From: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V5 #529 Reply-To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Errors-To: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu Precedence: bulk Skunk Works Digest Friday, 1 December 1995 Volume 05 : Number 529 In this issue: BQM-74 Chukar many thanks Re: Mystery plane Re: Today's Quiz Re: Today's Quiz See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the skunk-works or skunk-works-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Kathryn & Andreas Gehrs-Pahl Date: Fri, 1 Dec 1995 00:28:40 -0500 (EST) Subject: BQM-74 Chukar Dean Smeaton asked about the BQM-74 Chukar. There were several models of the Northrop xQM-74 Chukar target drones. The first 5 prototypes of the Model NV-105 had delta wings, while all subsequent drones, starting with the Model NV-105A, designated MQM-74A, had straight- tapered wings. The MQM-74A Chukar was procured by the USN, Israel, and other countries, while a modified version, known as Chukar I, was used by NATO allies such as the Royal Navy and Italian Navy -- the Italian Meteor Gufo was based on the Chukar. About 1,800 A models were built. The next model was the experimental MQM-74B, followed in 1974 by the MQM-74C Chukar II for the USN, who bought more than 1,400 of this target. Over 3,200 MQM-74s were built and used by the UK, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and Spain. Several reconnaissance and EW adaptations of the MQM-74C Chukar II exist, including the NEC-built Japanese version and the Northrop Model NV-130 or TEDS (Tactical Expendable Drone System) modifications for the USAF and the PARM (Persistent Anti-Radiation Missile) project for the USN. The ground launched MQM-74C (the first M denotes the launch environment, and stands for Mobile) was followed by the more versatile air-launchable and pre- programmable BQM-74C Chukar III (B stands for Multiple launch environments). Since 1980, more than 1,000 were built, and some were exported to France and Spain. The BQM-74C is also able to simulate sea-skimming and other cruise missiles. There was also a reconnaissance PRV version of the USN BQM-74C Chukar III, the BQM-74C/Recce, with a modified nose bay for a non-gimballed daylight tv camera, equipped with a zoom lens of the type installed in the RF-5E TigerEye, a video data link, VCR and other goodies. At least ten have been delivered. This model is basically a kit, enabling the modification of standard BQM-74C targets to this parachute-recoverable, air, ground or ship-launched PRV. The latest version is the BQM-74E, but I don't have any further info on it or the xQM-74D model. Technical data of MQM-74C (the MQM-74A was a little bit smaller): Length: 12' 8.4" (3.87 m) Wingspan: 5' 9.4" (1.76 m) Max Weight: 401 lb (182 kg) (without boosters) Speed: 475 kts (Mach 0.8, 880 km/h, 547 mph) Range: 330 nm (611 km, 380 miles) (at 20,000 ft/6,100 m) Service Ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,200 m) Loads: +10 g Power Plant: 1 Williams J400-WR-401 turbo fan (Model WR24-7-2) Thrust (static): 180 lb st (0.80 kN) Launched: from a ZL-5 (Zero-Length) launcher with 2 JATO rockets Cost: $200,000-250,000 - -- Andreas - --- --- Andreas & Kathryn Gehrs-Pahl E-Mail: schnars@ais.org 313 West Court St. #305 or: gpahl@raptor.csc.flint.umich.edu Flint, MI 48502-1239 Tel: (810) 238-8469 WWW URL: http://www.umcc.umich.edu/~schnars/ - --- --- ------------------------------ From: kerry@Hungerford.chch.cri.nz (Kerry Ferrand) Date: Fri, 1 Dec 1995 18:33:43 -1200 Subject: many thanks I just want to publicly thank Andreas for sending me copies of all the digest issues I had missed. Kerry ------------------------------ From: Gschaffe@michp7.redstone.army.mil Date: Thu, 30 Nov 95 23:33:20 CST Subject: Re: Mystery plane Greg Fieser asked on 27 Nov: >I seem to recall reading that SR-71s could be tracked, not by their radar returns, but by an 'ionization/ionized trail' left by the aircraft. I don't know exactly what phenomenon they were referring to, or if it was even true/ possible. Any comments? Comments? Sure. Two personal experiences. 