Newsdesk – Military Aviation

Westland Purchase Could Be Good News For Australia:

The recent purchase of UK helicopter manufacturer Westland by Sikorsky could have good industrial implications for Australia. Up till now Aerospatiale have placed in the region of 350,000 manhours of work annually with Westland as part of a workload sharing agreement the two European companies have had for a number of years. With Sikorsky now effectively controlling Westland, Aerospatiale Chairman and Chief Executive, Mr Henri Matre, recently stated that if the Super Puma is selected by the RAAF as a UH-1H Iroquois replacement then much of this work could find its way to Australia.

According to the Defence Industry newsletter, the offer also involves the setting up of a local blade manufacturing facility at GAF which would include the supply of up to $7m worth of specialist equipment free of charge. Australia would not only then be able to repair a large variety of modern carbon fibre blades but would become a supplier to the Aerospatiale primary helo line in France.

The French would also like to team with Australian industry in the design, development and manufacture of a new helicopter in the two-tonne class. This would essentially be a replacement for the Squirrel and possibly Dauphin lines in addition to being an adjunct to the long-established heavy-lift Lama. Aerospatiale estimates the international market for this class of helicopter to the year 2000 at more than 13,000 units and with Aerospatiale being the largest exporter of helicopters in the world it is conservatively estimated that such a type would sell upwards of 4000 units over the period.

Aerospatiale have been impressed by the large-scale capability that currently exists in the composite technologies autoclave section at GAF and could well use these resources to offset those lost by a withdrawal of co-production with Westlands.

The RAAF helicopter decision was still in the melting pot as we closed for press though it was expected that a firm decision would be made before the end of May. Both Sikorsky and Aerospatiale have made excellent All proposals though many within Air Force feel that Sikorsky has the lead due to the Navy’s Seahawk programme, which has only recently been extended to sixteen aircraft from the original eight.

Kangaroo 86 To Develop Counter Insurgency Capabilities:

Traditionally Australia’s largest annual multi-force military exercise, the Kangaroo series this year will be a relatively low-key affair modelled to some extent on K83 in which a small number of specialist saboteurs and commandos had to be dislodged from remote sections of Australia.

While K83 concentrated on the vulnerable and sparsely settled North West region, this year’s exercise will be held principally in the Shoalwater Bay area of Queensland. Primary objective of K86 will be to test the reinforcement and resupply capability of the ADF in responding to the lodgement of several hundred hundred commandos while putting into practice some of the lessons learnt during K83 when a variety of technical and legal problems occur- red due to the complexity of Commonwealth-State laws and the relative powers of local police confronted with the military in civilian areas of control at emergency levels.

For the first time in many years large numbers of visiting servicemen and their assorted hardware will not be involved though the overall design of K86, which will last almost three months, is such that it probably represents the most realistic scenario for involvement of the ADF in action on the Australian mainland in the years ahead.

Sikorsky Wins Battle For West-land:

The combination of Sikorsky and Fiat have succeeded in securing control of ailing British helicopter manufacturer Westland. The $A163m bid was ultimately supported by 67% of the shareholders and beats a similar bid by a European consortium of aerospace firms headed by Aerospatiale.

Despite their being in hard competition against each other, both companies enjoy a solid working relationship as Westland has over the past three decades licence-built more than 1000 Sikorsky helicopters. This has also enabled Sikorsky to increase its design presence in many parts of the world where the US-built product might be considered inappropriate. Sikorsky sees their recent West- land acquisition as being tantamount to securing the British RAF AST404 order for a Puma and Wessex replacement in addition to strengthening their hand in the future Agusta/Westland EH-101 programme. Sikorsky also admits that the R&D centre at Westland’s Yeovil facility is very strong and possesses levels of blade technology, etc that the US manufacturer would like to have.

Sikorsky foresees a potential market for up to 2000 export Black Hawk helicopters, many of them fitted with the new RTM322 turboshaft engine being developed jointly by Rolls Royce and Turbomeca, and that many of these could ultimately be built at Yeovil. Development of the Westland Lynx will continue though as we went to press the future of the WG30 is unclear.

 Inflight Refuelling Now Available For Mirage Fighters:

Dassault have now completed the development of an inflight refuelling kit that is retrofittable for the Mirage III, 5 and 50 family of fighters. The kit features a refuelling probe not unlike that found on the F. 1 while other mods augment the gravity fuel feed system with a new high-pressure unit. The modification is relatively simple and can be carried out by the engineering section of any user air force.

