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Aviation History
1995
1995 - 0952.PDF
Malaysia shops for military equipment PAUL LEWIS/SINGAPORE MALAYSIA IS planning fur ther major purchases of mil itary equipment in its next five-year plan starting in 1996, says the country's defence minis ter, Najib Tun Razak. A list of proposed new pro grammes is being finalised by the Malaysian defence ministry and Joint Service Planning Committee for submission to the Cabinet for funding approval. The Gov ernment is expected to announce in early October its spending plans dirough to the year 2000. Najib says: "We can be confident of die present share of die national budget, which is about 14%, in which case some of die major pro grammes can be purchased." Significant programmes men tioned by Najib include new strategic-lift transport aircraft, utility and transport helicopters for Malaysia's newly formed army air corps and naval helicopters. The minister also lists new off shore patrol vessels, submarines, communications equipment and 155mm guns for the army. The air force has been pressing for more Lockheed C-130s, in addition to the nine in service, to support the country's growing number of overseas United Nations peacekeeping deployments. The military also has a require ment for heavylift helicopters, with the Boeing CH-47D consid ered to be the favoured candidate Shipboard helicopters are need ed to equip Malaysia's two new frigates, built in Yarrow in the UK. The first is due for delivery in 1996. Six helicopters are required ini tially as replacements for the navy's Westland Wasps, with either the Westland Super Lynx or Eurocopter AS.565SA Panther seen as the most likely choice. The next five-year defence plan is also widely expected to contain funding for a follow-on purchase of fighter aircraft. Malaysia has Malaysian Fulcrums are now coming off the production line already ordered 18 Mikoyan MiG-29s and eight McDonnell Douglas F-18Ds and is thought likely to order more of one type. The air force's more immediate priority is understood to be the purchase of 12 more single-seat British Aerospace Hawk 200s. The aircraft will supplement 18 Hawk 100s and ten -200s now being delivered to Malaysia. Air force planning also calls for an attrition buy of more Pilatus PC-7 turboprop trainers. Other major aerospace pro grammes being pushed for inclu sion in the next five-year plan are an attack helicopter and an air borne early-warning aircraft. The selection of an armed battlefield helicopter is expected to be between the Denel CSH-2 Rooivalk and the McDonnell Douglas AH-64 Apache. Malaysia has taken delivery of its first four Mikoyan MiG-29s. The aircraft were delivered in a knocked-down state to Kuantan AB for assembly by Russian techni cians from Moscow Aircraft Production. Twelve aircraft are scheduled for delivery in April and May, with the final two due in May. The 18 aircraft, including a pair of twin-seat MiG-29UBs, will equip two squadrons: 17 Sqn for training and operational conver sion and 19 Sqn for air defence. • NEWS IN BRIEF • RAVEN FLIGHT Northrop Grumman is flight- testing the first US Air Force EF-111A Raven upgraded under the system improve ment programme, which increases the signal-process ing capacity and speed of its AIL Systems ALQ-99E tacti cal-jamming system, and improves operability, reliabil ity and maintainability. USAF flight-testing will begin in mid-1995. • SOUTH KOREA SALE The US Department of Defense plans to sell South Korea 100 Hughes AIM-120 advanced medium-range air- to-air missiles for $75 million, to arm Lockheed F-16s. It is also to sell Taiwan six Hughes Phalanx close-in weapon sys tems as part of a $75 million frigate-armament deal. LEAP fails to rise to the occasion in US Navy tests ALIGHTWEIGHT Exo-atmospheric Projectile (LEAP) prototype has failed for the second time in succession to intercept a theatre ballistic-missile target during US Navy tests.The latest trial involved a Rockwell- built weapon. The LEAP, mounted on a Hughes Standard Missile, was launched on 28 March from a US Navy cruiser off the coast of North Carolina. The Scud-like target was launched from NASA's Wallops Island flight-test site in Virginia. The Pentagon says that missile performance was normal through boost, second-stage, nose-cone ejection and third-stage separa tion. It says that the LEAP kinet ic kill vehicle (KKV) "...appears to have observed the target just prior to KKV ejection". The KKV, however, was ejected without power and the intercept failed. The USN will determine the cause of the malfunction, although a senior project official has already said that the LEAP's battery failed. On 4 March, a competing LEAP made by Hughes Aircraft failed to intercept its Scud-like target during a similar exo-atmos- pheric intercept test. The USN says that software problems with the Standard Missile caused the test failure. The LEAP KKV was released at the wrong point and, although it acquired and tracked the tar get, it was unable to reach it. Hughes is prime contractor for the theatre-missile-defence ver sion of Standard. • USAF completes Paveway evaluation THE US AIR FORCE has completed operational tests of Texas Instruments' Paveway GBU-28A/B laser-guided bomb. The tests were carried out at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, using McDonnell Douglas F-15Es and General Dynamics F-lllFs. Targets included hard ened bunkers. The bomb is designed to penetrate more than 6m (20ft) of reinforced concrete. The bunker-buster was devel oped by the USAF, Texas Inst ruments and Lockheed in record time and deployed successfully in the 1991 Desert Storm conflict. The tests completed the devel opment and test phase of one prod uct-improvement programme. The programmes include greater penetration and ease of production. Texas Instruments upgraded and expanded guidance algorithms for the seeker software. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 5 - 11 April 1995 19
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