Dubai air show.

Dubai still ranks as one of the best-organised and most pleasant air shows to attend. It is still of decent size, yet anything that is really worth seeing on the aeronautical scene is there. And seen properly that is; meaning that air displays do not take place at impossible distances, and anyone is allowed to walk across the static display to the taxiway.

**********

Without doubt in the novelty sector on the ground, the star of the show was the Embraer 145 AEW&C which chose the Dubai Air Show as its very first destination outside South America. The aircraft--a Brazilian Air Force example known there as the R99A--flew from its home base in Annapolis in 18 hours without any support aircraft. Unfortunately, some of the glory of the event was somewhat stolen by the announcement a few days earlier that the American government had cancelled the joint US Air Force-US Army ACS programme, which was to be based on the same airframe. Most incredibly (or is it really incredible?) in this context is that the EMB 145 had won the selection after a careful and lengthy examination of the aircraft's specifications in terms of payload and performance capabilities. But according to Embraer, what happened next (and in a nutshell) is that the Army started having a number of afterthoughts and wanted to cram additional amounts of systems into the aircraft, exceeding its maximum take-off weight by several tonnes. At the time of the show there still was a hope that the EMB 190 platform could save the situation, especially since Embraer had already started studying the special mission versions of the 170 and 190.

Embraer was promoting its special missions aircraft in Dubai as the United Arab Emirates has a requirement for AEW&C, maritime surveillance and singint aircraft. The advantages of a fleet entirely based on a single type of proven airframe offers incommensurable advantages in terms of logistics and maintenance. In Brazil, as part of the Sivam programme, the seven aircraft involved are logging a tremendous amount of hours, certain areas having to be kept under surveillance 24 hours a day. The Sivam programme (System for Vigilance of the Amazon) is particularly aimed at keeping the country's border with Colombia under control against both the narco-traffickers and the revolutionary armed forces of Colombia, which take advantage of the dense canopy of the rain forest to settle on Brazilian territory to conduct their respective and often intertwined illegal activities. Yet, in spite of the flying rhythm, Embraer told the author that the aircraft had so far recorded an astonishing rate of availability of 98% (the civilian model, the ERJ 145 scores 99.8%). The Forca Aerea Brazileira will need more EMB 145s to expand the Sivam concept to cover the south of the country and patrol the coastline and oil platforms, meaning that there is potential for about ten additional maritime patrol aircraft.

At the time of the show four AEW&C aircraft had been delivered to Greece and the country still has an option on an additional two. In Mexico, the aircraft's configurations (one AEW and two maritime patrollers) are closer to the Brazilian's. Based in Merida (Yucatan) they were delivered in July 2004 but became operational by the end of that year to fight drug smuggling (the technique used by traffickers there consists of low-flying light aircraft dumping their 'goods' into the sea where they are swiftly retrieved by powerboats--which explains the need to detect both aircraft and boats). Mexico originally needed three AEWs and four maritime patrollers, meaning that Embraer is still expecting an order for another four aircraft from Mexico. Other clearly defined prospects emerge from Oman (maritime patrol) and Malaysia (surveillance and maritime patrol).

Saab, Embraer's competitor in the 'light' airborne early warning sector, on the other hand, stressed that the contract it had recently signed with Pakistan covering the purchase of six Saab 2000s equipped with the Ericsson Erieye was still provisional as << a number of outstanding issues remain until a contract is signed >>. The company added, << because of speculations about the order value, we would like to make clear that the contract value is SEK 8.3 million, with a third for Saab and two thirds for Ericsson >>. Pakistan had been negotiating for years, and the lack of such a capability was sadly felt in the aftermath of the earthquake that had recently affected the nation--a situation in which the type could have been used to streamline the flow of rescue and relief aircraft, particularly so in the northern mountainous region where coverage from ground radars is reduced. The prime reason for wanting to acquire an airborne capability, however, stems from tensions with India, which operates the Ilyushin A-50 Mainstay.

Trainer Aircraft

Embraer was also in Dubai to promote its Super Tucano. The United Arab Emirates, following its massive orders for fighters of late, will soon need to train its pilots and should soon issue a request for proposals.

The nation will soon need about 50 trainer aircraft, which is the reason why Pilatus was at Dubai to promote is PC-21. While the trainer market has been somewhat stagnant in recent years, Pilatus told the author that the Swiss firm had won every single market in the past year. A fresh market now seems to be ripening for the PC-21, particularly in Singapore and Switzerland, where it has been evaluated. Singapore is expected to issue a request for proposals by the time these lines are printed, with a selection for about 20 aircraft at stake in June 2006. The aircraft would be operated by a joint venture with Lockheed Martin Training Systems and presented as a turnkey operation.

In Switzerland, the aircraft had gone through an initial examination by the Air Force. Some six aircraft are needed with a possible in-service date of 2007 (but still subject to parliamentary approval). The training method incorporated into the PC-21 is quite unique; both from its flight qualities that help make it behave like a jet-powered aircraft, but also its avionics capabilities. As Pilatus explained, << the idea is to challenge the student in a step by step process right from the beginning. During a planned sortie, the instructor can retain a certain amount of information [displays, performance parameters etc] and gradually open up the capabilities of the aircraft in the trainee's courses. The PC-21 can be used for ab initio students, for screening and then bring the pilots to jet status in about 200 or 250 hours >>.

