Flight International - June 30, 2015 UK

THIS WEEK

fiightglobal.com 30 June-6 July 2015 | Flight International | 9

CFM aims for new

heights with Leap

AIR TRANSPORT P 10

T

he Royal Canadian Air Force
has accepted its first six
Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone mari-
time helicopters, marking a major
step forward in a protracted pro-
gramme to replace its aged fleet of
Sikorsky CH-124 Sea Kings.
Speaking during an acceptance
ceremony at Shearwater air base
in Nova Scotia on 19 June,
defence minister Jason Kenney
said two more of the rotorcraft are
due to arrive at the site in Decem-
ber, with all 28 examples to be in
place by 2021.
The Block I Cyclones were

U

rban Aeronautics is continu-
ing ground tests on its first
AirMule prototype in prepara-
tion for free flights with the un-
manned air vehicle, which are
scheduled to start during the
third quarter of this year.
Current activity includes in-
stalling a radar altimeter and
flight termination system, as re-
quired by the Civil Aviation Ad-
ministration of Israel. The verti-

cal take-off and landing type’s

communication and ground con-

trol station systems are also being

updated.

Tethered tests recently in-

volved assessing various aerody-

namic refinements. “These have

shown promise for increased

payload capacity in future Air-

Mule derivatives,” says Urban

Aeronautics president Rafi Yoeli.

The main structure of an iden-

tical second prototype is almost

complete, and the company “will

soon begin installation of gear-

boxes, engine, rotors and avion-

ics”, Yoeli says.

Demonstrations for potential

customers will take place in

2016, with Urban Aeronautics

now preparing subsystem specifi-

cations and identifying potential

suppliers for full-scale develop-

ment and production. ■

S

outh Korea’s aerospace ambi-

tions have been advanced

through the signature of contracts

related to the Korea Aerospace In-

dustries (KAI) light civil helicop-

ter (LCH) and light armed heli-

copter (LAH).

The two contracts value the

programme at KRW1.6 trillion

($1.4 billion), says KAI, which

signed the deals with the Korea

Evaluation Institute of Industrial

Technology and the Defense Ac-

quisition Program Administra-

tion. This total also includes “the

investment of industrial partici-

pants”, it adds.

In March, KAI announced that

it had selected the Airbus Heli-

copters H155 to form the basis of

the LCH and LAH, which are ex-

pected to enter service in 2020

and 2022, respectively.

“Upon completion of the de-

velopment, KAI will become the

sole company producing the

LCH/LAH, since Airbus Heli-

copters agreed to cease manufac-

turing the H155 and H365 se-

ries,” says KAI. “For the

promotion in the global market

of the LCH/LAH, KAI and Air-

bus Helicopters have committed

to jointly collaborate.”

The two companies previously

worked together to develop the

Korea Utility Helicopter (KUH)/

Surion, which is now in service

with the nation’s army.

“Both companies are confident

in the success of the LCH and

LAH projects from their experi-

ence in mutual collaboration in

the KUH project,” adds KAI. ■

Canadian Forces

The S-92 variant has completed extensive ship-based trials

Korea Aerospace Industries

LCH design is based on H

delivered in accordance with a

revised schedule agreed with

Sikorsky in January 2014. The

new type will fully replace the

Sea King’s operational capabili-

ties from 2018, the air force says.

Cyclones conducted 60 test

missions from the frigate HMCS

Halifax over a six-month period

concluding in May, consisting

of about 300 take-offs and

landings, and enough pilots,

aircrew and maintainers have

been trained to meet early

operational objectives.

Kenney says the helicopters

meet the operational require-

ments outlined in the amended

deal with Sikorsky, and are

“ready for full utilisation now”.

The total value of the Cyclone

programme is C$7.6 billion ($6.

billion), including C$1.9 billion

for development and production

of 28 helicopters and C$5.7 over

20 years for in-service contractor

support. Launched in 2004, the

activity has been beset by techni-

cal issues, delays, cost growth

and contract revisions. It also

followed an earlier replacement

project, which was aborted in

1993 at a total cost of about

C$500 million.

Derived from Sikorsky’s civil

S-92, the twin-engined, medium-

lift Cyclone will perform ship-

board maritime surveillance and

rescue operations. Being provid-

ed by an industry team also in-

cluding General Dynamics Cana-

da and L-3, the fleet will replace

27 Sea Kings, the oldest of which

entered service in 1963 and are

the oldest aircraft in Canada’s air

force inventory.

“The Cyclone has been a com-

plex procurement – one that has

seen its share of challenges,” says

public works and government

services minister Diane Finley.

“In fact, this procurement has

had a torturous history.” ■

PROCUREMENT JAMES DREW WASHINGTON DC

First Cyclones ready at last

for Canadian air force duty

Acceptance of first six CH-148s marks beginning of the end for lengthy procurement saga

Unmanned AirMule to be unleashed

TESTING ARIE EGOZI TEL AVIV

DEVELOPMENT

GREG WALDRON SINGAPORE

Seoul rotorcraft

ambitions get

set for take-off