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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1560.PDF
DEFENCE DEVELOPMENT VLADIMIR KARNOZOV / MOSCOW Russia approves MiG-29 upgrade Twin-seat trainer will become multirole aircraft capable of ground attack but fighter upgrade must wait for certification RSK MiG has won Russian air force approval for its MiG-29UBT mid life upgrade of the service's MiG- 29UB twin-seat trainer, says Vladimir Barkovsky, head of the company's Mikoyan engineering centre. However, the air force has yet to approve RSK MiG's SMT upgrade to its current MiG-29S/SM single-seat fighters. The UBT and SMT variants fea ture common avionics equipment supplied by RPKB Ramenskoye and based on a suite developed earlier for Sukhoi's twin-seat Su-30MKK multirole fighter supplied to China. The MiG-29's original analogue The US military is moving forward with a plan to address a major gap in its air and missile defence cover age. A widely dispersed system will be installed in three increments from 2007-12 to address the threat of low-flying, low-observable cruise missiles. The US Army has pledged a lead ership role, adding $1.1 billion to budgets over the next five years to accelerate technology develop ment. The first increment is to arrive in 2007, based on the intro duction of Raytheon's Surface- Launched Advanced Medium- cockpit instruments are partly replaced by two 6 x 8in (150 x 205mm) multifunction displays under the upgrade. The aircraft also receives new navigation equipment including dual GPS/Glonass satel lite receivers and laser-gyro inertial reference systems. Additional work extends airframe life to 4,000 flight hours and increases maximum weapons load to 4,000kg (8,8001b) from 2,000kg. The MiG-29UBT package modi fies the basic twin-seat trainer into a multirole aircraft capable of con ducting ground-attack missions using stores such as Tactical Missile Range Air-to-Air Missile and the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defence Elevated Netted Sensor System surveillance airship. The army also plans to accelerate elements of the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), specifically the battle management suite to 2009 and the launcher and upgraded Raytheon PAC-3 missile to 2011, says Maj Gen John Urias, programme executive officer for air, space and missile defence. In parallel, US military planners are working to harness the network ing power of 33 separate weapon Corporation Kh-25 and Kh-29 air- to-surface missiles and KAB-500 guided bombs with laser, TV and infrared homing heads. While the UBT version for the Russian air force lacks a radar, RSK MiG is working to equip export variants with either the NOP Osa or Phazotron-NIIR Kopyo-M multi- mode passive phased-array radars. Russian air force approval for the UBT upgrade will enable the service to update its in-service MiG- 29UBs to the new standard, and funding for an initial batch of air craft is expected to be allocated in the 2005 Russian defence bud- and surveillance systems in the cruise-missile defence arena. An agreement on common mes saging standards for platforms such as the proposed US Air Force E-10A Multi-mission Command and Control Aircraft, the US Navy's Aegis cruisers and the army's MEADS was the focus of a high- level planning meeting at the Pentagon last week. The proliferation of land-attack cruise missiles remains "seven to eight years down the road, but solutions are needed now," says Capt William Ault, director of the get. Announced last week by Russian president Vladimir Putin, the budget includes a 40%, or Rb70 billion ($2.39 billion), increase in spending. Delays with certification of the MiG-29SMT stem from a Russian air force request to equip its modi fied aircraft with an upgraded ver sion of the N-019 Topaz radar, in preference to acquiring the export- standard Phazotron-NIIR Zhuk-ME. Yemen has already taken delivery of MiG-29SMT/UBTs under a 14-aircraft contract placed in 2001, and Sudan is also to receive several UBTs this year. Joint Staff's air, cruise and defence interoperability division. A US military assessment in 2002 found that existing weapon systems detect the majority of incoming cruise missiles but were unable to maintain target tracks for long. The short contacts forced field comman ders to compress timelines for target identification and intercept launches. The existing system "isn't efficient and it isn't pretty", says Col William Holway, director of the joint cruise missile test office, which is still collecting data from an assess ment conducted last June. ACCEPTANCE MBDA's ASRAAM goes live with RAAF's F/A-18 Hornets Australia has formally accepted MBDA's ASRAAM short-range air-to- air missile into full operational service on its airforce Boeing F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters. The Royal Australian Air Force's three front line F/A-18 squadrons at Tindal and Williamtown air bases will receive ASRAAM rounds, in addition to the service's Hornet operational con version unit. MBDA had concluded ASRAAM deliveries to the RAAF before the 20 August ceremony, with approval for entry into service following some 20 test firings conducted in Australia and the USA since 2000. A final test series of five launches against target drones was completed last May, according to MBDA. Production of ASRAAM is also more than half-way through for launch customer the UK Royal Air Force. MISSILES STEPHEN TRIMBLE / HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA USA to address gaps in missile defence www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 24-30 AUGUST 2004 17
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