UAE 'keen on (P-3) early warning plane'

Gulf News,UAE ^ | 21/02/2007 | Ahmed A. Elewa, Staff Reporter

[sukhoi-30mki]

UAE 'keen on early warning plane'

By Ahmed A. Elewa, Staff Reporter

Abu Dhabi: The UAE is seeking to order several units of Lockheed Martin's P3 early warning aircraft, according to company officials.

"The UAE is absolutely interested in ordering P3s, but until a country is committed to a contract we cannot reveal anything," Robert S. Nasby, Middle East, Africa and Europe regional director told Gulf News yesterday.

With the Awacs out of production since 1991, other reliable alternatives are proving to be relatively expensive.

"The only early warning aircraft that is still in production in the US is the Northrop E2C, which is quite expensive," he said.

Lockheed Martin has produced about 400 of the P3, and the aircraft is still receiving strong demand.

"We have built 10 units of this aircraft for the US border and US Customs, and we are committed to maintaining this aircraft and its mission system for a decade to come," Nasby said.

On another front, Lockheed's Thaad (Terminal High Altitude Aerial Defence system), which has been in development since 2000, was awarded a production contract last December for the first two units worth $619 million by the Missile Defence Agency, to be delivered to the US army by 2009.

"For the Gulf region, the US army has already indicated that it would entertain Foreign Military Sales of Thaad, but this will not be possible until the system is installed first in the US army in 2009-10," said Shirley P. Gray-Lewis, Lockheed's Business Development Director.

"The system is ideal for the region as it defeats short, medium and many of the intermediate range systems, at high medium and high altitudes of the endo-atmosphere, and lower altitudes of the exo-atmosphere," Gray-Lewis said.

[FLOutdoorsman]

Is this the same P3 that should have been crashed into the ocean instead of being dissected by the Chinese?

[sukhoi-30mki]

Nope-That was the Ep-3 Aries,which was an ELINT aircraft.

[FLOutdoorsman]

Thanks

[68skylark]

This article doesn't make a lot of sense. I thought the P-3 is based on a 1950's passenger plane (the Electra), and it's hasn't been built for decades.

[sukhoi-30mki]

Lockheed does offer refurbished variants for sale to countries esp as a stopgap.

[68skylark]

I don't know what basis you have for saying the airplane in that incident "should have been crashed into the ocean instead of being dissected by the Chinese." I think the crew handled the situation well, given the situation -- and I don't think anyone can say they should have gone to their deaths instead.

[Parley Baer]

You are right. I wonder how many Electra's are still around? I imagine they could use the airframe to build what they need. The P3 and its variants are still in wide use.

[donmeaker]

Electronic warfare aircraft have declassification routines, that are practiced in case of events like that one.

[FLOutdoorsman]

We all make sacrifices in the military. The Pilot and crew decided to land the plane in Chinese controlled area, knowing full well that that Spy equipment would be studied and our valuable technology would get picked up on.

So, yes, I believe the pilot should have sacrificed his crews lives to control that information. In the long run, his decision may affect our spying capabilities all over the world due to the shared information between countries like China and N. Korea.

[68skylark]

I've got to respectfully disagree with your outlook. But I won't change your mind, I'm sure.

[El Gato]

Is this the same P3 that should have been crashed into the ocean instead of being dissected by the Chinese?

Same Airframe, much different equipment. In fact US Customs flies the P-3 AEW aircraft. It used the same radar and other surveillance equipment as the E-2C Hawkeye. The reasons that P-3 version is cheaper include the lack of need to land and take off from a carrier, which makes everything more complicated and expensive, and the fact that there are lots of P-3 airframes out in the desert, from which to gin up a P-3 AW&C version.

The equipment from the E-3 AWACS is also used on a 767 airframe by the Japanese.

In both cases, the radars are getting kind of long in the tooth, as are the other equipment. Other nations are equipping with more modern stuff. The Israelis use a 707 airframe but with a very different electronics suite, including a radar using "Electronically Steerable Array, ESA) The Australians are getting a 737 with a very modern Active ESA radar.

Even the Mexicans are buying an EMB-145, commuter jet equipped with an Erikson ESA radar.

EMB-145

[NY Attitude]

Hell, I remember flying in the original P3 that had water-alcohol injection and a 2 speed gearbox on #4 engine.

[sukhoi-30mki]

If I remember correctly,the US recently decided to supply the P-3 AEW (with the Hawkeye's radar) to Pakistan.

[NY Attitude]

There were a few other enhancements to be added as well.

[Ramius]

I don't have a knee-jerk reaction to this stuff becoming available to the UAE as I might to other Arab countries.

Apart from their other Arab neighbors... the UAE seems to have their collective act together...

[sukhoi-30mki]

While the UAE is better off than the KSA,Im not so confident of them.They are a confederation so you can't hold the same standard for Sharjah or Fujeriah that you do for Dubai.Shajah is known to have pretty orthodox Slamic leaders.Moreover,a lot of mafia organisations & Islamic organisations operate out of the UAE with links to Palestinian,Chechnyan & Pakistani terrorist groups.

[Oztrich Boy]

In both cases, the radars are getting kind of long in the tooth, as are the other equipment.

I thought that too. These days a manufacturer guarantee of maintaining the system for a decade should be a signal to start selecting the replacement system now.

If they want cheap the Ericsson Erieye on the Embarer ERJ-145 or SAAB-2000 would be adequate for the patrol area the UAE requires (it's been sold to Brazil, Sweden, Greece, Malaysia, Pakistan as well as Mexico)

Larger is the Northrop-Grumman MESA on the Boeing 737BJ (Australia, Turkey, South Korea)

Then there's the IAI Elta/Raytheon Systems PHALCON (Chile, Israel, Indis)

[BIGLOOK]

Ping

[NY Attitude]

Whales?