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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 0018.PDF
CONTRACT • BAE Systems has received a $45.8 million contract for six Theater Airborne Reconnaiss ance Systems pods and two ground stations for the Egyptian airforce's Lockheed Martin F-16 fleet. • RADA Electronic Industries is to upgrade its FACE flight data recorder system fitted to Royal Netherlands Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16s. • Denmark has selected Cubic to supply its High Density Signal Simulator for electronic warfare training.! Telephonies is to supply the audio intercom system for the Boeing 767 Tanker Transport in a deal worth around $5 million. • Veridan has received a $123 million US Navy contract to support the Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye air borne early warning platform and C-2 Greyhound transport. • The Canadian Department of National Defence has selected CAE and McDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) to supply equipment for the upgrade of Lockheed CP-140 Aurora mar itime patrol aircraft. CAE will supply a flightdeck simulator and an upgraded cockpit procedures trainer in a deal valued at C$28 million ($17.9 million). MDA will supply the imaging and surveil lance radar in a four-phase programme worth around C$200 million. The first phase is valued at C$12 million. • Goodrich is to produce 138 ejection seats for Chilean, Greek, Israeli and Omani Lockheed Martin F-16s under an $18.9 million contract. • Boeing has received $22.3 million to produce the first four AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters for Kuwait. Lockheed Martin/Northrop Grumman's Longbow joint venture is to pro duce 96 radio-frequency Hellfire anti-armour missiles for the US Army under an $8.8 million con tract. • Raytheon is to provide four 21 -round Rolling Airframe Missile launchers to South Korea to arm three KDX-2 destroyers and one LPX amphibi ous assault ship under a $32.3 million contract; the Greek navy has ordered four Phalanx Block 1A close-in weapon systems; and the company is to produce 599 AIM-9X air-to-air missiles under a $96.2 million US Navy contract. DEFENCE UNMANNED SYSTEMS GUY NORRIS / LOS ANGELES NASA primes pumps for automatic UAV fuelling Analytical model will help UCAV makers define requirements for air-to-air tanking NASA has completed the initial phase of a flight-test programme using a modified Boeing F/A-18 aimed at developing analytical models for an automated aerial refuelling (AAR) system for unmanned air vehicles (UAV). The flight-test phase cleared the full flight envelope of the F/A-18 equipped with a Sargent Fletcher in-flight refuelling pod. The enve lope covered 175kt (320km/h) to 260kt at low altitudes and up to 290kt at higher altitudes, embrac ing most of the 180-300kt standard in-flight refuelling envelope within which UAVs, and specifically unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs), are expected to operate. The next phase will involve recording the behaviour of the bas ket, hose and drogue by video cam eras fitted to the two F/A-18s being used in the tests. ,. The work builds on the auton omous formation flight project flown on the same aircraft at NASA Dryden, California, in 2000-1, which showed that a 14% fuel sav ing could be achieved by precise station-keeping. "As these are the same aircraft, they still have instrumented engines, so we will be able to mea sure thrust changes and infer drag changes due to the hose being out," says NASA Dryden AAR pro ject manager Gerard Schkolnik. NASA plans to complete test flights in time to deliver a working analyt ical model by September. This will be available to UCAV manufacturers, specifically Boeing and Northrop Grumman, to help define requirements for the AAR. "It will help them work out what the controller will need to look like, and whether it will need to control within a fraction of an inch or feet. This will drive sensor requirements so they will know if they need things such as high accu racy optical sensors or differential GPS," says Schkolnik. NASA plans to complete the Boeing F/A-18 test flights in time to deliver a working analytical model by September WEAPONS ARIE EGOZI / TEL AVIV takes aim with Light Defender Israel Military Industries (IMI) is planning the first firing of the Light Defender stand-off loitering weapon system next year. IMI has teamed up with Lockheed Martin to develop the Light Defender from the Israeli company's Delilah long-range weapon system, principally aimed at addressing a US Navy require ment for a long-range missile to arm its helicopters. The two companies are also developing a ground-launched version. Next year the USN is expected to issue a request for proposals for the weapon - which would be used for long-range ship attacks - with the intention of equipping around 300 helicopters. In 2001 the USN issued a request for information on suitable sys tems, to which IMI responded with the Delilah variant. Last year the US Congress allo cated $4.3 million to allow IMI to prove the system's capability; another $6 million has been allo cated for this year. The money will mostly be used to ensure safe launch from a helicopter. No Light Defender performance details have been released, but it is understood that it will have improved flight characteristics over the Delilah. A rocket will boost the Light Defender after it is released from the helicopter before a UK- built jet engine powers the weapon to its target. Delilah cruises at around Mach 0.8 at between 500ft (150m) and 30,000ft. 16 14-20 JANUARY 2003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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