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Aviation History
1987
1987 - 1335.PDF
1974, and the aircraft has been produced in several versions. 175 Adour 151 powered T.ls for the RAF were delivered for advanced and tactical training, beginning in November 1976. Subsequently 88 have been modified as Hawk T.lAs for secondary airfield defence duties, by the installation of AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles. The initial export version, sold to Finland (final assembly by Valmet), Kenya, and Indonesia, was the Hawk 50 Series, powered by the Adour 851. Current production Hawks are 60 Series aircraft with uprated 25-35kN Adour 861 engines and other performance improving modifications. The Hawk 60 Series has been sold to five countries, including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Switzer land has selected the Hawk as its next advanced trainer, and an initial order for 20 aircraft will be placed before the end of 1987. Excluding the 302 carrier-capable T-45 deriva tives to be produced jointly with McDonnell- Douglas for the US Navy, 352 Hawks have been sold to date. Customers: T.l Great Britain 176; 50 Series Finland 50, Indonesia 20, Kenya 12; 60 Series Abu Dhabi 16, Dubai 8, Kuwait 12, Saudi Arabia 30, Switzerland 20, Zimbabwe 8. Nimrod The UK Ministry of Defence decided to drop the Nimrod AEW.3 project in favour of a Boeing E-3A Sentry purchase, despite GEC Avionics' claim that the radar problems which had delayed the programme had been solved. The fate of the 11 Nimrod airframes allocated to the AEW programme is uncertain, but conversion back to maritime reconnaissance configuration is unlikely. The planned Nimrod AEW.3 was a conversion of an MR.l airframe to accept an AEW mission system comprising radar, IFF, ESM, and datalink. Conversion of Nimrod MR.ls to MR.2 stan dard by the installation of new communication systems and advanced tactical sensors was completed in 1985. Other MR.2 modifications include the provision of in-flight refuelling probes, Harpoon anti-shipping missiles, and AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs for self-defence. Loral early-warning support measures pods (EWSM) are mounted on the wing tips, and minor airframe changes have been made, comprising the introduction of larger finlets to the tailplanes and a new ventral fin. The Nimrod R.l is a specialised Elint variant. Customers: Great Britain MR.l 46, R.l 3). Military 748 The current production version of the twin-turboprop transport is the Super 748. In its Military Transport form the 748 has a large rear freight door, strengthened floor, and optional military overload take-off and landing weights giving improved payload/range capabilities. Customers: Australia 12, Belgium 3, Brazil 12, Brunei 1, Burkina Faso 2, Colombia 6, Ecuador 5, Great Britain 6 (+31 Andover), India 50+, Nepal 1, South Korea 2, Sri Lanka 3, Tanzania 4, Thailand 2, Zambia 2. Jetstream 31 The Royal Navy received four Jetstream 31 twin turboprops, designated T.3, which are used for observer training. These aircraft join 16 Astazou-powered T.2s which are used in similar roles. The T.3s differ not only in having Garrett TPE331 engines, but also in having an underfuselage Racal ASR360 search radar in place of the nose-mounted MEL E90 unit of the T.2. The RAF also uses 11 Astazou powered Jetstream T.ls for multi-engine pilot training. Saudi Arabia has bought two Jetstream 31s for tornado crew training. 146 Military Versions Four military versions of the BAe 146 four-turbofan trans port are projected. The BAe 146STA (Small Tactical Airlifter), derived from the BAe 146QT Quiet Trader freighter, offers a 7-5 ton payload, forward-field operating capability, and low life-cycle costs. The 146STA features a 175in-wide main deck cargo door along the rear port fuselage, allowing vehicles to be embarked as well as field guns or more conventional palletised loads. Roller tracks can be fitted to existing seat rails to permit easy movement of pallets weighing up to 6,0001b. A sliding door set within the main cargo door, and an inward- opening door on the starboard side, make provision for paradropping, and up to 60 fully equipped paratroops can be carried in this configuration using side-facing seats. The port side door can also be opened in flight to a width of 60in to permit the air dropping of standard military pallets. Other interior fits are available for VIP transport or casevac with up to 24 stretchers. A militarised version of the BAe 146QT, the BAe 146MSL (Military Side Loader) has the standard upward opening 131in-wide side cargo door, while the BAe 146MT (Military Tanker) features underwing flight refuelling pods to give the aircraft a dual-point aerial refuelling capability which is compatible with most c&mbat aircraft. A BAE 146M (Military Rear Loader) variant offers large hydraulically oper ated rear-loading-ramp doors allied to a lowered main deck floor capable of accepting larger and/or heavy payloads. The main under carriage will be redesigned to tandem config uration and housed in fuselage sponsons. The range of any of these models can be extended by the installation of a flight refuelling probe above the flightdeck. Two civilian-standard BAe 146 -200 airliners with special interiors are in service with the RAF Queen's Flight. Customers: Great