Newsdesk – Military Aviation

Bids for the program are already held by the USAF, and the awarding of the contract is scheduled for February 1992. Lockheed is a partner in the bid for the contract and is also the US agent for the Airtrainer. PAC is looking at using a Lycoming AEIO-540 260hp engine or the Continental equivalent for US aircraft and, should PAC be successful in their bid, delivery of the 125 USAF aircraft would be over three years.

The USAF contract is for an aircraft to be used to evaluate students in the initial flight training/screening stage. Screening of the students will determine whether they then go on to fighter, bomber or tanker/transport advanced training.

New Bomb Was Developed Just

FOR SADDAM: During the Gulf War the US Air Force developed (perhaps in record time) and used a special bomb designed to penetrate Iraqi hardened command shelters to kill senior officials and (hopefully) Saddam Hussein himself.

Designated the GBU-28, the makeshift laser guided bomb was fabricated from machined 8 inch artillery gun barrels (about 4 metres long), and weighed in at 4,700lb (2,135kg). The bombs were capable of penetrating some 30 metres of earth or 6 metres of hardened concrete. They were fitled with laser guidance kits developed by Texas Instruments, the kits essentially being modified Paveway 3 laser guidance kits employed on the GBU-27 bombs.

Two of the bombs were delivered to the Gulf, and within hours were dropped by two F-111Fs against a military bunker complex just north of Baghdad in the last week of the war prior to the formal ceasefire taking effect. Both bombs reportedly worked as advertised, one bomb hitting its target and killing a number of senior Iraqi military officers; the second F-111F pilot misidentified his designated target so his bomb hit another complex, which it destroyed.

Meanwhile, the overall success of guided bombs in the Gulf conflict have made development and usage of these and other specialty weapons the way to go. During the war the USAF used more than 8,000 laser guided bombs, 5,500 Maverick missiles and 75 GBU-15 glide bombs, with superb results. The laser guided GBU-27 bombs for instance recorded a 95% hit rate. The US F-111F force, with Pave Tack laser guidance pods, also were able to develop a new combat role by dropping hundreds of 500fb bombs on armoured vehicles; in one night alone F-111Fs destroyed 77 tanks using the Pave Tack system. This is also good news for the RAAF, which uses the system with its F-111C force.

F-4G Wild Weasel Phantoms also achieved considerable success with High Speed Anti-radiation Missiles (HARMs), of which about 1,000 were fired. However after a few weeks, whenever a USAF F-4G turned on its APQ-120 attack radar, the Iraqis would shut down their SAM and AAA radars, which made them just as effective as if they had been destroyed. However the glaring need for an F-4G replacement was shown by increasing difficulties with achieving combat readiness with the type.

 Soviets Launch Two Aerobatic Teams:

The Soviet Air Force has formed two new aerobatic teams, one flying MiG-29 Fulcrums and the other Su-27 Flankers.

The two teams, the “Swifts” (MiG-298) and “Blue Lighting” (Su-27) are each hoping to commence displays at major international airshows and events in the near future. The Swifts have already made their first foreign visit, having visited the French air force’s Mirage F1 Aquinnad Normandie-Niemen squadron, which during World War Two flew with the Soviet Air Force. Both teams are seeking to arrange visits to the Red Arrows base in the UK, the British team having made a goodwill tour to the Soviet Union and demonstrated their flying skills to the Soviet teams last year

New Seahawk Simulator Enters Service

The RAN has commissioned its new $50m S-7082 Seahawk simulator at NAS Nowra.

The simulator, supplied by CAE Link of the US, was assembled in Australia by Qantas and incorporates specialised simulation software developed in Australia by CSA. The British firm Ferranti, with Ferranti (Australia). supplied the radar and underwater acoustics simulation. The simulator will be used to train crews in a variety of functions from straight flying modes to a full spectrum of combat operations using the entire array of sensors available to the sophisticated Seahawk.

Meanwhile, a conversion programme upset by the Gulf crisis and evolving software requirements has delayed the operational deployment to sea of the first Seahawks till late 1992. The first FFG frigate, HMAS Adelaide, was commissioned into the RAN in October 1980 and the final of 16 Seahawks is due from ASTA during the course of this issue.

 Military Pilot Training Itr:

Following a review of pilot training by HO Training Command, which included the introduction of civilian flying training for elementary training and fight screening, the RAAF now proposes contracting out military pilot training in 1992-93 for a three year period initially. This will include an option for extension to cover additional two year contract periods, reports Tom Muir in the Australian Defence Intelligencer.

By early May more than 50 companies and organisations had requested copies of the ITA which is the first of a two stage process in which tenders will subsequently be sought only from a short list drawn from those potential providers which responded to the ITR. The second stage involves the consideration of tenders which will aim at establishing best value for money.

Basic flying training (BFT) for the ADF and the PNG Defence Force is conducted by 1 Flying Training School at Point Cook which provides training (on CT-4A Airtrainers) for annual student intakes from Army (37), PNG Defence Force (8), and RAAF/RAN (112).

