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Aviation History
1995
1995 - 1983.PDF
DEFENCE NEWS IN BRIEF • RADAR FIRST Westinghouse has received a $3 million contract to retro fit Portuguese air force Lockheed C-130Hs with its APN-241 predictive-wind- shear radar. Deliveries begin in November. The contract marks the first international, and first retrofit,sale of the radar, which is in production for new US Air Force C-130Hs and the C-130Js now under development by Lockheed Martin. • AIMING HIGH Honeywell is proposing derivatives of the Boeing 777's aircraft information- management system (AIMS) for retrofit to US Air Force Boeing E-3 Sentrys and US Navy Boeing E-6 Mercurys. Use of the AIMS architec ture is also being considered by manufacturers working on airframe designs for the US Department of Defense Advanced Short Take-Off and Landing and Joint Advanced Strike Technology programmes. • CESSNA ON TRACK Cessna Aircraft will provide the US Air Force with five Citation-based OT-47B Tracker aircraft under a $40 million firm-fixed-price con tract awarded by the Pen tagon. Cessna will integrate APG-66 radars and WF- 360TL imaging systems on each aircraft as part of die deal. Folding fins indicate internal-carriage version ofR-77 is in development Vympel launches R-77 ramjet from Su-27 DOUGLAS BARRIE/LONDON RUSSIAN MISSILE manufac turer Vympel says that it has carried out air-launch tests of a ramjet-powered variant of the R- 77 (AA-12 Adder). The tests were performed from the air force's Ahktubinsk test cen tre using a Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker as the launch aircraft, according to Vympel. Five launches were car ried out successfully. Vympel unveiled a rocket/ram jet-powered design based around the R-77 in Moscow in 1993, although static ground-launch tests had only then been carried out on the ramjet-powered derivative. A rocket/ramjet R-77 offers advantages compared with the basic solid-propellant version of the weapon, particularly in terms of range and speed. Vympel says that the Russian air force is interested in the ramjet- powered variant, although fund ing issues remain a concern. The missile company has also unveiled a variant of the R-77 which appears to be optimised for internal carriage with fully folding lattice rear fins. The missile was on display dur ing the Paris air show. Previous R-77s shown on aircraft had die lat tice wings bolted into position. Mikoyan's 1.42 fifth-generation fighter programme may cany its primary air-to-air arsenal internally. The R-77 is now in service with Russian air force Su-27 and Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter units. The active-radar-guided R-77 is the replacement for the semi- active Vympel R-27 (AA-10 Alamo), which now forms the backbone of the air force's beyond- visual-range missile inventory. The design house has also been working on an active-radar vari ant of the R-27. • Racal rejigs UK battlefield-helicopter EW bid R\CAL RADAR Defence Systems has dropped plans to bid with Litton for the electronic- warfare (EW) package on the UK's attack-helicopter pro gramme, instead unveiling its own integrated defensive-aids system (IDAS), built round its new Griffin G500 radar-warning receiver (RWR). Racal is offering the IDAS, in collaboration with Wesdand, as an option for the Wesdand/Mc- Donnell Douglas AH-64D Apache bid for the UK's requirement. The IDAS package includes the Griffin G500 RWR in combination with an AVR-2A laser warner, the Vinten Vicon 78 Series 455 dis penser, the Northrop Grumman Nemesis steerable infra-red jam mer and, as options, the ALQ-162 and ALQ-136 radar jammers. Work on the 2-18GHz Griffon RWR began as a private venture during 1993 and the current IDAS package for the Apache supersedes a previous agreement between Racal and Litton con cerning an EW package for any potential UK procurement of the AH-64. Racal describes this agreement as "lapsed". It is understood that Racal will provide support for anv purchase of the APR-39A, ALQ-162, AVR-2 and ALQ-136 systems connected with the attack-heli copter programme. • UK forced to modify RAF Tornado ADVs ANDREW DOYLE/LONDON THE ROYAL MR FORCE has been forced to introduce engine modifications on its fleet of Panavia Tornado F3 ADVs (air-defence variants) following the crash in 1994 of an aircraft over the North Sea. Speed restrictions placed on the aircraft after the accident have been lifted, however, following the introduction of a temporary modification to the engine's fuel system, which Rolls-Royce says allows "virtually full operational usage of the aircraft". The restrictions had been rec ommended by R-R as a "precau tionary measure" in the aftermath of the crash of an RAF Tornado F3 into the North Sea on 7 June, 1994, following an uncontained engine failure. The RAF Board of Inquiry con cludes that the accident was caused by a catastrophic uncon tained failure of the right engine, leading to the failure of both air craft hydraulic systems and a rear- fuselage fire. Examination of the failed engine showed that the labyrinth seal around the high-pressure (HP) shaft, which connects the HP compressor to the HP tur bine, had failed. This led to overheating and failure of the HP shaft itself. The specific cause of the labyrinth seal failure was "...not positively determined", says the Board of Inquiry. Certain HP compressor compo nents are being redesigned for retrofit on existing engines, says the UK Ministry of Defence, while R-R has delivered new labyrinth seals. In addition, maximum fuel- flow stops have been modified to "prevent a recurrence" of the acci dent, according to the RAF. R-R says that the redesigned components will be available "before die end of 1995", allowing the F3 to be returned to normal unrestricted operations. • 18 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 5 - 11 July 1995
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