Vertiflite May/June 2021

VSR700 Gathers Speed; Additional Orders

respectively. His deputy, Roy Moxam, occupied the co- pilot’s seat and Dave Gibbings flew as the flight test engineer, responsible for instrumentation management, stress data monitoring, and back-up observations. More than 500 aircraft followed, serving operators worldwide. Nine customers still fly the aircraft today for missions such as anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, battlefield, search and rescue, coastal protection and light utility. Current operators of Lynx variants include the Brazilian Navy, Royal Malaysian Navy and South African Defence Force. The Lynx evolved into the Super Lynx and then into today’s Leonardo Wildcat, which has been in production since 2009 and serves with the British Army, Royal Navy, Philippine Navy and Republic of Korea Navy. UK Puma Replacement Generates Interest The recent UK Defence Command Paper outlined the British government’s intend to withdraw the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Puma fleet from service in 2023, replacing it with an off-the- shelf platform, designated as the New Medium Helicopter (NMH). Janes.com reported on a number of company’s offered solutions. Leonardo would produce the AW149 in Yeovil if selected; interestingly, Boeing is considering the smaller MH-139, which Leonardo produces as the AW139, while Bell said its super-medium-twin 525 Relentless would be an “ideal aircraft” for the NMH requirement. Airbus is proposing to develop a military derivative of its H175 super- medium, a joint development with Avicopter; FlightGlobal quoted a spokesperson as saying it would not be a problem to replace the Chinese content. In addition to retiring the 23 Westland-Aerospatiale (now Leonardo and Airbus) Puma HC2 helicopters by 2025, the UK Ministry of Defence would divest its Airbus Dauphins flown by the RAF and Army Air Corps, and its Bell 212 and 412 helicopters operated by the RAF. Longer term, the UK government is participating in NATO Next Generation Rotorcraft Capabilities (NGRC) studies (see “NATO Plans Next-Generation Medium Rotorcraft For 2035,” Vertiflite , March/April 2021). Ospreys Fly 600,000 Hours Bell announced on March 24 that the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey had exceeded 600,000 flight hours, with a fleet of more than 400 aircraft. The tiltrotor is operated by the US Marine Corps, US Air Force, US Navy and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. Recent program accomplishments include the Osprey’s latest variant, the CMV-22B, completing their first delivery of an F-35 engine to the USS Carl Vinson, along with successful paradrops with the US Navy’s parachuting team, “The Leap Frogs,” earlier in the year. In April, an MV-22B Osprey test aircraft conducted its inaugural landing on the new and improved flight deck of USNS hospital ship Mercy.

In late March, Airbus tested its unmanned VSR700 demonstrator to 60 kt (more than 110 km/h), opening its low-speed flight envelope, after it accumulated more than 10 flight hours. The VSR700 is derived from the two-seat Hélicoptères Guimbal’s Cabri G2. The program commenced in 2018 and performed the first autonomous free flight in July 2020. Airbus plans to continue expanding the flight test envelope towards its goal of providing the French Navy with the capability for an at-sea demonstration. The next step towards this will be to upgrade the prototype with a complete operative mission system, with additional tests at the end of this year. Meanwhile, the French Armament General Directorate (DGA) ordered a second VSR700 prototype eight as well as eight additional H225Ms for the French Air and Space Force. This order was part of a stimulus plan to support the national aeronautical industry announced by the French government last year. For Airbus Helicopters, the plan also includes an order for two H145s for the Sécurité Civile and 10 H160s for the French Gendarmerie Nationale. Helijet Reaches Flight Milestone Canadian operator Helijet recently surpassed 47,000 safe flying hours with a Sikorsky S-76A helicopter (Serial no. 760074, C-GHJW), a milestone that marks the highest flight time in any S-76A aircraft. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, HeliJet operates North America’s largest scheduled helicopter service. This achievement results from a flight time average of 120 hours every month for almost 400 months running. “This record-making achievement speaks very highly of the professionalism and dedication of the entire Helijet team,” said Jeanette Eaton, Sikorsky VP, Worldwide Strategy and Business Development, on April 6. Testing Jolly Green IIs The US Air Force completed its developmental test program of its new combat search and rescue helicopter, the HH- 60W Jolly Green II, at Eglin Air Force Base on April 13. The final test by the Sikorsky and Air Force team was on the aircraft’s weapons systems to demonstrate the performance

May / June 2021

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