010, however but cautious note has been attached to warnings of increasing fuel prices, exacerbated by draconian government tax levies to pay for worsening national budget figures, where debt in the US has reached an all-time high.
Saudi Arabia defers Typhoon assembly
Following a deal struck in 2007 for 72 Eurofighter Typhoons, with final assembly of all but the first 24 taking place in country, Saudi Arabia is deferring those plans although both British and Saudi governments claim there is no change to the overall intention. Delivery of the first 24 aircraft, taken from aircraft originally built as part of the RAF’s Tranche 2 order, began in 2009 and future options include an additional 12 or 24 aircraft built at Warton for onward delivery to Saudi Arabia. The Saudis do not want to see a slip in deliveries and may re-schedule the start of final assembly lines in Saudi Arabia to maintain original in-service dates with the Royal Saudi Air Force.
Rovers to Afghanistan
France’s defence ministry has decided to test Rover air-ground tactical data links between operational Rafale and Mirage 2000D fighters in Afghanistan, together with Harfang medium-altitude, long-endurance, UAVs in March. The US armed forces have complained that Harfang is little use without data links. These trials are one of several being fielded in theatre as a means of testing new and sophisticated technologies that can assist with suppressing Taliban activity.
Hands across the sea
In the light of recent disclosures regarding inept security procedures that allowed a potential terrorist to attempt an in-flight bombing of a commercial airliner, aborted by passengers and cabin crew, US and European security organisations have agreed to co-operate more fully and to integrate policies and procedures. Security objectives were outlined in a special meeting held on January 21 at Toledo, Spain, where EU member states and US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano discussed enhanced body scanning techniques, increased security on travel documents and enhanced biometric devices. In addition, new technologies are being reviewed that promise to help detect prohibited materials from being taken aboard aircraft.
Eurocopter seeks support
Above: The German Army shows off its NH-90, now proving a popular brand with sales of the type up from 12 in 2008 to 22 last year. (Photo, Aviation News)
While sales of Eurocopter’s EC225 Puma and EC775 Cougar helicopters are doing well, further development of its X4 civil helicopter is running foul of development funds. According to Eurocopter chief executive Lutz Bertling, unless the French government provides additional funds, the environmentally friendly technologies the X4 was expected to incorporate may be removed. Eurocopter is determined to develop a new range of Dauphin helicopters but cannot afford the expensive ‘green’ engineering it had championed for the type. Bertling is sure that environmentally friendly designs will be an important factor in customer selection for different types in the years ahead. However, while net orders plunged from 715 in 2008 to 344 in 2009, the value of those orders increased by 18% because the emphasis switched from small to big helicopters. Orders for the Super Puma/Cougar types increased from 35 in 2008 to 81 last year, rising by 131%, while orders for smaller types were down by 22-91%. Bertling is concerned about orders for 2010, which he says will be compromised by the availability of more than 1,000 helicopters now on the second-hand market, delivered between 2007 and 2009.