Farnborough at a glance

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Kaman delivers Seasprites

The Super Seasprites that Kaman Aerospace delivered to the Royal New Zealand Navy will operate aboard frigates and perform both a surveillance and combat role.

The SH-2G(NZ) Super Seasprite helicopter from Bloomfield, CN-based Kaman Aerospace Corp. received in April final acceptance from the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) after a 58-month engineering, manufacturing, development, and flight test program. The SH-2G(NZ) will perform both surveillance and combat roles aboard the RNZN's ANZAC and Leander class frigates. It will be able to deploy Maverick missiles, MK-46 torpedoes, and depth charges, as well as fly supplies and personnel from ship to shore and perform search and rescue missions and medical evacuations.

The New Zealand Seasprites are equipped with Telephonics Corp's APS-143(V)3 radar that can detect targets up to 200 nmi away compared to the frigate's typical radar range of about 15 mi. The helicopter is also equipped with the AAQ-22 thermal imager from FLIR Systems, the LR-100 electronic support measures from Litton Advanced Systems (now Northrop Grumman), and two T700-GE-401 engines from GE.

The RNZN ordered four Kaman Super Seasprites in 1997. A fifth aircraft that was ordered in 1999 is due to be delivered by the end of the year. Kaman also supplies parts and subassemblies for all Boeing commercial aircraft as well as its C-17 military transport.

Flight Visions integrates Raytheon

Flight Visions will provide the avionics for the new T-6B, which will serve as both a trainer and a light attack aircraft.

David Riemer, Raytheon Aircraft Co. Vice President—Government Business, announced on the eve of the show that the company has selected Flight Visions, Inc., as the avionics systems integrator for the T-6B, a new-generation trainer and light attack aircraft based on the U.S. Air Force T-6A Texan II trainer aircraft. Flight Visions, a wholly owned subsidiary of CMC Electronics, will deliver avionic suites for the trainer that consist of an FV-4000 Modular Mission Display Processor (MMDP), a SparrowHawk head up display (HUD), stores management, and multifunction displays.

Flight Visions' avionic suite will provide the new T-6B version with advanced cockpit-management functions employed in the latest front line fighters and will include an open architecture mission computer, giving the aircraft a multi-role capability as both a trainer and a light attack aircraft. According to the companies, the incorporation of the HUD and MFDs with the latest cockpit-management techniques reduces training time and cost and can increase the overall pilot retention rate to up to 95%.

The FV-4000 is a rugged, military-qualified unit that uses a 500 MHz G4 PowerPC processor. Operating in the T-6B, the FV-4000 will drive the display graphics for the SparrowHawk HUD as well as all the multifunction displays. The missionized T-6B will be outfitted with guns, rockets, and bombs, fulfilling a secondary role as a light attack aircraft and making the T-6B suitable for counter insurgency operations.

GEAE tests

The CF34-10 engine from GEAE is undergoing testing toward the goal of achieving certification next year.

GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) announced that it would begin testing its "newest and most powerful" CF34 engine, the CF34-10, in July at the GE Test Operation near Peebles, OH, leading to certification next year. The CF34-10E is slated as the powerplant for the Embraer 190/195 regional airliner, which is scheduled to enter commercial service with launch customer Swiss Airlines in the fourth quarter of 2004.

The engine is rated in the 18,500-lb thrust class. Technology features of the CF34-10 include an efficient 3-D aerodynamic high-pressure compressor; a single annular combustor (SAC) that reduces oxides of nitrogen by as much as 12% compared to current technology SACs; a low-solidity, high-pressure turbine in which efficiency is improved and the number of airfoils reduced; and a chevron exhaust nozzle that reduces jet noise.

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