“We’re making progress there. We’ve gotten an offer from the (Joint Program Office) and I expect we’ll get that closed pretty quickly …certainly within 30 days,” Hess told Reuters in an interview ahead of the Paris air show.

Hess declined to give details on the projected value of the contract.

The company, which is the sole producer of engines for the single-seat F-35 fighter jet, which is built by Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), finalized a $1 billion deal for a fifth batch of 35 F135 engines with the Pentagon in May.

Hess said F-35 engine sales would account for over 50 percent of the company’s military engine revenues in coming years, when production ramps up. Last year, he said, military engine revenues accounted for about $4 billion of Pratt’s total revenues.

Hess said the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which is being developed by Lockheed for three U.S. military services and eight partner countries, was making good progress after several major restructurings in recent years.

He said potential orders from Singapore and South Korea would help expand production in coming years.

Both of those competitions looked promising, Hess said.

He said he was also confident that Canada would decide to stick with the F-35 program despite its recent discussions about having a new competition.

If the orders did go to another company, Pratt & Whitney could decide to move some of the industrial base work it is currently doing in Canada, Hess said.

“We might reallocate the work elsewhere,” he said, adding that reduced order volumes would likely trigger changes in Canada.

http://www.reuters.com

“Today, we are at the stage of preparing contract documents,” Korotkov told reporters on May 31, during a 60th-anniversary ceremony at the Lukhovitsy plant. “Our proposals and [manufacturing cost] calculations were submitted to MoD in the past week. Should they be accepted, the contract signing can happen in June.”

The MiG-35 is an evolution of the MiG-29M/M2, meant to be more combat efficient and versatile. The fighter’s mechanically steered radar is replaced by an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. Phazotron-NIIR is offering the Zhuk-MAEradar, a system that was flight-tested during RAC MiG’s unsuccessful bid for the Indian medium multirole combat aircraft (MMRCA) tender. India selected Dassault’s Rafale for the MMRCA requirement in January last year. “We participated in the Indian competition with the MiG-35 but did not make the short-list for political reasons,” Korotkov said. But since the MMRCA contract is not final, “we keep our hopes,” he added.

The expected MiG-35 order from Russia’s MoD would follow a contract for 24 MiG-29K/KUB deck fighters for the Russian navy, which was awarded last year. RAC MiG will deliver four aircraft this year and the remainder in equal quantities in 2014 and 2015. “The first airplane is complete and awaits customer acceptance, the second and third are in the final assembly shop and the fourth is being mated,” Korotkov said. He added that MoD orders will enable RAC MiG to maintain a steady level of 10 shipments annually for the foreseeable future. Simultaneously, MiG will continue to manufacture MiG-29K/KUBs for the Indian navy, which has received 20 aircraft and awaits 25 more shipments.

See the full article at AIN Online

“A Kadena-based F-15 aircraft developed a problem that ultimately resulted in the pilot ejecting from the aircraft over the Pacific Ocean approximately 70 miles (110 kilometres) east of Okinawa,” the air force said, referring to the hub of American air power in the Pacific.

“US and Japanese rescue crews are responding to recover the pilot, who reportedly ejected safely and is in contact with rescue crews,” the statement said, adding the cause of the incident would be investigated.

Japan’s coast guard said it was involved in the rescue.

“We sent airplanes and patrol ships to the scene after we received a call for help from Kadena Air Base,” an official told AFP.

“We heard the pilot, the only person who was aboard, parachuted down and is safe, hanging on to something” in the sea, he said.

Okinawa is the reluctant host to more than half of the 47,000 American service personnel in Japan, and the crimes, noise and risk of accidents associated with their bases regularly provoke irritation locally.

http://au.news.yahoo.com

The work to fulfill the 2013 State Defense Order is in full swing at the Novosibirsk aviation plant. The plant management confirms a high level of production readiness of the aircraft that enables timely fulfillment of the 2013 State Defense Order to the utmost. Thanks to the sizeable government orders for Su-34 aircraft placed by the Russian Defense Ministry in 2008 and 2010, the Novosibirsk plant has secured a steady workload for years to come. These orders determined its long-term prospects development.
The Su-34 produced by the Novosibirsk plant has been used successfully in the army. In the opinion of the military, aircraft that were delivered in 2012, show high performance. The Sukhoi Company pays special attention to the maintenance of high combat readiness and mastery of the combat use of the Su-34.

