Newsdesk – Military Aviation

Us Navy to Lease Second Kfir Squadron:

The US Navy is so pleased with the performance of its IAI Kfir fighter aircraft that it is planning to lease a second squadron of the type. The USN uses the Klir in the Aggressor air combat manoeuvring role in addition to Northrop F-5E aircraft. The USN commenced leased Klir operations early in 1985 at the Marine Corps Air Station at Umah, Arizona while a second such unit will be deployed to the USN Naval Air Station Oceana on the Virginian coast. In US service the Kiris designated as the F-21 and each aircraft flies around 400hrs per annum or about 50% more than other US fighter aircraft.

New Career Opportunities for Women in the Defence Force:

Career opportunities for women in the Defence Force have been significantly widened following an extensive review of positions open to them. In excess of 16,000 positions within the Defence Force were now open to women on the basis of merit in competition with men.

The Royal Australian Air Force has identified some aircrew positions (eg pilot, navigator, loadmaster) which will be available to women in open competition once the RAAF has filled sufficient male aircrew positions to meet all its combat and combat-related duties. In August last year, the Government announced that more positions would be open to women, consistent with maintaining the combat preparedness of the Defence Force.

Defence Minister Kim Beazley added that women would, however, not be able to be employed in combat or combat-related duties. The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and regulations made under that Act provide an exemption in respect of the employment, engagement or appointment of women in the Defence Force in positions involving combat or combat-related duties.

“While it may be some time before women move into some of the jobs now open to them I am confident that many will quickly grasp this opportunity to move into challenging areas of employment previously not available to them”, Mr Beazley said. On November 30, 1985, the female strengths of the individual Services were Navy 1094, Army 2010 and Air Force 2016,

Soviet Union Forging Ahead With Aircraft Carrier Construction Programme:

The USSR has commenced laying the keel of their second large aircraft carrier following the recent launch of the first of a fleet of such vessels. Constructed at the Nikolayev shipyard on the Black Sea, the 65,000 ton carrier is about three-quarters the tonnage of rival US carriers while still having a 1,000ft long deck. The lead ship also features a ski jump from the bow in addition to steam catapults situated on the angled deck.

Propulsion is believed to be from a combined nuclear/steam unit similar to that employed aboard the battlecruisers Frunze and Kirov. Aircraft expected to ultimately gain operational status aboard the new super carriers will be modified versions of the MiG-27 and MiG-29 Fulcrum, in the strike and air defence role respectively and the Su-27 Flanker and Su-25 Frogloot. Due to the presence of a ski jump the Soviet Union could be developing an advanced version of the Yakovlev Forger that would also be suitable for deployment aboard their existing Kiev class helicopter cruisers. It is expected that the lead ship will conduct sea trials later this decade and enter service by 1992 with the second ship being operational by 1996.

 Pilots Lucky in Hornet Near Miss:

The afternoon of February 6th saw an endorsement of the structural integrity of the RAAF’s F-18 Hornet fighters. Two such aircraft, practising air combat maneuvring. clipped wingtips in a head on pass at an estimated 700kts. One aircraft lost its inert AIM-9L Sidewinder plus a section of outer wingtip while the other aircraft suffered a large gouge also in its outer wing. Both aircraft were still controllable despite the substantial extent of the impact and their pilots elected to return to Williamtown where they landed without incident. Fortunately, being a naval designed aircraft, the Hornet has a folding wing which will simply repair of the two aircraft as damage was confined to the outboard section of wing. It is expected that there will be minimal long term disruption to the training programme being undertaken at 2 OCU as a result of the temporary loss of two aircraft.

One week earlier the RAAF was not so lucky though when an F-111C was lost during night- time maritime exercises off the coast near Jervis Bay. It is believed that the aircraft, which was simulating a Harpoon missile attack for an FFG Frigate, impacted the water at high speed. The crew did not eject and little wreckage has been recovered. This is the fifth F-111 loss and leaves the RAAF with 23 operational aircraft.

Balanced Budget Law to Affect Us Defence Spending:

The passing of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Bill, which is designed to ensure a balanced US Budget by 1991, looks set to cut $US13. 3bn from the present year defence funding. The US runs an October-September fiscal year for the Pentagon and the cuts to next year’s budget are estimated to exceed $US40bn from a total allocation presently envisaged at around $US300bn.

Of the present cuts, some SUS6,6bn will be from projects scheduled but not yet delivered. This may see the axing of some projects including the USAF T-46 trainer. Primarily though it is felt it will result in a slowdown of some programmes which ironically will in the long- term increase their per unit cost. An additional SUS3. 9bn is being sliced direct from operations and maintenance which will result in reduced flight hours, etc. Another SUS1. 8bn comes out of the R&D budget though it is not known at this stage what effect this will have on the various stealth technology programmes. Other cuts include SUS457m from military construction, $US234m for military personnel and an overall lessening of the acquisition of spare parts.

The 1986 cuts though are largely superficial to what is expected in the years ahead and about the only programmes that won’t suffer will be those on multiyear fixed contracts.

Us to Update F-4 Phantom:

The US Air Force and Air National Guard is planning to improve up to 740 F-4 aircraft to ensure their viability well into the nineteen nineties. The upgrade will be small in comparison to that envisaged by the Luftwaffe, Japan and Israel and centres around the installation of a new nav attack system designed to greatly enhance the aircraft’s tactical capability.

