Newsdesk – Military

It is planned eventually to replace Canberra with a commercial-type twin-jet aircraft to take over the work now being done by the No. 2 Squadron aircraft.

The prototype English Electric Canberra bomber first flew in England on May 13, 1949. It was the Royal Air Force’s first jet bomber and was a sensational aircraft from the outset, setting a host of new world records for speed, height and range. It was unarmed, relying on speed to evade fighters.

In Australia, 48 B20 model Canberra bombers were built for the RAAF at the Government Aircraft Factories in Melbourne. The first of them made its maiden flight on May 29, 1953, and production continued until September 30, 1958.

New Guidance System for the Ikara Anti-submarine Weapon:

The guidance system for Australia’s Ikara antisubmarine weapon is being redesigned to extend its life into late this century.

By taking advantage of present-day technology, reductions in size, weight and maintenance would be achieved as well as providing improved reliability and enhanced capability.

An experimental version of the new system was being tested at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation’s Defence Research Centre at Salisbury, South Australia, where it had been developed. Several engineering models would be built before a final demonstration model became available in 1984. Substantial assistance was being sought from the Australian defence industry. About 60 per cent of the development funding would be spent in that industry.

Defence Minister Killen said the present research and development phase was aimed at producing a demonstration model of the Ikara guidance system. A decision would be made 1n 1983 on whether or not to go into fullscale production in 1984.

F-16, F-15 Fight It Out:

USAF will determine by competitive fly-off evaluation whether it will acquire the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle or the new General Dynamics F-16E as the next generation of American low-level tactical strike aircraft. The cranked arrow wing F-16E is due to fly this July while the Strike Eagle has been flying as a demonstrator since mid 1980. The competitive fly-off will take place during October and a decision will be made soon after on which aircraft will enter production to meet a requirement for up to 400 aircraft.

What They Cost:

Data submitted in the US Dept of Defence 1983 fiscal budget submissions reveal the cost of present-day weapons systems. Admittedly some of the per unit costings appear to be overly inflated. Without an accurate and precise definition of whether the figures cover a basic flyaway or a more comprehensive programme costing for each aircraft is not specifically mentioned in the released submissions. In many cases, aircraft are quoted at up to twice their apparent flyaway value indicating a large provision for spares and ongoing technical support for that particular system. In brief, the estimates revealed the following per unit costings of the following systems KC-10 Extender $98 m, Lockheed TR-1 $64 m, Boeing E-3A Sentry $128 m, Fairchild A-10 $18 m, GD F-16A $19 m, MDC F-15C Eagle $30 m, F/A-18 Hornet $30 m, Grumman F-14A Tomact $46 m, Grumman E-2C Hawkeye $44 m, Grumman A-6E Intruder $34 m, Lockheed P-3C Orion $57 m, Sikorsky SH-60B Seahawk $21 m, Boeing AGM-86B ALCM $1.5 m, USAF ground-launched Tomahawk $4.3 m, USN Tomahawk $2 5 m (no apparent reason for price variation), Imaging IR Maverick $130,000, AIM-9L Sidewinder $60,000, AIM-7F Sparrow $150,000, MDC Harpoon $1.1 m, HARM antiradiation missile $1.1 m and $11 m for the Trident I submarine-launched ballistic missile.

Jindalee Commences Experimental Transmissions:

Stage B of Jindalee, the novel very-long-range radar being developed by defence scientists for surveillance of the northern approaches to Australia from Alice Springs, began experimental transmissions in April.

The more advanced Stage B system was approved by the Government in 1978 after excellent results had been obtained from the initial experimental equipment set up near Alice Springs by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation.

A new Stage B receiving station has been constructed near Alice Springs, next to the original Stage A site on Bond Springs Station. The new mam receiving antenna array was 2 8 km long.

Complex and novel Stage B equipment had been developed at the Electronics Research Laboratory, South Australia. Most of this equipment was moved to Alice Springs in 1981.

The main projected improvements in Stage B would be the ability to swing the radar beams over a wide arc together with the use of much more powerful computer systems, including ‘state of the art’ equipment developed by the staff of the Electronics Research Laboratory. This would enable targets to be tracked while the beam continued to scan the whole area under surveillance. Already defence planners were working on ways to incorporate Jindalee techniques into Australia’s surveillance and early warning systems.

100th Production Tornado Delivered:

The 100th Tornado from the AngloGerman-Italian Tornado production programme was delivered to the Services on March 31st, 1982. Delivery took place at Manching near Munich where aircraft GSO18 German Strike) was handed over by the Panavia and MBB Management to representatives of the German MOD The aircraft will be stationed at the GAF Airbase, Erding, near Munich. On the same day, Aeritalia In Turin delivered the 101st production Tornado (IT 002 – Italian trainer) to the Services while one day before, British Aerospace at Warton delivered the 99th Tornado (BT 022- British trainer).

Deliveries began in Autumn 1980. Currently, 42 of the Tornados delivered are stationed at the tri-national Tornado 1raining Establishment (PTE) in Cottesmore, UK. The remaining aircraft are operated at the RAF Weapons Conversion Unit in Honington, the GAF Weapons Conversion Unit in Erding, near Munich, and other GAF establishments.

