actualités / news

sevrien a écrit:Bonjour, cher Vertol ! Sans rancune ! Pour évacuer immédiatment ce malentendu d'identité / d'identification, je pensais davantage à un certain style, une certaine "école" (pour être poli), à une certaine faune (pour l'être moins), plutôt qu'à un individu, .... quoique, à un moment donné, j'avoue avoir cru que j'avais identifié un auteur plutôt qu'un autre !

Si cela vous a offusqué, je vous présente mes excuses.

Je n'en demande pas. Mais je dis, tout simplement, sans rancune, ... "comme ça vient", que vous n'auriez jamais dû traiter une partie de mes écrits comme "mensongère" (ou même comme destinée / "designed"... à tromper). Cela est du fond et de la forme ! Cela n'a point de 2ème degré ni de licence poétique !

vertol a écrit:Cher Sevrien,

Y voyez vous autre chose qu'une réponse excessive à une affirmation excessive ?

pascal83 a écrit:http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/03/12/323752/ec225-s-92-to-contest-uks-sar-h-requirement.html

Appel d'offre pour RU et garde cote le EC225 sera opposé au S92

Soteria Picked for British SAR Deal

LONDON - A consortium involving Thales UK, CHC Helicopters, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Sikorsky has been named preferred contractor to take over Britain's search-and-rescue operations in a 6 billion pound ($9.4 billion) deal announced Feb. 9 by the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Transport.

The private finance initiative (PFI) deal for the SAR-H program could result in the Soteria consortium operating about 24 new Sikorsky S-92 helicopters from 12 bases around mainland Britain's coastline, Defence Procurement Minister Quentin Davies said.

The MoD will carry about two-thirds of the cost, with the remaining funds coming from the Department for Transport, Davies said at a press conference to announce the deal.
The service will run for 25 years from the day Soteria begins operations at each base. The exact schedule will vary from base to base, but Maritime and Coastguard Agency bases are to see operations begin in 2012. The military bases will start moving over to the new arrangements in 2013 with the switch complete by 2016, MoD officials said.
The deal will replace nearly 40 Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, and Maritime and Coastguard Agency helicopters with a service that will include the provision of crews, helicopters, base management and servicing. Some military crews will be incorporated into the new commercial service.
Davies said that many of the 240 military pilots currently involved in providing the bulk of the SAR services in Britain will be transferred to other helicopter duties to help fill Britain's growing requirement for rotorwing crews.
Some 66 military pilots will be included as part of the Soteria service in order to retain skills in the role, he said.
Today's military search-and-rescue Sea King helicopters are slated for retirement.
Soteria consortium member CHC already operates S-92s from two bases in northern Scotland in an interim search-and-rescue service for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which is due to expire in 2012.
When that deal ends, the existing S-92s and a small AgustaWestland AW139 fleet used by CHC for search-and-rescue duties on two bases in southern England will be moved elsewhere in the company's fleet, said David Rae, the Soteria bid director.
The consortium beat out a Lockheed Martin, VT Group and British International Helicopters team known as AirKnight to land the SAR-H program.
AirKnight were offering the Eurocopter EC225 helicopter as the basis for its service.
The procurement minister said it was hoped to get the PFI deal to final contract before the end of the year.
Complex defense PFIs have a history of taking years rather than months to move from preferred contractor status to completion, but Davies said the government was accelerating the procurement process compared with the bad record on projects such as the future strategic tanker aircraft deal.
The opposition Conservatives attacked the rush to sign the deal ahead of a general election set to be called before June this year.
In a joint statement, shadow defense secretary Liam Fox and shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said: "We are not opposed to the principle of contracting out, part of the service already is, but we are deeply concerned that a project of this importance and magnitude should be rushed through in the teeth of a general election.
"Given the government's record on PFIs, and its performance on helicopter contracts especially, we will want, if elected, to look at the fine details of the contract. One key area is the levels of penalties - and the let outs - for performance failure."

Boeing Highlights Commitment to India at Defexpo 2010

NEW DELHI | Boeing will present world-class products and services including the F/A-18IN Super Hornet, C-17 Globemaster III, P-8I, AH-64D Apache and CH-47F Chinook to Indian government officials, military officers, and other valued stakeholders at Defexpo 2010. The exhibition takes place Feb. 15-18 at the Pragati Maidan complex in New Delhi.

"This is an important year for Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) in India," said Vivek Lall, BDS vice president and India country head. "Many of our products and platforms are currently in competition or under active consideration by the government, and we are looking forward to demonstrating how they will quickly contribute to India's defense modernization and bring long-term industrial benefits to the nation."

