AIN Paris Airshow News 06 19 13

Paris

PUBLICATIONS

Wednesday 6.19.13

Airshow News

TM

www.ainonline.com

le bourget bustles

DAVID McINTOSH

The flying displays are buzzing, airliner orders are flowing and Piaggio has released a shark into the unmanned weapon marketplace (see below). If it’s June, it must be Paris. And the crowds are flocking here again.

Boeing charges out of the gate, Piaggio unveils HammerHead, launches 787-10 with big orders adding teeth to its UAS plans

by David Donald

by Gregory Polek Boeing fired the starting pistol on the much-anticipated launch of the 78710 here yesterday, in the process collecting order commitments for 102 airplanes from five customers across Europe, Asia and North America. Air Lease, United

Airlines, GE Capital Aviation Services, British Airways and Singapore Airlines form the group of launch customers.

Appearing yesterday with Boeing CEO Jim McNerney and Boeing Commercial

Continued on page 37 u

Piaggio Aero has unveiled its P.1HH HammerHead unmanned aerial system (UAS) at the Paris Air Show. First announced in February at the IDEX show in Abu Dhabi, the HammerHead program is based on the company’s P180 Avanti II

twin-engine business turboprop, but it has reinforced wings with greater area offering extended range and endurance.

HammerHead made its first taxi trial on February 14 and is now in the final

Business Aviation

Showstoppers

Warfighters

Ground Operations

VistaJet Places Order

EADS Pavilion Innovates

Raytheon Offers Awareness

Taxiing Is Going Green

At the Paris Air Show yesterday, VistaJet placed an order for 20 super-midsize Bombardier Challenger 350 business jets, with an option for 20 more. Deliveries begin in mid-2014, and the order is valued at more than $1 billion. Page 16

EADS is showing off the capabilities of all of its divisions at its impressive new pavilion here at Le Bourget.

Inside the pavilion, visitors can see the Innovation Works, where new technologies are explored. Page 20

Raytheon has developed a range of products under its advanced warfighter awareness for real-time engagement (Aware) label. The Aware products are designed to provide enhanced situational awareness and intuitive networking. Page 22

Honeywell and Safran signed an MoU with Air France to further develop the electric green taxi system, installed on an A320 on display here at the Salon. WheelTug and IAI’s TaxiBot are also offering electric taxi systems. Page 26

Continued on page 37 u

Airbus, its logo and the product names are registered trademarks.

With the A380, the sky is yours. It’s the quietest, most spacious cabin in the sky. And with the widest seats and aisles, even in economy, it’s no wonder passengers opt for the comfort of the A380 when given the choice. That means higher market share, higher load factors and higher revenues.

Own the sky

ATR scores a big order

Paris

Airshow News

by Matt Thurber enquiries from airlines seeking to place the ATRs that the company has ordered, according to Møller. “In the short term we are having so many talks that we might run out of this aircraft,” he joked. He attributes the high level of activity in part to regional airlines’ ability to make decisions much faster than large airlines.

“We do see high demand for the ATR 42-600.”

Avianca One

In other ATR news, the company also held a ceremony yesterday to celebrate delivery of Avianca’s first of 15 ATR 72-600s that it ordered last year.

The Avianca order is for 15 firm and 15 options, valued at more than $700 million. The ATR 72-600 delivered at the Paris Air Show features the new Armonia cabin in a 68-seat configuration.

Avianca is gradually replacing

FOUNDED IN 1972 James Holahan, Founding Editor Wilson S. Leach, Managing Director R. RANDALL PADFIELD, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

MATT THURBER

At a ceremony held yesterday at the Paris Air Show, Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) chairman Martin Møller signed an order for 90 ATR turboprops, including 35 firm (30 ATR 72-600s and five ATR 42-600s), valued at more than $2.1 billion. The first ATR will be delivered to NAC in the fall. ATR is here at Chalet B345 and has an aircraft at Static E. “Today we certainly inked a milestone, for NAC, ATR and the beautiful airline industry,” said Møller. “We love this product. We see it as a way to expand our market share.” At the last Paris Air Show, NAC’s total ATR orders stood at 100, and this new order brings the company’s firm ATR orders closer to 150, he said. “We’re getting closer to 300 aircraft in total [owned by NAC].”

NAC is fielding many new

Martin Møller, chairman of Nordic Aviation Capital, signing an order for 90 ATR turboprops with ATR CEO Filippo Bagnato.

its Fokker 50s and ATR 42s with the ATR 72s.

“These aircraft will enable us to further increase our service standards while operating our regional routes even more efficiently,” said Avianca CEO Fabio Villegas Ramirez.

“Their advantages in terms of passenger comfort, as well as their excellent performance on high-altitude runways perfectly match the requirements

of our regional network. They will also enable us to increase our seating offer and reduce operating costs.”

“Latin America has proven to be a very important market for us recently,” said ATR’s Filippo Bagnato. “We have doubled our presence in this region in the last five years, positioning our aircraft as essential tools for the strong growth in regional traffic.” o

HUNGRY for buyers

DAVID McINTOSH

Beechcraft may dispute the outcome of the U.S. Air Force’s Light Air Support contract for 24 armed ISR aircraft, which was awarded to the Embraer Super Tucano, but the company has brought its AT-6B demonstrator to Paris with enthusiasm intact and expectations of being able to announce an order soon. In a statement issued on the eve of the show relating to the LAS contract, the company noted that, “Beechcraft remains confident that the AT-6, which was rated ‘Exceptional’ by the Air Force, was the better choice for LAS and is the best aircraft for U.S. partner nations in need of light attack aircraft.”

320neos, the easyJet choice

by Bill Carey UK airline easyJet placed conditional orders with Airbus on Tuesday for 100 new A320neos and 35 Sharkletequipped A320s worth $12 billion at list prices. The A320s are scheduled for delivery between 2015 and 2017, while the A320neos will be delivered from 2017 to 2022, according to the announcement at the Paris Air Show.

EasyJet said 85 of the aircraft will be used to replace

aging aircraft as they leave the fleet over the next nine years; the remaining aircraft deliveries will support the carrier’s strategy of increasing its seat capacity by 3 to 5 percent annually.

Based on fuel price, easyJet said it expects the reengined 180-seat A320neo will deliver a cost per seat savings of around 11 percent to 12 percent compared to the 156-seat A319 narrowbody. The carrier said it is still negotiating with both

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CFM and Pratt & Whitney over the choice of either Leap or PurePower PW1000G engines, respectively. The selection of a preferred engine supplier will follow shareholder approval of the purchase agreements with Airbus.

“All manufacturers competed hard for the easyJet business,” said Carolyn McCall, easyJet chief executive. “Both Airbus and Boeing offered us new generation aircraft that met our requirements and offered greatly improved fuel efficiency.

Ultimately, Airbus offered us the best deal, and at a price with a greater discount to the

4 Paris Airshow News • June 19, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

list price than their landmark fleet purchase with easyJet in 2002.” EasyJet said it negotiated “a very substantial discount from the list price” of the A320, listed at $76.2 million, and the A320neo, listed at $92.3 million.

“The Neo is without doubt the most productive and fuel efficient aircraft around,” said John Leahy, Airbus chief operating officer-customers. “It has the widest and tallest cabin of any single-aisle aircraft for faster turnaround operations and better passenger comfort. We are delighted our reliable aircraft have met easyJet’s demanding criteria.” o

Editor-in-chief – Charles Alcock editor - INTERNATIONAL show editions – Ian Sheppard PRess room managing editor – Matt Thurber PRODUCTION DIRECTOR – Mary E. Mahoney Production editor – Lysbeth McAleer the editorial team Reuben Johnson Gregory Polek Roger Boudreau Chris Pocock Bill Carey Vladimir Karnozov Neelam Mathews Peter Shaw-Smith William Dennis Aimee Turner David Donald Nigel Moll Julian Moxon Paolo Valpolini Thierry Dubois Ian Goold R. Randall Padfield Mark Phelps Kirby J. Harrison the production team Mona L. Brown John Manfredo Alena Korenkov Colleen Redmond Photographers David McIntosh Mark Wagner online editor – Chad Trautvetter web designer – Joseph W. Darlington web developer – Mike Giaimo EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & ONLINE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT – John F. McCarthy Jr. Publisher – Anthony T. Romano associate Publisher – Nancy O’Brien Advertising Sales – north america Melissa Murphy – Midwest +1 830 608 9888 Nancy O’Brien – West +1 530 241 3534 Anthony T. Romano – East/International +1 203 798 2400 Joe Rosone – East/International/Middle East +1 301 834 5251 Philip Scarano III – Southeast +1 203 798 2400 Victoria Tod – Great Lakes/UK +1 203 798 2400 Advertising Sales – International – Daniel Solnica – Paris production/MANUFACTURING manageR – Tom Hurley AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER – Jeff Hartford group brand manager – Jennifer Leach English sales/production administrator – Susan Amisson Advertising/sales Secretary STAFF Patty Hayes; Cindy Nesline director of finance & new product development – David M. Leach Human ResourceS Manager – Jane Webb accounting/Administration manager – Irene L. Flannagan accounting/AdministratiON Staff Mary Avella; Rosa Ramirez U.S. EDITORIAL OFFICE: 214 Franklin Ave., Midland Park, NJ 07432 Tel: +1 201 444 5075; Fax: +1 201 444 4647 Washington, D.C. EDITORIAL OFFICE: Bill Carey; bcarey@ainonline.com Tel: +1 202 560 5672; Mobile: +1 202 531 7566 Paul Lowe; paulloweain@aol.com Tel: +1 301 230 4520; Fax: +1 301 881 1982 EUROPEAN EDITORIAL OFFICE: Charles Alcock; calcock@ainonline.com 8 Stephendale Road, Farnham, Surrey GU9 9QP UK Tel: +1 44 1 252 727 758 U.S. advertising OFFICE: 81 Kenosia Ave., Danbury, CT 06810 Tel: +1 203 798 2400; Fax: +1 203 798 2104 EUROPEAN ADVERTISING OFFICE: Daniel Solnica 78, rue de Richelieu, Paris, France Tel: +33 1 42 46 95 71 dsolnica@club-internet.fr RUSSIAN ADVERTISING OFFICE: Yuri Laskin, Gen. Dir., Laguk Co. Ltd. Russia, 115172, Moscow Krasnokholmskaya Nab., 11/15 - 132 Tel: +7 05 912 1346, +7 911 2762; Fax: +7 095 912 1260 ylarm-lml@mtu-net.ru The Convention News Company, Inc. – AIN Publications President – Wilson S. Leach Executive Vice President – John F. McCarthy, Jr. Vice President of Operations – R. Randall Padfield Treasurer – Jane L. Webb Secretary – Jennifer L. English Paris Airshow News is a publication of The Convention News Co., Inc., 214 Franklin Ave., Midland Park, NJ 07432; Tel.: (201) 444-5075. Copyright © 2013. All rights r­eserved. Reproduction in whole or in part w ­ ithout permission of The Convention News Co., Inc. is strictly prohibited. The Convention News Co., Inc. also publishes Aviation International News, AINalerts, AIN Defense Perspective, AIN Air Transport Perspective, AINmx Reports, AINsafety, Business Jet Traveler, ABACE Convention News, EBACE ­Convention News, HAI Convention News, LABACE Convention News, MEBA Convention News, NBAA Convention News, Dubai Airshow News, Farnborough Airshow News, Singapore Airshow News.

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PHOTOS: CHRIS POCOCK

During a practice rescue mission near Cazaux airbase, ropes are deployed from an EC725 as the first of four special forces troops to be extracted from hostile territory emerges from hiding.

Aircrew from EH01.067 with one of the squadron’s EC725 Caracel helicopters.

French squad’s EC725s serve to fight and rescue

by Chris Pocock A round of upgrades is set to make the French air Force’s two EC725 helicopter squadrons even more effective. One of them, based at Cazaux, designated EH01.067 and named after the Pyrenees Mountains, has already built a strong reputation for combat search and rescue (CSAR) missions in numerous overseas deployments.

“Our motto is ‘Fight and Rescue.’ On the sides of our helicopters, you don’t find the Red Cross. You find machine guns instead,” said Major Guillaume Vernet, the squadron’s director of operations.

EH01.067 has been a CSAR outfit since 1993, when it was equipped with SA330 Pumas.

