TACAIR TIGER ON THE ROAD
Former Royal Jordanian Air
Force (RJAF) F-5E Tiger II
N697TA/74-1459, now operated
by Tactical Air Support (TacAir),
on a fuel stop at Mesa-GatewayAirport, Arizona, in June. TacAir
purchased 21 ex-RJAF F-5E/
Fs for use in the commercial
aggressor role.
Jeff StoermerARMY SEEKS NEW ARMED SCOUT
THE US ARMY has once again
started to look for a new armed
scout helicopter. It issued a draft
solicitation for the future attack
reconnaissance aircraft competitive
prototype (FARA CP) program on
June 22, and says it hopes to have
prototypes for a new helicopter
ying by 2023.
Although the army is planning to
develop new medium-lift and long-
range attack helicopters as part of
its family of future vertical lift —
medium (FVL-M) types, the service
recently decided to pursue the
armed reconnaissance helicopter
replacement to t into the light
(FVL-L) aircraft category. It would ll
the gap left by the OH-58D Kiowa
Warrior that was retired in 2016.
FARA CP is the army’s latest
attempt to eld a new armed scout
helicopter. It previously canceled
the Sikorsky-Boeing RAH-66A
Comanche in 2004, the Bell ARH-
in 2008 and the armed aerial scout
program in 2013. Since retiring
the OH-58D the scout mission has
been carried out by AH-64s teamed
with Textron RQ-7B Shadow
unmanned aircraft.
According to the solicitation,
since retiring the Kiowa Warrior, the
army ‘lacks the ability to conduct
armed reconnaissance, light
attack, and security with improved
stand-o and lethal and non-lethal
capabilities with a platform sized
to hide in radar clutter and for the
urban canyons of mega cities.’
The new helicopter is envisioned
as an optionally manned,
next-generation rotorcraft withattributes of ‘ultra-reliable design
and extended maintenance-free
periods, and advanced teaming and
autonomous capabilities.’ It would
be ‘the ‘knife- ghter’ of future army
aviation capabilities.’
The army plans to fund a rapid
prototyping and test e ort that will
‘support a decision to enter into a
formal program of record for EMD
[engineering and manufacturing
development] through production
as a rapid acquisition’. It intends to
award four to six preliminary design
development contracts for the
program around June 2019. Two
companies/teams could be selected
to produce prototypes in mid-to-
late scal 2020, under the detailed
design, build, and test phase. The
prototypes would y in early scal
2023 and developmental ground
and ight-testing would be carried
out by government and industry
ight test personnel. A y-o will
be conducted in an ‘operationally
relevant environment’ in late 2023.
Development and production
could follow when the project
transitions to a program of record in
scal 2024.
Sikorsky already plans to o er its
S-97 in response to the project while
AVX Aircraft, Bell, Boeing and Karem
Aircraft are studying concepts.
The army expects to release the
nal version of the solicitation this
September, and design proposals
will be due in December. US Army
Contracting Command held an
industry day for the FARA CP
program at the Redstone Arsenal in
Huntsville, Alabama, on June 28.NEW AIRCRAFT FOR GOLDEN KNIGHTS
THE US ARMY Parachute Team’s
Aviation Detachment took delivery
of a Bombardier DHC-8-
airliner that will replace one of the
team’s long-serving Fokker C-31As
(F27-400Ms) on May 29. The new
aircraft, assigned the non-standard
mission design series designation
C-147A, was purchased fromthe Sierra Nevada Corporation
(SNC) and remains on the civil
registry as N171AV (c/n 315). The
second C-31A will be replaced by
another Dash 8. The Gold Team
conducted its rst jumps from the
new platform at Fort Bragg, North
Carolina, in mid-June.TALON UPGRADES CONTINUE
WORK TO UPGRADE the USAF’s
T-38C Talon trainer eet continues
at Joint Base San Antonio-
Randolph, Texas, where the 575th
Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
(AMXS) is carrying out Pacer Classic
III modi cations on the aircraft. The
work allows the Talons to y for up
to 20,000 hours and to remain in
service until 2029.
Tasked with conducting
depot-level maintenance on the
Talon, the 575th AMXS is the only
geographically separated unit of
the Ogden Air Logistics Complex at
Hill AFB, Utah, and the only stand-
alone squadron within Air Force
Materiel Command.
The T-38 depot maintenance
team has been carrying out the
modi cations since 2015 and has
completed them on 40 aircraftthus far. The modi cation package
is the most extensive ever to have
been conducted on the Talon
and requires approximately 9,
hours to nish. The unit is currently
completing the aircraft in 240 days.
It replaces 185 separate primary
structures including longerons,
bulkheads, skins and other
parts, and assembles, inspects
and assesses 155 additional
components. The squadron
reached its full-rate production
goal of completing modi cations
on 18 aircraft per year in 2017. At
present it is completing an aircraft
every 23 days on average.
The rst T-38 to receive the
upgrades was delivered in July- The air force plans to equip
150 T-38Cs with the Pacer Classic III
mods by 2021.
AC-130J HIGH-ENERGY LASER TEST PLANNED
US SPECIAL OPERATIONS
Command plans to conduct an
operational ight demonstration
of a high-energy laser installed
on an AC-130J in late-Fiscal 2022.
In preparation for that e ort, theUSAF is in the process of purchasing
sub-system components, and
assembling and testing structures
that will isolate aircraft vibrations.
It will test an optical window on
an AC-130J.
C-147A serial 15-01609 is the fi rst of two DHC-8-300-series aircraft that
will be operated by the Golden Knights team as C-147As. US ArmyT-38C serial 64-13286 at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph on April 18. The
Talon had recently received the Pacer Classic III modifi cations and had not
yet been repainted. USAF/Alex R. LloydUNITED STATES [NEWS]
http://www.combataircraft.net // September 2018 09
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