GE Tapped For Super Hornet Engines | South Africa And Brazil Finish A-Darter AAM Development | North Korea Tests New Type of SLBM

Americas

General Electric won a $10.6 million contract modification that exercises an option to procure two F414-GE-400 production install engines, five engine devices, and 29 engine device K-seals in support of Lot 23 engine production for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft. GE designed its F414-GE-400 turbofan engine to help increase the Super Hornet’s thrust by 35 percent. It is an afterburning turbofan engine in the 22,000-pound thrust class. Boeing manufactured the US Navy F/A-18 E and F Super Hornet maritime strike attack aircraft. It flew for the first time on November 29, 1995. The single-seat F/A-18/E and the two-seat F/A-18/F fly greater ranges with heavier payloads, have more powerful engines and provide greater survivability. Work will take place in Lynn, Massachusetts; Evendale, Ohio; Hooksett, New Hampshire; Rutland, Vermont; and Madisonville, Kentucky. Estimated completion is in August 2021.

The US Army Contracting Command awarded $7.9 million for the Communication Interface System Obsolescence for the Apache AH-64E full rate production. The Boeing AH-64 Apache is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. The US Army has more than 800 Apaches in service, and more than 1,000 have been exported. The AH-64E attack helicopter is the latest version of the AH-64, used by the US Army. It is also known as Apache Guardian. Until 2012 it was designated as AH-64D Block III. Work under the new contract will take place in Mesa, Arizona. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2022.

Middle East & Africa

Louis Berger Aircraft Services won a $7.2 million contract modification for air terminal ground handling services in Kuwait. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $20.3 million from $13.1 million. Fiscal 2020 transportation working capital funds were obligated at the time of award. The US Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Work will take place at Al Mubarak Air Base, Kuwait. Expected completion date is September 30, 2020.

South Africa and Brazil finished the development of the A-Darter AAM. The Brazilian Air Force has accepted the data package and type certificate of Denel Dynamics’ A-Darter air-to-air missile (AAM), signaling the closure of the project’s development cycle. The A-Darter has been jointly developed by South Africa and Brazil, having been originally conceived by Denel Dynamics, part of South Africa’s State-owned Denel defense industrial group. The data package that contained the material that included all the knowledge that was produced was handed over by the Armaments Corporation of South Africa (ARMSCOR) to the Brazilian Air Force’s Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DCTA) at the end of September. The end of development is expected to lead to the first production orders of the missile for Brazilian F-39E/F Gripen and South African Air Forces’s Gripen C/D fighter jets.

Europe

Britain’s newest aircraft carrier hit its top speed for the first time during sea trials in the North Sea, off Scotland this week. The Royal Navy said HMS Prince of Wales achieved 25 knots when its six engines were pushed to “full throttle”. The warship, built at Rosyth at a cost of $3.7 billion, is being tested in the North Sea and Outer Moray Firth. Four diesel generators and two gas turbines with a maximum combined capacity of 109MW power the 65,000t carrier. The 280m-long aircraft carrier features an integrated platform management system, which controls the generation, propulsion and fluid systems. More than 600 sailors and around 400 contractors are working to prepare the ship’s engineering systems, radars, and communications systems before it is officially handed over to the Navy in December.

Asia-Pacific

North Korea has tested a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) which it dubbed Pukguksong-3, Reuters reports. The missile is reported to have flown for 450 km while reaching an apogee of 910 km. This will give it a range of 1,300 km, South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo says. The test “had no adverse impact on the security of neighboring countries,” state news agency KCNA said but gave no other details about the launch. South Korea however expressed strong concern and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned the launch, saying it was a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

Today’s Video

Watch: HMS Albion – The Punch Of The Royal Marines, Firmly Underlines Britain’s Leading Role In Europe

South Africa, Brazil’s A-Darter SRAAM Hits Target

There’s a new advanced dogfighting missile coming to town, and it won’t be coming from any of the standard players. Denel Pty Ltd.’s missile/UAV subsidiary Denel Dynamics has entered into a joint development agreement with Brazil’s Ministry of Defence and Forca Aerea Brasileira for the A-Darter short range air-air missile (SRAAM), signed as a government to government agreement via South Africa’s Armscor. The original contract was apparently signed in July-August 2006, but the formal cooperation launch was announced at the April 2007 Latin American Aerospace and Defence exhibition in Brazil.

With the SRAAM export market already crowded by high-end products like the AA-11/ R73 Archer (Russia), AIM-9X Sidewinder (USA), AIM-132 ASRAAM (UK), IRIS-T (Germany & European), and Python 4/5 (Israel), one may legitimately wonder where the Agile-Darter’s capabilities, design philosophy, and market positioning fit within this array. This article addresses the A-Darter, and those market issues.