Newsdesk- Military Aviation

CAC, formed in 1936 and based at Melbourne’s Fishermans Bend alongside the Government Aircraft Factories, has about two-thirds of its total production destined for the Government while export contracts satisfy a further quarter of the company’s revenue base. In recent years CAC has primarily been involved in engine overhaul and has a lead role in the assembly and production of critical components on the RAAFS General Electric F404 turbofans for the F-18 Hornet. Other significant engine manufacturing work includes export of commercial engine components for GE, Rolls Royce and Rohr in addition to helicopter gear-box transmissions for Sikorsky.

Both companies plan to keep their individual identities for the time being till a fuller picture is drawn between the two firms. A spokesman hoped that a new corporate plan embracing the full potential of both companies would be released shortly for implementation during 1986.

Raaf Display Sabre Returns:

It is hoped that by the time you read these words the RAAF’s Memorial Flight CA-27 Sabre is again back in the air. Abruptly grounded follow- ing a forced landing at Bendigo in November last year the Sabre had been a favourite attraction at air shows across Australia for a number of seasons.

A change of policy following the departure of CAS, Air Marshall David Evans in May has now allowed the fully rebuilt Sabre to hopefully re-turn to the air display circuit though on a considerably reduced level than previously. The Sabre now will be operated in support of high-value air shows in capital cities only rather than the wide-ranging circuit that it previously frequented. All going well, the Sabre will have performed at the Williamtown Open Day held on August 25 and will be a star performer at the big Schofields Air Show scheduled for November 7 through 10. Squadron Leader Gerry Keogh will again by the official Sabre display pilot.

 French Tracker Sale Falls Through:

The proposal to sell the 18 remaining ex-RAN Fleet Air Arm Grumman S-2 Tracker aircraft to a French operator for use as fire bombers has fallen through. The reason for the sale cancellation was that on closer inspection the French company concerned found the modification cost of the aircraft too high to be a viable concern. Ford and Vlahos, the Canberra-based agents for their sale have meanwhile put a lengthy proposal to Government for the sale of the entire 18 aircraft to an as yet unnamed operator. The proposition concerns 15 fully air-worthy aircraft and three that would be better suited to cannibalisation.

Ansett 737s for Raaf Flight?

Ansett have offered the government a lease on one or two Boeing 737-200 aircraft that it will have a surplus from the middle of next year. If the offer is accepted the 7378 would replace No34 Squadron’s two BAC 111 aircraft which are used entirely for VIP transportation duties. The 737s would be more economical to operate, have better field performance in hot and high conditions, be significantly faster and have a longer range than the existing 111s, claimed an industry spokesman. The RAAF is also examining the option of retaining the 111s and reengining them with Rolls Royce Tay turbofans. The Tays would re-place the Spey turbojets and would burn at least 15% less fuel per flight hour in addition to fully meeting ICAO Stage 3 noise requirements. They would additionally boost the range of the 111s by as much as 25% while offering a considerable increase in field performance and reliability. As the two RAAF 111s have barely 10,000 hours on their airframes this could be un- undertaken for a cost of around $5m per aircraft. A number of avionics updates would also be undertaken which would see the addition of an INS and colour weather radar.

Both proposals are under investigation and a decision on which option to take will be made in the coming year.

 Bond Airship in the Running for Lucrative Us Navy Contract:

Bond Corporation-controlled Airship Industries has teamed with US electronics giant Westinghouse to submit a proposal for the US Navy’s AEW/ESM airship programme. The US Navy will ultimately invest $US4bn into the programme which will provide it with a number of very large airships designed to provide comprehensive Airborne Early Warning and Electronic Support Measures capability in support of a naval task force. The projected design would be around ten times that of the present Series 500 Airship and could provide the impetus for a future generation of very large commercial designs. Boeing have meanwhile teamed with Goodyear as primary competitor for the contract.

Non-afterburning Version of GE F404 to Be Developed:

A non-afterburning version of the General Electric F404 turbofan is to be developed for the Grum- man A-6F Intruder. The A-6F is a vastly upgraded version of the basic A-6E Intruder which will see a new radar, new attack system and powerplant retrofitted to existing aircraft. Dev- eloping around 11,000lb thrust, the dry version of the F404 is designated F404-GE-400D and is scheduled for flight testing during 1987. Eventually, GE officials see a market for this engine as a potential power source for re-engined aircraft such as the A-4 Skyhawk, a project that Singaporeans are already undertaking. The USN will also benefit from commonality with the standard wet version of the engine which also powers F-18A aircraft.

