Newsdesk- Military

Meanwhile Pratt & Whitney are forging ahead on its PW3005, a future competitor for the established Allison T56 (Orion, Hercules and Hawkeye). The PW3005 will be test run as early as August 1982 and Pratts are confident of a fuel saving of more than 30 per cent over comparable engines. Power output will vary from 4000shp to as much as 8000shp, making the engine ideal for retrofits to such types as the Boeing Vertrol Chinook, Sirkosky Sea Stallion and future variants of the Orion and Hercules family of aircraft.

F-18 Production Approved:

Production of the first batch of 356 McDonnell Douglas F-18A fighters has been approved for the USN and USMC. Congress has also approved funds for the procurement of 322 MDC AV-8B VTOL attack fighters for the USMC. More significant though is the decision to cross over to multi-year procurement funding in place of the annual fight for funds to order an ever-diminishing number of aircraft. This will allow manufacturers and sub-contractors to plan ahead and invest in long lead time items. In turn this will allow bulk guaranteed purchases for everything from raw materials to completed systems such as avionics and electronics. Ultimately, this could reduce per unit aircraft cost by as much as 10 to 15 per cent which in turn could mean an annual US defence saving of hundreds of millions of dollars.

More Hawkeyes:

Japan has increased its order for Grumman E-2C Hawkeye AEW aircraft from four to eight units. First of the type will become operational in early 1983 while the eighth aircraft will be delivered in April 1985. Egypt is also expressing a strong interest in acquiring an AEW capability with the relatively low-cost Hawkeye being the major contender. The requirement is for two aircraft.

Hovercraft Assisted Takeoff to Combat Damaged Runways:

Bell Aerospace is developing a hovercraft fighter carrier to overcome the problem of damaged airfields at forward bases. Studies indicate that 12 to 20 Alternative Aircraft Take-off Systems (AATS) could launch upwards of 70 F-4 or F-15 type aircraft per hour from severely damaged bases. Having a pressure footprint of only 1 per cent of that of a typical combat-loaded fighter, the hovercraft system will be able to cope with ditches and obstacles up to 21t high. The fighter will taxi onto the hovercraft, be secured by the ground crew and then commence a take-off run under its own power. Successful utilisation of such a system could ultimately mean the difference between winning or losing the crucial early days of an all-out Warpac offensive.

UK Opt for the AV-8B:

The “big-wing” GR. 5 Harrier is dead, to be replaced instead in RAF service by the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B. This decision by the UK Ministry of Defence will satisfy the requirements of the RAF for a Harrier replacement and will bring together the design and production talents of British Aerospace and MDC. England will gain around a third of all airframe work required for the 340-plus order of USMC AV-8Bs and already produces the RR Pegasus engine. BAe will be the sole source of the two-seat Harrier trainer while orders for the AV-8B from all sources are hoped to exceed 500 aircraft through to 1995. British Aerospace meanwhile will proceed with developments of a supersonic Harrier derivative which will in time lead to a similar Anglo/American production tie-up as that announced for the AV-8B.

Nines for Navy:

The US Navy is looking for ex-airline DC-9-30s to augment its current C-9 Nightingale fleet of aeromedical evacuation aircraft. The USN still operates piston-engined C-118, a version of the DC-6, and plans to replace these expensive-to-operate aircraft with 12 to 15 DC-9s.

Additional Hawks for Indonesia:

The Indonesian Air Force has signed for an additional four BAe Hawk advanced trainers, bringing its total order to 12 such aircraft. This brings to 258 the total number of Hawks on order, of which 175 are on order for the RAF and 83 by foreign governments. Indonesia currently operates a large number of different aircraft, purchased in small numbers but of relatively similar capabilities. Soon to enter service are 12 Northrop F-5E plus 4 two-seat F-5F, 13 refurbished A-4 Skyhawks plus 2 TA-4 trainers, plus the abovementioned Hawks and 16 OV-10F Bronco COIN aircraft. On the transport front, 10 C-130Bs compete with one L-100 Hercules and three C-160 Transalls for what is the same transport requirement. Indonesia recently lost two Hawks in an air-to-air collision.

Carrier Based Fellowships:

Fokker has made representation to the US Navy for that service’s Carrier On-Board Delivery (COD) aircraft requirement. USN currently operates the Grumman C-2, a cargo version based on the Hawkeye airframe, and a single Lockheed S-3 in this role. Current USN requirement calls for up to 40 C-2 aircraft but Fokker claim that they could deliver a version of the F-28 Fellowship for around the same per unit costing as the C-2 as the latter type requires the production line to be reopened. The modified F-28 would feature folding wings, an arrestor hook, a strengthened airframe and undercarriage and catapult launch equipment. Fokker claims that the F-28 so modified could transport a 10,000lb payload 2100nm at over 270kts.