Five of those are still on strength, and two are currently deployed to Mali. The bigger and more capable EC725s began to arrive from Eurocopter in 2004; first the “Resco” version and later the HUS version designed for

special forces operations. The latter role was transferred to another squadron at Pau in 2010.

The first of five new Caracel versions of the EC725 arrived at Cazaux in 2011. The 14 Resco and HUS machines are being upgraded to the Caracel standard over the next five years.

Vernet explained that the squadron is responsible for SAR missions in southwest France, and public-service missions throughout the country, such as medical and other evacuations, and disaster response. The wartime missions include maritime surveillance and infiltration/ extraction of personnel in hostile territory, as well as CSAR. In the last decade, the Pyrenees squadron has operated in Haiti, the Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Chad, Afghanistan, Libya and Mali. “We must be able to deploy rapidly to austere environments,” Vernet explained.

During the 67 months that

The Pyrenees squadron still operates five SA330 Pumas on SAR and other less demanding missions.

8 Paris Airshow News • June 19, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

the squadron was deployed in Afghanistan, it flew more than 3,200 hours and performed over 220 evacuation missions.

The personnel recovery mission is often flown at night, in bad weather and into hostile environments. The squadron trains for unrefueled low-level rescue missions to a radius of 250 nm, flying at 120 knots, and allowing for 20 minutes over the “target” area, with a 30-minute reserve. “We can bring back three to six people at this longest range, or up to 17 people on shorter missions,” said Vernet.

Sophisticated Navigation

The EC725 has a much more sophisticated navigation suite than the SA330, including weather radar, digital map and Flir. The self-protection suite is similar, but on the EC725 “all the sensors feed into a single box which tells us the best solution to the threat via the digital map,” he said.

The helicopter itself is very easy to fly, said Vernet. The fouraxis autopilot provides envelope protection and automatic transition and hover, with no limitation in speed or altitude. The auto-hover mode allows easier extraction of personnel and is a good counter to the loss of reference that pilots may experience in dusty or snowy conditions.

The pilots also enjoy a multiredundant glass cockpit, and can use night-vision goggles. There is no flight engineer. “We are deploying new pilots on combat operations after only 100 hours,” Vernet said.

The EC725 comes equipped with a refueling probe, and the squadron is now qualifying its pilots with the help of C-130 tankers provided by the

To minimize exposure to enemy action, the troops attach themselves to the ropes so that the helicopter can quickly depart the area.

Italian and U.S. Air Forces.

Some French Air Force A400Ms will be delivered with refueling pods, and trial hook-ups of the new airlifter with the EC725 are scheduled for next year.

The EC725 upgrade includes Sagem’s latest sensor ball, the Euroflir 350, which allows personnel to be identified in all weather conditions at up to one kilometer away; satcom; replacement of the 7.62-mm miniguns with new 20-mm guns

from Nexter (already on the squadron’s SA330s); and modifications to the engine Fadec that will allow takeoffs in temperatures as low as -30 degees C. The time-between-overhauls will also be extended from 750 hours/two years to 1,200 hours/ three years. o

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U.S.-maker shows newly certified smart sensors

by Thierry Dubois Moorpark, California-based Custom Sensors and Technologies (CST)–also known under its Crouzet Aerospace and Kavlico brands–is here at the Paris Air Show 2013 (Hall 2B,

Stand B40) exhibiting its proximity sensors with remote electronics. The technology–just certified–allows these sensors to work safely in harsh environments and in a smarter way.

CST is also showcasing a demonstrator of an electric fault detection system and a betterconnected helicopter grip.

In the new generation of sensors, the electronic board that

takes care of signal processing is located in a pressurized area, where temperature and vibration are much more acceptable.

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The electronics in Crouzet’s proximity sensors are located in remote areas where they are less susceptible to pressure, temperature and vibration.

have become stricter, which explains the trend toward remote electronics, a CST official told AIN during a visit to the company’s Valence, France development and production facilities. In addition, he said, this allows electronics to be shared between various sensors.

Such sensors are increasingly smart; for example, a switch can determine whether a door is open, closed or having a problem, he said. Crouzet also claims a switch can assist in health monitoring: a door position sensor can detect that its target is slowing moving away, flight after flight, possibly indicating a structural problem.

“Aircraft manufacturers don’t use this possibility yet,” the spokesman said.

He also said the company perceives Western OEMs as becoming very conservative, while those from Russia and Ukraine try to be at the leading edge of technology. For example, he said, the Antonov An-148 is the first aircraft to fly with Crouzet’s new electronic circuit breakers. They include an arc fault detection capability, so arcing can be detected in microseconds–thus preventing the onset of fire.

Another improvement in electric problem detection is being shown on CST’s stand: Time domain reflectometry is being used, in a joint researchand-development program with Airbus, to “see” accurately where a problem arises. On a 350-foot-long wire, the system can tell a problem is taking place at 122 feet from the forward end and what the issue is: short-circuit, open circuit and so on.

Finally, here at Paris the company is displaying an enhanced helicopter grip with a CAN bus for reduced wiring and more integrated functions.

For its aerospace business, CST employs 1,000, mainly in Moorpark, Valence and Casablanca, Morocco and Tijuana, Mexico. Aerospace revenues at its Schneider Electric subsidiary amounted to $175 million last year. CST delivers 400,000 to 500,000 switches per year to Airbus and claims a 94.7-percent ontime delivery performance. o

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Air India sets its stride integrating B787 ops

by Neelam Mathews two in 2016. A Qatar Airways 787, which flew at the Farnborough Air Show last year, is also on static display here.

the 787 for Air India, which has been struggling to use its 777s effectively. “Dreamliners are expected to achieve great performance levels at lower fuel, maintenance and operating costs,” he said in a message to Air India’s 30,000 employees in December last year. o

India Joins the Globemaster Family

MARK WAGNER

Air India’s seventh GEnx1B-powered Boeing 787 of the 27 it ordered is taking flight in the flying display here at the Paris Air Show. The airline will take delivery of this 787 next month, and a total of eight by the end of this year, five in 2014, six in 2015 and

Air India’s 787 operations are flying on the domestic sector from Delhi to Bangalore, Kolkata and London.

Plans are afoot to start flights to Birmingham, Rome, Milan, Melbourne, Sydney and Moscow, Air India managing director Rohit Nandan said recently.

Nandan had last year indicated the importance of

Teams jockeying for position L-3’s avionics in pending Polish trainer bid help airlines face NextGen

by David Donald

Poland is looking for a new advanced trainer that can replace its current Iskra jets from around 2015, to complement PZL Orlik primary/basic trainers. Eight new aircraft are being sought in a tender for an integrated aircrew training system for the country’s air force. With Czech company Aero Vodochody having dropped out, three companies have recently responded, in the form of Alenia Aermacchi (M346), Lockheed Martin (KAI T-50) and BAE Systems (Hawk AJT).

The latter two companies have recently concluded deals with two Polish air force maintenance divisions to support their aircraft. WZL 1 would expand its operation at Deblin as part of the BAE Systems team, while WZL 2 at Bydgoszcz would provide MRO services for T-50s if selected.

Lockheed Martin’s offer of the T-50 is based to an extent on its compatibility with the Polish air force’s front-line F-16 fleet. The company’s Polish proposal is in many ways based on the UK’s military flying training system (UKMFTS) that is run by Ascent, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Babcock. Somewhat ironically, that program uses the Hawk AJT for its advanced phase.

Just before the Paris show Ascent announced that the UKMFTS program had produced its first four pilots. The training system uses computer-based training and simulators to download flight scenarios from training aircraft, and the Hawk AJT to download some elements of tactical training from frontline aircraft. o

DAVID McINTOSH

BAE’s Hawk is one of three trainers bidding for the new Polish requirement.

14 Paris Airshow News • June 19, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

by Matt Thurber L-3 Aviation Products announced that it has established a presence in India and that AgustaWestland has selected L-3’s Trilogy electronic standby instrument for new production A119 helicopters.

At the India Air Show in February, L-3 (Chalet A306, Static E170) had announced plans to add “technical support for its customers, engineering oversight for programs and expanded business development coverage.” According to L3, “The local presence advances L-3’s long-term business growth in the emerging Indian aerospace sector, as well as the region.”

The Trilogy selection by AgustaWestland makes the electronic standby instrument (ESI) available for forward-fit installation in the A119, both commercial and military models. Trilogy replaces three analog instruments typically used as standby gauges in many aircraft, combining in one 3.7-inch LCD attitude, altitude, airspeed and optional heading data. Trilogy is manufactured to Level A standards and offers emergency backup capability with a builtin lithium-ion battery. The battery backs up automatically whenever power is available and loses very little power when the Trilogy isn’t being used. The Trilogy internal computer constantly monitors maximum battery capacity and warns pilots when replacement is due.

L-3’s GH-3900 ESI is

The Indian Air Force (IAF) became the newest operator to fly its first Boeing C-17 Globemaster III last week. “The C-17 will equip the IAF with amongst the world’s most advanced humanitarian and strategic capabilities,” said Air Vice Marshal SRK Nair, assistant chief of Air Staff Operations (transport and helicopters). Boeing is on track to deliver four more C-17s to the IAF this year and five in 2014. The highwing, four-engine, military-transport jet can carry large equipment, supplies and troops directly to small airfields in harsh terrain; take off from a 7,600-foot airfield, carry a payload of 160,000 pounds; fly 2,400 nm; refuel while in flight; and land in 3,000 feet or less on a small unpaved or paved airfield by day or night. –N.M.

standard on new-production Beech­ craft King Air C90, 350 and 350 models.

Here at the Paris Air Show, in addition to the ESI and other products, L-3 Aviation is showcasing the significant progress that it has made in supplying NextGen equipment to airlines. L-3 recently delivered its 100th XS-950 ADS-B-out Mode S transponder, which is DO-260B certified. DO-260B “is the highest level of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast transmission (ADS-B out) available and meets the approaching mandate for the FAA’s NextGen airspace initiatives,” according to L-3.

The 100 L-3 XS-950 transponders are installed on Boeing 757s, 767s and 747s, MD-11s, and Airbus A300s, A320s and A330s. Operators that use the XS-950 include UPS, US Airways and JetBlue.

The XS-950 not only helps take advantage of ADS-B but also new features that L-3 has developed, such as SafeRoute which also offers a number of unique ADS-B in functions and is now certified on 20 Airbus A330s. o Display of ADS-B in SafeRoute-ITP (In-Trail Procedures) Below, the L-3 family of electronic standby instruments (GH-3001, GH-3900, Trilogy)

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Europe advised to focus on developing a UCAS Europe should stop trying to build a “me-too” version of the Reaper Male unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and concentrate instead on a stealthy unmanned combat air system (UCAS), because the U.S. will not export that technology. That was the advice offered at the Paris Air Show yesterday by Frank Pace, president of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (Hall 3 A82). As for the thorny issue of certification, that was no justification for a new European program either because–he revealed–General Atomics had started a drive to certify the Reaper to the appropriate NATO Standardization Agreement (Stanag).

Pace was speaking at a memorandum of understanding signing with CAE, for a partnership to create a new mission training system for the Predator and Reaper series. Later today he will sign another MoU with Fokker Technologies that will support the U.S. offer of Reapers to the Netherlands. The Dutch would be the fourth European country to acquire Reapers, following the UK, Italy and France. But Pace also said that Germany remained interested in acquiring the UAS. He said that this interest stemmed from the cost to develop and field a European alternative, which he

said could be $1.5 billion. “We’ve had a lot of discussions with the Germans,” he told AIN. General Atomics will spend about $100 million of its own money over the next four years to certify the Reaper. Pace outlined three areas of work: protection against lightning strike by inserting metal layers inside the structure; other, albeit slight, structural mods to achieve a defined fatigue life; and qualification of the flight and ground control software. Some of this would have to be refactored and old software cleaned up, he said. In a separate program, Pace recalled that General Atomics was investing $40 million to add a “due-regard” radar to the Reaper, to help pilots sense-andavoid conflicting air traffic. The two programs would increase the international appeal of the Reaper, but Pace also noted that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would also benefit. The DHS operates Reapers on border patrol duties in the U.S. Pace complained about slow progress on both sides of the Atlantic in developing rules and procedures for operating UAS in non-segregated airspace. “No one is stepping up to the plate, there’s too much risk aversion,” he said. He added that regulators should not try to devise a

DAVID McINTOSH

by Chris Pocock

One of only two U.S. Military aircraft that are on static display here, the MQ-9 Reaper is gaining more customers in Europe.

single set of rules for all types of UAS. Instead there should be three classes: the smallest UAVs that are essentially model airplanes, weighing no more than 50 pounds and flying no higher than 1,000 feet; the midsize UAVs weighing around 300 pounds; and the high-end airplanes such as the Reaper and Global Hawk. Only the latter enjoy the size, weight and power margins that enable them to accommodate perhaps 150 pounds of new equipment for ATC compliance.

