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Aviation History
1970
1970 - 0087.PDF
FLIGHT International, 8 January 1970 nun RAF airborne early warning plans DEFENCE Continued from page 57 range of RAF operations and policy and initiating theoretical and experimental research to solve them. He will help to ensure that research and development adequately match RAF needs and that the RAF, for its part, is in a position to apply the results of research carried out not only by the Air Force but also by other Government departments and in dustry. Penguin Development Funded FUNDING BY THE German and Norwegian Defence Ministries of development work on the Norwegian Penguin anti-subma rine missile system has been announced. Manufactured by A/S Kongsberg Vapen- fabrikk, this system (Flight, June 5. 1969, page 935) is a development of Terne III, and it can be used from helicopters as well as from ships. Penguin has the warhead of the Mar tin ASM-N-7A Bullpup, which Kongs berg manufactures for the British, Danish, Norwegian and Turkish Air Forces under a Nato contract; the missile is about !Oft, 3m, long, is pro pelled by a two-stage solid fuel rocket, is launched on a very flat trajectory and will operate over ranges of from 1-2 miles, 2km, to 12.5 miles, 20km. Maverick First Launch LAUNCHED FOR THE FIRST TIME against a target, a Maverick missile—complete except for warhead—scored a direct hit in a recent test at the US Air Force Mis sile Development Centre at Holloman, New Mexico. It was fired at medium range from an F-4D Phantom in a diving attack against a stripped-down M-41 tank. Maveridk, made by Hughes Aircraft Co, is guided by a miniature TV camera THERE ARE TWO ASPECTS to Royal Air Force thinking on the airborne early warning role. In the short term, the RAF is to take over maritime AEW duties from the Fleet Air Arm after the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers—and con sequently its Gannet AEW. 3 aircraft— are phased out of service. As an interim solution to its take-over of this r61e, the RAF is putting the Gannet's ATS-27 radar into Shackleton Mk 2 aircraft, which will thus have a new life after they are withdrawn from RAF maritime duties with the advent of the Nknrods. The Shackletons as AEW aircraft would have no overland capability. As a longer term solution, to the maritime AEW role, the RAF plans to develop an entirely new AEW aircraft, which would be based on the Hawker Siddeley Andover. With the withdrawal of this type from the Far East, there will be Andovers available in the UK. It is proposed to re-engine some of these with the two under-wing Rolls-Royce Speys and to fit nose and tail radar. Looking farther ahead, the RAF en visages overland AEW capability in Europe in support of Nato air forces. in its nose. In a report on the test the manager of the company's missile systems division, Dr Warren E. Mathews, said that the pilot flew towards the target until it appeared on a television screen in the cockpit, then locked the missile's guidance system onto it. After launching the missile, the pilot was free to veer away while the Maverick continued toward the target on its own, indepen dently guided by an electro-optical homing device in its nose. If the missile had been equipped with an operational type warhead the tank would have been destroyed, Dr Mathews added. Hughes are developing Maverick under a $95 million contract. Designated AGM-65A, the missile is designed for use by tactical aircraft such as the F-4 and A-7 against tanks, armoured vehicles and fortifications. It insists that this idea has arisen quite independently of its take-over of the maritime AEW role from the Royal Navy. Airborne early warning in support of Nato air forces would be com plementary to NADGE, the Nato air defence ground environment system, and it would be designed fundamentally to offset low-level attacks. The philosophy is that such AEW is fundamental to a proper air defence system. The requirement would not be for a large number of aircraft and the British Government has approved project defini tion, while the concept is generally agreed by Nato. However, because the number of aircraft required is so> small (say 19 or 20) it is unlikely that Britain would go ahead with the project for a new AEW type unless this became a Nato-sponsored projeqj and costs were shared among its air forces. The aircraft envisaged would be a comparatively small one (55-60,0001b all- up weight) and full-scale tests have already been carried out in a Mintech Comet. A major feature would be ade quate range for the aircraft to be on station for about six hours at a time. US Navy's Harpoon REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS from industry are expected to be made shortly by the US Navy for its Harpoon missile. This is designed (Flight, February 13, 1969, page 269) to offset the threat posed by Styx- type missiles launched from small boats. It is reported that "the US Navy tactic has been to rely on aircraft provided by aircraft carriers to attack enemy ships. Harpoon, with its emphasis on hitting enemy vessels armed with Styx-type missiles, could conceivably be the first small step toward returning the US Navy to a substantial ship-to-ship capability." Leading companies in bidding for a Harpoon contract are considered to be McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics, with Martin Marietta. Hughes Aircraft, North American Rockwell and LTV also in the running: Below, one of the two Lockheed C-l30Es operated by the Royal Swedish Air Force. Right, full-scale mock-up of Maverick missiles, loaded as a cluster of three on a launcher/adapter suspended from a handling fixture, as they might be carried on an aircraft wing pylon (see "Maverick First Launch", this page)
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