Newsdesk- Military

B-1 Interceptor:

USAF is considering using the Rockwell B-1 in the long-range interceptor role. Aircraft would be equipped with the Hughes AWG-9 radar and fire control system interfacing with Phoenix air-to-air missiles, 24 of which would be carried internally on a rotary launcher. The interceptor B-1 would be capable of Mach 2. 2 and would be used as a mobile defence against Soviet Backfire and Blackjack A strategic bombers. The aircraft could also be employed in shepherding aerial convoys of wide-bodied transports across the North Atlantic in support of NATO European ground forces. In company with an E-3A Sentry and tanker, the B-1 interceptor could provide viable long-range defence against future Soviet carrier-based fighters.

AV-8Bs for Spain:

The Spanish Navy will replace its present fleet of AV-8A Matadors with 12 McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier III. The value of the order is $379 million which equates to a unit price of $31. 5 million, a figure which includes extensive spares and support equipment. Spain has been an excellent MDC customer of late having signed a contract last July for 84 F-18A Hornets. This most recent order brings the total number of Harrier IIs on order to 414.

The RAAF Gets Its Tankers:

Many years of consistent lobbying by fighter and strike elements of the RAAF for a viable inflight refuelling capability have paid dividends with the recent selection of two ex-Qantas Boeing 707-338s for this role. This will bring to four the number of 707s operated by the RAAF. The two aircraft have been purchased for $7. 5 million while an additional $54 million will be needed to modify all four aircraft to accept twin underwing-mounted probe/drogue and single flying boom refuelling units. The F-18As will use the probe/drogue facilities while the F-111Cs will use the boom system. Funds for the retrofit of the 707s will most probably be forthcoming just prior to the first F-1BA Hornet squadron becoming operational in 1986. The 707s will have an RAAF life span of twenty years while the addition of the two new aircraft, as strategic rather than tankers, will allow the original two RAAF 707s to be flown at a reduced rate. It is also expected that when the RAAF eventually withdraws from Butterworth the strategic airlift requirement will also be reduced Addition of four dedicated tankers in the RAAF inventory will greatly enhance the capability of our projected Hornet force and allow the F-111C to operate extremely long strikes and reconnaissance m1ss1ons not currently possible. Use of tankers will also allow both types greater flexibility in the all-important maritime strike role. In the US, the USAF have purchased large quantities of used 707s in the past year Early this year USAF purchased 28 707s from TWA and in late 1981 acquired 26 aircraft from American Airlines. USAF have also purchased a large number of Pratt & Whitney JT3D turbofans from the hundreds of mothballed 707s now permanently withdrawn from airline service.

Super Harpoon:

McDonnell Douglas had delivered to the US Navy an advanced version of the Harpoon anti-ship missile which has already proved to be one of the most reliable missiles in the Allied fleet. The improved radar-guided missile called the Harpoon 1B, flies towards its target at even lower altitudes, making detection and defence by a target ship more difficult. Controlled by its radar altimeter and auto-pilot, the Harpoon 1 B skims close to the surface of the sea. The Harpoon has demonstrated a ninety-seven per cent flight reliability rate in test firings of production missiles.

Orders for the Harpoon have passed the 3000 mark and more than 2000 have been delivered. The missile is slated to be the basic anti-ship weapon of the US Navy through the 1990s. The Navy now has Harpoons on 162 ships and submarines and 78 aircraft. The missiles are deployed also on 69 ships and 10 aircraft of the allied nations that have selected the Harpoon for purchase. Harpoon is 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-based installations. For surface ships and submarines, Harpoon employs a solid propellant booster to provide initial flight velocity. After the booster separates, a turbojet engine starts automatically and Harpoon descends to a low-level cruise altitude. It is guided to the target at high subsonic speeds by its midcourse guidance system and terminal active radar.

A Naval WG30?

Westland are proposing a naval development of the WG30 helicopter. The current WG30, as it is known in its military role is meeting with strong sales success in the commuter role with US shuttle carriers as the civilian Westland 30. The navalised WG30 would operate much of the equipment currently equipping its smaller Lynx brother including an uprated Ferranti Sea Spray radar (a smaller version of the Blue Fox radar employed on the BAe Sea Harrier), dipping sonar and other ASW equipment from the Sea King family. The navalised WG30 would offer a greater uplift capability in addition to enhanced endurance and the ability to carry a small number of commandos etc. Westland is presently investigating this project on behalf of the Swedish Navy and plan to use a Westland 30 airframe for project evaluation in 1983 as a proof-of-concept vehicle. Westland are also examining the feasibility of using the General Electric T700 turboshaft in place of the less powerful RR Gem powerplants currently used in the Westland 30 airframe.