Boeing is kicking off its Defexpo participation with a preshow briefing for the media at noon on Thursday, Feb. 11, at the Taj Mansingh Hotel. During the show, BDS executives will invite stakeholders into an F/A-18IN Super Hornet cockpit simulator to demonstrate the aircraft's advanced features, including its superior air-to-ground and air-to-air capabilities. Boeing also will provide media briefings on the C-17 Globemaster III and on two Boeing Rotorcraft products in current competitions -- the CH-47F Chinook and AH-64D Apache. An Airborne Battle Management briefing will cover Airborne Early Warning and Control as well as the P-8I long-range maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft. India selected the P-8I for its navy last year; the first of eight aircraft is scheduled to enter the fleet in 2013.

Team K-MAX Demonstrates Successful Unmanned Helicopter Cargo Resupply to U.S. Marine Corps

The Unmanned K-MAX launches from the pad with a 1500 lb sling load during contractor flight tests in January 2010.

Lockheed Martin Corporation [NYSE: LMT] and Kaman Aerospace Corporation, a subsidiary of Kaman Corporation [NASDAQ GS: KAMN] have successfully demonstrated to the U.S. Marine Corps the capability of the Unmanned K-MAX helicopter to resupply troops by unmanned helicopter at forward operating bases in Afghanistan.

During a series of flights last week in subfreezing temperatures at the U.S. Army’s Dugway Proving Ground, UT, the Unmanned K-MAX demonstrated autonomous and remote control flight over both line-of-sight and satellite-based beyond line-of-sight data link.

“We met or exceeded the requirements within the scheduled three-day timeframe of the demonstration,” said Dan Spoor, Aviation Systems vice president at Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems & Sensors facility in Owego, NY. “The system performed a rigorous set of cargo resupply scenarios as programmed, allowing the ground-based operator to monitor progress, and make adjustments to aircraft positioning only when requested by the Marine Corps for demonstration purposes.”

Performance attributes demonstrated included hovering at 12,000 ft. with a 1,500-pound sling load; delivering 3,000 pounds of cargo well within the six-hour required timeframe to a forward operating base (two 150 nm round-trip flights); remotely controlling flight and a precision load delivery by a ground-based operator in both day and night conditions; and uploading a new mission plan to the aircraft’s mission management system during flight.

As an optional demonstration, Team K-MAX showcased the Unmanned K-MAX helicopter’s four-hook carousel, which enables multi-load deliveries in a single flight. Lifting a total cargo of 3,450 pounds, the aircraft flew to three pre-programmed delivery coordinates, autonomously releasing a sling load at each location. At the customer’s request, the fourth load delivery was performed under manual control by the ground operator.

“The Unmanned System performed operationally representative cargo resupply scenarios, and each time the system delivered as promised,” said Sal Bordonaro, President, Kaman Helicopters, a division of Kaman Aerospace Corporation. “This capability gives the Marine Corps a proven unmanned power lifter to bring vital cargo to troops on the battlefield without the need for ground vehicles and manned helicopters.”

Team K-MAX has flown the Unmanned K-MAX nearly 400 hours in unmanned mode since 2007. The demonstration fulfilled an $860,000 U.S. Marine Corps contract awarded to K-MAX manufacturer Kaman Aerospace in August 2009.

A manned version of K-MAX has accumulated more than 250,000 flight hours, conducting repetitive lift operations for the construction and logging industries worldwide.

Turkey's first T129 attack helicopter crashes

he first prototype of AgustaWestland's T129 attack helicopter being developed for Turkey crashed on the afternoon of 19 March during a test flight, leaving its Italian test pilot and its test engineer needing hospital treatment for minor injuries.
Early indications point to a loss of power to the tail rotor while flying at an elevation of 1,500ft (455m) near Verbania in northern Italy. Investigation of the incident will focus on establishing the exact cause of the power failure.



The $3 billion ATAK project, based on the A129 Mangusta, is likely to be delayed because of the crash. The deal was signed in 2008, and the first prototype, P1, made its first flight in September 2009. Turkey has ordered 50 production T129s for delivery from 2013 and has options on another 41.
AgustaWestland will make two T129 prototypes in Italy, after which manufacture will shift to its Turkish partner TAI. The aircraft will be equipped with Turkish-made systems including electronics, forward-looking infrared sensor, cockpit avionics and mission computer from Aselsan, and weapon systems from Roketsan.

Bulgaria Wants To End Eurocopter Deal: Minister

Bulgaria wants to terminate a contract with Eurocopter for six Panther-type helicopters in a bid to save money, Defense Minister Anyu Angelov said March 30.
"In our next negotiations with Eurocopter, we want to find a mutually acceptable solution, without paying more," Angelov told the daily Trud.
Eurocopter already delivered 11 out of 12 Cougar helicopters to Bulgaria as part of a contract for a total 18 choppers signed in 2005 and worth 358 million euros ($482.5 million).
The six Panther helicopters were meant for the navy, while the Cougars were purchased for Bulgaria's air force.
Angelov suggested that advance payments for the Panthers could be used to settle the bill for the already delivered Cougars.
"We want to make this money count towards the payment of the already delivered aircraft as well as spare parts before we terminate the contract," Angelov added.