Coastguarder Wins International Search and Rescue Competition:

A British Aerospace Coastguard aircraft emerged as the outright winner of the Sea Search 81 competition held as an integral part of this year’s International Air Tattoo at Greenham Common.

Competing against 21 service air arms plus other aircraft manufacturers from 11 different countries, Coastguarder won both the sea search champion crew trophy and the best overall fixed wing entry award.

Coastguarder was operated by a civilian crew from British Aerospace, Manchester Division and beat Service entries from the USA, France, Italy, Canada, Australia, Argentine, Spain and the Royal Air Force operating a range of aircraft including Orion, Hercules, F. 27, Viking, Atlantique and Nimrod.

The fixed-wing aircraft were tasked to find and photograph a fishing vessel in simulated distress, Bishop’s Rock Lighthouse, a small inflatable dinghy and a submarine periscope in a four-hour sortie. All entrants also completed a ground examination. At the end of this testing competition, the crew of the Coastguard emerged as clear leaders to receive the Lockheed Trophy for the best fixed-wing entry and the IAT Trophy for the champion crew captained by Kevin Moorhouse, a British Aerospace test pilot based at Woodford, Manchester.

Where Have All the 707s Gone?

Trying to make ends meet flying 707 and DC-8 aircraft during the late seventies was certainly challenging. However, the oil price push of “79 finally sunk whatever hope the fabulous 707 (and her DC-8 and VC-10 cousins) had of remaining viable in the 1980s airliner fleet, Nowadays literally hundreds are parked against the fence awaiting future careers as on-demand freighters with largely “midnight” operators or more sadly as mere scrap. The low unit price of most 707s and their design excellence has prompted an American company Aerial Refuelling -to market refurbished 707s as tankers. WAR claims that their zero-timed aircraft, complete with a three-point hose and drogue system are available for around $6m each, which is certainly a bargain in any language. Cost of the projected refurbished KC-135ŘE air-craft to the RAAF are put at twice this figure.

Tornado Costings:

The flyaway cost of the Tornado IDS has yet to exceed the maximum value agreed in 1976 when production was authorised. Figures released at the Paris Air Show indicate a per unit flyaway cost per Luftwaffe aircraft of approximately $A14m for the IDS and $A20m for the RAF F. 2 Air Defence Version. Flyaway cost of the latter will reduce as production begins and development costs are amortised over the next few years. Tornado is now becoming operational with the air forces of Italy, Britain and Germany, while the German Navy will replace its F-104G fleet with Tornado IDS aircraft.

AIP at Work:

Kirby Engineering of Sydney has been awarded a contract worth more than $300,000 by McDonnell Douglas Corporation for the manufacturing of precision parts for the Harpoon anti-ship missile.

The contract is a direct result of the Australian Industrial Participation Program sponsored by McDonnell Douglas. The program is directed at attracting Australian companies to work on various parts of the Harpoon missile.

Kirby will manufacture close-tolerance, high-precision components for the Harpoon, an all-weather missile with an over-the-horizon range in excess of 50 miles. It is designed to be launched from aircraft, surface ships, submarines and shore bases.

Participation by the Australian industry in McDonnell Douglas programs is long-standing. More than $20 million has flowed to Australia as a result of the industry’s involvement in the DC-9 commercial aircraft program.

Many of the elevators used for flight control on DC-9 aircraft throughout the world were manufactured by Australian industry.

Sentry Capabilities Revealed:

Following the ongoing debate revolving around the sale of Boeing E-3A Sentry AWACS aircraft to Saudi Arabia much has been revealed of the previously classified capabilities of this 707-based aircraft. At its operating altitude of 29,000 ft the E-3A has a nominal radar horizon of 200nm with the ability to detect a small target (F-5 or similar) out to 360nm over a flat surface such as desert or ocean. The Saudi aircraft will lack the highly classified intelligence, or Elint equipment that the NATO aircraft will have. While the Saudi E-3As will be able to monitor air activity within Israel, to do so will place the aircraft within range of Israeli F-15 Eagles in the event of hostilities. The Saudi aircraft will not be able to distinguish between aircraft types, hence the Saudis will not be able to tell the difference between civil and military traffic over the congested northern airspace of Saudi Arabia. Primary requirement for the AWACS, claim Saudi sources, is for monitoring the activity of Iranian aircraft in the vicinity of the Straits of Hormuz, though after the successful Israeli attack via Saudí airspace of the Iraqi nuclear reactor, Saudi eyes may well and truly be to the north.

