Newsdesk – Military Aviation

Spain Rethinking Eurofighter

The much delayed and over-budget Eurofighter programme is facing another possible crisis, this time due to Spain considering withdrawal from the project. Spain is short of money and is reportedly waiting for Germany to decide whether or not it will continue with the programme, although withdrawal has been categorically dismissed by the German Government and Germany is in fact now looking at increasing the number of aircraft it procures from the current 140 so as to increase its workshare. The often vexed question of workshare between the British, German, Italian and Spanish partners was apparently close to finalisation in late 1995 and Spain’s announcement about reconsidering its involvement came as a surprise to the other partner nations. Spain’s wavering is considered to be less of a threat to Eurofighter than reports of unsolicited approaches by Lockheed to the Royal Air Force to sell it F-22 fighters. Lockheed is believed to have offered the UK a package of F-22s with slightly downgraded avionics preceded by a batch of leased F-16s. This means the RAF would need fewer than 100 Eurofighters compared with the 250 it now has on order.

The first Fokker 60 Utility had its maiden flight on November 2 1995. The flight lasted four hours during which the Fokker 60’s general handling characteristics and major systems were tested. Fokker expects to spend about 400 hours on the aircraft’s flight test programme, with civil certification planned for May. Military qualification will follow. The Royal Netherlands Air Force is the lead and thus far only customer for the stretched Fokker 50. The Fokker 60 Utility features a forward freight door and a convertible interior which can be configured for freight, paratroop dropping and medevac. The first two of the four Fokker 60s the RNeAF has on order will be delivered in May, with the last two in June. (Fokker)

Aust-Singapore Maintenance Joint Venture

An agreement for the establishment of a joint venture company to provide maintenance for Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) SIAI-Marchetti S.211 jet trainers at RAAF Base Pearce WA, has been signed. The company, Aerospace Engineering Services (AES), is jointly owned by Singapore Technology Aerospace and Australia’s Aviation International Engineering Services. The contract to service the S.211s begins this month and is worth about $A18m annually. AES will take over the responsibility of providing maintenance and logistics support for the S.211s based at Pearce from Singapore Technologies Perth Aerospace Engineering and will continue the practice of subcontracting the repair and maintenance of components to Australian companies. It will also develop other aviation related businesses in Australia, South-East Asia and elsewhere. The new company’s activities stem from a 1993 agreement between Australia and Singapore which has seen the establishment of an RSAF flying training school at Pearce. Today, there are 29 RSAF aircraft and 150 servicemen at Pearce. Australian Aviation

Re-Engined Nimrod Proposed

British Aerospace is offering to meet the UK Ministry of Defence’s Replacement Maritime Patrol Aircraft (RMPA) requirement with a re-engined upgrade of the existing Nimrod fleet. BAe’s proposal includes replacing the Nimrod’s current Rolls-Royce Spey engines with the new BMW Rolls-Royce BR710 turbofan and revamping the aircraft’s cockpit, avionics and mission related suites in association with Boeing. Installing the larger diameter new engines will require considerable modification to the wings including completely new centre and inner wing sections. The root intakes will have to be made larger to accommodate the BR710’s increased airflow requirements. Dubbed the Nimrod 2000, BAe is proposing the modification of 25 Nimrods and is confident that despite the age of the airframes (the youngest is already 20 years old) they will easily last the required 25 years. Competition for the contract comes from the Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion 2000 and Dassault’s Atlantique 3. A decision is expected in mid-1996.

Raaf Controller Shortage Begins to Hurt

The RAAF is suffering from a shortage of air traffic controllers as experienced ones are lured to AirServices Australia or overseas civilian jobs by higher rates of pay. According to the Shadow Minister for Defence, Senator Jocelyn Newman, some flying operations have had to be curtailed due to a shortage of controllers. She says the airspace around RAAF Richmond west of Sydney has only five of the 11 controllers it needs, while RAAF Pearce in WA could be down to only two of its required 15 controllers by the middle of the year if the resignation rate continues. Some 24 air traffic controllers have recently resigned to go to AirServices Australia. Previously, the overall attrition rate has averaged about 12 per annum. For more information refer to our Airspace Management column on p82 of that issue.

Better Galaxy Availability Sought

The US General Accounting Office (GAO) has said that priority should be given to improving the availability rate of the USAF’s fleet of Lockheed C-5 Galaxy heavy transports. The fleet of about 100 C-5As and C-5Bs has generally returned a mission completion rate below Air Mobility Command’s 75% target over the past few years, considerably below that achieved by the C-141 Starlifter, KC-10 Extender and KC-135 Stratotanker. The GAO’s report says that spare parts support should be improved and a readiness evaluation similar to that recently completed for the Rockwell B-1B bomber should be carried out. The B-1B evaluation revealed that better spare parts support resulted in improved mission capable rates. The GAO says that if peacetime C-5 mission capable rates could be increased to 75%, the US military would gain an additional 4.8 million tonne kilometres of wartime airlift capability per day. This is the equivalent of the capacity provided by 10 C-17 Globemaster IIIs.

New Defence Atc System

The Department of Defence has signed a $156m contract with Raytheon’s Electronic Systems Division to supply a new air traffic control system for the Australian Defence Force. Raytheon, teamed with Australian company Stanilite Electronics, will replace the prototype McDonnell Douglas F/A-18E Super Hornet completed its maiden flight on November 29 last year from St Louis Lambert International Airport (17 years to the day of the very first Hornet prototype’s first flight). MDC test pilot Jackie Jackson was at the controls for the flight, which was only marred by a minor environmental control system indication. The Super Hornet is 25% larger than the F/A-18A/C and the US Navy expects to buy 1000 through to 2015. The Super Hornet programme continues on schedule and on budget. (MDC) 10 Australian Aviation Jan/Feb 1996 ATC radars at six ADF airfields as well as the transportable tactical ATC radar based at Richmond NSW. Data processing and display systems at each of the radar sites will also be upgraded and a new radar simulator will be provided for the School of Air Traffic Control at East Sale. Stanilite Electronics will replace communications switch systems and will carry out a significant portion of the installation work and logistics support for the new system. The company will also benefit from an extensive technology transfer programme. The new system will provide compatibility between military air traffic control and the new AirServices Australia ATC automatic system. It will be progressively installed from 1997 with completion scheduled for 1999.

Red Arrows in Australia

Australia will have a chance to see the RAF’s Red Arrows aerobatic team for the first time this month. Part of the RAF’s contribution to the RAAF’s 75th anniversary celebrations, the team’s BAe Hawks will put on two displays while they are here: Tuesday January 23 over Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin at 1300 and over Sydney Harbour on Australia Day at 1430. The fact that the RAAF is about to order new jet trainers for the fighter lead-in role (for which the Hawk is a front runner) is entirely coincidental! Regardless, those lucky enough to have seen this superb team in the flesh know that every effort should be made to witness its brilliant display of precision flying. This Australian trip is the Arrows’ longest and farthest deployment to date.

Alright for Some

The Australian Defence Force’s dislike of the Nomad aircraft is selective, apparently. In August last year (the same month the type was forcibly removed from service), the army hired a civilian Nomad for parachute training at Nowra. A newspaper comment suggested that “clearly, army pilots exercise more pull in the Australian Defence Force than army parachutists”. When asked about the matter in parliament, Defence Minister Robert Ray said he was confident the flight would have been conducted within the “safety envelope”. Which begs the question: if civilian pilots can operate Nomads within the “safety envelope”, how come… ?