- Reaction score
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cplcaldwell said:....... Quoting two and three year old memos without stating the path forward does not seem to be a responsible reporting of the facts.
Thoughts?
Those are my thoughts.
cplcaldwell said:....... Quoting two and three year old memos without stating the path forward does not seem to be a responsible reporting of the facts.
Thoughts?
Lockheed Martin has lost its bid to be reinstated in the competition to provide the U.S. Army and Air Force with a Joint Cargo Aircraft. The program could involve up to 100 aircraft worth $5 billion. At least some participants say the decision turned on an Army demand for GATM (Global Air Traffic Management) system capability on the first aircraft. The company's plan was to add it at a later date approved by the Air Force. Lockheed Martin pitched the only four-engine design--a version of its standard body C-130J. The other competitors offered twin-engine aircraft--the C-295 from Raytheon/ EADS and C-27J from L-3 Communications/Alenia North America/ Boeing. The Government Accountability Office upheld USAF's decision to eliminate the C-130J in the first downselect. Lockheed Martin continues to build its transport, but an order slowdown means it could face a line shutdown by 2009. Lockheed Martin officials said they had shown there was an advantage to the Army operating an aircraft already in USAF inventory, rather than introducing a new design. Army officials want a smaller aircraft that won't be dominated and controlled operationally by the Air Force [emphasis added]. Supporters of twin-engine designs say some studies show the C-130J can't meet some of the tactical scenarios for takeoffs from 2,000-ft. runways that are prevalent in operational hot spots. Lockheed Martin says its aircraft is the best performer in high-altitude/hot-temperature conditions.
Airbus will have to commit more engineering resources to the A400M military airlifter program to rein in "critical risk areas" and preserve its schedule, customers are concluding after EADS briefed them on the results of a study of the project's status.
The report suggests there are "significant" challenges to meeting first flight in March 2008 and other scheduled milestones. The risks are "systems design (in particular electrical harnesses), maturity of military mission systems, engine modifications, remaining work to be done on the final assembly line."
Although EADS says the program schedule is holding, a senior company official acknowledges an updated master plan is being developed and will be presented to customers. Under scrutiny is the start of final assembly in Seville, Spain. Airbus Chief Operating Officer Fabrice Bregier says the goal is to ensure all elements are in place before the process starts, and to avoid A380-like problems that have led to excessive rework and program delays.
The electrical wiring harness issue on the A400M is different than for the A380, officials say. The A400M harnesses are less complex and the proper design tools are being used. However, a company official says the supply of some harnesses is running behind.
One military buyer says the depth of the review is appreciated by customers, and keeping the delivery schedule is positive. However, he says, there clearly is no more schedule margin left and EADS will have to enhance resources to meet contractual milestones.
Bregier says the aircraft will meet performance targets. That's critical, says the military representative. But he also points out that the first six aircraft, pre-production versions, will not meet those standards.
The engine program has long been recognized as a possible risk area. A modified Lockheed Martin C-130 is due to enter flight trials fitted with a single TP400 in the first quarter of next year.
A400M users are pressing Airbus Military to ensure reliability is high on delivery. They don't want to suffer years of growing pains, such as those the U.K. and Royal Australian Air Force underwent when fielding the C-130J.
a78jumper said:The Buffalo is out of production, and in any event a study conducted years ago concluded a four engined Herc cost roughly the same amount as the notoiously unreliable(from a power plant standpoint) two engined Buffalo, about the only thing it was deficient in was the extreme STOL capabilities. The decision was made at that point to run down the Buff fleet except for those in Comox, as they apparently require some STOL capacity there.
CTD said:Would you guys keep flying Buffs or do you have a preferance?
I am just curious, I think the plane is amazing.
Any idea just how different the new system is?Jammer said:Talking with some of the RAF types in Kandahar, they don't like to pallet loading/locking system. Apparently it's a bit different than the one used now, so in order to make sure the pallet won't slip in flight it cannot be loaded to capacity.
Jammer said:Talking with some of the RAF types in Kandahar, they don't like to pallet loading/locking system. Apparently it's a bit different than the one used now, so in order to make sure the pallet won't slip in flight it cannot be loaded to capacity.
Canada was offered a chance to acquire aircraft specially designed for an Afghanistan-type war for less than half of the price of the new fleet of C-130J Super Hercules the government plans to purchase.
Government officials, however, decided against the proposal by a U.S. company, Snow Aviation International, whose plan was to overhaul the Canadian Forces existing C-130 Hercules so they could land and take off from short runways in war zones like Afghanistan...
The company's Hercules modernization package, developed with funding from the U.S. air force, involves installing a new tail, engines, propellers and new wings. The length of the Hercules would be extended to allow it to carry more equipment and the modifications would allow it to land and take off on short austere runways. The cockpit would also be modernized.
The result would be new, certified planes with 25-year plus service life.
Each plane would cost about $40 million US, said company president Harry Snow, a C-130 pilot with combat experience.
Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor has told the Commons that Canada will be paying Lockheed about $85 million US for each C-130J...
...aerospace consultant Ben Works said the savings offered by the Snow Aviation proposal and the new capabilities in their modernization package was a deal that should not have been passed up.
''We're talking about well over a billion dollars you can save and that Canada could invest in other very needed assets,'' said Works, who had been employed in the past as a Snow Aviation consultant. He is now working at the Pentagon in the intelligence branch.
Works said the C-130J and similar aircraft are ''irrelevant to counter-insurgency warfare'' such as in Afghanistan. ''What you need is high capacity, low stall speed, short landing and takeoff,'' he said. ''That's what we're all going to need.''..
...the C-130J and similar aircraft are ''irrelevant to counter-insurgency warfare'' such as in Afghanistan. ''What you need is high capacity, low stall speed, short landing and takeoff,'' he said. ''That's what we're all going to need.''
...
Canadian military pilots who have test flown the Lockheed planes have given them high marks. Moreover, the Airbus A400 -- the C-130s rival -- is not in full-scale production yet. Airbus has threatened to sue Ottawa for "freezing it out of the bidding process," and it has promised it could deliver planes as quickly as Lockheed to meet our present needs in Afghanistan. So far, though, all Airbus has delivered to any of its customers is a working mock-up of the A400's cockpit. Do we really want our military, in the middle of a war zone, to be the guinea pigs for testing whether the plane is as good as its manufacturer says it will be?
Nor is there any reason to believe Snow Aviation, another bidder for the Hercules contract, which recently claimed it could have refurbished our existing planes and made them as good as new for half the cost.
Still, given the huge price tags and accelerated nature of these new purchases, the government owes it to taxpayers to thoroughly explain its purchasing decisions. The newly ordered planes will cost us more than $9-billon. Given that extraordinary sum, voters deserve to know just what they'll be getting.
'The federal government tried to rebut claims that the fix is in for Lockheed Martin's C-130J by appointing an independent monitor to oversee the procurement of up to $5 billion worth of military transport aircraft.
With lobbyists already in full-blitz mode, Defence Minister Bill Graham said Monday he's going ahead with a "competitive, fair and transparent" plan to buy 16 replacements for the military's aging fleet of Hercules planes.
The process will be fast -- the one-page statement of performance requirements will go out in 10 days and bidders will have just 30 days to study it...'
Of course then Conservative national defence critic Gordon O'Connor was making the same sort of criticism of the rapid purchase of C-130Js that the opposition parties are now making. Silly him. Plus ça change...in Canadian politics.