9/4/2013 Strategy Page

A U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter assigned to Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 149th Aviation Regiment, 36th Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Falcon transports a container via sling load over eastern Afghanistan Aug. 24, 2013. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Peter Smedberg

05/09/2013 Flora Cantin - Actualités

Formateur à l’école de l’Alat depuis dix-huit ans, le lieutenant Marc Le Bris est le champion incontesté du vol opérationnel sous jumelles de vision nocturne. À son palmarès : plus de 3 300 heures dans cette spécialité.

Marco est au vol de nuit sous jumelles de vision nocturne (JVN) ce que Clint Eastwood est au cinéma américain : une star incontournable. Marco, comme l’appellent ses collègues, c’est le lieutenant Marc Le Bris, moniteur à l’École de l’aviation légère de l’armée de Terre (Ealat). À 48 ans, dont trente ans de service, il forme les pilotes au vol de nuit opérationnel (combat et sauvetage) sous JVN, savoir-faire propre à l’Alat. Marc découvre le plaisir du pilotage à 8 ans : « Mon oncle, qui m'installait à la place du pilote dans son petit avion, me faisait rêver en me parlant de l’Alat et j’ai passé les tests dès que j’ai pu. » Il intègre donc l’école nationale des sous-officiers de Saint-Maixent en 1983 et se spécialise dans le pilotage de l’hélicoptère Puma avant de rejoindre le 1er régiment d’hélicoptères de combat, à Phalsbourg.  « Avec ce régiment, j’ai participé à ma première opération extérieure, au Tchad, en 1986. Nous devions récupérer des soldats tchadiens blessés au combat. Cette expérience m’a marqué. Je me suis senti utile », se souvient Le Bris. Le pilote enchaîne sur des missions en Centrafrique, dans le golfe Persique – il participe notamment à la guerre du Golfe –, en Nouvelle-Calédonie et sur les porte-avions Foch et Clémenceau. En 1992, il vit sa première expérience d’instructeur JVN à l’Ealat, au Luc-en-Provence. Sept ans plus tard, il s’envole pour le détachement de l’Alat de Djibouti comme chef de bord Puma. En 2001, devenu moniteur, il retrouve la brigade JVN. Qualifié au pilotage des hélicoptères Gazelle, Fennec et Puma, le lieutenant Le Bris affiche  6 800 heures de vol à son actif quand la plupart des pilotes terminent leur carrière avec une moyenne de 4 000 heures.

Sa particularité ? Avec 3 500 heures de nuit dont 3 300 sous JVN, il détient le record mondial du vol opérationnel sous JVN depuis des années. « Ce vol est particulier : il est plus technique, plus précis. L’attention doit être plus soutenue. L’atmosphère est aussi plus calme que le jour. À travers les JVN, nous voyons le monde en vert, c’est magique  ! » explique-t-il. Pour se détendre, il délaisse parfois les airs pour la mer : « En plongée, je retrouve la technicité, l’attention, l’adrénaline. C’est un monde aussi calme et magique que celui de la nuit. Pour moi, la terre est un trait d’union entre ces deux univers. »

Dans une salle de cours de l’Ealat, qui fête ses 50 ans cette année, il décrit à trois pilotes stagiaires les particularités du vol sous JVN : « Avec 2,5 kilos sur la tête, le poids du casque et des jumelles, vous avez mal au dos. Le champ de vision est limité à 40 degrés. L’image n’a aucun relief, l’appréciation des distances est faussée, vos yeux n’arrêtent pas de balayer le paysage. Comme vous ne pouvez pas voir net à moins de 7 mètres, votre camarade à côté de vous est flou. C’est déstabilisant ! Il faut une grande concentration, cela demande beaucoup d’énergie. Pourtant, il faut maintenir une synergie dans l’équipage. C’est une question de sécurité. » Pour le lieutenant Toutain, chef de la brigade JVN, Marco est « très pédagogue et connaît toutes les subtilités des différents vols ». « Malgré sa stature, il reste accessible », commentent les lieutenants Megard et Rastouil, pilotes stagiaires.

