Newsdesk – Military

Ansett To Maintain Raaf Instruments

Ansett Technologies’ Servicing Division has had its RAAF contract for the Deeper Maintenance of RAAF, RAN and Army aircraft pitot-static and general instruments renewed. The initial five year contract runs from October 1994 with possible extensions to October 2001 and is worth an estimated $10.9m over the full seven year period. Ansett previously performed the work and won the new contract in an open competition conducted by the RAAF Purchasing Support Agency. The company will take complete control of the maintenance process, including the responsibility for spares provisioning when the RAAF’s existing stock of spares is exhausted.

Nese Stealth Fighter: The Japanese Aerospace Industry Has Released Preliminary Details Of A Fighter Design Featuring Stealth Along With High Manoeuvrability Characteristics.

Early drawings of what is called the FI-X indicate a configuration not unlike the Mikoyan 1.42 next generation fighter with two engines, canard foreplanes, a trapezoid shaped wing, inward canted twin vertical tail surfaces and two dimension thrust vectoring jet nozzles. Japan is aiming to fly a technology demonstrator by 2007 and the intention is to put the aircraft into production to replace the Japan Air Self Defence Force’s F-15J Eagles. The Japanese Defence Agency’s Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) has requested funding of $US10.2m for initial development of a new turbofan engine in the 11,200lb (50.1kN) thrust class to power the aircraft. The TRDI says that if the FI-X project is not pursued, Japanese industry will lose the necessary technology base and that it would provide “bargaining power if foreign pressure to buy their fighters is imposed”.

Spain Wants More Hornets

Spain is reported to be negotiating to purchase 21 early model US Navy McDonnell Douglas F-18 Hornets to supplement its existing fleet of 69 EF-18s and help bridge the gap until the Eurofighter 2000 becomes available around 2003. Spain plans to acquire 87 Eurofighters. Although the US Navy has no surplus Hornets, it has apparently agreed to make the aircraft available to Spain. The aircraft are close in specification to Spain’s own Hornets and meet its needs exactly. A structural upgrade is planned when the Hornets are delivered, to be performed by CASA. The decision to acquire Hornets comes as a blow to the USAF, which was hoping to sell Spain some second hand early model F-16s and therefore raise funds which could be put towards buying new aircraft. Spain has also agreed to purchase used Mirage F.1s from Qatar and Dassault. Lockheed CP-140 Aurora 140111 of 415 Squadron, Canadian Forces Base Greenwood, Nova Scotia, runs up its engine in preparation for another mission in this year’s Fincastle Trophy ASW competition based out of RAAF Edinburgh. Hosts for this year’s competition, No 11 Squadron RAAF, also won the event using P-3C Orion A9-659. Other aircraft competing were RNZAF P-3K NZ4204 of 5 Squadron, RAF Nimrod MR 2Ps XV255 and XV243 and Canadian Forces Aurora 141104. (Rod Brown)

Learning From Mistakes

The US Air Force has identified problems which it believes contributed to the shooting down of a friendly helicopter by American fighters under the control of an E-3 AWACS aircraft in Iraq, with social issues a major factor as well as operational ones. Solutions put forward include more training for AWACS crews and a slower operations tempo. It has been found that the heavily taxed AWACS crews are suffering retention problems and presumably due to the pressure of work, their private lives are in some cases suffering with increasing instances of alcoholism and spouse and child abuse. Length of time away from home has also been identified as a potential problem with a resultant decline in morale, particularly as some UN operations are perceived to be hollow with little purpose and with no definite aim in mind. Operationally, the USAF will address the issue of inter-service procedural standardisation to ensure that identification friend or foe (IFF) equipment is operated properly.

Update: The Indonesian And Russian Aerospace Industries Are Expected To Be A Major Force At The Australian International Airshow ’95 At Avalon Between March 21 And 26.

