Newsdesk – Military Aviation

The US Army has launched an inquiry into the latest series of crashes despite the downplaying of an obvious pattern emerging that indicates a problem associated with the stabilator and pitch control. In the meantime, all US Army Black Hawks have been grounded. The Black Hawk is one of four helicopters short-listed as a possible RAAF Iroquois replacement and its naval counterpart, the Seahawk, is on order for the RAN.

 Shorts, Embraer Win Large Raf Trainer Order With Tucano:

Shorts, teaming with Embraer have won the hard-fought battle to supply the RAF with their new basic trainer aircraft. Shortlisted were the Embraer Tucano, to be built by Shorts, the Pilatus PC-9 to be built by British Aerospace, the Hunting Firecracker, the only UK firm on the Est and finally the Australian Aircraft Consortium A. 20 which was to be built by Westland.

The order is for 130 aircraft plus two fuselage trainers and options for a further 15 aircraft. Deliveries will commence in late 1986 and production will run at 2. 5 a month. The UK Defence Minister, Michael Heseltine stated that Shorts won the contract as their bid was by far the lowest of the four. With the promise of an additional 1000 or so new job opportunities being created in Northern Ireland and a new era in trade with Brazil the Minister stated that it “was the obvious choice”. Not everyone was enthusiastic though with a number of Parliamentarians, primarily from BAe seats, stating that the RAF had purchased an aircraft that had not even flown yet. The damage to future arms sales to Switzerland was also noted considering that Switzerland is due to replace its large fleet of Hunters and Mirages during the late eighties and was eagerly eyeing and BAe Hawk for much of this task.

Our own AACA. 20 was hampered greatly by not actually being a flyable aircraft and while the RAF did eventually purchase an airframe/ engine combination that has yet to fly the RAF felt that the A. 20, despite its impressive performance rating, was still too far away from full-scale production to be a viable contender Local suggestions that the RAAF A. 10 was about to be slowed in development and even chopped from the budget did not assist either. We cover the present fate of the A. 10 in greater detail in Defence Update elsewhere in this edition.

 Air Crew Shortages Becoming a Problem for Many Air Forces:

The RNZAF has announced a plan to curtail the drain of highly qualified pilots and navigators to civil service. From midnight May 2nd, all RNZAF aircrew had to give two years notice when planning to leave the services. This action follows a doubling of resignations in the past year which has seen the RNZAF critically short of aircrew, particularly in the multi-engine C-130 and P-3 units. Aircrew training is now being stepped up but an air force spokesman commented, “With Air New Zealand hiring again and Newmans just having commenced operation we have seen several dozen airmen depart from what is an already tightly crewed force” New Zealand is not alone in the problem though. Belgium has recently introduced legislation that prevents aircrew from leaving the service without six years’ notice while Sweden has followed this policy for many years now. Bulk hiring by Sabena and SAS have in the past exacted considerable wrath from the services of both nations.

C-5A Galaxy Sets New Weight Lifting Records:

A USAF C-5A Galaxy has set a number of international records. The most awesome is a world record for the greatest payload lifted to 2000m”, a total of 111,464kg. During this flight the C-5 also was accorded a record for the “greatest recorded weight at which any aircraft has ever flown”-a stunning 417,691kg. This class record is not officially recognised by the FAI and is therefore noted for US standards only. Thirdly, a month later a C-5 recorded another record for being the heaviest aircraft ever landed at 397,699kgs!

New NATO Helicopter Launched:

France, Italy, West Germany and the Netherlands have all agreed to participate in the development of a new multi-role helicopter for the 1990s. Designated NH-90 (Nato Helicopter for the 1990s) it is conceived that a total of around 700 will be required, 500 of which will be for use in support of land forces. The NH-90 will be about a third smaller than the Westland/Agusta EH-101 and will be roughly the size of a Westland Sea King. Britain is still considering whether or not to join the programme and hopes, via Westland, to make a decision later this year.

The NH-90 will feature the absolute latest in advanced technology and will be paced to enter service around 1993. The helicopter is being designed to be compatible with frigate-sized warships for which it will be largely employed in the ASW and over-the-horizon targetting role. Australia has been offered a share in the project by Aerospatiale if the RAAF should buy the Super Puma helicopter as an Iroquois replacement.

