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Aviation History
1984
1984 - 0044.PDF
DEFENCE HMS Invincible and RAAF— who won? CANBERRA Australian press reports that HMS Invincible and her Sea Harriers "wiped out" defending Australian forces in an exercise are denied vehemently by the Royal Australian Air Force. The exercise, Transitex 83/1, was a nine-day event with Invincible penetrating the Bass Straits between Australia and Tasmania. The RAAF, which has recently taken over full responsibility for maritime strike from the now defunct Royal Australian Navy fixed-wing aviation element,was tasked with stop ping Invincible's transit. The results of the exercise have proved fuel for the fight between Australia's carrier lobby and its protagonists. The last RAN carrier, HMAS Melbourne, was de commissioned last June and her tiny complement of A-4G Skyhawks transferred ashore. Australia was to have bought Invincible but the sale fell through. The RAN itself split: the RAN anti-aircraft lobby wishes to purchase more submarines and frigates. The overall Australian defence budget is weak with the McDonnell Douglas F-18 and new frigate programmes eating into funds for the next five or so years. Reports in the Australian press late last year say that Invincible showed the RAAF could not cope with maritime strike against a carrier. The RAAF fielded F-lll-Cs and P-3c Orions launching Harpoon anti-ship missiles with Mirage IIIOs taking on Invincible's Sea Harriers. The reports say that the P-3s and F-lll-Cs "launched" their Harpoons without positive identification of the target and that the Mirages were limited by range and could not dogfight with the Sea Harriers. The reports inferred that the RAAF Mirages were wiped out, and the Harpoon attacks were a failure. Austra lian Minister of Defence Gordon Scholes is angry about the reports, which he describes as "unfair and irre sponsible reporting of an event which was not a contest, but which would have had a very different outcome if equipment currently on order had been deployed". The RAAF says that ten F-llls were launched before being detected with only two being intercepted as they flew inbound to the ship to simu late Harpoon missiles. RAN Skyhawks also flew missile simulation profiles, low level inbound then pulling up for a dive attack on the carrier. As for the Mirage v Harrier air combats, the RAAF says that three engagements resulted in a seven-to-five kill ratio in favour of the Mirages. Unofficially, says one Austra lian report, the Defence Department dismisses the claims as an organised British exploitation as part of a Sea Harrier sales drive. President of the Australian Fleet Air Arm Association Brian McKeon has chal lenged Defence Minister Scholes to show the RAAF Mirage gun-camera film on TV. "The RAAF did no better than the Argentine Air Force did in the Falklands conflict," says McKeon. The Royal Navy says: "It is not policy to make known results of naval exercises". Tanksto have ECM BELMONT Digital electronic warfare (EW) techniques, a proven success on tactical aircraft and ships, are to be used for the first time on US Army tanks. Dalmo Victor has won a $600 million contract to develop hardware and soft ware for the data management system of the Army's vehicle integrated defence system. Tank crews will be provided with an EW threat-warning system which incorporates multispectral sensors with threat-information and coun teraction displays. The system will involve the first use in electronic counter- measures of ADA, a high-level computer language. One of the three Sikorsky SH-60B Seahawks in service with HSL-41, a US Navy Fleet readiness training squadron at NAS North Island, California. HSL-41 will recieve 16 Seahawks and will be fully equipped before 1985 Seahawk squadron works up NAS NORTH ISLAND Sikorsky has delivered the first three SH-60B Seahawks to the US Navy's Fleet readi ness squadron HSL-41 at NAS North Island, Califor nia. A total of 16 Seahawks will be delivered to the squad ron at a rate of two per month starting this month. Initial operational capability will be achieved before the end of 1984, and the squadron's role will be to train crews for the proposed Seahawk squadrons, units HSL-42 and HSL-43 which will be allocated to the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets respectively. HSL-41 also trains crews for Kaman SH-2 Seasprites and Sikorsky SH-3 Sea Kings. Sikorsky says that four of the Navy's SH-60Bs are being fitted with mission avionics at IBM's Owego plant, and a further two are at Stratford, Connecticut, for radar alti meter development work. Flight-time on production Seahawks totals nearly 5,000hr, the majority having been notched up by Navy pilots at North Island. Mean while, one of the prototype Seahawks has returned to Stratford to be reworked as the first SH-60F "CV-Helo" variant of the Seahawk. The SH-60F will carry dipping sonar rather than the sono- buoys carried on the SH-60B. Sikorsky's other military programmes are proceeding on schedule. The ground-test of the T-l prototype HH-60D Night Hawk combat air- rescue helicopter is on time, with first flight scheduled for February 1. Nine UH-60A Black Hawks have provided US Air Force crews with H-60 training and experience in readiness for delivery of Night Hawk. The crew of a downed Grumman A-6 Intruder were recently rescued by one of these Eglin-based UH-60s. West Palm Beach is also the site for ground tests of the S-76 equipped with its new Pratt & Whitney PT6B-36 engines. The tests are to begin this month with first flight- tests scheduled for February 1. Sikorsky predicts a 40 per cent increase in power. 60 FLIGHT International, 14 January 1984
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