AF A 1996 NATIONAL CONVENTION Technology Exposition

By Peter Grier

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I F ONE adjective could describe the ff p military advances on display at Sta AFA' s Aerospace Technology Ex- position held September 16-18 in Washington, D. C., it would be "full- spectrum." This year's exhibitions covered a broad array of defense technologies and concepts, from Joint Strike Fighter mockups and casings to laser tracking systems, militarized laptop computers, and desktop simulators with amazing graphics. visitors who thronged the exhibit hall found advanced en- gines for unmanned aerial vehicles Dozens of nations send representatives to AFA's Aerospace Technology and new electronic warfare systems, Exposition. Here, air attaches Maj. Gen. Miguel Angel Medina (left) of the computer security booths and ejec- Peruvian Air Force and Lt. Gen. Ruben Gustavo Zini of the tion seats. One firm touted its rocket examine a print of a Keith Ferris painting of an F-22. engine recycling capabilities.

Strike Fighter Exhibitors were eager to discuss their chances in the last big airframe cording to one JSF team leader, work well together," he added, as program of the century—the Joint . they know a joint program is the Strike Fighter (JSF). The Lockheed Martin presentation only way a new tactical can In a number of exhibit booths, noted that the company faces a formi- be made affordable. booming rock music combined with dable task in adapting one airframe to is another team leader in slide shows depicting Third World requirements of the US Air Force, pursuit of the JSF program. Its modu- conflicts and other potential threats Navy, and Marine Corps as well as lar design for the new fighter has a served as a backdrop for the presen- Britain's . The Navy and common forebody and a common tations of competing contractor teams. Air Force use different jet fuels, for aftbody and tail, with a single-piece With the US Air Force planning to instance, and their existing AIM-9 structure and a fuselage tailored purchase more than 2,000 JSF air- are not interchangeable. for such individual needs as greater craft (and other US and foreign mili- "Commonality numbers range any- durability for carrier deck landings. tary services preparing to buy hun- where from seventy-five to ninety- According to Boeing representa- dreds more), the program seems five percent" of the total system, tives, the performance characteris- certain to determine the shape and said David Wheaton, vice president tics of their Joint Strike Fighter will composition of the and program manager for Lockheed include a combat radius thirty per- industry for the next fifty years, ac- Martin. "I'm seeing all the services cent greater than that of current US

AIR FORCE Magazine / November 1996 79 strike fighters, plus significantly yet what we're going to do with this," technology intended to support the greater acceleration and agility. he said. modern digital battlefield. Another team vying for the Joint Strike Fighter award is composed of Spacebased Eyes New Airlifters McDonnell Douglas, Northrop Grum- Technology for spacebased eyes A large part of the McDonnell man, and . These that will likely be necessary to deal Douglas exhibit was devoted to the firms are pushing their unique-look- with the ballistic missile threat was C-17. As Secretary of the Air Force ing design as the JSF variant backed also on display at the 1996 exhibit. Sheila E. Widnall noted in her speech by the most prior fighter experience. Material available at the Air Force to AFA' s Convention, the C-17' s Among them, team members have Spacebased Infrared System Program outlook has changed quite a bit over developed the US Navy' s F-14 Tom- Office display maintained that the the last year. cat and F/A-18 Hornet, USAF' s F- SBIR system will be the necessary Twelve months ago, the airlifter's 15 Eagle, and the multinational Tor- follow-on to today's Defense Sup- political future was cloudy because of nado. port Program surveillance satellites. cost and development problems. To- McDonnell Douglas pointed out Plans call for an evolutionary transi- day its future is bright, thanks to tech- that, as the builder of the venerable tion away from DSP, with new ground nical improvements and an Air Force F-4 Phantom II fighter, it is the only equipment in place by 1999 and de- order for a full 120-aircraft fleet. contractor ever to have manufactured livery of SBIR system satellites be- The importance of airlift will only a fighter airframe used by the Air ginning in 2002. increase in coming years, as perma- Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. The TRW's exhibit, meanwhile, pro- nently