The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has notified Congress of a possible sale of 15 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawks and associated support equipment and training to Sweden in a package valued at US$546m (A$564m). The notification follows an urgent request from Sweden for the aircraft to support its commitment to the NATO mission in
Eurocopter commenced flight tests of its X3 (pronounced, ‘X-cubed’) hybrid helicopter demonstrator on September 6 at the Istres test facility in southern France. In order to keep development costs down, the X3 is a blend of the AS365 N3 Dauphin fuselage, EC155 main rotor, EC175 gearbox, NH 90 engines, and features the twin fin tail
Lockheed Martin has been selected as the winner of the US Army/Marine Corps Autonomous Technologies for Unmanned Air Systems (ATUAS) program for an unmanned cargo delivery helicopter with an unmanned version of Kaman’s K-Max helicopter. The Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) announced the selection on August 16, citing the K-Max’s 3000kg payload capability, the
An Army S-70 Black Hawk helicopter operating in East Timor as part of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) which experienced problems during a training exercise on August 12 successfully made a safe landing after the pilots made a Mayday call. According to the Department of Defence, the flightcrew made a Mayday call after experiencing an
Boeing Defence Australia has signed a $13.3 million change proposal with the Commonwealth to bring Kiowa helicopter maintenance at Holsworthy near Sydney into its Australian Army Aviation Training and Training Support (AATTS) contract. The deal will see Boeing take on maintenance of the eight Bell Kiowas based at Holsworthy’s 173SQN until the end of 2012,
The Sydney based Southern Region Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter is extending its coverage of aerial beach patrols to include the NSW south coast beginning this summer. In April, the rescue helicopter service’s major sponsor, Westpac Banking Corporation, pledged an increase of almost $2 million per year to Surf Life Saving Australia to help extend
