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Aviation History
1991
1991 - 0018.PDF
TECHNICAL: DEFENCE More than 500 European Gazelles need replacing NATO sets up Gazelle successor programme BY DOUGLAS BARRIE NATO has launched a pre liminary study into devel oping a replacement for the Westland/Aerospatiale Gazelle class of light utility helicopter. The pre-feasibility study, under the auspices of the NATO Industrial Advisory Group, is understood to be examining po tential Gazelle replacement by around 2010. Well over 1,000 Gazelles have been built, including 357 for the French armed forces and 282 for UK military services. According to officials, the study is due to be completed by the middle of next year. A number of companies, in cluding Sikorsky, Bell Heli copter, Westland and Aerospa tiale are taking part in the pre-feasibility work. In terms of what is most likely to emerge in the shape of a possible Gazelle replacement, one official says: "It's going to look pretty much like a utility variant of the US Light Heli copter". • COMPOSITE PROPELLER FOR TRANSALL The new propeller for the French Air Force's C-160 Transall, made by Ratier-Figeac, is claimed to be the world's largest composite aircraft propeller and uses a hybrid reinforcing fabric of Kevlar para-aramid fibre, carbonfibre and glassfibre. MESAR nears completion BY SIMON ELLIOTT The UK Admiralty Research Establishment (ARE)/ Siemens Plessey Radar multi function, electronically scanned, adaptive radar (MESAR) experi mental testbed, to investigate the technologies and techniques of naval phased-array radars, is expected to be completed in 1991. The radar will then be used for extensive trials to investigate the functionality, signal proc essing and performance of a digitally controlled multifunc tion radar. MESAR features a fully active phased-array antenna, digital beamforming, adaptive, multi ple jammer suppression, digi tally controlled functions, adap tive transmit waveforms, pro grammable digital signal proc essing and real-time operation. The planar phased array has 918 elements, and the digital beamformer has open-loop adaptive jammer cancellation. The digital beamforming is used to produce multiple receive beams and to cancel noise jam ming adaptively in both main- beam and side lobes. Multiple, simultaneous sub- arrays within the MESAR an tenna feed 16 analogue receiv ers. In response to a multiple noise-jammer threat, the 16 re ceiver channels within MESAR allow the optimum cancellation of up to 15 jammers located in the mainbeam and side lobes. The next phase of the pro gramme will "...involve exten sive trials to demonstrate sys tem functionality and to con firm the high performance pre dicted, especially in heavy ECM and cluttered environments against high speed, manoeu vring and stealthy targets", says the ARE. • Polarising planes provide 3D display Link vis providing a three-dimeTisional (3D) computer display for Strategic Defence In itiative researchers to help visu alise complex strategic-warfare situations. The system uses liquid crystal light valve (LCLV) technology and polarising lenses in special glasses to create the 3D effect. Link staff systems engineer David Fuller, at the US National Test Bed, Colarado Springs, says the 3D capability adds about $5,000 to the cost of the com puter hardware. Five units have been supplied. Fuller explains that the LCLV polarises one eye's view on the vertical axis and the other on the horizontal axis. The left and right eyes' images are generated separately and the spectacle lenses, with polarising planes differing by 90°, create the im pression of depth. Study groups use the system to examine the performance of different defensive postures against simulated nuclear threats over a period of hours. Fuller says: "It is different from normal war gaming be cause there is no man in the loop. You are looking at the performance of the systems without a man in the loop." He explains that the 3D image is required because the mass of weapons and events which have to be portrayed on a global model is otherwise too dense to be understood. "It lets you grasp concepts about the battle quickly which otherwise might not be appar ent. We have had very experi enced people who come along and say, for instance, 'now 1 understand what the ground- based radar is supposed to do' when they had never under stood it before." • NEWS IN BRIEF DOWTY JOINS DRONE Dowty Magnetics has been awarded a contract by Do rmer for the supply of high- performance sensors for the German anti-radar drone pro gramme. The contract award covers the full-scale-develop ment phase, with options for pre-production and produc tion phases. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 2 - 8 January, 1991
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