Le soleil se couche. Il est 21 heures. Sur la piste, face au massif des Maures, trois Gazelle se mettent en route. Le bruit des rotors s’intensifie : des stagiaires vont décoller pour un exercice de vol de nuit en patrouille. Marc Le Bris est à leurs côtés. Alors que l’aéronef quitte le tarmac, le colonel Doutaud, chef de corps de la base école Général Lejay, témoigne : « Il a fallu plusieurs décennies pour que nos équipages sachent manœuvrer et combattre, en formation, de jour comme de nuit. Grâce à des hommes comme le lieutenant Le Bris, qui a formé des générations de pilotes, l’Alat maîtrise les savoir-faire particuliers du combat de nuit. Ce genre de vol est particulièrement éprouvant. En moyenne, les formateurs restent quatre ans dans la brigade JVN. Lui est là depuis dix-huit ans  ! » La majorité des pilotes engagés en Afghanistan, en Libye et au Mali est assurément passée entre les mains du lieutenant Le Bris.  

Sep. 2, 2013 –by Craig Hoyle – FG

London - Denmark is to perform an equipment upgrade on some of its air force AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters, with the aircraft to be fitted with L-3 Wescam's MX-15 electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor.

Announced by the supplier on 2 September, Copenhagen's acquisition and sustainment contract will provide "a minimum of eight MX-15 imaging systems". Deliveries should conclude by 2014, it adds, with the new sensors to be installed by Denmark's Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation. Certification activities will be managed by AgustaWestland.

"The newly equipped AW101s will then be deployed to the Royal Danish Air Force's 722 Sqn in tactical troop transport operations, training exercises within Denmark and possible future use in mission theatres globally," L-3 Wescam says.

The Royal Danish Air Force operates 14 AW101s, which Flightglobal's Ascend Online Fleets database records as having been built between 2005 and 2009. Part of the service's fleet is tasked with providing search and rescue cover from its Karup air base, with these aircraft having been delivered with FLIR Systems Star Safire II EO/IR sensors.

02 septembre 2013 - trader-finance.fr/

Le système de détection d'obstacles "MilOWS", qui équipe certaines versions de l'hélicoptère militaire NH90, a reçu la certification nécessaire à son déploiement. Ce sésame pour le système développé par EADS Cassidian permet à Eurocopter de commencer la livraison de 150 systèmes aux armées allemande et finlandaise.

30 August 2013 army-technology.com

The Australian Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) has commissioned the first of two MRH90 full-flight and mission simulators (FFMSs) at the Army Aviation training centre in Oakey, Queensland, Australia.

Manufactured by CAE under a A$180m ($160.8m) contract awarded in December 2007, the simulator is designed to enable both Australian Army and Navy pilots to practice skills in all flight regimes, day or night, by precisely replicating the actual feel of the aircraft in flight.

Defence Materiel Organisation chief executive officer, Warren King, said the flight simulator will contribute to the Australian Defence Forces' (ADF) helicopter capability for many years to come.

''The MRH90 simulator has a cockpit that functions just like that of a real aircraft, and replicates the aircraft's unique instrument display which is projected onto the pilots' visors,'' King said.

Army Aviation training centre commander colonel, David Burke, said the simulator helps instructors to present pilots with a range of operational training scenarios, including flying into remote bush landing sites, flying in formation with other aircraft and being safely exposed to complex emergency situations.

''The majority of basic training will now be conducted in the simulator before pilots get to the real aircraft,'' Burke said.

''The aim of the training is to immerse the pilots in the simulation, so they feel as though they are flying the real aircraft, completing real missions and dealing with real emergencies.''

Manufactured in collaboration with Thales, MRH90 simulator is formally certified to Level D, which represents highest standards of fidelity in the aviation industry.

The second simulator is scheduled to be installed at the main MRH90 operational base in Townsville during 2014.

MRH 90 is a 10t-class medium-lift helicopter designed to conduct troop transport, search and rescue, special operations and counter-terrorism missions in adverse conditions.

In June, Boeing began delivery of 13 new CH-147F model Chinooks to Canada. Here, the first helicopter off the line demonstrates its capabilities Aug. 28. (Boeing)

Aug. 29, 2013 - By PAUL McLEARY – Defense News

MIDDLETOWN, DEL. — Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar head the list of countries looking to begin flying variants of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter in coming years, Boeing officials said here Wednesday. .

