AIDC/Boeing S-10T Dàbái shā "WetHog"

[comrade harps]

AIDC/Boeing S-10T Dàbái shā
204, 133rd  Squadrons,1st Aviation Group, ROCN
TaoYuan Base, Taiwan
June, 2011



The 2011 Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition was held at TaoYuan Air Base, Taiwan, in the second week of June. On display was an impressive show of hardware from Taiwan's innovative military-industrial complex, with indoor exhibitions and, on the airfield, a wide range of artillery, missiles, tanks and aircraft, plus flybys and force demonstrations.

Although dominated by Army and Air Force equipment, it was a Navy aircraft in the static display that created the most interest. Making its first public outing was the AIDC/Boeing S-10T Dàbái shā (Great White Shark). The RoC Navy's replacement for its veteran Grumman S-2T TurbovTrackers, the S-10T was the result of a prolonged line of development that began in the early 1970s. Fairchild, the A-10's original design authority, was quick to see the type's potential for the littoral and maritime combat zones, proposing several single- and two-seat versions to the US Navy, US Marine Corps and possible export customers from 1975. However, there was little interest and the designs never reached hardware stage; although the USMC did acquire 75 A-10Cs, these were minimum-change versions of the A-10A and primarily intended for land warfare.




When Fairchild was purchased by Boeing in 1984, the A-10 was already out of production, but Boeing was now the type's design authority and was active in developing upgrades and in finding new roles and markets. Again, maritime options were discussed, but little interest was elicited. In the early 2000s, the USAF launched an upgrade program for their A-10As, resulting in the A-10D, whilst at the same time retiring their two-seat all-weather A-10Bs. The USMC followed suit with a similar modernisation, producing the A-10E. With surplus two-seat A-10Bs now available, Boeing again developed a range of maritime A-10 options, including the S-10 SCALE (Survivable Combat Aircraft for the Littoral Environment). This coincided with the RoC Navy accepting control of the Turbo Tracker from the RoC Air Force in 2001 and immediately seeking a replacement. Although the public front-runner was Lockheed's proposal based on surplus S-2 Viking airframes, Boeing's radical SCALE-based re-working of the A-10B won the design competition.





When the Turbo Tracker replacement design competition was publicly announced in 2002, some of the contenders ran public promotional campaigns for their bids; when asked to comment on their response to the bidding process, Boeing officials declined to make any specific statements, other than to observe that they were "always discussing requirements and proposals with potential customers". All then went quiet on the Turbo Tracker replacement, until, in 2008, the Taiwanese Defense Minister announced that Boeing had been confirmed as the winner. By then, local aerospace manufacturer AIDC had been secretly working with Boeing and other contractors on the S-10T for several years. In 2010, some publicity photographs were released of a prototype, but these showed little detail and were somewhat Photoshopped. The public had to wait until the 2011 Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition to see the S-10T, when one appeared in the static display (#204, as seen here), with another four making daily slow, low, formation flypasts.




#204 was displayed with what the RoC Navy called a "typical maritime control" ordnance load. The 600-gal external fuel tanks were dominant (and necessary, as the S-10T has no air-to-air refuelling capability). One the centre-line was a two-part sonobouy dispenser, with downward-launched (small) G-sized sonobouys in the forward compartment and rear-launched (larger) A-sized sonobouys in the rear section; the brochure available at the show noted that this (unnamed) design is modular and has several alternate configurations, although none were detailed. Under the wings were an AGM-84A Harpoon and the new and  indigenous Hsiung Feng IV missile (also known as the HF-3 "Brave Wind IV"), along with a pair of Mk.46 torpedoes and (for self-defence) two locally designed TC-4 Sky Sword 4 IR-guided air-to-air missiles.

The S-10T's nose features a locally produced  APG-76 Block IV radar and in the tail is a retractable MAD boom. The A-10's 30mm cannon is replaced by a 20mm Vulcan. A Sniper pod provides FLIR/EO imagery and laser targeting, the S-10T also being capable of operating with LGBs. Prominent fairings on the fuselage (and smaller fairings on the wings) are for ESM, ECM, radio and datalink communications systems, the brochure noting that the Dàbái shā is "fully netcentric". Boeing officials at the exhibition stated the two-seat Dàbái shā's ability to conduct a wide-range of missions, including the usually labour-intensive anti-submarine role, was enabled by adapting similar technology to those that enable the two-seat F/A-18G to replace the four-seat EA-6B.



The first two S-10Ts were re-manufactured from A-10Bs by Boeing, the remainder of the 26 aircraft  fleet being converted by AIDC. According to American sources, the first two S-10Ts were secretly operated from Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake for test, development and training flights between 2007 and 2010, deploying to the RoC Navy's TaoYuan Air Base in 2010.



Apparently, Boeing workers nicknamed the S-10T the WetHog.

[comrade harps]

Thanks to all who commented on the A-10 thread; http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,13625.30.html - a source of some good ideas.

The kit is the 1:72nd scale HobbyBoss A-10A N/AW.

[McColm]

Great work, reminds me of the Sea Hog.

[NARSES2]

Interesting looking aeroplane 

[Dizzyfugu]

Tha radome suits the A-10 surprisingly well - and is a plausible reason for the WSO. Cool idea. 

[Librarian]

It's a funny thought but whenever I've perused the odd A-10 kit and thought of a whiff I've never even considered removing the gun....that's brave, the gun being THE focal point of the plane.

Nicely done .

[Captain Canada]

What a beauty ! Love the idea, the look, the colours and camo scheme...great job on his one.