Newsdesk – Military Aviation

Goldsborough was one of 29 Charles F Adams class destroyers commissioned mainly in the period 1960-65. Australia’s three examples were commissioned in 1965 (Perth and Hobart) and 1968 (Brisbane).

Perth Becomes Singaporean Training Centre:

Perth has become something of a centre for Singaporean flying activity with the recent announcement of two new flying training deals.

Anagreement between the Australian and Singapore defence forces will see contractors build a specialised flying training school at RAAF Pearce. The 25 year contract will see 250 Singapore air force personnel and their families permanently stationed at Pearce with a fleet of 30 training aircraft. Upto50newpilots will pass through the course each year.

On the civil side, the Singapore Flying College-Singapore Airlines’ training establishment – has begun development of an accommodation complex at Perth’s Jandakot airport. Costing $1. 6m, the complex will house 80 students and the college’s operations and administration building has already been completed.

Local flying training organisations are also expanding their activities at Jandakot. The Royal Aero Club has begun a $2m clubhouse refurbishment while the Australian International Flying College is also growing with the building of another hangar and operations building. The financial benefits to Perth from all this activity is substantial to say the least.

Britain’s Clearance Sale:

The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence is set to dispose of surplus military equipment “on a scale unprecedented since the period following the Second World War”.

The selloff covers ships (including submarines) and aircraft, many of them part of Britain’s recent Options For Change’ defence review which has resulted in the dis- banding of six Tornado, four Phantom and two Buccaneer squadrons in the RAF. Modern aircraft such as the Tornado will be held in reserve, but others will be sold.

Most will be at the end of their useful lives, but of the 170 aircraft expected to be put up for disposal over the next three years, a useful number could be offered to foreign governments as part of packages including spare parts, which themselves will be subject to cuts of up to 50% Aircraft for sale at the moment include 22 Jet Provosts, 10 Phantoms and six Buccaneers. Fancy an Oberon class submarine, a destroyer or a Chieftain tank? Look no further!

Saab Looks for Gripen Partners:

Swedish manufacturer Saab is reportedly speaking to several European and US companies with a view to sharing in the Gripen fighter programme.

Saab is seeking a partner with marketing and production capability for the aircraft as well as to share in future development costs for things such as tropical trials and adaptation for NATO. One of the manufacturers being spoken to in these preliminary talles is British Aerospace, which has identified a market niche for a light combat aircraft in the Gripen class.

An in-depth feature on the Gripen appeared in our May edition.

Russian Mass Scrappings:

A lack of money in the Russian air force will see the suspension of deliveries of newtypes this year along with the scrapping of some 2000 other aircraft.

Among the types to be scrapped in the near future are those which have already been withdrawn from service (MiG-21, Su-7 Fitter and Aero L-29) and others which will shortly be withdrawn, including the MiG-23, MiG-27 and Su-17M fighter bombers and the Tu-16 Badger, Tu-22 Blinder and

Tu-95M the Good News & the Bad News.

The bad news first. As of the next issue we will have to increase the cover price of AA to $5. 90.

This is our first such increase since early 1988 and though inflation has been well and truly tamed over the past year we have seen our cost structure increase (via inflation) by about a quarter in that time. Also the Government’s new Print Post charges become effective from next month with the result that magazines must now pay postal increases of up to 100% to service subscribers not living in the East coast capital cities.

However, as always

You Don’t Have to Pay the Extra.

Nor should you! By simply filling out the subscription formon page 19of this issue youcan save up to $49. 00 over a two year period, paying in effect just $3. 45 an issue as against $5. 90 from the newsstand. One year subscribers save a very handy $20. 00.

We are sure YOU could use that money and this is why we are taking the opportunity to advise you of the price increase well in advance. However, don’t delay as this offer strictly expires on June 30, 1993.

and K Bear bombers. This will leave Russia’s tactical aviation fleet with the MiG-29 Fulcrum, Su-27 Flanker, Su-25 Frogfoot Su-24 Fencer, and the Tu-22M Backfire, Tu-95MS Bear and Tu-160 Blackjack bombers plus the I-78 tanker in the long range strategic aviation inventory.

The role/capability of the Fulcrum is comparable to the F/A-18 Hornet, the Flanker to the F-14/15, Frogfoot to the A-10, Fencerto the Tornado IDS whilst Bear, Backfire and Blackjack are strategic platforms largely unsuited to Russia’s post Communist ambi- tions.

