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Aviation History
2004
2004-00 - 0017.PDF
DEFENCE CO-OPERATION Sukhoi and MiG discuss joint bid for Indian fighter Teaming arrangement for single-seat light aircraft would improve production rates Russia's two largest fighter aircraft design houses are discussing a joint bid for India's single-seat light weight fighter requirement, with a selection expected this year. The Indian air force has an immediate need for 125 aircraft, with these to partially replace 300 MiG-21FL/M interceptors and 100 MiG-23BN fighter-bombers. Dassault Aviation's Mirage 2000 is considered the front-runner, with the French supplier having already sold the type to India. The MiG- 29M1/M2 is a leading rival, with the Saab/BAE Systems Gripen and Lockheed Martin's F-16 also being offered. New Delhi is expected to pursue a direct purchase of the suc cessful type, in a bid to allow local industry more time to prepare the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft. The Russian initiative is believed to stem from an Indian decision to eliminate bids from Sukhoi and NPK Irkut to supply reduced- weight versions of the Su-35 and Su-30 fighters, due to their failure to meet a requirement for an air craft with a maximum take-off weight of 25,000kg (55,0001b). Both companies are negotiating with RSK MiG to join forces on improving the manufacturing seg ment of its MiG-29 bid, and could provide cash to allow it to quickly increase production rates. MiG's new general director Valery Toryanin, formerly deputy general director at Sukhoi, is understood to be more willing to co-operate than his predecessor, Nikolai Nikitin. RSK MiG will find it difficult to manufacture 125 airframes in the relatively short timeframe requested by India, especially if the country's long-awaited acquisition of MiG- 29K/KUB carrier-borne fighters is signed this month. India wants 12- 20 MiG-29Ks to operate from the Admiral Gorshkov, but could eventu ally receive between 60 and 64 to also equip locally built ships. Any teaming agreement with Sukhoi and NPK Irkut could result in MiG parts being produced at the KnAAPO plant in Komsomolsk-on- Amur and by IAPO in Irkutsk. It could also result in avionics changes to India's current MiG-29s. CONTRACTS • Korea Aerospace Industries received a formal production contract for 25 T-50 Golden Eagle trainers on 19 December. Developed in conjunction with Lockheed Martin, the T-50 has more than 50% South Korean content, with wing production also to move to South Korea from the USA. The South Korean air force needs 94 Golden Eagles, including 44 A-50 lead-in fighter trainers. Deliveries will start in late 2005. • Pratt & Whitney will produce 55 F100-229 engines for Poland's 48 Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters under a $194 mil lion award. ITT Avionics will also supply the aircraft's ALQ- 73(V) integrated defensive electronic-warfare systems under a $133 million contract. • Taiwan will receive 44 Boeing AGM-84 Harpoon anti- ship missiles and Egypt 10, under a $69.5 million contract. The US Navy is also purchasing 77 AGM-84H SLAM-ER stand off missiles in a deal worth $40.1 million. Great Strides Continue for the Lockheed Martin Team F-35 JSF Weapons Bay Loading Demonstrations Completed. The F-35 team demonstrated the loading of weapons by U.S. military ordnance personnel using a full-scale model of the F-35's internal weapons bay. The demonstrations, at Northrop Grumman's El Segundo, Calif., U.S.A., facility, were designed to ensure the weapons bay can accommodate a wide variety of internally carried ordnance and provide accessibility and easy loading for ground crews. Royal Air Force and Royal Navy representatives observed the loadings in preparation for similar demonstrations in the United Kingdom early next year. Netherlands Company Wins $14 Million in F-35 Work. FCS Test Systems Corp. of the Netherlands has been chosen to provide structural test systems for F-35 aircraft. The contract involves static-test and fatigue-test systems. FCS Test Systems' Commercial Director Pirn van den Dijssel explained that such systems can be applied beyond the JSF program. He cited the $14 million contract as a prelude to sales of similar products to other U.S. aerospace companies and a good example of how the Netherlands can derive additional benefits from participation in the JSF program. Spin Wind Tunnel Test Completed. Engineers have completed a wind tunnel test to determine the size of the F-35's spin-recovery parachute and length of the riser (the cable from the parachute to the aircraft). The test was completed Nov. 26 at the NASA Langley 20-foot Vertical Spin Tunnel in Hampton, Va., U.S.A. NORTHROP GRUMMAN • BAE SYSTEMS • PRATT & WHITNEY • GE AIRCRAFT ENGINES LOCKHEED MARTIN An F-35 model undergoes spin-recovery testing in a NASA wind tunnel. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 6-12 JANUARY 2004 IS
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