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12498-AH-H160-AviationWeekAD-190x267.indd 1 27/09/2016 15:51 610AWBIFC.indd 1 10/18/2016 10:03:24 AM October 24-November 6, 2016 Contents Volume 178 Number 22

Winner 2016 AVIATIONWEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY

Digital Extras Tap this icon in articles in the digital edition of AW&St for exclusive features.

7 Feedback 8 Who’s Where 10-11 First Take 12 Going Concerns 14 Up Front 15 Airline Intel 16 Inside Business Aviation 17 Leading Edge 18 In Orbit 19 Washington Outlook 71 Classifed Poland’s abandonment of a helicopter tender with Airbus has sparked 72 Contact Us a diplomatic spat between Paris and Warsaw. 73 Aerospace Calendar 32

SPACE 30 Royal Navy exercise provides 57 Norway unveils plans to participate 22 Tiangong-2 and Shenzhou-11 are experience with autonomous air, in the proposed F-35 joint buy and requests 12 more of the fghters verifying technology for China’s surface and underwater vehicles planned space station 58 Japan and Britain are assessing the 24 ESA and Roscosmos push Mars 10 likely performance of an AESA- equipped Meteor missile exploration technologies with ExoMars and follow-on rover 59 Japan’s defense ministry wants a hefty, stealthy, indigenous fghter Antares returns 26 to fight and with long endurance for 2030s Orbital ATK plans to use Cygnus cargo carrier as test laboratory 60 U.S. bomber chief advocates reengining and modernizing B-52 62 CST-100 crew module is delayed, to extend the feet’s life to 2050 but Boeing still plans to fy astronauts to space station in 2018 ROTORCRAFT 32 Poland reveals purchase of DEFENSE Sikorsky Black Hawks after 28 New battlespace will demand 56 Bell-Boeing is testing an engine- withdrawing from Airbus deal short-takeof, low-observable protecting, barrier-type air 32 Airbus is working to restore refueling aircraft, Lockheed says fltration system for the V-22 confdence in EC225/H225 after lift of the helo’s second grounding ON THE COvER The Dassault Falcon 8X and other new products are giving hope TECHNOLOGY to business aircraft manufacturers that they will be able to pull out 34 First fan set designed to reduce of market doldrums soon (see page 40). Dassault Aviation photo by Anthony Pecchi. Also in this issue: China’s latest human space fuel burn through boundary-layer mission and its path forward (page 22) • A 50-seat supersonic jet? ingestion heads for November tests (page 54) • Military tankers: a special report (pages 28 and 67). 52 British company envisions low-cost, Aviation Week publishes a digital edition every week. Read it at on-demand production of titanium AviationWeek.com/awst and on our app. to expand aerospace applications

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COMMERCIALCOMMERCIAL AVIATIONAVIATION AERONAUTICALAERONAUTICAL ENGINEERINGENGINEERING 36 Singapore Airlines improves 54 Silicon Valley-backed startup looks cooperation between its low-cost to be ﬁ rst to market with 50-seat carriers to expand group ﬂ eet supersonic trijet airliner

38 Leasing sector, about half of the 55 Aerion, Spike and NASA are Airbus-Boeing customer base, is also working to bring back the undergoing rapid consolidation supersonic transport Mobile. Online. 39 European regional airlines are CONNECTED AEROSPACE: optimistic about continued AVIONICS Updated Daily. growth, and OEMs reap benefi ts 64 New service economy and connectivity will make the future Free to subscribers. Get new content 24 fl ight deck more like a smartphone daily and read the weekly digital edition of Aviation Week online or in our app. CONNECTED AEROSPACE: CYBERSECURITY DESKTOP/LAPTOP Go to AviationWeek.com/awst 65 Airframers and airlines aim to protect against cyberweaknesses APPLE APP internally and in supply chain Go to the Apple App Store, search for “Aviation Week” and download the 66 The Pentagon is cyberhardening Aviation Week & Space Technology software and equipment through app to your iPad or iPhone. BUSINESS AVIATION new designs as well as upgrades 40 In a market besieged by negative ANDROID APP pressures, bizjet makers lower TANKERS Go to Google Play, search for “Aviation expectations—and production 67 Boeing hopes to put dif culties Week” and download the Aviation Week behind it with U.S. Air Force & Space Technology app for your 42 Business jet manufacturers are green light for KC-46A production Android phone or tablet. counting on new products to LOGIN stimulate stagnant market 68 Operators of A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transports consider Tap on any locked article to get to the further broadening its mission login screen OR on the menu icon in the G500 PILOT REPORT upper right corner of the app screen 44 Gulfstream’s all-new large-cabin 69 Airbus seeks to introduce (image with three parallel lines) and tap bizjet of ers fuel ef ciency, fl ight- automation into the boom refueling “Login.” Log in using the email address deck sophistication and low noise process to boost ef ciency associated with your subscription.

AEROSPACE IN CHINA 70 Russia expects to assemble new Forgot Password? Tap the “forgot password” link on the login screen 50 Avic is developing a wide range of tanker prototype based on IL-76 and follow the reset instructions emailed large civil aircraft, from turboprop transport before year-end to you (this password may not be the same airliner to helicopter to fl ying boat VIEWPOINT as your digital edition password). 51 Comcac C919 fl ight-testing slips to 74 China’s air force is giving its pilots Customer Service If you don’t have 2017 and fi rst delivery beyond 2019, more autonomy to prepare them a registered email or password, or are but its engineering wins praise better for dynamic combat having problems with the download or login, contact our customer care team for assistance: Toll-free (North America) 800-525-5003 Outside North America (+1) 847-763-9147

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Email: [email protected] 55 Web: AviationWeek.com/awstcustomers

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AW_10_24_2016_p03-04.indd 4 10/20/16 5:01 PM 610AWB5.indd 1 10/18/2016 10:04:21 AM Editor-In-Chief Joseph C. Anselmo [email protected] Executive Editor James R. Asker NEED OEM PARTS [email protected] Managing Editors FOR YOUR LEGACY Jen DiMascio (Defense and Space) [email protected] AIRCRAFT? Jens Flottau (Commercial Aviation) [email protected] Graham Warwick (Technology) [email protected] Associate Managing Editor Andrea Hollowell ONTIC Art Director Lisa Caputo Editors Michael Bruno, John Croft, James Drew, Thierry Dubois, William Garvey, Frank Morring, Jr., Jeferson Morris, Guy Norris, Tony Osborne, Bradley Perrett, James Pozzi, Adrian Schofeld, Lara Seligman, Lee Ann Shay Artists Scott Marshall, Colin Throm IS YOUR Copy Editors Dan Hockensmith, Richard Leyshon, Arturo Mora, Patricia Parmalee, Andy Savoie Production Editor Bridget Horan Aircraft Evaluation Editor Fred George ANSWER. Contributing Photographer Joseph Pries AviationWeek.com Director, Editorial and Online Production Michael O. Lavitt Ontic’s Extended Life Solutions Director, Digital Content Strategy Rupa Haria Digital Content Marketing Manager Regina Kenney Will Keep Your Fleet Flying Digital Content Producer Jen Deglmann Editorial Offces 1166 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10036 Phone: +1 (212) 204-4200 Comprehensive maintenance support 1911 Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, Va. 22209 solutions for Commercial, Rotorcraft, Phone: +1 (703) 997-0333 Business Aviation and Military Aircraft Bureaus Auckland Visit Ontic.com for more information! Bureau Chief Adrian Schofeld [email protected] Beijing Bureau Chief Bradley Perrett [email protected] Boston Bureau Chief Kristin Majcher [email protected] Brussels Bureau Chief Cathy Buyck [email protected] Chicago Bureau Chief Lee Ann Shay [email protected] Frankfurt Bureau Chief Jens Flottau [email protected] Kuala Lumpur Bureau Chief Marhalim Abas [email protected] London Bureau Chief Tony Osborne [email protected] Los Angeles Bureau Chief Guy Norris [email protected] Lyon Bureau Chief Thierry Dubois [email protected] Moscow Contributing Editor Maxim Pyadushkin [email protected] New Delhi Contributing Editor Jay Menon [email protected] San Francisco Bureau Chief Madhu Unnikrishnan [email protected] Washington Bureau Chief James R. Asker [email protected] Wichita Bureau Chief Molly McMillin [email protected] PENtON David Kieselstein Chief Executive Offcer Nicola Allais Chief Financial Offcer/Executive Vice President Andrew Schmolka Senior Vice President & General Counsel Warren N. Bimblick Group President Gregory Hamilton President, Aviation Week Network

6 AviAtioN Week & SPAce techNology/october 24-November 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p06.indd 6 10/20/16 1:16 PM Feedback Address letters to the Executive Editor, Aviation Week & Space Technology, 1911 Fort Myer Drive, Suite 600, Arlington, Va. Editor-In-Chief Joseph C. Anselmo Fastjet’s Rise and Fall too MUch Baggage 22209 or send via email to: [email protected] [email protected] Executive Editor James R. Asker The Airline Intel commentary Thanks to reader John Wolf (Aug. Letters may be edited for length and clarity; [email protected] NEED OEM PARTS “Missed Opportunity” (Oct. 10-23, p. 15) 1-14, p. 7) for identifying one of the real a verifiable address and daytime telephone Managing Editors FOR YOUR LEGACY Jen DiMascio (Defense and Space) about Africa-based low-cost carrier delays in boarding—carry-on luggage number are required. [email protected] (LCC) Fastjet elicited a lively online and the abuse of this practice. Al- AIRCRAFT? Jens Flottau (Commercial Aviation) [email protected] exchange, including this sampling: though it takes up a portion of the total Graham Warwick (Technology) time required for travelers to wend praising American Airlines CEO doug [email protected] AirlineCEO dismisses the premise: their way through the airport process, Parker (Oct. 10-23, p. 52), my local Associate Managing Editor Andrea Hollowell Art Director Lisa Caputo Please analyze the situation impar- reduced scanning times and lower newspaper featured a story about ONTIC tially and cease repeating the “missed security concerns related to processing the airline’s decision to end service to Editors Michael Bruno, John Croft, James Drew, Thierry Dubois, William Garvey, Frank Morring, Jr., Jeferson Morris, Guy Norris, Tony Osborne, Bradley Perrett, opportunity” fantasy about Africa. carry-ons should also result. binghamton and Elmira, new York. James Pozzi, Adrian Schofeld, Lara Seligman, Lee Ann Shay They have neither the money, desire, reduction or elimination of carry-on binghamton was home to the Link Pilot Artists Scott Marshall, Colin Throm necessity nor commerce for an LCC. baggage reduces cabin crew angst in Trainer and IbM, companies crucial IS YOUR Copy Editors Dan Hockensmith, Richard Leyshon, Arturo Mora, Patricia Parmalee, Andy Savoie trying to safely store the increase in in the development of today’s aviation Production Editor Bridget Horan (often oversized) carry-ons. Although infrastructure. Aircraft Evaluation Editor Fred George unlikely, a long-term advantage could Yet with American leaving—hard ANSWER. Contributing Photographer Joseph Pries see the size of overhead storage bins on the heels of united Airlines—the AviationWeek.com reduced, which would free up space southern tier of new York state (except Director, Editorial and Online Production Michael O. Lavitt for passenger comfort. And emergency for Ithaca) will be left with only delta Ontic’s Extended Life Solutions Director, Digital Content Strategy Rupa Haria Digital Content Marketing Manager Regina Kenney evacuations would not be hampered by Air Lines. Will Keep Your Fleet Flying Digital Content Producer Jen Deglmann misguided passengers attempting to American Airlines and its prede- Editorial Offces “save” their baggage. cessors (Mohawk Airlines, Allegheny 1166 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10036 Leyne Liles Airlines and uSAir) have a signifcant Phone: +1 (212) 204-4200 Comprehensive maintenance support 1911 Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, Va. 22209 FastJet SYdnEY, AuSTrALIA history at binghamton, using aircraft solutions for Commercial, Rotorcraft, Phone: +1 (703) 997-0333 as large as the dC-9 and providing Business Aviation and Military Aircraft Bureaus inadeqUate now and in FUtURe reliable service to its hubs as well as to Auckland cofyknsult notes: An item in Washington Outlook (Aug. other cities in the northeast. Visit Ontic.com for more information! Bureau Chief Adrian Schofeld [email protected] With the exception of Fifth Freedom 29-Sept. 11, p. 19) about Flyersrights.org Abandoning cities purely for eco- Beijing fights by European (and a few major) President Paul Hudson’s evaluation of nomics, especially where continued Bureau Chief Bradley Perrett [email protected] carriers, air transport in Africa has airline service leaves out a key issue— service seems economically viable, is Boston been marred by corruption, incompe- long-term airport adequacy. wrong. On my many trips to or from Bureau Chief Kristin Majcher [email protected] tence, inept pricing and regulations I have long advocated for future air- binghamton, the bombardier dash-8s Brussels port development, underscoring that were at or near passenger capacity. Bureau Chief Cathy Buyck [email protected] Mark Lincoln opines: without a progressive vision, travel by I hope American reconsiders. Why Chicago To attempt to start an LCC is to air will be sharply constrained. Areas not ofer, as Allegheny did years ago, Bureau Chief Lee Ann Shay depend upon masses of people who around existing airports are commit- a round-robin circuit of Philadelphia [email protected] Frankfurt desire to travel but are too poor to do ted to other development uses, so few to binghamton and Elmira airports? Bureau Chief Jens Flottau so. . . . You must have very high load airports can expand. Land available The airline could fll the larger aircraft [email protected] levels with little proft per seat. for new airport development near big it cites as the key reason for drop- Kuala Lumpur Bureau Chief Marhalim Abas cities is infrequently available (and ping these cities and show a sense of [email protected] Riman10 concludes: rarely committed to aviation use). corporate responsibility to customers London Bureau Chief Tony Osborne The old drivel about corruption and What happens in 50-100 years? High- in small but deserving markets. [email protected] doing business in Africa keeps surfac- speed rail or bus service? Robert Kochersberger Los Angeles Bureau Chief Guy Norris ing. Surprisingly, FastJet has not I urge Californians to tie their high- HALLSTEAd, PEnnSYLvAnIA [email protected] weighed in as to how those matters speed rail program to a new super-air- Lyon Bureau Chief Thierry Dubois afected its performance, making all port development, which among other Blindsided By BwB? [email protected] these strands mere speculation. benefts, would reduce duplication of Looking out the window is the Moscow air services to multiple airports in the only part of air travel I enjoy. If the Contributing Editor Maxim Pyadushkin [email protected] distaFF side RUles state, making air travel much more ef- proposed blended wing body (bWb) New Delhi In “Collision Course” (Oct. 10-23, fcient. (There are nearly 1.000 one-way aircraft (Sept. 26-Oct. 9, p. 40) means Contributing Editor Jay Menon [email protected] p. 18), Greg Wyler indicates, albeit in a fights just to/from the new York area no more windows for passengers, then San Francisco probably unintended sexist tone, that and California airports weekly. How I say ‘no thanks!’ Bureau Chief Madhu Unnikrishnan [email protected] his goal is to have internet ground ter- inefcient is that?) Dick Jacobson Washington minals so simple they “can be installed Harry Schmidt COTTAGE GrOvE, MInnESOTA Bureau Chief James R. Asker by a high school girl, with no training.” CrOMWELL, COnnECTICuT [email protected] As the father of two teenage daughters Wichita Bureau Chief Molly McMillin who excel in math and science and taRnished heRitage Clarifcation: [email protected] have practical hands-on skills, I agree A huge problem of so-called legacy An article on russian space launch PENtON with Wyler. I know they could get the carriers is they fail to honor the path David Kieselstein Chief Executive Offcer services (Oct. 10-23, p. 29) should have Nicola Allais Chief Financial Offcer/Executive Vice President job done properly. that got them where they are today. Andrew Schmolka Senior Vice President & General Counsel emphasized that the S7 Group does not Warren N. Bimblick Group President Mark Simmons On the day my copy of Aviation anticipate a need for large investments Gregory Hamilton President, Aviation Week Network COLuMbIA, MISSOurI Week arrived with its cover story to modernize its Sea Launch project.

6 AviAtioN Week & SPAce techNology/october 24-November 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst aviationweek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 7

AW_10_24_2016_p06.indd 6 10/20/16 1:16 PM AW_10_24_2016_p07.indd 7 10/20/16 12:34 PM Who’s Where To submit information for the Who’s Where column, send Word or attached text files (no PDFs) and photos to: [email protected] For additional information on companies and individuals listed in this column, please refer to the irbus Group and Leonardo- Region Southwest, Reserve Josh Abelson Aviation Week Intelligence Network AFinmeccanica have appointed Component Command, San at AviationWeek.com/awin For Christian Scherer chief exec- Diego. information on ordering, telephone utive ofcer of ATR Aircraft. He suc- American Airlines has ap- U.S.: +1 (866) 857-0148 or ceeds Patrick de Castelbajac, who pointed Danielle Kirgan (see +1 (515) 237-3682 outside the U.S. will rejoin Airbus as secretary/chief photo) senior vice president- of staf and member of the executive people, leading all human re- committee. source functions for the airline. signifcant space law leadership Air France Industries KLM Engi- Aftermarket company AAR Susanne Reed positions, including both direc- neering & Maintenance has appointed has hired Andre Fischer as tor of space law at U.S. Space Vincent Metz as director-strategy, vice president-programs, busi- Command and chief of space Robert Pruim as vice president-pro- ness development and strategy. law at the Pentagon’s Air Force curement and Rodolphe Parisot as Ihssane Mounir has been Headquarters. vice president-digital and innovation. named the new vice president HEICO Corp. Chairman and Prium had been vice president-strat- of sales and marketing for Boe- CEO Laurans A. Mendelson egy, Metz had been director-business ing Commercial Airplanes. He has received the Wright Broth- development, and Parisot had been succeeds John Wojick, who is ers Memorial Award from the Air France Industries chief operating retiring in early 2017. Danielle Kirgan Greater Miami Aviation As- ofcer-engine services. Parker Aerospace has named sociation. Airbus Group has appointed Rodin Craig Gooding as the new The Aeronautical Repair Sta- Lyasof as chief executive ofcer of general manager of its Strato- tion Association board of direc- A³, the advanced projects and part- fex Products Division, which tors has elected Warner Calvo nerships outpost of Airbus Group in provides fuid conveyance (see photo) president. Calvo Silicon Valley. He succeeds Paul Ere- equipment for aircraft and en- is quality and safety director menko, who became Airbus Group’s gine systems. of Coopesa R.L. in Alajuela, chief technology ofcer in June. Air Partner’s aviation-safety Costa Rica. Andrea Gebbeken Elbit Systems of America has named consultancy Baines Simmons The Washington Airports Tifany Nesbit vice president-engi- has appointed John Nicho- Task Force has awarded T. neering and Douglas Sandklev vice las to assist with regulatory Allan McArtor the 2016 Wil- president-technology and innovation. compliance. Nicholas had been liams Trophy for his work to The Center for the Advancement with the UK Civil Aviation improve the safety, reliability of Science in Space has hired Randy Authority. and efciency of air travel and Giles as chief scientist. He will lead Andrea Gebbeken (see to strengthen the aerospace the research and technology develop- photo) has been named a industrial base. ment for the International Space Sta- Munich Airport managing Skip Smith Henaac, which notes top tion U.S. National Laboratory. director. Gebbeken had been Hispanic engineers and scien- Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has managing director of Tirana tists in the U.S., has given the appointed Robert Glasscock vice Airport in Albania and the Great Minds in STEM award president/lead administrator-orga- head of the services arm of to Northrop Grumman senior nizational designation authorization. the German railways. aerospace project engineer He succeeds Bill Whitton, who has Lucy Atkinson has been Jose Borges (see photo) for retired. named a director at Trade and outstanding mentoring and Red Aviation has named Josh Abel- Foreign Direct Investment Ltd., outreach eforts. son (see photo) chief executive ofcer. which provides fnancing to Warner Calvo The American Indian Science Abelson will succeed interim CEO a range of aviation entities, and Engineering Society has Ben Murray. Abelson had been chief including projects at the 2016 elected three new board mem- marketing ofcer at AeroTurbine Inc. Farnborough Airshow. bers: Bill Black, associate and at HEICO Aerospace. member; John B. Herrington, Pratt & Whitney has hired Susanne HONORS & ELECTIONS general member; and Michael Reed (see photo) as vice president- Andrew Rogers has joined Richard Lee Laverdure, gen- communications and government re- Endeavor Robotics’ board of di- eral member. lations. Reed had been vice president- rectors. He had been president Jose Borges Astronics Corp., a leading communications and marketing at of Qinetiq North America. supplier of advanced technolo- Thales USA. Sherman & Howard attorney gies and products to the global U.S. Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Skip Smith (see photo) has received aerospace, defense, and semiconduc- Scott D. Jones has been assigned as the International Institute of Space Law tor industries, has appointed three deputy commander, Naval Air Force, Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the new independent directors to its Norfolk, Virginia. Jones most recently author of International Regulation of board: Jefry D. Frisby, Warren C. served as deputy commander, Navy Satellite Communication and has held Johnson and Neil Kim. c

8 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGy/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p08.indd 8 10/19/16 1:28 PM Who’s Where To submit information for the Who’s Where column, send Word or attached text files (no PDFs) and photos to: [email protected] For additional information on companies and individuals listed in this column, please refer to the irbus Group and Leonardo- Region Southwest, Reserve Josh Abelson Aviation Week Intelligence Network AFinmeccanica have appointed Component Command, San at AviationWeek.com/awin For Christian Scherer chief exec- Diego. information on ordering, telephone utive ofcer of ATR Aircraft. He suc- American Airlines has ap- U.S.: +1 (866) 857-0148 or ceeds Patrick de Castelbajac, who pointed Danielle Kirgan (see +1 (515) 237-3682 outside the U.S. will rejoin Airbus as secretary/chief photo) senior vice president- of staf and member of the executive people, leading all human re- committee. source functions for the airline. signifcant space law leadership Air France Industries KLM Engi- Aftermarket company AAR Susanne Reed positions, including both direc- neering & Maintenance has appointed has hired Andre Fischer as tor of space law at U.S. Space Vincent Metz as director-strategy, vice president-programs, busi- Command and chief of space Your customers have their Robert Pruim as vice president-pro- ness development and strategy. law at the Pentagon’s Air Force curement and Rodolphe Parisot as Ihssane Mounir has been Headquarters. pick of service options. vice president-digital and innovation. named the new vice president HEICO Corp. Chairman and Prium had been vice president-strat- of sales and marketing for Boe- CEO Laurans A. Mendelson egy, Metz had been director-business ing Commercial Airplanes. He has received the Wright Broth- development, and Parisot had been succeeds John Wojick, who is ers Memorial Award from the We believe you deserve Air France Industries chief operating retiring in early 2017. Danielle Kirgan Greater Miami Aviation As- ofcer-engine services. Parker Aerospace has named sociation. the same. Airbus Group has appointed Rodin Craig Gooding as the new The Aeronautical Repair Sta- Lyasof as chief executive ofcer of general manager of its Strato- tion Association board of direc- Our TrueChoice™ services suite of ers an unmatched A³, the advanced projects and part- fex Products Division, which tors has elected Warner Calvo nerships outpost of Airbus Group in provides fuid conveyance (see photo) president. Calvo breadth of services and materials. Silicon Valley. He succeeds Paul Ere- equipment for aircraft and en- is quality and safety director menko, who became Airbus Group’s gine systems. of Coopesa R.L. in Alajuela, chief technology ofcer in June. Air Partner’s aviation-safety Costa Rica. With TrueChoice, we can work with operators, lessors Andrea Gebbeken Elbit Systems of America has named consultancy Baines Simmons The Washington Airports and MROs to create tailored of erings across the entire Tifany Nesbit vice president-engi- has appointed John Nicho- Task Force has awarded T. neering and Douglas Sandklev vice las to assist with regulatory Allan McArtor the 2016 Wil- engine lifecycle. So even as your operating horizon and president-technology and innovation. compliance. Nicholas had been liams Trophy for his work to priorities change, we’ll help you realize maximum value, The Center for the Advancement with the UK Civil Aviation improve the safety, reliability of Science in Space has hired Randy Authority. and efciency of air travel and whether it’s a single engine or an entire f eet. Giles as chief scientist. He will lead Andrea Gebbeken (see to strengthen the aerospace the research and technology develop- photo) has been named a industrial base. See what true choice looks like ment for the International Space Sta- Munich Airport managing Skip Smith Henaac, which notes top tion U.S. National Laboratory. director. Gebbeken had been Hispanic engineers and scien- at geaviation.com/truechoice. Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has managing director of Tirana tists in the U.S., has given the appointed Robert Glasscock vice Airport in Albania and the Great Minds in STEM award president/lead administrator-orga- head of the services arm of to Northrop Grumman senior nizational designation authorization. the German railways. aerospace project engineer He succeeds Bill Whitton, who has Lucy Atkinson has been Jose Borges (see photo) for retired. named a director at Trade and outstanding mentoring and Red Aviation has named Josh Abel- Foreign Direct Investment Ltd., outreach eforts. son (see photo) chief executive ofcer. which provides fnancing to Warner Calvo The American Indian Science Abelson will succeed interim CEO a range of aviation entities, and Engineering Society has Ben Murray. Abelson had been chief including projects at the 2016 elected three new board mem- marketing ofcer at AeroTurbine Inc. Farnborough Airshow. bers: Bill Black, associate and at HEICO Aerospace. member; John B. Herrington, Pratt & Whitney has hired Susanne HONORS & ELECTIONS general member; and Michael Reed (see photo) as vice president- Andrew Rogers has joined Richard Lee Laverdure, gen- communications and government re- Endeavor Robotics’ board of di- eral member. lations. Reed had been vice president- rectors. He had been president Jose Borges Astronics Corp., a leading communications and marketing at of Qinetiq North America. supplier of advanced technolo- Thales USA. Sherman & Howard attorney gies and products to the global U.S. Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) Skip Smith (see photo) has received aerospace, defense, and semiconduc- Scott D. Jones has been assigned as the International Institute of Space Law tor industries, has appointed three deputy commander, Naval Air Force, Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the new independent directors to its Norfolk, Virginia. Jones most recently author of International Regulation of board: Jefry D. Frisby, Warren C. served as deputy commander, Navy Satellite Communication and has held Johnson and Neil Kim. c

8 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGy/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p08.indd 8 10/19/16 1:28 PM 610AWB9.indd 1 10/18/2016 10:05:13 AM First Take

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the european Union has formally appealed a Sept. 22 World Trade Organization ruling that states did not properly remove up to $22 billion in illegal subsidies for Airbus aircraft, including $5 billion in state aid for development of the A350.

philippine Airlines (pAl) has signed an agreement to purchase 12 Bom- bardier Q400s to refresh its turboprop Boeing via MBDa feet, which would make it launch cus- DEFENSE tomer for an 86-seat, two-class version of the aircraft. mBDA and Saab have begun deliver- Anglo-Japanese studies into improv- ies of taurus kepD 350k standof ing the european mBDA meteor the governments of norway and missiles to South Korea, as integration beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile Sweden have reduced their stakes with the country’s Boeing F-15K strike with a Japanese active-array radar in SAS Scandinavian Airlines, start- fghter (pictured) nears completion. seeker could result in a new and larger ing the process of fully privatizing the weapon. Separate but coordinated largest European carrier still majority Despite signifcant cost growth studies should fnish by April 2018. state-owned. Denmark has said it is and the risk of additional schedule open to selling its shareholding. delays, the Pentagon is to move ahead italy’s defense ministry has green- with Raytheon’s GPS ground-control lighted development of a new attack system, the OCX, which faced possible helicopter based on Leonardo Helicop- termination after a two-year delay and ters’ AW149. To be funded by Italy’s 25% cost growth. economic development ministry, the Future Exploration and Escort Heli- the U.S. Air Force is to feld Utc copter to replace the AW129 Mangusta Aerospace Systems’ mS-177A multi- would ready by 2025. spectral reconnaissance sensor—a development of the SYERS-2 system lockheed martin Sikorsky’s S-97 carried by U-2s—on the unmanned Raider high-speed compound helicop- Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global ter prototype has fown with landing airBus group Hawk, with plans to buy eight payloads. gear retracted for the frst time. First Airbus group’s Silicon valley outpost A3 has unveiled the self-piloted, the U.S. Air Force Research labora- single-passenger electric air-taxi tory and navy plan a joint demonstra- concept it is developing under Project tion of an airborne counterelectronics Vahana. A full-size prototype is to fy weapon under a collaborative project at the end of 2017 and be followed in called HiJENKS, for High-Power Joint 2020 by a production-representative Electromagnetic Non-Kinetic Strike. demonstrator.

Solid rocket-motor manufacturers Uk low-cost carrier monarch Air- Aerojet Rocketdyne and Orbital ATK lines has received a long-awaited have been barred from exclusively cash injection of £165 million ($202 teaming with prime contractors Boe- million) from majority stakeholder ing, Lockheed Martin or Northrop Greybull Capital after a fortnight of Grumman for the U.S. Air Force’s next- LockheeD Martin drama over concerns about the com- generation intercontinental ballistic fown in May, the industry-funded pro- pany’s survival. missile competition. totype has now fown nine times. A consortium of canadian compa- Finland will purchase and modern- poland’s defense ministry is nies and academic institutions led by ize 28 used grob 115e piston-engine restarting a tender for multirole Bombardier will develop next-genera- trainers from Babcock International in helicopters just days after canceling tion more-electric systems and fight a €6.6 million ($7.3 million) deal to meet a $3.5 billion deal with Airbus for 50 controls for civil aircraft supported the country’s elementary pilot training H225M Caracals. Airbus, Leonardo by C$54 million ($41 million) from the needs and replace the air force’s feet of and Sikorsky have be invited to rebid Canadian government’s Technology indigenous Valmet L-70 trainers. (page 32). Demonstration Program.

10 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p10-11.indd 10 10/20/16 5:14 PM First Take For the latest, go to AviationWeek.com

QUOTED

COMMERCIAL AVIATION The European Aviation Safety ‘I knowknow thatthat Boeing’sBoeing’s Agency has lifted its grounding of ccompetitorsompetitors wwouldould nnotot the european Union has formally Airbus AS332L2 and EC225/H225 llikeike mmee ssayingaying tthis,his, bbutut appealed a Sept. 22 World Trade SSuperuper PPumauma helicoptershelicopters imposedimposed afterafter Organization ruling that states did tthehe ffatalatal ccrashrash iinn NNorwayorway iinn AApril.pril. BButut II’m’m ssureure tthathat iinsidenside not properly remove up to $22 billion U.K. and Norwegian authorities are ttheyhey kknownow BBoeingoeing mmakesakes in illegal subsidies for Airbus aircraft, mmaintainingaintaining ttheirheir ggroundingrounding (page(page 32).32). including $5 billion in state aid for tthehe bbestest aairplanes.irplanes.’ development of the A350. FFast-growingast-growing aircraftaircraft lessorlessor AvolonAvolon has agreed to buy CIT Aerospace fforor —QatarQatar AirwaysAirways CEOCEO AkbarAkbar AlAl Baker,Baker, philippine Airlines (pAl) has signed $10 billion. Avolon is fully owned by announcing an $11.6 billion order for an agreement to purchase 12 Bom- BBohaiohai LLeasing,easing, a uunitnit ooff HHainan,ainan, CChina-hina- 787-9s and 777-300ERs and a bardier Q400s to refresh its turboprop bbasedased HHNANA GGroup,roup, whichwhich isis consolidat-consolidat- $6.9$6.9 billionbillion letterletter ofof intentintent toto orderorder upup Boeing via MBDa feet, which would make it launch cus- ing all of its aircraft leasing activities to 60 737 MAX 8s. Al Baker has been DEFENSE tomer for an 86-seat, two-class version uundernder tthehe DDublin-basedublin-based AAvolonvolon brand.brand. angry about Airbus delivery delays. of the aircraft. MOSES ROBINSON/GETTY IMAGES mBDA and Saab have begun deliver- Anglo-Japanese studies into improv- SPACE ies of taurus kepD 350k standof ing the european mBDA meteor the governments of norway and missiles to South Korea, as integration beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile Sweden have reduced their stakes The European Space Agency’s Exo- million Frontiers initiative announced Pegasus XL smallsat launch vehicles with the country’s Boeing F-15K strike with a Japanese active-array radar in SAS Scandinavian Airlines, start- Mars Trace Gas Orbiter entered orbit by President Barak Obama on Oct. 13. on a single mission. fghter (pictured) nears completion. seeker could result in a new and larger ing the process of fully privatizing the around Mars as planned on Oct. 19, but weapon. Separate but coordinated largest European carrier still majority contact was lost with the Schiaparelli Citing supplier holdups, a produc- DIED Despite signifcant cost growth studies should fnish by April 2018. state-owned. Denmark has said it is lander after its braking parachute was tion problem on the second CST-100 and the risk of additional schedule open to selling its shareholding. released earlier, and retro-rockets fi red spacecraft and other issues, Boeing has Leo Beranek, an acoustics engineer delays, the Pentagon is to move ahead italy’s defense ministry has green- for less time, than expected (page 24). delayed its commercial crew program whose company built the internet’s with Raytheon’s GPS ground-control lighted development of a new attack six months and hopes to fl y its fi rst precursor, Arpanet, for what is now system, the OCX, which faced possible helicopter based on Leonardo Helicop- On China’s sixth manned spacefl ight NASA astronauts to the International DARPA, has died aged 102. He co-found- termination after a two-year delay and ters’ AW149. To be funded by Italy’s mission, and fi rst in three years, two Space Station in December 2018. ed Bolt, Beranek and Newman—BBN, 25% cost growth. economic development ministry, the astronauts boarded the Tiangong-2 or- now part of Raytheon. Beranek’s work Future Exploration and Escort Heli- bital laboratory for a 30-day stay on Oct. Stratolaunch Systems and Orbital on noise control, and reports produced the U.S. Air Force is to feld Utc copter to replace the AW129 Mangusta 18 after the automatic docking of their ATK have formed a partnership to by BBN, led to legislation requiring early Aerospace Systems’ mS-177A multi- would ready by 2025. Shenzhou 11 spacecraft. Tiangong-2 was use its six-engine, 385-ft.-span carrier jet airliners to be fi tted with hushkits. spectral reconnaissance sensor—a launched on Sept. 15 (page 22). aircraft for air-launching up to three development of the SYERS-2 system lockheed martin Sikorsky’s S-97 Raider high-speed Orbital ATK’s Antares launch vehicle carried by U-2s—on the unmanned compound helicop- 48 YEARS AGO Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global ter prototype has fown with landing airBus group returned to fl ight on Oct. 17, the Hawk, with plans to buy eight payloads. gear retracted for the frst time. First Airbus group’s Silicon valley out- redesigned booster powered by Russian IN AVIATION WEEK post A3 has unveiled the self-piloted, RD-181 engines, launching from Wallops the U.S. Air Force Research labora- single-passenger electric air-taxi Island, Virginia, and boosting a Cygnus Our Oct. 28, 1968, cover shows a tory and navy plan a joint demonstra- concept it is developing under Project commercial cargo carrier toward the crowd surging around the first tion of an airborne counterelectronics Vahana. A full-size prototype is to fy International Space Station (page 26). Boeing 747 after the four-engine weapon under a collaborative project at the end of 2017 and be followed in “giant jet” emerged from the fi nal called HiJENKS, for High-Power Joint 2020 by a production-representative assembly facility in Everett, Wash- Electromagnetic Non-Kinetic Strike. demonstrator. ington. An article on page 104 of the issue detailed the battle for Solid rocket-motor manufacturers Uk low-cost carrier monarch Air- intercontinental routes between the Aerojet Rocketdyne and Orbital ATK lines has received a long-awaited 747, Lockheed L-1011 and McDon- have been barred from exclusively cash injection of £165 million ($202 teaming with prime contractors Boe- million) from majority stakeholder nell Douglas DC-10. But Engineering ing, Lockheed Martin or Northrop Greybull Capital after a fortnight of Editor C.M. Plattner downplayed the Grumman for the U.S. Air Force’s next- LockheeD Martin drama over concerns about the com- idea of a European challenger. “Con- generation intercontinental ballistic fown in May, the industry-funded pro- pany’s survival. sensus of U.S. airframe manufactur- missile competition. totype has now fown nine times. ers is that a European-manufactured A consortium of canadian compa- Airbus is doubtful in view of past pro- Finland will purchase and modern- poland’s defense ministry is nies and academic institutions led by NASA/BILL INGALLS crastination and lack of resolve and ize 28 used grob 115e piston-engine restarting a tender for multirole Bombardier will develop next-genera- Startup Planet will provide daily agreement among manufacturers,” trainers from Babcock International in helicopters just days after canceling tion more-electric systems and fight imagery updates from cubesat-class he wrote. Exactly four years later, Read the Oct. 28, 1968, issue of a €6.6 million ($7.3 million) deal to meet a $3.5 billion deal with Airbus for 50 controls for civil aircraft supported spacecraft in low Earth orbit to the Na- on Oct. 28, 1972, the Airbus A-300B of Aviation Week at: the country’s elementary pilot training H225M Caracals. Airbus, Leonardo by C$54 million ($41 million) from the tional Geospatial-Intelligence Agency archive.aviationweek.com needs and replace the air force’s feet of and Sikorsky have be invited to rebid Canadian government’s Technology under a $20 million contract—part of a would make its fi rst fl ight. indigenous Valmet L-70 trainers. (page 32). Demonstration Program. $50 million smallsat element in a $300

10 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 11

AW_10_24_2016_p10-11.indd 10 10/20/16 5:14 PM AW_10_24_2016_p10-11.indd 11 10/20/16 5:21 PM Going Concerns By Michael Bruno Michael Bruno is Senior Business Editor Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/GoingConcerns [email protected]

issuing a trio of credit rating reports. “We remain positive on the outlook for the global aerospace and defense industry, but the environment is clearly getting tougher for all market participants.” Take recent order developments in commentary both commercial and defense aircraft. On Oct. 7, Boeing proudly unveiled an order for 40 widebody aircraft (30 Adult Swim Only 787-9s and 10 777-300ERs) from Qatar Airways valued at almost $12 billion at list prices, as well as a letter of intent No matter where aerospace and defense cycles for up to 60 737-8s. are, everyone agrees playtime is over The latter was widely seen as a slap in the face to Airbus Group over

Boeing delivery issues shadowing A320neo narrowbody aircraft. But it is not all hen Alcoa Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeldlast a year gravy for Boeing, either, Solomon Wago announced the spinof of Arconic—the A&D, automo- suggested. Between the sheer size tive and industrial supplier separating from the legacy alumi- of the deal, the inclusion of current- generation equipment, the importance num giant Nov. 1—he and his team foresaw at least 10% growth of the customer and the tight pricing in aerospace sales in 2017. Now, they say it is too hard to tell— environment in play, there likely was and not in a good way. “very aggressive price discounting” involved. “If you talk to the experts and look ported Oct. 13 that its fourth-quarter “We therefore anticipate that the at 2017, the range people put out there sales and pretax results were lower economic returns to Boeing will be is huge, absolutely huge,” Kleinfeld than expected due to Pentagon fund- considerably less than historical norms said Oct. 11 while reporting the coming delays. Cubic shares dove about for the product ofering,” he said. bined Alcoa’s last quarterly results. 10% for the week. Elsewhere, in debt- Likewise, recent international “And I would say it is basically using a rating, Moody’s Investors Service fghter deals also portend heightened stick hunting gorillas in the fog.” credit analysts on Oct. 17 downgraded competition. In particular, while local Unfortunately for Wall Street bell- Tier 1 supplier Triumph Group re- ofsets have always been a cost of wether Alcoa—and soon Arconic—an lated to earnings pressures in coming doing business internationally, they A&D slowdown is already hitting years and an acute need to raise new seem to have reached a new norm. home. For the third quarter of 2016, business and cut overall costs. Referencing recent announce- Arconic segments reported 1% less Whether these are isolated cases or ments about sales of 36 Boeing F-15s revenue than a year before due, in indications of things to come remains to Qatar, 28 F-18s to Kuwait and 36 part, to original-equipment-manufac- to be seen, of course. Much ink has French Dassault Rafale fghters to turer customer “adjustments” to their been spilled on where Western aero- India, Solomon emphasized how eager own delivery schedules. Full-year 2016 space and defense markets are in their Western providers are to help build goals for Arconic segments also have traditional business cycles, including up local capacity. “Industry partici- been throttled back. on this page (AW&ST July 18-31, pants are notably willing to invest in In aerospace, this is due to an “un- p. 12). To be sure, Kleinfeld and many new facilities to accommodate more precedented industry ramp-up” to new others remain bullish on A&D. But stringent ofset agreements, including engine platforms experiencing “teeth- while boosters and skeptics continue greater technology transfer and more ing problems,” as well as destocking to disagree on whether the commer- localized production,” he said. and supply chain “optimization” in cial aerospace cycle is declining and Such heightened competition in legacy airframes, executives said. the defense budget world increasing, commercial and defense might have In turn, stock traders have thrown most concur that the current business been anticipated at this point. What pre-split Alcoa shares of a clif re- environment is becoming harder. is interesting is that it could linger cently, ending the mid-October week “We have been highlighting the for longer than expected as partici- of the announcement down roughly evolving and more intense competi- pants wait for the respective cycles 17%. But Alcoa was not the only com- tive dynamic in what has transitioned to reset, assuming many slow-growth pany early in this reporting season to to an increasingly global marketplace forecasts are accurate. Coming weeks predict a business fallof. for both civil and defense product and months could be telling as public Cubic, a transportation and defense and services,” Moody’s A&D expert companies begin to ofer look-aheads products and services provider, re- Russell Solomon said Oct. 10 while for 2017 and beyond. c

12 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 aviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p12.indd 12 10/20/16 12:09 PM Going Concerns By Michael Bruno Michael Bruno is Senior Business Editor Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/GoingConcerns [email protected] Strategic Planning issuing a trio of credit rating reports. “We remain positive on the outlook Simplif ed for the global aerospace and defense industry, but the environment is clearly getting tougher for all market participants.” Take recent order developments in commentary both commercial and defense aircraft. On Oct. 7, Boeing proudly unveiled an order for 40 widebody aircraft (30 Adult Swim Only 787-9s and 10 777-300ERs) from Qatar Airways valued at almost $12 billion at list prices, as well as a letter of intent No matter where aerospace and defense cycles for up to 60 737-8s. NOWNOW AAVAILABLE:VAILABLE: are, everyone agrees playtime is over The latter was widely seen as a slap in the face to Airbus Group over 20172017 FORECASTFORECAST Boeing delivery issues shadowing A320neo narrowbody aircraft. But it is not all hen Alcoa Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeldlast a year gravy for Boeing, either, Solomon Wago announced the spinof of Arconic—the A&D, automo- suggested. Between the sheer size tive and industrial supplier separating from the legacy alumi- of the deal, the inclusion of current- generation equipment, the importance num giant Nov. 1—he and his team foresaw at least 10% growth of the customer and the tight pricing in aerospace sales in 2017. Now, they say it is too hard to tell— environment in play, there likely was and not in a good way. “very aggressive price discounting” involved. “If you talk to the experts and look ported Oct. 13 that its fourth-quarter “We therefore anticipate that the at 2017, the range people put out there sales and pretax results were lower economic returns to Boeing will be is huge, absolutely huge,” Kleinfeld than expected due to Pentagon fund- considerably less than historical norms said Oct. 11 while reporting the coming delays. Cubic shares dove about for the product ofering,” he said. bined Alcoa’s last quarterly results. 10% for the week. Elsewhere, in debt- Likewise, recent international Data and Insight to Maximize Revenue “And I would say it is basically using a rating, Moody’s Investors Service fghter deals also portend heightened stick hunting gorillas in the fog.” credit analysts on Oct. 17 downgraded competition. In particular, while local Unfortunately for Wall Street bell- Tier 1 supplier Triumph Group re- ofsets have always been a cost of Aviation Week Network’s 2017 Fleet Gain a competitive advantage. The wether Alcoa—and soon Arconic—an lated to earnings pressures in coming doing business internationally, they & MRO Forecasts—built on the most Forecast’s easy to use interface simpliﬁ es: A&D slowdown is already hitting years and an acute need to raise new seem to have reached a new norm. Discovering new business opportunities for MRO home. For the third quarter of 2016, business and cut overall costs. Referencing recent announce- reliable industry data—are the unsurpassed u Arconic segments reported 1% less Whether these are isolated cases or ments about sales of 36 Boeing F-15s resources providing insight into the future services by aircraft, world region, aircraft type, revenue than a year before due, in indications of things to come remains to Qatar, 28 F-18s to Kuwait and 36 so users can create plans and strategies and more part, to original-equipment-manufac- to be seen, of course. Much ink has French Dassault Rafale fghters to Obtaining greater insight into f eet retirements and turer customer “adjustments” to their been spilled on where Western aero- India, Solomon emphasized how eager to maximize revenue generation across the u own delivery schedules. Full-year 2016 space and defense markets are in their Western providers are to help build Commercial, Military, Business Aviation, and additions, as well as changes to the overall f eet makeup goals for Arconic segments also have traditional business cycles, including up local capacity. “Industry partici- Helicopter sectors. been throttled back. on this page (AW&ST July 18-31, pants are notably willing to invest in Understanding how actions occurring today In aerospace, this is due to an “un- p. 12). To be sure, Kleinfeld and many new facilities to accommodate more u precedented industry ramp-up” to new others remain bullish on A&D. But stringent ofset agreements, including will impact the demand for future maintenance engine platforms experiencing “teeth- while boosters and skeptics continue greater technology transfer and more services ing problems,” as well as destocking to disagree on whether the commer- localized production,” he said. and supply chain “optimization” in cial aerospace cycle is declining and Such heightened competition in legacy airframes, executives said. the defense budget world increasing, commercial and defense might have In turn, stock traders have thrown most concur that the current business been anticipated at this point. What See for yourself. Contact us today: pre-split Alcoa shares of a clif re- environment is becoming harder. is interesting is that it could linger cently, ending the mid-October week “We have been highlighting the for longer than expected as partici- Aviationweek.com/2017forecast | 1.866.857.0148 or +1.847.763.9147 of the announcement down roughly evolving and more intense competi- pants wait for the respective cycles 17%. But Alcoa was not the only com- tive dynamic in what has transitioned to reset, assuming many slow-growth pany early in this reporting season to to an increasingly global marketplace forecasts are accurate. Coming weeks predict a business fallof. for both civil and defense product and months could be telling as public Cubic, a transportation and defense and services,” Moody’s A&D expert companies begin to ofer look-aheads products and services provider, re- Russell Solomon said Oct. 10 while for 2017 and beyond. c

12 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 aviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p12.indd 12 10/20/16 12:09 PM 610AWB13A.indd 1 10/18/2016 10:06:35 AM Up Front By Byron Callan

Contributing columnist Byron Callan is a director at Capital Alpha Partners.

