Newsdesk – Military Aviation

Two previous attempts at conducting F-18 trials on the French carriers have come to naught mainly because of pressure from a parliamentary lobby and from Dassault, which wants the Crusaders updated as they justifiably feel that the navy won’t support the Rafale D if they acquire F-18Cs.

Anything You Cando…

Stirred into action by the startling ‘Pougachev’s Cobra’ past the vertical angle of attack manoeuvre performed by a Sukhoi Su-27 at the 1989 Paris Air Show, the Americans have announced they have performed a similar manoeuvre in a McDonnell Douglas F-18 Hornet- or an F-18 simulator, anyway.

By moving the Hornet’s centre of gravity aft, the simulation achieved 110 degrees. from the horizontal with an angle of attack of 85 degrees while gaining 250ft of altitude. This didn’t quite match the Soviet pilot’s effort but came close. The next step is to try the manoeuvre in a real aeroplane!

More Kc-135 Re-Engines:

CFM International has received a USAF contract for 182 CFM56 engines for the continued re-engining of Boeing KC-135 tanker aircraft.

The contract is valued at $US497m and includes options on a further 406 engines. Designated F108 in military service, the contract brings the total number of CFM568 on order for this programme to 1,253 engines and so far 164 KC-135s have had their original Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojets replaced with the significantly more efficient CFMs. while current orders cover an additional 131 aircraft.

France’s 11 C-135F tankers (based on the commercial Boeing 707-320) have also been re-engined with CFM56s, replacing the original Pratt & Whitney JT3 turbofans.

 Last F-15C to Usaf:

The USAF in November took delivery of its last McDonnell Douglas F-15C, the dedicated air superiority fighter version of the Eagle.

The first F-15C was handed over to the USAF in 1979 and 409 were subsequently delivered plus a further 61 examples of a two seat operational trainer version, the F-150. Even though the multi role F-15E is now the USAF’s standard production model, the F-15C/D is still in production against orders from Saudi Arabia and Israel. Nearly 1,200 F-15 Eagles of all models are now in service with the air forces of the United States, Israel, Japan and Saudi Arabia.

 Reinventing the Mirage:

Israel Aircraft Industries will test fly a Snecma Atar engined Kfir fighter later this year and will offer it for sale on the world market.

The Kfir is of course an unlicensed deriva- tive of the Dassault Mirage powered by a General Electric J79 engine, fitted because France refused to supply the Atar when Israel began building its own version of the delta winged fighter. That action came about when in 1967 the French Government embargoed the sale of 50 already paid for Mirage 5s to Israel. As was noted by Roger Bacon in Flight International, now all IAI has to do is take the canards off the Kfir and they could call it the Mirage! Uncle Roger also explained the Hebrew meaning of the word “Mirage’: adolescent lion with acne and an identity crisis!

Harpoon Simulators Delivered:

Hawker de Havilland has handed over the first four Harpoon anti shipping missile Cap- tive Carriage Weapons Simulators (CCWS) to the RAAF.

The locally developed system simulates both aerodynamically and electronically the real missile and can be used for both air and ground crew training. It can be used by both the RAAF’s F-18 Hornets and F-1118 or in fact any aircraft capable of carrying the Harpoon and as such has export potential. The RAAF has 16 Harpoon CWSs on order.

Awa Defence Industries Wins $90 Million P-3C Orion Contract:

A contract worth $90m has been awarded to AWA Defence Industries Pty Ltd (AWADI) for the installation of upgraded Electronic Support Measures (ESM) equipment to the RAAF P-3C Orion Maritime Patrol aircraft.

The new ESM system will greatly enhance the Orions’ capability to analyse electronic data acquired by the P-3 fleet. In 1989 prices, the Australian/New Zealand content of the project is about $44 million, or 50% of the contract price. In addition, $17m in offsets will be provided under the contract for a total of around 66% Australian Industry Involvement (All). Much of the ESM technology will come from the principal subcontractor, ÉLTA, an Israeli company which is a world leader in this field.

Further expenditure will be undertaken locally for acquisition of logistics support, facilities and maintenance associated with the ESM project to ensure Australia will be self reliant once the upgraded system is installed. Up to 60 people will be employed at AWADI in the Adelaide area for the upgrade. Apart from the prime contractor, other Australian companies involved include Hawker de Havilland and a number of other subcontractors around Australia. Total investment in South Australia as a result of this contract is estimated to be $40 million.

The contract also includes an Operational Mission Simulator for crew training and a Software Support Facility which will provide the RAAF with its own software support for the system.

The main thrust of the offsets program is the transfer of state-of-the-art technology to Australian industry and, in particular, to the South Australian-based AWADI. This new technology will provide an indigenous capability to develop and support the RAAF’S ÉSM systems for the life of the P-3C Orion aircraft which are based at RAAF Edinburgh in SA.

 Us Budget Revised:

After getting a fright last year when vicious budget cuts were mooted (refer July AA Newsdesk), several key US military aviation projects have survived intact for at least another year due to further revisions of the budget by Congress.

Those back in favour include the V-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft (originally scheduled to be cancelled), the F-14D Tomcat (also subject to cancellation) and the B-2 ‘stealth’ bomber, which was to be delayed by a year but now has funding for two production aircraft in 1990 and a further five in 1991. The long-term future of the extremely expensive B-2 will now depend on how it performs. The USAF wants 132 B-28 for a project cost of around $A90bn.

Richmond’s a Winner:

For the second year in succession, RAAF Richmond has been awarded the prestigious Hawker Siddeley Trophy, an annual award for the most proficient RAAF base. Various criteria are taken into account including efficiency in role and administration, the standards of dress and bearing and the morale of base personnel.