Newsdesk – Military Aviation

The Moomba contract is currently flown by Lloyd using a Fokker F28-4000. Jet Systems plan to operate a BAe 146-100 once flown by a series of US airlines (refer Traffic) and now used by the manufacturer for crew training. The target towing contract, which requires the operation of five Learjets from the Naval Air Station at Nowra, is currently flown on a temporary basis by Lloyds following Norfolk Airways winning the job and then cancelling late last year.

Jet Systems and Fleet Support both involve management by Warren Seymour, a former Lloyd executive who left several years ago to take over the management of the BAe 125-800 operated by Santos out of Adelaide Airport on flights around Australia and into Asia.

Satellite for Australia’s Defence?:

The Defence Department is investigating the military use of satellite communications.

In the light of Kangaroo ’89, the military has found itself to be overly reliant on Tele- com for defence communications. It believes also that if Australia were attacked, Telecom facilities would be vulnerable and could be easily disabled by covert military action, thus making defence communications difficult.

The defence alternative is the use of satellite communications. The Aussat system is being considered for greater use, but this may not be suited to the military’s specific needs. It is probable that Aussat does not provide an adequate range beyond continental Australia, so may not be able to suitably cover other areas of interest, such as territorial islands like Christmas and Cocos Island. A military satellite is the preferred option if this proves to be the case.

Operation Immune’s Effect on Defence Forces:

Figures released in Parliament for the period of operations encompassing Operation Immune reveal the cost to the Australian Defence Forces of flying civilian passenger operations during the pilots’ dispute. Estimated financial costs incurred as a

result of assisting the airlines between 24 Aug and 24 Oct 1989 were $10,969,406. This includes the costs of some items, such as fuel, which the airlines had agreed to meet directly but could not. Most financial costs were recovered by the Department of Defence, though it did effectively end up $713,858 behind. This has been covered by increased government funding.

A total of 63 planned ADF activities were affected by the removal of air support during the period; unplanned activities that would have taken place, but did not, cannot be calculated. Only 14 of the planned activities had to be cancelled, though others had to be postponed or made to utilise alternate means of transport. Most significant cancellation was that of the RAN HS748 Electronic Warfare training program for the period, there being no less than 12 such training operations affected.

 United Germany Forced to Buy Mig-29s:

The Soviet Union has informed the West German Government that it must take delivery of 32 MiG-29s ordered by East Germany more than three years ago.

The Soviet demand is the result of the German reunification deal, under which the new unified German Government must honour all such orders placed by East Germany. It has created an embarrassing problem for the West German Government, whose Luftwaffe is still pushing for the purchase of the long delayed European Fighter Aircraft (EFA) and is not overly keen to operate the MIG-29 Fulcrum itself.

The West German MoD is already debating how to handle the situation. An option to scrap the fighters – about 12 are already in East German service has been discounted. It is believed the sale of the MIGs to a third party is under consideration, a possible buyer ironically being the USAF who is thought to be interested in acquiring the aircraft for use in the aggressor role.

For the Soviets, their only concern at this stage seems to be that they receive the much needed West German currency that fortune has decreed will come their way.

Aussie Seahawks Begin to Fly:

The first of the eight Australian assembled Sikorsky Seahawk helicopters has been moved off the production line into the flight hangar at Avalon and began flight tests in late May.

All seven remaining aircraft are now on the production line in various stages of assembly. Four of the previous Lot 1 of eight Sea- hawks built in the USA with final fit out by Sikorsky at the Naval Air Station at Nowra have been delivered and are being used in the training role prior to the type going to sea operationally later this year.

Of the remaining four aircraft, three are undergoing final fit out at ASTA Avalon with deliveries planned over the next few months. Meanwhile, aircraft No. 1 will remain at Sikorsky’s facility at Stratford, Connecticut, for ongoing systems evaluation.

Meanwhile, production of the Black Hawk utility helicopter by Bankstown based Hawker de Havilland for the Army is progressing smoothly, with the production line running about four months ahead of schedule. Thirty nine Black Hawks are being built while aircraft No. 26 was delivered to No. 5 Aviation Regiment at Townsville during April with two more expected in May

Malaysian Tornado Deal Cancelled:

The Malaysian Government has officially abandoned its plan to purchase 12 Tornado strike aircraft from BAe.

