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Aviation History
1995
1995 - 1529.PDF
OMFMNCC UK contest seen as crucial test Bell's horizon for the Cobra stretches beyond the UK "•LBS KEVIN OTOOLE/LONDON THE UK ATTACK heli copter competition is being viewed as a crucial test of how the three main airframe manufactur ers competing for the contract will fare in future battles to dom inate world export markets, says Fred Hubbard, senior vice-presi dent at Bell Helicopter Textron. At a conservative estimate, Hubbard believes that there is a potential market for around 300 advanced attack helicopters out side the USA and UK, including major requirements from Turkey andJapan. The UK competition, which includes the Bell AH-IW Cobra, the McDonnell Douglas AH-64 Apache and Eurocopter Tiger airframes, will set a pattern for these decisions, says Hubbard. He admits that the US Army's "endorsement" of the Apache has NEWS IN BRIEF • INDIA TESTS ENGINE India's Hindustan Aero nautics has test flown an indigenously designed engine for the Lakshya unmanned air vehicle. It is uncertain whether the engine is a turbofan or turbojet. The first flight test of the engine took place on 18 May. • ELBIT UPGRADES Israel's Elbit has completed the development of an upgrade to provide transport helicopters with an all- weather attack capability. The update is intended mainly for implementation on helicopters which were manufactured in eastern European countries. The upgrade will provide systems (likely to include a forward- looking infra-red) which will give transport helicopters the capability to perform combat missions in both day and night conditions. 18 given the airframe a strong inter national advantage, underlined by its success earlier this year in the Dutch army competition. If the UK gives its "stamp of approval", the Apache would gain a "formidable" position in other competitions, he says. Victory in the UK for the Cobra airframe, together with GEC's Venom avionics, would allow Bell to "...run away with the market", however. ISRAEL AIRCRAFT Industries MBT division is developing a dual-mode seeker stand-off glide bomb in an effort to produce a family of advanced guided weapons. The dual-mode seeker consists of an active synthetic-aperture radar for guidance, with an elec tro-optical sensor used for target recognition during the terminal phase of the engagement. The MBT division, one of Israel's centres for the develop ment of advanced weapon sys tems, is also upgrading existing laser-guided weapon systems. It has adapted the Griffin laser guiding kit usually installed on the MK-82 and MK-84 bombs for use on the smaller MK-81 125kg metal bomb. MBT is also working on a follow-on guidance kit which will produce an accura cy of 1 m. I Rockwell has demonstrated a bomb-guidance kit which would provide a precision-guided-muni- tion capability for the US Air Bell believes that the Cobra Venom bid is gaining late ground in the run-up to the UK decision in July. "I don't think we started out as a contender, but now we are being viewed as a real competitor," he says, adding that the Cobra appears to be "tied for second place" with the Tiger, although still behind the Apache — the British Army's clear favourite. Hubbard believes that strong US Marine Corps support for the Force's B-1B bombers four years earlier than the planned Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). The Rockwell-developed glo- bal-positioning-system (GPS)- guided tailkit for the Mk82 225kg bomb was demonstrated in May, when a guided bomb was released from a B-1B and achieved a "...six-fold improve ment in precision compared to the standard unguided Mk82," the company says. Rockwell says that GPS-guid- ed Mk82s could be fielded on modified B-lBs by early 1997. Integration of the JDAM on the B-1B is not planned until 2001. The GPS/inertial-guided JDAM is under competitive develop ment by Lockheed Martin and McDonnell Douglas. The tailkit adds a GPS re ceiver and aerodynamic con trol-surfaces to the Mk82 bomb. Before release, target co-ordi nates are downloaded from the aircraft to the bomb via an infra-red datalink. • FLIGHT INT Cobra may help counter US Army backing for the Apache. "The USMC could buy the Apache, but they don't because they want something that works every day and doesn't cost diem a fortune," he says. "To morrow's wars are going to be fought more like the way in which the USMC fights wars," he maintains, adding that the Apache is not even "maritimised" — that could cost $25-50 million. Bell is also emphasising the UK industrial potential of the Cobra Venom offering, now under scored by US Navy proposals to use Venom avionics in the planned cockpit upgrade for a 220-strong USMC .AH-IW fleet. The upgrade may be conducted as a joint programme with the UK Ministry of Defence (Flight International 24-30 May). 3 Czechs cut air force upgrade THE CZECH DEFENCE ministry has reduced ambi tious plans for a substantial upgrade to part of the air force's Mikoyan MiG-21 Fishbed fleet. According to ministry sources in Prague, a more austere upgrade package is now envisaged. This will consist of replacing the Russian Odd Rods identification friend or foe with a Western system, a global-posi tioning system, and the buying of NATO-compatible communi cations equipment. Initial plans to consider avion ics, radar and weapons upgrades have been shelved because of their costs. Several Czech companies, teamed with foreign partners, are competing for the upgrade, which will cover 24 aircraft. These include Aero Vodochody, the LOK/LOM aircraft repair plant. Israel's Elbit and Israel Aircraft Industries, along with the USA's Litton. • ^NATIONAL 31 May - 6 June 1995 IAI develops glide bomb
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