The justifications for developing an all-European Male UAS include a perception that the U.S. would not allow adaptation of the Predator/Reaper series to achieve national sovereignty in command, control and dissemination, weaponization and alternative sensors. Pace said those perceptions were false. “The U.S.

Air Force is 100 percent in favor of allies adding weapons,” he claimed. There had been some resistance in Congress to Italy adding weapons, but this would be overcome within a couple of months. He said that France was talking about a European datalink for its Reapers. European Sigint packages could be added, especially since the U.S. won’t release that technology, he said.

In fact, he continued, it might be a good idea for European countries to form a “Reaper Users Club” to discuss and progress alternative payloads.

The MoU with CAE develops an existing relationship that started when Canada outlined its Joint Unmanned Surveillance Target Acquisition System (Justas) requirement. This has been slow to progress, Pace noted. The RFP is not now expected until next year. As well as the Reaper,

Canada was interested in the jet-powered Avenger, Pace said.

With a cruise speed of 360 knots instead of 220 knots, it could still make progress in the strong jetstream winds that affect northern Canada, Pace said.

A scale model of the Avenger dominates the General Atomics stand (Hall 3 A82) here at Paris. The type is a candidate for the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Carrier-Launched Surveillance and Strike (Uclass) requirement. Pace revealed that General Atomics would be bidding a slightly larger version for that program.

It would have stealth treatments that are absent from the current version, which can therefore be exported, he said. The bids for Uclass are due early next month, with an award foreseen in September. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are all expected to bid. o

VistaJet is expanding its 35-airplane fleet of Bombardier Global and Challenger jets with an order for 20 super-midsize Challenger 350s plus 20 options. The large order lead Steve Ridolfi, president of Bombardier Business Aircraft, to remark, “Sometimes

we are in awe of what VistaJet has accomplished. We couldn’t be more proud.”

Thomas Flohr, founder and chairman of VistaJet, said the Challenger 350 fits in with the company’s strategy to provide point-to-point global coverage.

Linking arms over the pact are, left to right, Bombardier Business Aircraft president Steve Ridolfi, VistaJet founder Thomas Flohr and Bombardier v-p of sales Bob Horner.

16 Paris Airshow News • June 19, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

With a range of 3,200 nm, he said, “This can connect China with India and India with Africa in the 2.5- to 5.5-hour range flying at a high altitude of 45,000 feet. It can enhance the point to point capability.”

The jet has a jump seat for the flight attendant and a cabin divider door, providing privacy even during take-off and landing. The Challenger 350 is equipped with modern cabin management systems, including inflight Internet access, Wi-Fi, modern business amenities and trim panel speakers for the ultimate in-flight sound.

With a 2013 list price of more than $1.035 billion, the jets will join the VistaJet fleet in mid-2014.

In 2012, VistaJet flew 25,000 passengers to 950 plus non-U.S. airports, of which 136 were in Africa. VistaJet flies exclusively Bombardier aircraft. –N.M.

DAVID McINTOSH

VistaJet decides on 20 Challenger 350s

BOC selects CFM for first neos Here at Le Bourget yesterday Robert Martin, managing director and CEO of Singapore-based BOC Aviation, a subsidiary of the Bank of China, shook hands with CFM International executive v-p Chaker Chahrour on a deal for CFM’s Leap 1A engine to power 10 A320neos–the lessor’s first neo order. BOC also ordered CFM56-5B powerplants for 10 A320ceo aircraft, the total value of the commitments amounting to $460 million at list prices. Martin said at the signing ceremony at CFM’s stand (Hall 2a B252) that the lessor would add 50 aircraft to its fleet this year. See also article page 35.

“The Eco-Skies™ are about to get a lot more eco-friendly.”

— Jeff Smisek, Chairman, President and CEO, United Airlines

“As part of our Eco-Skies™ initiative, United Airlines is proud to be the launch customer for Split Scimitar Winglet™ technology. By retrofitting our 737NGs, we’ll save over 45,000 gallons of fuel per plane per

year — and cut more than 450 tons of CO2 emissions per aircraft in the bargain. Maybe our new theme song should be ‘Rhapsody in Green.’” Fly to aviationpartnersboeing.com. The future is on the wing™. Again.

EADS pavilion a hotbed of activity and innovation Under the theme “Delivering Innovation,” EADS and its divisions–Airbus, Astrium, Cassidian and Eurocopter–are showcasing a wide range of products it says will help shape the future of the aerospace industry.

Meanwhile, the EADS human resources team plans to conduct a number of events at the show for those interested in starting or furthering their careers in aerospace and defense.

The EADS pavilion (Chalet Row A) integrates the company’s indoor exhibits, static display as well as media and hospitality center all in one place. Show goers can find more EADS products and technologies on display at the EADS stand in Hall 2A 253.

EADS Innovation Works, the

group’s corporate research and technology network, plans to present a number of initiatives in the field of electrical and hybrid propulsion during the show, including a fully electric general aviation training aircraft.

As part of its goal to recruit 5,000 people this year, EADS experts plan to hold 21 workshops for experienced professionals, students and graduates during which they can get details about career options within the company. EADS has also scheduled a dedicated “Diversity Day” for Thursday, June 20 and “International Student Day” on Friday, June 21. In another human resources initiative, the group invites visitors to the EADS static display to leave

Leahy thrilled over A350

by Vladimir Karnozov Following the first flight on June 14 of the Airbus A350 XWB, AIN had an opportunity to interview John Leahy, Airbus chief operating officer-customers, about the historic event.

What can you say about today’s flight?

There is nothing much else to say. It was just about a perfect test flight of a brand new aircraft type. You saw the takeoff, but did you hear the takeoff? It was so quiet that you could not probably hear it. Some people even thought it was an all-electric airplane, because it was so quiet.

It did a four-hour test-flight, not just around the barrier, four hours up in the air! Exploring the flight envelope, going to 80 percent of the speed of sound, going to slow flight. Prior to landing, the pilots did a slow pass over the runway at a thousand feet and then came in and landed. This is a game-changing airplane. It is really what the market wants.

It flies further than today’s airplanes. It has bigger seats, wider aisles, it has a brand new, highlyappealing flight entertainment system. It has a greater all-round efficiency. But it is also environmentally friendly.

Will there be new customers for the A350 during the air show?

We do not say about new orders before an air show because we do not have these orders now.

Is it possible to fly the airplane at Le Bourget?

I hope we can fly the airplane at the air show, but again it is a flight test program. What is important to me is that we flew the airplane before the air show.

Despite some of the naysayers out there in the industry, we did it! And I was just talking to the pilot a few minutes ago and he said it was beautiful as it went through the flight envelope, he was very happy about it.

The A350 looks bigger than the Boeing Dreamliner. Is it big enough to compete with the 777X? It certainly is. It is an all-new airplane and no longer a paper airplane. Just as we started out

Airbus COO John Leahy is confident his A350 bests Boeing’s Dreamliner, and competes with the in-development 777X.

20 Paris Airshow News • June 19, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

DAVID McINTOSH

by Gregory Polek

The EADS pavilion pulls together the company’s various divisions in one convenient location at the Paris Air Show.

their creative mark on a giant art exhibit entitled “Express Yourself–Design Your Future.”

EADS also serves as a partner for the “L’avion des métiers” event organized by the French industry association Gifas to promote employment within aerospace.

During the first few days of the show, an A400M military transport and British Airways’ soon-to-be-delivered first A380 will participate in the flying display, followed later in the week

by Airbus’s own test A380. Both with [the original] A350, we said that we would use a proven fuselage of the A330. We said we’d carve out the inside by about four to five inches, we’d put a composite wing on it and a new engine.

But what we left out was the folding wings [actually wingtips, a feature that Boeing patented in 1995 and may be included on the 777X]. But [the A330-based design] did not work. Because a clean sheet of paper airplane like the 787 was able to beat it. That is exactly what the 777X is going to face. This is a clean sheet of paper airplane. The 777X is a modification of an airplane that was designed and certified in 1995, and it will not be able to compete.

Does this mean that the 787-10 will kill the A330 once and for all?

I do not think so. We will see. It has to compete on price. Because you’ve got to look at the economics. It is about the capital cost.

This airplane and the 787 are substantially more expensive than the A330. And the A330 with more than 99 percent dispatch reliability…when you put the capital cost in, you will have a lower seat-mile cost than the 787.

What do you feel when selling the A350?

I do very much enjoy selling the airplane because the airplane sells itself, and so I have a very easy job.

More than 600 orders before the first flight! For the last five years this A350 has outsold 787 four to one. So, I am very proud that this airplane has sold itself. o

aircraft types also appear on the static display, as do a C295 from Airbus Military and an ACJ319 business jet. EADS also plans appearances in the flying display by a Tiger military helicopter from Eurocopter and an NH90.

A Eurocopter EC725 Caracal, the new EC645T2, an EC135, along with the AS565 MBe Panther and X3 high-speed compound helicopter all appear prominently on the static display line.

At the EADS pavilion and EADS stand, the group’s exhibits include a full-size A350 XWB

cockpit and cabin section from Airbus and a scale model of the A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport from Airbus Military.

Models of Astrium products on display include the GO-3S earth observation satellite system and GSM VIP, a service that combines satellite telecommunications with mobile telephony to deploy a GSM network that can be used in flight. Cassidian’s exhibits include the Eurofighter and its accompanying flight simulator and unmanned aerial systems such as the Harfang. o

Alenia Aermacchi’s plant in Monteiasi-Grottaglie, Italy, builds the 787’s horizontal stabilizer and the middle and center-rear fuselage sections.

Alenia Aermacchi ships first 787-9 fuselage section The first section of the Boeing 787-9 fuselage has left Alenia Aermacchi’s Monteiasi-Grottaglie plant, bound for Boeing’s final assembly line in Charleston, South Carolina.

Also a supplier on the 787-8 program, Alenia Aermacchi has already delivered more than 100 fuselage sections for the baseline Dreamliner six years after opening the Monteiasi-Grottaglie plant in Italy’s Apulia region.

“The achievement of this important milestone marks how the industrial plant MonteiasiGrottaglie has been able to cope with and succeed despite very strict production challenges,” said Alenia Aermacchi CEO Giuseppe Giordo.

The company produces the 787’s horizontal stabilizer and the mid and center-rear fuselage

sections, consisting of 14 percent of the entire structure. Originally the mid and center-rear sections were mated to the rear section at Charleston before shipping to Boeing’s final assembly line at Everett but more recently Boeing has opened a second final assembly line in Charleston as well.

Formerly known as Alenia Aeronautica, the Italian company’s North American subsidiary once participated in partial assembly of the carbon-fiber fuselage in Charleston through its equal partnership in Global Aeronautica, first with Vought and then with Boeing. However, roughly a year after buying Vought’s stake, Boeing bought the other half from Alenia to give it complete control over quality processes and to ensure faster delivery of the fuselage sections. –G.P.

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See more and hit more with Raytheon’s Aware

by David Donald Raytheon has developed a range of products under the Aware (advanced warfighter awareness for real-time engagement) label that provides enhanced situational awareness and intuitive networking for both aircrew and soldiers on the ground. Some of the capabilities are on display here in Raytheon’s pavilion (Static D166), where key elements of an F-16 cockpit upgrade are on show, linked with a new proof-of-concept demonstrator of a system that could significantly aid JTACs (joint tactical air controllers) working in the field.

Working with the U.S. Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command, which between them field a sizeable fleet of older Block 30/32 versions of the Lockheed Martin F-16C/D tactical fighter, Raytheon has developed a new center display unit (CDU) for the center pedestal. The new CDU takes around two days to fit to an F-16 and requires no specialized modification of the aircraft.

