Warplanes: <b>December 11, 1999</b>

December 11, 1999

Concerned over the increasing age of its aircraft, the US Air Force has begun a series of studies into ways to keep them in service longer. The problem with age is not the calendar, but the condition of the airframe and electronics. Metal parts suffer from corrosion, cracking, and metal fatigue, all of which can be hard to detect without actually taking the aircraft apart. New technologies are being sought which would allow an aircraft to be inspected while still intact. Various theories including magnetic and electrical fields are being considered.--Stephen V Cole

Chile, unable to afford the new Gryphon fighters that the Air Force wanted, will buy refurbished planes of the previous generation, probably Mirage-2000s or F-16s.--Stephen V Cole

Alenia-Marconi has successfully conducted the second test of its Brimstone missile at the Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona. The air-launched anti-tank missile is designed to arm British Harrier, Tornado, and Typhoon aircraft.--Stephen V Cole

December 10; The UAE has ordered 14 Franco-German Ecureuil AS-350B light helicopters to use in training helicopter pilots.--Stephen V Cole

December 10; Kentron of South Africa has unveiled its new TORGOS air-to-surface stand-off missile at the Dubai Air Show. The Torgos missile has a range of 300km and a launch weight of 980kg. Powered by a turbojet, it cruises at Mach-0.6 but can be programmed to sprint at Mach-0.9 during critical parts of its flight path. It could be fitted with a high explosive warhead, a penetrating warhead, or submunitions (bomblets). Navigation is inertial, but the Torgos can check with GPS satellites to update its present location, and use this data to adjust its course and speed. It can be operated with automatic target selection or by a human controller via a datalink, resulting in an accuracy of 1-2 meters. Torgos could be carried by a wide variety of aircraft (Hawk, Gryphon, F-16, Mirage-2000), or it could be mounted on trucks, fixed ground launchers, or relatively small warships. --Stephen V Cole