commentary and boards to consider more trans- national footprints to remain globally competitive. Agents of Change Unlocking value. Analysts and investors have bid up defense valua- tions in the belief that a new defense Seven forces that could reshape defense spending upturn is starting. They are generally more negative on commer- he next 5-10 years are bound to see changes in the structure cial aerospace because of book-to-bill Tof the global defense sector. That structure has evolved trends and product transitions and softness in business jets. Activist since the 1990s consolidation from which emerged fve major investors could seek to exploit these U.S. contractors—with defense sales in excess of $10 billion— valuation diferences, particularly in and four national defense champions in Europe. The 2000s saw companies whose portfolio straddles both commercial aerospace and the rise and fall of companies that addressed the immediate defense, by pushing to unlock the needs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more recently a value of defense operations accorded a commercial aerospace valuation. bevy of public defense services companies in the U.S. have been Wider use of open architectures created by portfolio reshufing and divestitures. and open-source software. These will also bear on where value can be It is tempting to conclude that the created in defense. Companies may defense sector structure will be the lose sustainment of proprietary sys- same in 2021 or 2026, but there are tems on platforms and see reduced factors and forces that are bound scope of software work. However, to bear on how company manage- value should be created for compa- ment teams and boards of directors nies that can rapidly develop and feld envision creating value for share- new subsystems, though that may holders—and how they can avoid take more research and development. value destruction. Here are seven to Dearth of middle-size defense consider: companies. Since the 1970s and A new wave of consolidation? ’80s or earlier, very few new entrants Current U.S. policy was set forth in in defense have grown to several 2011 by Ash Carter, then undersec- hundreds of millions of dollars in retary of Defense for acquisition, tech- SpaceX scale. Most such companies were nology and logistics, when he stated in defense and encourage more new snapped up in the 1990s and 2000s. that the Defense Department would entrants, this could compel heritage Growth by acquisition of defense block mergers among its fve or six companies to choose where they can product companies may be a more largest contractors. Though unlikely, and cannot compete. Private technol- difcult strategy to execute. There the next administration may conceiv- ogy companies may bring very dif- were divestitures of product-focused ably bring new attitudes regarding ferent business models and fnancial defense businesses in the 2000s that the size and scale of large defense objectives than public ones. were not seen as good fts in defense contractors. A new wave of consoli- The British pound’s dive. In the conglomerates, but that trend may dation among the largest companies mid-2000s BAE Systems purchased accelerate in the coming years, could be the most signifcant change Armor Holdings, and United Defense particularly if operations are not in structure. Divestitures could be and Cobham, Qinetiq and Serco contributing to growth. triggered by megadeals, too. also acquired U.S. operations. At New technologies. Directed-ener- New market entrants. While that time, the exchange rate of the gy and rail-gun systems could change startups have not yet triggered a U.S. dollar to the British pound was prospects for energetics suppliers defense sector restructuring, that approximately $1.80-2.00—much and companies providing kinetic could change by 2017-19. The military higher than the current rate of $1.24. weapons that might be displaced. space sector may be the most vulner- If the U.S. dollar gains strength, it Additive manufacturing may change able to change if SpaceX can conclu- could make some European defense the economics of spare parts, and sively demonstrate the economics of operations relative bargains, spur- autonomous systems could infuence a reusable booster. Smaller satellite ring another round of transatlantic needs for support, sustainment and networks and other launch concepts consolidation. Defense in the U.S. is training. could create further pressure on her- mainly an export business. If cur- The defense sector of 2021 or 2026 itage defense space operations. If the rency exchange rates diverge further, will look decidedly diferent than the Pentagon can lower barriers to entry it may make sense for management one of today. c

14 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 aviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p14.indd 14 10/19/16 1:14 PM Up Front By Byron Callan Airline Intel By Jens Flottau Jens Flottau is Managing Contributing columnist Editor for Civil Aviation Byron Callan is a director Join the conversation at: at Capital Alpha Partners. AviationWeek.com/AirlineIntel Jens.fl [email protected] commentary and boards to consider more trans- than environmental constraints. national footprints to remain globally Airline behavior in this time of competitive. lower fuel prices clearly shows that Agents of Change Unlocking value. Analysts and strong regulation is needed to force investors have bid up defense valua- the industry to take action. Corsia tions in the belief that a new defense of ers no incentive for change. And Seven forces that could reshape defense spending upturn is starting. They are where are the next all-new aircraft generally more negative on commer- designs? Boeing’s new midsize aircraft he next 5-10 years are bound to see changes in the structure cial aerospace because of book-to-bill project, which it has been discussing Tof the global defense sector. That structure has evolved trends and product transitions and COMMENTARY JOEPRIESAVIATION.NET for some time, could enter service softness in business jets. Activist around the middle of the next decade since the 1990s consolidation from which emerged fve major investors could seek to exploit these if it is launched. But it would address U.S. contractors—with defense sales in excess of $10 billion— valuation diferences, particularly in No Pain, No Gain only a relatively small portion of the and four national defense champions in Europe. The 2000s saw companies whose portfolio straddles market, which makes it doubtful that both commercial aerospace and Boeing would invest in the kinds of the rise and fall of companies that addressed the immediate defense, by pushing to unlock the ICAO’s carbon-of set agreement will not alter breakthrough technologies needed to needs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more recently a value of defense operations accorded reduce fuel burn by 30% or more. The bevy of public defense services companies in the U.S. have been a commercial aerospace valuation. aviation’s environmental footprint next new narrowbodies that would Wider use of open architectures replace the A320neo and 737 MAX created by portfolio reshufing and divestitures. and open-source software. These hen the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) families are even farther of ; execu- will also bear on where value can be Wannounced in early October that its general assembly tives at the two manufacturers are not It is tempting to conclude that the created in defense. Companies may envisioning them before 2030. defense sector structure will be the lose sustainment of proprietary sys- had reached agreement on the Carbon Of set and Reduction The sad story is that a lot of tech- same in 2021 or 2026, but there are tems on platforms and see reduced Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia), the international nologies have matured enough in the factors and forces that are bound scope of software work. However, aviation community was full of praise. past several years for their commer- to bear on how company manage- value should be created for compa- cial use to be justifi ed much sooner. ment teams and boards of directors nies that can rapidly develop and feld The International Air Transport ing environmental projects elsewhere. But for many reasons, aircraft build- envision creating value for share- new subsystems, though that may Association (IATA) said the “his- But aircraft emissions will continue ers will only take risks when there is holders—and how they can avoid take more research and development. toric signifi cance of this agreement to grow and, based on Corsia, they no alternative. Even when they came value destruction. Here are seven to Dearth of middle-size defense cannot be overestimated,” and most will have little ef ect on airline under massive pressure from airlines consider: companies. Since the 1970s and other associations— regional airline expenses. There are no provisions to do something about fuel burn fi ve A new wave of consolidation? ’80s or earlier, very few new entrants lobby groups, the airports or govern- regarding emissions growth in the years ago, they opted for low-risk Current U.S. policy was set forth in in defense have grown to several ments— issued similar assessments. It next fi ve years; in 2021, the scheme is derivatives. 2011 by Ash Carter, then undersec- hundreds of millions of dollars in seemed that aviation had fi nally found introduced on a voluntary basis over Low fuel prices are also slowing retary of Defense for acquisition, tech- SpaceX scale. Most such companies were a way to tackle emissions growth and several years, and it expires in 2035, investment in biofuels, aviation’s most nology and logistics, when he stated in defense and encourage more new snapped up in the 1990s and 2000s. climate change. only a few years after it becomes fully realistic way of reducing its depen- that the Defense Department would entrants, this could compel heritage Growth by acquisition of defense But if even the fi ercest opponents functional. For even the fastest-grow- dence on current fuel sources. block mergers among its fve or six companies to choose where they can product companies may be a more such as the airlines and European ing airlines, the impact on capacity How will air transport meet its largest contractors. Though unlikely, and cannot compete. Private technol- difcult strategy to execute. There Commission agree, then something and aircraft-retirement decisions will long-term target of halving emissions the next administration may conceiv- ogy companies may bring very dif- were divestitures of product-focused must be wrong. And indeed, Corsia be insignifi cant. by 2050 in spite of expected huge ably bring new attitudes regarding ferent business models and fnancial defense businesses in the 2000s that is a gigantic political compromise; Corsia will do almost nothing to growth in the next 34 years? The the size and scale of large defense objectives than public ones. were not seen as good fts in defense most parties can live with it, and it change airline behavior, and unfortu- ICAO process has shown that inter- contractors. A new wave of consoli- The British pound’s dive. In the conglomerates, but that trend may does very little to reduce the aviation nately other factors are not helping ests are so divergent globally that dation among the largest companies mid-2000s BAE Systems purchased accelerate in the coming years, industry’s environmental footprint. either. Airbus launched the A320neo worldwide regulation is impossible. could be the most signifcant change Armor Holdings, and United Defense particularly if operations are not In fact, Corsia is an almost painless and Boeing followed with the 737 From the airlines’ perspective, the in structure. Divestitures could be and Cobham, Qinetiq and Serco contributing to growth. mechanism that will ensure airlines MAX because high fuel prices were risk is that governments with a stron- triggered by megadeals, too. also acquired U.S. operations. At New technologies. Directed-ener- can continue to grow without paying an excessive cost burden for airlines ger environmental agenda will sooner New market entrants. While that time, the exchange rate of the gy and rail-gun systems could change big penalties for the environmental fi ve years ago. Today, with fuel much or later recognize the shortfalls and startups have not yet triggered a U.S. dollar to the British pound was prospects for energetics suppliers damage they cause. cheaper, neither aircraft maker would add or strengthen regional schemes defense sector restructuring, that approximately $1.80-2.00—much and companies providing kinetic Airlines have committed to what launch the new models because such as the European Union’s Emis- could change by 2017-19. The military higher than the current rate of $1.24. weapons that might be displaced. they defi ne as “carbon-neutral airlines would not buy them. As things sions Trading System. But they are space sector may be the most vulner- If the U.S. dollar gains strength, it Additive manufacturing may change growth” from 2020, which many have stand, airlines are happily operating unlikely to be powerful enough to able to change if SpaceX can conclu- could make some European defense the economics of spare parts, and misinterpreted as meaning that avia- excess capacity with mostly older- move the needle. sively demonstrate the economics of operations relative bargains, spur- autonomous systems could infuence tion will actually freeze its own emis- generation aircraft because they can What would help is real fi nancial a reusable booster. Smaller satellite ring another round of transatlantic needs for support, sustainment and sions at the level they reach four years af ord it, and they do not have to cover pain. The only hope is a sustained networks and other launch concepts consolidation. Defense in the U.S. is training. from now. In fact, Corsia is a tool that the true environmental cost of doing and substantial increase in fuel costs, could create further pressure on her- mainly an export business. If cur- The defense sector of 2021 or 2026 determines what happens if airlines so. Growth has accelerated beyond forcing airlines and industry to change itage defense space operations. If the rency exchange rates diverge further, will look decidedly diferent than the do not reach their targets: They must most forecasts, and if it is currently gears. It is about time, and yet, for now, Pentagon can lower barriers to entry it may make sense for management one of today. c of set their excess emissions by fund- slowing down, it is for reasons other that is not on the horizon. c

14 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 aviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 15

AW_10_24_2016_p14.indd 14 10/19/16 1:14 PM AW_10_24_2016_p15.indd 15 10/19/16 4:32 PM Inside Business Aviation By William Garvey William Garvey is Editor-in-Chief of Business & Commercial Aviation Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/IBA [email protected]

And such was the status in Janu- ary 2013, when Chinese investors Enstrom HElicoptEr pHotos took over in what was believed to commentary be a $60 million deal. With expectations high for a general aviation boom that would follow the long-awaited Rotary Resilience deregulation of Chinese airspace, the recently formed Chongqing Helicop- An unrealized promise and a new model soon ter Investment Co. saw Enstrom as key to satisfying pent-up demand he lowest burg on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Menominee, for vertical lift. Projecting Enstrom Tis a small county seat known for hot, humid summers, would soon be building 100 units per year again, the new owners added numbingly frigid winters, walleye pike aplenty and frontage more than 77,000 ft.2 of manufactur- on Green Bay. Its best “Packer ing space—essentially doubling the player,” however, was a TV size of the Menominee plant (see top photo)—and 100+ new employees. actress named Doris, remem- And then . . . not much happened. bered as the school principal China’s general aviation bonanza has on “Leave It to Beaver.” yet to materialize. However, underscoring commitment to their vision, Oh, yes, and it is home to a manufac- the owners revised their Chinese turer of helicopters as well. company’s name to Chongqing Although something of an also-ran General Aviation Group. Rather than to Bell, Airbus, Sikorsky, Boeing Vertol sidiaries then included Airwork and whether China will boom, Enstrom and Robinson, little Enstrom Helicop- Pacifc Airmotive, bought a controlling President and CEO Tracy Biegler (see ter Corp. is equal to the more cel- interest in Enstrom with the intent of photo) says, “The magical question is: ebrated of the segment in its tenacity developing a turbine powered iteration ‘When will that happen?’” Enstrom is through good times and bad—with the of the F-28. When that efort came to focused now on the TH180, a non-tur- latter prevailing in recent years. naught after three years of ownership, bocharged piston model targeted at The company traces its roots to the Purex sold the company to famed trial the training market. 1940s, when a local mining engineer attorney-pilot F. Lee Bailey. It is in fight testing named Rudy Enstrom began tinkering At that time, Enstrom’s fortunes and expected to earn with a helicopter of his own design. rode the general aviation business FAA certifcation That initial and, ahem, rudimentary ef- cycle’s ascent as the F-28A sold well. next year. fort inspired area businessmen in 1959 In addition, in 1974 the company in- Two of Enstrom’s to set up a manufacturing enterprise troduced a highly stylized version, the most reliable cus- to build light, commercial helicopters, 280 Shark, and total deliveries topped tomer segments— albeit models conceived and refned 100 units annually. Understandably the natural-resources by experienced aeronautical designers buoyed, Bailey turbocharged the pair aircraft market rather than a hopeful amateur. And and in 1978 unveiled the 280L Hawk, a and helicopter-buying governments although his name remained on the let- stretched, four-place model. It was well dependent on oil revenue—have been terhead, Enstrom was cashiered years received, but the new design’s techni- depressed by the collapse of oil prices. before the frst model, the F-28, earned cal and fnancial challenges proved to As a result, the manufacturer has re- its FAA certifcation in 1965. be too much. Bailey bailed, selling the duced headcount to 145 and expects to In the decades since, the company’s company to private investors in 1980. close out the year having built fewer product line has expanded to just three Four years later, inventor Dean Ka- than two dozen aircraft. It is targeting basic models: the much-improved men (who went on to create the Seg- 30-35 new-builds in 2017, depending. F-28F and 280FX (see photo), both way people mover) was in command. Nonetheless, Biegler says the powered by 225-shp Lycoming piston He helped develop the TH28, a failed TH180, priced at “less than $400,000” engines, and the 480B, which has competitor for a U.S. Army training when launched in 2013, is “a game a 420-shp Rolls-Royce 250-C20W aircraft contract, into the 480, which changer” that will not only gain turboshaft powerplant. The trio—all came to market in 1993. Then, in 2000, Enstrom entry into an important new of which feature three-blade, all-metal Enstrom changed hands yet again, this market, but help promote the brand. main rotors—are priced at $500,000, time to a secretive and anonymous After all, despite having produced $545,000 and $1.1 million, respectively. Swiss investor who surely watched in some 1,300 well-regarded helicopters As with the original, both of the two dismay as the great recession eight over half a century, the manufactur- follow-on models have a special history. years later pretty much grounded er’s moniker is as unfamiliar to many In 1968, the Purex Corp., whose sub- activities at Enstrom, among others. as is its hometown. c

16 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 aviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p16.indd 16 10/19/16 12:44 PM Inside Business Aviation By William Garvey Leading Edge By Graham Warwick William Garvey is Editor-in-Chief Graham Warwick is of Business & Commercial Aviation Managing Editor for Technology Join the conversation at: Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/IBA AviationWeek.com/LE [email protected] [email protected]

And such was the status in Janu- commentary At 10 nm, the ship begins to send ary 2013, when Chinese investors more precise relative position data to Enstrom HElicoptEr pHotos took over in what was believed to the aircraft at a higher rate, to provide commentary be a $60 million deal. With expecta- There To Guide a precise direction to the touchdown tions high for a general aviation boom spot. Four antennas for the unique that would follow the long-awaited JPALS data link are mounted on the Rotary Resilience deregulation of Chinese airspace, the Finally, manned and unmanned aircraft will land on ship’s mast for redundancy. recently formed Chongqing Helicop- U.S. Navy carriers using the GPS-based JPALS The JPALS signal-in-space gener- An unrealized promise and a new model soon ter Investment Co. saw Enstrom as ates a guidance tunnel down to the key to satisfying pent-up demand deck. This comprises an inner tunnel he lowest burg on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Menominee, for vertical lift. Projecting Enstrom emember JPALS? Development of the military GPS-based within which the system is required Tis a small county seat known for hot, humid summers, would soon be building 100 units per RJoint Precision Approach and Landing System began back to keep the aircraft 95% of the time. year again, the new owners added in 1998, and the program sufered a so-called Nunn-McCurdy Surrounding this is a larger integ- numbingly frigid winters, walleye pike aplenty and frontage more than 77,000 ft.2 of manufactur- rity tunnel within which the aircraft on Green Bay. Its best “Packer ing space—essentially doubling the cost breach in 2014 after all, but the U.S. Navy pulled out of remains safe, but the pilot is alerted to player,” however, was a TV size of the Menominee plant (see top the once-joint efort. Therefore, making the assumption that make a correction or the LSO to wave photo)—and 100+ new employees. the program had died is not unreasonable. of the approach. In 2013 testing, the actress named Doris, remem- And then . . . not much happened. system beat the specifcation on all 38 bered as the school principal China’s general aviation bonanza has But Raytheon now has a $255 Having already completed develop- landings, Maselli says. on “Leave It to Beaver.” yet to materialize. However, under- million Navy contract to complete ment testing down to 200-ft. decision In addition to briefng international scoring commitment to their vision, development of JPALS and support height using a Boeing F/A-18 as the customers such as the UK that will op- Oh, yes, and it is home to a manufac- the owners revised their Chinese early operational capability in 2018 on test platform, Raytheon will now erate F-35s from ships, Raytheon is in- turer of helicopters as well. company’s name to Chongqing one aircraft carrier and one amphibi- repeat the testing down to touch- vesting in development of a land-based Although something of an also-ran General Aviation Group. Rather than ous assault ship operating Lockheed down on the moving deck using version—which could be packaged to Bell, Airbus, Sikorsky, Boeing Vertol sidiaries then included Airwork and whether China will boom, Enstrom Martin F-35B/C Joint Strike Fighters the F-35, which comes with JPALS into a Humvee. This would provide and Robinson, little Enstrom Helicop- Pacifc Airmotive, bought a controlling President and CEO Tracy Biegler (see capability built in as precision “zero-zero” guidance down ter Corp. is equal to the more cel- interest in Enstrom with the intent of photo) says, “The magical question is: standard—whether to touchdown on any runway within a ebrated of the segment in its tenacity developing a turbine powered iteration ‘When will that happen?’” Enstrom is ship- or land-based. 20-nm radius, says Delorge. through good times and bad—with the of the F-28. When that efort came to focused now on the TH180, a non-tur- JPALS has also The Air Force dropped out of JPALS latter prevailing in recent years. naught after three years of ownership, bocharged piston model targeted at been specifed as the after the FAA changed its mind about The company traces its roots to the Purex sold the company to famed trial the training market. landing system for replacing instrument landing systems 1940s, when a local mining engineer attorney-pilot F. Lee Bailey. It is in fight testing the Navy’s planned (ILS) with GPS ground-based augmen- named Rudy Enstrom began tinkering At that time, Enstrom’s fortunes and expected to earn MQ-25A Stingray tation systems, but it is showing inter- with a helicopter of his own design. rode the general aviation business FAA certifcation Carrier-Based Aerial est now that it is evident “how much That initial and, ahem, rudimentary ef- cycle’s ascent as the F-28A sold well. next year. Refueling System further along this is than they thought, fort inspired area businessmen in 1959 In addition, in 1974 the company in- Two of Enstrom’s unmanned aircraft, and how real it is,” he says. to set up a manufacturing enterprise troduced a highly stylized version, the most reliable cus- for which a manufac- “The Navy is far enough along that to build light, commercial helicopters, 280 Shark, and total deliveries topped tomer segments— turer has yet to be there is no need to be embarrassed albeit models conceived and refned 100 units annually. Understandably the natural-resources selected. It will likely by the Nunn-McCurdy breach,” which by experienced aeronautical designers buoyed, Bailey turbocharged the pair aircraft market Lockheed Martin be retroftted to was caused by the Air Force and rather than a hopeful amateur. And and in 1978 unveiled the 280L Hawk, a and helicopter-buying governments (JSF). Initial operational capability is operational F/A-18s at some point. Army pulling out and sending unit although his name remained on the let- stretched, four-place model. It was well dependent on oil revenue—have been set for 2020. A JPALS landing begins 200 nm costs soaring for the Navy as the sole terhead, Enstrom was cashiered years received, but the new design’s techni- depressed by the collapse of oil prices. “It’s a rebirth,” says Bob Delorge, from touchdown, when the aircraft customer, Delorge says. “This was before the frst model, the F-28, earned cal and fnancial challenges proved to As a result, the manufacturer has re- vice president of training support begins to receive “here I am” data from never a troubled program,” he adds. its FAA certifcation in 1965. be too much. Bailey bailed, selling the duced headcount to 145 and expects to services at Raytheon Intelligence, the ship via one-way link, says Mark The last efort to replace radar and In the decades since, the company’s company to private investors in 1980. close out the year having built fewer Information and Services. The com- Maselli, deputy program manager. At ILS for military approach control was product line has expanded to just three Four years later, inventor Dean Ka- than two dozen aircraft. It is targeting pany now plans to “follow the F-35” 60 nm, the aircraft automatically logs the microwave landing system in the basic models: the much-improved men (who went on to create the Seg- 30-35 new-builds in 2017, depending. as it markets JPALS to domestic and in to JPALS and synchronizes GPS- 1990s. GPS landing systems are not F-28F and 280FX (see photo), both way people mover) was in command. Nonetheless, Biegler says the international JSF customers who plan based position data with the ship. in widespread use commercially, but powered by 225-shp Lycoming piston He helped develop the TH28, a failed TH180, priced at “less than $400,000” to operate the aircraft from land as On the ship are fve GPS receivers— JPALS does something they cannot— engines, and the 480B, which has competitor for a U.S. Army training when launched in 2013, is “a game well as sea. two at the landing signal ofcer (LSO) permit zero-zero landings on moving a 420-shp Rolls-Royce 250-C20W aircraft contract, into the 480, which changer” that will not only gain Under the Navy contract, Raytheon position and three on the mast—and ships in all weather. turboshaft powerplant. The trio—all came to market in 1993. Then, in 2000, Enstrom entry into an important new will complete development of a pre- three dedicated inertial measurement As for GPS’s vulnerabilities and of which feature three-blade, all-metal Enstrom changed hands yet again, this market, but help promote the brand. cision-landing system that will guide units. These combine to locate the military concerns about GPS-denied main rotors—are priced at $500,000, time to a secretive and anonymous After all, despite having produced aircraft all the way to touchdown with touchdown point within a 1-ft.2 box on operations, Maselli emphasizes that $545,000 and $1.1 million, respectively. Swiss investor who surely watched in some 1,300 well-regarded helicopters centimeter accuracy in poor weather the moving deck, typically positioned JPALS includes anti-jamming and As with the original, both of the two dismay as the great recession eight over half a century, the manufactur- and high seas, via an encrypted link for the aircraft to catch the third wire. anti-spoofng algorithms, and “there follow-on models have a special history. years later pretty much grounded er’s moniker is as unfamiliar to many that, unlike current approach control Four electronics racks provide redun- will be a lot bigger problems [than In 1968, the Purex Corp., whose sub- activities at Enstrom, among others. as is its hometown. c radars, will not betray a ship’s location. dancy. landing on a ship] if there is no GPS.” c

16 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 aviationWeek.com/awst aviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 17

AW_10_24_2016_p16.indd 16 10/19/16 12:44 PM AW_10_24_2016_p17.indd 17 10/20/16 3:24 PM In Orbit By Frank Morring, Jr. Frank Morring, Jr. is Senior Space Editor Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/InOrbit [email protected]

commentary jects available is going to be small.” Phase 1 of the post-ISS preparation for Mars will begin as early as 2018, Translunar Transition when NASA plans to resume human operations in the vicinity of the Moon with the frst (unmanned) exploration The clock is running on ISS testing mission (EM-1) of the heavy-lift Space for Mars missions Launch System (SLS) and Orion crew capsule. As early as 2021 astronauts stronaut Kate Rubins recently installed new lighting in the will fy around the Moon in an Orion, AInternational Space Station (ISS) crew quarters that could and subsequent missions will extend crew time in cislunar space to 115 days help her successors in space survive a mission to Mars. Known by 2025, according to the latest sched- as a solid-state lighting assembly (SSLA), the device emits light ule for missions through EM-6. in wavelengths that can be tuned to help space travelers get a Those would include delivery of a power and propellant service module better night’s sleep. The SSLA is a simple example of the with an unmanned fight as early as complex testing underway on the ISS 2022, followed in the same year by a as NASA and its international part- four-member Orion crew on EM-3 with a small habitat able to ride in the ners prepare for eventual human Universal Stage Adaptor planned for travel to Mars. the Block 1b variant of the SLS. With delivery of the habitat—and its “This is going to be the way we are subsequent expansion with a second going to do lighting as a sleep coun- hab, airlock and internal gear—Phase 2 termeasure for the future,” says Bill of the Human Research Program can Paloski, director of NASA’s Human begin in earnest. Mars-class systems Research Program. “[It will] make it NASA tested on the ISS will be validated in easier to go to sleep and easier to wake an environment more like the one they up because the spectrum you are going astronauts will use to accomplish that. will experience on the way to the red to be looking at is going to be more On the space station, which NASA planet. similar to what we have here on Earth.” terms “Phase 0,” the goal is to test “We are expecting that it’s going to The space station is a relatively so- “Mars-capable habitation systems” be a more Spartan environment for phisticated laboratory, with a six-per- while the LEO facility is still available. research, and so it is mostly going to be son crew, a pressurized volume com- Those include environmental control observing and making sure that things parable to that inside a Boeing 747, and and life-support systems, exercise and work the way we expected them to,” a solar-powerplant that can generate other equipment needed to maintain Paloski says. as much as 120 kW of electricity. Most crew health in space over long periods One early example is “Rocky,” a of the station partners have agreed to without quick access back to Earth, compact exercise device designed to fund it through 2024, and Europe may fre detection and suppression and replace the bulky equipment station follow suit in December. radiation monitoring. crews use for as long as 2 hr. a day to Engineers estimate it should contin- Also on the LEO agenda is using ofset the efects of microgravity (see ue to be structurally sound until about station crews as test subjects for char- illustration). Following tests on the 2028, barring calamity or unforeseen acterizing and mitigating the efects station, Paloski says, the device may efects of the space environment. That of long-duration human spacefight. be tested in cislunar space as early as is a pretty hard deadline for using the Researchers hope to repeat the year- EM-2, even though the Orion cabin low-Earth-orbit (LEO) environment to long mission of Scott Kelly and Mikhail is so cramped that the toilet will not develop life-support and other human- Kornienko at least four more times on be available when crewmembers are support systems that will be needed on the ISS to expand the database to 10 exercising. the journey to Mars. subjects, but shorter-duration visits Other factors to be studied in the The U.S. space agency plans to use will also be important for studying vi- “proving ground” of cislunar space are a small space station in lunar orbit to sion loss and other health efects some human reactions to: the unvisited grav- calibrate techniques and technology station crewmembers experience. ity felds beyond LEO; isolation, con- that would enable astronauts to thrive “[From] now to 2024 is the most fnement and altered light/dark cycles; in the high-radiation, low-gravity critical phase for us to get answers to living in a hostile, closed environment; conditions they will encounter on the the questions that we’re going to able increased radiation; and operating way to Mars. The Human Research to answer,” says Paloski. “Once we get days rather than hours from Earth. Program is developing the steps its into cislunar space, which is the ’21-’30 “We’re in the middle of trying to fg- fight surgeons, life scientists and timeframe, then the number of sub- ure out how to do this,” Paloski says. c

18 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 aviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p18.indd 18 10/19/16 12:53 PM In Orbit By Frank Morring, Jr. Washington Outlook Edited by Jen DiMascio Frank Morring, Jr. is Jen DiMascio is Managing Senior Space Editor Editor for Defense and Space Join the conversation at: Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/InOrbit AviationWeek.com/WashingtonOutlook [email protected] [email protected] commentary jects available is going to be small.” Commentary and domestic partners. The changes Phase 1 of the post-ISS preparation would take efect at the start of 2018. for Mars will begin as early as 2018, Also, refunds of checked-bag fees Translunar Transition when NASA plans to resume human Response Options would be mandatory if bags are “sub- operations in the vicinity of the Moon stantially delayed.” And the airlines’ with the frst (unmanned) exploration mechanism for reporting mishandled The clock is running on ISS testing mission (EM-1) of the heavy-lift Space How to counter Russian treaty violation? luggage would be streamlined; cur- for Mars missions Launch System (SLS) and Orion crew rently, mishandled bags are reported capsule. As early as 2021 astronauts wo Republican congressmen are pressing President Barack against the total number of passen- stronaut Kate Rubins recently installed new lighting in the will fy around the Moon in an Orion, TObama to impose sanctions on Russia and prepare military op- gers. The administration is propos- AInternational Space Station (ISS) crew quarters that could and subsequent missions will extend tions to counter ongoing breaches by Moscow of the Intermediate- ing that airlines report mishandled crew time in cislunar space to 115 days bags per the number of overall bags help her successors in space survive a mission to Mars. Known by 2025, according to the latest sched- Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The treaty, signed by the U.S. checked. The administration also may as a solid-state lighting assembly (SSLA), the device emits light ule for missions through EM-6. and Russia in 1987, seeks to block production and possession of prohibit online travel agencies from in wavelengths that can be tuned to help space travelers get a Those would include delivery of a ground-launched cruise missiles that can fy from 500-5,500 km. favoring certain airlines and mandate power and propellant service module Alex Wong/getty ImAges Photos airlines to detail the number of mis- better night’s sleep. The SSLA is a simple example of the with an unmanned fight as early as Top State Department ofcials have handled wheelchairs, Foxx says: “We complex testing underway on the ISS 2022, followed in the same year by a cited Russian INF violations since 2014 want to ensure the passenger is get- as NASA and its international part- four-member Orion crew on EM-3 involving tests of a ground-launched ting as much information as possible.” with a small habitat able to ride in the cruise missile. Russia has argued U.S. Airlines for America says these revi- ners prepare for eventual human Universal Stage Adaptor planned for UAVs and missile defense systems sions won’t help the consumer. “Dictat- travel to Mars. the Block 1b variant of the SLS. also violate the treaty. But this latest ing to the airline industry distribution With delivery of the habitat—and its round of concern appears driven by and commercial practices would only “This is going to be the way we are subsequent expansion with a second indications that Russia has accelerated beneft those third parties who dis- going to do lighting as a sleep coun- hab, airlock and internal gear—Phase 2 production of the missile in question tribute tickets, not the fying public,” termeasure for the future,” says Bill of the Human Research Program can and is prepared to deploy it. So far, of- President Nicholas Calio says. c Paloski, director of NASA’s Human begin in earnest. Mars-class systems cials have been coy about exactly what Research Program. “[It will] make it NASA tested on the ISS will be validated in system in Russia’s arsenal is causing We stand ready to support matter of ProduCtivity easier to go to sleep and easier to wake an environment more like the one they alarm. Speculation has swirled around ‘ Seventy House lawmakers are appeal- up because the spectrum you are going astronauts will use to accomplish that. will experience on the way to the red the RS-26 or an extended-range ver- [Obama] in taking steps ing for additional F-35 Joint Strike to be looking at is going to be more On the space station, which NASA planet. sion of the short-range Iskander mis- to respond to the military Fighter funding so the program can similar to what we have here on Earth.” terms “Phase 0,” the goal is to test “We are expecting that it’s going to sile. Arms control experts reject both quickly ramp up production to 120 The space station is a relatively so- “Mars-capable habitation systems” be a more Spartan environment for possibilities. Another possibility is the impacts of Russia’s breakout U.S. aircraft per year. The letter to phisticated laboratory, with a six-per- while the LEO facility is still available. research, and so it is mostly going to be SSC-X-8, a ground-launched version of of the INF Treaty.’ leaders on the committee that writes son crew, a pressurized volume com- Those include environmental control observing and making sure that things the sea-launched SS-N-30A. spending bills comes as Congress is in parable to that inside a Boeing 747, and and life-support systems, exercise and work the way we expected them to,” Republican Reps. Mac Thornberry —RePS. MAC THORNBeRRy the process of reconciling diferences a solar-powerplant that can generate other equipment needed to maintain Paloski says. (Texas) and Devin Nunes (Calif.), who AND DeVIN NUNeS between House and Senate legislation as much as 120 kW of electricity. Most crew health in space over long periods One early example is “Rocky,” a chair the House Armed Services and for fscal 2017 spending. In the case of of the station partners have agreed to without quick access back to Earth, compact exercise device designed to the House Intelligence Committees, to support you in taking steps to re- the F-35, the House bill added money fund it through 2024, and Europe may fre detection and suppression and replace the bulky equipment station respectively, say the administration spond to the military impacts of Rus- to buy 11 additional F-35s. The Senate follow suit in December. radiation monitoring. crews use for as long as 2 hr. a day to has not heeded a provision in a 2016 sia’s breakout of the INF Treaty.” c sought just an additional four aircraft. Engineers estimate it should contin- Also on the LEO agenda is using ofset the efects of microgravity (see defense policy bill. The legislation “Increasing the production rate is ue to be structurally sound until about station crews as test subjects for char- illustration). Following tests on the sought to compel the Pentagon to begin Baggage Claims the single most important factor in 2028, barring calamity or unforeseen acterizing and mitigating the efects station, Paloski says, the device may research and development on counter- The Obama administration has un- reducing future aircraft unit costs,” efects of the space environment. That of long-duration human spacefight. be tested in cislunar space as early as force, countervailing strike and active veiled a bevy of new rules to address write lawmakers led by Reps. Kay is a pretty hard deadline for using the Researchers hope to repeat the year- EM-2, even though the Orion cabin defenses against ground-launched bal- passenger complaints with airlines, Granger (R-Texas) and John Larson low-Earth-orbit (LEO) environment to long mission of Scott Kelly and Mikhail is so cramped that the toilet will not listic and cruise missile attacks. including fight delays, lost bag- (D-Conn.), who represent districts develop life-support and other human- Kornienko at least four more times on be available when crewmembers are Thornberry and Nunes add that gage, online booking and treatment where the fghter and its engine are support systems that will be needed on the ISS to expand the database to 10 exercising. the administration “is not permitting of handicapped passengers. Airline made. The bills also difer regarding the journey to Mars. subjects, but shorter-duration visits Other factors to be studied in the the military to pursue” response op- groups, however, dismiss the initiative advance funding for additional F-35s. The U.S. space agency plans to use will also be important for studying vi- “proving ground” of cislunar space are tions outlined by Army Gen. Mar- as both repetitive and ultimately, a The Senate bill would add $100 million a small space station in lunar orbit to sion loss and other health efects some human reactions to: the unvisited grav- tin Dempsey in 2015, when he was bad deal for customers. to buy parts and supplies that will help calibrate techniques and technology station crewmembers experience. ity felds beyond LEO; isolation, con- chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staf. Among the measures Transporta- fund purchases of F-35A in fscal 2018. that would enable astronauts to thrive “[From] now to 2024 is the most fnement and altered light/dark cycles; The options were intended to send a tion Secretary Anthony Foxx an- The House version does not. As such in the high-radiation, low-gravity critical phase for us to get answers to living in a hostile, closed environment; message—similar to the way that U.S. nounced is one that would expand the the lawmakers are asking the House conditions they will encounter on the the questions that we’re going to able increased radiation; and operating deployment of Pershing II missiles in number of airlines required to report Appropriations Committee to approve way to Mars. The Human Research to answer,” says Paloski. “Once we get days rather than hours from Earth. the 1980s helped bring Russia to the on-time arrival statistics. And major both increases and reject reductions Program is developing the steps its into cislunar space, which is the ’21-’30 “We’re in the middle of trying to fg- INF negotiating table. Despite that, carriers will be responsible for report- in the Senate bill targeted at F-35 fight surgeons, life scientists and timeframe, then the number of sub- ure out how to do this,” Paloski says. c the members pledge: “We stand ready ing on-time statistics for their regional upgrades. c

18 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 aviationWeek.com/awst aviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 19

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610AWB20_21.indd 3 10/19/2016 2:29:32 PM SPACE By Degrees China’s space program takes next well-planned steps for ambitious orbital laboratory Bradley Perrett Beijing and Frank Morring, Jr. Washington

hen trailing far behind, there is no reason to sprint; Wbetter to take it steady and not stumble. That has been a guiding principle of the Chinese civilian space program, of which Tiangong-2, a new orbital laboratory that has now received its frst astronaut occupants, is a classic example.

Following the last demonstration of launcher jettisoning its four strap-on orbital docking by its outwardly simi- boosters and dropping its first stage. lar predecessor, Tiangong-1, more than Solar arrays deployed shortly after ImagInechIna VIa aP Images three years ago, Tiangong-2 is working the capsule separated about 12 min. to minimize the risk of the remaining after launch. point for that was the halt at 120 m. technology for the space station that The rendezvous and docking pro- The rendezvous and docking took China hopes to complete around 2022. cedure two days later comprised five place at an altitude of 393 km, the height When it comes to space endeavors, approach movements by Shenzhou-11 intended for the space station and 50 km the Chinese take one careful step, verify, toward Tiangong-2, each separated by a higher than the docking of Sheznhou-8, prepare at length and then take another. programmed halt. The process began at -9 and -10 with Tiangong-1 in 2011-13. The Soviet Union and U.S. began launch- a range of 52 km (32 mi.). As in previous A second main objective of the ing space stations in Shenzhou-11 mission, the 1970s, so there is no in preparation for the need to rush. space station, is to sus- Tiangong-2’s work tain two astronauts in has begun by using orbit for 30 days, lon- improved technology ger than the Chinese for the rendezvous and space program has docking executed by previously attempted. its first visitor, Shen- Supporting two people zhou-11, a manned mis- for that duration was sion launched on Oct. a design objective of 17, Chinese time. That Tiangong-2. Shenzhou was 32 days after Tian- spacecraft can carry gong-2 was sent into three people, but that orbit. The two con- number apparently nected on Oct. 19. was beyond the capac- Shenzhou-11 and ity of the laboratory crewmembers Jing without resupply. Haipeng and Chen With a mass of 8.6 Dong lifted off from metric tons, just a the launch center for little more than Shen- human spacefight at Jiuquan, in the A screen grab of the Chinese docking zhou-11, the laboratory is nothing like Gobi Desert, at 7:30 a.m. as the Sun system reveals its heritage in Rus- the size of a full space station but, was rising over the pad. As is routine sia’s Androgynous Peripheral Attach rather, is comparable with the pio- for the Chinese manned space pro- System, which NASA used to dock neering Soviet Salyut stations of the gram, a Long March 2F rocket lofted the shuttle with Mir and the ISS. 1970s and ’80s. Like the Tiangongs, Shenzhou-11. The same type of launch- the early Salyuts were not intended er was used for Tiangong-2. missions, the stops were made at 5,000 for continuous manning, although they Shenzhou-11 is China’s sixth hu- m (16,400 ft.), 400 m, 120 m and 30 m, were about twice as big. man spaceflight. The launch was at which point a hook was extended to The size of the Tiangong laboratories televised live within the country as grab Tiangong-2. Manual control, frst has evidently been determined by Long well as internationally and included demonstrated in 2012 on the Shenzhou-9 March 2F’s throw weight to low Earth shots from inside the capsule. A mission, was available as a backup but orbit—about 9 metric tons. The 3.35-m tracking-camera video broadcast the apparently was not used. The decision diameter of the Tiangongs is a stan-

22 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p22-23.indd 22 10/20/16 4:35 PM SPACE

Shenzhou-11, at right, approaches control heat from the engine at the bot- By Degrees the Tiangong-2 mini space station tom of the propulsion module, a mul- on Oct. 19, docking automatically tilayer thermal insulation material is with a manual backup to begin a used; it can isolate temperatures up to China’s space program takes next well-planned 30-day visit by its two-man crew. 900C (1,652F). The association implies, but does not quite say, that these are steps for ambitious orbital laboratory used Tiangong-1 as a target. “In space, new features. the intensity of sunlight is 3-5 times as Whereas Tiangong-1 was not much Bradley Perrett Beijing and Frank Morring, Jr. Washington great as on Earth, easily blinding the more than a docking target, Tian- eyes of a spacecraft,” says Gong Dezhu, gong-2 is described as China’s frst real head of the current mission’s rendez- space laboratory. It has taken a lot of hen trailing far behind, there is no reason to sprint; vous and docking optical sensors. “For science into orbit. This includes: better to take it steady and not stumble. That has been this reason, we have in the past had to ■ A “space-to-Earth quantum key dis- W choose times for rendezvous and dock- tribution” system designed to encrypt a guiding principle of the Chinese civilian space pro- ing when the light was suitable.” experimental laser communications gram, of which Tiangong-2, a new orbital laboratory that has In the new system employed on between the station and ground-station now received its frst astronaut occupants, is a classic example. Tiangong-2, suppression of stray sun- telescopes using unbreakable quantum light and the ability to recognize the coding based on individual photons. Ac- Following the last demonstration of launcher jettisoning its four strap-on target is greatly improved, says the cording to prefight information from orbital docking by its outwardly simi- boosters and dropping its first stage. China Association of Science and China’s Center for Space Utilization, lar predecessor, Tiangong-1, more than Solar arrays deployed shortly after Technology, citing Gong. If the new the system also will be used to encrypt ImagInechIna VIa aP Images three years ago, Tiangong-2 is working the capsule separated about 12 min. system becomes dazzled, its recovery data traveling over a fber-optic network to minimize the risk of the remaining after launch. point for that was the halt at 120 m. dard measurement for Chinese space time will be milliseconds, compared linking Beijing and Shanghai that is now technology for the space station that The rendezvous and docking pro- The rendezvous and docking took launcher modules. The International with 10 sec. previously. “As a result, under construction. China hopes to complete around 2022. cedure two days later comprised five place at an altitude of 393 km, the height Space Station has a mass of about 420 Shenzhou-11 and Tiangong-2 can dock ■ A “space cold atomic clock” that will When it comes to space endeavors, approach movements by Shenzhou-11 intended for the space station and 50 km metric tons. Its Soviet and Russian in all conditions,” says the association. increase timing accuracy for science, the Chinese take one careful step, verify, toward Tiangong-2, each separated by a higher than the docking of Sheznhou-8, predecessor, Mir, weighed 130 metric “This will support urgent maintenance navigation and fundamental measure- prepare at length and then take another. programmed halt. The process began at -9 and -10 with Tiangong-1 in 2011-13. tons, and China’s planned station will or rescue operations.” ments. The Soviet Union and U.S. began launch- a range of 52 km (32 mi.). As in previous A second main objective of the be around 60 metric tons, built of three The manned spacecraft also has ■ A furnace for materials experiments ing space stations in Shenzhou-11 mission, Salyut-size modules. detail improvements. One is a better in microgravity. the 1970s, so there is no in preparation for the It will be only the third modular sta- method of verifying airtightness when ■ A plant-growth chamber for experi- need to rush. space station, is to sus- tion. The frst module, Tianhe-1, is being doors are closed. Previously, the leak ments in growing food on long-dura- Tiangong-2’s work tain two astronauts in prepared, according to the Xinhua news detector would monitor the pressure tion space missions. has begun by using orbit for 30 days, lon- agency. A launch in 2018 has been most of the cabin. “This is an accurate and ■ An interferometric imaging radar improved technology ger than the Chinese frequently mentioned, but 2017 is pos- reliable method, but it is not quick,” altimeter. for the rendezvous and space program has sible, says Zhou Jianping, chief designer says the association. “It wastes a lot ■ A gamma ray burst detector. docking executed by previously attempted. of the China Manned Space Agency. of the astronauts’ time. So we needed ■ A multiband ultraviolet spectrom- its first visitor, Shen- Supporting two people Tiangong-2 “has the basic techno- to improve the method.” The solution eter for imaging Earth’s atmospheric zhou-11, a manned mis- for that duration was logical capacity of a space station,” is to inject a gas into the much smaller limb. sion launched on Oct. a design objective of says Zhou. For example, it has the nec- space formed between the closed door, ■ A “concomitant satellite” intended 17, Chinese time. That Tiangong-2. Shenzhou essary facilities for prolonged habita- the frame and two seals. Its pressure to separate and fy in formation with was 32 days after Tian- spacecraft can carry tion and has been ftted with a robotic needs be monitored for only 8 min. to Tiangong-2 to image the automatic gong-2 was sent into three people, but that arm for manipulating external objects. confirm airtightness, says the head docking by Shenzhou-11 and possible orbit. The two con- number apparently A cargo craft of 13-metric-tons loaded designer of the organization that cre- spacewalks. nected on Oct. 19. was beyond the capac- mass, Tianzhou-1, will fy to Tiangong-2 ated it, which is part of national space ■ A multi-angle polarization and wide- Shenzhou-11 and ity of the laboratory next year. The timing has evidently been contractor China Aerospace Science band spectral imager to study clouds, crewmembers Jing without resupply. dictated by the availability of the late- and Technology Corp. (CASC). aerosols and monitor surface forests, Haipeng and Chen With a mass of 8.6 running Long March 7 rocket, which can The reentry system has been crops and climate change. Dong lifted off from metric tons, just a hurl such a load to low Earth orbit and changed; it now features what it is ■ A fuid-physics experiment to study the launch center for little more than Shen- made its frst fight in June. calling the largest Chinese landing thermocapillary convection. human spacefight at Jiuquan, in the A screen grab of the Chinese docking zhou-11, the laboratory is nothing like Zhou told the International Astro- parachute, with an area of 1,200 m2. ■ A space environment-monitoring Gobi Desert, at 7:30 a.m. as the Sun system reveals its heritage in Rus- the size of a full space station but, nautical Congress in Jerusalem last This suggests that earlier parachutes system designed to measure high- was rising over the pad. As is routine sia’s Androgynous Peripheral Attach rather, is comparable with the pio- year that Tianzhou-1 would use Tian- were imported. The bufer system for energy particle radiation. for the Chinese manned space pro- System, which NASA used to dock neering Soviet Salyut stations of the gong-2 to demonstrate cargo and pro- softening the ground impact has been Samples from some of the experi- gram, a Long March 2F rocket lofted the shuttle with Mir and the ISS. 1970s and ’80s. Like the Tiangongs, pellant transfer—also essential capa- improved as well. ments will be returned to Earth by the Shenzhou-11. The same type of launch- the early Salyuts were not intended bilities for the planned space station. The thermal coat of the Shenzhou-11 Shenzhou-11 crew after their month- er was used for Tiangong-2. missions, the stops were made at 5,000 for continuous manning, although they Tianzhou missions will beneft from orbital module is 2-cm (0.8-in.) thick, long stay. c Shenzhou-11 is China’s sixth hu- m (16,400 ft.), 400 m, 120 m and 30 m, were about twice as big. the refined docking technology on says CASC. It features a composite man spaceflight. The launch was at which point a hook was extended to The size of the Tiangong laboratories Tiangong-2 that has apparently now membrane on the surface to protect televised live within the country as grab Tiangong-2. Manual control, frst has evidently been determined by Long been demonstrated. This uses opti- the spacecraft from particles such as Check 6 Aviation Week editors well as internationally and included demonstrated in 2012 on the Shenzhou-9 March 2F’s throw weight to low Earth cal sensors that are more resistant oxygen atoms. The surface of the re- discuss the promise and implications shots from inside the capsule. A mission, was available as a backup but orbit—about 9 metric tons. The 3.35-m to saturation than the equipment em- entry capsule is sprayed with a special of China’s push into space: tracking-camera video broadcast the apparently was not used. The decision diameter of the Tiangongs is a stan- ployed on previous missions, which organic temperature-control layer. To AviationWeek.com/podcast

