Spent S$6m to get $43m---story of F5S
: 04/04/1999 Strait Times Page: 23
Meet Bitching Betty - She sits in a plane, one of 40 F-5S aircraft
which have
been upgraded at about $6 million a plane. (Page 19)
"A formidable jet fighter" and "Bite of the Tiger"
.....................................
situational awareness," he said.
The upgraded radar can also detect a target up to 80 nautical miles
away -
twice the distance than before, and track up to eight
targets.
"There's no need to see the target. We can just drop the bomb from
far away without being getting shot at," he added.
Major Jaspal Singh, RSAF's operations manager for the F-5S, added:
"Its major selling point is that the avionics are similar
to the F-16s and F-18s. It's
not just an F-5, it's a whole new plane."
Well, sort
of. Acquired by the air force in 1979, the F-5Es as they were
known then, were Singapore's first supersonic fighters.
.........................................
Now, the upgrading of the RSAF's entire Tiger fleet of about
40 planes has been completed, at about $6 million a plane.
This is a bargain considering
that a brand new F-16 costs about US$25 (S$43) million.
The upgrading has given the F-5S an additional lifespan of
10 to 15 years each.
As for sceptics who think that the upgrade results in
only superficial changes, Mr Lim Tau Fuie, vice-president
of avionics in STA, had this to say:
"It's now a much more effective plane than what it used to
be.
"If there were no benefits, then other air forces like the
Turkish Air Force wouldn't have gone for it."
BOMBS AWAY 'There's no need to see the
target.
We can just drop the bomb from far away without getting
shot at. And it should hit within 50 feet of the target.'
--- Captain Adrian Teo
2. Saving in Upgrading F5 and buy Apacha
We have save S$37m in each plane
after we did the conversion instead of buying the new plan.The
saving of
$1480m is more than enough to buy the first batch of Apache.
F5S instrument panel
3.Factsheet - Upgraded Features of the F-5S
The avionics upgraded in the F- 5S include:
4.ST has been activately pushing into international
market
5.how is the new engine and speed?
Dimensions:
Length 14.62 m
Wing Span 8.53 m
Performance:
Max Speed Mach 1.6
Range 300 Nm
Combat Radius 450-570 Nm
Radar FIAR Grifo - F
more on Radar FIAR Grifo - F,it is testament to FIAR's
expertise that it won the competition in the face of stiff
competition from British, Israeli, and American
companies.
Head-up Display(HUD) of F5S STimes 04.04.1999
Square tells the pilot that it has locked its radar on enemy.
Circle--the calculated hitting point of bullets.
