New Attack Helicopters For Japan Probably Will Go To Sea | Vertical Flight content from Aviation Week
New Attack Helicopters For Japan Probably Will Go To Sea
Japan’s prospective requirement for its New Attack Helicopter is likely to include shipboard operation and entry into service no later than the mid-2020s. Six companies are preparing to bid with widely varied offerings when a formal requirement is issued:
Airbus, Bell,
Boeing, Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), Leonardo and
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).
At this early stage, the defense ministry merely has sought information for a possible acquisition for 30-50 attack helicopters to replace 59 Bell AH-1S Cobras. They are survivors of 90 built by Fuji Heavy Industries, now Subaru, in 1979-2000. The prospective production figure, in-service date in the mid-2020s and need for operation at sea were in a request for information issued in May, industry sources say.
A key consideration for the ministry is the need to reinforce or recover conquered remote islands in the chain that stretches southwest toward China.
KHI wants to base an offering on the twin-engine OH-1 observation helicopter, industry sources say. KHI needs a new engine as the poor reliability of the current 660-kW (885-hp) MHI TS1-M-10 has caused the OH-1 to be grounded since August 2015, according to local media and industry sources.
Honeywell tells the
Nikkei newspaper it is working with KHI to improve the OH-1’s engine. This appears to be an elliptical way of saying the two companies will replace it, since MHI would be the company to cooperate with Honeywell on improving the TS1-M-10.......
MHI could propose the
Sikorsky UH-60 in a heavy-armament derivative that the U.S. company is supplying to the United Arab Emirates. MHI displayed a model of the concept, with a long stub wing on each side of the upper fuselage. The UH-60 in this configuration can still carry soldiers. An MHI official at the show said this capability could be useful for securing ground.
The two U.S. contenders are each offering their current production attack helicopters: the
Bell AH-1Z Viper, unrelated to the AH-1S except in name and appearance; and the Boeing AH-64 Apache.
Depending on how serious Japan is about shipboard operation, the Viper, designed for the U.S.
Marine Corps, may have a strong advantage. The design resists corrosion and has radiation hardening to protect systems from powerful naval radars, notes Bell’s John Woodberry. Those features will be less valuable if Japan wants to send the new helicopters to sea only occasionally and briefly.......
Leonardo’s offering would be the new AW249, which has been under development for the Italian Army since 2016. Full operational capability for the 7–8-metric-ton aircraft is due in 2025, implying entry into service around 2022 or 2023. That program timing looks about right for Japan. Leonardo is designing the AW249 so customers can adapt it for other operations, says the head of the company’s Japanese business, Andrew Hill. Japan’s expected shipboard operation will require some maritime features........