Tempest II
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Source: The SAAF Forum • View topic - Cheetah C Sale to Ecuador...
I post this article to support my own bias which by the way is not saying it is factual wrong. If you read through this article, one revelation highlighted a few times is Ecuadors fear that Denel/South Africa cannot independently support the Cheetahs, i.e. the South African aviation industry is very limited. Secondly not how much the article acknowledges Israeli involvement in upgrading the Cheetah so much for a South African development! And finally check how they write Derby/R-Darter (similar to FC-1/JF-17).
The reason South African worked hard to say they have a capable defense industry was to hide their sanction busting. That should also explain why the current military modernization were openly imports. Yes they can assembly and make some components, but they still have to import the critical parts.
I post this article to support my own bias which by the way is not saying it is factual wrong. If you read through this article, one revelation highlighted a few times is Ecuadors fear that Denel/South Africa cannot independently support the Cheetahs, i.e. the South African aviation industry is very limited. Secondly not how much the article acknowledges Israeli involvement in upgrading the Cheetah so much for a South African development! And finally check how they write Derby/R-Darter (similar to FC-1/JF-17).
The reason South African worked hard to say they have a capable defense industry was to hide their sanction busting. That should also explain why the current military modernization were openly imports. Yes they can assembly and make some components, but they still have to import the critical parts.
As Reported on Defence Industry Daily quote:
Ecuadors FAE currently operates a variety of fighter aircraft. 14 Israeli Kfirs, (12 + 2 two-seat trainers) upgraded to the C10/CE standard, 12 upgraded French Mirage F1 fighters originally delivered in 1978-80, and about 20 A-37 Dragonflys form their fighter core, with about 7 Jaguar strike aircraft that are reportedly in storage and unfit to fly. The Kfirs will last for a little while, but the Jaguars, Dragonflys, and Mirage F1s need replacement.
A deal is reportedly in the works for up to 24 of Brazils Super Tucanos, which are replacing the A-37 with a variety of Latin American air forces. They cant replace the Jaguars and F1s, however, which has triggered a search for replacements that can be bought on a small budget. After investigating a number of offers, a deal with South Africa is reportedly in the works. Meanwhile, Venezuela has stepped in with an offer of its own
The Reported Deals
South Africas Denel Aviation has confirmed that talks are underway concerning an order for its Cheetah-C aircraft, which bear a number of similarities to Ecuadors Kfir CEs but have French SNECMA engines and older radars. The offer includes 12 aircraft, plus a complete 5-year, renewable maintenance and support package. Complete maintenance and acceptance flight testing would be conducted in South Africa and in Ecuador, and Denel expects a deal to be finalized before the end of 2009.
Denel Aviation was the prime contractor in the development of the Cheetah during the mid 1980s, holds official design authority for the aircraft, and also performed contractor support for South Africas fleet until its 2008 phase-out. They were involved with the structured phase out of the Cheetah logistic support system, and witnessed the packaging of the systems and equipment for storage pending a possible sale.
The key questions Ecuador must consider are whether Denel can support the Cheetah-C radars and avionics by itself, and their ability to replace Israeli weapons with South African weapons if the USA chooses to block future Israeli military sales or services to Ecuador.
As part of his campaign for wider influence in Ecuador and in Latin America, Venezuelan Strongman Hugo Chavez stepped in to offer Ecuador 6 of the FAVs Mirage 50M fighters. Ecuadors President Rafael Correa has been a close ally of the Chavez regimes for several years. Unfortunately, the Mirage 50Ms are less advanced than the Israeli-upgraded Mirage F1s they might replace, and their state of maintenance is not certain. Reports indicate that if Ecuador does accept Venezuelas Mirage 50Ms, they would likely serve in a training role as transitions from the pending Super Tucanos to Ecuadors Kfir/ Cheetah fighters.
As is often the case, however, training aircraft may be pressed into double duty. The Super Tucanos will perform as very capable counter-insurgency and light attack aircraft, as well as being excellent 2nd-stage flight trainers. Likewise, any serviceable Mirage 50s on hand would also be available for combat if the situation demanded it, and might offer a second option if the FAEs Kfir fleet ends up grounded.
The question for Ecuadors FAE is whether the money and effort required to maintain the Mirages would add a meaningful capability, or end up being an expensive diversion that came disguised as a bargain.
The Aircraft
The Atlas Cheetah was derived from South Africas Mirage III fleet. Since the Israeli Kfir was already a modification of Israeli-built Mirage Vs, they were able to help South Africa upgrade their planes to a similar standard by adding small canards, avionics improvements, radar and self-defense equipment, and modernized weapons. Cheetahs were produced in a number of variants.
Creating a Cheetah involved a structural reset to create a zero flying hours airframe, plus the standard Cheetah additions of non-moving canards, additional stores pylons at the wing roots, an aerial refuelling probe, new ejection seats, the SNECMA Atar 9K50 engine, modified wings, modern elevons, strakes on the nose, Israeli avionics that included Elbits DASH helmet-mounted display (HMD), a twin computer flight control system, and the ability to use South African or Israeli weapons. Chile reportedly bought 5 earlier-model Cheetahs in 2003, in order to serve as a source of spares for its now-retired Pantera fleet of Mirage 50s with Kfir-like upgrades.
