Defence Helicopter, Mar-Apr, 2013

At the crossroadsTurkey strengthens its defence industrial base

Volume 32 Number 2March/April 2013

FLIGHT DELAYS?US Army force update

A GLOBAL BRANDSpecial forces aviation

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COMBATING THE CARTELSLatin America focus

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3 Comment

4 News n Bell searches for new tiltrotor partner n Sikorsky reveals S-97 price tag n Germany cuts NH90, Tiger orders nHAL faces component quality issues

8 Flight delays? US Army rotary-wing programmes are

facing significant delays due to current financial uncertainties. Defence Helicopter caught up with Maj Gen William Crosby, Program Executive Officer, Aviation, to learn more about future army aviation plans.

12 Bucking the trend Unlike other countries that are cutting

defence spending in an attempt to reduce national deficits, Turkey is increasing its investment, with a particular focus on developing indigenous programmes and promoting domestic industry.

16 ATAK force As part of Turkey’s overall defence plans,

the country has been expanding its rotary-wing fleet through the introduction of the domestically produced T129 ATAK helicopter. Defence Helicopter provides a timely update on the programme.

18 Charting new waters With its first international orders now

secured, the USN and its industry partners are stepping up export efforts for the MH-60R multi-mission helicopter.

24 Combating the cartels In a region plagued by guerrilla groups

and drug traffickers, rotary-wing assets are frequently called upon to help fight organised crime. Defence Helicopter analyses the Latin American market.

28 Becoming a global brand Once associated mainly with US forces,

dedicated special operations helicopters are appearing on the inventories of more and more nations.

31 Balkan workhorse The Croatian Air Force has acquired a

number of Mi-8/17s over the years. Defence Helicopter visited the service’s base at Split-Divulje to find out why the type has been so popular.

34 Rotary reflections As director of rotorcraft flight operations

at Boeing, Mark Metzger oversees developmental activities for the AH-64, CH-47, V-22 and AH-6 series aircraft. Soon to retire after 43 years of military and test pilot status, he spoke to Defence Helicopter about current service fleets and a possible vision for the future.

36 Tail Spin Wing Commander Shaun Sexton of the

Royal New Zealand Air Force Helicopter Transition Unit talks to Defence Helicopter about the reasons for recent procurements and the outlook for the future.

IN THE NEXT ISSUE Helicopter upgrades Avionics systems Engines EO/IR payloads

EditorTony Skinner, [email protected]

Tel: +44 1753 727020

Staff ReportersBeth Stevenson, [email protected]

Jonathan Tringham, [email protected]

Defence AnalystJoyce de Thouars, [email protected]

ContributorsGordon Arthur, Pieter Bastiaans,

Jim Dorschner, Scott R Gourley, José Higuera, Neelam Mathews, Alexander Mladenov,

Richard Scott, Lubomir Sedlak, Matthew Smith, Alan Warnes, Tom Withington

Production Department ManagerDavid Hurst, [email protected]

Sub-editorAdam Wakeling

Commercial ManagerJane Smith, [email protected]

Tel: +44 1753 727004

Junior Sales ExecutiveSarah Jessica Roberts, [email protected]

Tel: +44 1753 727003

Editor-in-ChiefTony Skinner

Managing DirectorDarren Lake

ChairmanNick Prest

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CONTENTS

Volume 32 Number 2 | March/April 2013 | Defence Helicopter

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Front cover: Turkey’s defence modernisation plans include the acquisition of 51 T129B attack helicopters. (Photo: TAI)

31

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COMMENT

www.rotorhub.com 3Volume 32 Number 2 | March/April 2013 | Defence Helicopter 3

WHEN NEW AGUSTAWESTLAND CEO Daniele Romiti fronted up to the media for the first time at Heli-Expo in Las Vegas at the start of March, it didn’t take too sharp an analytical mind to guess what the first question would be.

With allegations of corruption in relation to the Indian government’s purchase of 12 AW101 VIP helicopters having already toppled Romiti’s predecessor Bruno Spagnolini, as well as the head of parent company Finmeccanica, Giuseppe Orsi, the new CEO denied any question of wrongdoing in relation to the transaction.