US Navy Investigates Acquisition of Additional Sikorsky Seahawks:

Sikorsky has been awarded a $US51m development award by the US DoD to develop an aircraft carrier-borne version of the SH-60 Seahawk helicopter. The Aircraft in its new role will be used as an anti-submarine warfare vehicle for specific close-in protection of carrier battle groups. In this role the CV-Helo, as it has been designated, will be equipped with a dipping sonar system, ASW processing systems and two homing torpedoes. While the initial production order covers 76 aircraft the eventual USN requirement is for up to 175 CV-Helos which if exercised would take eventual Seahawk production past 600 units

ARL Develop Impressive Fatigue Life Monitor:

The Melbourne-based Aeronautical Research Laboratories has developed a fatigue monitoring device that could save helicopter operators large amounts of time and money. Designated FLUI (Fatigue Life Usage Indicator) the system is aircraft-mounted and weighs only a few kilograms. Principally the FLUI measures the fatigue life of the critical components of the gearbox, the single most cost-intensive support item on any helicopter. The system is presently being developed using both RAN Wessex and Sea King helos and when fully developed will provide the international helicopter community with an advanced monitoring system that is second to none.

 Kc-10 Longest Records Non-stop Flight:

A US Air Force/McDonnell Douglas KC-10 flew non-stop from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to March Air Force Base in 17. 8 hours- the longest KC-10 unrefueled flight to date. The 7,800 nautical mile flight passed over the Red Sea, Egypt, the Islands of Greece, France, Ireland, Eastern Canada and

of Minnesota before landing at March Air Base near Riverside, California.

Initially, the flight was scheduled to land at Barksdale Air Base, Louisiana, but it became apparent that because of favourable winds, the aircraft could continue to March Air Base and save a stop-over.

The previous KC-10 non-stop record was set on a flight from Auckland, New Zealand to Barksdale, 7,000 nautical miles in 17 hours. On that flight, the KC-10 also refuelled a C-141 cargo aircraft.

CFM56-2-Powered Kc-135R Surpasses Test Goals:

The final US Air Force operational test and evaluation report on the KC-135R tanker, powered by four CFM56-2 engines, indicates that the aircraft exceeded test goals for aerial refuelling capability, and fuel efficiency. and engine maintenance and reliability.

The report on the re-engined tanker states, ‘The offload capability of the KC-135R was excellent, bettering the goal of a 75,000-pound offload on a 3000 nautical mile (5555 km) radius mission. ‘ The actual KC-135R offload was 78,000 pounds compared with 37,000 pounds offload for the KC-135A prior to re-engining. Thus, the CFM56-2 engines provided the tanker with more than twice its previous fuel offload capability on this mission.

In addition, the report states: “The KC-135R exhibited an overall 27 per cent fuel savings compared with the KC-135A, exceeding the goal of 25 per cent. ‘ The CFM56-2 high bypass turbofans, rated at 22,000 pounds thrust, along with a new braking system, also decreased takeoff distance, critical field length, and stopping distance, which were “better than test plan goals. ‘ The re-engined aircraft entered operational service with the US Air Force Strategic Air Command in July with the delivery of the first production KC-135R.

The ‘most significant improvements” in the tanker’s operational suitability ‘were seen in engine logistics reliability, which was three times better than baseline KC-135A, and engine system maintainability, which was five times better than the baseline,’ the report states. In 2177 engine flight hours, there were no engine in-flight shutdowns or unplanned engine shop visits. The latest five-year US Air Force plan calls for the re-engining of 392 KC-135 tankers, and the French Air Force plans to re-engine its 11 C-135F aircraft.

Want to Buy a Mig?

An American trad- ing company, Customs Associates, have secured international export nights to sell Chinese-built MiG fighter aircraft in North America. The aircraft are used Chinese Air Force types with a MiG-15 being available for US$193,000, MIG-17 (J-5) US$198,000 and a MiG-21 (F-7) US$2. 6m. The company hopes to secure a small number of sales of two-place versions of these aircraft to wealthy enthusiasts.

 Iroquois Proposal Replacement Could Refurbishment Scuttle Helicopter Australia and Project:

Bell Helicopter Hawker de Havilland has proposed an upgrade programme on the existing RAAF UH- 1H Iroquois helicopters that will comfortably see them in service till early in the next century. The RAAF is presently studying the Super Puma, Black Hawk, Westland W30-400 and the V-22 Osprey (JVX) as potential Iroquois replacements but is coming under pressure from DoD due to the eroding value of the Australian dollar and the imminent spectre of significant budget cutbacks in the August budget.

