Newsdesk-Military Aviation

The Mirage making the flight is the only jet of its type remaining Designated A3-101 by the RAAF, the jet was the first dual seater Mirage built by the Australian Government Aircraft Factory in 1966. One hundred and eighteen Mirages were built for the RAAF with the first jet flying in 1963. The Mirage, along with its predecessors the Meteor and Sabre, are the trio of aircraft that form the subject matter of the second of our new and very popular Australian Airpower Collection. This latest 200+ page book, which includes more than 63 colour plates, will be available during late April (refer Book review, this issue).

ASTA Makes Modest Profit:

Aerospace Technologies of Australia has reported a nett profit of $317,344 for the 1987/ 88 year on an operating revenue of $55. 7m.

While obviously a modest profit by any industrial standard, the figures are significant in that prior to radical restructuring as ASTA, the old government owned GAF used to consistently lose up to $20m a year.

ASTA is nowadays developing quite a varied infrastructure in terms of long term industrial capability. The Melbourne based firm is specialising in systems integration work with Brooklands of the UK, has developed its ASTA Aircraft Servicing division at Avalon (where it is maintaining Continental 747s) and of course is heavily engaged in the RAAF PC-9 and F-18 programmes in addition to performing a range of offset work for Airbus, Boeing and Aerospatiale including active participation as a partner in the latter’s new generation helicopter programme.

ASTA has also recently offered to assemble the final 8 RAN S-70B Seahawks from the 16 ordered. Hawker de Havilland has had trouble through 1988 in meeting the original delivery schedule for these (refer Defence Update this issue) due to problems at Sikorsky and its own lack of skilled manpower. ASTA would like to take a larger stake in the S-70A Black Hawk production also if HdH are unable to meet their expanding commitments in this area.

Meanwhile, the Navy has kept three previously mothballed UH-1B Iroquois in service in lieu of receiving the first batch of their long awaited Seahawks, the first of which is now scheduled for official handover at RANAS Nowra during the course of this issue.

76 Squadron Lives Again:

No. 76 Squadron, one of the RAAF’s most famous fighter squadrons has been officially reformed as a training squadron.

The squadron was reformed at Williamtown, NSW, on January 1, 1989-40 years to the month when it first moved to Williamtown after service with the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces in Japan.

In its new role, No. 76 Squadron is equipped with Macchi MB-326H jet aircraft to conduct introductory fighter training for aircrew destined for the F-18 Hornet and F-111, Fleet and Army support tasks as well as support for specialist RAAF training activities. The squadron will also operate the Winjeel Forward Air Control training aircraft.

The Macchi Flight within No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit (20CU), the Forward Air Control Flight, previously within 77 Squadron, and part of the Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Williamtown will form the basis of the new squadron.

It is fifteen years since No. 76 Squadron last operated out of Williamtown, but the Squadron’s association with the base goes back to January 1949. In that year the Squadron moved to Williamtown from Japan where it operated Mustang fighters in a peacetime environment.

The Squadron remained at Williamtown as part of No. 78 Wing until it and the Wing moved to Malta in 1952. Equipped with Vampire jets, the squadron also took part in flypasts in Europe and in London during the Queen’s Coronation. On its return to Australia the Squadron was disbanded in 1955, but reformed again at Williamtown in 1960 with Vampires and later Sabre jets. The squadron was re-equipped with Mirages in 1966, but was again disbanded in 1973 following defence budget cuts.

Battle of the Giants:

Obviously growing tired of all the publicity Antonov’s An-124 Ruslan has been getting lately, Lockheed has recently put out some lighthear- ted material extolling the virtues of its own C-5 Galaxy, which up until the An-124 came along was the world’s largest aeroplane.

Interestingly, although the Antonov has a greater wing span and is heavier, the C-5 has a notably longer fuselage. Among the C-5’s virtues are its ability to carry 25,844,746 ping pong balls, nine fully equipped Dixieland Jazz Bands (if you could stand the noise) or 277,263 cans of your favourite brew. So there! The trouble is, Antonov has already put the issue of what is the world’s biggest beyond doubt with the announcement of its six engined, twin tailed shuttle carrier, the An-225 “Dream”, which with a wing span of 86 metres, a length of around 84 metres and a maximum takeoff weight somewhere in the region of 1. 3 milion (yes million!) pounds makes them both pale into insignificance anyway. The An-225 can carry a maximum payload of 550,000lb, 220,000lb more than the Ruslan! The dream became a reality on December 21 last year when the aircraft made its first flight.

