The SAAF Forum

Hi Kremlin,

Here are some pics of the deHavilland Comets as on lease to SAA. These aircraft carried both the SAA markings, Springbok and South African flag, as well as the BOAC markings, Speedbird and Union Jack flag.
Might be a new profile to be seen?

Hi Kremlin,

Here are some pics of the deHavilland Comets as on lease to SAA. These aircraft carried both the SAA markings, Springbok and South African flag, as well as the BOAC markings, Speedbird and Union Jack flag.
Might be a new profile to be seen?

On 8 April 1954, Comet G-ALYY ("Yoke Yoke"), on charter to South African Airways, was on a leg from Rome to Cairo (of a longer route, SA Flight 201 from London to Johannesburg), when it crashed in the Mediterranean near Naples with the loss of all 21 passengers and crew on board. The Comet fleet was immediately grounded once again and a large investigation board was formed under the direction of the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE). Prime Minister Winston Churchill tasked the Royal Navy with helping to locate and retrieve the wreckage so that the cause of the accident could be determined. The Comet's Certificate of Airworthiness was revoked and Comet 1 line production was suspended at the Hatfield factory while the BOAC fleet was permanently grounded, cocooned and stored.

It is certain that flight tests will be made to supplement the work of the ground investigators, but the exact form these will take was not known at the time of going to press. As an initial step Comet G-ALYU was flown to Hatfield last Saturday and another Comet will probably be test flown by the R.A.E. The investigations which are now under way, and which will continue as long as there is the faintest chance of discovering die cause of the three tragic accidents, comprise the most thorough examination of any aircraft yet built. Nothing but hard facts, based on this examination, can give the Comet a clean bill of health for the future.

Flight, while expressing hope and faith in the outcome, has no intention of adding to the speculations which have appeared in print over the past few days.

Comets know to have been leased by SAA also included G-ALYS, G-ALYU, G-ALYW and G-ALYX but I have yet to see photographic evidence ....

Boeing 707 Phalcon
Country of origin: Israel
Role: Airborne Early Warning (AEW) and surveillance aircraft.
Status: Operational.

Description
Phalcon is the generic name for an AEW and surveillance system developed by Israel Aircraft Industries' (IAI) subsidiaries Bedek Aviation (airframe modifications) and Elta Electronics (sensor systems). As supplied to the Chilean Air Force (see following), the suite is mounted in a modified Boeing 707-320C airframe and comprises three primary subsystems;
1) the D-band (1 to 2 GHz) EL/M-2075 electronically scanning phased-array radar,
2) the EL/K-7031 COMmunications INTelligence (COMINT)/communications-band Electronic Support Measures (ESM) system,
3) the EL/L-8312 ELectronic INTelligence (ELINT)/radar-band ESM system.

In this application (Bedek noting that the Phalcon suite can be installed in a variety of airframes ranging in size from the Lockheed Martin C-130 to the Boeing 747), the primary external airframe modifications comprise the installation of radar phased-arrays (in `cheek' fairings on both sides of the aircraft's forward fuselage and a nose radome) together with antenna housings for the L-8312 subsystem in the aircraft's nose, tail and at each wingtip. Internally, the application features three radar operator consoles, a mission commander's console, two
radar-band ESM/ELINT stations and a communications-band ESM/COMINT station. While not confirmed, there is thought to be provision for the installation of additional workstations if required.

Other onboard systems include a MIL-STD-1553B databus, a communications suite (which includes four UHF (300 MHz to 1 GHz) transceivers), a 0.5 to 1 GHz band datalink and a solid-state
Identification Friend-or-Foe (IFF) subsystem. The antennas for this latter equipment are thought to be integrated with the radar arrays. Converting a Boeing 707 to Phalcon standard is reported to cost between US$50 and US$150 million.

