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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 0611.PDF
Capabilities Enhancement upgrade as a modu lar system that it can be offered to users of F-16C/Ds and earlier (Block 30) C/Ds. The F-16's popularity over the last 20 years has led to the retirement of many second and third generation fighters, such as the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom and Northrop F-5, although the latter two types still serve in significant numbers. Many companies also offer upgrades for the two fighters, although major F-4 users Germany, Greece, Japan and Turkey have sourced upgrades -which reduces the market's apparent size. Numerous operators of the more than 1,200 F-5s in service have yet to select a manu facturer - or even decide whether they will upgrade. Although some operators will elect to replace the F-5 with newer aircraft, others have acquired the aircraft secondhand. Second only to the F-16 in sheer numbers is the venerable MiG-21 Fishbed, with well over 2,000 in service. Like its western contempo raries, the MiG-21 continues to be the focus of a number of upgrades offered by Eastern and Western companies. This market has not been as vibrant as was once forecast, probably because many operators are countries with lim ited resources to spend on defence. China's MiG-21-based Chengdu F-7 is also one of the world's most popular fighters, a status achieved by its role as the Chinese air force's mainstay. The RSKMiG-29 Fulcrum has also become the focus for a number of companies' upgrade programmes. The fighter is one of few military aircraft to appear in all of the eight regions Flight International'uses for this census. POPULAR TRAINERS Aero Vodochody's range of advanced trainer/ light attack aircraft is by far the trainer line in most widespread use. The mainstay of Warsaw Pact training, the L-39 was also exported to many other countries. Although the basic design has evolved through theL-59andL-139 to the L-159 (all are included under the L-39 figure), the basic model is still being delivered, albeit at the rate of one a year, to Bangladesh. Potentially the training aircraft market is set to expand with a host of countries worldwide declaring a need for such aircraft. Such needs, however, often slip to the bottom of the pile and BAE Systems, for instance, announced earlier this year that lower than expected orders for the Hawk could lead to further job cuts. Asia Pacific, North Africa and the Middle East and Eastern Europe were expected to be fertile markets but all have been depressed. The for mer suffered a major downturn in the late 1990s, depressed oil prices have limited spend ing power within the Gulf and Eastern Europe continues to struggle with developing economies, despite more than 10 years having passed since the Berlin Wall fell. . A glance at the tanker/transport table neatly highlights why aerospace companies are so keen on winning the US Air Force's Lockheed Martin C-130X Avionics Modernisation Pro gramme (AMP)^nd why such high interest is being generated by the USAF's ultimate plan to replace its Boeing KC-13S fleet. Until now most Hercules modernisations have been limit ed to one or two countries each. The C-130X AMP is expected to be selected by many other Hercules operators, some of which have already • MilMIUlia.'M^KflidMNMfcll;;^1 Lockheed Martin F-16 Mikoyan MiG-21 Fishbed/Mongol/Lancer Boeing F/A-18 Hornet RSK MiG-29 Fulcrum Mikoyan MiG-23 Flogger Northrop F-5 A/B/F-5E/F Boeing F-15 Eagle Sukhoi Su-27/30/33 Ranker Chengdu J-7/F-7/Guizhou JJ-7/FT-7 McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom idH 3,347 2,147 1,764 1,527 1,525 1,234 1,199 1,191 1,161 892 tAround 3,360 Mikoyan MiG-19 Farmer/Shenyang J-6/F6/JJ-6/ FT- 6/JZ-6s are in-service. The majority, 2,800, are in Chinese airforce and navy service, although as with the rest of the world's MiG-19/ J-6 fleet, serviceability is believed to be poor. Similarly, 1,730 Mikoyan MiG-17 Fresco/Shenyang J-5/F-5/JJ-5/FT-5 aircraft are not included in this list due to unconfirmed operational status. • r^ilUrVJi'.'hhjtA.iMI.'k.^H Aero L-39/L-59 Albatross/L-159 YakovlevYak-ll/Yak-18 Yakovlev Yak-52/Aerostar IAK-52 Pilatus PC-9/PC-9Mkll/Raytheon T-6 Texan/Harvard A-37/T-37 Northrop Grumman T-38 Talon BAE Systems Hawk 50/60/100/200/ Boeing T-45 Goshawk Embraer EMB312 Tucano/Shorts Tucano/ Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano 2,256 1,776 1,667 994 824 688 674 532 Beechcraft T-34A/B Mentor/T-34C Turbo Mentor 508 Aermacchi SF260/SF260TP/SF260W Warrior 480 allocated funding for the upgrade. The KC-135 tanker fleet could continue in operational service until 2 040, although some are already 40 years old. A replacement is not expected to enter operational service until the mid years of me next decade - but the rewards for a company winning a contract to replace even half this tanker fleet would be substantial. ARMED HELICOPTERS Although only nine types of combat helicopter are in service or have production orders, a large number of armed transport machines, such as the Mil Mi-8/17 Hip - and light rotorcraft, such as the Aerospatiale Gazelle - are in service. The world combat helicopter fleet is, however, dom inated by the Mil Mi-24/25/35 Hind, a type which gained its reputation during the former Soviet Union's war in Afghanistan, and in regional conflicts in Africa and Latin America. Some countries, mainly those with few resources and often insurgent elements, rely on the Mi-24 as their principal combat aircraft in place of fast jets. The Hind's ubiquity has led to the development of upgrade programmes with companies worldwide offering a range of improvements for the navigation system and often replacing the elderly Soviet era cannon with more modern equivalents. The largest programmes include IAI's upgrade of Indian air force Hinds, while South Africa's ATE is thought to be modifying Algerian Mi-24s. I More aircraft are operated by NATO than the countries in any other of the eight regions covered by this census. Importantly,, the US armed services account for over half of NATO's aircraft FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 20 - 26 February 2001 43
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