India Relooking New Tanker Aircraft

December 16, 2009 by Matthew Potter · 2 Comments
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Contract Awards, Countries, EADS, Events, India, Military Aviation, Proposal, development program, logistics 

India currently operates a version of the Ilyushin-76 transport aircraft as an aerial tanker. The Il-78 “Midas” has been in service with Russia and India for several years and is a rugged, fairly cheap solution. Recently the Indian government had proposed new tankers based on the Airbus A330 aircraft. The same tanker is being purchased by England and would be considered again by the U.S. Air Force for its KC-X competition.

Now it is reported that the Finance Ministry has raised some concerns over the cost of the A330 compared to the Il-78. Both aircraft were proposed for the contract and the Il-78 was the cheaper bid. The Ministry feels that the contract should be reconsidered on cost grounds and also due to the fact that India already operates the Il-78 making it easier to integrate the new tankers. It is assumed though that the A330 platform offers benefits in capability and technology level over the older Russian aircraft.

India has been planning on new investment in their Armed Forces utilizing the purchase of foriegn, Western equipment to quickly upgrade their technological level. At the same time new rules on offsets and foriegn investment means that their economy will gain through these deals. The most important contract that is out there is for a new fighter which is currently undergoing the early stages of competition. Several U.S. and European companies as well as MiG have submitted bids.

It might be that the Indian Government decides that the higher cost of the A330 is worth it if the capability purchased is significantly enhanced.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Cobham Enables Airbus A330 Air-to-Air Refuelling Flight Demonstrations — Press Release

November 30, 2009 by Matthew Potter · Comment
Filed under: Business Line, Cobham Defense Electronic Systems, Companies, Events, Military Aviation, Press Releases, development program, logistics 

Cobham Enables Airbus A330 Air-to-Air Refuelling Flight Demonstrations

WIMBORNE, United Kingdom – Cobham air-to-air refuelling pods have successfully demonstrated the ability to transfer fuel from the Airbus Military A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) to Spanish Air Force F-18s with a series of “probe-to-drogue” contacts during recent flight trials.

The 905E refuelling pods, built by Cobham Mission Equipment at Wimborne, UK, represent the Company’s latest generation Aerial Refuelling System, which is the first and only hose & drogue system in the world to employ a dual redundant hose response system — a major contributor to world leading mission availability. During a series of contacts conducted during November 2009, the refuelling system transferred fuel to receiver aircraft and demonstrated effective hose response throughout the trials.

“These ‘wet contact’ flight trials are a major milestone in the development of the A330 MRTT’s tanker capability,” said Iain Gibson, vice president of Cobham Mission Equipment. “This achievement reinforces Cobham’s expertise and position as the world leader in delivering air refuelling solutions to meet the strategic and tactical tanker requirements of air forces around the globe.”

The Royal Australian Air Force A330MRTT platform used for these flight tests is similar in configuration to the solution that Northrop Grumman intends to propose to the US Air Force in response to the KC-X Tanker requirement. The A330 MRTT with 905E pods has also been selected for the UK MoD FSTA programme, the Saudi Arabia Air Force and the United Arab Emirates Air Force.

About Cobham:

Cobham’s products and services have been at the heart of sophisticated military and civil systems for 75 years, keeping people safe, improving communications, and enhancing the capability of land, sea, air and space platforms. The Company has four divisions employing more than 12,000 people on five continents, with customers and partners in over 100 countries and annual revenue of more than £1.4bn / $2.1 billion.

Cobham Mission Equipment is the world market leader for air-to-air Refuelling, providing fourth generation ‘nose to tail’ solutions from the cockpit of the donor aircraft to the tail of the receiver platform. To date, more than 1,000 systems have been delivered for buddy-buddy refuelling and for tactical and strategic tanking for fixed and rotary wing aircraft, with expertise now extended into the development of autonomous UAV to UAV refuelling.

Contacts:

Greg Caires
Julian Wais
Media Relations
Investor Relations

+1 703 414 5319
+44 (0) 1202 857998

greg.caires@cobham.com
julian.wais@cobham.com

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

>