Primary benefit of the inflight refuelling option is not only extended range but also flexibility in now being able to uplift heavy weapon loads out of marginal strips using a quick tank-up at the top of the climb. Dassault claims that this will now enable the Mirage to operate tactical missions not previously considered viable for them.

Some 19 nations fly almost 1,400 Mirages and many have indicated a preference for updating their aircrit rather than replacing them. Switzerland I already put into operation a canard version and it is expected that many nations will select the option of inflight refuelling in the years ahead.

Hornets For Blue Angels:

The McDonnell Douglas F-18 Homet has been selected by the US Navy as the official aircraft of the Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron for the 1987 show season.

Eleven specially modified F-18s will replace the squadron’s current aircraft – A-4 Skyhawks the conclusion of the 1986 season. The changeover to mats will mark the 17th consecutive year in rh the Navy has flown McDonnell Douglas built aeroplanes in the Blue Angels squadron. Phantoms were used from 1969 through to 1973, while Skyhawks have been flown since 1974.

The Blue Angel F-18s will have a special smoke-generating system and a new seat harness to help pilots handle the weightlessness caused by some manoeuvres. In 1985, the Blue Angels logged more than 200,000km while performing before millions of people at 71 airshows across the United States.

More than 390 Hornets have now been delivered to the US Navy and Marine Corps, Canadian Forces, RAAF and Spanish Air Force.

This Cat Most Definitely Had Nine Lives:

Readers will be happy to learn that the unfortunate pilot depicted on p. 52 of our March edition ejecting from his Lightning fighter did in fact survive.

A large number of readers brought this to our attention as our caption mentioned that we did not know of the pilot’s fate. The event occurred on the 9th of October, 1962 at Hatfield Airport. Hertfordshire. Test pilot, George Aird, elected to eject following control problems with the Lightning but was unable to punch out till the aircraft was in a nose-down situation and at a mere 300ft. His ejection was successful despite breaking two legs, and considering that the state-of-the-art technology in those days did not provide for zero-zero ejection seats, it was a pretty good achievement! We hope he brought a lottery ticket just in case he did have some luck left over.

Laverton Alive And Well:

Group Capt J G Gazley, Officer Commanding, RAAF Base Laverton wishes to correct an erroneous statement that appeared on Page 110 of the March edition under the heading “National Aviation Museum’. There we stated that “Laverton Air Force base is at present a non-flying base and it is understood that is is due to be run down and closed by the early 1990’s.

In fact Laverton, with more than 1600 personnel and 10 units, as Group Capt Gazley points out, is the fifth largest base in the RAAF. As the Military Air Terminal for the Melbourne region it operates an air movements organization which is the second busiest in the RAAF. Effecting some 800 transport aircraft turnarounds per year. In support of basic pilot training. Laverton provides the major satellite airfield for the operation of CT-4 aircraft from Point Cook. It is also the home of the CAC’s servicing facility for East Coast-based Macchi aircraft and of the associated maintenance flight testing. It also plays host from time to time to most aircraft types operated by the Austr. . . in Defence Force and to a number of foreign military aircraft.

Hence, while there are no major flying units permanently located at Laverton, it is far from being a non-flying base. Further, the large investment made at Laverton over a period of 60 years together with the major building and development programmes currently in progress or planned, suggest strongly that it is not due to be run down and closed by the early 1990’s. Rather, it is likely to continue as a major supporting base for our operational forces.

 New F-14 Variant Will Give The Type A Thirty-year Production Life:

Stalwart of the long-range fleet defence role for the vital US Carrier Battle Groups, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, is on the verge of a major update that will see the type in production through to the year 2000.

Latest mark of the Tomcat is the F-14A Plus. This aircraft is equipped with the more powerful General Electric F110 engine of 28,000lb thrust in place of the troublesome Pratt & Whitney TF30s that equip the standard F-14A. The first of 30 F-14A Plus aircraft will be delivered from late 1987 while 40 late production standard aircraft will be progressively retrofitted to Plus standards through 1987/88. By 1989 the vastly upgraded F-14D will replace the A Plus on the production line with the USN buying 30 such aircraft a year right through to the turn of the century.

The F-14D will feature an entirely new radar combined with a state-of-the-art digital fire control system which will allow use of Advanced Phoenix and Amraam missiles. The D version will exhibit vastly superior levels of maintainability and reliability over its predecessor and will use many systems common to both the A-6F and F-18 in an effort to reduce operating cost and increase mission availability.

