2011-06-26 (China Military News cited from chinapost.com.tw)

The Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC), consigned by the Taiwan Air Force to upgrade the Ching-Kuo Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) jets under the Hsiang Chan Project, will deliver the upgraded versions of the IDF jets on June 30, according to company sources.

The Air Force raised the NT$17 billion upgrade project in 2008 after the U.S. declined to sell F-16C/D fighter jets to Taiwan, and the project was ratified by the Legislative Yuan and put into practice in 2009.

The core of the project is for AIDC to retrofit a fleet of 70 Ching-Kuo IDF jets operated by a Tainan air force unit. As some parts and components of the IDF jets are no longer produced, substitute ones are used for the retrofit, and flight control software programs for the jets are also re-written to improve the electronic counter counter-mechanism, electronic war system, advanced friend or foe identification system, as well as air-to-air and air-to-ground radar systems.

In addition, the retrofitted IDFs are better equipped to reinforce its air defense capability. For instance, they are installed with four Sky Sword II mid-range air-to-air missiles, up from two; and equipped with some air-to-ground missiles, such as Sky Sword II A anti-radiation missiles and Wan Chien cluster bombs.

Air Force officials said that the retrofitted Ching-Kuo IDF jets will see their air defense capability double from the original IDF jets.

The U.S. declined to sell F-16C/D jets so as to placate the mainland China. Based on the opinion of experts, the military equilibrium between Taiwan and the mainland is gone, though local military strength is upgraded by the U.S. Taiwan hoped to purchase F-16C/D jets from the U.S., because the jets are sufficient to provide air superiority.

June 24, 2011 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Times of India; published June 24, 2011)

NEW DELHI --- With an eye on the future and fed up with the "bureaucratic culture" pervading Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the country's only aircraft manufacturer, IAF now wants the control of the navratna defence PSU.

IAF has asked the defence ministry (MoD) to appoint one of its three-star officers, instead of a bureaucrat, as the chairman and managing director of HAL once the present incumbent Ashok Nayak retires on October 31.

MoD sources confirmed IAF had even proposed the name of present assistant chief of air staff (operations & space), Air Vice Marshal M Matheswaran, a top-notch fighter pilot now approved for the air marshal rank, for the HAL post.

"The matter is being examined...no final decision has been taken," said a source. Simultaneously, a panel of names has also been drawn up to include Pawan Hans chief R K Tyagi, a defence accounts service officer S N Mishra, who earlier was joint secretary (aerospace) in MoD, and MSTC chairman S K Tripathi, among others.

IAF's revolutionary proposal, on the face of it, makes a lot of sense. As HAL's biggest customer, it has every reason to be worried that most projects being handled by the PSU, which has a sales turnover of over Rs 13,000 crore, have been plagued by time and cost overruns.

IAF contends the HAL chief should be someone who "understands aerospace concepts" and can "transform" HAL into a cutting-edge company, capable of delivering on time, to stem its fast-eroding combat edge. The force is down to just about 32 fighter squadrons from a "sanctioned strength" of 39.5 squadrons.

Most ongoing HAL projects like the ones for the Tejas light combat aircraft, Dhruv advanced light helicopters and indigenous production of Sukhoi-30MKI fighters as well as Hawk AJTs (advanced jet trainers) are all running behind schedule.

Moreover, HAL is also going to handle new programmes worth billions of dollars with foreign collaborators in the near future. They range from the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) and fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) to light utility helicopters and multi-role transport aircraft (MTA).

The $10.4 billion MMRCA project to acquire 126 fighters, for instance, is all set to be sealed by December. With just two contenders now left in contention, Eurofighter Typhoon and French Rafale, the project will see only the first 18 jets come in "fly-away condition", while the rest will be manufactured by HAL after transfer of technology.

An even bigger project will be the joint development of the stealth FGFA with Russia for which the $295 million preliminary design contract was inked last December. The cost of designing, infrastructure build-up, prototype development and flight testing of FGFA is pegged at $11 billion. India and Russia will chip in $5.5 billion each.

Moreover, each of the 250-300 FGFA India hopes to begin inducting from 2020 onwards will cost around $100 million each. Consequently, India will spend upwards of $35 billion over the next two decades on the FGFA.

