Latest incarnation of the F-4.
Date Posted: 22-Apr-2004
JANE’S DEFENCE WEEKLY – APRIL 28, 2004
——————————————————————————–
Turkey offered further F-4E aircraft upgrade
LALE SARIIBRAHIMOGLU JDW Correspondent
Ankara
Additional reporting by Alon Ben-David JDW Correspondent
Tel Aviv
Israel Aircraft Industries’ (IAI’s) Lahav Division is offering to upgrade an additional 48 F-4E Phantom II multirole fighters in the Turkish Air Force Command (TAFC) inventory, according to Turkish and Israeli military sources in Ankara.
IAI has already upgraded 54 TAFC F-4Es to the Phantom 2000 configuration under an earlier agreement, signed in January 1997, financed under a $700 million Israeli state credit. These aircraft are equipped with AGM-142 Popeye medium-range air-to-ground missiles (AGMs). The first 26 F-4Es were upgraded in Israel and the remaining 28 were upgraded in Turkey at the 1st Air Supply and Maintenance Centre in Eskisehir, near Ankara.
The first modified Phantoms returned to TAFC service in January 2000. Since 1997, some seven Turkish F-4Es have crashed, some of which were reportedly the Israeli upgrades.
IAI has suggested the additional modernisation can be facilitated through an Israeli state credit. However, with a continuing economic crisis in Turkey, the Turkish General Staff (TGS) has faced funding restrictions on implementing its planned projects, while the Turkish Treasury has imposed severe restrictions on guaranteeing the repayment of foreign state credits.
“There is a willingness to assist the deal,” Israeli defence sources told JDW, adding that “negotiations are still at a very early stage”.
The Israeli offer will be examined carefully by the TAFC, which in principle, views the additional upgrade programme favourably, according to local defence industry sources.
Should the TAFC accept the offer, it would seek a more advanced upgrade for the second batch of aircraft, the sources indicated. The original Turkish F-4E Phantom 2000 programme comprised a structural upgrade (depot maintenance and structural life extension) and an avionics upgrade (see box).
In addition to the AGM-142 Popeye missiles, the modernised F-4Es can be armed with AGM-65 Maverick AGMs, AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, CBU-58B cluster bombs, laser-guided bombs, Mk 20 Rockeye bombs and Mk 84 bombs, as well as BLU-1B napalm bombs, according to the TAFC.
IAI is also near to completing the upgrade of Turkey’s 48 F-5A/B and NF-5A/B fighters as lead-in trainers for the F-16 multirole aircraft. Turkey hopes to gain design and implementation capability on avionics and aircraft structural systems modernisation under the programme.
F-4E Phantom 2000 programme avionics upgrade
* An IAI/Elta EL/M-2032 multimode radar;
* A central computer based on Elbit’s ACE-3 system;
* A 1553 multiplex databus;
* New cockpit multifunction displays and head-up display;
* Data recording on VTR and data transfer/recording on a digital transfer cartridge;
* An internal passive electronic-warfare suite and an external jamming pod;
* An integrated GPS/inertial navigation system;
* A radar altimeter;
* A stores-management system; and
* Communication and radio navigation systems adapted to customer requirements.
*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. It is being made available without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance their understanding of arms trade activities, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. I believe that this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Sign In
April 22, 2004 at 9:03 pm