The sky-high aircraft and aviation thread

Sweden’s air force has begun fielding the new MS20-standard software for its Saab Gripen C/D fleet, representing a significant increase in operational capability.

The process of introducing the standard began recently, with MS20 adding MBDA’s Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile and Boeing’s GBU-39 small diameter bomb to the single-engined fighter’s suite of weapons. Other enhancements include enhanced Link 16 capability for situational awareness, a new data link added to enhance capability during close air support missions, expanded functionality for the pilot’s helmet-mounted sight, an infrared reconnaissance pod and an automatic ground collision avoidance system.

According to Swedish air force chief Maj Gen Mats Helgesson, the Meteor’s addition is of particular significance. “From our perspective that’s a game-changer,” he says. “This is something that we have invested lots of money in, and makes the C/D a really potent air defender again.”

Swedish aircraft have flown with the weapon, but it has not yet been carried during a quick reaction alert sortie, he confirms. The air force is seeing a similar requirement for such activity so far this year as in 2015, when around 330 missions were launched.

“We are the first air force operating the Meteor,” Helgesson notes, with the long-range system also to be introduced on France’s Dassault Rafales and Eurofighter Typhoons flown by Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. "We are not completely ready with all the tactics, but it is fielded."

Up to 16 wingkit-equipped GBU-39 bombs can also be carried following the MS20 update, using four-round launchers for the 110kg (250lb) strike weapon.

Following its introduction with the Swedish air force, the new software standard will also be available for adoption by other Gripen C/D operators, which include the Czech Republic, Hungary, South Africa and Thailand. And despite the roll-out of the company’s new-generation E-model jet, Saab’s head of Gripen, Jerker Ahlqvist, says the development path for the current version “goes well into the next 10 years”.

Rolled out at the Swedish manufacturer's Linköping site in Sweden on 18 May, aircraft 39-8 is the first of three test aircraft which will support the Gripen E programme. It will be handed over to the flight test department at the site "this summer", and is on track to make its debut flight before the end of this year, the company says. It will be used initially to verify the evolved design's general systems, airframe and aerodynamics. The additional two Swedish test assets are already in different stages of structural assembly.

One test aircraft will also be manufactured for Brazil, with this to undergo around one year of flight testing in Sweden before being transferred to a new facility at local partner Embraer's Gavião Peixoto site late this decade.

Sweden has ordered 60 Gripen Es, while Brazil will acquire an initial batch of 36: 28 single-seat NG examples and eight twin-seat aircraft, including locally-assembled units.

Speaking at the roll-out, Brazilian air force commander Gen Brig Nivaldo Luiz Rossato described the development of the advanced combat aircraft as "a significant milestone in the history of both countries." He adds: "The Gripen NG will represent a major advance to face any threat to airspace sovereignty. These fighters will be the backbone of the Brazilian air force."

Powered by a GE Aviation F414 turbofan engine, the Gripen E will offer increased range, payload and endurance performance over the legacy Gripen C/D and also have updated avionics, electronic warfare systems and an active electronically scanned array radar.

"This is the only fighter programme on time and on budget," says Ulf Nilsson, Saab's head of aeronautics. Initial operational capability is planned to be achieved by the Swedish air force in 2021, with full capability to be declared two years later.

The latest variant of the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is moving into the detailed design phase after successfully passing an air vehicle preliminary design review (PDR) by the US government.

The US Air Force is buying 112 HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopters to replace the HH-60G Pave Hawk that was introduced under the Reagan administration in the 1980s. The Sikorsky design was selected in late 2013 and a $1.2 billion development contract that funds four pre-production examples and six aircrew and maintenance trainers was awarded in July 2014.

A total of nine aircraft, including five "system demonstration test articles" to support operational testing, will be produced during the 75-month engineering and manufacturing development phase, and Sikorsky aims to shave six months off that schedule to capture payment incentives built into the contract for speedy delivery.

Statements by Lockheed Martin-owned Sikorsky and the US Air Force programme office at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio suggest that the contractor is tracking about three months ahead of schedule and the current level of design detail is closer to a critical design review level.

