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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 3545.PDF
UNMANNED SYSTEMS PETER LA FRANCHI / CANBERRA Australians reject strike option for tactical UAVs But joint project architecture will integrate RAAF Wedgetail and army Tiger operations The Australian Army will not pursue the arming of its planned tactical unmanned air vehicle fleet with pre cision strike weapons as part of its Joint Project 129 UAV requirement. Chief of the Australian Army, Lt Gen Peter Leahy, says armed UAVs are an attractive option, but "with regard to JP129, I wish it would have that capability but it won't". The army regards JP129 as an int egral element of an emerging air borne support capability for land operations, and believes it will pro vide the service with "a significant force multiplier", he adds. Leahy says the developing archi tecture would seek to integrate the Royal Australian Air Force's Boeing 737 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft with the army's Eurocopter Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters. The result, according to Leahy, would be a "heady mix. What we are looking for is something that will serve both the tactical and oper ational commanders. "I think for a long time we have talked about, inside the army, being able to see what is over the next side of the hill - and right now we really don't have those capabilities." The architecture would be net worked to allow sharing of infor mation between airborne platforms and land forces. Leahy says he wants the Tigers to be "capable of sharing its picture with both air borne early-warning platform and ground commander." He adds: "The airborne early- warning platform will be primarily designed to deal with the air threat, but 1 have been saying for some time that I want army personnel in the back of that aircraft because it will be helping us conduct our heli copter operations, and it will also have the capability to detect any enemy movement." The overarching concept is still being "fleshed out," Leahy adds, but would represent a "remarkable innovation" for the army once it was implemented. A JP129 request for tenders is scheduled for release late next year. • AVM Norman Gray, head of air borne surveillance projects in the Australian Defence Materiel Organisation, will detail the JP129 requirement at Flight International's UAV Australia 2003 conference in Melbourne on 6-7 February 2003 (for details see P59). DEVELOPMENT RYSZARD JAXA-MALACHOWSKI / MIELEC Skytruck upgrade beats radar snag The main gear retracts against the wing strut Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze (PZL) has unveiled a new version of the M28 Bryza/Skytruck, equipped with a "retractable" undercarriage in-place of the original design's fixed gear, and improved maritime patrol sen sors. PZL intends to complete the type's first flight this month. The prototype Bryza 2R was built to 1R standard for the Polish navy before returning for conversion to the Mielec-based manufacturer. PZL redesigned the M28 to elim inate interference on the radar pic ture, caused by the non-retractable gear. The nose-wheel is retracted into a new wheel well, but is only partially enclosed. The main gear is raised to lie alongside the wing bracing strut. Sensor changes include adding FLIR Systems' Star SAFIRE11 electro- optical system ahead of the nose- wheel bay, and replacing the under fuselage-mounted indigenous PIT ARS-400 radar with the ARS-800. The radar will be integrated with the aircraft's IFF interrogator to improve the Bryza's detection and target recognition capability. A magnetometer and hydroloca- tor are installed in an extended tail cone. Other new equipment incl udes a passive threat warning sys tem and NATO-standard decoy dis pensers. The cabin has been revised for easier co-operation between radar and other sensor operators. PZL and the Polish navy plan to initially test each system individu ally. The new undercarriage will be trialled first, followed by the elec tro-optical system. The last subsys tem to be tested will be the magne tometer, and full operational tests are planned for the middle of next year over the Baltic. DEFENCE PRECISION MUNITIONS Have Lite completes maiden flight Lockheed Martin has completed the first flight test of the Have Lite variant of the AGM-142 Have Nap/Rafael Popeye air-to-sur face missile. A successful test is viewed as critical as the com pany steps up efforts to secure an international launch customer for the derivative missile. The missile was launched from a US Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16 at 8,700ft (2,650m) against a stationary target on a Utah test range. The aircraft maintained a datalink connec tion with the missile, the F-16 pilot manoeuvring the television/ imaging infrared-guided Have Lite during the terminal phase. Development cost is shared by PGSUS partners Lockheed Martin and Rafael, with the for mer investing under $10 million. Have Lite keeps the AGM- 142's 360kg (800lb) warhead and 75km (40nm) range, but has lighter electro-mechanical actua tors instead of hydraulic controls, a shortened rocket motor, refor matted propellant, a smaller electronics package and scaled- down wings, and rear control fins. Have Lite is 600mm (24in) shorter and 225kg lighter than the Have Nap. The AGM-142's weight limits its use to larger and older plat forms, with only the Boeing B-52 carrying the missile for the USAF, while Israel, South Korea and Turkey use it on the McDonnell Douglas F-4 and Australia the General Dynamics F-111. Israel carries Popeye on the Lockheed Martin F-16, but restricted to a narrow flight-envelope. South Korea and Turkey also want to equip F-16s with the weapon. "We've developed the missile with an eye to foreign military sales and F-16 operators. Now we have demonstrated it, cus tomers and potential customers are eager to be briefed," says Lockheed Martin. If launched, Have Lite production will be mod elled on PGSUS with shared content and separate assembly lines in Troy, Alabama, and Israel. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 3-9 DECEMBER 2002 21
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