The biggest single asset though is the endurance extension the new engines will provide. The F110s produce a third more power than the TF30s in addition to having lower SFCs in the process, something that enables a fully laden Tomcat to launch using only dry military power rather than full afterburner as is presently used. At 150nm from station the D can remain on CAP station for a full two hours or one hour at 36nm from base. This provides increased flexibility in addition to acting as a force multiplier as fewer tankers are required to support the CAPS.

 Winning Looks To Massive Us Market:

Hard work combined with ingenious technology looks like eventually giving Australia a windfall in capturing a large USN contract. The Special Projects Development Branch within the Dept of Defence which has been working hard in selling the Australian-developed Winnin hovering decoy rocket to the Pentagon these past ten months looks to have scored a coup with the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the full scale development of the system with US interests.

Winning was developed initially by the Del- ence Science & Technology Organisation in South Australia and offers an alternative to conventional high rate of fire gun systems. The problem with guns is that they may hit the incoming anti-ship missile but usually at a range that still enables the bulk of the mass to successfully reach the ship. As the hulk of the missile is still travelling with great energy it can still cause considerable damage to the ship.

Winning is essentially a hovering rocket (refer p. 104, Nov 85 AA) that can be canister launched. Once launched, it hovers well clear of the ship and by electronic spooling seduces the incoming missile towards itself and away from the Jaunch ship. Winning can also be placed closer to a non-combatant if necessary in order to give that ship protection, something that a close-in gun or SAM system cannot do effectively. It is now clear, with US development funding authorised, that the unique Australian Winnin will hopefully become operational by the end of this decade and will form the backbone of anti-missile defence for the major combatants of the RAN in addition to hopefully our allies.

 Strategic & Defence Studies Centre Planning Large Air Power Conference In July:

The Strategic & Defence Studies Centre of the Australian National University in Canberra is planning to host a very comprehensive defence conference this July. Entitled “Air Power in the Del- ence of Australia” the conference will run from July 14 through to 18 and will encompass every facet of the effects of air power on the defence in the region.

The conference will be addressed by the senior officers of the RAN and RAAF in addition to hosting specialist briefings from major aerospace companies, particularly in regards to AEW. For further information contact the SDSC, ANU, GPO BOX 4, Canberra ACT 2601, (062) 49 2276.

 Us Army Grounds Black Hawk Helos For Second Time:

The US Army has grounded its entire fleet of 700 Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawk utility helicopters for the second time in a year. The grounding follows the crash of a Black Hawk in March that killed three personnel. Earlier groundings during the middle of 1985 indicated that a modified hub spindle be installed on the Black Hawk though the precise cause of the most recent accident has yet to be verified other than that it did not appear to be pilot error.

The grounding comes at an embarrassing time for Sikorsky in Australia as Federal Cabinet via the DoD is to shortly make its decision on a future Iroquois replacement for the RAAF, an order that is worth more than one billion dollars in the long-term and may involve up to 90 helicopters.

 Usaf T-46 Trainer Cancellation Holds Major Industrial Implications:

It is now almost certain that USAF will move to abandon the Fairchild T-46 primary jet trainer project. Ther Service has been unimpressed with delays in the programme and cost overruns which will ultimately be conveyed to the operator when it purchases the final of three batches of the new trainer. Instead of proceeding with T-46 acquisition, USAF will look to upgrading its quarter-century-old T-37s with new engines, zero-zero ejection seats, new avionics and instrument panel. The cost of the refurbishment programme, which would take the T-37s through to at least 1998, would be US$2bn.

The move of course would be good news for Cessna and General Dynamics, who purchased the GA manufacturer early last year. Additionally, USAF is campaigning for an additional 100 Tanker/Transport/Bomber trainers (TTB) so that it may introduce a new streamed aircrew training programme later this decade. This would effectively have all pilots performing basic training on the T-41 Mescalero (a Cessna 172) and modified T-37 then streaming onto either the supersonic Northrop T-38 Talon for fighter/attack pilots or onto a standard corporate-type jet for the tanker/transport/bomber community. An order for up to 300 corporate jets would be a major fillup to any US GA manufacturer and at present GD and Cessna would appear to be in the box seat.