If deals being negotiated between Boeing, the US government, and these three countries eventually come to fruition, projections are that at least 54 Chinooks would be shipped overseas, making up a good portion of the 168 Chinooks that foreign clients around the globe are considering buying in coming years.

Pentagon officials and defense industry brahmins have been talking for the better part of two years about how they’re planning to rely on foreign sales to make up for the reductions they’re seeing in the US defense market, but a chart shown to reporters Wednesday really drove that point home.

On top of the 830 Chinook H-47 variants that are currently flying around the world, the chart showed, Boeing executives are working with foreign clients and the US government to sell another 168 to new and existing clients if all goes as planned.

In addition to the six CH-47D models and 16 CH-47F models that Libyan officials are working on buying, Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in fielding one of the world’s largest CH-47F fleets, with at least 24 helicopters being considered for the oil-rich kingdom.

Mark Ballew, director of business development for Boeing’s Chinook program, said the company is preparing to do a flight demonstration in Saudi Arabia, and that Qatar is interested in buying eight of the “F” models similar to what the company produced for Canada, which feature larger external fuel tanks and an upgraded electrical system.

Morocco, which has already purchased three “D” models, also is talking about buying three more, and Egypt, which currently flies 18 “D”s, has enquired about buying six more from the US Army as it retires them in the switch to the upgraded “F” aircraft.

Boeing is also involved in the competition for India’s heavy lift requirement, which would mean 15 more “F” aircraft if it wins.

The deals with these countries are still very early on in the negotiation stage, Ballew and other executives stressed, adding that contracts for the birds aren’t expected soon.

Any deals several years down the road would be welcome news for Boeing, however, as the company’s $4 billion, five-year deal with the US Army for 214 more CH-47 “F” models will end in 2019.

That agreement would add to the 241 CH-47F helicopters that the Army already has in its fleet, eventually bringing the service close to its goal of 464 “F” models.

The foreign deals — especially with countries in the Middle East — aren’t just helicopter contracts, however. Countries in the region have generally neglected establishing their own maintenance and logistics programs, which would mean years of repair work for the contractor.

29.08.2013 Helen Chachaty - journal-aviation.com

Lors du salon aéronautique MAKS, Rosoboronexport, l’agence d’exportation d’armement russe, a conclu un contrat avec le Cameroun pour la fabrication et la livraison d’hélicoptères Mi-17. Le nombre exact d’appareils n’a pas été dévoilé, ni le montant total de l’accord.

L’armée de l’air possède actuellement quatre Bell 206 et un Bell 412, trois Mi-24, un SA319, deux SA330 et trois SA342 (données Flightglobal).

Belgian Defense photo by Jürgen Braekevelt

Aug 28, 2013 by Nicholas Fiorenza – Ares, A Defense Technology Blog

The first Belgian NH90 Nato Frigate Helicopter (NFH) has flown to Eurocopter France in Marignane, southern France, after being rolled out at Eurocopter Germany in Donauwörth at the beginning of August. The helicopter will be used to train Belgian pilots and technicians.

The NH90 NFH will replace Belgium's Sea King in the search and rescue role and be used to support its navy. After some delays, the first NH90 NFH90 will be delivered to Coxyde, where its Sea Kings are currently based, at the end of the year. It will become operational in 2014. Belgian NH90 NFH pilots will receive training in simulators in Germany and Italy.

Belgium has ordered four NH90 NFHs and four NH90 troop transport helicopters. It will jointly manage spare parts with other NH90 NFH nations under the EU's pooling and sharing initiative.

Salon MAKS, aéroport de Joukovsky (Région de Moscou), le 28 août 2013. Safran

Kamov, société de la holding Hélicoptères de Russie et Sagem (Safran) vont mettre en synergie leurs complémentarités technologiques et industrielles en proposant une version améliorée du Ka-52 Alligator destinée à répondre aux besoins de plusieurs pays.

