Newsdesk – Military Aviation

Britain Warned On Fla

France has bluntly warned Britain that if it does not buy the Future Large Aircraft (FLA) military transport, British firms will lose any share of the manufacturing. According to French defence minister Francois Leotard: “If the British do not buy the proposed plane, there is no reason why they should make it, and on that basis, we would look at production arrangements with the Germans and other Europeans, notably Italy”. The RAF recently ordered 25 Lockheed C-130J Hercules to partially replace its ageing fleet of earlier model C-130s, leaving the way open for a future FLA purchase. Britain is not officially involved with the FLA project, although British Aerospace is lobbying hard for participation because it stands to design and manufacture the aircraft’s wings (based on its Airbus experience).

More grandstanding came from the head of the French defence procurement office, Henri Conze, who has even gone as far as saying that British Aerospace may be dropped from the separate Airbus consortium if Britain opts out of the FLA programme. There was no explanation of how this could be enforced. Airbus has been designated as the official marketeer of the FLA if it proceeds. Francois Leotard went on to say that the FLA will be built “no matter what happens”, but the French Air Force chief, General Jean-Philippe Douin has suggested that France may have to buy C-130Js and forget about the FLA unless his budget is given a significant boost. Planned budget cuts have led Gen Douin to the conclusion that there could be insufficient funding for both the Dassault Rafale fighter and the FLA. His statements on the subject have been interpreted as mere ‘politicking’ by most observers, while Henri Conze’s outburst on Britain and Airbus can probably be put into the same category.

Meanwhile, an FLA project team has recently visited Japan for briefings to that nation’s defence and political hierarchy. Japan needs to replace its ageing fleet of 28 Kawasaki C-1s though would naturally want to become a team member if it took the FLA route. The FLA could also replace Japan’s 15 C-130Hs, thus adding additional strength to the partnership.

B-1b Passes Readiness Test

The USAF’s fleet of Rockwell B-1B Lancer bombers has passed an intensive series of tests to establish its operational availability following a number of problems in that area. The tests involved 28 Lancers from the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, and were spread over a period of six months from June 1994. A mission capable rate of 82% was achieved, well above the USAF’s required rate of 75%. The Boeing B-52 fleet already meets this requirement and the Northrop B-2 will soon be tested as well. Before the tests, the B-1B’s rate was a poor 55%. The key to maintaining the B-1B’s acceptable rate is the US Congress releasing sufficient funds for spares and maintenance.

Blackjacks Going Home

One of the problems associated with the break-up of the former Soviet Union was that large quantities of military equipment remained with the various now independent states. Among them is a number of Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95MS Bear long-range bombers which have been in the Ukraine since the split, and negotiations have been taking place to return them to Russia. The Ukrainian Air Force has never operated the aircraft due to a lack of spares and fuel, and if negotiations for their return are successful, the Ukraine’s substantial fuel debt will be partly underwritten by the Russian government.

Pampa Out Of Jpats

The Northrop Grumman Pampa 2000 has been eliminated from the USAF/USN Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) competition because of “technical deficiencies related to spin recovery”. Developed from the original Argentinian FMA IA-63 Pampa jet trainer by Vought before its amalgamation with Northrop Grumman, the Pampa 2000 has been found unsafe due to this and pilot-induced oscillations at takeoff, according to a Pentagon official. The Pampa’s spin characteristics have been described as “inconsistent” with an unusual entry and unpredictable recovery. The issue came to a head when a USAF evaluation pilot couldn’t recover from a spin and had to hand over to the accompanying test pilot. Other entries in the competition have been criticised for having spinning characteristics which are too benign, making it “difficult to teach pilots anything”. Northrop Grumman still has two candidates in the race, the S.211A jet and the Super Tucano turboprop.

The JPATS programme has become something of a poisoned chalice as at press time the Pentagon had announced yet another delay in the announcement of the winning bid. A decision was planned for February but has now been rescheduled to late August with each team having to incur a cost of around $1.3m a month just to keep their teams together. Of greater impact upon the bidders though is that the entire JPATS programme has now been rescheduled over a 20-year production timeframe rather than the previously agreed 12 years. Furthermore, production in the first seven years of the programme is to be just 141 aircraft against the previous schedule of 168 over five years. A halving of the per annum production rate is going to conservatively increase the cost of each aircraft by a minimum of at least 20%. As this is a fixed-price contract you can guess where that leaves the bidders! The programme will now see the final aircraft being delivered in 2016 which in the case of some of the contenders would see 1950s technology (albeit improved) still being delivered two decades from now for a role that will see a service lifetime extending to well beyond 2050!

F-16s ‘Stood Down’

The USAF has ‘stood down’ some 225 late model Lockheed F-16 fighters powered by General Electric F110-GE-129 engines following the crash of a GE powered F-16D in Belgium. The term ‘stood down’ applies to peacetime flight restrictions and is usually taken as a precaution, while the more common ‘grounding’ would mean the aircraft couldn’t fly even at a time of war. An ongoing problem with blade fatigue in these engines is being looked at and aircraft will have the restriction lifted once a fluorescent penetration inspection is performed on the engine blades. F-16s powered by the GE -129 engine and with more than 700 hours logged were stood down last October because of blade fatigue. The problem was fixed by replacing the front compressor fan stage. The engine manufacturer is also examining the possibility that a bird strike caused the crash, in which both crew members ejected safely.

