Defense Technology International - July 2007 - (Page 8)

AROUND THE WORLD NEWS BRIEFS RUSSIA PLANS CARRIER REVIVAL The Russian navy is making plans to restore its ﬂeet of aircraft carriers. Fleet Adm. Vladimir Masorin said in July that in 20-30 years Russia should have at least two aircraft carrier battle groups—one in the Northern Fleet and one in the Paciﬁc Fleet. Each battle group will have three carriers: one at sea, one working up to deployment and one in reﬁt or reserve. The military plans to set requirements for the carriers by the end of the year. Masorin said the ships would be smaller than U.S. carriers, relatively inexpensive and ready to support Russia’s current and future ship-based aircraft. He said the keel for the ﬁrst new carrier will be laid down by 2015. Until then the navy will keep running its only operational aircraft carrier—the 67,500-ton Admiral Kuznetsov. Masorin said the 20-year-old ship has been fully repaired and is at sea ready for its air wing. Other plans calls for the construction in Russia of a carrierdeck takeoff-and-landing training facility. The only other such facility, dating to the days of the Soviet Union, is in the now independent Ukraine. I TURKEY’S NEW TRAINER The Hurkus, Turkey’s locally developed primary and basic pilot training aircraft, will make its ﬁrst ﬂight in late 2009. Tusas Aerospace Industries (TAI) of Ankara received a $92-million contract in March 2006 from Turkey’s Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry to develop the aircraft, which is scheduled for service by 2011. The trainer, named for aviation pioneer Vecihi Hurkus who built the ﬁrst Turkish airplane, is the ﬁrst modern all-Turkish military aircraft. It will sport a low mounted wing with moderate sweep, tandem cockpit with zero-zero ejection seats and a turboprop engine. Speciﬁcations call for cruise speed above 250 kt., full aerobatic capability, g-force limits of +7 and -3.5, and SERGEY SKRYLNIK the ability to climb to 15,000 ft. in 5 min. TAI has completed concept development and is in the design phase. Most systems will be locally supplied, including cockpit instrumentation and avionics. Engine and seats will be acquired off-the-shelf. I TAI AUSTRALIA TAPS NAVANTIA Australia’s Ministry of Defense in June picked Spanish ﬁrm Navantia to provide blueprints for two 27,000-ton amphibious assault ships and three 6,000-ton air-defense destroyers worth a combined $12 billion. The destroyers, slated to enter service between 201417, will be based on Navantia’s successful F100 frigate design in use by Spain a n d N o r w a y. They willl be equipped with Lockheed Martin’s Aegis radar paired with Raytheon’s SM-2 missile. The minNAVANTIA istry also wants SM-3 interceptors for ballistic missile defense as part of an international missile-defense network that includes Japan, the U.S. and possibly South Korea. Navy ofﬁcials preferred a more expensive design based on the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke class. But they praised the F100 decision, pointing out that the design’s lower cost raises the possibility that the ministry might purchase a fourth destroyer. Australia’s shipbuilding surge reﬂects modernization of the armed forces that includes purchases of M1A1 Abrams tanks, Bushmaster blast-proof trucks, Tiger attack helicopters, MRH-90 transport helicopters (Australia’s designation for the NH90), F/A-18F Super Hornet ﬁghters and C-17 Globemaster airlifters. The MRH-90s will operate off assault ships in the transport role, but for shipborne anti-submarine warfare, attack and surveillance, the navy will stay with its customized SH-60B Seahawks and, ultimately, modernized Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite light helicopters. The service is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in a renewed effort to overcome avionics ﬂaws that have grounded the 11 Seasprites since their delivery in 2001. I www.aviationweek.com/dti 8 DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL JULY/AUGUST 2007 http://www.aviationweek.com/dti

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Around the World Science Watch Tech Watch Parallax Ghost Ship Low Visibility Red Tape Sub Catcher Boom Time Broad Access Fight or Flight Cut Loose Loud and Clear Drone On Postmortem The Net Cutting Edge On the Record In Review Insight

Defense Technology International - July 2007

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