AIR International of the New Year
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BIRDSTRIKE BATTLE HOW TECH TACKLES DEADLY THREAT HARRIER’S LAST JUMP AN ICON’S DEMISE TEN YEARS ON MILITARY | COMMERCIAL | BUSINESS | UNMANNED | ENGINES | SYSTEMS & FUTURE TECHNOLOGY LONG LIVE THE QUEEN! THE 747 PLIES ON NEO HOPES FOR AIRBUS FRESH LIGHTNING A330-800 ENTERS SERVICE £5.30 NEW F-35s AT FORT WORTH FRENCH RAFALE F3R TAKING ON THE TERRORISTS 100 No1 Vol 2021 JANUARY Orbx_OBC.indd 1 09/11/2020 12:23:57 Welcome ello and a warm welcome to the first to 36% of that extra funding immediately, so effectively The fi rst Irkut MC-21 AIR International of the New Year. only leaving £10.5bn?” he queried. powered by indigenously In December, low-cost airline Ryanair “Many of the big defence contracts are awarded to produced Russian engines (replacing the gave Boeing an early Christmas present international companies such as Boeing, Airbus and PW1431G-JMs in the in the form of a bumper new order for Leonardo, which generally have their own international prototype, above) is its beleaguered 737 MAX programme. supply chains with little UK content. Mr Johnson said expected to fl y before The Dublin-based carrier placed a firm he would be setting up an office to ensure the money the end of this year, with order for 75 of the narrowbody jets, boosting its overall does provide the UK economy with a boost. Let’s hope deliveries to launch- H customer Aerofl ot commitment to 210 examples. he does.” Our commercial group editor, Gordon Smith, observes: But it’s a positive pledge for the Tempest future beginning before 2022 AirTeamImages.com/ “With deliveries due to begin in the spring and continue combat air system, and the Team Tempest partners, Dmitry Terekhov until December 2024, Michael O’Leary, the savvy BAE Systems, MBDA UK, Leonardo UK and Ryanair CEO, has once again been able to spot shrewd Rolls-Royce. Securing finance for this important opportunities during the most challenging of times. asset will also be a boost to the Italian and Swedish “The deal has echoes of the airline’s January 2002 governments, which are currently collaborating with spending spree, when it snapped up more than 100 the UK on the sixth-generation fighter. 737-800s as Boeing – and the wider industry – was “We are definitely seeing a massive uptick in the reeling from the fallout of the September 11 attacks. government’s commitment to its armed forces – which It is a bold reminder that this traumatic period for is well overdue,” Alan concluded. commercial aviation will pass and represents an Whether your interests lie in military or commercial enormous vote of confidence in Boeing’s flagship aviation, as we move into the new year – with renewed single-aisle aircraft.” optimism – the AIR International team will continue to As the UK became the first nation in the world to roll bring you a ‘selection box’ of detail and data, as we out a mass vaccination programme – widely dubbed as delve behind the industry headlines of the moment. V-day – airline companies and airports are hoping that As always, we welcome your feedback at the immense logistical effort of a global immunisation [email protected] or comment via project will bring a welcome shot in the arm for cargo our Checking In invitations throughout the magazine. carriers and eventually restore revenue-making routes as Until then, enjoy the issue. passengers cautiously take to the skies again. An injection of the cash kind, the £16.5bn in additional Carol Randall defence spending recently announced by UK Prime Associate Editor, Commercial Aviation Minister Boris Johnson, was generally welcome news too for the UK’s military. But the true value of the announcement, and its worth to UK supply chains, raised questions from Alan Warnes, our modern military editor-at-large: “The MoD is currently facing a £6bn budget shortfall, due partly to big-ticket purchases such as the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail. Does this mean we can wave goodbye COVER IMAGE: Cargolux is the world’s second-biggest Boeing 747 operator, fi elding 16 examples of the 747-400F and 14 747-8Fs AirTeamImages.com/John Kilmer January2021 3 66 44 28 two more examples, the maiden customer for the Learjet 75 Liberty puts it into service, and the three major business jet manufacturers report a slump in Q3 2020 delivery figures. Contents 20 TECHNOLOGY FOCUS 06 COMMERCIAL NEWS A recently retired US Marine Corps AH-1W Super Cobra has Boeing’s 737 MAX returns to flight after the FAA grounding gained a new lease of life following its transfer to the US Army order is lifted, cargo carriers gear up for the impending as a trials helicopter, having previously been operated by coronavirus vaccine transportation, UK air traffic controllers Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773. Elsewhere, US contribute to emission cuts, and Embraer examines new company Aerion completes wind tunnel validation of its AS2 aircraft deliveries over the next decade. supersonic business jet. 10 MILITARY NEWS 22 GA FOCUS A massive arms package sale to the United Arab Emirates, Mahindra halts Airvan 8 production and puts GippsAero up worth $23bn, has been approved by the US State for sale, a Pipistrel Alpha Electro completes the world’s first Department, including F-35A Lightning IIs and MQ-9B UAVs. solar powered flight in a production electric aircraft, and the Meanwhile, in the UK, a milestone has been reached in the UK’s Light Aircraft Association (LAA) plans to mark its 75th Army Air Corps (AAC) AH-64E Apache programme, with the anniversary with a ten-day tour in May. arrival of its first two helicopters at RAF Brize Norton. 