Drone kingdom. (Shows & Exhibitions).

The 2002 Farnborough Air Fair will certainly not go down many professional's records as being the best so far. Many reasons have been invoked-amongst which a general slow down of economies, and the fact that it has been held in the middle of the summer since 2000. It might be a mix of both feelings: "It is in the middle of the holiday period, business is slow anyhow, so why bother?"

The air display (at least during trade days) held very little to write home about except perhaps for a stunning demonstration of an FA-18 E/F one cloudy afternoon. The ceiling was extremely low and the pilot offered spectators a breathtaking demonstration of his abilities to slither in a very thin horizontal sliver of airspace; the aircraft was on its side most of the time, making tight turns, the brightness of the afterburners emphasised by the lead-coloured skies.

The only one hundred percent new aircraft at the exhibition was the Pilatus PC-21 trainer. Although it flew into and out of Farnborough (our title picture shows the aircraft en route from Switzerland), it did not take part in the air display, but there was one good reason for that: it had made its maiden flight only a couple of weeks earlier and had logged a mere ten flight hours since. All the same, hats off to Pilatus for the magnanamous effort.

Drones, on the other hand, were all over the place, unfortunately on the ground only. Hopefully one day these birds will be certified to fly in civilian airspace. The sooner the better, if one's desire for an air show is to see spectators staring upwards again in the future. One could even imagine the installation of a few giant screens to enable one to see what the drones are looking at from "up there".

Trainer aircraft

Although the Aero Vodochody L-159 has appeared previously at Farnborough, this was its first visit in two-seat L-159B form. It is advertised at a very low unit price of $8.5 million.

The Aermacchi M-346 (a derivative of the Yak-130) was present as a mockup, around one year ahead of first flight. The M-346 has gained new significance with the launch of the multinational Eurotrainer feasibility study, and the news that the EMAC (European Military Aircraft Company) concept is a dead duck. This would have placed the M-346 in direct competition with the Eads supersonic Mako trainer, which now appears less likely to be launched. BAE Systems remains quietly confident that its improved Hawk NGA (New Generation Aircraft) will eventually be adopted for the Eurotraining programme.

The only other new supersonic trainer is the Korea Aerospace Industries T-50, which made its debut in mock-up form outside the Lockheed Martin pavilion, looking somewhat like a three-quarter scale F-16. The T-50 was due to fly shortly after the show and is expected to win a domestic (Rokaf) order for an initial 100 aircraft. Unit price is quoted as $ 18 to 20 million without radar. It is estimated that around 600 will be exported, but the actual number could clearly be much higher or lower, depending on whether the T-50 is adopted by the US Air Force as a T-38 replacement.

Armament

The Moscow-based Bazalt State Research and Production Enterprise was promoting a number of aircraft weapons, including the 500 kg RBK-500 SPBE-D cluster bomb, which dispenses 15 sensor-fuzed anti-armour munitions. Bazalt is looking for a partner to assist in developing the MPK swing-wing and course-correction module for the widely used 500 kg FAB-500 M-62 bomb, which would have its range extended to around 15 km. The Bazalt PG-29V is an air-launched development of the ubiquitous RShG-1 infantry assault RPG with thermobaric warhead. It is envisioned that clusters of up to seven launch tubes would be installed on light aircraft and helicopters, providing a firing range of 50 to 2000 metres. The PG-29V is in the initial testing stage.

The US Department of Defense stand highlighted several important armament developments, such as the US Navy's Damask (Direct Attack Munition Affordable Seeker), based on the uncooled infrared focal plane array used in Cadillac's night vision driving aid. The Damask was tested successfully on various sizes of the GPS/INS-guided Jdam, and is being integrated with the 70 mm Hydra 70 rocket. The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) exhibited the Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) with lattice tail controls, and the four-store version of the Sargent Fletcher Smart Multiple Ejector Rack (Smer), which can carry four Small Diameter Bombs or Mk 82 Jdams, or four pairs of the Lockheed Martin Locaas (Low-Cost Autonomous Attack System). The stand also featured a model of the Plocaas, a turbine-powered derivative. It is hoped to place the SDB with range-extension kit and the Smer in service in FY2006.

