Rival helicopter manufacturers will be using show week to cement their bids for several lucrative military contracts which are moving toward firm decision time.
Top of their wish list would undoubtedly be winning the race to supply Turkey's $3-billion requirement for 145 attack helicopters - a protracted competition that was held up by delays in completing flight demonstrations last year and has still to be resolved.
June or July 1999 has been pencilled in for the final contract award after all five competing bids were shortlisted in March.
Still in the hunt are Bell Helicopter's AH-1Z King Cobra, Boeing's AH-64D Longbow Apache, the Kamov Ka-50-2 Hokum, Agusta's A-129 Mangusta and the Eurocopter Tiger.
Turkey already has 10 AH-1Ws, purchased in 1993, which could be modified to King Cobra configuration should Bell win the gunship contest.
Bidders
Meanwhile, the six original bidders in the Australian AIR 87 attack helicopter contest have been narrowed to three following the release of a shortlist by the Australian Army.
Australia has chosen Agusta's A-129 Scorpion, Boeing's AH-64D Longbow Apache and the Eurocopter Tiger to go forward for final selection. That confirms the elimination of Bell's AH-1Z Viper, the Denel RedHawk (Rooivalk) and Sikorsky's S-70 BattleHawk variant of the Black Hawk.
The requirement is for 20 to 24 armed scout helicopters to replace the fleet ageing Bell OH-58 Kiowas and Bell UH-1H Iroquois gunships.
Competitors are aware of a desire for hot-and-high performance and good payload/range, with the total package estimated to be worth $1.2 billion.
Boeing says it expects a request for tender for Air 87 in October and a response from the Australian Government by February 2000. It has also pencilled in the first or second quarter of next year for flight evaluations to take place at its Mesa, Arizona plant.
Boeing has already achieved one notable win for the AH-64D this year, with the March announcement that the aircraft had been selected by Singapore to meet a need for eight attack helicopters.
Package
The helicopters are understood to be part of a $620 million US Department of Defense package including Hellfire II missiles, Hydra-70 rockets, chaff dispensers, spares, training and technical support.
The Polish Government has also made public its plans for a multi-billion-dollar purchase of advanced fighter aircraft and helicopters in the next few months.
The proposals involve the acquisition of 50 attack helicopters to enter service by 2010. Polish prime minister Jerzy Buzek has stated that a tender for this contract will be issued by the end of this month, with a decision by October or November.
Squaring up will be the Agusta Mangusta, the Bell AH1-W/Z Super Cobra, Boeing's AH-64 Apache and the South African Denel Rooivalk.
Le Bourget is also set to witness a landmark in the four-nation NH90 tactical transport/naval helicopter programme.
The customer nations of Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands hope to sign a memorandum of understanding - effectively a prelude to the signing of the contract later this year for production of 152 machines.
Source: Flight Daily News
