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Aviation History
1997
1997 - 2110.PDF
MAKS >97 SNOW REPORT NEWS IN BRIEF • UAE CONSIDERS PANZIR The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is in talks with Russian state arms agency Rosv- vorouzhenie over the possi ble purchase of the Panzir point defence short-range air-defence system. The Panzir is a combined missile and gun air defence system offered in both mobile and pallet transportable variants. • THOMSON/FAKEL TIE-UP France's Thomson-CSF Air- sys and Russian air-defence missile specialist Fakel are collaborating in adapting Fakel's cold-gas ejection sys tem for the former's VL- VT1 naval short-range anti- air missile system. The cold-gas ejection system is used in various Russian navy and army surface-to-air mis sile systems. • LONGER-LEGGED KEDGE Vympel is offering an extend ed-range variant of its Kh-29 (AS-14 Kedge) television- guided air-to-surface missile. Vympel claims the Kh-29TE has a range three times that of the Kh-29T, although, at 700kg, it is only 20kg heavier. The design bureau says that the Kh-29TE has a range of up to 30km (16nm). • TRIMMING THE FAT BMW Rolls-Royce is em barking on a weight-reduc tion programme for its BR715 engine, which is 45kg overweight. The company says that it will transfer the results of a similar pro gramme for the smaller BR710, which trimmed off 3 5kg, to the new powerplant, and consultations are being held with suppliers to exam ine possible further weight cuts. Three out of seven test engines have been complet ed, and are undergoing al titude and crosswind studies. BMW R-R is aiming for cert ification in the third quarter of 1998, with first flight on a Boeing MD-95 in June 1999. Antonov An-70 has its public debut at show THE KIEV Aviant plant in Ukraine has started to raise funds to finance a commercial version of the Antonov An-70 four-propfan military transport, the An-70T, according to plant manager Alex ander Kharlov. Aviant is collaborating with the Aviakor plant in Sa mara, Russia, in prepar ing die An-70 for series production. In a separate develop ment, Antonov is also investigating a twin- engined variant, the An- 70T-100, powered with die same Progress D-2 7 propfans, which would not have the standard An-70's short take-off I capability, but would be \ lighter and subsequent- | ly cheaper. Operating 9 from a paved 2,500m 2 (8,200ft)-long runway, the twin-engined van- Two fans ant could carry 30t of cargo over a distance of 1,000km (540nm), or 20t over 4,300km. The An-70 had its public debut at die show, with the aircraft flying from Ukrainian capital Kiev to Zhukovski - the first time that it has left the Antonov flight-test area at Gostomel. The second An-70 prototype was flown for the first or four'!1 Antonov is proposing a simpler An-70 time on 24 April and has since logged 38 flights. The first proto type was lost in a mid-air collision with a chase aircraft in early 1995. The aircraft was shown to high- ranking Russian officials, including president Boris Yeltsin, defence min ister Gen Igor Sergeyev and Russian air force commander-in-chief Gen Piotr Deinekin. The air force con firms its continuing interest in the military transport, with Lt Gen Yuri Klishin, Russian air force deputy comman der-in-chief saying: "We are oriented to acquiring this aircraft. The fact that the test flights are being flown by a joint crew gives some evidence of that." Since resuming flight tests, the crew consists of Antonov test pilot Alexander Galunenko and Russian air force Col Anatoly Andronov. The An-70 is a joint project between die Russian, Ukrainian and Uzbekistani aviation industries, with the Russians taking the lion's share. Antonov general de signer Piotr Balabuyev has again called for co operation with Future Large Aircraft (FLA) participating nations in Western Europe. "The FLA programme has almost iden tical requirements, and it has one foot in the grave. The civilised approach to spending taxpayers' money would be to unite our efforts in developing a new medi um military transport," he says. • NPO completes Yakhont anti-ship missile flight tests RUSSIAN MISSILE design house NPO Mashinostroy- enia says that it has successfully completed flight-testing of its Yakhont rocket/ramjet-powered anti-ship missile, although diere are no orders for it yet from the Russian defence ministry. The Yakhont, which may carry the Russian navy designation Onix, has been in design and develop ment since the 1980s, and was intended to be carried by Soviet surface vessels and submarines. The design bureau revealed for the first time a full-scale engineer ing airframe-design model of the Yakhont at the show. Also on show was the Granit passive/active radar seeker designed for the Yakhont. More than ten full test firings of the 300km (160nm)-range missile have been conducted, including a submerged launch from a subma rine. Tests also continue of the Plamya-designed ramjet power- plant. The design bureau is now seeking an export launch customer. As well as offering the Yakhont for export, NPO Mashinostoyenia is also looking to use elements of the missile in its proposed Alfa tur bojet-powered cruise missile. As well as surface- and sub marine-launched variants, it is also considering an air-launched ver sion. This would be some 900kg lighter as it would not need a launch booster. • 14 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 27 August - 2 September 1997
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