ATE (www.ate-aerospace.com) is a privately-owned company with more than 20 years experience in all aspects of aeronautical engineering.
For much of its life, ATE had BAE as a shareholder with a 20% stake, but this was sold back when BAE was negotiating to acquire a stake in Denel.
ATE has grown from a four-man entity into a significant medium-sized company playing a major role in South Africa's defence industry capabilities. The company has been showing a steady 10% growth over the last decade and has greatly expanded its facilities through taking over the offices of the now defunct Midrand Council.
A large proportion of the core expertise of ATE lies in avionics and the company was contracted by Thompson-CSF of France to be the prime avionics supplier in the upgrade of Spain's Mirage F1C fighter aircraft. This programme included a comprehensive upgrade of the navigation and weapons delivery system with the concurrent addition of ATE's mission computer. The contract ran over five years and the aircraft are now back in operational service. ATE was also the prime contractor for the avionics installed on the SAAF Pilatus PC7 MkII trainer aircraft and the ATE mission computer was once again the heart of the avionics system. An integrated avionics and weapons suite was also provided for the local Rooivalk attack helicopter.
More recently, ATE was awarded a R500 million contract from BAE Systems (BAE) to design, develop and produce 24 avionics systems for the SAAF Hawk Lead in Fighter Trainer (LIFT). It is notable that this is the first time that BAE has outsourced a contract for an integrated avionics and weapons system on one of its core aircraft platforms. The first system was delivered on schedule in 2003 and the first aircraft is currently undergoing flight trials.
One of the major achievements of ATE has been to develop a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) for use by the SANDF to monitor fall-of-shot for long range artillery weapons. The UAV, called Vulture, is unusual in that it is fully-automated and requires no ground-based pilot, the mission instead, being programmed prior to launch. The Vulture also requires no runway, essential for operation in the general African context. It is instead launched by a vacuum-based catapult, which is an integral part of the launch vehicle. The latter carries two Vultures, plus spares, and from the time of reaching its deployment point, requires just 30 minutes to deploy, ready for launch of the first UAV.
In terms of recovery, the UAV is guided towards a capture net using a laser as the guidance device. The engine (with a pusher propeller) is cut just before it hits the net, which is then extended forward and the aircraft drops safely onto a large inflatable mattress. Damage during recovery is rare and the turn-around time for the next launch is again 30 minutes.
In terms of operation there is full autopilot control using pre-programmed way-points. If necessary, the system can be re-programmed while the UAV is in flight. An inertial reference system and differential GPS are used for navigation and between the control vehicle and the Vulture there is a secure video and data link. Range is 80 km (which exceeds the current firing range of the G5 and G6) and the flight duration possible is three hours which is when the Vulture loiters over the target.
The day camera video system is mounted in a stabilised ball in the nose of the UAV (M-Tek makes this component). Using the video and other data (including accurate location) the true fall-of-shot can be calculated and algorithms are used to make the necessary changes to the artillery weapons so that the next fire from the battery should hit the target. An order has been placed by the SANDF for the first batch of Vultures with the first delivery having taken place in 2005.
An ongoing part of ATE's business is the upgrade of the ex-Soviet Mi-24 helicopter into what ATE refers to as the SuperHind. The core system is to provide an integrated mission system and night mission capability (using either a FLIR [from Denel Optronics Systems (DOS)] or night-vision goggles). Other equipment fitted includes a programmable counter-measures dispenser, a rotor track and balance system, and improved front cockpit instrumentation.
The SuperHind MK2 integrates the core system with the existing weapon system, including accurate rockets and bombs. The SuperHind Mk3 has a 20 mm turreted cannon (from IST) which replaces the Mi-24 fixed 30 mm weapon. This turret is integrated with the DOS helmet-mounted sight. The obsolescent missiles fitted are replaced by Denel's Ingwe anti-tank missile. Other fittings include a new head-up display, a digital flight/voice data recorder and a hybridised Doppler/GPS navigation system.
For all versions of the SuperHind a wide range of other options is available from ATE and other local defence and avionics companies. Amongst others these include:
* The fire and forget Mokopa missile (Denel).
* Laser warning systems (Avitronics).
* Missile warning system (Avitronics).
* A health and usage monitoring system (HUMS) from AMS.
* Digital-based avionics.
* Flight management system.
* Sand filters (Aeroflo/CSIR).
* Infrared suppressors.
* Digital autopilot.
The final version of the upgraded helicopter supplied by ATE is the Agile SuperHind where extensive redesign and mass reduction raises the performance to that of modern combat helicopters of Western origin.
These extensive modifications described above turn the rather ordinary Mi-24 into a greatly-enhanced attack helicopter and ATE has the largest fleet of upgraded Mi-24 helicopters in the world.
In addition to its core focus on aircraft, ATE also carries out upgrades for many armoured vehicles, including the T-72 tank and the BMP range of armoured vehicles. Once again much of the work is subcontracted out to other local defence companies, including Denel, Avitronics and IST.
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