FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1561.PDF
IN BRIEF EARLY WARNING Taiwan has taken delivery of the first of two E-2T Hawkeye 2000 airborne early-warning aircraft from Northrop Grumman. The second will be handed over in October. The aircraft will join four Group 2-standard Hawkeyes operated by the Taiwanese air force since 1995. Taiwan has yet to decide whether to upgrade its earlier E-2T fleet to the US Navy's enhanced Hawkeye 2000 standard. SMART ROUND Israeli artillery units have begun fielding a trajectory-corrected multiple launch rocket system, following trials of an Israel Military Industries (IMI) and Elisra-developed modification. A ground unit measures the trajec tory of a rocket after launch and predicts its expected hit point, then sends a signal to a steering unit, which corrects the round's trajectory. India and Turkey have already been offered the upgrade. ENDURANCE UAV The Boeing and Insitu Group ScanEagle unmanned air vehi cle demonstrated a mission endurance of nearly 17h on a recent test flight. The UAV was deployed from and recovered by a surface ship for the trial, which included the provision of real time imagery from the drone's electro-optical sensor. The sys tem's infrared sensor payload was also demonstrated during a separate test flight. The US Marine Corps has already ordered two ScanEagle units for deployment to Iraq. ORION UPGRADE L-3 Communications expects to conclude negotiations during October to upgrade six Lockheed Martin P-3K Orion maritime patrol aircraft for the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The company was last month declared preferred bidder for the project, which covers the provi sion of new radar, sensor, data management, communications and navigation equipment. The contract is expected to be worth NZ$210-320 million ($140-213 million), says the New Zealand defence ministry. DEFENCE MISSILES STEPHEN TRIMBLE / HUNTSVILLE Test delay prompts fresh defence of interceptor Supporters of GMD face more questions after computer failure halts vital launch US missile defence proponents are facing new questions after a pre- flight telemetry glitch halted a long-delayed, critical flight test. The next integrated flight test of the ground-based missile, dubbed IFT-13C, has been rescheduled for mid-September. The original launch window, from 19-23 August, was to be fol lowed within six weeks by the unveiling of a limited anti-missile shield using GMD interceptors. Although not technically described as an intercept attempt, the aborted test was designed to build confi dence in the workings of the overall system and offer the first test launch of an operational booster rocket supplied by Orbital Sciences. In a routine pre-flight check, the booster rocket's onboard flight computer lost telemetry data for about 200 milliseconds - long enough to prompt Missile Defense Agency (MDA) officials to postpone the launch. The interceptor, which includes the booster and the Raytheon exoatmospheric kill vehi cle (EKV), has received a new flight computer. Meanwhile, the timetable for declaring the initial defensive sys tem on alert has become muddied. It was thought that IFT-13C would provide a system-level dress rehearsal for the planned opera tional system. The Boeing-led GMD contractor team has been directed to deliver the components for the initial capability by 30 September. But Maj Gen John Holly, project director for GMD, told last week's space and missile defence con ference in Huntsville, Alabama, that the US military's "goal" is to deploy an operational system by the end of the calendar year, and that no test flights should be con sidered as prerequisite events. US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld told conference delegates that he "can't imagine anyone dumb enough to set a firm date" for approving alert status. The delayed test is to be followed within 60-90 days by an intercept attempt - the first since a failed effort in December 2002. That test also was marred by a minor quality control glitch affecting the guid ance system in a surrogate booster for the interceptor missile. The MDA may face increasing pressure to produce successful results. US Congressman Curt Weldon warns that the $10 billion annual missile defence budget, which represents 2.5% of total US military spending, is a "big target" for Democrat opponents. EVALUATION BRENDAN SOBIE / SINGAPORE South Korea tests EH101 and S-92 South Korea is evaluating the AgustaWestland EH101 and Sikorsky S-92 this month in a quick-moving competition to select a new presidential helicopter. Industry sources say an evaluation team was in Connecticut last week to look at the new S-92 and is in the UK this week to test the EH 101. AgustaWestland and Sikorsky were shortlisted earlier this year for South Korea's VHX helicopter pro gramme and handed in bids for three aircraft last month. Seoul first evaluated the EH101 and Kazan- built Mil Mi-17 four years ago, but shelved the programme because of budget constraints. It later ruled out Russian equipment from the current round of the contest. Officials travelled to the UK to evaluate the EH101 Industry sources believe the pro gramme is now adequately funded and expect a contract to be awarded around October. If this schedule holds, South Korea should decide on its VHX platform before a selection in the much larger US Navy VXX presidential helicopter programme, which also pits the EH101 against the S-92. After the evaluation team returns to South Korea at the end of this week, the manufacturers will be invited to Seoul for detailed negotiations. To be delivered in late 2006, the new aircraft will replace a fleet of Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks earlier converted into VIP aircraft to transport the president and other high-ranking officials. Sikorsky is hoping to line up its first Asian customers for the S-92 by year-end, with both South Korea and China's communica tions ministries top candidates. 18 24-30 AUGUST 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