The first service Squadrons to convert to Tornado this year will be RAF Squadron No 9 at Honington and the German Navy Squadron No 1 at Jagel, North Germany. Deliveries will be concluded in the late 1980s by which time the Royal Air Force will have received 385 (including 165 Air Defence Variants), the German Air Force 212, the German Navy 112 and the Italian Air Force 100 Tornados.

The Invisible Repayments:

Our lead article in the March edition, ‘The Invisible War’ created considerable interest among readers. We apologise for the odd literal that crept into the article, despite a wealth of proofreading, obviously, Tucson is in Nevada and comprised should have on two occasions been more correctly stated as compromised. In addition to the advanced technology the West has proffered on the Soviets in recent decades it is worth noting that the combined Eastern bloc debt to Western banks is in excess of one hundred billion dollars, most of which will probably never be repaid as Poland so emphatically revealed.

Upgraded Phantoms:

Japan will undertake an avionics upgrade programme for 100 of its F-4EJ Phantoms. The standard AN/APQ-120 radar will be replaced with Westinghouse’s AN/APG-66 as used in the General Dynamics F-16. It is not known precisely yet whether or not Japan will opt for the international standard MSIP radar that will be a standard fit on later USAF aircraft and was offered to Australia for the NTF programme. The MSIP radar would allow the Japanese Phantoms to improve Beyond Visual Range Sparrow (later Amraam) capability in addition to a wide range of air-to-ground modes. The APG-66 is also used in the Rockwell B-1B strategic bomber.

Hawkeyes High on Dope:

In addition to protecting the US fleet and providing airborne radar monitoring support for NASA’s Shuttle launches, Grumman’s E-2C Hawkeye has made a reputation for itself lately by detecting drug operations off the shores of Florida. From October to December last year US Navy Hawkeyes flew 73 sorties from Patrick AFB, Florida in support of US Coast Guard efforts to intercept high-speed surface boats and low-flying aircraft landing drugs in southern Florida. Codenamed Operation Thunderbolt, the mission led to the arrest of 97 persons, and seized 45 aircraft, seven vehicles and more than thirteen tons of marijuana worth in excess of $300 m. The operation was such a success that the US Coast Guard is now looking at acquiring its own E-2C aircraft, an investment that would seemingly pay for itself in a very short period.

Can You Help?:

Did you fly with the Mohawk squadrons against the Japanese over India and Burma in WW II? Mr Frank Robins, a former Mohawk pilot is trying to gather sufficient information to put together a charter for the group. Already a large number of members have been located and a proper reunion will be held once additional members are found. If you were involved with the Mohawks through 1942-44, either as air or ground crew, contact Mr Frank Robins, 2/39 Gardenia Road, Gardenvale 3185.

Engine Concept May Offer Combined Helicopter, and Aircraft Features:

A revolutionary engine concept that could enable aircraft to maneuver like helicopters but attain cruising speeds of fast air transports using its helicopter rotor blades and fixed wings, is being studied by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and NASA.

NASA’s Lewis Research Centre, Cleveland, indicates such a craft could be ready for experimental flight testing in the mid-1980s and recently awarded a contract to General Electric Co., Lynn, Mass., to proceed with the engine test program to provide the basic technology for future concepts.

Essential to the new concept would be the development of a convertible engine allowing the plane’s turbofan engines to convert from the conventional, forward-thrusting mode to a mode that imparts torque to the shaft that drives the plane’s horizontal rotor blades and back again.

The project is funded jointly by NASA and the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). DARPA is a part of the Department of Defense and provides advanced research for the nation’s military services.

The specific mission of the project is to provide a research tool, a specially modified turbofan engine, to determine the feasibility of the convertible engine concept with an automated control system. Such an aircraft concept would represent a significant technical advance over vertical takeoff and landing planes now in service and provide a potential major breakthrough in the building and operation of such vehicles.

Some exploratory research aircraft have utilized separate powerplants for vertical flight and forward flight, or propulsion systems that must be physically redirected for either vertical or level flight.

The convertible engine concept eliminates much of the extra weight and expense of installing two separate powerplants to handle verticle and horizontal flight functions. This concept consists of a normal turbofan engine in combination with a fan shaft to drive the rotor through a transmission system.

The engine is “convertible” in the sense that it can operate; as a turbofan engine by disengaging the rotor; as a turboshaft engine driving the rotor in the helicopter mode; or in both modes simultaneously. A sophisticated digital electronic system would be used to control the vehicle throughout all modes of operation.

In operation, the projected craft would take off vertically through the use of a lifting rotor. When it achieved the desired altitude and forward speed, the engine would convert from powering the rotor to a forward thrust, turbofan, mode. The transmission would be disengaged and the rotor blades locked into a fixed position, their airfoil configuration imparting conventional lift to the plane for forward, level flight Conversion from shaft power to forward thrust would take about 15 to 20 seconds.