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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 0993.PDF
• BAE Systems has received a $100 million subcontract from Turkey's Mikes for the develop ment and delivery of ALQ-178(V)5+ integrated elec tronic warfare systems for Turkish air force Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 50 fighters. Turkey's Aselsan is prime con tractor for the $240 million programme to equip 60-80 air craft. • Northrop Grumman has received a $5.9 million con tract to equip the US Air Force's Northrop Grumman E-8C JSTARS surveillance aircraft with improved weather radars. The enhanced sensors will be retrofit ted to the USAF's 16-strong JSTARS fleet by March 2005 and delivered new from aircraft 17 early next year • Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky have each received $18 million contracts to cover risk-reduction activities in support of their respective US101andVH-92bidsforthe US Navy's delayed VXX presi dential helicopter programme. • Toronto, Canada-based Aiolos has received a four-year subcontract from Boeing to design and deliver an aircraft environmental test facility to South Korea's Agency for Defence Development. • Under an $8.3 million US Missile Defense Agency con tract, L-3 Aeromet has delivered two Gulfstream IIBs modified as HALO-II high-altitude observato ries with infrared and visible sensors for monitoring ballistic- missile defence tests. • Alliant Techsystems is to produce more than 1,200 AAR-47(V)2 missile warning sensor upgrade kits with laser warning capability for Canada, Jordan, Norway and the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps under a $14.6 mil lion contract. • GKN Aerospace is to supply fully inte grated canopy systems for the Boeing F-15C fighter under a contract worth around $5 million from the US manufacturer. First deliveries are expected late next year. • Northrop Grumman is to supply the integrated tactical cockpit for the US Navy's E-2 Advanced Hawkeye fleet of up to 75 aircraft. The company will undertake system development and demonstration activities over the next four years. DEFENCE TRANSPORTS BRENDAN SOBIE / SINGAPORE South Korea sets sights on Indonesian swap deal IAe poised for major boost as Seoul aims to sell submarines and buy CN-235S South Korea is in talks to buy up to 30 Indonesian-built Airtech CN-235 transport aircraft in exchange for selling Indonesia two submarines. The contract would provide a major boost for ailing Indonesian Aerospace (IAe), which needs to line up new CN-235 orders to keep its production line going beyond 2005. IAe confirms it is "in early talks" to sell 30 CN-235s to South Korea, but industry sources say the deal ultimately may involve only a handful of aircraft. The new aircraft would bolster eight CN-235s delivered to South Korea by IAe in exchange for Indonesia's earlier purchase of seven Korea Aerospace Industries KT-1 trainers. South Korea also operates 12 EADS Casa-built CN- 235s. South Korea's air force ini tially had a requirement for 24 small transports and sources sug gest this may limit any follow-on buy to just four CN-235 transports, plus perhaps two CN-235 maritime surveillance aircraft. IAe, however, is lobbying the Indonesian government to become the full benefactor of the barter deal with Seoul, which equates to 30 CN-235s given the $600 million price tag for the submarines. The company says the counter-trade contract is likely to be awarded next year, when the Indonesian navy is expected to proceed with its submarine purchase. Aircraft deliveries will begin roughly two years later. IAe has an order backlog for eight CN-235s for Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan. Four will be delivered this year and the remain der during 2005. The company says it is also poised to sign a con tract with Bangladesh for two CN-235S for delivery in 2006, but industry sources say Bangladesh has not yet decided between IAe- or EADS Casa-built aircraft. IAe, which has been undergoing a massive restructuring since briefly shutting down last year, has identi fied the CN-235 as its only current aircraft production line with a viable long-term future. The manufacturer is eyeing several potential new heli copter products, but so far has been unsuccessful at forging partnerships with foreign manufacturers. The company also needs a further $8 million in loans to meet delivery requirements for the rest of this year and plans to complete assembly of partially manufactured Bell 412, Eurocopter BO105 and NAS332 Super Puma helicopters this year. ASSEMBLY JUSTIN WASTNAGE/ LONDON Eurocopter undecided on Spain site Eurocopter's Spanish division will not make a decision on the location of a final-assembly line for the Span ish army's Tiger multirole helicopter until late this year, despite claims by several candidate cities. Eurocopter Espana Tiger programme manager Luis Arizon says there are "several months" of deliberations left between the sites, and that the com pany will announce its decision "before the end of the year". Spain's defence ministry con cluded a deal late last year to acquire 24 Tigers in the multirole HAD configuration to meet its com bat and support helicopter require ment. Initial plans called for local production and deliveries during 2007-8, but Eurocopter said at last month's ILA air show in Berlin that Spain will receive an initial four Tigers without the HAD variant's uprated MTU Turbomeca Rolls- Royce MTR390 engines. Three of these will be delivered this year. Several Spanish cities are still in the running for Tiger assembly Eurocopter Espana has negotiated agreements with a number of Spanish suppliers, and expects to become the "third pillar" of Tiger export production. It is unclear, however, how many Spanish air craft will be assembled in the coun try, as facilities may take about two years to be completed and equipped once a selection is made. Local authorities in the southern city of Albacete are expected to increase pressure on Eurocopter to establish its assembly line at Albacete airbase, countering the central government's stated prefer ence for a site in airfield-less Ciudad Real. Eurocopter's Spanish headquarters in Cuatro Vientos, near Madrid, currently produces rear fuselage sections for the EC135 and Tiger programmes. 22 15-21 JUNE 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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