Newsdesk – Military Aviation

Kuwait – The Winners, the Losers:

Very soon after Iraq invaded neighbouring Kuwait, the winners and losers of the action began to emerge.

To the general public, by far the most obvious cost was the price of oil, the dramatic increases of which have made all consumers losers. Within the aerospace industry, the price of oil will hit not only the airlines, but also military air arms worldwide. It took very little time for airlines to feel the effects of higher operating costs. . . It is expected that several smaller carriers – particularly holiday charter operators in Europe and North America will be unable to absorb the costs and still maintain profit margins on holiday charter contracts signed when fuel was cheaper. It would be very difficult to find winners in the airline industry.

In the industrial sector, particularly the large section depending on military contracts, several projects have been affected. With all Kuwaiti assets and contracts frozen, McDonnell Douglas- already hard hit by US defence project cuts and personnel layoffs – found its $US1. 9bn contract to supply Kuwait with 40 F-18C/D Hornets floundering. UK’s Shorts, which holds a Kuwaiticontract for 16 Tucanos, was similarly hit. Meanwhile, many western companies that have dealings with Iraq were affected by the United Nations trade embargo imposed after the invasion. Amongst the immediate losers are Dassault, which suspended negotiations for the sale of 50 Mirage 2000s, and Thomson-CSF which lost a multi-million dollar electronic countermeasures (ECM) contract. Finance for the recently announced purchase of five Airbus Industrie A310s also evaporated as the consortium of international banks withdrew from the deal.

There are winners and potential winners, however. British Aerospace expects the rise in oil prices to allow Saudi Arabia to speed up the acquisition of new aircraft and defence equipment. BAe already has contracts for PC-98, Hawks and Tornados under the Yamamah I UK/Saudi trade agreement which remain secure. Good news is that the much troubled Tornado sales department may find itself with new orders, previously under threat. Other air arms, affected by the oil price rises, may find the Hawk 100/200 even more attractive as an aircraft with its lower acquisition and running costs. Westland, which has marketing rights in the Middle Eastern region for the Black Hawk, may experience renewed interest and orders for desert variants of the attack helicopters.

 Cash Incentives for Adf Personnel:

Cash payments equal to a year’s wages are to be offered to long serving Australian Defence Force personnel as a part of the drive to keep skilled personnel in the forces.

The cash incentives plan is part of a package designed to replace the Defence Force Retirement Benefits Scheme, which does not comply with the Federal Government’s new occupational superannuation standards. It offers a cash incentive of one year’s bonus wage to defence personnel who have served fifteen years and commit themselves to a further five years of service. It replaces the present scheme which allows personnel with twenty years of service to leave the force with a life indexed pension, some of which may be commuted to a lump sum benefit and which is paid regardless of whether a second career is entered.

The new scheme should also benefit short term personnel seeking to leave the forces. Under the current scheme, personnel leaving before twenty years of service receive just their own superannuation contributions and the 3% productivity benefit; now personnel leaving before fifteen years of service and not entitled to the cash offer will receive not only their own contributions and productivity benefit, but also the investment earnings on the contributions.

The new scheme should go some way towards retaining skilled personnel so often.

Centrespread

Recent events in the Persian Gulf may well prove a boon for the Panavia consortium (and in particular BAe) who produce the multirole Tornado.

Depicted in our centrespread this month is one of 24 Tornado F3 interceptors ordered by Saudi Arabia at a time when sales of the F-15 Eagle to the desert kingdom were being stalled by the US Congress. The F3 of course is the primary long range airborne guardian of the United Kingdom, where it undertakes a combat air patrol mission similar to that performed by the US Navy’s F-14 Tomcats when protecting their carrier battle groups from air attack.

In recent times the longevity of the Tor- nado program has suffered greatly as defence budgets have been trimmed worldwide. It will now be interesting to see if some of the cancelled orders of the past years are reinstated as a consequence of events in the Gulf.

lost to the civilian sector. Though it may dissuade some potential recruits, previously attracted to the forces by the prospect of early retirement, the ability to retain skilled personnel must be seen as a bonus.

 Sea Skua Begins Sea Trials:

British Aerospace and GEC-Ferranti have successfully fired a ship launched Sea Skua (SLSS) anti ship missile from a fast patrol boat.

The test firing was part of a private venture to convert the air launched Sea Skua missile for use on small naval craft. Tests were completed onboard a 20m FPB launch, similar in size to the type of vessel that would typically carry the missile. The missile can provide a small fast vessel – as is popular with many small navies such as those of the Middle East – with a very potent anti ship missile. The missile is provided with a storage canister which can be mounted for firing from any suitable location on a vessel. The combat range of the missile is limited by the patrol craft’s radar horizon, typically about 15km.

