Boeing is to equip the US Navy's T-45 Goshawk jet trainer with a synthetic radar system. The company plans to launch a competition by year-end to develop the virtual mission training system (VMTS), which will use a digital datalink network to exchange GPS positions between aircraft and drive a synthetic radar display.
The VMTS is planned to be operational by 2010, installed initially in T-45Cs that will replace Rockwell T-2s now used for navigator training at NAS Pensacola in Florida. The system will allow students to be introduced to the fundamentals of radar, weapon delivery and network-centric warfare, says Boeing.
Boeing is looking for an off-the-shelf VMTS that can be phased into the T-35 fleet, and is studying three different architectures for the airborne system, Atkinson says. Meanwhile, the US Navy plans to run a competition for the associated ground-based training system.
Synthetic radar is one of several upgrades planned to keep the carrier-capable T-45 in service to 2035. A hot-section reliability improvement programme is under way for the Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour engine, to extend time "on wing" from 2,000h to 4,000h, says Boeing.
With production for the US Navy scheduled to end in 2008, Boeing is talking to the Indian navy and has responded to an Israeli request for information on basic/advanced trainers. The Indian navy is still developing its requirements, the company says, but is expected to put its ex-Russian aircraft carrier into service in 2008. Meanwhile, the US Navy has been training Indian navy pilots since late last year.
Source: Flight International