Harpoon’s Five Grand:

McDonnell Douglas has delivered the 5,000th example of its highly successful Harpoon anti-ship missile out of a total of 5,400 currently on order for the US Air Force and Navy plus 20 other countries including Australia. Since production began in 1975, the Harpoon has achieved a reliability factor of 93% in nearly 400 launches. Of those, the last 81 odd launches have achieved 100% reliability.

Reduced Flying Time Another Setback for Raaf Aircrews:

IRAAF pilots did not have enough reasons to depart their profession for the civilian world, then the Defence Department handed them yet another during late 1988 in the form of significant cuts in 1989 squadron flying hours.

Already honed to the bone in terms of being able to professionally maintain operational credibility and expertise, the crucial F-111 squadrons will see their flying hours cut from 6,000 to just 4,700 while Orion and Hornet squadrons are also expected to see reduced activity. The problem is accentuated with the unusually high training requirements nowadays required due entirely to the equally high loss rate of experienced aircrew. Consequently it takes at least 22 hours of flying a month to keep an F-111 crew at an accept- able C grade level of combat proficiency. However, nowadays more and more of this time is being spent converting inexperienced aircrew over to the basic aircraft, rather than honing the skills required to be able to utilise the aircraft in its intended tactical form.

Amberley based crews also highlighted the inadequacy of synthetic training aids. At present the only realistic way crews can train is to actually fly the aircraft, whereas use of state of the art simulators would not only greatly improve operational proficiency but also allow a reduction of flying hours to not greatly impinge upon the capability of the squadron at large.

Sorry No Hard Covers Left:

Readers still wishing to purchase a hard cover edition of the first of our new Australian Airpower Collection series The Spitfire, Mustang & Kittyhawk in Australian Service – have unfortunately filed their flight plans a little too late.

Overwhelmed by demand, the final batch of hard cover editions were posted out during mid January. However, there are still sufficient copies of the $19. 95 soft cover edition (which also includes post & pack) available direct from our office and also from selected news- agencies throughout Australia.

The second edition in this unique and long overdue series commemorating the aircraft, crews and history of Australia’s major combat types is due for release in late April. This 200+ page book will include more than 63 colour plates and will document the Meteor, Sabre and Mirage in Australian service. Additional hard cover copies are being printed to cope with anticipated demand and advance orders will be taken from the beginning of March. Don’t miss out on your copy!

P-3G for Germany:

After a lengthy series of evaluations and negotiations, the West German Navy has decided to replace its 14 Dassault/Breguet Atlantic anti-submarine aircraft with 12 Lockheed P-3G Long Range Air-ASW Capability Aircraft (LRAACA) The LRAACA is a development of the current P-3C Orion with more powerful engines (refer Jan AA Newsdesk), a lengthened fuselage and updated armaments and avionics capabilities.

Missing Raaf C-47 Discovered:

Scientists conducting environmental studies in the Daintree Rainforest, north of Cairns, dis- covered during late January the remains of an RAAF C-47 Dakota that went missing on the 7th September, 1944.

The aircraft was on a flight from Merauke in Irian Jaya to Cairns when it became lost in deteriorating weather. Despite a massive search the following day, no evidence was ever found of the missing aircraft or its 19 passengers and crew. Parts of the badly damaged aircraft will be recovered to eventually serve as a memorial for the 19 who died in the service of their nation.

Raaf Opt for Falcon 900 for VIP Fleet:

The RAAF will replace its existing No. 34 VIP Squadron aircraft with 5 leased Falcon 900 trijets.

The decision came as a surprise as many pundits had thought that the less expensive Canadair Challenger 601A would have won on both price and the closer defence and trading ties presently being forged between Canada and Australia. While around 25% cheaper than the Falcon, the Government finally opted for the Falcon due to the fact that it had earlier discounted the acquisition of a larger aircraft in the Boeing 737-300 or BAe 146 class.

With the additional funds the final selection team of Finance Minister Senator Walsh, Treasurer Keating and Prime Minister Hawke opted for the larger of the two remaining corporate style jets. In addition to more internal capacity, the Falcon 900 has greater range and three engines, a point that was obviously not missed by the PM who has experienced first- hand the experience of flying aboard a single engined BAC 1111 The Falcons will be configured in a 15 passenger configuration and the first of type is expected at RAAF Fairbairn this September with the following four due to be delivered by January 1990. All will be based at Fairbairn and will be serviced by a special Hawker Pacific maintenance unit to be set up at the base. Crewing however will remain with the RAAF.

