DEFENCE
flightglobal.com 18-31 August 2015 | Flight International | 19
Trim error caused
NATO training crash
DEFENCE PT
he US Air Force has picked
Boeing, Lockheed Martin and
Northrop Grumman to carry its
Joint Surveillance Target Attack
Radar System (JSTARS) Recapi-
talisation programme forward.
Announced on 7 August, con-
tracts with the three companies
are worth between $10 million
and $11.5 million each, for a one-
year pre-engineering and manu-
facturing development (pre-EMD)
effort aimed at maturing and test-
ing their designs ahead of a
downselect decision in late 2017.
The USAF had anticipated
awarding “up to three” contracts
on its way to eventually replacing
its 16 Boeing 707-300-based
Northrop E-8Cs with the same or
better ground-surveillance and
battle management capability
based on a smaller business jet
platform. The service’s contract
announcement – which covers
activity until 31 July 2016 –
B
razil’s air force has moved a
step closer to securing 36
Saab Gripen NG fighters, after the
federal senate approved a renego-
tiated financing agreement with
Sweden early this month. The
agreement lowers the interest rate
linked to the acquisition from
2.54% to 2.19%.
The Brazilian defence ministry
says the senate authorised a loan
of $4.6 billion on offer from Swe-
den’s export credit agency SEK at
the lower interest rate, plus an-
other $245 million for an associ-
ated weapons package, first out-
lined in late April.
The reduced interest rate had
previously been announced by
the Brazilian government, follow-
ing extensive negotiations with
Sweden amid a budget crisis that
has already seen Embraer’s
KC-390 tanker-transport project
delayed by two years.
Senate approval for the package
S
ikorsky’s CH-53K heavy
transport helicopter has
emerged as a formal operational
requirement for the Israeli air
force, despite its more immediate
need to obtain the Bell Boeing
V-22 tiltrotor.
Describing the 40t “King Stal-
lion” as a “very high priority”
item, a senior air force officer
tells Flight International that
“the CH-53K will be part of our
future helicopter fleet”.
Now expected to achieve
initial operational capability
status with the US Marine Corps
during 2019, the CH-53K would
serve as a replacement for the
Israeli air force’s recently-
upgraded CH-53 “Yasur” fleet.
The current model is expected
to remain in use until at least- ■
ROTORCRAFT ARIE EGOZI TEL AVIVIsrael makes
‘King Stallion’
a top priority
defence ministry, the “first aircraft
will be delivered in 2019 and the
last in 2024”. Saab has pledged a
high level of technology transfer
to Brazil over the next 10 years, as
well as substantial local industrial
participation, with Embraer as the
main benefactor.
Under the terms of the new
agreement, Brazil will pay back
the loan from Sweden over 25
years, with an eight-year grace
period. ■Brazil agrees improved Gripen terms
FINANCE JAMES DREW WASHINGTON DC
CONTEST JAMES DREW WASHINGTON DC
US trio kept on JSTARS Recap target
Boeing, Lockheed and Northrop all receive funding support for risk-reduction phase studies into successor for E-8C fleet
will finance the procurement of
aircraft, armaments and logistics
support for the F-X2 project. The
Gripen NG was selected in De-
cember 2013 for the requirement,
following a competition also in-
volving the Boeing F/A-18E/F
Super Hornet and Dassault Rafale.
Of the 36 aircraft, 28 will be
single-seat fighters produced in
Sweden, with the remainder to be
two-seat examples developed and
built in Brazil. According to theThe country will acquire 36 NG-model fighters, starting in 2019Brazilian air forceA platform based on the 737-700-derived BBJ1 is one candidateBoeingreveals that four offers were
received, pointing to a rejected bid.
Boeing intends to offer a next-
generation JSTARS based on its
737-700-derived BBJ1, while
Lockheed and Northrop’s designs
are respectively based on the
Bombardier Global 6000 and an
undisclosed Gulfstream model.
The latter is working on a replace-
ment system using a G550 testbed.
Northrop and Raytheon are the
two primary radar providers incontention, with the former con-
sidering different options within
its portfolio, depending on the
final requirements. Raytheon is of-
fering a “Skynet” radar – an im-
proved version of its Advanced
Airborne Sensor – to all bidders.
“Contractor activities will help
assess maturity of subsystem tech-
nology, reduce weapon system
integration risk, and lower life
cycle cost,” the USAF says of the
pre-EMD risk-reduction phase.The service’s acquisition
chief, William LaPlante, recently
said that flying prototypes are
preferable, and the designs must
comply with new open-architec-
ture standards that have been
defined by an industry and gov-
ernment consortium.
A subsequent competition will
lead to an EMD contract for two
test aircraft, which should be
followed by the low-rate produc-
tion of three aircraft for initial
operational capability in late- Another 12 aircraft would
be purchased through 2024, for a
fleet total of 17.
The current JSTARS capability
made its combat debut during
Operation Desert Storm in 1991,
and the last E-8C aircraft was
delivered in 2005. A retirement of
the fleet is due to start in fiscal
year 2019, with the aircraft be-
coming increasingly difficult and
expensive to maintain. ■