‘The contract is going on even though the payments have been announced as being put on hold. We are confident that in a short period of time there will be a clearer situation,’ Romiti argued.

‘No wrongdoing was made by the company. We are confident that the selection was made in a competitive environment and whenever the customer selects our products it’s because the performance is exceeding the competitor’s performance.’

Although three of the 12 aircraft have already been delivered, New Delhi has suspended further payments and deliveries while the investigation is carried out.

Some company representatives used the Las Vegas event to spin the allegations as stemming from a disgruntled ex-Finmeccanica employee who made the accusations without any firm evidence – an explanation that was swallowed by at least one journalist.

Any claims that the situation was more smoke than fire were quickly eclipsed by the formal registration on 12 March of a first information report (FIR) by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against former Indian Air Force chief S P Tyagi and 12 others in connection with the alleged kickbacks. Investigators also raided 14 properties in Delhi and elsewhere the following day.

The CBI claims that investigators found two ‘unusual’ payments of €126,000 and €200,000 into accounts held by cousins of Tyagi for

consultancy work provided to a subsidiary of AgustaWestland. A total of six companies — AgustaWestland and its parent Finmeccanica, Aeromatrix, IDS Tunisia, IDS Mauritius and IDS Infotech — were also named in the FIR.

It is also alleged that Tyagi approved a reduction in the required operational flying ceiling of the VVIP helicopters from 18,000 to 15,000ft to accommodate the AW101.

This all comes as AgustaWestland finds itself embroiled in a dispute with Eurocopter over a contract with the Armed Forces of Malta to replace its aging Alouettes.

While this is all very colourful from a purely journalistic point of view, on another level it is unfortunate that the allegations have overshadowed the progress AgustaWestland has made recently on both the commercial and military fronts.

The refresh of its commercial portfolio continues apace, with progress on the AW169, AW189 and, unveiled at Heli-Expo, the AW119Kx. On the defence side of house, the AW149 is expected to be military-qualified by the end of 2013, while the company’s pursuit of the US Army’s Armed Aerial Scout contract has led it to further develop the AW169M.

AgustaWestland also revealed that it was developing an electric-powered unmanned tiltrotor under a programme it has dubbed ‘Project Zero’. The technology demonstrator performed its first unmanned tethered flight in June 2011 at the company’s Cascina Costa facility in Italy and has flown several times in 2011 and 2012.

More intriguingly, Bell Helicopter’s admission that it was looking for a major partner to carry its preferred tiltrotor technology through the US Joint Multi-Role/Future Vertical Lift programme could open the door to some AgustaWestland involvement in the project.

Clearly, Romiti’s number one priority will be getting the Indian allegations resolved so he can start positioning the company to take advantage of any such future opportunities.Tony Skinner, Editor

‘New Delhi has suspended further payments and deliveries while the investigation is carried out.’

India turns up the heat, and AW has questions to answer

DH_MarApr13_p03_Comment.indd 3 22/03/2013 14:52:49

NEWS

Defence Helicopter | March/April 2013 | Volume 32 Number 2 www.rotorhub.com4

BELL HELICOPTER IS LOOKING for a new partner to develop a next-generation tiltrotor for the US Army’s Joint Multi-Role (JMR) requirement following Boeing’s decision to team with Sikorsky.

On 28 February, the latter two companies announced they would submit a joint proposal for the JMR Technology Demonstrator (TD) Phase 1 programme, which will be based on Sikorsky’s X2 compound aircraft technology.

Speaking at Heli-Expo in Las Vegas on 4 March, Bell CEO John Garrison said that in light of this development, Bell would take the lead in developing tiltrotor technology for its JMR submission.

‘We made the strategic decision that we felt we needed to lead on a tiltrotor going forward on the

JMR and the Future Vertical Lift [FVL]. We think that puts us in the best position to exploit the capabilities of tiltrotor,’ he said, stressing there would be no change in the current relationship with Boeing as it pertains to the manufacture, development and marketing of the V-22 Osprey.

Bell is one of four companies selected for TD Phase 1, with proposals due at the US Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) by March 6. The army is expected to announce its selection of one or more winning bids in late 2013, with a demonstrator aircraft scheduled to fly in 2017.