Programme history
1993
The Boeing 707-320C Phalcon AEW and surveillance aircraft (bearing the Israeli civilian registration `4X-JYI') made its maiden flight on 12 May 1993. On 14 June, the system made its public debut at the Paris Air Show.
1994
Flight testing of `4X-JYI' was completed with IAI test pilot Menahem Shmul noting that the installation of the necessary nose and cheek radar antenna housings had `minimal' effect on the aircraft's handling and speed performance. Shmul also reported that the large nose radome had little effect on flight crew vision both in flight or during take-off.
1995
Aircraft `4X-JYI' was accepted by the Chilean Air Force on 2 May 1995 following a dispute with IAI concerning the performance of the system's software. In Chilean service, the Phalcon system is known as the Condor with the single example acquired being operated primarily from the Fuerza Aerea de CHile (FACH - Chilean Air Force) base on Easter Island. In FACH service, Condor operations are reported to be integrated with those of the service's Grupo de Aviación's Escadrilla de Guerra Electrónica (Electronic Warfare Flight) which is stationed at Iquique in northern Chile. The introduction of the Condor into Chilean service represents the most sophisticated AEW capability currently operating anywhere in South America.
1998
Following the partial withdrawal of the service's four E-2C Basic aircraft the Tsvah Haganah le Israel - Heyl Ha'Avir (Israeli Defence Force - Air Force) may be operating at least one EL/M-2075 equipped Boeing 707 aircraft in the AEW role.

Known mission system specifications
EL/K-7031
Type: COMINT/communications-band ESM system.
Description: As applied to the Chilean Phalcon/Condor aircraft, EL/K-7031 is described as being an `all radio frequency' COMINT/communications band ESM system which has been configured to meet the specific Chilean requirement. As such, the system is noted as incorporating data recording facilities and has the ability to transfer information of interest from its own dedicated operator console to that of the mission commander.
EL/L-8312
Type: ELINT/radar-band ESM system.
Description: In its L-8312A variant, this system is described as covering the 0.5 to 18 GHz frequency band and incorporating the EL/L-8312R modular microwave receiver (comprising the EL/L-8312DM demodulator/interface unit, the EL/L-8312HA preamplifier, the EL/L-8312RC controller, the EL/L-8312S synthesiser and the EL/L-8312T wideband tuner), the EL/L-8321 pulse digitiser, the EL/S-8610 computer and a colour graphic display. System features include automatic analysis and identification of received signals. In the Phalcon/Condor application, the system is noted as utilising two workstations and the differential time of arrival technique (using any three out of its four available antenna arrays) for determining emitter bearing `within seconds' of signal receipt. It is also described as being `fully integrated' with the aircraft's radar and other sensors. As with the EL/K-7031 system, the L-8312 variant fitted aboard the Chilean Phalcon/Condor aircraft is said to be configured to meet the specific Chilean requirement.
EL/M-2075
Type: D-band (1 to 2 GHz) electronically scanning phased-array AEW and surveillance radar.
Description: As applied to the Chilean Phalcon/Condor aircraft, the M-2075 radar utilises three antenna arrays mounted in 12 × 2 m cheek fairings (one on each side of the aircraft's forward fuselage) and a 3 m diameter nose radome. The cheek arrays are described as housing `several hundred antenna elements', each of which is driven by an `individual' transceiver module. The necessary module stacks are housed in the forward section of the aircraft's main cabin. Each antenna array is mounted on a `floating bed' to minimise distortion of the transmission pattern caused by airframe flexing while the supporting transceiver modules are liquid cooled. Initial signal processing is executed at module level with a `control unit'/signal processor/mission computer chain completing the analysis and generating operator displays. M-2075 is reported to have a range of operating modes (including high, medium and low pulse repetition frequency and passive), all of which can be interleaved.
Azimuth coverage: 260º (three array configuration as described)
Target identification time: 2-4 s
Detection range: 180 km (helicopter targets with radar operating at an altitude of 9,144 m);
370-400 km (fighter-size aircraft and surface ships with radar operating at an altitude of 9,144 m)
Track capacity: 100 (max)