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Aviation History
1994
1994 - 0014.PDF
DEFENCE UK reviews Merlin upgrade choices BY RICHARD SCOTT The Royal Navy is consider ing the options available for a next-century block update of the EH Industries EH 101 Merlin helicopter, introducing major airframe and mission- system improvements aimed at enhancing the aircraft's capa bility in the primary anti submarine warfare and anti- surface-warfare (ASuW) roles. Prime contractor IBM-ASIC is working on a £1.5 billion programme to deliver 44 Mer lin HAS. Is to the Royal Navy, with the first aircraft entering service in early 1999. A second batch is planned, although the size and timing of the order have yet to be determined. Airframe improvements cen tre around plans to uprate the transmission system and Rolls- Royce/Turbomeca RTM.322 en gines. This would allow for a performance and weight- growth capability through the Merlin's service life. A Merlin mission-system up date (MSU) was originally being examined in isolation, but further study and re appraisal have now led the UK Ministry of Defence's Opera tional Requirements (Sea) staff to consider the combination of MDC expects new SLAM contract BY GRAHAM WARWICK IN ST LOUIS McDonnell Douglas (MDC) expects -to be under contract by mid-1994 to develop an improved, ex tended-range, version of the AGM-84E stand-off land- attack missile (SLAM) for the US Navy. The SLAM "ex- panded-response" (ER) will form the basis of MDC's bid for the UK's conventionally armed stand-off missile (CASOM) programme. The SLAM ER will have guidance-system improve ments, a warhead with better hard-target penetration, and swing-out planar wings which will double the missile's 75km (50nm) range. MDC says that the SLAM ER will "...essen tially answer" the CASOM re quirements . for range and warhead penetration. The ER variant differs con siderably from the standard SLAM, which is a stretched version of MDC's cruciform- wing Harpoon anti-ship mis sile. The missile features a faceted aerodynamic fairing over the imaging infra-red seeker. The wings are attached to "gull-wing" root fairings which allow the swing-out panels to be stowed under the aft fuselage. Proposals call for produc tion of the SLAM to continue and for the US Navy to pro cure kits to convert all basic weapons to ER standard. The improved missile will retain the Teledyne CAE J402 turbo jet used in both the Harpoon and SLAM. MDC says that it will an nounce its partners in the CASOM competition when the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) issues an invitation to tender in 1994. A separate team will be formed to offer a Harpoon variant for the MoD's surface- to-surface guided-weapon (SSGW) requirement to arm the Common Next-Generation Frigate to be developed with France and Italy. The company says that its SSGW bid will be based on the Block ID Harpoon developed for the US Navy, but then shelved. This active-radar weapon features a 0.6m stretch to accommodate a fuel plug, which doubles range. The Block ID weapon also features the re-attack capability which is now under development for the US Navy. • .. V~ " -— 4 ..Q M % V Royal Navy conjures with Merlin improvements the update and the airframe improvements within a single programme. The MSU is likely to include new sensors, an advanced tacti cal system and a modular avi onics package, to maintain the Merlin's qualitative edge against future threats. One non-acoustic-sensor technology being examined is inverse synthetic-aperture radar (ISAR). GEC-Marconi Avionics and the UK Defence Research Agency are already modifying a prototype Blue Kestrel radar to incorporate ISAR technology. Other op tions include a passive iden tification device and a mag netic-anomaly detector. An update to the Merlin's acoustics suite is also under consideration. A new genera tion of passive sonobuoys could be introduced, together with a range of novel process ing techniques to improve the performance of existing buoys. The possibility of incorporat ing "classified exotic technolo gies" in the update has not been ruled out, should they prove to be sufficiently cost- effective. Fundamental per formance criteria have already been validated in trials. It is anticipated that a new tactical system would provide for a high order of sensor-data fusion, picture compilation and operator-decision support. One major study effort concerns the provision of a knowledge-based tactical-advice system to aid the observer in sonobuoy selec tion, positioning, active-sonar positioning, pulse-train selec tion and weapons delivery. Helmet-mounted tactical dis plays and the use of aural cues to assist with sonar classifica tion are also being considered, to reduce crew workload. MSU studies are also looking at the Merlin's potential to take a more active ASuW role. The Navy plans eventually to arm the aircraft with an anti- ship missile. • Pentagon to test Rafael UAV sensor Among the 30 foreign weap ons which the Pentagon will evaluate during fiscal year 1994 is an Israeli sensor for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and an electronic- warfare management (EWM) unit for the Lockheed F-16. Of the 30 evaluations, 18 are continuations of tests already approved. The Foreign Com parative Testing Programme is designed to determine whether the equipment satisfies Penta gon requirements. • Rafael's ZEOP (Z-Electro- Optical Payload) is being evaluated as a very-lightweight, all-weather, day/night image- intelligence sensor for close- and short-range UAVs. • TERMA of Denmark will provide the Pentagon with its EWM system for trials. It would replace individual cock pit controls with centralised control of the electronic com bat suite in the F-16 fighter. • Lumen of Kazakhstan will provide the Pentagon with pressure-sensitive paint, which could reduce the cost of windtunnel pressure models. • France's Aerazur EFA and the UK's Irvin Industries are providing parachutes as poten tial replacements for the T-10 reserve parachute. • 12 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 5-11 January, 1994
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