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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1357.PDF
,N BRIEF JSF ASSEMBLY Lockheed Martin launched assembly of the first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's (JSF) forward fuselage at its Fort Worth site in Texas last week. The company expects to begin assembling the aircraft's wing at the facility within the coming weeks. First flight of the F-35A is scheduled for August 2006 as part of the JSF project's system develop ment and demonstration phase. CONTEST LAUNCH Turkey has issued a new request for proposals to attack helicopter manufacturers for a 50-aircraft requirement launched following the collapse of a planned 145- helicopter deal earlier this year. Responses are due in October for the direct purchase of either the AgustaWestland A129 Mangusta, Bell AH-1Z King Cobra, Boeing AH-64D Apache, Eurocopter Tiger or Mil Mi-28. The AH-1Z was selected for the earlier requirement, which stalled on cost and technology transfer issues. LIBYAN SALE Pakistan has acquired 40-50 ex- Libyan air force Dassault Mirages under a deal of undis closed value. Reported by the Pakistan air force as having been grounded for more than a decade, the aircraft- believed to include Mirage 5s - will be used as a source of spare parts for Islamabad's Mirage fleet. CHINESE TRAINER Russia's Yakovlev design bureau will this year complete preliminary design studies on a supersonic jet trainer for the Chinese air force. China's AVICII is heading the project, with Yakovlev provid ing experience from its development of the Yak-130 sub sonic trainer. Yakovlev hopes to participate in the project if it proceeds to an active design phase. UAV DELAY Australia has again changed its schedule for the release of ten ders for its Joint Project 129 tactical unmanned air vehicle requirement. A competition will be launched this month, with bids due in November. DEFENCE PROCUREMENT BRENDAN SOBIE / SINGAPORE Singapore completes its initial fighter evaluation Eurofighter Typhoon flights follow earlier study of Boeing F-15 and Dassault Rafale Singapore has completed the flight evaluation phase of its next-genera tion fighter contest, as the city-state prepares to select a McDonnell Douglas A-4SU Skyhawk replace ment by early next year. Two Eurofighter Typhoons were evaluated in Singapore over two weeks from 6 July, following evalua tions of the Boeing F-15 and Dassault Rafale earlier this year. All three aircraft were subjected to the same series of tests and will be scored on their performance. Singapore's Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA) says it will further analyse the contenders over the next few months and send teams of engineers to each manu facturer to gather additional tech nical information. Thousands of pages of data were submitted in early March in response to Singapore's invitation to tender, but additional questions will be posed now that all the aircraft have been flight tested. Industry sources say this next phase is especially Typhoons were put through their paces in hunt for Skyhawk replacement important for the Typhoon, since the UK Royal Air Force aircraft deployed to Singapore were not fully equipped. The aircraft could make a fly-by appearance at this week's Farnborough air show on their return from the deployment. The DSTA expects to make a final selection in about six months, to be followed by a contract for eight to 12 aircraft with deliveries beginning in 2008. Follow-on pur chases are also likely as Singapore retires its fleet of A-4SUs and possi bly its Northrop F-5s ahead of pos sible deliveries of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. • The DSTA has also launched an evaluation of the Eurocopter AS532C Cougar, NH Industries NH90 and Sikorsky S-92 vying for a six-aircraft naval helicopter con tract. The companies submitted bids late last month and the DSTA says it will select a winner by next March. Bids submitted last year exceeded the programme's budget, prompting Singapore to reduce the weapon configuration for the latest round. REVAMP GUY NORRIS / LOS ANGELES Northrop gears up for Hunter work Northrop Grumman expects to start re-engining the US Army's RQ- 5A Hunter unmanned air vehicle fleet from October, following com pletion of flight tests with a more powerful heavy-fuel powerplant. The new engine, revealed only as from a "European automotive" company, replaces the original twin Moto Guzzi 64hp (48kW) motorcycle engines that burn con ventional MOGAS fuel. Climb rate and service ceiling improvements also come with the re-engining, which should be completed across the fleet by late 2005, says Northrop Grumman Hunter pro gramme manager Ron Kline. "The new engine will take diesel 2 or JP-8 fuel, whereas now it has to have its own fuel truck," says Kline. The change will allow the Hunter to operate alongside heavy- fuel (diesel or kerosene)-engined aircraft such as US Army heli copters, as well as ground vehicles and main battle tanks. Up to 40 UAVs will be re- engined, around half of which are in army service in Iraq, where the type recently passed 30,000 total flight hours. The Israel Aircraft Industries/ Northrop Grumman (formerly TRW) Hunter reconnaissance sys tem is poised for new expansion. The UAV is being integrated with a tactical datalink for forthcoming flight trials, the later phases of which are scheduled to involve co operative flights with a Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter. Kline says proof-of-concept flight trials will continue until year-end, with new weapon systems also due to be tested. These include the Eagle Eyes munition, a third-generation deriv ative of Northrop Grumman's BAT anti-armour weapon already tested on the Hunter. Evaluation of the Eagle Eyes system is due to start next month, and will run until early February 2005. The second-generation Viper Strike is now awaiting approval to be fielded with the Hunter, says Kline, with flight tests completed at White Sands, New Mexico in October 2003. 30 20-26 JULY 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
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