Airbus UH-72 Aerial Logistics Connector cargo UAV is based on the Airbus H145/UH-72 platform. (Airbus US Space and Defense)

US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), on behalf of the US Marine Corps (USMC), has signed a Middle Tier Acquisition (MTA) contract for Airbus to demonstrate an unmanned version of its UH-72 Lakota helicopter, the company announced on 14 May.

The helicopters are under consideration for the USMC's Aerial Logistics Connector programme. The unmanned helicopters are to undergo unspecified testing for operational suitability, compared against craft from competitors. A downselect is expected shortly after. Details of deliveries and testing were not immediately available.

Airbus is likely to convert manned H145s into unmanned UH-72s for the programme, the company told Janes on 14 May, but additional helicopters would be newbuilds should Airbus win the contest.

“The Airbus production facility in Columbus, [Mississippi], has capacity for any expected programme of record,” said the company.

A T-45C Goshawk attached to Training Air Wing (TW) 2 receives fuel aboard the aircraft carrier, USS George H W Bush (CVN 77). The ship is conducting sustainment exercises to maintain carrier readiness. (US Navy)

The US Navy (USN) fleet of Boeing T-45 Goshawk training aircraft has returned to flight following a month-long grounding, according to Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). The type was grounded on 12 April following an engine malfunction during a training flight; the crew landed safely.

“Preliminary findings, reviewed by NAVAIR and the Naval Undergraduate Flight Training Systems Program Office, suggest the aircraft involved in the incident may have experienced an engine blade failure due to a manufacturing defect on a low-pressure compressor blade,” NAVAIR told Janes on 13 May, noting that the accident investigation was still ongoing.

As of that date, 113 T-45s had been inspected and certified safe to return to flight, said NAVAIR. An additional 41 are undergoing inspections with intent to return them to flight as soon as possible. A total of 154 engines – including spares – had been inspected.

The US Navy is trying to develop directed energy systems like HELIOS to counter low-end threats. (Lockheed Martin)

While underscoring effective US Navy (USN) surface-fleet operations in the Red Sea since October, Rear Admiral Fred Pyle, USN surface warfare director, acknowledged a need to not only replenish weapons stocks but also to find additional options to defend forces against low-end threats.

Speaking on 14 May during a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) event on Red Sea surface warfare operations, Rear Adm Pyle said, “Should we find a more cost-effective way of downing drones? Absolutely.”

The scale of the operations has indeed exacted a cost for the USN, Rear Adm Pyle pointed out.

“What our forces are engaged in Red Sea now we've not seen since probably World War II,” he said. “We're operating in weapons-engagement zone.”

Referring to the air and missile defence demand signal for surface forces, he said, “I don't think it's ever been stronger.”

As a result, “we have spent a billion dollars in munitions since last October”, he said.

The USN now must replenish the missile inventory, he noted.