[TT-1 Pinto]

Sembra imminente il rilascio, da parte della Corea del Sud, di una "Request for Proposal" relativa all'acquisto di 36 elicotteri da attacco nell'ambito del programma AHX ....

Quota

DATE: 08/09/11
SOURCE: Flight International

South Korean attack helicopter programme gains traction

By Greg Waldron


South Korea is likely to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for its 36-aircraft attack helicopter (AHX) requirement in early 2012, with reduced numbers of US Army Boeing AH-64 Apaches on the peninsula adding impetus to the long-awaited acquisition.

The RFP is likely to be issued by Seoul's Defense Acquisition Program Administration in January, with responses required by April 2012, Boeing said.

A downselect decision is likely next July, with this to be followed by a contract award in October 2012.

Boeing is pitching its AH-64D Apache Block III (below) in the competition, with likely rivals to include the Bell AH-1Z Cobra, Eurocopter Tiger and the Turkish Aerospace Industries T129B.

Seoul has long been interested in the Apache, which the US Army has operated in South Korea for decades.

In recent years the US has reduced the number of Apaches in-country, owing to the demand for attack helicopters in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In the event that hostilities were to break out with North Korea, Boeing foresees several missions for the eventual winner of AHX.

These include countering North Korean infiltration along South Korea's coastline and counter-penetration along the demilitarised zone that separates the two countries.

The aircraft could also be called on to fly combat missions behind enemy lines.

In addition, Seoul is interested in developing a light "Korea attack helicopter" (KAH), to replace its Hughes MD500s and generate overseas sales for its national aerospace sector.

Exact specifications are yet to emerge, but it is believed the nation wants an attack helicopter that can also carry 6-8 passengers, similar to the Mil Mi-35.

Offsets related to the AHX deal will likely be applicable to the indigenous KAH.

Boeing said it would be interested in offering its AH-6 light attack helicopter for the KAH offset.

While the AH-6 can only carry 2-3 passengers, in addition to a two-man flight crew, Boeing said the helicopter is optimised for operating in conjunction with the Apache.

The fuselage of the Apache is produced by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).

The company also has experience working with Eurocopter, with which it developed the Korea utility helicopter, also known as the Surion.

KAI and Eurocopter have set up a joint venture to market the Surion overseas.

http://www.flightglo...helicopter.html

[tornado4ever]

la kai ( Korea Aerospace Industries) è stata incaricata dal ministero della difesa sudcoreanodi presentare un progetto di elicottero d'assalto .Il programma è attualmente noto come KAI KAH.

( non trovo nessuna immagine dell'elicottero in scala presentato dalla KAI, però lo trovi a pag.78 di aeronautica e difesa di settembre 2011)

[TT-1 Pinto]

tornado4ever, su 08 settembre 2011 - 09:34, ha detto:

.... non trovo nessuna immagine dell'elicottero in scala presentato dalla KAI, però lo trovi a pag.78 di aeronautica e difesa di settembre 2011 ....

Eccolo qua ....



Fonte .... http://lenta.ru/news/2011/07/13/kah/

[italico]

sembra un a 109

[tornado4ever]

bravo ...intendevo proprio quella

[Tuccio14]

A me sembra pittosto una reimterpretazione dell'Hind in salsa occidentale...

Comunque a me pare che Boeing abbia la strada spianata: se la leggerezza, i costi e le dimensioni non sono requisiti stringenti della specifica l'Apache è sicuramente il migliore della categoria. Senza considerare che potrebbero comprarlo inieme all'AH-6, che sostituirebbe l'MD500, e che Boeing produce già componenti dell'Apache in Corea.

Dalla loro quelli di TAI potrebbero esercitare pressioni politiche date le buone relazioni industriali e militari che ultimamente legano Turchia e Corea del Sud. AgustaWestland ci guadagnerebbe non poco essendo la fornitrice di componenti per l'assemblaggio, ma sinceramente la vedo grigia.

[tornado4ever]

Tuccio14, su 09 settembre 2011 - 02:27, ha detto:

A me sembra pittosto una reimterpretazione dell'Hind in salsa occidentale...

hai ragione....una modernizzazione del mil mi-24

[Flaggy]

L'origine del'elicottero è europea, Eurocopter per la precisione.
La fusoliera "mal raccordata" col muso da elicottero d'attacco è infatti in grossa parte presa dal Surion che risponde al programma KUH (Korean Utility Helicopter) e che è un elicottero da trasporto sviluppanto partendo dal Super Puma e di questo elicottero Eurocopter fornisce i componenti piu" pregiati" come riduttore , testa del rotore e autopilota...oltre all'assistenza tecnica generale.



Il nuovo elicottero d'attacco avrebbe il 70% di comunanze con la versione da trasporto (anche un vano di carico dietro alla cabina quindi), riproponendo così in chiave Coreana il binomio UH-1 / AH-1, o meglio quello Mi-8 / Mi-24.

Quella di un derivato con elevata percentuale di componenti in comune con il KUH era solo una delle tre opzioni valutate.
Le altre 2 erano un elicottero con comunanze ridotte (in pratica la parte dinamica in una fusoliera nuova e senza vano posteriore) e un elicottero derivato da qualche mezzo straniero che poi sarebbe il Tigre, l'Apache a il Maugusta.

http://www.defensein...ter-deal-02325/

http://www.flightglo...helicopter.html

Questo messaggio è stato modificato da Flaggy: 09 settembre 2011 - 12:38

[Tuccio14]

Grazie Flaggy.

In effetti non ci avevo fatto caso, assomiglia anche visivamente al Puma, con tutto che negli elicotteri la somiglianza estetica spesso è un indizio fuorviante dato che le componenti determinanti sono altre.