22 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 23

AW_10_24_2016_p22-23.indd 22 10/20/16 4:35 PM AW_10_24_2016_p22-23.indd 23 10/20/16 5:59 PM SPACE

Telemetry data received from ESA’s Schiaparelli Mars lander suggest the thrusters activated too brieﬂ y, but the earlier phases of the entry and descent were successful.

trajectory during entry into the Mar- tian atmosphere. The second part of the descent, for 2 min., used a parachute. It was to deploy at 438 m per sec. (832 kt.)—a supersonic Life on Mars? speed, Blancquaert notes. The force it sustained was equivalent to 7-9 metric ESA’s ExoMars will go on with biological tons, but the technology is well known to ESA, in particular thanks to its experi- search, despite probable lander crash ESA ence with the Huygens probe on Titan in 2005. The fi nal speed under the para- Thierry Dubois Lyon, France chute was to be 70 m per sec. (136 kt.). Once the parachute jettisoned, the fi - he European Space Agency’s authors now assert that abiotic internal braking stage was to be propulsive. TExoMars Schiaparelli lander pretations are not conclusive and that Nine 400-Newton-thrust (90-lb.-thrust) may have crashed, but ESA is biology should still be considered as a engines were to be fi red. The engines not deterred. It still has high hopes for rationale for the experiment. themselves are a proven technology on the science data the mission’s orbiter On Oct. 19, contact with Schiaparelli the Ariane 5 launcher. might gather. And ESA is looking ahead was lost approximately 50 sec. before Events began diverging from the ex- to a more sophisticated lander—a rover the planned touchdown. At that point, pected after ejection of the parachute. with the ability to drill 6 ft. deep into NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter “The thrusters were confi rmed to have the Martian surface to look for evidence and TGO were expected to relay the been briefl y activated, although it seems that the red planet ever harbored life. data packet Schiaparelli was supposed likely that they switched of sooner than Once seen as scientific fancy, the to transmit from the ground at sched- expected, at an altitude that is still to be search for life—past or present—on uled times. But neither heard from the determined,” ESA says. After further Mars has gained credibility since wa- lander. “The soft landing did not occur,” analysis, ESA expects to fully under- ter was found in various forms starting says David Parker, ESA’s director of Hu- stand the sequence of events. in 2005. ExoMars—for “exobiology on man Spacefl ight and Robotic Explora- ESA also confi rmed that TGO entered Mars”—is two-pronged. Next year, the tion. the planned Mars orbit, where it will act trace gas orbiter (TGO) will search the The data have been partially ana- as a scientifi c platform and communica- atmosphere for methane, among other lyzed and confi rm that the entry and tions relay for the 2020 rover. TGO will gases. The 2020 rover will drill deeper descent stages occurred as expected. start its science mission at the end of than the soil layer, where Sun radiation Two highlights were that the heat 2017, with the search for methane—a would have burned any sign of life, and shield ef ectively protected the systems potential evidence of life—as one of its use instruments such as an organic mol- on board, and the parachute deployed. tasks. This will follow “a year of complex ecule analyzer. The entry, descent and ESA and Russian partner Roscosmos aerobraking maneuvers to circularize its landing demonstration module (EDM) had to reinvent some Mars atmosphere orbit.” Its high-defi nition terrain-imag- Schiaparelli was to demonstrate entry, entry, descent and landing techniques, ing capability will help choose the rover’s descent and landing technologies, along because the U.S.’s international traf c landing site, adds Richard Bessudo, for- with limited scientifi c work. in arms regulation prevented NASA mer head of the ExoMars program for One of the first challenges was to from sharing its own. Thales Alenia Space. ensure Schiaparelli would not con- The EDM first had to cope with Although the 2016 entry, descent and taminate Mars with bacteria or other the thermal trial of the Martian at- landing could be considered a rehearsal imported life. Manufacturer Thales Ale- mosphere. The heat shield, made of for 2020, there will be a notable dif er- nia Space thus used dry heat microbial a material similar in composition to ence—the propulsive braking system reduction techniques. Integration took cork, was designed to prevent the heat will feature variable thrust. place in a clean room with as little as wave from propagating to the vehicle’s A Proton launcher carried TGO and 100 particulates per cubic foot. internal structure. The friction-heating Schiaparelli. Roscosmos’s involvement A recent scientifi c paper in Astrobi- power of up to two megawatts per sq. in ExoMars will grow for the 2020 ology concludes that the possibility of meter will raise the temperature to phase. The Russian space agency will microbial life on the red planet must be 1,750C (3,200F), Thierry Blancquaert, be in charge of the rover, while Thales considered. Using recent fi ndings about ESA’s EDM manager, explains. The heat Alenia Space will be responsible for Martian water, methane and organics, shield was tested in a plasma wind tun- the navigation and guidance system. the authors of a 1976 experiment are nel, where dust was added to approxi- ESA’s budget for ExoMars —for both reexamining the trials conducted by mate the planet’s conditions. the 2016 and 2020 phases—is €1.2 bil- NASA’s Viking landers on Mars. The Its shape drove the vehicle’s ballistic lion ($1.3 billion). c

24 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p24.indd 24 10/20/16 5:04 PM SPACE

Telemetry data received from ESA’s Schiaparelli Mars lander suggest the thrusters activated too briefl y, Pratt & Whitney is changing the face but the earlier phases of the entry and descent were successful. of commercial air travel. trajectory during entry into the Mar- tian atmosphere. The second part of the descent, for 2 min., used a parachute. It was to deploy at 438 m per sec. (832 kt.)—a supersonic Life on Mars? speed, Blancquaert notes. The force it sustained was equivalent to 7-9 metric ESA’s ExoMars will go on with biological tons, but the technology is well known to ESA, in particular thanks to its experi- search, despite probable lander crash ESA ence with the Huygens probe on Titan in 2005. The fi nal speed under the para- Thierry Dubois Lyon, France chute was to be 70 m per sec. (136 kt.). Once the parachute jettisoned, the fi - he European Space Agency’s authors now assert that abiotic internal braking stage was to be propulsive. TExoMars Schiaparelli lander pretations are not conclusive and that Nine 400-Newton-thrust (90-lb.-thrust) may have crashed, but ESA is biology should still be considered as a engines were to be fi red. The engines not deterred. It still has high hopes for rationale for the experiment. themselves are a proven technology on the science data the mission’s orbiter On Oct. 19, contact with Schiaparelli the Ariane 5 launcher. might gather. And ESA is looking ahead was lost approximately 50 sec. before Events began diverging from the ex- to a more sophisticated lander—a rover the planned touchdown. At that point, pected after ejection of the parachute. with the ability to drill 6 ft. deep into NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter “The thrusters were confi rmed to have the Martian surface to look for evidence and TGO were expected to relay the been briefl y activated, although it seems that the red planet ever harbored life. data packet Schiaparelli was supposed likely that they switched of sooner than Once seen as scientific fancy, the to transmit from the ground at sched- expected, at an altitude that is still to be search for life—past or present—on uled times. But neither heard from the determined,” ESA says. After further Mars has gained credibility since wa- lander. “The soft landing did not occur,” analysis, ESA expects to fully under- ter was found in various forms starting says David Parker, ESA’s director of Hu- stand the sequence of events. in 2005. ExoMars—for “exobiology on man Spacefl ight and Robotic Explora- ESA also confi rmed that TGO entered Mars”—is two-pronged. Next year, the tion. the planned Mars orbit, where it will act trace gas orbiter (TGO) will search the The data have been partially ana- as a scientifi c platform and communica- atmosphere for methane, among other lyzed and confi rm that the entry and tions relay for the 2020 rover. TGO will gases. The 2020 rover will drill deeper descent stages occurred as expected. start its science mission at the end of than the soil layer, where Sun radiation Two highlights were that the heat 2017, with the search for methane—a would have burned any sign of life, and shield ef ectively protected the systems potential evidence of life—as one of its use instruments such as an organic mol- on board, and the parachute deployed. tasks. This will follow “a year of complex ecule analyzer. The entry, descent and ESA and Russian partner Roscosmos aerobraking maneuvers to circularize its landing demonstration module (EDM) had to reinvent some Mars atmosphere orbit.” Its high-defi nition terrain-imag- Schiaparelli was to demonstrate entry, entry, descent and landing techniques, ing capability will help choose the rover’s descent and landing technologies, along because the U.S.’s international traf c landing site, adds Richard Bessudo, for- with limited scientifi c work. in arms regulation prevented NASA mer head of the ExoMars program for One of the first challenges was to from sharing its own. Thales Alenia Space. ensure Schiaparelli would not con- The EDM first had to cope with Although the 2016 entry, descent and taminate Mars with bacteria or other the thermal trial of the Martian at- landing could be considered a rehearsal imported life. Manufacturer Thales Ale- mosphere. The heat shield, made of for 2020, there will be a notable dif er- nia Space thus used dry heat microbial a material similar in composition to ence—the propulsive braking system reduction techniques. Integration took cork, was designed to prevent the heat will feature variable thrust. ® ™ place in a clean room with as little as wave from propagating to the vehicle’s A Proton launcher carried TGO and PurePower Geared Turbofan eenginesngines iinn ccommercialommercial sserviceervice ttoday.oday. 100 particulates per cubic foot. internal structure. The friction-heating Schiaparelli. Roscosmos’s involvement Manufacturers and operators of new-generation airliners, and their new-generation A recent scientifi c paper in Astrobi- power of up to two megawatts per sq. in ExoMars will grow for the 2020 ology concludes that the possibility of meter will raise the temperature to phase. The Russian space agency will passengers, have adopted the PurePower GTF engine. Because cleaner, greener, microbial life on the red planet must be 1,750C (3,200F), Thierry Blancquaert, be in charge of the rover, while Thales considered. Using recent fi ndings about ESA’s EDM manager, explains. The heat Alenia Space will be responsible for and quieter is exactly how they expect to fly. Learn more at PurePowerEngines.com. Martian water, methane and organics, shield was tested in a plasma wind tun- the navigation and guidance system. the authors of a 1976 experiment are nel, where dust was added to approxi- ESA’s budget for ExoMars —for both reexamining the trials conducted by mate the planet’s conditions. the 2016 and 2020 phases—is €1.2 bil- Visit us at Airshow China, Exhibit H5D1 Connect with us NASA’s Viking landers on Mars. The Its shape drove the vehicle’s ballistic lion ($1.3 billion). c

24 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p24.indd 24 10/20/16 5:04 PM 610AWB25.indd 1 10/18/2016 10:08:09 AM SPACE

las V. They replace surplus Soviet-era AJ-26s that powered Back in Business Antares through its frst four launches and were implicated in the 2014 failure. The new engines were designed to deliver After a two-year hiatus, Antares 830,000 lb. thrust at liftof, fring 235 sec. to send the vehicle and its payload toward orbit. restarts launch to low Earth orbit Culbertson says the company spent $500 million of internal funds to begin development of the Antares and Cygnus, frst at Frank Morring, Jr. Washington Orbital Sciences Corp. and then acquiring the Castor XL solid- fuel second stage in its merger with ATK. Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye ASA’s faltering commercial-spacefight endeavor is ad- developed the Antares frst stage, while the “enhanced” Cyg- Nvancing again following a spectacular return to fight nus combines a pressurized module built by Italy’s Thales of the Orbital ATK Antares launcher with a load of Alenia Space with a spacecraft bus and Ultrafex circular solar supplies for the International Space Station (ISS) on Oct. 17. arrays Orbital ATK originally developed for its medium-size The orange plume emitted by its new Russian engines was geostationary communications satellites. visible along the mid-Atlantic U.S. coast during the night- Once in orbit, the upgraded Cygnus unfurled the arrays time launch as the vehicle gained altitude in a faster-than- and began its slow transit to the ISS. The spacecraft’s loiter- expected ascent with its twin RP-fueled RD-181 engines. ing capability will also allow it to conduct experiments after “It’s great when things work the way they did tonight,” it undocks but before it plunges into the atmosphere to burn Administrator Charles Bolden told Orbital ATK and NASA up with a load of space station trash. engineers at the Wallops Flight Facility. On the most recent Cygnus flight, NASA researchers The NASA launch site on a barrier island of the Virginia loaded a Spacecraft Fire Experiment (Safre-1) inside the coast also marked a return to fight after its Antares launch vehicle to conduct large-scale burning too dangerous to test pad was severely damaged by the explosion of an Antares en with a crew present. route to the space station on Oct. 28, 2014. As SpaceX, NASA’s The new Cygnus en route to the ISS carried Safire-2, other commercial cargo-delivery supplier, also digs out from which will continue the series to test the fre safety of new an explosion that damaged its launch pad at Cape Canaveral spacecraft materials. Also aboard is a “cool-fame” experi- AFS, the Orbital ATK launch maintains NASA’s plan to hand ment to explore a phenomenon noted on Safre-1, in which of human spacefight operations in low Earth orbit (LEO) to fames appeared to go out and then reignited. the private sector. “The Cygnus, in efect, is going to become another labo- Liftof came at 7:45:46 p.m. EDT, the end of a 5-min. launch ratory for us,” says Pete Hasbrook, associate ISS program window that Orbital ATK launch controllers scientist. “This kind of a fre we could not decided to use in its entirety “to make sure we conduct in a human environment. So being didn’t miss anything,” says Frank Culbertson, able to test these materials and do this kind the former ISS commander who is president of a test after Cygnus undocks gives you an- of the company’s Space Systems Group. other idea of the beneft of the Cygnus vehicle The RD-181s performed better than cal- for us.” culated in the “conservative” prefight esti- Of the 5,100 lb. of cargo the Cygnus is car- mates, as did the Castor XL solid-fuel upper- rying, about 2,300 lb. is scientifc gear for ex- stage motor that was used for the frst time, periments onboard ISS, Hasbrook says. The Culbertson says. The extra lift probably add- consumables inside will add another month or ed to the 42-day prefight loiter-time estimate two to the six-month store already on board, for the upgraded Cygnus cargo carrier, which according to Joel Montalbano, deputy man- was loaded with 5,100 lb. of consumables and ager of NASA’s ISS program ofce. scientifc gear for the station crew. During the Antares hiatus, the company Launch had been delayed when Hurricane bought two Atlas V launches from United Nicole shut down a key tracking station on Launch Alliance to continue fulflling its ini- Bermuda and when a faulty ground-equip- tial $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Servic- ment cable had to be replaced on Oct 16. As es (CRS) contract with NASA. Since then, a result, the Cygnus flight plan was modi- NASA has awarded second-round CRS con- fed to allow time for the planned arrival of tracts worth as much as $14 billion total, giv- a Soyuz crew vehicle at the ISS on Oct. 21. ing Orbital ATK, SpaceX and Sierra Nevada The Cygnus will use some of the fuel saved in Corp. at least six ISS cargo missions each. ascent to loiter until Oct. 23, when the station Unlike SpaceX and Sierra Nevada, Orbital crew will use the facility’s main robotic arm ATK did not plan to enter its cargo vehicle to grapple it and berth it to the Unity Node. in NASA’s commercial-crew competition. But The Antares/Cygnus stack is an interna- building on its capability as a free-fying labo- tional melange of components. Built by Rus- ratory, the company has long-range plans that sia’s Energomash, the RD-181 engines are a could include Cygnus-based human habitats variant of the RD-180 that powers the At- orbiting the Moon. The company is studying that application under NASA’s NextSTEP ef- New Russian RD-181 engines powered fort to begin sending astronauts to cislunar Orbital ATK’s Antares launcher of its space as a “proving ground” for eventual mis- Wallops Island, Virginia, pad. sions to Mars. c NASA/Bill iNgAllS

26 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p26.indd 26 10/20/16 11:41 AM SPACE las V. They replace surplus Soviet-era AJ-26s that powered Back in Business Antares through its frst four launches and were implicated in the 2014 failure. The new engines were designed to deliver See Tomorrow’s Market Today. After a two-year hiatus, Antares 830,000 lb. thrust at liftof, fring 235 sec. to send the vehicle and its payload toward orbit. restarts launch to low Earth orbit Culbertson says the company spent $500 million of internal FORECAST INTERNATIONAL provides global analysis of funds to begin development of the Antares and Cygnus, frst at Frank Morring, Jr. Washington Orbital Sciences Corp. and then acquiring the Castor XL solid- KEY PLAYERS COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT fuel second stage in its merger with ATK. Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye the that will dominate the ASA’s faltering commercial-spacefight endeavor is ad- developed the Antares frst stage, while the “enhanced” Cyg- Nvancing again following a spectacular return to fight nus combines a pressurized module built by Italy’s Thales market over the next 15 YEARS. of the Orbital ATK Antares launcher with a load of Alenia Space with a spacecraft bus and Ultrafex circular solar supplies for the International Space Station (ISS) on Oct. 17. arrays Orbital ATK originally developed for its medium-size The orange plume emitted by its new Russian engines was geostationary communications satellites. visible along the mid-Atlantic U.S. coast during the night- Once in orbit, the upgraded Cygnus unfurled the arrays time launch as the vehicle gained altitude in a faster-than- and began its slow transit to the ISS. The spacecraft’s loiter- expected ascent with its twin RP-fueled RD-181 engines. ing capability will also allow it to conduct experiments after “It’s great when things work the way they did tonight,” it undocks but before it plunges into the atmosphere to burn Administrator Charles Bolden told Orbital ATK and NASA up with a load of space station trash. engineers at the Wallops Flight Facility. On the most recent Cygnus flight, NASA researchers The NASA launch site on a barrier island of the Virginia loaded a Spacecraft Fire Experiment (Safre-1) inside the coast also marked a return to fight after its Antares launch vehicle to conduct large-scale burning too dangerous to test pad was severely damaged by the explosion of an Antares en with a crew present. route to the space station on Oct. 28, 2014. As SpaceX, NASA’s The new Cygnus en route to the ISS carried Safire-2, other commercial cargo-delivery supplier, also digs out from which will continue the series to test the fre safety of new an explosion that damaged its launch pad at Cape Canaveral spacecraft materials. Also aboard is a “cool-fame” experi- AFS, the Orbital ATK launch maintains NASA’s plan to hand ment to explore a phenomenon noted on Safre-1, in which of human spacefight operations in low Earth orbit (LEO) to fames appeared to go out and then reignited. the private sector. “The Cygnus, in efect, is going to become another labo- Liftof came at 7:45:46 p.m. EDT, the end of a 5-min. launch ratory for us,” says Pete Hasbrook, associate ISS program window that Orbital ATK launch controllers scientist. “This kind of a fre we could not decided to use in its entirety “to make sure we conduct in a human environment. So being didn’t miss anything,” says Frank Culbertson, able to test these materials and do this kind the former ISS commander who is president of a test after Cygnus undocks gives you an- of the company’s Space Systems Group. other idea of the beneft of the Cygnus vehicle The RD-181s performed better than cal- for us.” culated in the “conservative” prefight esti- Of the 5,100 lb. of cargo the Cygnus is car- mates, as did the Castor XL solid-fuel upper- rying, about 2,300 lb. is scientifc gear for ex- stage motor that was used for the frst time, periments onboard ISS, Hasbrook says. The Culbertson says. The extra lift probably add- consumables inside will add another month or ed to the 42-day prefight loiter-time estimate two to the six-month store already on board, for the upgraded Cygnus cargo carrier, which according to Joel Montalbano, deputy man- was loaded with 5,100 lb. of consumables and ager of NASA’s ISS program ofce. scientifc gear for the station crew. During the Antares hiatus, the company Launch had been delayed when Hurricane bought two Atlas V launches from United Nicole shut down a key tracking station on Launch Alliance to continue fulflling its ini- Bermuda and when a faulty ground-equip- tial $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Servic- ment cable had to be replaced on Oct 16. As es (CRS) contract with NASA. Since then, a result, the Cygnus flight plan was modi- NASA has awarded second-round CRS con- fed to allow time for the planned arrival of tracts worth as much as $14 billion total, giv- a Soyuz crew vehicle at the ISS on Oct. 21. ing Orbital ATK, SpaceX and Sierra Nevada The Cygnus will use some of the fuel saved in Corp. at least six ISS cargo missions each. ascent to loiter until Oct. 23, when the station Unlike SpaceX and Sierra Nevada, Orbital crew will use the facility’s main robotic arm ATK did not plan to enter its cargo vehicle to grapple it and berth it to the Unity Node. in NASA’s commercial-crew competition. But The Antares/Cygnus stack is an interna- building on its capability as a free-fying labo- tional melange of components. Built by Rus- ratory, the company has long-range plans that THE SOURCE FOR RELIABLE sia’s Energomash, the RD-181 engines are a could include Cygnus-based human habitats MARKET FORECASTING variant of the RD-180 that powers the At- orbiting the Moon. The company is studying that application under NASA’s NextSTEP ef- forecastinternational.com New Russian RD-181 engines powered fort to begin sending astronauts to cislunar Orbital ATK’s Antares launcher of its space as a “proving ground” for eventual mis- [email protected] Wallops Island, Virginia, pad. sions to Mars. c NASA/Bill iNgAllS 203.426.0800

26 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p26.indd 26 10/20/16 11:41 AM 610AWB27.indd 1 10/18/2016 10:09:07 AM DEFENSE Flexible RefuelingRefueling Lockheed Martin is developing short-takeof , hybrid wing-body tanker for U.S. Air Force next-gen ‘KC-Z’

Lockheed Martin’s next-generation tanker proposal may feature embedded engines for a reduced radar cross-section.

Lara Seligman Washington moves away from the commercial- very-high-bypass engines, Lockheed’s derivative tankers of years past. The next-generation tanker proposal may s the U.S. Air Force sets its future tanker fl eet will need to be able feature embedded engines for a re- Asights on a more survivable to operate 500-250 mi. from the threat, duced radar cross-section, according next-generation tanker that outside the reach of modern SAMs but to Martin. will be able to support strike assets in well within range of enemy radars and “We like the location on our Hybrid increasingly dangerous battlespace, air-launched missiles, Martin calcu- Wing Body—the over-the-wing place- Lockheed Martin believes it has the an- lates. This means the next-generation ment—for many reasons: It keeps the swer: a fuel-ef cient, hybrid wing-body tanker will need a lower radar cross- engines away from the ground [limiting aircraft that can take of and land on section than conventional refueling air- foreign-object debris]; and, for a tanker, short runways for maximum operating craft, but it does not need to be “quite moving the jet wash higher on the air- fl exibility. as pointy and as sharp” as an F-35 or plane is conducive to a benign refueling Gen. Carlton Everhart 2nd, chief of an F-22, he says. environment, so I think the engines will Air Mobility Command, recently kicked Lockheed’s vision builds on the end up in a similar location,” Martin of an ef ort to study a next-generation company’s Hybrid Wing Body (HWB) says. “Whether it is two big engines or “KC-Z” tanker—one that may look concept for a more fuel-ef cient future four smaller ones mounted in ducts is very dif erent from the large-bodied, airlifter, which combines a blended still something we’re working on.” commercially based KC-10s, KC-135s wing and forebody for aerodynamic and Mindful of the cost of application and KC-46s of today (see page 67). As structural ef ciency with a convention- and maintenance, Martin’s team is still adversaries such as Russia and China al aft fuselage and “T” tail for airdrops. assessing the degree of stealth coating develop sophisticated surface-to-air The next-generation tanker may com- needed by the next-gen tanker. They missiles (SAM) and antiaircraft weap- promise with an “H” tail confi guration, also are weighing use of advanced de- ons designed to foil U.S. forces’ ability which would give the operator robust fensive or of ensive countermeasures to penetrate their airspace, the tanker flight control and stability compared such as lasers. of 2035 and beyond is increasingly vul- to a pure blended wing-body confi gu- Martin says they are still determin- nerable, Everhart says. ration, such as the B-2 stealth bomber ing the right balance between of en- Ahead of an of cial Air Force study or the V-shaped tails on the F-117 Night- sive countermeasures and inherent on the future tanker, expected to be- hawk stealth fi ghter, Martin says. aircraft survivability. But the tanker’s gin within the next six months, indus- “It’s still going to probably look a lot vulnerability problem is not limited to try is already gearing up to solve this like an airlifter,” Martin says. “It’s not its airframe—the very act of refueling problem. going to be a pure fl ying-wing, delta- provides a target for enemy radars. If you ask Kenneth Martin, Lock- wing sort of airplane because it still He suggests that automating the refu- heed Martin’s principal engineer for needs to be an ef cient, everyday Air eling process will enable quicker, safer advanced mobility, the new battlefi eld Mobility Command asset.” operations. necessitates a lower-signature—if not Where HWB has large overwing “If we believe Google and others that fully stealth—refueling aircraft that nacelles designed for fuel-efficient, we’ll all be operating self-driving cars,

28 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p28-29.indd 28 10/19/16 4:11 PM DEFENSE

it seems to us the technology is being operations from smaller, regional air- demise of the Army’s Future Combat Flexible matured across the entire [science and ports. “This opens up some options for Systems. But Martin regards Speed technology] community to allow signif- distributing our forces—putting tank- Agile as a success, noting that Lock- icantly more automation,” Martin says ers at more locations—which brings an heed was able to perfect and verify in RefuelingRefueling (see page 69). “We’re committing very inherent reduction in vulnerability to large-scale wind-tunnel tests many hard to perhaps not totally eliminating attack. It also allows us to fy the tank- aerodynamic and propulsion integra- the boom operator but recreating the ers with signifcantly more options for tion tools now being considered for the Lockheed Martin is developing short-takeof , hybrid operator’s job to be a systems monitor; diverting in case of emergency.” next-generation tanker.

it could even be a copilot who is basi- Lockheed Martin c oncepts wing-body tanker for U.S. Air Force next-gen ‘KC-Z’ cally monitoring the process.” Tackling the age-old problem of bas-

Lockheed Martin’s HWB concept for a next-gen airlifter combines a blended wing and forebody for aerodynamic and structural efciency with a conventional aft Lockheed Martin’s next-generation fuselage and “T” tail for airdrops. tanker proposal may feature embedded engines for a reduced radar cross-section. ing is also on Martin’s agenda. Large, commercially derived tankers take up valuable ramp space and require lots of infrastructure for care and maintenance, but the number of bases world- To efectively design a short-take- For now, Martin is working with wide that can accommodate that type of-and-landing (STOL) tanker, Lock- NASA to outline a path for an ultra-ef- of aircraft is limited. Martin is there- heed’s proposal will draw on the Air cient, subsonic demonstration program, Lara Seligman Washington moves away from the commercial- very-high-bypass engines, Lockheed’s fore pushing for a platform that will Force Research Laboratory’s Speed which he hopes will feed into a fully- derivative tankers of years past. The next-generation tanker proposal may be able to take of and land in spaces Agile concept demonstration project, fedged next-generation tanker vision. s the U.S. Air Force sets its future tanker fl eet will need to be able feature embedded engines for a re- about half the size that a KC-10 or a decade-long collaborative efort with “We would like to take that tech- Asights on a more survivable to operate 500-250 mi. from the threat, duced radar cross-section, according KC-135 requires, which allows the Air NASA, Boeing and Lockheed to de- nology and fy it—the aerodynamics, next-generation tanker that outside the reach of modern SAMs but to Martin. Force to more efectively distribute its velop technology for a stealthy, STOL propulsion and structural integration will be able to support strike assets in well within range of enemy radars and “We like the location on our Hybrid tanker feet across the globe. airlifter capable of delivering loads di- technologies,” Martin says. “I think increasingly dangerous battlespace, air-launched missiles, Martin calcu- Wing Body—the over-the-wing place- “If there [are] only 10-15 bases in the rectly to the battlefeld. Speed Agile, that really gives us the basis and the Lockheed Martin believes it has the an- lates. This means the next-generation ment—for many reasons: It keeps the entire region where you can take of which supported the U.S. Army-Air low-risk position, technology-wise, to swer: a fuel-ef cient, hybrid wing-body tanker will need a lower radar cross- engines away from the ground [limiting and land, it limits where aircraft can Force joint future theater lift program, move forward to something that is not, aircraft that can take of and land on section than conventional refueling air- foreign-object debris]; and, for a tanker, operate,” Martin says. He adds that ended in 2012 without transitioning to quite honestly, another derivative air- short runways for maximum operating craft, but it does not need to be “quite moving the jet wash higher on the air- the idea is to eventually enable tanker a development program, following the liner tanker.” c fl exibility. as pointy and as sharp” as an F-35 or plane is conducive to a benign refueling Gen. Carlton Everhart 2nd, chief of an F-22, he says. environment, so I think the engines will Air Mobility Command, recently kicked Lockheed’s vision builds on the end up in a similar location,” Martin of an ef ort to study a next-generation company’s Hybrid Wing Body (HWB) says. “Whether it is two big engines or “KC-Z” tanker—one that may look concept for a more fuel-ef cient future four smaller ones mounted in ducts is very dif erent from the large-bodied, airlifter, which combines a blended still something we’re working on.” commercially based KC-10s, KC-135s wing and forebody for aerodynamic and Mindful of the cost of application Connectivity and KC-46s of today (see page 67). As structural ef ciency with a convention- and maintenance, Martin’s team is still adversaries such as Russia and China al aft fuselage and “T” tail for airdrops. assessing the degree of stealth coating in the Cockpit develop sophisticated surface-to-air The next-generation tanker may com- needed by the next-gen tanker. They missiles (SAM) and antiaircraft weap- promise with an “H” tail confi guration, also are weighing use of advanced de- ons designed to foil U.S. forces’ ability which would give the operator robust fensive or of ensive countermeasures to penetrate their airspace, the tanker flight control and stability compared such as lasers. of 2035 and beyond is increasingly vul- to a pure blended wing-body confi gu- Martin says they are still determin- Information Management Solutions nerable, Everhart says. ration, such as the B-2 stealth bomber ing the right balance between of en- • Electronic Flight Bags Ahead of an of cial Air Force study or the V-shaped tails on the F-117 Night- sive countermeasures and inherent on the future tanker, expected to be- hawk stealth fi ghter, Martin says. aircraft survivability. But the tanker’s • Aircraft Information Servers gin within the next six months, indus- “It’s still going to probably look a lot vulnerability problem is not limited to • Tablet Connectivity Devices try is already gearing up to solve this like an airlifter,” Martin says. “It’s not its airframe—the very act of refueling problem. going to be a pure fl ying-wing, delta- provides a target for enemy radars. PilotView® Aircraft If you ask Kenneth Martin, Lock- wing sort of airplane because it still He suggests that automating the refu- Information Servers heed Martin’s principal engineer for needs to be an ef cient, everyday Air eling process will enable quicker, safer advanced mobility, the new battlefi eld Mobility Command asset.” operations. PilotView® www.cmcelectronics.ca/pilotview See Us at NBAA 2016 necessitates a lower-signature—if not Where HWB has large overwing “If we believe Google and others that Electronic Flight Bag fully stealth—refueling aircraft that nacelles designed for fuel-efficient, we’ll all be operating self-driving cars,

28 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 29

AW_10_24_2016_p28-29.indd 28 10/19/16 4:11 PM AW_10_24_2016_p28-29.indd 29 10/19/16 4:11 PM DEFENSE

As part of the exercise, focused on the British Under- Game of Drones water Test and Evaluation Center (BUTEC) at Kyle of Lo- chalsh, Scotland, some 50 unmanned aerial, underwater Royal Navy sees unmanned and surface systems have been put through their paces in the gathering of geospatial and aerial intelligence, anti- technologies revolutionizing warfare submarine warfare (ASW), mine countermeasures (MCM), and command and control. Preparations took almost two Tony Osborne Portsmouth, England years, including obtaining clearances from the UK Civil Aviation Authority for operation of unmanned aircraft. Use of some of the systems began weeks before the ofcial start of the exercise, with underwater systems collecting bathymetry and hydrographic data, paving the way for the MCM and ASW operations. Ofcials have also been looking at interoperability, enabling them to communicate with the same command and control, known as Acer C2, a process that has required companies to rewrite software code so that Blue Bear’s Blackstart their systems can participate. UAV heads up a “This is not an acquisition gathering of some of the competition,” says Cmdr. Pe- autonomous systems ter Pipkin, the Royal Navy’s being used in Unmanned feet robotic ofcer. “We have Warrior 2016. industry competitors all pulling in the same direction.” Despite that assertion, several of the systems participating have been tested and compared on performance indica- tors such as being able to detect potential threats at the earliest opportunity. Much of the activity involved sending sensor information to Royal Navy ofcers aboard the SD Northern River, a support ship operated by defense contractor Serco that acted as a surrogate warship for the exercise. Ben Shread/UK defenSe MiniStry/Crown Copyright Aerial systems were used primarily for the intelligence, omething is stirring in the waters of western Scot- surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission. Among the Sland, besides the ripples from the small unmanned systems gathered for the exercise were Leonardo’s SW-4 vehicles operating above and beneath the waves. Solo optionally manned helicopter, ftted with the compa- After years of cuts that have decimated its manpower and ny’s new Osprey fat-panel electronically scanned radar and slashed the surface feet, there is a growing realization from SAGE electronic-support measures system. Britain’s Royal Navy that it increasingly needs unmanned Also fying was an NRQ-21 Blackjack provided by the U.S. capabilities to fulfll its missions. Navy’s Ofce of Naval Research, while Insitu provided the So far, the Royal Navy has been relatively slow to adopt ViDAR version of its ScanEagle UAV, which Boeing hopes it unmanned systems. In late 2012, it recognized the urgent can ofer as a replacement for the Royal Navy’s ScanEagle. need for an airborne surveillance system to support anti- Meanwhile, Blue Bear’s 5.5-kg (12-lb.) Blackstart UAV was piracy operations, leading to the leasing of Boeing’s Sca- used as a data link system, passing megabytes of informa- nEagle unmanned aircraft system (UAS), to be operated tion to the Acer C2 ground station from 10 underwater and from surface ships. surface vehicles. However, the system, funded through the Urgent Opera- Thales’s Watchkeeper UAS, now in service with the British tional Requirements program, is due to exit service in 2017, Army, was also involved in the exercise, albeit in a limited role, with no obvious replacement being budgeted. The navy also as the system is currently able to operate only in segregated has several Hydroid Remus unmanned underwater systems. airspace in western Wales and southern England. As part of Now, Britain is assessing capabilities of autonomous sys- Unmanned Warrior, the Watchkeeper fed data to ofcers on tems through its Unmanned Warrior exercise—an adjunct the Northern River during a brief stop of the west Wales to the larger NATO Joint Warrior maneuvers taking place coast. This allowed the proving of a new maritime mode in the at the same time. Watchkeeper’s I-Master synthetic aperture radar. The brainchild of former First Sea Lord Adm. George Over two days, the system was used to perform persis- Zambellas, the exercise was created to challenge industry tence surveillance of maritime targets, provide overwatch to and the navy to defne the systems it may need in the future, the ship to fend of an attack from fast inshore attack craft, and make better use of existing ones. monitor boarding parties, watch the transfer of items from “This is not about reducing the requirement for people, one vessel to another and pass that information to another but putting them where people have real value,” said Adm. UAV, which then pursued the assailants once onshore. Paul Bennett, assistant head of capability for the Royal Navy. Ofcials believe the exercise indicates a strong future and “Autonomous systems could generate greater mass in a rela- would like to integrate it with the larger Joint Warrior exer- tively small navy.” cise in the coming years. c

30 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p30.indd 30 10/20/16 3:31 PM DEFENSE

As part of the exercise, focused on the British Under- Game of Drones water Test and Evaluation Center (BUTEC) at Kyle of Lo- chalsh, Scotland, some 50 unmanned aerial, underwater Royal Navy sees unmanned and surface systems have been put through their paces in the gathering of geospatial and aerial intelligence, anti- technologies revolutionizing warfare submarine warfare (ASW), mine countermeasures (MCM), and command and control. Preparations took almost two AirAsia and CFM. Tony Osborne Portsmouth, England years, including obtaining clearances from the UK Civil Aviation Authority for operation of unmanned aircraft. Use of some of the systems began weeks before the ofcial On top of the world. start of the exercise, with underwater systems collecting bathymetry and hydrographic data, paving the way for the MCM and ASW operations. Congratulations, AirAsia, on introducing the LEAP-1A-powered Ofcials have also been looking at interoperability, enabling A320neo into your feet. Looking beyond the horizon, we see them to communicate with the same command and control, known as Acer C2, a process that has required companies to a bright future together. The architecture of reliability. rewrite software code so that Blue Bear’s Blackstart their systems can participate. cfmaeroengines.com UAV heads up a “This is not an acquisition CFM International is a 50/50 joint company between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines gathering of some of the competition,” says Cmdr. Pe- autonomous systems ter Pipkin, the Royal Navy’s being used in Unmanned feet robotic ofcer. “We have Warrior 2016. industry competitors all pulling in the same direction.” Despite that assertion, several of the systems participating have been tested and compared on performance indica- tors such as being able to detect potential threats at the earliest opportunity. Much of the activity involved sending sensor information to Royal Navy ofcers aboard the SD Northern River, a support ship operated by defense contractor Serco that acted as a surrogate warship for the exercise. Ben Shread/UK defenSe MiniStry/Crown Copyright Aerial systems were used primarily for the intelligence, omething is stirring in the waters of western Scot- surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission. Among the Sland, besides the ripples from the small unmanned systems gathered for the exercise were Leonardo’s SW-4 vehicles operating above and beneath the waves. Solo optionally manned helicopter, ftted with the compa- After years of cuts that have decimated its manpower and ny’s new Osprey fat-panel electronically scanned radar and slashed the surface feet, there is a growing realization from SAGE electronic-support measures system. Britain’s Royal Navy that it increasingly needs unmanned Also fying was an NRQ-21 Blackjack provided by the U.S. capabilities to fulfll its missions. Navy’s Ofce of Naval Research, while Insitu provided the So far, the Royal Navy has been relatively slow to adopt ViDAR version of its ScanEagle UAV, which Boeing hopes it unmanned systems. In late 2012, it recognized the urgent can ofer as a replacement for the Royal Navy’s ScanEagle. need for an airborne surveillance system to support anti- Meanwhile, Blue Bear’s 5.5-kg (12-lb.) Blackstart UAV was piracy operations, leading to the leasing of Boeing’s Sca- used as a data link system, passing megabytes of informa- nEagle unmanned aircraft system (UAS), to be operated tion to the Acer C2 ground station from 10 underwater and from surface ships. surface vehicles. However, the system, funded through the Urgent Opera- Thales’s Watchkeeper UAS, now in service with the British tional Requirements program, is due to exit service in 2017, Army, was also involved in the exercise, albeit in a limited role, with no obvious replacement being budgeted. The navy also as the system is currently able to operate only in segregated has several Hydroid Remus unmanned underwater systems. airspace in western Wales and southern England. As part of Now, Britain is assessing capabilities of autonomous sys- Unmanned Warrior, the Watchkeeper fed data to ofcers on tems through its Unmanned Warrior exercise—an adjunct the Northern River during a brief stop of the west Wales to the larger NATO Joint Warrior maneuvers taking place coast. This allowed the proving of a new maritime mode in the at the same time. Watchkeeper’s I-Master synthetic aperture radar. The brainchild of former First Sea Lord Adm. George Over two days, the system was used to perform persis- Zambellas, the exercise was created to challenge industry tence surveillance of maritime targets, provide overwatch to and the navy to defne the systems it may need in the future, the ship to fend of an attack from fast inshore attack craft, and make better use of existing ones. monitor boarding parties, watch the transfer of items from “This is not about reducing the requirement for people, one vessel to another and pass that information to another but putting them where people have real value,” said Adm. UAV, which then pursued the assailants once onshore. Paul Bennett, assistant head of capability for the Royal Navy. Ofcials believe the exercise indicates a strong future and “Autonomous systems could generate greater mass in a rela- would like to integrate it with the larger Joint Warrior exer- PERFORMANCE | EXECUTION | TECHNOLOGY MORE TO BELIEVE IN tively small navy.” cise in the coming years. c

30 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p30.indd 30 10/20/16 3:31 PM 610AWB31.indd 1 10/18/2016 10:09:57 AM RotoRcRAft

The Sun appears to have set on Airbus’s plans to sell the H225M Round and Round Caracal helicopter to Poland.

play ball after Poland’s economic development ministry halted talks, saying that the two sides were unable to agree on the value of ofsets and technology transfer. Airbus vehe- mently denies that there was such a disagreement. Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders un- leashed fury at the Polish government, saying that the company had been “misled by the current Polish government.” In a statement, Enders noted: “We spent a huge amount of effort and money in recent years, trusting that we were in a fair and profession- ally conducted competition.” Hinting Poland’s abandonment of helicopter tender at legal action, he added: “We will of course seek remedies.” with France sparks diplomatic spat His anger was shared by the Elysee Palace, which postponed a trip to War-

SGT. BARROS JOHNSON/BRAziliAN AiR FORce saw by President Francois Hollande Tony Osborne London and withdrew invitations for a Polish delegation to visit the Euronaval de- oland has relaunched a tender ed Airbus—as well as Leonardo and fense show that was held in Paris in Pfor a feet of multirole helicop- Sikorsky—back to the table for what mid-October. ters just a fortnight after ending it deems an “urgent need” for helicop- The dispute only worsened when negotiations with Airbus to purchase ters, although the number of aircraft Polish Defense Minister Antoni 50 H225M Caracals worth $3.5 billion. required could be as few as 10. Macierewicz revealed that the govern- On Oct. 18, Warsaw formally invit- But Airbus may not be willing to ment had quietly placed an order with

This is also the second grounding imposed on the heli- Heavy Lifting copter in its short career. The frst lasted nine months and was related to concerns about the bevel gear vertical shaft inside the gearbox. EASA approves EC225/H225 These factors were compounded by the slump in demand for helicopters that service the oil and gas industry, which is return to fight, but Britain and in the economic doldrums. Before the grounding, helicopter usage rates had fallen to all-time lows. Once the grounding Norway remain doubtful took efect, ofshore operators corrected the oversupply, turning to the Sikorsky S-92 or smaller types such as the Tony Osborne London new generation of super-mediums. CHC Helicopter, which entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has decided to he European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) deci- focus on the S-92, eliminating most of the H225s from its Tsion to lift its imposed grounding of the EC225/H225 feet that operated under leasing agreements. helicopter will come as a small crumb of comfort to EASA formally imposed the halt in June after Norwe- Airbus Helicopters. gian air accident investigators found evidence that metal Despite months of seemingly endless negative headlines fatigue in the planetary gears of the CHC-operated EC225 about the helicopter, and the collapse in negotiations with may have been behind the April 29 failure, which led to the Poland about sales of the military version of the aircraft, main rotor head and blades separating from the aircraft the company is hoping it can restore confdence in the feet. as it routed back to Flesland Airport in Bergen from an But it won’t be easy. An accident at Turoy, Norway, in ofshore platform. April that killed 13 people was the frst fatal accident of While it admits that the root cause of the metal fatigue the commercial version of the helicopter. And the aircraft, is “not fully understood,” EASA says the aircraft can now along with the Super Puma from which it was derived, will be returned to service with an “acceptable level of safety.” always be associated with a series of crashes in the North Lifting the grounding in its latest airworthiness direc- Sea in 2009-12, two of which were fatal. tive, published on Oct. 7, EASA states that there are cur-

32 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

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Sikorsky for 20 locally built S-70i Inter- former defense minister, Tomasz land, this adds up to an ofset value of The Sun appears to have set on national Black Hawks to support the Siemoniak, who had signed of on the 13.4 billion zloty, the same as the total Round and Round Airbus’s plans to sell the H225M country’s special forces, with the frst H225M’s selection, had made irregu- contract value. Caracal helicopter to Poland. two due to be delivered later this year. lar changes to technical and tactical The company also says it would have And confusingly, recent reports requirements. She also said War- created 3,800 jobs on the helicopter play ball after Poland’s economic have also stated that Poland will also saw would have to pay more for the program and that Airbus Group would development ministry halted talks, order helicopters from Leonardo- H225Ms than Brazil and Kuwait did. have made investments to create an ad- saying that the two sides were un- owned PZL-Swidnik and that it is Poland’s conservative Law and Jus- ditional 2,200 jobs and transferred 45 able to agree on the value of ofsets firting with the idea of working with tice Party (PiS) government, voted technologies to the country. Moreover, and technology transfer. Airbus vehe- Ukraine to develop an indigenous he- into power in October 2015 after the the work would have provided 30 years mently denies that there was such a licopter powered by Ukrainian Motor- selection of the H225M, had long been of work for Polish state-owned compa- disagreement. Sich engines. critical of the decision and stated that nies, Airbus asserts. Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders un- The French government had lobbied the tender should have gone to one A number of other industrial oppor- leashed fury at the Polish government, Warsaw hard to help Airbus get a foot of the competitors: AgustaWestland tunities were ofered but turned down, saying that the company had been in the door for Poland’s defense mod- (now Leonardo) and Sikorsky, which Faury states. “misled by the current Polish govern- ernization, pushing helicopters and air owns Polish manufacturer PZL- Observers argue that the PiS ad- ment.” In a statement, Enders noted: defense systems, and had also shown Mielec. However, both of the compet- ministration had no real interest in “We spent a huge amount of effort considerable solidarity when Poland’s ing aircraft, the S-70i International continuing the talks with Airbus and and money in recent years, trusting fears were raised by Russia’s military Black Hawk and the AW149PL, were just wanted to rebut anything the pre- that we were in a fair and profession- aggression. In 2014, as Russian troops deemed not compliant with the Polish vious administration had done. This ally conducted competition.” Hinting took over Crimea, France quickly de- requirements at the time. may also explain the ongoing confusion Poland’s abandonment of helicopter tender at legal action, he added: “We will of ployed Rafale fighters to Poland for In a three-page open letter ad- over plans for a ground-based air and course seek remedies.” reassurance, and largely because of dressed to Polish Prime Minister missile defense system (AW&ST Oct. with France sparks diplomatic spat His anger was shared by the Elysee Polish concerns, France canceled its Beata Szydlo, Airbus Helicopters 10-23, p. 26). Palace, which postponed a trip to War- lucrative deal with Russia for the Mis- CEO Guillaume Faury said the com- The timing of the new helicopter pro-