The Cheetah-C was the most advanced variant. It reportedly added a single-piece wrap-around windshield with an anti-radiation coating, a new in-flight refuelling probe with less external piping, new undercarriage and suspension, an upgraded variant of the SNECMA Atar 9K50 engine, a more modern radar (rumored to be the same IAI EL/M-2032 that equips Israeli F-16s and FAE Kfir C10s), upgraded Elbit HMDs, and modernized ECM and self defense suites. Previous Cheetah variants were limited to carrying short range air-air missiles, but the Cheetah C can use Derby/R-Darter BVRAAMs(Beyond Visual Range Air to Air Missiles) as well. The FAE already uses Israeli missiles and strike weapons, so its compatibility would be an asset.
Cheetah-Cs served as South Africas front-line fighter ahead of the SAAFs Mirage F1s, until they were phased out in 2008 in favor of the new JAS-39C/D Gripen. Brazil was reportedly offered Cheetahs to replace its own recently-retired Mirage 5BRs, but chose to purchase used French Mirage 2000s instead.
The Mirage V was designed in conjunction with the Israelis, who had made Dassaults Mirage III famous. It actually removed avionics and radar capabilities from the Mirage III, in order to add more fuel and more weapons. The resulting plane was optimized for clear-weather attack roles, and close air combat. Israels Col. Giora Epstein (ret.) remains the worlds top-scoring jet ace. Most of his 17 kills were scored in Israeli Neshers (Mirage 5s), including one memorable fight in 1973 when he dueled 11 Egyptian MiG-21s, all by himself, and shot down 3.
The Mirage 50 is a 1980s-1990s Mirage III/V upgrade that added the Atar 9K-50 engine and Cyrano IV-M3 radar, among other improvements. It did not substantially change the basic airframe, however, whose design had lost much of its competitiveness by that time. The Mirage 50 was not a popular export; only Chile (Mirage 50/Pantera) and Venezuela (Mirage 50M) ordered them, and in the 1990s, Chile went on to upgrade its planes to the Kfir-like Pantera configuration with Israeli help. Chiles Panteras were recently phased out in favor of new F-16 C/Ds, and they were reportedly one of the offers made to Ecuadors government.
Israel went down a different road. They switched in the American GE J79 turbojet that powered the Cheyl Haavirs F-4 Phantoms, and heavily modified the Nesher airframe and electronics, in order to design IAIs canard-winged Kfir series fighters. This expertise would lead the Israelis to assist in the similar South African Cheetah and Chilean Pantera programs. Ecuador currently flies the Kfir C10/CE, the familys most advanced variant with IAIs popular EL/M-2032 radar, a fully digital cockpit, and the ability to carry precision weapons and radar-guided air-air missiles.
The GE J79 is no longer in production, but more than 2,500 engines remain in service around the world. GE still offers related services, and there is no shortage of spares via the USAFs AMARC Boneyard near Tucson. Unless, of course, the USA decides at some point to block military sales to Ecuador.
Contracts and Key Events
Oct 5/09: Defense Aerospace runs a release labeled Denel Aviation, which confirms ongoing discussions around 12 Cheetah-C aircraft and sets out the deals broad terms but not its cost. The deal would involve 12 aircraft, plus a complete 5-year, renewable maintenance and support package. Complete maintenance and acceptance flight testing would be conducted in South Africa and in Ecuador, and Denel expects a deal to be finalized before the end of 2009.
Denel Aviation CEO Ismail Dockrat is quoted as saying that: ...we see this [deal] as a platform to showcase [South] Africas MRO capability to the rest of the world. Defense Aerospace | See also South Africas Engineering News.
Sept 30/09: Venezuelas El Universal quotes Ecuadorian Security Minister Miguel Carvajal:
We plan to use these [Mirage 50M] airplanes for training in our transition from the current status of Ecuadorian obsolete planes to what is expected, provided that some discussions for supersonic jets are materialized.
Sept 28/09: Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa reportedly announces in the northern town of Ibarra that:
Venezuela wants to give us six Mirage jets we are going to accept them.
Correa reportedly describes the jets as being in good condition, and adds that the country is discussing the purchase of a further 12 jets from South Africa and 24 Super Tucano fighters from Brazil, as well as radar systems and helicopters. The reference to discussions re: the Super Tucano sale is odd, since Brazils Embraer confirmed the sale in March 2009. Agence France Presse.
Sept 24/09: Ecuadoran daily El Universo reports that the FAE has recommended buying South Africas Cheetahs, adding that bids presented by Spain and Chile exceeded Ecuadors modernization budget. The aircraft offered by Chile and Spain were not mentioned, but Chile would almost certainly have offered its recently-decommissioned Pantera fighters, which are Mirage 50s modified by the Israelis to Kfir capabilities. Spain flies Mirage F1s that are being supplanted by new Eurofighter Typhoons, and might be for sale, but would probably require additional upgrade work to be fully compatible with FAE weapons etc.
The FAE has not confirmed these reports, but EL Universo adds that:
The decision on the purchase has been made and it is estimated that in December the financial negotiations will begin. For that, an outlay of $35 million from a not-yet-determined total amount is anticipated.
Denel Aviation representatives reportedly renewed their offer in August 2009, during a visit to the Cotopaxi airbase. Other reports place the modernization budget at $65 million, which seems more likely if support is also involved. Speaking of which, the FAE is also expected to present a technical report on the advisability of accepting the donation of 6 Mirage 50M jets from Venezuela. Inside Costa Rica | Poder 360 | South Africas Engineering News Report and Video Interview.
Sept 23/09: Venezuelas El Universal reports that Ecuador has yet to decide whether it will accept Venezuelas gift of 6 Mirage 50 fighters. See also Chinas government-run Xinhua, which gets some key details wrong (Ecuador does not have Mirage III/V/50 aircraft), but notes that negotiations revolve around commission and maintenance costs.
