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Aviation History
1996
1996 - 1269.PDF
r j —" —' —• \ I /-J —' Israel offers India active AAM DOUGLAS BARRIE/LONDON ISRAEL IS OFFERING India access to an active-radar beyond- visual-range (BVR) air-to-air mis sile (AAM) as part of an upgrade being proposed for the Indian navy's British Aerospace Sea Harrier FRS5 Is. The active-radar-guided missile is being developed by Rafael, although the company refuses to acknowledge publicly the existence of any such programme. India has looked at the active variant of the French Matra Mica AAM and the Russian Vvmpel R-77(AA-12Adder)fortheFRS51. The R-77, however, was consid ered to be to heavy, while the Mica, say sources close to the project, was considered too expensive. The Indian navy is hoping to fit its FRS51s with a multi-mode pulse-Doppler radar, and had looked initially to BAe to provide an upgrade to the Royal Navy's Sea Harrier F/A2 standard. India, however, was unable to afford this, and looked instead at less expensive options — although, in the wake of the Indian election, it remains to be seen whether any funding will be made available. Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) approached BAe with the aim of collaborating in offering an "affordable" package. Whether a collaborative bid emerges hasyetto be determined. BAe had been offering the F/A2's GEC-Marconi Blue Vixen pulse-Doppler radar, while IM was proposing a variant of the Elta EL/M 2032 multi- mode radar. Rafael's BVR weapon has already been inte grated with this radar. A variant of this radar could eventually be retrofitted to the Israeli air force Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds, as could the active BVR missile. Another option is to integrate the weapon with the Northrop Grumman APG-68 radar now fitted to the aircraft. Israel is to receive the Hughes ATM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-To-Air Missile, but, so far, only for the 25 McDonnell Douglas F-15I (F-15E) strike air craft on order. The Rafael BVR missile is also believed to be part of an Israeli col laboration with South Africa to upgrade its Cheetah E fighters. South African missile manufacturer Kentron's R-Darter project is thought to be based on the Rafael programme. The R-Darter programme has at least reached the flight-trials stage although, beyond confirming its existence, Kentron is reluctant to discuss the missile. • US Air Force will upgrade E-4B command posts US AIR FORCE Boeing E-4B national command-and-con- trol aircraft are to be upgraded to act as airborne operations centres for the US Secretary of Defense. The four modified 747s are to be equipped with a fibre-optic com munications "backbone", or local- area network, and UHF and commercial satellite-communica tions (satcom) capability. The upgrade was ordered in October 1994 by defence secretary William Perry as the aircraft "...cannot provide the high-quality- voice and data communications needed...[when] used as airborne operations centres," says the USAF. UHF satcom will enable the E- 4B to transmit and receive secure digital voice and data. L-band sat com via Inmarsat satellite will con nect the aircraft with the terrestrial telephone system. The upgrade will be performed during normal scheduled depot maintenance, as one E-4B has to be available at all times. • Cold comfort for the B-2 as flying isfivzen B-2 stealth bombers grounded THE US AIR FORCE HAS suspended training flights of the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber after discovering a cracked engine clamp during an inspection. The grounding began on 10 May, but it was not announced until the USAF began receiving en quiries. The ten B-2s operated by the 509th Bomber Wingat White- man AFB, Missouri are being inspected and flying is expected to resume shortly. The USAF plans to field 20 B-2s. The USAF says that the crack, in a clamp which connects the exhaust duct to the General Electric Fl 18- 100 turbofan, was not a safety haz ard, but the sendee admits that it could have caused internal damage to the bomber. The clamp has also failed on test aircraft and on one other produc tion stealth bomber. The USAF believes that incor rect installation of the GE-pro- duced clamp caused stress cracks, but the long-term solution will be the retrofit of stronger clamps. It is understood that the existing clamp fails because of higher-than- expected loads. The B-2 is powered by four F-118s • BAe plans TIALD vibration tests on Harrier GR7 B RITISH AEROSPACE is to carry out flight trials of a GEC- Marconi thermal-imaging air borne laser-designator (TLALD) pod, fitted with telemetry equip ment, on a BAe Harrier GR7 fuse lage station, to ensure that it can withstand the hostile vibration environment. The company has a contract from the UK Ministry of Defence to integrate the TIALD on the GR7, and around a half dozen pods are on order for the application. The Royal Air Force wants to use one of the two fuselage stations nor mally used to carry Aden 25mm gun packs in preference to using a wing station. Using a wing pylon means that the aircraft can carry less ord nance and also incurs increased airframe masking of the laser designator. The concern in placing the TIALD pod on the fuselage is its location, near the forward set of engine nozzles. The flight tests will be used to discover whether the vibration and sonic-shock levels can be sustained by the pod. The Harrier GR7 is cleared to carry the Texas Instruments Pave- way II laser-guided bomb, and the aircraft will also be cleared to carry thePavewaylll. • NEWS IN BRIEF • DOD PEDDLES CREEK Taiwan is to procure 30 Bell Helicopter Textron TH-67 Creek training helicopters and related equipment, in cluding night-vision goggles, through the US Department of Defense's US foreign-mili- tary-sales channels. The Far Eastern country will use the TH-67s to replace ageing Bell UH-lHs, which are now used for helicopter flight training. The US Army replaced UH-ls used for flight training at Fort Rucker, Alabama, with the TH-67, a modified Bell 206B-3. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 22 - 28 May 1996 19
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