June 27, 2011 Hasan Jahid Tusher - thedailystar.net

For the first time in the country's history, the government will purchase 44 new tanks and three armoured recovery vehicles (ARV) for the army as part of its plan to modernise the armed forces.

The government will also buy two brand new helicopters for the army to ensure necessary logistic support for the UN peacekeeping activities.

The Main Battle Tanks (MBT-2000) and the ARVs will be bought from China, and the helicopters from France through government-to-government deals, which were recently signed. According to the deals, the cost of the tanks will be around Tk 1,201 crore, and the helicopters Tk 174 crore. Besides, a process is on to buy 18 brand new cannons.

 The purchases would be done from the budgetary allocations for the army, said government sources.

The government increased the allocation for the armed forces to Tk 12,134 crore in the proposed budget for fiscal 2011-12 from Tk 10,918 crore in the current fiscal year.

"The tanks will be bought through a government to government deal ensuring maximum transparency," Master General of Ordnance (MGO) of Bangladesh Army Maj Gen Abdul Matin told The Daily Star yesterday.

 "The purchase is being done as a part of modernisation of the Bangladesh Army," he said adding that the tanks will be delivered in phases over a span of 27 months. In the first phase 24 tanks will come within 20 months, and the rest will come in the second phase over the next 7 months.

The payment for the purchase will be made in phases over the next eight years, said the major general.

Maj Gen (retd) Amin Ahmed Chowdhury told The Daily Star that through this purchase, the military of the country will definitely get a boost.

 “If the authorities concerned that would supply the tanks share transfer of technologies then it would work.”

Mag Gen Abdul Matin however said the Chinese government will provide training to technicians of Bangladesh Army in China and in Bangladesh for a good period of time so that the tanks and ARVs could be maintained properly. The training will be free of charge, he said adding that the China would also give adequate spare parts of the tanks.

The government in 2003 took initiatives to buy tanks for the army, but that initiative did not see the light of day due to budgetary limitations, said the sources.

The government was supposed to buy seven tanks last year and seven more this year. As only a Chinese company took part in the tender, the government cancelled it, and re-invited tender in which four companies from China, Russia, Ukraine, and Pakistan participated. Chinese company Norinco was selected as the lowest bidder.

Later the army requested the government to buy 44 tanks instead of 14.

A five-member committee headed by Maj Gen Abdul Matin signed a deal with the Chinese defence ministry on June 14 to purchase the tanks. According to the deal, China North Industries Corporation (Norinco) will deliver the tanks.

Matin said Eurocopter, a global helicopter manufacturing company in France, will supply the two helicopters by July next year.

The two helicopters will be used in UN peacekeeping missions, he said.

The committee chief said they have signed a draft deal with the countries concerned to purchase 18 new cannons. The agreement will be finalised next year, he added.

Bangladesh first got tanks in 1974 during Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's trip to Egypt. The then Egyptian president Anwar Sadat presented Bangabandhu with 44 tanks that were in good shape, said government sources.

Some refurbished tanks have also been bought for the army over the years.

A PARS 3 LR missile is launched by a German Tiger attack helicopter. (Photo: MBDA)

June 24, 2011 defpro.com

MBDA’s PARS 3 LR guided missile system has been short listed for the Indian Army helicopter future air-to-ground requirement. MBDA Deutschland has delivered proposals for its PARS 3 LR multi-target, long range weapon system for HAL’s Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH DHRUV) and for two attack helicopters, the KAMOV KA-52 and the MIL MI-28.

Within the framework of MBDA Deutschland’s export campaign for India, three PARS 3 LR firings were carried out from a German Tiger helicopter at the Vidsel test range in Sweden in April 2011. All three missiles were equipped with live warheads and all three struck their intended targets at the optimal hit points. Two firings were carried out within one minute of each other, the first against a static target at a range of 7,000 m and the second against a moving target at a range of 700 m. The third firing was carried out with the helicopter in fast forward flight against a static target at a range of 7,000 m.

Werner Kaltenegger, Managing Director of MBDA Deutschland, said: “I am delighted that the Indian Army has short listed PARS 3 LR for its procurement project. This represents a further confirmation of the close partnership MBDA has developed with India over the years. The successful industrial trials confirm the high level of reliability of the PARS 3 LR guided missile system. We are proud to offer the Indian Army such a powerful fire-and-forget system that can deploy precision attacks against a wide range of targets”.

