Euro Hawk(R) Unmanned Aircraft Shows Stamina With 30-Hour Flight

Euro Hawk®, the premier unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for the German Air Force, successfully proved its long endurance capability with a 30.3-hour flight over Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Built by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and EADS Deutschland GmbH, operating through Cassidian, the defence and security division of EADS, the high-flying UAS took off Dec. 1 at 4:47 p.m. PST and landed Dec. 2 at approximately 10:59 p.m. PST.

"Soaring up to 60,000 feet, the Euro Hawk® performed beautifully and has logged nearly 100 total flight hours since its maiden flight approximately five months ago," said Duke Dufresne, sector vice president and general manager of the Strike and Surveillance Systems Division for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector. "This flight not only demonstrated the aircraft's endurance capability, but it also enabled the team to collect crucial communications data points."

The Euro Hawk® is the first international configuration of the RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance UAS. It also demonstrates the remarkable team spirit uniting Northrop Grumman and EADS Deutschland GmbH/Cassidian.

"This milestone is a significant step towards completion of the ferry flight to Germany next year," said Nicolas Chamussy, senior vice president of Unmanned Aerial Systems for Cassidian. "The aircraft will undergo additional flight testing in Germany before being delivered to the German Air Force by the end of 2011 to replace the fleet of manned Breguet Atlantic aircraft which went out of service this year."

Based on the Block 20 configuration, the Euro Hawk® will be equipped with a signals intelligence mission system developed by Cassidian, providing standoff capability to detect electronic and communications emitters.

"We are very excited to soon have Euro Hawk® flying over German skies and providing airborne wide-area surveillance and reconnaissance," said Neset Tuekenmez, chief executive officer of the EuroHawk GmbH. "This trans-Atlantic cooperation has been a long time coming since the effort began in August 2000 and the contract awarded in 2007."

Delivery of four subsequent systems is anticipated between 2015 and 2016 following successful testing and introduction in German operational service.

Cassidian, an EADS company, is a worldwide leader in global security solutions and systems, providing lead system integration and value-added products and services to civil and military customers around the globe: air systems (aircraft and UAS), land & naval and joint systems, intelligence and surveillance, cybersecurity, secure communications, test systems, missiles, services and support solutions. In 2009, Cassidian, with around 28,000 employees, achieved revenues of €5.4 billion. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2009, EADS generated revenues of €42.8 billion and employed a workforce of about 119,000.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.

Read more...

Air China and CFM Finalize Engine MRO Joint Venture

CHENGDU, China - 17 December 2010 - In early 2007, Air China and CFM International agreed to establish an innovative maintenance repair, and overhaul (MRO) joint venture. In 2010, after three years negotiations, the two companies cleared the final hurdle and have received Chinese government approval for the formation of Sichuan Services Aero Engines Maintenance Company (SSAMC), a 60/40 joint venture between Air China and CFM, located in Chengdu, China.

SSAMC will combine Air China's extensive expertise with that of CFM to create a truly world-class maintenance facility. The facility, which previously operated as a Snecma Services overhaul shop, completes 60 to 80 engine overhauls annually. The new joint venture will expand Air China’s engineering services, which already provides aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services.

“Air China’s objective is to have the most competitive MRO solutions for its fleet, without any compromise in flight safety,” said Senior VP He of Air China. “The partnership with CFM can help both stakeholders to continuously increase their competitiveness globally with their advantages, and to provide the best service for Chinese and worldwide customers."

“This new venture is a perfect example of the type of win-win solutions that airlines and OEMs can implement together,” said Eric Bachelet, President and CEO of CFM International.

“The combination of Air China’s extensive expertise with that of CFM will enable SSAMC to develop and grow to the best level of performance, in terms of quality, turnaround time, EGT margin, and cost.”

