Air Power: Whistle to blow soon on training projects | ADM Feb 2011

Gregor Ferguson | Sydney

By the time this year’s Avalon air show gets under way we could see draft RFTs for the ADF’s two critical pilot training programs, Air 5428 and Air 9000 Ph 7. The RFTs themselves should be out by midyear.

If they’re not released by the time the Avalon air show gets under way, the draft Requests for Tender (RFT) for Projects Air 5428 and Air 9000 Ph 7 should be out very soon after. Industry will get a chance to comment and help refine the tender documents before the final RFTs for both project come out around mid-year – or slightly later, if industry feedback results in significant change.

While two separate Defence teams will process the tender responses, it’s likely many of the same companies will pursue both projects which means their business development and tender writing teams will be extremely busy writing two responses concurrently. One way or another, 2011 will be a busy year for this sector of the industry.

The year started early, in one sense, with an announcement in December that BAE Systems, Raytheon Australia and Hawker Beechcraft were teaming up to bid for Air 5428. Raytheon Australia’s managing director, Michael Ward, highlighted the strengths that BAE Systems and Raytheon separately bring to the bid, commenting that a systems engineering approach is essential to increase the effectiveness of fixed wing flying training.

The team will offer an end-to-end solution tailored to the needs of pilots who will fly advanced fourth and fifth generation aircraft. Their solution will increase graduation numbers and minimise wastage rates as well as minimising program transition risk, Ward said.

He pointed to Raytheon’s training background in Australia including delivering Hornet and Super Hornet training systems and the RAN’s Retention and Motivation Initiative and electronic warfare training system.

BAE Systems currently delivers all flight screening and basic flight training for the ADF as well providing deeper maintenance and through life support for five of the ADF’s front line fixed and rotary wing fleets across the RAAF, RAN and Army.

Head of Capability Systems, Air Vice Marshal Jack Plenty, confirmed to ADM the principal driver for Air 5428 – ADF Pilot Training System is the Life of Type (LOT) of the RAAF’s current fleet of 61 Pilatus PC-9As.

These aircraft, based at 2 Flying Training School (2 FTS) at RAAF Base Pearce and the Central Flying School at RAAF Base East Sale, are due to retire around 2015, with avionics and particularly their Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) as the critical area, rather than the airframe and engine.

While the aircraft’s life could be extended slightly, AVM Plenty says, anything more than this would require a significant upgrade program which Defence is keen to avoid. So the focus is on a graduated introduction of a new pilot training system built around the Life of Type (LOT) of the PC-9As. The six-year Interim Basic Flying Training (IBFT) contract, which ADM understands has been won by BAE Systems although no official announcement has been made, includes options to extend, so Defence has the luxury of choice: if it wishes, it can introduce a new advanced flying training system at 2 FTS and then transition to a new basic flying training system subsequently, without undue time pressure.

In any case, believes AVM Plenty, there will be several Initial Operational Capabilities (IOC) for the Air 5428 capability. Assuming the LOT of the PC-9A is mid-2015, the first IOC is for the start of instructor training at the CFS up to 12 months earlier. The instructor’s course is three to four months long and typically trains 10-12 instructors.

At least one full course will be required to both prove the system (including learning the subtleties of the aircraft) and create sufficient capacity both to train a second batch of instructors at CFS and run the first student pilot course at 2 FTS. This requires at least six months; ideally, two full instructor courses would be complete before training begins at 2 FTS.

If necessary, depending on the prime contractor and the delivery schedule for the training aircraft concerned, some initial instructor training could be carried out in the aircraft manufacturer’s own home country – the contenders all come from North America and Europe.

The first students to experience the new syllabus at 2 FTS might be on a half-course while the transition takes place, or may go through in parallel with the last of the PC-9A based courses. This remains to be determined and contenders will be asked for proposals for not just aircraft, syllabus and instructor arrangements but also a transition plan which enables a smooth, graduated shift from the old syllabus to the new one.

As for the syllabus itself, the emphasis will likely remain on flying skill and airmanship, with the intent to train pilots for the RAAF’s fast jet fleet. This places the emphasis on a ‘funnel’ whose mouth is at the flight screening and basic training phase and whose nozzle disgorges the required number of fast jet candidates graduating from 2 FTS.

Achieving and sustaining that flow will require a combined basic and advanced syllabus, which maintains professional standards but gives students the best possible chance (within reason) to succeed.

