Combat Aircraft – September 2019

The B-52 is set to remain in service well into

the future and will now receive a new radar

system as well as engine upgrades.

USAF/Christopher Okula

FIRST B-21 IN PRODUCTION

NORTHROP GRUMMAN HAS

started construction of the  rst

B-21A Raider. The bomber entered

the engineering manufacturing

and development phase following

the completion of a successful

critical design review (CDR) that

froze its design characteristics

in November 2018. The service

has not yet revealed the timing

for the new long-range strike

bomber’s  rst  ight or other details

regarding this highly classi ed

program, which is managed by the

Air Force Rapid Capabilities O ce.

The  rst aircraft will be a  ight-

test example and production is

thought to be under way at the

Air Force’s Plant 42 at Palmdale,

California. The USAF expects the

B-21A to achieve initial operating

capability (IOC) in the mid-2020s.

U-28A NAMED DRACO

THE AIR FORCE Special

Operations Command (AFSOC)

has assigned the name Draco to

its  eet of Pilatus PC-12s that are

operated under the designation

U-28A. Translating as ‘dragon’ in

English, Draco is a Latin word and

the name of the eighth largest

constellation in the night sky. The

 eet of 28 aircraft is operated by

the 1st Special Operations Wing’s

(SOW’s) 34th and 319th Special

Operations Squadrons (SOS), the

27th SOW’s 318th SOS and the

492nd SOW’s 19th and 551st SOS.

Serving as an integral part

of AFSOC’s light tactical

 xed-wing  eet, the U-28A

is tasked to provide manned

 xed-wing tactical airborne

intelligence, surveillance and

reconnaissance support to

humanitarian operations, search

and rescue, conventional and

special operations missions. It

is  own by a four-person crew

comprising two pilots, a combat

systems o cer (CSO) and a

tactical systems o cer (TSO). First

deployed in June 2006, the U-28A

 eet reached an historic milestone

on June 22, 2018 when the  eet

surpassed the 500,000  ight

hour mark.

U-28A serial 08-0581 from to the 34th Special Operations Squadron at

Hurlburt Field, Florida. USAF A1C Joel Miller

NEW BLADES FOR RAIDER

SIKORSKY HAS REDESIGNED the

S-97’s sti carbon- ber rotor blades

to improve aerodynamic e ciency,

and modi ed their attachments to

the hingeless hubs to reduce the

transmission vibration from the

blades into the airframe. Although

the S-97 is equipped with an active

vibration control (AVC) system,

vibration from the rigid contra-

rotating rotors at high speed is a

concern that the contractor hopes to

eliminate.

Although it still plans to

demonstrate a 220kt (407km/h)

capability,  ight-testing’s focus has

shifted from demonstrating speed

to reducing risk and other attributes

such as agility and a ordability. The

speed requirement the US Army

program calls for is a minimum of

180kt (333km/h).

JAGM ON TEST FOR APACHE

SOLDIERS FROM 1ST Air Cavalry

Brigade’s 1st Battalion, 227th

Aviation Regiment at Fort Hood,

Texas, became the  rst to  re the

US Army’s new Joint Air-to-Ground

Missile (JAGM) from the AH-64E

Apache, during operational

testing at Eglin AFB, Florida. Prior

to arriving at the Florida base,

the battalion carried out the  rst

test of the JAGM Captive Carry

Inert (CCI) training missile at Fort

Hood. The tests evaluated land

and maritime attack scenarios

designed to assess JAGM in an

operational environment. Prior

to this, JAGM was put through a

rigorous series of events designed

to ensure it is ready for  elding to

operational units.

The army has also been

conducting operational testing of

the latest variant of the AH-64E at

Fort Hood, conducted by the US

Army Operational Test Command’s

(OTC) Aviation Test Directorate

(AVTD). Trials of the new variant,

known as Version 6, evaluated its

improved target acquisition and

joint interoperability capabilities.

It evaluated the ability of an AH-

64E Version 6-equipped unit to

conduct attack, reconnaissance,

and security missions in land and

maritime environments. One of the

key upgrades is a modernized day

sensor assembly (M-DSA), which

greatly extends stand-o range.

The helicopter is also equipped

with an improved Cognitive

Decision Aid System, software

upgrades, and upgraded mission

processor. The new capabilities

also improve the Apache’s

interoperability with unmanned

aircraft systems. During the

testing the Apaches conducted

phased attack, deliberate attack,

and maritime attack scenarios

that evaluated the helicopter

and crew’s ability to integrate

all the upgrades in attack,

reconnaissance, and security

missions. In order to provide more

realism, testing was conducted in

multiple locations and included

the use of ground threat vehicles

equipped with multiple laser

engagement systems.

In related news, the US Army

revealed plans to issue another

multi-year contract to Boeing that

will provide for the production or

remanufacture of up to 600 AH-

64Es. It will run from Fiscal Years

2022 to 2026. The contractor is

currently delivering Apaches under

a  ve-year $3.4-billion contract

that began in FY 2017. The US

Army is currently upgrading

its AH-64D  eet to the AH-64E

con guration under an e ort to

sustain the Apache  eet through

the year 2040.

US Army AH-64E serial 16-03105 prepares to launch for a Joint

Air to Ground Missile (JAGM) at Eglin AFB, Florida, on April 30.

US Army Operational Test Command/William C. Beach

[NEWS] UNITED STATES

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