forward-deployed forces con- Phantom also has been the mainstay moted the low-level component of tinue to dwindle. McDonnell Doug- of numerous foreign air forces. the SBIR system architecture, the las officials made use of this fact by Space and Missile Tracking System. promoting the C-17' s applicability Airborne Laser SMTS satellites would operate in to real-life deployment problems. Lasers—specifically, the Airborne low-Earth orbit, providing continu- They said it takes sixty-five mis- Laser program—were another highly ous observation of ballistic missiles sions and more than six days to trans- visible item at this year's exhibition. from boost phase to atmospheric re- port a fighter squadron' s support With the ABL contract set to be entry. Current plans call for an SMTS equipment and munitions from Eu- awarded in mid-November, jockey- satellite constellation comprising rope to the Middle East via C-130. ing between Boeing' s team and a twelve to twenty-four spacecraft. C- 17s, on the other hand, could move Rockwell-led effort seemed intense. the same load in seventeen missions Rockwell's ABL display included spanning little more than two days. graphics depicting a mock theater The Boeing booth featured a large Over at the Lockheed Martin area, missile engagement, complete with number of unmanned aerial vehicle however, the company was heavily a deep, repeating boom signifying a (UAV) programs. Boeing supplies the promoting its new C-130J airlifter. booster kill. data-exploitation, mission-planning, The firm said that major system en- "This will revolutionize air war- and communications ground element hancements will dramatically reduce fare," insisted Brent Brentnall, Rock- for the Predator, a medium-altitude the ownership cost of the J model well ABL business development man- UAV that already has seen service Hercules. Manpower costs will drop ager. "When I was in the Air Force, over Bosnia-Hercegovina. With Lock- by about forty percent and mainte- you engaged at a half-mile distance heed Martin, it is developing Dark- nance man-hours by about fifty per- with a .50-caliber machine gun. Now, Star, an advanced, stealthy UAV that cent, compared with previous models. you may engage at hundreds of miles will allow theater commanders to with a beam of light." stare at battlefields for an extended Battle - Tested Boeing touted its union with TRW period. Lockheed Martin also called at- and Lockheed Martin on an Airborne Earlier this year, the DarkStar pro- tention to F-16 operations over the Laser team. Twenty years of techni- gram suffered a setback when a pro- Balkans. In May 1995, an F-16 from cal advances have made such a weap- totype crashed on takeoff on what the 555th Fighter Squadron, 31st on possible, the firm said. was to be a test flight. However, "we Fighter Wing, became the first Fight- For instance, recent guidance and pretty much understand what hap- ing Falcon to drop a laser-guided control tests have shown conclusively pened," said Boeing's Alex Henschel. bomb in combat. This past September, that it is possible to focus and point a "You're going to end up with a better an F-16 from the 23d Fighter Squad- laser at a missile hundreds of miles vehicle because of the experience." ron, 52d Fighter Wing, achieved a away, despite the bouncing of aircraft Raytheon E-Systems, meanwhile, similar combat first for the aircraft and turbulence of air. All that's needed promoted a wide range of electronic when it fired an AGM-88 High-Speed now is to demonstrate the feasibility communications and intelligence Antiradiation Missile to suppress an of integrating known technology into equipment. E-Systems makes the adversary's air defense in Iraq. a single package capable of downing Common Ground Segment equip- Other firms drew on today's head- theater ballistic missiles in boost phase, ment that permits communication lines in support of their products. claimed ABL officials. with and control of DarkStar and With the US attack on Iraq still fresh Theater missile defense will be Global Hawk UAVs; other products in the minds of visitors, Northrop only the first airborne use of laser include the Commanders' Tactical provided extensive data weapon technology, Mr. Brentnall Terminal, the Next-Generation Ra- detailing how its premier airframe— predicted. "I don't think we know dio, and a variety of information the B-2 bomber—could be used to

80 AIR FORCE Magazine / November 1996 Company officials pointed out that the AMRAAM is now a combat- G proven weapon, having scored two by to victories over Iraq and one over ho f p f Bosnia. Production models of the

