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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 3140.PDF
US combat aircraft there is already in the development pipeline a range of new systems and weapons that will help the legacy fleet hold the line in the interim. These include the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), Fighter Data Link (FDL) the newly selected Lockheed Martin Sniper XR Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP), the Raytheon AIM-9X high off-boresight air- to-air missile and the new J-series of GPS- guided weapons such as the Boeing GBU- 31 Joint Direct Attack Munition QDAM) and Raytheon AGM-154 Joint Stand-off Weapon QSOW). There are also a number of equally crit ical upgrades that remain underfunded. These include $452 million for the F-16C/D Falcon Star structural life extension. There is a mid-life update for the F-16 engines, which in some cases have already exceeded 12,000 total accumulated cycles (TAC) and are well beyond the orig inal design life. The A-10 needs a more powerful replacement turbofan, while the F-15E will require a new active electroni cally scanned array (AESA) radar. "Balancing the money is really difficult," concedes Leaf. "The ACC and air staff are putting an extraordinary effort into bal ancing capability and risk for legacy air craft with what is affordable. We have had A-TO MODIFICATIONS 1760 Integration Cabling Circuit breakers Pylons 1760 connectors Interfaces and software "We need to develop tools to predict what's going to break out of those things that have never broken before" AGEING AIRCRAFT SPO COMMANDER COL ROSANNE BAILEY to make some very tough decisions and there are things we're not doing that we would like to do." Precision engagement The A-10 is an aircraft that has refused to die despite repeated attempts to park the fleet in the desert. Designed originally as a Cold War tank-buster, the Thunderbolt is a low-level attack fighter with a powerful, multi-barrel cannon which has won strong support from the US Army. The aircraft proved a valuable asset in the 1991 Gulf Wing structural strengthening Outboard panels and centre section Possible engine change (unfunded) Digital stores management system 130 x 130mm (5 x 5 in) display Circuit breaker panel modification Software suite upgrade Precision weapons JDAM WCMD Targeting pod Modified stations 2 and 10 Situational awareness datalink 130 x 130mm (5 x 5in) display Enhanced position location reporting system radios and antennas Circuit breaker panel modification Software suite upgrade Embedded GPS FllfiWT mm iwicm War, but over Kosovo the rules of engage ment specified medium-altitude operations and PGMs and in such an environment the A-10 has a number of shortcomings. A lack of medium-altitude target identi fication, datalink for secure communica tions or PGMs other than the Raytheon AGM-65 Maverick, means the A-10 either misses targets it cannot see at medium alti tude or has to descend to within the threat envelope of man-portable air defence sys tems (MANPADS). "Precision engagement is part and parcel of getting into the fight these days. The key endeavour is to keep the A-10's loiter and payload capability and modernise the aircraft to where it can operate, survive and contribute to the joint fight with precision capability," says Leaf. The A-10 has received few modifica tions since the late 1970s and the manu facturer, Fairchild, no longer exists. The move towards "total system performance responsibility contracting" and the lack of an integrating contractor has resulted in fractured upgrade acquisition. The solution was to give Lockheed Martin Systems Integration-Owego (LMSI-Owego) a nine- year "Prime Team" contract. Northrop Grumman is responsible for the aircraft structural integrity programme (ASIP). LMSI-Owego "is developing the mod ernisation package, sustainment planning, software block upgrades and the avionics roadmap", as well acting as systems inte grator for these plans, says Bill Paradies, Lockheed Martin Prime Team programme manager. Northrop Grumman's ASIP work is not part of LMSI-Owego's prime con tract, but the two will work closely together on implementation, adds Paradies. The wing centre-section and outer panels are being strengthened under the Hog Up programme. To keep the A-10 combat effective, a series of separate improvement plans, including a digital stores management sys tem (DSMS), situation awareness datalink (SADL) and 1760 weapons databus were drawn up. The DSMS and SADL required changes to the cockpit, incorporating elec tronic displays for the first time. These will both now be 130 x 130mm (5 x 5in) dis plays rather than a 130 x 180mm DSMS unit and a 100 x 100mm SADL screen. Missing, however, was funding for a target ing pod, incorporating JDAM and the Lockheed Martin WCMD PGMs and a DC electrical power upgrade. All these modifications, funded and unfunded, have been wrapped into a sin gle Precision Engagement programme, which will cost $150 million less than doing the six separately, says Paradies. This is the result of one level of engineering design, one set of development and opera tional flight tests, one release of new tech- 40 11-17 SEPTEMBER 2001 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.f light international.com
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