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The USA’s 2005-2009 Multi-Year Hornet Procurement Contract
23-Sep-2009 12:46 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Boeing, Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Modifications, Engines - Aircraft, Fighters & Attack, GE, Logistics Innovations, Project Successes, Specialty Aircraft, Spotlight articles, Support & Maintenance
F/A-18F Super Hornet
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The US Navy flies the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, and has just taken delivery of its first operational EA-18G Growler electronic warfare & strike aircraft. These buys are actually managed out of a common multi-year procurement (MYP) contract, which also manages many of the EA-18G’s support costs since it’s derived from the Super Hornet and many of the required maintenance items are common to both planes. The contract covers 42 aircraft per year, split between Super Hornets and EA-18Gs, with a variation quantity clause permitting up to 6 additional aircraft per year under the same terms. FY 2008 marks year 4 of the 5-year MYP-II contract.
DID already has an EA-18G FOCUS Article; we will be using this entry to cover the Super Hornet MYP program’s budgets, and this article has been updated to include all announced contracts since MYP-II began. The latest entries include almost $40 million for engine spares…
A160 Hummingbird: Boeing’s Variable-Rotor VTUAV
11-Aug-2009 12:25 EDT |
Related Stories: Aircraft, Americas - USA, Boeing, Contracts - Awards, DARPA, Design Innovations, FOCUS Articles, Forces - Special Ops, Helicopters & Rotary, New Systems Tech, R&D - Contracted, Radars, Sensors & Guidance, Small Business, Transformation
A160T carries
1,000 pounds
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Helicopters are familiar sights in the sky, and recent years have seen a variety of unmanned helicopter options introduced into the market. Boeing’s entry lays a breathtaking challenge before the field: what could the military do with a helicopter-like, autonomously-flown UAV with a range of 2,500 nautical miles and endurance of 16-24 hours, carrying a payload of 1,000-2,500 pounds, and doing it all more quietly than conventional helicopters? For that matter, imagine what disaster relief officials could do with something that had all the positive search characteristics of a helicopter, but much longer endurance. It could also be a lot quieter.
Enter the A160 Hummingbird Warrior (YMQ-18), which was snapped up in one of Boeing’s corporate acquisition deals. It uses a very unconventional rotor technology, and Boeing’s Phantom Works division continues to develop it as a revolutionary technology demonstrator and future UAV platform. With the Army’s Class IV UAV role and the Navy’s VTUAV locked up by the Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout, Boeing’s sales options may seem thin. Their platform’s capabilities may interest the USA’s Special Operations Command and Department of Homeland Security, however, and exceptional performance gains will always create market opportunities in the civil and military space. At least, Boeing hopes so.
This is DID’s FOCUS article covering the A160 program. A new contract from the US Marine Corps is small, but success could create a whole new market niche that’s likely to attract international interest…
More QF-4s - And A New Trick for Old Dogs?
22-Jan-2008 16:32 EST |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, BAE, Contracts - Modifications, Events, Fighters & Attack, Industry & Trends, Missiles - Precision Attack, R&D - Contracted, Transformation, UAVs
N.B: No pilot
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The F-4 Phantom II fighter still flies with a number of air forces, including Egypt, Germany, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, and possibly Iran. These large 2-seat multi-role fighters were a triumph of thrust over aerodynamics, and formed the mainstay of the USAF and US Navy fleets for many years. QF-4s are former F-4s that currently sit in storage at the AMARC “Boneyard” near Tucson, AZ. They are refurbished for flight at AMARC, then flown to BAE in Mojave, CA and fitted with remote-control equipment in a process that takes about 160 days. Once fitted for the UAV role, they are used as aerial targets and decoys for testing against air-air missiles, radars, surface-air missiles, et. al. As of April 2007, BAE Systems has converted 217 F-4s to the QF-4 configuration.
It’s financially prudent, and fitting in a way for an old warrior to go out in a fireball of glory – but sad, too, somehow. Recent announcements may indicate more interesting possibilities ahead, however, even as another QF-4 order comes in….
Continue reading…
$26.5M to Kill 20 More Phantoms
08-Mar-2007 06:45 EST |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, BAE, Contracts - Intent, Specialty Aircraft, Support Functions - Other, Testing & Evaluation
QF-4 UAV takeoff
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BAE Systems Integrated Defense Solutions in Austin, TX received a $26.5 million firm-fixed-price with time and material and cost contract modification for production lot 13 of QF-4 Full-Scale Aerial Targets (FSAT) and associated technical support. The 20 aircraft will be divided between the USAF (16) and the US Navy (4). This is the 3rd option of 5 exercised under an Air Force contract signed in 1992 and in effect until 2013. Work will be complete July 2009, and the Headquarters Special Applications Systems Group at Eglin Air Force Base, FL issued the contract (FA8675-04-C-0214/No modification number at this time). See also BAE’s April 12/07 release.
The F-4 Phantom II fighter still flies with a number of air forces, including Egypt, Germany, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, and possibly Iran. QF-4s are former F-4s that currently sit in storage at the AMARC “Boneyard” near Tucson, AZ. They are refurbished for flight at AMARC, then flown to BAE in Mojave, CA and fitted with remote-control equipment in a process that takes about 160 days. Once fitted for the UAV role, they are used as aerial targets and decoys for testing against air-air missiles, radars, surface-air missiles, et. al. It’s financially prudent, and fitting for an old warrior – but sad, too, somehow. The 200th QF-4 was delivered in September 2006, and as of April 2007 BAE Systems has converted 217 F-4s to the QF-4 configuration.
UPDATE: Thanks to the readers who wrote in to say that Spain no longer flies Phantoms. DID had believed that some RF-4C reconnaissance variants were still operating, but Spain apparently retired its last RF-4Cs in 2002.
Continue reading…
ScanEagle to Detect Biological Agents
08-Jun-2006 05:32 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Boeing, Contracts - Awards, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, R&D - Contracted, WMD Detection
ScanEagle BCAS
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Boeing Phantom Works and a team of U.S. bio-defense companies have been given a two-year $8.2 million Phase I contract to modify the Boeing/Insitu ScanEagle unmanned air vehicle (UAV) to look for biological warfare agents as part of a program funded by the USA’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). Under the Biological Combat Assessment System (BCAS) Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) program, the DTRA and the Boeing-led team will work with U.S. Pacific Command and the U.S. Navy Third Fleet to design and develop a remote sensor system that can assess battle damage and collateral effects, and also locate, track, collect and detect simulated biological warfare agents in a designated area.
The team will integrate the sensor system into the Boeing-Insitu ScanEagle UAV and then will demonstrate the system’s capabilities in flight tests. Successful flight tests will lead to a possible Phase 2 follow-on contract and limited production options with the DTRA worth approximately $15 million.
This is the first time Boeing has served as a lead systems integrator on a program directed solely toward chemical and biological defense, so they’re drawing on scientists and engineers from across the company and industry. Industry team members include the Midwest Research Institute, Applied Research Associates and Steris. Internal Boeing participants, meanwhile, will be drawn from Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the Advanced Systems group of Integrated Defense Systems, and the Engineering & Information Technology and Advanced Homeland Security groups within Boeing’s Phantom Works unit for advanced R&D. See Boeing’s June 2006 release | The Bright Onyx sensor contract | Boeing’s March 2008 release.
