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Aviation History
1988
1988 - 0403.PDF
Iran's F-4s are no phantom BAHRAIN An anti-shipping strike by an Iranian McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom, and increased air activity around the Bandar Abbas air base, appears to indi cate that Iran has acquired new spares for its F-4s. The Phan tom's attack on the Liberian chemical tanker Petrobulk Pioneer was also the first Iranian air attack against Gulf shipping for more than two years. The Iranian F-4 attacked at low level and fired two missiles, which missed. This suggests that the Iranians are using unsophisticated line-of-sight rather than fire-and-forget missiles. US sources indicate that Iran has approximately 12 operational F-4s at Bandar Abbas. Given the relatively plentiful supply of Phantom spares worldwide, it was considered that it would be only a matter of time before Iran had its F-4s flying again. SA-32T enters the fray SAN ANTONIO Production rights to the Swearingen SX-300 have been sold to Jaffetech Industries, a new company formed to develop a military trainer/ strike derivative called the A-32T Raider. The new military trainer is expected to be identical to the SX-300 (SA-29) from the fire wall aft, and is to be powered by the Allison 250B-17D, as fitted to the Valmet L-70 TP Redigo and Enaer T35-T Avcan. Jaffetech Industries is headed by Douglas Jaffe. The company says that bringing the type to production will cost "an eight-figure sum", and that it would be prepared to go ahead with an order for 20 aircraft "which we are close to". Deliveries of the SA-32T (or its SA-32 piston version) could begin within 18 months of an order placed in the first half of 1988. Swearingen Aircraft says it will accept no more orders for the SX-300 beyond the 90 kits already sold. A prototype, to be manu factured by Swearingen Air craft, could fly before the end of this year, and apparently performance could be confirmed within about 90 days. Swearingen will also provide production tooling. Jaffetech Industries claims that there is a world market for 6,400 military trainer/ Coin/reconnaissance/surveil lance aircraft. The SA-32T will cost "less than $1 million equipped", and the piston version will sell at half that price. The SX-300 is to be shown at many US Air shows this summer, wearing a "trainer- type" colour scheme. The machine recently claimed a 3km straight-line record of more than 313 m.p.h., powered by a stock 300 h.p. Lycoming, Ed Swearingen tells Flight. Jaffetech Industries claims to be talking to several poten tial customers on the basis of SX-300 performance. No arrangements have been made for production of the SA-32T. The company says that it has received several approaches, and that it could strike a deal with any manufacturer which has a facility. Douglas Jaffe claims that the SA-32T is "the first devel opment where I would not have to apologise first". He describes the SA-32T as repre senting a "quantum leap" in military training aircraft. GD chalks up 2,000th F-16 WASHINGTON D.C. General Dynamics has deliv ered its 2,000th F-16, which also happened to be the first of eight aircraft for Singapore, reports Julian Moxon. The Singapore Air Force has ordered four single-seat F-16As, the remainder being F-16Bs. Under the contract, signed in 1985, pilot and main tenance training will be carried out over the next two years at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. The aircraft will be flown from the base to Singapore during that period. Singapore is the first of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) coun tries to take delivery of the F- 16. Thailand will receive its first aircraft later this year, followed by Indonesia the year after. Greece and Bahrain have also placed orders. F-16s have now been sold to 17 air forces worldwide. Japan wouldbethe 18th—exceptthat contract details are still being finalised between the Japanese and US governments. Japan eventually chose the F-16 in its FSX fighter competition (now called the SX-3), but is insis ting on substantial control over the design of a more advanced derivative version. "We still need a fundamental agreement on how much busi- The SA-32T Raider turboprop trainer is developed from the SX-300 home- built aircraft DEFENCE ness General Dynamics will get", a GD spokesman told Flight. The first F-16 rolled off the production line in August 1978. Since then, General Dynamics' Fort Worth divi sion has delivered 1,583 fight ers. The rest were completed on co-production lines oper ated by Fokker in the Nether lands and Sabca/Sonaca in Belgium. Turkey's Tucas Aerospace Industries also began producing F-16s last November, finishing its first two aircraft ahead of schedule. General Dynamics says that under current acquisition planning within the 17 F-16 air forces, up to 4,062 aircraft could be ordered by mid-1997. Actual orders now in hand would bring the total to 3,023 aircraft, assuming the USAF reaches its planned comple ment of 2,729 aircraft. The busiest year to date for F-16 deliveries was 1987, with 299 aircraft coming off the four production lines. GD's director of domestic marketing Doug Miller's mood is confident: "1988 looks pretty good too; we expect to produce around 260 aircraft". Mission capability of USAF F-16s remains the highest of any current fighter in the Service's inventory, at an aver age of 89 • 3 per cent. That of the newer F-16C/D is running slightly higher, at 90-8 per cent. According to Miller, the USAF averages between 4-5 and 6-5 sorties per day. The record during a 12hr period is 8-0 sorties, he adds. The aircraft is also setting the high est reliability rates of any fighter in the USAF, with an average of nine maintenance man-hours per flying hour. TRACER Honduran Air Force has received the first two of 12 Northrop F-5E Tiger lis. The aircraft form part of a $75 million order which was agreed last year by the US Defence and State Departments, and which has involved US Military Assistance Funds. RAF's Red Arrows aero- batic team will retain the nine- ship line-up for the 1988 season. Sqn Ldr Jeffrey Glover, 33, currently the Officer Commanding the Advanced Squadron at the Central Flying School, has been selected to join the team. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 20 February 1988 11
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