Boeing Flies Production Configuration AH-6i Light Helicopter for the 1st Time

Photo: Boeing

Boeing's AH-6i light attack/reconnaissance helicopter has flown for the first time in its production configuration, moving the program another step closer to full-scale production while continuing to prove the helicopter's close air support and attack capabilities. Boeing pilots flew the aircraft for less than 20-minutes at low speeds in forward, rearward and sideward flight at low elevations during a recent test. Future tests will expand the flight envelope over the next several months.

"This first AH-6 flight in the production configuration takes us closer to delivering an advanced light attack and reconnaissance helicopter that meets the needs of defense forces around the world," said Boeing AH-6 Program Director Scott Rudy.The AH-6i is a single-turbine helicopter that is based on the combat-proven OH-6A Cayuse. It is an advanced variant of the AH-6M helicopter operated by the U.S. Army Special Operations Forces. It incorporates advanced technologies from the Boeing AH-64E Apache multirole attack helicopter that give it superior performance over other aircraft in its class.
The helicopter is intended to provide close-air support for land-based forces and serve as an attack platform for destroying tanks, armored vehicles and fortifications.


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Boeing's Ramis Tactical ISR Testbed

credit: Boeing

Boeing has been pushing hard to come on strong into the tactical ISR market. Despite the sputtering of the Enhanced Medium-Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance System (Emarss) program for the U.S. Army, it seems the company had secretive customer that helped underpin the business a few years ago. But, what was known as the Yellow Jacket demonstrator for that unnamed customer has been morphed for roughly three years into what we now know as Ramis, the Reconfigurable Airborne Multi-Intelligence System.

he KingAir 350 ER based system is an improvement over other such platforms hastily fielded during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars because they allow for rapid swapping out of sensors and are based on open-source, Windows 7-based software, says Mike Ferguson, Boeing's Ramis business development official.

Systems such as the L-3 Communications MC-12W Project Liberty, built for the U.S. Air Force, and Yellow Jacket were specific designs developed for a specific mission set, says Ashan Iqbar, Boeing's Ramis program manager. In the case of the MC-12W, the signals intelligence (sigint) and imagery collectors "do not talk to each other," meaning operators must fuse the data manually. Ramis, however, is developed specifically to allow for automated cueing of imagery sensors once an operator selects a sigint or comint return of interest. The goal is to decrease the time to identify and validate a target, whether it is a search-and-rescue or combat mission.

The company has already demonstrated its Reconfigurable Airborne Multi-Intelligence System for a variety of customers, including Army acquisition secretary Heidi Shyu and foreign customers.
Boeing officials also showcased RAMIS for media during a demonstration flight at Summit Aviation's facility in Middleton, Del., April 23. The market for such an aircraft – a Kingair 350 ER modified to carry multiple intelligence (multi-int) sensors – is at least 90 aircraft, says Mike Ferguson, Boeing’s business development lead for the program. The company plans to take its single Ramis demonstrator aircraft to the Canada Security conference in May but is unlikely to take it across the Atlantic Ocean for the Royal International Air Tattoo or Farnborough in the United Kingdom in July.

For the press demonstration, Boeing had outfitted the system with its own Argon ST Wasp signals intelligence/communications intelligence system, a Wescam MX-15 electro-optical/infrared sensor ball and a CRI LodeStar wide-area-motion-imagery sensor (capable of collecting high-resolution images in rapid succession of a 10km X 10km swath of land). The sensors used for this demonstration were available for export; aircraft, operating systems and gimbals were all designed for rapid swapping of sensors, says Waldo Carmona, Boeing’s director of networked tactical ISR.The aircraft and its available mods have also been certified by the FAA, Ferguson says.

The MX-15 was mounted on an elevator system into an extended nose on the platform. The WAMI camera was mounted in the gimbaled turret under the cockpit and Argon ST’s Wasp Comint sensor was fixed into the aft bay. There is also an “active sensor bay” under the midsection of the fuselage that is suitable for carrying a radar, hyperspectral or foliage penetration sensors. It was not used for this demonstration.


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Boeing Maritime Surveillance Aircraft Demonstrator Completes 1st Flight

Boeing Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) demonstrator recently completed its first flight to verify airworthiness (Picture: Boeing)

 


Boeing’s Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) demonstrator recently completed its first flight to verify airworthiness, an important milestone toward providing a low-risk and cost-effective maritime surveillance solution designed for search and rescue, anti-piracy patrols and coastal and border security.

Additional airworthiness flights are scheduled for the next two months. Once they are complete, the aircraft will fly to a Boeing facility in Seattle where the MSA mission systems will be installed and tested.MSA uses proven technologies developed for Boeing's P-8A Poseidon program to provide multi-mission surveillance capabilities. The baseline configuration features an Active Electronically Scanned Array multi-mode radar, an Electro/Optical/Infrared sensor, Electronic Support Measures, a Communications Intelligence sensor and Automated Identification System.

2nd Boeing P-8I Neptune submarine hunter for Indian Navy Completes 1st Flight

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The second Boeing P-8I aircraft for the Indian Navy completed its initial flight on July 12, taking off from Renton Field at 3:29 p.m. and landing two hours and 14 minutes later at Boeing Field in Seattle. The P-8I, a derivative of the Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 commercial airplane, is the second of eight long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft Boeing is building for India.
The program is on plan and the Indian Navy is excited for the P-8I to join its fleet," said Leland Wight, P-8I program manager for Boeing.
During the flight, Boeing test pilots performed airborne systems checks and took the P-8I to a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet prior to landing. Boeing will begin mission systems installation and checkout work on the aircraft in the coming weeks.

Boeing P-8I For India Begins Flight Test Program

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Boeing P-8I For Indian Navy to detect noisy Chinese Subs

Boeing's first P-8I aircraft for the Indian Navy began its official flight test program July 7, taking off from Boeing Field in Seattle at 9:15 a.m. and landing three hours and 49 minutes later after demonstrating flying qualities and handling characteristics. The flight went as planned with all test objectives met.

The P-8I is one of eight long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft Boeing is building for India as part of a contract awarded in January 2009. During the coming months, Boeing test pilots will put the P-8I, a Next-Generation 737-800 derivative, through its paces over a U.S. Navy test range west of Neah Bay, Wash., and a joint U.S./Canadian test range in the Strait of Georgia. P-8I flight and weapons testing follows on the heels of similar testing for the U.S. Navy's P-8A Poseidon. 

 P-8I is a variant of the Poseidon. In order to efficiently design and build the P-8I and the P-8A, the Boeing-led team is using a first-in-industry, in-line production process that draws on the company's Next-Generation 737 production system. Assembly is complete on the second P-8I aircraft and it will make its first flight in the coming weeks.The P-8I features open system architecture, advanced sensor and display technologies, and a worldwide base of suppliers, parts and support equipment.