Newsdesk – Military

Piper was awarded an Air Force contract in September 1981 to design, develop and test two prototypes of the lightweight, propjet-powered close-air-support aircraft. The second aircraft will begin flying by early July. A full Air Force evaluation will start in late 1983.

In addition to its 2445 hp Avco Lycoming T55-L-9 propjet engine, the Enforcer incorporates a number of changes from its P-51 ancestry. These include a greater gross weight (14,000 pounds), a 19-inch fuselage extension, a larger empennage and the capability to carry 30 mm cannons and other close-air-support weapons.

Israel to Boost Combat Strength:

Israel is to increase its air force combat strength from 19 squadrons to 24 squadrons the mid-1990s. Israel currently operates around 580 front-line combat aircraft, 81 per cent of which are A-4, F-4 and Kfir aircraft due to be phased out of operation by the mid-nineties. By 1986 the IAF will peak at 700 aircraft and will then decline in strength to around 600 units as the new IAI Lavie is introduced into service around 1990. Tactics are what counts in the IAF and Israel places great pride in its highly developed and combat-proven air battle management system. The system utilises the resources of an advanced ground-based radar and sensor chain, Grumman E-2C AEW aircraft, RF-4E reconnaissance jets and specially modified RC-707 aircraft in addition to OV-1D Mohawks and a large number of RPV drones. Results to date utilising the air battle management system speak for themselves, Smee 1979 The IAF have destroyed 120 Syrian aircraft in air-to-air combat and 30 Syrian SAM installations for the loss of a single F-4 Phantom which was hit by a SAM over the Bekaa Valley, an A-4 Skyhawk and an Iroquois helicopter

New Carriers for Soviet Navy:

According to a report recently released by the US DoD, Russia has launched its fourth Kiev class aircraft carrier. The Soviets are building several new classes of heavily armed cruisers and destroyers and have also deployed a new ASW helicopter NATO code-named Helix. US intelligence sources also believe the construction of a large nuclear-powered full deck fixed wing catapult-equipped aircraft carrier is about to commence construction, ready for deployment around 1990.

DSTO Reunited:

On 11th March 1983 the new Government reunited elements of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) which had been separated last year.

On a recommendation of the interim report of the Defence Review Committee (Utz), the day-to-day administration of one of DSTO’s 10 laboratories (with some 1000 professional staff) was transferred to the. newly created Department of Defence Support.

The head of DSTO, the Chief Defence Scientist. Prof P T. Fink CB, CBE, FTS, who is the government’s chief adviser on defence science and technology, remained in the Department of Defence together with his policy and advisory staff. The elements of DSTO in the Department of Defence continued to control policy and funding and provide high-level advice Last year Professor Fmk responded to an invitation from the Defence Review Committee for comments on the team report He argued that placing the laboratories with Defence Support would make it more difficult for DSTO to perform its main ‘force multiplier’ role. In this role, DSTO helps the Australian Defence Force choose, use and maintain its high-technology equipment.

This is best achieved from within the Department of Defence as it requires close contact with the Services and central elements of that department.

Prof Fink had also argued that particularly in science; it is not easy to separate policy and administration, and that the effectiveness of the Chief Defence Scientist would be markedly reduced by the separation.

Airship Being Evaluated by US Navy:

Airship Industries Skyship 500 (refer to page 74, March issue) is currently being evaluated by the US Naval Air Development Centre. The airship is being tested at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station and will be evaluated as a possible ASW platform operating in the direct convoy support role. The ability to refuel the airship while airborne from a surface vessel is being investigated in addition to ways of dimminishing its already small radar signature. The evaluation programme is planned to be completed by August.

Hornet Programme Beginning to Materialise:

Australia has to date written contracts with overseas aerospace firms to the value of more than $120 million for offset work associated with the RAAF F-18A Hornet programme. In addition to this, a further $106 million is being spent on major reconstruction projects at Williamtown m preparation for the arrival of the first Hornets in April of 1985. Slated for construction will be new hangars, new depot-level maintenance buildings, new accommodation blocks and various administration buildings. The programme will provide more than 500 jobs in the construction industry when the project peaks in 1985 while the base workforce will increase from the present 2100 to 2600 and reach nearly 3000 for a time when crews are converting from Mirage to Hornet aircraft. The RAAF has still to make a decision on whether to base F-18A aircraft at Darwin or Tindal in the Northern Territory Major survey work is underway at Tindal and while his base is favoured on security and environmental grounds it is generally felt that basing at Darwin will be more popular with the personnel.

