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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 0975.PDF
HEADLINES DEFENCE STEPHEN TRIMBLE / BALTIMORE JSF schedule slips by two years Proposed timeline will see initial operational capability deferred to 2012, but anxieties lessen on weight issues The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme will seek approval this week for schedule changes that will delay delivery of the first opera tional unit by two years to 2012, but restrict the slippage to the type's overall development sched ule by only one year. The proposed schedule, which will be put forward for approval on 17 June, was unveiled last week at the American Helicopter Society's annual forum in Baltimore, Maryland. It will see initial opera tional capability (IOC) for the US Marine Corps' F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) vari ant slide from 2010 to 2012. IOC for the US Air Force's con ventional take-off and landing F-35A would also come two years late, in 2013, but an overall one- year development delay would be preserved by also delivering the US Navy's first operational F-35Cs in 2013. The IOC date for the UK is "yet to be determined", but programme officials indicate a less-capable F-35 version could be delivered on time in 2012, and later upgraded to the full-up weapon system standard (Flight International, 8-14 June). John McKeown, JSF technical director, says the schedule changes will be presented later this week to the Pentagon's Defense Acquisition Board. He adds that the IOC dates are considered highly fluid, as these will partly depend on how each service defines the IOC criteria. Other schedule changes include delaying first flight of the USAF's F-35A by eight months until August 2006. The USMC's F-35B would follow roughly one year later, and the navy's F-35C carrier variant would make its first flight in September 2008. Meanwhile, weight concerns appear to be fading within the JSF programme. McKeown says he is comfortable that conservative esti mates of the planned weight saving changes should fix the problem, which includes about 1,130kg (2,5001b) of excess weight for the STOVL F-35B, and about 680kg extra for both the air force and navy variants. For the STOVL version, engi neering improvements alone will not close the gap, so the pro gramme is considering a range of tweaks to the aircraft's performance envelope. However, its eight key performance parameters will not be affected. Rather, minor require ments could be reduced, such as trimming approach paths after a wave-off on landing, conserving precious kilogrammes in the air craft's bring-back fuel reserve. The programme, however, has rejected proposals to offset extra weight by squeezing more thrust from the propulsion system, says McKeown, as slightly increasing the power limits would have a neg ative effect on the engine's service life. The programme is also seeking to avoid weight reductions that require trade-offs in other perfor mance areas. DEFENCE UK's new Nimrod ready to roll BAE Systems is poised to start low-speed taxi trials with its first pro totype of the UK Royal Air Force's Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol and attack aircraft. Pictured at BAE's Woodford plant, the airframe has recently completed ground runs of its four Rolls-Royce Deutschland BR710 engines, which were fired up for the first time on 19 April. BAE will prepare a total of 18 MRA4s for the RAF, with the type to achieve a delayed in-service date of 2009. Low-speed test runs will be followed by high-speed taxi trials, with the MRA4 expected to make its first flight later this year. AIR TRANSPORT JULIAN MOXON / LONDO UK accused of 'poor response' to environmental impact study The UK government has been heavily criticised by a parliamentary select committee for its "poor response" to a new report on the environmental impact of aviation. The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), comprising 16 Members of Parliament, accuses the Department for Transport (DFT) of rejecting the findings of its latest report "without adequate consideration or explanation and in an overtly challenging manner". It finds the DFT's statistics backing up its approach to aviation contained "apparent inconsistencies". The EAC is also "astonished" at the lack of research to underpin the incorporation of aviation into the European Union's planned emissions trading system. The EAC finds it "bizarre" that given the apparent government priority on attacking global warming, it assumes there will be no reduction in greenhouse gases, other than carbon dioxide, over the next 50 years. "In setting the 60% carbon reduction target last year, the government failed to clarify how it related to greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide. It must do so as a matter of urgency." The EAC has given the DFT two months to improve its response. GENERAL AVIATION STEPHEN TRIMBLE / WASHINGTON DC UAVs enforce the law A General Atomics Predator B unmanned air vehicle making its law enforcement debut in the USA earlier this year detected 18 alleged criminal acts, assisting in the arrests of eight people and the seizure of 1,100kg (2,4001b) of marijuana. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency tested the crime-fighting capabili ties of the medium-altitude UAV during a 15-day trial on the US- Mexico border in Arizona, the agency says. Imagery supplied by the Predator B's electro- optical/infrared payload led agents to identify and detain 22 illegal aliens in the remote desert border area. Three vehicles and one firearm were also seized. General Atomics says the Predator B per formed "very effectively at night". The ICE had decided not to pub licise the results of the operation, but provided details on request by Flight International. The results will be forwarded to ICE's parent, the US Department of Homeland Security, which is performing an analysis of UAV operational possi bilities for surveillance missions. In a separate move, US border agents have also leased two Israel Aircraft Industries Hermes UAVs to monitor the US-Mexico border region from mid-year. 4 15-21 JUNE 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL
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