In the ITR the criteria for ADF BFT and flight screening covers accommodation, meals and recreational facilities. As to aircraft type the requirement is for side by side seating on a tricycle trainer approximating the CT-4 in size and performance, and the RAAF has indicated that up to 13 of their CT-4A aircraft may be available for conditional dry lease. For the flight screening component (RAAF and RAN only) a fully aerobatic tail dragger will also be required.

The expected training taskload for 1992-93 (and which may vary later according to individual service requirements) is.

• Army BFT 37 students/year flying a 67 hour syllabus with 10 hours solo with 313 x 50 minute ground training (GT) periods.

• PNG BFT-8 students/year for 130 hours with 422 x 50min GT. 100 stu-RAAF/RAN Flight Screening dents/year for 10 hours on a tricycle trainer and five hours on a fully aerobatic tail drag- ger plus three hours on a AST-300 or equivalent simulator. (With the proposed all through PC-9 training, flight grading replaces BFT). The RAAF/RAN screening syllabus. calls for six ground training periods including mass briefs.

Centrespread

The winner! Billed as the last big aerospace defence contract of this century, the Advanced Tactical Fighter program pit- ted against each other the very cream of the US military aerospace industry. McDonnell Douglas and Northrop fielded the YF-23 while Lockheed, Boeing and GD proposed the smaller YF-22. On the engine side, GE and Pratt & Whitney had just as much at stake as the airframers for their new advanced technology supercruise engines.

It is history now that the winning laurels went to the P&W powered YF-22 team in what will eventually by a SUS60bn program. Whilst the choice was obviously bad news for both MDC and Northrop, the decision did much to naturally buoy the winners.

For Lockheed it gives them much additional work following the cancellation of the Navy P-7 program amidst winding down Hercules and Orion production lines. For Boeing it brings them back into the fighter industry after an absence of over a half century whilst for General Dynamics the win literally saved their Texas bacon as the firm had little in prospect after the final F-16 rolls off the Fort Worth production line a few years from now. It was also no secret that a loss by Pratts would have seen the closing of their Florida military engine division though one wonders if GE will be any better off as their F110, F404 and T700 programs wind down later this decade.

The ATF is essentially an F-15 replacement, combining the benefits of stealth technology, agility, advanced sensors, long range and the ability to ‘supercruise at nearly a thousand knots. As was clearly demonstrated over the skies of Iraq, an investment in such technology can pay a handsome dividend when the shooting begins.

The RAAF plans to inspect the premises of prospective tenderers by December this. year and an industry briefing will be conducted at Point Cook at a date to be announced followed by an inspection of facilities to indicate required standards.

There are probably a dozen (at least) commercial flying training schools in the preferred areas of NSW, Victoria, South Australia and southern Queensland which are likely to be bidding for this work.

But a strong contender has to be Hawker de Havilland’s Australian Aviation College at Parafield, SA, which has just completed the first major phase of expansion as an airline pilot training school of international standard with its first Qantas students about to graduate. At present AAC is operating at its planned initial capacity of about 125 residential students with further expansion planned through incremental increases in residential accommodation and aircraft fleets.

During 1991 AAC is undertaking a trial program of flight grading of potential pilots for the RAAF to validate this aspect of the commercialisation of military flying training.

Another contender is likely to be the British Aerospace-Ansett Flying College, now being established at famworth, NSW. The college has its business case based on producing airline pilots rather than general flying proficiency with the first monthly intake of 16 students in October this year.

When fully operational some 224 students will be training at any one time. They will undertake a 14 month training course which ends with 60 hours of line oriented flight training in a jet simulator.

 GD Announces Massive Job Cuts:

General Dynamics has announced a major restructuring of its organisation, which will ultimately cost 27,000 jobs over the next four years.

GD, which is the US’s number two defence contractor, will cut jobs in all areas of the organisation, as well as reducing capital expenditure by some 60% over the next four years and holding development spending at just $850m over the same period. “The end result,” according to GD’s president and CEO, James Mellor, “will be a leaner, but at the same time a stronger company by the mid-1990s, if not sooner”. It is not expected, however, that the company will not remain profitable during the restructuring period. Sales in 1990 were $US10. 2bn, however it is predicted that this will shrink to less than half that by 1995. The order backlog, however, remains quite strong at about $US23bn, bolstered by recent orders from Egypt and South Korea for 46 and 120 new F-16s, respectively. These two sales are expected to save between 500 and 1,000 joDS.

In addition to the F-168, GD’s future has been firmed somewhat by being a member of the winning ATF consortium. GD will manufacture the mid-fuselage section and both the tail and landing gear assemblies of the F22, which will at least save some jobs.

F-117’s Precision Bombing Capability Proven in Gulf:

The US Air Force’s Lockheed F-117A stealth attack aircraft proved extremely successful during Desert Storm, according to recently released data.