SGT. BARROS JOHNSON/BRAziliAN AiR FORce saw by President Francois Hollande tral helicopter carriers that were sub- pany’s ofer had met Poland’s require- gram remains unclear. Poland still has Tony Osborne London and withdrew invitations for a Polish sequently sold to Egypt. ment that the ofset value be at least a large feet of Russian-built helicopters delegation to visit the Euronaval de- But Polish ofcials have described the same value as the contract itself. serving in the transport, anti-subma- oland has relaunched a tender ed Airbus—as well as Leonardo and fense show that was held in Paris in the deal with Airbus as little more than Airbus says its ofer alone would have rine warfare and search-and-rescue Pfor a feet of multirole helicop- Sikorsky—back to the table for what mid-October. a “gentleman’s agreement” on a form of generated ofsets of 10.8 billion zloty missions, and it is also studying options ters just a fortnight after ending it deems an “urgent need” for helicop- The dispute only worsened when payment to Paris for canceling the deal ($2.8 billion), what Airbus describes for a new attack helicopter. With the negotiations with Airbus to purchase ters, although the number of aircraft Polish Defense Minister Antoni with Russia. as the net value of the helicopters; delays caused by political wrangling, 50 H225M Caracals worth $3.5 billion. required could be as few as 10. Macierewicz revealed that the govern- Polish defense spokeswoman Beata combined with an additional 23% of it could be some time before the new On Oct. 18, Warsaw formally invit- But Airbus may not be willing to ment had quietly placed an order with Perkowska told the media that the Polish value-added tax to stay in Po- feets are in place. c

This is also the second grounding imposed on the heli- EASA has lifted the H225/EC225’s grounding, but Heavy Lifting copter in its short career. The frst lasted nine months and how many operators will fy it remains a question. was related to concerns about the bevel gear vertical shaft inside the gearbox. EASA approves EC225/H225 These factors were compounded by the slump in demand ing procedures every 10 fight hours, as well as [enhanced] for helicopters that service the oil and gas industry, which is operational controls, “an acceptable level of safety can be return to fight, but Britain and in the economic doldrums. Before the grounding, helicopter restored,” the EASA directive states. usage rates had fallen to all-time lows. Once the grounding The British and Norwegian civil aviation authorities are, Norway remain doubtful took efect, ofshore operators corrected the oversupply, however, maintaining their grounding of the aircraft, afect- turning to the Sikorsky S-92 or smaller types such as the ing the vast majority of Europe-based machines, many of Tony Osborne London new generation of super-mediums. CHC Helicopter, which which are now in long-term storage. The two organizations entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has decided to appear unlikely to lift their bans until more detail about the he European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) deci- focus on the S-92, eliminating most of the H225s from its root cause is known. Tsion to lift its imposed grounding of the EC225/H225 feet that operated under leasing agreements. The Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN) is con- helicopter will come as a small crumb of comfort to EASA formally imposed the halt in June after Norwe- tinuing to probe how the metal fatigue manifested into the Airbus Helicopters. gian air accident investigators found evidence that metal cracking of the planetary gear bearing outer race, creating Despite months of seemingly endless negative headlines fatigue in the planetary gears of the CHC-operated EC225 rently two confgurations of planetary gear in service on spalling and propagation of a crack into the rim of the gear. about the helicopter, and the collapse in negotiations with may have been behind the April 29 failure, which led to the the EC225/H225 and AS322L2 family, each produced by Its most recent report, published in June, which prompted Poland about sales of the military version of the aircraft, main rotor head and blades separating from the aircraft diferent manufacturers. the EASA grounding, said investigators were looking into the company is hoping it can restore confdence in the feet. as it routed back to Flesland Airport in Bergen from an One, it says, “has higher operating stress levels that result the suggestion that the components may have been damaged in a vehicle accident during transportation. But it won’t be easy. An accident at Turoy, Norway, in ofshore platform. Airbus Helicopters in more frequent events of spalling, associated with rolling April that killed 13 people was the frst fatal accident of While it admits that the root cause of the metal fatigue contact fatigue,” while the other “exhibits better reliability The concern of the AIBN at the time was that such fa- the commercial version of the helicopter. And the aircraft, is “not fully understood,” EASA says the aircraft can now behavior.” tigue should create fragments detectable by the aircraft’s along with the Super Puma from which it was derived, will be returned to service with an “acceptable level of safety.” EASA is telling operators to adopt the system with the onboard Health and Usage Monitoring System, but the always be associated with a series of crashes in the North Lifting the grounding in its latest airworthiness direc- better reliability. And it advises that by specifying a reduced system did not detect any signs of degradation in the days Sea in 2009-12, two of which were fatal. tive, published on Oct. 7, EASA states that there are cur- life limit, combined with more efective oil debris-monitor- leading up to the accident. c

32 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 33

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for a longer time, [rather] than a very Tolerance Test high level for a shorter time that hits it more like a hammer.” Wind-tunnel trials will evaluate robustness of The fnal design going into the tunnel has a much-reduced incidence angle boundary layer ingestion fan for future airliners swing of 17 deg. Although greatly improved, the high angle “is a challenge” Guy Norris Los Angeles he added. “If you have 17 deg. of incidence swing, you know you are going he concept of ingesting the bound- this the drag and weight of the buried to stall something, because that is not Tary layer to improve the cruise ef- inlet is less than a conventional pod- what a blade can handle. It looks like fciency of future airliners is well ded nacelle. However, countering this, a barn door [to the incoming air] no accepted and under study, but a key en- the shorter inlet experiences pressure matter what it is, so we designed it to abler toward achieving that vision—an losses while the fan is less efcient, both handle that,” said Cousins. The blade engine or propulsor fan design that can of which produce a fuel-burn penalty. will undergo stall out near the tip within operate in the turbulent fow regime— “So those two things—inlet losses the area of distortion in the lower hemi- has yet to be proven. and fan efficiency—are what we have sphere of its arc of travel but recover This is set to change in early Novem- to concentrate on,” Cousins said at the when it comes out. ber when engineers from NASA Glenn He notes the loadings on the Research Center and United Tech- The distortion-tolerant fan test fan are still reasonable nologies Research Center (UTRC) will unit includes 48 guide vanes, despite the transition begin wind-tunnel tests of the frst fan the upper set of which in and out of the stall set designed specifcally for boundary is diferent than zone, “but we have layer ingestion (BLI). The tests are part the lower to handle the me- of NASA’s Advanced Air Transport mounted chanical constraints Technology and Subsonic Fixed Wing vanes. of something like research projects and are ultimately tar- this. The blade is a geted at a fuel-burn beneft of up to 8%. bit thicker than nor- The fow velocity into the fan from mal, particularly at the boundary layer is slower than the the root, but by the time freestream but, because there is no we are done, the weight is excess kinetic energy in the exhaust UTRC about the same as a standard- if the fan is ingesting the boundary design blade,” he added. The tita- layer, less energy needs to be added SAE 2016 Aerospace Systems and Tech- nium alloy blades have been shot-peened to achieve the same thrust. The wake nology conference held in September into shape and have an expected test life is reenergized by the propulsor. While in Hartford, Connecticut. Testing will of up to 1,500 hr., compared to less than computational analysis indicates this verify performance in NASA Glenn’s 100 hr. for the preliminary design. has the potential for considerable ef- 8 X 6-ft. transonic wind tunnel at Mach “The challenges were the leading and ciency gains, researchers need to know 0.8 and compare the design against a no- trailing edges, blade top and platform. how a distortion-tolerant fan would op- tional conventionally mounted advanced We changed the camber distribution erate under higher propulsive loads and turbofan engine from the same N2A de- and lowered the tip chord. That had to whether such a design could withstand velopment timescale with a bypass ratio be lower than we liked because of me- such a turbulent environment without of 16:1 and a fan pressure ratio of 1.35. chanical constraints. This blade does severely compromising efciency. The fan and inlet incorporate revi- not look like a typical blade,” he said. “This is a very challenging design sions made after analysis of preliminary Calculating the efciency of the fan and the first fan that has ever been concepts showed an “intense” distor- is “the tough part,” said Cousins. The designed for this type of application,” tion profle, said Cousins. “Ultimately, steady-state distortion level of the fan says UTRC compression systems fellow we went through a whole series of re- in cruise is calculated to be around William Cousins. The fan will be mount- designs of the inlet to shorten it and get 10%, exceeding that of military engine ed in a semirecessed inlet representing the losses down. We found every time fans such as F-15 and F-35, which have the center engine installation on Boe- the fan ran around, there was an inci- a maximum steady-state distortion any- ing’s N2A blended-wing-body future dence angle swing [the angle between where in the fight envelope of about 6%. transport concept. “When you get into the incoming fow and the line perpen- Researchers estimate that changes confgurations that look like this, one of dicular to the fan plane] of about 27 deg. to make the blade design more rugged the biggest issues you have is an inlet or so, which was huge. This was all be- decrease efciency about 3%, on top of that is very short and embedded in the cause of the swirl and distortion coming an additional 1% due to pressure losses airframe in such a way that it creates a in the inlet,” he added. from the inlet. “We have ideas about how distortion with every revolution of the UTRC modifed the inlet and fllets we can get that performance back, and fan. There is not too much you can do where the inlet lip meets the wing sur- we are going to pursue those,” said Cous- with that distortion,” he says. face to control vortices and spread out ins. “Even with this we are still expect- “At the end of our design studies with the distortion. “If you look at a time ing a 4.5% fuel-burn beneft, so if I can NASA, we came out with a BLI fuel-burn constant of the rotor, you would like it drive fan efciency back, my fuel-burn beneft of 4.8%,” says Cousins. On top of to respond to a lower level of distortion beneft will be even better.” c

34 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p34.indd 34 10/20/16 11:44 AM Technology for a longer time, [rather] than a very Tolerance Test high level for a shorter time that hits it more like a hammer.” Wind-tunnel trials will evaluate robustness of The fnal design going into the tunnel has a much-reduced incidence angle boundary layer ingestion fan for future airliners swing of 17 deg. Although greatly improved, the high angle “is a challenge” Guy Norris Los Angeles he added. “If you have 17 deg. of incidence swing, you know you are going he concept of ingesting the bound- this the drag and weight of the buried to stall something, because that is not Tary layer to improve the cruise ef- inlet is less than a conventional pod- what a blade can handle. It looks like fciency of future airliners is well ded nacelle. However, countering this, a barn door [to the incoming air] no accepted and under study, but a key en- the shorter inlet experiences pressure matter what it is, so we designed it to abler toward achieving that vision—an losses while the fan is less efcient, both handle that,” said Cousins. The blade engine or propulsor fan design that can of which produce a fuel-burn penalty. will undergo stall out near the tip within operate in the turbulent fow regime— “So those two things—inlet losses the area of distortion in the lower hemi- FROM SINGAPORE TO FARTHER has yet to be proven. and fan efficiency—are what we have sphere of its arc of travel but recover This is set to change in early Novem- to concentrate on,” Cousins said at the when it comes out. ber when engineers from NASA Glenn He notes the loadings on the A BETTER WAY TO FLY. Research Center and United Tech- The distortion-tolerant fan test fan are still reasonable nologies Research Center (UTRC) will unit includes 48 guide vanes, despite the transition begin wind-tunnel tests of the frst fan the upper set of which in and out of the stall set designed specifcally for boundary is diferent than zone, “but we have layer ingestion (BLI). The tests are part the lower to handle the me- of NASA’s Advanced Air Transport mounted chanical constraints Technology and Subsonic Fixed Wing vanes. of something like research projects and are ultimately tar- this. The blade is a geted at a fuel-burn beneft of up to 8%. bit thicker than nor- The fow velocity into the fan from mal, particularly at the boundary layer is slower than the the root, but by the time freestream but, because there is no we are done, the weight is excess kinetic energy in the exhaust UTRC about the same as a standard- if the fan is ingesting the boundary design blade,” he added. The tita- layer, less energy needs to be added SAE 2016 Aerospace Systems and Tech- nium alloy blades have been shot-peened to achieve the same thrust. The wake nology conference held in September into shape and have an expected test life is reenergized by the propulsor. While in Hartford, Connecticut. Testing will of up to 1,500 hr., compared to less than computational analysis indicates this verify performance in NASA Glenn’s 100 hr. for the preliminary design. has the potential for considerable ef- 8 X 6-ft. transonic wind tunnel at Mach “The challenges were the leading and ciency gains, researchers need to know 0.8 and compare the design against a no- trailing edges, blade top and platform. how a distortion-tolerant fan would op- tional conventionally mounted advanced We changed the camber distribution erate under higher propulsive loads and turbofan engine from the same N2A de- and lowered the tip chord. That had to whether such a design could withstand velopment timescale with a bypass ratio be lower than we liked because of me- such a turbulent environment without of 16:1 and a fan pressure ratio of 1.35. chanical constraints. This blade does severely compromising efciency. The fan and inlet incorporate revi- not look like a typical blade,” he said. “This is a very challenging design sions made after analysis of preliminary Calculating the efciency of the fan and the first fan that has ever been concepts showed an “intense” distor- is “the tough part,” said Cousins. The designed for this type of application,” tion profle, said Cousins. “Ultimately, steady-state distortion level of the fan says UTRC compression systems fellow we went through a whole series of re- in cruise is calculated to be around William Cousins. The fan will be mount- designs of the inlet to shorten it and get 10%, exceeding that of military engine ed in a semirecessed inlet representing the losses down. We found every time fans such as F-15 and F-35, which have the center engine installation on Boe- the fan ran around, there was an inci- a maximum steady-state distortion any- ing’s N2A blended-wing-body future dence angle swing [the angle between where in the fight envelope of about 6%. transport concept. “When you get into the incoming fow and the line perpen- Researchers estimate that changes Boeing builds and delivers the most complete fl eet of long-range commercial airplanes, enabling airlines to offer confgurations that look like this, one of dicular to the fan plane] of about 27 deg. to make the blade design more rugged the biggest issues you have is an inlet or so, which was huge. This was all be- decrease efciency about 3%, on top of nonstop, point-to-point service to virtually anywhere in the world. What’s more, Boeing’s long-range airplanes are that is very short and embedded in the cause of the swirl and distortion coming an additional 1% due to pressure losses renowned for their effi ciency and comfort, and consistently ranked fi rst by frequent fl yers. Going farther to make airframe in such a way that it creates a in the inlet,” he added. from the inlet. “We have ideas about how distortion with every revolution of the UTRC modifed the inlet and fllets we can get that performance back, and travel easier. That’s a better way to fl y. fan. There is not too much you can do where the inlet lip meets the wing sur- we are going to pursue those,” said Cous- with that distortion,” he says. face to control vortices and spread out ins. “Even with this we are still expect- “At the end of our design studies with the distortion. “If you look at a time ing a 4.5% fuel-burn beneft, so if I can NASA, we came out with a BLI fuel-burn constant of the rotor, you would like it drive fan efciency back, my fuel-burn beneft of 4.8%,” says Cousins. On top of to respond to a lower level of distortion beneft will be even better.” c boeing.com/commercial

34 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p34.indd 34 10/20/16 11:44 AM 610AWB35.indd 1 10/18/2016 10:11:02 AM COMMERCIAL AVIATION Sibling Support Scoot, Tigerair base expansion BENNY ZHENG/WIKIMEDIA prospects on coordinated approach Scoot intends to use its growing 787 fl eet to launch Adrian Schofi eld Singapore fl ights to Europe and other long-haul destinations. he Singapore Airlines Group’s low-cost carrier (LCC) all of this capacity to long-haul fl ights, notes Lee. The aircraft Tstrategy is coming more sharply into focus, with sub- with the new confi guration could also be deployed to some sidiaries Scoot and Tigerair relying on closer integra- medium-haul routes, as they are only marginally dif erent tion to support fl eet and network growth plans. from Scoot’s existing 787s, with six fewer seats. Although they have dif erent operating profi les, the two For Tigerair, fl eet expansion will represent a signifi cant LCCs expect to strengthen each other’s performance by in- change in direction. The airline has been steadily shrink- creasing their network alignment. This will help Scoot as ing its capacity in recent years in an ef ort to streamline its it prepares to add its fi rst true long-haul routes next year, operation and stem losses. The carrier fi nally achieved a and will assist Tigerair in fi lling seats as it expands its nar- profi t—albeit narrowly—for its fi scal year through March rowbody fl eet beginning in late 2017. 2016, and it was again profi table in the June quarter. Improving cooperation between the two LCCs was one Tigerair is “going to start growing again” thanks to sub- of Singapore Airlines’ main motives behind its full takeover leased aircraft rejoining the fl eet, says Lee. Eleven Airbus of Tigerair, a process completed in March. It has since cre- A320s subleased to India’s IndiGo are due to be returned to ated an umbrella company to oversee the two LCCs: Budget Tigerair in late 2017 and 2018. Tigerair currently operates Aviation Holdings, which is headed by former Tigerair CEO 21 A320s and two A319s. Lee Lik Hsin. However, the returning aircraft will be partially of set by While the LCCs still have separate brands and operating the departure of fi ve of Tigerair’s existing fl eet at about the licenses, many management functions have been merged un- same time. These fi ve aircraft were part of a previous sale/ der the holding company. The pair are also working to im- leaseback agreement and will be sent to their new owner as prove connections between their fl ights, so that the Tigerair their leases expire. short-haul operation can feed Scoot’s medium- and long-haul These moves will give Tigerair a net increase of six air- network and vice versa. Tigerair uses Airbus A320-family craft. Until the subleased aircraft begin to arrive, the carrier aircraft, while Scoot operates Boeing 787s. will be able to make only “very marginal” capacity increases, In terms of growth, the integration “has given us confi dence says Lee. “Whatever little growth” occurs would come from because we can rely on both connecting and point-to-point increasing aircraft utilization. traf c,” Lee says. Both airlines had previously relied mainly In the longer term, Tigerair has orders for 39 A320neos. on point-to-point travel. One is due in 2018, and the rest will arrive through 2025. The The partnership means “we are able to put forth an ag- aircraft orders are currently under Tigerair’s name, and it gressive growth plan,” says Lee. This will manifest itself has not been decided whether sale/leaseback arrangements initially with Scoot. will be made, Lee says. A feature of Scoot’s expansion strategy will be the launch of The A320neos will be used for both fl eet growth and re- a fl ight to Athens, Greece, in June 2017. This will not only be placement. Tigerair has “no intention” of extending any of its its longest route, but the farthest fl own by any LCC, the car- A320ceo leases, so it will eventually have a 100% Neo fl eet, rier says. Lee says Scoot will also introduce another long-haul says Lee. route next year. Aside from the management integration, the two LCCs Such routes represent “the realization of one of the original have achieved other benefi ts from closer cooperation. They objectives of Scoot,” says Lee. When the carrier was launched now have the fl exibility to switch fl ights from one airline to in 2012 it was intended to be a medium- and long-haul airline . the other so as to better match markets with aircraft types. However, over the past four years it has focused on medium- They have already done this on routes from Singapore to haul services. Guangzhou, China, and Chennai, India, and will soon do so Connections to Tigerair’s network means Scoot can “fun- on the Singapore-Hong Kong route. nel the long-haul passengers to dif erent parts of Southeast Lee describes such changes as the “low-hanging fruit” Asia,” Lee says. “That has really changed the economics of a or “quick wins” resulting from closer cooperation between potential long-haul operation.” Scoot and Tigerair. However, further changes are coming. Scoot currently has 12 Boeing 787s, evenly split between -8s “There is still more to be done on network alignment,” and -9s. Four more of each version are to be delivered over says Lee. This will involve better coordination of schedules the next three years. No more deliveries are planned in the to enhance connectivity, with such moves becoming more current fi scal year, which runs through the end of next March. apparent over the next two schedule seasons. The carrier is due to receive the four additional 787-8s The carriers have “no immediate plans” to fully merge the in 2017. Unlike its existing 787s, the new aircraft will have two brands into one, says Lee. Similarly, Scoot and Tigerair crew-rest areas and other features needed for true long-haul are in no hurry to extend their existing interline agreement fl ights. These four aircraft would be enough to fl y a total of to a full codeshare relationship. Lee notes that “the impera- 14 long-haul roundtrips a week on a combination of routes. tive to interline is not as strong” for LCCs, and interlining “is However, the carrier does not necessarily have to dedicate suf cient for now.” c

36 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p36.indd 36 10/20/16 4:22 PM COMMERCIAL AVIATION Sibling Support Innovation in Miniature Scoot, Tigerair base expansion BENNY ZHENG/WIKIMEDIA prospects on coordinated approach Scoot intends to use its growing 787 fl eet to launch Adrian Schofi eld Singapore fl ights to Europe and other long-haul destinations. WHEN IT COMES TO PERFORMANCE, he Singapore Airlines Group’s low-cost carrier (LCC) all of this capacity to long-haul fl ights, notes Lee. The aircraft Tstrategy is coming more sharply into focus, with sub- with the new confi guration could also be deployed to some sidiaries Scoot and Tigerair relying on closer integra- medium-haul routes, as they are only marginally dif erent WE’RE YOUR WINGMAN. tion to support fl eet and network growth plans. from Scoot’s existing 787s, with six fewer seats. Although they have dif erent operating profi les, the two For Tigerair, fl eet expansion will represent a signifi cant LCCs expect to strengthen each other’s performance by in- change in direction. The airline has been steadily shrink- creasing their network alignment. This will help Scoot as ing its capacity in recent years in an ef ort to streamline its it prepares to add its fi rst true long-haul routes next year, operation and stem losses. The carrier fi nally achieved a and will assist Tigerair in fi lling seats as it expands its nar- profi t—albeit narrowly—for its fi scal year through March rowbody fl eet beginning in late 2017. 2016, and it was again profi table in the June quarter. Improving cooperation between the two LCCs was one Tigerair is “going to start growing again” thanks to sub- of Singapore Airlines’ main motives behind its full takeover leased aircraft rejoining the fl eet, says Lee. Eleven Airbus of Tigerair, a process completed in March. It has since cre- A320s subleased to India’s IndiGo are due to be returned to ated an umbrella company to oversee the two LCCs: Budget Tigerair in late 2017 and 2018. Tigerair currently operates PEACE OF MIND, SINCE 1948. Aviation Holdings, which is headed by former Tigerair CEO 21 A320s and two A319s. Lee Lik Hsin. However, the returning aircraft will be partially of set by Count on The Lee Company for relentless support and While the LCCs still have separate brands and operating the departure of fi ve of Tigerair’s existing fl eet at about the unsurpassed reliability. That’s been our approach for licenses, many management functions have been merged un- same time. These fi ve aircraft were part of a previous sale/ der the holding company. The pair are also working to im- leaseback agreement and will be sent to their new owner as over 65 years, which has placed our feld-proven prove connections between their fl ights, so that the Tigerair their leases expire. short-haul operation can feed Scoot’s medium- and long-haul These moves will give Tigerair a net increase of six air- Microhydraulic fuid control components on network and vice versa. Tigerair uses Airbus A320-family craft. Until the subleased aircraft begin to arrive, the carrier board every military and commercial aircraft aircraft, while Scoot operates Boeing 787s. will be able to make only “very marginal” capacity increases, In terms of growth, the integration “has given us confi dence says Lee. “Whatever little growth” occurs would come from fying today. So, whether you need a because we can rely on both connecting and point-to-point increasing aircraft utilization. standard or custom-engineered solution, traf c,” Lee says. Both airlines had previously relied mainly In the longer term, Tigerair has orders for 39 A320neos. on point-to-point travel. One is due in 2018, and the rest will arrive through 2025. The choose The Lee Company and relax. The partnership means “we are able to put forth an ag- aircraft orders are currently under Tigerair’s name, and it We’ve got your back. gressive growth plan,” says Lee. This will manifest itself has not been decided whether sale/leaseback arrangements initially with Scoot. will be made, Lee says. A feature of Scoot’s expansion strategy will be the launch of The A320neos will be used for both fl eet growth and re- a fl ight to Athens, Greece, in June 2017. This will not only be placement. Tigerair has “no intention” of extending any of its its longest route, but the farthest fl own by any LCC, the car- A320ceo leases, so it will eventually have a 100% Neo fl eet, rier says. Lee says Scoot will also introduce another long-haul says Lee. route next year. Aside from the management integration, the two LCCs Such routes represent “the realization of one of the original have achieved other benefi ts from closer cooperation. They objectives of Scoot,” says Lee. When the carrier was launched now have the fl exibility to switch fl ights from one airline to in 2012 it was intended to be a medium- and long-haul airline . the other so as to better match markets with aircraft types. However, over the past four years it has focused on medium- They have already done this on routes from Singapore to haul services. Guangzhou, China, and Chennai, India, and will soon do so Connections to Tigerair’s network means Scoot can “fun- on the Singapore-Hong Kong route. nel the long-haul passengers to dif erent parts of Southeast Lee describes such changes as the “low-hanging fruit” Asia,” Lee says. “That has really changed the economics of a or “quick wins” resulting from closer cooperation between potential long-haul operation.” Scoot and Tigerair. However, further changes are coming. Your Microhydraulics Flight Manual. Scoot currently has 12 Boeing 787s, evenly split between -8s “There is still more to be done on network alignment,” The Lee Technical Hydraulic and -9s. Four more of each version are to be delivered over says Lee. This will involve better coordination of schedules Handbook has, for decades, served the next three years. No more deliveries are planned in the to enhance connectivity, with such moves becoming more as the industry-standard engineering current fi scal year, which runs through the end of next March. apparent over the next two schedule seasons. reference for hydraulic components. Request your free copy today. The carrier is due to receive the four additional 787-8s The carriers have “no immediate plans” to fully merge the in 2017. Unlike its existing 787s, the new aircraft will have two brands into one, says Lee. Similarly, Scoot and Tigerair crew-rest areas and other features needed for true long-haul are in no hurry to extend their existing interline agreement fl ights. These four aircraft would be enough to fl y a total of to a full codeshare relationship. Lee notes that “the impera- 860-399-6281 • www.TheLeeCo.com 14 long-haul roundtrips a week on a combination of routes. tive to interline is not as strong” for LCCs, and interlining “is The Lee Company However, the carrier does not necessarily have to dedicate suf cient for now.” c W E S T B R O O K • L O N D O N • P A R I S • F R A N K F U R T • M I L A N • S T O C K H O L M

36 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p36.indd 36 10/20/16 4:22 PM 610AWB37.indd 1 10/18/2016 10:11:44 AM COMMERCIAL AVIATION

Avolon, soon to be the world’s third-largest aircraft lessor, is also a launch customer of the Airbus A330neo.

named by industry sources as a possible buyer. Aviation Capi- RENDERING/AIRBUS FIXION Large Lessors tal Group is also looking for a new owner. BOC Aviation, created from the Bank of China’s 2006 acquisition of Singapore The leasing world follows the lead Aircraft Leasing Enterprise, opted for an initial public of ering earlier this year that attracted fi nancing from 11 anchor inves- of airlines in consolidating tors, including Boeing. The Avolon deal also highlights the fast-growing infl uence Jens Flottau Frankfurt of China in aircraft leasing. Avolon has been fully owned by Bohai Leasing since earlier this year. Bohai, a unit of Hainan, he airline industry has witnessed tremendous change China-based HNA Group, is consolidating all of its aircraft Tin recent years. Through mergers and acquisitions, four leasing activities under the Avolon brand. Avolon itself re- large carriers dominate the U.S. But given the continued mains based in Dublin . “From a standing start we will have fragmentation of the sector in the rest of the world, consolida- built Avolon into a leading global player in six years,” says tion overall remains a slow process, and aircraft manufactur- Avolon CEO Domhnal Slattery. But he adds, “While this trans- ers have had time to adapt to the new marketplace setup for action is strategically compelling and will double the scale of approximately half of their direct customers. Avolon, it is not the summit of our ambition.” But the other half of the Airbus and Boeing customer base Earlier this year and during an HNA Group event in Dublin, is experiencing consolidation at an unprecedented speed. A Slattery laid out his company’s aims. Avolon, he said, wants to little over two years ago, AerCap completed the acquisition of become the biggest customer of Airbus and Boeing in the next the International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) and became the 10 years. With outstanding orders for 349 aircraft—mainly largest aircraft lessor in the world, with rival GECAS a close Airbus A320neos and Boeing 737 MAXs—it is already close second. Last January, HNA Group unit Bohai Leasing fi nalized to that position. In the same time frame, it aims to become a takeover of Avolon and combined it with its other activities the world’s third-largest aircraft lessor behind AerCap and in the market segment. Nine months later, the larger Avolon GECAS. The Avolon deal enables it to reach that target nine managed to conclude what it described as a “transformative” years earlier than planned. deal: the purchase of CIT Commercial Air, also known as CIT Avolon has set a new target of becoming the world’s biggest Aerospace, for $10 billion, which propels the enlarged lessor lessor. In the bidding for CIT Aerospace, Avolon faces compe- into the third position on the world market. tition from two other Asian investors, Century Tokyo Leasing The three largest lessors combined control an in-service or (Japan) and Ping An Insurance Group (China). CIT operates a incoming fl eet of well over 5,000 aircraft. That is equivalent to joint venture with Century Tokyo, which led many to believe about twice the number of aircraft controlled or on order by the Japanese lessor was in the pole position for the takeover. the three biggest airlines. Aircraft manufacturers will there- But HNA Group, built up by Chairman Chen Feng over fore be in the less-than-optimal position of having to negotiate two decades, is on an aggressive expansion course, acquiring deals with a number of large leasing customers. Many smaller aviation assets worldwide in an ef ort to diversify beyond its players are being created at the same time, particularly in Asia, main base in China. HNA owns 14 airlines in China, the most but many startups tend to enter sale-and-leaseback deals of well-known of which is Hainan Airlines, and has stakes in in-service aircraft to build up a portfolio over a number of years fi ve international carriers . HNA also owns airport operators, before they go for direct orders with Airbus and Boeing. freight-handling companies, training organizations, business The CIT transaction enables Avolon to overtake BBAM, jet operators, maintenance, repair and overhaul providers, previously No. 3 in the aircraft leasing business. But it is still ground-handling company Swissport and catering specialist substantially smaller than AerCap and GECAS. The expanded Gate Gourmet. In total, HNA has become an unprecedented Avolon fl eet now totals 561 aircraft; it has fi rm commitments aviation conglomerate in a very short period of time. to grow the portfolio to 910 aircraft. Avolon says the CIT deal will broaden its customer base by GECAS’s fl eet comprises close to 1,700 fi xed- wing aircraft 69 airlines in 20 countries, bringing the total to 154 airlines in in service or on order. At the end of June, AerCap’s portfolio 61 countries. Approximately one-third of the lessor’s aircraft included 1,637 aircraft that were either owned and in service, portfolio is leased to carriers in the Americas; one-third in under management contract or on order. Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and one-third in the Asia- The acquisition of CIT is one of several major deals ru- Pacifi c region, “providing balanced geographic exposure.” Its mored to be in the works. Private equity investor Terra Firma in-service fl eet is 4.6 years old on average and has an average is in the process of selling AWAS, and ICBC Leasing has been remaining lease term of 6.7 years. c

38 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p38.indd 38 10/19/16 12:33 PM COMMERCIAL AVIATION

ATR is forecasting a need for 600 new turboprop aircraft to address Europe’s Avolon, soon to be the world’s rising regional and domestic air travel third-largest aircraft lessor, requirements over the next two decades. is also a launch customer of the Airbus A330neo. Survival Skills and singe-aisle aircraft, Cauceglia says, noting that it would ATRAIRCRAFT represent a sale of “tens of aircraft.” Large Lessors named by industry sources as a possible buyer. Aviation Capi- RENDERING/AIRBUS FIXION The Russian/Italian OEM is still working on the SSJ100’s tal Group is also looking for a new owner. BOC Aviation, cre- Europe’s regional airlines are certifi cation for operations at London City Airport and has ated from the Bank of China’s 2006 acquisition of Singapore reiterated its inten t to begin of ering the 120-seat stretched The leasing world follows the lead Aircraft Leasing Enterprise, opted for an initial public of ering doing well, for now version of the Superjet to the market next year, “with an entry- earlier this year that attracted fi nancing from 11 anchor inves- into-service target of the beginning of 2020,” says Cauceglia. of airlines in consolidating tors, including Boeing. Cathy Buyck Madrid Meanwhile, ATR signed a purchase agreement in October The Avolon deal also highlights the fast-growing infl uence with Spanish regional aviation group Binter for another six Jens Flottau Frankfurt of China in aircraft leasing. Avolon has been fully owned by urope’s regional airlines believe the worst is over and ATR72-600s, as part of a fl eet renewal of Binter Canarias. Bohai Leasing since earlier this year. Bohai, a unit of Hainan, Ea new phase of growth lies ahead, with new regional The Canary Islands-based airline currently operates four ATR he airline industry has witnessed tremendous change China-based HNA Group, is consolidating all of its aircraft aircraft delivering more choices and lower seat costs, 72-600s and 14 -500s. By 2021, it will move to an all-72-600 Tin recent years. Through mergers and acquisitions, four leasing activities under the Avolon brand. Avolon itself re- an overall improved economic environment and new wet-lease series fl eet and most of its ATR 72-500s will be sold, except large carriers dominate the U.S. But given the continued mains based in Dublin . “From a standing start we will have opportunities. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) already works 4-5 units that will be placed with Binter’s new wholly owned fragmentation of the sector in the rest of the world, consolida- built Avolon into a leading global player in six years,” says with four external regional capacity providers, and they jointly subsidiary Binter CV. tion overall remains a slow process, and aircraft manufactur- Avolon CEO Domhnal Slattery. But he adds, “While this trans- carry more than 4 million passengers on the legacy airline’s Binter set up the new airline last year with the aim of con- ers have had time to adapt to the new marketplace setup for action is strategically compelling and will double the scale of feeder network. necting the islands of Cape Verde, applying the same inter- approximately half of their direct customers. Avolon, it is not the summit of our ambition.” In addition, regional aircraft manufacturers are seeing a island transport model it developed for the Canary Islands. But the other half of the Airbus and Boeing customer base Earlier this year and during an HNA Group event in Dublin, slight uptick in activity. Embraer just signed a deal with Tur- Binter CV is due to start fl ying under its own air operator’s is experiencing consolidation at an unprecedented speed. A Slattery laid out his company’s aims. Avolon, he said, wants to key’s Borajet Airlines for three E190-E2s and two E195-E2s to certifi cate in late October. The expansion and fl eet renewal little over two years ago, AerCap completed the acquisition of become the biggest customer of Airbus and Boeing in the next add to the airline’s fl eet of current-generation E190 and E195 of Binter refl ects the state of the European regional airline the International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) and became the 10 years. With outstanding orders for 349 aircraft—mainly aircraft. The fi ve E2s will be delivered starting in 2018 and sector in general. ERA’s 52 member airlines are growing: They largest aircraft lessor in the world, with rival GECAS a close Airbus A320neos and Boeing 737 MAXs—it is already close are only a fi rst step in the Turkish regional carrier’s $1.5 bil- fl ew 8% more routes and added 5% more seat capacity in sum- second. Last January, HNA Group unit Bohai Leasing fi nalized to that position. In the same time frame, it aims to become lion projected fl eet investment, says Borajet Chairman Fatih mer 2016 compared to the previous summer, the orderbook is a takeover of Avolon and combined it with its other activities the world’s third-largest aircraft lessor behind AerCap and Akol. Akol notes that the current security issues in Turkey are about 10% of the fl eet and average gauge is up 7%, to 73 seats. in the market segment. Nine months later, the larger Avolon GECAS. The Avolon deal enables it to reach that target nine “making everybody uncomfortable,” but he adds that there is “The overall picture is positive; our members are growing in managed to conclude what it described as a “transformative” years earlier than planned. a “huge” potential for growth in the country. Only 7% of the a dif cult market and geopolitically challenging year. They deal: the purchase of CIT Commercial Air, also known as CIT Avolon has set a new target of becoming the world’s biggest population (80 million) travels by air and fl ies just 1.6 times per must be doing something right,” ERA Director General Simon Aerospace, for $10 billion, which propels the enlarged lessor lessor. In the bidding for CIT Aerospace, Avolon faces compe- year, he pointed out at the European Regions Airline Associa- McNamara notes. into the third position on the world market. tition from two other Asian investors, Century Tokyo Leasing tion (ERA) General Assembly in Madrid Oct. 11-13. The association’s members operate 1.1 million fl ights annu- The three largest lessors combined control an in-service or (Japan) and Ping An Insurance Group (China). CIT operates a Neither the increase in terrorism incidents nor the UK’s ally and carry 62 million passengers on 1,100 point-to-point incoming fl eet of well over 5,000 aircraft. That is equivalent to joint venture with Century Tokyo, which led many to believe decision to leave the European Union (Brexit) have prompted routes. about twice the number of aircraft controlled or on order by the Japanese lessor was in the pole position for the takeover. Embraer to change its near- and long-term European market- “GDP is forecast to grow in Europe next year, and there are the three biggest airlines. Aircraft manufacturers will there- But HNA Group, built up by Chairman Chen Feng over demand forecast for new 70–130-seat jets. “I characterize Eu- no indications that the price of fuel will increase,” says KLM fore be in the less-than-optimal position of having to negotiate two decades, is on an aggressive expansion course, acquiring rope as being in a neutral mood. And airlines tend to order Cityhopper Managing Director and ERA board president Boet deals with a number of large leasing customers. Many smaller aviation assets worldwide in an ef ort to diversify beyond its aircraft in a positive mood,” Embraer Commercial Aviation Kreiken. “The ERA network is growing, the [regional] fl eet players are being created at the same time, particularly in Asia, main base in China. HNA owns 14 airlines in China, the most President and CEO John Slattery tells Aviation Week. “Hav- is becoming more ef cient, more reliable and more safe. The but many startups tend to enter sale-and-leaseback deals of well-known of which is Hainan Airlines, and has stakes in ing said that, we are seeing more activity in Europe in recent worst might be over.” But, he notes, clouds are gathering on the in-service aircraft to build up a portfolio over a number of years fi ve international carriers . HNA also owns airport operators, months than we saw in the previous couple of years.” currency and geopolitical front. “Brexit will not just af ect the before they go for direct orders with Airbus and Boeing. freight-handling companies, training organizations, business Embraer projects that Europe and the Commonwealth of UK but also continental Europe,” he continues. “Meanwhile, The CIT transaction enables Avolon to overtake BBAM, jet operators, maintenance, repair and overhaul providers, Independent States will need 1,540 new aircraft in the 70–130- the continuing spat between the UK and Spain over Gibraltar previously No. 3 in the aircraft leasing business. But it is still ground-handling company Swissport and catering specialist seat jet segment over the next 20 years. This is the same fore- is choking progress on key regulatory issues such as [air traf c substantially smaller than AerCap and GECAS. The expanded Gate Gourmet. In total, HNA has become an unprecedented cast released in July during the Farnborough Airshow. management] and the review of the EU261 passenger rights Avolon fl eet now totals 561 aircraft; it has fi rm commitments aviation conglomerate in a very short period of time. This confi dence in the European regional market is shared regulations that really af ect regional airlines.” to grow the portfolio to 910 aircraft. Avolon says the CIT deal will broaden its customer base by by SuperJet International CEO Nazario Cauceglia. SuperJet There are other concerns about the increasing inroads of GECAS’s fl eet comprises close to 1,700 fi xed- wing aircraft 69 airlines in 20 countries, bringing the total to 154 airlines in International is involved in some “important” deals and partic- low-cost carriers on routes traditionally operated by regional in service or on order. At the end of June, AerCap’s portfolio 61 countries. Approximately one-third of the lessor’s aircraft ipating in a request for proposals issued by a European airline airlines. “Some fertile business is going away,” asserts John included 1,637 aircraft that were either owned and in service, portfolio is leased to carriers in the Americas; one-third in that could lead to orders for the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) Strickland, director of UK-based JLS Consulting. Several re- under management contract or on order. Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and one-third in the Asia- by year-end or early 2017, he says. One of the potential new gional airlines are moving into aircraft, complete crew, main- The acquisition of CIT is one of several major deals ru- Pacifi c region, “providing balanced geographic exposure.” Its airline customers in Europe has asked SuperJet International tenance, and insurance to diversify their business, but this mored to be in the works. Private equity investor Terra Firma in-service fl eet is 4.6 years old on average and has an average to run a deep analysis of its entire network and defi ne the size “opportunity is not available to everybody,” he says. “A lot is in the process of selling AWAS, and ICBC Leasing has been remaining lease term of 6.7 years. c of an SSJ100 fl eet to replace some of its current turboprops depends o n which part of Europe they are based in.” c

38 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 39

AW_10_24_2016_p38.indd 38 10/19/16 12:33 PM AW_10_24_2016_p39.indd 39 10/19/16 4:08 PM Business AviAtion

Seeking Stability

Industry adjusts to the reality of a smaller business aviation market

NatioNal BusiNess aviatioN associatioN Michael Bruno and Graham Warwick Washington

he business aviation market decline over the next three years to 628 In the run-up to the National “Tcontinues to struggle to fnd in 2018 from 714 in 2015. The forecast Business Aviation Association the bottom,” avionics supplier is based on business jet activity that is convention Nov. 1-3, market condi- Rockwell Collins CEO Kelly Ortberg persistently sluggish, rising fractionally tions have worsened since aircraft told analysts in August. In recession one month only to fall the next. While lined up at Las Vegas’s Henderson since the 2008 economic crisis, the mar- manufacturers have moved to reduce Executive Airport for NBAA 2015. ket keeps declining as its malaise wid- production, “with little change to trafc ens from the hard-hit lighter jets to the in either direction . . . it will take some feet up for sale, and 18 models had ris- once-solid “heavy metal” and spreads time for demand to catch up with some ing levels of used inventory. Prices had geographically to encompass regions excess supply,” says Jefferies analyst dropped 11% from their peak for aircraft that had been shoring up demand. Howard Rubel. under fve years old, with the decline The reasons are manifold. “It’s not The impact of low oil prices on the increasing substantially with age. specifc to any particular airplane type, economies and high-net-worth individ- This has put pressure on new-air- but rather an overall market condi- ual wealth in resource-rich countries— craft pricing and fueled a price war be- tion. We’re seeing softness in product important buyers of business aircraft— tween manufacturers producing more demand across all major business jet has added to the sector’s existing woes, aircraft than they can sell. The airfram- manufacturers,” said Ortberg. says Richard Aboulafa, vice president ers have moved to reduce the oversup- The long-running connection be- of analysis at Teal Group. At the same ply, but while both manufacturers and tween the growth of global economies, time, 60% of respondents to the UBS suppliers entered 2016 with reduced individual wealth and business aviation survey cited a signifcant negative im- expectations, they have had to lower has been severed, making it harder to pact from faltering emerging econo- them as the year has progressed. forecast the market. In September, a mies and their currency devaluations. Bombardier was frst to make major survey of industry professionals by f- Both of these have hit the large-aircraft moves, shortly after Alain Bellemare nancial services company UBS Securi- market harder. took over as CEO in February 2015, ties showed an uptick in customer in- These factors are in addition to canceling development of the midsize terest from the post-crisis low reached downward pressures on the market Learjet 85, reducing production of in May. But the UBS Business Jet mar- that range from the number of used air- the large-cabin Global 5000/6000 and ket Index remains well below the score craft for sale to the stigma that lingers stretching development of the ultra- that would signal a recovery, and the around business jet ownership long long-range Global 7000. The Learjet outlook is still subdued. after the global economic crisis. Of 43 85 was blamed on the soft market for Investment bank Jeferies projects newer models that it tracks, UBS said lighter jets, the Global 5000/6000 cuts business jet deliveries will continue to in July that 23 have at least 10% of the made to match output to demand and

40 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p40-41.indd 40 10/20/16 12:18 PM Business AviAtion

the Global 7000 slowed down to free up but both are in the process of felding hope. Aircraft brokerage Jetcraft sees resources to complete development of new products for which order backlogs North America accounting for 60% of the C Series airliner. In February, the are in hand. Textron has begun deliver- business jet deliveries over the next 10 Seeking Stability company announced plans to cut 7,000 ing midsize Cessna Citation Latitudes years, up from 50% at the peak in 2007- jobs worldwide over two years as part against a long-term order for 200 from 08 as emerging markets cool of. And of its turnaround plan. fractional operator NetJets. Deliveries Jetcraft, while adjusting its forecast Bombardier says it is now “address- of the super-midsize Longitude will be- downward 10%, still foresees sales of ing Learjet’s position” due to pricing gin at the end of 2017. But Textron Avi- almost 7,880 jets over that period. Industry adjusts to the reality of pressure on its remaining products, the ation is nonetheless laying of a small “The danger is not so much the Learjet 70/75 light jets. The focus is on number of workers to trim costs. slower-than-hoped-for recovery itself, a smaller business aviation market selling the aircraft being produced this Gulfstream laid of 1,100 workers at but rather the possibility of creating a year, but analysts have speculated the the end of 2015 and in August launched self-fulflling prophecy with an inevita- company may be willing to sell Learjet. a voluntary redundancy program to ble downturn,” says Jetcraft Chairman Bombardier declines to comment, but further trim its workforce. The compa- Jahid Fazal-Karim. “So, while we pre- Textron Aviation’s parent company says ny has begun winding down G450/G550 dict a continued settling of the market it would be interested in Learjet “at the large-cabin production as it prepares to into a more regular, muted pattern, we right price.” Meanwhile, an unspecifed ramp up the G500, with customer deliv- remain positive for the future.” number of Learjet workers have been eries beginning in 2018, followed in 2019 In a September survey of business moved to other programs in Wichita by the G600. aviation professionals by new private or laid of. Parent company General Dynamics aircraft finance provider Global Jet As the Global 7000 nears frst fight in August said it was “comfortable” Capital, 90% of respondents said they in Toronto, Bombardier believes the with the G450, G550 and G650 posi- believed the U.S. market is attractive major moves required to adjust to the market are complete, but it plans minor adjustments or Bizjets for Sale as Percentage of Installed Base “pauses” to Global 5000/6000 3,600 18%

completions in Montreal through Percent of Installed Base 2017 to manage costs. 3,200 16% 2,800 14% NatioNal BusiNess aviatioN associatioN Citing pricing pressure, Das- Michael Bruno and Graham Warwick Washington sault has reduced planned deliv- 2,400 12% eries of Falcon large-cabin jets 2,000 10% he business aviation market decline over the next three years to 628 In the run-up to the National this year to 50, from 60, down 9% 1,600 8% continues to struggle to fnd in 2018 from 714 in 2015. The forecast Business Aviation Association from 2015. The company booked 1,200 6% “T Level Inventory the bottom,” avionics supplier is based on business jet activity that is convention Nov. 1-3, market condi- only 22 orders in the frst half and 800 4%

