FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
2003
2003 - 1795.PDF
DEFENCE MARITIME PATROL VLADIMIR KARNOZOV / MOSCOW Modified Indian 11-38 May takes off Ten-year airframe life extension and installation of Sea Dragon search and targeting system complete llyushin's upgrade Ilyushin has completed the first flight of an 11-38 May maritime patrol aircraft upgraded to SD stan dard. The flight on 9 July was from Khodynka in Moscow to the Gromov flight test and research institute at Zhukovsky. The airframe is an upgraded Indian navy 11-38 and is due for redelivery by the end of this year. Work at Ilyushin's experimental factory included a 10-year airframe life extension as well as installation of the Leninets Sea Dragon multi- sensor search and targeting suite. The Sea Dragon is an export derivative of the Novella developed for Russian navy Il-38Ns. It can detect airborne targets at 90km (50nm), sea targets at 320km and track 32 targets simultaneously. The I1-38SD is believed to be compatible with the 290km-range Russian/Indian Brahmos missile, as well as the shorter-range Zvezda- Strela Kh-35 and Kh-31A/P. Sea Dragon is based around a digital mission computer with two operator stations, each with a 330mm (13in) liquid crystal dis play. A commander's station has a larger display. The system is modu lar, with a common database, and allows integration of customer- specified sensors and equipment. India awarded Russian state arms agency Rosoboronexport a $205 million contract in September 2001 for the upgrade of five Il-38s to SD standard. The deal was thrown into doubt following the mid-air collision of two of India's five Il-38s during an air show in October last year Flight International, 29 October-4 Novem ber 2002). To save the contract, Russia agreed to give India two Il-38s free of charge. India's pro gramme promises to cut Russia's own costs associated for a life exten sion and modernisation of the country's 11-18 transport, 11-20 elec tronic reconnaissance and 11-38 air craft, which share the 11-18 airframe. The Russian navy plans to upgrade the "majority" of its Il-38s to H-38Ns. It is thought 25 Il-38s remain in frontline squadrons with another 10 in training units. An I1-38N prototype flew in early 2001 and began state acceptance trials in November last year. These are to be completed by year-end, enabling deliveries next year. UNMANNED SYSTEMS Boeing links up with Insitu to produce and market ScanEagle Boeing has paved the way for production of the ScanEagle unmanned air vehicle (UAV) by signing a long-term agreement with the Insitu Group, origi nal developer of its Seascan predecessor. The contract, which could run for up to 10 years, initially covers the deliv ery of three prototype ScanEagles as well as allowing for further research and development. News of the agreement emerges as Boeing and Insitu prepare to demonstrate ScanEagle at a 14 July UAV flight expo at the Webster Field Annex of NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. The demonstration will also include flights by 12 other vehicles, including AeroVironment's Pointer and Raven; BAI Aerosystems' Dragon Eye and Tern XPV-1; the DRS Sentry HP; Geneva Aerospace's Dakota; the MLB Bat III; Northrop Grumman's Fire Scout and Hunter; the Schiebel CamCopter and Yamaha RMAX. "We are hoping that by the end of the year we will have our first customer, and that we can begin production at the end of 2003 or by the beginning of 2004," says Boeing, which adds the agreement "allows us to move out of research and development, as well as giving us a marketing opportunity". The ScanEagle, which will be manufactured at Insitu's Bingen, Washington site, has already been demonstrated to the US Navy. Three ScanEagle prototypes have completed more than 50 flights since the first autonomous flight on 19 June 2002. The 1,2m (4ft)-long UAV carries an inertially stabilised gimballed video camera and is being developed into a family of vehicles with endurances ranging from 15h to 40h. BALLISTIC MISSILES Iran's Shihab-3 to enter service Iran has moved closer to deploying the Shihab-3 long-range ballistic missile, say Israeli and US intelligence sources, following the latest successful launch late last month. The missile was launched into an east-west trajectory and the experts say the missile's range was "over 1,000km [540nm]". The missile's maxi mum range is believed to be 1,300km, allowing it to reach Israel. Shihab-3 - which resembles a Scud but is 40% larger - has been developed with North Korean assistance and has a 500kg (1,1001b) warhead. POSSIBLE NEW INSTRUMENT PANEL FOR THE EH101 FLIGHT COCKPITS Fewer MFDs for EH101 AgustaWestland is considering use of three 330 x 200mm (13 x 8in) multifunction displays (MFD) for the EH101 cockpit as part of its forward planning for the three- engined helicopter. Peter Hulett, AgustaWestland product marketing manager, says the company is "running studies that run forward up to 15 years". The latest EHlOls have six 160 x 160mm MFDs, while 150 x 200mm equivalents are a consideration as "that's the current standard, it uses what's available from the glass manufacturers", he says. "Where does it end up? Four screens, or three or almost the whole cockpit as one screen," he adds. AgustaWestland revealed a three-screen concept at a search and rescue symposium earlier this year, and Hulett says this "is an example of what might happen, rather than a definite proposal". New cockpit configurations will be driven by the screen size avail able for laptop computers and civil airliners, says Hulett. Already com puters are available with 330 x 200mm flat-panel displays, but "the rate of change in laptops is dra matic", says Hulett, warning that helicopter displays would need sup port for 20 years and more. Computer systems are often in pro duction for only a short period. A large screen would have split images, providing information dis played on two or more MFDs today. Westland has already developed such display formats for use in UK future Lynx development work. Future EH101 configurations will depend on customer require ments, says Hulett. Time required to develop a new cockpit configu ration will depend on the how big the change is from existing config urations, he adds. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 15-21 JULY 2003 17
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
