Defense Technology International - September 2007 - (Page 8) AROUND THE WORLD NEWS BRIEFS TANKER DELAYS VEX BOEING Boeing officials are trying to avoid repeating mistakes that have plagued Italian and Japanese KC767 aerial tanker programs. Both variants have seen service entry delayed by testing and certification problems. Boeing wants to assure USAF that the same won’t happen if a domestic version is chosen over Northrop Grumman’s KC-30 for the 179-aircraft KC-X requirement. Boeing representative Bill Barksdale says the four Japanese aircraft were delayed several months by Boeing’s failure to receive all the certifications required by the customers. The first aircraft are expected to enter service by the end of the year. The four Italian tankers required an extra year of testing to prove their more complex refueling suites and should be delivered by mid-2008. The Japanese models feature boom refueling; the Italian aircraft have booms as well as hoses for probe-equipped aircraft. This more closely reflects the DAVID AXE/DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL likely capabilities of a USAF KC-767. Boeing says the first four KC-767s to come off the production line in Everett, Wash., will be dedicated to flight testing. I SEDUCTIVE DECOY Is rael’s Rafael demonstrated its Wizard Naval Corner Reflector Decoy during NATO’s recent MCG/8 electronic warfare trials off Norway. The passive-radiofrequency (RF) decoy depicts shiplike characteristics to divert anti-ship missiles with guidance systems that disregard chaff. Single- and twin-corner decoys were launched from a Dutch navy frigate. RF measurements taken at sea, on shore and in the air were positive. Wizard can be used as a medium-range decoy in distraction mode, or a short-range decoy in seduction mode. In the latter, decoys are deployed as “attractive” targets after a missile’s radar locks onto a ship. The missile switchlocks to the decoy and flies away from the ship. Wizard’s return signal has the same characteristics as a ship. The decoy’s radar cross-section is 1,000-2,000 sq. meters (10,760-21,520 sq. ft.). Rise time is quick—generating a full target takes less than 2 sec. I RAFAEL FIRE ALARM Northrop Grumman is developing a hostile-firedetection capability for helicopters at its Defensive Systems Div. in Rolling Meadows, Ill. Jack Pledger, director of business development for infrared countermeasures, says the company is taking its two-color IR missile-warning sensor technology, developed to protect aircraft against man-portable air-defense systems, and using it with new algorithms to detect small-arms fire and similar threats. Such a capability may provide pilots a few seconds for evasive action, particularly if the threat is from rocketpropelled grenades. An initial RPG round is often used like a tracer to check aim, says Pledger. “That means the first projectile is usually a miss. If the pilot is alerted to the attack and the location it comes from, he can evade.” Northrop Grumman is doing the work on its own initiative. Pledger doesn’t know when the capability might be fi elded, but adds that development will speed up if a buyer emerges. I www.aviationweek.com/dti U.S. AIR FORCE 8 DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL SEPTEMBER 2007 http://www.aviationweek.com/dti
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