USAF TESTS
HYPERSONIC WEAPON
B-52H CARRIAGE TESTS UNDER WAY AT EDWARDS AFB
T
HE USAF CONDUCTED
the rst ight test of its
hypersonic AGM-183A
Air Launched Rapid
Response Weapon
(ARRW) at Edwards AFB,
California, on June 12. During the
captive-carry test an instrumented
version of the ARRW prototype was
carried externally by a B-52H from
the 419th Flight Test Squadron.The mission was intended to
record environmental and aircraft
handling data. The test gathered
information on drag and vibration
impacts on the weapon itself and
on the aircraft’s external carriage
equipment.
The ARRW is one of several air-
launched hypersonic weapons being
developed as rapid prototyping
e orts by the USAF along with theHypersonic Air-breathing Weapon
Concept (HAWC) and the Hypersonic
Conventional Strike Weapon
(HCSW). The weapon is expected to
reach early operational capability
by scal year 2022. Lockheed Martin
is developing the ARRW under a
contract awarded in August 2018. It
includes design, test and production
readiness support to facilitate
elded prototypes.OPTIONALLY PILOTED
BLACK HAWK TESTING BEGINS
SIKORSKY CARRIED OUT the rst
ight of a UH-60A equipped with
full-authority, y-by-wire ight
controls on May 29. The event
marked the start of a ight-test
program for the optionally piloted
Black Hawk. Follow-on envelopeexpansion testing that will be
carried out throughout the summer
will lead up to fully autonomous
ight in 2020. The rst full-authority
y-by-wire retro t kit developed
by Sikorsky completely removed
mechanical ight controls from theaircraft. Sikorsky is developing the
system, which it calls pilot-directed
autonomy, under the Defense
Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA) Aircrew Labor
In-Cockpit Automation System
(ALIAS) program.A modifi ed UH-60A owned by Sikorsky Aircraft conducts its fi rst test fl ight at the contractor’s West Palm Beach,
Florida, facility on May 29. The optionally piloted UH-60A was purchased by Sikorsky from the US Army under
its Black Hawk Exchange Program after being declared surplus. The Black Hawk, which carries the registration
N600PV, was previously operated by the US Army as serial 79-23298. Sikorsky AircraftC-130H AVIONICS
CONTRACT
AWARDED
THE USAF IS nally providing its
C-130H Hercules eet with an
avionics upgrade and on June
4 it awarded L3 Technologies a
$499.5-million contract to update
the eet with a commercial
o -the-shelf avionics suite.
The upgraded cockpits will
be installed in 176 C-130Hs
operated by the Air National
Guard and Air Force Reserve
Command. The xed-price plus
incentive contract runs through
September 2029 and includes
engineering, manufacturing
and development (EMD) and
production.
The C-130H Avionics
Modernization Program
Increment 2 (AMP 2) will replace
the aircraft’s analog avionics
with a digital system. In addition
to addressing obsolescence
issues, the program will allow
the airlifters to comply with
mandated Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) and
international communications,
navigation, surveillance and air
tra c manage ment (CNS/ATM)
requirements. The bulk of the
work will be carried out at the
contractor’s Waco, Texas, facility.PRODUCTION MARINE ONE HELICOPTERS ORDERED
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT HAS received
a $542-million contract from Naval
Air Systems Command to produce
and deliver six low-rate initial
production Lot 1 VH-92A Presidential
Helicopters. The navy had previously
procured two Engineering
Development Models (EDM) andfour System Demonstration Test
Article (SDTA) helicopters. Sikorsky
is developing the new Presidential
Helicopter under a $1.24-billion
contract awarded in 2014. Initial
Operational Test and Evaluation
(IOT&E) is planned for mid-2020 and
the VH-92A is expected to achieveinitial operational capability with US
Marine helicopter squadron HMX-
in late 2020. Production deliveries
will begin in 2021 and all 23 will
be delivered by 2023. VH-92As
have own more than 520 hours
during testing at NAS Patuxent
River, Maryland.[NEWS] US NEWS
08 August 2019 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
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