F-16 in Service:

Now that the F-16 has been in service for more than three years it is interesting to evaluate its performance in that time. Primary difference between the F-16 and the aircraft it replaces is a reduction in maintenance man-hours, improved systems reliability and outstanding flight performance and mission endurance. The Belgian Air Force has recently completed two years’ operating experience with the type and report availability of 88 per cent, an average reliability rate of 2. 9hrs between failures and the aircraft requires only 12 maintenance man-hours per flight hour. The average turnaround time is 15 to 45 minutes depending upon the mission requirements. Meanwhile, on deployment in Norway, USAF TAC F-16s based at Hill AFB, Utah, recently flew nonstop using only three tanker connections, whereas previous deployments using the F-4E Phantom required be- tween seven and eight top-ups using more than three times the fuel. Furthermore, the same number of F-16 required support from only six C-141B Starlifters, whereas the F-4 unit would require 16-18 such aircraft.

Northrop Joins with Dornier in Fighter Study:

Northrop has joined forces with Dornier in a study to develop a lightweight fighter for the Luftwaffe. The proposed aircraft would weigh in at around a max of 25,000lb, would be powered by a 16,000lb class engine and would be capable of at least Mach 1. 6. While the design parameters sound remarkably like the Northrop F-5G both companies stress that the design will be of an entirely new aircraft, possibly even with for- ward swept wings and a BVR capability.

F-16XL Underway:

One of the original F-16A flight test aircraft has been returned to the Fort Worth General Dynamics facility for modification to XL specifications. The XL concept was originally designed into the original F-16 design so conversion to the new double-delta extended-fuselage XL will take less than a year with the new supersonic cruise aircraft making its first flight around September 1982. General Dynamics are assured of a long association with USAF and their F-16 design through the current F-16A order for Tactical Air Command, future Forward Swept Wing (FSW) fighter candidate (along with Grumman and Rockwell) and the supersonic cruise XL. If either of the latter aircraft designs are chosen as a TAC aircraft for the nineties then the Fighting Falcon in one form or another will be in production till well into the twenty-first century.

New From Pratts:

Pratt & Whitney will test fly their new 30,000lb thrust PW1130 in an F-15 testbed during 1982. The new engine is a derivative of the F100 turbofan and features a redesigned afterburner and fan in addition to new turbine blade materials and better compressor design. The new engine will eliminate some of the stall-stagnation problems previously associated with the F100 and will be an ideal engine for the F-16XL and later marques of the F-15 Eagle. Pratts are also developing a non-afterburning version of the F100 designated PW1115 which will be ideal for ground support aircraft, The thrust rating will be 15,000 and the new engine will feature extremely good SFC compared with current engines in this class.

What Goes up Must Come Down!

There is a wealth of logic in THAT statement and in this case, it aptly applied to AADR Managing Editor, Jim Thorn. While on a flight from RAAF base Edinburgh to Richmond the Hercules Jim was flying in encountered that dreaded foe of aviation – Clear Air Turbulence – which promptly caused enough damage to put our editor in hospital with spinal injuries. Fortunately though the spinal damage will not be permanent and Jim should be fully recovered within a few months. Ferocity of the CAT was such that accelerometer readings indicated “G” forces of . 4 negative and 2. 7 positive, ICAO states that any turbulence in excess of 1 G is to be categorised as “severe”! CAT is certainly the bogeyman of the airways. Almost every pilot has experienced its sledgehammer effect at some time or another while the fact that little is known about this phenomenon only adds to its mysterious reputation. There is no indication given by even the most sophisticated weather radar, no ground met station can interpret CAT and worse still, an aircraft flying into such a condition can radio its exact location only to have the area free of CAT a half hour later. One theory holds that it is primarily caused by the intersection of high speed jetstreams but even this is open to argument.

Why wasn’t the editor strapped in? A good question. For those of you who have flown on a Hercules, particularly on a comparatively long flight, you will be aware of the temptation to move about the spacious hull of the aircraft, have a coffee and talk with fellow passengers who by the nature of the flight always have something interesting to communicate. It is precisely this scenario, plus the basically uncomfortable (when firmly strapped in) sideways-facing webbed combat seats adorning the C-130 that had our editor not strapped in. We were suitably moved to note that on the TAA Airbus there is a small but polite notation on each seat back requesting the passenger to remain belted as much as possible, certainly an appropriate message and one that our Editor will be even keener to observe in future! Why have we told you all this? Firstly to point out that accidents DO indeed happen and that seat belts should always be left on whenever seated, particularly in the climb and descent stages of flight and secondly to explain why this edition of AADR is two weeks late in publication. To ensure that quality was not compromised in any way the decision was taken to extend the deadline to ensure that Jim could give the issue the time and attention it demands.