L'Allemagne suspend l'achat d'hélicoptères Tigre d'EADS.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Le ministère allemand de la Défense a suspendu son
projet d'achat d'hélicoptères de combat Tigre produits par EADS en
raison de problèmes techniques, selon un rapport interne du ministère
obtenu par Reuters. Ce rapport mentionne des problèmes graves
avec l'installation électrique de l'appareil. Le problème se
présente aussi avec les Tigre qui n'ont que quelques heures de vol,
précise le rapport. Les achats seront suspendus jusqu'à ce que
les problèmes techniques soient effectivement réglés, ajoute le
document.

http://www.boursorama.com/infos/actualites/detail_actu_marches.phtml?num=2d84d6c705ef9be18f4f62ff2e206141

Sikorsky Aerospace Services and ZFL Announce MoU for Aftermarket Services in Germany

Sikorsky Aerospace Services and ZF Luftfahrttechnik GmbH (ZF Aviation Technology, ZFL) today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly explore opportunities for delivering improved aftermarket support to the German armed forces and introducing the CycloneTM multi-mission helicopter into Germany. Sikorsky Aerospace Services is the aftermarket division of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX).

Under the Memorandum of Understanding, Helicopter Support, Inc. (HSI), a business unit of Sikorsky Aerospace Services, and ZFL will explore, identify and discuss projects of mutual interest and collaborative efforts in connection with the concept of improved spare parts delivery and technical support for the German armed forces.

“This MOU allows us to consider the aftermarket services that could be possible through a synergistic relationship with ZFL, and we will continue to move forward to identify the ways in which our two companies can work together for our mutual success,” said Samir Mehta, President, HSI.

Joseph Gigantelli, Sikorsky Vice President, European Sales, added: “As we explore the opportunities for participation with German industry, we are seeing the potential for the Cyclone helicopter to be a viable option for the German Air Force and Navy.”

“Our intent is to provide Germany with the best technology that is available in-country and from around the world, and in doing so, provide a technologically superior aircraft,” Gigantelli added.

The Cyclone helicopter provides multi-mission capabilities including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and search and rescue. The aircraft is a derivative of the S-92 helicopter, which gets its basic design from the BLACK HAWK helicopter, a proven, rugged and durable aircraft.

“We highly value our long standing cooperation with Sikorsky Aircraft and look forward to expanding our business in a slightly different role,” said Peter Tolksdorf, Director of Defense Programs, ZFL. “The MOU is another step toward strengthening our relationship with Sikorsky.”

Soteria confident of SAR-H outcome

The team awarded preferred bidder status for the UK’s Search and Rescue - Helicopter (SAR-H) programme is confident a government review of the project will vindicate its involvement.
As part of a comprehensive review into spending decisions made by the previous Labour administration, the new coalition government has decided to axe 12 projects worth £2 billion, and suspend a further 12, worth more than £8 billion. Of these 12, SAR-H is the largest, coming in at £4.6 billion.
Announcing the decision to the House of Commons on 17 June, Treasury Chief Secretary, Danny Alexander, said that SAR-H will be 'reviewed as a matter of urgency'.
A spokesperson for Soteria said the move was not unexpected as the incoming administration had clearly stated its intention to review the major projects approved by the previous government in the last months of its tenure.
‘This is not unexpected. Soteria is convinced that they offer the UK a robust value for money solution and they continue to work closely with the customer towards contract award,’ the spokesperson said.
The SAR-H programme is a joint Department for Transport (DfT) and Ministry of Defence (MoD) contract which would end the involvement of the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy in search and rescue operations and introduce a new harmonised fleet of aircraft which operate under the banner of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), although some military aircrew, roughly 66, will be retained to operate a handful of the new helicopters.
The private finance initiative (PFI) programme was closely contested by bidders AirKnight and Soteria, but Soteria was announced as the preferred bidder on 9 February.
The company was planning to use a fleet of 24 Sikorsky S-92s to replace the Sea Kings being used by the RAF and the Fleet Air Arm. The Sea Kings are due to exit service by 2016. No contract has been signed but had been expected later in the year.
While the government has not released a lot of detail on the scope and timing of the review, those involved in the programme will have taken heart that of the projects suspended, SAR-H was the only one that has been tagged as 'urgent'.
The coalition government had accused the previous Labour administration of operating a 'scorched earth' policy when it came to spending decisions in its final few months of power. SAR-H was one of a number of programmes agreed to by the Labour administration in three months leading up to the May general election.