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at [email protected]http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #359 FEBRUARY 2018 // 7
BELL HELICOPTER
completed a first flight
of its V-280 Valor next-
generation tiltrotor aircraft
at its plant in Amarillo,
Texas on December 18.
The V-280 programme is
part of the US Army’s Joint
Multi-Role Technology
Demonstrator (JMR-TD)initiative, which serves as
a science and technology
precursor to the US
Department of Defense’s
Future Vertical Liftprogramme. The JMR-TD
will include a series of flight
trials running until 2019.
Mitch Snyder, President
and CEO for Bell
Helicopter, said: “First
flight demonstrates our
commitment to supporting
[the] Department of
Defense leadership’s
modernisation priorities
and acquisition reform
initiatives. The Valor is
designed to revolutionise
vertical lift for the US
Army and represents a
transformational aircraft
for all the challenging
missions our armed forces
are asked to undertake.”
In the emerging Future
Vertical Lift acquisition, the
V-280 will face competition
from the Sikorsky-Boeing
SB-1, which incorporates
a rigid-coaxial/pusher-
prop configuration. The
SB-1 is expected to fly in
the middle of this year.Canada
will buy
ex-RAAF
‘classic’
Hornets
THE CANADIAN
Department of National
Defence (DND) confirmed
plans to acquire former
Royal Australian Air
Force (RAAF) F/A-18A/B
fighters for the Royal
Canadian Air Force
(RCAF) on December- At the same time,
Ottawa announced that
a request for proposals
for the RCAF’s future
fighter programme will be
issued next year and the
first new aircraft delivered
by 2025. To address
a ‘capability gap’ until
new equipment arrives,
the RCAF will receive 18
F/A-18A/Bs, plus spare
parts, from Australia.
The DND says the
RAAF’s ‘classic’ Hornets
“are of similar age and
design to Canada’s
CF-18 fleet and can be
integrated quickly with
minimal modifications,
training and infrastructure
changes”. The aircraft
will, however, be modified
to the same standard
as the RCAF’s CF-188s,
including structural work to
extend their service lives.
The Australian
Department of Defence
plans to withdraw its fleet
of F/A-18A/Bs from service
by 2022, replacing them
with F-35As. Transfer
of the first two aircraft is
planned to occur from the
first half of 2019. The first
jets should be available
for operations in the early
2020s, after structural
upgrades are completed.
Canada’s future fighter
programme seeks to
purchase 88 aircraft, an
increase of more than a
third over the previous
plan to buy 65 new
fighters to replace the
CF-188s. The value of
the programme could
reach CAD19bn.
Consultations with
industry will begin in
January, and formal
expressions of interest
are to be submitted by
February 28. An official
request for proposals is
scheduled for mid-
and a contract award is
anticipated in 2022. The
first aircraft are expected
to be delivered by 2025.
A400M refuels six F/A-18s simultaneously
First fl ight for AG600 amphibian
CHINA’S FIRST large
amphibious aircraft,
the AG600 ‘Kunlong’,
completed its maiden
flight at Jinwan Civil
Aviation Airport in Zhuhai,
in the Guangdong
Province of south China,
on December 24. The
aircraft took off at 0939hrs
local time and landed
around an hour later.
Developed by the Aviation
Industry Corporation of
China (AVIC), the AG
has a maximum take-off
weight of 53.5 tonnes, a
maximum cruising speed
of 311mph (500km/h) and
an endurance of 12 hours.
According to China’s
central government,
the AG600 will be used
to “enhance [China’s]
operational capability
at sea and safeguard
its maritime interests”.While the primary roles
for the AG600 are stated
to be forest fire control
and maritime search and
rescue, it is also intended toundertake “law-enforcement
tasks at sea and other
maritime operations
that protect [China’s]
rights and interests.”Maiden fl ight for Bell V-280 Valor
Above: Bell began construction of the V-280 in June 2015. The main fuselage was supplied by
Spirit AeroSystems and the tiltrotor is powered by two T64 turboshafts. Bell Helicopter
AN AIRBUS A400M
successfully refuelled six
Ejército del Aire (Spanish
Air Force) F/A-18s in a
single mission as part of an
air-to-air refuelling human
factors certification flight
on December 13. Themission involved a series
of AAR refuellings including
changes of area, receivers
with unknown priorities,
and unexpected increases
in numbers of receivers.
Using multiple contacts,
the six Hornets simulated afleet of eight. The F/A-18s
were the first operational
Spanish fighters to be
refuelled by the A400M and
belonged to the Centro
Logístico de Armamento y
Experimentación (CLAEX, the
Ejército del Aire test centre)and Ala 12 at Torrejón. A
total of 11.4 tonnes of fuel
was dispensed using both
the underwing pods and the
centre hose refuelling unit.
The flight also validated the
A400M two-crew cockpit
concept for tanker missions.Ejército del Airevia Chinese internet