The contenders have offered a variety of training aircraft. Only Raytheon Australia has so far sought an exclusive arrangement with aircraft manufacturers and will offer the Hawker Beechcraft T-6C Texan II advanced trainer and the CT-4F basic trainer.

The other primes haven’t been so prescriptive, though Thales probably speaks for most of the rest of the field when it emphasises that the Grob 120A is the only suitable basic training platform which is fully compliant with FAR 23 airworthiness standards and meets the RAAF’s crashworthiness requirements under Amendment 59.

This requirement focussed industry’s attention early on the RAAF’s requirement; Thales is known to have offered the Grob 120A for the IBFT contract. BAE Systems seems to have retained this contract by offering enhancements to the existing CT-4B trainers it employs at Tamworth, but it and Raytheon will almost certainly look for a similar new-generation aircraft for the basic element of Air 5428. The Grob 120A is already used by the air forces of France, Germany, Canada and Israel so there’s no shortage of experience and expertise available to the contenders in terms of course material, synthetic training devices and maintenance.

Aside from the T-6C, the contenders for the advanced flying training platform are the Pilatus PC-21 and the Alenia MB311, an upgraded version of the Marchetti S211 used until recently by the republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) at Pearce, WA. This was replaced by the PC-21 under an integrated flight training deal with prime contractor Lockheed Martin.

Lockheed Martin has declined to discuss its approach for Air 5428; it hasn’t even confirmed the PC-21 will be its advanced platform of choice. Boeing, EADS, CAE Australia Inc (see box for more detail) and Thales Australia are also contenders.

In each case the parent company in Europe, the US or UK already conducts flying training as part of its core business so they each bring considerable knowledge and expertise to the program; Boeing Defence Australia and BAE Systems Australia also conduct fixed and rotary wing flying training for the ADF so have a strong local track record and may benefit to some degree from incumbency.

It’s not just about providing the right training aircraft. The winner will be the contractor who has convinced Defence that they can deliver the most cost-effective mix of aircraft, synthetic devices and classroom and flight instruction in the most efficient and cost effective way possible. This is a complex exercise in the integration of equipment, instructors and maintainers and much will depend on the credibility of the companies making the offer.

One thing seems reasonably certain: the advanced trainer will be on the military aircraft register because the military airworthiness regime is equipped to handle unique military requirements such as ejector seats and safety equipment. Whether that means the aircraft will be procured by the contractor and supplied to Defence in a reversal of Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE), or simply bought by Defence outright isn’t clear at this stage.

Project Air 5428 will not be a Public-Private Partnership (PPP - or Private Finance Initiative, PFI) contract, AVM Plenty told ADM. The business case for the project didn’t demonstrate this offered value for money: the potential benefits don’t justify the trouble and effort involved for both Defence and industry, and the schedule is too tight to accommodate lengthy financial negotiations.

It’s not clear whether the basic trainer will be required to go on the military register for the same reason. However, it’s looking very the flight screening and basic training component of Air 5428 will be established at East Sale, co-located with the CFS and School of Air Navigation and ensuring students remain in a military environment, with suitable discipline, mentors and role models right through their training.

The IBFT program will continue to be conducted at Tamworth, which is a civilian airfield with extensive infrastructure established originally to train airline pilots. Advocates of Tamworth argue it’s still a better location for basic flying training due to the weather and lack of capital investment required, compared with East Sale.

In any case, the ADF’s priority is likely to be the CFS and 2 FTS, in order to get instructors trained and a new syllabus and suite of aircraft and training devices bedded down for advanced flying training. Once this is under way, instructor training for the basic and flight screening components will begin with the aim of introducing the new aircraft, training system and operating regime at (probably) East Sale.

One of the complications for the contractors and the ADF is determining the most appropriate break point between basic and advanced flying training, especially if modern training aircraft can cover much more of the syllabus than previous types. 

As one of the contenders told ADM, “With fast-jet suitability being the ultimate productivity requirement of the flying training system, screening for this outcome must be the objective of the pre-enlistment flight screening phase. Once identified, enlisted, and trained to entry-level requirements, the improved candidates need to be able to negotiate a streamlined internal training system.

“Candidates must be able to proceed from point of entry to operational conversion in much less time than two years. A new ADF training system designed to nurture candidates with the right attributes should be able to produce candidates for operational conversion in [as little as] 35-40 weeks.”

