Paul Lewis/ZHUHAI
GEC-Marconi is facing difficulty in obtaining the design specifications from Ilyushin needed to modify its Il-76 transport to take the Argus 2000 airborne early-warning (AEW) sys- tem, now being offered to China.
There has been some "foot-dragging" on the part of the Russians to supply GEC-Marconi with the necessary drawings, say industry sources. As a result, the company has suggested that China by-pass Ilyushin and loan one of its own Il-76s to a UK airframe specialist, such as Marshall Aerospace, to engineer the AEW modification.
China, however, is unwilling to accept this approach and is instead insisting on the work being performed locally. Defence officials suggest that this will almost certainly add more cost to the programme and further delay the AEW aircraft's entry into Chinese air force service.
GEC-Marconi's Argus system, which is based on the Royal Air Force's former Nimrod AEW programme, involves extensive modifications to the Il-76's forward and aft fuselage and interior structure to accommodate two radar antennas and operating consoles. GEC-Marconi efforts have so far been limited to a demonstration mock-up in the UK.
Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) has faced similar difficulties with its own competing proposal to fit China's Il-76s with the Elta Phalcon phased-array AEW system. Russia's own A-50 AEW system was not short-listed.
The IAI solution is understood to involve fitting the Il-76 with a dorsal-mounted triangular array, providing 360¹ of electronically scanned cover. According to an IAI official, the Il-76's high-wing design does not lend itself easily to the installation of fuselage-mounted side panels, such as on the Boeing 707, and instead requires a more "exotic configuration".
The Israeli company has already delivered to the Chilean air force a Phalcon system fitted to a Boeing 707. The single AEW aircraft has been used extensively to demonstrate the Phalcon's capability and other air forces, including those of China and South Korea, are believed to have visited Chile to view the system.
See China '96 Show Report, P8.
GEC-Marconi's vision of an Il-76 AEW is being blurred by a lack of data
Source: Flight International