A conference on the operation of the aircraft in the Russian Air Force was held in April at the “Baltimore” air base in the city of Voronezh. It was attended by representatives of the United Aircraft Corporation, the Sukhoi Company, the 1st Air Force and Air Defense Command, combat units operating the Su-34, as well as top managers and representatives of enterprises developing and manufacturing parts and components of the aircraft.

The main indicator of the reliability of the aircraft (time period between failures on the ground and in the air) proved to correspond to the stated characteristics. A protocol was signed at the end of the conference, providing for the adoption of specific measures to improve flight and technical, ergonomics and performance characteristics of the aircraft; its serviceability, reliability and durability.

http://www.sukhoi.org

The forming of the force, approved by the Central Military Commission (CMC), demonstrates that the development of China’s aircraft carriers has entered a new phase, the sources said.

The force comprises carrier-borne fighter jets, jet trainers and ship-borne helicopters that operate anti-submarine, rescue and vigilance tasks.

The sources said the carrier-borne force is vital to the strike force of China’s aircraft carrier and a vanguard in transforming its navy. It will also play a key role in developing aircraft carrier groups and building a strong navy.

Wu Shengli, a member of the CMC and commander of the PLA Navy, attended the forming event on Friday.

The sources said the personnel of the force are more elite than the aviation forces within the PLA. To be able to fly fighter jets, the pilots should have flown at least five types of aircraft and their flight time must exceed 1,000 hours.

Rich experience in joint drills and major drills is also a prerequisite. The pilots also received training in courses like warship theory, nautical basics, and maritime meteorology.

Currently, China operates one aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, which was refitted based on an unfinished Russian-made carrier and delivered to the Navy on Sept. 25, 2012.

The carrier’s original design allows it to carry about 30 fixed-wing aircraft.

The Liaoning has conducted successful take-off and landing tests of its carrier-borne J-15 fighters, the main strike force of China’s carrier group.

http://news.xinhuanet.com

The ceremony at an airbase in Dabolim, in the state of Goa on India’s west coast, was attended by India’s Defense Minister A K Antony, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral D K Joshi and MiG Director-General Sergei Korotkov.

The squadron comprises 12 single-seat MiG-29Ks and four two-seat MiG-29KUBs, which Russia supplied under the 2004 contract with the Indian Defense Ministry.

India’s Naval officials said MiG-29K fighters, once integrated with aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, will “bolster the Navy’s punch with its multi-role capability,” according to the Asian News International (ANI).

The MiG-29K is a navalized variant of the MiG-29 land-based fighter, and has folding wings, an arrester tail-hook, strengthened airframe and multirole capability. It can be armed with a wide variety of air-to-air and air-to-surface weaponry.

http://en.rian.ru

The refueling plane exploded in mid air when its cargo of fuel ignited on its way to Afghanistan on Friday, accident investigators said.

Experts were still trying to work out what led up to the crash, said Kuvan Mamakeev, the Kyrgyz state prosecutor responsible for investigating transport crimes and accidents.

“It could be because of the fuel, because of the engine, the weather conditions or the human factor,” he told Reuters.

Remains of the two bodies were found on Saturday, and a third person on board was still unaccounted for, Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Emergency Situations, Kubatbek Boronov, added.

The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker took off from the U.S. military transit centre at Kyrgyzstan’s Manas airport, which U.S. forces maintain for operations in Afghanistan, with around 70 tonnes of fuel on board, a local ministry official said.

The wreckage of the plane was scattered over about a 3-mile area in a mountainous area near the Kyrgyz village of Chaldovar, the official added.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com

“The T-50 fifth generation jet should go into serial production and enter service in 2016,” Putin said at a live Q&A session with the Russian public.

The Defense Ministry had earlier said the jet would be ready in 2015.

Russia will start state flight tests of the T-50 in 2014, United Aircraft Corporation’s President Mikhail Pogosyan said on Tuesday.

