combat aircraft

A

S REPORTED LAST

month, Boeing recently

completed all

 ight-testing required

for the KC-46A to

receive its Federal

Aviation Administration (FAA)

supplemental type certi cate (STC)

and has submitted the necessary

 ight test data and reports for

review. The  nal test involved a

refueling and communications event

with a C-17A.

The STC testing con rmed the

airworthiness of the military systems

required to convert the 767-2C

airliner into a tanker. The STC work

was intended to validate the

aircraft’s boom and drogue refueling

systems with multiple receiver

aircraft. Boeing and the USAF also

demonstrated the KC-46A’s ability to

receive fuel from a KC-135, a KC-

and another KC-46 during daylight

and at night. Additionally, the

aircraft’s defensive systems and

avionics were demonstrated.

Receipt of the STC is the second of

two FAA airworthiness certi cation

milestones that are required before

the USAF will accept the KC-46A for

service. Boeing received an

amended type certi cate from the

FAA for the basic 767-2C

con guration in December 2017. Six

KC-46As — including four

developmental and two low-rate

initial production aircraft —

supported the various segments of

testing. They have completed more

than 2,900  ight hours and made in

excess of 2,500 contacts during

 ights with F-16, F/A-18, AV-8B, C-17,

A-10, KC-10 and KC-46 aircraft.

Boeing has reportedly completed 94

per cent of the development

program’s required test points.

The manufacturer is working with

the USAF to resolve two key

(category 1) de ciencies so it can

begin delivering aircraft and meet its

contractual requirements. The

de ciencies involve the aircraft’s

Rockwell Collins remote vision

system (RVS) and its centerline

drogue system (CDS), which has

unintentionally disconnected from

receiver aircraft during refueling. In

March, Boeing began trials of

upgraded software for the RVS that

is expected to resolve the issue.

Another software change will be

made to correct the CDS

breakaway problem.

The manufacturer is under a

contract to deliver 18 fully equipped

KC-46As to the USAF by October.

Certi cation  ight-testing of the

wing-mounted Cobham air refueling

pods is expected to begin in October

or November. At the time of writing

32 KC-46As were in some stage of

storage or assembly at Boeing’s

facilities in Everett and Seattle,

Washington. Despite the problems,

the company is con dent that the

program remains on track and that it

will meet the delivery milestone. The

USAF, however, is less con dent and

o cials believe that the delivery

could slip into 2019. Boeing is under

contract to deliver 34 of the planned

 eet of 179 KC-46As to the USAF. It is

developing the Pegasus under a

 xed-price $4.9-billion developmental

contract and has already taken more

than $3 billion in pre-tax charges due

to delays and cost overruns.

VALOR PROGRESS CONTINUES

BELL’S V280 TILTROTOR

prototype has reached a top

speed of 190kt (352km/h) during

testing in Amarillo, Texas on May

11. The milestone was achieved
    with its prop-rotors tilted fully
    forward in cruise mode. The Valor
    is one of two demonstrators
    produced for the US Army’s Joint
    Multi-Role Technology
    Demonstrator (JMR-TD) initiative.
    First  own on December 18,
    2017, the Valor has been
    designed to  y at speeds up to
    280kt (519km/h) in airplane
    mode. After the V280 achieves
    the army’s requirements under
    JMR-TD, Bell intends to
    demonstrate additional test
    objectives that include
    autonomous  ight and possibly

achieving a top speed greater

than 300kt (556km/h). As part of

the follow-on e ort, Bell will

install a Lockheed Martin-

developed mission equipment

package (MEP) that includes a

pilot distributed aperture system.

Similar to the F-35 Lightning II’s

AAQ-37 electro-optical

distributed aperture system, the

PDAS will provide the V-

operators with 360° unobstructed

visibility. The JMR-TD is

considered to be a risk reduction

exercise for the Pentagon’s Future

Vertical Lift-Medium program.

The US Army-led e ort will

initially develop a

replacement for the

army’s H-60-series and the

marine corps’ UH-1 helicopters.

LIGHT ATTACK EXPERIMENT

PHASE II UNDER WAY

THE USAF BEGAN the second

phase of its Light Attack

Experiment at Holloman AFB,

New Mexico, on May 7. During

the live- y experiment, which

is scheduled to last three

months, pilots will evaluate the

Sierra Nevada/Embraer A-

Super Tucano and the Hawker

Beechcraft AT-6B Wolverine to

gather additional information

about aircraft capabilities. The

data will be used to determine

which type is best suited for a

future light attack role.

During this phase of

experimentation, aircrew from

the  ghter, attack and special

operations communities will  y

the aircraft. Testing will also involve

test pilots and  ight engineers

from the USAF, Air National Guard,

and Air Force Reserve Command.

Flight scenarios include air

interdiction, close air support,

armed overwatch and combat

search and rescue missions that

will be  own by day and night. This

phase is focused on evaluating

logistics and maintenance

requirements, weapons and

sensor issues, training syllabus

validity, networking, and

future interoperability with

partner forces.

The USAF is considering the

purchase of a light attack aircraft

for use in permissive combat

environments and to reduce the

use of more complex fourth- and

 fth-generation aircraft in the

close air support role.

The  rst phase of the

experiment was conducted at

Holloman in August 2017 and

involved several additional

aircraft. The USAF subsequently

reduced the  eld to just two

non-developmental aircraft for

the second phase by including

the two types that have already

been produced under US military

contracts. The service had

planned to conduct a real-life

combat demonstration of the

candidates but opted instead

to conduct a second phase at

Holloman. Although the service

has not committed to follow the

experiment with a production

contract, it has earmarked more

than $2 billion for the purchase

of new aircraft over the next

six years.

Bell’s V-280 Valor demonstrator

operates in cruise mode with its prop-

rotors fully forward for the fi rst time

near the contractor’s Amarillo, Texas,

facility on May 11. Bell/Scott Dworkin

UNITED STATES [NEWS]

http://www.combataircraft.net // July 2018 13

8-13 US News C.indd 13 22/05/2018 09: