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Aviation History
1991
1991 - 0472.PDF
rA TOKYO REPORT Last month's Japan International Aerospace Exhibition in Tokyo, the first since 1983, provided evidence of the country's determination to develop its own aerospace industrial base, and of the growing importance of the Japanese market for Western manufacturers. Almost half of the 300-plus exhibitors were foreign companies, many already involved in joint ventures with the Japanese. They included Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed, General Dynamics, British Aerospace, Aerospatiale and Deutsche Aerospace as well as the three major Western engine manufacturers General Electric, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce, all of whom are competing vigorously for new Japanese business. The main talking points included Japan's growing contribution to the multinational high-speed civil transport and domestic programmes such as the FS-X, as John Bailey reports. Japan studies ASW V-22 plan The Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) is studying an anti-submarine war fare (ASW) variant of the Bell- Boeing V-22 Osprey to comple ment its fleet of Lockheed- Kawasaki P-3C Orions and Mit subishi/Sikorsky SH-60Js. The service has already re quested funds to buy four V-22s for its search and rescue (SAR) role under the next five-year defence programme and is now considering the aircraft for the ASW role (Flight International, 6-12 February). The Osprey would have the range to patrol the outer reaches of Japan's 1,600km (860nm) defence perimeter, and could hover to deploy a dipping sonar. The number of aircraft involved is not yet clear, but industry sources in Tokyo say that the JMSDF is "...very much interested in the concept". The Japanese FY1991 defence budget contains funds for the JMSDF to buy four search and rescue aircraft — two in Shin Meiwa looks again for SS-X collaboration Shin Meiwa tries again on SS-X Shin Meiwa is looking for international partners to participate in the development of its proposed SS-X multi purpose amphibious transport aircraft. The project has been under development for almost ten years, but has been stalled by iack of interest by companies outside Japan. The SS-X is en visaged as a twin-turbofan short take-off-and-landing commuter and utility aircraft, suited to applications including SAR and firefighting. In commuter operations, it would seat 30-50 passengers, with a maximum range of around 2,200km (l,200nm), or 925km with a full payload. Yushi Tanaka, general manager of Shin Meiwa's sales dep artment, says that the company discussed partnerships with Ae- ritalia, Dornier Seastar and Ca- nadair at Paris two years ago, but says: "Every company wanted its own new seaplane, so we found that it took a long time to get one configuration". Shin Meiwa sees a potential market of around 300 for an SS-X-type aircraft. • FY1994 and two in FY1995. Although the V-22 is not specif ically named, an official says: "There is no other model availa ble that could do the job. The Navy people are quite serious about that." The Japan Defence Agency (JDA) has made no formal re quest to the US Government to buy V-22s, but the official says that the country's Maritime Staff Office has been in "periodic" contact with the US Navy to discuss V-22 development. A njeeting will be held in Washington at the end of March at which "...specific intentions will be discussed", he says. The official US Department of De fense position remains that the V-22 is cancelled, although the Bell-Boeing team received $238 million for research and devel opment and a further $365 mil lion in long-lead procurement money in the amended FY1991 defence budget. Further funds may be inserted by Congress later this year. An ASW variant of the air craft would probably be bought "green", with a customised mis sion avionics suite installed in Japan. The JMSDF apparently intends to make a decision in time to appropriate funds under the FY1996 defence plan. The initial request for four SAR V-22s may well be ex panded to include additional aircraft for the other JDA serv ices, all of which have SAR responsibilities. Bell-Boeing says: "The total programme for the Navy will be eight V-22s, without the ASW aircraft, but we have had discussions with all of the agencies". • NASDA to start search for HOPE spaceplane funds Japan's National Space De velopment Agency (NASDA) will request funding to start the preliminary design of its HOPE (H-II orbiting plane) unmanned spaceplane in mid-1991 for a go-ahead early next year. Three companies, Fuji, Mit subishi and Kawasaki Heavy In dustries, have been conducting configuration studies for the spaceplane, which is planned to carry Japanese payloads to the Space Station Freedom. One of the companies will be selected as prime contractor when preliminary design begins. HOPE was intended to be a lOt vehicle, launched into low- Earth orbit by Japan's two-stage H-II rocket. Initial studies have revealed that HOPE's 1.2t pay- load would have been in sufficient, and the aircraft's size has been increased. The configuration now being studied would weigh a total of 20t, with a 3t payload. The vehicle will be 16m long, 3.5m high, with a wingspan of 12.07m. The original dimen sions were 11.5m long and 3.3m high, with a 6.2m wing- span. The increased weight will require a modification to the H-II, with six solid-rocket boosters on to the first stage instead of the existing two. The first H-II is scheduled for launch in 1992. The planned mission profile for HOPE is launch to an initial parking altitude of 250km at separation. The vehicle would then ap proach and dock with the Space Station at 460km within two days. HOPE would land back on a conventional runway at a speed of around 160kt (300km/h). • HOPE for the future? 22 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 27 February - 5 March, 1991
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