South Korea to buy 36 AH-64E Apaches

Boeing has won a contract to supply South Korea with AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, defeating the Bell AH-1Z Zulu and Turkish Aerospace T-129B for the 36 helicopter AHX requirement.

"Boeing is pleased with the announcement that the Republic of Korea has selected the AH-64E Apache as its new heavy-attack helicopter," the US airframer said in an email to Flightglobal. "We look forward to working with the US Army and the Republic of Korea Army as they finalise the Foreign Military Sales contract for 36 AH-64E Apaches."

According to US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notifications in September 2012, the Apache deal is worth $3.6 billion, considerably higher than the proposed AH-1Z contract, which was valued at $2.6 billion.

"The heavily-armed attack helicopters will replace aging helicopters deployed by the army to counter threats by the North Korean military's armoured units and deter provocations," Seoul's Defense Acquisition Program Administration spokesman Baek Yoon-Hyeong was reported as saying.

Industry sources close to the competition had expected a decision in late 2012, but this was delayed by South Korea's presidential election in December 2012.

This is Seoul's second major acquisition in a month. On 10 April it selected the Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar (RACR) to upgrade its fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16C/D fighters.

Once the US government gives the go-ahead, Raytheon will deliver 134 of the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar systems to South Korea. Deliveries are expected to start in late 2016, after the company completes development work.

Industry sources say that Seoul is likely to make a decision on the F-X III competition for 60 fighters in June. The three contenders for the deal, possibly the world's biggest fighter buy this year, are the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle, Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter and Eurofighter Typhoon. The type will replace Seoul's obsolescent fleet of McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantoms.

Heightened tensions with North Korea this year have prompted Seoul to push forward key defence purchases, industry sources say.

Boeing X-48C Blended Wing Body Research Aircraft Completes Flight Testing

By Boeing Company on Tuesday, April 16th, 2013

The Boeing X-48C research aircraft flew for the 30th and final time April 9, marking the successful completion of an eight-month flight-test program to explore and further validate the aerodynamic characteristics of the Blended Wing Body design concept.

All 30 flights were conducted at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center. The X-48C typically flew for approximately 30 minutes on most flights, reaching speeds of up to 140 miles per hour and attaining an altitude of about 10,000 feet. X-48C flight testing began Aug. 7, 2012.

“Working closely with NASA, we have been privileged throughout X-48 flight-testing to explore and validate what we believe is a significant breakthrough in the science of flight – and it has been a tremendous success for Boeing,” said Bob Liebeck, a Boeing Senior Technical Fellow and the company’s BWB program manager.

“We have shown that a BWB aircraft, which offers the tremendous promise of significantly greater fuel efficiency and reduced noise, can be controlled as effectively as a conventional tube-and-wing aircraft during takeoffs, landings and other low-speed segments of the flight regime,” Liebeck said.

The X-48C, designed by Boeing Research & Technology, built by Cranfield Aerospace Ltd., and flown in partnership with NASA and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, is a scale model of a heavy-lift, subsonic vehicle that forgoes the conventional tube-and-wing airplane design in favor of a triangular tailless aircraft that effectively merges the vehicle’s wing and body. Boeing believes the concept could be developed in the next 15 to 20 years for military applications such as aerial refueling and cargo missions.

The X-48C is a modified version of the X-48B aircraft, which flew 92 times at NASA Dryden between 2007 and 2010. The X-48C is configured with two 89-pound thrust turbojet engines, instead of three 50-pound thrust engines on the B-model. In addition, the wingtip winglets were relocated inboard next to the engines on the C-model and the aft deck was extended about 2 feet at the rear.

“With the completion of X-48C flight testing, we have accomplished our goal of establishing a ground-to-flight database, and proving the low-speed controllability of concept throughout the flight envelope,” said Fay Collier, director of NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project. “Both very quiet and efficient, the concept has shown promise for meeting all of NASA’s environmental goals for future aircraft designs.”

Boeing and NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate funded the X-48 technology demonstration research. The effort was aligned with NASA’s ERA project, which has the goals to reduce fuel burn, emissions and noise of future aircraft.

Boeing and NASA will continue to develop Blended Wing Body technology, with the aspiration of developing a larger-scale, transonic BWB demonstrator in the future.

BAE checks Harpoon fit for anti-ship Typhoon

 BAE Systems has conducted first windtunnel tests to assess the suitability of integrating Boeing's AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile with the Eurofighter Typhoon.

An image released by the UK company showing a model of the Typhoon reveals the combat aircraft carrying three of the air-launched weapons. In this configuration, one would be carried on the aircraft's centre-fuselage stores station - ordinarily reserved for an external fuel tank - and two more beneath its wing.

BAE says the test activity is intended to assess the aerodynamic characteristics of carrying the Harpoon. "This testing will help to de-risk the clearance process for such weapons to be integrated onto the Typhoon," it adds.

The availability of an air-launched anti-ship weapon with the Typhoon could be of interest to potential customers, such as Malaysia, and to prospective buyers in the Middle East.

The Eurofighter consortium in 2011 released artwork depicting the aircraft carrying Saab RBS 15 missiles (above), as part of an effort to market the type as a potential aircraft carrier-based strike asset for the Indian navy.

US Army, Boeing conclude price negotiations for second CH-47 contract

 The US Army and Boeing have agreed on a price for a second multi-year production deal for the CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift transport helicopter, with a contract expected to be awarded in May.

"The good news is I'm working with Boeing. We achieved our negotiating settlement in December," says Col Bob Marion, the army's project manager for cargo helicopters. The two sides came to an agreement that reduced the cost of the contract by $810 million, equivalent to savings of about 19.2%.

With an agreement reached, the army is currently processing the necessary documents, and once that is completed, there will be a contract award. "We're on schedule to award that contract next month," he says.
Marion says budgetary issues have been resolved and the figures in President Barack Obama's proposed budget for fiscal year 2014 match those expected for the programme. Exactly what would happen if sequestration cuts are imposed on top of that is not yet known, he says, but the programme hopes to keep production going smoothly by moving around foreign aircraft buys. The second multi-year contract consists of 155 aircraft, with options for 60 more. Of the 60 options, 16 are earmarked for foreign customers in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

Aircraft built under the second multi-year buy are of a slightly different configuration compared with the helicopters currently being built at the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, plant, says Lt Col Michael "Reese" Hauenstein, product manager for the CH-47F. Modifications introduced to the operational fleet will be cut into production under the new contract.

Aircraft from the second multi-year buy will start rolling off the production line in April 2015, Hauenstein says. But in the meantime, there is a bridge contract for 15 aircraft consisting mostly of foreign military sales purchases with the exception of one US Army aircraft.

The army and Boeing are also studying modernisations to the Chinook platform after the second multi-year buy which is currently being referred to as Block II. Among the modifications being considered are advanced rotor blades, says Lt Col Joseph Hoecherl, product manager for CH-47 modernisation. But the army would like to field that particular modification early in 2016 along with some other improvements. The fully modernised variant should enter service in the 2020s, he says.

The Chinook's electrical system is one area the army is looking at improving, based on modifications already added to Canadian CH-47F Chinooks that have recently entered flight tests. Those aircraft have a significantly boosted electrical capacity because they use three 60kV generators. The first of Canad's eventual 15 F-models will be delivered this summer, according to Boeing's Chinook business development manager, Mark Ballew.

The UK has also ordered 14 new Chinook aircraft with a different cockpit configuration developed via its Project Julius effort. The first of those aircraft will be delivered next year.