This high-definition screen is open to any inputs and can typically be used to present moving maps, tactical displays and mission information, as well as messaging functions and aircraft and

navigation information. The CDU has been tested in the laboratory with synthetic aperture radar imagery generated by the RACR AESA radar that Raytheon is offering as an F-16 retrofit option.

Split-screen and picture-in-picture capability makes the display highly versatile, and it was qualified last December as a primary flight reference for the F-16.

Cockpit display technology has lagged behind that of the sensors, so the benefits that high-definition imagery from new-generation sensors provide are difficult to present in the cockpit. However, the new screen answers that by displaying imagery of exceptional quality. In tactical terms, that allows identification of targets to be undertaken at greater distance than with older displays, resulting in an extension of decision time and greater mission safety through increased standoff.

Partnering the new CDU is the HMIT (helmet-mounted integrated targeting) sight, which was developed in conjunction with Thales (formerly Gentex) Visionix. This monocle display, developed by Gentex as the Scorpion, provides a cost-effective means

of displaying tactical information such as target locations, even in a night-vision goggle environment.

HMIT has been chosen to equip F-16s and Fairchild A-10s, and more than 300 units have been delivered. The CDU has been ordered to reequip the entire ANG/AFRC F-16 Block 30/32 fleet, and the first five units have already been delivered. In the meantime, the first export customer has been signed up in the form of South Korea, which has chosen both CDU and HMIT as part of a major upgrade program led by BAE Systems that also includes RACR radar.

Early experience of the CDU and HMIT in the F-16 is generating a lot of interest, from overseas and in the U.S. The ANG/ AFRC is studying extending the fielding of the system in other F-16 versions, such as the Block 40/42, and the active-duty U.S. Air Force is also closely examining the upgrades.

Aware Forward Controllers

As part of the Aware product line Raytheon has been selected to supply two items for the U.S. Army’s Air Soldier program that equips rotary-wing crews for operations away from their helicopters. These are a compact, lightweight soldier-worn computer that handles the input and output of several systems, such as communications, and a wrist-worn personal display.

CMC to upgrade C-130T cockpits

by Charles Alcock Lockheed Martin has chosen CMC Electronics to provide a new flight management system (FMS) and GPS landing sensor for the avionics upgrade package it is producing for the U.S. Navy’s C-130T fleet. CMC will supply three of its CMA-4000 FMS units and a pair of its IntegriFlight CMA-5024 GPS systems for each aircraft, with deliveries due to start this fall to the Lockheed Martin System Integration Laboratory. The cockpit upgrade is intended to extend the life of the C-130Ts for 20 years by giving them capability for communication, navigation surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM).

The CMA-4000 FMS features an Arinc-653 compliant real-time operating system, and its architecture meets the requirements of the FACE technical standard. This allows crew to have rapid access to enhanced software as well as giving the ability to host third-party user applications, decreasing the

cost and timeframe for development and integration work.

The new FMS unit provides radio management, mission control, flight management and navigation through all phases of flight. The combination of civil flight plans, with multiple type search patterns, radio control and control of mission-specific equipment improves the C-130T crews’ ability to deal with more demanding operations, according to CMC (Hall 3 E7).

The IntegriFlight CMA-5024 gives the C-130T a civil-certified global navigation satellite system (GNSS) for IFR operations. It provides wide area augmentation system (Waas) GPS capability from departure to non-precision approach that will comply with the current and future CNS/ATM requirements.

Waas augments GPS to provide extremely accurate navigation to support C-130T flight operations from the en route

22 Paris Airshow News • June 19, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

phase of flight through to making CAT-1-equivalent approaches with GNSS and Waas localizer performance. It provides a level of navigational integrity that could not be achieved with standard GPS. o

CMC Electronics is providing its CMA4000 FMS and CMA-5024 GPS to help Lockheed Martin modernize the cockpits of the U.S. Navy’s C-130T fleet.

The well-dressed JTAC of the near future could soon be using Raytheon’s Aware technology, including helmet-mounted monocle for viewing marked targets and for designating new ones, and a wrist-worn display and control panel. The full ensemble also includes a compact, chest-worn computer.

Leveraging that technology, Raytheon has schemed a system that uses these components in conjunction with other technology, including the HMIT sight, for application to the JTAC role. With the combined system the JTAC can see marked targets in the monocular sight and is also able to designate new targets by aligning crosshairs in the sight with the target. The system automatically generates targeting-quality coordinates on command. Using the touch-screen wrist display the JTAC can add other information and then send the information and coordinates digitally to close-support aircraft in the form of a nine-line brief.

Under the current process the JTAC has to radio through the nine-line using voice comms, with all the attendant difficulties that might incur, such as the transposing of digits. Furthermore, in some situations the JTAC may be in a

covert position and not wish to give away their position by talking. Raytheon’s voiceless JTAC proposal has obvious applications to special forces operations. Another benefit is that the JTAC’s position will automatically show up on the aircraft’s tactical display, greatly reducing the chance of inadvertent fratricide. Later in 2013 Raytheon will demonstrate the JTAC system to the U.S. Air Force and is expecting an RFP before the end of the year.

Here at the Paris Air Show Raytheon is displaying the Aware technologies in a connected environment, with a half-dome simulator that demonstrates the JTAC solution.

Targets that are designated by the JTAC system can be seen on an example of the F-16 center pedestal screen. Also on show is a larger vehicle-mounted tablet display that can be removed for dismounted operations. o

Teledyne’s Data Loader shaves time and cuts costs According to Teledyne Controls, its new enhanced Airborne Data Loader technology is “dramatically reducing” operating costs of Boeing 737NGs flown by low cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle. Savings of up to $11,700 per month for the fleet of 42 aircraft are being realized, simply because of the time saved by engineers loading navigational data into avionics databases.

“Navigation database discs have to be changed every 28 days and typically comprise a set of six discs that have to be loaded manually, each one in turn,” said Aleksander Geist, senior avionics engineer at Norwegian. “If one of those discs fails to load, you have to start the process all over again. With eADL, however, the speed of loading is the same but it is automatic, which means the engineer can spend that time doing better things.”

Data is delivered to the eADL

via a single USB memory device.

For operators that wish to make the database process update even more simple, Teledyne Controls (Chalet C8) offers the Wireless GroundLink Data Loading system. This system bypasses the manual plugging in of the USB device by wirelessly transmitting software parts (including database updates) directly to the eADL from Teledyne’s LoadStar Server Enterprise ground system.

Arinc 615-3 onboard data loaders and Airbus’s MDDU can be upgraded to the eADL, which is a drop-in replacement for those units, with no wiring modifications required. The eADL also contains enough memory to store all required aircraft software parts, according to Teledyne, including applications and databases. The advantage is that these are immediately available when LRU replacements are made. –J.M.

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Crane is on everything from GTFs to E-Jets Crane Aerospace & Electronics (Hall 4 A188), a supplier of systems and components for critical aerospace and defense applications, announced selections of several of its products for the Paris Air Show audience.

Pratt & Whitney has selected Crane to provide the lube and scavenge pumps for the Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1100GJM geared-turbofan engine for the Airbus A320neo and the PW1400G for the Irkut MC-21.

“We offered the ability to provide both the pump and a fully integrated filtration assembly in one unit,” said John Higgs, vice president of fluid management solution for Crane Aerospace & Electronics. “Crane’s vane pump technology maximizes packaging flexibility with minimized weight, while at the same time providing superior pump efficiency, wear life performance and reliability.

program management experience on the current E-Jets minimizes development risk for the enhanced brake control and landing gear control systems,” said Martin McCarthy, vice president, business development of Crane’s Aerospace Group. “These systems will provide improved performance, increased reliability, lower maintenance costs and added functionality for the second-generation E-Jet family.” The new upgraded E-Jet is scheduled to enter service in 2018.

Crane already provides various systems for current Pilatus aircraft, including the brake control system, fuel control and monitoring system and proximity-sensing system for the PC-21 military turboprop. The company also supplies brake control systems for several other business jets. The PC-24 is Pilatus’s

Embraer selected Crane’s brake control, gear control and landing gear systems for its second-generation of E-Jets. Shown here is the part for an EMB 145 brake system.

Pratt & Whitney began the flight-test program for the PurePower PW1100G-JM geared turbofan on May 15, flying it on the engine manufacturer’s Boeing 747SP flying test bed at the company’s Mirabel Aerospace Centre in Canada.

Meanwhile, pump development for the MC-21’s PW1400G engine is on schedule to support ground testing of the first engine in 2014, according to Crane.

Crane was selected by Embraer to supply both the brake control and landing gear control systems for Embraer’s upcoming secondgeneration E-Jets, by Pilatus to provide the brake control system for its new twin-engine PC-24 business jet and by Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy to provide the brake control system with antiskid functionality for the C-2A Greyhound cargo aircraft.

“Our technical expertise and

first twin-engine business aircraft and its first-ever jet powered aircraft. First flight of the PC-24 is planned to take place by the end of next year.

The Crane brake system will be part of the C-2A Greyhound improved braking system program. According to the Naval Air Systems Command, the goal of the program is to improve stopping performance and ground controllability of the C-2A through the addition of antiskid control to its current brake system. The C-2A aircraft provides critical logistics support to carrier strike groups and is used to transport high-priority cargo, mail and passengers between U.S. Navy carriers and land bases.

SmartStem Retrofit

Crane also announced the approval of its SmartStem wireless tire-pressure system

24 Paris Airshow News • June 19, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

MARK WAGNER

by R. Randall Padfield

china’s view of the future cockpit Avic is here in Paris presenting its concept of how integrated commercial aircraft cockpits will look in the years to come including features from the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion line such as HUDs and LCDs.

for use on the Boeing 747400. SmartStem technology is already standard on Boeing 777 and 787 production aircraft, but the 747-400 approval represents the first certification for retrofitting SmartStem on large commercial aircraft.

The product provides a way to check tire pressure quickly, accurately and without gas loss, for improved safety. Each system consists of high-accuracy SmartStem sensors, which replace the existing standard wheel fill stems, and the handheld reader, which electronically reads and stores tire pressure and temperature.

Crane is actively working with

OEMs and the FAA to secure additional large commercial certifications, in order to enable fleet-wide retrofit solutions for large commercial customers.

SmartStem is also certified for a variety of business jets, as well as the Bombardier Q-Series.

Landing Control

Finally, Crane announced that more than 1,000 A320 airliners are now equipped with Crane’s enhanced landing gear control interface unit (LGCIU). Two units are installed on each A320.

The LGCIUs sense the position of landing gear and landing gear doors, flap disconnect status and cargo door position, and provide

system health status to the central fault display system.

Between the units installed on new aircraft and those sold to airlines for retrofit, Crane has shipped more than 2,000 units since the introduction of its Enhanced LGCIU as the production standard in October 2010. o

IAE on verge of first KC-390 tests International Aero Engines (IAE) will begin testing the first engine for the Brazilian KC-390 multirole tanker/ transport aircraft the week following the Paris Air Show.

The event kicks off the action for an engine program that is celebrating its 30th birthday this year. For the Airbus A320 series application, the IAE V2500 is heading for its highest annual production run ever, with delivery of more than 500 engines planned this year and next.

IAE (Chalet D70 Hall 5 D242) will build the V2500-E5 engines for the KC-390 at its Middletown, Connecticut facility, where all engine production will eventually be based. Flight tests of the first engine will be carried out on the first KC-390, in 2014, with certification scheduled for later that year.

The V2500-E5 for the KC-390 is almost identical to the existing V2500-A5 version powering the Airbus series, with minor modifications to the accessories and mounting system. Beatty said there were no further military applications in the pipeline, but added “we’re always looking for Embraer KC-390 n new opportunities.”

news clips

Ruag delivers TH06 Super Puma upgrade

z Kaman Adds Two German Locations

MARK WAGNER

z Sukhoi, IFC Reach Deal on 20 SSJ100s Ruag, which builds the Do 228 at Oberpfaffenhofen in Germany.

The sensor equipment includes a 360-degree surveillance radar, Telephonics RDR-1700B radar and operator console, HF, VHF/UHF and VHF FM radios. The aircraft is equipped with a door that can be opened inflight, a marine marker and life raft, enabling active engagement

Here at the Paris Air Show, Swiss company Ruag has this upgraded Super Puma helicopter on display.

Improvements include TH06 avionics.

during SAR operations.

