Project Review: A year in air projects | ADM Dec 2011 / Jan 2012
Nigel Pittaway | Melbourne
As 2011 draws to a close the Australian Defence Force can look back on significant progress on several of its aerospace projects, in terms of both maturing capability and progress through the acquisition process.
Looking forward to 2012, other projects will progress from the pages of the Defence Capability Plan
(DCP) to become competitions. Hopefully too, some of the Projects of Concern will be removed from the list after successful remediation, but there are broader pressures on the economy, not to mention the defence budget and only an extreme optimist would predict that the next twelve months will go to plan.
Despite the protracted development of several recent aerospace programs, a number are now in operational servicing and maturing as they progress through Operational Test and Evaluation on their journey towards Final Operational Capability.
The Boeing Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft acquired under Air 5077 is a good example of a capability which carried a lot of risk and challenging technology and a delayed service entry, but which is maturing in service and earning kudos from its crews and customers.
There are still technological challenges ahead, notably in the integration of the Electronic Support (ES) systems, while the Northrop Grumman MESA electronically scanned radar has some development work ahead of it, but results from recent exercises has been a huge confidence boost.
In the past year Wedgetail has taken part in exercises in the Northern Territory (notably Aces North and Talisman Sabre) and Malaysia (Bersama Lima) and is performing well. During Talisman Sabre in August, a single-aircraft Wedgetail Detachment supported both attacking and defending forces from RAAF Tindal. Detachment Commander, Squadron Leader James Pearson was interviewed during the exercise and spoke enthusiastically about Wedgetail’s performance: “The radar is doing really well and we’ve had no reliability issues on this exercise. We are still developing tactics, but Wedgetail really has been excellent.”
The RAAF’s network-centric command and control system project, Air 5333 or ‘Vigilare’, has also turned the corner after some technological challenges. The system combines near real-time information from a wide range of platforms, sensors, tactical data links etc and presents an integrated picture to single or multiple operations centres. Vigilare completed operational testing in April and represents the cornerstone of Air Force’s network-centric ambitions. Given the hurdles the DMO/industry faced in bringing the project together over the last few years, they were recognised with a special achievement award at the ADM2011 Congress.
Since entering service a few years ago, the four C-17A Globemaster III heavy lift transport aircraft have also proven themselves invaluable, performing a wide range of military and civilian aid relief missions both at home and abroad.
This Military Off The Shelf (MOTS) purchase is an example of a model acquisition program, where the aircraft’s capabilities met Defence’s requirements without modification and was, by then, a mature platform. The Globemaster has proven indispensible and a fifth has consequently been added to the fleet during 2011 (requested in February and delivered in September), and a sixth requested, for delivery in 2012. These latest aircraft, acquired under Project Air 8000 Phase 4, have resulted in the cancellation of two extra C-130J-30 Hercules mooted in Air 8000 Phase 1.
A further example of a MOTS acquisition program that has gone smoothly is Air 5349 Phase 1, the purchase of 24 Boeing F/A-18F Block II Super Hornets. Initially mooted by the Howard Government and ordered by Labor in May 2007 as a ‘bridging’ capability between F-111 retirement and introduction of the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter later in the decade, the final four aircraft arrived at Amberley ahead of schedule in October 2011. Initial Operational Capability was achieved last December and the program is on track for Final Operational Capability (FOC) in December 2012.
The last 12 have been pre-wired for possible future conversion to EA-18 Growler configuration; in anticipation of a future RAAF requirement for an electronic attach capability. A decision whether to proceed with this needs to be made early in 2012, to tie in with the US Navy’s final equipment order for its own Growler program; the body language in Canberra suggests this is a likely move if not already underway.
Defence Minister Stephen Smith has publicly flagged the purchase of more Super Hornets following concerns that Australia’s F-35As will be delayed beyond the current 2017 in-service date, but this is seen by some as a means of warning the manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, that Australia is unwilling to accept a further delay.
According to the 2011 DCP, Australia still intends acquiring ‘up to’ 100 F-35As, under Air 6000 Phases 1 (14 aircraft), 2A and B (58) and 2C (28). Two further phases will deal with future weapons, including a stand-off maritime strike weapon required to replace the current Hornet (and Super Hornet)/Harpoon capability.
