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Aviation History
1983
1983 - 1050.PDF
PARIS SHOW REVIEW Outsiders to run in US fighter race Boeing, Grumman, and Rock well talked at Paris of their plans to compete for devel opment of the US Air Force's next air-superiority aircraft, the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF). Although still in the formative stages—a request for proposals on concept-definition paper studies was only issued at the end of May—ATF is the only major combat-aircraft pro gramme in prospect, and competition will be intense. No one yet knows what the Air Force wants, except that the aircraft must be better in every respect than the F-15. Industry's initial role will be to tell the Service what is possible. Current thinking suggests that supersonic manoeuvrability and long range will be required, as will the ability to take off from bomb-damaged runways. Of the companies likely to compete, Boeing and Rock well have no recent fighter design experience, while Grumman is a traditional Navy supplier. "There's a new kid on the corner. He's been beaten up once or twice, but he's a streetfighter now," warns Bastian "Buz" Hello, presi dent of Rockwell's North American Aircraft Oper ations. Now that the B-1B is back in production, it is ahead of schedule, and Hello intends to keep it that way. The first B-1B will be completed by April next year, and will roll out in October after an extensive systems check. First flight is set for December 1984, three months ahead of schedule. Production will reach the planned four a month by aircraft 23, early in 1986, and the 100th B-1B will be handed over in 1988. Rock well is confident that addi tional aircraft will be ordered once the initial 100 are secure. The company has in vested $420 million in advanced manufacturing facilities for the B-1B, install ing 15 five-axis numerical- control machines at the Columbus plant. "These are the newest facilities in the USA," says Hello. Advanced manufacturing will play an important role in ATF, keep ing down production costs. Rockwell is a leader in the superplastic forming and :-.*. '•"" This impression of a Rockwell Advanced Tactical Fighter features widely separated engines with two-dimensional nozzles for Stol and manoeuvrability. Stealth design is reflected in the curved leading edges and blending diffusion bonding of titanium structures. The company also built the HiMAT highly manoeuvrable remotely piloted research vehicle, gain ing first-hand knowledge of advanced transonic aero dynamics and composite structures, essential to ATF. Boeing has identified several key ATF technologies, and has sought and won Air Force and Navy research contracts dealing with composite structures, and the integration of airframe, propulsion, and flight control. Under an Air Force contract Boeing is studying the damage tolerance of composite structures, building a design database for use with ATF. Under a Navy contract Boeing is studying the survivability of "post- buckled" composite struc tures. The effect of highly integrated inlet and nozzle designs upon aircraft performance, manoeuvra bility, and detectability is being investigated using models with jet simulators. Under the Air Force Pave Pillar programme Boeing will integrate previously un coupled subsystems, such as flight control, propulsion, electronic warfare, and navi gation, to allow automatic terrain following and threat avoidance. The company is also studying sensor blending for automatic terrain and threat avoidance. Boeing will specify a package of sensors and blending techniques which will supply the flight control system with a detailed picture of the terrain ahead, enabling an aircraft to fly around obstacles and defences. Sensors under consideration include millimetre-wave radar, laser radar, forward-looking infrared, and stored digital terrain maps. Boeing is also working on microprocessor-controlled actuators which could form a distributed control system. Mini control centres would be located in key actuation areas and connected by digital data- buses. Such a system would be lighter, and each actuator controller could be pre programmed to provide get- home capability in the event of a complete flight-control system failure. The company intends to compete for ATF devel opment and manufacture, and is investing heavily in its fabrication facilities at Wichita. ATF final assembly would take place at Seattle. Grumman is traditionally a Navy supplier, but has set out to win Air Force research contracts to establish a posi tion with the Service on a level with McDonnell Douglas. The most prestigious contract to date is for the development of a forward- swept wing demonstrator. The company expects its first X-29 to fly next April. The wing will be mated to the fuse lage this week, allowing the aircraft to be rolled out of its fixture by the beiginning of July. Metal cutting on the second X-29 began last The X-29A is being built for the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Air Force Flight Dynam ics Laboratory. In addition to the aeroelastically tailored composite wing skins which make forward sweep possible, the X-29 features thin super critical aerofoil sections, discrete variable camber, a close-coupled canard, and 35 per cent static instability. The latter requires a triplex digital flight control system. Grumman argues that the X-29 will test the majority of key ATF technologies, partic ularly if the second aircraft is fitted with a two-dimensional vectoring nozzle and inte grated propulsion and flight control. The demonstrators could be used to reduce ATF development timescale so that an aircraft could enter service in 1993, not in 1995-96 as the current schedule suggests. Grumman argues that sweeping the wing forward reduces drag by 10 to 20 per cent, and can produce an aircraft between 5 and 25 per cent lighter, depending on the mission. An ATF using conventional technology would weigh 42,0001b, the company suggests, while an aircraft using X-29 tech nology could weigh as little as 30,0001b. Grumman is keen to win ATF because the Navy's next fighter, the multirole VFMX, is unlikely to enter service before the end of the century. 1732 FLIGHT International, 11 June 1983
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