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Aviation History
1997
1997 - 2200.PDF
nensNce AIM-9X is entered for Australian contest FOLLOWING political lobby ing by the USA, the Australian defence ministry is to allow the Hughes ALM-9X short-range air- to-air missile (AAM) to be offered for the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) next-generation short- range AAM requirement. The RAAF had initially dis counted die ALM-9X on the basis that the missile would not be avail able to meet its required in-service date. Two AAMs - the Matra BAe Dynamics Advanced Short Range Ai'r-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) and the Rafael Python 4 - were the two original missiles in contention. The defence ministry issued a restricted request for tender to the three bidders on 27 August. The ALV1-9X bid is being led by the US Navy. The role of Hughes in the competition is complicated by its teaming arrangement with Matra BAe. The ASRAAM has a Hughes imaging infra-red seeker similar to thatontheALM-9X. If chosen, the ALM-9X Block 1 production missiles would enter service with the RAAF, the USN and US Air Force inventories simultaneously. • Technical problems dog THAAD testing THE NEXT flight test of the Lockheed Martin Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) weapon has been pushed into 1998, because of addi tional technical problems dogging the programme. With four failures in as many attempts to intercept a target, pro ject officials had hoped for a suc cessful test in December. This fifth attempt was scrapped, however, after the hit-to-kill interceptor's inertial measurement unit (LMU), which provides critical guidance information to the seeker, was found to be providing abnormal readings indicative of a possible component failure. The programme should move from the demonstration/validation stage to the engineering and man ufacturing development phase in early 1999 once Lockheed Martin carries out successful intercepts. • Germany thinks again on EF2000 defence system DOUGLAS BARRIE/LONDON GERMANY'S DEFENCE ministry is once again re-con sidering its position on a defensive- aids subsystem (DASS) for the Eurofighter EF2000 in the run-up to the project's approval by the German parliament. The other Eurofighter partner nations- Italy, Spain, and the UK- are effectively procuring a com mon DASS for the aircraft, but Germany withdrew from this ele ment of the programme in 1991, instead looking at eidier an off-the- shelf or a national solution. The three-nation DASS pro gramme, which is being led by the EURODASS consortium, includes the development of a towed radar decoy (TRD). The GEC-Marconi-designed TRD has already been test flown on EF2000 Development Aircraft 2. Sources say that it has attracted the interest of the German air force, which has already test flown the GEC-Marconi TRD on a Panavia Tornado, and is understood to have been considering purchasing a lim ited number of the systems for its Tornado Electronic Combat Reconnaissance aircraft. EF2000 DA2 has already flown with the towed radar decoy deployed The GEC-Marconi TRD pur chase, however, met industrial opposition in Germany since Daimler-Benz Aerospace (Dasa) is also developing a TRD. This project is at a much earlier phase in its development than is the GECTRD. A German air force purchase of the GEC towed decoy for the Tornado would have put the com pany in a strong position to also supply its TRD for the German air force's EF2000s. Dasa and GEC have held nu merous talks in attempting to resolve the DASS dilemma, so far with no success. While it is now understood to be too late for Dasa to become involved in the DASS development programme, it could rejoin the production phase. The EF2000 will carry two radar decoys on its starboard wing-tip pod. Trials of the TRD have so far cleared its deployment at subsonic- speeds ond in turnsof up to 4g. Further tests will clear its use at supersonic speeds. Some design modifications are being considered for the EF2000 decoy. Unlike the GEC-Marconi TRD deployed on the Royal Air Force's Tornado F3, the EF2000 design does not at present include a recov ery parachute. • Demand for cuts may delay JASDF tanker plans PAUL LEWIS/SINGAPORE DEMANDS FOR the Japan Defence Agency QDA) to cut expenditure over the three remain ing years of its 1996-2000 mid term plan is threatening further delays for the Japan Air Self- Defence Force (JASDF) in its plans for the acquisition of its first in flight refuelling tanker. The Japanese Government has instructed the JDA to reduce its budget by a total of¥920 billion ($8 billion) between fiscal year 1998 and 2000. TheJDAhad been allocated ¥2 5 billion for the five-year period, but a recent downturn in the economy has forced the Government to cut its spending. As part of a scheduled review of the.mid-term plan, Japan's armed forces are required to submit their equipment requests for the remaining three years of the 1996- 2000 plan. The JASDF had plan ned to include a request for initial funding of a tanker aircraft in fiscal year 1999, but this could be pushed into the next 2001 -05 plan. The acquisition of an in-flight refuelling aircraft is considered politically sensitive, and a final decision has already been been postponed once in 1996. The JASDF, however, has made the acquisition of a tanker a high prior ity as Japan's military is being asked increasingly to be deployed over seas on peace-keeping missions. It requires an initial four boom- equipped tankers and perhaps six to 12 aircraft in the longer term. The leading contender for the require ment is considered to be Boeing's proposed multi-role tanker/trans port version of the 767. McDon nell Douglas, now part of Boeing, had also been seeking to interest theJASDF in a tanker version of the C-17 transport. Cuts are likely to made to the number of other fixed-wing air craft and helicopters, such as the new Kawasaki OH-1 scout heli copter, being procured. • 16 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 3 - 9 September 1997
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