Soviets Ready to Field a Number of New Combat Aircraft:

The latest edition of the Pentagon’s annual assessment of Soviet capabilities, Soviet Military Power, reveals further details of a number of new types about to enter operational service. In brief, they are

MIG-31 Foxhound: This aircraft is a two-seat version of the long-established MIG-25 Foxbat. Featuring less powerful engines, the new type has a longer range and a reduced maximum intercept speed. Featuring an advanced look-down shoot-down radar, the Foxhound equates in class to the Tornado F2, the F-15 and the F-14 Currently entering service.

MIG-29 Fulcrum: Developed along similar lines to the F-16 and the F-18, Fulcrum is twin-engined and will towards the latter eighties begin to take over from MiG-21J Fishbeds and earlier model MiG-23 Flogger fighters. Fulcrum is a multi-role all-weather aircraft that will also carry Beyond Visual Range air-to-air missiles. Expected to enter operational service around 1986.

Su-27 Flanker: Similar in most respects to the Fulcrum most probably developed as a hedge against the former aircraft not living up to development expectations The Flanker however, is larger than the Fulcrum and equates more to the British Tornado F2 in size and performance than the larger F-15 andF-14 Tomcat. Expected to be operational in great numbers by the end of the decade.

Tupolev Blackjack A: Russia’s newest strategic bomber is substantially larger than either a B-52 or the Tu-22M Backfire. Blackjack has, by Pentagon reckoning, a maximum range m excess of 4000 nm and will be deployed in conjunction with an ALCM, both systems becoming fully operational around 1988/89.

11-76 Mainstay: This aircraft has been mooted for many years and is now thought to be currently entering service in small numbers, Mainstay is an AWACS aircraft replacing the largely ineffective Tu-126 Moss. There is also development of a tanker version of the 11-76 Candid under flight test though apparently this programme has not progressed far since the late seventies.

Su-25 Frogfoot: This aircraft fits the same role definition as USAF’s A-10 Thunderbolt II. Dedicated ground support utilising a 30 mm cannon, rockets and a large assortment of specialist weapons make this an ideal Warpac scenario aircraft. Frogfoot is currently being used operationally m Afghanistan where no doubt its development is being closely watched in an ideal counter-insurgency-type environment.

Indonesia Awards $12.4 Million Contract for Trainer Aircraft:

Beech has announced that negotJat1ons have been completed for the sale of nine Beechcraft T-34C-1 single-engine trainers to the Air Force of Indonesia. The $12 . 4 m1lhon contract covers, in addition, providing of spare parts, technical assistance and ferrying services.

The new turbine-powered trainers will join a fleet of 16 T-34C-1s which Beech delivered to Indonesia m 1978 The T-34C-1 is an international version of the Beechcraft T-34C, of • which Beech has delivered .184 to the US. Navy. Beech has delivered a total of 86 T-34C-1 and Turbine Mentor 34C versions to international customers. In addition to Indonesia, other countries operating the Beechcraft trainer are Morocco, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Gabon and Algeria.

Winnin Gets Stage II Go Ahead:

ProJect Winnin, Australia’s answer to the sea-skimming anti-ship missile, has been given the stage two go-ahead for concept development work to proceed. Proiect Winnin has been kept under wraps for the past three years but news of the programme only came to light following the events of the 1982 Falklands War where the need for an effective, and independent, close-in defence system became clearly apparent. Project Winnin is unique in its concept which involves the firing of a small m1ss1ie that features a low-thrust rocket motor sufficiently powerful to stabilise the missile in a hovering mode The missile, or hovering vehicle which it more correctly is, then can be positioned at will to provide a ship-sized radar signature so as to break the lock of the attacking missile’s guidance system. Australia’s FFG frigates will also be equipped with the Vulcan Phalanx 20 mm gatlling cannon and if Winnin proceeds through the various test stages successfully then 1t should equip the majority of RAN surface ships by the end of this decade. The Department for Defence Support is also actively pursuing overseas sales contacts for what could become a potential export winner.

USAF Could Give Warpac Air Fields the Axe:

Lockheed are offering the USAF an alternative to having to resort to tactical nuclear weapons in destroying Warsaw Pact airfields in Eastern Europe In the event of a Soviet/Warpac attack on NATO. Code named Axe, the Lockheed system envisages the utilisation of existing systems to make up a solid fuel missile of 45 ft length weighing just under 60,000 lb. The rocket would have a range of 400 miles and would carry a payload of 400 small antirunway cratering bomblets which would be released at 10,000 ft above the targeted airfield During its ten-minute flight, Axe would be steered by unjammable, uncomplicated onboard electronics protected by armour plate. The terminal phase of the attack is so short that Axe would be extremely difficult to counter while the apex of the missile’s trajectory would take out to 160 000 ft altitude, freeing it from attack from current and envisaged Soviet SAM systems. Axe missiles would be based in small, hardened silos and would be fired en-masse upon the first strike by Warpac aircraft. In theory, this would not only deny the first wave of strike aircraft an airfield to recover to but would lock in the second wave which would be in the process of preparing for takeoff at the more than fifty major Warpac bases.

