Helicopters

The Army has moved from proposals to orders. Across late August, senior leaders briefed units on a plan to trim parts of the helicopter force and retool aviation for a tougher fight.

Bell Textron has handed the first MV-75 virtual prototype to the U.S. Army, marking a concrete step in the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft program. Defense officials confirm the hand-off took place at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, on 24 June, only eighteen months after the contract’s Milestone B decision. The digital twin now sits with the Army’s aviation project office, where engineers will run mission rehearsals and early software tests.

Three AH-64D Apache attack helicopters landed this morning at the 56th Air Base in Latkowo, near Inowrocław. They taxied to the ramp in quick succession, rotors still spinning while ground crews signaled them into place. Defense officials confirm these aircraft now belong to the 1st Army Aviation Brigade, a unit that already flies Mi-24 gunships but has never operated an aircraft as advanced as the Apache.

The Army pushed a dusty run at Townsville this week, hooking a Chinook’s fuel lines straight into three Abrams. Blades kept spinning, hoses hissed, and heavy armor rolled off topped up. Roads in those scrub ridges stay rough, so air-pump beats truck every time trucks bog.

Federal Defense chiefs ordered a deep look at Sikorsky’s CH-148 Cyclone fleet. Crews trust these birds for day-to-day patrols over grey water, yet lawmakers now ask plain shut questions about hard mission value. They wonder if the helo keeps pace with rough sea demands or if hidden faults still bite. A few analysts warn that long answer may shape Arctic reach for years. In short the stakes feel heavy, maybe heavier than first planed.

Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) confirmed a landmark move on January 28, 2004. The company announced its plan to purchase Mission Research Corporation (MRC) for roughly $230 million. That figure reflected a significant investment in technology meant for national security and homeland defense. ATK believed MRC’s expertise would help expand its focus beyond conventional munitions and into more advanced areas of aerospace and defense.

The senior team at MD Helicopters, Inc. calls the Army’s Light Utility Helicopter choice “flat-out wrong”. They argue the service stacked the deck for EADS North America, parent of Eurocopter. Managers say the Army brushed past cost data, safety files, and past flight hours that could have swung the verdict. Three vice-presidents used the word “outrageus” in one briefing last week, a slip that showed how tense the mood got inside the Mesa, Ariz. plant.

Eurocopter has picked Sagem’s new Euroflir 350 sight for the EC725 Caracal fleet that supports French special operations. The move links a fresh sensor suite to a helicopter already central to high-risk rescue and assault missions.