Amerikan Ordusu'na Avrupa Helikopterleri

Eurocopter üretimi EC-145'in ABD'nin LUH (Light Utility Helicopter) projesi için önerdiği versiyonu UH-145, söz konusu ihalede ipi göğüsleyen aday oldu.

Yaklaşık 3 milyar dolarlık proje ile tedarik edilece 322 adet hafif helikopter envanterdeki UH-1H ve OH-58'lerin yerini alacak.

UH-145'in ihaledeki diğer rakipleri AgustaWestland Bell AB-139 türevi olan US-139, McDonnell Douglas MD-900 ve Bell 412 idi.

ABD gibi son derece sıkı ithalat rejimine sahip bir ülkede gelen bu ikinci büyük başarı (ki ilki ABD Başkanlık helikopteri "Marine One" olarak EH-101 türevi US-101'in seçilmesiydi). Halihazırda devam eden muharebe arama kurtarma helikopteri ihalesinde de bu iki kayda değer başarıyı göz önünde tutarak, US-101'in avantajlı konuma geçtiği söylenebilir.

Europe's EADS wins big U.S. helicopter competition
Fri Jun 30, 2006 7:13 PM ET

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army on Friday said it chose French-German defense company EADS to build a new fleet of 322 light utility helicopters in a deal expected to be worth up to $3 billion over the longer term.

It marks the first major U.S. defense contract won by the North American unit of EADS, and comes as EADS prepares to bid against No. 2 U.S. defense contractor Boeing Co. for an even bigger contract to build hundreds of new aerial refueling tankers for the U.S. Air Force.

Analysts said the Army deal could also help EADS win more commercial and government orders for its twin-engine UH-145 rotary wing aircraft.

"It's great news for us," Ralph Crosby, chief executive of EADS North America, said in a teleconference with reporters. "We now have a customer, and a customer with a tremendously important mission."

EADS, teamed with Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp., beat out another European contender, Agusta Westland, a unit of Italy's Finmeccanica SpA, which had joined forces with L-3 Communications Holdings; Textron Inc.'s Bell Helicopter unit; and MD Helicopters Inc., a small private company.

The Army said the initial contract award would be for $43 million. EADS, Europe's largest aerospace company, said the deal could be worth up to $3 billion over the next 20 years, including maintenance and support.

The new helicopters, based on Eurocopter's EC145, will replace hundreds of the Army's Vietnam-era UH-1s and Kiowas, and will also be used for homeland defense, humanitarian and other non-combat missions.

Col. Cory Mahanna, Army program manager, agreed the contract award would have "far reaching effects."

"This fleet of U.S. Army aircraft will benefit America in crisis situations, like those associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Hugo, and the aftermath of the Mount St. Helens' explosion," said Mahanna, adding that the helicopter would be an important new tool for homeland defense.

EADS has supplied helicopters to various U.S. agencies for the past two decades, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, and the FBI, but the Army deal marks what it called its "first major system win as a prime contractor for the U.S. military."

Defense analyst Richard Aboulafia of the Virginia-based Teal Group said the selection of EADS amounted to "a solid endorsement of globalization," as well as the UH-145, to be built by American Eurocopter in Columbus, Mississippi.

"This is a real endorsement of EADS' U.S. market strategy," said Aboulafia. "And it sure beats waiting for the German and French defense ministries to spend any money."

EADS said it planned to nearly triple the size of the Mississippi American Eurocopter plant and add more than 200 jobs. It plans to start with partial assembly, then move to full assembly and later, the manufacture of major subsystems.

Construction of the first UH-145 was already underway, and current plans called for the aircraft to be delivered to the Army by November 2007, Crosby told reporters. "They want airplanes fast. We'll deliver them as fast as we can."

Sen. Trent Lott, a Republican from Mississippi, welcomed the announcement and said it would further expand Mississippi's role as a "worldwide center of excellence in helicopter manufacturing and aerospace technology."
Reuters

Avustralya'nın İlave NH-90 Siparişi

Avustralya 12 adet NH-90'a ilave olarak 34 adet daha sipariş veriyor. Bu 34 adetlik paket Sea King ve Black Hawk helikopterlerinin yerine geçecek. Envantere girmeye başlayan Tiger'lar da düşünülecek olursa Avustralya LPD ihalesinde hangi adayın avantajlı konuma geçtiği tahmin edilebilir.

