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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 3830.PDF
HEADLINES DEFENCE Kawasaki to lead the way in C-X/P-X development The Japan Defence Agency (JDA) has chosen Kawasaki Heavy industries to lead development of the indige nous C-X transport and P-X maritime patrol aircraft which it plans to buy to replace Kawasaki C-1s and Lockheed Martin P-3Cs. The JDA is expected to order the aircraft during the next few weeks, clearing the way for the start of full-scale development. Mitsubishi had bid for prime contractorship of the C-X only while Fuji had suggested an industry consortium be formed to oversee development of the two platforms. Kawasaki is thought to have been selected because of its experience in leading previous Japanese aircraft projects and in producing US military aircraft under licence. Though the C-X will be twin-engined and the P-X equipped with fourturbofans and the aircraft will have dif ferent fuselage cross- sections, the JDA wants the pair to share common struc tures and systems where possible to cut development costs. Areas of commonality are likely to include cockpit avionics, empennage and the outer wing. In an unexpected twist the Japanese Government says technology developed as part of the C-X/P-X project will be used to support long-stand ing industry efforts to produce a new family of 100- 150-seat airliners after 2010. The P-X is due to fly in 2006, followed by the C-X a year later. The USA and Japan are meanwhile planning talks over the possible joint development of a new mission system to equip next-generation maritime patrol aircraft. AIR TRANSPORT MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / LONDON Virgin shelves A34O600 launch customer plans New blow to programme as airline rejects fresh Airbus offer, despite sweetners Virgin's delay will make Cathay a reluctant launch airline for the new A340 Virgin Atlantic has decided to reject a revised offer from Airbus for the delivery of its first batch of A340-600s due next year. The move looks to have left the manu facturer searching for a new launch operator for the Rolls-Royce Trent 500-powered widebody to replace Virgin, which was due to receive the first aircraft in mid-2002. Virgin holds firm orders for 10 A340-600s, the first four of which were due to be delivered next year, making the airline the type's launch operator. However, since the US attacks in September, the carrier has been in talks with Airbus about the delivery schedule, as it has sought to delay the intro duction of the 380-seaters (Flight International, 9 -15 October, 2001). In an effort to encourage Virgin to take delivery of the -600s, which are already in an advanced stage of build, Airbus is understood to have tabled a revised offer, including a finance package and the return of some of the airline's 10 A340-300s ahead of their scheduled lease ter mination. But this pitch has failed to persuade the carrier, which is 49% owned by Singapore Airlines (SLA), to take the aircraft as planned. Virgin declines to comment on the status of the schedule, saying only that "we have not terminated discussions with Airbus." The A340-500/600 programme has suffered a serious of blows in recent months, largely as a result of the 11 September attacks. SIA has recently negotiated a nine-month delay of its A340-500 deliveries to late 2003, while the orders held by Swissair/Flightlease, another 2002 customer for the -600, have been cancelled. Cathay Pacific, which has three A340-600s on lease order from International Lease Finance due from September, now looks set to become the initial operator of the type. The airline is thought to be unhappy about this, with sources saying that if it wanted to be a launch operator it would have signed up as launch customer. DEFENCE PAUL LEWIS / WASHINGTON DC Afghan debut for USAF weapons The conflict in Afghanistan has seen the operational debut of vari ous US Air Force systems and inno vative targeting tactics, as the near two-month-long air campaign shifts to supporting military personnel on the ground. According to USAF chief of staff Gen John Jumper, the use of laser designation systems has been widened to include for the first time the Northrop Grumman/ Israel Aircraft Industries Litening II targeting pod mounted on Lockheed Martin F-16C/D fighters. The air force has been fast-track ing a number of programmes, including equipping its Boeing B-52Hs with the Link 16 datalink to update the bomber with target ing information en route from Diego Garcia to Afghanistan. The air force has also acknowl edged the use of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), thought to be the General Atomics RQ-1 Predator, to laser-designate targets. Predator has also been employed in con junction with the Lockheed Martin AC-130 Spectre, providing the gunship with live video-feed and target-referencing. In addition the UAV has been armed with Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfires, but Jumper says the sys tem is limited by the relatively low speed of Predator and its ability to carry only two anti-tank missiles. Complementing Predator is the higher-flying Northrop Grumman RQ-4A Global Hawk which has begun flying over Afghanistan, though, so far, with "a very limited time on station," according to US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Global Hawk, which is not operational, is equipped with a synthetic aperture radar and elec tro-optical and infrared sensor package. It can cover a wide area of territory, but there is not yet the infrastructure in place to relay real time data needed for targeting. Another system recently dep loyed is the Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint STARS, reportedly instr umental in detecting a Taliban armoured column heading to wards the US Marine Corps' newly established forward operating base south-west of Kandahar. The force was destroyed by US Navy Grumman F-14 Tomcats, supported by two marine Bell AH-1W SuperCobra helicopters operating from the new base. 6 4-10 DECEMBER 2001 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
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