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Aviation History
1995
1995 - 2835.PDF
DEFENCE S Korea to field spy aircraft by 2000 AN INTERNATIONAL multi-million dollar competi tion is under way to supply South Korea with an indigenous airborne intelligence-gathering capability, beginning in three years. The classified project, known in US military circles as Peace Pioneer, will reach a climax this month when South Korea is due to pick the payload contractors and business-aircraft manufac turer expected to provide the platform. Both are expected to be under contract before the end of this year. The military-intelligence pro ject is a key element of Yulgok. South Korea's five-year force- modernisation programme. It will acquire four signal-intelligence (SIGINT) mission aircraft and an equal number of militarised aircraft mounting synthetic-aperture (SAR) radars. They will replace US Army RC-12/RU-21 Guardrail commu nications intelligence and electron ics-signals intercept aircraft. The new turbofan-powered aircraft will also take over the role of ageing SAR-equipped RV-1 .Mohawks now used to protect Seoul. The US aircraft are to leave South Korea within the next one to three years. RC-12s similar to the one shown will be withdrawn from South Korea Word of the project first leaked out in 1994. It was reported that South Korea's Joint Ghiefs of Staff were under fire for their handling of the eight-aircraft buy, valued at $625 million. Recently, the Pentagon dis closed South Korea's move to acquire up to eight tactical-recon naissance aircraft, including four Raytheon Hawkers, and related ground-based equipment worth an estimated $550 million (Flight International, 20-26 September) The Pentagon names E- Systems and Loral Defense Systems as the prime contractors. What the Pentagon does not say is that E-Systems, Raytheon Aircraft and Loral are still locked in a competition with other US companies. Rival bids involve Canadian, French, German and Israeli firms. Informed sources say that E- Systems was selected over TRW's ESL and Raytheon Electromag netic Systems to represent the USA in the continuous SIGINT payload competition which also includes Thomson-CSF and Rafael of Israel, supported by Litif, the German subsidiary of Litton Industries. Loral "...had been the odds-on favourite until recently" to win the SAR work, but a rival bid submit ted by Canada's MacDonald- Dettwiler has gained ground, the sources add. All SIGINT and SAR manufac turers were directed by the South Korean Government to recom mend airborne platforms. Three business aircraft are still being con sidered: the $12 million Raytheon Hawker 800, the SlO million Cessna Citation III and the $15 million Dassault Falcon 50. E-Systems, which originally proposed using the Citation III, switched to the Hawker 800 after Raytheon's purchase of E-Systems. Thomson-CSF and MacDonald- Dettwiler are tied to the Cessna aircraft, while Rafael/Litif is believed to favour the Hawker 800. Sources say that the Hawker 800 cannot handle the Loral radar's power needs without run ning the auxiliary power unit full- time. "Realistically, Loral must go with the larger Falcon 50," they conclude. A purchase including mixes of aircraft is possible, but not favoured. The first SIGINT mission air craft would reach South Korea by the end of 1998, and the initial SAR-equipped aircraft would become operational a year later. • Czechs freeze MiG-21 modifications THE CZECH DEFENCE ministry has frozen the upgrading of three Mikoyan MiG- 21 Fishbed prototypes, and has established a joint team with US Government specialists to study the acquisition of Lockheed Martin F-16A/Bs. The decision was announced at the end of September by Czech defence minister Vilem Holan, fol lowing the visit of US defence sec retary William Perry. Holan says that the upgrade pro gramme would be halted immedi ately and a joint team would begin studying ways to allow the Czechs to obtain used F-16s. As recently as mid-September, the MiG-21 programme was being touted by the Czech defence min istry as the only realistic option for modernising the air force's fighter fleet Flight International, 21 September-3 October). The modernisation pro gramme called for the upgrade of three MiG-21 prototypes, with the programme, if successful, eventually being expanded to include 24 aircraft. Several schemes are being exam ined which would enable the Czechs to obtain the F-16s, includ ing a lease option. The USA has already provided the Czechs with pricing and availability information on the F- 16s, with similar data expected to be made available on the McDonnell Douglas F-18. The Czechs have not ruled out the possibility of at least evaluating other Western aircraft. • Malaysians to upgrade C-130Hs THE MALAYSIAN air force is planning to upgrade its fleet of Lockheed C-130H Hercules transport aircraft with new cockpit avionics and an integrated self- defence countermeasures system. Rockwell-Collins is understood to have been selected to equip the aircraft with its flat-panel EFIS-90 electronic flight-instrumentation system, a new digital tactical air borne-navigation system and re placement UHF/VHF communi cations suite. Plans to replace the aircraft's Collins AP-105 autopilot with the new APS-85, similar to that being fitted to upgraded Canadian C-130s, have been shelved for bud getary reasons. Malaysia is evaluating the idea of fitting the aircraft with chaff/fare dispensers and electronic jammers, as a result of the increasing number of missions being flown in hostile airspace to support UN peace keeping operations. Competing for the contract are Canadian Marconi, Danish Aerotech, Lockheed San ders and Westinghouse. The programme has been offi cially approved, but is still subject to a contract being finalised with Airod for the work to be undertak en locally at Subang Airport. CAE will provide integration support. It is initially planned to upgrade five of Malaysia's nine C-130s, with the option to add a sixth aircraft later. The air force recently con cluded a deal to purchase an addi tional five stretched C-130H-30s to boost its lift capability (Flight International, 20-26 September). • 26 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 4 - 10 October 1995
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