Bu ek sipariş ile birlikte Eurocopter - Avustralya işbirliği daha da gelişmiş görünüyor.

İlgili haberler aşağıdadır (vurgular tarafımdan eklenmiştir):

MRH 90 to Replace Sea King and Black Hawk Helicopters

(Source: Australian Department of Defence; issued June 19, 2006)

I am pleased to announce that Government has approved a $ 2 billion acquisition of thirty-four MRH 90 helicopters to replace Navy's Sea King and Army's Black Hawk helicopters.

The selection of the MRH 90 complements the Government's decision in 2004 to acquire an initial twelve MRH 90 helicopters as Army's additional troop lift helicopter. Delivery of the first twelve is scheduled from December 2007 through to December 2009.

The 34 additional MRH 90s will be assembled in Brisbane. When delivered, the MRH 90s will be based at RAAF base Townsville, Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney and HMAS Albatross in Nowra. A contingent will also be based at a joint training facility at Oakey in Queensland.

The new twin-engine troop lift helicopters will provide opportunities for joint fleet management. These benefits include greater operational flexibility and efficiency through common operational, training and logistic systems and a capability to rotate personnel, aircraft, spare parts and role-specific equipment between troop lift, special operations and maritime support commitments.

The MRH 90 is an extremely capable helicopter featuring a modern damage-tolerant design, a large cabin volume with ramp and enhanced levels of marinisation.

The Sea Kings will be retired in 2010, followed by the Black Hawks which will be progressively replaced between 2011 and 2015.

As these MRH 90 aircraft will be assembled in Australia this acquisition of at least 34 aircraft will provide significant opportunities for Australian industry and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) will gain an operating capability within a relatively short time-frame.

The emphasis of the Australian industry package, worth A$1.2 billion , is on the development and sustainment of critical aircraft mission system capability. The long term viability of the Australian MRH 90 assembly line will be maximized, ensuring greater development of the skill base required to support the MRH 90 into the future through a strategy aimed at promoting Australian industry as part of the Eurocopter global supply chain.

New Major Order for Eurocopter in Australia: The Federal Government Signs for 34 MRH-90s

(Source: Eurocopter; issued June 19, 2006)(Edited to add correction)

Eurocopter is once again selected by the Australian government to fulfill the Army helicopter needs. An agreement was concluded today in Canberra between the Australian Defence Materiel Organisation and Australian Aerospace, a Eurocopter subsidiary, for 34 MRH-90s to the benefit of the Australian Defence Force.

The contract, which has not yet been signed, is worth 1.17 billion euros.

This decision comes less than two years after the Federal Government ordered the first 12 MRH-90s as additional troop lift helicopters. Already in December 2001, Eurocopter was selected to provide 22 Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (ARH) to the Australian Army.

Eurocopter warmly welcomes this decision, which confirms the leadership of its products in the military sector and the trustworthy relationship it has built with the Australian government.

The MRH-90s, the world's most advanced medium-lift helicopter, was chosen ahead of the Black Hawk. It will now be stepped up at Australian Aerospace's Brisbane plant. Through-life support services also will take place in Australia.

Expanding local production and support for the MRH-90s will make Australia one of the cornerstones of the global supply chain of the Eurocopter network, which includes Australian Aerospace.

Together, the two MRH-90 contracts will generate 400 highly skilled jobs in Australia and will inject A.1 billion into the Australian economy.

Eurocopter CEO, Fabrice Bregier, said: "this additional order confirms not only the superiority of the NH-90 in its class but also the strong links developed between Eurocopter and its Australian partners. It will be a major step ahead for the Australian industry and is fully in line with the worldwide expansion strategy of Eurocopter, which consists in developing long term industrial partnerships with major customer countries."

The Australian version of the NH-90, called MRH-90, is a truly multi-role helicopter which carries more troops and more equipment, further and faster than other helicopters of the same weight. It can be configured in more ways and is fully interoperable with NATO and Coalition forces. The MRH-90 is ideal to operate from land and sea. Its composite construction means there is no corrosion. It is easy and quick to maintain and spends a greater percentage of its operational life in the air than other helicopters in this class.

