Russia to produce six MC-21 aircraft in 2021

Osdu (flickr)

Russia to produce six MC-21 aircraft in 2021: 

Russia plans to roll out the first six serially-built MC-21 in 2021, double that number in 2022, before ramping up production to 72 units a year by 2025

Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) plans to roll out the first six serially-built MC-21 jets in 2021, double that number in 2022, before ramping up production of the country’s advanced mid-haul airliners to 25 units a year by 2023, reveals Valery Okulov, counsellor to UAC’s general director and former head of Aeroflot.

“By 2025 we plan to reach an output rate of 72 [MC-21] aircraft per year,” Okulov advised Russia’s Federal Council, adding that by the end of this year, the total number of the nation’s other current aircraft project, the Superjet 100 (SSJ100) regional jet, will have reached 155 units since the start of its programme. The SSJ100 production rate for next year is targeted at 30 aircraft, with 30 more scheduled for production in 2021.

In mid-November, Yury Slyusar, the head of UAC, ambitiously claimed that the Corporation’s aim is for the annual output of the MC-21 to ultimately reach 120 aircraft. However the existing production capabilities of the Russian planemaker are no greater than 70 aircraft per year.

The MC-21 is Russia’s new-generation, short- and medium-haul narrow-body passenger airliner offering a capacity of between 163 and 211 seats. It is being developed and produced at the premises of Irkut Corporation and the aircraft is currently nearing the end of its certification flight programme, with Russian type certification approval scheduled for 2020. There are future plans to seek European validation of the type certificate.

Meanwhile, the backlog of firm orders for the MC-21 has remained unchanged for several years and currently stands at only 175 units. The first customer deliveries are slated for the second half of 2021. Thus far, Aeroflot is the largest customer for the new type, with a firm order for 50 aircraft.

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Irkut MC-21: Details

Polish Special Ops Component Receives S-70i Black Hawk Helicopters

Wojciech Mazurkiewicz via theaviationist.com

Polish Special Ops Component Receives S-70i Black Hawk Helicopters – The Aviationist: 

Last Friday, Dec. 20, 2019, Head of the MoD, Mariusz Błaszczak and Polish President, Andrzej Duda, as well as the US Ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mosbacher, participated in an event during which Polish Special Operations Forces received 4 Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk helicopters manufactured at the PZL Mielec facility in Poland, currently owned by Lockheed Martin. The event took place at the 1st Airlift Base in Warsaw.

The agreement, worth PLN 683.4 million (177.5M USD), with the helicopters having a pricetag of 75 million apiece (19.5M USD per helicopter), also includes an equipment package that would tailor the newly acquired platform to the special ops requirements.........read rest of article

Wojciech Mazurkiewicz via theaviationist.com

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S-70i Black Hawk: Details

Lockheed Martin awarded $7bn contract to maintain F-22 fleet

Paul Fitzpatrick @flickr

Lockheed Martin awarded $7bn contract to maintain F-22 fleet | News | Flight Global: 

By Garrett Reim 
24 December 2019

Lockheed Martin was awarded a five-year contract worth $7 billion for maintenance of the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter.

The contract is an option exercised by the US Air Force (USAF) from its ongoing sustainment deal with Lockheed Martin, the Department of Defense says in an online notice on 20 December. This additional five-year contract will extend the service’s contract work with Lockheed Martin through 31 December 2032.

Work will be performed at a variety of operational bases, support hubs and overseas locations – wherever the F-22 is deployed, according to the Pentagon.

Lockheed Martin produced 195 examples of the F-22, with the last stealth fighter rolling off its production line in 2012. The USAF plans to operate the aircraft until at least 2045.

The F-22 fleet is maintained under a performance-based logistics contract, says Lockheed Martin. Typically, under performance-based logistics contracts suppliers are awarded a flat fee to maintain a certain level of performance, such as mission readiness, for an aircraft, rather than just supply parts or repair services.

