Newsdesk – Military Aviation

The TR-3A is said to employ full stealth capability, being designed to collect and transmit near real-time digital photo data for immediate tactical applications, with a range of over 3,000nm and both high and low level operating capability. The existence of the aircraft has been suspected for some time, and may explain sightings of “triangular, quiet aircraft seen with a flight of F-117As several times during 1989” (refer p. 7 November 90 AA). The TR-3A’s dimensions have been estimated at up to about 13m (42ft) long with an 18-20m (60-65ft) wingspan, powered by two GE F404 non afterburning engines in the 12,000lb thrust range. The relatively quiet noise footprint attributed to the aircraft could be the result of exhaust nozzles placed well forward of the wing trailing edge, shielding them from ground based acoustic and infrared detectors. probably

Us Lifts Veil on Secret Missile:

The Pentagon has revealed previously classified details of a stealth cruise missile under development, the Tri-Service Standoff Attack Missile (TSSAM).

The $US15. 1bn TSSAM program is a joint services program led by the USAF. The missile under development is designed in two variants, the AGM-137 air launched missile and the MGM-137 ground launched version. The weapons have conventional rafter than nuclear payloads and fly at subsonic speeds, though their stealth characteristics remain classified. Because both versions have a range of less than 600km, neither is subject to cruise missile constraints under the INF or START agreements governing the use of these weapons.

The AGM-137 was part of the original B-2 program, however it is now being developed to be launched from the B-2 as well as USAF B-52s and F-16s, and Navy A-6s and F/A-18s. It will primarily be used against targets such as airfields, aircraft on the ground, naval surface vessels, air defence sites, aircraft shelters, and command bunkers.

The MGM-137 will be launched from the army’s Multiple Launch Rocket System, with probably two loaded on each MLÁS launcher. Targets will include mobile armoured vehicles such as tanks and APCs, with the mis- sile being capable of “going after groups of targets. ”

Adf Aircraft to Receive Radio Updates:

Rockwell Systems Australia (RSA) has been awarded multi million dollar contracts for the supply of new generation radio and avionic equipment to RAAF Hercules and Army Nomads.

The $2 million contract covering the RAAF Hercules is for the supply of a new generation of airborne HF radios for the RAAF C-130 Hercules fleet. The radios to be installed will be the commercial HF-9000, a variant of the ARC-217. RSA will supply 31 HF radio units in addition to test equipment, installation kits and support equipment. First deliveries will commence late this year and will continue through 1994. The new radio will replace the Rockwell 618T HF equipment, which has been in service for over 25 years.

Meanwhile, RSA has also been awarded a $3m subcontract for the Army Nomad Aircraft Modifications Program. The subcontract, awarded by AeroSpace Technologies of Australia (ASTA), covers 10 aircraft, which will be provided with a complete avionics suite including: WXR-270 weather radar systems; EFIS-84 electronic flight Instrument equipment; AP-107 autopilots; DME-42 distance measuring equipment; ADF-60A automatic direction finder systems; MCS-65 compass system; and AN/ ARC-186 dual VHF AM/FM transceivers. These will significantly improve the operational capability of the aircraft whilst reducing crew workload.

 Us Navy Offered Stretched F-22:

The Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics F-22 consortium is offering a stretched version of their aircraft to fill the US Navy’s A-X requirement.

The aircraft will not, however, be necessarily offered with the same Pratt & Whitney F119 engine as selected to power the US Air Force’s F-22 Lighting. Though the Naval Advanced Tactical Fighter (NATF) has been put on hold for the moment, it may be resurrected after 1996 or even sooner if supporters in Congress have their way. The F-22 would be a prime contender for the NATF project, though it will be up against a navalised F-23 regardless of the fact that it lost out in the USAF contest.

The stretched F-22 and also a YF-23 derivative are now also being pushed for the A-X contract, as is a derivative of the A-12 Avenger, the cancelled aircraft whose place is now taken by the A-X. There will however need to some major modifications for the F-22 to fulfil the Navy task, not the least being to increase the range, something which a stretched F-22 could achieve with more fuel and a more powerful engine. Similarly the YF-23 could prove a problem in ship bome operation due to its very long length and its suspected inability to meet flare visibility requirements whilst landing on a carrier.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Defence Agency is evaluating the YF-22 Lightning as a possible next generation fighter for the Japanese Air Self Defence Force. Japan has in place a program designed to study either a foreign aircraft or possibly even a new technology indigenous fighter for operational deployment after 2010. Aspects being studied are manoeuvrability and new technology materials, as well as related powerplant and stealth capabilities.