The NH90 is the biggest helicopter programme ever launched in Europe, with firm orders for 357 units and options for a further 187. Customer countries which have placed firm orders are France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Greece, Oman and Australia. The latest countries to have officially selected the NH90 are New Zealand, Spain and Belgium. Due to its inherent multi-role capability, the NH90 is able to fulfil a large variety of missions and has been selected for Army, Air Force, Navy and SAR services by the respective customer nations.

In Australia, Eurocopter, through Australian Aerospace and its Regional Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, assembles, tests, supplies, maintains, modifies and enhances civil and military aircraft for the Australian and export markets. Currently, it is assembling and delivering 18 of the 22 Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters to the Australian Army, to be followed by 42 of the 46 MRH-90s for the troop and utility lift role. At the same time, Australian Aerospace assembles and delivers the EC120 Colibri light civil helicopter for customers throughout the Asia Pacific region, as well as supporting the more than 350 Eurocopter helicopters currently active in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Australian Aerospace recently announced plans to invest a further A million in a state-of-the-art composite fibre manufacturing plant in Queensland

Created in 1992, the Franco-German-Spanish Eurocopter Group is a Division of EADS, one of the top three aerospace companies in the world. The group employs 13,000 people. Its strong worldwide presence is insured by its 16 subsidiaries located on the five continents, along with a network of distributors and certified agents. 9,500 Eurocopter helicopters are currently operating in 139 countries on behalf of some 2,500 customers. Eurocopter offers the largest civil and military range in the world. The group now accounts for 30% of the world market. In 2005, Eurocopter secured its position as the world's No. 1, with a turnover of 3.2 billion euros up by 15% over the 2004 turnover – with orders for 401 new helicopters, once again leading the way in the civil and parapublic sectors with a 52% market share.

Eurocopter'den Yeni Rotor Sistemi

Eurocopter, yeni geliştirdiği 5 palli rulmansız yeni rotor sistemini EC-145 helikopterinde test etti. Bu yeni rotor tasarımının 4 ton ağırlık sınıfındaki helikopterler için ideal olabileceği belirtiliyor.

Yeni rotor tasarımının aynı zamanda yakıt sarfiyatı ve gürültü seviyesini de önemli ölçüde düşürdüğünün altı çizilmiş.

Successful maiden flight of a bearingless Advanced Technology Rotor

Eurocopter has celebrated another milestone in the development of the rotor technology of the future at its Donauwörth plant. Following the first successful flight of a BK117 helicopter with an adaptive rotor system in September 2005, today saw the maiden flight of the newly developed 5-blade "Advanced Technology Rotor" fitted on an EC145 test helicopter. This rotor is designed to be ideally suited for 4-ton class helicopters.

The development of advanced technology rotor systems goes back a long way at Eurocopter. It began with the hingeless main rotor with composite blades, used by the BO105 and BK117 models, followed by the bearingless four-blade rotors used by the EC135, and now sees its latest development, the ATR 5-blade rotor.

Key characteristics of the new bearingless ATR is its extremely compact and light-weight rotor hub and its use of modular components. These design innovations result in improved flight characteristics and a more comfortable ride in comparison to the existing EC145 rotor, while also yielding cost and weight benefits.

Added comfort thanks to reduced vibration and improved flight characteristics

The design of the ATR as a 5-blade rotor results in reduced vibrations, which affect helicopter components and passengers alike. Due to the compact rotor hub the helicopter’s flight characteristics are also improved.

An additional benefit, in particular for the helicopter’s environmental compatibility, is the reduced fuel consumption and noise generated by the helicopter due to the increased range over which the rotor speed can be varied. On this topic, it is also worth mentioning that Eurocopter helicopters are amongst the quietest worldwide and are well below the international noise level thresholds.

Reduced costs during operation
The ART 5-blade rotor also sets a new benchmark from the point of view of reduced operating costs. The rotor’s modular design is especially beneficial in this respect. The divider between the blade root and the rotor blade permits quick folding of the rotor, adaptation of the blades for special uses and the realization of family concepts in manufacturing.

"The new advanced technology 5-blade rotor combines the most advanced rotor design in the world with an aerodynamic form aimed at achieving maximum performance with minimum noise" explains Dr. Marius Bebesel, Head of Eurocopter’s Vehicle Technology & Materials program.

