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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 0067.PDF
Confusion surrounds A-10 replacement Final presentations on proposed close-air-support / battlefield- interdiction CAS/BAI aircraft for the US Air Force have been made by Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed, McDon nell Douglas, Northrop, and Rockwell International. Amid the confusion sur rounding a replacement for its 651 surviving Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolts, the US Air Force postponed selection of a new close-air-support aircraft until January 20, when President elect George Bush and his new defence team take the reins. Under $10 million close-air- support design alternative stud ies, the companies produced a wide range of aircraft concepts. Contractors were guided by Air Force Systems Command's mission requirements package, a secret document that defined the close-air-support and battlefield-interdiction missions for seven scenarios. Each scenario (four of which were Central European) was related to a different type of theatre and particular threats and targets, a General Dynam ics official tells Flight. "We were funded to look at a five- step spectrum, ranging from a very austere airplane to an extremely capable new airplane, in stepped-up increments." The aircraft were required to carry six 5001b bombs for 250 n.m., to operate from fixed bases, to be able to interdict with enhancements, and to have a turn rate of 10°-20°/sec. All had to be able to fly both British Aerospace is understood to have submitted a close-air-support aircraft proposal, which, it claims, almost exactly fits the CAS-X requirement close-air-support and battlefield interdiction missions. "The very austere airplane was a fairly small turboprop that was a flying cannon-carrier and 'Mud Fighter','' says GD. "The most sophisticated aircraft was a very capable 'Stealthy' airplane with very high survivability that concentrated on low observ- ables. Aeronautical Systems Division intended that the A-10 replacement would fly mostly close air support, with battle field interdiction as a secondary mission. That's because the Air Force would mainly use its F-15s, F-16s, and A-7s for battlefield interdiction." All of the options were measured and scored. "The A-16 came out best," says Gen Bernard Randolph, Comman der of Air Force Systems Command. He says that the Air Force needs about 720 A-16s to equip ten wings of active-duty, reserve, and Air National Guard forces. The A-16 would not be as heavily armoured as the A-10. Instead, it would use speed and manoeuvrability to avoid being hit. Tactical Air Command chief Gen Robert Russ and his deputy, Gen Jimmie Adams, are outspoken in their choice of the F-16 derivative as an A-10 successor, but Pentagon offi cials and Congress have with held support. The Deputy Under-Secretary of Defence for Tactical Warfare Programmes, Donald Fredriksen, prefers a sturdier, more agile close-air- support aircraft than the A-16. Fredriksen says that the A-16 airframe would be nine times more vulnerable to ground fire than the A-10. This is denied by General Dynamics. The US Department of Defence's Tactical Warfare and Policy Analysis and Evaluation Office advocates CAS-X, a "clean-sheet-of-paper" aircraft with a 10,0001b-20,0001b gross weight. It insists that CAS-X would be more capable than the A-16, the Army's AH-64A Apache, or its future LHX. CAS-X would be both more survivable and more agile than the A-16 or A-10, the DoD says. The CAS-X would have a smaller infrared signature, be resistant to small-arms fire (under 23mm calibre), operate from grass fields, and be able to loiter for two hours 200 n.m. from base. It would be equipped with a 30mm cannon, and cost less than either the A-10 or AH-64A, the DoD says. Congress has its own solution to CAS. It favours modifying existing aircraft for the close- air-support role and flying them off competitively. In the 1989 defence budget Congress ordered the DoD to prepare plans for a flyoff of candidates by March 31, 1989. Contenders would include the A-7+ Corsair, A-10 Thunderbolt, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and AV-8B Harrier II, and "any others available". RAF introduces reconnaissance Tornado The Royal Air Force's first Panavia Tornado recon naissance unit, 2 Sqn, has formed in West Germany. The Tornadoes are to replace Jaguars and provide NATO's day/night, all-weather recon naissance capability. The RAF Tornado electrical- optical reconnaissance system uses an infrared linescanner for horizon-to-horizon coverage, together with two sideways- looking thermal imagers. All three electro-optical sensors can be monitored by the Tornado navigator using one of the aircraft's two video-cassette recorders. Tactical information can then be relayed to a ground station by radar. The UK Minis try of Defence is believed to have approved funds for the development of a real-time reconnaissance datalink. The Tornado reconnaissance suite and the USA's new advanced tactical airborne reconnaissance system both use the same Computing Devices reconnaissance monitoring system, which can be activated manually or operated auto matically. Israeli defence cuts challenged Israeli defence minister Yitzhak Rabin is trying to prevent proposed cuts in the defence budget. The Israeli Treasury wants to cut the budget by some $260 million in 1989. The planned cut is a 10 per cent reduction on 1988's budget. The cuts comprise a reduc tion in the normal defence budget and a refusal to compen sate the Israeli Defence Forces for the extra cost of handling the uprising in the occupied territories. Rabin says that the proposed cuts will further reduce the number of aircraft, ships, and other main battle systems, and will cause addi tional damage to the already beaten defence industries. "We have already reduced the size of our Air Force, Navy, and Armoured Corps. The defence industries suffered a severe blow. There is no way to further reduce the already shrinked defence budget," Rabin says. The Israeli defence minister says that in order to carry out the Defence Force's recently prepared multiyear plan there is a need for an increase of $200 million in the defence budget. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 14 January 1989 9
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