Beech Awarded $US15. 7M Us Army Contract:

Beech Aircraft Corp has been awarded a $US15. 7m contract to supply the US Army with three RC-12K aircraft. The RC-12Ks, military versions of the Super King Air B220C, will be fitted with a modified electronics suite for special missions. Powered by Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67 engines, the aircraft will have a 1. 7m2 (19sq ft) CENTRESPREAD Australia’s 19 P-3C Orions form a vital component in our long range deterrent capability and look set to win approval for a number of vital system updates in the years ahead following the release of the Force Structures Review in late May.

The Orion has now served in RAAF colours for 22 years with the first of 11 P-38 aircraft entering service during 1968. These were supplemented by 10 of the later generation P-3C in 1978 with an additional 10 C versions replacing the original Bs from 1985 onwards.

Readers wishing to get the full Orion story are reminded that our book, the Catalina, Neptune & Orion in Australian Service is still on sale at many newsagencies in addition to being available through our mail order network.

cargo door and oversized landing gear for operations from unimproved landing strips. The RC-12K also includes an integrated cockpit consisting of a dual electronic flight instrumentation system (EFIS) and an aircraft survivability equipment/avionics control system (ASE/ACS) The RC-12K contract is the latest in a long series of military sales of the King Air. Since 1974, over 300 C-12s have been delivered to the US Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force.

Er-2 to Be Based in Queensland:

One Lockheed ER-2, the updated version of the original U-2, will be temporarily based in northern Queensland next year.

The aircraft will be based at Townsville as part of a five aircraft task force carrying out an international weather experiment which will commence in November 1992 and which has been ranked as one of the most important meteorological investigations ever undertaken. It will be used for research and to take samples of the upper atmosphere during the scheduled four month experiment, which is known as the Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Response Experiment (CORE) and involves scientists and personnel from 15 countries, including Australia.

 Usaf Limits Othb Radar Usage:

The US Air Force’s final decision on its Over-the-Horizon Backscatter radar has been to mothball the West Coast site and restrict the East Coast site to limited operations only.

The OTHB radar is a victim of defence budget cuts, and will reduce the Air Force’s planned surveillance capability. The West Coast site will be maintained, however it will not be operated in the foreseeable future. The East Coast site at Maine was only saved from a similar fate by strong pressure from Maine congressional delegates, who the Air Force from completely shutting down the site. Instead, it will be operated only 40 hours per week (rather than around the clock) by a detachment of Air National Guard personnel. Originally designed to detect incoming Soviet bombers, the site will cover three sectors 500-1,800mm offshore, effectively covering Cuba, Haiti, the Domini- can Republic and Puerto Rico, as well as the more northern Atlantic approaches to the US.

Development of the US OTHB radar took over twenty years and cost in excess of $US1 billion. To operate the East Coast site on a limited basis and to maintain the West Coast facility will cost about $US20m per year, to operate both sites full time would cost $US57m, whilst dismantling both systems was considered an uneconomic exercise.

Usn Offered Mig-29s

: The US Navy was recently offered former East German Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrums for use in the adversary aircraft mission, however turned the offer down.

The MiG-29s were offered by Germany. which remains uncertain as to what to do with the former East German aircraft it inherited with reunification. The US Navy, which previously had been very keen to acquire state-of-the-art Soviet fighters for the adversary role, turned down the offer, citing budgetary considerations as the reason. Though the aircraft were to have cost the Navy very little to actually acquire, the operational, support and maintenance costs were projected to be quite expensive.

Meanwhile, eight of the Navy’s 26 aggres- sor F-16N fleet have been grounded due to structural cracking in the centre fuselage section. The cracking has been experienced on other F-16s, however a program to alleviate the problem is now underway.

Massive Bombload Requirement Crux of A-12 Failure:

Elsewhere in this issue we report at length on the ill fated MDC/GD A-12 Avenger USN Advanced Tac- tical Fighter project and why it failed.

Information released by the Pentagon after our feature was written reveals the primary culprit as being a USN requirement that the Avenger had to be able to carry a load of 24 Mk82 500lb bombs internally. Additionally a second internal bay was also to carry defensive Sidewinder and AMRAAM missiles. To enable sufficient structural rigidity for carrier operations using a stealthy flying wing design, the A-12 had to have a spar of such proportions that it meant that there was no way in which the Navy’s weight goals could be met.