‘We believe it is going to come down to a technology battle between tiltrotor and a compound pusher-style technology,’ Garrison

said. ‘And we like our position – we like the fact we already go twice as fast and twice as far as a conventional helicopter. We will be proposing a third-generation tiltrotor as part of the JMR/FVL and we will be announcing that and showing it for the first time at Quad A in April.’

While unable to provide firm details of any future partners, Garrison said there were ‘lots of people who wanted to play on the team’.

‘We are trying to determine right now who the best team is going forward and obviously they will bring not just engineering capability and technical capability, they will have to bring financial capability as well.’By Tony Skinner, Las Vegas

Bell searches for new tiltrotor partner

SIKORSKY HAS PLACED A $15 MILLION price tag on its S-97 Raider, as it attempts to convince the US Army that the aircraft is a low-risk replacement for the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior.

Speaking at Heli-Expo in Las Vegas on 5 March, Sikorsky president Mick Maurer said that as the Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) programme has progressed, the company is increasingly confident that its X2 technology-based solution may be viable.

‘The Raider is the size that is needed for the AAS. If you asked me a year ago, I would have given us a chance, but kind of a long shot versus doing a service life extension with the Kiowa Warrior,’ Maurer said.

‘As time goes by, and the customer gets a better handle on what the Raider is all about and what the X2 technology is all about, we are feeling better about them considering a new start and potentially giving us a shot at that with the AAS.’

The Pentagon set a target range of $13-$15 million per aircraft for the AAS project, and Sikorsky has started a campaign promoting the $15 million unit cost for the S-97.

The aircraft recently passed its critical design review and is on target for a first flight in 2014. The maturity of technologies such as fly-by-wire, active vibration control and manufacturing techniques to make the blades stiffer have allowed the company to minimise the cost of each aircraft.

With the S-97 widely seen as the highest risk candidate for the AAS requirement, Maurer said the campaign was one way of reframing the argument: ‘The thing is with the AAS, they know they need to replace the Kiowa Warrior. I think they are looking at it two ways – they are looking at life cycle, which is interesting and we think we win on life cycle. But you still have to pass the

affordability test. So do I have the budget and is it low-risk enough?

‘The army has had its own issues getting things across the goal line. The last thing they want to do is start a new programme and fail. So whatever solution they use, they are going to make sure the programme risk is acceptable, and that the product they come up with is something that they can afford.

‘The buzz that was out there was that this thing must be $30 million, $40 million a copy. We decided to put a number out there so we could frame it in a way that is more appropriate.’By Tony Skinner, Las Vegas

Sikorsky reveals S-97 price tag Image: Sikorsky

DH_MarApr13_p04-06_News.indd 4 22/03/2013 14:58:10

NEWS

www.rotorhub.com Volume 32 Number 2 | March/April 2013 | Defence Helicopter 5

NEWS ON THE WEBHUGHES ACHIEVES

DISTORTION-FREE SATCOM ON ROTARY PLATFORMS

19 March 2013

ROLLS-ROYCE M250-C47E TO POWER MD 540F HELICOPTER

11 March 2013

EUROCOPTER PROVIDES DETAILS ON TIGER CRASHES

6 March 2013

APKWS VALIDATED ON BOARD NEW BELL AIRCRAFT

5 March 2013

MD HELICOPTERS RECEIVES

MIDDLE EASTERN ORDER5 March 2013

SOGITEC WINS FINNISH NH90 TRAINING DEVICE AWARD

5 March 2013

SIKORSKY, BOEING TO SUBMIT X2-BASED JMR PROPOSAL

1 March 2013

AUSTRALIAN AEROSPACE

CHIEF CONFIDENT OF TIGER SERVICE ENTRY28 February 2013

GENERAL DYNAMICS WINS

HYDRA-70 ROCKET CONTRACTS27 February 2013

INDIAN ARMY ORDERS HAL CHEETAL HELICOPTERS

26 February 2013

GERMAN CH-53 MISSION TACTICAL WORKSTATION MAKES

OPERATIONAL DEBUT22 February 2013

All these stories can be found at

www.rotorhub.com

Kamov reveals involvement in Chinese attack helicopter projectRUSSIAN INVOLVEMENT IN THE design of China’s new Z-10 attack helicopter was revealed by Sergey Mikheev, Kamov’s long-serving designer general, during the traditional ‘Russian Hour’ conference at this year’s Heli-Expo in Las Vegas.