Ruag will also deliver a Dornier 228 NG to Japan-based New Central Airservice (NCA) by early December. NCA now operates eight Dornier 228s. o

Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (Hall 2a B198) and Russia’s Ilyushin Finance Company (IFC) signed a so-called heads of agreement outlining the terms of delivery of 20 Sukhoi SSJ100s here at the Paris Air Show on Monday. IFC envisions leasing 15 of the airplanes in basic configuration for Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern customers. IFC also plans to buy five other long-range versions of the jet, designated the SSJ100-95LR. The Parties agreed that the deliveries would start in 2015. A Russian government loan guarantee program established to support Russian industrial exports and high-tech products would finance the deliveries.

z MV-22s Land on Japanese Ships

Snecma chooses GKN for Silvercrest LPT deal UK aerostructures and equipment group GKN Aerospace has been contracted by Snecma to provide low-pressure turbine (LPT) cases for the Silvercrest SC-2C engine for the Cessna Citation Longitude business jet.

Under a long-term agreement valued at £10 million ($15.7 million), production of LPT cases

by GKN Aerospace-Norway for delivery to Snecma’s Villaroche facility will accelerate as the engine is prepared for the Longitude’s scheduled entry into service in 2017.

GKN Aerospace-Norway was previously the Norwegian subsidiary of Sweden’s Volvo Aero, which GKN (Chalet B73, Hall 2b F169) acquired less than 12 months ago to form GKN Aerospace Engine Systems. In

its present and former guises, over time, that business has shipped more than 10,000 commercial- and military-engine LPT cases.

The Norwegian division believes participation in the Silvercrest project has been helped by its 25-year risk- and revenue-sharing partnership in the Snecma/GE CFM56 engine program, for which the company has been the sole supplier of LPT cases since 1986. “This has clearly supported a decision to involve us on this important new engine program,” said president Odd Tore Kurverud.

“Although the Silvercrest engine is significantly smaller than the CFM56, we will employ many of the same skilled metal manufacturing techniques.”

–I.G.

The U.S. Marine Corps demonstrated the capability of the V-22 Osprey to operate to allied nation platforms by landing the tiltrotor on the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter destroyer JS Hyuga and dock landing ship JS Shimokita on June 14. MV-22 Ospreys performed takeoffs and landings on the ships during Dawn Blitz 2013, a multinational amphibious exercise off the coast of California. Japan and France are among nations that have expressed interest in acquiring the tiltrotor, including “more than three” nations that are holding serious discussions, U.S. Marine Col. Greg Masiello, V-22 Joint Program Office manager, told a Paris Air Show briefing on Monday. That group includes Israel, which has requested V-22s from the U.S. as part of a larger arms package.

z GEnx Engines to Power Xiamen Airlines China’s Xiamen Airlines has signed a letter of intent with GE Aviation for GEnx-1B engines to power its six Boeing 787s, along with a 10-year service agreement for the airline’s GEnx-powered fleet. The list price of the order and service agreement is valued at more than $560 million. Delivery of the aircraft is to begin incrementally starting in July 2014.

Xiamen Airlines is the only airline in China to operate an all-Boeing fleet. It flies to more than 210 routes in 50 cities in Southeast and Northeast Asia and will use the 787 to fly to Europe and the U.S. two Xiamen and Fuzhou. The GEnx-1B engine has accumulated more than 60,000 flight hours and more than 14,000 cycles since it entered service in 2012. Around 850 have been sold to more than 30 customers, according to GE.

z Turkish Company Steered to A330 Rudder Deal

MARK WAGNER

Making its Paris debut in the static display is a Swiss air force Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma that has undergone the TH06 ISR upgrade by Ruag Aviation (Chalet A118, Static R). The Swiss company has designed and installed a major avionics overhaul that allows the Super Puma fleet to continue to provide ­service for many years to come.

Switzerland originally purchased 15 AS332M1 Super Pumas, which are designated TH89 in Swiss air force service.

The air arm later went back to Eurocopter for 11 AS532UL/ TH98 Cougars. In 2006 the air force initiated a program to bring the Super Pumas up to an avionics standard that met or exceeded the capabilities of the Cougar, and Ruag was given a contract for what became termed the TH06 project. Nine of the 15 helicopters have been redelivered, and the tenth is due next month.

TH06 is a major avionics upgrade that replaces and/or adds about 50 systems. At the heart of the upgrade is a new glass cockpit and integrated flight management system, with dual GPS, inertial navigation and a digital map display. New radios are installed with encryption and satcom capability, and the ability to communicate with police units.

The TH06 is optimized for ISR missions, with a sensor operator in the cabin to work the searchlight and forward-looking infrared equipment. The pilots now have night-vision goggle-compatible helmet-mounted displays.

Ruag’s upgrade makes the Super Puma safer to fly, particularly in the challenging terrain and weather that routinely faces Swiss pilots. Two-way information-sharing between flight deck and sensor operator enhance the helicopter’s effectiveness in the ISR and search and rescue (SAR) missions. TH06 is compliant with EASA regulations, and Switzerland’s military certification authority, armasuisse, has approved a supplemental type certificate.

Meanwhile, Ruag Aviation has delivered the first of two Dornier 228 New Generation turboprops to the Bangladesh Navy for maritime air patrol and SAR missions along the country’s 580-kilometer coastline. The second aircraft will be delivered at the end of June, according to

MARK WAGNER

by Neelam Mathews & David Donald

Kaman (Hall 3 D118) is expanding its European manufacturing capability with two new facilities in Germany and the UK. A new factory in Höchstadt, Germany will replace the existing site at Dachsbach and Kaman UK is relocating its tooling division to a purpose-built facility at Burnley.

The new Höchstadt site will double the capacity of the Kaman Specialty Bearings & Engineered Products division when it opens in 2014. This expansion will accommodate the U.S.-based group’s RWG business, which designs and manufactures flight-critical parts for aircraft, including bushings, metal-to-metal sphericals, self-lubricating bearings and rolling element bearings.

The new Burnley factory will feature advanced equipment and has been designated as one of Kaman’s centers of excellence for tooling. The enlarged site is due to open this fall and has been designed to meet the size and technology tooling requirements for new aircraft. The company’s investment in the UK has created 100 jobs over the last two years.

The Silvercrest SC-2C turbofan that will power Cessna’s Longitude business jet will have low pressure turbine cases from GKN Aerospace.

Airbus has awarded Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) a contract to supply composite rudders for the A330-200 and A330-300 long-range commercial jets. Under the terms of the deal, signed Monday at the Paris Air Show, TAI (Hall 4 E75) will serve as a single-source supplier through the life of the A330.

Plans call for rudder manufacture to take place at TAI’s Ankara Kazan facilities in Turkey, from where the company already supplies Airbus A350 XWB ailerons and control surfaces for a number of commercial/military aircraft platforms.

www.ainonline.com • June 19, 2013 • Paris Airshow News 25

Lights turn green for electric taxi systems

Honeywell president and CEO Tim Mahoney, left, and Safran chairman and CEO JeanPaul Herteman, briefed reporters on the companies’ electric green taxiing system (EGTS) on Sunday in Paris.

WheelTug signs electric drive agreement with Icelandair On June 12, WheelTug revealed it had signed a purchase agreement with Icelandair for deliveries of its nosegear electric drive system. Icelandair is the first Boeing 737 Max future operator to reserve delivery slots for the system. Earlier this month, WheelTug and Germany’s airberlin signed a declaration of intent to install the system, including an option for system installations on 47 Boeing 737NGs and 63 Airbus A320s. WheelTug claims that 11 airlines have now reserved 573 delivery slots to install the system.

It plans to begin deliveries in late 2014.

WheelTug (Hall 5 E264) estimates its tug system will save airlines $700,000 per aircraft per year. The company said it would offer the system to airlines on a lease or a power-by-the-hour basis, “so that the systems can be installed and operated on aircraft without any capital expenditure on the part of the airline whatsoever.” In the past year, WheelTug introduced “The WheelTug Twist,” a maneuver that enables the aircraft to move nose-first into the gate and then drive the nose wheels sideways for a 90-degree rotation to facilitate passenger loading and unloading at two doors. n

26 Paris Airshow News • June 19, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

Fuel used during taxi amounts to around 4 percent of the average airline flight profile. Electric green taxiing from Honeywell and Safran uses electric motors to drive the main wheels, allowing jets to delay engine start until just before takeoff. Additional benefits include protection from damage due to foreign object ingestion.

DAVID McINTOSH

airline operating efficiency during taxi and cut fuel consumption by up to four percent per flight cycle net of any weight penalty. (The system as currently fitted to the A320 weighs 300 kilograms or 661 pounds.) A short- or mediumrange aircraft that spends two and a half hours on taxiways each day could save 600 kilograms of fuel, the companies estimate. The system also promises indirect benefits by reducing wear and tear on engines and brakes and lessening the risk of damage to engine turbines from foreign objects on airport surfaces.

“Air France’s aircraft utilize a number of heavily used airports, and the EGTS can provide a decisive economic advantage at these airports, while also reducing emissions and noise in the terminal environment,” the companies said. “From early analysis, Air France expects to save the equivalent of several percent fuel-burn per cycle based on its current operations, for its fleet of 120-plus short- and

BILL CAREY

Honeywell and Safran have completed the first major phase of testing of their electric green taxiing system (EGTS), which is installed on an Airbus A320 that will conduct daily demonstrations at the Paris Air Show through Friday.

On Monday, the companies announced a memorandum of understanding with Air France to further develop the system.

The agreement “will enable Air France to analyze the potential technical, operational and financial benefits of the EGTS,” according to the companies.

The EGTS International 50/50 joint venture between Honeywell (Chalet B67) and Safran (Hall Concorde 54), announced at the 2011 Paris Air Show, is developing the EGTS. The system enables aircraft to push back autonomously from the gate and taxi to the runway without engaging the main engines, by using the APU generator to power electric motors in the main landing gear.

The joint venture contends the EGTS system will improve

DAVID McINTOSH

by Bill Carey

medium-range aircraft.”

Safran chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Herteman and Honeywell president and CEO Tim Mahoney provided an update on the EGTS system development on Sunday before the air show. They said the component system and aircraft test program has accumulated more than 3,000 hours on test benches and rigs, including maneuvers by the modified A320 in Toulouse, France. Since the aircraft’s first powered move in April, the EGTS has logged nearly 100 miles of rolling tests to evaluate the system’s performance in various load configurations and runway conditions while conducting maneuvers such as pushback, tight turns and U-turns.

Following the Paris Air Show, the test program’s next major milestone will be to conduct maneuvers at 20 knots, with the aircraft at maximum takeoff weight. “The team has been incredibly focused on system maturation. This is not just about achieving the demonstration at the Paris Air Show,” Mahoney said.

The executives said the system’s price has not been established, but that its cost will enable an acceptable return on investment to airlines. The EGTS will be offered off the production line from aircraft manufacturers or as a retrofit option. “Priority one is to work with the OEMs for a forward-fit on the aircraft,”

Mahoney said. “However, it’s been architected such that there would be very few and minor changes to the aircraft on a retrofit basis. That’s been one of the key design parameters. Specifically, I’m aware of at least 50 airlines that the team has interacted with where there has been very vibrant and enthusiastic interest in bringing this product to market.” o

IAI TaxiBot airs for 2014 deliveries Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) said it is in advance negotiations with several potential customers for the sale of 180 TaxiBots, a semi-robotic tow tug that is controlled from the cockpit using the airplane’s tiller and normal braking system and that can move the airplane up to 23 knots. The TaxiBot is on display at IAI’s exhibit (Chalet A206), and the company plans to begin deliveries in the second quarter of 2014.

TaxiBot trials with ground-support equipment company Lufthansa Leos have started in Frankfurt, Germany, with the first serial production vehicle. The trial begins with certification testing on a Lufthansa Boeing 737, which will be followed by taxiing for revenue flights. Ran Briar, IAI’s TaxiBot program director, said development of the narrowbody TaxiBot model is completed, and the low-rate production of the first four units has started. The model designed for widebody aircraft remains under development through the end of the year. The company plans to begin testing that system in 2014.

IAI would not disclose the system’s cost, but said that calculations by aviation consultancy ICF SH&E and studies conducted with airport and airline customers indicate a return on investment to airlines of one to two years, “which is a very comn pelling business for them.”