To achieve a stealthy design, much of the lower wing surfaces are incapable of accepting even the most finely matching bomb bay doors which meant that the two bomb bays had to be located in what is essentially the fuselage. This resulted in an aircraft sub-stantially larger, slower and relatively under-powered compared with what was originally required as an A-6 Intruder replacement.

Many observers are asking now just why such a high value, specialist mission strike aircraft had to carry such a large load of ‘dumb’ bombs when similar results could be achieved by using probably a third as many laser guided bombs while also keeping the aircraft beyond the range of much of the enemy’s air defences.

 European Strategic Airlift Command Recommended:

The Assembly of Western European Union (WEU) has recommended that a European strategic intelligence centre and airlift command be set up for future military deployments.

The Gulf War brought out the disturbing shortcomings of current European intelligence and monitoring systems, which were unable to provide sufficient information about Iraqi force build-up prior to the invasion of Kuwait. The WEU has therefore recommended the urgent establishment of a “WEU centre for satellite data interpretation as a first step towards setting up a European observation satellite agency. ” To do this, it is recommended that the WEU be given operational means, and a European rapid reaction force should be established to intervene outside the NATO area. The force would have to be flexible and mobile and ensure reinforce-ments for allied forces at national and multi-national level.

Beaufort’s Return

Great news! Just as we were running out of stock we have been able to acquire a fresh source of supply for most of the earlier books in our popular Australian Airpower Collection series. Consequently our fourth book, on the Beaufort, Beaufighter & Mosquito in Australian Service is now available once more in soft cover form. Unfortunately hard cover editions are extinct.

Also extinct are both soft and hard cover editions of our third book in the series-The Lincoln, Canberra & F-111 in Australian Service. No new source of supply has been found for this title nor will a reprint be undertaken due to the very high cost involved.

Our next book in this highly acclaimed series will be released in October and will feature the exploits of the three WW2 CAC aircraft, The Wirraway Boomerang and CA-15. Don’t miss it! As part of the European rapid deployment force proposal, the WEU is now also examining: the possibility of setting up a European strategic airlift command equipped with a military version of the Airbus A340 and operating in a WEU framework; the requirement for an anti-ballistic missile capability to protect Europe’s southem flank; and the need for a common European stand-off capability and precision guided weapons holding.

 Sukhoi Unveils Multi Role Su-37:

Sukhoi has unveiled plans for its latest millitary aircraft, the multi role Su-37 fighter, amidst doubts however that the aircraft will ever enter Soviet service.

The new aircraft, which is strikingly similar in appearance to the Saab JAS39 Gripen (but some 12 tonnes heavier), would effectively replace the Su-25 Frogfoot close support aircraft and also some other types such as the MiG-27. Missions would include deep and tactical strike, reconnaissance and all-weather interception. It would be provided with 18 hard points to carry air-to-surface and anti-radiation missiles, short and medium range air-to-air missiles, and pod- ded bombs and missiles. Should the aircraft actually fly, it may also feature some low observable stealth characteristics, probably similar to that of the French Rafale.

However the aircraft may fall victim to Soviet defence budget cuts, possibly before it even flies. On the other hand, it may be developed as a one-off technology demon-strator for a future Soviet aircraft requirement, or it could also be developed in cooperation with a second country to reduce Soviet costs for the project.

 Israeli-Ethiopian Airlift Smashes Pax Load Record:

The Israeli Defence Force/El Al airlift of Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa in late May smashed all pre-vious passenger airlift records.

In just 33 hours of near desperate operations, the Israelis evacuated 14,000 Ethiopian Jews from the besieged city of Addis Ababa, with 1,200 being crammed aboard just one 747! The top secret Operation Solomon must go down as a classic in smooth operation, with the 14,000 refugees quite literally evacuated at the last possible moment, the last planeload leaving the city just hours before rebel units reached the airport area. The airlift involved 18 C-130s and eight Boeing 707s from the Israeli Defence Force, as well as three 747s, two 757s and four 767s from El Al, and one Ethiopian 757.

As for the single airlift of 1,200 passengers in just the one 747-200C Combi, that was a feat in itself, smashing the previous record of 674 people aboard a Qantas evacuation flight after Cyclone Tracey hit Darwin in December 1974. The El Al aircraft was specially configured with 760 seats (with arm rests folded), and the 1,200 refugees were loaded in just 37 minutes!

Patriot Offered for UK Defence:

Raytheon and British Aerospace have teamed up to offer the Raytheon Patriot system to the UK Ministry of Defence for its medium range surface-to-air missile (MSAM) requirement.