The upgrade programme suggests an updating of the Lycoming T53 to -703 specifications which lift power from 1,400shp to 1,800shp, an upgrade of the gearbox to cope with the extra power, modified tail rotor and boom assembly and the possibility of a four-blade rotor system straight from the Bell 412. The latter though is not entirely necessary as the AH-1S Cobra gunship uses the two-blade T53-703 combination satisfactorily.

Bell pointed out that most of the project dollars would be spent in Australia while the total programme cost would only be a fraction of what a new helicopter would end up costing the RAAF. Additionally, the upgrade of both the engine and gearbox could be undertaken while the units are undergoing their scheduled major overhauls thereby further reducing cost.

Hawker de Havilland undertook a similar proposal to upgrade the RANS Wessex helos back in 1982 at the invitation of Defence. This proposal was based on using twin Gnomes in place of the standard Gazelle with a consequent increase in power of more than 75%. While DoD at the time decided to retain the helos in the standard form this decision was based on a replacement aircraft being in inventory before 1990. With the project slipping this does not now seem likely and a rethink on a Wessex upgrade could also be in the pipeline.

USAF Buying Spree Raises Second-Hand Value of Boeing 707s:

A year ago you could purchase a Boeing 707 for as little as $250,000; today that figure is closer to a million dollars. Reason for the rise in the value of what will soon be a totally obsolete airlifter in the commercial world is the USAF’s requirement for a large number of Pratt & Whitney JT3 turbolans to re-engine their existing fleet of KC-135 tankers. USAF are also embarking on their CFM56 re-engining programme while aircraft not tagged for the CFMengine are to receive the old but relatively efficient JT3 from existing 707 airframes. Congress has already approved funds to acquire 32 707s through 1984/85 while several dozen such modified aircraft are already in operation in the Air National Guard. Benefits to be had by discarding the standard J57 turbojet in place of the JT3 turbofan include: take-off thrust increased from 13,750 lb to 18,000 lb, 12% less fuel consumption, 90% reduction in smoke, 60% noise reduction and up to a 400% improvement in reliability. As most KC-135 tanker airframes have not even passed 7000 hrs re-engining the type will see the Boeing tanker remaining in service well into the next century.

Defence Bureaucrats Lobbying for Sale of F-111 Strike Aircraft:

A rear guard battle is raging between the Air Force and senior Defence bureaucrats regarding the suggested sale of Australia’s F-111 strike force. The bureaucrats point out that the 24 F-111s consume a budget roughly equal to what the eventual 75 F-18A Hornets will when that force is fully operational.

Air Force for its part is vigorously contesting the claims stating that the F-111 represents à unique tactical asset that is irreplaceable even by USAF standards. The RAAF point out that there is very little cross capability between the two types and while an F-18 can carry four 1,000lb bombs a radius of 600nm the F-111 can carry the same payload three times the radius of action. The 111s deep strike capability gives Australia a deterrent, particularly in the maritime strike role, that is unequalled in this part of the world”, stated a senior RAAF spokesman.

Kim Beazley’s office confirmed that the Minister had not had any formal submission on the matter from Defence and would not evaluate any such proposal till Mr Paul Dibb had filed his external report into the Defence forces later this year.

Winning Impresses During Recent Tour:

The Australian-designed and developed Winnin hovering rocket has met with acclaim following a recent tour of five European and two Asian countries. The sales team involved in marketing Winnin, headed by Melbourne-based aerospace and engineering company Trippett Allan and Associates, will also be visiting North America en route to the Paris Air Show where the system will be displayed Developed over the past five years by the combined resources of the DSTO and GAF, the system employs a unique hovering rocket that can simulate the radar signature of a surface combatant from the size of a small corvette to an aircraft carrier. The rocket is launched as soon as an anti-ship sea-skimming missile threat is detected, the rocket then takes a position clear of the vessel while luring away the oncoming missile. Test have shown that the ‘seduction ratio is in the order of nine to one which makes it as effective as either radar-slaved rapid-firing guns such as Phalanx (already equipping the RAN FFGs) and Goalkeeper. Winning is considerably more cost-effective and space productive than close-in defence missiles such as Sea Wolf and comes complete in a fully self-contained multi-launch container that can function fully autonomously from existing ship support systems.