Mirage 2000s for Abu Dhabi:

Dassault has clinched a $2500 million sale of 40 Mirage 2000 aircraft to Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi, the principal force in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), already operates 32 Mirage 5ADs in addition to Puma and Alouette helicopters.

Boeing Lose Super Cruise:

Boeing has lost the contract to build the Advanced Cruise Missile (ACM) to General Dynamics. Production of the Boeing AGM-86B ALCM will terminate in 1985 after 1715 units have been delivered to USAF. The ACM will feature greatly enhanced ECM capability over the existing ALCM, will embody stealth characteristics and have greater range enabling launch aircraft to remain well outside the operating radius of the Soviet interceptor force Boeing originally beat G,D in an ALCM flyoff back in 1980 when Boeing s ALCM was proven at the time to be s1gnif1cantly more effective than the GD product. GD have since been producing both ground and submarine-launched Tomahawks with a high degree of reliability. The Advanced Cruise Missile will enter service later this decade aboard B-52G/H and B-1B aircraft

Re-Engined Kc-135 Performing Well in Tests:

Flight testing of the single USAF KC-135R CFM56-powered tanker Is proceeding smoothly with the aircraft establishing a number of significant improvements in operational capability. Fuel consumption per hour, on the same mission profile, has been reduced from 12,000 lb/hr to only 9500 lb/hr while achieving an increase in installed maximum takeoff thrust from 54,000 lb to 88,000 lb. This enables the KC· 135R to uplift a greater disposable fuel load over a greater radius using shorter and more environmentally sensitive strips. USAF have stated that the re-engined aircraft can in most cases double the amount of fuel available for offload in ninety per cent of USAF missions. The 135R though, is not the only Stratotanker re-engine programme under way for USAF. Since early 1982 a number of KC-135E aircraft have become operational using airline surplus JT3D-3B turbofans. The 135E typically uses 2000 feet less runway, emits 90 per cent less visible smoke and 60 per cent less noise while each tanker will consume around 90,000 gallons of fuel less per annum, A recent F-111 deployment utilised four KC-135E tankers in place of the normally required seven turboJet-powered standard KC-135 tankers. The cost-benefit of the E programme is that the conversion costs involved with each aircraft are minimal as the ex-airline turbofans are simply exchanged in place of the outdated turbojets.

AV8B Doubles Harrier Range:

The McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier 11 recently demonstrated it can fly twice as far or carry double the payload of the AV-8A, the aircraft it replaces The test flights, conducted at the Naval Air Test Center in Maryland, showed the Harrier II has improved performance in two essential Marine Corps missions interdiction and close air support.

The interdiction mission began with the pilot using only 700 feet of runway to take off. His Harrier 11, loaded with full internal fuel and seven 570-pound bombs, flew 422 miles to the target The pilot approached at low altitude and high speed, dropped his bombs, departed the area low and fast, then climbed to 42,000 feet and returned to base. The two and one-half-hour mission was designed to attack an enemy supply base.

For the close air support flight, the AV-8B carried twelve 530-pound bombs, plus full internal fuel. The Hamer II took off in less than 1200 feet, flew 160 nautical miles, held near the target at 5000 feet altitude, then dropped down to 2000 feet while releasing bombs, climbing to 39,000 feet and returning to base. This mission would support combat troops engaged in battle.

Both missions were flown with internal fuel only – external fuel tanks or inflight refuelling were not required. After vertical landings completed the missions, each aeroplane had internal fuel remaining – 800 pounds after the first mission and 600 pounds after the second. The flight test AV-8Bs each have about 800 pounds of flight test instruments that will not be installed on production aircraft.

Martin Baker Saves 5000th Life:

February 17 marked the 5000th successful ejection using a Martin-Baker ejection seat Recipient of the coveted MB tie is an Italian Air Force F-104S Starfighter pilot. Martin Baker currently equips 50 different aircraft types operated by 68 nations

Boeing Develop Mini Drone:

Boeing, builder of the world’s largest jetliners, Is developing a mmI drone barely ten feet in length. Boeing is developing the drone in conjunction with the US Air Force’s Pave Tiger programme The small expendable drone is designed to carry electro-optical sensors and is based on the experience of similar Israeli drones which were successfully used in the 1982 Lebanese conflict. The drone features a fuselage of 2 ft in diameter, Is 6 ft 9 in long and has a wingspan of 8 ft 4 in; power is supplied by a single 28 hp Cuyuna ultralight motor The entire airframe is of injection moulded plastic, as low cost Is the key to the entire programme. Flight testing is currently in progress.