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Aviation History
1969
1969 - 2803.PDF
fLIGHT International, II September 1969 Plywood sub-killer 425 Last month Lockheed California announced that the USN had placed a $461 million order with it to develop the carrier-borne S-3A (alias VSX), an anti-submarine aeroplane which, as these pictures of the mock-up show, is strikingly similar to another Navy twin-engined deck-landing aeroplane, the Douglas A-3 Skywarrior. The four-seat, 400kt-plus, 2,000 mile-range S-3A will greatly improve the Navy's maritime-reconnaissance capability over that of the Grumman S-2 Tracker when it enters service in late 1973. No dimensions have been released, but the S-3A appears to be about the same size as its predecessor; key elements in the design are the GE TF34 high-bypass engine, with low consumption on-station, and miniature, integrated avionics and sensors. No startling weapon changes are anticipated, but the air-to-surface line-of-sight Bullpup seen in one of these pictures hardly goes with a mid-1970 aeroplane, and stand-off weapons seem more likely. The VSX contract was referred to in Flight for August 14, page 260. Photographs by Howard Levy
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