01 Dec 16. Indonesia edges closer towards acquisition of Mi-26 helicopters from Russia. A delegation from the Indonesian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has concluded a visit to Russia during which a discussion to acquire Mi-26 helicopters for the Indonesian Army (Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Darat: TNI-AD) was held. The matter was disclosed to IHS Jane’s on 1 December by sources from within the MoD, and corroborated with matching accounts from an official at state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI). Among matters that were discussed during the visit were defence offsets, technology transfer arrangements, and how local Indonesian companies could benefit from the acquisition should it proceeds. IHS Jane’s understands that PTDI is being proposed as a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility for the Mi-26 platform, should the acquisition be approved by the Indonesian government. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
01 Dec 16. GA-ASI Seeks Spanish Defence Industry Suppliers.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA ASI), a leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAS) systems, tactical reconnaissance radars, and electro-optic and related mission systems solutions, has announced that it intends to hold three ‘industry days’ across Spain in January 2017.
GA-ASI was selected by the Spanish Ministry of Defence to provide the Predator B RPAS to the Spanish Air Force and is seeking to increase its number of Spanish defence industry suppliers in the fields of:
1)Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Operations
2)Sensor Data Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination
3)Airborne Sensors
4)Global Supply Chain for aircraft components and manufacturing
5)Unmanned Aircraft research and development projects.
Spanish companies with proven aerospace and defence capabilities that are able to provide services in these areas are invited to come and meet with GA-ASI representatives at one of the following three industry days in Madrid, Malaga, or Bilbao.
“GA-ASI’s commitment to providing the best available remotely piloted aircraft technology to the Spanish Air Force means identifying and establishing relationships with companies across Spain who can assist with that effort,” said Mark Gist, director of international cooperation, GA-ASI.
Companies wishing to meet with GA-ASI representatives during the event should visit http://www.theomxevents.com/ga for additional information and event registration. Please note that companies are respectfully requested to provide their company overview presentations in English.
(Source: UAS VISION)
28 Nov 16. Under US plan, Afghans may get Black Hawks to replace Russian aircraft. The U.S. military wants to replace Afghanistan’s well-worn fleet of Russian helicopters with American-made aircraft, according to a new budget proposal, a decision aimed at reducing the Afghan air force’s decades-long reliance on Russian equipment.
The Afghan air force, trained and assisted by NATO advisers, has slowly gained strength, but remains too small to meet the needs of security forces struggling to combat a stubborn Taliban insurgency.
Now the U.S. Defence Department is requesting funding to refurbish and update 53 older-model U.S. military UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for the Afghans, enough to replace the current fleet of Russian-designed Mi-17 helicopters.
Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election, and the prospect of warmer U.S.-Russian ties, could yet impact the proposed move, but were it to go through, it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and require retraining potentially hundreds of Afghan pilots to fly the new craft.
Roughly 50 Mi-17 transport helicopters form the backbone of the air force, flying missions including troop and supply transport, medical evacuation and close air support.
Heavy fighting, hard conditions and maintenance problems have taken their toll on the fleet, however, and the U.S. military has faced legal barriers to providing ne