The first two F-35As will come off the Fort Worth production line in 2014 but will be retained in the US for operational test & training until 2017, when they will form part of the initial 14 aircraft to be delivered to Australia. The current timeline calls for the second batch to be approved by Government in 2012, for delivery from 2018. The third batch is dependent upon future decisions around Super Hornet and a decision to go-ahead or not won’t be made until around 2015.
The Government has in the meantime commissioned an independent assessment of the JSF program, looking closely at the risk of further delays which may affect the Australian timetable. A Scheduled Compliance Risk Assessment Methodology (SCRAM) team began work with Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth in October and was due to report to report back by the end of 2011.
In July, Stephen Smith warned further delays were intolerable: “I will make a judgment about whether we need to make alternative arrangements so far as making sure we don’t have a gap in capability,” he said, “The obvious option is more Super Hornets, but we have made no decisions in that respect. I won’t allow a gap in our air force capability to occur, that is the single biggest risk to us and we’re monitoring it very closely.”
In the meantime, the ‘Classic’ Hornet fleet continues to cycle through the Hornet Upgrade (HUG) program, Air 5376 Phase 2.3. This latest phase of the incremental HUG will ensure structural integrity and operational viability until the Hornet is eventually replaced by the JSF; HUG 2.3 upgrades the electronic warfare system and Radar Warning Receiver and adds additional countermeasures dispensers on the underwing pylons. Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) will continue through 2012 and is due for completion in April 2013.
Project Air 5402 is the project to acquire an air to air refuelling capability, missing since the RAAF retired its elderly Boeing 707s in 2008. Five Airbus Military KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transports are now entering service with 33 Squadron at Amberley and undergoing OT&E. Despite being placed on the Projects of Concern list during 2010, the third aircraft was delivered to Amberley in November and a fourth will be handed over before the end of 2011 – but will initially be retained in Spain for further testing. The final aircraft is currently undergoing conversion by Qantas Defence Services in Brisbane and due for delivery during 2012.
The first two aircraft were handed over in mid-2011, following settlement over late delivery between the Commonwealth and Airbus Military. Initial testing has concentrated on the underwing refuelling pods, but boom testing is due to begin in the near future, following the arrival of the third aircraft. The manufacturer is upgrading and modifying the Advanced Refuelling Boom System (ARBS) after an accident during testing in Europe resulted in the loss of a boom assembly in early 2011.
The quest to acquire a battlefield airlifter to (in part) replace the venerable Caribou is finally close to resolution with a request for pricing and availability submitted to both of the competing manufacturers in October. Air 8000 Phase 2 will acquire up to ten intra-theatre airlifters, either Airbus Military’s C-295 medium tactical airlifter or Alenia’s C-27J Spartan (via a Foreign Military Sales agreement with the US). Media speculation during September that the C-27J would be purchased under a sole-source acquisition contract has prompted Airbus Military to call for an open competition. At the time of writing, a decision on the way ahead was expected in late-2011.
The current Lockheed Martin AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft is the subject of a two-phased replacement project which broadly parallels the US Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance program, aiming to introduce both manned and unmanned platforms. Project Air 7000 Phase 2B will acquire a manned maritime patrol aircraft, for which the Boeing P-8A Poseidon is the only practical candidate, from around 2017. A decision to proceed is expected around 2013-2014 and, in the meantime, a Capability Assurance Program (CAP) will ensure the Orion remains viable until at least 2018.
The latest increment of the CAP, an ESM upgrade under Air 5276 Phase 8B, was however added to the Projects of Concern list in October 2010 for being eighteen months behind schedule.
The unmanned phase is Air 7000 Phase 1B, which seeks to acquire seven High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicles to conduct persistent ISR over open water and the littoral (and likely also over land as well), but this has been deferred until the manned phase has been completed and is presently scheduled for around 2020. Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk has been waiting in the wings for some time and seems to be prepared to wait just that little bit longer it seems.
Despite the progress to many aerospace projects there are some which, outwardly at least, seemed to have gained little traction over the past year. Arguably the most significant of these are the two aircrew training programs, which will change the way pilots and aircrew members are trained throughout all three services.
Project Air 5428 (Pilot Training System) will acquire a new fixed-wing training system and Air 9000 Phase 7 (Helicopter Aircrew Training System) is the rotary-wing equivalent. According to the DCP, Air 9000 Phase 7 will be decided in either 2012 or 2013 and Air 5428 will follow between 2012 and 2015. Some industry teaming has been announced for the helicopter competition, but manufacturers and service providers are awaiting a Commonwealth Request for Proposal (RFP) for the fixed-wing project.