Rockwell Collins CEO Kelly Ortberg persistently sluggish, rising fractionally tions have worsened since aircraft saw cancellation of 11 orders for 400 2% told analysts in August. In recession one month only to fall the next. While the Falcon 5X after service entry lined up at Las Vegas’s Henderson 0 0% since the 2008 economic crisis, the mar- manufacturers have moved to reduce Executive Airport for NBAA 2015. was delayed to 2020 from 2017 ket keeps declining as its malaise wid- production, “with little change to trafc by development problems with ens from the hard-hit lighter jets to the in either direction . . . it will take some feet up for sale, and 18 models had ris- its Safran Silvercrest engines. June 2000June 2001June 2002June 2003June 2004June 2005June 2006June 2007June 2008June 2009June 2010June 2011June 2012June 2013June 2014June 2015June 2016 ing levels of used inventory. Prices had once-solid “heavy metal” and spreads time for demand to catch up with some Backlog declined to 87 Falcons Available Aircraft Percent of Installed base geographically to encompass regions excess supply,” says Jefferies analyst dropped 11% from their peak for aircraft from 91 at the end of 2015. that had been shoring up demand. Howard Rubel. under fve years old, with the decline The French manufacturer has Source: JETNET and UBS estimates The reasons are manifold. “It’s not The impact of low oil prices on the increasing substantially with age. launched a new round of factory specifc to any particular airplane type, economies and high-net-worth individ- This has put pressure on new-air- reorganization, with facilities being tions sold through 2017 but had yet to for fnance companies—highly attrac- but rather an overall market condi- ual wealth in resource-rich countries— craft pricing and fueled a price war be- further specialized and more manu- set G500/G600 production rates. Gulf- tive, said 59%. “A number of industry tion. We’re seeing softness in product important buyers of business aircraft— tween manufacturers producing more facturing automation implemented, stream in September ended sales of the reports predict a long-term increase in demand across all major business jet has added to the sector’s existing woes, aircraft than they can sell. The airfram- remaining completions work in Bor- Israel Aerospace Industries-built G150 the number of new business jet deliv- manufacturers,” said Ortberg. says Richard Aboulafa, vice president ers have moved to reduce the oversup- deaux-Merginac transferred to Little midsize jet, but continues to produce eries, and our fndings clearly refect The long-running connection be- of analysis at Teal Group. At the same ply, but while both manufacturers and Rock, Arkansas, and subcontracted the super-midsize G280. that,” says Global Jet Chief Operating tween the growth of global economies, time, 60% of respondents to the UBS suppliers entered 2016 with reduced projects brought in-house. Smaller manufacturers are hav- Ofcer Dave Labrozzi. individual wealth and business aviation survey cited a signifcant negative im- expectations, they have had to lower Hit by slowing sales, Embraer is ing mixed fortunes. Pilatus saw PC-12 But manufacturers and suppliers has been severed, making it harder to pact from faltering emerging econo- them as the year has progressed. cutting 8% of its workforce—almost turboprop-single deliveries edge up to have seen too many green shoots of forecast the market. In September, a mies and their currency devaluations. Bombardier was frst to make major 1,500 employees—through a voluntary 70 last year and was ahead of 2015 at market recovery wither away to be survey of industry professionals by f- Both of these have hit the large-aircraft moves, shortly after Alain Bellemare redundancy program that is part of an the half-year mark. But Piaggio sold just anything other than cautious. Describ- nancial services company UBS Securi- market harder. took over as CEO in February 2015, efort to cut costs by $200 million. The three P.180s last year and has restruc- ing business aviation as the “wild card,” ties showed an uptick in customer in- These factors are in addition to canceling development of the midsize Brazilian manufacturer has lowered tured to focus on military derivatives Ortberg told analysts that, in putting to- terest from the post-crisis low reached downward pressures on the market Learjet 85, reducing production of projected business jet deliveries for the of the twin-turboprop. Honda Aircraft gether its plan for 2017, Rockwell Collins in May. But the UBS Business Jet mar- that range from the number of used air- the large-cabin Global 5000/6000 and year by 10 aircraft to 70-80 light and 35- only began Hondajet deliveries late in was “going to be pretty conservative— ket Index remains well below the score craft for sale to the stigma that lingers stretching development of the ultra- 45 large jets. Unsold aircraft will enter 2015 and is ramping up. which I thought we were coming into that would signal a recovery, and the around business jet ownership long long-range Global 7000. The Learjet inventory, and 2017 production will be Amid this story of gloom, the U.S. has this fscal year, but it turned out even outlook is still subdued. after the global economic crisis. Of 43 85 was blamed on the soft market for reduced accordingly. returned to its historic position as the that was too optimistic.” c Investment bank Jeferies projects newer models that it tracks, UBS said lighter jets, the Global 5000/6000 cuts Gulfstream and Textron Aviation are most important market for business business jet deliveries will continue to in July that 23 have at least 10% of the made to match output to demand and not immune to the market doldrums, aviation. And here there is a glimmer of —With Molly McMillan in Wichita

40 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 41

AW_10_24_2016_p40-41.indd 40 10/20/16 12:18 PM AW_10_24_2016_p40-41.indd 41 10/20/16 1:01 PM BUSINESS AVIATION New Blood Cessna In a market that subbornly refuses to recover, Cessna’s move to larger business jets continues with the business jet manufacturers count on f rst f ight of the super-midsize Cita- tion Longitude on Oct. 8. This follows new products to stimulate demand the f rst customer deliveries in August Graham Warwick Washington of the midsize Citation Latitude. The Longitude is expected to enter service in late 2017 and will be followed by the clean-sheet large-cabin Citation Hemisphere, which is planned to f y

Embraer Embraer has introduced an upgraded Phenom 100EV entry-level jet, with service entry planned for the f rst half of 2017. The EV introduces a touch-screen f ight deck based on Garmin G3000 avionics and uprated, 1,730-lb.-thrust Pratt & Whitney Can- ada PW617F1-E turbofans. The engines provide 15% more hot-and-high thrust, and the EV has a 405-kt. high-speed cruise and range Bombardier with four occupants of 1,178 nm. Bombardier powered up the f rst ultra-large-cabin, ultra-long-range Global 7000 in Assembly on the Phenom 100/300 early October, ahead of a f rst f ight later this year. Launched in 2010, entry into service in Brazil ended in July, and the light was delayed in 2015 by two years to the second half of 2018 to free up resources to jets are now assembled exclusively in complete development of the C Series airliner. There was also a wing redesign and Melbourne, Florida, where Embraer in manufacturing issues at supplier Triumph Aerostructures. June opened a second assembly line Retaining the fuselage cross-section of the Global 5000/6000, the Global 7000 for the midsize Legacy 450/500. is stretched, and introduces a new wing, 16,500-lb.-thrust GE Passport engines and f y-by-wire f ight controls. With a 92,500-lb gross weight, the aircraft is designed to f y eight passengers 7,400 nm at Mach 0.85 and 51,000 ft. Maximum cruise speed is Mach 0.90 and maximum operating speed Mach 0.925. Also unveiled in 2010, for service entry in 2019, the shorter-cabin, but longer-legged Global 8000 has been on the back burner while resources have been focused on com- pleting the C Series and developing the Global 7000. Bombardier says it will evaluate the 8000’s schedule after the f rst 7000 is in f ight testing. BOMBARDIER

One Aviation Created by the merger of Eclipse Aerospace and Kestrel Aviation, One Aviation returned the Eclipse very light jet to production in 2013 as the EA550. Now the company has launched Project Canada to develop an improved Eclipse, with f rst f ight scheduled for the third quarter of 2017 and certif cation a year later. It is priced at $3.5 million, versus just under $3 million for the EA550. The new variant is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW615Fs producing 1,170 lb. thrust, 19% more than the PW610Fs in the EA550. A new wing root section with greater leading-edge sweep increases span by 3.8 ft., area by 13% and houses 470 lb. more fuel. Gross weight is raised 900 lb. to 6,900 lb., and the avionics have been replaced with a Garmin G3000 f ight deck. Bigger engines and a larger wing substantially improve hot-and-high takeoff and climb performance. The Canada will f y 1,400 nm, or carry 475 lb. more payload over the same 1,068-nm range as the EA550. Maximum cruise speed is raised to 383 kt. from 375 kt., and the aircraft will cruise at Mach 0.65 up to its increased operational ceiling of 43,000 ft. DASSAULT AVIATION

42 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p42-43.indd 42 10/20/16 1:47 PM BUSINESS AVIATION Cirrus Certif cation of Cirrus Aircraft’s single- New Blood turbofan Vision Jet SF50 is imminent, with first deliveries planned this year. Cessna Cirrus holds more than 600 orders and Cessna’s move to larger busi- In a market that subbornly refuses to recover, TEXTRON AVIATION deposits for the seven-seat personal jet, business jet manufacturers count on ness jets continues with the which is powered by a 1,800-lb.-thrust f rst f ight of the super-midsize Cita- Williams FJ33-5A. new products to stimulate demand tion Longitude on Oct. 8. This follows With a gross weight of 6,000 lb., the the f rst customer deliveries in August in 2019 and enter SF50 has a maximum cruise speed of Graham Warwick Washington of the midsize Citation Latitude. The service in 2022. 300 kt. and operating altitude of 28,000 Longitude is expected to enter service The Longitude is ft. Range is expected to be 1,200 nm. in late 2017 and will be followed by the largest Citation to date. Powered by Features include a Garmin-developed the clean-sheet large-cabin Citation 7,550-lb.-thrust Honeywell HTF7700L en- touch-screen f ight deck and a ballistic Hemisphere, which is planned to f y gines and equipped with a Garmin G5000 parachute airframe recovery system. integrated f ight-deck, the Longitude has a maximum range of 3,400 nm, cruise speed of 476 kt. and operating altitude of 45,000 ft. Maximum operating speed Gulfstream Embraer is Mach 0.84. The clean-sheet G500, which will replace the G450 in Gulfstream’s product line, is Embraer has introduced an up- While the Longitude and 2,850-nm- on track for certif cation in 2017 and entry into service in 2018. The G500 f rst f ew graded Phenom 100EV entry-level range Latitude share a 72-in.-high by in May 2015, and the f fth test aircraft—and f rst with an outf tted cabin —joined jet, with service entry planned for the 77-in.-wide cabin cross-section, the the f ight-test program in August. The f rst stretched G600, with longer cabin and f rst half of 2017. The EV introduces 4,500-nm Hemisphere will have a cabin greater range, is expected to f y by year-end, for service entry in 2019. a touch-screen f ight deck based on diameter of 102 in.—larger than the Compared with the G450, the f y-by-wire G500 has a longer and wider cabin, Garmin G3000 avionics and uprated, class-leading Bombardier Challenger and larger windows and lower cabin altitude. The aircraft is designed to f y 5,000 nm at 1,730-lb.-thrust Pratt & Whitney Can- the same width as the Dassault Falcon Mach 0.85 or 3,800 nm at Mach 0.90. Maximum operating speed is Mach 0.925 ada PW617F1-E turbofans. 5X and Gulfstream G650. and altitude 51,000 ft. The G600 has a 5-ft.-longer cabin and 8-ft.-greater wingspan The engines provide 15% more Parent Textron Aviation, meanwhile, is and is designed to f y 6,200 nm at Mach 0.85 or 4,800 nm at Mach 0.90. hot-and-high thrust, and the EV has a not neglecting the light sector and has The G500 is powered by two 15,144-lb.-thrust Pratt & Whitney Canada PW814GA 405-kt. high-speed cruise and range launched the single-turboprop Cessna turbofans and the G600 by 15,680-lb.-thrust PW815GAs. These are based on the with four occupants of 1,178 nm. Bombardier Denali as a direct competitor for the Pila- core of the Pratt & Whitney PW1500G geared turbofan powering Bombardier’s C Assembly on the Phenom 100/300 Bombardier powered up the f rst ultra-large-cabin, ultra-long-range Global 7000 in tus PC-12. Powered by General Electric’s Series airliner. Built on Honeywell Primus Epic integrated avionics, the G500/G600 in Brazil ended in July, and the light early October, ahead of a f rst f ight later this year. Launched in 2010, entry into service European-developed 1,240-shp Advanced f ight deck features 10 touch-screen displays, synthetic vision, active sidesticks and jets are now assembled exclusively in was delayed in 2015 by two years to the second half of 2018 to free up resources to Turboprop, the Denali has a maximum head-up displays with enhanced vision (see page 44). complete development of the C Series airliner. There was also a wing redesign and Melbourne, Florida, where Embraer in range of 1,600 nm and cruise speed of manufacturing issues at supplier Triumph Aerostructures. June opened a second assembly line 285 kt. First f ight is scheduled for 2018 Retaining the fuselage cross-section of the Global 5000/6000, the Global 7000 for the midsize Legacy 450/500. and service entry for 2019. is stretched, and introduces a new wing, 16,500-lb.-thrust GE Passport engines and f y-by-wire f ight controls. With a 92,500-lb gross weight, the aircraft is designed to f y eight passengers 7,400 nm at Mach 0.85 and 51,000 ft. Maximum cruise speed is Mach 0.90 and maximum operating speed Mach 0.925. Also unveiled in 2010, for service entry in 2019, the shorter-cabin, but longer-legged Dassault Global 8000 has been on the back burner while resources have been focused on com- Dassault’s latest business jet, and its GULFSTREAM pleting the C Series and developing the Global 7000. Bombardier says it will evaluate first stretch of an existing design, the the 8000’s schedule after the f rst 7000 is in f ight testing. Falcon 8X, entered service in October. BOMBARDIER Derived from the all-new Falcon 7X, the Pilatus larger-cabin, longer-range 8X f rst f ew Pilatus Aircraft delivered the 1,400th PC-12 turboprop single in in February 2015. Powered by three July, and f rst deliveries of its PC-24 light jet are on track for the One Aviation 6,720-lb.-thrust Pratt & Whitney Canada second half of 2017. The f rst prototype f ew in May 2015, and Created by the merger of Eclipse Aerospace and Kestrel Aviation, One Aviation re- PW307Ds, the f y-by-wire aircraft can f y a third, production-standard aircraft is set to join the 1,600-hr. turned the Eclipse very light jet to production in 2013 as the EA550. Now the company eight passengers 6,450 nm at Mach 0.80 f ight-test program by year-end. has launched Project Canada to develop an improved Eclipse, with f rst f ight scheduled and 51,000 ft. Maximum operating speed The Swiss manufacturer’s f rst busi- for the third quarter of 2017 and certif cation a year later. It is priced at $3.5 million, is Mach 0.90. ness jet, the PC-24 is intended to versus just under $3 million for the EA550. Development of Dassault’s next clean- provide the same versatility as The new variant is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW615Fs producing 1,170 lb. thrust, sheet business jet, the large-cabin Falcon the rugged and popular PILATUS 19% more than the PW610Fs in the EA550. A new wing root section with greater 5X, is frozen because of an 18-month de- PC-12 and is designed leading-edge sweep increases span by 3.8 ft., area by 13% and houses 470 lb. more lay in certifying Safran’s all-new Silvercrest for operation from short fuel. Gross weight is raised 900 lb. to 6,900 lb., and the avionics have been replaced turbofan. Rolled out in June 2015, runways and unimproved airstrips. The f at-f oor with a Garmin G3000 f ight deck. the aircraft is now scheduled to cabin is large for a light jet, and a cargo door is standard. Bigger engines and a larger wing substantially improve hot-and-high takeoff and fly in 2017 and enter service in Powered by two 3,400-lb.-thrust Williams FJ44-4A turbofans, the PC-24 is de- climb performance. The Canada will f y 1,400 nm, or carry 475 lb. more payload over 2020. Powered by two 11,450-lb.-thrust signed to f y four passengers 1,950 nm; maximum cruise speed is expected to ex- the same 1,068-nm range as the EA550. Maximum cruise speed is raised to 383 kt. Silvercrests, the f y-by-wire 5X is designed ceed 425 kt., and maximum operating altitude is 45,000 ft. The f ight deck is based from 375 kt., and the aircraft will cruise at Mach 0.65 up to its increased operational to transport eight passengers 5,200 nm on Honeywell Primus Apex integrated avionics. Pilatus holds orders for 84 aircraft, ceiling of 43,000 ft. at Mach 0.80 and 51,000 ft. and will reopen the orderbook in October 2017, following certif cation. DASSAULT AVIATION

42 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 43

AW_10_24_2016_p42-43.indd 42 10/20/16 1:47 PM AW_10_24_2016_p42-43.indd 43 10/20/16 1:47 PM G500 PILOT REPORT The Natural Gulfstream’s all-new G500 redeﬁ nes the standard for large-cabin business jets Fred George Savannah, Georgia

uddenly, cruising at Mach 0.80 at Mach 0.85 is increased to 6,200 nm Sseems so 20th century. Gulf- and to 4,800 nm at Mach 0.90. stream’s welcome arrival, the Gulfstream’s new models borrow G500, cruises economically at Mach technologies developed for the manu- 0.85, which is now the standard for facturer’s G650 fl agship, including the the latest large-cabin business jets and supercritical wing airfoil, 10.7-psi cabin long-range Airbuses and Boeings. pressurization and fl y-by-wire (FBW) With 5,000-nm range at that speed, fl ight controls. Gulfstream’s G500 the $44.65 million G500 can fl y non- But the G500 is far from a scaled- stop between Seattle and Seoul, Los down G650, premiering the Symmetry By the Numbers Angeles and London, or Montreal and fl ight deck, Gulfstream’s and perhaps Dimensions (ft.): Length: 91.2 Montevideo. The longest trips take un- business aviation’s most advanced cock- der 10.5 hr. yet are fl own on less fuel pit. It is the fi rst civil aircraft equipped Span: 87.1 than any other business aircraft cruis- with active sidesticks—control devices Height: 25.5 ing at Mach 0.85. Range at Mach 0.90 that are electrically back-driven so they Engines: 2 X P&WC PW814GA high-speed cruise is 3,800 nm. appear to be mechanically linked. Move Due to enter service in 2018, the one and the other moves as though the at 15,144-lb. thrust G500 will replace the G450 in the manu- two are tied together. Max. takeoff weight (lb.): 76,850 facturer’s product line and the contrast Made by BAE Systems, these in- Max. operating speed: Mach 0.92 between the two is striking. While the ceptors mark a step up in situational G450 was an evolutionary step in Gulf- awareness from passive sidesticks be- Max. cruise altitude (ft.): 51,000 stream model development, the G500 is cause each pilot is immediately aware Max. range (nm, at Mach 0.85): 5,000 a leap forward in aircraft design. As the of any fl ight-control inputs by the other Max. takeoff distance (ft.): 5,200 launch platform for Pratt & Whitney or the autopilot. And they provide stall- Canada’s PW800 turbofan, this is the warning stick shaker tactile feedback. Max. landing distance (ft.): 3,100 fi rst large-cabin Gulfstream powered by Ancillary benefits to eliminating Source: Gulfstream Aerospace engines not made by Rolls-Royce. The control columns include easier cock- PW800 shares its core with the Pratt pit access, more legroom and pullout trol actuators, plus a ninth REU that & Whitney geared turbofan powering trays that can support tablets, charts controls the horizontal trim actuator. Bombardier’s C Series airliner. or a cheese sandwich. Ten touch-screen Primary fl ight control surfaces are The G500’s 15,144-lb.-thrust PW- controllers slash the number of physical moved by both conventional hydraulic 814GAs are a prime reason the newest switches in the cockpit, automate many actuators and hybrid devices that nor- large-cabin Gulfstream fl ies 18% farther functions and provide redundancy to mally use aircraft hydraulic pressure and almost 30 kt. faster than the G450 improve dispatch reliability. or self-contained electrically powered but with essentially the same fuel burn. The G500’s three-axis digital fl ight hydraulic pumps as a backup. If both The G500 cabin has 4.5 ft. more length, control system is adapted and improved the aircraft’s electrical and hydraulic 7 in. more width and 2 in. more height from the G650’s. It retains the G650’s systems fail, an emergency battery than the G450’s. The windows are 16% left and right, dual-channel Thales powers the flight control computers larger, mounted higher for better out- flight control computers (FCC) that and a separate battery provides power ward viewing and spaced farther apart host normal, alternate and direct law to the hybrid backup actuators. to add 7 in. of length to each seating modes, along with its separate three- The G500’s AC and DC electrical area. Cabin altitude is considerably axis backup flight control unit that systems take greater advantage of a lower, as is the interior sound level; and provides direct law mode. The two secondary power distribution system seats and the center aisle are wider . FCCs average the inputs from various than does the G650. The units, known G500 is Gulfstream’s marketing sensors and send commands to remote as modular power tiles (MPT), have name for what is formally the GVII electronic units (REU) adjacent to the solid-state power controllers that func- model, a type rating that will be shared actuators. tion in part as virtual circuit breakers, with the longer G600, which is sched- Compared with the G650, the G500’s supplying about 400 nonessential elec- uled to fl y shortly and enter service in FBW system is simpler. The G650 has trical loads. The MPTs are controlled 2019. While sharing the same cross- 16 REUs, one for each of the 16 primary via touch screens in the cockpit, halv- section and performance characteris- control surface actuators. It also has ing the number of physical circuit tics, the $55.65 million G600 is longer a stand-alone horizontal stabilizer breakers. Touch-screen controls also by almost 5 ft. and has a wingspan of control unit. The G500 has eight mul- reduce by 70% the number of physical 95 ft., 8 ft. more than its sibling. Range tichannel REUs for the primary con- switches in the overhead panel.

44 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p44-48.indd 44 10/20/16 11:41 AM G500 PILOT REPORT

The Natural Aviation Week’ s Aircraft Evaluation Editor Fred George fl ew the Gulfstream G500 Test Article No. 3 on its 66th fl ight-test mission. Gulfstream’s all-new G500 redefi nes the standard for large-cabin business jets Fred George Savannah, Georgia uddenly, cruising at Mach 0.80 at Mach 0.85 is increased to 6,200 nm Sseems so 20th century. Gulf- and to 4,800 nm at Mach 0.90. stream’s welcome arrival, the Gulfstream’s new models borrow G500, cruises economically at Mach technologies developed for the manu- 0.85, which is now the standard for facturer’s G650 fl agship, including the the latest large-cabin business jets and supercritical wing airfoil, 10.7-psi cabin long-range Airbuses and Boeings. pressurization and fl y-by-wire (FBW) Video Watch Aviation Week’s Fred George GULFSTREAM PHOTOS With 5,000-nm range at that speed, fl ight controls. Gulfstream’s G500 put the Gulfstream G500 through its paces the $44.65 million G500 can fl y non- But the G500 is far from a scaled- at: AviationWeek.com/G500 stop between Seattle and Seoul, Los down G650, premiering the Symmetry By the Numbers Angeles and London, or Montreal and fl ight deck, Gulfstream’s and perhaps Dimensions (ft.): Length: 91.2 Montevideo. The longest trips take un- business aviation’s most advanced cock- exceeds 4,000 ft. on most missions. All shield control panel is narrower, as sev- der 10.5 hr. yet are fl own on less fuel pit. It is the fi rst civil aircraft equipped Span: 87.1 cabin air is fresh, supplied by dual air- eral controls have been integrated into than any other business aircraft cruis- with active sidesticks—control devices Height: 25.5 cycle machine packs. The Honeywell the lower four touch screens. Left and ing at Mach 0.85. Range at Mach 0.90 that are electrically back-driven so they Engines: 2 X P&WC PW814GA HGT400G auxiliary power unit (APU), right 5-in. standby displays also use high-speed cruise is 3,800 nm. appear to be mechanically linked. Move a derivative of the RE220 with reliabil- touch interfaces. Due to enter service in 2018, the one and the other moves as though the at 15,144-lb. thrust ity improvements, can be started at up Each touch screen has no more than G500 will replace the G450 in the manu- two are tied together. Max. takeoff weight (lb.): 76,850 to FL 370 and operated up to FL 450. a dozen icons. These provide access to facturer’s product line and the contrast Made by BAE Systems, these in- Max. operating speed: Mach 0.92 G500 is the fi rst Gulfstream to have a Based on a 46,600-lb. basic operat- relatively shallow menus for commu- between the two is striking. While the ceptors mark a step up in situational data communication network. Employ- ing weight (BOW), the aircraft has a nications, display, fl ight management, G450 was an evolutionary step in Gulf- awareness from passive sidesticks be- Max. cruise altitude (ft.): 51,000 ing the Avionics Full-Duplex Switched 1,800-lb. tanks-full payload. But cus- data link, avionics and systems control. stream model development, the G500 is cause each pilot is immediately aware Max. range (nm, at Mach 0.85): 5,000 Ethernet architecture, introduced on tomer options such as a mid-cabin Data entry is via a virtual keyboard, a leap forward in aircraft design. As the of any fl ight-control inputs by the other Max. takeoff distance (ft.): 5,200 the Airbus A380, it uses distributed solid partition and satellite-commu- changed at Martin’s insistence from launch platform for Pratt & Whitney or the autopilot. And they provide stall- processing and high-speed communica- nications internet connectivity can the old-style ABCDEF aviation format Canada’s PW800 turbofan, this is the warning stick shaker tactile feedback. Max. landing distance (ft.): 3,100 tions to slash wire count, reduce weight, infl ate BOW and reduce payload. to the QWERTY layout used for confi rst large-cabin Gulfstream powered by Ancillary benefits to eliminating Source: Gulfstream Aerospace decrease power consumption and boost In mid-September, Aviation Week sumer computers. engines not made by Rolls-Royce. The control columns include easier cock- reliability. Virtually every component fl ew G500-72003, the third fl ight-test While the touch screens have a com- PW800 shares its core with the Pratt pit access, more legroom and pullout trol actuators, plus a ninth REU that on the data concentration network aircraft. G500 Chief Test Pilot Scott paratively intuitive user interface, they & Whitney geared turbofan powering trays that can support tablets, charts controls the horizontal trim actuator. (DCN) has a redundant communica- Martin belted into the right seat as are far from being airborne clones of Bombardier’s C Series airliner. or a cheese sandwich. Ten touch-screen Primary fl ight control surfaces are tions link, which ensures there is almost instructor pilot and Senior Test Pilot consumer tablets. Practice on desktop The G500’s 15,144-lb.-thrust PW- controllers slash the number of physical moved by both conventional hydraulic no risk of a single-point failure. Kevin Claffy strapped into the jump simulators at FlightSafety Interna- 814GAs are a prime reason the newest switches in the cockpit, automate many actuators and hybrid devices that nor- Upgrading to the DCN allows the seat as safety pilot. Flight-test engi- tional’s Savannah, Georgia, training large-cabin Gulfstream fl ies 18% farther functions and provide redundancy to mally use aircraft hydraulic pressure third modular avionics unit to be elim- neers Jason Kosloske and Rachel Hen- center not only will familiarize pilots and almost 30 kt. faster than the G450 improve dispatch reliability. or self-contained electrically powered inated and shrinks the volume of the ry were at test consoles in the cabin. with touch screen functionality but but with essentially the same fuel burn. The G500’s three-axis digital fl ight hydraulic pumps as a backup. If both right unit by one-third, resulting in After I strapped into the left seat, it will allow them to adapt to the push- The G500 cabin has 4.5 ft. more length, control system is adapted and improved the aircraft’s electrical and hydraulic a slimmer electrical equipment rack was immediately clear that the G500’s wait-release icon activation convention 7 in. more width and 2 in. more height from the G650’s. It retains the G650’s systems fail, an emergency battery behind the copilot and more usable Symmetry fl ight deck has little in com- that Martin and his team have created than the G450’s. The windows are 16% left and right, dual-channel Thales powers the flight control computers cabin space . mon with previous Gulfstreams. Dozens to prevent inadvertent button pushes. larger, mounted higher for better out- flight control computers (FCC) that and a separate battery provides power The landing gear features trailing of switches, knobs and buttons, plus Graphical fl ight planning is by phase ward viewing and spaced farther apart host normal, alternate and direct law to the hybrid backup actuators. link mains for smooth touchdowns, with about half the physical circuit break- of fl ight, similar to Dassault’s EASy or to add 7 in. of length to each seating modes, along with its separate three- The G500’s AC and DC electrical a redundant brake-by-wire system and ers, have been eliminated. Honeywell Bombardier’s Vision fl ight decks, but I area. Cabin altitude is considerably axis backup flight control unit that systems take greater advantage of a multi-disc carbon heat packs. An auto- touch screens provide access to virtual found the touch-screen interface to be lower, as is the interior sound level; and provides direct law mode. The two secondary power distribution system brake system is standard. The speed- circuit breakers and integrate several better for hand-eye coordination than seats and the center aisle are wider . FCCs average the inputs from various than does the G650. The units, known proportionate steer-by-wire nosewheel system control functions, automating the cursor control devices (CCD) used G500 is Gulfstream’s marketing sensors and send commands to remote as modular power tiles (MPT), have system has 41 deg. of steering authority many tasks that formerly required pilot by other manufacturers. The G500 name for what is formally the GVII electronic units (REU) adjacent to the solid-state power controllers that func- via the rudder pedals at taxi speeds. For actions. retains CCDs; however, they are now model, a type rating that will be shared actuators. tion in part as virtual circuit breakers, tight maneuvering, the tiller, moved be- Four portrait-confi guration, 14.1-in. relocated to the center pedestal. with the longer G600, which is sched- Compared with the G650, the G500’s supplying about 400 nonessential elec- hind the left sidestick, provides up to 82 touch-screen displays dominate the Claff y had preprogrammed our uled to fl y shortly and enter service in FBW system is simpler. The G650 has trical loads. The MPTs are controlled deg. of steering authority. main panel. Three large touch screens fl ight plan, so Martin only had to call 2019. While sharing the same cross- 16 REUs, one for each of the 16 primary via touch screens in the cockpit, halv- The environmental control sys- on the overhead panel replace more for clearance as “Gulf Test 6” and we section and performance characteris- control surface actuators. It also has ing the number of physical circuit tem’s 10.7-psi pressurization provides than a dozen stand-alone switches. started the engines. Procedures for tics, the $55.65 million G600 is longer a stand-alone horizontal stabilizer breakers. Touch-screen controls also a 4,850-ft. cabin at flight level (FL) Only critical functions that require starting the APU and engines are by almost 5 ft. and has a wingspan of control unit. The G500 has eight mul- reduce by 70% the number of physical 510 and 3,670 ft. at FL 430. At routine immediate crew input have dedicated streamlined because several underly- 95 ft., 8 ft. more than its sibling. Range tichannel REUs for the primary con- switches in the overhead panel. cruise altitudes, cabin altitude seldom control panels and switches. The glare- ing processes, including switching on

44 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 45

AW_10_24_2016_p44-48.indd 44 10/20/16 11:41 AM AW_10_24_2016_p44-48.indd 45 10/20/16 11:41 AM G500 PILOT REPORT

aboard was 46,858 lb. With 10,000 lb. of fuel, our ramp weight was 56,858 lb., or 74% of maximum. The engines produced suf- ficient residual thrust at idle to move the aircraft without having to touch the throttles. We deployed one thrust reverser at idle several times to hold down taxi speed. Deploying both reversers helped deceler- ate the aircraft and avoid riding the brakes. There is ample nosewheel steering authority through the rudder pedals for most airport maneuvering. The tiller is needed only for steering in tight quarters, but I still used it for most turns because of its positive steering control.

anticollision beacons and fuel The G500 Symmetry cockpit pumps, are automated via the (above), powered mainly by touch screens. Honeywell avionics, features Once started, it became 10 touch-screen controls that apparent that the PW814GA replace dozens of switches, engines are unequaled for knobs and buttons. The G500 low noise and vibration lev- boasts civil aviation’s frst active els. Even with bare-bones thermal insulation in the sidestick inceptors (right). Elimi- flight-test aircraft, it was nating control yokes and columns difcult to hear the engines provides pilots with considerably at idle from the cockpit. In- more seated legroom (below). side production aircraft, it should be far quieter. Looking down, primary flight and Pre-takeoff, both Martin and I multifunction displays (PFD/MFD) performed flight control checks. We render much better situational aware- watched and felt as the sidesticks mim- ness than older business aircraft. Most icked input from each pilot. From the jets do a good job of providing guidance immediacy and precision of their ac- to help land and take of but leave you tion, they could have been mechanically blind at the airport when taxiing to and connected rather than electronically from the ramp in low visibility. linked. I found they bring a signifcant The Symmetry flight deck fixes improvement in situational awareness that. The exocentric view on the PFD over passive sidesticks. looks like a camera image from 100 ft. Our computed takeoff weight was above and behind the aircraft. Ramp 56,458 lb. Because the G500 was just pavement, taxiways and runways are midway through its development pro- depicted, along with structures, iden- gram, full stall testing was not com- tification signs, hold-short lines and plete. As a result, we used V speeds hot spots. A bird’s-eye perspective that were padded by at least 15%. That on the MFD ofers an equally detailed increased takeof feld length (TOFL) overhead view of the airport diagram. by several hundred feet compared to a ADS-B “In” growth modes will add production airplane. real-time vehicle and aircraft traffic Using 10 deg. of faps, we set take- to these displays in the future. of speeds of 131 kt. indicated airspeed Taxiing the aircraft was easy. Zero- (KIAS) for the V1 go/no-go decision fuel weight with all test gear and crew and Vr rotation speeds, 143 kt. for V2

46 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p44-48.indd 46 10/20/16 11:42 AM G500 PILOT REPORT aboard was 46,858 lb. With 10,000 lb. of fuel, our ramp weight was 56,858 lb., or 74% of maximum. The engines produced suf- ficient residual thrust at idle to move the aircraft without having to touch the throttles. We deployed one thrust reverser at idle several times to hold down taxi speed. Deploying both reversers helped deceler- ate the aircraft and avoid riding the brakes. SEE & There is ample nosewheel steering authority through the rudder pedals BE SEEN for most airport maneuvering. The tiller is needed only for steering in tight quarters, but I still used it for most turns because of its positive steering control. anticollision beacons and fuel The G500 Symmetry cockpit pumps, are automated via the (above), powered mainly by touch screens. Honeywell avionics, features Once started, it became 10 touch-screen controls that apparent that the PW814GA replace dozens of switches, engines are unequaled for knobs and buttons. The G500 low noise and vibration lev- boasts civil aviation’s frst active els. Even with bare-bones thermal insulation in the sidestick inceptors (right). Elimi- flight-test aircraft, it was nating control yokes and columns difcult to hear the engines provides pilots with considerably at idle from the cockpit. In- more seated legroom (below). side production aircraft, it should be far quieter. Looking down, primary flight and Pre-takeoff, both Martin and I multifunction displays (PFD/MFD) performed flight control checks. We render much better situational aware- watched and felt as the sidesticks mim- ness than older business aircraft. Most icked input from each pilot. From the jets do a good job of providing guidance immediacy and precision of their ac- to help land and take of but leave you tion, they could have been mechanically blind at the airport when taxiing to and connected rather than electronically from the ramp in low visibility. linked. I found they bring a signifcant The Symmetry flight deck fixes improvement in situational awareness Order. Install. Done. that. The exocentric view on the PFD over passive sidesticks. Our ADS-B Products Are Certifed and Ready for Delivery. looks like a camera image from 100 ft. Our computed takeoff weight was above and behind the aircraft. Ramp 56,458 lb. Because the G500 was just You don’t want to wait to be ADS-B compliant — and now you don’t have to. pavement, taxiways and runways are midway through its development pro- Certifed and available now for installation, our NXT™ line of transponders depicted, along with structures, iden- gram, full stall testing was not com- (NXT-600/700/800) meets the ADS-B requirement for air transport, military, tification signs, hold-short lines and plete. As a result, we used V speeds regional and business jet operators. And with the addition of the ACSS hot spots. A bird’s-eye perspective that were padded by at least 15%. That NXG-900 WAAS GPS, aircraft operators have a turnkey solution to meet on the MFD ofers an equally detailed increased takeof feld length (TOFL) ADS-B mandates. More than 1,000 ADS-B transponders produced by ACSS, overhead view of the airport diagram. by several hundred feet compared to a an L-3 and Thales Company, are already fying worldwide. ADS-B “In” growth modes will add production airplane. real-time vehicle and aircraft traffic Using 10 deg. of faps, we set take- What are you waiting for? Email [email protected]. to these displays in the future. of speeds of 131 kt. indicated airspeed Taxiing the aircraft was easy. Zero- (KIAS) for the V1 go/no-go decision fuel weight with all test gear and crew and Vr rotation speeds, 143 kt. for V2 Aviation Products L-3com.com

46 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p44-48.indd 46 10/20/16 11:42 AM 610AWB47.indd 1 10/18/2016 10:12:36 AM G500 PILOT REPORT

takeof safety speed and 162 kt. for the I then pulled the aircraft into a wind- tems installed in commercial airliners, Vse fnal segment one-engine-inoper- up turn to check Mach bufet boundar- it is limited to all-engine operations. ative (OEI) climb speed. The padded ies. It was bufet-free up to 2.0g, but We few the GPS procedure for the speeds resulted in a 4,839-ft. TOFL. I could not probe absolute limits be- second approach to Runway 10, again Cleared for takeof on Runway 10, I ad- cause of fight-test restrictions. using 39-deg. faps. While the G500 has vanced the power levers and engaged the Descending back toward Savannah, full three-axis FBW, it lacks P-beta—a autothrottles. With a weight-to-thrust we had to keep icing in mind. We could yaw/roll compensation function for OEI ratio of 1.86:1, acceleration was quite not penetrate the cold, wet cumulus operations. P-beta is part of other FBW brisk. Initial pitch response to pulling clouds because the aircraft is not yet systems, including that installed in the back on the sidestick was crisp but well certified for flight into known icing smaller Embraer Legacy 450/500. damped. Twelve seconds after beginning conditions. So we took the long way But the aircraft exhibits little yaw/ the takeof roll, we broke ground in less around the weather. roll coupling or dihedral efect, so only than 3,000 ft., well before Taxiway C1. During the descent, I checked pitch small rudder inputs are needed dur- The active sidesticks had a nice feel— response to gear, fap and speedbrake ing OEI approaches. Single-engine go- soft on center and more resistance with confguration changes. The FBW sys- arounds, though, require large rudder- larger control displacement. tem compensates for each. But as pedal inputs to counter sideslip. But The G500, similar to the G650, has speed increases or decreases, pilot pedal forces are moderate, reducing a speed-stable fight control law. Nose trim inputs are required to maintain pilot workload. pitch changes in response to increases neutral sidestick forces. Our fnal approach was a simulated or decreases in indicat- OEI landing. We set autobrakes to low. ed airspeed. The side- The touchdown was soft because of the stick has two thumb aircraft’s long-travel landing gear and controls. The inboard red button is pressed to Compared to the Gulfstream G450, roughly reset the trim the G500 cabin is 2 in. taller, 7 speed to the aircraft’s in. wider at elbow height and 8 in. indicated airspeed. wider at foor height. Each seating The outboard, four-way group provides 7-9 in. more legroom trim switch is used to because of wider window spacing. make fne adjustments to pitch trim. I found it generous ground efect. The six ground- more convenient to use spoiler panels automatically extended, the red button to reset and I deployed only one thrust reverser trim to neutral with to simulate OEI. Keeping the aircraft rapid changes in indicated airspeed. Our frst approach to Savannah was on centerline was no challenge, with Both controls also double as autopilot the ILS Runway 10. Vref was 122 KIAS small rudder pedal inputs. The aircraft disconnect switches. and Vse was 157 KIAS, based on using slowed to taxi speed less than halfway We climbed to FL 430 (43,000 ft.), 39 deg. of fap for landing and faps up down the runway, and we taxied back to en route to the W-139 warning area. for the OEI fnal segment speed. Simi- Gulfstream’s fight-test center. During the ascent, temperatures aloft lar to the takeof, the landing V speeds As with the G650, this aircraft has varied from about ISA+4C to ISA+11C, were heavily padded to assure gener- such a natural but well-mannered feel cooling to ISA-9C near level-of. Using ous stall margins. that it is hard to detect it has fly-by- a 250 KIAS/Mach 0.85 climb profle— Because of cloud layers and show- wire and not conventional controls. with 3 min. of intermediate level-offs ers, it was an ideal day to check The active sidesticks provide such at 10,000 ft. and FL 230 and a 30-deg.- headup display (HUD) and enhanced realistic tactile and visual feedback bank right turn to stay in the assigned vision system (EVS) performance. The that they appear to be mechanically airspace—we reached FL 430 in 22 min. G500 comes standard with a left-side linked. The 10 touch screens reduce Turbulent air associated with the ap- Rockwell Collins HGS-6250 HUD with pilot workload, slash the size of check- proach of Tropical Storm Hermine pre- 42 X 30-deg. feld of view and a third- lists by automating systems, clean up vented an accurate measure of cruise generation EVS with 640 X 512-pixel the cockpit layout and bring a redun- performance. But I spot-checked it at resolution, a wider field of view and dancy not possible with conventional three points. At a weight of 55,000 lb., in better infrared camera performance. stand-alone controls. The exocentric ISA-8C conditions, the aircraft cruised Although cloud layers reduced vis- synthetic vision system on PFDs and at Mach 0.85 or 478 kt. true airspeed ibility, we could spot the runway us- enhanced map views on MFDs ofer a (KTAS) while burning 2,300 lb./hr. ing EVS well outside of unaided visual leap forward in situational awareness Pushing up to Mach 0.90/507 KTAS, range. when taxiing between runways and fuel flow increased to 2,700 lb./hr. Our second approach was a simulat- ramps in low visibility. And nudging redline at Mach 0.92/517 ed OEI exercise. I disconnected the au- Even more impressive, the G500 KTAS, it increased to 3,300 lb./hr. tothrottle system. Martin pulled back sets higher standards for cruise During the cruise checkpoints, I was the right throttle to idle. The aircraft is speed and fuel efficiency, along with impressed with the low sound levels in easy to control, but the autothrottle is improved passenger comfort, lower the cockpit and also the 3,670-ft. cabin not available to hold the set indicated cabin altitudes and reduced interior altitude. airspeed if one engine fails. Unlike sys- sound levels. c

48 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p44-48.indd 48 10/20/16 11:42 AM G500 PILOT REPORT takeof safety speed and 162 kt. for the I then pulled the aircraft into a wind- tems installed in commercial airliners, Vse fnal segment one-engine-inoper- up turn to check Mach bufet boundar- it is limited to all-engine operations. ative (OEI) climb speed. The padded ies. It was bufet-free up to 2.0g, but We few the GPS procedure for the speeds resulted in a 4,839-ft. TOFL. I could not probe absolute limits be- second approach to Runway 10, again Cleared for takeof on Runway 10, I ad- cause of fight-test restrictions. using 39-deg. faps. While the G500 has vanced the power levers and engaged the Descending back toward Savannah, full three-axis FBW, it lacks P-beta—a autothrottles. With a weight-to-thrust we had to keep icing in mind. We could yaw/roll compensation function for OEI ratio of 1.86:1, acceleration was quite not penetrate the cold, wet cumulus operations. P-beta is part of other FBW brisk. Initial pitch response to pulling clouds because the aircraft is not yet systems, including that installed in the back on the sidestick was crisp but well certified for flight into known icing smaller Embraer Legacy 450/500. damped. Twelve seconds after beginning conditions. So we took the long way But the aircraft exhibits little yaw/ the takeof roll, we broke ground in less around the weather. roll coupling or dihedral efect, so only than 3,000 ft., well before Taxiway C1. During the descent, I checked pitch small rudder inputs are needed dur- The active sidesticks had a nice feel— response to gear, fap and speedbrake ing OEI approaches. Single-engine go- soft on center and more resistance with confguration changes. The FBW sys- arounds, though, require large rudder- larger control displacement. tem compensates for each. But as pedal inputs to counter sideslip. But The G500, similar to the G650, has speed increases or decreases, pilot pedal forces are moderate, reducing a speed-stable fight control law. Nose trim inputs are required to maintain pilot workload. pitch changes in response to increases neutral sidestick forces. Our fnal approach was a simulated or decreases in indicat- OEI landing. We set autobrakes to low. ed airspeed. The side- The touchdown was soft because of the stick has two thumb aircraft’s long-travel landing gear and controls. The inboard red button is pressed to Compared to the Gulfstream G450, roughly reset the trim the G500 cabin is 2 in. taller, 7 speed to the aircraft’s in. wider at elbow height and 8 in. indicated airspeed. wider at foor height. Each seating The outboard, four-way group provides 7-9 in. more legroom Submit Your trim switch is used to because of wider window spacing. make fne adjustments Nomination Today! to pitch trim. I found it generous ground efect. The six ground- more convenient to use spoiler panels automatically extended, the red button to reset and I deployed only one thrust reverser trim to neutral with to simulate OEI. Keeping the aircraft Tomorrow’s Engineering Leaders: The 20 Twenties rapid changes in indicated airspeed. Our frst approach to Savannah was on centerline was no challenge, with Both controls also double as autopilot the ILS Runway 10. Vref was 122 KIAS small rudder pedal inputs. The aircraft Recognizing Top University Talent disconnect switches. and Vse was 157 KIAS, based on using slowed to taxi speed less than halfway We climbed to FL 430 (43,000 ft.), 39 deg. of fap for landing and faps up down the runway, and we taxied back to Every so often, someone comes along who is going to change the world. Aviation Week Network is en route to the W-139 warning area. for the OEI fnal segment speed. Simi- Gulfstream’s fight-test center. looking for those someones — the young innovators, passionate believers and lifeblood of the next During the ascent, temperatures aloft lar to the takeof, the landing V speeds As with the G650, this aircraft has varied from about ISA+4C to ISA+11C, were heavily padded to assure gener- such a natural but well-mannered feel generation. cooling to ISA-9C near level-of. Using ous stall margins. that it is hard to detect it has fly-by- The 20 Twenties program recognizes the accomplishments and drive of 20 science, technology, a 250 KIAS/Mach 0.85 climb profle— Because of cloud layers and show- wire and not conventional controls. with 3 min. of intermediate level-offs ers, it was an ideal day to check The active sidesticks provide such engineering and math students in their 20s and currently enrolled in a master’s degree or bachelor’s at 10,000 ft. and FL 230 and a 30-deg.- headup display (HUD) and enhanced realistic tactile and visual feedback degree program. Open to students around the globe, 20 Twenties selects the best of the best, based on bank right turn to stay in the assigned vision system (EVS) performance. The that they appear to be mechanically their academic record, their service to the community at large, and the value of their research projects. airspace—we reached FL 430 in 22 min. G500 comes standard with a left-side linked. The 10 touch screens reduce We’ll introduce this next generation of leaders on the pages of Aviation Week & Space Technology in Turbulent air associated with the ap- Rockwell Collins HGS-6250 HUD with pilot workload, slash the size of check- our digital and print publication. proach of Tropical Storm Hermine pre- 42 X 30-deg. feld of view and a third- lists by automating systems, clean up vented an accurate measure of cruise generation EVS with 640 X 512-pixel the cockpit layout and bring a redun- Nominate yourself, a peer, a student in your class, or an intern in your business who embodies performance. But I spot-checked it at resolution, a wider field of view and dancy not possible with conventional Aviation Week Network’s 20 Twenties and is on course to change the future of aerospace and defense. three points. At a weight of 55,000 lb., in better infrared camera performance. stand-alone controls. The exocentric ISA-8C conditions, the aircraft cruised Although cloud layers reduced vis- synthetic vision system on PFDs and at Mach 0.85 or 478 kt. true airspeed ibility, we could spot the runway us- enhanced map views on MFDs ofer a Submit your Nomination Today: (KTAS) while burning 2,300 lb./hr. ing EVS well outside of unaided visual leap forward in situational awareness Pushing up to Mach 0.90/507 KTAS, range. when taxiing between runways and AviationWeek.com/20TwentiesNomination fuel flow increased to 2,700 lb./hr. Our second approach was a simulat- ramps in low visibility. All submissions must be received by November 1, 2016. And nudging redline at Mach 0.92/517 ed OEI exercise. I disconnected the au- Even more impressive, the G500 Questions? Contact Carole Rickard Hedden at [email protected] KTAS, it increased to 3,300 lb./hr. tothrottle system. Martin pulled back sets higher standards for cruise During the cruise checkpoints, I was the right throttle to idle. The aircraft is speed and fuel efficiency, along with impressed with the low sound levels in easy to control, but the autothrottle is improved passenger comfort, lower In Association With: the cockpit and also the 3,670-ft. cabin not available to hold the set indicated cabin altitudes and reduced interior altitude. airspeed if one engine fails. Unlike sys- sound levels. c

