Breaking Defense reports, “After moving to halve the fleet in fiscal year 2025, a new Pentagon review says the Air Force now plans to add over a dozen MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters back into the aircraft’s program of record — averting a “critical” cost breach in the process. The planned procurement boost is likely a boon to prime contractor Boeing as well as Italian firm Leonardo, whose commercial AW139 serves as the Grey Wolf’s baseline.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)
Tag: Air Force
Air Force Says 2023 V-22 Crash Caused by ‘Catastrophic’ Mechanical Failure and ‘Casual’ Crew Decisions
Breaking Defense reports, “Air Force investigators have determined the fatal CV-22B crash that occurred off the coast of Japan in November was caused by a ‘catastrophic failure’ of a proprotor gearbox — a mechanical failure that the service said was made more likely due to the crew’s in-flight decisions and the Osprey program office’s prior failure to effectively communicate relevant data to the military services.”
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Air Force Asks for Increased Funding for Drone Wingmen Program
Breaking Defense reports, “A reprogramming request recently submitted to Capitol Hill by the Pentagon asks for permission to shift an additional $150 million into the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, a budget increase of nearly 40 percent.”
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AIAA Statement on the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 5, 2022 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Executive Director Dan Dumbacher made the following statement:
“On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we congratulate Northrop Grumman, its industry partners, and the U.S. Air Force on unveiling the B-21 Raider. We join in the excitement around seeing this new military aircraft for the first time.
We applaud the entire team on building the world’s first sixth-generation aircraft designed to support national security objectives and assure the nation’s allies and partners. In addition, we are inspired by the aircraft name, in honor of the Doolittle Raid of World War II and the courageous spirit of the Doolittle Raiders.
We salute the thousands of industry professionals nationwide who are involved in the B-21 Raider for shaping the future of aerospace.”
Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Sabrewing CEO Discusses Record Cargo Drone Hover Flight
Aviation Today reports, “Sabrewing Aircraft Company, based in California, recently announced the successful completion of its cargo drone prototype’s first hover flight with an 829-pound payload.” The company claimed this set a new world record for a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) cargo drone. The company’s $3.2 billion order book includes purchase orders for 28 aircraft and 102 firm orders and letters of intent for over 400 aircraft. Deliveries of the first 28 aircraft are scheduled to begin by December 2023. Sabrewing added that the company has US Air Force contracts to study autonomous cargo delivery.
Full Story (Aviation Today)
Air Force Considers Two Business Models for Integrating Robotic Wingmen
FedScoop reported that the US Air Force “plans to create a ‘family of systems’ for its Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, which aims to develop a stealthy sixth-generation fighter as well as drones – also referred to as autonomous ‘collaborative combat aircraft’ (CCA) – and various mission systems that could accompany them into battle. The service has outlined a similar vision for the B-21 Raider, its next-gen stealth bomber.” US Air Force Secretary Special Assistant Tim Grayson said the US Air Force will be “trying to take multiple capabilities from within a family of systems and execute them within a program office, but not as a single rigid, monolithically integrated platform, while at the same time having different program offices building different pieces of the solution that can still be interoperable and work together.”
Full Story (FedScoop)