Douglas Barrie/LONDON
THE 1992 AND 1994 FARNBOROUGH air shows passed without the Eurofighter EF2000 making an appearance. The 1996 show will have not one, but three EF2000s on show, along with the full-scale mock-up, which has become familiar to visitors at previous shows.
This year's Farnborough show, ought to belong to the four nations participating in the Eurofighter programme, (Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK), although German celebration might be tempered by the memory of its politicians pushing the project to the brink of a budgetary abyss in 1992, and of the country's continuing funding difficulties.
The Eurofighter consortium (E2) is expected to bring to Farnborough three out of four development aircraft (DA) - DA1, DA2, DA3 and DA6. An appearance by DA6, which has been assembled by Spain's CASA and will be the first two-seat version to be flown, depends on an initial flight just before the show.
The Eurofighter partners will be aiming to generate a "feel-good" factor about the programme in political and military circles, while proving to the tax-paying public that genuine flying hardware exists. The flying-display aircraft, either DA1 or DA2, will be powered by TurboUnion RB199s, rather than Eurojet EJ200s, which offer an extra 25% of power. The flight envelope has yet to be fully opened, but British Aerospace is confident that John Turner, BAe's EF2000 test pilot, will be able to show many of the aircraft's handling characteristics.
In political terms, the focus of interest will be on the latest bout of budgetary strife in Germany, and on when the production-investment go-ahead will be given. The aim is to clear that hurdle by the end of 1996, along with the release of the required funding. Any further delays to this would be poorly received, particularly by the Royal Air Force and the Italian air force, as both services have a pressing need for new air-superiority fighters.
RUSSIAN PRESENCE
After the breathtaking flying display of the Rockwell/Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA) X-31 at the 1995 Paris air show, Sukhoi (3/F6) boss Mikhail Simonov is claiming that a thrust-vectoring Su-27M will fly at Farnborough. His claim may have substance, because a fully equipped thrust-vectoring Su-27M has already been seen at Zhukovsky, near Moscow.
Test flights of an Su-27M fitted with thrust-vectoring nozzles (aircraft number 711) have been carried out since the second quarter of this year from the flight-test research centre at Zhukovsky. Initially, it was claimed that the aircraft was fitted with three-dimensional thrust-vectoring nozzles operating in both the pitch and yaw planes. Lateral movement of the nozzles, however, could cause considerable damage to the aircraft's tail sting. Engine manufacturer Lyulka cleared up the confusion when it made it clear that the nozzle fitted operates in pitch only, deflecting to around ±20¡.
Russian sources claim that the aircraft has already been flown to test nozzle movement, with several traditional manoeuvres being executed with the benefit of thrust vectoring. The aircraft is fitted with derivatives of the Lyulka Saturn AL-31F engine, the Al-37FU. Simonov also appears to have christened the thrust-vectoring Su-27M the Su-37, but the longevity of this numerical identifier remains in question.
Should the aircraft turn up it will cause a stir (and, if it is flown, an even bigger stir). Sukhoi has usually brought a couple of testbed Su-27Ms to air shows, but aircraft 711 is described as being the closest to an operational configuration. As well as thrust-vectoring engines, it is claimed to be fitted with a glass cockpit and digital flight-control system. A sidestick controller may also be in evidence.
Sukhoi is also scheduled to bring a Su-30MK to the show. Interest in this aircraft has been rekindled with Russia's apparent success in selling the two-seat, multi-role derivative of the Flanker to India.
The show aircraft will not have canards, although an Su-30MK with this modification is now being built. There is speculation that this modification is aimed specifically at India, with suggestions that the customer may already be funding development.
Russia's other fighter house, VPK MAPO, is hoping to bring at least a Mikoyan MiG-29M Fulcrum. There is, however, no sign that it will bring the MiG-31M Foxhound B, or provide any material on its fifth-generation fighter programme, the Object 1.42. There is increasing scepticism that either of these two aircraft will ever enter service with either the air force or the air-defence forces.
