FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1987
1987 - 1626.PDF
DEFENCE MX problems defined WASHINGTON D.C. The US Air Force has refuted serious Congressional criti cism of the MX inter continental ballistic missile, but admits that it will have to stretch out the test programme, delaying further test flights until early next year, reports Julian Moxon. A new report by the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) focuses on the prob lems occurring with pro duction of the MX Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), a key component of the missile's guidance and control system built by Northrop. The IMU determines the missile's position during re entry, and compares it with the pre-programmed course. Doubt is also thrown on the accuracy of the IMU, and hence of the missile, which is one of the three legs of the US strategic nuclear triad, next to the B-1B bomber (which is itself attracting much criti cism because of technical problems and mismanage ment) and the Trident submarine. According to the report, the seven major IMU reconfig urations since the programme started have meant that deliv eries of IMUs have fallen behind schedule. The report also charges Northrop with falsifying certain test results, accepting faulty parts from subcontractors, and employ ing improper charging prac tices. The report concludes that "serious questions of confi dence in the deployed MX missile force have arisen". It adds that only five of the 17 MX test firings to date involved production-standard IMUs, and only one of these involved the "latest" pro duction configuration. Of those five tests, two fell outside the current MX accu racy requirements. The USAF says it is happy with the missile's perform ance, and claims that the HASC report is misleading. In response, it has commissioned a Scientific Advisory Board technical review of the programme, which will be completed in September. The report draws several parallels with the B-1B programme. It says that both projects were highly concur rent and front loaded (mean ing that production over lapped with development), and that both were managed by the USAF as overall prime contractor. Blame is also put on the uncertain political background to the missile and the considerable argument over numbers, basing modes, and cost. According to the report "a premium was placed on push ing components and missiles out of the door as quickly as possible, and on minimising programme deficiencies. Northrop management was neither equipped to cope with this environment, nor to meet the established production schedule", it says. • US Attorney Robert Ban ner has filed a civil lawsuit for $1 million in damages against Northrop Corporation, alleg ing that it failed to test heat exchangers for the MX mis sile's IMUs. The complaint says that the equipment exploded while under test. Flight Refuelling wins USAF contract Flight Refuelling has won a multi-million-dollar contract from McDonnell Douglas to equip USAF KC-10 strategic tankers with three-point probe-and-drogue refuelling pods. The contract covers the design and supply of Mk.32B pods for the USAF's fleet of 60 KC-10 tankers. Adopting probe-and-drogue instead of the current boom system (which has to be steered to make contact with the receiver aircraft) will ensure safer refuelling at low altitudes and at night. Martin Marietta will build IRSTS ORLANDO Martin Marietta has been awarded a contract by General Electric (GE) to become the second production source for the Infrared Search and Track System (IRSTS), an advanced sensor for US Navy Grumman F-14D Tomcats. The IRSTS, currently in full-scale development by General Electric in Utica, New York, enables pilots to detect and track enemy aircraft and missiles. Unlike a radar, which emits radio signals, the IRSTS uses an infrared sensor to detect the heat of targets, providing the F-14 with a passive mode that is less likely to be detected by the enemy. Martin Marietta's Elec tronic Systems Company in Orlando, Florida, will assist General Electric in evaluating the system's signal processing performance, with the goal of extending the IRSTS's detection range. Over the next six years the Martin Marietta contract includes production options worth more than $100 million for IRSTS units, depending on quantities ordered by the Navy. Ultimately, Martin Marietta's second-source contract could exceed $250 million in production awards. Martin Marietta and GE will flight-test IRSTS sys tems in October 1989, and will deliver two full-scale devel opment systems to the Navy in the first quarter of 1992. Beginning in 1994, Martin Marietta will compete with GE for follow-on Navy pro duction contracts. "The IRSTS gives us the opportunity to apply our electro-optic and systems integration expertise to the air-to-air fighter aircraft mis sion," says Allan M. Norton, president of Martin Marietta Electronic Systems. Martin Marietta estimates that 3,000 other US aircraft have requirements for infrared and electro-optic technology." Martin Marietta and General Electric are also teamed in developing the Electro-Optic Sensor System for the Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 5 September 1987
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