Meanwhile, Russia’s transport needs will be taken care of by a large fleet of П-76 Candids and two dozen orso An-124 Ruslans plus the An-70T which will be entering service soon. 1993 deliveries of new MiG-29s and Su-27s have been suspended due to a lack of funding.

More Jobs to Go:

A report issued by the Stockholm International Peace Institute has indicated that three to four million of the world’s 15 million defence industry workers will lose their jobs over the next five years, the result of continuing cuts in arms procurement.

The report notes that the biggest reductions are expected in Russia, where despite large cuts in arms production over the past four years, has seen only about 100,000 of its estimated six million workers actually leave the industry. Some one million are currently being paid despite literally having nothing to do.

The report also notes that despite its claims about converting from military to civil production, China is in fact spending more on arms, something those in Canberra might (or might not) consider worth keeping in mind for future reference.

Dsto Launches New Facility:

The Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) has awarded a $2m contract to Wormald Technology for the first phase in the establishment of a new research facility, the Air Operations Simulation Centre (AOSC).

The centre, located at the DSTO’s Aeronautical Research Laboratory in Melbourne, will provide real time ‘human in the loop simulation for research into the performance of aircrew and aircraft systems in simulated operational environments. It will be a major centre for advanced research into the acquisition, design, operation and integration into service of military aircraft in Australia. The AOSC has been designed around two cockpits – a single seat fighter and a generic side by side two seater.

Flanker Follow-on Funded:

The Russian Air Force will fund the development of a follow on to the Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker fighter, raising the necessary funding from the sale of surplus equipment or by finding outside investment.

Known as the 1-42, the new project is being undertaken by the Mikoyan Design Bureau, while Sukhoi itself is continuing to develop advanced versions of the Flanker.

The lack of cash available to the Russian military generally at the moment is inhibiting the Air Force’s re-equipment plans. Other projects reportedly underway include a medium range bomber/strike aircraft to replace the long lived Tu-16 Badger and Tu-22 Blinder (which was never a successful design) and a replacement for the venerable An-12 Cub transport, Russia’s equivalent to the Lockheed Hercules.

The dissolution of the Soviet Union has made it more difficult for Russia to obtain transport aircraft as many of the factories which build them (such as Antonov in Ukraine) are now in other republics.

 Upgrades Rather Than New Systems:

The US government’s plans to cut defence spending, along with reduced need in the wake of ‘peace’ breaking out between East and West, could see the US military relying on upgrades of current weapons systems rather than the development of new ones.

Current combat aircraft programs such as the F-22, F/A-18E and A/FX could well be jeopardised if such plans go ahead, as could the RAH-66 Comanche helicopter and the C-17 transport, which is having development problems while at the same time suffering

Centrespread

This month’s dramatic centrespread, titled ‘The Ultimate Weapon’, taken by Mal Lancaster, won second place in the RAAF’s Heritage Awards, Photography, for 1993.

The award is equally well deserved not only for the photograph itself, but also because of the lengths taken to achieve it. Taken from a mountainside near Cunningham’s Gap west of Brisbane, not everything went quite to plan in preparation for the photo run. As always in photographic missions of this sort, every last detail as to where the photographer would be, where the aircraft would be and at what time were taken into account.

However trekking up a narrow and winding path to the top of the mountain to meet the predetermined timeslot, Mal was bailed up by a snake which had unfortunately been sunning itself on the path. Because of the nature of the terrain, Mal was faced with no other option but to try and urge the snake to move out of his way without causing a somewhat more serious altercation! Meanwhile the F-111 had arrived on station and was circling near the mountain waiting for Mal to appear.

To make a long story short, after a twenty minute ‘discussion’ he managed to persuade the snake to move, and the result was this stunning photograph!(The F-111 is fully updated in our ‘Aircraft of the ADF’ series this issue on p24).

fering large cost escalations. Several options are being considered covering all the above aircraft, but the bottom line is the fact that the US government wants to reduce defence spending by $US127bn over the next five years.

All Together on Orion Upgrade:

Boeing and British Aerospace Australia have joined forces to bid for the upgrade programme of the RAAF’s P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, as have Qantas and General Electric Aerospace. (Refer Defence Update p72 this issue).

The programme is worth about $500m. and will be carried out over a five year period from 1996. Under the Boeing/BAe arrangement, the former will be responsible for managing the overall system integration including mission avionics integration and BAEA will be responsible for aircraft installation and check out, logistics and software support The Qantas/GE bid also involves Australian Defence Industries and Scientific Management Associates. The contract is expected to be let later this year.