In his presentation, Mikheev showed three slides depicting Kamov’s design activities, including a model tested in a wind tunnel.

He said the contract with the Chinese government, which called for preliminary design of an attack helicopter, including vehicle general layout as well as aerodynamic and structural strength calculations, concluded in the mid-1990s.

Until now, the arrangement was veiled in secrecy, as Mikheev noted, ‘due to understandable reasons’.

He also said that the technical specification received from the Chinese customer contained a set of basic parameters such as the maximum gross weight, set at 6.5t, and his company performed the task as agreed.

However, Mikheev refused to reveal more details about cooperation with China, only pointing out that the prototypes of the helicopter, designated the WZ-10 and built by China’s Changhe Aircraft Industries Group (CAIC), matched up to the design drawings and specifications supplied by Kamov. The production examples sport some detail differences, introduced as a result of the initial flight tests.

All prototype construction and developmental testing was undertaken by Chinese industry without any Russian involvement, and Mikheev acknowledged China’s achievement in building, testing and putting the Z-10 into production.

In the early and mid-1990s, Kamov was busy with the testing and production launch of its Ka-50 single-seat co-axial attack helicopter, and was working on development of the Ka-52 derivative with side-by-side seating and a much more sophisticated avionics suite for round-the-clock all-weather operation.

The Chinese attack helicopter, developed under the designation ‘Project 941’, was an entirely new departure for the design bureau as it sported a classic rotorcraft configuration with

single main rotor, anti-torque tail rotor and tandem cockpit – features which had never been tried by Kamov before.

The Z-10 made its public debut at last year’s Zhuhai air show. The first specialised attack helicopter in China, the type is now in full-scale production at CAIC and is understood to have already entered squadron service with the People’s Liberation Army.By Alexander Mladenov, Las Vegas

A three-view design drawing of Project 941, signed in the lower right corner by Kamov designer general Sergey Mikheev, dated 11 January 1996.

Two views of a Project 941 model used for wind tunnel tests by Kamov in the mid-1990s. (Images: via author)


NEWS


AFTER LENGTHY NEGOTIATIONS, the German MoD announced on 15 March that it had finally reached an agreement with Eurocopter about revisions to the number of NH90 and Tiger helicopters it has on order.

The German Army will now receive a total of 82 NH90 Tactical Transport Helicopters (TTHs) and 57 Tiger UHT attack helicopters. Eurocopter has agreed to buy back 11 Tigers, but as compensation a contract will be awarded for 18 NH90 NATO Frigate Helicopters as Germany’s new maritime helicopter.

The maritime requirement had initially called for the delivery of 30 new aircraft, with the Sikorsky MH-92 Cyclone reportedly being favoured by German naval aviation.

Eurocopter may get further consolation as there are strong indications that Berlin will buy a small number of EC645 T2 light utility helicopters to replace some of the army’s Bö 105P1Ms, including those which are used for special forces air support.

In October 2011, Defence Minister Thomas de Maizière announced the implementation of major changes to the ongoing modernisation of the rotary-wing fleet of the German Armed Forces.

As part of the reorientation, he had originally aimed for a reduction in the number of NH90s on

order from 122 to 80, while the number of Tigers was to be cut from 80 to 40.

In addition, he ordered the army and air force to implement the so-called Helicopter Capabilities Transfer, which led to the handover of all Sikorsky CH-53G medium transports to the air force and consolidation of the complete NH90 TTH fleet with the army.

The German Tiger fleet recently encountered a setback when one of the ASGARD-F (Afghanistan Stabilisation German Army Rapid Deployment – Full) upgraded attack helicopters went down during a training mission in mountainous terrain in the Alps on 4 March. Subsequently, all Tiger operations were suspended, although the four helicopters deployed to Afghanistan were kept on standby.