48 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p44-48.indd 48 10/20/16 11:42 AM 610AWB49.indd 1 10/19/2016 2:31:04 PM AerospAce in chinA

characteristics of the aircraft, brought many challenges in The Big Ones development,” says the Liaoning Daily. New materials, production processes and technology are extensively used in Despite delays, Avic is creating the major assembly, says the newspaper. This is surprising. Program managers have previously told a wide range of aircraft Aviation Week that the degree of advanced technology in the MA700 must be carefully limited, to hold down cost. SACC Bradley Perrett Beijing is a civil structures-maker split of from Avic’s Shenyang Aircraft Corp. fghter works. robably more than anywhere, the civil aircraft indus- Apart from the late schedules, another issue for the pro- Ptry in China is prone to overpromising and underde- gram is that it has no clear path to Western recognition of its livering. Its major projects are never on time. airworthiness certifcation by the Civil Aviation Administra- In spite of the missed schedule targets, the industry is tion of China (AW&ST Oct. 26-Nov. 8, 2015, p. 42). moving toward creating a broad range of civil aircraft, each The AHL, meanwhile, will go ahead as an almost entirely at least partially of Chinese design. The Comac C919 jet air- Chinese product. Avic has taken over what was originally liner attracts the most attention, but Avic, the state aero- promoted as a joint program. The factor driving the change nautics conglomerate that encompasses the great majority is the imbalance of demand: China is the main market. of the industry’s factories and design institutes, is handling The Chinese side will handle design, assembly of the pro- by far the most projects. totypes, testing, certifcation, serial production and market-

Three of its civil projects Yan Siming/ i nternational a are notable for the physical Avic has taken full control of size of the intended aircraft: the AHL program. the MA700 turboprop airliner, which, true to form, is now confrmed as missing its schedule;

the Advanced Heavy Lifter viation (AHL) helicopter; and the AG600 amphibian fying boat. The MA700, with a designed gross weight of 27.5 metric tons (60,600 lb.) is progressing too slowly to make its scheduled frst fight in June 2017, industry sources say. The 2019 target for frst delivery is also in doubt, though the manufacturer has not formally changed ing, according to an intergovernmental agreement signed in any targets, the sources note. The schedule looked ambitious June. Russian Helicopters will develop certain subsystems even a year ago. on contract, but not build them. The agreement does not Slippage appears to be confrmed by the delivery timing specify the development schedule, they say, but Russian of a major manufacturing engineering sample, a nonfyable industry sources hope the AHL will be certifed by 2025. MA700 rear fuselage that Avic unit SACC handed over in In 2009, when the program was frst discussed, entry into October. A program would not normally be still producing service in 5-10 years was planned. major manufacturing samples about eight months ahead of The Chinese will even make AHL subsystems developed the frst fight. in Russia. This is likely to include the drivetrain, a crucial The current ofcial schedule was set when the program area of know-how in which China lags Russian and Western was launched into full-scale development in December 2013, manufacturers. Accordingly, the AHL program may result in with the aim of building a turboprop with clear advantages some extremely valuable technology transfer to Avic. over the two main products in the market, the ATR 72 and The AHL is expected to have a takeof weight of 38 met- Bombardier Q400. In contrast to the established aircraft, ric tons, so it will be rather bigger than the MA700. Larger the MA700 will use a new engine, the Pratt & Whitney again, at 53.5 metric tons, is the AG600, which has pro- Canada PW150C, and should also enjoy lower production gressed further than Avic’s other two big aircraft. costs, thanks to Chinese labor rates and the use of large The AG600 was rolled out in July, late but nicely timed to structural sections that require less detail manufacturing create publicity for Avic that could be connected to China’s and assembly work. It will also be larger, satisfying airline claim to the South China Sea, which was then in the news. demand for more seats. In its frst version, the MA700 will The manufacturer and state media did not miss the oppor- have standard seating for 78 passengers at 79-cm (31-in.) tunity to point out that the amphibian would be especially pitch, compared with 68 for the ATR 72 and 74 for the useful in that body of water. Bombardier 400. When the program was launched in 2009, the frst fight Confdent that its concept is promising, Avic has always was due in 2013 and entry into service in 2015. Although been more worried about program execution. But a media there was another target for a frst fight in the frst half of report about the SACC engineering sample emphasizes the 2016, which has been missed, there is no further update. technical challenges. “The advanced design concept and Probably much of the delay can be explained by Avic’s deci- critical manufacturing technologies, while improving the sion to greatly improve the design during development. c

50 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p50.indd 50 10/20/16 6:03 PM AerospAce in chinA characteristics of the aircraft, brought many challenges in scheduled shortly after full-scale development began in The Big Ones development,” says the Liaoning Daily. New materials, pro- In Motion 2002. duction processes and technology are extensively used in Next up is the Long-Range Widebody Commercial Air- Despite delays, Avic is creating the major assembly, says the newspaper. Taxi tests for China’s narrowbody craft (LRWBCA), a politically driven project being under- This is surprising. Program managers have previously told taken with United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) of Russia. Comac, a wide range of aircraft Aviation Week that the degree of advanced technology in the endeavor set to begin within weeks which would much prefer to develop its own widebody MA700 must be carefully limited, to hold down cost. SACC airliner, is not at all keen on it, sources say. Bradley Perrett Beijing is a civil structures-maker split of from Avic’s Shenyang Bradley Perrett Beijing “The only level at which this project has a lot of commit- Aircraft Corp. fghter works. ment is at the level of the presidents of the two countries,” robably more than anywhere, the civil aircraft indus- Apart from the late schedules, another issue for the pro- he frst Comac C919 fight-test aircraft should be mov- says one. But since that is the most infuential level of all, Ptry in China is prone to overpromising and underde- gram is that it has no clear path to Western recognition of its Ting on the ground on its own power by the end of this work is proceeding whether Comac wants to do it or not. livering. Its major projects are never on time. airworthiness certifcation by the Civil Aviation Administra- year. There is almost no hope of meeting the current Preliminary design has been underway since 2014, but In spite of the missed schedule targets, the industry is tion of China (AW&ST Oct. 26-Nov. 8, 2015, p. 42). target for a frst fight in 2016, but taxi tests are probably coordination between the two sides was poor last year It moving toward creating a broad range of civil aircraft, each The AHL, meanwhile, will go ahead as an almost entirely only weeks away, say industry sources. is still far from perfect, says the same source. For example, at least partially of Chinese design. The Comac C919 jet air- Chinese product. Avic has taken over what was originally The first flight-test aircraft is complete, say sources UAC and Comac are not talking to each other enough when liner attracts the most attention, but Avic, the state aero- promoted as a joint program. The factor driving the change with close insight into the program. The challenge is to dealing with potential suppliers. nautics conglomerate that encompasses the great majority is the imbalance of demand: China is the main market. do all the ground testing needed before fying it. The list On the other hand, UAC has important technology to of the industry’s factories and design institutes, is handling The Chinese side will handle design, assembly of the proof outstanding test items is too long for completion before ofer Comac, notably in wing design. And Comac brings the by far the most projects. totypes, testing, certifcation, serial production and market- year-end, so the aircraft is most likely to take to the air in large Chinese domestic market to the program. A concept

Three of its civil projects Yan Siming/ i nternationala the second quarter of 2017, maybe in are notable for the physical Avic has taken full control of April, though Comac is working hard size of the intended aircraft: the AHL program. to make the fight before the Chinese the MA700 turboprop airliner, new year on Jan. 28. which, true to form, is now con- The slippage implies a delay in the frmed as missing its schedule; undisclosed target for first delivery,

the Advanced Heavy Lifter viation which in the first half of this year (AHL) helicopter; and the was 2019. Late delivery of C919s, with AG600 amphibian fying boat. standard seating for 158, is unlikely The MA700, with a designed to greatly affect the airline industry, gross weight of 27.5 metric tons however. The customers, almost all (60,600 lb.) is progressing too Chinese, probably do not have business slowly to make its scheduled plans that rely on Comac fulflling their frst fight in June 2017, indus- orders by a set date. try sources say. The 2019 tar- The state-owned company has ac- get for frst delivery is also in knowledged the risk of missing the tar- doubt, though the manufacturer has not formally changed ing, according to an intergovernmental agreement signed in get for fying this year. It is trying to put any targets, the sources note. The schedule looked ambitious June. Russian Helicopters will develop certain subsystems the frst fight-test aircraft into the air even a year ago. on contract, but not build them. The agreement does not “around the end of 2016,” deputy head of Slippage appears to be confrmed by the delivery timing specify the development schedule, they say, but Russian marketing Lu Zheng has told reporters Source: Comac of a major manufacturing engineering sample, a nonfyable industry sources hope the AHL will be certifed by 2025. here, implying that early next year is a MA700 rear fuselage that Avic unit SACC handed over in In 2009, when the program was frst discussed, entry into possibility. Aviation Week reported in April that a 2017 frst design worked out last year is most comparable with the October. A program would not normally be still producing service in 5-10 years was planned. fight was increasingly likely (AW&ST April 25-May 8, p. 25). Airbus A330, although it has the cabin width of the A350. major manufacturing samples about eight months ahead of The Chinese will even make AHL subsystems developed Indeed, Comac itself previously wanted to shift the target According to an intergovernmental agreement signed in the frst fight. in Russia. This is likely to include the drivetrain, a crucial to January 2017 but has made no such public statement, ap- July, a joint company should be established in China this The current ofcial schedule was set when the program area of know-how in which China lags Russian and Western parently because it was under political pressure to aim for year; that may mark the beginning of full-scale develop- was launched into full-scale development in December 2013, manufacturers. Accordingly, the AHL program may result in 2016. Even if Comac were willing to fy an unready aircraft ment. A UAC representative says it is hoped that the LR- with the aim of building a turboprop with clear advantages some extremely valuable technology transfer to Avic. because of political pressure, which is most unlikely, the WBCA will fy in 2021 and be certifed by 2025. over the two main products in the market, the ATR 72 and The AHL is expected to have a takeof weight of 38 met- Civil Aviation Administration of China would never permit The widebody aircraft may feature in Comac’s ideas for Bombardier Q400. In contrast to the established aircraft, ric tons, so it will be rather bigger than the MA700. Larger it to do so. The second fight-test aircraft will enter fnal increasing intelligence in commercial aircraft design (see dia- the MA700 will use a new engine, the Pratt & Whitney again, at 53.5 metric tons, is the AG600, which has pro- assembly around the end of the year, according to Comac. gram). The company anticipates such advanced features be- Canada PW150C, and should also enjoy lower production gressed further than Avic’s other two big aircraft. Much news about the C919 tends to be negative, above ing introduced in steps, according to a report in International costs, thanks to Chinese labor rates and the use of large The AG600 was rolled out in July, late but nicely timed to all because it is so far behind its original schedule, set in Aviation, the Chinese partner publication of Aviation Week. structural sections that require less detail manufacturing create publicity for Avic that could be connected to China’s 2008, for a frst fight in 2014 and delivery this year. But Comac regards this concept, called Intelligent Civil Air- and assembly work. It will also be larger, satisfying airline claim to the South China Sea, which was then in the news. non-Comac engineers with insight into the program stress craft, as a development goal. In the frst step, an aircraft demand for more seats. In its frst version, the MA700 will The manufacturer and state media did not miss the oppor- the quality, if not the timeliness, of the engineering work. would act as an intelligent node, collecting and sharing have standard seating for 78 passengers at 79-cm (31-in.) tunity to point out that the amphibian would be especially One of those engineers points to the excellence of the information about itself and the environment. That would pitch, compared with 68 for the ATR 72 and 74 for the useful in that body of water. program’s iron bird, a rig on which systems can be checked apparently include trafc. Later, information architecture Bombardier 400. When the program was launched in 2009, the frst fight on the ground. “Airbus or Boeing would be jealous of it,” would be more fully integrated and then, in a third step, Confdent that its concept is promising, Avic has always was due in 2013 and entry into service in 2015. Although says that source. Another praises the quality of the avion- there would be “high-level intelligent cockpit and an intel- been more worried about program execution. But a media there was another target for a frst fight in the frst half of ics system. ligent cabin.” report about the SACC engineering sample emphasizes the 2016, which has been missed, there is no further update. This is Comac’s second program. Its frst type, the ARJ21 Finally, structure would become intelligent, automati- technical challenges. “The advanced design concept and Probably much of the delay can be explained by Avic’s deci- regional jet, entered service in June with Comac-subsid- cally deforming to achieve the greatest efciency, and fight critical manufacturing technologies, while improving the sion to greatly improve the design during development. c iary Chengdu Airlines. That was nine years later than was would become autonomous, too. c

50 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 51

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Regrading titanium powders would reduce raw-material costs for Metalysis additive manufacturing.

On-site Metalysis reactors would allow manufacturers to produce titanium on demand.

used on an on-demand basis, perhaps producing titanium one day, another alloy the next. The reactors can also be used to regrade the titanium powders, which over time sufer from oxi- dization, making them unsuitable for manufacturing. By regrading them, manufacturers could save a small for- tune in maximizing their supplies. Metalysis itself is already working airbus with GKN and Safran through UK At the moment, titanium is pro- believes—metal powder that can then government innovation projects. The duced using the Kroll method, in which be used in additive-manufacturing three-year, £3.1 million ($3.8 million) titanium tetrachloride is reduced with processes. TiPOW (Titanium Powder for net- liquid magnesium in a process that is The company has demonstrated shape component manufacture) pro- highly energy-intensive and can take the process by producing 20-30 tons gram with GKN has been developing weeks before yielding usable results. of powder and is now building a mod- the techniques and equipment that Aerospace is a major user of titani- ular factory that it plans to use as a will produce powders formulated and um. Engineers prize the material for showcase for the technology. The new blended for aerospace components. its strength, low corrosion and rela- facility is due to open next spring. Metalysis’s work with Safran is related tively low density, as well as for how it The same electrochemical pro- to materials for aircraft landing gear. can be used in conjunction with com- cesses can be used to produce other But this is not just about high-per- posite materials. However, because of metals or alloys. And Metalysis has formance materials, Vaughan insists. its high price tag—roughly six times already defned recipes for titanium “Titanium could be used more widely that of steel—it is used sparingly in and a rarer, denser material, tantalum, just in the cabin environment,” he says. all but high-performance aircraft and that could fnd a role in spacecraft as Titanium cabin fittings and even even then mainly in critical areas such a material for shielding. It is also re- seatbelt buckles, he says, are low- as the structures or in and around the searching the processes required for hanging fruit for aerospace weight engine. 10-20 other materials. reduction, without getting into the But lowering the cost could help the “This is a new era for metallurgy,” costly process of certifying materials metal fnd its way into other areas. says Metalysis CEO Dion Vaughan. for engines. c

52 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p52.indd 52 10/20/16 11:41 AM Technology

“New materials will help defne that Material World next leap in aerospace,” he says, noting that research into new and exotic Producing titanium more cheaply materials has not been so fast-paced since the beginning of the Cold War. could open more uses for the material Vaughan notes recent significant acquisitions of additive-manufacturing Tony Osborne London companies by aerospace firms. GE, for example, recently purchased two March 2, 2017 itanium may be one of the most Rotherham, England-based Metaly- Europe-based additive-manufacturing The National Building Museum • Washington, DC Tabundant materials on Earth, but sis has a vision that its scalable elec- frms, Arcam AB and SLM Solutions the costly way it is turned into a trochemical production process, devel- Group, for $1.4 billion. Both businesses usable material, both in terms of en- oped by scientists at the University of will report to GE’s aviation division. ergy and time, makes it too expensive Cambridge, could fnd its way into the Vaughan says such acquisitions re- e to be used as an everyday resource. factories of the future. Its reactors are flect a vision for the future in which Now a British company has found capable of transforming titanium oxide he wants to play a part, with Metalysis Honoring extraordinary achievements and significant, a way to make titanium that does not into titanium using a form of electroly- providing or leasing its reactors to be broad-reaching progress in aviation, aerospace, and defense. cost the Earth, with a process that sis in liquid calcium uses less than half the energy and a chloride and can fraction of the time, and it sees aero- produce ingots of space as a primary driver for taking the metal or—more the technology forward. usefully, Metalysis Aviation Week will recognize the extraordinary Regrading titanium powders would achievements of individuals and reduce raw-material costs for Metalysis companies in the aerospace, aviation and defense arenas. This formal dinner and additive manufacturing. awards ceremony is the industry’s premier event – attracting industry pioneers and On-site Metalysis reactors would thought leaders from around the world. allow manufacturers to produce titanium on demand. Attend this event to find out who the winners will be as the editors of Aviation Week honor those who epitomize the values and visions of the global aerospace industry in used on an on-demand basis, perhaps producing titanium one day, another the following categories: alloy the next. The reactors can also be used to regrade the titanium pow- • Civil Aviation • Business Aviation ders, which over time sufer from oxi- dization, making them unsuitable for • Space • Innovation manufacturing. By regrading them, • Technology • MRO manufacturers could save a small for- tune in maximizing their supplies. • Defense Metalysis itself is already working airbus with GKN and Safran through UK In addition, we will recognize outstanding individuals for: At the moment, titanium is pro- believes—metal powder that can then government innovation projects. The duced using the Kroll method, in which be used in additive-manufacturing three-year, £3.1 million ($3.8 million) • The Philip J. Klass Award – For Lifetime Achievement titanium tetrachloride is reduced with processes. TiPOW (Titanium Powder for net- • Tomorrow’s Leaders – Cadets from the four branches of the Armed Services liquid magnesium in a process that is The company has demonstrated shape component manufacture) pro- highly energy-intensive and can take the process by producing 20-30 tons gram with GKN has been developing weeks before yielding usable results. of powder and is now building a mod- the techniques and equipment that Aerospace is a major user of titani- ular factory that it plans to use as a will produce powders formulated and Get the recognition you and your team deserve! um. Engineers prize the material for showcase for the technology. The new blended for aerospace components. its strength, low corrosion and rela- facility is due to open next spring. Metalysis’s work with Safran is related SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATIONS! tively low density, as well as for how it The same electrochemical pro- to materials for aircraft landing gear. laureates.aviationweek.com can be used in conjunction with com- cesses can be used to produce other But this is not just about high-per- posite materials. However, because of metals or alloys. And Metalysis has formance materials, Vaughan insists. its high price tag—roughly six times already defned recipes for titanium “Titanium could be used more widely that of steel—it is used sparingly in and a rarer, denser material, tantalum, just in the cabin environment,” he says. all but high-performance aircraft and that could fnd a role in spacecraft as Titanium cabin fittings and even even then mainly in critical areas such a material for shielding. It is also re- seatbelt buckles, he says, are low- PRODUCED BY OFFICIAL PUBLICATION MEDIA SUPPORT as the structures or in and around the searching the processes required for hanging fruit for aerospace weight engine. 10-20 other materials. reduction, without getting into the But lowering the cost could help the “This is a new era for metallurgy,” costly process of certifying materials metal fnd its way into other areas. says Metalysis CEO Dion Vaughan. for engines. c

52 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p52.indd 52 10/20/16 11:41 AM 610AWB53.indd 1 10/19/2016 2:32:14 PM AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

the design and aerodynamics. The Boom Time demonstrator, which will be powered by three General Electric CJ610 turbo- Stretched, trijet 50-seat confi guration to be jet engines, will be used to expand the subsonic flight envelope in Colorado tested by subscale supersonic demonstrator starting in late 2017. Flight tests will then transfer to California, where su- Guy Norris Los Angeles personic fl ight tests will be conducted in the restricted airspace around Ed- ore than half a century after dihedral (upsweep) at the tips and an wards AFB. Mdevelopment of the Concorde extended chine where the wing root Virgin Galactic’s Mojave, California- was launched, progress to- blends with the forward fuselage. The based subsidiary, The Spaceship Co. ward economically viable supersonic aircraft’s single fi n is slightly reduced in (TSC), is providing engineering, design airliners has proved elusive. But now area and, although still swept, is confi g- and manufacturing services and will be a Silicon Valley-backed startup says ured with a conventional leading edge involved in flight test and operations the ingredients for a successful, small, rather than the crescent profi le of the support. Virgin Galactic itself has taken faster-than-sound airliner are in place, earlier configuration. Air inlets have options on the fi rst 10 aircraft ( AW&ST thanks to a new wave of enabling tech- also been added to either side of the aft March 28-April 10, p. 34). nology and a market primed with the fuselage to feed the new tail-mounted “The whole idea is to gain need for speed. engine, which is buried, fi ghter-style, in real-life experience with

Since fi rst unveiling plans earlier this the tail cone section. the confi guration we in- BOOM TECHNOLOG Y year for a 40-seat, twin-engine, super- The company is reviewing sonic transport, Denver-based Boom engine options, and Scholl Technolog y has revised and fi ne-tuned says “at least two of -the- the design that will cruise at Mach 2.2 shelf cores are a good for the same ticket price as subsonic business class. The aircraft has since been stretched to seat up to 50 and is now reconfigured as a trijet to permit immediate use on long Refi ned confi guration for small Mach 2.2 airliner adds a third engine in the overwa- tail, stretches the fuselage to seat 50 passengers and increases wingspan. ter routes. “Moving from a twinjet to a trijet is fit; one commercial and one military, tend to fl y with passengers [onboard],” a better answer,” says Boom Technol- the latter with good exportability.” The says Scholl. “The demonstrator is be- ogy CEO Blake Scholl. “A twinjet is propulsion system, designed to super- ing built in-house, and Virgin is assist- more challenging to certify for early cruise and power the aircraft for takeof ing in fl ight testing but not production,” ETOPS [extended twin operations], without the need for afterburning, will he adds. “It would be a real mistake to while a trijet will enable unrestricted require a new low-pressure spool. “It’s outsource that early development, and travel on routes with up to 180 min. di- essentially a refan project,” says Scholl, by doing it this way we will build our version time with an engine out.” The who adds that “making the whole fl ight own in-house team. The main purpose is aircraft length has also been extended profi le possible without afterburner is to build up the talent of the team.” to “around” 155 ft. to accommodate 10 crucial to making it viable.” For full-scale manufacturing, Boom extra seats. “It is not too terribly dif- As engine selection is the pacing item is “open to different strategies,” says ferent” from the original version, says for the entire project, Boom intends to Scholl. “Plan A is to team up with Tier Scholl, who adds that wingspan has also downselect to the appropriate core in 1 suppliers like the Spirit AeroSystems marginally increased. 2017-18 to enable entry into service by of this world. We would not be able to do Unlike a new generation of super- 2023. The target speed of Mach 2.2 “can the whole thing in-house,” he adds. The sonic business jets and a NASA X-plane be done with a propulsion system that company says “we take a lot of inspi- in development (see page 55), the small will make it [noise] compliant for takeof ration from the SpaceX s tory. Clearly airliner is neither a low-boom nor low- and be ef cient in cruise, without having those guys achieved things on a smaller er Mach number design. Instead the to get into the complexities of fancy vari- budget that everyone else thought was delta-winged Boom design is intended able cycle engines,” he adds. The design impossible. Where it makes sense, we to rely on a speed slightly higher than will be capable of meeting Chapter 14 are following that lead,” he says. that of the long-retired Anglo-French noise limits, though Scholl acknowl- Key of -the-shelf structural and de- Concorde to achieve higher utilization edges this will only be achieved with sign technologies are available that and shorter sector times on 4,000 nm compromises and “with pain, for sure.” make the small supersonic airliner over water routes. Boom is developing a one-third-scale project feasible, says Scholl. Large- Although Boom is not disclosing ad- prototype dubbed XB-1 at its Centen- scale primary structural composites ditional design changes, the aircraft’s nial Airport facility in Denver, which pioneered by Boeing and high-temper- delta wing now appears to have more will be used to verify key elements of ature composites developed by SpaceX

54 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p54-55.indd 54 10/17/16 4:55 PM AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING the design and aerodynamics. The for the Falcon 9 launch vehicle are cited Boom Time demonstrator, which will be powered as examples. “Composites can carry MACH TO THE FUTURE by three General Electric CJ610 turbo- more thermal load when coupled with AERION Stretched, trijet 50-seat confi guration to be jet engines, will be used to expand the the right resin system. These are ca- Aerion AS2 subsonic flight envelope in Colorado pable of dealing with even the highest Privately funded Aerion tested by subscale supersonic demonstrator starting in late 2017. Flight tests will temperatures from the leading edge to Corp. has been develop- then transfer to California, where su- the nose, where we expect to see about ing a supersonic business Guy Norris Los Angeles personic fl ight tests will be conducted 307F at the stagnation point,” he adds. in the restricted airspace around Ed- Scholl acknowledges, however, that jet since the early 2000s ore than half a century after dihedral (upsweep) at the tips and an wards AFB. no amount of technological initiatives and aims to launch the Mdevelopment of the Concorde extended chine where the wing root Virgin Galactic’s Mojave, California- will bring the Boom project to life with- certifi cation program for was launched, progress to- blends with the forward fuselage. The based subsidiary, The Spaceship Co. out the support of investors and the air- its trijet AS2 by the end of ward economically viable supersonic aircraft’s single fi n is slightly reduced in (TSC), is providing engineering, design lines. “There is no passenger that does 2017. Airbus Defense and airliners has proved elusive. But now area and, although still swept, is confi g- and manufacturing services and will be not want to go faster, and we can do it Space is providing engi- a Silicon Valley-backed startup says ured with a conventional leading edge involved in flight test and operations in a package that makes sense,” he says. neering assistance. With the ingredients for a successful, small, rather than the crescent profi le of the support. Virgin Galactic itself has taken Given an estimated market of at least faster-than-sound airliner are in place, earlier configuration. Air inlets have options on the fi rst 10 aircraft ( AW&ST 1,000 aircraft and a sales price of $200 a natural-laminar-fl ow wing for ef ciency at supersonic and subsonic speeds, the 12-seat thanks to a new wave of enabling tech- also been added to either side of the aft March 28-April 10, p. 34). million, Scholl says “every side of the AS2 is designed to fl y 4,750 nm at Mach 1.4 and 5,300 nm at Mach 0.95. Fractional-own- nology and a market primed with the fuselage to feed the new tail-mounted “The whole idea is to gain equation will want to be there.” ership operator Flexjet has ordered 20 AS2s for transoceanic services beginning in 2023. real-life experience with need for speed. engine, which is buried, fi ghter-style, in Results shown exclusively to Avia- SPIKE AEROSPACE

Since fi rst unveiling plans earlier this the tail cone section. the confi guration we in- BOOM TECHNOLOG Y tion Week of an independent study year for a 40-seat, twin-engine, super- The company is reviewing into market prospects for the supersonic transport, Denver-based Boom engine options, and Scholl sonic transport by forecaster Boyd Technolog y has revised and fi ne-tuned says “at least two of -the- Group International suggests as many the design that will cruise at Mach 2.2 shelf cores are a good as 1,300 aircraft worth $260 billion will for the same ticket price as subsonic be needed over a 10-year period. business class. The aircraft has since The biggest potential market sector been stretched to seat up to 50 is predicted to be North America, with and is now reconfigured an estimated requirement for 377 air- as a trijet to per- craft, while European carriers would mit immedi- be the second-biggest user group with ate use a requirement for more than 360. The Spike Aerospace S-512 on long Refi ned confi guration for small Mach 2.2 airliner adds a third engine in the Middle East and Africa region could be overwa- tail, stretches the fuselage to seat 50 passengers and increases wingspan. the third-biggest customer group with Preliminary design of the S-512 supersonic business jet has been underway at start- ter routes. about 250 aircraft, while the Asia-Pacifi c up Spike Aerospace since 2013, aiming for first deliveries in 2022-23. Seating 12 to “Moving from a twinjet to a trijet is fit; one commercial and one military, tend to fl y with passengers [onboard],” and China sectors could potentially take 18 passengers, the twinjet is designed to cruise at Mach 1.6 with an overwater range a better answer,” says Boom Technol- the latter with good exportability.” The says Scholl. “The demonstrator is be- up to 128 and about 100, respectively. of 6,200 nm. Spike is designing the S-512 for a low sonic boom level of 70 PLdB, ogy CEO Blake Scholl. “A twinjet is propulsion system, designed to super- ing built in-house, and Virgin is assist- The report says the “ability of the compared with 106 PLdB for the Concorde, to enable supersonic fl ight over land where more challenging to certify for early cruise and power the aircraft for takeof ing in fl ight testing but not production,” aircraft to slash flight times for the allowed. Spanish aerostructures company Aernnova is providing design assistance. ETOPS [extended twin operations], without the need for afterburning, will he adds. “It would be a real mistake to important premium passenger could while a trijet will enable unrestricted require a new low-pressure spool. “It’s outsource that early development, and result in it becoming a necessary part LOCKHEED MARTIN travel on routes with up to 180 min. di- essentially a refan project,” says Scholl, by doing it this way we will build our of global airline fl eets in order to remain NASA QueSTT version time with an engine out.” The who adds that “making the whole fl ight own in-house team. The main purpose is competitive.” It also states that “while Lockheed Martin is com- aircraft length has also been extended profi le possible without afterburner is to build up the talent of the team.” the projected costs of the Boom airlin- pleting preliminary de- to “around” 155 ft. to accommodate 10 crucial to making it viable.” For full-scale manufacturing, Boom er indicate full ability to accommodate extra seats. “It is not too terribly dif- As engine selection is the pacing item is “open to different strategies,” says fares charged on current-generation sign of a low-boom fl ight ferent” from the original version, says for the entire project, Boom intends to Scholl. “Plan A is to team up with Tier airliners, the enormous advantage of demonstrator under Scholl, who adds that wingspan has also downselect to the appropriate core in 1 suppliers like the Spirit AeroSystems reduced travel time could allow carri- NASA’s Quiet Supersonic marginally increased. 2017-18 to enable entry into service by of this world. We would not be able to do ers to charge a premium over service Transport (QueSST) proj- Unlike a new generation of super- 2023. The target speed of Mach 2.2 “can the whole thing in-house,” he adds. The on conventional airliners.” The report ect. The single-engine, sonic business jets and a NASA X-plane be done with a propulsion system that company says “we take a lot of inspi- also highlights the potential benefi ts of Mach 1.4-plus X-plane in development (see page 55), the small will make it [noise] compliant for takeof ration from the SpaceX s tory. Clearly lower block times on asset utilization. is intended to mimic the airliner is neither a low-boom nor low- and be ef cient in cruise, without having those guys achieved things on a smaller The Boyd report argues that, just as er Mach number design. Instead the to get into the complexities of fancy vari- budget that everyone else thought was the regional jet created a new category shockwave signature of a delta-winged Boom design is intended able cycle engines,” he adds. The design impossible. Where it makes sense, we of demand by delivering new mission 100-120-seat supersonic airliner and show that a shaped sonic boom of 75 PLdB is quiet to rely on a speed slightly higher than will be capable of meeting Chapter 14 are following that lead,” he says. capabilities, the Boom airliner could enough to permit supersonic fl ight over land. NASA plans to fl y the competitively procured that of the long-retired Anglo-French noise limits, though Scholl acknowl- Key of -the-shelf structural and de- do the same for the supersonic niche. X-plane in 2019 and begin community acceptance testing in 2020. Concorde to achieve higher utilization edges this will only be achieved with sign technologies are available that “This is the future for the Boom airliner. and shorter sector times on 4,000 nm compromises and “with pain, for sure.” make the small supersonic airliner It is not a further evolution of existing over water routes. Boom is developing a one-third-scale project feasible, says Scholl. Large- aircraft. Instead, it offers an entirely From the Archives See one of Aviation Week’s biggest scoops of the Although Boom is not disclosing ad- prototype dubbed XB-1 at its Centen- scale primary structural composites new set of air travel metrics and a new 20th century, about the breaking of the sound barrier: AviationWeek.com/XS-1-Scoop ditional design changes, the aircraft’s nial Airport facility in Denver, which pioneered by Boeing and high-temper- product of ering for major international Gallery See some of the attempts to design, build and fl y the world’s delta wing now appears to have more will be used to verify key elements of ature composites developed by SpaceX airlines,” it says. c fastest airplane: AviationWeek.com/Speed Quest

54 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 55

AW_10_24_2016_p54-55.indd 54 10/17/16 4:55 PM AW_10_24_2016_p54-55.indd 55 10/17/16 4:55 PM DEFENSE Filter Factor Production inlet flter set for sand, dust and saltwater ingestion Bell-Boeing fight tests on V-22

Guy Norris Hartford, Connecticut

ith last year’s fatal MV-22B but we are trying to see if we can get The proof-of-concept engine inlet Wtraining accident a stark ahead of that,” says Bell Helicopter’s barrier flter was fight-tested on the reminder of the dangers of propulsion fight-test principal engineer left nacelle of Bell-Boeing’s V-22 prolonged hovering and power loss in Erasmo Pinero. Advanced Technology Tiltrotor. a tiltrotor during brownout conditions, “We demonstrated a four-times im- Bell-Boeing is seeking to accelerate provement in time-on-wing with the verted from the compressor inlet by introduction of a newly developed, en- new filters, which is a big deal,” says the standard engine air-particle sepa- gine-protecting, barrier-type air fltra- Pinero. Although acknowledging that rator. However, in case the flters begin tion system. the addition of an inlet flter inevitably to clog up, the design incorporates a Tests of a prototype engine inlet bar- has a minor impact on drag and peak diferential pressure sensor that com- rier flter (EIBF) on the company’s Ad- engine performance, Pinero says the mands the bypass door to open if inlet vanced Technology Tiltrotor (ATTR), a original EIBF flight-test series con- plenum pressure rises. “We did hover V-22 leased by Bell-Boeing from the U.S. ducted in 2012-13 shows the system testing with the door closed, and we had Defense Department, have demonstrat- more than compensates in terms of an inlet [pressure sensor] rake installed ed marked improvements in engine longer performance retention. to make sure the recovery was there performance retention. The produc- In addition, Pinero indicates the f- and that the inlet distortion margin tion version of the system, which will nalized production standard system was still there compared to the legacy replace the existing particle-separation may incur less of a penalty. “For the inlet,” says Pinero. device, will be evaluated in 2017 over a production set we are about to pro- Following austere testing in New series of flight operations in adverse duce for the U.S. Navy, we have a good Mexico, the modifed V-22 was fown to environments such as sand, dust and handle on that, and hopefully that will Eglin AFB, Florida, where it conducted saltwater. be satisfactory. We will be doing fight saltwater environment testing to ensure Installation of a better inlet fltration testing next year with the production adequate power levels and performance system was one of several key recom- confguration and will go through the of the EBIF engine to the standard inlet. mendations that emerged from the same thing to prove the performance “Engines are getting beaten up with the inquiry into the May 17, 2015, crash of is still there,” he adds. saltwater environment,” says Pinero, an MV-22B at the Bellows U.S. Marine Made by St. Louis-based flter spe- who updated progress on the barrier Corps Training Area in Hawaii. The cialist Donaldson, the EBIF prototype flter at the SAE 2016 Aerospace Sys- accident, which claimed the lives of unit was attached for the tests to the tems and Technology Conference in two Marines and injured the other 20 modifed inlet cowling of the left-hand Hartford, Connecticut. “It destroys the onboard, occurred after the left engine Rolls-Royce AE1107C on the V-22. The performance of the compressor, even sufered a compressor stall while the unit includes a hinged bypass door, ac- if you come back quickly and wash the aircraft was hovering in severe brown- tivated by an electromechanical actua- engine right away, because salt tends out conditions. The aircraft hovered tor, which closes when the tiltrotor is to hide around the engine. But with this for 35 sec. during an initial landing at- in hover mode, forcing engine inlet air flter, we were able to get a 10-times im- tempt and again for 45 sec. before the to pass through four flter assemblies. provement in maintaining the perfor- crash. Naval Air Command now recom- In the transition to wingborne aircraft mance of the engine.” mends V-22 crews hover for no more mode, the bypass door opens to increase The Special Ops CV-22 feet is also than 35 sec. in reduced-visibility landing inlet recovery and reduce drag, which the potential target of a bid by Rolls- (brownout) environments. maximizes cruise performance. Royce to be equipped with an improved The flter upgrade is targeted to en- Tests over sandy and dusty landing infrared signature suppression system. ter service initially with CV-22 variants sites at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, Should the update become a frm pro- operated by the U.S. Air Force Special indicated large amounts of fine par- gram, it could be bundled with the flter Operations Command. “They hope to ticulates were trapped by the filters as well as a package of engine reliability have all the aircraft retroftted by 2021, compared to the coarse particles di- upgrades and forward-fring weapons. c

56 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p56.indd 56 10/19/16 12:25 PM DEFENSE

countries are Australia, Canada, Den- Filter Leading the Way mark, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey and the UK. However, these partners Norway is the frst JSF partner to signal have been silent about concrete plans Factor for the block buy, and none have sig- it will join an international block buy naled their intent to participate in the Production inlet flter frst year. Lara Seligman Washington Air Vice Marshal Leigh Gordon, set for sand, dust and Australia’s Joint Strike Fighter pro- orway has become the frst of The U.S. expects to join the block gram chief, says his country is “very saltwater ingestion Bell-Boeing Nthe F-35 international partner buy one year later, in lot 13, Bogdan interested” in the block buy, but of- nations to make public its intent said in September at the Air Force cials have some time before they need fight tests on V-22 to participate in a proposed multiyear, Association’s annual air and space to make a fnal decision. “Australia has multinational “block buy,” unveiling a conference. He anticipates that plan 45 aircraft across the years that are budget request for 2017 that includes will be rolled out early next year along being considered for the block buy, so Guy Norris an additional 12 of the Lockheed Mar- with the president’s fscal 2018 budget we are very interested,” Gordon said Hartford, Connecticut tin fghter jets over the next few years. request. Oct. 6 in Washington. “We don’t have The government, in its 2017 budget Under its 2017 budget plan, Nor- to sign up quite yet, but we are work- ith last year’s fatal MV-22B but we are trying to see if we can get The proof-of-concept engine inlet proposal rolled out Oct. 6, requested way would enter the block buy at the ing through the process, and to me it Wtraining accident a stark ahead of that,” says Bell Helicopter’s barrier flter was fight-tested on the authorization to order 12 more F-35s same time as the U.S. The Norwegians seems to be the smart thing to do.” reminder of the dangers of propulsion fight-test principal engineer left nacelle of Bell-Boeing’s V-22 in 2019 and 2020, Norwegian defense considered joining the buy at its start The Netherlands is also interested prolonged hovering and power loss in Erasmo Pinero. Advanced Technology Tiltrotor. ministry spokesman Endre Lunde in 2018 but found that any additional in participating in the block buy begin- a tiltrotor during brownout conditions, “We demonstrated a four-times im- tells Aviation Week. If authorized, this Bell-Boeing is seeking to accelerate provement in time-on-wing with the verted from the compressor inlet by would bring Norway’s number of ap- introduction of a newly developed, en- new filters, which is a big deal,” says the standard engine air-particle sepa- proved F-35s to 40. gine-protecting, barrier-type air fltra- Pinero. Although acknowledging that rator. However, in case the flters begin This blueprint would allow Norway tion system. the addition of an inlet flter inevitably to clog up, the design incorporates a to participate in the second and third Tests of a prototype engine inlet bar- has a minor impact on drag and peak diferential pressure sensor that com- rier flter (EIBF) on the company’s Ad- engine performance, Pinero says the mands the bypass door to open if inlet Lockheed Martin unveiled the vanced Technology Tiltrotor (ATTR), a original EIBF flight-test series con- plenum pressure rises. “We did hover frst Norwegian F-35A at the V-22 leased by Bell-Boeing from the U.S. ducted in 2012-13 shows the system testing with the door closed, and we had company’s Fort Worth facility in Defense Department, have demonstrat- more than compensates in terms of an inlet [pressure sensor] rake installed September 2015. ed marked improvements in engine longer performance retention. to make sure the recovery was there performance retention. The produc- In addition, Pinero indicates the f- and that the inlet distortion margin years of the proposed international tion version of the system, which will nalized production standard system was still there compared to the legacy block buy beginning in 2019, which the replace the existing particle-separation may incur less of a penalty. “For the inlet,” says Pinero. government estimates will yield 385 device, will be evaluated in 2017 over a production set we are about to pro- Following austere testing in New million Norwegian krone ($58 million) Lockheed Martin series of flight operations in adverse duce for the U.S. Navy, we have a good Mexico, the modifed V-22 was fown to in savings, Lunde says. savings would be ofset by the need to ning in 2020, one year earlier than the environments such as sand, dust and handle on that, and hopefully that will Eglin AFB, Florida, where it conducted The news that Norway is planning make adjustments to domestic plan- U.S. and Norway, says Paul Bezuijen, a saltwater. be satisfactory. We will be doing fight saltwater environment testing to ensure to participate in the block buy is not a ning processes already well underway, spokesman for the Royal Netherlands Installation of a better inlet fltration testing next year with the production adequate power levels and performance surprise, as the Scandinavian country Lunde says. “On balance, our decision Air Force. “We will inform our parlia- system was one of several key recom- confguration and will go through the of the EBIF engine to the standard inlet. has always maintained a strong com- was that 13 and 14 were the better opment later this year [possibly Novem- mendations that emerged from the same thing to prove the performance “Engines are getting beaten up with the mitment to the Joint Strike Fighter tions,” he notes. ber] if we will join and when,” he says. inquiry into the May 17, 2015, crash of is still there,” he adds. saltwater environment,” says Pinero, program. The government also is likely Overall, Norway has committed to Mark Butler, assistant head of the an MV-22B at the Bellows U.S. Marine Made by St. Louis-based flter spe- who updated progress on the barrier eager to save every penny, as its cur- buying up to 52 F-35 fghter jets over UK Defense Ministry’s international Corps Training Area in Hawaii. The cialist Donaldson, the EBIF prototype flter at the SAE 2016 Aerospace Sys- rency has taken a beating over the last the next decade. The country is cur- relations group, declined to comment accident, which claimed the lives of unit was attached for the tests to the tems and Technology Conference in year, leading to questions about wheth- rently using its frst four F-35As for on the block buy. two Marines and injured the other 20 modifed inlet cowling of the left-hand Hartford, Connecticut. “It destroys the er Norway can aford the full comple- pilot training at Luke AFB, Arizona, Meanwhile, Canada is the big ques- onboard, occurred after the left engine Rolls-Royce AE1107C on the V-22. The performance of the compressor, even ment of F-35s it is planning to buy. and is slated to receive six additional tion mark. Ottawa had previously sufered a compressor stall while the unit includes a hinged bypass door, ac- if you come back quickly and wash the Under the block-buy plan, U.S. and jets next year. Three of those aircraft selected the F-35A to replace its ag- aircraft was hovering in severe brown- tivated by an electromechanical actua- engine right away, because salt tends international export orders for three will make the transatlantic journey ing F/A-18 Hornets, but Prime Min- out conditions. The aircraft hovered tor, which closes when the tiltrotor is to hide around the engine. But with this years—2018-20, covering low-rate to Norway at the end of 2017, touch- ister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party for 35 sec. during an initial landing at- in hover mode, forcing engine inlet air flter, we were able to get a 10-times im- initial-production lots 12-14—would ing down in their home country for government, after coming to power tempt and again for 45 sec. before the to pass through four flter assemblies. provement in maintaining the perfor- be bundled together in a single con- the frst time. The additional aircraft last November, chose to review that crash. Naval Air Command now recom- In the transition to wingborne aircraft mance of the engine.” tract as a way to generate savings for proposed for lots 13 and 14 would be choice due to concerns about the mends V-22 crews hover for no more mode, the bypass door opens to increase The Special Ops CV-22 feet is also all F-35 customers. The partners have delivered in 2021 and 2022. The Nor- fighter jet’s cost. The government than 35 sec. in reduced-visibility landing inlet recovery and reduce drag, which the potential target of a bid by Rolls- been considering such a block buy for wegian F-35s are slated to reach initial spent the summer consulting with (brownout) environments. maximizes cruise performance. Royce to be equipped with an improved years, but so far only the U.S. has said operational capability in 2019 and full the five major fighter manufactur- The flter upgrade is targeted to en- Tests over sandy and dusty landing infrared signature suppression system. it intends to participate. Joint Program operational capability in 2025. ers and is currently analyzing those ter service initially with CV-22 variants sites at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, Should the update become a frm pro- Ofce Chief Lt. Gen. Christopher Bog- In addition to the U.S. and Nor- data, according to Lisa Campbell, operated by the U.S. Air Force Special indicated large amounts of fine par- gram, it could be bundled with the flter dan estimates the joint buy would cov- way, all the partners ordering F-35s Canada’s assistant deputy minister Operations Command. “They hope to ticulates were trapped by the filters as well as a package of engine reliability er about 450 aircraft over three years in lot 12 are onboard with the block for military acquisitions, public ser- have all the aircraft retroftted by 2021, compared to the coarse particles di- upgrades and forward-fring weapons. c and save more than $2 billion. buy, Bogdan says. The other partner vices and procurement. c