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Arianespace looks to the Middle East

Heron UAV is test flown inside commercial airspace

by Neelam Mathews

A Heron 1 medium-altitude long-endurance UAV from IAI has recently participated in a demonstration of unmanned operations in civilian airspace, undertaken at Murcia-San Javier in Spain. The airfield is a military training base but is also used by commercial aircraft, and the operations of the UAV were timed to coincide with those by other airport users.

Conducted under the aegis of the European Defense Agency

Even as European space consortium Arianespace (Static K400) plans the launch of India’s Insat-3D, the company is looking aggressively to tap business from the Middle East and Asia.

Arianespace has launched 65 satellites for Asian operators and has eight Asian satellites in its order book including Jabiru 1, Measat 3B, NBN 1, NBN 2, Optus 10 and Gsat-7, a multi-band satellite carrying payloads in UHF, S-band, C-band and Ku-band to be launched in August. Insat3D is a meteorological satellite built by India’s space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization, and the launch will take place from Arianespace’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana in the second week of July.

Designated Flight VA214 in

by David Donald

An Arianspace INSAT-3D satellite is removed from its container before deployment.

Arianspace has launched 65 satellites for Asian operators.

Arianespace’s numbering system, the upcoming Insat-3D mission– the 214th launch of an Ariane family vehicle–will be the 70th flight of the heavy-lift Ariane 5.

The meteorological satellite, in a dual mission, to be orbited along with the Astrium-built Alphasat, will carry weather forecasting payloads along with a search and rescue relay system. It is to have a mass at liftoff of approximately 2,100 kilograms. Alphasat will be operated under an agreement between the European Space Agency (ESA) and European commercial satellite operator Inmarsat and will provide

APPH Will Supply KC-390 Landing Gear Parts APPH, part of the BBA Aviation Group (Hall 5 B219), has secured a longterm supply agreement for the manufacture and support of the landing gear trunnion and rod system for Embraer’s KC-390 medium lift transporter. UKbased BBA Aviation is an aviation services and aftermarket support provider, and APPH designs and manufactures hydraulic systems and landing gear for commercial and military aircraft.

“Selecting the right suppliers for the KC-390 has been critical for Embraer,” said Paulo Gastão Silva, vice president for the KC-390 program. “APPH’s landing gear experience, combined with their manufacturing capability and flexible approach, gave Embraer the confidence to select APPH for the KC-390 program.”

The first of two KC-390 prototypes are expected to roll out at the end of 2014. Embraer’s market forecast points a potential demand for 728 aircraft in the KC-390 class. –N.M.

additional L-band capacity for coverage of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The Middle East remains a strategic market for Arianespace.

The company has orbited 19 telecommunications satellites for the region, representing a 70 percent market share, and is now looking at new-entrant countries including Qatar and Azerbaijan.

“As a realistic assessment, I expect Arianespace will launch at least one telecom satellite for the Middle East region annually on heavyweight Ariane 5 missions during the coming several years,” said Arianespace sales director Tony Thoma at the Global Space and Satellite Forum in Abu Dhabi in May. “In addition, we expect our services with the medium-lift Soyuz and lightweight Vega will generate new business opportunities while helping the development of observation satellite missions for this geographic zone.”

With an impressive launch tempo, the Ariane 5 heavylift launcher has achieved 69 launches overall with 55 successes in a row, including 44 dual launches and 11 single launches, according to Arianespace. Six launches were planned in 2013, with two already performed. o

IAI’s Heron flew maritime patrol missions from San Javier while a manned aircraft flew simulated collision trajectories towards it.

and European Space Agency, the demonstrations involved more than 10 trials that portrayed real-world scenarios that are likely to occur in civilian airspace. Data from the flights will be used to form the basis for licensing, qualification and flight safety requirements for unmanned aircraft integration.

During the demonstration the Heron was used to show the ability of the UAV to operate in the same airspace as a manned

“can those rotors handle all that power?”

DAVID McINTOSH

It looks a bit like this is a turbofanpowered sibling of its stablemate, the hybrid X3 speed demon.

But this Eurocopter EC645T2 is actually the company’s latest medium-size multirole military rotorcraft. It’s based on the highly successful civilian EC145.

28 Paris Airshow News • June 19, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

aircraft by employing satellite communications. The trial was accomplished under the DeSire (demonstration of satellites enabling the insertion of RPAs in Europe) program, which is being undertaken by an industrial consortium led by Spain’s Indra. The piloted aircraft simulated frontal and 90-degree collision trajectories towards the Heron, resulting in separation commands being issued to both the pilot and the UAV opera-

tor. The latter was based at San Javier, and was communicating with local air traffic controllers and regional control in Barcelona.

As well as demonstrating its ability to report to ATC, the Heron also conducted a demonstration of its maritime patrol capabilities to the Spanish air force and Guardia Civil.

Sensor data was relayed in real time via IAI’s Crisp secure Internet communications link to control rooms within both organizations. IAI had previously demonstrated the Heron to the Spanish air force and Guardia Civil in a campaign undertaken in the Canary Islands in conjunction with Indra. The Spanish company already operates the smaller IAI Searcher UAV on behalf of the air force in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, IAI is shortly to deliver a UAS Mission Trainer (UMT) to the Israeli air force to help the service meet increasing demands for UAV crews. The UMT, which was developed initially to meet the needs of overseas Heron customers, offers a range of high-fidelity training and simulation features. As well as basic training, it can be used for full mission crew and multiteam training and configured for a wide range of UAVs and payload systems. o

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Bristow poised to take on UK SAR role in April ’15

by David Donald On March 26 this year the UK’s Department for Transport announced that Bristow Helicopters (part of the U.S.-based Bristow Group) had won the contract to provide a search-and-rescue helicopter service for the whole of the UK. The 10-year, £1.6 billion contract will officially begin implementation in April 2015, and will be fully in place by 2017, managed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

Controversial plans to privatize the UK’s SAR operations were first announced in 2006, resulting in Soteria SAR being announced as preferred bidder in February 2010 based on its proposal to operate 24 Sikorsky S-92s.

However, in February 2011, and just days away from contract signature, the Soteria consortium of CHC Helicopter, Thales and Sikorsky admitted that it had access to commercially sensitive information, and the contract was halted. Later in the month the bidding process was reopened, leading to the award this spring.

This March’s announcement finally spells the end for the UK’s military SAR force, which currently operates the aging Westland Sea King in both RAF and Royal Navy colors. Established in 1941 as the Air-Sea Rescue service, the RAF’s first SAR operation was initiated to retrieve downed airmen from British waters. The advent of the helicopter in the post-war years allowed it to flourish as a nationwide organization for both civilian and military users, and the RAF’s yellow-painted machines, supplemented

by Royal Navy’s red-paneled helicopters, became familiar sights in the UK’s mountainous and coastal regions. However, from the 1980s civilian contractors have been conducting some UK SAR operations on behalf of the MCA. While the end of military SAR coverage has brought dismay to some, the UK DfT contends that, while the number of helicopters is reduced, their improved capabilities and strategic locations will improve the service. For instance, the department stated that, at present, only 70 percent of the nation’s high- and veryhigh-risk areas are reachable within 30 minutes, but under the new contract that figure rises to 85 percent. Average response flying time will decrease from 23 to 19 minutes.

Under the new contract Bristow will operate 22 new helicopters from 10 bases.

To replace the fleet of nearly 40 Sea Kings the company is turning to the two manufacturers that were inherently linked with the Sea King: Sikorsky, and its UK licensee AgustaWestland. The U.S. manufacturer is providing 11 S-92s, which will operate from Caernafon, Humberside, Newquay, Sumburgh and Stornoway. The company is also establishing a supply hub at Aberdeen, to support not only the SAR force but also other S-92s operating in the region.

AgustaWestland, meanwhile, has been contracted for 11 AW189s, which are being built in the UK at Yeovil and will be based at Inverness, Lee-on-Solent, Manston, Prestwick and St. Athan.

Two helicopters will be operational at

Three new Sikorsky S-92s arrived at Sumburgh on May 11 this year in preparation for Bristow taking over the UK Coastguard SAR contract at the base from June 1, and from Stornoway on July 1. These aircraft will ultimately form part of the company’s longer-term nationwide commitment.

This gives an idea of what Bristow’s fleet of AgustaWestland AW189s will look like when they enter service in the UK SAR role.

each of the 10 bases, with one aircraft of each type under maintenance or held in reserve. For major emergencies Bristow has stated that it could reposition at least seven helicopters to any location at short notice and still maintain nationwide cover. As well as new helicopters, Bristow is also building new SAR facilities at nine

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30 Paris Airshow News • June 19, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

of the bases, while overhauling the existing MCA base at Stornoway to match the standards of the others.

Interim Contract

In the meantime, just before the Paris Air Show Bristow resumed its UK SAR operations after a six-year gap. From 1983 the company had operated S-61s on behalf of the MCA at the bases at Sumburgh and Stornoway in Scotland, and Portland and Lee-on-Solent in the south of England. These operations complemented those of the RAF and Royal Navy. From June 2007, however, Canadian company CHC Helicopter took over the MCA contract.

While CHC will continue to operate AgustaWestland AW139s from the two southern bases until implementation of the nationwide contract, Bristow won the interim UK Gap SAR contract last year to provide cover at the Scottish locations.

The Bristow operation at Sumburgh went “live” with two S-92s on June 1, following crew training at Inverness, and Stornoway will follow suit on July 1, again with two S-92s. These locations will ultimately be rolled into the nationwide SAR program when it comes into effect. In the meantime, CHC Helicopter continues to provide SAR coverage for the Republic of Ireland, flying six S-61Ns from four bases. o

Brazil’s air force still waiting for much-needed new fighters

by Reuben Johnson Brazil has long been known as the home of Embraer, which continues to vie for the rank of the world’s third-largest commercial aircraft producer behind Boeing and Airbus. Although the rest of the country’s aerospace and defense sector has tended to lag well behind the U.S. and Europe, the situation may be about to change.

As in the rest of the world, Brazil’s industry has been in a process of consolidation for several years. This has seen a number of smaller firms pulled in to become divisions of larger consortiums that have a significant footprint in more than one sector of the economy.

“The defense business here is now a game being played by a smaller number of larger players,” said one Brazilian defense analyst, speaking to AIN on condition of anonymity. “And the name of the game now is for these larger groupings of firms to develop active, working partnerships outside of Brazil.”

firms can cooperatively improve on the design of and/or develop along with a foreign firm before manufacturing that product for both Brazil and third nations.

The highly diverse defense systems producer, Avibras, is involved in just such a project involving the re-engining of the MBDA Exocet missile, specifically the MM38, MM40 Block 2 and AM39. The

One of the Brazilian industry’s new joint developmental projects is the re-engining of the MBDA Exocet by Brazil’s Avibras.

planned expiration period since 2009.

The latest extension expires in September and bidders appear reluctant to go along with yet more political procrastination.

Debilitating Delays

Brazil’s UAV maker Santos Lab has done a deal with Boeing-owned Insitu.

Brazil’s Mectron and its missile designs are now officially part of the Oderbrecht Defence conglomerate since their acquisition by that firm two years ago.

One of the most visible examples of this was the 2011 acquisition of the airlaunched weapons maker Mectron by the Brazilian conglomerate Oderbrecht. The company, still using the Mectron label on its product line, now markets itself as Oderbrecht Defesa e Tecnologia.

Since the acquisition, the company has branched out beyond some of its traditional partnerships with South Africa’s missile maker Denel, and has made an agreement to produce under license the Russian-designed KBP Pantsir-S1 (NATO designator SA-22) short-range air defense system along with a group of Brazilian firms that will manufacture the major subsystem components. This project with Russia’s KBP illustrates the other trend now in the Brazilian aerospace industry: a push to find projects that the country’s

program is supposed to start with the reengining for Brazil of the MM40 Block 2 models and then later the AM39s, which will be used on the Brazilian Super Puma helicopters. Avibras and the Brazilian Navy conducted a test firing last year using an Exocet with one of their rocket motors with the warhead section replaced by a telemetry unit from Mectron, which was also equally involved in the development.