Britain 2, Zimbabwe 1. ATP Maritime Variant A projected maritime surveillance version of the ATP twin- turboprop airliner, intended for use in ASW and ASV roles, was announced by British Aero space in June 1987. Mission equipment would include a Litton APS-504(V)5 search radar, GEC Avionics AQS-902 lightweight acoustics processing system, forward looking infrared system, and standard twin inertial platforms. The flightdeck would feature a five-screen EFIS display. PILATUS BRITTEN-NORMAN Defender Operationally launched by PBN on March 6, 1987, The AEW Defender is a low- cost AEW system offered in conjunction with Thorn-EMI's Skymaster lightweight multi- mode pulse-Doppler track-while-scan radar. Acquisition and tracking of targets is auto matic, and air-to-air/air-to-ground datalinks, IFF and navigation systems may be fully inte grated with the radar's display and control system. The Skymaster system can also be used to detect surface vessels during maritime reconnaissance missions. A large undernose radome houses the 360°-scan antenna. With appropriate computer software modifications, the AEW Defender/Skymaster combination is" being offered as a solution to the British Army's Astor requirement for an airborne battlefield surveillance radar. Another Defender has been flown with a Ferranti surveillance radar installed in connection with the Army's earlier Corps Airborne Stand-Off Radar (Castor) requirement. The AEW Defender is based on the BN-2T Turbine Defender airframe, and orders are expected before the end of 1987. For general military duties PBN developed the Defender from the basic piston-engined Islander utility aircraft and, with the intro duction of the Allison 250-B17C powered Turbine Islander, a parallel turbine Defender was offered. The Defender is capable of a wide range of military roles including troop trans port, SAR, forward air control, electronic warfare, logistic support, and medevac. Optional equipment includes four Nato- standard underwing weapons pylons for 7 • 62mm machine gun pods, rocket pods, SURA rocket clusters, bombs, or 2271it auxiliary fuel tanks. A further version for maritime patrol and surveillance, the Maritime Defender, is fitted with a 120°-scan Bendix RDR-1400 search radar in a nose radome. A later variant intended for ASW/ASV duties has a 360°-scan radar with optional Flir, acoustic processing equipment, and MAD. Up to four Sea Skua missiles, Sting Ray torpedoes, depth charges, or ECM/ESM pods can be carried. Customers: Defender Belize 2, Botswana 6, Madagascar 1, Mauritania 9, Oman 8, Surinam 4; Maritime Defender Cyprus 1, India 19, Seychelles 1; Islander (Including some secondhand) Abu Dhabi 1, Angola 19, Belgium 12, Ciskei 3, Dubai 1, Ghana 8, Guyana 6, Haiti 1, Hong Kong 1, Indonesia 1, Jamaica 2, Malawi 3, Mexico 8, Panama 1, Peru 1, Philip pines 30, Rwanda 2, Somalia 4, Turkey 2, Venezuela 2, Zaire 1, Zimbabwe 6. SHORTS Sherpa/330-UTT The USAF operates 18 twin-turboprop Sherpas from Zweibrucken in West Germany, providing a distribution service for high-priority spares in Europe. Designated C-23A, the aircraft were ordered in March 1984 to fulfil the European Distribution System Aircraft (EDSA) requirement. Options on a further 48, which should have expired, have been extended by Shorts, although a follow-on order is unlikely. Two Sherpas were delivered in November 1984, and the remaining 16 by the end of 1985. The C-23A is a freighter version of the Shorts 330-200, retaining many features of the civilian model including the forward freight door. An hydraulically operated rear cargo door/ramp is incorporated in the Sherpa, thus allowing through loading. Up to seven C08 or four LD3 cargo containers or two half-ton vehicles can be accommodated, and utility passenger operations may also be undertaken. The C-23A first flew on August 6, 1984, and is powered by two 893kW Pratt & Whitney Canada PYT6A-45R turboprops. Lacking the rear loading ramp of the Sherpa, the Shorts 330-UTT (Utility Tactical Trans port) can carry a maximum payload of 3,630kg. Typical loads include 33 troops, 30 paratroops, or 15 stretchers. Range with 30 fully armed troops is greater than 1,100km. Two inward opening rear side doors are provided for para dropping. Customers for the 330-UTT include the Royal Thai Army and Royal Thai Police. The US Army also operates two standard civil ian Shorts 330s which were purchased second hand for range support duties. Customers: C-23A USA 18 (+48); 330-UTT Sharjah 1, Thailand 4. Skyvan 3M The military version of the twin- turboprop Skyvan is still available to order, the most recent military delivery being the single aircraft to the Sharjah Amiri Guard Air Wing in February 1986. Also available is the Skyvan 3M-200, which is cleared to an increased maximum take-off weight of 6,804kg for military operations. Pqwered by two 533kW Garrett TPE331 engines, the prototype Skyvan 3M first flew earlyin 1970. Troop transport, paradropping, assault transport, SAR, and medevac are among the capabilities of the Skyvan, which has also been proposed as a platform for the Thorn-EMI Skymaster AEW radar system. The Skyvans of the Sultan of Oman's Air Force have Racal ASR 360 airborne surveillance FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 1 August 1987 33
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