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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 1451.PDF
DEFENCE UNMANNED SYSTEMS PAUL LEWIS / TUCSON US DoD to test Stinger in autonomous attack role Raytheon studying use of weapons that may lead to wide-range of missions for UAVs The USA is planning to dem onstrate use of the Raytheon Stin ger air-to-air missile (AAM) on the General Atomics RQ-1A Predator in a move that may open the door to expanded missions and capabilities for armed unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). The manufacturer is also looking to equip smaller UAVs with its Javelin anti-armour missile and laser guided Hydra rockets. Arming UAVs with AAMs pre sents major challenges, not least in correctly identifying the target and accurately cueing the missile. "We've traditionally had a man in the loop to confirm a target. If the fidelity of information coming through the sensor on the UAV is sufficient to justify an engagement then you could let the missile go," says Steve Ignat, director business development, land warfare. Stinger would need to interface with Predator's infrared sensor to cue the missile's seeker, correlate the target image and lock on. "All the missile needs is to be cued to a certain angle for the seeker to lock up. The key is confirming the lock and confirming the lock-up is on the right target. That could be done through the UAV's datalink," says Ignat. Predator should be capable of carrying up to four Stingers. Each launcher carrying two missiles weighs 50kg (1121b), or roughly the equivalent of one of the two Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missiles currently carried on the UAV. Helicopters could also be armed with Stinger to deal with the UAV threat. The US Army's Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior and special operations Sikorsky MH-60L/Ks are the only machines equipped with Stinger, although it has been test fired from the Boeing Apache and is planned to arm Germany's Eurocopter Tiger. Raytheon interest in armed UAVs extends beyond Stinger and Predator to include fitting the lightweight fire-and-forget Jav elin and laser-guided 70mm (2.75in) Hydra rockets to smaller UAVs, such as the AAI Shadow. "We're looking at a whole range of tactical UAVs. If you've a designator or forward-looking infrared sensor that can drive a seeker or a fire-and-forget solution, we can put any of these fire- and-forget missiles on there," says Ignat. ROTORCRAFT STEWART PENNEY / LONDON Westland flies first Super Lynx 300 AgustaWestland UK subsidiary Westland Helicopters has flown the first production Super Lynx 300 for the Malaysian navy. The machine is equipped with a glass cockpit and LHTEC T800 engines. The initial flight was in April and was also the first time a Lynx has been flown with a full glass cockpit. Malaysia has ordered six Super Lynxs for delivery from next year, and Thailand has an order for two - both specifying naval machines - while Oman has ordered 16 multi- role battlefield Super Lynxs. Meanwhile, Westland is plan ning hot weather trials later this year, which should clear the way The Malaysian navy will receive the first production Super Lynx for certification of the LHTEC T800 on the Super Lynx in September. Westland began flying a devel opment Lynx with T800 engines in 2000. The engine, developed by the Honeywell/Rolls-Royce LHTEC venture, will give the Lynx a signif icantly improved hot-and-high capability over the older Rolls- Royce Gem-powered machines. Changing to the digitally-con trolled T800 has required modifica tions to the engine mounting structure and load paths as well as improvements to the gearbox oil cooler, says Geoff Byham, Westland Helicopters head of engi neering. However, improved elec trical generators have been added, and each provides 25kVA compared to the previous unit's 18kW. The engines and hot-and-high conditions require a higher author ity tailrotor to provide the neces sary directional control forces. Westland cleared the revised design earlier this year, says Byham. • CAE is to build two AgustaWestland Lynx 300 heli copter mission simulators for the Royal Air Force of Oman, for delivery in 2004. The fixed-base simulators will have CAE Medallion visuals allowing night- vision goggle and forward- looking infrared training. • Canada's Magellan Aerospace is to repair and over haul General Electric J85 turbojet engines for Northrop F- 5s and T-38s and other aircraft under a US Air Force contract potentially worth C$190 million over seven years. Work will be performed at Magellan's Orenda Aerospace unit in Mississauga, Ontario. • Saab Aerospace has awarded Telephonies a S7.6 million contract for APS-143B9V03 Ocean Eye surveillance radars for installa tion in Swedish armed forces' 18 NH Industries NH-90s under the Nordic Standard Helicopter Programme. Norway has selected a version of ITT Avionics'ALQ-211 integrated radio-frequency electronic coun- termeasures suite for its 11 NH-90s. • Northrop Grum man is to demonstrate a capability to find, identify and engage hidden targets, using foliage-penetration radar and intelligence data fusion, under a $7.8 million contract for the US Air Force Research Laboratory's Targets Under Trees effort. • BAE Systems is to modify the US Navy's preci sion targeting workstation to support imagery exploitation and precision targeting for the Raytheon Tomahawk cruise mis sile, in a $20.3 million contract. Under a US Air Force contract worth $53 million, BAE will pro vide equipment for the Block 35 upgrade of the Lockheed Martin EC-130H Compass Call com munications jamming aircraft. • Engineered Support Systems has received a con tract valued at up to $6.1 million from the US Air Force to con duct depot level repairs of its AN/APQ-170 Combat Talon II terrain following radar system. The dual-band multi-mode radar system is installed on the USAF MC-130H Combat Talon II fleet. Repairs will be conducted through to 2006. www.fliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 14-20 MAY 2002 13
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