(Photo: Alenia Aermacchi)

June 24, 2011 defpro.com

Logistic support contracts worth about EUR 170 million

Alenia Aermacchi – a company of Finmeccanica’s Aeronautics Sector led by Alenia Aeronautica – has finalised with ST Aerospace the logistics support contracts for the 12 M-346 trainers sold at the end of September 2010 in the context of the Fighter Wings Course programme of the Republic of Singapore Air Force.

The two contracts are expected to generate total sales in the range of EUR 170 million.

The first contract (Supply Chain Management) envisages the joint management of the M-346 suppliers by Alenia Aermacchi and ST Aerospace (after-sales support, including spare parts provisioning, repair and overhaul services) with sharing of risks, sales and profits between the two Companies.

The other contract (Operations & Support) concerns instead the supply by Alenia Aermacchi of engineering support, programme/contract management and field support services.

Alenia Aeronautica’s CEO and Responsible for Finmeccanica’s Aeronautics Sector has commented: "The two contracts on the logistics support of the 12 M-346 for Singapore confirm the success of the high-technology Italian industry and the primacy at international level of this aircraft and of its integrated training system. Once again we are particularly proud for the positive relationship with both the Republic of Singapore Air Force, known to be one of the most sophisticated Air Forces in the world, and our industrial counterpart, ST Aerospace."

M-346

The M-346 is the most Advanced/Lead-In Fighter Trainer currently produced and the only new generation trainer optimised for the role. Its excellent performance and flying qualities, close to modern frontline fighters, brings the M-346 to a superior teaching effectiveness level. The advanced design solutions provide also high safety standards and reduced acquisition and operational costs. The aircraft is tailored to train pilots to fly new-generation combat aircraft and is well suited for every phase of advanced and pre-operational training, to reduce the flight hours on the more expensive frontline aircraft. The aircraft embodies the latest "design-to-cost" and "design-to-maintain" concepts, with avionics modelled upon those of new-generation military aircraft such as Eurofighter, Gripen, Rafale, F-16, F-18, F-22 and the future JSF. Its flexible platform is configured also for the operational roles as a Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

The M-346 is the ideal platform for the next-generation Integrated Training Systems.

The M-346 programme is attracting increasing interest from potential international customers and partners. Besides the contracts with Italian Air Force and the Republic of Singapore, and the selection by the United Arab Emirates, additional opportunities exist on leading markets and other European and Worldwide Countries.

24 June 2011 defenceWeb

India will continue to withdraw its helicopters from United Nations peacekeeping operations in the Congo and has turned down a request by the UN to keep the aircraft there.

The Telegraph India reported that India is preparing to withdraw the last four Mi-35 attack helicopters next month, citing strong domestic need for the aircraft. The contract with the UN’s Democratic Republic of Congo mission (Monusco) expires on July 4.

The Congo is heading towards a residential election, prompting the UN to call for the helicopters to stay longer.

India originally had 17 helicopters in the Congo and Sudan, including eight Mi-25/35 attack helicopters and nine Mi-17 transports. Only the four Mi-35s remain in the Congo.

India first announced in September last year that it was taking back its helicopters serving with the United Nations. Once back in India, the helicopters will be used in anti-Naxal rebel operations in addition to supporting Indian troops around the country.

The Indian Air Force had informed the defence ministry that operating attack helicopters in Africa necessitated cannibalising other helicopters for spare parts, potentially grounding parts of the fleet.

The United Nations is not happy about India’s decision. In February the UN predicted a shortfall of nearly sixty helicopters by April. “It remains the case that too many of our missions struggle without critical assets necessary to properly fulfil their mandates, assets that only Member States can provide,” Alain Le Roy, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping told the UN General Assembly’s Special Committee on Peacekeeping in February.

“Military helicopter units, in particular, are an absolute force requirement for operations conducted in vast and remote locations, as many of our missions do,” Le Roy said, predicting a shortfall of 56 out a required 137 helicopters by April. The UN missions in Sudan, Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be those most affected.

Meanwhile, Roger Meece, the UN special representative, warned the Security Council last week that, “I am obliged to note that military operations are being negatively impacted by the shortage of military helicopters.”