Financial problems are believed to be behind the Malaysian decision to opt out of the planned £400m deal, though the inability of BAe to meet Malaysian demands for an electronic combat/reconnaissance version of the Tornado are also believed to have been a problem with the potential contract.

Malaysia has decided to negotiate instead the purchase of at least 20 Hawks, which are substantially cheaper than the Tornado. It is not clear at this stage whether the order would be for the two seat Hawk 100 attack/ advanced jet trainer variant or the single seat Hawk 200 fighter; a mixed order is also a possibility. Whichever the choice, a Hawk contract could ultimately be worth more to BAe than a deal for the tri-nationally built Panavia Tornado.

The Malaysian decision to abandon the Tornado leaves open the possibility that the RMAF may instead acquire the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon or the Das- sault Mirage 2000 for any remaining combat aircraft requirements. Both manufacturers are actively marketing their products in the country.

 Warsawpact No Longer a Threat:

NATO’s senior general has officially declared that the Warsaw Pact is no longer considered a threat to the West.

The recent change to democracy of many of the Pact’s nation members and the formal agreement to unify Germany has substantially diminished any threat of aggression. This will have a real impact on NATO defence forces, with the target of 3% annual growth in defence spending already being dropped. However, with the Soviet Union still powerful and somewhat unstable, the stalling of the current round of East-West military talks, and the continued existence of a massive arsenal of theatre nuclear weapons, NATO still recognises the need to retain an effective defensive force. It is foreseen that cuts will be made to conventional forces in Europe, but guaranteed peace in Europe is still not yet a reality.

 Goodbye Age of Steam?:

One of the last expressions of steam power – the aircraft carrier’s catapult-could be on its way out if a US Navy study comes to fruition.

The USN is pursuing the possibility of launching aircraft from carriers employing so-called ‘railgun’ technology, a spinoff from the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program. Basically, the railgun system propels things by using alternative magnetic fields for acceleration; in the SDI context it could be used to launch objects into a higher orbit after initial deployment lower down, or it could be deployed on weapons platforms in space to engage incoming enemy ICBM boosters.

On an aircraft carrier, the technology would make for shorter periods between aircraft launchings (steam catapults require time to build up pressure after use), reduce the amount of ancillary equipment needed on a ship and remove the bulky, high pressure piping required for steam catapults. Railgun technology is still in the early experimental stages.

Problems With Antarctic Strip:

The Director of the Antarctic Division, Mr Rex Moncur, has ruled out the building of a rock based landing strip at Australia’s Casey station for environmental reasons.

The compacted snow runway at Casey which the RAAF tried to build last summer, has proven to be more difficult to construct than originally thought. An internal RAAF report recommended that a rock and gravel airstrip be considered, but both the Government and environmental groups rejected this idea. As a result, the Air Force must again attempt building a snow runway or find another environmentally agreeable solution, while regular RAAF flights to Casey station have been further delayed.

F-117 to Be Based in Britain:

USAF Lockheed F-117A stealth fighters are to be based in Britain, possibly later this year.

The F-117A equipped 37th Tactical Fighter Wing, currentlybased at Nellis AFB, Nevada, is expected to make the move to RAF Alcon- bury where it will be permanently deployed. Alconbury was previously the home of UK based SR-71 Blackbirds which were retired earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the F-117A has already been slated to make its international air and trade show debut at Dayton, Ohio on July 19-22. One must wonder if this apparent removal of the veil of secrecy surrounding the aircraft, and its permanent basing in Britain, could foreshadow attendance of the type at Farnborough 1990!

Centrespread

The public unveiling of the products of western stealth technology this past year via the Northrop 8-2 bomber and the Lockheed F-117 fighter (pictured) highlights the different design philosophies that the two companies have taken in achieving a radar invisible aircraft.

While the 8-2 battles its way through Congress the smaller F-117 is at least a completed program with a fully combat operational unit. Based in the Nevada desert at their top secret Tonopah base, the F-117s fly only at night and have thus already picked up the nickname ‘Nighthawk’.

Designed for covert high priority missions, the F-117 would principally be employed in the recce, surgical strike and anti AWACS roles if ever called into action against a front line foe. In such a scenario, its stealthy capabilities would make it an extremely high value weapon system, though one that would also have to be based well away from the region of battle to avoid being successfully targeted whilst on the ground.