 Black Hawk Helos Fly Again:

The US Army has reinstated operational flight conditions to its fleet of 600 Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawk assault helicopters. The helos were grounded for more than a month while the cause for a large number of fatal accidents (refer p. 8 June issue) was thoroughly investigated. While not every accident investigation has turned up a specific cause several of the most recent accidents were traced to either defective or ill-maintained parts. The RAAF helicopter evaluation team visited Sikorsky at the height of the grounding and had to return to the US from Europe at a later date to fly the aircraft which is presently short-listed for the eventual RAAF Iroquois replacement project.

 New Zealand Boosts Defence Spending:

The New Zealand government boosted its defence spending by 18. 8% in the annual budget handed down in Wellington in June. This represents a considerable increase in real terms in a country where inflation is running at 12% per annum. Air Force saw a budget increase of 20%, Army by 31% and Navy by 6%. Major projects in hand were the refurbishment of the A-4 Skyhawk fleet, the acquisition of a sixth P-3B Orion and a tanker for the navy. The total New Zealand Defence Force comprises 16,062 people while a total ban on resignations by certain pilot categories has been introduced in order to maintain a viable aircrew complement amongst the Orion and transport squadrons.

 Transatlantic Helicopters:

The Hughes AH-64 Apache has been officially declared capable of self-deploying from the continental USA to Europe in the event of a NATO emergency. The Apache recently demonstrated a ferry range of just over 1400nm carrying four external 230gl tanks. A range profile of this calibre would easily see the aircraft transiting the Atlantic via the northern route. Journey time would be two to three days depending upon weather while journey end maintenance would be minimal as basically the helicopter would have been in the cruise configuration for most of the journey. The ability of aircraft such as the Apache to self-deploy would greatly free much-needed airlift capability for more important tasks in the trans-oceanic resupply mission.

Singapore to Re-Engine Sky- Hawks:

Singapore Aircraft Industries in conjunction with Grumman are to re-engine a Singapore Air Force A-4 Skyhawk with the non-afterburning version of the General Electric F404 engine. The 11,000lb thrust GE engine will replace the heavier, more maintenance-intensive and thirstier Pratt & Whitney J65 of 8,400lb thrust.

If re-engining proves successful then the remainder of the SAF Skyhawks will also be up-graded. As the new aircraft would burn around 25% less fuel per hour it would also have a handy increase in tactical radius capability. SAF also claim that maintenance man-hours per flight hour would be reduced by at least half while avionics and airframe upgrades per- formed simultaneously would provide almost a new aircraft in conceptual terms.

 General Motors Buys Hughes Aircraft:

US Automobile giant, General Motors, has purchased Hughes Aircraft. GM paid $2. 7bn in cash and raised the difference with a special share offer to bring its commitment to the Californian electronics manufacturer to around five billion dollars. Though GM will appoint key board members to Hughes it will not move to alter the organisational structure of the successful electronics company that was originally founded by the late Howard Hughes. Hughes builds the APG-65 radar for the F-18 in addition to our Aussat satellites.

 Usaf Prepare for Close Air Support Requirements:

The USAF is preparing a Request For Proposals for its 1990s close air support mission. This is presently undertaken largely by Tactical Air Command F-4, F-16 and A-10 aircraft though in a European conflict the F-16s would be largely pre-occupied with the air-to-air role while the A-10s would be totally immersed with their anti- armour role at the Forward Edge of the Battle Area. USAF also consider the F-4 Phantom by that stage to be getting too old for the high sor- tie rate required by such a conflict To thus provide such an aircraft USAF have issued a new RFP for a specific CAS mission aircraft optimised to hit the second echelon supply zones of a battlefield. Responding to the RFP is General Dynamics with a version of their F-16, possibly the cranked arrow winged F-16F, McDonnell Douglas with a slightly modified version of the AV-8B, Northrop with the F- 20 Tigershark and Vought with a refurbished A-7. The Vought proposal is interesting in that it guarantees flyaway aircraft for only $US4. 9m each. Vought would refurbish 460 existing USN and USAF A-7Ds and A-7Ks using the Pratt & Whitney F100-200 turbofan, new avionics, a leading-edge wing extension and a strengthened wing. The aircraft would be supersonic and would have a far more productive payload range than the existing A-7D. Around 400 aircraft are required with the USAF hoping to have the first wing operational by 1990.

Updated Chinooks:

The US Army is to update a further 240 of its early-build Boeing Vertol CH-47A Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to CH-47D specifications. The latest US$1. 20 contract will double the number of Chinook aircraft to have the retrofit which includes new blades, more powerful engines, an avionics upgrade and general airframe re-manufacturing for a 20 year operating life. Fuel efficiency is also improved in addition to reliability and uplift capability in hot and high conditions. The RAAF has on offer the upgrade for its own CH-47C fleet but has no immediate plans to modify the type at present.