F-117s of the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing flew 1,271 attack sorties during the Gulf War, their missions being regarded as amongst the most dangerous for allied aircrew, yet none sustained any combat damage. A large degree of this could be put down to luck when the heavy, though mostly unaimed anti-aircraft barrages over Baghdad are taken into account. Another factor must be that the arcraft’s stealth characteristics continually gave it the advantage of surprise, enabling the bombing to be more accurate and the anti-aircraft fire to often be let loose too late. An example of this is that during the first raid on Baghdad surprise was so complete that the city was still lit up by lights.

Baghdad, which is 900nm from 37TFW’s campaign base at the Saudi airbase of Khamis Mushait, remained the primary target for the F-1178 throughout the conflict, the F-117s being the only aircraft to bomb within the city limits of the Iraqi capital. During the initial 24 hours of Desert Storm, the F-1178 were assigned 31% of targets, and this actually rose to an average 40% for the remainder of the war! A bomb hit rate of 80-85% was recorded, with some targets being as small as one metre air vent shafts or doorways. This compares to a hit rate of about 30% for aircraft during the Vietnam war, when most bombs were unguided.

In all, some 40-45 of the 56 USAF F-117AS were deployed to the Gulf with 37TFW, and during their 1,271 combat sorties flew 6,906 hours, averaging 5. 4 hours per sortie, which is significantly longer than the typical 14-1. 8 hour sorties flown during routine training flights in Nevada. However, it has been noted that a raid which required eight F-117s and two tankers to complete could have been flown with the same results by just two B-2 bombers and no tankers.

Meanwhile, the House Armed Services Committee has allocated $US83m to the US Air Force’s budget to facilitate the systems upgrading of the current F-117A fleet. The upgrades will include improved all weather sensors, a better mission planning system, low observable communications, integrations with Global Positioning System satellites and improvements to the aft structure to reduce radar cross section and infrared observables. A further $US140m was also allocated to research the retrofitting of the

Starlifter Life Extended by Wing Redesign:

Lockheed has developed and delivered a prototype redesigned centre wing box for the C-141 Starlifter designed to extend the aircraft’s service life by 50%.

the USAF has already placed a $US118m contract with Lockheed to produce 94 wing box kits for Military Airlift Command’s C-141 fleet, and holds options on an additional 27 kits worth a further $US22m. The kits, together with a number of other mods implemented, will effectively raise the C-141’s service life from the original 30,000 hours to 45,000 hours. Having entered service in 1964, the C-141 fleet will now be kept operational for many years yet, with the average airframe currently on about 33,000 hours.

F-15 Eagles Top Gulf Kill List:

The F-15C Eagle reigned supreme in the skies over Iraq during the Gulf War, being responsible for the majority of air-to-air kills by allied aircraft during the conflict.

F-15s were responsible for 34 of the 39 Iraqi aircraft claimed by the US and the two claimed by the Royal Saudi Air Force, primarily because the F-15s were assigned strike escort and combat air patrols deep inside Iraq where most enemy aircraft were encountered. The top scoring unit of the war was the US Air Force’s 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing, whose pilots scored 17 victories, followed by the 36th TFW which downed 13 Iraqi aircraft. The majority of the 39 confirmed kills were made with radar guided AIM-7 Sparrow missiles, which indicated that the aircraft had been positively identified as hostile at long range by E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft. The shorter range AIM-9 Sidewinders were responsible for 11 kills, while two helicopter kills were made by A-10s using their guns. In addition, the two Saudi victories (a double kill by the same pilot) were scored using AIM-9s.

An interesting kill was made when several F-15Es were returning from a strike and detected an Iraqi helicopter on their radar. In the immediate absence of a nearby combat air patrol and appreciating how quickly a helicopter can disappear from radar coverage, one of the F-15E pilots locked up the hapless helo with his laser designator and scored a direct hit with a 2,000lb Mk84 Pave- way laser guided bomb. The Eagle crew later reported that the helo was simply vaporised. This is believed to be the first time that an air-borne aircraft, in this case reported to be travelling at around 60kts, has been destroyed intentionally by a bomb!

The final US F-15C Eagle kill tally is 7 Mirage F. 18, 7 MiG-238, 5 MiG-298, 4 Su-7/178, 2 MIG-258, 2 Su-258, 2 MiG-218, 2 Su-228 and three helicopters. Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolts also killed two helicopters with 30mm gunfire, while USN F/A-18s killed two MiG-218, and an F-14A Tomcat shot down a helicopter. The only other Allied victories were the two by the RSAF F-15C pilot. The Royal Air Force Tornado F. 38 were assigned to combat air patrols in the Saudi/Kuwait/ southern Iraq area, and their only chance at scoring a victory faded when the Iraqi aircraft to which they were vectored fled.

• No 3 Squadron Reunion:

RAAF’s oldest fighter squadron, No 3, will be holding special celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of its formation as No 3 Sądn Australian Flying Corps in September 1916.

All former members of the squadron are invited to attend functions to be held at RAAF Williamtown on Thursday 19 September 1991. The celebrations will include a Colours Parade and social functions. It will be a great opportunity for ex-members to get together and renew old friendships. For further details contact Flying Officer Ross Day, 3 Sqdn RAAF, Williamtown 2314, or Ph (049) 28 7121.