24 RUSSIAN REVIEW 14 UAV FOCUS Our Russia correspondent, Piotr Butowski, explains the UK-based Stratospheric Platforms Limited (SPL) is country’s helicopter deployment to the ongoing developing a high-altitude, hydrogen-powered platform for Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Elsewhere, the Russian United telecom connectivity, NASA and Wisk partner up to work on Aircraft Corporation announces the modernised Tu-160M autonomous flight in US civil airspace, and General Atomics strategic bomber has completed its first flight with new Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI) is awarded a US$93m engines. contract to enhance the autonomous sensing capabilities of unmanned aircraft. 28 COUNTING ON A COMMERCIAL COMEBACK Twelve months ago, AIR International’s aviation experts 16 ROTARY FOCUS presented “considered observations about the key issues The German Bundeswehr select the NHIndustries NH90 NFH facing the industry” for 2020. Then COVID-19 struck and to replace its Sea Lynx Mk88As for shipborne operations; the all conjecture was consigned to history. Mark Broadbent Bell/Boeing CMV-22B Osprey touches down on an aircraft highlights encouraging aerospace developments as the carrier, and the Brazilian highway police is set to introduce its industry looks to better times. first of six Leonardo AW119Kx examples from 2021. 32 THE DAY THE HARRIER DIED: TEN YEARS ON 18 BUSINESS FOCUS Ten years ago, on a typically cold winter’s day, the UK military’s Gulfstream bolsters its G700 test fleet with the introduction of majestic BAE Harrier jump-jet was finally killed off. Alan Warnes 4 January2021 66 44 52 SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE! 28 A subscription to AIR International offers great savings on the cover price takes an up-close-and-personal look at the See pages 26 and 66 KNIGHTS OVER CROATIA decision that ended the iconic fighter’s career. 27 for details With the third decade of the 21st century upon us, Croatia is still flying the Soviet MiG-21, the delta-winged 42 MC-21 COMES OF AGE icon of the Cold War era. Vladimir Trendafilovski assesses the International trade sanctions imposed by the West have itinerary of the Croatian Air Force’s robust MiG-21 fleet. prompted Russia to further develop its own civilian aircraft. Piotr Butowski assesses the facts and fantasy around the 74 LIFE IN THE JUMBO YET COVER STORY Irkut MC-21. Once the supreme widebody airliner, the emblematic Boeing 747 seemed an endangered type as its retirement was 44 BRANDENBURG FINALLY TAKES FLIGHT hastened recently but hundreds are continuing to ply the After almost a decade of delays and disasters, and billions skies. Mark Broadbent examines why. over budget, Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt is open for paying passengers. AIR International considers the 80 THE HERO OF AERO technology and operations behind the ill-fated project. During his short tenure as CEO of Prague-based Aero Vodochody, Dieter John achieved some remarkable results. In 50 CONCEPT INSIGHT this candid and revealing interview, Alan Warnes learns how Slovenia-based light aircraft manufacturer, Pipistrel, unveils John re-energised the company, and discovers the secrets of its Nuuva series of autonomous electric vertical take-off and his success. landing (eVTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles, with the aim of revolutionising future aerial cargo delivery missions. 84 TACKLING A DEADLY THREAT The challenge of bird strikes is almost as old as powered 52 SNAP DECISIONS flight itself, but while technology and management measures Germany demonstrated its combat readiness capabilities at intended to reduce these incidents have made great Nörvenich Air Base in 2020 with a large-scale SNAP exercise progress, there are still thousands of occurrences reported (Significance of National Air Power). Babak Taghvaee was present each year, as Tom Batchelor explains. to see how the nation’s military aviation services responded. 90 THE GREAT AMERICAN BONEYARD 56 FRESH LIGHTNINGS AT FORT WORTH Photographer Matt Ellis flies over the Aerospace Maintenance Matt Ellis visits Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis-Monthan AFB in Base, a vast military complex located in Texas, that serves Tucson, Arizona – a retirement home for over 4,000 planes, as a prime location for photographing Lockheed Martin’s and one of the largest aircraft boneyards in the world.