Currently it can take up to two years for a RAAF pilot to get through the screening, basic and advanced flight training system; whether or not 35-40 weeks is achievable, ADM’s source spoke for most of the industry players in highlighting the inefficiencies of the current system and the benefits the ADF could secure from this project.

Air 9000 Ph 7

In parallel with the RFT for Air 5428, the same contenders will be developing a tender response for Air 9000 Ph 7, the ADF’s rotary wing flying training program.

This will see all ADF helicopter pilot training conducted through the new ADF Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS) at Nowra

As previously noted in ADM, Defence has no preference whether the new aircraft is government-owned or provided under a PFI arrangement. This aircraft will not be heavily modified for military roles – it will be a trainer, with a potential secondary utility role and could remain on the civil register.

The ADF has maintained its preference for a wheeled undercarriage though this probably isn’t a ‘deal-breaker’, ADM understands, and it’s ‘desirable’ that the aircraft be compatible with Night Vision Goggles (NVG).

Like Air 5428, the HATS requirement will force contenders to think hard about the right mix of aircraft and synthetic devices. This calculation is made more difficult by the fact that Army pilots will go straight to HATS once they complete about 100 hours of basic flying training, while RAN pilots will earn their wings at 2 FTS before transferring to HATS for helicopter conversion.

This reflects the higher demands made of young Navy aviators: unlike Army pilots who typically spend a lot of time as co-pilots before graduating to the right hand seat, Navy pilots become aircraft captains almost immediately and so their training must impart higher levels of skill, experience and wisdom.

The RAN pilots will be much more experienced and mature when they start rotary wing conversion, so the syllabus must accommodate these differences without disadvantaging one community or the other.

Also still very desirable, according to AVM Plenty, is an Aviation Training Vessel which replicates the flight deck of a frigate as well as the behaviour of a maritime platform under a variety of sea and wind conditions. This is required to introduce pilots gently to the rigours of naval operations and AVM Plenty rejects the view that such a vessel would be under-utilised training naval helicopter pilots.

On the contrary, he points out: Army helicopter pilots will also need to learn deck landing techniques while refresher training for both services will likely see such a vessel used on a regular basis.

Suggestions that a tethered barge could be employed are dismissed: this wouldn’t replicate sea and wind conditions properly, so a self-propelled vessel of some kind is essential. The aircraft manufacturers and pilot training organisations have all canvassed the maritime industry for suggestions and designs.

One possibility is that the vessel could be provided on a PPP basis by a suitable service provider such as Defence Maritime Services – if a suitable vessel could be used for other productive tasks when not supporting helicopter training this might be a win-win, but AVM Plenty isn’t anticipating any outcomes at this stage. Besides, any such service proposal would have to go to an open tender if it weren’t an organic part of an Air 9000 Ph 7 bid.

As for the contenders, the same list of potential prime contractors as Air 5428 will be fighting for the contract, along with helicopter training specialists such as Bristow and CHC Helicopters and French firms Helidax and Defence Conseil Internationale which train French Army pilots under a contract signed in 2009. Boeing Defence Australia is the incumbent training provider for Army pilots at Oakey and has the strongest local rotary wing training record of any of the military contenders.

There are three training platform contenders: the brand-new new Bell 429, the proven Eurocopter EC135 and the Agusta Westland A109; the latter two are already used by Germany and New Zealand, respectively, to train pilots for the NH90 which is in Army service here as the MRH90 and is a contender to replace the Seahawk. The EC135 has skids while the A109 has wheeled landing gear; the skid-equipped Bell 429 offers wheels as an option. The A109 is the smallest of the three and so less-suited to utility work, but this may not be a deal-breaking issue.

Interestingly, given that the company operates the RAN’s A109Es under the RAN’s Retention and Motivation Initiative (RMI), Raytheon has teamed exclusively with Bell to offer the 429. The other potential bidders are keeping their powder dry until the tenders close, and helicopter manufacturers have avoided signing exclusive agreements with any of the potential primes.

Just as the advanced flying training component of Air 5428 is due to come on stream around 2015, the first HATS pilot courses under Air 9000 Ph 7 are due to start between 2014 and 2016; this means instructor training must begin anything up to 12 months earlier, which places the emphasis on platform and training system maturity.

This in turn means considerable activity for the winning bidders. If a single company wins both contracts the spike in his business activity will be sudden and massive. Interesting times.