56 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 57

AW_10_24_2016_p56.indd 56 10/19/16 12:25 PM AW_10_24_2016_p57.indd 57 10/19/16 1:11 PM DEFENSE Eagle Extender Japan and Britain are studying feasibility of an AESA Meteor Bradley Perrett Tokyo

hat to do with 201 powerful would emerge from the study, if indeed Wﬁ ghters that have practically there is a recommendation to pro- no airframe life limit? For ceed. Since Meteor is multinational, about half of those Japanese F-15 Ea- many government approvals would be gles, the answer is to give them an up- needed, and even more to integrate on grade that, among other things, equips the F-15. them with an advanced indigenous Though Japanese officials do not

air-to-air missile. For the rest, a local name the F-15 as a possible carrier, PERRETT/AW&STBRADLEY version of a long-reaching European availability of the JNAAM could clearly weapon may be in the of ng, although become a factor in Tokyo’s decision, due Tokyo could opt to retire some of the within a few years, on what to do with F-15s without further improvement. the Eagles that are not now slated for Japan and Britain are studying an upgrading. U.S. Air Force assessments adaptation of the MBDA Meteor that show structural aging will impose no would feature the Mitsubishi Electric practical limit on the service life of MBDA is promoting the Meteor as seeker of Japan’s AAM-4B missile. The Japan’s F-15s, which were built by Boe- a potential F-15 weapon. seeker has an active, electronically ing predecessor company McDonnell scanned array (AESA) , which should Douglas and, mainly, Mitsubishi Heavy transmission power than a convention- offer greater detection range than a Industries. al antenna of the same size. That could convention radar seeker. Combined The temptation to keep all the mean it can pick up a target at greater with the Meteor’s long reach, it could F-15s going must be strong, especially range, allowing its launching fi ghter, greatly improve the ability of Japan’s since the U.S. Air Force will operate freed from having to track the target, F-15s to safely engage in air combat, the type until the 2040s and Boeing is to turn away early. Greater detection despite the aircraft’s lack of stealth. still selling new F-15s, with an order range also allows a missile to search Integrating the weapon, the Joint from Qatar imminent. Budget limits for a target in a larger volume, creating New Air-to-Air Missile (JNAAM), with could force retirements of some Japa- more opportunities for a shot. the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning, nese Eagles, however. An executive of The Anglo-Japanese studies on which Japan and Britain have ordered, a company that is closely interested in JNAAM are working on the basic con- is also under study. the fate of the aircraft expects that 40 cept of fi tting the Japanese seeker to While stressing that no decision to will be retired without upgrading. the Meteor. From a technical point of proceed to full-scale development has The AAM-4B is a key element of the view, this can be done, says Sakamoto. been made, one possible result from the current upgrade program, which has But the AAM-4B has a diameter studies could be a fi nding that a larger targeted 102 modernizations between of 203 mm (8 in.), inherited from the diameter is needed, say of cials of the 2004 and 2022. JNAAM would presum- Raytheon AIM-7 Sparrow, from which Japanese defense ministry. MBDA is ably succeed the AAM-4B. Alive to that it was derived. The Meteor body has a likely to argue for retaining the cur- possibility, MBDA displayed a model of 178-mm diameter, so the antenna size— rent diameter, however, since changing a Meteor-carrying F-15 at the Japan and therefore transmitted and received it would entail embarking on the costly International Aerospace Exhibition, power—would be smaller, reducing de- development of a new missile. held here Oct. 12-16. Boeing also sees tection range. The antenna is fi xed, so Japan and Britain are assessing the potential in upgrading Japan’s F-15s. compared with a mechanically scan- likely performance of JNAAM in sepa- At the show, it promoted its concept of ning antenna, it loses ef ective aperture rate but coordinated studies, say Sada- F-15s carrying 16 AIM-120 Advanced size unless the target is dead ahead. ha ru Ono and air force Maj. Kazuyuki Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles . Even if Japan wants the JNAAM, Sakamoto of the ministry’s Acquisi- Britain has led a group of European Britain may not. One factor could be tion, Technology and Logistics Agency. countries in developing the Meteor, the choice of transmission frequency, The two countries are also looking at which is supposed to have greater a key issue in the design of an active- the expense and time that would be ef ective range than rocket-powered radar missile that infl uences its abil- needed to develop it. The work is in air-to-air missiles because its air- ity to discriminate an intended target a second phase of technical feasibility breathing engine can fi re throughout from others. Japan’s choice of fre- assessment, according to the British the mission—including the final few quency for the AAM-4B seeker may Ministry of Defense, which adds that it seconds, when the target may maneu- not be the same as the one chosen for should be completed by mid-2017. ver to avoid the attack. the Meteor. c There is no timetable for develop- The AAM-4B’s AESA seeker should, ment of the prospective missile. That among other advantages, of er greater —With Tony Osborne in London

58 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p58.indd 58 10/17/16 4:58 PM DEFENSE

DfiU25 ffmfffifi mfffi pfopfif of ffif Eagle Extender Long Endurance Lofkfifffi fifffff Ffi22, ffif ffffifff ffiff Wffififfffof fffflfiffi fo fiffifi fo Japan and Britain are studying The Japanese defense ministry Jfpff f fiffffif ffof Bflf ffif fifffffif mffffifffi ffi ffiffffifi fof fffffffifffi fofi feasibility of an AESA Meteor is sticking with its idea for a big fi ghter ff f fi ffifff ffiff, ffiffkfi fo fffff pofifi ff of mfffflvff ffi fiffifi ffi fiffffiffi, fff Bradley Perrett Tokyo Bradley Perrett Tokyo ffiofif fo ffffff fifffi Amfffmfif If Jflff, ffif mffffifffi ffvffffi pofi hat to do with 201 powerful would emerge from the study, if indeed fpff ffi fiflf fo fiffffif ff ffioflf ffio fofifff fiffpof fifffi ffif fioffffif fffffi fffffffi fofffff pfffffffi fo fxpfffifi Wfi ghters that have practically there is a recommendation to pro- Jfiffffi fififffiff fo fifvffiop ff fffi (fiff pfff 58)f Af ffifffffffvf fiffifi fif fffffffif ff fffi pfofffmf Iffi fiofflmfff, no airframe life limit? For ceed. Since Meteor is multinational, fiffffoflfi fi ffifff, mofifffi f fofffff f Jfpffffif mffififfif flfifff ffif 203fimm fiffkfff fifffffi, ffikffi fof fiffffif moff about half of those Japanese F-15 Ea- many government approvals would be ffipf of fiflfi of ffif fififfiff Evffiffff ffi (8 fff) fiffmffff of ffif fflfffff AAfifi ffiff fffffffif, fffi fio ff pfompfffi gles, the answer is to give them an up- needed, and even more to integrate on poffffff fiffofffifi fo ffif fifffffif mfffi 4B, fiffifi Hffofflmf Dof, mffffff of ffif fiffiffipffffi fffipoffiffi, fiffi fffiflfifffi grade that, among other things, equips the F-15. ffifffi fffommfffifff fiflffififff f Jfpffi pfofffm, fffififfi Fflfflff Ffffifff, ff ffif fioflffffif them with an advanced indigenous Though Japanese officials do not fffif fi ffifff fof ffif 2030fi, flffiff ffif fifffffif mffffifffi’fi Afqflffifffof, Tfffifi Tfmfff fof fffffi fffo fiffvfff fifi air-to-air missile. For the rest, a local name the F-15 as a possible carrier, PERRETT/AW&STBRADLEY fiffiffffffof Ffi3f fofioffi fffi Lofffiffffi Afffffif Tfif ffif Fflfflff Ffffifff ffi fof fiffffffi version of a long-reaching European availability of the JNAAM could clearly Tfif mffffifffi ffi fifffkfff fo f fi ffifff Rffiffifof AIfifi120 Amfffm ffi fifff moff pfffffiffifi ffiff ffif 2030fi, fiffifi weapon may be in the of ng, although become a factor in Tokyo’s decision, due fofffpf ffiff ff fiofkffi oflf ff ffif fi ffif ffiffi fiffkffffiffkfff fiflffiflf f fffffffffff fffffffffffff Doff Tfif ffffffff ffi fiflppofiffi fo fffi Tokyo could opt to retire some of the within a few years, on what to do with fiffif of ffiffi fiffffif, off ffiff ffi fof pfifff ffif fifffiflfiffifif Hffvfi Iffiflfifffffi F-15s without further improvement. the Eagles that are not now slated for fvfffiffifif ffom f fofffff mffflffffflfff (fiHI) Ffi2, fififffi fff fif fxpfffffi fo Japan and Britain are studying an upgrading. U.S. Air Force assessments fffi foflfifi fof fif ffffifzffi fifi ffiffffi fiffvf fof 30 fiffffi, pfffifpfi f fffi adaptation of the MBDA Meteor that show structural aging will impose no fff f fflfffff fffffffff Tfiffi fofffpf, fiffffi fiofffff If fffffffi fiffvfff ff would feature the Mitsubishi Electric practical limit on the service life of MBDA is promoting the Meteor as pfffifffffi ffio fiffffi ffo ffi 25DfiU 2000f seeker of Japan’s AAM-4B missile. The Japan’s F-15s, which were built by Boe- a potential F-15 weapon. fffi fifffffifi pfffiffvffi ff f fiofifff flffi Empfiffifzfff ffiff foffifff ffi fflfiffi seeker has an active, electronically ing predecessor company McDonnell ffvfffiffiffvfffiffi flflpfiffffipfiffffi fififfifff,ffifff, ffffifififfififi ffofof f oflf, ffif pfojfff mffffff fffififi Avfffi scanned array (AESA) , which should Douglas and, mainly, Mitsubishi Heavy transmission power than a convention- fiffffi,fiffffi, fiffffiffifififfffiffifi fifi ffiffffififififi fififffififififi fiffi fififffififi fifffifififi ffof Wffk ffiff fxffffifff ffif Ffi2’fi offer greater detection range than a Industries. al antenna of the same size. That could ffffffiffffffi fioffifioffi ofof fifffffiffff ffffifofifffffffifofifff mffififfiffimffififfiffi fiffvfff fifff ffi ff opffoff If fioffi fof convention radar seeker. Combined The temptation to keep all the mean it can pick up a target at greater fffifffi fiofffioff fffiflfffff,fffiflfffff, ffff ffifffif fxpfffiffxpfffif ofof fiffm fo fif f foofi off, fiofifvfff Tfif with the Meteor’s long reach, it could F-15s going must be strong, especially range, allowing its launching fi ghter, fl fffif pfffofmfffff fi ffifff, ff fffiffffmfff of ffif Lofkfi greatly improve the ability of Japan’s since the U.S. Air Force will operate freed from having to track the target, TfifTfif ffffff fofff,fofff, foffof ffifffif mffffifffi,mffffifffi, fiffifififfifi fifffi fifffff Ffi16, ffi fof fiffiffifi foffi F-15s to safely engage in air combat, the type until the 2040s and Boeing is to turn away early. Greater detection ffififlfffififlf ffifffif ffqflfffmfffffqflfffmfff fffifffiff fififioflfififioflfifi ffofifiofifi fiffiffffi fo fifvf fifff f fffff fiflffffifif despite the aircraft’s lack of stealth. still selling new F-15s, with an order range also allows a missile to search fiofifiofi ffifffif fiffffifoffiffffifof ofof fififffifififffi fiffififfi fofo fo,fo, Tffififfffifi, Jfpff’fi Ffi15 Efffiffi, fiflffif fifi Integrating the weapon, the Joint from Qatar imminent. Budget limits for a target in a larger volume, creating fiflffiflf ffff ffifffif fifi fifffififififi fififfffifififi fifffiffffifififififi fififfffifififififi fi fiHI fffi Boffff pfffiffffifiof fifDoffi New Air-to-Air Missile (JNAAM), with could force retirements of some Japa- more opportunities for a shot. 2019f2019f BflfBflf ffffff ffofffofff fffiffkffffiffkfff fififfiffi ffoffoff fffifi Doflffiffi, fff ofififf ffiff ffif Ffi2fi the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning, nese Eagles, however. An executive of The Anglo-Japanese studies on fffofffo ffifffif fifffffiffifffffif mffffifffi’fimffffifffi’fi fifflfifffi,fifflfifffi, fiflf fiffifi fifffi ff fiffvfff fiofffff which Japan and Britain have ordered, a company that is closely interested in JNAAM are working on the basic con- fffifffi ffifffif fiffvffffiffvfff fiffifififfifi fiflfffifififlfffifi fiffif ffflfffl flflflfifl Afoffiff fofffpf fiffifff, is also under study. the fate of the aircraft expects that 40 cept of fi tting the Japanese seeker to fffffifffffi fifififi fffiffif vvfffififffifi ooff ffovfffmfffovfffmfff 26DfiU, fiffi fiofkffi oflf f While stressing that no decision to will be retired without upgrading. the Meteor. From a technical point of ffffifffffffifff ffffifofiofffiffiffffifofiofffiffi fifiofifio fifvffifvf fifff fffff 25DfiU, fififffi fffiffif proceed to full-scale development has The AAM-4B is a key element of the view, this can be done, says Sakamoto. fifflfifffi ffif pfofififmf COLIN THROM/AW&ST fiffiffffiffi ffom ffif moff mffi been made, one possible result from the current upgrade program, which has But the AAM-4B has a diameter AfiovfAfiovf ffifffif ffffff ffm, ffm, fiofifvff,fiofifvff, ffiffi ffflvffffifif fofffpffi 23DfiU studies could be a fi nding that a larger targeted 102 modernizations between of 203 mm (8 in.), inherited from the ffif ffif ffovfffmfff,ovfffmfff, fififffifififffi foflfififoflfifi fiffifififfifi fffi 24DfiUf (Tfif fflmfifffi ff ffif diameter is needed, say of cials of the 2004 and 2022. JNAAM would presum- Raytheon AIM-7 Sparrow, from which fiffik ff ffif fofif of fifvffiopfff f ffffoffi fiffiffffffof fff ffffffi fiffffi of Emfi Japanese defense ministry. MBDA is ably succeed the AAM-4B. Alive to that it was derived. The Meteor body has a ffi fi ffifff, ffipfffffififi off ffi fiff ffi ffif pffof Akffiffo, 26 fiffff 2014f “DfiU” likely to argue for retaining the cur- possibility, MBDA displayed a model of 178-mm diameter, so the antenna size— mffffifffi ffiffkfi ffi fffffififffif Somf fiffffifi fof “fiffffffi mofkflpf”) Dffifff rent diameter, however, since changing a Meteor-carrying F-15 at the Japan and therefore transmitted and received fovfffmfff of ffffifi ffpoffffififi ffvof 26DfiU pfffiffvffi ffif fofffpf of it would entail embarking on the costly International Aerospace Exhibition, power—would be smaller, reducing de- ffffffff f fimffififf Jfpffffif fi ffifff, fiofffifffiflfffff fffi mofifffff fl fffif development of a new missile. held here Oct. 12-16. Boeing also sees tection range. The antenna is fi xed, so off ffiff fioflfifi fif moff fxpoffffififf With a wing of high aspect ratio pfffofmffff, fiffifi Dof, fifffifffff fo Japan and Britain are assessing the potential in upgrading Japan’s F-15s. compared with a mechanically scan- Tfif mffkff fof fiflffi f fi ffifff mffi and moderate sweep, the 25DMU ffvf moff fifffffifi, fiflffi ffi fififf ff likely performance of JNAAM in sepa- At the show, it promoted its concept of ning antenna, it loses ef ective aperture fif fioflfiffflfif Jfpff fioflfifi pfofiffififi design emphasizes range. fiookfi fifkff rate but coordinated studies, say Sada- F-15s carrying 16 AIM-120 Advanced size unless the target is dead ahead. fifvf fo fiffofffifi fiff fffffffff fffi ffffi Tfifff ffi fo fofffpf fiffifff fffff ha ru Ono and air force Maj. Kazuyuki Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles . Even if Japan wants the JNAAM, fffff ffom ffif Lofkfifffi fifffff Ffi35, Off moff fifff of fffffffif ff fiofffi 26DfiU, fif fiffifif Sffff ffiffi fompfifffi Sakamoto of the ministry’s Acquisi- Britain has led a group of European Britain may not. One factor could be fififffi fifi ffif 2030fi fifioflfifi fif ffjofifi fffff ffffffmfff ffi ffif mffffifffi’fi ffi ffiff off, ffif mffffifffi’fi fffffffffi tion, Technology and Logistics Agency. countries in developing the Meteor, the choice of transmission frequency, fff ffif ffofomfffi of f fioff pfofiflffi ffvffiffffffof of ffif flfif of ffffifofifff fifvf fifff fifflfififff ffffiffiof fi, fiflffi The two countries are also looking at which is supposed to have greater a key issue in the design of an active- ffof fflf fffi foflfifi fif fiffffi ffff ffom mffififfiffi ffi fiff ffi ffvffi fffffififffffif ffi ffif ff fff of fofif of ff fffffffif ff the expense and time that would be ef ective range than rocket-powered radar missile that infl uences its abil- ff flpfiffff fffffffpfoffi (AW&ST fiffi 11fi24, 2015, pfffofmfffff Tfif fffififffof of foffi needed to develop it. The work is in air-to-air missiles because its air- ity to discriminate an intended target Dffmpfiffiffi of mfffflvffffiffifffi ff pf 32) f Affi ffiff ffifff ffi fffi pfopofiffi ffpf fiffiffffi fifffi 26DfiU fiffmfi fo a second phase of technical feasibility breathing engine can fi re throughout from others. Japan’s choice of fre- 25DfiU ffi off of fifvffffi fiffffi ffiff fo fifffi flfmfffffi ffffffff ffifffi of flffifffifff ffif pofff ffiff ffif mffffifffi assessment, according to the British the mission—including the final few quency for the AAM-4B seeker may ffif mffffifffi’fi fffffffffi ffiffk Jfpff’fi ffffiffffi fo fifffff fffi fifioof ff ffffi kfofifi fififf ff fiffffif Ministry of Defense, which adds that it seconds, when the target may maneu- not be the same as the one chosen for ffxf fi ffifff fifioflfifi ffffff fffi fffffffi ffffi fffi fo fiofk flp fffffkfi (AW&ST Cfiffffifi, fffi ofijffffvf ffffof fif should be completed by mid-2017. ver to avoid the attack. the Meteor. c ffom f fffff fiffiffffff Afoffiff fffiffi Sfpff 26fiOfff 9, pf 20)f fffffffi ffom f foffiffffiffifi ffffffff There is no timetable for develop- The AAM-4B’s AESA seeker should, ffffof ffi f fifflfifi fof fiofffi ffiopffof of Wfffi fffi ofivfoflfififi fffff fifzf fffi ff fflfffff pfofiflfffoff Coffffvffififi, ment of the prospective missile. That among other advantages, of er greater —With Tony Osborne in London ffif fiBDA fifffof, ffif Wffiffff ffffi pfff of 33,000fifififfiffifflfif fffffffi, ffif Ffi35, fififffi Jfpff fiffi offiffffi,

58 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 59

AW_10_24_2016_p58.indd 58 10/17/16 4:58 PM AW_10_24_2016_p59-61.indd 59 10/20/16 2:31 PM DEFENSE

could be modifi ed, but the Lockheed Even if others are still at long range, Martin fi ghter would need major sur- they may be unable to launch stand- gery, such as wing and weapon bay of attacks for fear of their missiles, enlargement. Doi thinks develop- arriving in the target area after long ing a new aircraft would be a better fl ights, locking onto friendlies. choice, though he points out that the The F-2 is tasked with maritime air force could issue a requirement strike and close air support as well bly by developing a technology dem- that the F-35 could meet with little or as air combat. Those missions are onstrator, the MHI X-2. That aircraft no change. therefore expected of the replacement first flew on April 22 and should be One consideration could be wheth- aircraft, Doi says, though an alterna- able to fl y about 50 more times, accu- er standof distance can be preserved tive would be to reassign F-35s to air- mulating 200 fl ight hours by the time in combat. A U.S. industry of cial, a to-surface tasks. Japan has ordered the program is completed at the end former fi ghter pilot, points out that 42 F-35s to replace F-4 Phantoms in of the Japanese fi scal year to March standoff tactics can break down af- the air-to-air role. 2018 , says Doi. This, the main fl ight- ter a few minutes, with at least some The ministry has been preparing testing effort, will begin “in some fighters getting close to the enemy. technology for the possible F-3, nota- weeks,” he adds.

son, to join the fl eet at Minot. It will probably serve in conven- Resurrected tional bombing and strategic deterrent roles, armed with up to 20 AGM-86-series Air-Launched Cruise Missiles, for two New engines and other or three more decades. Current estimates see the venerable 1961-62-vintage bomb- modifi cations could extend er fl ying out to 2040 or 2050, and perhaps beyond, depending on how quickly the next-generation Northrop Grumman the B-52 fl eet’s useful life B-21 Raider is developed, assembled and fi elded. Work on the new bomber of cially got underway in February at Northrop’s design shop in Melbourne, A B-52H Stratofortress, Florida, and assembly site nicknamed “Ghost Rider,” in Palmdale, California. conducts a functional test The Air Force had wanted fl ight on Aug. 30, 2016, at to retire the B-52H based Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. on the delivery of 132 Northrop B-2s, but the fi - James Drew Washington nal number was cut to 21. Air Force Global Strike Command chief Gen. Robin Rand said Sept. 19 he wants a minimum of 100 Raiders and about 175 bombers total. But it should not be assumed that the B-21 will replace any single bomber fl eet one- for-one, including the B-2 or Boeing B-1B—and the mix and U.S. AIR FORCE total may change as the Raider comes online in the mid-2020s he outgoing chief of the U.S. “Mighty Eighth” Air Force to free up pilots, maintainers and support crews. Thas thrown his support behind a reengining of the Pratt “I have X-number of people to maintain and fl y those. The & Whitney TF33 turbofan-powered Boeing B-52 heavy capacity to bring a new system on is not going to be there,” bomber, among other modernizations—just as the fi rst nucle- Rand said . “But maybe [we say], ‘keep all four bomber fl eets’ ar-capable H-model ever to be regenerated from the salvage for a while, if they are going to retire other things and divert heap joins the Fifth Bomb Wing at Minot AFB, North Dakota. those maintainers and aircrews our way. I’m not saying ‘never Not only could new engines keep the bomber fl ying past its say never,’ but we have not made that decision yet.” centennial, commander Maj. Gen. Richard Clark says, but the The B-52’s longevity is a testament to its 1950s-era engi- greater range, altitude, payload and power-generation perfor- neering, but as it battles on, Clark, who led the bomber force mance af orded by a new or signifi cantly upgraded powerplant from April 2015 until this October, wants to see signifi cant would enable new operating concepts that take full advantage and continued investment in Stratofortress modernization. of next-generation ordnance such as hypersonic missiles and Exactly how long the B-52 is destined to keep fl ying and high-power microwave weapons. stay on the budget books alters the cost-versus-benefi t cal- The fi rst resurrected B-52H Stratofortress, dubbed “Ghost culus for any system improvements, but Clark says avionics, Rider,” reentered operational inventory in late September af- radar and powerplant upgrades are needed for the aircraft ter a 19-month regeneration and depot overhaul. The aircraft to remain operationally relevant through 2050 and take full had spent many years in storage at the 309th Aerospace Main- advantage of the next generation of weapons currently being tenance and Regeneration Group’s facility at Davis-Monthan develop ed or matured . AFB, Tucson, Arizona. The nearest improvement, the Combat Network Communi- On Sept. 27, the 55-year-old aircraft fl ew from the mainte- cations Technology (Conect) program, delivers software and nance shop at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma, where it had been hardware changes needed for netcentric warfare, including since December 2015 after undergoing regeneration in Tuc- a new tactical data link and communications suite. So far,

60 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p59-61.indd 60 10/20/16 2:31 PM DEFENSE could be modifi ed, but the Lockheed Even if others are still at long range, able for that purpose, says Doi. They Martin fi ghter would need major sur- they may be unable to launch stand- are also useful as opportunities in gery, such as wing and weapon bay of attacks for fear of their missiles, Designers kept the profi le of which to make mistakes without se- enlargement. Doi thinks develop- arriving in the target area after long 25DMU shallow to minimize vere consequences. He points to a ing a new aircraft would be a better fl ights, locking onto friendlies. COLIN THROM/AW&ST radar refl ections. one-year delay late in the X-2 devel- choice, though he points out that the The F-2 is tasked with maritime opment program that was caused by air force could issue a requirement strike and close air support as well bly by developing a technology dem- The X-2 has taken to the air only once program has accomplished something problems related to stealth, which he that the F-35 could meet with little or as air combat. Those missions are onstrator, the MHI X-2. That aircraft more after its first flight. Since MHI equally important for the prospec- does not detail. The consequences of no change. therefore expected of the replacement first flew on April 22 and should be delivered it to the government in June, tive fighter program: It has given losing a year were not great because One consideration could be wheth- aircraft, Doi says, though an alterna- able to fl y about 50 more times, accu- program engineers have, as planned, engineers who worked on the F-2 a the X-2 was only a demonstrator. er standof distance can be preserved tive would be to reassign F-35s to air- mulating 200 fl ight hours by the time been using data from its two simple, chance to pass on skills before retire- The aircraft, called ATX-D for most in combat. A U.S. industry of cial, a to-surface tasks. Japan has ordered the program is completed at the end slow and straight flights to calibrate ment. The fighter engineers whom of the time it was under development, former fi ghter pilot, points out that 42 F-35s to replace F-4 Phantoms in of the Japanese fi scal year to March systems before putting it to work. Japan will rely on in the 2020s and has a reported takeoff weight of 13 standoff tactics can break down af- the air-to-air role. 2018 , says Doi. This, the main fl ight- That work will be mainly to demon- beyond have been working under the metric tons (29,000 lb.). Its two enter a few minutes, with at least some The ministry has been preparing testing effort, will begin “in some strate stealth, maneuver and propul- F-2 engineers in developing the X-2. gines are IHI Corp. XF5-1s of 11,000 lb. fighters getting close to the enemy. technology for the possible F-3, nota- weeks,” he adds. sion technology. But its development Demonstrator programs are valu- thrust each. c

son, to join the fl eet at Minot. It will probably serve in conven- 15 aircraft have been fi tted with Conect, and the entire fl eet “As far as upgrades go, the engines are the one area that I Resurrected tional bombing and strategic deterrent roles, armed with up should be operational with the upgrade by 2020, Clark says. think could provide a good return on investment if we could to 20 AGM-86-series Air-Launched Cruise Missiles, for two The next major ef ort digitizes the internal rotary launcher, fi nd a way to fund it,” Clark says. “We are looking hard at our New engines and other or three more decades. converting it from a strategic cruise-missile slinger to a “con- options now, but it is a very tough budgetary environment we Current estimates see the venerable 1961-62-vintage bomb- ventional” launcher capable of carrying smart munitions as are in, so we’re [looking at] creative ways to do this.” modifi cations could extend er fl ying out to 2040 or 2050, and perhaps beyond, depend- well. First would be the GPS-aided Inertial Navigation Sys- Clark expects the B-52 will continue to play an outsize role ing on how quickly the next-generation Northrop Grumman tem and laser-guided Boeing Joint Direct Attack Munitions, in the employment of new weapon systems such as high-speed the B-52 fl eet’s useful life B-21 Raider is developed, assembled and fi elded. Work on the followed by the extended-range Lockheed Martin AGM-158 cruise missiles that travel above Mach 5 and others that use new bomber of cially got underway in February at Northrop’s Joint Air-to-Surface Standof Missile and Raytheon ADM-160 bursts of high-power microwave energy to nonkinetically design shop in Melbourne, Miniature Air-Launched Decoy-Jammer. knock out enemy electronics. Air Combat Command, which A B-52H Stratofortress, Florida, and assembly site Going forward, Clark says the Air Force is committed to trains and equips the conventional combat force, and Global nicknamed “Ghost Rider,” in Palmdale, California. replacing the aircraft’s antiquated APQ-166 strategic radar Strike, which maintains nuclear-capable bombers and inter- conducts a functional test The Air Force had wanted (installed in the 1960s and improved in the 1980s) with a more continental ballistic missiles, are pursuing a range of next- fl ight on Aug. 30, 2016, at to retire the B-52H based sophisticated and reliable array. generation weapon systems. Among these are new close- Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. on the delivery of 132 That acquisition program is moving ahead, he says, leaving air-support weapons, a family of bunker-busters to destroy Northrop B-2s, but the fi - one major component of the B-52 left to modernize—its eight fortifi ed and deeply buried targets, and a next-generation, James Drew Washington nal number was cut to 21. Air Force Global Strike Command engines. Options range from a one-for-one TF33 replacement, AGM-86 replacement, the Long-Range Standof cruise mis- chief Gen. Robin Rand said Sept. 19 he wants a minimum of to scaling down from eight to four engines, or swapping out sile, which will be used for conventional and nuclear strikes. 100 Raiders and about 175 bombers total. But it should not be components to drive up performance. The same engine pow- Much remains under development at the Air Force Research assumed that the B-21 will replace any single bomber fl eet one- ers the Boeing E-3 AWACS and Northrop E-8 Joint Stars, as Laboratory (AFRL), which is pursuing directional high-power for-one, including the B-2 or Boeing B-1B—and the mix and well as the KC-135 Stratotanker before it was reengined with microwave technology for carriage on repurposed cruise mis- U.S. AIR FORCE total may change as the Raider comes online in the mid-2020s the CFM-56. siles and potentially on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Its he outgoing chief of the U.S. “Mighty Eighth” Air Force to free up pilots, maintainers and support crews. The TF33-P-3/103 is one of Pratt’s earliest turbofan designs latest project is titled High-Power Joint Electromagnetic Non- Thas thrown his support behind a reengining of the Pratt “I have X-number of people to maintain and fl y those. The and is many decades overdue for replacement. On top of be- Kinetic Strike, or HiJENKS. & Whitney TF33 turbofan-powered Boeing B-52 heavy capacity to bring a new system on is not going to be there,” ing much cheaper to maintain, Clark says an engine replace- Other ef orts are maturing recoverable air-launched UAVs bomber, among other modernizations—just as the fi rst nucle- Rand said . “But maybe [we say], ‘keep all four bomber fl eets’ ment would allow the bomber to fl y farther, higher and with for surveillance, decoy, electronic attack or strike operations ar-capable H-model ever to be regenerated from the salvage for a while, if they are going to retire other things and divert a greater payload while generating more power for onboard in highly defended regions. The B-52 has been used to test heap joins the Fifth Bomb Wing at Minot AFB, North Dakota. those maintainers and aircrews our way. I’m not saying ‘never electrical systems. most new U.S. air-launched weapons since its introduction in Not only could new engines keep the bomber fl ying past its say never,’ but we have not made that decision yet.” “The engine is the one modifi cation that right now we are the 1950s, and it is integrated with the widest array of weap- centennial, commander Maj. Gen. Richard Clark says, but the The B-52’s longevity is a testament to its 1950s-era engi- wrestling with, because it is very expensive, but it’s critical ons of any aircraft in the inventory. Notably, a B-52 launched greater range, altitude, payload and power-generation perfor- neering, but as it battles on, Clark, who led the bomber force that we get that done,” he says. “If we are going to keep the the scramjet-powered Boeing X-51 hypersonic test vehicle mance af orded by a new or signifi cantly upgraded powerplant from April 2015 until this October, wants to see signifi cant B-52 around for some time, having new engines on it, in my during four tests and most likely fi red the AGM-86C-based would enable new operating concepts that take full advantage and continued investment in Stratofortress modernization. opinion, is crucial. The current engines we have are very old Counter-electronics High- Power Microwave Advanced Mis- of next-generation ordnance such as hypersonic missiles and Exactly how long the B-52 is destined to keep fl ying and and are expensive to operate. If we’re going to have this air- sile Project missile during a single test at the Utah Test and high-power microwave weapons. stay on the budget books alters the cost-versus-benefi t cal- craft around for a long time, we need to invest now to reap Training Range in 2012. The fi rst resurrected B-52H Stratofortress, dubbed “Ghost culus for any system improvements, but Clark says avionics, the benefi ts of the new engine.” “We want to have a bomber force fl exible enough to deploy Rider,” reentered operational inventory in late September af- radar and powerplant upgrades are needed for the aircraft The Air Force has been considering replacement options the new weapons that will come down the line in the next 10-20 ter a 19-month regeneration and depot overhaul. The aircraft to remain operationally relevant through 2050 and take full since the 1980s, when it would have been superseded by 132 years,” Clark says. “[The B-52] is well-suited to take on a num- had spent many years in storage at the 309th Aerospace Main- advantage of the next generation of weapons currently being B-2s. From the end of the Cold War until recently, bombers ber of dif erent weapons systems, and so putting new engines tenance and Regeneration Group’s facility at Davis-Monthan develop ed or matured . have been a lower priority than fi ghters in the budgetary on it and keeping it a viable platform, especially from a standof AFB, Tucson, Arizona. The nearest improvement, the Combat Network Communi- food chain. Today, Air Force Global Strike Command has the perspective, gives us a huge amount of fl exibility. Having new On Sept. 27, the 55-year-old aircraft fl ew from the mainte- cations Technology (Conect) program, delivers software and unenviable task of convincing Air Force leadership and Con- engines, modifying the radar, and that internal weapons bay nance shop at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma, where it had been hardware changes needed for netcentric warfare, including gress to spend money reengining a 55-year-old dinosaur just modifi cation puts the B-52 in a position to take on new weapons since December 2015 after undergoing regeneration in Tuc- a new tactical data link and communications suite. So far, as billions of dollars are being sought for the B-21. and be a viable standof platform. ” c

60 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 61

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Despite adding six months to testing Space Slide and certifi cation, Boeing still aims to deliver the fi rst NASA crew to the ISS Delays push Boeing by the end of 2018. crewed fl ight to ISS out to late 2018, at earliest

Guy Norris Los Angeles BOEING recent issue that occurred in Septem- ber, was a production fl aw that forced the scrapping of the lower dome—one of two main structural elements along with the upper dome—of the crew module pressure shell for Spacecraft 2, the ollowing supplier holdups, a key land says the company overall is making vehicle to be used in the fi rst crewed Fproduction problem on the second good progress toward completion of the fl ight test. “It was overmachined due CST-100 spacecraft and other is- main precertifi cation fl ight tests, and to an issue with the hold-down tooling. sues, Boeing has opted to slide its entire says ongoing qualifi cation tests of key Each is cut out from one piece of alumi- NASA commercial crew test and devel- components give Boeing “a lot of con- num that we form into shape and mill opment program six months. Despite fi dence” that there are no more hidden out pockets. But the hold-down fi xture the setback, which includes an added hurdles. “We have largely got a lot of was not rigid enough and they got some month of additional margin, the com- the big ticket issues behind us,” he adds. movement, which was not detected and pany still hopes to fl y the fi rst NASA The revised schedule now means the milled through. astronauts to the International Space pad abort test originally scheduled for “Luckily, we formed a spare dome, Station (ISS) in December 2018. October 2017 will move to January 2018, but this only happened 2.5 weeks ago, News of the delay confi rms the prog- while the uncrewed orbital fl ight test due and we realized there was an error nosis of a Sept. 1 report by NASA’s Of- to take place in December 2017 will now in it when cooling fl ow in the pockets fi ce of Inspector General, which found occur in June 2018. The first crewed drained through,” he adds. The domes issues that impeded development of fl ight has therefore been pushed back are manufactured using a weldless spin- commercial crew vehicles at both Boe- from February 2018 to August 2018, forming process, but then machined ing and competing NASA contractor a schedule Boeing hopes will provide elsewhere into a honeycomb-shape for SpaceX. The report said it was unlikely ample preparation time for the all-im- reduced weight and increased strength. either would be certifi ed to carry NASA portant fi rst post-certifi cation mission Another part of the holdup was astronauts before late 2018 and noted now slated for the end of that year. prompted by issues with qualifi cation this will be more than three years after The first operational flight was tests of minor components. “There are the space agency’s original 2015 goal. initially contracted by NASA for De- lots of composite parts—some with high Boeing, which until recently hoped cember 2017, but it was moved fi rst to complexity—and a design which caused to meet a schedule calling for a first March 2018 and then that June, under a dif culty in manufacturing,” says Mul- operational mission in mid-2018, says revised schedule agreed on with Boeing. holland. “We worked our way through several challenges—some as recent as “So in aggregate it is about a six-month these issues, but it took a couple more mid-September—compounded its deci- schedule delay. Needless to say, sched- months than anticipated.” sion to slide the test and certifi cation ule change does carry some fi nancial Boeing and United Launch Alliance program. “When we were faced with implications, which we will be assess- (ULA)—the company’s commercial these issues, it was time for us to step ing as part of our quarterly scheduled crew launch partner that will carry back and say: ‘Hey listen, we have to earnings on Oct. 26,” says Mulholland. the CST-100 to orbit atop an Atlas V— readdress [this] and say what’s real and Three main causes have been identi- have also been developing a redesign lay in where we are going forward,’” fi ed by Boeing for the slide, all of which to tackle potential transonic loads is- says John Mulholland, vice president the company says are now either re- sues, which emerged relatively late and program manager for commercial solved, understood or in the process of in testing. “We also worked our way programs in space exploration at Boeing. being corrected. These include develop- through uneven aerodynamic load- “We also put in an additional one- ment production delays from the sup- ing of the Centaur upper stage, which month margin because you carry risk ply chain, “which are mostly over and was discovered during fi nal integrated as you move into the integrated quali- stabilizing now, as we get into qualifi ca- wind-tunnel tests,” says Mulholland, fi cation test campaign,” he adds. While tion testing of the fi rst uncrewed fl ight who explains the installation of the acknowledging the challenges, Mulhol- test,” says Mulholland. A second, more blunt capsule “caused some uneven

62 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p62-63.indd 62 10/20/16 1:07 PM SPACE

Despite adding six months to testing loading on the upper stage, which was during high-speed wind-tunnel testing. ule and heat shield—all of which have Space Slide and certifi cation, Boeing still aims to predicted to result in negative margin Boeing says the potential of excess to be tested,” says Mulholland. “For deliver the fi rst NASA crew to the ISS at lower Mach numbers.” mass growth, identifi ed by the NASA hot-fi re tests of the service module we by the end of 2018. Boeing and ULA formed “tiger” report as a threat to the schedule, has are building up to send that to White Delays push Boeing teams together to evaluate several po- also been addressed. “In January, as we Sands, New Mexico, where we will run crewed fl ight to ISS tential solutions in a series of polysonic got to the fi nal design, we had the typi- through all the propulsion sequences. wind-tunnel tests in the spring. “From cal mass growth you fi nd as you con- Integration of the complete service and out to late 2018, those, we took the best to be tested solidate where you are. We had a mass crew module with the launch vehicle at NASA Ames two months ago, and issue which we had to solve, and we adapter [from ULA] will take place in at earliest downselected to a skirt that basically looked at 200 of the heaviest parts and Huntington Beach,” he adds. attaches to the launch vehicle adapter. took out a signifi cant amount of mass Assembly of Spacecraft 1, the fi rst But it looks like we are extending the in only a few months. We have ended CST-100 to fl y when it undergoes the Guy Norris Los Angeles outer mold line of the service module up with 500-600 lb. of mass reserves,” pad abort test, is underway in Florida, down by around 70 in. The revised Mulholland says. where system outfitting has begun. shape proved very successful in the Boeing is meanwhile preparing to “The lower dome is the critical path BOEING wind tunnel and we just had a design ship the structural test article crew because it has all the avionics and en- recent issue that occurred in Septem- review on it,” he adds. module from the Commercial Crew vironmental and life-support systems, ber, was a production fl aw that forced The loads discovery came late, as and Cargo Processing Facility at Ken- so we are focused on getting that to the the scrapping of the lower dome—one the focus for major concerns were at nedy Space Center, Florida, to the com- power-on stage,” says Mulholland. The of two main structural elements along the higher Mach numbers. “We had pany’s test site in Huntington Beach, company is also progressing through with the upper dome—of the crew mod- gone through those tests fi rst and got California. The unit, which will join the qualifi cation tests. “Of the 200 compo- ule pressure shell for Spacecraft 2, the to the higher Mach numbers just fi ne. fi rst service module already installed nents we have to get through qualifi ca- ollowing supplier holdups, a key land says the company overall is making vehicle to be used in the fi rst crewed It was this test at the lower Mach 0.6- in California, will undergo structural tion, 80 are already through or in the Fproduction problem on the second good progress toward completion of the fl ight test. “It was overmachined due 1.1 (transonic) phase where we discov- loads and pressure testing as part of middle of qualifi cation testing. We are CST-100 spacecraft and other is- main precertifi cation fl ight tests, and to an issue with the hold-down tooling. ered this, unfortunately,” he adds. The an 11-month-long campaign. coming up that ramp on component sues, Boeing has opted to slide its entire says ongoing qualifi cation tests of key Each is cut out from one piece of alumi- skirt, serendipitously, also helps ad- “We will also do a series of separa- qualifi cation and have had no issues to NASA commercial crew test and devel- components give Boeing “a lot of con- num that we form into shape and mill dress an acoustic loads issue with the tion tests of the pyrotechnic systems date, which gives us a lot of confi dence,” opment program six months. Despite fi dence” that there are no more hidden out pockets. But the hold-down fi xture Centaur forward adapter, uncovered between the crew module, service mod- he adds. c the setback, which includes an added hurdles. “We have largely got a lot of was not rigid enough and they got some month of additional margin, the com- the big ticket issues behind us,” he adds. movement, which was not detected and pany still hopes to fl y the fi rst NASA The revised schedule now means the milled through. astronauts to the International Space pad abort test originally scheduled for “Luckily, we formed a spare dome, Station (ISS) in December 2018. October 2017 will move to January 2018, but this only happened 2.5 weeks ago, News of the delay confi rms the prog- while the uncrewed orbital fl ight test due and we realized there was an error nosis of a Sept. 1 report by NASA’s Of- to take place in December 2017 will now in it when cooling fl ow in the pockets Join Aviation Week Network fi ce of Inspector General, which found occur in June 2018. The first crewed drained through,” he adds. The domes issues that impeded development of fl ight has therefore been pushed back are manufactured using a weldless spin- in Cancun for the 2017 MRO commercial crew vehicles at both Boe- from February 2018 to August 2018, forming process, but then machined Latin America Conference. ing and competing NASA contractor a schedule Boeing hopes will provide elsewhere into a honeycomb-shape for SpaceX. The report said it was unlikely ample preparation time for the all-im- reduced weight and increased strength. 35+ either would be certifi ed to carry NASA portant fi rst post-certifi cation mission Another part of the holdup was Countries Represented CANCUN, MEXICO | January 25–26, 2017 astronauts before late 2018 and noted now slated for the end of that year. prompted by issues with qualifi cation this will be more than three years after The first operational flight was tests of minor components. “There are the space agency’s original 2015 goal. initially contracted by NASA for De- lots of composite parts—some with high Boeing, which until recently hoped cember 2017, but it was moved fi rst to complexity—and a design which caused to meet a schedule calling for a first March 2018 and then that June, under a dif culty in manufacturing,” says Mul- 20+ operational mission in mid-2018, says revised schedule agreed on with Boeing. holland. “We worked our way through Commercial, several challenges—some as recent as “So in aggregate it is about a six-month these issues, but it took a couple more Regional and mid-September—compounded its deci- schedule delay. Needless to say, sched- months than anticipated.” sion to slide the test and certifi cation ule change does carry some fi nancial Boeing and United Launch Alliance Charter Airline and program. “When we were faced with implications, which we will be assess- (ULA)—the company’s commercial Leasing Organizations these issues, it was time for us to step ing as part of our quarterly scheduled crew launch partner that will carry back and say: ‘Hey listen, we have to earnings on Oct. 26,” says Mulholland. the CST-100 to orbit atop an Atlas V— readdress [this] and say what’s real and Three main causes have been identi- have also been developing a redesign lay in where we are going forward,’” fi ed by Boeing for the slide, all of which to tackle potential transonic loads is- says John Mulholland, vice president the company says are now either re- sues, which emerged relatively late 400+ and program manager for commercial solved, understood or in the process of in testing. “We also worked our way programs in space exploration at Boeing. being corrected. These include develop- through uneven aerodynamic load- “We also put in an additional one- ment production delays from the sup- ing of the Centaur upper stage, which month margin because you carry risk ply chain, “which are mostly over and was discovered during fi nal integrated Registered as you move into the integrated quali- stabilizing now, as we get into qualifi ca- wind-tunnel tests,” says Mulholland, mrolatinamerica.aviationweek.com fi cation test campaign,” he adds. While tion testing of the fi rst uncrewed fl ight who explains the installation of the Register now! . Airlines- ask us Attendees com acknowledging the challenges, Mulhol- test,” says Mulholland. A second, more blunt capsule “caused some uneven about our VIP program call +1.646.257.4830 or Kristina.nicos@aviationweek.