Sta beyond-visual-range missile are ex- ceeding the goal of 1,500 hours mean time between failures. An AMRAAM follow-on, the Future Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (FMRAAM), is un- der development by Hughes's UK sub- sidiary for use by the Eurofighter 2000. The AIM-9X will be USAF' s next- generation short-range infrared weap- on. Seeker and airframe performance will be greatly enhanced over previ- ous AIM-9 Sidewinders, says Hughes. The new missile must acquire a head-on target maneuvering at high G and then reach the target swiftly. Two teams were competing for the Airborne Laser contract. Boeing, whose Current Sidewinder performance may mockup is shown here, is joined by TRW and Lockheed Martin, and Rockwell not be good enough to guarantee is teamed with Hughes, Raytheon, E-Systems, Lockheed Martin, and SVS. victory in close-in combat. British Aerospace is offering an upgraded attack regional adversaries, such as One new focus, according to Nor- Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Iraq, with conventional weapons. throp, is a system-of-systems ap- Missile as the AIM-9X solution. One officials point- proach that would link the E-8 Joint of ASRAAM's highest-value com- ed out that the B-2' s main conven- STARS, the E-3 Airborne Warning ponents, the seeker, is a Hughes prod- tional warheads, 2,000-pound preci- and Control System, RC-135 Rivet uct—designed, developed, and pro- sion guided weapons, cost about Joint, and other surveillance plat- duced in the US, points out BAe. $18,000 apiece. An air-launched forms to such precision strike plat- Raytheon offered its own AIM- cruise missile, in contrast, costs about forms as the B-2. 9X mockup, complete with a "rotate $1 million—and it only carries a With precision strike becoming an to view" seeker head, which com- 1,000-pound warhead. Thus, a B-2 increasingly important part of USAF pany officials called a breakthrough (which can carry up to sixteen of strategy, a number of firms displayed in seeker technology. these weapons) on a deep-strike mis- developmental precision guided mu- sion would deliver a load of weap- nitions. Lockheed Martin Electron- Niche Products ons that cost only $288,000. An ics showed its Wind-Corrected Mu- Computers are everywhere at de- equivalent cruise missile strike would nition Dispenser, an inexpensive kit fense expositions. One of the more cost $32 million. The difference is intended to turn existing, general- unusual computer packages offered large enough that each B-2 could purpose cluster bombs into PGMs. came from GTE: its Virtual Office/ pay for itself via munitions savings High commonality with the Joint Communications System. The VO/ in just twenty missions, according to Direct Attack Munition will help CS is a military office in a box—a Northrop Grumman calculations. reduce the number of parts in the 120 MHz+ color laptop, color inkjet Furthermore, noted company offi- WCMD kit and keep costs down, printer, high-resolution scanner, and cials, the B-2 with a single refueling claimed Lockheed Martin. CMS De- secure voice and fax communication can reach any target on Earth from fense Systems promoted its Autono- interface mounted in a watertight one of three secure bases: Guam, Di- mous Freeflight Dispenser System, plastic case. Options include a color ego Garcia, or Whiteman AFB, Mo. a boxy glider that can dispense a digital camera. The conclusion is, according to the number of different kinds of sub- Environmental products are also company: "B-2s are a cost-effective munitions as it steers itself toward a becoming a larger presence in aero- way to maintain US military power." target area. space technology. Thiokol reported that it provided the best value in Awareness and Precision Air Combat Weapons solid rocket motor demilitarization, Surveillance and target acquisi- Numerous full-size missile mock- using the slogan, "Over Twenty Mil- tion systems also were a critical fea- ups were also on display. Hughes lion Pounds of Propellent Processed." ture of the Northrop Grumman ex- featured the AIM-120 Advanced Peacekeepers, Titan IVs, and Min- hibit. The firm is the prime integrator Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile utemen are among the rockets Thio- for the E-8C Joint Surveillance and and AIM-9X. kol has recycled. • Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) aircraft, which was finally Peter Grier, the Washington bureau chief of the Christian Science Monitor, is approved for production this fall af- a longtime defense correspondent and regular contributor to Air Force ter years of arduous development Magazine. His most recent article, "The Arena of Space," appeared in the testing, including combat service. September 1996 issue. AIR FORCE Magazine / November 1996 81 Aerospace Exhibitors in Review Companies represented at the AFA Aerospace Technology Exposition

