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Aviation History
1979
1979 - 0027.PDF
FLIGHT International, 6 January 1979 25 gramme replies: "In that case it's a battle between his electronic countermeasures and mine." This principle probably works both ways, but until it is more widely accepted the F-15 and F-18 could badly hit the sales pros pects of the Tornado intercepter. The very idea of an intercepter similar in size to the Mirage IV nuclear bomber and having the fire power to tackle six targets at once is a bold one. Grumman's F-14 Tomcat, the last word in intercepters, can sweep the skies for up to 100 miles ahead. The AWG-9 weapon system was originally developed in the early 1960s for the F-111B. One foreign evaluation pilot told Flight how he once walked around this costly and complex aircraft counting the moving parts, and then decided he wanted to go to war in something simpler. Despite his gripes, Grumman's ultimate "Cat" is a landmark in fighter design. The Sukhoi Su-15 Flagon seems at first sight an amazing machine, combining F-104-class wing loading with a dry T/W ratio at combat weight of almost unity. Most sources claim that the twin power plants are 25,5001b Lyulkas, but this may be a survival of the days when would-be analysts gave this engine as the powerplant for virtually all new Soviet aircraft. Jane's now favours the 15,8751b-thrust Tumanski R-13F2-300, which seems more reasonable. Flagon has never been exported but remains in production. Mikoyan's MiG-25 Foxbat remains another "ultimate" intercepter offering Mach 3 performance at apparently rock-bottom prices. According to the Soviet Government, Lt Belenko's aircraft was a virtual write-off when returned to the Soviet Union, and a claim for £5-6 million was lodged with the Japanese Government. The combination of the Fox Fire radar and AA-6 Acrid missiles makes this the Soviet Union's most potent high-altitude intercepter. An improved Foxbat E version with better radar and 31,9001b-thrust engines has been reported. Some sources suggest that this variant will be a two-seater. Although Foxbat carries a comprehensive electronic countermeasures installation, Western experts believe that it is largely analogue and in no way comparable with latest-generation Nato digital systems. As a result, present models of Foxbat could be badly mauled if flown in com bat against Nato air defences. It must be borne in mind, however, that the MiG-25 was designed in the early 1960s, when most Western aircraft still employed vacuum tubes (valves) rather than transistors. Given updated solid-state digital avionics, Foxbat could remain effective throughout the next decade. Before concluding this survey, we have one more assessment to make. It would obviously be absurd to nominate any type as a "best buy," but the- reader may well wonder which of the makes listed seems most likely to emulate the F-4 by becoming the classic of its genera tion. We would suggest fhe F-18 Hornet on the grounds that it seems to represent a good compromise between the relatively lightweight F-16/Mirage 2000 class and the more expensive F-15/Tornado category. If Northrop can get the F-18E programme on the road, the type becomes even more attractive. The ultimate outsider must be the fighter that will emerge from AST 403/TKF studies and similar French work. In theory, any new fighter must be better than the F-18, or else we all might as well reserve positions on the McDonnell Douglas and Northrop production lines. The challenge is there. Can Europe's aerospace engineers meet it? ° •&$• Italy's multi-role missile Take the world's most successful radar-guided missile and add the latest in guidance systems, and what do you get? Doug Richardson went to Rome to look at Selenia's Aspide, the Italian development of the perennial Sparrow. FOR better or worse, multi-role aircraft are a fact of life. Few nations can now afford to develop highly specialised aircraft, and many modern designs tend to be used as jacks of all trades. Until now, however, missiles have always been designed for np more than two applications. Occasionally an air-to-air weapon has been revamped for use as a SAM, but the concept of a multi- role tri-service weapon is only now producing major hard ware. In the mid-1960s the Italian Air Force required a new intercepter. Since Aeritalia was tooled up for the F-104G Starfighter and Selenia had gained valuable co- experience on the Raytheon Hawk, a new Starfighter variant modified to carry Raytheon's AIM-7 Sparrow was obviously attractive. The F-104S programme was duly launched, the first aircraft leaving the line in 1969. All F-104S units are equipped with the AIM-7E version of Sparrow. The possibility of replacing this US weapon with an Italian design seemed attractive from an early stage. And since the Italian Navy wanted a new shipboard air-defence missile and the Air Force a similar weapon to defend airfields and high-value targets, it was logical to go for a mutli-role design. Attention was immediately focused on Sparrow. A new AIM-7F version was under development for air-to-air use, while nine navies operated the weapon as a point-defence SAM. Selenia studies suggested that Sparrow could not fully meet Italy's surface-to-air requirements, and the company considered that the basic technology of the US weapon was becoming obsolescent. In 1969 the Italian Ministry of Defence gave the go-ahead for the develop ment of a locally designed weapon suitable for navy and air force use, and Aspide was born. The new missile was conceived from the outset as a multi-purpose round. Raytheon's AIM-7F is an air-to-air weapon, says Selenia, while the AIM-7H rounds in the Sea Sparrow system are intended for naval use only. AIM-7F experience will spin off into the US naval weapon, but the An Aspide missile leaves a Spada launcher during tests at the So/to di Quirra test range
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