The T-50, also known as PAK-FA (future tactical fighter aircraft), first flew in January 2010 and was presented to the public at the Moscow Air Show in 2011.

The T-50, which will be the core of Russia’s future fighter fleet, is a fifth-generation multirole fighter aircraft featuring elements of “stealth” technology,” super-maneuverability, super-cruise capability (supersonic flight without use of afterburner), and an advanced avionics suite including an X-band active phased-array radar.

India will also buy a fighter aircraft based on the T-50, known as the FGFA (fifth-generation fighter aircraft).

United Aircraft Corporation is the state holding company uniting Russia’s aircraft building industry including Sukhoi, a military and civil aircraft manufacturer.

http://en.rian.ru

The company’s SABR has successfully demonstrated several advanced radar capabilities for the F-16, including Big SAR maps with automatic target cueing. The SABR Big SAR offers an unprecedented level of situational awareness and target identification for F-16 pilots.

“SABR’s Big SAR is high-definition radar imagery that covers a large area on the ground in a single image,” said Joseph Ensor, vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman’s Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Targeting Systems Division. “This advance will give F-16 pilots the largest maps with the most detail that they have ever seen in the cockpit. Combined with SABR’s automatic target cueing capability, the F-16 will have targeting capabilities unmatched by any other fourth-generation fighter.”

SABR is an affordable, multifunction active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar designed specifically for F-16 retrofit. SABR provides longer detection and tracking ranges, high-resolution SAR maps for all-environment precision targeting, interleaved mode operations for greater situational awareness and greater reliability.

Northrop Grumman has nearly four decades of F-16 radar development and integration experience, and has delivered more than 6,000 fire control radars to U.S. and international air forces. The company also supplies the AESA fire control radars for the F-16 Block 60, F-22 and F-35 aircraft.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cybersecurity, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.

CONTACT: Alleace Gibbs
         410-765-1294
         alleace.gibbs@ngc.com

All 30 flights were conducted at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center. The X-48C typically flew for approximately 30 minutes on most flights, reaching speeds of up to 140 miles per hour and attaining an altitude of about 10,000 feet. X-48C flight testing began Aug. 7, 2012.

“Working closely with NASA, we have been privileged throughout X-48 flight-testing to explore and validate what we believe is a significant breakthrough in the science of flight – and it has been a tremendous success for Boeing,” said Bob Liebeck, a Boeing Senior Technical Fellow and the company’s BWB program manager.

“We have shown that a BWB aircraft, which offers the tremendous promise of significantly greater fuel efficiency and reduced noise, can be controlled as effectively as a conventional tube-and-wing aircraft during takeoffs, landings and other low-speed segments of the flight regime,” Liebeck said.

The X-48C, designed by Boeing Research & Technology, built by Cranfield Aerospace Ltd., and flown in partnership with NASA and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, is a scale model of a heavy-lift, subsonic vehicle that forgoes the conventional tube-and-wing airplane design in favor of a triangular tailless aircraft that effectively merges the vehicle’s wing and body. Boeing believes the concept could be developed in the next 15 to 20 years for military applications such as aerial refueling and cargo missions.

The X-48C is a modified version of the X-48B aircraft, which flew 92 times at NASA Dryden between 2007 and 2010. The X-48C is configured with two 89-pound thrust turbojet engines, instead of three 50-pound thrust engines on the B-model. In addition, the wingtip winglets were relocated inboard next to the engines on the C-model and the aft deck was extended about 2 feet at the rear.

“With the completion of X-48C flight testing, we have accomplished our goal of establishing a ground-to-flight database, and proving the low-speed controllability of concept throughout the flight envelope,” said Fay Collier, director of NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project. “Both very quiet and efficient, the concept has shown promise for meeting all of NASA’s environmental goals for future aircraft designs.”

Boeing and NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate funded the X-48 technology demonstration research. The effort was aligned with NASA’s ERA project, which has the goals to reduce fuel burn, emissions and noise of future aircraft.

Boeing and NASA will continue to develop Blended Wing Body technology, with the aspiration of developing a larger-scale, transonic BWB demonstrator in the future.

http://boeing.mediaroom.com