Aerojet Technological advances in defense and meteorological sensors Aerospatiale, Inc. Cougar/Horizon complement to Joint STARS, command-and- Amecom Division EW systems, telecommunications, and space systems control and simulation technology, EFTA, Hale UAV developments, and Scramjet Data Systems Battlespace Awareness/BMC3, Modern Tracking System, interactive technology training and interactive electronic technical manuals, Handheld Terminal Unit, and Air Force Quality Institute An organization focused on assisting commanders in automated decision support and Operator Systems Interface IRAD initiatives reforming the culture of the Air Force and planning for the future Guidance and Control Systems Division Inertial platforms and inertial measure- Air Force Times An independent weekly newspaper published by Army Times ment systems for all military vehicles and weapons Publishing Co. Litton PRC Open systems computer solutions from the Super-Minicomputer Program Air Weather Service Weather-observing data display systems that directly support Lockheed Martin Tactical and transport aircraft, launch vehicles, satellite systems, combat forces electronics, and munitions Alliant Techsystems Inc. WCMD, EELV, CMBRE, Titan IV, Delta AIM-9X, Lucas Aerospace Flight-control systems, electric power generation and manage- AMRAAM, medium-caliber ammunition, MMPT, VFDR, advanced medium-range rocket ment, and cargo handling motors, quality and process control systems, AnyImage, and infrared flares Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd. Mk. US-16LA JPATS ejection seat and the Mk. 16A AlliedSignal Aerospace Designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services ejection seat for the JSF demonstrator hundreds of products found on many of the USAF aircraft in the fleet McDonnell Douglas Corp. C-17 Globemaster III, Delta launch vehicles, single-stage- Allison Transmission to-orbit technology, F-15, JASSM/JDAM, and aerospace training services Armed Forces Journal International Professional journal of military and industrial Messier-DoWty International Landing gear systems affairs MISS! Multilevel Information Systems Security Initiative Army and Air Force Mutual Aid Association A 117-year-old nonprofit service Nichols Research Corp. Command-and-control systems and sensor processing organization established to provide aid to members and their families systems Atlantic Research Corp., Aerospace Division Propulsion systems for a range of Northrop Grumman Corp. Advanced battle management, surveillance, precision uses in commercial, space, and military projects strike, and information warfare Axiam, Jnc. Smart Stack System for aircraft and industrial gas turbine manufacturing OSC Fairchild Defense Advanced digital electronics and avionics systems and overhaul industries Palomar Products, Inc. Image displays and intercommunication systems Fourteen-inch flat-panel display and ten-inch rugged flat-panel Barco Chromatics Pentagon Federal Credit Union Credit union serving Army, Air Force, and civilian display DoD personnel Defense systems underscoring commitment to maintaining Boeing Company, The Rafael Armament Development Authority AGM-142 precision guided air-to-ground US dominance of the battlespace of the twenty-first century missile system, LITENING airborne targeting/navigation pod, and fourth-generation Bombardier Business Aircraft Division Learjet 31A, Learjet 45, Learjet 60, Canadair air-to-air missile Challenger 604, Canadair Special Edition, and Bombardier's new Global Express Raytheon Co. Commercial and defense electronics, engineering and construction, Booz-Allen & Hamilton Inc. System-of-systems engineering projects to support Air aviation, and major appliances Force efforts in the battle management/C 41 and modeling and simulation disciplines Recon/Optical, Inc. Reconnaissance, surveillance and ground processing capabili- British Aerospace ASRAAM, JSF, TERPROM, Eurofighter 2000, Typhoon, other ties, which flew in support of the Bosnian peacekeeping mission guided missiles, Gripen (JAS 39), and other collaborative programs Reflectone, Inc. Simulators and training systems for domestic and international Calspan SAL Corp. Unique technical facilities and high-technology services, sys- military forces, civil aviation, and entertainment industries tems, and products Rockwell International Corp. CelsiusTech Electronics Airborne Laser Team Acquisition, tracking, and destruction of hostile missiles in a CMS Defense Systems, Inc. Autonomous Freeflight Dispenser System—a multipur- combat scenario pose, day or night, all-weather glide weapon, with