Four different sea skimming heights can be programmed to allow the missile to be used against a variety of surface targets.

The potency of the Sea Skua – originally designed for drop launch from the Westland Lynx helicopter against small fast patrol boats – was amply demonstrated during the Falklands War when eight were fired and all scored direct hits. BAe officials have pointed out that the missile is only about a quarter to a third the price of an Exocet or Harpoon, and therefore represents a very cost effective weapon.

DSTO Signs Deal With Usaf:

Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) has signed an agreement with the USAF for collaboration in soft-ware engineering projects between the two countries.

The Data Exchange Agreement is described as one making possible the formal exchange of information and software between various advanced development groups in Australia and the United States. This should lead to the joint development and application of software engineering principles, and techniques and tools for embedded systems, which are computerised systems used for dedicated purposes such as the guidance of missiles. In particular, the agreement will encourage a joint cooperative research program into the use of the Ada computer language in defence programming. Research into conventional and knowledge based software engineering environments will also be encouraged.

Australian programmers will also jointly develop Knowledge-based Software Assi- stants, programs being developed long term which will revolutionise the way software is developed and maintained. Australian programmers have already undergone training in the specialist US software which will be used in the joint projects.

 Marconi Developing New Light-Weight Ecm System:

Marconi Defence Systems (MDS) is developing a lightweight electronic countermeasures (ECM) system for light attack aircraft.

Known as Apollo, the new system is derived from existing MDS warning receivers, jam- mers and digital processors, most notably the Sky Shadow ECM pod and the Zeus multi purpose electronic warfare countermeasures system. Basing the project on these systems should help keep development and production costs to a minimum, thus keeping the purchase price of the system relatively low; this is necessary if the system is to be successfully marketed to budget conscious. customers operating less expensive or older aircraft types such as the Hawk, A-4 Sky- hawk, F-5 or MiG-21.

Two basic versions of the Apollo are expected, though variants tailored to meet specific customer requirements will also be possible. Of the two main versions, the Apollo I features a repeater jammer, while Apollo Il will be equipped with a frequency set-on repeater and noise detection capability for the countering of both coherent and non-coherent threats to the aircraft. The system will be able to be integrated with existing radar warning receivers to provide an integrated defensive aids system utilising fire chaff and flares in conjunction with jamming to protect the combat aircraft.

Latest Round of Aerospace Job Cuts:

General Dynamics, Pratt & Whitney and General Electric are leading the latest round of defence job cuts in the United States.

General Dynamics has announced plans to lay off up to 2,000 employees, Pratt & Whitney will cut as many as 4,000 jobs from its books and General Electric will be cutting 1,500 jobs over the next 18 months. General Dynamics have indicated that 600 of its 2,000 projected job losses have been brought about by the merger of the company’s Valley Systems and Pomona missile divisions in California into a new Air Defence Systems division. The 600 jobs are those which are now made redundant by the duplication of functions at the two divisions. In addition, between 900 and 1,400 jobs will be lost as the two divisions are more closely integrated.

Pratt & Whitney’s 8,000 strong military engine division in Florida is to shed some 2,000 employees by the end of next year. A similar number will also be laid off at the East Hartford, Connecticut commercial engine division. The company has stated that, ironically, though engine orders are very strong. they are spread out over the next decade so present employment levels just cannot be sustained.

General Electric, on the other hand, are cutting jobs because of a drop in orders and project cuts. Layoffs have been made necessary by the cancellation of the USN P-7 project (for which GE was to supply the T407 turboprops), the end of the F101 production program for the B-1B Lancer, the termination of the TF39 for the Lockheed C-5B Galaxy, the ending of procurement of F4048 for the F-117A and, possibly, the cancellation of F404 engine deals for Swiss and Kuwaiti Hornet orders. Other threatened defence programs such as the B-2 may seriously affect GE sales. By 1992, defence sales are expected to account for just 35% of GE revenue, down from the present 47%.

Meanwhile, in the UK, Smiths Industries has announced that 450 jobs will go at its 3,200 strong avionics plant at Cheltenham and 200 of 2,000 employees will be laid off at Grand Rapids, Michigan. Defence cuts have been blamed for the action. GEC Avionics at Rochester, UK, have blamed the RAF decision to cancel the last 33 Tornados ordered and to phase out Buccaneers and Phantoms as the reason for cutting 420 employees from the 5,300 workforce.

