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Aviation History
1985
1985 - 0011.PDF
DEFENCE -,-, . ... '"'. " • ••'.:..••"•>..'....,••• • • : Fox Two Times Four Royal Navy British Aerospace Sea Harrier FRS.ls can now carry four AIM-9L Sidewinders in the combat air patrol config uration. The lead aircraft has the new multiple AIM-9 pylons, twin 30mm cannon, drop tanks, and the centre line pylon is still available. The second aircraft has two AIM-9 training bodies on the original single pylons. Trainer bids down to two LONDON The Royal Air Force has dropped two of the four contenders from its shortlist for Air Staff Target 412 to replace the Jet Provost trainer. In reply to a question in the House of Commons, Adam Butler, Minister of Defence Procurement, revealed that only the British Aerospace/ Pilatus PC-9 and the Shorts/Embraer Tacano were being considered further. The Hunting Firecracker and the Westland/Australian Aircraft ' Consortium A.20 have been dropped. BAe and Shorts have been invited to enter best and final offers to the MoD, and a decision will be made on the basis of these. But, in reply, FLIGHT International, 5 January 1985 cut by RAF Butler emphasised that the MoD is still considering refurbishing the Jet Provosts as an alternative to buying a new aircraft. "The evaluation (of the original four tenders) has shown that two of the con tenders have clear-cut advan tages in terms of cost and performance", Butler told the Commons. BAe and Shorts will be asked to "clarify and amplify certain aspects of their present tenders so that I may reach a final decision", he said. Although Butler gave no clear indications of the clear- cut advantages offered by the PC-9 and Tucano, Flight understands that the two aircraft come closest to meet ing the RAF's full require ments. The cost of developing the aircraft to the full require ment would be much less than that of developing the Fire cracker and the A.20. A request" for best and final offers will be a means of tying down Shorts and BAe to the most competitive modifica tion price, so that the aircraft can be fine-tuned to the requirement cheaply. This will extend the final decision stage until next spring. The decision was originally due by the end of last month. Hunting and Westland/ AAC will be notified this month of why they have been scrubbed from the shortlist. French E-3s? Not yet PARIS ~ The French Defence Ministry denies reports in the US Press that it is to buy the Boeing E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System. "No decision has been taken yet," a senior Defence official tells Flight. "We are considering the E-3, but there are also European options available using the Airbus or C.160 Transall with GEC- Marconi radar". The French are still negotiating the offset terms for any contract which might be placed with Boeing. The E-3s would cost about $100 million each, say the French. One offset sought by France is the sale of Thomson-CSF's integrated battlefield communications system Rita (Reseau integre de tranmissions auto- matiques), known in the USA as MSA (Mobile subscriber equipment), in which General Telecommunications and Electronics (GTE) is asso ciated with Thomson-CSF. On current planning France could buy two E-3s in 1986, but the Air Force says it wants three. Since Boeing is planning to close the E-3 line soon, France wants a bargain price.
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