One of the 19 countries from five continents which will be represented at the show, Indonesia, will demonstrate its IPTN CN-235 turboprop transport which is being touted as a replacement for the RAAF’s fleet of Caribou aircraft. Other nations to be represented at the show include Japan, the USA, Italy, South Africa, Canada, Sweden, France, Israel, Russia, the UK, New Zealand and Germany. Boeing, British Aerospace, Saab, Lockheed and Aermacchi are among the companies which will be represented. The Russian presence has yet to be confirmed, but the organisers have said that Sukhoi, Ilyushin, Tupolev, Antonov and MiG have all indicated a keen interest in attending with Sukhoi advising that the Su-27 Flanker fighter is scheduled to appear at Avalon. Avalon’s public days (March 24-26) will each have a minimum of 10 hours flying, with spectators being treated to attractions such as the Military Air Tattoo, AirSport Spectacular, Aerobatic All Stars, AirRace Grand Prix and Evening SkyShow Finale. The latter is enthusiastically described by the organisers as “breathtaking” and a “dramatic combination of parachutists descending amidst pyrotechnics the flame trailing low level arrival of an F-111 and the breathtaking aerial mastery of smoke emitting aerobatic aircraft”. For those who went to the 1992 Avalon show and only remember the poor facilities, lack of parking and traffic jams, improvements have been put into place for the 1995 event. Four new cafes will be opened, the number of general food outlets increased from 28 to 39 and more police, better traffic coordination and smoother access arrangements are planned. A light aircraft equipped with television cameras will be in the air each day to monitor the highway and quickly advise police patrols of potential traffic problems. A project Nulka active missile decoy system is fired from the guided missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane during trials off Jervis Bay earlier this year. For full details of the export potential of this system refer to Defence Update on p64 of this issue. (Defence PR) A full preview of the Avalon airshow will appear in the March 1995 edition of Australian Aviation.

Heron Uav Flies

The Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) Heron long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) recorded its first flight on October 18 this year. Specifically designed to perform long endurance missions, the 16.61m (54ft 6in) wing span twin tail and boom configured Heron will be able to loiter on station for over 35 hours at altitudes greater than 25,000 feet (7600m). Powered by a 100hp (75kW) turbocharged piston engine, the Heron will be able to fly at a speed of more than 120 knots (222km/h) and carry a variety of payloads. Maximum takeoff weight is 1088kg (2400lb). The Heron is suitable for advanced military operations such as all weather real time surveillance, electronic intelligence gathering, communications relaying, electronic warfare and maritime patrol. It can also be adapted for various civilian applications. First deliveries are scheduled for 1996.

Joint Us-Uk Jast Bid

McDonnell Douglas, Northrop Grumman and British Aerospace have combined to bid for the US Navy/USAF Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) programme. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in late October, the terms of which put MDC as the team leader. The agreement follows on from previous joint research between BAe and MDC on the Advanced Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing (ASTOVL) programme, the basis of which has now been incorporated in the JAST project. MDC and BAe already have a strong relationship through the AV-8 Harrier and T-45 Goshawk programmes, while MDC and Northrop Grumman have long been associated through the F/A-18 Hornet. The JAST programme is intended to produce an aircraft which will eventually replace the USAF’s F-15s and F-16s, the US Navy’s F/A-18s and the Marine Corps’ AV-8Bs. Service entry is planned for the 2005-2010 period.

Anz Wins Engine Instruments Contract

Air New Zealand Engineering Services has won a five year contract for the deeper maintenance of RAAF, RAN and Army aircraft engine instruments. The contract started in November this year and initially extends to 1999. An option to increase it a further two years is in place and if taken up, the value of the contract could be worth $9.8m over the full seven years. The contract is similar to that won by Ansett for the deeper maintenance of aircraft pitot-static and general instruments (refer Newsdesk this issue) in that existing stocks of RAAF and RAN spare parts will be used at first, after which spares provisioning becomes the responsibility of Air New Zealand.

Israel Evaluates Hawk

The Israeli Air Force is evaluating the McDonnell Douglas/British Aerospace T-45 Goshawk as a possible replacement for its ageing fleet of Fouga Magister and A-4 Skyhawk jet trainer.