Dr.EW
Johnny Heikell
Newsyear 2008
EW, Electronics,
Helicopters, etc.
- December: Pranalytica Inc. announces a 2W continuous wave QCL operating at 4.6 um at room temperature. Beam quality and power efficiency have not been revealed so it may not yet be suitable for DIRCM applications. Twice that amount of power would also be nice
- November: Norway selects the JSF ahead of JAS Gripen NG. Rumors claim that the fourth-generation Gripen did not fare well in simulated combats against the Russian fifth-generation Sukhoi PAK FA. How do they know, the PAK FA is still a drawing board concept?
- October: The Pentagon scraps its USD 6.2 billion Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter program. The venerable OH-58D Kiowa Warrior will have to fight on in its old age
- September: US Patent 7,429,734, issued to S.C. Tidwell at Aculight Corp (Lockheed Martin), outlines the concept for a turret-less DIRCM. If this works out, one of the major cost-driving subsystems of narrow-beam DIRCMs can be eliminated
- August: Sikorsky's X2 technology demonstrator completes its first test flight at the company's Schweizer Aircraft Corp rapid prototyping facility in Horseheads, NY
- July: The world gets a new helicopter exporter when India's Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL) signs a contract for seven Dhruvs with the Ecuador Aviation
Authority
At the Farnborough Airshow Thales (UK) annonces a single-color IR missile warning system called Elix-IR. The move from UV to IR detectors will gradually begin
- June: IBM's new supercomputer, Roadrunner, hits the Petaflop barrier. The DoE picks the bill so there should not be a risk of Roadrunner becoming a megaflop
- May: The European Defence Agency (EDA) collects information on member nations' helicopter assets. Despite a large number of helicopters in Europe, few are available for international operations due to deficiencies ranging from lack of EWSP to poor crew training. As experience shows: decisionmakers appreciate EWSP only when losses start to come in
- April: Europe gets its biggest anechoic chamber with the opening of Alenia Aeronautica's 18,000 m3 facility at the Turin-Caselle airport. It contains a hoist that can lift 25-ton aircraft to a maximum height of 16 meters
- March: The White House gives green light for price increases of the presidential VH-71 helicopter fleet from USD 6.7 to 11.1 billion. Some 2000 modifications will be made to the AW101 (ex. EH-101) including new tail, transmission, and rotor blades. Why did they not write decent specifications to start with?
- February: UK MoD reports an average 38 per cent "fit for purpose" figure for its fleet of 538 helicopters. Royal Navy Westland Sea Kings are at the low end with 29 per cent, Army Air Corps reconnaissance and attack helicopters hold pole position with 91 per cent
- January: US Patent Application 2008/0006738 describes a sacrificial MANPADS decoy for commercial aircraft. Will air carriers accept the drag and additional fuel consumption, and will passengers accept to fly with a device that attracts and detonates missiles close to the engine?
Quiz: Can you identify the helicopter below? (Put the cursor on top of the image to see the answer.)