 USAF Fb-111AS Transferred:

The USAF has begun transferring FB-111As from Strategic Air Command (SAC) and assigning them new tasks.

The SAC FB-111As have been transferred from Pease AFB, New Hampshire (which will now be closed, a victim of USAF cost cutting measures) to the Tactical Air Command (TAC). The aircraft will be based at Cannon AFB, New Mexico and have been redesignated the F-111G. It is believed the F-111G retains the ability to carry the Short Range Attack Missile (SRAM) and has been modified with a conventional weapons release system, secure Have Quick UHF radio and new ECM equipment.

Meanwhile, rationalisation of the USAF F-111 fleet has seen the withdrawal of the first F-111As from service. All such aircraft are to be put into storage. Also with an unclear operational future is the F-111D after the decision was made by TAC not to upgrade its avionics system through the Pacer Strike program.

Lockheed P-7 Cancelled:

The US Navy has cancelled the Lockheed P-7A ASW aircraft contract, citing development delays as being the prime reason for the action.

Termination of the $US600m development contract is a serious blow to Lockheed’s future production plans, the company having expected to deliver 125 P-7As (total value $US5bn) to the US Navy and possibly more to West Germany and the UK. In a financial sense, however, termination of the project may prove beneficial to the company, which was already suffering the effects of cost overruns that were biting hard into the company’s profits; last financial year Lockheed was forced to write off some $US300m associated with the project.

It was the cost overruns which led to the protracted dispute between Lockheed and the USN over responsibility for the added financial burden to Lockheed in the fixed price contract. Lockheed claim that the Navy made late changes to the original specifications effectively pushing up the program costs – yet made no attempt to reimburse the company. Lockheed had virtually halted work on the aircraft because of this dispute when the program was terminated.

Meanwhile, all is not lost for Lockheed as far as production is concerned. It is expected that a compromise aircraft, the P-3H Orion, will fulfil the USN’s ASW aircraft requirements. The P-3H is perceived as having a basic P-3 fuselage and Update IV avi- ones married to the P-7As wings and engines.

 RAAF Bombing Range Talks:

The New South Wales government will hold talks with Federal authorities and the Royal Australian Air Force on the future of the RAAF South Evans Head Weapons Range in New South Wales.

The range came into being in the 1940s when the Air Observers and Gunnery School set up at Evans Head, a facility tactically positioned to protect what was called the “Brisbane Line’ during WWII. After the War the base closed but the range stayed and is presently being used by mainly F-1118 and F-18 Homets from Amberley and Williamtown. The Commonwealth several years ago handed the remnants of the coastal heath range to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, still keeping an occupancy in the southern section of the range area. The northern section was part cleared, however much unexploded ordnance including 2,000 pounders are still dotted through the area. The NSW government has now raised the question of safety both from RAAF aircraft and the unexploded devices in what’s now the Bundjalung National Park.

Many RPT and GA aircraft have found Romeo 618 over the South Evans Head Range a persistent nuisance and the restricted airspace has been a limiting factor in the development of Evans Head Airport, which used to be far northern New South Wales’ regional aerodrome, serviced by Butler’s DC-3s in the 50s and early 60s. (Halden Boyd)

Tornado Cuts Mean Bae Job Losses:

British Aerospace is to stand down 350 employees at its Warton factory by year’s end, the result of recent Tornado order cancellations by the RAF, Malaysia and possibly even Saudi Arabia.

Work on existing Tornado orders will cease in 1992 with the last delivery to the Royal Saudi Air Force of Tornados ordered under the Yamamah I UK/Saudi agreement. Further orders of the aircraft are possible under Yamamah II, though not guaranteed. Meanwhile, the Italian Ministry of Defence has received approval to purchase 16 Tornado electronic combat reconnaissance versions, though funding has yet to be allocated. No more orders will be received from the RAF.

BAe is fast seeking ways to lessen the effect of Tornado and other military projects being cut back or cancelled. Though some 350 jobs must inevitably be lost, plans are at hand to retrain and transfer 450 Warton personnel to Preston or Samlesbury; at least 100 employees have already been seconded to other BAe sites. The company is reviewing all subcontract work with a view to bringing jobs back in-house, while work will be transferred from the commercial divisions to Warton, and also Preston, Hatfield and Kingston should foreign sales of other military pro- jects be affected by increased overseas competition.