The Raytheon AIM-120 Amraam has now been sold to 25 countries, including the four Eurofighter nations, which have so far ordered over 890 rounds. The progressive miniaturisation of electronics is making a total of 28 cm of additional length available for developments of the rocket motor. This has several potential benefits, especially for the ground-launched version, which would benefit from extra range and altitude performance. Raytheon has funded software development that has made possible high off-boresight air-to-air firings, although full (180-degree) exploitation would clearly depend on third party targeting. Further possibilities include a dual- or triple-pulse motor, but Raytheon currently sees no need for air-breathing propulsion. Next to the Raytheon stand. Edo exhibited the pneumatically powered LAU-142/A Amraam Vertical Eject Launcher (Avel), which ejects the AIM-120C from the internal bays of the F-22.

Drones

It is probably true to say that there were more drones making their Farnborough debuts than there were new manned aircraft. Newcomers included Australia's long-endurance Aerosonde, which in 1998 became the first UAV to cross the Atlantic, and the Northrop Grumman RQ-8 Fire Scout helicopter, which has been proposed for the US Coast Guard's Deepwater modernisation programme. Another American service with an interest in a VTOL UAV is the US Army, which has a requirement for an Organic Air Vehicle (OAV). One candidate for the OAV programme is the Honeywell Kestrel, a small ducted-fan tail sitter. The AFRL stand provided preliminary information on another tail sitter: the SkyTote, which has contra-rotating propellers and is being developed for the Laboratory's Air Vehicles Directorate by AeroVironment.

The large number of UAVs on show was partly attributable to the British Watchkeeper requirement, which is aimed at service entry in 2005-2006. The Watchkeeper is currently being competed by teams led by BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Thales. The BAE Systems team is proposing a combination of the General Atomics Predator and the AAI Shadow 200. Lockheed Martin has selected the Meggitt Spectre III and the Eads Eagle, while Northrop Grumman is proposing its own Fire Scout and the Oerlikon Contraves Ranger. Thales, for its part, proposes to use the Silver Arrow Hermes 180 and the 450 UAVs.

During a chat with the Editor, Eads confirmed that trials of the Eagle in Sweden last June had been flawless and that the bird stands a good chance to meet that nation's requirement for a Male. Five missions of five hours each were performed in Kiruna and one of the most important aspects was to verify the data transmission to two ground stations simultaneously. Apparently, the most challenging part of the test was the transmission of infrared, electro-optical and synthetic aperture radar raw data (the latter in three modes, strip, spot and moving target indicator) that has a detection threshold of ten kilometres per hour. The aircraft also carried a VDL4 transponder to keep permanent contact with air traffic control, since this is believed to be the first time in Europe that a drone had been flown from a civilian airport (South Africa is believed to be the world's first). The Eagle was also made to land with 20-knot crosswinds.

Turning to the Eurohawk, it is planned that a first test flight with the German Elint payload will take place in April 2003, but much depends on airframe availability due to the Afghan conflict.

Meggitt showed two new UAVs: the Voodoo high-speed target and the Spectre III reconnaissance vehicle. The Voodoo--believed to be in production for Taiwan--is powered by a 108-kW piston engine and is capable of over 600 km/hr. It is catapult-launched and recovered by parachute and reusable airbag (see Eurosatory show report in this issue). The Spectre III is the latest version of the well-established Spectre series and is due to fly in October.

General Atomics revealed that the turboprop-powered armed MQ-9 Predator B, designated a hunter-killer drone by the US Air Force, has been strengthened to allow for ordnance loads of up to 1360 kg, giving a take-off weight of 4500 kg. Production of the MQ-9 is running at six per year; the US Air Force will use them alongside the Rotax-powered RQ-1 Predator.

Saab Aerospace revealed that since February it has been flight testing a sub-scale Sharc (Swedish Highly Advanced Research Configuration) drone, powered by a 1.96 kN jet engine. Another stealthy UAV is being developed jointly by Dassault and Sagem and is due to fly by the end of 2003.