[TT-1 Pinto]

Flaggy, su 09 settembre 2011 - 12:36, ha detto:

L'origine dell'elicottero è europea, Eurocopter per la precisione.... ecc. ecc.

Come sempre .... documentatissimo ed esauriente ....
Grazie!

[BlackGripen]

tornado4ever, su 08 settembre 2011 - 09:34, ha detto:

però lo trovi a pag.78 di aeronautica e difesa di settembre 2011)

Allora corro a comprarlo ma c'è un articolo dedicato?

[tornado4ever]

BlackGripen, su 09 settembre 2011 - 21:29, ha detto:

Allora corro a comprarlo ma c'è un articolo dedicato?

...l'articolo è piccolino ma la rivista è interessante!

[BlackGripen]

tornado4ever, su 10 settembre 2011 - 20:01, ha detto:

ma la rivista è interessante!

Sisi la rivista la conosco...ma siccome ci sono gli articolini nei riquadri e quelli di due pagine volevo sapere se era uno di quelli grandi

P.S.L'ho comprata oggi pomeriggio

[TT-1 Pinto]

La notizia dell'imminente "RfP" è apparsa, con qualche giorno di ritardo, anche sul sito di "Aviation Week & Space Technology" ....

Quota

Fonte: Aviation Week and Space Technology

South Korea To Issue AH-X RFP In January

By Bradley Perrett
Sacheon, South Korea (Sept. 16, 2011)


Forget death and taxes. Probably the surest thing in aerospace these days is that South Korea will want serious technology transfer in any major military equipment order.

The country’s manufacturers are increasingly confident in their ability to win manufacturing contracts without the compulsion of offsets. More and more, they and the government want the know-how behind the systems that the country buys, with the aim of making the next generation themselves.

In an classic example of that process, the planned Korea Attack Helicopter (KAH) might end up as an amalgam of European, South Korean and U.S. technology if Boeing, as looks likely, wins Seoul’s separate AH-X rotorcraft for 36 heavy attack rotorcraft.

With a request for proposals likely within months, the other competitors for the AH-X competition are expected to be Eurocopter, offering the Tiger; Bell with the AH-1Z Viper; and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and AgustaWestland with the T-129, a derivative of the A129 Mangusta.

The South Korean army wants the Apache, say local and U.S. officials in government and industry. It has been trying to buy the aircraft for more than a decade, and its keenness has only risen with the transfer of U.S. Army Apaches ­(AH-64) from the peninsula to Iraq two years ago. While the preference of the South Korean forces is not always decisive in a country that often puts industrial development first, two factors are reinforcing Boeing’s already high chances.

One of those is the transfer of Apache airframe manufacturing to Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), which is shaping up as the national helicopter champion. KAI will build airframes for U.S. Army Apaches whether the country buys the aircraft or not, but South Korean orders will add to the orderbook.

A second factor is the definition of the indigenous Korean Attack Helicopter as an aircraft of about 5 metric ton—uncomfortably close to the gross weight of all of the AH-X competitors except for the 8-ton Apache.

Boeing’s approach to the offset requirement is to suggest the integration of Apache avionics on the KAH. As the U.S. government urges South Korea to put priority on interoperability with U.S. forces on the peninsula—and therefore choose the Apache—Boeing is stressing the value of the KAH being able to operate with its helicopter. Integration of U.S. weapons, such as the Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missile, would also be simplified by moving systems from the Apache to the KAH.

Each of the other likely bidders brings important advantages. South Korea and Turkey have a developing military-industrial relationship that would be further promoted by the choice of TAI and AgustaWestland. The army already operates earlier versions of the AH-1, so that type should offer attractively low costs at entry into service. And Eurocopter, already a partner with KAI in developing the Surion transport under the Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH) program, is well positioned to link its AH-X offer to codevelopment of the KAH. Moreover, all of those manufacturers can offer aircraft designed for NATO standards, somewhat diminishing Boeing’s claimed advantage in high levels of interoperability.

The Defense Acquisition Program Agency is expected to issue a request for proposals in January 2012, with responses due by April, selection in July and a contract in October.

A key part of the mission is the destruction of North Korean special forces attempting to infiltrate coastal or land borders, says an industry executive. The KAH, replacing OH-6s and AH-1s, will perform a broader close support and reconnaissance role. Under the influence of the industry ministry, called the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, it will be designed with a cabin of up to eight seats so it can be easily transformed into a civil transport. Marketed internationally with the Surion, it would help establish a South Korean helicopter export industry.

A Boeing executive says the company is not interested in taking a risk-sharing role on the KAH. So even if the company wins AH-X, KAI, the selected South Korean manufacturer, will have to work with another partner, such as Eurocopter, for the airframe and dynamics of KAH.

The transfer of Apache structural work to KAI’s plant here is emblematic of the country’s mastery of manufacturing and helps explain its determination to move on to developing aircraft. A Boeing official says the Korean company hit quality targets almost from the beginning of its Apache program. Judged against such metrics as tolerances, finish and precision of fasteners, the helicopter bodies were delivered to an unusually high standard, he says.

Airframe production is due to rise to five from three a month as the remanufacturing of U.S. Army Apaches ramps up. A KAI official says the company has the workers and space for the expansion but will need new tools. It plans to design some that it expects will cut production costs.

So far in the program it has introduced tools for making subassemblies that are positioned vertically instead of horizontally, as before. They are easier to work with and save space, says a KAI production engineer.

[Tuccio14]

Hanno tutte le intenzioni di espandersi mi pare di capire...