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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 2337.PDF
SURVEILLANCE Northrop Grumman, Thales and Raytheon battle it out South Korea's airborne early warning competition has produced novel solutions Thales and Raytheon are offering South Korea two different Airbus A320 based airborne early warning & control (AEW&C) solutions to compete against the Northrop Grumman MESA-equipped Boeing 737 system. There has been realignment in the line up of contenders for the' South Korean air force's recently resurrected E-X competition. Three rival AEW bids have been submit ted and are undergoing local test and evaluation, with a final selec tion now targeted for mid-2002. Thales has proposed its own AEW&C system based on a 1-band electronically scanned array pack aged in a dorsal-mounted, 10m (32ft) long housing, similar in con figuration to the Ericcson Erieye. The system provides 300° of con tinuous coverage and draws on ground based air defence radar modules and the exciter and signal processing architecture of the RBE2 radar fitted to the Dassault Rafale. It has chosen the A320 to com pete in South Korea but claims the system could be fitted to the smaller A319CJ. "This system has potential for growth. There is also interest in the A319CJ which was designed for longer endurance. It's a compro mise between size and endurance," says Yves Destefanis, Thales AEW&C programme director. FLIGHT IIIHIIIIIIIII Thales has opted for a longitudinal antenna on an A321 Thales had previously teamed with Ericcson to compete in South Korea with a S-band Erieye- equipped Embraer EMB-145. The system however fails to comply with the E-X requirement for 10 or more tactical displays and over 6h on station endurance. Raytheon has opted to base its proposal on the A321 after drop ping the widebody A310 in the wake of Australia and Turkey's recent selection of the 73 7 AEW&C. "The A321 has a number of advan tages, including lower costs," explains Bob O'Rourke, Raytheon vice president, business develop ment and advanced programmes. In place of the A310's dorsal- mounted system, Raytheon is to repackage the Elta Phalcon phased array radar around a conformal/bi- polar configuration similar to the original Boeing 707-based Phalcon. The A321 would feature two cheek- mounted conformal arrays and nose and tail mounted antennas. Although Turkey has selected the 737AEW&C, Ankara and Washington DC are still wrestling with technology reliability issues and a contract has yet to be signed. Raytheon has not given up and retroactively submitted a fresh pro posal based on its A321 offering to South Korea. Italy is expected to be the next nation to issue an AEW&C request for proposals at the end of the year. Northrop Grumman is set to com pete for it with the E-2C Hawkeye 2000, or more likely the proposed new Fairchild Dornier 728JET platform. PARIS 2001 BUSINESS JETS Bombardier's premium plan Bombardier is pursuing plans for a "premium passenger" airliner version of the Global Express business jet as interest in the air craft gathers momentum. The Canadian manufacturer recently held talks with Virgin Atlantic regarding a deal for five aircraft, and acknowledges an increase in passenger interest in the project. Virgin is studying the aircraft to fly high yield passen gers on transatlantic routes such as London-New York. The aircraft, dubbed the "Global Connector" within Bombardier, would have be able to operate a notional mission of 6,500km (3,500nm) with 19 pas sengers, says the manufacturer "Every year we carry out a strategic product planning and look at the market in significant detail to match up product needs, says Bombardier Regional Aircraft president Steve Ridolfi. "We are now doing that and have several options going for ward". This includes the airliner version of the Global Express. Bombardier has been study ing the airliner version of the business jet for some years, and has even studied a stretched model. However the plans now centre on a simpler design utilis ing the basic airframe with a luxury cabin incorporating 19 first class seats three abreast. "If we put more than 19 seats in we will have to add more emergency exits," says Ridolfi. HELICOPTERS N BRIEF TRAINER ENGINE FiatAvio has been awarded a contract to assemble the Inter national Turbine Engine (ITEC) F124-GA-200 engines that will power the Aermacchi M-346 advanced trainer. ITEC is a joint venture between Honeywell and Aerospace Industrial Develop ment of TaiwSh. The Italian manufacturer will also produce the powerplant's low pressure turbine module, accessory gear box and exhaust system. Portugal joins NH90 programme Portugal has joined the NH Industries NH90 industrial rJPo- gramme and ordered 10 utility helicopters for troop transport. As a result, Portugese aerospace company OGMA will join the con sortium and receive 1.2% of the programme. Its role, however, has not been decided. The deal is worth €200 million ($170 million). Deliveries are set for 2006/07 and the NH90s will be used by the fledgling Portuguese army air arm which is due to receive its first Eurocopter EC635s this year. With the four partner nations - France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands - Portugal's order takes the initial NH90 orderbook to 308 machines in utility and naval helicopter versions. The Portuguese navy is also holding a competition for 12 heli copters for SAR and fisheries pro tection roles. Selection between the Sikorsky S-92, AgustaWestland EH 101 and Eurocopter EC72S is expected by September. Meanwhile, Sweden also ordered new helicopters at the show. European rival AgustaWestland has won a contract for 20 A109 Power helicopters from Sweden: 12 will be used for training with the remain der used as naval operational train ers. The deal is estimated to be worth in the region of $80 million. The machines will be delivered between October 2003 and 2007. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 26 JUNE - 2 JULY 2001 21
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