UK Typhoon takes first attack step
The Eurofighter Typhoon's evolution into a multi-role fighter took a major step forward at the Farnborough air show, with signature of a so-called austere weapons contract to add air-to-surface capability to UK aircraft by early 2008. The deal covers integration of the Rafael Litening III targeting pod and Raytheon Enhanced Paveway II laser-guided bomb on to Tranche 1 Block 5 Typhoons for the Royal Air Force.
Armavia recorder suggests lost awareness
Airbus says the flight data recorder from the 3 May Armavia A320 accident suggests the pilot lost awareness of the aircraft's attitude during a missed approach to Sochi airport in Russia. The manufacturer says the left-seat pilot, flying manually, applied nose-down control inputs during what was supposed to be a climbing right turn, then failed to apply sufficient nose-up input in response to warnings from the aircraft's ground-proximity warning system. The A320 crashed into the Black Sea at night following a flight from the Armenian capital Yerevan, with the loss of all 113 passengers and crew. Airbus says the crew abandoned the approach when instructed by air traffic control as the cloudbase was below minima.
MDHI acts against LUH award
MD Helicopters (MDHI) has formally protested award of the US Army's $3 billion Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) programme to EADS North America. The contract, for 322 Eurocopter EC145s, will be suspended for 90 days while the protest is investigated by the US Government Accountability Office. MDHI, which offered the MD Explorer for LUH, protests award of the contract to what it describes as "a foreign conglomerate", accuses the US Army of conducting only the most cursory on-site due diligence and alleges "the army's pricing analysis was arbitrary and capricious at best, a total sham at worst".
Corroded nut scuppered Falcon 1
Space Exploration Technologies' Falcon 1 launch vehicle failed on its 24 March maiden flight because an aluminium nut in a fuel pump failed due to corrosion, causing a kerosene propellant leak that led to a fire, resulting in a loss of oxidiser pressure that shut down the engine 34s into the flight, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency review board has concluded. The nut has been changed to steel and the next attempt to launch the Falcon I scheduled for November.
Korea helicopter engine contract signed
General Electric and Samsung Techwin have signed a contract to develop the T700/701K turboshaft for the Korea Helicopter Programme (KHP), under which Korea Aerospace Industries is developing an 8t military utility helicopter with the assistance of Eurocopter. The 701K is the first rear-drive variant of the T700 and is a derivative of the 1,900shp-class (1,270kW) -701C engine that powers South Korea's Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks. Prototype engine manufacture will begin in 2008.
Business ethics forum launched
The Aerospace Industries Association of America has launched a round-table forum to promote business ethics with international partners from Brazil, Canada, Europe and Japan. The first meeting is scheduled for November, says president and chief executive John Douglass.
Atlantis prepared for launch
Space Shuttle Atlantis was to be rolled from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on 24 or 25 July, in preparation for mating with its two solid-rocket boosters and external propellant tank. Atlantis's mission, STS115, will assemble the International Space Station's P3 and P4 trusses for solar arrays. The earliest launch date is 27 August.
Source: Flight International