Piper Enforcer Flies:

The Piper PA-48 Enforcer commences its USAF flight evaluation programme on December 15th in what will be a twelve-month development programme. The Enforcer is is based on the North American P-51 Mustang of World War II though less than 5% of Enforcer components are interchangeable with the P-51. The Enforcer is powered by a single Avco Lycoming T55 derived from the turboshaft unit used in the CH-47 Chinook helicopter and rated at 2445 shp though Piper may select a different engine if production is launched. The Enforcer is fitted with ten underwing stores stations which include provision for the General Electric 30 mm pod-mounted galling gun which is ideal in the anti-armour role. Primary markets for the Enforcer are the third-world nations requiring a rugged STOL aircraft for the COIN role. With a flyaway price of under $3 million a copy Piper could be looking at a viable new market with a grandchild of what was one of the world’s most successful combat aircraft.

757 Tankers:

The UK government is studying a proposal sponsored by British Airways and Boeing for the conversion of the 17 Boeing 757 twinjets BA has on order to tanker standards. Conversion of the type would involve the installation of permanent equipment weighing 60 kg and would allow the aircraft to offload some 21,000 kg or 7000 gallons of fuel at a radius of 500 nautical miles. A capability such as this would allow greater flexibility within the RAF tanker fleet and could be a revenue earner for BA when called to support large-scale NATO exercises. Boeing are also proposing to a number of European governments that their national carriers consider a similar conversion of the 737-200. There are more than 140 737s in European service and NATO itself operates nearly 1300 combat aircraft that could operate with such a tanker.

Blowpipe AAM Development Under Way:

An air-to-air role for Shorts’ hitherto shoulder-fired Blowpipe short-range SAM is one of two new applications for the lightweight weapon.

Under development is a two-round beam mounted Blowpipe launcher for helicopters, in which the standard infantry-style missile and throw-away launch tube are used, but are controlled through a stabilised Ferranti sight. The development is being jointly funded by the UK MoD and Shorts.

The other Blowpipe derivation is a two-round pedestal launcher for static point defence, which again employs the standard missile/ launch tube package. Among applications suggested for it is the protection of oil rigs from air attack, in which the fact that Blowpipe is command-guided rather than an infra-red weapon, is considered a major advantage. IR weapons, it is felt, might backtrack and home on their own parent rig’s flare stack, defeating the object of their installation.

Stanley Now Fully Operational:

Any prowling Argentinian aircraft in the region of the Falklands will be greeted with a short welcome now that the Stanley airstrip is fully operational with a detachment of GR. 3 Harrier and Phantom interceptors. Vulcans, Nimrods and Hercules are also deploying from the newly lengthened strip at regular intervals in support of Royal Navy elements still on task in the region. To assist in aircraft recovery a US-designed arrestor wire system has been installed and is capable of bringing Phantom and Buccaneer aircraft to rest in under 400 m.

US Army Supports Methane-Powered Helicopters:

The US Army is converting a Hughes TH-55A helicopter (military training version of the civil Model 300) to use methane gas in place of avgas. Methane gas has been used by Beech in a series of successful tests through 1982 and has also been used for some time by NASA. Beech states that the cost of methane is 70% cheaper than avgas, is virtually inexhaustible and burns cleaner than liquid fuel. It is claimed that the US Army could save more than $10,000 per year on each of its 144 TH-55A helicopters.

Bahrein First in With Tigershark Order:

The FX fighter market is about as lively as the new airliner market of late, so much so that General Dynam1c’s F-16/79 has all but faded from the scene The rival FX contender, the Northrop F-5G Tigershark though, has just scored its first order with four of the type being purchased by Bahrein as the nucleus of their new independent air force. Northrop hopes that this is only the tip of the iceberg though, and are discussing large-scale licence production with Egypt on behalf of a number of Arab States. Egypt is interested in replacing its large MiG-21 fleet with between 120 and 200 Tigersharks while Northrop estimates the total production from such a line for neighbouring Arab States could exceed 400 aircraft. Negotiations are continuing.

Fantrainer Sells at Last:

RFB have certainly spent many years developing their novel ducted-propulsor Fantrainer military primary trainer aircraft. Years of patience have paid dividends though with the announcement of an order for 47 aircraft for the Thai Air Force. RFB claim a flyaway price for the Fantrainer, which is now powered by either 420 shp or 600 shp versions of Allison’s 250 turboshaft engine, of only $US700,000 or about a third the cost of our own basic trainer programme.