With growing interest being shown in the system by the US Navy and the possibility of a number of large sales being made in the coming years Winning looks like one of the best possibilities our aerospace export industry has in the years to come. Our September issue Defence Update will carry a full report on how Winnin fared at the Paris Air Show.

Confusing Mustangs:

There seems to be an element of confusion surrounding the origin of the RAAFs P-51 Mustang aircraft following our Target Pyongyang article in the March edition. To clarify the situation we supply the following information.

Of the Mustangs used by 77 Sqnin Korea the majority were American-built P-51D. Out of the 200 Australian-built Mustangs only 6 saw active service and this was in Korea with 77 Sqn. Australia received the following American-built aircraft:

Quantity: 1 P-51D A68-1001 Pattern for Australian production 214 P-51D A68-600 to 813 84 P-51K A68-500 to 583 Total: 299 Australia built the following at CAC: 80 CA-17 MkXX A68-1 to built from US components 40 CA-18 MKXXI A68-81 to 120 all CA-18s entirely Australian built, (14 later converted to MkXXII) 14 CA-18 MKXXII A68-81 to 94 converted to MkXXIs 14 CA-18 MKXXII A68-187 to 200 66 CA-18 MkXXIII A68-121 to 186 Total: 200 F/Lt Gordon Harvey was shot down on January 19, 1951 while flying Mustang A68- 772.

 Long Range Hornets:

May 17 was a big day at RAAF Williamtown as it was the day its first two official MDC F-18A Hornets arrived from the USA. Additionally, in an impressive demonstration of the fighters deployment abilities, the two aircraft flew direct non-stop from NAS Lemoore in Southern California to Williamtown to set a new world record for fighter aircraft endurance. Elapsed time was just over 15hrs and the journey covered 6,700 nautical miles. While following a similar track to that of PanAm and Qantas commercial 747SPs the Hornets vectored from time to time to be closer to alternate landing sites in case a systems failure occurred en route. During the mission, the Hornets were accompanied by a USAF KC-10 Extender which provided thirteen in-flight refuellings.

First F-18s Go to Sea:

The first operational USN F-18 squadrons are now at sea aboard the USS Constellation. The famous ‘Connie’ has only recently undergone an extensive refit and the replacement of maintenance-intensive F-4 Phantoms and Vought A-7 Corsair with new Hornets will streamline the ship’s support and operational services. Phantoms typically require more than 60 maintenance man-hours per flying hour compared with less than 20 for the F-18. The Connie is now in Indian Ocean waters and along with the other members of its Carrier Battle Group will visit Perth in June this year.

Northrop Bite the Bullet With Interesting Offer to USAF on the Tigershark:

Five years after it was launched, the Northrop F-20 Tigershark FX fighter has yet to find a buyer. Despite an excellent standard of performance the aircraft really needs to be purchased by a US service before any foreign power will contemplate the aircraft in the large numbers required to get the programme started.

Northrop have recently made a bold offer to the USAF to get this Catch 22 situation remedied. In short, Northrop have agreed to deliver 396 aircraft at a fixed flyaway price of $US15m each (1986 dollars) and to provide all follow-on material and spares support at a fixed price of $US475 per flying hour during the 20-year anticipated USAF life of the aircraft. The USAF are presently faced with the intended purchase of 792 General Dynamics F-16C aircraft and Northrop claim that by replacing 396 of these F-16Cs with the F-20 USAF would save many billions over the next twenty years.

 Austria Selects the Saab Draken as Its Future Fighter Aircraft:

In one of the longest-running and lowest-budget acquisition programmes in the history of military aviation, Austria has finally decided on which aircraft type will defend its airspace in the decade ahead. Austria will now buy 24 ex-Swedish Air Force Saab Drakens. Rival contenders were ex-Saudi Air Force Lightnings offered by BAe, Mirage Ills by Dassault and F-5E Tiger Ils by Northrop. The Draken was a surprise winner as the type first entered service in Sweden more than a quarter century ago and has since been largely replaced by the Viggen. Additionally, the Draken is renowned as a difficult and expensive aircraft to maintain. One Austrian military source suggested that while there are no immediate plans to do so, the Drakens would probably be used as stop gap aircraft pending the availability of Saab JAS Gripens in the 1990s. The source lightly added that going on recent history Austria better begin bargaining for its Gripens now if they are to enter service before the next century!

