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Aviation History
1984
1984 - 0866.PDF
DEFENCE Nigeria receives Lynx YEOVIL Westland officially handed over three Lynx Mk89 heli copters to the Nigerian Navy last week, and is in the process of negotiating a contract to build a naval air base for the service near Lagos. The base contract has not yet been signed, but Flight understands that negotiations are nearing completion. Construction of the base will be by a Westland sub contractor and, when agreed, will become part of a total contract which includes the three Lynx, flying training, support, and spares. Exact value of the turnkey contract has not been announced, but Westland estimates that it will be worth more than £20 million. Commodore Nyako, Nig eria's Chief of Naval oper ations and the man credited with setting up Nigeria's Naval Air Wing, took delivery of the three Lynx last week at Westland's Yeovil factory. But Nigerian pilots and tech nicians have been undergoing extensive Lynx training for some weeks, (see Flight, April 28, page 1149). Initial flying training will end in August, when the aircraft, crews, and instruc tors transfer to Nigeria for formal commissioning and first ship-deck operational training. The Lynx will oper ate from the Nigerian frigate NNS Aradou in the coastal- patrol, search and rescue and, possibly, the anti-submarine warfare roles, and later from new frigates on order. Flying training is provided by instructors from Westland Helicopter Services at Weston Super Mare airport. Pre-Lynx training was on Aerospatiale SA-342 Gazelle helicopters. Nigeria is the first nation in the Organisation of African Unity Countries to form a Naval Air Wing operating ship borne helicopters. Nig eria's original requirement was for five Lynx Mk.89, rather than three. Westland says it is too early to say if more Lynx will be ordered. Emerson's AN/APG-69(V) installed in the F-5F Tiger at Williams AFB Harrier GR.5 takes shape KINGSTON ~ McDonnell Douglas will ship the carbonfibre composite front-fuselage sections of the Royal Air Force's two devel opment Harrier GR.5s to British Aerospace's Kingston factory this month. Once delivered, the sections will be mated with the rear fuselage sections which are nearing completion at Kings ton. The wing and pylons for the development aircraft will follow later in the year, and will be added to the fuselage before the airframes go to BAe Dunsfold for final assembly and first flight. MDC and BAe are collabo rating on the production of 62 Harrier GR.5s for the RAF plus 328 AV-8Bs for the US Marine Corps. BAe is prime contractor for the RAF contract, while MDC takes the prime slot in supplying The Marine Corps aircraft. Fuselage mating of the third GR.5 will also be at Kingston, but BAe plans to attach GR.5 wings at Duns- fold thereafter. Although the third and fourth GR.5s will be the first production aircraft they will be used in devel opment flight tests. BAe is to produce the aft and aft-centre fuselage sec tions, the fin and carbonfibre rudder, the centreline pylon and the complete reaction control system for all AV- 8B/Harrier GR.5s. Unlike the six-pyloned AV-8B, the Harrier GR.5 will have eight pylons, two additional outrigger stations carrying AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. UK gun for GR.5 LONDON The RAF has selected the Royal Small Arms Factory's 25mm cannon, derived from the 30mm Aden, for the Harrier GR.5. The RSAF won the contract in competition with General Electric, which offered its 25mm GAU-12 rotary cannon. Each GR.5 will be armed with two 25mm Adens in underfuselage gun pods. Emerson flies APG-69 inF-5 ST LOUIS Emerson Electric has success fully flight-tested its new multimode fire-control radar, the AN/APG-69(V), in a USAF Northrop F-5F Tiger. The radar is being evaluated against several target aircraft including F-5s, F-15s, F-16s, A-7s, and A-lOs. Improvements in the APG- 69 over the current F-5 radar system include better target aquisition, look-down detec tion and track, plus improved reliability and maintain ability. Development and testing of the APG-69 is funded by Emerson, which will offer the radar to replace the 1,400 F-5 radars now in service. The APG-69's line replace able units are a direct swap with the F-5's existing units. As no cabling changes are involved, the radars can be changed in three hours. Existing F-5 radars are the Emerson APQ-153, APQ-157, and APQ-159. 1314 FLIGHT International, 19 May 1984
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