modern GPS/1NS guidance, Autonetics and Missile Systems Division Low-cost guidance, navigation, and accommodating a variety of submunitions control systems and an air-to-ground precision guided standoff weapon system Cubic Defense Systems, Inc. Defense electronic products including GPS-based Air Collins Avionics and Communications Division Advanced navigation and com- Combat Training Range and other advanced-technology devices munication systems Cockpit and avionics systems DAC International, Inc. North American Aircraft Division Conventional Mission Upgrade Program for the Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG (DASA) Design, manufacture, and support of military B-1B Lancer bomber and training aircraft North American Aircraft Modification Division Capabilities in all areas of aircraft Dowty Aerospace C-1 30J composite propeller and T-1A hydraulic valve and reservoir modernization packages Rocketdyne Division Space power and propulsion systems DRS Space Systems Division Global Positioning System satellites and Groundbased DRS Military Systems Air-, land-, and seabased electronics sensor and Interceptor display imaging systems for military and industrial applications Rolls-Royce North America Engine supplier to USAF DRS Photronics Corp. Has met the Triservice Boresighting Requirement for the Air Sargent Fletcher Inc. LITE targeting and navigation pod Force, Navy, and Army Silicon Graphics, Inc. High-performance visual computing systems DRS Precision Echo, Inc. High-density recording and playback systems for military Smiths Industries Aerospace and government platforms, industrial applications, and commercial markets Advanced avionics system solutions for flight-manage- ment systems ECC International Corp. Technology-based training devices in support of modern Telecommunications products and services for the DoD and intelligence weapon systems and technologies communities EFW Inc. Airborne and ground systems TEAC America, Inc. Military-quality airborne video recorders for the military and space GE Aircraft Engines Affordable engine solutions for the JSF and axisymmetric communities Vectoring Exhaust Nozzle Teledyne Tier II Plus Global Hawk program, a high-altitude General Atomics High-technology research and development, taking concepts from endurance unmanned aerial reconnaissance system prototype through full-scale development Texas Instruments Inc. Defense systems General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. State-of-the-art UAVs Textron Systems Division Sensor-fuzed munition systems BFGoodrich Aerospace Avionics, fuel, landing gear, lighting gear, and lighting and Thiokol Corp. Solid propulsion systems, ordnance, composite products, high-perfor- safety systems for the global aerospace community mance proprietary fasteners, and installation systems GTE Digital Imagery Exploitation and Production, Data Fusion, and Virtual Office/ Titan Linkabit Engineering, communications equipment, and defense electronic Communications Systems systems for the US government and allied users Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. Todd Enterprises, Inc. CD-ROM drive array systems for LAN/WAN environments, Hughes Data Systems Commercial off-the-shelf personal computers, workstations, including Internet and Intranet and servers TRW Inc. Spacebased surveillance space communications, ICBM systems, laser Hughes Electronics Corp. Airborne Laser, Spacebased Infrared system, EPLRS- missile defense, and Lightsats SADL, JSF, Tier II, situational awareness, APG-63 (V) 1 airborne radar, advanced air- to-air short- and medium-range missiles (AIM-9X, AMRAAM, ASRAAM), UHF satellite United Technologies Corp. communications, and GPS receiver Pratt & Whitney PT6 engine Hughes Aircraft Co. Pratt & Whitney, Government Engines and Space Propulsion engines Hughes Defense Communications and the Pitch Yaw Balanced Beam Nozzle Pratt & Whitney USBI Deployable Wing system Hughes Electro-Optical Systems Hughes Missile Systems Co. USAA Auto, property, life, and health insurance; investments; and banking, travel, and merchandise services Hughes Radar & Communications Systems USAF Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis Modeling, simulation, and analysis Hughes Space & Communications Co. technologies used to support US warfighters and peacekeepers Jane's Information Group Defense, aerospace, and transportation information W&W Logistics Purchasing and materials manager for Fortune 500 corporations, LandSea Systems, Inc. TT-3024A Aeronautical L-Band satellite communication allied governments, and DoD agencies system Wright Tool Co. Industrial tools for all branches of the armed forces

82 AIR FORCE Magazine / November 1996