Helicopters

LAAD 2015 Report: Israel offers C4I solutions to Brazil

The US Army has selected Bell Helicopters and a team formed by Sikorsky Aircraft and Boeing as the two contractors to design and build future helicopters under the service Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator JMR-TD).

Russian Rostec Corporation and the Chinese industrial aviation corporation AVIC have reached an agreement regarding strategic cooperation between the two companies, Addressing future  joint projects in aircraft, helicopter, and engine production, as well as in the manufacturing of aircraft materials, avionics, and similar products. Nikolai Volobuev, Deputy CEO of Rostec Corporation, and Li Yuhai, Deputy CEO of AVIC, signed the...

Israel's RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. is expanding its Spike guided missile family with the introduction of Spike ER2, an extended-range tactical missile the company positions to equip attack helicopters, combat vehicles, and mall boats.

A high-energy laser mounted on an Apache AH-64 attack helicopter acquired and hit an unmanned target during a recent firing test at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The test was conducted by Raytheon and the U.S. Army Apache Program Management Office, in collaboration with U.S. Special Operations Command.

United Nations peacekeepers in Africa are expanding the use of drones to improve force protection and better secure the civilian communities in conflict areas. The UN is expected to select a supplier for a larger MALE drone to succeed the Falco UAVs operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2013. Such drones will soon launch operations from two bases in Mali, in support of UN operations in the Sahara.

Russian Helicopters' MIL division has begun flight testing of a experimental version of a Mi-24K helicopter that could increase the helicopter's cruising speed by up to 30 percent. The blue painted helicopter testbed made its maiden flight from MIL's test center in Tomilino, on 23 December 2015.

Twenty-eight Israeli companies will present a wide range of advanced technologies – many of them operational – including sophisticated sensors and systems protecting borders and sensitive facilities, robotic and automotive logistics, electro-optics for artillery and infantry, airborne satellite communications, fire control solutions, tactical medical equipment, and more. See Defense-Update video coverage of Defexpo.

Russian Helicopters has displayed the latest version of the KA-52 attack helicopter at the Army 2019 defense expo at Kubinka, in the Moscow region. A derivative of the Kamov KA50 helicopter that used a tandem cockpit, KA-52 This version is based on the KA50, KA-52K is in service with the Russian Army and a navalized version, KA-52K is operated by the Egyptian Navy.

The V-280 Valor has achieved first flight yesterday, at Bell Helicopter facility at Amarillo, Texas. The V-280 Valor is Bell's variant evaluated by the US Army Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator initiative.

Israel selects Lockheed Martin Sikorsky CH-53K Yasour helicopters as the IDF’s new heavy-lift aircraft, as part of the IDF’s “Tnufa” (Momentum), multi-year plan. These will replace the “Yassur” helicopters employed by the IAF since the late 1960s.

Israel has phased out the AH-1S Cobra helicopter gunship, in favour of using more drones, the Reuters news agency reports. The increasing reliance on unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) has evolved through the years, as the unmanned aircraft assumed increasingly complex missions, and proved themselves as an indispensable asset in the continuous war against terror along and beyond Israel's borders.

Sikorsky Aircraft yesterday unveiled the first of two S-97 Raider helicopter prototypes, signaling the start of activities in the program’s test flight phase and a major step toward demonstrating the new – and first – armed reconnaissance rotorcraft featuring X2 Technology designed for military missions.

Elbit Systems has been awarded a contract worth about $110 million, for the upgrade and maintenance of a fleet of Russian made Mi-17 helicopters operating with an air force in the Asia Pacific region. The project will be performed over a five-year period. The work assumed by the company will include the conversion of the Russian-made utility and assault...