Crash Threatens An-70 Future

The crash of the sole prototype Antonov An-70 propfan transport in February has threatened the aircraft’s future. The An-70 was lost when it collided with its An-72 chase aircraft during a test flight intended to explore the aircraft’s performance at various speeds with different control surface deployments. All seven aboard the An-70 were killed, but the badly damaged An-72 managed to recover to the Gostomel flight test centre near Kiev. The two aircraft were flying in formation at 10,000 feet (3000m) when the An-70 suddenly departed from its intended flightpath, passing under the An-72 and striking it with its fin. One of the An-70’s engines struck and damaged the smaller An-72’s wing, the An-70 then entering a spin and failing to recover before hitting the ground almost vertically. The crash has prompted speculation that the An-70 programme could be terminated. Funding problems have already caused delays and the second prototype is still some time away from completion.

Israel Updates Cambodian MiGs

After many years of instability and dilapidation, the Cambodian Air Force is undergoing a reorganisation and re-equipment programme spearheaded by an IAI refurbishment of its fleet of MiG-21 fighters. Cambodia received 19 MiG-21s from the Soviet Union during the 1980s but none are believed to be operational. The refurbishment programme is scheduled to be completed by the end of 1995. Six Aero L-39 Albatros jet trainers have also been obtained from Israel after upgrading, while four Mil Mi-8/17 helicopters and six unspecified basic trainers have been purchased, the helicopters are from the Ukraine. Cambodia also operates An-24, An-26 and Tu-134 transports plus Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters. A handful of Shenyang F-6 (MiG-19) fighters and Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters are also believed to be on strength.

Bae To Market Gripen

British Aerospace is to assist in the marketing of the Saab Gripen multi-role fighter and will contribute to the production of the aircraft for export orders. Two years of negotiations have preceded the agreement, which comes at a time when Sweden is relaxing its policies of neutrality and is encouraging cross-border cooperation. The arrangement has benefits for both parties, Saab gaining access to BAe’s international sales market and the British manufacturer gaining an aircraft which fits nicely into its product line between the Hawk and the Eurofighter. The agreement still has to be approved by the Swedish and British governments. No export orders for the Gripen have been received as yet, although Pakistan and several former Soviet Bloc countries (including Hungary) are reported to have shown an interest in the aircraft.

Spanish Carriers For China?

Spain has offered China designs for two low-cost conventional aircraft carriers of 23,000-25,000 tonnes, each able to carry up to 21 aircraft plus four helicopters. The designs have been proposed by Spanish naval shipbuilder Empresa Nacional Bazan and are said to cost $US350 to 400m each. The two designs — the SAC 200 and SAC 220 — differ mainly in their size, the SAC 200 measuring 222m (728ft) in length and the SAC 220 240m (787ft). Both would have a maximum speed of 26 knots (48km/h) and an operational range of 7500nm (13,900km) whilst cruising at 15 knots. Should China decide to purchase these or any other aircraft carriers it would substantially change the military balance not only in its area of influence but also around the world. Despite a persistent interest being shown in the proposal by Beijing, it is believed that China is not yet ready to buy aircraft carriers because the cost of them, the necessary aircraft and other ships needed to form a battle group, is prohibitive. It is known that when China purchased HMAS Melbourne for scrap in the mid-eighties that prior to disassembly its military technical services division spent much time thoroughly inspecting and noting the specific design aspects of the ship in an effort to build up a practical knowledge of carrier design requirements.

Build Your Own Caribou

Modellers of Australian military aircraft will be pleased to hear that a kit of the venerable DHC Caribou is now available from an Australian company. Ozmods Australian Models of Camira in Queensland have just released their large 1/48 scale Caribou kit which comes complete with minute detailing and 11 different decal options — seven of 38 Squadron RAAF aircraft and four US Army options. The kit is of the multi-media type with vacuum-formed, resin injection and metal parts. With a wingspan of 610mm (24in) and a length of 460mm (18in), the Caribou is the largest true-scale plastic model construction kit yet produced in Australia. The price is $97.50 plus $13.50 p&p from Ozmods.

Uk ‘Skunk Works’

British Aerospace is establishing its own top-secret special projects department for the design and development of classified aircraft and systems at its Warton plant in Lancashire. Similar in concept to the ‘Skunk Works’ facility made famous by Lockheed, the new establishment has a radar cross-section range for stealth measurements, a low-speed wind tunnel, a hot gas laboratory for testing STOVL designs, an engine ‘hush house’, electronic warfare and electromagnetic test facilities and an aircraft hangar in which prototypes can be built. Several projects are believed to be underway, with stealth technology the main activity.

New Capability For Raaf

The RAAF will be able to evaluate the effect of future software upgrades to the F/A-18 Hornet’s radar system following the signing of an $18m contract with Australian company MRAD Pty Ltd for a new test facility known as the Hornet Radar Evaluation Facility (HREF). HREF will enable the RAAF — through the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) — to fully exercise the Hornet’s AN/APG-65 radar system in a controlled laboratory environment. DSTO personnel based at the Microwave Radar Experimental Facility at Salisbury SA will be able to evaluate the radar’s performance in a simulated environment and evaluate new issues of Hornet software for any deficiencies. The HREF is expected to become fully operational in late 1997.