1. Twenty years ago, I was stationed in Key West in a Hawk missile unit. Things were pretty quiet that day, and I was the only one in the control van, as we were not the unit on "hot" status. My crew was up the towers working on radars, and the PAR (Pulse Acquisition Radar) was the only one operating. The PAR was the Hawk's volume airspace search radar, usually "good" for normal air-breathing altitudes. It was a beautifully clear Key West day, and there I was, in the darkened control van. When what to my wondering eyes should appear ... from out of the South, due South, (we were 90 miles North of Havana, but our radars don't see THAT far) ... but a weak paint on the radar screen. I first noticed it when it was around 50 km slant range, but I could see the fading earlier paints out to around 60 km or so. Now the Hawk PAR rotates at 20 rpm, 3 seconds between paints. And these paints were _far_ apart, like nothing I had ever seen before. And there I sat, not having access to a tracking radar so I could tell how high and fast and whether that sucker would even let us lock on him. Of course, I went outside and looked up, he was going straight over us according to the search radar. Could I visually see him? Naaaah. Nada. No sound (except the generators and air conditioners and radars raising their usual racket). I went back in after a half-minute visual search, blinking my way into the darkness. There he was, outbound and still on a beeline headed North. The paints looked weaker from the rear, and he disappeared at (I shouldn't say what range). 2. A couple of years later, I was stationed in Korea in the theater air control center. There was a huge plexiglas(?) plotting board across the front of the room, several stories high. It was a joint facility, with Army, Navy, Air Force, and Korean forces together in the same big room. The plotting board was updated in grease pencil from the back side; a whole bunch of Korean enlisted troops wrote English backwards so the folks out front could read it. Every once in a while, a "special" airplane would come through, just South of the DMZ. The plotters got their info from the radars located a fair distance away, it was voice-told to them over a secure phone line or radio from the US airmen manning the radar site. Most airplanes on the big board got a two-minute update, a grease-pencil mark several inches long so everybody could follow the flight, if he/she was interested. But the funny airplane zooming along the DMZ got one-minute updates, and they were well over a foot long. For some reason, the altitude was always listed at 66k feet (we didn't tell the Koreans everything :-) ). So, the funny airplanes in these two incidents certainly could be seen on search radars, which leads one to believe that they could also be locked on by a tracking radar. Unless the rear seater was playing some "music" anyway. Summary: Hawk search radar could see target. Weakly, but he was probably above the radar's design altitude. Air Force CRC search radars could see target. I don't think the object was using IFF transponder in that location. I have no personal experience tracking the object, but since the North Vietnamese (and others) have fired missiles at it, I suspect that tracking by an appropriate radar is quite feasible by regular skin tracking. Obviously, it's damn hard to hit! Glenn Schaffer "This communication is not an official position of any element of the Department of Defense." Use with caution, wear protective ... oops, wrong sig. ------------------------------ From: "Art Hanley" Date: Thu, 30 Nov 1995 22:53:07 +0700 Subject: Re: Today's Quiz I wanna play too. In addition to the F-15A Streak Eagle that Albert responded with, didn't the Soviets quickly trot out their YE-266 (modified Mig-25) a few weeks later and climb even faster? 'Course you gotta wonder if the engines were still usable after the flight. Art ------------------------------ From: "Art Hanley" Date: Thu, 30 Nov 1995 23:08:35 +0700 Subject: Re: Today's Quiz I wanna play too... After the F-15A (Streak Eagle) flight that Albert related, didn't the Soviets quickly trot out their YE-266 (modified Mig-25) a few weeks later and climb even faster? 'Course you gotta wonder if the enginnes were still usable after that flight. Art ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V5 #529 ********************************* To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe skunk-works-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@mail.orst.edu". If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-skunk-works": subscribe skunk-works-digest local-skunk-works@your.domain.net To unsubscribe, send mail to the same address, with the command: unsubscribe skunk-works-digest in the body. Administrative requests, problems, and other non-list mail can be sent to either "skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu" or, if you don't like to type a lot, "prm@mail.orst.edu A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "skunk-works-digest" in the commands above with "skunk-works". 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