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Aviation History
1992
1992 - 0865.PDF
DEFENCE Germany nears Alpha Jet deal BY DOUGLAS BARRIE IN MUNICH The German air force is in the final stages of negotiating the sale of up to 60 Dassault/ Dornier Alpha Jets to the French air force. The air force says that, fol lowing a request from the French Government, "...we are now involved in negotiations and it looks likely that we can fulfil the request. There are no obstacles, so there shouldn't be any problem with the sale. We will sell about 60 aircraft." The Alpha Jets, in service in the close-support role, are being phased out because of German defence cuts. The French air force will use the German aircraft to replace some of its own Alpha Jets, used for weapons and tactics training at Cazaux AB and which are coming to the end of their fa tigue life (Flight International, 4-10 March). Even after the sale goes ahead, Germany will have around 100 Alpha Jets to dispose of; Portu gal is one potential customer. The future of the Alpha Jets, based at Furstenfeldbruck and used in the advanced training role for pilots about to go to the Panavia Tornado Tri-national Training Unit at Cottesmore in the UK, is still undecided. Pilots now spend around 30h on Alpha Jets to accustom them selves to European weather con ditions afid receive additional experience before going to Cot tesmore. The base's future is being re viewed by Gerhard Stoltenberg, the German minister of defence, who will have to decide on whether to continue with the Tornado lead-in training at ATARS faces 1 April axe deadline BY GRAHAM WARWICK IN ATLANTA A programme to develop a filmless reconnaissance sys tem for the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps is over budget, behind schedule and in danger of cancellation. The advanced tactical air re connaissance system (ATARS), to equip Air Force RF-16s, Ma rine Corps F-18Ds and medium- range unmanned air vehicles operated by the Air Force and Navy, has been under develop ment since 1988. While the US Air Force ATARS programme office says only that it is conducting a "cost and budget review" and that a "rebaselined plan" will be ready "in a few weeks", sources close to the programme say the Air Force is prepared to cancel Mar tin Marietta's development con tract if a solution is not found by 1 April. The system, to be carried in ternally by F-18Ds and in a pod by RF-16s, comprises visible light medium- and long-wave electro-optical sensors, infra-red linescanner, digital tape record ers, reconnaissance management system and secure datalink. ATARS is similar in concept to the infra-red reconnaissance sys tem in service on Royal Air Force Tornado GR. lAs. The $119 million, 53-month ATARS development contract was awarded to Control Data in May 1988. In January 1991 the contract was transferred to Mar tin Marietta after it acquired the rights to develop, test and pro duce ATARS from Control Data in October 1990. Flight testing began in February 1991 using two RF-4C Phantoms. Flight tests of ATARS in the Marine Corps' successor to the RF-4C, the F-18D, programmed to begin in September, were later delayed to December 1991. They are now scheduled to begin in the latter part of 1992. Martin Marietta blames the delay on the switch from the RF-4C to the F-18D, which changed the performance re quirement, weight and size of ATARS. The company has asked the Air Force for more time and money to complete develop ment, but no compromise has yet been reached. • German Alpha Jets: to help France Furstenfeldbruck on the Alpha Jets or to close down the base. Stoltenberg's decision is likely to be based on political and budgetary issues as much as on military requirements. The air force wishes to con tinue training with a small num ber of Alpha Jets. It considered contracting maintenance out to Dornier or Dassault until it dis covered that this solution would be too costly. If Furstenfeldbruck closes as a flying base, the likelihood is that pilots will go directly from T-38 Talon training in the USA to flying Tornados. • Bedek Aviation will maintain USAF(E) Eagles The Bedek Aviation division of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) is to undertake mainte nance of about 60 McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagles for US Air Force (Europe) during the next five years. The fighters will be flown from their bases in Europe to undergo programmed depot maintenance and a multi-stage improvement programme (MSIP). Work on the first air craft starts soon and, according to Avner Raz, Bedek general manager, four F-15s will be overhauled and upgraded in 1992. The five-year contract in volves 60 to 75 aircraft. All the jigs and other dedi cated equipment for the aircraft have been flown to Israel by the USAF, and wing structure work will be performed on a special line. Systems that are part of the MSIP will also be provided by the Americans. Raz says that work on the first of the F-15s will take about eight months, falling to an esti mated five months per aircraft later on. USAF pilots will test-fly the aircraft in Israel before re delivery. D NEWS IN BRIEF SFW GO-AHEAD Textron Defense Systems has been cleared to begin low-rate production of the anti-tank sensor-fuzed weapon (SFW) for the US Air Force. SFW dis penses Skeet smart submuni- tions, which the USAF also plans to use in its version of the Navy's Texas Instruments stand-off Advanced Interdiction Weapon System. F-117 UPGRADE US Air Force Lockheed F- 117As are to be upgraded with an enhanced-accuracy version of Honeywell's H-423 laser in- ertial navigation system- The standard H-423 equips- USAF F-4s, F-16s, F-llls, C-130s and MH-53s, while all-digital ver sions are used in the C-17 and X-31 as well as in Sweden's Saab JAS39 Gripen. DSP FOLLOW-ON The US Air Force has begun its search for a follow-on early- warning system to replace the Defense Support Program satel lites now used to detect ballis tic-missile launches. AMRAAM SPLIT The US Air Force has split production of the latest batch of AIM-120 advanced medium- range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAMs) between the weapon's developer, Hughes Aircraft, and second-source producer Raytheon. Hughes gets $253 million for 401 AMRAAMs and Raytheon $255 million for 490 missiles. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 1 - 7 April, 1992 17
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