NORTHROP
WITHDRAWS
FROM STINGRAY
US NAVY MQ 25 COMPETITION
RECEIVES SURPRISE NEWS
I
N A SURPRISING move,
Northrop Grumman
announced that it had
withdrawn from the US
Navy’s MQ-25 competition on
October 25. The contractor
had extensive experience with the
e ort and the earlier Unmanned
Carrier-Launched Airborne
Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS)
initiative that saw an unmanned
aircraft operating from a US Navy
aircraft carrier for the rst time.
In fact, Northrop Grumman had
produced the X-47B, which proved
many of the concepts that will be
used by the MQ-25.
The company’s decision followed
its assessment of the Navy’s nal
request for proposals and its
determination that responding
to the request was not in the
company’s interest.The Navy’s original plans for a
carrier-based, long-range, low-
observable surveillance and strike
aircraft were revised in 2016 to
re ect acquisition of an autonomous
aerial tanker. The Navy has
previously funded Boeing, General
Atomics Aeronautical Systems,
Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed
Martin design maturation,
prototyping, and risk-reduction
activities associated with the MQ-25.
The service expects to select a
winner of the competition and
release a contract for full-scale
development in 2018. Northrop
Grumman also elected not to
submit a bid for the USAF’s
$16-billion T-X trainer program
despite its investment in the
design and construction of the
Scaled Composites Model 400
prototype.SIERRA NEVADA CORPORATION
(SNC) recently conducted a demonstration
of its King Air 350 Extended Range (ER)
Mission Enhancement Kit in Huntsville,
Alabama. Developed with the Vector-
Hawk Aerospace division of Blackhawk
Modi cations in Waco, Texas, and Advent
Aircraft Systems, the kit was designed
speci cally for the King Air 350ER. It
provides the aircraft with new Pratt &
Whitney Canada PT6A-67A engines, MT
Propellers composite blades, a lithium-ion
battery and Advent’s electronic anti-
skid braking (EABS) system. According
to SNC, it will provide a 25-30 per cent
increase in power, which translates into
improved climb and cruise performance.
Testing is now under way at in Waco,
Texas, and receipt of a Federal Aviation
Administration supplemental type
certi cation (STC) is expected in early- SNC intends to o er the kit to the
special missions market.
Touchdown for the last time — VX-23’s EA-6B lands at NAS Patuxent
River in heavy rain at the end of its nal ight. US Navy/Liz WolterPAX RIVER PROWLER RETIRED
AIR TEST AND Evaluation
Squadron VX-23 retired its last
EA-6B Prowler airborne electric
attack aircraft following its nal
ight at NAS Patuxent River,
Maryland, on August 29. Known
as ‘Salty Dog 536’, the Prowler had
been assigned to the squadron
since 2004. It was subsequentlyplaced on display at the Patuxent
River Naval Air Museum in
Lexington Park, on October 7. The
EA-6B was the 56th of 170 Prowlers
produced by Grumman Aerospace
for the US Navy and Marine Corps.
Prowlers remain operational with
two Marine Corps squadrons at
MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina.LOCKHEED TO DEVELOP
EXPERIMENTAL LASER WEAPON
LOCKHEED MARTIN HAS received
a $26.3-million contract to design,
develop and produce a compact
high-power ber laser weapon for
testing on a tactical ghter aircraft
by 2021. The e ort is part of the
USAF Research Lab’s Self-protect
High Energy Laser Demonstrator
(SHiELD) program. The SHiELD’sthree sub-systems include the
beam control system that directs
the laser to the target, a pod that
powers and cools the laser, and the
high-energy laser, which is known
as Laser Advancements for Next-
generation Compact Environments
(LANCE). For more on this see The
Brie ng on page 24.Sierra Nevada Corporation has begun marketing its King
Air 350 Extended Range (ER) Mission Enhancement Kit,
which is undergoing testing in Waco, Texas. SNCSIERRA NEVADA DEVELOPS
KING AIR UPGRADES
09
January 2018 http://www.combataircraft.netUNITED STATES [NEWS]
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