The use of Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (TUAV) is now widespread throughout the globe and the capability continues to see extensive use in the skies over Afghanistan. The Australian Army has operated hand-held and smaller UAVs in both Iraq and Afghanistan for several years, but the project to acquire a TUAV has enjoyed a chequered history. In the meantime, the thirst for ISR in the Middle East has seen a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) platform leased from industry and this capability is now well-established in operational use.
The ADF acquired two IAI Heron air vehicles and associated systems during 2009, when it signed an agreement with Canada’s McDonald Dettwiler and Associates (MDA). They are administered by the RAAF’s Air Combat Group under Project Nankeen and have proven a great success. A third air vehicle was sourced during 2011 to support training activities at Woomera in South Australia.
The original 12-month contract has been incrementally extended up until the end of 2012 and according to Defence, “There is likely to be a requirement for continued ISR support beyond 2012 at about the same rates of effort.”
In late 2011, the Army finally introduced a TUAV capability to Afghanistan when the first AAI RQ-7B Shadow 200 air vehicles began operations. They are being introduced under Project JP129 Phase 2, and replace the incumbent, but less capable, Boeing/Insitu ScanEagle, which has been successfully operated under contract since 2006.
Project JP129 had previously sought to acquire the Boeing-IAI I-View 250A but was shelved in 2008, following technical difficulties, and eventually resurrected during 2010. A further phase of JP129, Phase 4, will replace Army’s hand-held Elbit Skylark Small Unmanned Aerial System (SUAS) with a more capable platform from 2014.
The last of 22 Eurocopter Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters being introduced under Project Air 87 was delivered from Australian Aerospace in Brisbane in December 2011, over seven years after the first two were handed over in December 2004. Tiger is another example of a project which has faced problems and is late reaching IOC, but which has now matured into a very capable platform.
OT&E is progressing and there are still some hurdles ahead, but Tiger has acquitted itself well on exercise. During the recent Talisman Sabre exercise, Tiger successfully conducted Close Air Support operations with the RAAF and US Marines Corps and deployed in squadron strength to the Shoalwater Bay Training Area for the first time. However FOC is still some way off, with pilot and maintainer training and inadequate logistics support cited for the slow progress. Shipboard trials, a factor in achieving FOC, cannot proceed as planned because the Navy has a shortage of amphibious ships.
The MRH90 Multi-Role Helicopter, which is replacing the Army’s Black Hawks and Navy’s Seaking utility helicopters, is also having its share of delays. Acquired under Air 9000 Phases 2, 4 and 6, 46 are being delivered by Australian Aerospace.
According to Defence the delays are due to production difficulties, spares and logistics supply issues and a training shortfall. The first two helicopters were delivered in December 2007. New Zealand has also selected the NH90 as a replacement for the incumbent Iroquois but is acquiring them directly from the manufacturer in Europe. The program was listed as a Project of Concern as ADM went to press.
In June 2011, Defence announced the Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin MH-60R ‘Romeo’ the winner of Air 9000 Phase 8 for a Future Naval Aviation Combat System (FNACS).
Twenty-four Romeos will replace the existing 16 S-70B-2 Seahawks in the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) role, but will also fulfil an Anti-Surface Warfare requirement (ASuW) left vacant by cancellation of the Seasprite. The first two are due for delivery in 2013 and all will be in service by the end of 2015.
The MH-60R was chosen over the rival NH 90 Naval Frigate Helicopter after a bitter competition, because it was already in US Navy service and therefore deemed to be a low-risk solution.
“We’ve chosen the Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky helicopter for a number of reasons. Firstly, it’s a proven capability. It’s currently used by the US Navy,” said Defence Minister Stephen Smith. “Secondly it’s the updated or modern version of the Seahawk which we currently use. Thirdly, because it is a Sikorsky Lockheed Martin capability, it is interoperable with our alliance partner, the United States and because of its proven capability it is low-risk. We also very strongly believe its value for money.”
The DMO’s own newsletter also acknowledged that the hard fought competition helped drive down the final cost of the program.
From an acquisition point of view the spectre of Seasprite has produced a culture of risk-aversion within Government and Defence and it will of interest to see how much risk is deemed acceptable going forward.