Airborne Surveillance

At the time of the show, Northrop Grumman was preparing the 14th Jstars aircraft to be delivered to the 93rd Air Control Wing. The event could be slated as banal if were not to mark the last delivery to 93rd. Indeed, as of 1 October, the Joint Stars mission is to be assigned to the Air National Guard 116th-although all current 93rd aeroplanes will remain at Robins AFB. Incidentally, the 14th aircraft will be also the fourth to be outfitted with Cots equipment to a standard known as `Block 20' (see Armada's Cots Revolution supplement in this issue). In the meantime, aircraft No. 7 has been upgraded to block 20 standards and redelivered. All aircraft will eventually follow the same treatment. More upgrades are in the pipeline, since the re-engining of the Jstars has been approved by the Air Force. As soon as this project is incrementally funded, the aircraft will receive the same Pratt & Whitney engines as the upgraded Awacs aeroplanes. There are also talks of a new platform designated MC2A (Multiple-sensor Command and Control Aircraft), that would include an upgraded radar as well as a full battle field management suite in the rear section. Some 50 aircraft could be envisioned; all based on Boeing 767-400 delivered `green' to Northrop Grumman in Melbourne. Some $ 480 million have been earmarked in the "oh-three" budget for testing purposes. Other things being looked at would be the addition of an air-to-air sensor with a view to eventually replacing the Awacs in a method that could be known as killing two stones with one bird.

Fighters

The Saab/BAE Systems Gripen continues to provide an attractive multi-role fighter option at a price that is competitive with the Lockheed Martin F-16. Following successes in South Africa and Hungary, Gripen International lost (surprisingly) in Austria, and is now waiting for Brazil, the Czech Republic and Poland to announce their decisions. The jointly owned company is also talking of a "Gripen 2010" with conformal tanks, an alternative engine (probably the Eurojet EJ200), an Aesa (advanced electronically-scanned array) radar and a new generation defensive avionics suite (likewise by Ericsson).

Eurofighter celebrated the imminence of service deliveries by flying four development and initial production EF2000s on the Tuesday of the show. The plastic example in the BAE Systems arena was fitted with conformal fuel tanks, which will provide an additional total of 3000 litres. As expected, Britain's RAF announced its intention to use the name Typhoon, a designation formerly applied only to EF2000s exported outside Europe.

Lockheed Martin again presented a mock-up of the JSF/F-35. In order to finalise its new aircraft carrier design, Britain needs to decide by September whether its new Joint Combat Aircraft is to be the STOVL or CV version. The US Marine Corps is reportedly delaying a decision on a STOVL-CV split until both products can be evaluated in flight. The latest unit prices are given as $ 37 million for the CTOL, $ 46 million for the STOVL, and $48 million for the CV version, all in 2002 values.

Transports

In the twin-turboprop category, the ATR42MP maritime patrol aircraft has been redesignated ATR400MP, and was displayed by an Italian Guardia di Finanza (Customs) example. The Lockheed Martin Alenia Tactical Transport Systems C-27J was represented by the first aircraft built to production standards. Italy is in the final stages of placing a twelve-aircraft order, while Greece has announced its intention to order twelve, with options on three more.

Lockheed Martin has evidently adopted the US Air Force CC-130J designation for the stretched version of the C-130J (formerly C-130J-30). At the time of the show, 118 C/CC-130Js had been ordered and 86 delivered. The choice of engines for the projected Airbus Military A400M is still being competed between Pratt & Whitney and the EuroProp International consortium. Further delays in launching the A400M programme can only reduce the probability of it ever eventuating. The German Defence Minister has never been very enthusiastic, but things might change following the general elections in September. Meanwhile, Boeing is confident that firm US Air Force orders for the C-17 will eventually rise from the current 120 (of which 88 have been delivered) to 212, and that Britain's use of four C-17s will be the first of several such leases. The company was also promoting the 767TT tanker/transport, which has been selected by Italy, Japan and the US Air Force, and has been proposed in Britain on the basis of converting British Airways 767-300ER aircraft.

