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Aviation History
1998
1998 - 1905.PDF
DEFENCE has submitted 19 priced proposals as a result of the tour and, by the year-end, it expects to have made bids to 28 of the 32 countries visited. These figures may overstate the prospects for near-term sales because at each stop on the tour, says Hundley, Lockheed Martin presented a basic proposal, preprinted but tailored for each potential customer. Each country had to express a desire to received a follow-up priced proposal, validated and tailored more specifically to the country, he says. "We don't know how soon we will see results," adds Hundley. "We expect results this calendar year, and more in 1999 and 2000. This is not a short-term process." Lockheed Martin weighted the scales in its favour by targeting countries considered high- or medium-proba bility prospects for C-130J sales, but several of those nations visited can only be considered long-term possibilities. Examples of the latter, says Hundley, include Chile, where the aircraft was displayed at the FIDAE airshow; Denmark, which "wants the aircraft" but is three years away from a procure ment; and Malaysia, which has deferred its transport and airborne early warning (AEW) requirements for two to three years because of the economic downturn. The tour also took in countries that have already bought the C-130J. A stop in Australia, for example, was designed to advance the chances of that country exercising its priced options for additional aircraft to meet its AEW requirement. Lockheed Martin leads one of three teams expecting to receive the request for proposals for AEW aircraft in late August or early September. "We flew the right people," believes Hundley. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS Most of the countries visited want a transport aircraft, but some, like Australia, have special mission requirements. In those cases, special demonstrations were conducted to show the C-l 30J's ability to perform roles such as AEW, and, in Israel for example, to prove its suitabili ty for low-level operations. Other mission capa bilities demonstrated included air dropping, search and rescue and aerial refuelling. One of the areas of interest to several coun tries was die C-130J's capability for peacekeep ing and relief missions, says Hundley. Here the issue is how quickly the aircraft can land, unload and take off in a potentially hostile environ ment. Hundley says the C-l 30J has the ability "...to get,down quickly, land short on a semi- improved runway, offload with the engines at full power, then take off and climb rapidly". He adds: "We tell people that the C-130J flies high er, faster, further and smarter [than previous Hercules], but it also flies safer." In most of the countries visited, the competi tion facing the C-130J is the operators' existing Hercules, says Hundley. "Each country has to make a business case for buying the new aircraft rather than keeping the older aircraft. We can Lockheed Martin is also marketing the C-27J upgrade ofAlenia's G222/C-27A (foreground) HAVING LAUNCHED the C-27J joint venture with Alenia to provide offset for Italy's purchase of C-130Js, Lockheed Martin is finding that potential customers are looking increasingly at operating the aircraft side-by-side. Several of the countries visited on the recent C-130J world tour also have requirements for C-27J-class aircraft, and the commonality in avionics and propul sion systems between the two could become a major factor in their procure ment decisions, believes Cesare Gianni, president of Lockheed Martin Alenia Tactical Transport Systems (LMATTS). The 50:50 joint venture, formed to manage and market the upgrade of Alenia's G222, has moved to increase that commonality by equipping the C-2 7J with the same Northrop Grumman low-power colour radar used in the C-130J. Gianni says the C-27J is the only medium trans port able to accommodate the radar, which he describes as a "tremendous aid for tac tical operations". The C-27J already shares the C-130J's Allison AE2100 turboprop engines and Dowty six-blade propellers. The same dig ital avionics architecture is used, albeit "depopulated" in the C-27J, with less inte gration and capability but 60% commonal ity with the C-130J in line-replaceable units and 80% in software. Gianni says extensive windtunnel test ing has been conducted to avoid the stall problem experienced with the C-130J and caused by the change in airflow over the wing resulting from the new propellers. "We have excluded the possibility of sur- demonstrate that the C-130J will pay for itself in far less than half its useful life." Nevertheless, several countries are considering upgrading their existing Hercules. Although die sales tour is complete, the pro tracted development programme is not. The final hurdle before certification of the C-130J is natural icing tests now under way in Argentina. US Federal Aviation Administration certi fication is expected at die end of July, clearing prises in flight test," he says. The first C-27J prototype, a modified G2 2 2, is scheduled to fly at Alenia in Turin, Italy, next spring to test the propulsion sys tem and flight controls. The second prototype will fly before the end of 1999 and will be the first with full avionics. A third, production, aircraft will join the flight-test programme in early spring 2000. The C-27J is to be civil-certificated to European JAR 25 standards, says Gianni. The original G222 received only restrict ed-category certification, "...so this is not a minor effort, but we do not think it is high risk", he says, noting that engines and avionics will have been certificated on the C-130Jbythen. LMATTS is "protecting delivery" of die first aircraft in spring 2001 and intends to gain civil certification and military qualification by the end of 2000. An offer has been made already to one unnamed customer and Australia is expected to issue a request for proposals in mid-August. Two further competitions are expected to get under way soon after: in Brazil for 20 aircraft, and in Greece for 15 aircraft. The C-27J is aimed at the requirement for an aircraft that can carry a lOt payload 1,800km (1,000nm), which Gianni says has proved to be "...much more than a niche, and a real market opportunity". The in creased value of the C-130J has created the need for a complementary aircraft, he says. "Essentially, the C-27J has one-third to one-half the capability of the C-130J," says Gianni, "although the aircraft will be priced more aggressively." the way for first deliveries of the aircraft to the Royal Air Force in early August and the Royal Australian Air Force in late October or early November. Lockheed iMartin has built about 40 of the 83 aircraft on firm order-55 for international cus tomers and 28 for the US Department of Defense. The company is offering new cus tomers delivery within two years of a contract, with aircraft available from 2000. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 15 - 21 July 1998 43
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