Lancée en 2011, cette coopération entre les deux sociétés porte sur la proposition et l’intégration sur les hélicoptères développés et produits par Kamov d’équipements optroniques de Sagem et de systèmes de navigation inertielle LINS 100 (*). Elles envisagent les travaux d’intégration d’un nouvel ensemble optronique début 2014 sur le Ka-52.

Cette coopération dans le domaine des hélicoptères contribue à la stratégie de Sagem consistant à établir des partenariats industriels durables avec les sociétés russes leaders sur leur secteur. Dans cette coopération, Sagem apportera son expérience acquise avec le viseur le Strix en production pour l’hélicoptère de combat Franco-allemand Tigre. Ce viseur a contribué, de jour comme de nuit, au succès des opérations militaires conduites par les armées françaises sur plusieurs théâtres, dont l’opération Serval au Mali en 2013.

(*) Système de navigation inertielle à gyrolaser, la centrale LINS-100 est produite en Russie dans le cadre de la joint venture RS Alliance créée à Ramenskoie par la société russe ZAO-ITT et Sagem.

* * * *

Sagem (Safran), société de haute technologie, est un leader mondial de solutions et de services en optronique, avionique, électronique et logiciels critiques, pour les marchés civils et de défense. N°1 européen et n°3 mondial des systèmes de navigation inertielle pour les applications aéronautiques, marines et terrestres, Sagem est également n°1 mondial des commandes de vol pour hélicoptères et n°1 européen des systèmes optroniques et des systèmes de drones tactiques. Présents sur tous les continents via le réseau international de Safran, Sagem et ses filiales emploient 7 500 personnes en Europe, en Asie-Pacifique, en Amérique du Nord et en Amérique du Sud. Sagem est le nom commercial de la société Sagem Défense Sécurité.

Pour plus d’informations : www.sagem-ds.com

Aug 28, 2013 ASDNews Source : Cobham Plc

    To Overhaul, Upgrade AH-64 Apache Nitrogen Inerting Unit

Cobham has been awarded a contract by the US Army worth up to $7.1 million to overhaul and upgrade Nitrogen Inerting Units (NIUs) for the AH-64 Apache helicopter. The work will be performed by Cobham Life Support in Davenport, Iowa, beginning in 2013.

In September 2012, Cobham received a five year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract valued at some $15 million to manufacture OBIGGS NIUs for US Army AH-64 Apache helicopters. The OBIGGS fulfils a critical aircraft safety system role by displacing fuel tank vapors with inert nitrogen gas, reducing the risk of explosion. More than 1,500 Apache helicopters with Cobham NIUs have been delivered worldwide.

Cobham Life Support president Kelly Coffield said: “This award reflects Cobham's unrivalled decades of experience in the design, development, delivery and support of fuel tank inerting systems, ranging from depot repair to equipping and training customers to fully maintaining products at their own facilities.”

Cobham remains the world-wide leader in military OBIGGS providing solutions since 1985 on more than 2,400 aircraft flying today, ranging from military helicopters, military transport aircraft like the C-17 Globe Master, to regional and commercial platforms such as Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Cobham OBIGGS systems have logged more than six million flight hours total experience including 12 international customers. Cobham can tailor the modular range of proven OBIGGS to fit a wide range of applications.

Aug 26, 2013 brahmand.com

BEIJING (PTI): The Chinese military on Monday said the first ingenuously developed military attack helicopter WZ-10 has launched its first air-to-air missile successfully, intercepting low-altitude targets.

The WZ-10, meaning "armed helicopter", carried out the launch during a live-fire drill involving army aviation troops of the People's Liberation Army in the eastern waters off south China's Guangdong Province last week, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The drill, which was also the largest-scale activity held to study combat methods since the building up of the aviation troops, conducted six operations, covering fire, close fire support, special assaults, air landing at the wing side, fire interception and move by leapfrogging.

The WZ-10 is designed primarily for anti-tank missions and was first seen in public at the 9th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in the southern city of Zhuhai at Guangdong in 2012.