Air China is the Chinese national flag carrier and has been a long-time CFM customer. In the last several years, the airline has grown and expanded its reach to become one of the leading airlines in the country. In addition to the 20 A320 orders formalized at the Zhuhai Air Show, the airline’s current fleet includes 55 Airbus A320 and 118 Boeing 737 family aircraft powered by CFM56-5B and CFM56-3/-7B engines, respectively, as well as six long-range, four-engine Airbus A340-300 aircraft powered by the CFM56-5C.

CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran group) and General Electric, is today one of the most successful aircraft engine suppliers in history and has delivered more than 21,500 CFM56 engines.


CFM

Read more...

Fire-X Vertical Unmanned Aircraft Successfully Completes First Flight

Fire-X, a vertical unmanned air system (VUAS) developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and Bell Helicopter, a Textron company (NYSE:TXT), completed its first fully autonomous flight Dec. 10 at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., less than one year after development began.

"The speed which Fire-X was developed shows that a low-risk, fast-track solution can be safely flown using the proven MQ-8B Fire Scout's unmanned systems autonomous flight architecture," said Paul Meyer, sector vice president and general manager of the Advanced Programs and Technology Division at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. "We developed a VUAS that meets growing needs for cargo and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. We can now expand Fire-X's operational capabilities to meet emerging U.S. military requirements in all the Services and Special Operations Command."

First flight involved a short-duration hover to validate safe and reliable autonomous flight. Additional flight tests and reliability data gathering will be conducted in the coming weeks. Integration of ISR sensor payloads and cargo carrying capability test flights is set to occur early next year.

"The expertise of Northrop Grumman in unmanned systems combined with Bell's rotorcraft knowledge is what makes Fire-X so successful," said George Spongberg, Northrop Grumman Fire-X program manager. "We've been able to share key insights throughout development – allowing a seamless transition of autonomous flight systems software to a new airframe."

First flight was accomplished in 11 months after development began. It was achieved by integrating Fire Scout's proven autonomous systems developed for the U.S. Navy with the highly successful Bell 407 helicopter, a FAA-certified helicopter that's been in commercial service worldwide since 1996.

The 407 system can carry ISR sensors and a useful load of more than 3,200 pounds – for fuel, payloads and/or enhanced cargo hauling capabilities – internally or externally. Fire-X will also be able to conduct ISR missions up to 16 hours in endurance and various cargo missions in support of U.S. Army and Marine Corps requirements.

The Fire-X demonstration aircraft will retain the ability to be optionally piloted – a capability which may appeal to military users because of its added operational flexibility.

Bell Helicopter, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., is an industry-leading producer of commercial and military, manned and unmanned vertical lift aircraft and the pioneer of the revolutionary tiltrotor aircraft. Globally recognized for world-class customer service, innovation and superior quality, Bell's global workforce serves customers flying Bell aircraft in more than 120 countries. More information is available at www.bellhelicopter.com.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please go to www.northropgrumman.com for more information.

Northrop Grumman Press Release

Read more...

Revisados los límites de responsabilidad para unificar reglas del Transporte Aéreo Internacional

Revisión de los límites de responsabilidad en virtud del artículo 24 del Convenio para la unificación de ciertas reglas para el Transporte Aéreo Internacional, hecho en Montreal el 28 de mayo de 1999.

http://boe.es/boe/dias/2010/12/17/pdfs/BOE-A-2010-19387.pdf

Read more...

China entrega primera unidad de versión mejorada de avión de pasajeros de corta distancia

El modelo fue desarrollado por la Corporación Internacional de Aviación de Xi'an y su primer vuelo de prueba se realizó en 2008. El gerente general de dicha firma, Jiang Jianjun, señaló que el Xinzhou-600 es una versión mejorada del modelo anterior ya que cuenta con una cabina más cómoda y un fuselaje mejor diseñado.

Texto completo y vídeo

Read more...

Boeing Delivers Air Austral’s First Next-Generation 737-800

SEATTLE, Dec. 20, 2010 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] delivered a Next-Generation 737-800 to Air Austral, as part of the airline's modernization plan for its medium-haul fleet. The airplane is the first of two the airline ordered to replace one 737-300 and one 737-500 in its fleet. The new airplane continues the Boeing-Air Austral relationship that began 20 years ago with the 737 Classic. The delivery ceremony was attended by Gerard Etheve, president of the directory and chief executive officer of Air Austral. The airline is headquartered in St. Denis, Reunion, a French Department island located east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

Boeing

Read more...