Having met its target date for completing the preliminary design of the air vehicle, Sikorsky now hopes to bring forward the government PDR of the training system by three months.

“I am very proud of our team,” says Sikorsky HH-60W programme director Tim Healy. “They are not only operating to an accelerated schedule, but the preliminary design that we have achieved here has prepared us well for detailed aircraft design and subsequent production.”

The review involved approximately 200 people from the various air force and Sikorsky programme offices, plus representatives from the Pentagon’s acquisition office and members of the Pave Hawk combat rescue community.

“This design review was basically a non-event for the programme office, especially my engineering team,” says the air force’s CRH chief engineer Duane Sevey, who notes that the team had been identifying and resolving issues prior to PDR and even performed a mock review.

Having completed the main programmatic step of 2016, the HH-60W team is now working toward a critical design review originally scheduled for mid-fiscal year 2017.

The HH-60W is different enough from the US Army UH-60M that it is derived from and the up-gunned Special Forces multi-mission variant to warrant its own development phase and even a separate assembly line. It contains air force and mission-specific avionics, equipment and defensive countermeasures, plus a larger internal fuel capability and cabin area.

First flight is planned for 2019, but that event could be brought forward if Sikorsky keeps up this momentum. Two low-rate production lots totalling 18 aircraft will be awarded in 2019 and 2020, with the remaining 85 aircraft being procured at full-rate between 2021 and 2026.

MBDA has been awarded a contract by the UK Ministry of Defence for further development of its Spear 3 missile for use on the Lockheed Martin F-35B.

Worth some £411 million ($282 million), the four-year contract covers critical design and development work to integrate the missile into the internal weapons bay of the Joint Strike Fighter.

Spear 3 is derived from the company’s Brimstone precision-guided air-to-surface munition, currently used by the Royal Air Force on the Panavia Tornado GR4 operating over Syria and Iraq, and on the Eurofighter Typhoon from 2018. Spear 3 was successfully test fired from a Typhoon in March at a range in west Wales, the Mo D says.

The new derivative benefits from replacing the missile's rocket motor with a turbojet engine, ensuring a range of some 60 miles, MBDA says; it is expected to enter service in the mid-2020s.

“This contract will give UK pilots a state-of-the-art British-designed weapon to be used on board our next-generation F-35B jets, with the precision and punch that we need to give decisive operational advantage over our adversaries and keep Britain safe,” says defence procurement minister Philip Dunne.

In March, company executives told media that the next development phase for Spear 3 could include a demonstration effort, but details of this have not yet been revealed.

18 MAY, 2016 BY: BETH STEVENSON LONDON MBDA has been awarded a contract by the UK Ministry of Defence for further development of its Spear 3 missile for use on the Lockheed Martin F-35B.

Worth some £411 million ($282 million), the four-year contract covers critical design and development work to integrate the missile into the internal weapons bay of the Joint Strike Fighter.

Spear 3 is derived from the company’s Brimstone precision-guided air-to-surface munition, currently used by the Royal Air Force on the Panavia Tornado GR 4 operating over Syria and Iraq, and on the Eurofighter Typhoon from 2018. Spear 3 was successfully test fired from a Typhoon in March at a range in west Wales, the Mo D says.

The new derivative benefits from replacing the missile's rocket motor with a turbojet engine, ensuring a range of some 60 miles, MBDA says; it is expected to enter service in the mid-2020s.

“This contract will give UK pilots a state-of-the-art British-designed weapon to be used on board our next-generation F-35B jets, with the precision and punch that we need to give decisive operational advantage over our adversaries and keep Britain safe,” says defence procurement minister Philip Dunne.

In March, company executives told media that the next development phase for Spear 3 could include a demonstration effort, but details of this have not yet been revealed.

Asset Image MBDA The contract follows an announcement earlier this month from MBDA that the next generation of Brimstone – benefiting from an improved seeker and increased stand-off range – had been tested aboard a Tornado during an operational assessment at China Lake in California.

Eleven flights were carried out, which marked a “major step” towards the weapon being granted its release to service with the RAF. It will initially be fielded on the Tornado, followed by the Typhoon.