Air Power: Air 8000 - (almost) the last chance to see... | ADM Feb 2011

Gregor Ferguson | Sydney

The previous Avalon show farewelled the Caribou; the next likely farewell will be the veteran C-130H Hercules. This year’s event could throw some further light on the Caribou replacement, to be acquired under Project Air 8000 Phase 2.

The final shape of the RAAF’s Air Lift Group (ALG) is starting to emerge as Project Air 8000 gathers momentum.

Defence announced last year that its 12 C-130H Hercules transport aircraft would retire, to be replaced by two additional C-130Js under Phase 1 of the project. These would be supplemented by a new fleet of around 10 Battlefield Airlifters to be acquired under Phase 2 as a somewhat delayed replacement for the veteran DHC-4 Caribou.

According to the Head of Capability Systems, Air Vice Marshal Jack Plenty, there’s been no change to the DCP’s outline of either phase. The much-anticipated 10-year DCP, which was published just before Christmas, showed the Air 8000 goal posts haven’t shifted significantly.

The current life of type of the C-130H is 2013-ish, says AVM Plenty, though it could run to 2014. There’s no specific driver for a particular retirement date so the ADF has some flexibility in scheduling the change-over.

The two additional C-130Js will be acquired in the 2015-16 financial year, bringing Richmond-based 37 Squadron’s inventory to 14 identical aircraft and bringing to a close the requirement for navigators and flight engineers within the ALG: neither of the contenders to replace the Caribous in Ph.2 – the C-27J and C-295 - require flight engineers or navigators. But this has some ramifications for the highly demanding Special Forces operations.

There’s nothing a C-130H can do which a C-130J isn’t also physically capable of, including low and high level parachute drops and tactical insertion. The difference lies in is the management of the cockpit workload on low-level night missions, for example.

The C-130H community is well practised in the challenges of Special Forces operations, which demand considerable skill both in flight and in the crucial mission planning phase. In the C-130H cockpit the navigator and flight engineer monitor the radar, carry out map-reading and help maintain situational awareness, following a well-honed set of procedures. The C-130J doesn’t need a navigator or flight engineer so the Special Forces component of 37 Sqn employs a third pilot to read the maps and radar and help with situational awareness, and is refining the cockpit resource management protocols necessary to fly low and fast at night, in safety.

The retirement of the H-model Hercules will release cockpit and ground crews for the remainder of ALG and these will be dispersed among 36, 37 and 38 squadrons, says AVM Plenty. This transition will slightly precede the arrival of the Battlefield Airlifter, for which 2nd Pass Approval is scheduled in 2012-15 timeframe. First pass Approval is due in 2010-12 and next month’s Avalon air show may see some guidance on the exact timing, and therefore when 38 Squadron will start to receive the new aircraft.

The RAAF may also be closer to resolving some fundamental basing issues with the aircraft. The reason 38 Sqn’s Caribous were based mainly at Townsville was because it took them so long to get anywhere; they needed to be close to where they were being tasked. This won’t be an issue with either of the Battlefield Airlift contenders, the Airbus Military C-295 and C-27J Spartan.

It would be possible (indeed desirable) to base them further south at Amberley, or even Richmond, so they can avoid the inevitable deterioration and maintenance challenges associated with operating aircraft in the tropics. This would also help concentrate logistics and training resources alongside those of other RAAF multi-engine aircraft fleets such as the C-17, KC-30A MRTT or C-130J. These issues will be canvassed and options presented to Government as part of the 1st Pass Approval process.

For example, if the C-27J is selected, the similarities between this aircraft and the C-130J – notably the cockpit, propellers and engines – would suggest there are synergies to be captured from basing it alongside the Hercules at Richmond.

However, if the C-295 is selected Australian Aerospace, a sister company to Airbus Military within the EADS organisation, would be well-placed to provide through-life support from its Brisbane facility (where it also supported the Caribous), suggesting the C-295 could be based at Amberley alongside the RAAF’s ‘heavy jets’ like the C-17 and Hornets. Australian Aerospace also says it can put forward a strong business case to support the C-27J from Brisbane, so the RAAF has the luxury of choice.

As for the job the Battlefield Airlifter will be required to perform, the DCP remains the best guidance, says AVM Plenty: “intra-theatre airlift... with some inter-theatre application” in a tactical environment and therefore requiring “in-theatre survivability”.

The ADF wants a more efficient means of carrying smaller loads to provide greater concurrency and efficiency in the use of all of its airlift assets, from the C-17 right down to the Chinook and MRH90 helicopters: being able to use 80-90 per cent of the Battlefield Airlifter’s payload and volume is more efficient than using 20-30 per cent of a C-130J’s capacity and denying its lift capability to another urgent task. That payload could be anything, AVM Plenty points out, from a pallet of ammunition to a 10-12 man Special Forces team, complete with Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) rigged for an air drop.

There is no doubt in the ADF’s mind that the Battlefield Airlifter will conduct tactical tasks in a potentially hostile environment and so it will be required to carry Electronic Warfare Self-Protection (EWSP) equipment as well as passive protection such as armour plate and fire prevention systems for the fuel tanks.

Nobody is willing to discuss, much less anticipate, the outcome of the forthcoming Ph 2 tender process, especially as the last time these two contenders fought for this particular Australian contract, under Project Air 5190, the C-295 was reportedly the winner. Air 5190 was summarily cancelled in 1999 and the ADF’s operational environment has altered since then. Nearly 10 years of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have highlighted the direct fire and surface-air missile threats facing the ALG and the ‘tactical’ capabilities of the Battlefield Airlifter are now as important as the ‘transport’ capabilities and operating economics.

Defence insists that Ph 2 is a level playing field for all contenders, but the RAAF’s body language seems to suggest a preference for an aircraft with a military pedigree. There remains sufficient doubt in the minds of Airbus Military that it hasn’t confirmed it will submit a tender for Air 8000 Ph 2. That will depend on how the RFT presents the ADF’s requirements and the weight it gives to different platform attributes.

One thing is certain, 38 Sqn’s operational capability will grow exponentially once the new aircraft enters service, replacing its interim airlift force of Hawker Beechcraft Kingairs. These have provided a very useful logistics and transport capability but are inherently limited. The ADF wants transport aircraft it can take to war, and this over-riding requirement will continue to shape ALG.