REMAINING EUROPEANS
The worst of the political and technical tribulations of the Eurofighter project now appear to be behind it, but Europe's other fixed-wing collaborative programme, the Future Large Aircraft (FLA), remains endangered. Its future, or lack of, will be an issue at Farnborough.
In 1994, British Aerospace (E1) built a full-scale mock-up of the FLA at the show as part of its campaign to wrench an RAF transport aircraft requirement from the clutches of Lockheed Martin. BAe was fighting a losing battle, as the UK Ministry of Defence seemed unlikely to decide against the Lockheed Martin (E5) C-130J, but BAe did succeed in keeping the door open for the FLA to meet a future RAF requirement. This door, however, appears to have been closed by the French Government.
The coup de grace for the FLA seemed to have been delivered when the French Government announced that it would not be funding the development phase of the programme, and that industry would have to do so out of its own pocket. This left the project teetering on the brink of collapse, and there are those who consider that the FLA is already moribund.
Aerospatiale (1/C10/4) and BAe will be trying to bolster what remaining support there is for the FLA, while also trying to fend off overtures from the USA. Lockheed Martin is starting to consider a replacement for the C-141, hoping that countries such as France and the UK can be persuaded to drop the FLA in favour of a transatlantic collaborative programme.
There are those within the senior echelons of the RAF who find this concept appealing. The C-130J can meet its tactical-transport requirements, but the FLA will not replace its Vickers VC10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStars in the tanker and "strategic" transport roles.
Joint appeal
While it will be present in no more than model form on the BAe, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, McDonnell Douglas and Northrop Grumman stands, the US Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) project will also command the attention of visitors.
The US Department of Defense (DoD) (2/A33) will select two teams for the JSF concept-demonstrator phase in November. With a projected production run of more than 3,000 aircraft, the outcome of the JSF competition will shape the future industrial make-up of combat-aircraft manufacturers in the USA.
The Royal Navy is a subscriber to the JSF programme, along with the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The advanced short-take-off/vertical-landing variant of the design has been pencilled in to succeed the BAe Sea Harrier F/A2 in Fleet Air Arm service.
One of the more intriguing areas of speculation at the show will be on the eventual make-up of the DoD's shortlist and the certain scramble of the omitted company, or companies, to squeeze into the teams of those selected.
NO MIRAGE
While the US military presence at Farnborough is strong, the French contingent led by Dassault (1/C9) is depleted. This will be the first Farnborough show for some time where there will be no Mirage 2000. The only French military aircraft on show will be the naval variant of the Rafale, the M01. Dassault points to the expense of bringing aircraft as the reason for its limited contribution.
Along with the EF2000, BAe will highlight its tie-up with Saab (1/A7) on the JAS39 export variant, sometimes referred to as the JAS39X. BAe and Saab are pushing the Gripen as an alternative to the Lockheed Martin F-16 in several Central European states, which seek to replace their Soviet-era combat aircraft. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania are interested in Western combat aircraft. The issue is whether suitable "funding" deals can be arranged to see procurements through.
Other future procurements on the minds of combat-aircraft manufacturers include the United Arab Emirates' long-running strike-aircraft requirement and the Saudi air force's on/off replacement for its Northrop F-5s. Norway is seeking to replace its F-5s, and its KFA-96 project will attract attention.
BAe may show several design concepts, which have emerged from the pre-feasibility study into the replacement of RAF's Panavia Tornado GR4 strike aircraft, the Future Offensive Aircraft. An in-service date of 2015 is envisaged. A full-scale technology-demonstrator programme may be launched after the turn of the century, if the RAF does not select the JSF.
European manufacturers will once again be reminded of how far they lag behind their US counterparts in rationalising their industry. Boeing's acquisition of Rockwell's defence interests once again flags up the speed at which the US aerospace sector is consolidating.
While similar consolidation in the European sector is probable, the pace threatens to be slow. The danger for European manufacturers is that, while they wade through bureaucracy and try to overcome outdated visions of national strategic interests, the US manufacturers will permeate the international marketplace even further.
Source: Flight International