“About 50% of the maintenance performed on the F-22 is related to repairing the low observable stealth coatings that are damaged when the aircraft is opened up for routine maintenance,” says Lockheed Martin on its website.

The company says it is working on several initiatives to reduce the amount of low observable coating repair work needed on the F-22. Cutting labour from stealth coating repairs is especially important as the USAF tries to execute its “agile” basing strategy, a form of expeditionary warfare that envisions its fighters quickly hopping around to different air bases so as to make it difficult for an enemy to strike the aircraft on the ground.

Separately, Lockheed Martin is upgrading the F-22 via the 3.2B software modernisation package. That program upgrade includes the integration of two new air intercept missiles, the AIM-9X and AIM-120D.


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F-22 Raptor: Details

​ Taiwan, USA proceed with F-16V deal

志翔科技有限公司 (flickr)

​Taiwan, USA proceed with F-16V deal | News | Flight Global: 

By Roy Choo 
24 December 2019

Taiwan has confirmed that the US Foreign Military Sale of 66 Lockheed Martin F-16Vs to the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) is in the implementation stage, after both sides signed the letter of offer and acceptance (LOA).

Ministry of National Defense (MND) spokesperson Major General Shih Shun-wen announced on Saturday 21 December that the LOA for an arms package consisting of the F-16Vs, main battle tanks and anti-tank missiles was signed by both parties a week earlier on December 13.

The Trump administration first approved the F-16V sale in August 2019 and this was subsequently cleared by Congress. In November, Taiwan’s Parliament agreed to the NT$247.23 billion (US$8.1 billion) budget, allowing the MND to sign the agreement.

The delivery schedule for the program, internally named ‘Phoenix Soaring’, calls for the first two F-16Vs – a single-seater and twin-seater – to be delivered by 2023 for initial testing, while the last of the 66 aircraft are expected to be received by 2026. According to local media, 56 of the aircraft will be single-seaters, with the remaining 10 twin-seaters.

The ROCAF intends to station the F-16Vs at Chihhang AFB in Taitung, currently home to the 7th Flight Training Wing (FTW) which flies the F-5E/F Tiger II in the lead-in fighter training role. The F-5’s will be replaced by the indigenous T-5 ‘Brave Eagle’ Advanced Jet Trainer in the next decade.

Separately, Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) signed a memorandum of understanding with Lockheed Martin on December 17 in Taichung to enhance local capacity for the servicing and upgrade of the F-16, together with the establishment of a maintenance hub.

Under the ‘Phoenix Rising’ program, the ROCAF’s current fleet of 142 F-16A/Bs are being upgraded to the F-16V standard at AIDC’s Shalu Complex in Taichung.

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F-16V Fighter: Details 

Azerbaijan reportedly interested in Russian Su-57 jets

Darth Welder Channel

Azerbaijan reportedly interested in Russian Su-57 jets - PanARMENIAN.Net: 

December 23, 2019 - 18:34 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijan is interested in purchasing fifth-generation Su-57 fighter jets from Russia, Vedomosti reports citing sources familiar with the matter.

The issue of launching negotiations has reportedly been approved at a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev in Sochi on October 3.

According to the sources, Armenia's acquisition of SU-30SM multi-target fighter jets could have triggered Azerbaijan's interest in the aircraft.

It was reported recently that Russia is currently testing the SU-30SM jets before delivering them to Armenia.

Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan told reporters in early November that Armenia is expecting the fighter jets in December 2019 or January-February 2020. Four aircraft are set to be delivered in the first stage, Tonoyan said.

Sukhoi Su-57: Details

Beyond Expectation: The Bell V-280 Valor Delivers Results

Beyond Expectation: The Bell V-280 Valor Delivers Results: 

As the U.S. Army-led Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR TD) program wraps up, Bell’s revolutionary tiltrotor continues to turn heads with outstanding performance and shines a spotlight on the benefits of modernization.

