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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 1892.PDF
PARIS NEWS Westland strikes Apache deal With the UK Ministry of Defence reported to be close to a decision on its attack helicopter requirement, West- land and McDonnell Douglas are on the verge of announcing a joint UK production line for up to 150 AH-64 Apaches—if the type is chosen. McDonnell Douglas Helicopter president Bill Brown says the UK government is "coming to a very rapid conclusion" and "1 would be very surprised if there was not a resolution very shortly". Details of the deal are expected this week, but Flight understands it would involve a 50-50 share of production and revenue. The UK Apache might well be powered by the Rolls-Royce Turbomexa RTM.322 turboshaft in place of the current General Electric T700. Brown says it is "conceivable" that Apaches ordered by Euro pean allies, notably the Nether lands, could be UK built. • UK to buy Sea Harriers The Royal Navy is to order 16 new-build British Aerospace Sea Harrier FRS.2s, in addition to updating existing FRS.ls to the new standard. The contract will be signed in September. Delivery of the new aircraft will begin in late 1992 or early 1993 and will maintain the Navy's Sea Harrier strength while FRS.ls are rotated through BAe for conversion to FRS.2s. The order has great strategic value to BAe, as the Italian Navy has yet to choose between the Sea Harrier FRS.2 and the projected McDonnell Douglas/ BAe Harrier II Plus. Italy has said that it wants an in-service aircraft and not a paper design. The Royal Navy order means the Sea Harrier FRS.2 will now be available to Italy ahead of the Harrier II Plus, which is still a concept. • Su-25 shows combat lessons Overshadowed by its super sonic stablemate, Sukhoi's Su-25 is the only Paris debutante already with several thousand hours combat experience. Dubbed Frogfoot by NATO, the Su-25 subsonic ground- attack aircraft has seen extensive action in Afghanistan, where its survivability and ability to operate from bare bases was thoroughly tested. With a 14,600kg normal take-off weight, and 17,600kg maximum, the Su-25 can carry its 4,500kg warload 750km at low level or 1,250km at high level, says Sukhoi. Frogfoot is powered by two 4,500kg-thrust Tumansky R-195 turbojets, variants of the MiG-21 engine with afterburner removed and adapted to run on whatever fuel might be available in the war zone, even petrol. For survivability, each of the widely spaced engines is surrounded by a stainless steel box, a feature which has enabled several Su-25s to survive multiple hits. The Su-25 is highly autono mous in the field, and is deployed carrying four pods: one carries toolkits, covers, and spares; a second contains fuel lines and a pump for self-refuelling; a third houses a generator and auxiliary power unit; and the fourth carries test equipment. Take-off run is 600m and normal landing roll is also 600m, shorter if the brake parachute is used, and the rugged under carriage is designed for opera tions from dirt strips. Armament is an internal twin-barrel 23mm cannon firing 3,000 rounds/min from a 260-round magazine. Wing pylons can carry twin-gun strafing pods with articulated barrels enabling the aircraft to Survival, not style, is the Su-25 Frogfoot's forte remain at low level. Avionics include a nose- mounted laser rangefinder/ designator for use with precision- guided weapons. The pilot has a gunsight rather than a headup display, however. Survivability features include 16-round upward-firing chaff/ flare launchers above each engine, and armoured glass and titanium "tub" protection for the pilot. Fuel tanks and lines are foam-protected, and control rods are duplicated and widely separated. • NEWS IN BRIEF JAFFETECH SHOWS SA-32T The first Jaffetech SA-32T turboprop trainer, on display at Paris, first flew on May 31 and half its 40-hour flying time so far was logged on the ferry flight to Europe for the show. PARIS STRIKER French CRS riot police were called in to remove Dassault employees protesting at the show against closure of the Colomiers Atlantique 2 factory with the loss of 500 jobs. An Alpha Jet mockup was used to block an exit. ARIANE SUCCESS The most powerful Ariane to date successfully launched two satellites into geostationary orbit on the eve of the show, the Speedbird A satellite for Japanese Space Communica tions and DFS Kopernikus I, West Germany. 14 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 17 June 1989
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