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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 3141.PDF
US combat aircraft nical orders and a single aircraft mainte nance input incorporating all the upgrades. Low rate initial production of upgrade kits is due to start in 2004, and full rate production starts the following year. The choice of targeting pod hinges on extra funds to acquire new Sniper ATPs or equipping the aircraft with existing, but upgraded, Lockheed Martin LANTIRN pods. Paradies says there are discussions about further upgrades including: the head-up display, which is "old and has lim itations"; a digital map; advanced infrared countermeasures; and improvements for the combat search and rescue mission. A more important need is a new engine, with ACC now writing an operational require ments document. USAF and Air National Guard pilots are pushing strongly for more power to improve the A-10's medium-altitude and single-engine climb performance in hot and high conditions, so reducing the time the aircraft is exposed to MANPADS follow ing a dive attack. While there is a strong case for improved performance and safety, the General Electric TF34 does not suffer from the same repair and maintainability issues as the F100 or F110. Replacing or uprating the engine is likely to depend on finding a creative funding method, such as power-by-the-hour arrangements. Proposed solutions include re-engining the aircraft with either a derated GE CF34- 8C or smaller -3B, an uprated Rolls-Royce AE3007L, or a Pratt & Whitney Canada PW308 or PW800. The alternative is to upgrade the TF34, but none of these options appear to have won over the USAF. "Right now we have not found an afford able option. There are a lot of engines out there but they are either all too expensive, or if they are affordable they don't deliver a significant enough improvement in perfor mance to be worth it," says Leaf. Eagle enhancements The F-15 Eagle has been in continuous USAF operation since 1974 and with no replacement for the two-seat F-15E Strike Eagle version in sight, the type is to remain in front-line service for another 30 years. The older F-15C/D air superiority fighter was due to have been replaced by the F-22 from late 2005, but successive cuts in the planned procurement of Raptors will require that the Eagle soldiers on for sev eral years to come. "We see them staying all through not just this decade but the next decade in lim ited numbers. But you're going to have to have the F-22 as the enabler and there will almost certainly be an evolution in specific roles. Right now, the F-15's role is to be 'first in to cleanse the skies', but it's not going to do that once we get the F-22, F-15 MODIFICATIONS AIM-9X AIM-9X J-series weapons Small diameter bomb Activate stations 1 and 9 37,700kg (83,000lb) MTOW Replace honeycomb with gridlock One piece composite skins (unfunded) APG-63(V)1/(V)2 radar New AESA radar (unfunded) ^r^ ALR-56C(V)1 RWR (unfunded) F-15C/D F-15E Advanced Targeting pod (ATP) Uprated F100-220E engine Replace remaining F100-220 engines with F100-229/F110-129 (unfunded) Fighter Data Link JHMCS Fighter Data Link JHMCS Suite 4E PACS- 45 NVG LCD displays New HUD camera ADCP CVR (provision) FLIGHT especially on day one of war with advanced threats," says Leaf. There is already a series of enhance ments funded for the F-15C/D and F-15E, along with a lengthy wish-list of additional mid-life updates (MLU) for the latter vari ant that are now the subject of talks between Boeing and USAF and targeted for inclusion in the 2004 budget. Where possi ble, the ACC is driving for commonality between the two Eagle derivatives, particu larly in the area of core software. Link 16 FDL is now in the process of being fitted to the F-15C/D, along with the 100 remaining earlier A/B fighters, and this will be extended to the F-15E, opening up access to offboard data from airborne early warning and ground surveillance platforms. Other common retrofit items include the instrument landing system and the replacement of honeycomb in the wingtips and vertical stabiliser leading edges with Gridlock structure. "The problem with honeycomb is that water is getting in, freezing and rupturing," says Mike Ridnouer, Boeing F-15 new business development. While post-Cold War spending cuts cur tailed ACC's original planned buy of 392 F-15Es, US Congressional budget supple ments have helped sustain limited output. Boeing is building 10 more fighters, which will boost the USAF total buy to 227. They incorporate several improvements, which in time will be backfitted to the entire Strike Eagle fleet, including a programma ble armament control system and software for the carriage of J-series PGMs. The aircraft will feature two 130 x 130mm and five 150 x 150mm liquid crystal displays (LCD) as a drop-in replacement for earlier CRTs. The LCDs are colour capable if the USAF chooses to upgrade its monochrome display drivers. The aircraft will also receive a new LCD engine display, which like the larger multi-purpose displays, will become the preferred spare for the existing fleet. The F-15C is already equipped with two new displays as part of an earlier multi-stage improvement programme. South Korean contest Boeing's hope of keeping the F-15 line active beyond 2004 rests on winning the South Korean F-X competition. Its pro posed F-15K offering includes an improved BAE Systems ALR-56C(V)1 radar warning receiver (RWR) and Northrop Grumman ALQ-135M jammer. "If we win in Korea, I think the air force would like the possibil ity of leveraging that technology for its own use on at least the F-15C through to E fleet," says Ridnouer. At the heart of any F-15E MLU is the potential for an AESA replacement for the Raytheon APG-70 radar in 2008-10. The F-15C fleet is already being partially re- www.fliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 11-17 SEPTEM BER 2001 41
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