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Hi Fly’s Airbus A380 Wet-lease Operation Tests New Market Segments Jens Flottau For the past three weeks, an Airbus A380 in spectacular livery has been shuttling between London-Gatwick and New York’s John F. Kennedy International (JFK) airports. According to Flightradar24 data, the operation has been very reliable. In early August, the aircraft flew some services from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean on behalf of tour operator Thomas Cook. But neither the livery nor the good operational performance of the aircraft has been most significant from Airbus’ point of view. More compelling is that the flights mark the A380’s entry into two new market segments: wet-lease operations and, most important, the secondhand market. Portuguese operator Hi Fly took delivery of an ex-Singapore Airlines aircraft earlier this summer. The aircraft, registered 9H-MIP, was sent on its first longer assignment to fly the Gatwick-JFK sector on behalf of Norwegian. That carrier urgently needed additional long-haul capacity to fill the gap left by the temporary grounding of some of its Boeing 787s affected by the mandatory Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine inspections and upgrades. The Norwegian mission was planned to conclude on Aug. 23. First Airbus A380 now operates in secondhand market Larger number of aircraft coming off lease only in several years The aircraft’s next job is flying the Paris-Reunion (a French Indian Ocean island) route on behalf of Air Austral, as that carrier also needs to pull one of its Trent 1000-powered 787s from scheduled service. Air Austral has said it will use the Hi Fly aircraft until Sept. 9, but it is not clear how the capacity gap will be filled later. Hi Fly also has not yet published information about the further use of 9H-MIP. Airbus can only hope the Hi Fly operation is successful. “We see healthy demand for secondhand A380s. It is only a matter of time,” Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Eric Schulz said at the Farnborough Airshow in July. “We have had several requests over the past 6-12 months.” He pointed out that a wet-lease operation is particularly attractive for Airbus because it enables the manufacturer to bring many different airlines in contact with the aircraft. The Hi Fly aircraft is owned by a Doric Capital fund and has been operated by Singapore Airlines its first 10 years. The launch operator decided to not extend leases of five early (and heavy) A380s that were less economical to operate than later, upgraded and lighter aircraft. Two additional ex-Singapore Airlines aircraft, owned by different funds managed by Dr. Peters Group, are to be parted out because no agreement to continue operating them could be reached with airlines, including Hi Fly . Two more Dr. Peters aircraft have yet to be placed. While the placement of early A380s is likely to continue to be difficult, the real test of the secondhand market will come when the more efficient aircraft are reaching the end of their first lease arrangements and leases are not extended over the next few years. Airbus delivered 12 A380s in 2008, 10 in 2009, 18 in 2010, 26 in 2011 and 30 in 2012—so far the peak of production. Hi Fly is moving its single Airbus A380 to an assignment for Air Austral after having operated for Norwegian. Credit: Hi Fly The 2008 output went to Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airline and Qantas Airways, and the portfolio of operators broadened from 2009 onward. How many additional aircraft become available for the secondhand market in the next three years largely depends on Emirates. The airline currently has a fleet of 104 A380s, with 58 more to come. Part of the additional orders are for replacement of the existing fleet, but Emirates has not detailed when the process will begin. Emirates President Tim Clark is the self-declared biggest fan of the aircraft, but not replacing early aircraft as additional A380s come in would mean a significant capacity hike. An additional 36 A380s ordered in January are due to arrive from 2020 over an extended period of time. Qantas has eight more A380s on firm order but has made clear that it no longer wants to take them, while continuing to operate the 12 it has for the foreseeable future. Several other airlines, including Lufthansa, have said they find it challenging to fill the A380 off-season even on trunk routes. Malaysia Airlines has been considering several ways to use its six A380s, including a wet-lease operation. But apart from Singapore Airlines, no carrier has returned aircraft, due to binding leasing