Several Advanced Capabilities Demonstrated In 40 Minute Flight

The second of three company-funded Armed Aerial Scout 72X Technical Demonstration Aircraft (TDA) has completed its first flight, EADs North America said Wednesday. The flight took place Tuesday at the company’s American Eurocopter facility in Grand Prairie, Texas and lasted 40 minutes.

Eurocopter Photo

The objective of this flight was to demonstrate integrated targeting sensor, manned/unmanned teaming (MUM-T) and communications and navigation capabilities. Subsequent test flights will demonstrate additional capabilities required to meet the U.S. Army’s current Armed Aerial Scout mission requirements. “This is a significant milestone for our industry team as we further demonstrate the capabilities of our aircraft and its ability to meet the Army’s warfighting requirement,” said Sean O’Keefe, CEO of EADS North America. “We’re pleased with our progress to date and remain fully committed to developing and demonstrating a solution for the Armed Aerial Scout mission.”

The first TDA aircraft has been in use to demonstrate anticipated AAS-72X requirements for the Army’s Armed Aerial Scout mission. This includes a July 2009 series of successful high/hot test flights that achieved all test objectives including hover-out-of-ground-effect and flight endurance with a 2,300-pound simulated MEP, and a transportability demonstration of five helicopters on a C-17 transport aircraft.

Since that time, EADS says other advancements on the program include the development of the MEP Systems Integration Laboratory at Lockheed Martin’s Orlando, FL. facility. “Lockheed Martin’s considerable progress in maturing the state-of-the-art AAS MEP demonstrates our commitment to providing a best-value, superior solution to meet the warfighters’ armed scout need,” said Bob Gunning, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control vice president of Fire Control programs. “We are leveraging our expertise from other combat-proven rotary- and fixed-wing programs to develop the lowest risk MEP. This first flight marks a significant achievement on our path towards flying a production prototype.”

File Photo

The AAS-72X is derived from the same family of aircraft as the UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter. Production of the AAS-72X would take place at the Columbus, MS. helicopter center of excellence operated by American Eurocopter, an EADS North America operating unit, where the UH-72A currently is assembled for the U.S. Army. The EADS North America-led industry team, comprised of Lockheed Martin, Eurocopter and American Eurocopter, is developing three AAS-72X aircraft to demonstrate the total capability of the aircraft with a fully-integrated Mission Equipment Package (MEP).

FMI: www.eurocopter.com, www.eads.com