The MSAM will replace the geriatric Bloodhound SAM system, which is now being retired from service. The MSAM should be operational by the mid 1990s, with about a four year gap between the Blood- hound being retired and the new system introduced. The Patriot system is being offered as a “comprehensive air defence system which will be complemented by BAe’s Rapier 2000 to provide the UK with a modem, cost effective and well proven sur- face-to-air missile defence system. ” It will in effect be an enhanced version of the PAC-2 Patriot which was used so effectively against Iraqi missiles in the Gulf War. Raytheon will be the prime contractor, with BAe most prob- ably undertaking assembly of the system. and also the manufacture of specialist ground equipment.

Embraer Developing More Powerful Tucano:

Embraer has commenced development of a more powerful Tucano version, known provisionally as the Tucano H, which will feature double the installed power as well as being more agile than the standard aircraft.

A proof of concept demonstrator is currently under construction and will fly later this year. It is based on a standard production airframe fitted with a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67 engine driving a Hartzell five bladed propeller. The engine is longer than the standard PT6A-25C powerplant, so an increase in airframe length of about 1. 3 metres (4ft 3in) via two fuselage plugs inserted fore and aft of the cockpit was necessary to restore the centre of gravity and stability.

It is predicted that the Tucano H will reach speeds normally associated with smaller jets and will be able to cover the whole primary and half the advanced training syllabus of a jet trainer. Additionally, it will also be well suited to perform special training tasks, such as precision weapons delivery, target towing, co-pilot enhancement, etc. Demonstration flights will commence late this year.

 Stealthy Development:

SIDEWINDER UNDER A low observable, stealthy AIM-9X Sidewinder designed to blend into the skin of stealth aircraft is being developed, for entry into service in 2000. The short range, air-to-air Sidewinder mis- sile variant would be more manoeuvreable than current variants, though full requirements for the weapon have not yet been formalised. It will not be radically different to the existing Sidewinder, but will rather be an evolutionary design with similar size and cost to its predecessors. But despite being a revolutionary design, it is expected that the AIM-9X will be better than foreign produced weapons in the same class that US pilots may come up against in the future. It will be a day/night, all weather weapon which may be capable of tracking both infrared and radar signatures.

The cost of production may however have to be dropped with new technology introduced, for both the USAF and Navy have signalled that in future they will be demanding missiles costing about (or less than) $US100,000, as against the current Sidewinder price tag of $US200,000.

 China Buys Flanker:

China is purchasing 24 Soviet made Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker fighters from the Soviet Union, and may well produce more under licence.

The Su-27 will help modernise the Chinese fighter fleet, which presently consists mainly of obsolete Chinese built MiG-19 and MiG-21 fighters. The $US600 million deal for the Flankers was arrived at after much negotiation, with the Soviets seeking to gain maximum foreign currency advantage. The Chinese had been forced to turn to the Soviets when after the Tiananmen Square massacre in June 1989 Grumman withdrew its support for the F-8-2 fighter which was being developed in China, and the US placed significant restrictions on military sales.

Av-8B Harrier Survivability Below Average:

The survivability of US Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers against Iraqi heat seeking missiles during Desert Storm was well below that of other allied aircraft. According to a USMC spokesman informing the Senate Armed Services Committee of the situation, of the five AV-8Bs hit during the conflict none survived, while four of the five F/A-18 Hornets hit were able to return to base. The critical element would appear to be the location of the engine exhaust. On the F/A-18 (and most fighters) this is far aft, away from other vital aircraft systems, whilst the AV-8B’s exhaust is at mid-fuselage, with the potential for far greater damage if hit.

Negligible a a a Over Iraqi a Irfields:

Anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) fire over Iraqi airfields was encountered in less than half of the low level Desert Storm missions against these prime targets. Royal Air Force crews, which performed the vast majority of the 400+ low level sorties against airfields, encountered AAA on less than half of their low level attacks, which resulted in just four aircraft (1%) being shot down. However, when the Tornados were retasked with attacking the airfields at medium level, the AAA defenses were both stronger and much better alerted, though losses were substantially lower at just 2 aircraft in 6,000 sorties. The figures cannot be compared with those of the US Air Force, which at no stage launched such low level attacks against Iraqi airfields, preferring instead to task F-16s and B-52s with medium to high level missions using free fall bombs, though often with very little success. At the end of the first week of Desert Storm, when ten of Iraq’s 15 principal airbases were out of action, the result was primarily attributed to the bombing proficiency of the RAF Tornados with their Hunting JP233 airfield attack weapons and 450kg bombs.