Manjeev Singh Puri, India's Deputy Ambassador to the UN, said that India needed its helicopters and that “India believes it is not accorded the respect it deserves on the world stage, and thinks its reputation has been tarnished in the Congo mission.” However, Puri said that India had already extended the services of the helicopters for a couple of months at the request of the United Nations.

June 23, 2011: STRATEGY PAGE

South Korea announced that it has moved some of its ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) guided missiles close to the North Korean border. ATACMS is a 610mm rocket that fits in the same size container that normally holds six 227mm MLRS rockets. The ATACMS version in South Korean service has a range of 165 kilometers. That makes it capable of reaching many targets in North Korea, but not the North Korean capital (Pyongyang, which is 220 kilometers north of the DMZ). There is a version of ATACMS with a range of 300 kilometers, but South Korea does not have any. ATACMS is fired from the American MLRS rocket launcher. South Korea only has 220 ATACMS missiles. All of them have cluster bomb warheads. Half of them are unguided, and have a range of 128 kilometers. The other half have smaller warheads, GPS guidance and a range of 165 kilometers. This is apparently the version moved close to the border, in order to make the North Koreans nervous. South Korea originally bought ATACMS in 1998 to have a weapon that could go after distant North Korean artillery and large concentrations of tanks.

The current version of ATACMS equipped with a 227 kg (500 pound) high explosive warhead. The U.S. used over 700 ATACMS in Iraq and Afghanistan. These rockets use GPS guidance to hit targets up to 300 kilometers away. Sort of like the popular 500 pound JDAM smart bomb used by the air force, but not requiring an aircraft to deliver it.

When the U.S. Army first introduced its long range ATACMS rocket 24 years ago, it designed fancy warheads that distributed lots of smaller bomblets. While these worked, there was always a problem with some of the bomblets not self-destructing, and later going off when civilians, or American troops, came along. Not a popular weapon. Then, when a version, with GPS guidance and a single, 500 pound high explosive (or "unitary") warhead was introduced, it proved very popular. These rockets cost about a million dollars each. A 500 pound JDAM costs about $28,000, although you can add a few thousand dollars more to cover the expense of operating the jet bomber that delivered it.

While South Korea adheres to international treaties (barring missiles with a range of more than 300 kilometers, and warheads of more than half a ton), North Korea does not. As a result, North Korea has 600 Scud missiles, with ranges of up to 700 kilometers, and 200 Rodong missiles, with a range of 1,300 kilometers. There may be ten or more of the Taepodong-2 types in service, which have a range of over 3,000 kilometers. The North Korean missiles are not very reliable, but at least half of them are expected to function adequately in wartime, and hit their intended target. The Taepodong-2 types, however, have failed its last three tests, and North Korea is apparently having trouble developing the technology of getting multiple stage missiles to work. In the recent test, only the first stage worked, with the other two stages falling into the ocean. Because of the Taepodong-2 failure, Japan did not order its Aegis anti-missile systems to fire.

June 23, 2011 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Financial Express (India); published June 23, 2011)

NEW DELHI --- India has officially put a full stop to the frantic US pressure to enter the $10.4-billion race for 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA).

Reacting to media reports that the US may offer F-35 fighter jets to re-enter the MMRCA race, the official spokesperson in the ministry of defence (MoD), Sitanshu Kar, told FE that, “We have progressed a lot in the MMRCA programme, we have crossed a lot of stages that have become part of history.”

“It is too late in the day for any new entrant,” said a senior Indian Air Force (IAF) officer on condition of anonymity.

Industry sources, agreeing with the government’s decision not to allow any new entrant in the already closed race, said: “It is a very interesting situation. The trials are over. The commercial bids are expected to be opened shortly. Discussions on offset commissions are progressing well. While one government is offering its best machine, it will be India’s call finally.”

However, the source added that “it will be unfair to the shortlisted contenders”.

The government has shortlisted the European consortium Eurofighter’s Typhoon and the French Dassault’s Rafale fighter aircraft.

Lockheed Martin’s offering, the F-16IN, was eliminated from India’s [competition] along with rival Boeing’s F-18IN Super Hornet offering. The MMRCA deal was touted as the ‘mother of all defence deals’ in the international defence industry.

Though the Indian Air Force never seemed very interested in the F-16 Falcon from the US-based Lockheed Martin, one of the several reasons for the aircraft not being in the race could be the fact that fact that Pakistan also flies F-16s. Also Lockheed Martin could have run into problems in meeting the industrial offset provisions, given its lack of penetration in India.

