Bell-Boeing contracted with flight test of MV-22 | Raytheon awards Elbit Systems to provide TCLS | Raytheon UK tapped to support Shadow aircraft fleet

Americas

The Naval Air Systems Command contracted Bell-Boeing with a $23.3 million contract to provide flight test sustainment support to V-22 Osprey test, tiltrotor military aircraft – the MV-22. Bell-Boeing is a joint venture between The Boeing Company and Bell Helicopter. Their primary product, the V-22 Osprey, is a family of multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircrafts with both vertical and short takeoff and landing capabilities. Per the terms of the agreement, Bell-Boeing will offer support and provide analysis of light test for five MV-22 aircrafts. Work will be performed at Naval Air Station Patuxent River and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

Eight companies secured $22.5 million ceiling indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts for the formation of a collaborative working group. The contractors are BAE Systems’ information and electronics systems integration business; Boeing’s defense, space and security business; General Atomic’s aeronautical systems business; Harris; Goodrich; Lockheed Martin; Northrop Grumman Systems and Raytheon. They will develop, manage and update a set of Open Architecture Standards for the US Air Force with the goal to promote adaptability, flexibility and expandability as well as support a variety of missions, simplify integration, reduce technical risk and the cost of ownership of weapon system programs, enable reuse and independent development of system elements, and accommodate a range of cybersecurity approaches. Contracting activity is the Air Force Life Cycle management. Work is scheduled to be completed on December 31, 2022.

Middle East & Africa

Raytheon awarded Israeli company Elbit Systems Ltd.’s US Unit Elbit Systems of America LLC with a contract to provide the Two Color Laser System (TCLS) for the Multi-Spectral Targeting System. TCLS is a production component within the electro-optical surveillance system for military airborne platforms, including the next-generation targeting systems onboard unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Elbit Systems Ltd. is an international high technology company engaged in wide range of defense, homeland security and commercial programs throughout the world. The company operates in the areas of aerospace, land and naval systems, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, unmanned aircraft systems, advanced electro-optics, electro-optic space systems, EW suites, signal intelligence systems, data inks and communications systems, radio and cyber-based systems.

Europe

The UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) contracted Raytheon UK with $316.6 million to support the Royal Air Force’s Shadow aircraft fleet. The deal will provide maintenance, airworthiness management, design organization, and supply chain support for the Beechcraft King Air 350CER-based fleet. It was announced in July 2018 that the Shadow R1 fleet was to undergo an upgrade to take it to the Mk2 standard. Under the new support contract, Raytheon will also support aircraft-modification design and integration that will enable it to ultimately upgrade the fleet to the Mk2 standard.

Asia-Pacific

India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas fighter gets the green light for production in an enhanced, battle standard format. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is mandated to produce the LCAs for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The LCA Tejas is an Indian single-seat, single-jet engine, multi-role light fighter designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency. The completion of production of the first aircraft is scheduled to be in late 2019.

China’s future aircraft carriers will see stealth warplanes on their decks, likely the medium-sized fighter jet FC-31. Requests for proposals and tenders issued by the Shenyang Aircraft Design Institute on a range of equipment suitable for a stealth aircraft have heightened anticipation that a variant of the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation’s (SAC) FC-31 combat aircraft is to be developed as China’s next-generation carrier-borne aircraft, Jane’s reports. The Shenyang FC-31 is a twin-engine, mid-size jet fighter.

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