Sikorsky has been awarded a $10 million contract for phase 2 of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) effort to automate existing military aircraft cockpits.

The aircrew labor in-cockpit automation system (ALIAS) program seeks a “tailorable, drop-in, removable kit that would promote the addition of high levels of automation into existing aircraft, enabling operation with reduced onboard crew,” DARPA said.

DARPA wants to use advances in commercial aircraft cockpit technology, particularly fly-by-wire controls and auto-pilot systems to reduce the workload on military pilots and crews. It is looking for an affordable conversion kit that can give both existing helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft autopilot capabilities and potentially turn them into optionally manned aircraft.

Sikorsky in March was awarded a contract for Phase 1 of the program, along with Aurora Flight Sciences and Lockheed Martin [LMT]. The first phase involved development of the kit and integration with aircraft representative of the military’s fixed-wing and rotorcraft.

The addition of the ALIAS Phase II program lifts the total contract award from $8,066,058 to $22,746,633. Fiscal 2015 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $9,787,539 are being obligated at time of award, according to a notice posted Aug. 19 on the government’s contracting website.

Phase II will involve polishing and updating the ALIAS requirements, along with system integration, software verification and flight demonstrations, DARPA said. Sikorsky will conduct flight demonstration of the autonomous crew enhancement system (ACES) on a UH-60L Black Hawk during a cargo-resupply mission and full demonstration of the ACES system on a fixed-wing aircraft.

“The primary objectives of the Phase II option effort are to enhance and mature the Phase I system to support flight tests, enhance the usability and robustness of the human interface, and demonstrate system portability on the ground,” according to government documents.

Sikorsky already has outfitted an S-76B commercial helicopter with its Matrix technology, which allows autonomous flight in “complex missions in close proximity to obstacles,” according to the company’s website. The Sikorsky Autonomy Research Aircraft, or SARA, is being used to validate fly-by-wire controls and autonomous systems for transition to military aircraft like the UH-60.

The adjutants general of seven states showed up the week of Aug. 17 to a meeting of the National Commission on the Future of the Army (NCFA) to plead their case for seamless integration of the service’s active and guard components.

Each of the adjutants, who serve the governor of their state unless called up for federal duty, entered written testimony and a separate white paper on several issues that are facing the Guard following 14 years of war in which it played an active combat role. Most pressing was the issue of maintaining combat formations and equipment in Guard units that will likely redirect their attentions to domestic missions.

Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, adjutant general of Kansas, handled the issue of maintaining combat formations and equipment, like the AH-64 Apache gunship, within the National Guard.

“Why do you need combat power in the Guard?” Tafanelli said in written testimony to the commission. “It’s a common question, even from senior leaders. The answer is simple–so we can perform our job, providing cost-effective military capabilities that only the National Guard can offer the country.”

The Guard needs combat formations so it can meet its responsibilities as outlined in the Defense Department’s Total Force policy, which is to provide an interchangeable combat reserve force across the full spectrum of combat, Tafanelli said.

“The Guard simply cannot serve as an operational reserve…if it doesn’t maintain force structure with the Active Component like equipment and capabilities,” he said.

The NCFA as a whole must by Feb. 1 come up with recommendations on a plan to integrate the three Army components in such a way that the lessons and skills learned by soldiers over the past 14 years of war are not lost.

A major concern in the Guard is holding onto the attack helicopters that the Army wants transferred to active-component aviation units for use as armed scout helicopters under a plan called the aviation restructure initiative (ARI).

The ARI arose out of the Army’s need for a new scout helicopter to replace the aging and increasingly obsolete OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. Plans to develop a clean-sheet armed aerial scout were shot down for budgetary reasons before a reworked plan to purchase an off-the-shelf helicopter also was canceled. By phasing out the Kiowa and shuffling UH-60 Black Hawks and Apaches between the active Army and Guard, Army brass figured they could cut $12 billion up front and another $1 billion annually because they would ultimately own about 700 fewer aircraft.

Under the ARI, the Army would completely divest the OH-58D and older A- and C-models used to train pilots while 180 TH-67 Creek helicopters will be sold as military surplus. The active component will lose about 700 total aircraft while about 111 will be moved from reserve to active units.

“Combat arms capability in the National Guard maintains [that there is a single Army], ensuring a robust, mandated operational reserve, ensuring tremendous capability is available to protect the homeland, and connecting the civilian population to the Army that serves it,” said one of the white papers submitted collectively by the adjutants general on behalf of their national association.  

The only reference to Apaches in the NCFA testimony was the first paragraph of the white paper, which asked “Why does the Guard need Apaches?,” saying the question was common among “those who can’t conceive of the rationale behind maintaining in the Reserve Component combat assets that might not have an obvious role in domestic operations.” The paper goes on to rationalize the need for Guard combat formations in general. It does not directly address the ARI and neither does Tafanelli.

Another argument they made in favor of maintaining combat formations in the Guard is that its personnel are cheaper per capita–both deployed and stateside–than an active-duty soldier. The Guard association cites a recent Defense Department study that a reserve component soldier costs 15 percent as much as an active-component soldier when not deployed and about 80-90 percent as much when deployed.

“Skills honed on the battlefield as battalion and brigade commanders translate well to dealing with complex disasters,” Tafanelli said. “Conversely, the experience these leaders gain during disaster response increase highly valuable population interaction skills on the battlefield.”

The Navy intends to release a request for proposals (RFP) by Aug. 31 for a maritime search radar for the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned aerial system, according to a solicitation from Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).

