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DEFENCE

18 | Flight International | 15-21 August 2017 flightglobal.com

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B

oth US presidential fleet re-

newal programmes have made

significant advances, with the US

Air Force awarding Boeing a con-

tract for two commercial 747-8s

and Sikorsky having flown its first

S-92-based VH-92A helicopter.

On 4 August, the USAF an-

nounced an update to a risk-re-

duction deal signed with Boeing

last year, which was to support its

development of the new Air Force

One fleet. The service has not dis-

closed the price of the two aircraft

involved in the contract, which

the manufacturer has already built

for delivery to the now-defunct

Russian airline Transaero.

“Price and other related details

are commercial-competition sen-

sitive,” the USAF says, adding

that more cost information will be

released after a follow-on contract

is awarded for Boeing to develop a

preliminary design for the Air

Force One modifications. “The

[aircraft] price will be part of the

overall programme cost baseline

once it is set, and will be released

in accordance with the contract

publication requirements.”

The adapted widebodies will

replace a current pair of 747-200s

serving as presidential transports.

In March, a series of requirements

reviews outlined the minimum

features for the platform, includ-

ing incorporating a mission com-

munications system, electrical

power upgrades, a medical facili-

ty, an executive interior, a self-de-

fence system and autonomous

ground operations.

“The programme expects to

begin aircraft modifications in

2019 and achieve initial opera-

tional capability in 2024,” the

USAF says.

Sikorsky’s VH-92A programme

also has advanced, with its first

engineering, manufacturing and

development example having

completed two flights on 28 July

from Stratford in Connecticut.

The S-92-derivative achieved

several planned test points, in-

cluding hover control, low-speed

forward flight and a pass over the

airfield, the Lockheed Martin-

owned company says.

The VH-92A will now enter a

flight-test programme at

Lockheed’s facilities in Owego,

New York. This is planned to take

one year to complete, while

amassing an expected 250h.

“Having independently tested

the aircraft’s components and

subsystems, we are now moving

forward to begin full aircraft

system qualification via the flight

test programme,” says Spencer

Elani, Sikorsky’s VH-92A pro-

gramme director.

The first flight event came three

years after the US Navy awarded

Sikorsky a $1.24 billion contract

to produce two test aircraft and

four production examples. Op-

tions for a further 17 will be final-

ised in fiscal year 2019, following

a production approval decision.

Lockheed says the programme

is on schedule, with the US

Marine Corps – which operates

the HMX-1 presidential aircraft

squadron – having accelerated

the process by removing some

“exquisite capabilities”, such as

the ability to dump fuel from air-

craft in-flight.

The incoming VH-92As will

replace the USMC’s Sikorsky

S-61-based VH-3 rotorcraft. ■

E

urope’s future competitor to

the General Atomics Aero-

nautical Systems MQ-9 Reaper

unmanned air vehicle will have a

twin-engined turboprop configu-

ration, says a multi-national

weapons development agency.

After a 10-month study, the co-

contractors – Airbus Defence &

Space, Dassault and Leonardo –

selected a twin-turboprop design

as the basic configuration for the

European medium-altitude, long-

endurance (MALE) UAV, Eu-

rope’s OCCAR defence procure-

ment agency has announced.

The study work “provided a

substantial set of data that allowed

the participating states to agree on

the basic remotely-piloted aircraft

configuration and several main

design drivers for the system,” the

multinational body says.

Further trade-off studies by the

four-nation programme, which

involves France, Germany, Italy

and Spain, will now be conduct-

ed to prepare for an upcoming

system requirements review,

OCCAR says. A schedule and

plans for the development phase

will take shape in the year after

this activity is completed, it adds.

The selection of a twin-turbo-

prop is the latest twist in Europe’s

route to developing a MALE-class

UAV. Airbus Defence & Space pre-

viously promoted a twinjet con-

cept called Talarion, while Leon-

ardo has flown a single-engined

turboprop named Sky-Y. By

contrast, the USA and Israel oper-

ate single-engined turboprop air-

craft in this class: respectively the

Predator B/Reaper and Israel

Aerospace Industries’ Heron TP.

The UK’s BAE Systems –

which previously designed and

flew the twin-turboprop Mantis

UAV demonstrator – is not

involved in the OCCAR develop-

ment effort. ■

REPLACEMENTS LEIGH GIANGRECO WASHINGTON DC

Presidential fleet renewal gathers pace

USAF awards Boeing contract to supply two 747-8s for Air Force One mission, as Sikorsky’s VH-92A enters flight-testing

UNMANNED SYSTEMS STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC

Twin-turboprop focus adds thrust to MALE study

Development example of S-92-based rotorcraft flew twice on 28 July

Airbus Defence & Space long promoted its Talarion twinjet concept

Lockheed Martin

Craig Hoyle/FlightGlobal