Beech Offer Interesting Alternatives In Special Mission King Air and 1900 Aircraft

Modifications that differentiate the 200T from a corporate 8200 include the installation of two wingtip tanks which increase fuel capacity from 544 gl to 650 gl and also house ESM receivers. Bubble type observation windows are fitted to both sides of the aircraft in addition to a special drop hatch for releasing life rafts, sensors, marker floats and transponder beacons. Inside the aircraft, surveillance systems are integrated with controls and displays at a cabin operator’s console for ease of operation. Normal crew comprise two pilots, a Tacco, radar operator and two observers with the operating crew taking turns in their respective roles.

Primary surface surveillance is conducted with a search radar system that provides 360 degree coverage and utilises new digital technology. Electronic plotting of the tactical situation utilises the radar system’s excess computer capability. To provide accuracy, the radar system is integrated with the Inertial Navigation System (INS).

An electronic support measures (ESM) system supplements the surveillance role by intercepting and identifying electronic signals radiated by communications and radar systems. The ESM system employs wingtip antennas coupled to receiver and processor units located in the cabin. Bearing and signal specifics are displayed on a cathode ray tube (CRT) in the operator’s console. System programming is transmitted through a keyboard at the operator’s station. The ESM system is integrated with the INS to provide precise navigational input for aircraft position data.

A forward-looking infra-red (FLIR) system supplements the search and rescue (SAR) mission and aids in target classification. By detecting object-radiated heat, the system provides detail search capability during darkness and low visibility conditions.

Subsurface surveillance is accomplished through use of an acoustic analysis system, utilising underwater listening devices. Dropped from the aircraft, sonobuoys provide data that is analysed for a four-channel processor unit with a plasma display. From this data the aircraft crew can detect, classify, locate and track submerged vessels. An on-top-position-indicator (OTPI) is integrated with the communication-direction-finding (DF) system to assist in the sonobuoy location. As such though the 200T does not carry armed weapons for an ASW application.

All this rolls into a package that has P-3 style capabilities at a fraction of the cost; which incidentally Beech quote at around $US6 million flyaway, a quarter to a fifth that of a P-3C. While the RAAF doesn’t have a specific requirement for the aircraft in the dedicated ASW, anti-ship role (due to the purchase of additional P-3Cs) the 200T is of interest to that service, and the Federal Government, as an EEZ patrol craft for the new Federal Police operated Coastal Protection Unit. Search-wise a 2001 could undertake much of the expensive Orion coastal patrols that presently tie up our Maritime Wing, while giving them no real training in the deep sea maritime roles they were intended for.

And how does it all work as a package? Australian Aviation was fortunate to be able to experience a demonstration of the basic coastal reconnaissance and SAR functions during a one-hour sortie off Sydney’s northern beaches region. The FUR, which was operating at a disadvantage as it was daylight, was able to locate targets down to small runabout proportions quite easily from several miles while the Eaton-AIL APS-128 was able to pick up targets well outside our visual range, even from several hundred feet AGL. Noise level within the! aircraft was quite acceptable and the overall feeling was that a well trained crew would have no trouble keeping fully alert in this environment during a typical six or seven hour mission.

Performance-wise the 2001 cruises at 255 kts, requires an ISA takeoff distance of only 630 m, has a maximum service ceiling of 31,000 ft and a ferry range of 1800 nm. Certainly a quart-in a-pint package and symbolic of how technology is allowing traditional missions to be performed by ever smaller airframes.

With this last statement in mind it is now time to look at perhaps the most interesting proposal of all from Beech. The Model 1900 Airliner has not escaped theR & D group efforts and as this aircraft has a gross takeoff weight more than a tonne heavier than the smaller 200T then the opportunity for development is readily apparent. The 1900SM (Special Mission) aircraft features the same internal equipment fit as the previously mentioned 2001 while a 696 gl wet wing provides a full 9 hour endurance. The 1900SM transits at 256 kts at 25,000 ft and its flat-rated 1100 shp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-65Bs provide full power for takeoff combined with reduced fuel burn and wear while in the cruise or patrol functions.

Perhaps the most interesting application of the 1900SM though, lies in its proposed Airborne Early Warning (AEW) role. It is generally agreed that the now popular rotating dome configuration on present generation (E-2C, E-3) AEW aircraft will give way to solid state fixed-plane arrays which provide similar coverage while able to be ‘curved’ around the airframe so as not to present an additional ae aerodynamic hindrance to the mother aircraft. Such radar arrays blended into the leading edges on wingtips, fin and side and underbelly represent an opportunity for AEW that has been traditionally the province of much larger airframes.

The Beech proposal is to fit a Raytheon (or other) solid-state radar in a hinged rectangular underbelly fairing. The radar scans two 120 degree sectors from ground level to 100,000 ft out to a 250 nm range. Onboard computers provide a capability to track up to 360 separate targets simultaneously while a passive ESM capability exists to track targets without alerting them to the tracking aircraft’s presence.

The status of this programme is that Beech have invested several million dollars in concept studies with Raytheon (who own Beech and give some idea of the R & D expertise behind the Wichita-based company) but will not proceed with a development aircraft till an order is received. From Beech’s point of view they are unwilling to invest a hundred million on so dollars oh programme without a firm launch order. From a chant’s point of view, particularly the RAAF, they are interested but would like naturally to see the aircraft in operation. This situation killed the Northrop F-18L and today exists with that company’s F-20 Tigershark. Hopefully, Beech will find a launch customer before their impressive 1900SM AEW also follows the fate of the 18L. Only time will tell,

Advances in microprocessing and enhanced miniaturisation of electronic components are occurring at a mind-boggling rate; these two Beech aeroplanes ably demonstrate how these technical advances are rewriting the design book for special mission aircraft.