August 26, 2013 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: PZL-Świdnik; issued Aug. 23, 2013)

“Our presence at the Radom Air Show proves the unmatched capabilities of PZL-Świdnik as the only Polish manufacturer with the full ability to design, develop and produce state-of-the-art rotorcraft. What we will display, particularly the AW149 and the SW-4 Solo, shows the outstanding present and future capabilities of the Polish Armed Forces.”, said Mieczysław Majewski, President of the Management Board, PZL-Świdnik SA.

The latest achievement of PZL-Świdnik and AgustaWestland engineering teams, the AW149 has been designed and developed in the last few years. It is a modern military helicopter that meets the most stringent operational requirements in terms of flexibility, performance, security and cost-effectiveness.

The AW149, the most modern design offered within the tender, features open architecture and high growth potential. Having intellectual property of the so-called source codes, PZL-Świdnik and AgustaWestland, are able to guarantee Poland the broadest capability to modify and customize the helicopter to meet the needs of the Polish Armed Forces in the future.

“We are confident the AW149 helicopter is the only solution able to meet the Polish Armed Forces’ needs and bring measurable benefits to the Polish industry. What we are offering to Poland is not only the product itself. We are committed to delivering complete solutions, including logistic and training packages, which ensure the product’s broadest availability and helicopter’s safe operation throughout the next 40 years,” said Nicola Bianco, Managing Director, PZL-Świdnik SA.

The SW-4 Solo RUAS/OPH, the result of a close collaboration between PZL-Świdnik and AgustaWestland, will also be among the show’s highlights. The Solo demonstrates the companies’ involvement in the development of the UAV sector, which shows significant growth potential and provides market opportunities.

“The SW-4 Solo RUAS/OPH is one of the most advanced aviation technology achievements in recent years, which confirms PZL-Świdnik’s commitment to innovation. Its ability to perform both manned and unmanned flights considerably expands the capabilities of modern rotorcrafts.”, stressed Tomasz Bilski, Engineering Director, PZL-Świdnik SA.

PZL-Świdnik’s static display will also include the company’s flagship products, the light single engine SW-4 helicopter able to perform a wide range of military and civil missions and the W-3PL Głuszec helicopter, remaining in service with the Polish Armed Forces, which has proven to be a highly effective and reliable machine capable of operating in the most demanding conditions.

PZL-Świdnik is the strategic sponsor of the Air Show-2013 in Radom.

August 27, 2013 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Italian Ministry of Defence; issued Aug. 23, 2013)

(Issued in Italian only; unofficial translation by defense-aerospace.com)

Afghanistan: One Year of Operational Deployment for the Army’s NH-90

Some days ago, coinciding with the completion of their first year of operational deployment in Afghanistan, two NH-90 helicopters of the Italian Army Aviation command (AVES), assigned to Task Force ‘Fenice’ (Phoenix) of Regional Command West (RC-W ), arrived at the headquarters of the ISAF Joint Command (IJC), after a three-hour flight and a quick stop at Forward Operating Base (FOB) of Chaghcharan, after flying over the Hindu Kush mountain range. IJC is the NATO command in Afghanistan which has the responsibility for military operations throughout the area of responsibility of ISAF.

Italian army NH-90s, which recently passed the 1,000 flight hour milestone, arrived in the Afghan theater of operations in August of last year and, for the first time ever among the program’s partner nations, have been engaged in combat and combat support missions.

This helicopter is equipped with latest generation avionics and fully integrated systems for day and night vision, allowing the crew a constant high state of situational awareness, ie the full and continuous perception of all the technical and operational aspects necessary for the safe completion of their missions. Together with the high professionalism and experience of the pilots in critical environmental situations typical of the Afghan theater of operations, the N-90 has proved to be an extremely flexible tool available to the commander of RC-W.

The organization put in place by Task Force 'Fenice' for the operation of these helicopters was also the subject of visit by a delegation from Australia who appreciated the effectiveness and the innovative solutions adopted for field maintenance.

Task Force 'Fenice', currently commanded by Colonel Luigi Adiletta, is the Italian Army Aviation unit deployed in the Afghan theater which is tasked with carrying out missions such as close air support to ground troops, transport and logistical support, as well as medical evacuation and the immediate stabilization of personnel wounded in combat with their 'Forward Medical Team' (FMT).