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Aviation History
1995
1995 - 1605.PDF
L>MFBb<U£ India and Mikoyan struggle over MiG-21 ALEXANDER VELOVICH/MOSCOW THE INDIAN defence min istry and Mikoyan are strug gling to conclude a contract covering the upgrade of Indian air force Mikoyan MiG-21s, with India once again considering alternative prime contractors. The delay is the result of a con siderable rise in Mikoyan's initial bid price. Russian arms-export organisation Rosvooruzheniye initially quoted a figure of $1.5 million per aircraft in 1992. This has now escalated partly because of Indian-led changes to the upgrade, and also because of inflation and manpower cost increases in Russia. According to Russian sources, the air force has re-approached Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) ask ing it to submit an alternative bid. Sources close to the Israeli company confirm that it is once again in contention to become prime contractor on the air force MiG-21 upgrade, although they admit that any contract signature is some way off. The air force is looking to upgrade 125 of its MiG-21 Bis fleet with an improved radar, upgraded cockpit and mission avionics, and improved air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons. The Mikoyan package is built around the MiG-21-93 with the Phazotron Kopyo lightweight multi-mode radar, and can carry weapons such as the Vympel R- 27 (AA-10 Alamo) and R-77 (AA- 12 Adder) medium-range air-to-air missiles and the Raduga Kh-31 (AS-17 Krypton) air-to- surface missile. Russian officials are optimistic that the difficulties over the price can be resolved. They argue that the package on offer from Mikoyan offers an increased com bat capability considerably beyond any of the packages offered by competitors. Mikoyan has also thrown its MiG-AT advanced jet trainer into the equation, offering the aircraft to meet the air force's jet- trainer requirement. Mikoyan is competing against British Aerospace, offering the Hawk, while Dassault is offering the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet for the Indian trainer requirement. India is expected to announce a winner of this long-running com petition by the end of this year.3 M-55 crashes atZhukovsky AMYASISCHEV M-55 Geophizika high-altitude research-aircraft derivative of the M-17 Mystic reconnaissance air craft crashed at Zhukovsky flight- test research centre, near Moscow, on 29 May. The pilot was killed in die accident. The aircraft was due to be dis played at the Paris air show, and the pilot was understood to have been practising the flight-display routine for the show. According to eyewitness reports, the aircraft crash-landed on the runway. The impact was followed by a fireball. No official explana- The M-55 on earlier display tion for die accident has yet to have been released. • Elbit plans MiG-21 upgrade ISRAELI AVIONICS specialist Elbit is to begin the series upgrade of Romanian air force Mikoyan MiG-21 MF Fishbed J fighters in mid-1996. Elbit is the prime contractor on the $300 million programme. Two "prototypes" of the upgraded Romanian MiG-2 Is are expected to fly by the end of this year. Romania's Aerostar is the main subcontractor on the pro gramme, and it will upgrade up to 100 air force MiG-2 Is at its plant. The upgrade includes an Elta multi-mode radar for those aircraft intended for air defence, while for those used for strike missions, a radar altimeter will be fitted The upgrade package also includes a new mission computer and a redesigned cockpit fitted with multi-function displays. • At die end of May, the first Cambodian MiG-21 Bis being upgraded by Israel Aircraft Industries was flown pictured above). IAI to test fly maritime radar on Heron UAV ISRAEL MRCRAFT Industries (IAI) is about to start test-flying a maritime-surveillance, radar- equipped, long-endurance un manned air vehicle (UAV). Radar manufacturer Elta has developed a variant of its EL/M- 2022A maritime-surveillance radar. The radar will be flown on the IAI Heron. Elta has redesigned the radar's antenna to allow it to be carried by a UAV. Designated the EL/M- 2022 U, the radar weighs about 40kg and has multi-target-track- while-scan capability of up to 32 targets. Its typical detection range of small ships is 120km (64nm). • Malat, IAI's UAV manufactur er, is preparing the E-Hunter for its first flight.This is the upgraded version aimed at meeting the US Army's requirement for a Tier II medium-altitude-endurance (MAE) UAV system. The first flight is scheduled for mid-June. The E-Hunter uses the fuselage of the Hunter short-range UAV now entering service with the US Army, coupled with the wings and tail of Malat's long-endurance, high-altitude, Heron UAV. The 16.6m-long wing will give the E-Hunter an endurance of 30h at up to 15,000ft (4,600m). • NEWS IN BRIEF • NIMROD SCORES A HIT Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) has concluded an export order from an unspecified customer for its ground-launched Nimrod long-range laser-guided anti-armour missile. 22 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 7 - 13 June 1995
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