Piaggio Aero has unveiled its P.1HH HammerHead unmanned aerial system (UAS) at the Paris Air Show. First announced in February at the IDEX show in Abu Dhabi, the HammerHead program is based on the company’s P180 Avanti II twin-turboprop business turboprop, but it has reinforced wings with greater area offering extended range and endurance.
Defense » Military Aircraft
News and issues relating to the defense aerospace business, with emphasis on current/in-use, in-development and prospective programs for manned military aircraft and unmanned combat aircraft vehicles (UCAVs).
June 18, 2013 - 2:30pm
Making its Paris debut in the static display is a Swiss air force Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma that has undergone the TH06 ISR upgrade by Ruag Aviation (Chalet A118, Static R). The Swiss company has designed and installed a major avionics overhaul that allows the Super Puma fleet to continue to provide service for many years to come.
June 18, 2013 - 12:33pm
The U.S. Marine Corps demonstrated the capability of the V-22 Osprey to operate to allied nation platforms by landing the tiltrotor on the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter destroyer JS Hyuga and dock landing ship JS Shimokita on June 14. MV-22 Ospreys performed takeoffs and landings on the ships during Dawn Blitz 2013, a multinational amphibious exercise off the coast of California. Japan and France are among nations that have expressed interest in acquiring the tiltrotor, including “more than three” nations that are holding serious discussions, U.S.
June 18, 2013 - 10:40am
Poland is looking for a new advanced trainer that can replace its current Iskra jets from around 2015, to complement PZL Orlik primary/basic trainers. Eight new aircraft are being sought in a tender for an integrated aircrew training system for the country’s air force. With Czech company Aero Vodochody having dropped out, three companies have recently responded, in the form of Alenia Aermacchi (M346), Lockheed Martin (KAI T-50) and BAE Systems (Hawk AJT).
June 18, 2013 - 8:20am
International Aero Engines (IAE) will begin testing the first engine for the Brazilian KC-390 multirole tanker/transport aircraft the week following the Paris Air Show.
The event kicks off the action for an engine program that is celebrating its 30th birthday this year. For the Airbus A320 series application, the IAE V2500 is heading for its highest annual production run ever, with delivery of more than 500 engines planned this year and next.
June 18, 2013 - 7:15am
Raytheon has developed a range of products under the Aware (advanced warfighter awareness for real-time engagement) label that provide enhanced situational awareness and intuitive networking for both aircrew and soldiers on the ground. Some of the capabilities are on display here in Raytheon’s pavilion, where key elements of an F-16 cockpit upgrade are on show, linked with a new proof-of-concept demonstrator of a system that could significantly aid JTACs (joint tactical air controllers) working in the field.
June 18, 2013 - 6:55am
Lockheed Martin has chosen CMC Electronics to provide a new flight management system (FMS) and GPS landing sensor for the avionics upgrade package it is producing for the U.S. Navy’s C-130T fleet.
June 18, 2013 - 1:30am
On March 26 this year the UK’s Department for Transport announced that Bristow Helicopters (part of the U.S.-based Bristow Group) had won the contract to provide a search and rescue helicopter service for the whole of the UK. The 10-year, £1.6 billion contract will officially begin implementation in April 2015, and will be fully in place by 2017, managed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
June 17, 2013 - 5:35am
The U.S. Navy’s next-generation maritime patrol jet, the Boeing P-8 Poseidon, is months away from starting its first operational deployment, which will hasten the retirement of the venerable P-3C Orion turboprop.
June 17, 2013 - 4:30am
Since the first quarter of 2012 two Aermacchi M346s have been flying under Italian air force colors, carrying out the initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) campaign. From March 5 to Sept. 5, 2012 the two Masters logged some 130 flight hours in the hands of the Reparto Sperimentale Volo (test flight wing) of Pratica di Mare.