Aerospatiale Has Record Year:

French aerospace manufacturer, Aerospatiale, has posted a record profit for 1985. The helicopter and weapons manufacturer logged sales of A$7. 1bn during the year, up nearly 60% on the 1984 figure. More than three-quarters of Aerospatiale’s workload is destined for export and the group employs over 44,000 people. Current primary activities include the Aerospatial range of military and civilian helicopters, partnership in Airbus Industrie and the ATR programme and a variety of guided missile projects including Exocet.

Aerospatiale has made significant inroads into Australia in recent years via their Squirrel and Dauphin helicopters and are presently contesting the RAAF’s Iroquois replacement programme with the military version of the Super Puma. Aerospatiale is also a major partner in Socata, whose range of Tobago and Trinidad light aircraft are distributed locally by Flight Safety Products of Bankstown.

A Helicopter For The Prime Minister?

The Prime Minister’s Department and the RAAF are currently looking at acquiring a Bell 412SP for use by the Prime Minister. The aircraft, which is presently used by Esso in support of its Bass Strait oil operations is believed to be on offer for around $3m in VIP Mt.

Primary benefit of acquiring the big Bell would be the reduced travelling effort required by the PM when flying between Canberra and Sydney though the aircraft may also be used for other purposes. Sector time flying direct from the grounds of Parliament House to Kirribilli House in Sydney would be just under one hour and would cost considerably less than using one of No. 34 Squadron’s Mystere, BAC 111 or BAe 748 aircraft in addition to being significantly quicker and more secure.

Mcdonnell Douglas Has Big Year:

MDC posted excellent results for 1985. The diversified aerospace manufacturer recorded a net profit of $US345m, up $US20m on the previous year. While nett earnings rose only modestly, overall earnings increased by 22%.

Firm order backlog at December 31st, 1985 was $US16. 6bn compared with $US14. 9bn at the end of 1984. MDC’s military programmes continued strongly while the MD-80 jetliner maintained sales momentum with now some 216 firm orders, 270 conditional orders and options on a further 290 aircraft for a total of 752 aircraft. Employment at the end of 1985 stood at 97,067 compared with 88,391 at the close of 1984.

 Grumman To Revitalise The Tracker:

Grumman are to market a retrofit kit for their venerable S-2 Tracker ASW aircraft. The Tracker was designed with an airframe life of some 25,000 hours and as most examples have flown less than half these, the company considers that the time is now ripe for a major updating of the aircraft.

Primarily on offer would be a re-engining programme using modern turboprops of an as yet undisclosed type in addition to new digital navigation systems, FLIR, new MAD system and an updated acoustic processor. While the new Tracker would be faster by nearly 60kts in the cruise, its overall endurance would be reduced by around one-quarter owing to the higher fuel burn rate of the turboprops.

Reports suggest that Taiwan could be the lead customer if such a programme is economically viable and it is known that Taiwan might also be interested in acquiring some of the ex-RAN S-2Gs if they could be discretely purchased via a third party.

Us Navy To Build Five More Super Carriers:

The US Navy is planning to build five new Nimitz class nuclear-powered carriers during the 1990s. This will enable the Navy to maintain a 15 carrier battle group fleet and to replace older conventionally powered carriers such as the Midway and Saratoga class vessels, all of which entered service during the late forties and early fifties.

This in effect locks the Navy into the large supercarrier market using traditional steam catapult launch systems in place of developed versions of supersonic VISTOL aircraft using ski-jump ramps.

Cac Wins Difficult Contract:

CAC has won an order from the US Navy Aviation Supply Office following a bid in competition against US aerospace suppliers. The company becomes only the second Australian organisation to receive an order from the Supply Office. The Supply Office has placed a six-month order with CAC for the supply of spares on the F404 engine for the US Navy’s F-18 aircraft CAC’s Gas Turbine Division quoted for the work which involves a quantity of 1,986 F404 inlet guide vane units. Delivery commenced earlier this year at the rate of 330 units per month. Forgings for the inlet guide vanes are obtained from the Australian National Industries Lid.

The Aviation Supply Office is the purchasing arm of the USN and spends billions of dollars per year. This success in winning the order represents a milestone in CAC’s endeavours to extend its base in the manufacture and supply of spare parts and assemblies for the F404 engine.

Market Development Manager David Rees said CAC had been trying for the last two years to win an order from the Supply Office for both airframe and engine components. American companies were also making the inlet guide vanes, but CAC won the contract because its price was competitive.