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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 2435.PDF
DEFENCE SPENDING STEPHEN TRIMBLE / WASHINGTON DC USAF seeks expanded E-10A buy Initial approval is given for updated capabilities plan, allowing air force to purchase two further aircraft The US Air Force has received an initial go-ahead to dramatically alter plans for its next-generation airborne ground surveillance fleet, adding two of the $1 billion sys tems to its spending plans and delaying the in-service date by three years until 2015. The Joint Requirements Over sight Council approved an updated capabilities plan incorporating the changes last month, says Col Joseph Smyth, programme man ager for the Northrop Grumman E-10A Multi-sensor Command and Control Aircraft. The new plan allows the air force to buy seven complete E-10A systems, including one for use during development and demonstration and another for training. A previous plan to buy five aircraft under a $5 billion bud get proved insufficient to properly "operationalise" the replacement for the USAF's Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System fleet, says Smyth. The updated plan still requires approval next March by the Defense Acquisition Board, which last year entertained a proposal to kill the programme. Instead, the E-10A was rescoped to focus on core missions of detecting incom ing cruise missiles and tracking moving ground targets. The USAF was forced to reshuffle some requirements for the back-end battlefield management command and control (BMC2), awarded to Northrop Grumman last September. As a result, the first E-10A will be introduced without the ability to fuse multiple streams of intelligence into a single picture, control unmanned air vehicles or run auto mated systems to identify moving targets and make recommendations to change USAF air tasking orders. The air force also is moving for ward on several changes to the Boeing 767-400ER design. Placing a 3.7 x 20.8m (12.1 x 68.2ft) "canoe" below the forward fuselage for the gimbaled radar antenna will require adding ventral fins to the aft section, Smyth told the Defense News ISR Integration 2004 confer ence in Arlington, Virginia on 15 November. Support structures are also being added for the cabin floor and to support the Northrop Grumman/Raytheon Multi- Platform Radar Technology In sertion Programme sensor. The first E-10A testbed is to be delivered to Northrop Grumman's modification centre at Lake Charles, Louisiana in December 2006. The aircraft will be equipped with General Electric CF6-80C2B8F engines and a 1MW auxiliary power unit provided by a Honey well T55 engine core mounted in its aft cargo compartment. RENEWAL Ecuador to boost fleet Ecuador is to boost the effective ness of its air force transport fleet through the planned introduction to service early next year of five ex- Brazilian air force BAe 748s. Ecua dor's air force is said to have four 748s in its fleet from an original total of five delivered during the 1970s, although just two of these are reported as being operational. The proposed deal, which is awaiting Brazilian congressional approval, expected late this month, will cover the Brazilian defence ministry's transfer of the surplus aircraft, plus airframe and engine spares and a simulator. The recent recipients of an avionics upgrade, the air force's last five airworthy 748s had been scheduled to remain in use until 2007, but their retire ment was accelerated following the service's acquisition of 10 second hand ERJ-145 regional jets from Brazilian airline Rio-Sul. To be designated C-99s in Brazil ian air force service, the first two ERJ-145s have already been accep ted and are being adapted for their new military transport role at Varig's Porto Alegre overhaul facility. One of the airframes has been earmarked for training duties with the air force unit that operates the EMB-145SA (R-99A) airborne early warning and control and EMB-145RS (R-99B) remote sensing aircraft, which form part of Brazil's SIVAM Amazon sur veillance capability. Meanwhile, Brazil's air force has taken delivery of its first of two new full mission simulators from Israel's Elbit Systems. The service has accepted one device for its Embraer EMB-314 ALX (A-/AT-29) Super Tucanos, and will soon receive another for its Northrop F-5BR fighters. The training devices use new avionics equipment integrated with the Super Tucano and F-5 fleets through earlier upgrades conducted by Elbit and Embraer. CUTS SHYAM RAVINDRAN / NEW DELHI Indian army slashes multi- role helicopter requirement The Indian army has sharply reduced the number of multirole helicopters it intends to acquire from the international market, dealing a blow to poten tial suppliers Bell Helicopter, Eurocopterand Kamov. The decision to cut a planned purchase of 198 aircraft to just 35 has been primarily attributed to the development by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) of a new light combat helicopter (LCH), but is also viewed as a response to reduced tensions in India's ongoing border dispute with neighbouring Pakistan. India last year invited bids for the delivery of 198 combat helicopters for use in the Siachen glacier and Kargil battlefield areas of its northern state of Jammu and Kashmir under a programme worth roughly $440 million. However, the requirement will now be largely met by the LCH, which is being developed for multirole missions, including operations at high altitude. Intended to replace the army's current HAL Cheetah and Chetak heli copters, the 5,500kg (12,100lb)-class LCH is suitable for all-weather operations and will be equipped with anti-tank missiles, unguided rockets, a 20mm cannon and air-to-air missiles for use against unmanned air vehi cles and other slow moving aircraft. The army requires that it should also be equipped with an airborne radar suitable for use in maritime and overland surveillance, plus other reconnaissance systems. Defence ministry sources say Eurocopter remains the front runner to meet India's remaining 35-aircraft requirement with its AS550C3 Fennec, with the reduced project to have a price tag of around $80 million. 22 23-29 NOVEMBER 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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