62 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 63

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Data for Dollars y/AW&ST Honeywell wades into connectivity- enabled service economy John Croft Phoenix

he newfound ability to share and intelligently aggregate Tand evaluate onboard data with multiple other sources will afect nearly every aspect of aircraft design and operations in the very near future. From fight management systems (FMS) to brakes, Hon- eywell Aerospace believes that tapping into the connectivity Avionics in the future could be a function shared options already commonplace in the consumer world will ar- between the fight deck and airline operations center. guably give participating airlines a hefty edge on the competition in the near term and will signifcantly infuence avionics says. “It’s about giving you emergent opportunities that have system design in the longer term. not existed prior.” “The biggest game-changer with connected aircraft is He says the idea is to collect the data from sensors, sys- not the connectivity device itself, it’s that the systems on tems and components Honeywell already provides and com- the aircraft are no longer limited by the boundaries of the bine it with information from other sources to derive greater aircraft,” says Bob Witwer, Honeywell’s vice president of ad- economic value from the data stream. For connected weather vanced technology. “If you started with a clean-sheet design, radar, the process can mimic Google maps, with participating what would you put on the aircraft and what would you put airlines sharing data in order to gain additional capability— on the ground?” for example, a longer-range weather radar view by combining A key provider of avionics, auxiliary power units, engines weather radar readings from other aircraft. and other aircraft systems, Honeywell is in the process of For brakes, Honeywell envisions gathering information mentally reverse-engineering practically every component it from onboard systems and other sources to better deter- builds to evaluate the potential impact of connectivity. While mine life, which decreases as the antioxidant coating on the the benefts of connected weather radar, a capability the com- devices comes into contact with deicing fuid. To extend the pany recently certifed as a software upgrade for its RDR- capability of the FMS, data from multiple weather sources on 4000 weather radar, are fairly well established, others are the ground could be joined with fight-deck data, processed increasingly coming to light—including brake life, auxiliary through an application in the airline operations control center power unit health, air conditioning systems, avionics, fight and uplinked to the fight deck to optimize performance, once planning and routing, and improved weather information to pilots accept the input. “Sometimes all you need is a speed the fight management system. target as the output of a really complicated function to tell “There’s not one Honeywell product that does not have you how to fy efciently,” says Witwer. strategies impacted by connectivity,” says Carl Esposito, the The idea of moving certain computations outside of the vice president of strategy, marketing and product manage- cockpit—mirroring how we use smartphones—has benefts ment for Honeywell. While the connected weather radar but also raises concerns. Witwer says connectivity will “lower is being rolled out, he says a number of other connectivity the barriers and broaden the competitive space” for those projects are in various stages of concept testing, customer who can serve the user, creating a new service economy. evaluations or demonstrations. “We’re testing things, getting “With connectivity, you are not limited to the computing customer feedback on the economic value of this technology,” power and software on the aircraft, and it also changes who Esposito says. can potentially provide value to pilots,” he says. Applications In a connected auxiliary power unit (APU) trial underway that advise pilots on how to fy more efciently would not with an unnamed Asian long-haul carrier, the APU is self-re- have to meet the same software assurance levels as certifed porting operational hours for automatic billing purposes. The avionics, allowing for quick updates and changes. company also plans to begin reporting APU health informa- Cybersecurity will be a major focus, given the increased tion, including vibration levels, for preventative maintenance. reliance on data. However, for connected services like FMS The data is not only meant to beneft the bottom line for optimization, the aircraft’s safety will not be endangered (as the airlines but in some cases for maintenance service provid- the data input is advisory only and has to be accepted by pi- ers such as Honeywell, which will receive usage data directly lots), but whether the input saves money could be at risk. rather than after the fact from airlines. “Access to data can bet- Honeywell’s engineers are contemplating how a next-gener- ter determine if the price should be higher or lower,” says Bob ation cockpit can take advantage of connectivity, particularly Smith, chief technology ofcer for Honeywell Aerospace, re- when it comes to the split between certifed onboard avionics garding usage data on maintenance contracts and warranties. and the wealth of information that can come from the outside Smith is careful to distinguish Honeywell’s approach to world. That fight deck will very likely operate under difer- connected aerospace applications—getting economic value ent models, driven in large part by the consumer experience. out of ubiquitous data, sensing, computation and connectiv- “I believe 10-20 years from now avionics will be substan- ity—from the generic “Internet of Things” term used in the tially diferent—as diferent as what we experienced going to consumer world. “It’s not about putting a new sensor on,” he smartphones,” Witwer says. c

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y/AW&ST sociation—the UK’s business-aviation Data for Dollars Where the Risks Lie trade body—said its members had seen a significant increase in attempted Honeywell wades into connectivity- Hackers may fnd holes in the civil aviation online fraud, though none had as yet suffered any loss. “We had a handful enabled service economy supply chain, business jet companies and UAVs of reports and [since then] more information has come to light,” says Richard John Croft Phoenix Angus Batey London Mumford, the association’s chairman. “It is clear across all markets and juris- he newfound ability to share and intelligently aggregate o far, so good” could sum up million loss for the fnancial year and dictions that cybercrime is increasing Tand evaluate onboard data with multiple other sources “Sthe state of cybersecurity in fring its CEO and chief fnancial ofcer. in both the number of incidents and the will afect nearly every aspect of aircraft design and civil aviation. Commercial The losses were fscal, and confned scale and audacity of the attacks.” operations in the very near future. aerospace has yet to have its own Yahoo to FACC, but pose wider questions. Jonny Nicol, founder and CEO of From fight management systems (FMS) to brakes, Hon- or Sony—a company sufering a major FACC supplies most major airframers Stratajet, an app-based business-jet eywell Aerospace believes that tapping into the connectivity Avionics in the future could be a function shared loss of data to a targeted cyberattack. and aircraft programs. The extended flight broker, believes companies es- options already commonplace in the consumer world will ar- between the fight deck and airline operations center. But there is no room for complacency, supply chains required to build an air- tablished before the internet era might guably give participating airlines a hefty edge on the competi- with the threat landscape widening as liner mean contractors’ networks have have less awareness of computer secu- tion in the near term and will signifcantly infuence avionics says. “It’s about giving you emergent opportunities that have industry looks to extend the benefts of to connect to share program informa- rity than newer start-ups. They may not system design in the longer term. not existed prior.” digital networking. tion. Robust cyberdefenses may be in properly encrypt customer data and “The biggest game-changer with connected aircraft is He says the idea is to collect the data from sensors, sys- “If we look at aerospace manufactur- place at the top of the chain, but not all could rely on security products applied not the connectivity device itself, it’s that the systems on tems and components Honeywell already provides and coming and the way we manage the product the way down. to inherently insecure systems. The re- the aircraft are no longer limited by the boundaries of the bine it with information from other sources to derive greater and all things associated with it, we feel “It’s probably not at [the OEM] level sult is often an illusion of security. aircraft,” says Bob Witwer, Honeywell’s vice president of ad- economic value from the data stream. For connected weather reasonably comfortable that the major where the potential risks lie,” Everitt Another area of civil aviation likely vanced technology. “If you started with a clean-sheet design, radar, the process can mimic Google maps, with participating players . . . in the most risky situations says. “It’s probably three or four levels to experience cyber-related challenges what would you put on the aircraft and what would you put airlines sharing data in order to gain additional capability— have a good understanding and the lower in the supply chain where accessi- is the use of unmanned aircraft. “With on the ground?” for example, a longer-range weather radar view by combining right systems, behaviors and culture in small aircraft, oper- A key provider of avionics, auxiliary power units, engines weather radar readings from other aircraft. place,” says Paul Everitt, chief executive ating within line of and other aircraft systems, Honeywell is in the process of For brakes, Honeywell envisions gathering information of ADS, the British trade association for The biggest potential problems sight, cybersecurity is mentally reverse-engineering practically every component it from onboard systems and other sources to better deter- the aerospace and defense industries. about protecting data builds to evaluate the potential impact of connectivity. While mine life, which decreases as the antioxidant coating on the Public perceptions of aviation cy- are a misunderstanding of risks by normal means, like the benefts of connected weather radar, a capability the com- devices comes into contact with deicing fuid. To extend the bersecurity focus on hackers interfer- frewalls and encryp- pany recently certifed as a software upgrade for its RDR- capability of the FMS, data from multiple weather sources on ing with aircraft avionics, perhaps by and failure to see that mitigation tion,” says Gary Clay- 4000 weather radar, are fairly well established, others are the ground could be joined with fight-deck data, processed exploiting infight entertainment net- ton, founder of the increasingly coming to light—including brake life, auxiliary through an application in the airline operations control center works. Airframers insist that separated is not a purely technical challenge consultancy Wyenor power unit health, air conditioning systems, avionics, fight and uplinked to the fight deck to optimize performance, once and appropriately secured onboard sys- and chair of UAVS, the planning and routing, and improved weather information to pilots accept the input. “Sometimes all you need is a speed tems mean this is technologically im- UK’s unmanned avia- the fight management system. target as the output of a really complicated function to tell possible—the one reported incident is bility might be inadvertently provided.” tion trade association. “When you’re “There’s not one Honeywell product that does not have you how to fy efciently,” says Witwer. put down to either exaggerated claims Prime contractors are generally pro- fying beyond line of sight, it becomes strategies impacted by connectivity,” says Carl Esposito, the The idea of moving certain computations outside of the by a security researcher or misinter- active in helping their supply chains im- a major issue, and a whole gamut of vice president of strategy, marketing and product manage- cockpit—mirroring how we use smartphones—has benefts pretation of his FBI interview. prove cybersecurity. Initiatives such as measures become necessary. When the ment for Honeywell. While the connected weather radar but also raises concerns. Witwer says connectivity will “lower But anyone moving information or the UK government’s CISP (Cyber In- ground station sends a message to the is being rolled out, he says a number of other connectivity the barriers and broaden the competitive space” for those handling customer transactions online formation Sharing Partnership), which aircraft, . . . you not only have to make projects are in various stages of concept testing, customer who can serve the user, creating a new service economy. is a target for hackers. Every piece of permits anonymized sharing of cyber- sure the message received was the one evaluations or demonstrations. “We’re testing things, getting “With connectivity, you are not limited to the computing software deployed—in-house and be- threat information via confidential, sent, but that it can’t be overheard, in- customer feedback on the economic value of this technology,” power and software on the aircraft, and it also changes who spoke or off-the-shelf and ubiquitous sector-specifc online message forums, terrupted or spoofed.” Esposito says. can potentially provide value to pilots,” he says. Applications —will include errors in its code that can can quickly spread word of attempted The biggest potential problems for In a connected auxiliary power unit (APU) trial underway that advise pilots on how to fy more efciently would not provide an attacker with opportunity. attacks and restrict their impact. The any entity—not just in civil aerospace— with an unnamed Asian long-haul carrier, the APU is self-re- have to meet the same software assurance levels as certifed An attack does not have to be tech- CISP is partly stafed by cybersecurity are a misunderstanding of risks and a porting operational hours for automatic billing purposes. The avionics, allowing for quick updates and changes. nologically sophisticated to succeed, as specialists “loaned” to the program by failure to appreciate that mitigation is company also plans to begin reporting APU health informa- Cybersecurity will be a major focus, given the increased Austrian composites specialist FACC defense and aerospace primes. not a purely technical challenge. tion, including vibration levels, for preventative maintenance. reliance on data. However, for connected services like FMS discovered. In January, FACC disclosed While there is evidence defense sup- “Almost everywhere you go, the The data is not only meant to beneft the bottom line for optimization, the aircraft’s safety will not be endangered (as it had lost tens of millions of dollars to ply chains have been penetrated by weaknesses are the same,” says Jere- the airlines but in some cases for maintenance service provid- the data input is advisory only and has to be accepted by pi- an email scam. The fraud is understood state-sponsored hackers on espionage my O’Connor, a cybersecurity special- ers such as Honeywell, which will receive usage data directly lots), but whether the input saves money could be at risk. to have followed the “fake president” missions, fraud is probably the major ist with Leonardo in the UK who works rather than after the fact from airlines. “Access to data can bet- Honeywell’s engineers are contemplating how a next-gener- pattern, where attackers convince an cyber-related risk faced by commercial with government clients on cybersecu- ter determine if the price should be higher or lower,” says Bob ation cockpit can take advantage of connectivity, particularly employee to transfer money from the aviation. The use of distributed denial- rity strategies. “We often see a charge Smith, chief technology ofcer for Honeywell Aerospace, re- when it comes to the split between certifed onboard avionics company’s accounts, perhaps by im- of-service attacks to temporarily take for technology, followed by a need to de- garding usage data on maintenance contracts and warranties. and the wealth of information that can come from the outside personating an executive who claims to down a company’s website, or the develop an organization, then a realization Smith is careful to distinguish Honeywell’s approach to world. That fight deck will very likely operate under difer- need the money for a corporate acquisi- ployment of ransomware (code that that policy is required—then, last of all, connected aerospace applications—getting economic value ent models, driven in large part by the consumer experience. tion that must be kept secret. locks down a victim’s network until and in absolute slow time, they begin to out of ubiquitous data, sensing, computation and connectiv- “I believe 10-20 years from now avionics will be substan- Some €52.8 million ($59 million) was money is paid) are increasingly com- think about people.” he says. “We would ity—from the generic “Internet of Things” term used in the tially diferent—as diferent as what we experienced going to stolen and, while about a ffth of it was mon cybercriminal tactics. suggest that they start working on their consumer world. “It’s not about putting a new sensor on,” he smartphones,” Witwer says. c recovered, led to FACC posting a €23.4 In August, the Baltic Air Charter As- people almost immediately.” c

64 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 65

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isolated might be able to have self-security. Another option Toughen Up would be running periodic diagnostics. Older systems that may have fewer computers or software Little by little, the Pentagon systems may be easier to make resilient. But the Air Force has installed more and more software into fourth-generation adds cybersecurity to weapons aircraft. “That’s the place I would look frst,” said Pawlikowski. Those aircraft—such as the Marine Corps’ Bell Boeing Jen DiMascio Washington V-22 and the Lockheed Martin F-16 fghter—will likely remain in the military’s feets for years to come. They are one he Defense Department spends hundreds of billions of of a number of cybersecurity lines of business that Raytheon Tdollars every year to buy weapons. Given that a cyber- is working to capture. attack could turn one of those weapons against U.S. Over the past 10 years, Raytheon has been acquiring forces—sending a tiltrotor careening to the ground or inter- smaller companies with niche capabilities in cybersecurity. fering with satellite communications—ofcials have directed The defense electronics giant has created a four-step method the services to make sure their weapons can withstand an of providing custom cybersecurity. The process starts with attack or at a minimum be resilient in the face of one. an assessment to identify faws that could be exploited by In early 2015, the Pentagon’s top acquisition ofcial issued attackers, then prioritizes the risks and mitigates them— a mandate to protect weapons—frst as part of a cyberstrat- either by managing a patch or training the workforce. The egy and later as part of an acquisition reform initiative called fourth step is to reassess or go back and look at the improve- Better Buying Power 3.0. Now the services have been given ments based on the strategy that was laid out and identify if the task of protecting a weapon’s various digital elements— any new gaps were exposed. often without additional funding. With the recent mandate from the Pentagon to shore up networks, the Air Force and Navy are executing faster than ever, says Todd Probert, vice president of Raytheon’s Mission

U.S. Marine Corp S Support and Modernization and Intelligence and Information Services. Despite the urgency, program managers are operating with little specifc guidance. Raytheon’s work on the V-22 grew out of a conversation with the services about how the process would work. Raytheon, which has had a V-22 sustainment contract since the 1990s, now has task orders under that contract to harden Cyberhardening on the Bell the aircraft’s avionics. The Boeing V-22’s avionics company works on the avionics takes place during regular of three V-22s at any one time at sustainment. its facility in Indianapolis. Cy- berhardening for the tiltrotor works in much the same way Part of doing that involves conducting a risk-management it would for a personal car, Probert says. A car contains analysis to assess how to protect the system, Lt. Gen. Ellen about a dozen diferent computers, including a navigation Pawlikowski, who leads Air Force Materiel Command, said at system, and a network inside the car links them. Each in- the Air Force Association’s annual symposium in September. dividual one is vulnerable, and if compromised, could harm Solutions to cyberattacks are best incorporated into the the entire network. For example, if someone put malware design from the start. But even then things can get compli- in a mechanic’s diagnostics computer, the entire network cated. The new OCX command-and-control system for GPS could be afected when the car is in for a tune-up. Ray- satellites, for example, has a dizzying number of interfaces theon’s “toolbox” of software and hardware fxes attacks that must be protected. The program tried to use Public cyberthreats at the level of both the avionics box and the Key Infrastructure (PKI) certifcations as a way to add au- network, Probert says. thentication for those interfaces. “We almost broke the PKI Any one of these task orders does not amount to huge bank because of the number of certifcations required,” Paw- revenue, but cybersecurity is a problem that is not going likowski said. away, which makes it a sustainable business model similar to So the Air Force is looking at the best way to protect virus software —or comparable to termite control in a home. equipment depending on the situation. In a system with “You cannot cyberharden and be done,” Probert says. “As many interfaces, it might make sense to have a cyberop- soon as you knock down one vector, the bad guys have a vote. erator who monitors operations the way the 24th Air Force They are looking at other avenues to come in. . . . It is going monitors Air Force networks. A diferent system that is more to be an ever-changing environment.” c

66 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p66.indd 66 10/18/16 2:51 PM CONNECTED AEROSPACE CybERSECuRiTy TANKERS isolated might be able to have self-security. Another option another strategic shift, Everhart says: signifcantly enhancing Toughen Up would be running periodic diagnostics. Game Changer the situational awareness of the boom operator. On the KC- Older systems that may have fewer computers or software 135, the boom operator must lie face down and look through Little by little, the Pentagon systems may be easier to make resilient. But the Air Force U.S. Air Force ofcials call KC-46 a a glass window in the back of the aircraft to conduct the air has installed more and more software into fourth-generation refueling mission. On the new KC-46, the operator sits in an adds cybersecurity to weapons aircraft. “That’s the place I would look frst,” said Pawlikowski. leap in capability from legacy tankers air refueling operator station (AROS) just aft of the fight deck Those aircraft—such as the Marine Corps’ Bell Boeing bulkhead door. Jen DiMascio Washington V-22 and the Lockheed Martin F-16 fghter—will likely re- Lara Seligman Washington KC-135 boom operations are based on “1950s technology,” main in the military’s feets for years to come. They are one Martin says. “Where the game changes with KC-46 is we im- he Defense Department spends hundreds of billions of of a number of cybersecurity lines of business that Raytheon ith the new KC-46 tanker’s bumpy design phase ap- plement fully integrated fy-by-wire capability for the boom Tdollars every year to buy weapons. Given that a cyber- is working to capture. Wparently in the rearview mirror, the U.S. Air Force system,” he notes. attack could turn one of those weapons against U.S. Over the past 10 years, Raytheon has been acquiring is looking to bring online a capability top brass says The KC-46 boom operator has a right-hand fight control forces—sending a tiltrotor careening to the ground or inter- smaller companies with niche capabilities in cybersecurity. could fundamentally change air refueling operations. stick and a left-hand telescope lever, along with a touch-screen fering with satellite communications—ofcials have directed The defense electronics giant has created a four-step method After months of technological snags and schedule delays, control display unit and a high-defnition, 3-D center display. the services to make sure their weapons can withstand an of providing custom cybersecurity. The process starts with the Air Force recently gave Boeing the green light for initial Above the center screen, the AROS station also includes three attack or at a minimum be resilient in the face of one. an assessment to identify faws that could be exploited by production of the KC-46A Pegasus. Boeing is breathing a sigh panoramic camera displays, giving operators a 180-deg. feld of In early 2015, the Pentagon’s top acquisition ofcial issued attackers, then prioritizes the risks and mitigates them— of relief after a challenging year in which it racked up $1.35 view, wingtip-to-wingtip, so they can easily manage the fow of a mandate to protect weapons—frst as part of a cyberstrat- either by managing a patch or training the workforce. The billion in tanker-related aftertax charges. Now it is moving refueling trafc. egy and later as part of an acquisition reform initiative called fourth step is to reassess or go back and look at the improve- full speed ahead, and expects the frst full-rate production The operator must still guide the boom into the receptacle Better Buying Power 3.0. Now the services have been given ments based on the strategy that was laid out and identify if contract for 15 aircraft early next year. manually, but once contact is made, automatic controls take the task of protecting a weapon’s various digital elements— any new gaps were exposed. Still, the troubled design phase has rippled through Boe- over. The pump automatically turns on and ofoads fuel to the often without additional funding. With the recent mandate from the Pentagon to shore ing’s planned delivery schedule. Although the problem is receiver; meanwhile, the automatic load alleviation system up networks, the Air Force and now resolved, a boom instability issue seen during refueling maintains boom alignment and ensures loads do not exceed Navy are executing faster than of large aircraft caused it to miss a contractual deadline to ever, says Todd Probert, vice deliver 18 full-up tankers to the Air Force by August 2017; president of Raytheon’s Mission the company now says the last of the required aircraft are

U.S. Marine Corp S Support and Modernization and on track to be delivered fve months later. Intelligence and Information However, this slip will have a “minimal” operational impact Services. Despite the urgency, and will not affect the Air program managers are operat- Force’s ability to retire its ag- Boeing’s KC-46A Pegasus ing with little specifc guidance. ing KC-10s and KC-135s, Air with a reworked boom Raytheon’s work on the V-22 Mobility Command (AMC) refuels a C-17 heavy grew out of a conversation with chief Gen. Carlton Everhart cargo aircraft during a the services about how the pro- tells Aviation Week. The ser- July 12 test. cess would work. vice plans to start phasing out Raytheon, which has had a the legacy tankers once it receives the frst 24 KC-46s, likely in V-22 sustainment contract since the 2019 or 2020 time frame, says Scott McMullen, AMC’s dep- Boeing the 1990s, now has task orders uty director of strategic plans, requirements and programs. 300 lb. Once the receiver reaches a limit, the gas automatically under that contract to harden The Pegasus will be well worth the wait, says Everhart, a turns of, the system unhooks, and the boom operator begins Cyberhardening on the Bell the aircraft’s avionics. The leap ahead in capability from the legacy KC-135s it is replac- the cycle over again. Boeing V-22’s avionics company works on the avionics ing. The Boeing 767-based aircraft is equipped with both a “They are taking advantage of all of these capabilities to takes place during regular of three V-22s at any one time at boom and probe-and-drogue system, allowing it to refuel any really reduce workload,” Martin says. sustainment. its facility in Indianapolis. Cy- aircraft across the U.S. military services, including other tank- Another key to crew enhanced situational awareness will berhardening for the tiltrotor ers. The KC-46 also incorporates advanced cameras and sen- be the KC-46’s modern communications systems, a tactical works in much the same way sors that allow the boom operator to guide the boom from an data network (TDN) that allows them to exchange data with Part of doing that involves conducting a risk-management it would for a personal car, Probert says. A car contains advanced operating station near the cockpit instead of lying other aircraft in the vicinity. Where legacy tankers could only analysis to assess how to protect the system, Lt. Gen. Ellen about a dozen diferent computers, including a navigation face down at the back of the aircraft. Meanwhile, the aircraft’s communicate digitally with other tankers, the KC-46’s TDN Pawlikowski, who leads Air Force Materiel Command, said at system, and a network inside the car links them. Each in- enhanced communications suite, new defensive systems and incorporates Link 16, the data link on most fourth-generation the Air Force Association’s annual symposium in September. dividual one is vulnerable, and if compromised, could harm open architecture backbone could potentially change the way aircraft, to enable the secure transmit of information across Solutions to cyberattacks are best incorporated into the the entire network. For example, if someone put malware the Air Force manages the entire battlespace in the future. the battlespace, Martin says. design from the start. But even then things can get compli- in a mechanic’s diagnostics computer, the entire network Moving to a feet of 179 KC-46s—all with both boom and The KC-46 will also be combat-hardened, equipped with cated. The new OCX command-and-control system for GPS could be afected when the car is in for a tune-up. Ray- probe-and-drogue capability—will be a force multiplier, says armor, protection from electromagnetic pulse events, large satellites, for example, has a dizzying number of interfaces theon’s “toolbox” of software and hardware fxes attacks Sean Martin, Boeing’s KC-46 chief air refueling operator. aircraft infrared countermeasures (Laircm), and a nuclear, that must be protected. The program tried to use Public cyberthreats at the level of both the avionics box and the Across the joint force, aviators use two methods of aerial biological and chemical operations capability that allows the Key Infrastructure (PKI) certifcations as a way to add au- network, Probert says. refueling: Air Force fxed-wing assets use the boom system, aircraft to operate in a contaminated environment for 30 days. thentication for those interfaces. “We almost broke the PKI Any one of these task orders does not amount to huge while Air Force helicopters and most Navy and Marine Corps Finally, the KC-46 is designed with a digital architecture bank because of the number of certifcations required,” Paw- revenue, but cybersecurity is a problem that is not going aircraft use the probe-and-drogue. that allows for easy upgrades, allowing the service to keep up likowski said. away, which makes it a sustainable business model similar to “Instead of launching two tankers, a boom tanker and a with advances in technology. So the Air Force is looking at the best way to protect virus software —or comparable to termite control in a home. drogue tanker, they can launch one tanker and then use any “As the Air Force sees the new capabilities that come equipment depending on the situation. In a system with “You cannot cyberharden and be done,” Probert says. “As air refueling tanker with a boom on it to air refuel that tanker online, we will be able to implement those diferently than many interfaces, it might make sense to have a cyberop- soon as you knock down one vector, the bad guys have a vote. that is doing the boom and drogue mission,” Martin says, not- they did in a 1950s-era KC-135 ,where they literally had to go erator who monitors operations the way the 24th Air Force They are looking at other avenues to come in. . . . It is going ing that the KC-46 can refuel up to two aircraft at once. and do a total end-to-end hardware redesign anytime they monitors Air Force networks. A diferent system that is more to be an ever-changing environment.” c The advanced cameras and sensors on the KC-46 allow for wanted to do a change,” Martin says. c

66 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 67

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The ﬁ rst A330 MRTT Enhanced, for Singapore, is undergoing certi- ﬁ cation testing in Getafe, Spain .

AIRBUS DEFENSE AND SPACE makes structural modifi cations to the wingbox and the main landing gear and included aerodynamic improvements to the innermost slat as a well as short- ening the fl ap track fairing to improve fuel consumption by 1%. It will also introduce new avionics computers and a new mission system. The company is taking the Enhanced version through a certifi cation program due for completion by the end of 2017. Singapore is the launch customer for Smart Tanker the Enhanced and will take six aircraft. Other customers for the Enhanced include France, ordering 12 and South Airbus A330 tanker proven over Iraq, Syria Korea, taking four. The Netherlands is the most recent customer, ordering two Tony Osborne London aircraft to form the embryonic Euro- pean Multinational Multi-Role Tanker new generation of aerial refueling replaced the KC-137 (Boeing 707). Transport Fleet (MMF), which could A ing aircraft is in service above “The 707 could drag fighters, but grow to eight aircraft, if other nations the skies of Iraq and Syria. with the KC-30, we can drag four fi ght- including Belgium, Germany, Norway Alongside the usual U.S. Air Force ers, put the rest of the squadron into and Poland agree. KC-135s and KC-10s that tend to domi- the cabin and take a lot of their ground Airbus is holding the aircraft’s price nate the tanker fl eets of any major aerial equipment downstairs,” says Williams. and delivery slot options until January campaign, Australian and British Air- “It makes us much better at our expe- 2018, giving those countries time to fi n- bus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transports ditionary role.” ish their internal processes and sign the (MRTT) are also making their mark, He cites the ability to move fight- memorandum of understanding. able to refuel a wide range of aircraft ers with ease to Australia’s bare bases Qatar has selected the type, but with thanks to their huge fuel of oad capa- on its northwestern and northeastern many defense procurements ongoing, bilities and, in the Australian KC-30’s coastlines, deployments equivalent to the Gulf state has been slow to sign case, the ability to refuel aircraft with moving aircraft from one end of Europe contracts. India selected the aircraft hose and drogue as well as an Aerial to the other. but then withdrew its request for pro- Refueling Boom System (ARBS). Australia has fi ve aircraft in service posals this year. Spain and Turkey also “We are operating a world-class and two more on order, which are being have expressed interest. tanker, . . . and it is rapidly becoming converted by Airbus Defense and Space So far, the A330 MRTT has garnered the tanker of choice, not just [due to] at its facilities in Getafe, near Madrid. a significant proportion of the inter- the fl exibility it of ers but also the per- These are the fi rst A330 MRTTs to be national tanker market, failing only sistence ability that our crews demon- converted from secondhand airframes, against the Boeing KC-46 in Japan. strate,” says Group Capt. Adam Wil- purchased from Qantas, because the The company is now working on a liams, officer commanding the Royal RAAF wants aircraft in a similar con- range of improvements for the aircraft, Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) 86th fi guration to those it is already fl ying. says Jeronimo Amador, head of MRTT Wing at Amberley airbase near Bris- The RAAF will likely declare full op- marketing at Airbus. The maximum bane and 33 Sqdn., fl ying the KC-30. erational capability once the additional takeof weight is being increased to 238 “It’s not just been about flying the aircraft are in service. metric tons, a wideband satellite com- tanker track and being that gas station Australia was one of four early cus- munications system is being added, and in the sky, but they are putting them- tomers for the A330 MRTT, along with an Israel directed infrared countermea- selves over the top as the aircraft come Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emir- sures system is of ered as an alternative of the target, . . . of ering them fuel and ates and the UK. All have now received to the Northrop Grumman system. An dragging them to the next target.” their aircraft; the UK achieved its Full o ption for an upper deck cargo door is While the KC-30 had a troubled in- Service Date milestone on Sept. 30, fol- being considered . troduction, it has reached initial operat- lowing the July delivery of the 14th and “There is a market for around 85 ing capability and been deployed in the fi nal A330, known as Voyager. tanker aircraft over the next 10 years, Middle East for two years, supporting Now Airbus is working on a new both for new and used aircraft,” Ama- the fi ght against the self-proclaimed Is- generation of the aircraft it calls the dor says, which suggests that some lamic State group. A330 MRTT Enhanced, the first ex- nations could follow Australia and buy Williams says introduction of the ample of which fl ew on Sept. 30. The aircraft to be converted into MRTTs; KC-30 has transformed the expedi- Enhanced builds on the latest A330-200 some nations may sell their early-model tionary capabilities of the RAAF, hav- build standard, known as WV80, which aircraft to other nations.

68 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

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The ﬁ rst A330 MRTT Enhanced, But a tanker is only useful if it is The UK has cleared its Tornado, Ty- of its Voyagers to VIP status to fy mem- for Singapore, is undergoing certi- cleared to pass fuel to the widest possi- phoon, C-130J and E-3 Sentry feets to bers of the government and royal fam- ﬁ cation testing in Getafe, Spain . ble number of aircraft, and today there refuel and is fnalizing the F-35B and ily overseas. Australia sees the aircraft is a concerted efort to clear receivers. A400M as a receiver, while the UAE playing a role as an “information pro-

AIRBUS DEFENSE AND SPACE makes structural modifi cations to the Much of this work stems from opera- and Saudi have cleared the F-15, F-16 vider,” says Williams. “If we are going wingbox and the main landing gear and tions over Iraq and Syria, where the co- and Mirage 2000. MRTTs have also to sit over the top of the battlespace, included aerodynamic improvements to alition tapped emergency clearances to been involved in an extensive endeavor we should be making use of that node the innermost slat as a well as short- refuel the disparate coalition aircraft. in the U.S. to clear numerous U.S. in- to provide a networked solution to rest ening the fl ap track fairing to improve Australia has just begun using its ventory types such as the B-1B, EA-6 of the force, ” he notes. fuel consumption by 1%. It will also in- boom system but was recently able to Prowler and AV-8 Harrier. Some countries have inquired about troduce new avionics computers and a clear the F-35A, E-7 Wedgetail airborne And new uses are being explored. a limited electronic/communications new mission system. early warning aircraft and Boeing C-17. The UK has already transformed one intelligence capability for the MRTT. c The company is taking the Enhanced version through a certifi cation program due for completion by the end of 2017. ce

Singapore is the launch customer for A Automation could then be able to command extension Smart Tanker the Enhanced and will take six aircraft. take one of the and retraction of the telescopic boom Other customers for the Enhanced in- humans out of the into the receiver’s receptacle. clude France, ordering 12 and South complex boom- The second phase of development Airbus A330 tanker proven over Iraq, Syria Korea, taking four. The Netherlands is refueling loop. would see the entire process automat- the most recent customer, ordering two ed, with the system extending and re- Tony Osborne London aircraft to form the embryonic Euro- Airbus Defense A n D s p tracting the boom into the receptacle, pean Multinational Multi-Role Tanker monitored by a human who could in- new generation of aerial refueling replaced the KC-137 (Boeing 707). Transport Fleet (MMF), which could tervene at any stage, if necessary. A ing aircraft is in service above “The 707 could drag fighters, but grow to eight aircraft, if other nations Use of the automated refueling sys- the skies of Iraq and Syria. with the KC-30, we can drag four fi ght- including Belgium, Germany, Norway tem would require no changes to re- Alongside the usual U.S. Air Force ers, put the rest of the squadron into and Poland agree. ceiver aircraft. KC-135s and KC-10s that tend to domi- the cabin and take a lot of their ground Airbus is holding the aircraft’s price “The key benefit is timing,” says nate the tanker fl eets of any major aerial equipment downstairs,” says Williams. and delivery slot options until January Miguel Angel Morell, head of engineer- campaign, Australian and British Air- “It makes us much better at our expe- 2018, giving those countries time to fi n- ing at Airbus Defense and Space’s Mili- bus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transports ditionary role.” ish their internal processes and sign the tary Aircraft division. (MRTT) are also making their mark, He cites the ability to move fight- memorandum of understanding. Because the time spent in close prox- able to refuel a wide range of aircraft ers with ease to Australia’s bare bases Qatar has selected the type, but with imity is reduced, the risk factor drops thanks to their huge fuel of oad capa- on its northwestern and northeastern many defense procurements ongoing, and efciency is increased, Morell says. bilities and, in the Australian KC-30’s coastlines, deployments equivalent to the Gulf state has been slow to sign He believes the automated process case, the ability to refuel aircraft with moving aircraft from one end of Europe contracts. India selected the aircraft Bypassing the Boomer will enable more refuelings during hose and drogue as well as an Aerial to the other. but then withdrew its request for pro- a mission than the manual method. Refueling Boom System (ARBS). Australia has fi ve aircraft in service posals this year. Spain and Turkey also The process could also streamline the “We are operating a world-class and two more on order, which are being have expressed interest. Airbus believes automated refueling training for receivers. tanker, . . . and it is rapidly becoming converted by Airbus Defense and Space So far, the A330 MRTT has garnered “We will present this capability to the tanker of choice, not just [due to] at its facilities in Getafe, near Madrid. a significant proportion of the inter- could boost tanker efciency the user group as a potential applica- the fl exibility it of ers but also the per- These are the fi rst A330 MRTTs to be national tanker market, failing only tion for them. . . . It is very promising, sistence ability that our crews demon- converted from secondhand airframes, against the Boeing KC-46 in Japan. Tony Osborne London and we are not expecting big problems, strate,” says Group Capt. Adam Wil- purchased from Qantas, because the The company is now working on a but we have to consider any requests liams, officer commanding the Royal RAAF wants aircraft in a similar con- range of improvements for the aircraft, lthough it may occur hundreds aircraft and the operator (boomer) who or needs from the users,” Morell says. Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) 86th fi guration to those it is already fl ying. says Jeronimo Amador, head of MRTT Aof times a day, the passing of also fies the device into the correct po- Ultimately, he believes the work Wing at Amberley airbase near Bris- The RAAF will likely declare full op- marketing at Airbus. The maximum fuel from one aircraft to an- sition for the tanker. Airbus, which de- could lead to the refueling of un- bane and 33 Sqdn., fl ying the KC-30. erational capability once the additional takeof weight is being increased to 238 other in fight remains inherently risky. veloped a fy-by-wire boom for its A330 manned aerial vehicles and perhaps “It’s not just been about flying the aircraft are in service. metric tons, a wideband satellite com- The challenges of holding formation Multi-Role Tanker Transport, is now become a standard for refueling in the tanker track and being that gas station Australia was one of four early cus- munications system is being added, and with another, often larger, aircraft and seeking to introduce automation into commercial world “The civil world is in the sky, but they are putting them- tomers for the A330 MRTT, along with an Israel directed infrared countermea- maintaining a direct physical connec- the boom refueling process, potentially not refueling aircraft in fight yet, but selves over the top as the aircraft come Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emir- sures system is of ered as an alternative tion either through an aerial boom or reducing the workload of the operator why not in the future?” Morell asks. of the target, . . . of ering them fuel and ates and the UK. All have now received to the Northrop Grumman system. An prodding with a probe into a foating or even allowing air forces to eliminate Airbus is also continuing to study dragging them to the next target.” their aircraft; the UK achieved its Full o ption for an upper deck cargo door is drogue with three dimensions of move- the need for a boom operator. how to accomplish helicopter refueling While the KC-30 had a troubled in- Service Date milestone on Sept. 30, fol- being considered . ment, is a skill mastered only by expe- The frst phase of the trials will take using the A400M airlifter. Last year, troduction, it has reached initial operat- lowing the July delivery of the 14th and “There is a market for around 85 rienced military pilots. place before year-end using the com- helicopter refueling was relegated to ing capability and been deployed in the fi nal A330, known as Voyager. tanker aircraft over the next 10 years, But work is moving forward in Eu- pany’s A310 Aerial Refueling Boom further research after tests showed Middle East for two years, supporting Now Airbus is working on a new both for new and used aircraft,” Ama- rope to reduce the workload related to System testbed and a Portuguese that airfow behind the A400M made the fi ght against the self-proclaimed Is- generation of the aircraft it calls the dor says, which suggests that some refueling via an aerial boom. air force F-16. With image processing it difcult for helicopters to hold a po- lamic State group. A330 MRTT Enhanced, the first ex- nations could follow Australia and buy That method of refueling, a system from rearward-facing cameras, the on- sition. There were also concerns that Williams says introduction of the ample of which fl ew on Sept. 30. The aircraft to be converted into MRTTs; developed by Boeing in the 1950s, de- board system will automatically fy the the 90-ft. hose length placed receiver KC-30 has transformed the expedi- Enhanced builds on the latest A330-200 some nations may sell their early-model mands a high degree of precision and boom to a precontact position above helicopters in overly close proximity to tionary capabilities of the RAAF, hav- build standard, known as WV80, which aircraft to other nations. efort from both the pilot of the receiver the F-16’s receptacle. The boomer will the rear fuselage as well as the vertical

68 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 69

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and horizontal tail of the airlifter. would allow it to ft but would also re- “If we are to invest in a new pod, we Now the company has carried out duce fuel fow rates and could make the need to confrm that in the position be- wind-tunnel tests on a design using connection less stable. But keeping the hind the aircraft, there is no vibration a 120-ft.-long hose. Those tests have hose at its current diameter could re- or turbulence that can afect the blades shown that the longer hose is stable. quire a redesign of the existing pods, of the helicopter,” says Morell. However, engineers are still grappling with a signifcant cost implication. Airbus has also conducted initial with how to ft a 120-ft.-long hose into The company plans to soon test the dry-contact trials using its fight re- the wing-mounted hose-drogue unit. principle by formation-fying an Airbus fueling system developed for the C295 Shrinking the diameter of the hose H225M helo behind the A400M. twin-turboprop transport. c

be converted into a transport variant. It has Russia Refuel a rear ramp door, drop equipment and can be equipped with frefghting tools. The aircraft is ftted with two additional tanks, for 50 tons of fuel each, inside the fuselage and three new UPAZ-1M refueling pods with digital controls. Two pods are in- Russia is upgrading stalled under the its feet of IL-78 aerial wings, the other refueling tankers, and one in the rear the frst new airframe part of the fuse- is nearing completion. lage. According to Moscow’s proposed new air force UAC’s corporate magazine, the new pod’s pumping speed is in- platform is based on the IL-76 creased to 3,000 liters (790 gal.) per minute, from 2,300, due to the more powerful TNA- Konstantin tyurpeKo/WiKimedia 150M pump turbine. Maxim Pyadushkin Moscow The air force is likely to place an order for the new tankers after the trials. A simultane- he Russian air force is upgrading its in-fight refuel- ous efort calls for the modernization of the existing Il-78 Ting capabilities, which are still based on Soviet-made feet. Ilyushin CEO Sergey Velmozhkin told Russian media Ilyushin Il-78M tankers, derived from Il-76 transport in October that the frst tanker from the air force inventory aircraft. The service is now considering an improved Il- had recently arrived in Zhukovsky, near Moscow. “We plan to 76MD-90A platform to serve as the basis for a new air modernize it within the [next] year and to send it for govern- tanker, with the frst prototype expected to be assembled ment trials in 2018,” he said. Velmozhkin admitted, however, by year-end. that while the military plans to upgrade its entire tanker Russia’s United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) has moved Il-76 feet, it has issued a contract for only one test aircraft so far. production from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to its Aviastar-SP Ilyushin also works on another type of tanker for the facility in the Russian city of Ulyanovsk. The production air arm. The defense ministry signed a contract with UAC move was backed up by a 2012 air force order for 39 of the in January 2015 for delivery of two tankers based on the airframes, valued at 140 billion rubles ($2.2 billion). The frst Ilyushin Il-96 widebody airliner platform. The new tanker, Russian-assembled Il-76MD-90A was delivered to the mili- dubbed Il-96-400TZ, will be capable of transferring more tary in December 2015. than 65 tons of fuel at the range of 3,500 km, according to The frst new air tanker based on the same airframe— the military. Il-78M-90A—is in the fnal stages of completion at Aviastar- The program could give new life to the Il-96 production SP. The facility’s managing director, Andrey Kapustin, was line, which lacks commercial orders and assembles only a quoted earlier this year in Russian media as saying that the couple of airframes per year for the government. In fact, aircraft will be ready in November-December and handed the two new tankers will be converted from the existing over to Ilyushin for testing. Il-96-400T freighters initially assembled for defunct Polet Because the program is being implemented for the Rus- Airlines. Ilyushin chief designer Nikolay Talikov told the RIA sian military, Ilyushin will not reveal the new tanker’s techni- Novosti news agency last year that the Il-96 had already been cal parameters. The latest iteration of the baseline Il-78M/ fight tested for refueling a pair of fghters. “The compatibil- Il-78MKI, developed for the Indian air force in the 2000s, can ity with the large aircraft will be tested during the govern- place 190 tons of fuel into the wing tanks and 42.8 more tons ment trials,” he said. Ilyushin has not reported whether such into the fuselage tanks. With a maximum takeof weight of trials have started. 210 tons, it can carry 74 tons of transferable fuel at the range The Russian manufacturer also hopes for export suc- of 1,000 km (620 mi.) and 40 tons at 3,000 km. cess for the improved Il-78M-90A. Meanwhile, Ilyushin may As the Il-76MD-90A transport, the Il-78M-90A tanker will get the frst export order for the Il-76MD-90A transport have the older D-30KP2 turbofans replaced by more power- soon. The Kazakhstan defense ministry reported in early ful PS-90A-76 engines. The requirement from the Russian September that it was in discussion with the Russian side military stipulates that the new tanker should be able to regarding the term of delivery of these aircraft. c

70 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

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AW_10_24_2016_p72.indd 72 10/20/16 3:09 PM AW_10_24_2016_p73.indd 73 10/20/16 3:11 PM Viewpoint China’s Air Force Goes Off Script

Peng Chen/Wikimedia By LyLe J. MOrriS

seminal RAND Project Air Force report writ- tice, which emphasized reliance on ground control. A ten over two decades ago, Russia’s Air Power PLAAF pilots are also increasingly evaluated using at the Crossroads, concluded that the Soviet real-time video-feed playback and other fight-data air force had achieved marked improvement in the recordings previously unavailable to aviators. tactical skills of its fghter pilots, yet most pilots were The PLAAF has also redoubled attempts to instill still “bound by a heavily scripted tactical repertoire discipline in its pilots by ofering honest assessments that was all but completely dominated by ground of shortcomings. Such eforts include professionaliz- control.” Such scripted training scenarios, the report ing unit training through adherence to less-scripted, continued, “left [pilots] little room for exercising the combat-realistic training for the battlefeld rather free-form initiative and adaptability that had long than the test. For example, during a November 2013 been a hallmark of Western tactical air practice.” year-end training event at a Guangzhou air regiment, Similar things can be said about today’s People’s some of the aircraft identifed to take part in the test Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), one of the larg- had “just returned from seasonal changeover main- est and most capable forces in the world in terms of tenance,” and four of the pilots chosen to participate quantity and technology. But Western analysts have were “ill-prepared” for examinations because they long questioned its rigid, outdated approach to pi- had just completed “aircraft transition training,” ac- lot training—relying heavily on ground control and cording to reports in the Chinese air force newspa- scripted environments to achieve training objectives. per Kongjun Bao. The regiment leaders nonetheless The prevailing view among many Western observers decided to proceed with the assessment as planned, is that Chinese fghter pilots lack the tactical mind- reminding the pilots that evaluations were meant to

gauge “actual combat ability,” not simply who would obtain “high marks.”

China is experimenting When compared with their U.S. Air Force coun- terparts, however, clear defciencies remain among with giving pilots more PLAAF pilots in the area of combat tactics and skills, “ “ and they still lack the ability to adapt to rapidly autonomy to prepare them changing battlefeld conditions and make autonomous decisions on the fy. For example, one Kongjun better for dynamic, unscripted Bao report noted this defciency in fight leads taking over from ground control: combat conditions. Ground commands often are not able to keep up with the complex and changeable air situation. Pilots set to engage and prevail in a dynamic, unscripted relied too much on the commands and guidance from combat environment. the ground, which was not conducive to enhancing the Our recently released report on PLAAF training enthusiasm and initiative of airborne combatants. suggests that narrative may be changing. Our analy- Our fndings also highlight an inability among sis found that the PLAAF has initiated system-wide some PLAAF pilots to hit ground targets success- reform to train fghter pilots in the skills necessary to fully upon receiving infight changes to fight trajec- “fght and win” against potentially superior military tories or plans, as well as a reluctance among pilots competitors like the U.S. At the heart of this is an to take risks for fear of making mistakes or out of efort to train ofcers under what Chinese military safety concerns. leaders refer to as “actual combat conditions,” which Our report supports the notion that the PLAAF include, among other things, nighttime battle train- is fully aware of its shortcomings in pilot combat ing, complex electromagnetic conditions, special skills and is taking steps to rectify many of these de- geographical environments and extreme weather fciencies. However, cultivating true pilot autonomy conditions. in unscripted scenarios takes decades to hone and The PLAAF has been experimenting with giving demands a training system that encourages honest pilots the responsibility to create their own fight assessments of mistakes. The PLAAF’s success will plans with full autonomy over their sorties—from ultimately depend on breaking its deep-seated insti- starting their engines to changing navigation routes tutional and cultural barriers. c and fying tactics in the air—without strict control from a commander in the control tower. This Lyle J. Morris is a senior project associate at the non- represents a signifcant departure from past prac- proft, nonpartisan RAND Corp.

74 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/octoBeR 24-novemBeR 6, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst

AW_10_24_2016_p74.indd 74 10/20/16 3:18 PM Viewpoint China’s Air Force Goes Off Script

Peng Chen/Wikimedia By LyLe J. MOrriS seminal RAND Project Air Force report writ- tice, which emphasized reliance on ground control. A ten over two decades ago, Russia’s Air Power PLAAF pilots are also increasingly evaluated using DUBAI, at the Crossroads, concluded that the Soviet real-time video-feed playback and other fight-data air force had achieved marked improvement in the recordings previously unavailable to aviators. UAE tactical skills of its fghter pilots, yet most pilots were The PLAAF has also redoubled attempts to instill Co-Located with still “bound by a heavily scripted tactical repertoire discipline in its pilots by ofering honest assessments that was all but completely dominated by ground of shortcomings. Such eforts include professionaliz- control.” Such scripted training scenarios, the report ing unit training through adherence to less-scripted, February 8–9, 2017 | Dubai World Trade Centre continued, “left [pilots] little room for exercising the combat-realistic training for the battlefeld rather free-form initiative and adaptability that had long than the test. For example, during a November 2013 been a hallmark of Western tactical air practice.” year-end training event at a Guangzhou air regiment, Similar things can be said about today’s People’s some of the aircraft identifed to take part in the test Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), one of the larg- had “just returned from seasonal changeover main- est and most capable forces in the world in terms of tenance,” and four of the pilots chosen to participate quantity and technology. But Western analysts have were “ill-prepared” for examinations because they EXPANDYOUR long questioned its rigid, outdated approach to pi- had just completed “aircraft transition training,” ac- lot training—relying heavily on ground control and cording to reports in the Chinese air force newspa- scripted environments to achieve training objectives. per Kongjun Bao. The regiment leaders nonetheless NETWORK The prevailing view among many Western observers decided to proceed with the assessment as planned, IN THIS RAPIDLY GROWING $5 BILLION MRO MARKET is that Chinese fghter pilots lack the tactical mind- reminding the pilots that evaluations were meant to gauge “actual combat ability,” not simply who would obtain “high marks.” China is experimenting When compared with their U.S. Air Force coun-

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