Lear Siegler, Boeing and Litton are bidding for the contract which will feature new controls and displays, a mission computer, a laser gyro INS and a blind bombing capability. Aircraft to be modded include RF-4Cs, F-4Ds and F-4Es, some 80 aircraft from the Luftwaffe will also receive the same equipment fit to complement their new Hughes APG-65 radars.

 Will Britain Abandon the Aew Nimrod?

As we closed for press it seemed likely that the new UK Defence Minister, George Younger, was about to concede to RAF requests to abandon the development of the BAe Nimrod AEW in favour of buying a US aircraft.

Development costs for the AEW Nimrod. which was to have originally achieved operational status in 1984, have soared while according to the RAF, the aircraft cannot per-form many of its assigned goals. The RAF would prefer to switch to a competing US design, preferably the Boeing E-3A Sentry AWACS which is presently in operation with regional NATO and USAF units.

Competing against the E-3 would be the Grumman E-2C Hawkeye and the Lockheed P-3AEW&C which is only presently flying as an aerodynamic test vehicle. It is expected that the Alan Bond-owned, British-based, Airship Industries would also offer their surveillance airship and as RAF airborne early warning requirements are largely applicable to its own EEZ, this is seen as a factor in the airship’s favour.

Missing Fighters:

Our apologies to readers for the non-appearance in this edition of Pill of our Fighter Engine Competition in WWII article. Part I, on the UK Rolls Royce engines, featured in our January issue and Part II, on the German engines was to run in this edition. Unfortunately, technical difficulties have forced us to hold it over to the May edition.

Us Coast Guard Could Possibly Represent the Last Chance for Selling Surplus Nomads:

The US Coast Guard is evaluating a GAF Nomad N22 Searchmaster as a prelude to the possible purchase of up to 20 similar aircraft. The GAF presently has 22 unsold Nomads in storage at Oatlands. At the time of cancellation, GAF increased the sale price of the Nomad despite the fact that aircraft no longer in production usually suffer immediate declines in their relative value. The result of the price increase quoted to Australian Aviation is in the region of 30%, plus the abandonment of the programme resulted in aircraft already committed for production being virtually unsaleable.

The USCG requirement though is for an aircraft that perfectly fits the characteristics of the Searchmaster, a Nomad variant that has performed well in its role of littoral maritime surveillance. The USCG require an aircraft which is able to fly slow between the Florida shoreline and the myriad of offshore islands and cays where high speed powerboats are used to smuggle drugs into the US mainland. GAF report that the Nomad under test has performed well and with the strength of the US dollar a bulk Nomad purchase stands a good chance of occurring in the coming months.

 MDC Gets C-17A Development Go-Ahead:

The USAF has announced award of a $US3. 387 billion fixed-price, incentive-firm, full-scale development (FSD) contract to Douglas Aircraft Company, a division of McDonnell Douglas Corporation, for continuing development of the C-17A.

The C-17A is being designed to augment the USAF transport force by moving large army combat equipment to almost any location world wide and landing at small (1,000 metres) austere airstrips. With this capability, the army can obtain needed equipment in a short time span and also have it delivered near the potential trouble spot.

Douglas Aircraft Company of Long Beach, California, has been working on the C-17A concept since being awarded a modestly- paced, low-level development program contract in 1982. Full-scale development is scheduled to continue until July 1992 with a total estimated cost of $US3. 387 billion, which includes design, development, fabrication and testing of the C-17A airlift transportation system.

Included in the development program is the construction of one flight test aircraft and two articles for static and durability structural testing in ground laboratories at the Douglas Long Beach facility. Air Force plans call for production of up to 210 of the new generation airlifter to complement the existing C-141B and C-5A/ B fleet.

The C-17A will be a high-wing, four-engine, wide-body transport which can be operated by two pilots and one loadmaster. It will be powered by Pratt & Whitney PW2037 turbofan engines which are certified for commercial jet transport operation aboard the Boeing 757.

The new transport will be 53. 4 metres long. have a wing-span of 50. 3 metres and measure 16. 8 metres tall at the tail. The C-17 cargo section will allow for 591 cubic metres of cargo volume, or enough room to carry trucks, helicopters and other large army equipment, such as the Abrams M-1 tank, as far as 2,400 nautical miles.

 Collins Wins-70 Seahawk Avionics Contract:

Collins Avionics has been awarded a contract valued at approximately $53 million for an advanced integrated avionics system for the Royal Australian Navy’s Role Adaptable Weapons System (RAN/RAWS) helicopter.

The contract was awarded by Sikorsky for eight shipsets of an integrated avionics system specially designed for the RANRAWS- Sikorsky S-70B-2 Seahawk helicopter. The aircraft missions include antisubmarine warfare (ASW), antisurface surveillance and targeting (ASST) and utility missions.

Collins Avionics in the integrated system include: cockpit controls and displays, navigation receivers, communications transceivers, an airborne target hand-off data link system and the new Collins Tactical Data System (TDS).

Deliveries of the RANRAWS integrated avionics systems to Sikorsky are scheduled to begin late in 1986.