Hawker Pacific will also take in trade the 2 BAC 111s and 3 Dassault Mysteries. The 2 HS748s will remain with the RAAF and be converted to navigation trainers to eventually join their cousins at RAAF East Sale. While Hawkers will sell the 2 111s offshore, the Mysteres may be refurbished and retrofitted with the Garrett engine conversion for possible sale within Australia.

Man One, Technology Nil!

It’s always nice to hear a story where a lone human being actually manages to outsmart science’s latest technological wizardry. This is one such story.

During December the Aerospatiale ERA space structure aboard the Soviet Mir space station, in Earth orbit, would not deploy. As all textbook efforts by the cosmonauts and ground control had failed to activate the crucial structure, cosmonaut Alexander Volkov donned his EVA suit and decided to kick it with his steel-toed boot. Soviet ground controllers were aghast at such primeval activity and forbade it immediately. It is believed that the French also were not overly amused.

Not wishing to be beaten by a technological glitch, cosmonaut Volkov wisely waited till the spacecraft was out of communication range with Earth and then proceeded to resume his kicking of the offending canister in an effort to physically, if ungraciously, excite it into activation. The brute force worked and the crucial ERA space structure deployed, much to the amusement of all aboard Mir and the low key approval of those on the ground. Good one Alex!

Caribou Reunion:

The RAAF is celebrating 25 years of Caribou operations in April with a special reunion to be held at RAAF Base Richmond on 22 April. The April reunion will include an open day at No. 38 Squadron Richmond, with static and flying displays, a barbecue, a re-enactment of the arrival of the first Caribou back in 1964 and a dinner for all ‘Caribou Crew. An invitation is extended to all past and present Service members who’ve flown, or serviced, administered, supplied or otherwise supported or operated the Caribou in its RAAF service – in other words, anyone who’s been ‘around Caribous’. For details of the reunion, phone Flying Offi- cer Connors at No. 38 Squadron, Richmond on (045) 70 3814.

 Harriers for Italy?:

The Italian Navy is expected to place an order for up to 25 BAe Harriers in the near future for operation from its ski jump equipped 10,000 tonne carrier the ‘Giuseppe Garibaldi’.

It is believed the order will be for the radar equipped Sea Harrier FRS. 2 although the more expensive McDonnell Douglas/BAe AV-8B is also being considered. The stumbling block to ordering the Harrier has been a 1923 law forbidding the Italian Navy from operating fixed wing aircraft. The repeal of that law is imminent.

Two other potential customers for the Harrier are Zimbabwe and France, the latter studying the possibility of leasing aircraft for its Navy to fill the gap between the retirement of its F-8 Crusaders in 1993 and the arrival of the naval version of the Dassault Rafale some years after that.

 Raaf Bases Amalgamate:

Two of the RAAF’s most historic bases, Point Cook and Laverton, Victoria, are to have their operations merged, allowing a substantial financial saving and a more efficient use of personnel.

The overall operation will be known as RAAF Williams, after Air Marshall Sir Richard Williams, the RAAF’s first and longest serving Chief of Air Staff. The new name will come into effect on March 31 this year, the 68th anniversary of the RAAF’s foundation. In effect, the move means that RAAF Williams will be a single unit with two airfields a few kilometres apart, but the individual airfields will retain their separate and historically important names. Point Cook was the RAAF’s first base.

 NATO Losses Grow:

Statistics released by Jane’s Defence Weekly logging the losses of fighter and strike aircraft operated by NATO forces in the year to October 1988 make interesting reading and show 96 such aircraft lost worth more than SUS1bn on replacement cost alone.

Heading the list not surprisingly is the USA with 40 losses including 20 F-16 Fighting Falcons, then comes France (15), the United Kingdom (9), Greece (6) and West Germany (5). Of the individual aircraft, the F-16 suffered the most with 26 losses, ahead of the F-4 Phantom (12), the Mirage III/V (9), the Mirage F1 and the A-7 Corsair (7 each), and the Tomado, F-5 and Jaguar (5 each). The losses are equivalent to the entire combat strength of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, which itself contributed two F-16s to the total.

Last Dual Hornet:

Аеговрасе Technologies of Australia late in 1988 delivered the last of 18 two seat F-18B Hornets to the RAAF.

The aircraft was delivered to No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit at Williamtown NSW on schedule. By the end of 1988 58 out of the RAAF’s total order for 75 had been delivered comprising 40 single seat and 18 two seat aircraft. The remainder should come off the production line by the end of 1989, leaving ASTA with no major aircraft programme with which to follow the Hornet. The joint Australian/ French/Chinese helicopter should take up the slack sometime after that but, as yet, the programme has not been formally launched.