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Aviation History
2004
2004-00 - 0020.PDF
DEFENCE TANKERS CRAIG HOYLE/ LONDON UK RAF gets support for its VCIOs Contract worth $365 million will bolster operation of tanker-transports until their planned out-of-service date in 2011 The UK Defence Logistics Organ isation has placed a contract worth £207 million ($365 million) to sup port operations of the UK Royal Air Force's Vickers VC10 tanker-trans port aircraft fleet until its planned out-of-service date in 2011. BAE Systems' Customer Solu tions & Support (CS&S) business unit and the UK Defence Aviation Repair Agency will conduct work on the 19-strong fleet under the spares-inclusive agreement, which will guarantee a set aircraft avail ability rate. The framework for the contract is similar to that already in place with CS&S to support opera tions of the RAF's Nimrod MR2 maritime patrol aircraft. The VC10 fleet is operated by the RAF's 10 and 101 Squadrons, which maintain around 33 crews at RAF Brize Norton. The units conducted tanker, transport and medical evacuation tasks with nine aircraft as part of last year's Operation Telic during the Iraq war, flying up to eight sor ties a day. The aircraft achieved a serviceability rate of 85% during the campaign, according to squad ron sources. The UK's Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft programme will replace the RAF's current tanker-transport fleet, which in addition comprises nine Lockheed TriStars operated by216Sqn. Initial services with the Airbus A330-200 or Boeing 767-300ER will start in 2008, with full operations to begin in 2011. A decision on the £13 billion contract is expected early this year. TECHNOLOGY India's RCI airs new research information India's Hyderabad-based Research Centre Imarat (RCI) has provided first details of ongo ing research efforts in the fields of aerospace propulsion, navigation and seeker technology. RCI director DrV K Saraswat says the centre is developing an indigenous scramjet engine, which it expects to be ready before 2006. The system will be integrated with an airframe capa ble of withstanding temperatures of up to 3,000° Kelvin for use in a test programme. The RCI is developing an advanced navigation and control system and imaging seekers to enable air- and surface-launched missiles and combat aircraft to carry out precision strike mis sions. It is working towards a low-cost navigation system that will allow battlefield submunitions to be individually targeted. The RCI, a laboratory under India's Defence Research and Development Organisation, has developed a new air-defence sys tem in collaboration with India's Bharat Electronics and Hindustan Aeronautics. Due to be in place by the end of 2004, this will be capable of detecting incoming missiles and enemy aircraft and have a centralised command, control and communications structure linked to mission control units across the country. DEMONSTRATOR CHRISTINA MACKENZIE / PARIS France, Sweden forge UCAV link Sweden's Defence Materiel Ad ministration has signed a letter of intent with France's DGA procure ment agency to develop an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator. Its first flight is expected to take place in 2008 (Flight International, 28 October-3 November 2003). In parallel, Saab has signed a memorandum of understanding with Dassault Aviation, prime con tractor on the €300 million ($372 million) project, which was launched by French defence minis ter Michele Alliot-Marie at last June's Paris air show. Saab's financial investment in the project is not being revealed for the moment, but it "will play a sig nificant role in the development of the UCAV" as a major partner in the initiative, says Dassault. "This is an extremely important step for the development of Swedish UAV technology," says Lennart Sindhal, general manager at Saab Aerosystems. Expertise acquired through the project in the Saab will play a significant role in the development of the Dassault UCAV fields of advanced aeronautics, unmanned flight control, stealth technology and network-centric operations will also benefit the Saab/BAE Systems Gripen combat aircraft and Saab's own UAV pro jects, says the Swedish company. Dassault, which will receive the UCAV development contract this year from the DGA, says develop ment of its own UCAV demonstra tor continues, with the Moyen Due drone scheduled to make its first flight this year at the flight test cen tre in Istres, near Marseilles. "Moyen Due is a technological brick for the future UCAV...whatever we learn from it will be funnelled into the UCAV demonstrator," Dassault says. "This is a highly innovative way of industrial co-operation for Europe, based on real industrial skills and financial risk sharing," Dassault notes. The UCAV demon stration project remains open to other European partners. SECURITY ARIE EGOZI / TEL AVIV Israel to fly balloon-mounted radar Israel's air force is to use a balloon- carried phased-array radar supplied by Israel Aircraft Industries sub sidiary Elta Electronics to enhance its ability to detect low-flying air craft. The service has been on high alert to respond to possible attempts by terrorists to use small aircraft to penetrate Israeli airspace. Elta has developed a l.St version of a phased-array radar for the bal loon-carried "look-down" system, which will be used by the air force to fill in gaps in national air- defence coverage provided by ground-based radar systems. Israel and two undisclosed coun tries have purchased the system, says Elta, and other potential cus tomers have shown interest in ac quiring smaller versions of the radar. 18 6-12 JANUARY 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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