Multi-Year Funding Catches On:

The US Department of Defence is impressed with the savings to date from its introduction of multi-year funding. The basic idea is that any product whether it is a jeep or KC-1O tanker will be proportionately cheaper if the manufacturer can order his material in bulk rather than under the piecemeal annual allocation of recent years. The savings can equate to as much as ten to fifteen per cent on some programs which for 1982 represents a saving to the Pentagon of $712 million Systems under the multi-year funding programme already and new ones just being introduced include the F-16A, F-15C, KC-1O Extender, CH-53 Super Stallion, UH-60 Blackhawk, C-2 Greyhound, A-6E Intruder, EA-6B Prowler, E-2C Hawkeye while the F-18A will join the list in 1983/84. Missiles, engines and various sub-systems are also applicable to the programme and include the Standard SAM, Mk 46 torpedo, Harpoon, Sparrow, Sidewinder, and components for the Navstar Global Positioning System.

Squirrel Now Firmly Established in Australia:

With the recent signing of a Defence Department order for 18 Aerospatiale Squirrel helicopters the type, which is distributed and supported commercially by Rex Aviation, is now firmly established in Australia. Of the 18 helos, 12 will replace the RAAF’s Iroquois UH-Bs of No. 5 Squadron, Fairbairn, ACT, as trainers, while the remaining six Squirrels will be used by the RAN for light utility and survey work. Some of the six are likely to embark in the Navy’s new FFGs as an interim arrangement subject to successful flying trials. In both roles the Squirrel will offer savings in the region of 70% as compared with the relatively old UH-1B. Total project cost of the purchase is estimated to be $23. 6 million at December 1981 prices. The Squirrel is a five-seat helicopter, with a range of 240 nm and a cruising speed of 121 kts. It is powered by a single Turbomeca Arriel turboshaft engine. Over 700 are in service in 23 countries. The 18 helos will be delivered through late 1983 and early 1984.

Viper Reaches 30 Years of Production:

One of Rolls-Royce’s most successful aero-engines has reached the 30th anniversary of its entry into service – and is still in full production.

The Viper turbojet entered service in 1952, when it powered the first Australian-designed Jindivik pilotless target drone. For this application, the Viper was intended as a short-life expendable powerplant.

However, it proved such a successful design that it was later developed into a long-life engine powering a wide range of research, prototype, commercial and military aircraft. After 30 years of continuous production the latest version of the engine, the Viper 680, retains the simple and rugged characteristics of the original 1950s engine. The Viper 680, at more than 4400 lb thrust, produces almost three times as much thrust as the Viper 3 which powered the first Jind1vik target drone.

BAe Hawk Becomes T-45:

The US Navy have designated the British Aerospace Hawk trainer the T-45. The Hawk will come in two versions, the T-45A which will be a carrier compatible aircraft and the T-45B which will be employed in the ground-based training role. The first T-45A will fly in 1988 and enter USN service in 1991 while the B model will enter USN service in 1988. Delivery plans call for 54 T-45Bs followed by 253 T-45A. There had also been discussion of the possibility of the US Navy exchanging a number of F-4B aircraft for new BAe Hawks ofT-45B standards to overcome the USN jet trainer shortage which will become serious by 1986.

Marconi Radar for Mig-21:

Marconi Avionics has started production of a compact low-cost ranging radar suitable for installation in light fighters such as the MiG-21, MiG-19 or even the BAe Hawk. Skyranger has already been ordered by one customer, and the company is talking to several others.

Since combat aircraft offer only small amounts of irregularly shaped volume for addon avionics, Marconi designed Skyranger to be modular at the printed-circuit card (PCB) level This allows equipment housings for the PCBs to be designed to match the space available.

The current version of Skyranger is made up of three line-replaceable units (LRUs): the transmitter/receiver, a combined signal processor/power supply unit, and a fixed forward-looking antenna. Total installation weight is 40 kg.

Operators used to the R1L or R2L radars normally fitted to the MiG-21 will find that Skyranger offers greater reliability- an MTBF of more than 200 hr – plus features such as five per cent pulse-to-pulse frequency agility.

Maximum performance is available out to 5 km in gun mode and 15 km in missile mode. Target resolution is 150 m. The company is also working on variants with scanning antennas. Although these are not yet ready to be marketed, they will offer additional operating modes such as ground mapping.

Three Fokker F27 Maritime Aircraft for Thailand:

A purchase contract for three Fokker F27 Maritime surveillance aircraft has been signed by the Government of Thailand in Bangkok, Thailand. These turboprop-powered, medium-range patrol aircraft will be delivered in April, May and June 1984. The F27 aircraft will be put into service and operated by the Royal Thai Navy. The decision to select the Fokker aircraft was taken after an extensive evaluation process.

The F27 Maritime aircraft for Thailand will be fitted with advanced avionics and provisions for patrol and reconnaissance tasks.

The market for the Fokker F27 Maritime is now extended to Thailand, after orders received in the past few years from Peru, Iceland, Spain, Angola, the Philippines and the Netherlands.

Total sales for the Fokker F27 turboprop aircraft now stand at 742 to 161 operators in 65 countries.