India has been invited to F-35 events. With potential US order numbers dropping, India could have joined the elite programme. However, India chose to join hands with Russia for its Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) programme, which offers a semi-indigenous alternative.

The F-35 jet is still in development and the planes would cost about $133 million each. The Pentagon plans to buy more than 2,400 of them, which means that at an estimated $382 billion, it is Pentagon’s most expensive weapons programme ever. A rough estimate has it that at $133 million per unit, the cost of acquisition for the MMRCA would go up by 50 per cent should the IAF opt for the F-35. This would inflate the $11-billion MMRCA tender to $17 billion.

23.06.2011 China Defense Blog

After failing to secure any orders from the MiddleEast,  Norinco has managed to sale a few copies of the LD2000 Land Based CIWS to the PLA.    Not sure how widespread this land based Type 730 will enjoy in the PLA service.

LD-2000
Like the land-based version of the naval CIWS Type-730, the LD-2000 combines a seven barreled 30mm Gatling gun with 6 TY-90 SAMs. The system is likely to have a similar overall capability to the US C-RAM but with extended range, thanks to the 6km reach of the TY-90s. However, rather than just anti-mortar defense the LD-2000 is more likely employed for point defense of key installations and facilities from cruise missiles, PGMs and fast jets at low altitude.

According to Norinco, LD2000 can engage cruise missiles with an RCS of 0.1 m2, up to a maximum speed of M2.0. The system is also claimed to have a multiple-target engagement capability and be able to operate in an electronic counter counter-measure environment.

23.06.2011 boursier.com

Eurocopter (EADS) a reçu aujourd'hui une lettre d'intention d'Aerotree Defence & Services Sdn Bhd pour la fourniture de trois EC135 pour son expansion commerciale en Malaisie et dans la région. Le groupe malaisien a également signé des options pour acheter davantage de ce type d'hélicoptères légers bimoteurs.

Eurocopter a également signé ce jeudi lors du salon du Bourget avec le Ministère malaisien de la Défense, un contrat de coopération lié à la fourniture de 12 hélicoptères EC725. Les appareils seront exploités par la Force aérienne royale malaisienne dans des missions de recherche et de sauvetage ainsi que des missions de service public.

22 Jun 2011 By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI DefenseNews

NEW DELHI - The Indian Defence Ministry is considering a proposal by the Indian Air Force to order 280 Honeywell F125N engines via the U.S. Foreign Military Sales route. That would make the U.S. company the winner of the $2 billion tender to supply engines for the Air Force's Jaguar fighter aircraft.

The procurement process for Jaguar engines, floated in 2008, was halted and reduced to a single vendor when British competitor Rolls-Royce withdrew from the program early this year.

The Defence Ministry is considering the Air Force's proposal as retendering the program would delay the upgrade of the British-built Jaguars, something which the Indian Air Force does not want, ministry sources said.

The ministry as a practice does not place orders in single-vendor competitions, but it will make an exception here as the Air Force has demanded that higher-thrust engines be made available as soon as possible for its 130 Jaguars .

Honeywell's F125N is a 43.8 kilo Newton (kN) thrust engine. Rolls-Royce, whose Adour Mk811 (32.5 kN) presently powers the Jaguars, had offered its Adour Mk821 turbofan.

The British engine maker pulled out of the competition because it could not meet the requirements set forth in the request for proposals, sources said.

A Rolls-Royce executive said at the time that the company was in competition only to upgrade the Jaguar's existing Rolls-Royce engine, not to re-engine the aircraft.

The Indian Air Force wants to replace the Jaguar's Adour engine with a higher-thrust engine that would allow improvements to the Jaguar's mission performance, especially in medium- and high-level sortie profiles; undertake missions that are not possible with the existing engine; reduce pilot workload; and cut maintenance costs, an Air Force official said.

As the Jaguar, which is being used for strike missions, has gotten heavier because of added capabilities, the Adour engine's lack of power has become a serious issue, the service official said.

State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) already has ties with Rolls Royce but could also work with Honeywell to re-engine the Indian Jaguars, a HAL official said.

The Air Force bought the Jaguars in 1978 for deep strike missions, and HAL began licensed production of the aircraft in the 1980s.

