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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 0072.PDF
Norway develops SAM Norwegian defence manu facturer Norsk Forsvarstek- nologi and Hughes Aircraft have established a joint venture to develop a new anti-air defence system for the Royal Norwegian Air Force. The Norwegian Advanced Surface- to-Air Missile System (Nasams) should be operational by 1992. The Royal Norwegian Air Force has allocated NKr80 million ($12 million) to cover the first year of Nasams devel opment. Nasams makes use of the same search-radar and fire control system as the Norwegian Hawk missile and uses the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile's rocket motor. The Norwegian Defence Command hopes that Nasams will be cheaper than purchasing two additional Hawk batteries and will offer a greater Norwegian industrial content. The Norwegians plan to phase out their four batteries of Nike surface-to-air missiles, which are based near Gardemoen and Serygge air bases around Oslo. Two batteries will be phased out in 1989 and the remaining two by 1992. The Norwegian Defence Command accepts that there could be a gap before either Nasams or an alternative replaces the Nike missiles. Flight understands that the Defence Command is consid ering Nasams as a semi-mobile system, although no firm deci sions have yet been taken. Thomson simulates Iberian A320 Thomson-CSF is to supply two Airbus A320 simulators to Spanish national carrier Iberia. One is a Phase III full-flight simulator, and the other a fixed-base simulator. Iberia has ordered 15 A320s and has options on another seven. They are powered by Snecma/General Electric CFM56s, and deliveries start in September 1990. El Op unveils RPV autolanders An automatic recovery system for remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs) has been developed by El Op electro-optics indus tries in Israel. The Aurora system, which is now being evaluated by some mini-RPV operators, detects the RPV at a range of up to 2km, tracks the vehicle continuously, and controls its automatic descent and landing. According to El Op, the new system replaces the operator in the critical final stage of the flight and expands the per formance envelope of the RPV during day/night missions. The Aurora can perform both wheeled and net recovery. Aurora uses a special video camera located near the landing site and coupled to a micro processor that handles the data transmissions of the RPV and generates the control com mands for the unmanned air craft. These commands are automatically relayed to the RPV by the existing radio chan nel. Special light sources on the RPV help the camera to follow the movements of the un manned aircraft. El Op has tested the system on a scaled-down RPV model, and a test on a full-scale oper ational RPV is scheduled for mid-1989. An El Op source tells Flight that the system will largely solve the problem of operating MRPVs aboard ships. Today the net recovery is performed with the assistance of a video system that needs manual control of the RPV. The new system will eliminate the need for a man in the loop during the critical final stage of RPV Farnborough flies real- time AI Britain's first real-time artificial intelligence (AI) system for military applications has been demonstrated by the Royal Aerospace Establishment (RAE) and Cambridge Consul tants. Known as Muse, the system has been successfully flown in a Westland Lynx heli copter and will be integrated into a fast jet in the near future. Muse has a set of software tools for the rapid prototyping of intelligent knowledge-based systems, and also a compact target computer into which prototype systems can be loaded in compiled form. As Dr Brian Ellis, the head of Farn- borough's Human Engineer ing Division, explains, "Incremental compiling in the laboratory is very slow. Muse's 68k processor enables the system to handle compile code." Cambridge Consultants specialises in AI, and has worked with the RAE on the development of Muse. Once the system is in production the RAE will accrue royalties from the venture. NEWS IN BRIEF • Lufthansa chooses CAE Lufthansa has selected CAE Electronics of Montreal to develop and build two Boeing 737-300/500 simu lators. CAE has already delivered three simulators to the airline, and is building two others. • Valsan's Stage III 727 The US Federal Aviation Administration has granted Stage III noise certification for Valsan's Boeing 727-200 engine modifications. The programme replaces the outboard engines with' Pratt & Whitney JT8D-200 engines in acoustically treated nacelles and fits the centre engine with an exhaust mixer. Valsan claims the modification improves performance as well as reducing noise. UK- based Dan-Air is to provide facilities to Valsan to modify a leased 727 in an attempt to secure UK CAA approval. 14 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 14 January 1989
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