REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala., 6 Feb. 2011. Military helicopter designers at the Boeing Co. Defense, Space & Security segment in Mesa, Ariz., will build 17 new AH-64 Apache attack helicopters -- 14 for the U.S. Army and three for the country of Israel -- under terms of two contracts announced Friday worth a total of $81.9 million.

MINERAL WELLS, Texas, 2 Feb. 2011. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) selected Cobham to supply synthetic vision electronic flight instrument systems (EFIS) for its fleet of Eurocopter and Bell helicopters.

STRATFORD, Conn., 22 Jan. 2011. Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. unveiled a virtual reality center for the CH-53K heavy lift helicopter program, a tool to help identify gaps in a three-dimensional digital environment prior to experimental assembly. Through this design tool, the program expects to realize cost savings and greater efficiency that can minimize delays in final assembly of the aircraft, Sikorsky officials say.

ST. LOUIS, 19 Jan. 2011. LaBarge, Inc. (NYSE Amex: LB), a provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS), won a contract valued at $1.3 million from Kaman Aerospace Corp. to provide cockpit wiring harnesses for the S-70i Black Hawk military helicopter, the international variant of the Black Hawk helicopter. Kaman is a subcontractor to Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. on the Black Hawk program.

ST. LOUIS, 7 Jan. 2011. LaBarge, Inc. (NYSE Amex: LB), a provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS), won a contract valued at $1.6 million from Kaman Aerospace Corp. to provide cockpit wiring harnesses for the MH-60S SEAHAWK. helicopter.

BRASILIA, Brazil, 30 Dec. 2010. Eurocopter's Helicopteros do Brasil (Helibras) subsidiary today delivered the initial three EC725 military helicopters for Brazil's armed forces as part of a program to supply 50 of these medium-sized, multi-role helicopters -- which will lead to in-country production of the rotary-wing aircraft. These first three helicopters were provided in a standard configuration and will undergo final outfitting in Brazil.

PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md., 21 Dec. 2010. Military helicopter avionics engineers at the Lockheed Martin Corp. Mission Systems and Sensors segment in Owego, N.Y., are readying to upgrade the U.S. Navy MH-60R Sea Hawk maritime helicopter with advanced situational awareness technology under terms of a $35 million contract announced Monday by Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md.

MARLOW, England, 20 Dec. 2010. Cobham will provide antennas and avionics for the indigenous Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH), under a multi-million dollar long term agreement with the manufacturer, Korean Aerospace Industries Ltd.

WASHINGTON, 16 Dec. 2010. The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) announcement that it may require data recording or monitoring, or both, for helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) operators was not embraced by all concerned. The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) introduced, but did not clearly define, the FAA's new term, lightweight aircraft recording system (LARS). It simply threw out a few markers and asked for comments.

CHESHIRE, England, 7 Dec. 2010. Eurocopter selected AD Aerospace, part of the AD Group, as a production partner on its new EC175 Helicopter, supplying a tail-mounted camera system, using FV-0315 external aerospace cameras, to ease the helicopter surroundings surveillance and improve crew situational awareness.

WASHINGTON, 2 Dec. 2010. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently announced that it may require flight data recording and monitoring for the helicopter air ambulance industry. This segment of the agency's Oct. 12, 2010, notice has encountered mixed reviews from operators and manufacturers. Some raise the specter of a complex and expensive requirement down the road, while others speculate that imposing minimal hardware requirements for the sake of accident investigations will not advance flight data monitoring (FDM). Still others say that mandatory FDM would conflict with the FAA's protected flight data sharing program, which is strictly voluntary. The FAA's announcement also calls attention to the ongoing, but different, work of two international bodies that are developing guidelines and standards for emerging lightweight aircraft recording systems (LARS).

PHOENIX, 19 Nov. 2010. Honeywell (NYSE: HON) announced that Boeing has selected its 36-150 auxiliary power unit (APU) for CH-147 helicopters that will be delivered to Canada. An APU is a small turbine engine used for main engine starting, as well as providing electrical power to airframe and cockpit systems.

NEW BERLIN, Wis., 12 Nov. 2010. The not-too-distant future may see a whole new approach to helicopter safety lighting potentially as a result of a U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) research project to develop a rotor blade tip lighting system. The DOD and the U.S. Office of Naval Research in Arlington, Va., awarded phase-one Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) to EMTEQ in New Berlin, Wis., to design and build a nighttime lightweight rotor blade tip lighting system that could be modulated to provide red, green, and white navigation lights.

WASHINGTON, 4 Nov. 2010. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would require helicopter air ambulance operators to make significant changes in equipage, infrastructure, and procedures. While operators avoided mandates for autopilots and night vision goggles (NVGs), as the National Transportation Safety Board had wished, they will have to equip with approved terrain avoidance systems (TAWS) if the NPRM goes through as written.

INDIANAPOLIS, 30 Oct. 2010. The Department of the Navy's Naval Air Systems Command awarded Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) a $14.8 million contract to produce dual pod countermeasures dispensers as a helicopter protection system for U.S. Marine Corps CH-53 heavy-lift helicopters. Raytheon Technical Services Co. LLC (RTSC) will manufacture the units at its Indianapolis operation.

WASHINGTON, 26 Oct. 2010. Boeing [NYSE: BA] announced it won a $247 million contract to begin Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) for the U.S. Army's AH-64D Apache Block III helicopter. The contract covers production of eight Apache Block III helicopters in the Lot 1 configuration. Key enhancements for aviators will include an improved drive system featuring the 701D engine, composite main rotor blades and a new split-torque face gear transmission, as well as increased networked communications capabilities.

ATLANTA, 21 Oct. 2010. Avionics suppliers at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) show in Atlanta this week say that the avionics market for helicopters has been a steadying force as they saw their business aviation orders dry up during the economic downturn.

MUNICH, Germany, 13 Oct. 2010. Session topics for the 2011 Avionics Europe conference and exhibition to be held March 16 to 17, 2011 in Munich were selected today by the conference advisory board. Leading off the conference will be a session on Single European Sky (SES) and Future Avionics Systems followed by a session titled Current ATM/Avionics Realities.

FORT WORTH, Texas, 9 Oct. 2010. Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced that the U.S. Marine Corps' newest attack helicopter, the AH-1Z Cobra successfully completed Operational Evaluation (OPEVAL). The Marine Corps is replacing the two-bladed AH-1W with the AH-1Z, which features a new, four-bladed composite rotor system, performance-matched transmission, four-bladed tail rotor, upgraded landing gear, and a fully integrated glass cockpit.