 “We are currently incorporating comments from the industry day held on July 29 into the final RFP, which will be released soon,” Capt. Jeff Dodge, the service’s Fire Scout program manager told Defense Daily in a statement. “Our goal with the radar is to dramatically increase maritime search, detection and localization capability of the MQ-8C and extend the area of influence for LCS or other suitably equipped air-capable ships.”

The service plans to buy 40 systems—one for every air vehicle. A contract is slated to be awarded in fiscal year 2016, and the radars could be fielded as early as 2019, a NAVAIR spokeswoman said.

The service in July released a request for information that contained preliminary requirements for the system.

The radar’s operational capabilities could include: sea surface search, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) and weather modes. The radar must be equipped with an antenna or array with a minimum of 180 degree field of regard. The ability to detect moving ground targets and periscopes is also desirable, the solicitation said.

The MQ-8C combines the airframe of a commercial Bell 407 helicopter with an unmanned systems architecture developed by Northrop Grumman [NOC], the platform’s prime contractor. The service intends to buy 40 air vehicles, which will provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance as well as targeting support.

The first operational MQ-8C was delivered to the Navy in 2014, and the system will be deployed on Littoral Combat Ships. A smaller version, the MQ-8B, is already in use on frigates and on the USS Fort Worth (LCS-3), but the “Charlie” variant has longer endurance can carry heavier payloads.

The MQ-8C recently flew its longest ever flight—11 hours with more than an hour’s worth of fuel still remaining—during endurance trials conducted at Naval Base Ventura County in Point Mugu ,Calif., the company said Aug. 25. The demonstration, which was conducted by the Navy with help from Northrop Grumman, was meant to validate the service’s concept of operations and test the drone’s performance.

George Vardoulakis, the company’s vice president of medium tactical range systems, indicated that Northrop Grumman wants to boost the Fire Scout’s endurance even further.

“Today’s MQ-8C Fire Scout performance matches our model exactly. With adjustments, our production aircraft will have 12 hours of total endurance on a standard day,” he said in a statement. “This prolonged endurance gives the Navy’s commanders a tremendous operational advantage.”

Conducting the endurance test helps the Navy better understand the system and make adjustments to operational procedures, Dodge said.

The Charlie-variant has logged more than 513 flight hours and 353 sorties. It’s slated to begin an operational assessment later in 2015, the news release said. Initial operational capability is scheduled for late 2016.

The Israeli Ministry of Public Security and Israeli Police awarded Elbit Systems Ltd. [ESLT] a $115 million contract to supply leasing and maintenance services for the Israeli Police Force’s aircraft, the company said Aug. 27.

The contract was the result of a public tender and is to be performed over a 20-year period. It includes acquiring six new helicopters, adapting them to meet police requirements, and performing routine maintenance.

The company will operate the helicopters under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI).

The configuration and onboard mission systems of the helicopters will be fitted to accommodate missions including surveillance, policing, search and rescue, command and control, and fire-fighting, Elbit said.

“The decision of the Ministry of Public Security to award the helicopters project to us attests to the success of our PFI based projects, such as operating fixed-wing aircraft, helicopter and unmanned systems fleets, both in Israel and worldwide,” Bezhalel (Butzi) Machlis, President and CEO of Elbit Systems said in a statement.

“We are proud to cooperate, yet again, with the Ministry of Public Security, the Israeli Police Force and the Fire Fighting Forces and to contribute our experience to Israel’s safety and security.”

The U.S. Army has awarded BAE Systems a $50 million contract for the continued production of MK 90 propellant grains used in the helicopter-launched Hydra 70 family of rockets by the U.S. and allied militaries.

“The Hydra 70 missile is the work horse of the unguided missile category,” said Reed McPeak, vice president and general manager of Ordnance Systems at BAE. “It is the most commonly used helicopter-launched weapon system in the world, and we are pleased to fuel this multi-service, multi-national system.”

The MK 90 propellant grain is manufactured at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant in southwestern Virginia, where BAE has been serving as the managing operator since 2012. The facility is a leading producer of military-grade propellants and is currently the primary supplier of solventless propellants. The production process for the MK 90 grain involves more than 300 people in five manufacturing areas at the plant.

BAE began producing MK 90 propellant grains in October 2012, with the first delivery in August 2013. To date, approximately 500,000 grain units have been delivered to the U.S. Department of Defense. Production for this current contract will begin in 2016 and continue through 2017.

Bell Helicopter Textron [TXT] delivered the first of two Bell 429 helicopters to the Slovakian Police at a ceremony in the capital of Bratislava.

The rotorcraft are to be used mainly for border protection, search and rescue, natural disaster relief missions, and road traffic law enforcement, Bell said.

The company highlighted the Bell 429 includes a fully-integrated glass cockpit, advanced drive system, best-in-class WAAS navigation, and IFR capability. It also has the most cabin space of any light twin helicopter, seating for seven passengers and one flight crew.

“This is one of the most modern aircraft on the market, and it fulfills the increasingly demanding mission requirements of our police force” Robert Kalinak, deputy prime minister and a minister of interior, said during the ceremony.

“We are delighted to celebrate the delivery of the first of two aircraft at the Slovakian Ministry of Interior in Bratislava. Customers in Europe have shown great interest in the Bell 429 for law enforcement operation. Over a quarter of the Bell 429s in service across Europe today are flying parapublic missions, demonstrating the superior performance of the Bell 429,” Jakub Hoda, Bell Helicopter’s managing director for Europe and Russia, added.

Bell Helicopter has recently delivered 15 429 rotorcrafts to the Turkish National Police and four to the New York Police Department. The Swedish National Police is set to receive their first 429 helicopter later in 2015.