Getafe, 07 October 2019 – The Airbus A400M new generation airlifter has completed the certification flight test for the simultaneous dispatch of 80 (40+40) equipped paratroopers from both side doors on a single pass. Tests were performed in coordination with the French Armament General Directorate (DGA) together with French and Belgian Armed Forces. The flight test campaign, performed in the Ger Azet drop zone in southern France during daylight, also successfully completed the certification flight test to support the deployment of 58 paratroopers from one side door, the A400M’s maximum dispatch capacity from a single door.

These major milestones conclude the certification test phase of the paratroop dispatch capability of the A400M, pending on the completion of certification activities in the first half of 2020, and paving the way for the simultaneous deployment of up to 116 paratroopers and the certification for mixed operations. After 9 flights and 564 jumps, the completion of the test campaign concludes a very complex exercise built together with the A400M Customer Nations around the confidence in the aircraft and the highest safety requirements. The picture above highlights the successful dispatch of 80 paratroopers, to date the largest simultaneous deployment from an A400M on a single pass.

Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2018 it generated revenues of € 64 billion and employed a workforce of around 134,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as one of the world’s leading space companies. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.

Saab has together with Boeing conducted a successful long-range test firing of the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) in Norway. The test firing took place at the Andøya Test Center in Andenes, Norway, September 26, 2019. The objective of the test firing was to hit a predetermined target in the sea, 130 km away from the launcher. The launcher used in the test firing was a custom made, fully autonomous, 20 foot container.

“In collaboration with Boeing, we have developed a highly competent system that offers high precision at long range. We see a lot of potential in the GLSDB, since it provides armed forces around the world with a long range artillery capability, which there is a great demand for”, says Görgen Johansson, Head of Saab business area Dynamics.

GLSDB is a partnership between Saab and Boeing. The GLSDB system stands out with its high accuracy over long ranges, and has the ability to fly complex trajectories and manoeuvres to strike targets that cannot be reached by conventional direct and indirect fire weapons. It is launcher independent, which means that it can be fired from a containerised solution, as well as any launcher capable of using the M26 launch pod container e.g. HIMARS, M270 and ChunMoo. The containerised solution can also be used onboard ships, providing GLSDB with the ability be fired from both land and sea assets.

“Boeing and Saab bring together deep knowledge of precision weapon systems and the ability to rapidly integrate and test solutions,” said Cindy Gruensfelder, vice president, Boeing Weapons. “Combining our companies’ expertise, experience and resources have resulted in an advanced, cost efficient, supportable global rocket artillery solution that brings warfighters the level of capability needed to combat current and future threats in a joint force environment.” 

GLSDB gives land and naval forces a mobile, organic capability to hit targets that were previously out of their reach. This is achieved by taking advantage of the Small Diameter Bomb’s inherent manoeuvrability and accuracy. GLSDB is the ultimate long-range solution, combining affordability and performance, and meets the evolving needs of armed forces today and tomorrow.

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT), today introduced RAIDER X™, its concept for an agile, lethal and survivable compound coaxial helicopter, specifically designed for securing vertical lift dominance against evolving peer and near-peer threats on the future battlefield. Through the U.S. Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program, RAIDER X is the out-front platform in the Service’s revolutionary approach for rapid development and delivery of game changing technology and warfighter capabilities, equipped for the most demanding and contested environments. RAIDER X enables the reach, protection and lethality required to remain victorious in future conflicts.
“RAIDER X converges everything we’ve learned in years of developing, testing and refining X2 Technology and delivers warfighters a dominant, survivable and intelligent system that will excel in tomorrow’s battlespace where aviation overmatch is critical,” said Frank St. John, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems. “The X2 Technology family of aircraft is a low-risk solution and is scalable based on our customers’ requirements.”

RAIDER X draws on Lockheed Martin’s broad expertise in developing innovative systems using the latest digital design and manufacturing techniques. Sikorsky’s RAIDER X prototype offers:

• Exceptional Performance: The X2 rigid rotor provides increased performance including; highly responsive maneuverability, enhanced low-speed hover, off-axis hover, and level acceleration and braking. These attributes make us unbeatable at the X.
• Agile, Digital Design: State-of-the-art digital design and manufacturing is already in use on other Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky production programs such as CH-53K, CH-148 and F-35, and will enable the Army to not only lower the acquisition cost, but enable rapid, affordable upgrades to stay ahead of the evolving threat.
• Adaptability: Modern open systems architecture (MOSA)-based avionics and mission systems, offering “plug-and-play” options for computing, sensors, survivability and weapons, benefiting lethality and survivability, operational mission tailoring and competitive acquisitions.
• Sustainable/Maintenance: Designed to decrease aircraft operating costs by utilizing new technologies to shift from routine maintenance and inspections to self-monitoring and condition-based maintenance, which will increase aircraft availability, reduce sustainment footprint forward and enable flexible maintenance operating periods.
  Growth/Mission Flexibility: Focused on the future and ever evolving threat capabilities, X2 compound coaxial technology provides unmatched potential and growth margin for increased speed, combat radius and payload. This potential and growth margin further enables operational mission flexibility which includes a broader range of aircraft configurations and loadouts to accommodate specific mission requirements.
  The nationwide supply team that Sikorsky has comprised to build RAIDER X will join company leaders today to introduce RAIDER X during the annual conference of the Association of the United States Army in Washington, D.C.

“RAIDER X is the culmination of decades of development, and a testament to our innovation and passion for solving our customers’ needs,” said Sikorsky President Dan Schultz. “By leveraging the strength of the entire Lockheed Martin Corporation, we will deliver the only solution that gives the U.S. Army the superiority needed to meet its mission requirements.”

Proven X2 Technology: Scalable, Sustainable, Affordable
With RAIDER X, Sikorsky introduces the latest design in its X2 family of aircraft. To date, X2 aircraft have achieved/demonstrated:

• Speeds in excess of 250 knots
• High altitude operations in excess of 9,000 feet
• Low-speed and high-speed maneuver envelopes out to 60+ degrees angle of bank
• ADS-33B (Aeronautical Design Standard) Level 1 handling qualities with multiple pilots
• Flight controls optimization and vibration mitigation
  “The power of X2 is game changing. It combines the best elements of low-speed helicopter performance with the cruise performance of an airplane,” said Sikorsky experimental test pilot Bill Fell, a retired Army pilot who has flown nearly every RAIDER test flight. “Every flight we take in our S-97 RAIDER today reduces risk and optimizes our FARA prototype, RAIDER X.”
  The development of X2 Technology and the RAIDER program has been funded entirely by significant investments by Sikorsky, Lockheed Martin and industry partners.