German operations with Tiger seem to be affected by its limited hot-and-high performance. After 2012 pre-deployment training, which was conducted in New Mexico in mid-June, details emerged which indicated that the UHT variant has severe difficulties flying in hot, high and dusty conditions when temperatures exceed 30°C.

Meanwhile, the NH90 TTH is being readied for its first operational deployment in German service. Transport Helicopter Regiment 10, which is the lead unit for deployment to Afghanistan, ended its pre-deployment training when it conducted its final exercise in late February. Four Enhanced Initial Operational Capability (IOC+) medevac NH90s will commence operations with ISAF’s Regional Command-North in April.By Pieter Bastiaans, Breda

Germany cuts NH90, Tiger orders

THE INDIAN AIR FORCE (IAF) is in discussions with government-owned defence manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) about problems it is facing with a chip warning system that is repeatedly generating an alert on its Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) fleet. This has resulted in nine HAL/Turbomeca Shakti engines being replaced.

‘The warning light comes on because it detects chips in the system. That’s not a healthy way to operate a machine. The problem could possibly be because of a bearing undergoing premature failure, or the casing not being machined properly [by HAL],’ a former maintenance engineer at the company told Defence Helicopter.

While Turbomeca and HAL are in discussions to find a solution, the IAF, which has six spare

powerplants for every 20 ALHs, is likely to run out of operable engines, leaving it with no spares should another emergency occur.

‘This means more AOGs,’ said an MoD official. HAL did not respond to requests for comment.

The procurement of Turbomeca’s Ardiden 1H, developed jointly with HAL as the Shakti, started with delivery of 60 original (1H1) engines to HAL. This was followed by a supply of kits for which some components were to be manufactured in India. However, the components HAL produced were not just delayed but found to be of inferior quality. As a consequence the IAF, with ten ALH Mk IIIs on order plus 30 in its current fleet, is facing difficulties.

‘HAL needs a risk mitigation plan. It must make long-term procurements for backup

to ensure deliveries are not delayed. The remedy is to keep its industrial plan alive but see that the supply chain is moving. The two shouldn’t depend on each other. Deliveries must be continuous and can’t be held up,’ said the MoD official on condition of anonymity.

The ALH Mk III with the Shakti engine is a light multi-role helicopter with a full glass cockpit, integrated EW suite, warning systems, automatic chaff and flare dispensers, and an improved vibration control system.

The Mk I’s initial powerplant was the Turbomeca TM 333 2B2 turboshaft. HAL was given an order in 2007 for 159 ALHs for the Indian Army and IAF, with delivery by 2015-16.By Neelam Mathews, New Delhi

HAL faces component quality issues

Photo: Eurocopter



NEWS ANALYSIS

DELIVERIES WERE DUE TO OCCUR between 2008 and 2011, but the Canadian Forces order for 28 fully operational Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone helicopters is still waiting to be fulfilled.

Indeed, further delays in the country’s 30-year quest to replace its 1960s-vintage CH-124 Sea Kings have just been announced by Sikorsky.

‘We currently have four CH-148 [interim] helicopters at the Shearwater [Nova Scotia] military base for training purposes, and nearly all the remaining 24 aircraft are in flight test, assembly or production,’ explained Carey Bond, president of Sikorsky Global Helicopters.

‘Right now we are in discussions with the government regarding the delivery schedule and other matters,’ he added. ‘We have publicly reported that unless we reach an agreement, deliveries may not occur until 2015.’

The four interim CH-148s at CFB Shearwater still require final configuration and upgrades to meet the contract’s provisions.

So why is the CH-148 now seven years behind schedule?

COMPLEX DEVELOPMENT‘The great majority of the delay is attributable to the complexity of a developmental programme and events that were beyond our control,’ Bond replied. ‘Over time, the programme has evolved from an off-the-shelf aircraft to a development programme, which has added to the complexity and delays. As with any development programme, issues surface that need to be addressed.’

In response to this latest announced delay, which was revealed in the 2012 year-end statement of Sikorsky parent company United Technologies (UTC), the Canadian government is talking tough.

‘Our government expects Sikorsky’s obligations under this contract to be met,’ said Minister of Public Works Rona Ambrose recently in the Ottawa parliament.