UAVs and Fighters

One of the newer partnerships is the more recent link-up between Brazil’s Santos Lab (Hall 3 Stand C/D30) and the Boeing subsidiary Insitu. Both companies produce a line of small UAVs, some of which can be launched in the field by an individual soldier who pitches the vehicle

32 Paris Airshow News • June 19, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

into the air as if it were a paper aircraft as its propulsion system powers up.

However, a far bigger partnership revolves around the long-delayed tender for the planned FX-2 fighter, which has been under consideration in one form or another since 1997. The latest iteration has had three finalists–Sweden’s Saab Aerospace JAS-39E/F Gripen, the French Dassault Rafale and Boeing’s F/A-18E/F as the U.S. entry.

Designed to replace a fleet of aging air force fighters for the Brazilian air force (FAB), the FX-2 would see the procurement of 36 new aircraft to be licenseproduced in Brazil. The underlying assumption of the program has been with follow-on procurements, the total number of whichever model is to be selected by the FAB would come to 120 aircraft.

The long-term goal of the FX-2 program was for Brazil’s own industry to be producing a fighter that could be sold outside of Brazil in addition to FAB’s own requirement. The difficulty is that the long-deferred program appears to be reaching breaking point for both the potential sellers and buyers.

Speaking off the record, executives with all three firms bidding for the program have complained of “Brazil fatigue” over how long the process continues to roll on without a decision being made.

The validity of the commercial proposals that accompany each of the three companies’ bids, which include industrial participation and pricing agreements, have had to be repeatedly extended beyond each

FAB is no less frustrated by the delays.

The air force has completed its assessment of the three bids some time ago and has been waiting for the politicians and President Dilma Rousseff to make a decision.

Just prior to the April 2013 LAAD defense show in Rio de Janeiro, Brig. Gen. Carlos Baptista Júnior, the outgoing head of the FAB’s Comissão Coordenadora do Programa de Aeronave de Combate, which is responsible for administering the fighter procurement, gave a speech in which he warned that the endless delays of the FX-2 decision were beginning to compromise the force’s capability to carry out even its most basic missions.

According to the Brigadier General, the “focal point of the problem” that needs to be addressed by the FX-2 procurement is the FAB’s “diminishing operational capacity” and “not any other aspect.” In his view, too much attention has been paid to unfulfilled ambitions for transfer of technology to Brazil’s defense industry at the expense of achieving the final decision the FAB needs in order to refresh its fighter fleet.

Clearly, this procurement will be the most transformational of all in the history of Brazil’s aerospace sector. The question is if the decision will come too late for some of the anticipated benefits that this program is supposed to bring to Brazilian industry to be realized.

There are 20 Brazilian exhibitors here at the Paris Air Show, largely concentrated in Hall 3. In addition to Embraer, the focal point of the South American country’s presence this week is the Brazilian Defense and Security Industries Association (ABIMDE). o

ST Aero bent on expansion, adds new MRO capabilities

by William Dennis From a humble beginning with just an MRO set-up in Singapore, ST Aerospace has expanded rapidly into a global service-provider in key aviation hubs in the Americas, China, Europe and Singapore. It provides a wide range of

airframe services for all Boeing and Airbus aircraft types with capability up to heavy maintenance.

With strong roots in maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO), and modification of military aircraft, ST Aerospace, ST Aerospace has its roots in maintenance hangars such as this one.

a subsidiary of Singapore Technologies Engineering, entered the commercial aviation market in 1990. By 2010, China had become the main focus after global expansion elsewhere.

Chief operating officer Lim Serh Chee said the company is expanding its airframe capacity in China to position itself to meet demand for services in the future. The construction of a hangar at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is set to be completed in the third quarter of 2013 and will be able to accommodate one widebody and two narrowbody aircraft simultaneously. The new MRO facility is a joint venture with a Chinese aviation company.

Known as ST Aerospace (Guangzhou) Aviation Services Co. Ltd., it is expected to start operations by the fourth quarter. No further details are available yet, however.

ST Aerospace moved into the Chinese market in 2011 to setup a 50-50 joint venture engine MRO facility with Xiamen Aviation Industry Co. Known as ST Aerospace Technologies Xiamen (Statco), it has the capacity to support up to 300 engines annually. Equipped to provide MRO and total support services for the CFM56-7B and CFM56-5B powerplants, there are plans to expand the facility’s capability further.

Located near Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, the facility has a built-up area of 321,410 sq ft with a state-of-theart, fully computerized data acquisition test facility for up to 90,000 pounds thrust.

Statco complements the ST Aerospace engine MRO facility in Singapore (this handles up to 350 engines annually).

China’s MRO sector grew 7.6 percent in 2012 and is projected to grow at a rate of 8.5 percent per annum over the next two years. Lim said that over the longterm, according to forecasts published by U.S.-based aviation consultants TeamSAI and ICF SH&E, and Boeing and Airbus, there will be a continuing trend toward outsourcing. Based on TeamSai and ICF SH&E studies, global MRO growth is projected to maintain a 4.3-percent compound annual growth rate over the next 20 years.

Despite the decline in the cargo market in 2012, Lim noted that the modest upturn in the first quarter of 2013 points to a positive outlook for the long-term.

ST Aerospace is one of the very few MRO companies with the capability for passenger-to-freighter (PTF) conversion

34 Paris Airshow News • June 19, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

for several aircraft types: Boeing 727, 747, 757 and 767; MD-11 and DC-10.

To date it has performed close to 200 freighter conversions. For the 757, the company has secured contracts for 102 aircraft, with 70 already completed and delivered to customers.

It has signed an agreement with EADS EFW (EADS Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH) on a collaboration to launch the Airbus A330 PTF conversion program.

Lim said the collaboration also paves the way for EFW to serve as ST Aerospace’s European MRO center to serve customers in the region.

Madrid Operation

ST Aerospace has expanded landing gear capability to include the Airbus A340 for the centerline landing gear at its Madrid facility, complementing the MRO offering for A320 landing gears.

The facility is the only certified Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency Part 145 repair station specializing in the maintenance of A320, A330 and A340 landing gears.

The company also formed an alliance with Iberia Maintenance to jointly market and provide maintenance services for Boeing and Airbus aircraft types through ST Aerospace Solutions and Madrid Aerospace Services.

As part of its plan to be a one-stop shop MRO service provider, ST Aerospace is developing and expanding its component total support capability to address evolving market demands.

Recently it set up a rotable asset management company, ST Aerospace Rotables, that will focus on rotable assets leasing, asset trading, loan and exchange, and provide support to its maintenance-bythe-hour program.

ST Aerospace also has capability for various general aviation aircraft and helicopter types. To boost its general aviation maintenance services in Seletar, Singapore, it is constructing a general aviation complex which will house a hangar, simulator center, a center for technical training and VIP facility for air charter customers. It is expected to be completed this month.

The company has contracts worth $400 million for airframe, component and engine maintenance, as well as engineering and development. It will be carried out through its global MRO network. o

Leasing firm BOC adopts measured approach to growth

by William Dennis BOC Aviation (Hall 5, D262) has through the bank. The bank is able to progrown from just another player in the vide debt financing for aircraft on either aircraft leasing business to a prominent a bilateral or syndicated basis.

BOC Aviation’s long-time managing brand, and the world’s fifth largest aircraft lessor. Started in 1993 as Singa- director and CEO Robert Martin said pore Aircraft Leasing Co. (sale), it was the company has grown by sticking to an acquired by Bank of China in Decem- operating lease model, and having a longber 2006 for $3.25 billion. In July 2007, term focus on getting the cost right when buying aircraft. While building a conserits name was changed to BOC Aviation.

The current sale fleet comprises vative but extremely well-financed one Boeing 747-400F, 18 Boeing 777s, brand it has been necessary, four Airbus A330/200/300s, five Airbus over the past 20 years, to build A330-200Fs, 70 Boeing 737NGs, 87 Air- a banking group of more bus A320s and nine Embraer E-190s. than 50 banks–coupled with It has 87 aircraft on order in total, and a more recent move into capiexpects to take delivery of 50 aircraft tal markets. Martin said that in this year (it has received 20 already). the leasing business it is crucial BOC plans to take delivery of 40 aircraft, and sell 20, each year.

Bank of China has been aggressively financing aircraft for close to 36 years. As part Robert Martin, managing of the Bank of China group, director and chief executive officer, BOC Aviation assists airlines BOC Aviation. that are seeking debt financing by arranging financing

to have liquidity sufficient to buy aircraft when no one else is buying. “This is the fundamentals of the business,” he said.

BOC Aviation wants to be the leading Asian player in the world’s aircraft leasing market. Being headquartered in Singapore is a major cornerstone of its strategy; it is somewhere the world’s markets meet, and it has a AAA rating.

“We want to be seen as an airline’s long term partner and it is important to work with them when times are tough,” Martin said. This is exactly what the company did during the global financial crisis in 20082009, buying $2.3 billion of assets over a period as short as three months. “We have to set up strong relationships with customers to get to the top end of the market,” stressed Martin.

BOC Aviation started out as a widebody lessor but gradually changed its portfolio to comprise 70 percent single-aisle aircraft, Boeing 737NGs and the Airbus A320 family. Single-aisle aircraft are easier to lease to airlines and transition costs are low, said Martin. “Our aim is to have 70 percent in our portfolio the most popular type of single-aisle aircraft,” he added.

The 737NG

and A320 family have shared a relatively equal split of the narrowbody aircraft market over the years. With changes in technology BOC Aviation is also moving to acquire the 737Max and the A320neo.

Meanwhile, earlier this year it took delivery of two sharklet equipped A320s, both leased to Singapore-based low cost carrier Jetstar Asia. Another seven will join BOC Aviation’s fleet during the course of the year.

Martin said there is a lot of potential for growth in the single-aisle segment of the market. About 45 percent of the cities in Asia and 100 in China have a population of slightly more than one million. With air travel holding tremendous potential, the opportunity to link the cities with both passenger aircraft and freighters is huge.

On larger aircraft, BOC Aviation is interested only in Boeing 777s, Airbus A330s and–in time–may acquire Boeing 787s. Four-engine and very large aircraft (the Airbus A380 for example) are not options that BOC is looking at, due to high costs.

BOC Aviation also maintains a young fleet, with an average of four years, and intends to maintain this so that aircraft are easier to finance and trade–and more efficient and environment-friendly. “We want to have fuel-efficient aircraft in the market, which means lower maintenance cost,” Martin said. o

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS. PROVEN PERFORMANCE®. www.ainonline.com • June 19, 2013 • Paris Airshow News 35

R-R continues to refine Trent 700 performance

by Ian Goold Rolls-Royce (R-R) is developing continuous improvements for mature Trent engines, with new technology flowing from later models into established variants, according to program director John Hogarth. Since the original Trent– the Series 700–entered service on a Cathay Pacific Airbus A330 in 1985, successive variants have been introduced to constitute a “tailored family” enjoying common architecture, but with each model d ­ edicated to specific airframes.

The manufacturer has established a suite of enhanced performance (EP) developments that improve production standards or that can be applied retrospectively to upgrade early examples of each Trent family member. EP improvements have been developed for the Trent 500 (which powers the Airbus A340-500), Trent 700 (A330) and Trent 800 (Boeing 777), with two standards available for the Airbus A380’s Trent 900 engines.

The Trent is derived from the RB211 (developed for the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar during the 1970s, and which famously pushed Rolls-Royce into receivership), the initial Trent 600 having been based on the RB211524L that was intended for the Boeing 767-400ERX (which never entered production) and

which was offered as a competitor against Pratt & Whitney PW4000 or General Electric CF6 engines for the McDonnell Douglas MD-11.

Technology feedback started from the Trent 700, which produced upgrades for the RB211535 and most older -524G/H engines that powered the Boeing 757 and 747, respectively. A trend was soon established that has seen the Trent 700 benefit from both Trent 800 and Trent 1000 development, while technology from the Trent 900 has been applied to the Trent 500 and the new Airbus A350’s Trent XWB is feeding into the Trent 1000.

