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Aviation History
1992
1992 - 0904.PDF
HEADLINES Options open for GD missile group General Dynamics (GD) is "actively exploring" ways of strengthening its "non-core" missiles and electronics busi nesses. Options include "sales, acquisitions, mergers or other arrangements", says GD chair man William Anders. The company will not com ment on claims by the Los Ange les Times that GD is in "preliminary discussions" with Hughes Aircraft, Loral and Ray theon. GD builds the Sparrow, Standard and Stinger missiles and, with Westinghouse, was developing the now-cancelled Advanced Air-to-Air Missile. GD has embarked on a strat egy of concentrating on its core "major platform" defence busi ness — fighters, tanks and sub marines — and has sold Cessna to Textron for $600 million. Convair may also be for sale. • GD has received a $170 mil lion contract from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for work on Japan's F-16-based FS-X fighter. The initial $110 million contract was awarded in July 1991. • US Navy studies F-14 upgrade proposals BY SIMON ELLIOTT The US Navy is studying two new programmes to moder nise its fleet of Grumman F-14 air-defence fighters for the next century. Grumman's new-build work on the F-14 is due to cease during 1992. The move has come, in part, because of concern over the cost of the Navy's preferred fighter solution, to replace the F-14 with the McDonnell Douglas (MDC) F-18E. One of the programmes, the F-14A++, is being developed by the Navy, and Grumman is of fering the F-14A/B+. The Navy's proposed F-14A++ programme concentrates largely on an avionics upgrade, includ ing fitting equipment such as EC and US reach subsidy accord European Commission (EC) and US negotiators reached a breakthrough on 1 April in talks over direct and indirect subsidies for civil aircraft. The agreement still has to be approved by the US and EC Governments, although the EC says it will have a "very good idea" by 6 April whether it is acceptable to both parties. As it now stands, direct launch aid for new Airbus In dustrie aircraft will be limited to 30% of the cost of the pro- NEWS IN BRIEF PATRIOT EVIDENCE A US fact-finding team has found no evidence that Israel passed Patriot missiles or components to China without authorisation, according to unofficial sources. The team completed its investigation in Israel on 25 March, after visits to Patriot batteries. gramme, while indirect support for US civil aircraft will be lim ited to just 5% of the turnover achieved by each of the major manufacturers. This represents a climb-down from the original EC position, that direct aid could be up to 45%. The USA had threatened to complain to the 108-nation Gen eral Agreement on Trade and Tariffs if the EC did not yield. Negotiations have been con tinuing for five years, and hith erto . the USA had not accepted the inclusion of indirect support in the talks. If the agreement goes through, a "true and abso lute" monitoring system will be set up, which will review the terms in a year's time. Airbus managing director Jean Pierson said after the agreement was announced that the deal is a "...positive step...but we must await the final agreement before we can be certain that it is definite". Boeing says it is a "significant step forward". • an inertial naviga tion system. Grumman's F- 14A/B+ programme would re-engine ex isting aircraft and upgrade avionics. Neither upgrade pro gramme is funded. Both programmes would upgrade about 250 F-14s, and are understood to be responses to the Navy's fears about being unable to maintain a credi ble carrier-borne air- defence capability with its ageing fleet of F-14As, which were deployed first in October 1972. The MDC F-18E, fitted with the advanced air-to- air missile (AAAM), was selected last year over F-14 upgrade op tions as the replacement for the current F-14A Tomcat/AIM-54 Phoenix combination. This fol lowed the decision to terminate F-14D production after the de livery of only 53 aircraft. The AAAM was cancelled in this year's defence budget, how ever, and despite MDC remain ing bullish over the F-18E's prospects, Navy plans to procure this aircraft and the new A-X US Nayy looks for new life from F-14 strike fighter are coming under increasing scrutiny. A Defense Acquisition Board meeting to approve F-18E devel opment has been postponed, probably until 27 April. The Navy operates over 500 F-14As and 71 F-14Bs, the latter being the new designation for the re-engined F-14A+. The last ten of 37 new-build F-14Ds will be delivered by Grumman this year, while 16 F-14As are being re-manufactured to the F-14D(R) standard. • USA clears first Moscow space sale Space Systems/Loral has been granted US Government ap proval to buy Russian Hall plasma electric propulsion sys tems for satellite station-keeping and attitude control — the first US purchase of space technology from Moscow. Loral has also received an export licence to sell space com ponents to Russia. The company will form a joint venture with Russian manufacturer Fakel En terprises to market the thrusters and associated electronics. Plasma thrusters can improve spacecraft efficiency by reducing weight, fuel consumption and launch costs. Over 100 plasma thrusters have been used on Soviet satellites in 20 years. A Japanese engineering test satellite, ETS 6, will test similar thrusters, but they have not yet been used operationally on Western satellites. • 4 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 8 - 14 April, 1992
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