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Aviation History
1995
1995 - 0953.PDF
EF2000 flight-control software testing threatens a Pans debut Eurof ighter battles to get EF2000 ready for Paris DOUGLAS BARRIE/LONDON EUROFIGHTER IS IN a race against time to prepare the EF2000 combat aircraft for its debut at die Paris air show in June. Further delays to the testing of upgraded flight-control software could force cancellation of the air craft's appearance. The software was handed over to Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA) for rig testing at Ottobrunn, near Munich, by GEC-Marconi Avionics in February. Eurofighter pro gramme sources estimate that software tests will carry on into early May. The timetable leaves little room for further delays, if the British Aerospace-built Development Aircraft 2 (DA2) is to be flown at the show. The DA2 is scheduled to be the first of the test aircraft to resume flying. The aircraft is expected to be airborne by mid-May, giving enough time for it to be prepared for the show. Much of the prepa ration will also be dependent on the weather at BAe's Warton site in north-west England. A delay could either place tighter limita tions on manoeuvres permitted during the display, or prevent an appearance altogether. Resumption of flight testing of the DA2 is to be followed closely by the maiden flight of the DA3 — the first of the test aircraft to be fitted with the new Eurojet EJ200 engine, offering some 25% more power than the earlier aircraft's Turbo-Union RBI99s. • Major airframe fatigue tests (MAFT) on the Eurofighter structure passed 5,000h on 17 March. The tests are being car ried out by Industrieanlagen- Betriebsgesellschaft at Ottobrunn and involve simulation on a hydraulic test rig of the loads encountered by an airframe dur ing take-off, in flight and during landing. The tests are to continue up to 18,000h, and are expected to end in January 1997. The MAFT is to confirm the Eurofighter's predicted 6,000h airframe life — about 50% greater than previous combat aircraft. J Australia wants aerial target to replace Jindivik by 199/ THE ROYAL Australian Navy (RAN) is planning to acquire a new aerial target system to replace the locally produced Jindivik drone from 1997. A modern unmanned aerial tar get is needed primarily to simulate anti-ship missile attacks against RAN warships. The new system will also be used by the air force for air-to-air missile firings. The RAN's draft requirement calls for a system with an effec tive range of up to 95km (50nm) and a maximum speed of Mach 1.2 and which is capable of sus tained turns of 6g or more. It will carry self-defence dis pensers, miss-distance indicators and a global-positioning system. A request for tenders is expected to be issued in May, with final selection and contract signature to take place by April 1996. Systems under considera tion for the order include the Aerospatiale C-22L, Beech MQM-107, Denel Skua and Meteor Mirach 100. Manufacturers are negotiating witli Australian companies to pro vide local through-life support and in-service modifications. Aerospatiale is understood already to have teamed with Australian Defence Industries (ADI), while Denel is in discussion with drone distributor Air Affairs. • Eurocopter equips B0105s for Bahrain EUROCOPTER Deutschland has prepared two naval BO 105s ordered for Bahrain's armed forces — die first result of research by the company which identified interest in low-cost naval versions of lightweight helicopters, The "Peace Bow" helicopters, delivered in late 1994, are fitted with the Bendix RDR 1500B radar for over-the-horizon mis sions. The helicopter can be used to detect targets for a surface ves sel armed with long-range Exocet MM40 missiles, and sends infor mation to the surface ship via a data transmission system devel oped by Thomson-CNI. Development of the Peace Bow was carried out in parallel with that of the similarly-equipped "Helos" naval version of the AS.555 SN Fennec, of which four Bahrain has received two navalBO. 105s have been built by Eurocopter France under contract for a South American customer. • Kentron develops ramjet SAHV SOUTH AFRICAN MISSILE manufacturer Kentron has revealed that it is working on a ramjet-powered variant of the SAHV surface-to-air missile for an unspecified foreign customer. The SAHV has previously had a solid-rocket motor and fitting a ramjet would increase its range to beyond 30km (16nm). Work is believed to be relatively advanced, on the ramjet design, which has been developed by Somchem. A series of engine test firings is now under way. The SAHV missile would also be fitted with an imaging infra-red seeker to provide better target dis crimination and resistance to countermeasures. J FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 5 - 11 April 1995
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