Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA
An Australian Defence Force plan to develop a common family of electronic warfare (EW) self-protection systems for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft has taken a surprise turn, with four shortlisted consortia to perform funded design studies.
The Australian Department of Defence says that study contracts worth an estimated A$7.8 million ($5.1 million) each will be negotiated with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon Systems and Tenix Defence Systems.
The project, designated "Echidna", had been expected to reduce the field of contenders to a maximum of three by July this year. No explanation has been given for the decision to keep the competition open.
The project aims to develop a common set of EW modules for carriage by Royal Australian Air Force General Dynamics F-111 bombers and Lockheed Martin C-130 transports and, possibly, the maritime patrol Lockheed Martin AP-3C and British Aerospace Hawk lead-in fighter. Australian Army Sikorsky S-70A-9 Black Hawk and Boeing CH-47D Chinook helicopters will be fitted with the common suite, as will the Royal Australian Navy's GKN Westland Sea Kings.
A restricted request for tenders was issued on 11 December last year to Marconi Electronic Systems, a joint Elta and Elisra team, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and Tenix.
Elta and Elisra have since merged their bid with that of Raytheon, while Marconi Electronic Systems and Northrop Grumman have combined their offers. Lockheed Martin is teamed with Boeing Australia. Tenix, the only Australian prime contractor, is teamed with ITT Avionics and TRW.
Under the funded design contracts, the four bidders will undertake detailed concept and development work over 14 months, with source selection planned for mid-2001.
The project seeks to have at least six S-70A-9s fitted with common suite modules by mid-2003.
Source: Flight International
