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Aviation History
1968
1968 - 0031.PDF
33 RIGHT /nternotiono/, 4 January 1968 LFTER EUROPE'S STARFIGHTER? he first Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer to be adapted to carry the HSD/Matra Martel air-to-ground missile was recently rolled out at kough. As its name implies, Martel (missile, anti-radar and television) is being built in two forms. The TV-guided version should be lea/ for knocking out heavily defended targets, such as aircraft carriers RNethAF is already evaluating several types of trainer among which is the German SIAT-223 Flamingo, while the Italian SIAI-202 is another possible candidate. Because of the limit imposed on defence expenditure, the development of some projects has had to be slowed down. Among these is the purchase of avionics and infra-red equipment, the extension of the present number of con- ventional weapons and the so-called HELIP (Hawk, European, limited improvement project). According to the commentary, the purchase of additional Hawks will be necessary to allow for practice firing exercises. There is also a real possibility that a new type cf missile against low-flying aircraft will be purchased. The type in question is not mentioned by name, but it will be more efficient and require less maintenance work and, consequently, a smaller crew. It will, however, call far a number of changes in ground equipment if full use is to be made of the greater perform- ance offered—increased tactical efficiency, a greater resistance to electronic counter- measures, and greater reliability. The new missile, states the com- mentary, is now under development in the United States; it could be built by the same European consortium which manufactured the Hawk missile under licence. For a study of the implications of such a project, a sum of dfl2.7 mil- lion (£270,000) has been voted on the [SUCCESSOR TO THE STARFIGHTER is being ^t by the air staffs of the four uropean countries which operate the \pe as their front-line intercepter/strike proplane. While a replacement is still out a decade away from operational ^rvice, the programme is likely to be the greatest magnitude of technological bd industrial importance, and much loundwork is necessary. iThe F-104G programme, which closed pwn in 1965, was the biggest co-opera- pe aviation venture ever to be under- ken in Europe. About 1,000 aircraft fere built by a consortium of firms in fest Germany, Italy, Belgium and the etherlands, while other Starfighters re purchased overseas, bringing the Ital order to between 1,300 and 1,400. [The military planners of these four mntries have already discussed their quirements for a follow-on to the •104G. The present thinking is that the type will be a tactical, multi- irpose fighter which will almost cer- inly not employ VTOL; variable ometry, however, may well be included the specification. Significantly, the >ur countries have agreed that they will )t evaluate a number of existing designs it will issue their own specification to industry in the form of a design '^petition. Canada, a very close NATO irtncr, has also studied the needs for CF-104 replacement and its require- ent comes very near to those of the European countries. A preliminary bmate gives the total number of air- aft (including those for Canada) as >°ut 1,000. Clearly, the cost of pro- iction is likely to be attractively low and would compare favourably with that of American designs for other European orders. These facts were disclosed in a recent commentary on the 1968 Dutch Defence Estimates, which also stated that with the procurement of 75 Northrop F-5A and 30 F-5B aircraft, as replacements for the Republic F-84F Thunderstreak and the Lockheed T-33A respectively, the modernisation of the Royal Netherlands Air Force would be complete. By 1971 the operational units of the Netherlands Air Force will use only three types of aircraft: the Lockheed F-104G Star- fighter, the Northrop F-5 and the Sud- Alouette III helicopter. Next on order will be a replacement for the Fokker S-ll primary trainer which has now been in service for more than 15 years. The A Spanish Air Force crew inspects the first of delivery flight to Spain from the de Havilland in service with 14 military operators six Caribou transports before setting out on the Canada plant at Downsview. The Caribou is now
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