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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 1128.PDF
DEFENCE ADVANCED TRAINERS VLADIMIR KARNOZOV / MOSCOW Sokol restarts production of Yak-130s Russian air force commits but manufacturer warns that it cannot fund research and development of aircraft alone The Sokol aircraft factory in Nizhny Novgorod has restarted work on four Yakovlev Yak-130s from an initial production batch, following the selection of the advanced trainer by the Russian air force last month. Airframe components were made several years ago, but assem bly work was stopped due to a lack of commitment from the air force. Yakovlev says it has invested company money - around 40% of the total production cost - and that two airframes have been paid for and are due for completion this year and next. Yakovlev warns, however, that its own resources will not be suffi cient to complete the research and development of the aircraft. The Russian defence ministry has reportedly given approval and funding for the production of 10 Yak-130s, presumably the Yak-130-01 combat trainer variant. Yakovlev has invested $26 mil lion in Yak-130 development, while earning $77 million from the sale of data to Italy's Aermacchi, which is developing the M346 based on the same airframe. The company's net profit was 617 mil lion roubles ($19.8 million) last year and 467 million roubles in 2000, says Yakovlev president Oleg Demchenko. The bulk of the com pany's income is from the upgrade and support of Yak-40 and Yak-42 airliners. Meanwhile, the Yak-130, with Slovak-built PSLM DV-2 engines, is being offered to Slovakia in trainer and light attack configurations as payment for Russia's $800 million debt to Bratislava. Russia has also agreed to overhaul 189 RSK MiG- 29s as part of the repayment plan. HELICOPTER DELIVERY HAL hands over Dhruvs The Indian armed forces have started to take delivery of Dhruvs Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) has delivered the first ALH light heli copters, now renamed the Dhruv. Seven have been delivered, with the air force receiving two and the army three, while the coastguard and navy have taken one each. As well as the four services' ver sions, HAL is planning to start pro duction of a civil air ambulance variant next year, while chairman NR Mohanty says the Dhruv has also been proposed as the basis for a light-attack helicopter. Production helicopters are priced at Rs250 million ($5.1 million) each. HAL is considering the develop ment of an indigenous powerplant to replace the Turbomeca TM333 in the civil Dhruv, which made its first flight late last month and could be certificated by year-end, says Mohanty. He adds that the state-owned company is in talks with private Indian aerospace companies to market the machine jointly in return for subcontracting deals. HAL is also in negotiations with foreign companies including BAE Systems, Honeywell and Rolls- Royce, says Mohanty. SYNTHETIC ENVIRONMENTS CAE mission simulator chosen for AH/MH-6 Little Birds CAE has been selected as prime contractor for the US Army's Special Operations Forces Aviation Training and Rehearsal Systems (ASTARS) programme. Initially, the Canadian company's US sub sidiary will provide a combat mission simulator for the McDonnell Douglas AH/MH-6 Little Bird helicopters operated by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment at Ft Campbell, Kentucky. Later phases of the ASTARS programme will expand the capabil ity of the AH/MH-6 simulator, network the device with Boeing MH-47K and Sikorsky MH-60G simulators at Ft Campbell and pro vide other training and mission rehearsal systems, says John Lenyo, president of Tampa, Florida-based CAE USA, the former Ref lectonc unit acquired from BAE Systems last year. The C$50 million ($31 million) simulator, to be delivered in mid- 2004, will feature six-axis motion base, three-axis vibration platform and a dome visual display providing a 270° horizontal by 90° vertical field of view. Lockheed Martin TopScene photorealistic image gener ation, used by the 160th for mission rehearsal and being retrofitted to the MH-47 and MH-60 devices, will be integrated. Lenyo says a second phase will add olfactory and wind cues to the simulator, as the AH/MH-6s are flown with the doors off and smell and wind direction are important to the crew. "We have a con cept for 'smell-o-vision'," he says. Ultimately, Lenyo says, the 160th wants an integrated training system similar to CAE's Medium Support Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility in the UK. CAE, meanwhile, is bidding for a contract to update all US Army CH-47 and UH-60 simulators with new host computers and visual systems. Award is expected next month, says Lenyo. EUROPEAN POLICY EU defence ministers urge offensive capability for armed forces The European Union's (EU) secu rity and defence policy (ESDP) must be broadened from its peace keeping role, and given an offen sive capability to fight interna tional terrorism, EU defence ministers agreed late last month. However, Javier Solana, the EU's security and defence chief, says: "This in no way means we are plan ning to take over NATO's collective defence role." He adds that, should the EU decide to confront terrorist threats abroad, then "the headline goal process provides for the essential military capabilities we would need." The headline goal is the mil itary capability required by the EU by next year. Ministers agreed to seek means to broaden the ESDP mandate from peace-keeping to military roles; that better co-ordination and co-opera tion is needed between intelligence services; that European citizens need to be protected from nuclear, chemical and biological attacks; and new "single sky" regulations should be used to improve security. Solana says: "In the crucial area of intelligence, the recent establish ment of an intelligence analysis cell within the [EU] council secre tariat is a concrete step towards more effective co-ordination." 20 9-15 APRIL 2002 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.tlightinternational.com
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