Philippines Fighter Contest Attracts Global Interest:

At least five companies are competing to provide 18 fighters to the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is believed to have been originally chosen as the PAF’s new frontline fighter to replace the aging fleet of 14 Northrop F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighters, but at a cost of $US20m per aircraft, this decision may be re-evaluated. Though probably still the front runner in the contest, the F-16 faces more cost effective fighters such as the refurbished F-5E Tiger II, BAe Hawk, Kfir and Mirage 2000-5- in the fighter contest. An announcement concerning the acquisition of the new aircraft is not expected in the near future, western analysts noting the effect of severe budget constraints currently being suffered by the Philippine Air Force.

Oman Orders Bae Hawk:

British Aerospace has announced an order of Hawks by the Royal Air Force of Oman.

The order is an important milestone for the Hawk, for it represents the first confirmed order of the Hawk 200 air defence variant, though other customers have signalled an intention to have at least some of their aircraft delivered as such. The number of aircraft ordered is not yet specified, though it is known to be a mixed batch of Hawk 100 advanced two seat trainer/attack aircraft and Hawk 200s. The Oman order is the latest in a string of sales to Asian and Middle Eastern customers of this highly successful and cost effective aircraft.

NZ Skyhawks to Be Based at Nowra:

Under a new five year Australia/ New Zealand agreement, six RNZAF Sky- hawks and 53 personnel will be based at RAN Naval Air Station Nowra.

The aircraft and personnel will commence operations from Nowra in March 1991. The six Skyhawks will be used principally in air defence exercises with the Australian fleet, providing valuable experience to NZ aircrew and compensating to some degree the loss of training opportunities after the fallout with the United States. Though the basing of the aircraft will give the RNZAF personnel valued experience at no cost to the New Zealand Government, the new arrangement by no means is an unnecessary burden to Australian taxpayers. The RAN fleet of Skyhawks was originally sold to the RNZAF for al tidy sum, were subsequently fully upgraded by the New Zealanders, and now release RAAF Hornet and F-111 aircraft from fleet support duty for other tasks.

India Reviewing Lca Replacements:

The Indian Air Force has commenced an evaluation of alternatives to its proposed locally designed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

The program to develop the LCA was effectively shelved by the Indian Government because of delays in its development schedule. The LCA was conceived as a single engine transonic fighter capable of air defence and ground attack roles, and the IAF must now decide whether to adhere to these requirements – which could for instance be best met by the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon or the Saab JAS. 39 Gripen – or widen the field for the new aircraft. Alternatives to the transonic class include fighters such as the AMX or the Hawk 200, both of which could be purchased for about half the price of the F-16, a potentially attractive option for the order of a new aircraft type.

The IAF is not at this stage in a particular hurry to find a replacement type for the LCA. The Cost of the aircraft will no doubt be a factor in the future decision, thus giving the Hawk 200 (which of late has been selling very well to air forces of the Middle East and Asia) and the AMX a decided advantage.

 Harpoon for F-16:

The USAF and McDonnell Douglas are working on a project to equip the General Dynamics F-16C/D with the Harpoon anti-ship missile.

The Harpoon reportedly satisfies the USAF requirement for a standoff missile that can be deployed from a tactical aircraft against a wide range of maritime targets. The missile is being certified by the USAF for deployment on the F-16C/D under its Seek Eagle program, a program first established during the Vietnam war to ensure the safe carriage of various weapons by different types of aircraft. MDC Missile Systems is developing hardware modifications to make the Harpoon compatible to the F-16 airframe while the USAF will do most of the flight testing.

The development coincides with reports that MDC is also negotiating the sale of the Harpoon to Bahrain. The Bahrain Amiri Air Force will, when production of its F-16 order is completed, have 16 F-16C/Ds in service, but has no other suitable airborne platform for the potent weapon. This latest development should therefore prove valuable in supplying the Harpoon to a friendly nation in what has proven to be a strategically very important region.

 F-14 Proposed as a Natf Alternative:

Two new variants of the operationally successful but aging Grumman F-14 Tomcat have been proposed as an alternative to the Naval Advanced Tactical Fighter (NATF). The two proposed variants, the Super Tomcat 21 and the Advanced Strike Fighter (ASF)-14, have been proposed as alternatives should the NATF program be cancelled or prove unviable. The Super Tomcat 21 is an evolutionary upgrade of the F-14D, the program requiring the re-manufacturing of F-14Ds into the new configuration. The ASF-14, on the other hand, incorporates both an update of the F-14 airframe and possibly the installation of engines developed for the NATF program. Wind tunnel testing is already underway and both the Navy and Congress are known to be keen to have alternatives to the NATF at hand. Both aircraft are described as favoured concepts because of their cost-effectiveness and the proven ability of the F-14 design.