HAL has also upgraded of some Jaguars with avionics from French company Sextant and Israeli company Elta.

22.06.2011 DEFENSE STUDIES

Air Defense - Air Force recently held for the union officials, journalists and news agencies, press relations and sightseeing air workout recombinant S-300PMU1 missile air defense mission of the 64 - 361 air defense divisions.

Sports teams have to stand between the sun to see the training unit, but the sun is not up to the top of the dump fire drills have been completed since the process started and controlled combination of S-300 PMU1 operation takes only a few minutes.

S-300PMU1 System is not missiles range produced by the Russian Federation, is considered the most sophisticated appearance on the world arms market today. (The system owns Russian S-400, more modern S-300 but not exported. It is expected that the next time, Russia will complete the research and manufacture of air defense systems S-500, more modern , has a range of warfare in space).

Compare features with the U.S. Patriot missile, the S-300 PMU1 remarkable, as the farthest distance to destroy, destroy the highest altitude, velocity target the largest extinction; weight of the warhead, protected area coverage of air defense weaponry S-300 PMU1 also larger.

 

The complex missile defense system is not dynamic, multi-channel used to destroy all means of modern air raid of the enemy in the present and future, including strategic aircraft and tactics, the kind of strategic ballistic missiles, campaign-strategy at all elevations, velocities, under all conditions with intense noise and the technical tricks, different tactics.


Lieutenant Colonel Le Van Thanh - Doan Doan 64 air defense - said receiving unit has several weapons this year. Equipped with a combination of non determination of the Party, State and people, are receiving and using the most modern weapons was an honor and responsibility of the unit.

To master modern weaponry, the unit outside officials to study in your country of access to scientific and technological world while improving accountability, academic research, creative application of scientific and public technology, combat readiness, to cope with the situations occurring in the air, protecting the skies of Hanoi capital and the north.

With these weapons, air defense forces to preserve the peace of mind the sky of the country.

(DatViet)

June 22, 2011 Tony Skinner, SHEPARD GROUP

Paris - The Indian Air Force is close to choosing between the AH-64D and the Mi-28NE, with a decision anticipated in the next two months, according to Apache manufacturer Boeing.

Speaking at the Paris Air Show, Chris Chadwick, president of Boeing Military Aircraft, confirmed that both the flying tests and written evaluations of both aircraft had been submitted and a winner was likely to emerge in the third quarter of 2011.

If this timeframe is met, deliveries would start from 2014, with the first operational units being fielded in 2015.

Chadwick said a winner was also expected to emerge for the Indian Air Force's tender for 15 heavy lift helicopters by the end of the year, in a competition which pitches Boeing's CH-47F against the Mil Mi-26T2.

‘For the attack helicopter, the trials have completed, they completed the written evaluations and we expect it will be announced in within the next few months. On the heavy helicopter, that's about six months out - they have finished the flight evaluations and now they have to go through the process of the written evaluations and make a decision later this fall,' he said.

Chadwick was bullish about the future of the Chinook, noting that a $130 million capital investment in its Philadelphia production line, raising production to six per month, was a reflection of the reality that ‘if they can build more, they can sell more'.

Boeing is currently working with the US Army on its second multi-year contract for 155 CH-47F aircraft, with contract award expected in January 2013.

Chadwick was also upbeat about Bell's decision to fully hand the reins of the BA609 civil tiltrotor over to AgustaWestland, noting that its partner on the Bell-Boeing V-22 tiltrotor would be be able to devote greater focous to that programme.

‘Across rotorcraft there really is a clear dividing line between the commercial applications and military applications. Obviously we are not in the commercial business - it is a different business model. On the defence side, from Boeing's perspective I think this is great because now Bell will be focused 100% on the defence side of the tiltrotor business,' he argued.

He said that tiltrotor technology was expected to underpin Boeing's approach to the US Department of Defense's Joint Multirole (JMR) programme.

‘If you look at rotorcraft there are two differentiators - speed and reliability. And our whole focus and internal investment, and when we partner with others, has been focused on how do you take that and move it to the left, because it is a disruptive technology.

‘At this point in time all our investment has been internal and proprietary. Do I have Sikorsky (X2) like product I am going to roll out next week, no, but we have significantly invested in that area.'