‘To date, they have not been met. In fact, they have missed every deadline and every timeline. To that end we have already applied millions of dollars in liquidated damages, and we are going

to be applying significant additional charges that have begun to accrue against this company.’

Canada’s demand for additional compensation is bad news for the CH-148, the only version of the H-92 Superhawk (militarised S-92 civilian helicopter) that the company has sold to date.

According to UTC’s year-end statement: ‘$56 million of losses were recorded upon completing the milestones for the four interim aircraft as the actual costs exceeded revenues. Since the Acquisition Contract’s costs exceed its revenues on a standalone basis, we expect to record a $14 million loss upon the contractual delivery of each aircraft in the future.’

To make matters worse, the Canadian Forces plan to save money on CH-148 training by using simulators more and flying the aircraft less.

This change will cut into revenue projections for Sikorsky’s CH-148 service contract. As a result, the company took a $157 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2012 because that contract’s value ‘no longer exceeded the estimated remaining losses on the Acquisition Contract’.

The latest delays to the Cyclone programme have generated big headlines in Canada. This is because the CH-124 Sea King replacement has been a political football since 1992, when the Conservative government moved to replace the Sea Kings with 50 EH101s.

That $4.8 billion purchase became a cause celebre in the 1993 Canadian election, when the Liberals lambasted the EH101s as overly expensive ‘Cadillacs’. The party won that election, cancelled the EH101 procurement contract with a penalty of $500 million, and started searching for non-EH101 Sea King replacements.

After a tortuous procurement process, the Liberal government selected Sikorsky’s CH-148 in 2004, and the current Conservative government inherited the contract when it took power in 2006.

The results of this political wrangling: rather than acquiring 50 EH101s for $4.8 billion, Canada is getting 28 CH-148s for $5.6 billion (including the $500 million cancellation fees paid to AgustaWestland).

Given this sordid history, Canadian Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay has publicly

described the 30-year effort to replace the Sea Kings as ‘the worst procurement in the history of Canada’.

In the meantime, the four interim CH-148s stationed at CFB Shearwater are being used as ‘ground-based aids to support the training of technicians’, a Canadian Forces spokesperson said.

‘This includes hands-on practical training for various maintenance tasks, and post-maintenance functional checks to ensure proper operation of aircraft systems.’

TRAINING CENTRESikorsky has also built a Maritime Helicopter Training Center at Shearwater, and has designed modifications to the Royal Canadian Navy’s Halifax-class frigates to enable CH-148 shipborne operations, modifying HMCS Montréal as the prototype vessel for testing.

Any losses notwithstanding, Sikorsky is legally committed to delivering 28 fully operational CH-148 Cyclones to Canada, and using the successful completion of the contract to drive H-92 Superhawk sales to other nations.

‘We continue to see strong interest in the Cyclone,’ said Bond. ‘Once the aircraft are delivered to the Canadian Forces and have shown their advanced capabilities and operational value, we are highly confident that other customers will want this very sophisticated and capable maritime helicopter.’By James Careless, Ottawa

Sikorsky reports losses as CH-148 delays continue

Photo: Sikorsky

DH_MarApr13_p07_News_Analysis.indd 7 22/03/2013 14:59:15


US ARMY

Flight delays?

US Army rotary-wing programmes are facing major delays due to current financial uncertainties. Scott R Gourley caught up with Maj Gen William Crosby, Program Executive Officer, Aviation, to learn more about future army aviation plans.

At the time of writing, US Army aviation planners are operating in an

environment of extreme financial uncertainty. This is based upon implementation of so-called ‘sequestration’ cuts, compounded by the 27 March expiration of the ‘Continuing Resolution’ FY2013 funding.

Depending on which of multiple scenarios might emerge from those two events, some recent army briefing charts have indicated the possibility of up to four-year delays in specific rotary-wing programmes. Factor in the additional unknowns of the FY2014 Presidential Budget Request – apparently delayed by the other milestones – and you have a planning environment that is ‘beyond dynamic’.

Against that backdrop of uncertainty, US Army fleet planners recently provided Defence Helicopter with organisational, programmatic and directional updates on a range of issues surrounding their rotary-wing platforms.