After two-years of highly successful flight demonstrations the Bell V-280 Valor continues to showcase new capabilities to show how the aircraft meets the challenges of future fights. The aircraft has flown more than 150 hours through multi-sortie test days and numerous public demonstrations to deliver data and inform requirements for the U.S. Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program.

“The V-280 and flight test program teams’ performances have gone above and beyond expectation,” said Keith Flail, vice president of Advanced Vertical Lift Systems at Bell. “Our team of defense-aerospace technology and manufacturing experts demonstrated the ability to deliver a high-performance aircraft on schedule that will revolutionize U.S. military vertical lift capability. We are very proud of this track record and look forward to competing for the U.S. Army FLRAA program.”

In 2019 alone, Team Valor and the V-280 program team have delivered performance milestones beyond expectations. 2019 milestones include:

• Speed > 300 kts
• Hover Out of Ground Effect (HOGE) > 6,000 feet altitude at 95º F
• Low speed agility to meet the Army’s Level 1 Handling Qualities requirements
• Executed numerous, consecutive multi-sortie days of flight operations
• Test flights with Army pilots

Flight testing did not simply focus on demonstrating engineering maneuvers. The team understands the V-280 must be suitable for use in multi-domain operations as well. To that end, the V-280 has integrated the Lockheed Martin Pilotage Distributed Aperture System (PDAS) mission equipment package and has flown operationally focused tests showing fast rope deployment options. Looking forward, testing will include additional mission equipment package integration, sling load tests and a demonstration of autonomous flight.

Unprecedented flight performance is only part of the equation for FLRAA to be a successful program. Bell continues to analyze and test options to improve future fleet affordability and sustainment lifecycle cost. The team has undertaken initiatives to address cost-drivers inherent in operational aircraft by employing the latest digital technologies to optimize affordability throughout the fleet’s lifecycle.

In addition to performance achievements, the V-280 has also continued to be recognized for excellence from independent organizations. For example, the National Aeronautic Association nominated the V-280 for the prestigious Collier Trophy and Aviation Week has recognized the V-280 with a Laureate Award for the 2nd consecutive year.

These results continue to show national leaders that the JMR TD program has been a great example of government-industry partnership. The success of the JMR TD effort offers the Army an opportunity to leverage technologies proven over the past six years to inform a program of record and get new capabilities fielded in line with the Army’s modernization strategy. The V-280 demonstrates that close collaboration between government and industry can deliver transformational capabilities in a rapid and sustainable process.

“Bell is committed to our customers. Our talented employees are innovators who have reimagined how vertical lift can help modernize the Army with the V-280 Valor. We are proud of what the V-280 and Team Valor have achieved in 6 short years and look forward to building on our success to bring next generation capability to the warfighter in the coming years,” continued Flail.

As the competition for the U.S. Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft moves forward, Bell and Team Valor continue to set the pace.

Source: Textron
Date: Dec 18, 2019

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V-280 Valor Helicopter: Details

Saab Receives Order for Gripen Support and Maintenance Operations

Saab Receives Order for Gripen Support and Maintenance Operations: 

Saab has received an order from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) on behalf of the Swedish Armed Forces to provide support and maintenance services for Gripen during the first half of 2020. The order's total value amounts to approximately SEK 450 million.

The order applies to services for the first six months of 2020 and is an extension of a previously signed contract with FMV regarding performance-based support and maintenance of Gripen. The contract was signed in late May 2017. The order includes support and maintenance services essential to aviation operations with Gripen. The order covers, for example, design and support, component maintenance, the provision of logistics, technical system support, publications, spare parts, repairs, ground support equipment and pilot equipment.

"This order is vital to ensuring the effective operation and availability of Gripen," says Ellen Molin, Head of the Support and Services business area within Saab.

Work will be carried out at Saab's facilities in Linköping, Arboga, Järfälla, Gothenburg, Huskvarna and Östersund.

Source: Saab AB (OMX Stockholm: SAAB B)
Date: Dec 19, 2019


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