General Atomics Completes First Aircraft Launch Using new electromagnetic aircraft launch system,

San Diego, Calif., December 20, 2010. General Atomics today celebrated a milestone with the launch of an F/A-18E aircraft using the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.  "This event marks the first time in over 50 years that the Navy has been able to launch a carrier-based aircraft using a system other than steam," said GA Electromagnetic Systems Division Vice President R. Scott Forney, III. "This milestone is an extraordinary accomplishment for General Atomics' EMALS program."

EMALS is the catapult launch system that is being designed for CVN-78 class aircraft carriers, replacing the steam catapults used on the current generation of aircraft carriers.  As the EMALS prime contractor, GA was awarded a contract to produce the new catapult for CVN 78 in June 2009.  The first components of the EMALS equipment are scheduled for delivery in 2011.

General Atomics


In Popular Science: The Navy's Next-Gen Electromagnetic Catapult System Hurls its First Planes Skyward

Read more...

Fourth Airbus Military A400M makes first flight

Grizzly fleet ends 2010 with 1,000 hours in the air
The fourth Airbus Military A400M military airlifter has made its first flight – the culmination of a highly successful 2010 which also saw the fleet of Grizzly development aircraft complete just over 1,000 hours flight-time and 300 flights.

Known as Grizzly 4, the aircraft took off from Seville, Spain with a weight of 130 tonnes at 10h18 local time (GMT+1) and landed five hours and ten minutes later.

Experimental Test Pilot Klaus-Dietrich Flade captained the flight, supported by Experimental Test Pilot Christophe Cail. The crew also included Test Flight Engineers José Aragón-Gómez and, Bruno Bigand, and Flight Test Engineers José Casado-Corpas, and Catherine Schneider. Catherine is the first female Flight Test Engineer and test crew member to participate in an A400M first flight.

Grizzly 4 is the fourth of an eventual five aircraft which will conduct the 3,700 hour flight-test programme leading to first delivery in around two years time. It will be primarily dedicated to cargo and air-to-air refuelling operations and carries a medium flight-test instrumentation load.

Airbus Head of Flight Operations Fernando Alonso said: "The on-time first flight of Grizzly 4 highlights what has been an excellent first year of the flight-test programme. We end 2010 fully on schedule and with every expectation of rapidly building flight-hours and hitting our key test objectives in the year ahead. I am particularly proud of the seamless work done by the Airbus and Airbus Military teams in the Seville and Toulouse Flight Test Centres which has been instrumental in this achievement."

The maiden flight of Grizzly 4 followed the completion of a series of milestones in recent months – notably the first paratrooper jumps from the aircraft, which were highly successful and demonstrated the excellent potential of the aircraft for this military operation. Flights with the ramp and doors open have proceeded smoothly.

An extensive programme of flying the aircraft with simulated icing shapes attached to the wings and tail has been completed. These flights were performed by Airbus and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) flight crews and represent the first set of certification tests completed on the A400M.

Preliminary tests of protective kits for rough-field operations have been completed in preparation for next year´s trials.

Flight and ground load testing is complete, as is measurement of cruise performance. All major aircraft systems have been tested and flutter tests throughout the flight envelope are extremely close to completion.

The Europrop International (EPI) TP400 engines have been performing well, with the in-flight relight capability having been successfully demonstrated and ground starts following an overnight cold-soak recently performed. Behaviour of the auxiliary power unit has been excellent, and it has been started as high as 40,000ft.

Following the A400M's maiden flight on 11the December 2009, earlier this year Grizzly 2 and Grizzly 3 made their first flights in respectively April and July and their introduction into the fleet made possible the outstanding demonstrations of the A400M´s handling qualities at the Berlin and Farnborough airshows.

Airbus Military

Read more...