contracts and longer write-off periods, among other factors. Apart from Emirates, no one has signed up for more recently. Meanwhile, Hi Fly is adamant that demand is strong for its A380 services. CEO Paulo Mirpuri says the airline has received “hundreds of requests,” and sees several market segments interested in the aircraft. These include airlines that have A380 fleets but need extra capacity to allow for maintenance and overhaul events, carriers that need extra capacity at peak times when their own aircraft are not large enough and ad hoc special charters such as around-the-world flying. “Our market segment [covers] requests from one day to two years,” Mirpuri says. Because the aircraft is available worldwide, “we can move between different peak seasons,” he adds. Based on stronger than expected demand, Hi Fly plans to take more used A380s “as aircraft become available and demand justifies it.” The lower lease rates for the 10-year old aircraft allow the airline to operate the A380 at lower utilization than would be typical for a scheduled airline. Whereas 6,000 hr. would be typical in a regular airline environment, Hi Fly’s model is based on about 4,000 block hours per year. “We don’t have to fly every day,” Mirpuri says. Yet, the first two longer assignments to Norwegian and Air Austral also show the limitations. Because of limited A380-compatible gate availability at JFK, Norwegian had to delay the New York departure by several hours. The 471-seat aircraft, offering a first-, business- and economy-class cabin is also noncompliant with Norwegian’s long-haul low-cost business model. Air Austral had to move the Paris to Dzaoudzi–Pamandzi International Airport (on the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte) services to Reunion because Mayotte cannot handle the A380. Despite the proclaimed strong demand, Hi Fly is still cautious when it comes to adding more A380s to its fleet—which otherwise consists of A330s, A340s and one A321. Mirpuri indicates the company will take another look at the planning in 2019. The Week In Defense Jefferson Morris Could Turkey Lose Its F135 Maintenance Deal? A campaign is said to be underway to get the Lockheed Martin F-35’s European engine maintenance center moved from Turkey to Israel. Turkey, a partner in the stealthy fighter program, has been in line to maintain the Pratt & Whitney F135 engines used by European F-35 operators. But now Israeli defense sources say the recent deterioration of ties between Washington and Ankara creates “a completely new reality.” Some Israeli companies have started unofficial talks with U.S. companies and “key figures” in the Trump administration in an attempt to change the original plan and move the European engine maintenance center to Israel. Israel Aerospace Industries makes F-35 wings and has its own engine maintenance facility. An Israeli F-35I Adir was on its first flight with the Israeli Air Force on Dec. 13, 2016. Credit: Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force has made it clear that it will not send its F-35 engines for overhaul in Turkey. None of the related organizations in Israel were prepared to comment. —Arie Egozi, Tel Aviv SOCOM Plans To Procure Family Of Small UAS U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is moving to expand the availability of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to small teams for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). The command has issued a request for information (RFI) for the Expeditionary Organic Tactical Airborne ISR Capability Set (Eotacs) that describes a family of Class 1 and 2 small UAS ranging from tethered sensors to long-endurance fixed-wing aircraft. The RFI says SOCOM is looking at systems for U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps special forces that can provide persistent payload capability day and night, in adverse environmental conditions, with low radio-frequency signature. The family of systems comprises tethered, Group 1 nano and micro vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL), Group 1 VTOL and fixed-wing short-range/short-endurance, Group 1 medium-range/medium endurance and Group 2 long-range/long-endurance UAS. The tethered UAS is required to stay aloft for 24-48 hr. carrying an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) full-motion video sensor. The nano UAS must weigh 1 lb. or less and fly for a minimum of 15 min. carrying an EO or IR sensor. The micro UAS is to weigh 1-3 lb. and carry a dual-mode high-definition EO/IR sensor. Socom has requested six Stalker UAVs in fiscal 2019. Credit: Lockheed Martin The short-range VTOL UAS is a 3-10 