Rosoboronexport was promoting it new Yak 130, production of which has started for the Russian Air Force which has ordered twelve. Three prototypes have been built so far and type certification should be obtained this year (2006).

Still in the trainer context, BAE Systems revealed its new mission trainer system. More details will be given in Armada International's next issue on trainer aircraft, but in a nutshell, an embedded simulation programme enables to make any Hawk pilot believe, via the large flat panel in the cockpit, not only that his aircraft has a radar and carries (for instance) a Storm Shadow, but also that he is flying a Eurofighter or an F-18 mission, but at a fifth of the cost per hour.

Fighters

Sadly, while everyone had the ability to see the new UAE Air Force's F-16 block 60 with its characteristic conformal fuel tanks, Lockheed Martin's officials systematically turned down any questions asked by the author on the aircraft's capabilities. In total contrast, RAC MiG staged a press conference to announce that the next MiG-29, hitherto known as the MiG-29OVT, will be known as the MiG-35. The new designation is mainly warranted by the fact that the airframe is much lighter and that the aircraft has thrust-vectoring engines and a new active phased array radar.

The MiG-29 was present at Dubai in the form of the MiG-29 MST demonstrator aircraft which precisely features thrust vectoring controls, to show the evolution of this strictly fighter aircraft into a multiple-role platform for ground and naval attack. Tipping the scales at a hefty 22.3 tonnes the MST has a combat payload of five tonnes and a reinforced airframe to cope with the additional stress. It also features a Zhuk-ME radar (multiple-mode of course), liquid crystal displays and active jamming systems, and, most interestingly, an open architecture computer suite to enable the aircraft to operate on Western avionics and systems. MiG will also use part of these new technologies for earlier MiG-29 upgrade programmes. The market could be lucrative since MiG-29s have been exported to over 50 nations, according to RAC.

Pretty much the same theme was developed by Rosoboronexport in its press conference, but regarding the Su-30Mk1. Open architecture is also being offered, airframe life extension to 6000 hours, thrust vectoring AI-31FP engines with a 2000-hour life and a radar capable of tracking 15 targets and simultaneously engaging a mix of four air and ground targets.

Unmanned

Drone activity was quite dense, although (and unfortunately) none were flying. The United Arab Emirates is tremendously keen on developing its own drone capability, and this was reflected by the presence of the Cybaero Apid 55 rotorcraft developed under the auspices of the UAV Research and Technology Centre and of the Schiebel S-100 of which 100 units are being built for the UAE.

Local drone developer Adcom was also present, with new developments of its Yabhon series; the Yabhon R and the Yabhon H. Most interestingly, Adcom has developed its own gimbal-mounted camera ball, which could be seen tracking the various aircraft during their aerobatic evolutions. The Yabhon H, autopilot was switched on and suspended under a special yoke which enabled the visitor to see the controls operating whenever the attitude of the aircraft was altered by a hand or the breeze. The autopilot is also a company development.

Irkut, the Russian company that also manufactures, inter alia, the Sukhoi aircraft, has been involved for some time now in the development and production of several types of drones. Purely civilian and used for environmental surveillance, they could easily find military tactical applications. In Russia this has traditionally been the turf of Yakovlev, but there were rumours that the firm, in which Eads has a 10% stake, could soon find itself involved in a Ucav development.

Denel displayed a scaled model of its Bateleur to materialise the South African company's new involvement in the Male category of unmanned aircraft. There are now 90% chances that the Bateleur, which is expected to make its maiden flight by the end of 2006, will be powered by a Denel-adapted Subaru flat four. The Bateleur will have a satcom link that will enable it to remain aloft between 18 and 24 hours and operate out to ranges of 3500 km. Denel has an extensive line of gimballed electro-optical payloads--notably the Goshawk 350 that could fit the bill as a chin mount, but the aircraft also includes provisions for the installation of a belly-mounted synthetic aperture radar as well as an electronic surveillance payload in the nose. The Bateleur can be operated from the existing ground stations which were developed for the Seeker and Seeker II.

Hawkeye Update

The Hawkeye 2000 has been in production since 2000, but Northrop Grumman is now moving ahead with the development of the E-2D, which is also known as the Advanced Hawkeye. The 'keel' was laid in May 2005 and the aircraft is expected to take to the air in 2007 and meet the new challenges in terms of longer-range detection of air threats, detection of sea targets out to the horizon, precision tracking against ground clutter and multiple-source (onboard and off-board) sensor data. Whilst externally the aircraft retains its general configuration, it will also add missile/sensor networking with a remote-fire capability. It will incorporate the new 200 mile-capable ADS-18 electronically scanned array radar antenna, AN/ARC-210 satcom and HF 121C communications, workstations with 21-inch displays and will add a fourth operator in the cockpit which itself will be equipped with 17-inch displays. To cope with the demands in terms of weight, higher systems cooling and power requirements, the aircraft's structure is reinforced for higher landing weight and offers a life of 15,000 hours. In terms of power, this results in a new generator (with growth capability) and a pair of T56-A-427A engines with increased emergency power rating. By the time of the show the aircraft's critical design review had just been completed. Northrop Grumman is studying the possibilities of upgrading existing 2000s to D, or near-D configurations.