Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 15, 2008 - (Page 34) FA R N B O R O U G H 2 0 0 8 Austria Reveals a New Trainer Requirement Austria will soon launch a search for a new jet trainer with a briefing on the potential candidates due with the Air Staff by the end of August. The current fleet of Saab 105s is unsuitable for training future Typhoon pilots arriving with far less experience than the current crop of aircrews who all have substantial fast-jet experience. The aging Saabs are also becoming increasingly expensive to maintain. Unlike most other air forces with similar requirements, Austria also needs an armed and relatively highperformance aircraft. Equipped with gun pods, the Saab 105s have a vital secondary combat role as interceptors, filling a niche between Austria’s PC-7 turboprops and Typhoon fighters. Col. Roman Horak, of the Ministry of Defense’s training directorate tells Show News, “Our criteria is: Can you put a gun on it? Also, it’s a ‘must’ to have an alternative aircraft if the Typhoons are grounded for some reason. We need something with the equivalent look and feel of a Typhoon, but cheaper.” While Austria has signed on for the European Eurotraining initiative, Col. Horak says that a new already has experience. But with such an older aircraft “you need twice as many to ensure that the same number is available,” Horak notes. Selection of the new trainer will begin in the near-term. Says Horak, “The timeline is driven by money, but we expect a contract no later than 2012—and we hope earlier.” Days are numbered for Saab 105s. —Robert Hewson aircraft will be procured for national tasks, no matter what the outcome of the Eurotraining process. “The national need comes first,” he stresses. “Eurotraining could be further down the line. We certainly want to be able to achieve the download of tactical training—Phases III and IV—and maybe we can do that in a co-operative arrangement. But some type of aircraft needs to be in Austria, too, both for training and for the air policing role.” Aircraft like the BAE Hawk and Aermacchi M346 are cited as contenders, with the Pilatus PC-21 specifically excluded. “Our pilots say you cannot compare the PC-21 to any jet,” says Horak. Other possible solutions could include aircraft like the F-5, with which Austria “Our criteria is: Can you put a gun on it? Also, it’s a ‘must’ to have an alternative aircraft if the Typhoons are grounded for some reason with the equivalent look and feel of a Typhoon, but cheaper.” —Col. Roman Horak, of the Ministry of Defense’s training directorate Swedish Coast Guard Dash 8 Q300 on Static Display The first of three for the Swedes. First Flight of “Pre-Series” M-346 Alenia Aermacchi’s M-346 advanced trainer has flown for the first time in what the manufacturer describes as an “industrial pre-series configuration.” This aircraft, identified as LRIP00, is lighter than the two M-346 prototypes, can carry additional fuel, has improved pilot visibility and is furnished with an electronic checklist. These improvements make the M-346 “even more representative of a fifth-generation aircraft,” according to Alenia Aermacchi chief test pilot Olinto Cecconello, who captained the first flight at the company’s Venegono facility on July 7. Now in baseline configuration, the M-346 can enter the production phase. Interested buyers include the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and the Italian air force. A pair of pre-series M-346s are expected to participate in the Farnborough Air Show; they will be displayed in the static area of the Finmeccanica Olinto Cecconello at the controls. Pavillion (OE1/2). 34 The first of three Swedish Coast Guard Dash 8 Q300 maritime surveillance aircraft completed by Toronto-based Field Aviation is on static display here in the Bombardier area. Field is teamed with airframe manufacturer and sensor system supplier L-3 Communications on the $80 million order. The sensor package on the aircraft includes surveillance radar, forward-looking infrared, side-looking radar, infrared ultraviolet line scanning and other systems for environmental monitoring. All the sensors tie into the L-3 mission management system. The Dash 8s will also provide search and rescue capability. The aircraft are fitted with extended-range fuel tanks providing eight hours of endurance. The Icelandic Coast Guard placed a nearly identical order for maritime patrol Dash 8 aircraft earlier this year. Iceland is replacing aging Fokker F-27s in the maritime role that includes fisheries work and environmental monitoring. Other customers for Dash 8 maritime patrol aircraft include Surveillance Australia, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Japanese Coast Guard. Field’s order book now stands at 29 aircraft. July 15, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.