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Aviation History
1990
1990 - 2734.PDF
FARNBOROUGH REPORT UK eyes stealth technology BY JOHN BAILEY AT FARNBOROUGH The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has opened discus sions with at least one major US manufacturer about the possi bility of acquiring stealth tech nology for future-generation British combat aircraft. Senior MoD and Royal Air Force officials were last week briefed by Lockheed at Farnbor- -ough on the prospects of apply-ing stealth concepts to future RAF and Royal Navy require-ments. Industry sources say that the RAF is also interested in the McDonnell Douglas/General Dy- -namics Advanced Tactical Air craft, the US Air Force's version of the Navy A-12 Avenger II strike platform. An MoD team headed by Air Cdre Peter Norriss, director of operations for RAF Strike Com mand, last week visited Farn borough to hold "embry- onic"discussions with senior figures from Lockheed's Ad vanced De-velopment Company — better known as the Skunk Works. Lockheed and its rivals McDonnell Douglas and Gen eral Dynamics would "...neither confirm nor deny" that talks had taken place. Any release of low-observable technology to the British would have-to be cleared by the US Department of Defense No for mal approach has yet been UK puts out feelers for US stealth technology made by the MoD, but one source says: "I'm sure that if a request was made, it would not be looked on unfavourably. Many people feel that this tech nology is not exportable, but if it was going to be exported, Britain is the only country that would have a chance of getting it." At this stage, the discussions are believed to concentrate on applying stealth concepts to fu ture British programmes, rather than on acquiring production aircraft. Although the F-117A is now apparently available to the right customer, Paul Martin the F-117 programme manager at Lockheed says: "We are not here marketing the F-117. The F-117 production line has closed down, and any applica tion of that aeroplane to the RAF's needs would be some thing that the MoD and the US Air Force would have to agree on" The RAF did consider the F-117 as a replacement for its Buccaneers, according to one source, but the selection of the Tornado in the strike role has removed any British require ment for the aircraft. Lockheed confirms, however, that Skunk Works officials were in the UK last week "...in a very broad sense, to begin a dialogue with the British aerospace industry on the possibilities of working together to fulfill any future needs that the MoD might have". With the RAF committed to the European Fighter Aircraft (EFA), application of low- observables would be limited to aircraft entering service in the 2005-2010 timeframe. The source says: "Any stealth air craft would have to be a new start, because low observability is very hard to retrofit into a new aeroplane. But with a ten- to fifteen-year development cycle, now is not too soon to start talking about what those aircraft might look like". Among the technologies which the Americans may be willing to discuss are materials and coatings, reducing the radar Soviets steal the show again with MiG-27, the Su-27 and An-225 PLAIN FARE AT signatures of the airframe and propulsion concepts to reduce infra-red, noise. A second US industry source says: "We have had a relationship with the Brit ish forever. They have partici pated in some of our most sensitive technology develop ments in the past, and are cur rently employing some of those assets. Great Britain could be come the leading European ex pert on stealth technology. It doesn't have to be for a long- range deep interdiction weapon — it could be used as a spring board for a number of other missions. Lockheed is also un derstood to have talked to Brit ish companies on the P-3 and P-7 programmes." D
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