Combat aircraft

The second KC-46A takes fuel from

the fifth example during recent testing.

Some 146,000lb (66,224kg) of fuel was

transferred between the two aircraft.

Boeing/John Parker

KC-46A HITS

TEST MILESTONE

FAA CERTIFICATION COMPLETE

E-2D REFUELING CAPABILITY GAINS SPEED

NORTHROP GRUMMAN IS moving

forward with a program that will

make the US Navy’s E-2D fleet

capable of being refueled in flight.

Operational testing of the new

capability, which will increase

the Advanced Hawkeye’s mission

duration from four to seven hours

and double its time on station to

five hours, is expected to begin in

2019. Three test aircraft are now
      flying and the fourth and fifth
      modified aircraft will respectively
      be delivered by mid-year and
      year-end.
      The initial modified E-2D first
      received fuel via the probe-and-
      drogue method from a KC-130J in
      July 2017. Subsequent tests with
      the KC-135 followed in October
      2017, an F/A-18 in December 2017,
      and most recently with a KC-10A in
      January. The E-2D also has been fully

qualified to receive fuel from the

Omega Air Refueling KC-707. The

program is conducting envelope

expansion with each of the tankers.

E-2Ds equipped with the

modification are expected to

achieve initial operational capability

in 2020. Although production

modifications will begin with the

46th new-build aircraft, the system

will be retrofitted to earlier models at

a cost of around $6 million each. The

upgrade requires modifications to

the cockpit, flight software, rudder,

fuel system, wing center section

fuel tank and external lighting. The

US Navy has a requirement for 75

E-2Ds and Northrop Grumman

has delivered 32 to date. E-2Ds are

operational with three squadrons

and the new variant is expected

to completely replace the earlier

E-2C by 2027.

FIRST SLM SUPER

HORNET INDUCTED

THE FIRST US Navy F/A-18F to

be inducted into the service life

modernization (SLM) program

arrived at Boeing’s St Louis,

Missouri, facility adjacent to

Lambert International Airport

on April 5. F/A-18F BuNo 166619

was last assigned to VFA-

at NAS Oceana, Virginia. The

modifications will initially increase

the Super Hornet’s service life

from 6,000 to 7,500 hours, but it

will be further pushed to 9,

hours after 2022. Although the

initial SLEP mod will require 18

months, Boeing expects to reduce

the production time to around

12 months and will upgrade

40-50 Super Hornets annually

at its St Louis and San Antonio,

Texas, facilities. Six aircraft will

be inducted at St Louis before

the first example arrives at the

Kelly Field facility in San Antonio

during 2019. Block III will first be

introduced in new production

aircraft in 2020 and Boeing will

begin upgrading the Block II

Super Hornet airframes in 2022.

In addition to upgrading the

fighter’s Raytheon AN/APG-

active electronically scanned array

(AESA) radar, Block III will add the

AN/ALQ-214 integrated defensive

electronic countermeasures

(IDECM) Block IV suite and the

Lockheed Martin AN/ASG-34 infra-

red search and track pod as well

as tactical targeting networking

technology (TTNT) that will

allow it to transfer more data.

Additionally, conformal fuel tanks

will increase range by 100-120nm

(185-222km).

Boeing delivered 147 Block

I Super Hornets, comprising

64 F/A-18Es and 83 F/A-18Fs,

before deliveries of Block II

variants began in October 2002.

The service’s program of record

includes 584 Super Hornets

and Boeing has delivered more

than 570 examples. The navy’s

inventory featured 284 F/A-18E

and 257 F/A-18F models in

December 2017. The recently

approved Fiscal 2018 spending

bill included funding for 24

Super Hornets, and the Trump

administration plans to buy 110

additional fighters from fiscal

2019 to 2023.

JAYHAWK SLEP APPROVED

THE US COAST Guard received

approval from the Department of

Homeland Security on February 20

for the next phase of a service life

extension program (SLEP) for its fleet

of 45 MH-60T medium-range recovery

helicopters. The program will ensure

that the Jayhawks can remain in

service until around 2030. A previous

SLEP added 10,000 flight hours to the

airframes. In addition to providing

the Jayhawks with a further 10,000-

hour life extension, the coast guard

is considering converting retired

HH-60H and SH-60F hulls to MH-60T

configuration. The service’s Aviation

Logistics Center (ALC) in Elizabeth

City, North Carolina, has already

converted six SH-60Fs to the Jayhawk

configuration.

[NEWS] UNITED STATES

10 June 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

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