FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
2001
2001 - 0109.PDF
DEFENCE Tanker offer swings Chilean fighter deal in F-16's favour PAUL LEWIS/WASHINGTON DC THE CHILEAN air force (FACh) is being offered an in flight refuelling tanker by the US Government to support its planned purchase of Lockheed Martin F-16C/D fighters, but issues surrounding financing and armament for the new fighters still need to be resolved. After much delay Santiago has approved the FACh's selection of the F-16C/D Block 50 Plus after a further round of "best and final" tendering late last year. Dassault offered the Mirage 2000-5 and Saab/BAE Systems the Gripen. Selection of the F-16 has drawn criticism within Chilean defence circles, particularly over Washing ton's refusal to supply a beyond visual range missile until a compa rable weapon appears elsewhere in the region. The aircraft instead will be equipped for the Rafael Python 4 short range missile and for, but not with, the Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. To allay criticism of the F-16's in-flight refuelling configuration, A-37s will be the first to be replaced by the F-16 the USA is offering a boom- equipped Boeing KC-135 tanker as part of the package. The FACh supports its Northrop F-5s, Dassault Mirage 5/50s and Cessna A-37s with two 707 tankers, which need replacing. Chile hopes to order an initial 10 F-16s and to receive the first pair by 2003/04. The total is yet to be finalised and hinges on the price of copper, the country's main export earner. The FACh draws procurement funds of $70 million a year from copper rev enue and ^t wants to finance the F-16 deal over the next 12-years. The FACh is budgeting around $600 million for the aircraft plus $100 for equipment, including Israeli datalinks and electronic warfare systems. No selection has been made between the General Electric Fl 10 or Pratt & Whitney F100 engines. Chile will initially replace the A-37s, but additional fighters will be needed if it is to replace Mirages and F-5s. The F-16s will be equipped with the Northrop Grumman APG-68(V)XM radar and 2,2751itre (600USgal) confor- mal fuel tanks. J Funding needed to save E-2C line, warns US Navy THE US Navy is warning that it faces ending production of the Northrop Grumman E-2 C air borne early warning and control aircraft unless follow-on funding can be secured within the next year to order additional improved Hawkeye 2000s, as well as to start full scale development of future sensors and avionics. Northrop Grumman is building 21 new Hawkeye 2000s under a multi-year contract awarded in 1999, with the first due for delivery in November. Production will begin to slow within three years with the final aircraft due for com pletion by ea^rly 2006. "We're coming up to a decision point on the Fiscal Year 2003 bill where the navy is going to have to make a commitmenfto build more E-2Cs or get out of the business. The line will start to shut down in 2003 unless we build more and tie to this is the Radar Modernisation Programme," says Capt Lee Lilly, USN E-2C/G-2A programme manager. The USN has around 12 months to make its case for extend ing the E-2C line and staffing RMP engineering and manufac turing development (EMD), before funding requests' are sub mitted in early next year for 2003. The navy had hoped to start RMP workinFY02. A technology demonstration of the follow-on APS-XX radar using a Lockheed Martin EC-130V testbed will start next year and is funded to 2004. EMD money will prevent the disbandment of devel opment teams, says Lilly. An RMP-equipped Hawkeye could be fielded by 2007 if EMD starts in 2003, but the USN will have to acquire 12 Hawkeye 2000s to fill three years production. The alternative is the more costly option of shutting down and re starting production, or the even more expensive proposition of switching to a new platform in 2 012. Also, the USN has considered updating its 54 Group 2 (earlier) standard E-2Cs to Hawkeye 2000s, but this presents an even bigger challenge when incorporating the follow-on radar. RMP can be retrofitted but only with drastic modifications, says Lilly. • Tiger HAP completes tests as first service machine takes flight EUROCOPTER HAS com pleted qualification of the HAP combat support version of the Tiger attack helicopter and has flown the first production standard example. Meanwhile, Germany's procurement office (BWB) has ordered mission support systems for its anti-tank Tiger UHTs from EADS subsidiary Dornier. The HAP weapons system includes the Matra BAe Dynamics Mistral air-to-air missile, rockets and 30mm gun. The trials were flown by crews from Eurocopter, the French defence ministry flight test centre and the French army air corps and included firing trials at 5m (16.4ft)-diameter stationary and moving targets at 1,000m and 1,500m ranges in air-to-air and air- to-ground modes. Results were "extremely posi tive", says Eurocopter. Nine of the 10 rounds hit their target at 1,000m while at 1,500m range six out of 10 scored direct hits. In a further development the French aeronautical programmes office has awarded Eurocopter, Thales, Dornier and MS&I a con tract to develop an airborne tactical information/positioning informa tion datalink for the Tiger, which Eurocopter says paves the way for involvement in development of communications and mission plan ning systems. The first of four elements to the BWB mobile mission support con tract is worth more than €11 million ($10.5 million) with final deliveries expected in 2006. • The Greek air force is to pur chase four Eurocopter AS332C1 Super Pumas for search and rescue missions (SAR) and combat SAR missions. The deal, worth €100 million, includes an option for two machines and calls for delivery within two years. The helicopters will be equipped similarly to four Super Pumas in Greek merchant marine service, including a Honeywell RDR-1500B radar, Thales for ward-looking infrared system and Thales (ex-Sextant) self-contained navigation system with automatic transition and hover modes. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 9 - 15 January 2001 15
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
