ISTEC Companies Restricted, the British firm with 35 years of operationally confirmed expertise within the design, manufacture and provide of complicated weapon integration options for navy platforms, is delivering the primary manufacturing shipsets (a shipset is a left and proper gun mount pair) for the brand new United States Air Power (USAF) Gray Wolf Helicopter. The USAF Gray Wolf helicopter is a Boeing led programme for the substitute of the well-known, however growing old, UH-1N Huey helicopter and is constructed on a Leonardo MH-139A platform. ISTEC has lately delivered the primary shipsets to Leonardo and the USAF took supply of the primary low-rate manufacturing Gray Wolf helicopter in August 2024.
The Gray Wolf affords vital enhancements by way of pace, vary, and payload capability in comparison with the Huey. It additionally options fashionable avionics, defensive methods, and a extra strong airframe, making it appropriate for a variety of missions. The ISTEC weapons mount contract was initially awarded in 2018 and following prototype design and buyer testing, to make sure the utmost arcs, ease of use and air security compliance, ultimate design approval was granted in 2020. Full manufacturing began in 2023, and following the supply of the primary shipsets, the rest of the contract shall be aligned with the broader programme supply schedule.
ISTEC has in depth expertise in offering weapons integration options for the Land, Sea and Air domains. Nevertheless, there have been many extra components to the Gray Wolf challenge similar to an exterior mounting body that required vital extra design enter from the ISTEC workforce. All of the Gray Wolf parts are manufactured with a ‘cradle to grave’ traceability course of to make sure all uncooked supplies sourced are to aerospace launch, with full audit again to the mill, common composition testing to make sure materials alloying components are above specification and thereby making certain that the gun mounts meet the rigorous manufacturing requirements required to be classed as airworthy and sort licensed.
Mick Coulson, Supervisor Director at ISTEC stated, “This has been a major challenge for ISTEC, supporting a serious helicopter substitute programme for the USAF, that now we have been privileged to have been concerned with from the very begin. ISTEC is well-known for our common gun mount methods, particularly on autos and ships, however I’m extraordinarily pleased with the design and engineering experience that has gone into producing this aviation particular system for the Gray Wolf, clearly demonstrating the common advantages of utilizing our weapon integration methods throughout all domains.”
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