Flight International 2023 01.pdf

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FlightGlobal.com
January 2023
Dassault
Falcon 10X
cutaway
New fighter programmes
get ready to soar
p12
Raider
revealed
US Air Force lifts veil on transformational bomber
p6
Going Boeing
United signs
massive fleet
renewal deal
p8
Airbus details hydrogen
powertrain progress
p20
£5.99
Victory Bell
Valor tiltrotor
will succeed
Black Hawk
p19
Comment
Serious deterrent: the
B-21 Raider bomber
Northrop Grumman
Sixth sense
A tantalising batch of next-generation combat aircraft
programmes are powering up for the USA and multiple key
allies – now it is critical that such efforts can deliver success
I
n an action-packed final month,
2022 reached its conclusion
with no fewer than three “sixth-
generation” combat aircraft pro-
grammes making key advances, as
multiple Western and allied nations
moved to outpace their so-called
near-peer rivals.
The highest profile develop-
ment was the unveiling of the US
Air Force’s (USAF’s) next strategic
bomber: the Northrop Grumman
B-21. Revealed in Palmdale, Cali-
fornia, the stealthy Raider is the
spiritual successor to the service’s
small fleet of B-2 Spirits.
Crucially, with a projected 100 ex-
amples to be purchased, the new,
nuclear-capable model is more af-
fordably priced – albeit at an esti-
mate of $631 million each – and will
be easier to maintain and upgrade.
To enter frontline use later this
decade, the Raider fleet will rep-
resent a more capable and potent
deterrent to potential foes such
as China and Russia, the Pentagon
says. Delivered by US defense sec-
retary Lloyd Austin at the unveiling
event, Washington’s message to
such global players is unequivocal:
“The risks and costs of aggression
[against the USA and its allies] far
outweigh any gains.”
In Europe, meanwhile, two com-
peting fighter development pro-
jects cleared their latest hurdles on
the way to achieving service entry
from 2040 and 2035, respectively.
After a one-year delay caused by
workshare wrangles between Air-
bus Defence & Space and Dassault
Aviation, the French-German-Span-
ish Future Combat Air System
(FCAS) activity at last took off, with
a Phase 1B contract signature.
The
agreement
sees
Das-
sault take the role of prime con-
tractor and “architect” for the
FCAS capability’s New Gener-
ation Fighter, but the expected
first flight of a demonstrator has
slipped until 2029 due to the pro-
tracted impasse.
Now the three-nation programme
must make up for lost time, and
– critically – ensure that its new-
found harmony is maintained until
a Phase 2 decision is taken in 2025
to continue further.
Also entering its next stage is a
UK-led effort centred on delivering
a future manned Tempest fighter.
On 9 December, this was formal-
ly rebadged as the Global Combat
Air Programme (GCAP); now as a
joint endeavour between the UK,
Italy and Japan.
Under the trilateral effort, the
nations will merge their previous
Tempest and F-X fighter needs to
deliver a shared solution from the
middle of next decade. The inclu-
sion of Japanese industry is, says
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak,
clear evidence that “the security of
the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific
regions are indivisible”.
Both the FCAS and GCAP initi-
atives also include the develop-
ment of supporting air-launched
weapons, unmanned remote car-
rier vehicles and advanced data
networks. Such technologies are
needed to deliver a key advantage
in speed of action against potential
adversaries like Beijing and Mos-
cow, who are advancing their own
next-generation aircraft systems,
along with fielding hard to counter
hypersonic weapons.
The USAF, meanwhile, is secretly
progressing its own Next Genera-
tion Air Dominance programme to
– along with the B-21 – help counter
such sophisticated foes.
Whether these pursuits of seem-
ingly exquisite capabilities can
survive versus the reality of pres-
sured budgets and fractious na-
tional industrial needs remains to
be seen. But for advocates, the ap-
peal and need is clear: namely, the
greater quality of Western equip-
ment and decision-making will
continue to trump quantity, both
on and above the battlefield.
And, they note, while the war
in Ukraine has seen low-cost tac-
tical unmanned air vehicles and
even adapted hobbyist drones
play a significant role, this is only
because neither Moscow or Kyiv
have been able to secure the most
critical advantage during the con-
flict: total air dominance.
◗
See p6, 12
January 2023
Flight International
3
In focus
Secretive Raider breaks cover
6
United plans growth together
with Boeing
8
Energia management
10
‘Sixth-generation’ fighter
programmes take off
12
P&W powers up F-35A engine
enhancement
18
Bell to build Black Hawk
successor
19
H2-go for Airbus
20
Max reprieve in sight
23
Wrongly refitted switch left E175
pilots fighting for control
26
Aura Aero ushers in new ERA
31
Airbus Helicopters chided for
H145 icing risk assumptions
33
A rotary revolutionary
36
42
Brighter future?
Aerospace sets
course for a more prosperous 2023
FlightGlobal.com
January 2023
Dassault
Falcon 10X
cutaway
72
£5.99
New fighter programmes
get ready to soar
p12
US Air Force/FlightGlobal
Raider
revealed
US Air Force lifts veil on transformational bomber
p6
Going Boeing
United signs
massive fleet
renewal deal
p8
Airbus details hydrogen
powertrain progress
p20
Victory Bell
Valor tiltrotor
will succeed
Black Hawk
p19
Regulars
Comment
3
Best of the rest
38
Straight & Level
76
Letters
79
Jobs
81
Women in aviation
82
4
Flight International
January 2023
Contents
In depth
Horizon of hope
42
Pandemic precautions and
travel restrictions are now in
the past for most parts of the
world. Could 2023 be the first
‘normal’ year for aerospace and
aviation since 2019?
Electric avenues
66
The solution to the industry’s
carbon emission problem lies
in electric, hybrid-electric and
hydrogen-powered aircraft, but
how much progress is being
made bringing them to market?
Luxury aloft
72
Dassault Aviation’s flagship
Falcon 10X will combine home
comforts with ultra-long-range
performance and flight-control
technology derived from the
Rafale fighter
31
36
66
January 2023
Flight International
5

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