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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 2067.PDF
DEFENCE MUNITIONS STEPHEN TRIMBLE / WASHINGTON DC Bad connections hit US weapons links Connectivity breakdowns during early tests of the US Navy's newest cruise missile have exposed the complexity of the US military's hopes to integrate datalinks on thousands of long-range munitions. A two-way link installed on the Raytheon Tactical Tomahawk Block IV missile worked only half the time during a developmental test cycle last year - a performance record deemed "insufficient" by Keith Sanders, deputy programme execu tive officer for navy weapons. "To make [beyond line of sight (BLOS) communications] work for weapons is not going to be easy and is going to be a stretch," Sanders told the Precision Strike Technology Symposium in Laurel, Maryland on 12 October The Tomahawk's performance record will probably catch the atten tion of the US Air Force, which is pursuing an ambitious strategy to integrate a Link 16-like communications device on all future stand-off weapons, such as the developmental Boeing Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) and the newly operational Lockheed Martin AGM-158 JASSM stand-off missile. In each case, two-way communications can update the weapon with new target co-ordinates after launch and allow the weapon to report back on its health status, as well as pass surveillance data from onboard sen sors. JASSM and the Block IV Tomahawk can be fired more than 465km (250nm) and about 1,850km, respectively, while the SDB can glide more than 110km to its target. Sanders says the navy has traced the Tactical Tomahawk's connection problems to the limitations of a 5kHz modem and bottlenecks created by the military's system for regulating BLOS transmissions. Military satellite transmissions must be assigned by a separate controller, who strictly allots and enforces time limits on message relays, says Sanders. Onboard modems, meanwhile, are limited to three channels, which further restrict the ability to send and receive large amounts of data. Sanders says the complexity of the transmission process for Tomahawk means adjustments must be made before the military can manage dozens of datalinked munitions simultaneously, as envisaged in air force and navy plans. The USN is interested in providing the Block IV Tomahawk for export, but is awaiting government clearance. UNMANNED SYSTEMS Boeing signs last contract to build three J-UCAS vehicles Boeing has been awarded a five-year, $767 million contract to build three X-45C Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) vehicles and conduct a two-year operational assessment starting in fiscal year 2007. The 12 October contract is the last of three placed by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to complete the J-UCAS programme. Northrop Grumman received a $1 billion award last August to build three competing X-47B prototypes, with Johns Hopkins University securing a $27 million deal last month to manage a consortium that will design a common operating system (COS) for both air vehicles. Potential consortium members including Boeing and Northrop Grumman met for the first time last week, says Daryl Davis, Boeing J-UCAS programme manager. Johns Hopkins is to act primarily as a broker, coaxing the two primes to agree on standards for the COS. Its staffers will assume an integrator role in technology areas where the brokering approach fails. Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman faces a three-day system requirements review from 19 October, says Rick Ludwig, the company's X-47B programme director. Government officials saw the M346 advanced fighter trainer fly last week PRESENTATION LUCA PERUZZI / MILAN M346 prototype makes show flight Aermacchi's fighter trainer progresses on schedule The first prototype of Aermacchi's M346 advanced/lead-in fighter trainer made a presentation flight before Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and other government, military and industry representa tives at the company's Venegono airfield near Milan last week. The twin-engined trainer, which flew for the first time last July, has so far accumulated 11 flight hours during 14 sorties, completing the flight envelope in its planned take off, cruise and landing aerody namic configurations with the flight control system (FCS) engaged. M346 deputy programme direc tor Eligio Trombetta says the proto type has so far reached a maximum speed of 325kt (600km/h) and an altitude of 21,650ft (6,600m), attained a Sg load factor and flown at a 20° angle of attack. Aermacchi has also performed in-flight engine restarts and a preliminary evalua tion of the aircraft's flight and han dling characteristics. Despite an initial programme delay caused by FCS software prob lems, Aermacchi says the M346's flight-test programme is progress ing on schedule. Air-data system calibration, installation and func tional testing of the auxiliary power unit and initial evaluation of the Honeywell F124-200 engine's full authority digital engine control system are planned to conclude late this year, when a new FCS software release with capabilities representative of the series production configuration will be applied. Aermacchi chief executive Giovanni Bertolone says the sec ond prototype of the M346 is set to fly in March 2005 and will be exhibited at next June's Paris air show. The programme's first pre- series aircraft featuring Leibherr- Magnaghi landing gear and other modifications will fly in late 2007, with first series production deliver ies planned for 2009. During the 11 October cere mony, Giorgio Zappa, chairman and chief executive of Alenia Aeronautica and deputy chairman of Aermacchi, asked the Italian government to support the com pany's bid to lead the continued development of the M346 to meet the proposed 12-nation Advanced European Jet Pilot Training, or Eurotraining mechanism. According to Carlo Logli, Aermacchi's senior vice-president, the company is also well posi tioned to offer the M346 as a replacement for the Greek air force's Rockwell T-2E Buckeye train ers. Athens is expected to issue a request for information for the requirement next year. 18 19-25 OCTOBER 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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