A total of 59 F-117s have been built with the type first flying in 1981 and becoming operational just two years later. At a total program cost of $US6,560m it actually has a flyaway cost similar to that of an F-15E Strike Eagle, an aircraft with which it now routinely operates whilst training in the tactical environment.

 Hdh Going Strong:

Hawker De Havilland reported at its recent Annual General Meeting a strong sales increase of 33. 8% to $280. 8m during 1989, with export sales increasing by $25m to $150m. Operating profit for the year rose slightly to $11. 666m.

The company continued the production of new aircraft for Australian military contracts during 1989. By year end 24 of the 67 PC-9s on order for the RAAF had been delivered on schedule, with final delivery expected by the end of next year. Assembly, systems installation and testing of the Australian Army Black-hawks also continued, with 20 of the 37 on order being delivered.

Design of key components of McDonnell Douglas Helicopter’s MDX taken on by HDH in 1988 – has reportedly proceeded well, though not entirely without problems due to very tight design-to-weight targets. The company has also continued to be successful in winning long term subcontracts for the supply of major airliner assemblies. HDH now supplies parts for the full range of Airbus airliners, as well as for Boeing’s 737,747 and 757 and the MDC MD-80.

Systems integration has increasingly proven to be a significant line of company business, with HDH Victoria rolling out the first of the RAAF’s 707 tanker conversions earlier this year (refer p. 54 May 90 AA). The company also signed a subcontract to undertake integration of new Electronic Surveillance Measures (ESM) equipment into the RAAF’s 20 P-3C Orions.

The last of the GE F404 engines for installation in the RAAF’s F-18 Hornets was also

delivered during the year, although follow on contracts for the supply of F404 components to General Electric were signed. Meanwhile, HDH’s Australian Aviation College at Para- field, SA was successful in winning a three year contract to provide residential training up to Command instrument Rating for up to 200 students from Qantas and several Asian carriers.

Hawker De Havilland expects business to remain strong. Work continues on important projects such as the MDX, the P-3C ESM and possibly the F-111 avionics update (refer p42 June 90 AA). The production of airliner and engine components is proceeding well, as are the company’s expanding overhaul and training programs.

Us Population Divided on Proposed Defence Budget:

A recent opinion poll in the United States found mixed reactions to President Bush’s $US300 billion defence budget request for 1991.

The poll found 49% of people approved of the funding request, 41% believed it was too high, while 8% believed the amount should be increased. Perhaps this last group does not agree with the majority of Americans who the poll found did not believe military aggression posed the greatest threat to the country-drug trafficking has long taken that dubious honour.

Cf-18 Crashes Result in Suspended Operations:

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) temporarily suspended CF-18 Hornet operational training and implemented a review of related operational procedures following the loss of five Hornets in four separate accidents this year. The 1990 accidents are believed to have

unrelated causes, the only common thread seems to be pilot error; airframe or engine deficiencies have not been blamed. The crashes are the latest in a series of accidents which since introduction to service in 1982 have resulted in the loss of no less than 11 CAF Hornets an accident rate of 7. 14 aircraft per 100,000 flying hours, or more than twice that which the CAF had anticipated and certainly cause for alarm considering the USN and USMC loss rate to date is just 4. 52 aircraft per 100,000hrs.

It has been pointed out that Canadian pilots have a reputation for flying the CF-18 aggressively, while CAF operational training missions are often quite demanding. As a result of such observations, CAF Hornets must now be flown no slower than 200kts (370km/h) when on drug interdiction training exercises (instead of the previous 175kts more suited to simulating the interception of a light general aviation aircraft), and the very demanding low level flight training minimum altitude has been raised from 100ft to 250ft. More changes are expected to be implemented when the full review of CF-18 training operations has been completed.

Northrop Job Cuts:

In response to planned cutbacks to the B-2 program, Northrop will lay off 3,000 of its 41,000 work force by year end.

The main impact of the layoffs will be felt at the B-2 parts fabrication plant at Pico Rivera, California. No doubt more jobs will be at stake in companies across the US who rely heavily on defence programs which are now subject to tighter budget restraints.