Helicopters

Agusta Westland and Lockheed Martin announced a teaming arrangement to sell the three-engined EH101 to US Government customers under the designation US101. A mockup of the Bell/Agusta Aerospace AB139 appeared in US Coast Guard livery, reflecting its selection by ICGS (Integrated Coast Guard Systems), a joint venture by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, for use in the Deepwater programme.

Mil and Rostvertol held a joint press conference to publicise their upgrade proposals for the Mi-2, Mi-24/35 and Mi-8/17, and took the opportunity to protest against foreign companies upgrading these series without approval. BAE Systems showed a mock-up of an Mi-24 front fuselage, illustrating one such upgrade.

Pilatus Shows New

The only completely new military aircraft on show was the Pilatus PC-21 turboprop basic trainer, which is being developed using the royalties from the PC-9-based Raytheon T-6, to avoid competing head-to-head with the US product. The design aim was to achieve the highest possible performance (using basically the same 1200 kW Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68 as the T-6 and the Embraer Super Tucano) in its class, combined with advanced avionics for mission management training that would normally be carried out on a jet and an extremely low life cycle cost. An additional aim was to carry enough fuel for two basic training sorties, this took the centre of gravity further aft, requiring a small degree of wing sweep. In order to provide turning characteristics more like those of an operational aircraft, wing loading was increased, necessitating Fowler flaps to restrict stall speed. First flight took place on July 1, and it is hoped to start deliveries by the end of 2004. The United Kingdom is one likely customer.

Texans Attack

Following tests conducted at Eglin Air Force Base, the Raytheon T-6A primary trainer derived from the Pilatus PC-9 is now capable of carrying a full array of weapons and under-wing stores. Flight Visions was selected by Raytheon as the avionics systems integrator for the new trainer and light attack aircraft derivative of the Texan II, designated T-6B. To this end, the T-6B can be fitted with an FV-4000 Modular Mission Display Processor, a SparrowHawk head-up display, a stores management system and a multifunction display. Thus equipped, the T-6B will be outfitted with guns, rockets and bombs, fulfilling a secondary role as a light attack aircraft. The Hellenic Air Force has ordered 20 of a total of 45 T-6A's with hard points.

Nato Flying Training in Canada announced that it had ordered two more Raytheon T-6A primary training aircraft for its training program in Moose Jaw. In a separate development, the US Air Force and US Navy Jpats programme calls for nearly 800 T-6As through the year 2017. To date, the services have ordered 215 aircraft. (Raytheon)

Raytheon Makes Sense

As is often the case with fighter aircraft, manufacturers of drones get most of the limelight, while the payload and related systems manufacturers tend to remain backstage. Raytheon, for example, has been heavily involved to say the least in recent short and medium range drone missions in Iraq, Kosovo and more lately in Afghanistan as well as in long range intelligence missions in Afghanistan. Raytheon has a finger in the Global Hawk's electro-optical payload, launch and recovery and mission control systems, and the Predator's multi-spectral payload (two-colour television and laser). Not widely known is the fact that the Shadow, Fire Scout and Predator use the same Raytheon tactical ground station. More recently, the company won its seat on board the US Air Force Boeing Ucav and Sikorsky Ucar programmes. In the first Raytheon is involved in the radar and electronic support measures, while on the second, the company is teamed with Sikorsky for the concept and definition stages but is also in charge of sensors, weapons, mission control and communications (regarding the latter, and as can be read in our article on sensor fusion in this issue, unmanned vehicles are increasingly involved in the emerging network-centric aspect of information dissemination). Another fast-growing trend is precision weapons delivery from drones. (Armada/EHB)

Super Lynx 300 Air Show Debut

On the first day of the show, the Malaysian Minister of Defence unveiled one of six AgustaWestland Super Lynx 300s ordered by the Royal Malaysian Navy. Thus somewhat belatedly making an air show debut, the Super Lynx 300 was represented by the second of six for the Malaysian Navy. Combining LHTEC CTS800-4N engines and a glass cockpit, the series 300 has also been ordered by Thailand and Oman. (Armada/RB).