Sophisticated Aerodynamics

A good example of this technology feedback arises from Trent 1000 “elliptical leading-edge” (ELE) high- and intermediate-pressure compressor (HPC and IPC) blades, which reduce fuel burn and are now available for Trent 800EP and Trent 500EP+ applications. Hogarth said the blade’s “sophisticated aerodynamics,” which reduces airflow separation behind the leading edge, provides a 0.5- to 0.7-percent benefit to fuel consumption worth “up to $200,000 per aircraft per year.” First customer orders have been agreed

The initial Rolls-Royce Trent 700 (above) enhancedperformance (EP) retrofit kit includes optimized turbine-case cooling and intermediate- and high-pressure compressor blades with elliptical leading edges. For the Trent 900 (right), the EP Block 1 standard performance upgrade covers elliptical leading edge blades, tighter low-pressure turbine blade-tip clearance and a hard coating on the high-pressure compressor drum to allow closing running of stator blades.

to, perhaps for announcement here at Le Bourget.

Trent 700 fuel burn is said to have benefited by 1.1 percent from an EP retrofit package introduced in 2009, with an EP2 expected to follow in two years, although R-R does not yet know if this will be available for retrofit. The initial Trent 700 EP retrofit kit includes ELE IPC/HPC blades and optimized turbine-case cooling.

These changes are available on new-build engines, along with other developments such as optimized blade-tip clearance, “pocket-less” fan-spinner fairing, “super-polished” turbine

hardware, and HPC improvements that together give new engines a 1.3-percent fuelefficiency gain.

Planned Trent 700 EP2 characteristics that will lead to a new 2015 build standard and which could yield one-percent fuel-burn improvements (worth $200,000 per aircraft per year) include HPC and IPC stator-blade changes, better nozzle guide-vane (NGV) sealing and an improved “aerostandard flutter bridge” in the lowpressure turbine (LPT). As Airbus A330 popularity continues, the engine manufacturer is producing “more [Trent 700s] than ever before.”

French start-up firm offers fuel-saver seat

by Thierry Dubois Expliseat (Hall 4 Stand F146), a Paris-based start-up company, is here (in the French SME pavilion) with a new economy-class seat designed to drastically cut weight and complexity. Dubbed Titanium, it weighs 8.8 pounds per passenger–a 50-percent saving, Expliseat claims. This may translate into an estimated 3- to 5-percent fuel saving, or $300,000 to $500,000, per aircraft per year.

Titanium is offered as a threeseat row assembly. The structure uses titanium and composite materials for a lighter and more straightforward design. According to its promoters, the part count has been reduced to 30, down from 500 for a conventional seat.

Expliseat targets equipping 100 to 200 aircraft per year,

starting this year. The Titanium seat has been designed for narrowbodies like the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320 family.

To combine simplicity and comfort, the fixed backrest has been “pre-reclined” by 18 degrees.

It is just two inches thick, its “technical textile,” able to absorb shocks from the knees and fists of fellow passengers behind. Expliseat partnered with Iffstar, a French research center specializing in transport technologies. As a result, the design of the seat back structure “reduces inter-vertebra shocks,” the company said.

With a 29-inch seat pitch (found on Easyjet aircraft, for example), knee room was evaluated

by Iffstar, and averaged 3.4 inches. No tray table appears on the

36 Paris Airshow News • June 19, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

seat’s back in its basic version. As a matter of comparison, Recaro’s SL3510 seat–the lightest in the German manufacturer’s line– weighs 20 pounds and also has a fixed “pre-reclined” position but includes a tray table.

Expliseat has applied for a “design organization approval,” under EASA rules. The certification process is to be completed this year, according to the company’s plans. The Titanium’s price is said to be “average.”

Company president Benjamin Saada, managing director Jean-Charles Samuelian and chief technical officer Vincent Tejedor founded Expliseat in 2011. Among the shareholders is Christian Streiff, a former Airbus CEO, they pointed out. o

Benjamin Saada, president (standing), and Jean-Charles Samuelian, managing director, are among the founders of Expliseat, a French start-up designing lightweight economy-class aircraft seats.

R-R (Chalet B89) said last month that an EP2 package would run this year, following an initial EP upgrade that improved fuel burn and enhanced engine reliability. “Delay and cancellation and unscheduled engine-removal rates have improved by 50 percent in the past two years,” according to Hogarth. The Trent 900EP2 includes further optimization of turbine case cooling (benefiting from Trent XWB technology), and an optimized air system that contribute to a “further 0.5- to 0.8-percent” fuel-burn improvement over the gains generated in the earlier EP. The Trent 900EP Block 1 standard performance upgrade covers ELE blades, tighter LPT blade-tip clearance and a hard coating on the HPC drum to allow closer running of stator blades. A long list of “maturity” improvements includes HP and intermediate-pressure (IP) turbine disc and blade changes, an LP location bearing package, work on IP NGVs and an upgraded electronic engine control software package.

R-R’s Trent 500EP was introduced on new-build engines and offered a one-percent fuel-efficiency improvement. A planned EP+ upgrade for the Trent 500, which at 127 aircraft comprises the company’s second-largest Trent fleet, is expected to provide a further 0.5-percent gain. The Trent 500EP+ was scheduled to enter testing in mid-2013, a year ahead of entry-into-service, and will be offered as a retrofit package. o

More thrust, advanced controls give Su-35S a competitive edge

by Vladimir Karnozov Sergei Bogdan, who is flying the Sukhoi Su-35S demonstration flights in the flying display here this week, has more than 4,900 flight hours on several dozen aircraft types, including 460 hours in the cockpits of Su-35 fighters.

“Some of the combat regimes specified for this type are yet to be fully materialized,” Bogdan told AIN. “The airplane is now at the final stage of customer acceptance trials.” He said that the particular airframe on the Side [number] 07 aircraft present here is “a combat machine, which can be used in anger against certain types of targets. We are working to soon enable this machine to use the whole spectrum of the weapons in the specification to the type.”

Touching on the features of the Su-35S that sets it apart from earlier Sukhoi designs, Bodgan said that most of the maneuvers included in the Le Bourget flight profile have already been demonstrated earlier on other types. But the jet’s higher thrust-to-weight ratio and the more advanced

flight-control system enables it to make some further advancement in Sukhoi’s “super maneuverability” domain.

Giving an example of a well known but recently “tuned” maneuver, Bodgan explained the bell (tail slide).

“Earlier, when executing this maneuver, the airplane stopped midair and then started to drop while keeping its nose-up/tail-down position.

Now, thanks to [the] Su-35’s higher

Boeing out of the gate

be a little bit higher than the -9.”

Air Lease’s most recent order, which Hazy said he would sign in the coming weeks, covers 30 787-10s as well as another three 787-9s, increasing its order count for the -9 to 15. He said first delivery is anticipated in mid-2019. United’s contract for 20 787-10s, the first of which Boeing plans to deliver in 2018, includes an “incremental” order for 10 airplanes and a conversion of 10 existing -9 orders, and raises its total order count to 65 Dreamliners.

Gecas has committed to 10 airplanes, British Airways 12 and Singapore Airlines 30.

Under study by Boeing for at least two years, the -10 has already reached a considerable level of maturity, given the manufacturer’s work with international partners. A pair of fuselage plugs–one toward the front of the fuselage and one near the rear–extends the 787-9’s fuselage by 18 feet, allowing for a 15 percent increase in passenger capacity, enough for 40 passengers. According to Boeing, the standard 7,000 nm range of the -10 covers more than 90 percent of the world’s twin-aisle routes while seating between 300 and 330 passengers, depending on interior configuration.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes v-p of airplane development Scott Fancher challenged the notion that so-called “double stretch” airplanes don’t succeed in the market. o

Airplanes CEO Ray Conner, Air Lease boss Steven Udvar Hazy commended the manufacturer for its work on the maximum takeoff weight and range of the airplane, set now at 553,000 pounds and 7,000 nm. “Our concern was that if the maximum takeoff weight was the same as the -9, the range would be a little bit restricted,” said Hazy. “We’ve been able to work out an arrangement where the [engine] thrust would be increased and Boeing is coming out with some changes to the airplane that would strengthen the structure in some key areas, and as a result the takeoff weight for our airplanes will Korean Signs for 747-8I Boeing got another big boost for its widebody lineup here yesterday when Korean Air committed to another five 747-8Is and six 777-300ERs worth $3.6 billion at list prices. Also a customer for the Airbus A380, Korean has now signaled its intention to place a second order for the superjumbo’s competitor, production of which Boeing recently cut from two airplanes to 1.75 per month.

Boeing holds firm orders for 40 “Intercontinentals” and 65 freighter variants.

HammerHead unveiled uContinued from page 1

stages of preflight clearance trials. Last week, on June 12, the vehicle control management system (VMCS) was tested in the aircraft to demonstrate fully autonomous engine control capability, normal and auto-brake features and complete control of all ground-handling functions. Previously the VMCS had been exhaustively tested in an iron bird test rig, which continues to support the clearance campaign.

Piaggio (Outdoor area Q36) is pitching the P.1HH as a versatile UAS that offers a variety of performance capabilities. As it is based on an aircraft certified for Mach 0.7 operation, Piaggio claims the P.1HH is the fastest medium-altitude long-endurance (Male) UAS available. Combined with its fast-climbing capability, the P.1HH’s 395 ktas maximum speed allows it to deploy to its operational area much quicker than other Male UAS. However, once on-station the P.1HH can loiter at 135 ktas. Maximum operating altitude is 45,000 feet.

In terms of endurance the P.1HH can stay aloft for 16 hours with a 500-pound payload or fly over a range of 4,400 nm. In a typical mission profile it could fly with a 500-pound

Sergei Bogdan, the pilot responsible for all the gasps and gaping jaws during the Sukhoi flight display, M attributes the Su-35S’s AR K W improved agility to an upgraded AG NE R flight control system and more raw power for its thrustvectored engines.

DAVID McINTOSH

uContinued from page 1

thrust-to-weight ratio, the airplane does not go down but instead flies forward at a slow speed. At that moment the Su-35S pilot can make a sharp turn using vectored thrust.”

Another example of the Su-35S’s unique capabilities is its ability to make the following sequence, which has an application in aerial combat, Bogdan said. After firing a missile at one target, the airplane makes a sharp pitch-up and quickly turns on the top of it to align the nose in the direction of another aerial target and launch a second missile. “These two fine-tuned maneuvers are the highlights of my demo-flight profile at Le Bourget,” Bodgan said.

AIN asked about the short takeoff demonstrated during the opening day’s performance. Bogdan said the takeoff run was about 250 to 300 meters, thanks to Su-35S’s thrust vectoring and high thrustto-weight ratio. “Short takeoff is another useful feature of the thrust-vectored Sukhoi fighters,” he said. “We demonstrated

it before on the Su-30MKI. More power available on the Su-35S allows me to set the plane into high pitch upon liftoff and then make a sharp turn.”

The Su-35S’s Paris Air Show flight profile contains maneuvering at anglesof-attack up to 90 degrees. “There is one regime at which the alpha goes to 100 degrees,” Bogdan said. Due to the relatively small area over Le Bourget for demo flights, the airplane can accelerate only to 800 kph and reach a maximum altitude of 1,400 meters. The g-load peaks at nine, he said. During the high-speed turn in the horizontal plane, Bodgan held 8.7 g.

“What do foreign pilots present at the show ask about the Su-35?” AIN asked.

“So far, I’ve had no questions from them,” Bogdan said. “Perhaps they wanted to see my performance first. As to the pilots of our customers, we only have short personal meetings at this show on some organizational and managerial issues, not much connected to our professional activities.” o

payload to a station near 1,000 nm away, where it would loiter for 10.5 hours.

Piaggio has created the P.1HH by replacing the cabin with a new center section holding fuel and systems, including satellite communications for a beyondline-of-sight datalink. Outrigger pylons can mount external stores if required. Sections of the wing can be removed for transportation. Power is provided by two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-66B turboprops each rated at 850 shp and driving a low-noise, five-bladed Hartzell propeller.

The HammerHead airplane forms part of a wider system that includes ground control that has been created in partnership with Selex ES. The defense electronics specialist provides the SkyIStar mission management system and also one of the prime sensors in the form of the Seaspray 7300E AESA radar. This is complemented by a Flir Systems Star Safire 380HD electro-optical/infrared sensor.

The HammerHead is intended to be one of a growing family of special-mission aircraft based on the Avanti II airframe. A maritime patrol version is taking shape, produced by Adasi of the UAE. Saab is providing the mission system for this program. o

Piaggio jumped into the unmanned aircraft waters with its P.1HH HammerHead, a derivative of its P180 twin-turboprop business aircraft.

www.ainonline.com • June 19, 18, 2013 • Paris Airshow News 37 00

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