French Boost Pacific Forces:

France has decided to boost its military strength in New Caledonia following civil unrest on the island in recent months. A number of Jaguar fighter bombers and Transall tactical transport aircraft have arrived in Noumea to bolster the previously small force which was primarily built around a number of helicopters. The French government is also to build a 3000m runway at Noumea and increase local support facilities to provide back-up for its increased air and naval forces

Canadian Air Force Order Canadair Challengers:

In its second large military sale in less than a half year, Canadair has announced the sale of up to 12 Challenger 600/601 aircraft to the Canadian Armed Forces. Final decision on whether to opt for the GE-powered 601 or the Avco Lycoming-powered 600 has yet to be decided. Four of the aircraft will replace Dassault Falcon 20s and Lockheed CC-140 Jetstars in the VIP and liaison role while at least seven more will be used as electronic support training aircraft During 1984 Canadair announced a sale of seven 601s to the Luftwaffe and delivered two 600s to the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

Israel and West Germany to Proceed With F-4 Phantom Update:

Both the air arms of West Germany and Israel have decided to undertake fairly extensive upgrades of their venerable McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom force. The Luftwaffe will retain the original General Electric J79 turbojets but will modify them for smokeless operation. The additional modification will include zero-timing and strengthening the airframe, replacing the analog Westinghouse radar with that of the advanced Hughes APG- 65 (ex-F-18A), a new new attack system, upgraded avionics and a HUD The Luftwaffe will modify at least 120 of its F-4 force so that they will serve in a front line capacity through to the year 2000.

Israel on the other hand is opting for a fairly extensive refurbishment programme by comparison with the Luftwaffe. The IAF wil replace the J79s with Pratt & Whitney PW1120s, fit an entirely new radar, nav/attack and mission data computer, HUD, external fuel pallets and canards. The PW1120 will provide an increase in thrust of 6,000lb while weighing nearly a ton less per engine. The PW1120 will also be used in the new IAI Lavi strike fighter, an aircraft which itself was originally designed to eventually replace the Israeli Phantom, Skyhawk and Kfir fleets.

Japan has already embarked upon a less dramatic course of upgrading its F-4Js while the USAF is also examining modifying more than 1,000 F-4s to keep them operational right into the late nineties.

Raaf Move to Plug the Fleet Support Gap:

Following the demise of the RAN Fleet Air Arm fighter wing in 1983 the RAAF has been left with the problem of now providing the full range of fleet support duties that is rapidly becoming a major operational problem within the existing Mirage force. Australian Aviation highlighted this emerging problem on p. 159 of our March 1985 edition when we detailed the extent of flying time that the RAAF now had to allocate for purely RAN activities.

The problem becomes more critical as the F-18A Hornets begin to enter the system with their own demands for crewing and maintenance crossover tasks that will render it more difficult to provide the additional Mirage flying hours that Navy rightly demand. Presently one-third of 77Sqn flying hours are budgeted for Fleet Support. The solution is for the RAAF to employ an outside source for the high-end of Fleet Support role. This would take the form of jet aircraft of similar performance to the A-4 Skyhawks that the RAN once flew but would be operated by a civilian crew largely made up of ex-military pilots familiar with the Navy requirements. Pacific Aviation currently fly around 1800hrs per annum in the Navy and Air Force low end of the requirement though Pacific’s Lears cannot obviously cater for the demanding high-end tasks.

Defence has issued an Expression of Interest from potential operators both here and abroad and Australian Aviation believes that at least two companies are well situated to respond.

Australian C-130 Squadron Logs 200,000 Flying Hours:

RAAF’s No. 36 transport squadron which carries out the services tactical airlift mission has logged 200,000 flying hours in its C-130 Hercules aircraft during the past 26 years.

As the first nation outside the United States to put the Lockheed C-130 into service in 1958, the RAAF’s No. 36 Squadron flew C-130A aircraft for 20 years and 147,000 accident-free flying hours The unit converted to C-130Hs in 1978 and has since logged additional 53,000 flight hours.

The RAAF’s No. 37 Squadron, flying the strategic airlift role with its C-130E aircraft, also has posted an outstanding record, having logged more than 150,000 safe fight hours in flying the C-130E over the past 19 years.