TEAMING UPOne example involves future army plans for manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) between manned rotary-wing aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.

When asked about any army plans to build upon or exploit a decade of lessons learned in a post-Afghanistan army, Maj Gen William Crosby, US Army Program Executive Officer, Aviation, offered: ‘Although not necessarily new to army aviation, MUM-T has evolved and matured to a point where it is recognised as a game-changing capability in aviation support operations.

‘From a development standpoint, any time we conduct large-scale training or development exercises, such as a platform IOT&E [initial operational test and evaluation] that involves MUM-T operations, we take an honest look at the current maturity, as well as the shortcomings of the supporting technologies.’

He noted that this helps identify the capability gaps and focuses future development activities. Additionally, the lessons learned from current operations are directly influencing and refining army aviation tactics, techniques and procedures and are now being incorporated into formal training and doctrine.

‘The enabler behind this operational success is the standardisation of the interoperability profiles and C2 and video links between the aviation platforms,’ said Crosby. ‘The Project Office for UAS, Project Office for Armed Scout

Adding new capabilities to older basic designs like the CH-47 is a core strategy. (All photos: US Army)

DH_MarApr13_p08-10_US_Army.indd 8 22/03/2013 15:01:36


US ARMY

Helicopter and Project Office for Apache have worked together with the goal of making the most capable, automated, lethal and interoperable systems available to our forward-deployed soldiers and allies.

‘MUM-T capabilities are a direct result of this collective hard work. As our doctrine evolves to fully exploit the capability advantages of manned aircraft and UAS, used separately and in combination, we fully expect MUM-T to influence the optimal mix of manned aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems in the future army aviation fleet.’

INSEPARABLE LINKSAsked whether he could talk about a post-Afghanistan drawdown of aviation assets and their return to CONUS locations, Crosby pointed to ‘the inseparable link between army aviation and the ground forces they support,’ adding that it was imperative the right ratio exist between the two.

‘As with the rest of our army, we strive to ensure that the balance of our rotary-wing assets is sufficient to meet our global commitments, but not in excess of our requirements,’ he said. ‘To that end, we are constantly assessing the size and scope of the rotary-wing fleet to determine if we have the right number of units, if we have the right force structure within those units and if we have the right mix of aircraft in that force structure.

‘We also carefully examine how emerging technology can be infused into our aviation units to assist in maintaining the best balance and provide constantly improving support to our troops on the ground.’

When asked about the fiscal environment and what it might mean for programmes such as Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) or other modernisation efforts, Crosby noted: ‘We in army aviation are looking at this from the perspective of the entire aviation portfolio and impacts to other programmes. This is a tough time for our country, and we must all do our part in shouldering some of that burden. We will not be able to get everything we want, and we have to accept the fact that we may need to make trades in other capabilities.’

He continued: ‘We have briefed our army senior leaders on the results from the [AAS] voluntary flight demonstrations in 2012 and provided them with options based on the timing of the life cycle of all army aviation

platforms. Our army senior leaders are carefully reviewing all those options. They have to look at the entire army force structure, which also includes manning, future missions and most importantly affordability. Our army will make a decision based on the potential impacts on the entire force structure.’

FORCE MULTIPLIERWhen asked about the biggest surprises for army aviation over the past decade, Crosby pointed instead to several fundamental advances over the past ten years that have been a multiplier on the battlefield.

‘The integration of unmanned capabilities at all levels of the tactical space from the soldier to the battalion and above provided our forces with surveillance and reconnaissance data never

before available,’ he explained. ‘Improved sensor systems on manned and unmanned aircraft have extended our ability to detect, identify and target the threat.

‘The fielding of CH-47F and HH/UH-60M and AH-64E modernised systems has breathed new life and capability into our fleet. Each has implemented critical air vehicle technologies, such as flight control improvements and digital architectures to further integrate battlefield information like blue force tracking, develop MUM-T capabilities and added digital mapping, navigation, voice communications, improved man-machine interfaces, increased aircraft survivability and bettered our soldier systems.’

