Combat aircraft

SUPERCOBRA SALE PLANNED

THE US GOVERNMENT is moving

forward with a plan to o er surplus

AH-1W attack helicopters to

international customers beginning

in 2018. The SuperCobras will be

o ered via Foreign Military Sales

(FMS) or Direct Commercial Sale

as they are progressively retired

from service. Prior to the sale the

helicopters could be equipped with

a new digital, ‘glass’ cockpit. US Naval

Air Systems Command is seeking

contractors that are interested in

supporting the e ort and released a

‘sources sought’ notice on December

24, 2017.

USMC

NEW AIR STATION OPENS

THE US COAST Guard ended

operations at NAS Corpus Christi,

Texas, after more than 67 years on

February 2, when two of its three

MH-65D recovery helicopters moved

to a newly constructed facility at

Corpus Christi International Airport.

Valent Hall, the purpose-built facility,

is now home to Sector/Air Station

Corpus Christi. The air station’s

three HC-144A surveillance aircraft

relocated on January 17. Located

around 18 miles south-east of the

new facility, Hangar 41 at NAS

Corpus Christi’s Truax Field had been

home to the Coast Guard Air Station

since November 1950.

BLACK HAWK WEAPONS SYSTEM QUALIFIED

SIKORSKY HAS COMPLETED

military quali cation testing

of a weapons package for the

S-70M/S-70i Black Hawk helicopter.

The weapons and sensors allow

the pilots to engage with several

forward- ring weapons including

guns, rocket pods, and laser-

designated air-to-ground missiles.

The weapons are carried on four

stations under external stub

wings that can be installed in less

than three hours. The stations

can support any combination of

a  xed forward- ring .50-caliber

(12.7mm) GAU-19 gun, seven- or

19-shot 70mm rocket pods, or up

to 16 AGM-114 Hell re missiles.

The con guration further includes

pilot-controlled  xed forward- ring

or crew-served 7.62mm mini-guns

mounted in both cabin windows.

LOUISIANA GUARD FLIES WITH CONFORMAL TANKS

F15CS FROM THE Louisiana Air

National Guard’s 159th Fighter Wing

are testing conformal fuel tanks

(CFTs) on the Eagle. While CFTs aren’t

new to the F-15C — the Ke avík-

based 57th Fighter Interceptor

Squadron’s F-15Cs regularly  ew

with CFTs in the early 1990s and

Israeli F-15C/Ds use them — those

under test are based on the Strike

Eagle’s tanks, and feature additional

weapons stations. It’s unclear if

these stations will be released to

carry additional weapons, as the

CFTs only permit the carriage of four

AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, which

doesn’t represent an increased

capability. Boeing’s F-15 2040C

concept showed an Eagle able to

carry up to 16 AMRAAMs, with the

CFTs featuring dual-launcher rails for

each AMRAAM station.

PEGASUS PROGRESS

ACCORDING TO THE commander of

the USAF’s Air Mobility Command,

Boeing’s KC-46A Pegasus is about

94 per cent complete with testing

required to meet the aircraft’s

military-speci c certi cation.

Following a visit to Seattle that

included a  ight on the Pegasus,

Gen Carlton Everhart indicated that

Boeing and the Federal Aviation

Administration can complete that

e ort in the next 60 to 70 days,

or less. In December, the Boeing

767-2C, which forms the basis for the

KC-46A, was granted an amended

type certi cate that veri es that

the design of the tanker is safe. A

second FAA certi cation required

for the tanker program will provide

a supplemental type certi cate. It

is focused on the military-speci c

modi cations made to the 767-2C,

and should be completed in about

a month. Boeing is still working to

resolve three de ciencies with the

tanker’s refueling system that were

discovered during testing. Those

de ciencies involved the tanker’s

boom, its remote visual system and

communication system.

BOEING TO CONDUCT

GOSHAWK UPGRADES

BOEING WILL UNDERTAKE the

second phase of a service life

extension program for the US Navy’s

T-45C trainer. The initial Phase 2 e ort

will be carried out on 39 Goshawks

under the terms of a $12.6-million

contract. The Boeing-designed SLEP

kits will extend the service life of the

Goshawks from 14,400 to 19,

 ight hours and permit the trainer to

remain in service until 2035.

VALOR FLIGHT TEST PROGRESS

SINCE CARRYING OUT its  rst  ight

on December 18, Bell Helicopter’s

V-280 tilt-rotor aircraft has made

steady progress and by early

February had  own 8.2 hours.

Produced for the US Army’s Joint

Multi-Role (JMR) demonstrator

program, the Valor has achieved

a forward  ight speed of 80kt

(148km/h) and  own to a maximum

altitude of 1,000ft (305m) in

helicopter mode. The forward  ight

milestone saw the initial rotation of

the prop-rotor pylons. Additionally,

it has performed 360° hovers-in-

ground-e ect, pedal turns, forward/

aft/lateral repositions, and 40kt

(74km/h) roll-on landings. Testing is

being conducted at Bell’s Amarillo,

Texas, facility. Since September 2017,

the V-280 has completed more than

28 hours in restrained ground runs

and achieved in excess of 52 hours of

rotor turn time.

OSPREY ARRIVES IN PHILADELPHIA

MV-22B BuNo 165948 arrived

at Boeing’s Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania, facility in late

January. The Osprey is the  rst

of three of the tilt-rotor aircraft

that will be modi ed as part of

the V-22 common con guration

— readiness and modernization

(CC-RAM) program. Two more

will be inducted later this year.

The CC-RAM e ort will reduce

the Marine Corps’  eet of Ospreys

from more than 70 distinct

variants to about  ve.

A Louisiana ANG F-15C with

CFTs fi tted during trials in

February. Boeing

A US Army

UH-60M

conducts tests

at the Yuma

Proving Ground

in Arizona.

US Army

UNITED STATES [NEWS]

http://www.combataircraft.net // April 2018 11

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