The "Advanced Technology Rotor" was developed under the bearingless active rotor system (Lagerloses Aktives Rotorsystem, LARS) program, which is sponsored by the German Ministry of Economics and Technology.

source: Eurocopter

Genel Maksat Helikopteri İhalesi

Genel maksat helikopteri ihalesi ile ilgili DefenseNews'da çıkan haber-analiz.. İhalenin iki önde gelen adayından (S-70 ve NH-90), Black Hawk daha avantajlı olarak değerlendirilmiş..

Firms Eye New Turk Contest

Ankara Seeks 32 Utility Copters for $500M

By UMIT ENGINSOY, WASHINGTON And BURAK EGE BEKDIL, ANKARA

Turkish procurement officials said they will open international bidding this fall to buy a batch of 32 utility helicopters, worth around $500 million, to meet the military’s new requirements.

Some European and U.S. helicopter manufacturers likely will compete in a fresh Turkish contract contest as Turkey’s procurement authorities busy themselves with final touches on competition rules.

They said 20 of the new helicopters will go to the Army, and the Air Force and Navy will get six each.

“We are giving the final touches on tender specifications for the new utility helicopter program,” said one procurement official. “We’ll likely invite bids this fall, and we hope there will be genuine competition among leading foreign manufacturers.”

Single Model To Be Selected

The same official said at the end of the competition that one single helicopter model will be selected for all three services. “The Army, the Air Force and the Navy will not be able to choose different platforms,” he said. “The winner will take all.”

Industry sources and analysts expect competition between two major contenders: U.S. manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft, Stratford, Conn., maker of the S-70 Black Hawk; and NH Industries, Aix-en-Provence, France, maker of the NH90.

NH Industries is the prime contractor for design, development, production and logistical support for all variants of the NH90. The Franco-German company Eurocopter, Paris, is the majority shareholder in NH Industries, with 62.5 percent of its shares. Italy’s Agusta, Cascina Costa, holds 32 percent, and Netherlands-based Stork Fokker has 5.5 percent.

The NH90 is a twin-engine, medium-sized utility helicopter with a single main rotor.

Sikorsky has sold more than 100 Black Hawks to the Turkish Armed Forces, and Eurocopter supplied 20 Cougar transport helicopters to the Air Force in the 1990s.

“The Army is happy about the S-70’s performance and is expected to push for the Black Hawk,” said one Washington-based defense analyst who asked not to be named. “The Air Force also may agree to this option. So I wouldn’t be surprised if the S-70 is selected for the whole deal at the end of the day.”

Procurement officials in Ankara said Sikorsky, in an effort to strengthen its bid, has proposed to move its entire Black Hawk production line to Turkey. “This is an attractive proposal,” the same official said. “It will certainly be taken into consideration during the bidding process.”

Two Price Categories

Another analyst said the NH90 is a better but more expensive option, yet attractive. “The NH90 is an upper-class platform, and therefore substantially more expensive,” the Ankara-based analyst said. “Turkey will have to choose between two different categories — and prices.”

Sikorsky won a $450 million deal against Eurocopter to sell 45 Black Hawks to the Army in 1992. Two years later, Eurocopter won a nearly $250 million contract to jointly produce 20 Cougars for the Air Force with Tusas Aerospace Industries (TAI), Ankara, best known for its co-production of F-16 fighter jets with U.S. company Lockheed Martin in the late 1980s and 1990s.

The Turkish Army purchased a second batch of 50 Black Hawks under a 1999 agreement with Sikorsky worth nearly $500 million. In the early 1990s, Turkey also bought 19 Mi-17 utility helicopters from Russia. The Turkish Armed Forces also operates more than 100 older UH-1 Huey helicopters manufactured by U.S. company Bell Helicopter Textron.

Utility helicopters are among the stronger points of the Turkish Army. Cevik Bir, a retired general and former deputy chief of the Turkish General Staff, said in 1998 that the Turkish Land Forces was among a few armies in the world that could deploy overnight a brigade-sized unit considerable distances.

The new utility helicopter program comes at a time when Turkey is involved in two other ambitious helicopter deals. In a multibillion-dollar program to buy up to 50 attack helicopters, the country’s procurement office, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, is awaiting bids from several foreign contenders by mid-September.

Turkey also has decided to buy 12 S-70B Seahawk naval helicopters from Sikorsky for about $390 million, but the deal hinges on the reactivation of an earlier loan by the U.S. Export-Import Bank.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=958035&C=airwar