combat aircraft

A USAF E-8C J-STARS supported ‘BALTOPS’ and Exercise ‘Saber Strike 18’

from Skrydstrup, Denmark, in June. USAF/SMSgt Roger Parsons

T

HE US AIR Force is

preparing to move forward

with the development

of an Advanced Battle

Management System (ABMS),

while re-igniting its project

to replace its Northrop Grumman E-8C

J-STARS ground surveillance and battle

management aircraft. According to

lawmakers, the USAF’s decision to kill

the J-Stars recapitalization program

would send a message to the US

Army that it is no longer prioritizing

the critical battle management and

ground surveillance mission.

In its mark-up of the 2019 defense

spending bill, the House Armed

Services Committee restricted the

USAF from spending half of its funds

to begin ABMS development until

the service awarded a contract for

the J-STARS recap program and the

Secretary of the Air Force certi es that

the contract is proceeding on track.

Additionally, it prohibits the service

from divesting more than one of the

existing E-8Cs before the contract is

 nally awarded.

According to the Secretary of the

Air Force, pursing both projects

will require an additional $7 billion

above the USAF’s proposed budget

for Fiscal Year 2019. The USAF

had planned to replace the E-8C

 eet with 17 new aircraft and was

anticipating a downselect for the

$6.9-billion contract this year. The

three competitors included teams

led by Boeing, Lockheed Martin and

Northrop Grumman.

NAVY PROCUREMENT

BLACK HAWK DEVELOPMENTS

THE US ARMY plans to upgrade a

UH-60M Black Hawk to full-authority

digital  ight control (FADFC) to

improve the helicopter’s handling

qualities in degraded visual

environments (DVEs). Additionally,

the e ort will provide a foundation

for supervised autonomy and

automated survivability.

Sikorsky Aircraft will develop the

capability under a co-operative

research and development

agreement. The US Army Aviation

Applied Technology Directorate will

integrate the new kit on a UH-60M to

start  ight-testing in early 2019.

The project will further technology

that has been developed by Sikorsky

under its company-funded Matrix

autonomy technology program. The

contractor is currently equipping

a former US Army UH-60A with

Matrix autonomy technology and

the demonstrator will  y later this

year. Sikorsky has already conducted

 ight-tests with an S-76 testbed.

Although Sikorsky developed a

UH-60MU with digital  y-by-wire

controls in the late 2000s, the US

Army decided the upgrade was too

expensive. The new program replaces

the stability augmentation and

trim servos with electromechanical

actuators (EMA) that provide

full-authority  ight control but

retain the Black Hawk’s hydraulic

 ight controls. If the program is

successful, full-authority  ight

controls could be  elded on UH-60Ms

beginning in 2026.

Ryan Dorling

‘GHOSTRIDER’ IN THE UK

SEEN LANDING AT RAF Mildenhall,

UK, on May 28, having departed

from nearby RAF Lakenheath for

a local mission to the Salisbury

Plain Training Area (SPTA),

is AC-130J ‘Ghostrider’ serial

12-5772. The aircraft, named Hells

Belle, was thought to be on its

 rst international foray and was

engaged in live- re training. This

AC-130J gunship is attached to the

73rd Special Operations Squadron,

which was re-formed in February at

Hurlburt Field, Florida.

ALASKAN COMBAT KING II

PICTURED ARRIVING AT RAF

Mildenhall, UK, on June 4 is 2018

is HC-130J Combat King II serial

15-5832. The aircraft is assigned to

the 211th Rescue Squadron at Joint

Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska,

and was supporting a U-28A of the

319th Special Operations Squadron.

It was the  rst of the type from this

unit to visit the UK.

REAPER UPGRADES

GENERAL ATOMICS

AERONAUTICAL Systems has

received a $206-million contract

from the US Air Force Life Cycle

Management Center to retro t

122 MQ-9A aircraft to the Block 5

con guration. The Block 5 version

 ew its  rst combat mission in

support of Operation ‘Inherent

Resolve’ on June 23, 2017. It

features improved electrical and

communications systems that are

operated in conjunction with the

improved Block 30 ground control

station (GCS).

The USAF has begun operating

MQ-9A intelligence, surveillance

and reconnaissance  ights from

Mirosławiec Air Base in western

Poland. Although it is unclear

how many Reapers are operating

from the Polish facility, the USAF

has con rmed that the aircraft

are providing what it described

as ‘a visible expression of US

e orts to enhance regional

stability.’ USAFE has also recently

stationed a number of Reapers

at Larissa in Greece in support of

operations over North Africa.

Super Hornets ordered

Boeing received an $862.2-million

contract modi cation associated

with the procurement of 15

F/A-18E and three F/A-18F Lot 42

full-rate production aircraft from

Naval Air Systems Command. Work

on the US Navy aircraft is expected

to be completed in June 2020. The

Super Hornets were authorized

as part of the Fiscal 2018 National

Defense Authorization Act.

Poseidon plan

Boeing has received a

$416.4-million contract

modi cation from Naval Air

Systems Command (NAVAIR).

It covers the manufacture and

delivery of three lot 9 full-rate

production P-8A Poseidon multi-

mission maritime aircraft for

the US Navy and is expected to

be completed in October 2020,

when the aircraft are delivered.

Ryan Dorling

UNITED STATES [NEWS]

http://www.combataircraft.net // August 2018 09

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