lb. vehicle able to carry a dual-mode high-definition EO/IR sensor for a minimum of 30 min., while the short-range fixed-wing UAS is to weigh less than 20 lb. and can be launched by hand, rail, VTOL or a combination, the RFI says. The medium-range, fixed-wing UAS is required to weigh less than 20 lb., but be able to carry a dual-mode high-definition EO/IR payload for a minimum of 2 hr. The long-range fixed-wing UAS can weigh up to 55 lb., providing at least 6 hr. endurance carrying two payloads. According to the RFI, SOCOM is looking for systems that are at technology readiness level 7 or higher and capable of certification to FAA airworthiness standards or the service equivalent. SOCOM’s fiscal 2019 budget request sought funding for six Group 2 long-range, six Group 1 medium-range, 22 Group 1 short-range VTOL, 160 micro, 527 nano and 56 tethered UAS under Eotacs. Funding also included six Lockheed Martin Stalker UAS and nine electronic-warfare/signals-intelligence payloads. —Graham Warwick, Washington Tupolev Rolls Out Modernized Tu-22M Russia’s Tupolev has rolled out an upgraded version of its Tu-22M “Backfire” supersonic variable geometry strike aircraft. The upgraded aircraft, designated Tu-22M3M, features updated avionics, navigation, communication and weapon systems as part of a “significant expansion” of the aircraft’s “combat potential.” The upgrade replaces around 80% of the Tu-22M’s existing avionics, the company said Aug. 16, announcing the aircraft’s rollout in Kazan. The avionics also has increased the accuracy of navigation and the level of automation onboard, reducing pilot workload, and simplifying maintenance and preflight preparation. One of the aims was to align the Tu-22M’s systems with those found onboard the Tu-160 bomber, which is also being upgraded by the company. Alexander Konyukhov, general director of the Tupolev design bureau, says the program was part of a wider effort to modernize the Russian Armed Forces’ fleets of strategic and long-range bombers. Rollout of the first Tu-22M3M bomber recently took place at the Kazan Aviation Factory in Russia. Credit: United Aircraft Corp. “The program for the modernization of aviation complexes [fleets] will ensure the operation of strategic and long-range aircraft for the long term,” Konyukhov says. After initial factory testing, the next step is the beginning of test flights and an evaluation by the Russian defense ministry before a fleet modernization gets underway. It is unclear how many of the Russian Air Force’s remaining fleet of around 60 Tu-22M3s will be upgraded to M3M standard. External changes to the aircraft include the removal of the rear defensive guns fitted above the engines. This area has been faired over and may now feature electronic warfare equipment. The design also features a new fairing on the nose that eventually may house a refueling probe, addressing one of the Tu-22M3’s shortcomings. Tupolev suggests that as well as increasing combat effectiveness, the upgrade also improves its combat radius. The Tu-22M3 has found itself pressed into service in Russia’s ongoing air operations in Syria, performing high-level bombing of forces opposed to the Syrian government. —Tony Osborne, London Second Lockheed-built GPS III Satellite ‘Available For Launch’ The U.S. Air Force has declared Lockheed Martin’s second GPS III satellite, SV02, fully tested and “available for launch,” while its predecessor, SV01, awaits transport to the launchpad in anticipation of liftoff later this year. SV02 will await its eventual launch at Lockheed Martin’s GPS III facility in Denver, which is producing the first 10 GPS III position, navigation and timing spacecraft. SV03, meanwhile, has completed thermal vacuum testing. “The first GPS III satellite, GPS III SV01, was declared ‘Available for Launch’ in September 2017,” Johnathon Caldwell, Lockheed Martin’s program manager for Navigation Systems, said in a statement. “With two GPS III satellites now ready for launch, and the third GPS III expected to be ready by early next year, we’re building strong momentum.” Lockheed Martin’s GPS III is produced at its Denver facility. Credit: Lockheed Martin According to Lockheed, the new constellation will have three times the accuracy and up to eight times the anti-jamming capability of older GPS spacecraft. The new L1C civil signal being introduced with GPS III also will make the new satellites interoperable with other international navigation satellite systems, the company says. In April, Lockheed submitted a proposal to the government to build the next 22 GPS III follow-on spacecraft. Northrop Grumman and Boeing both declined to compete.