However, there is still much to do to integrate current and near-term technologies. ‘Fly-by-wire [FBW] technology is proven and fielded on many systems, but we have yet to provide this important technology in our helicopters,’ he added. ‘FBW-controlled aircraft can provide the next great leap in safety and capability – our soldiers deserve that.

‘FBW systems are also a critical element of our strategy on degraded visual environment [DVE]. Air vehicle control, stability and workload reduction are fundamental to operations in DVE. We can better integrate our aircraft survivability systems to increase performance and add capability to better protect our air crews. Sensor technology continues to improve at high

‘This is a tough time for our country, and we must all do our part in shouldering some of that burden.’



US ARMY

rates and we must plan to include these technology insertions in our acquisition planning to increase capability in reconnaissance, surveillance and targeting, and allow pilotage and operations in degraded environments.’

CONTINUED INVESTMENTDespite the current budgetary pressures, Crosby argued that the DoD needed to continue to invest in science and technology and the development of a replacement aircraft to keep up with the ageing fleet.

‘Short-sighted decisions will undermine a strategic view,’ he explained. ‘Our army will continue to be challenged with ageing equipment. We have to build into our acquisition strategies and policies the ability to upgrade as technology progresses. The aviation enterprise is strong, and we need to keep it that way. Drawing lines and making divisions would be the easy thing to do during austere times – we will stay strong to support the soldier.’

He noted that the Future Vertical Lift (FVL) project continued to be a top priority, but sustaining the ageing fleet in the current reduced budget environment would be a challenge.

‘As we take an appetite suppressant, we have to keep focused on a balanced approach to get the best return on investment for our taxpayer dollars. Our stability and ability to forecast will be key to continued success in army aviation. Our army has committed significant resources to support air vehicle and mission equipment technical demonstrations over the next seven years. Our industry partners and the S&T community are leaning forward with technologies.’

Crosby also extended his message to industry partners. ‘We are very fortunate that the army

aviation community, which includes the organisations in the aviation enterprise, our industry partners and the academic community, have very strong relationships,’ he explained. ‘It would be impossible for us to continue our mission without the assistance and cooperation of all our partners. We know they are also struggling to determine the best way forward.

‘More than ever, it is critically important we all stay tied together as we look at the technologies that we’re pursuing, and that we keep each other informed. As we prepare for the tough times ahead, the larger companies in the defence industry will be able to absorb the foreseeable impacts and keep their businesses afloat.’

He continued: ‘What I’m worried about are the second-, third- and fourth-tier vendors who will be severely impacted by the difficult decisions our army and our nation may have to make. Communication is going to be the key, and we need to take advantage of those forums that allow us to conduct that necessary dialogue in order to strategically plan ahead.

‘We need to find ways for us to bridge gaps and mitigate the impact to the suppliers who are trying to keep the lights on. We cannot address the problem if we do not get to the heart of the issues, and the only way to accomplish that is to have that continuous, consistent and straight dialogue with each other.’

EXPANDING COLLABORATIONTranslating that message to specific focus areas, Crosby highlighted greater survivability, less maintenance, better reliability, increased safety and improved quality.

‘We must continue to expand collaboration between science and technology and military

programme management and other agencies,’ he urged. ‘We can ill afford to pursue capabilities that do not support either FVL or modernise our current platforms. Collaboration, coordination and communication must be a constant focus. Let us look at all the options that are out there and make the best investment for our future.’

A key element of the aviation enterprise highlighted by Crosby is the Aviation Maintenance Enterprise (AME), the entity that serves to unify the vital functions needed to support the world’s biggest aviation fighting force, achieving synergy and gaining efficiencies in a comprehensive approach to support army aviation maintenance.

US Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) representatives pointed to the key role played by AME in army planning on resetting the fleet after Afghanistan and to prepare for a wider range of missions.

Some of the activities have involved organisational changes, such as the transfer of Army Sustainment Command’s Directorate of Logistics aviation support responsibilities to AMCOM’s Aviation Field Maintenance Directorate (AFMD), resulting in a single source of the installation’s aviation maintenance mission. It is co-located with active component combat aviation brigades.

RESET UPON RETURNIn terms of fleet assets themselves, AMCOM representatives pointed to current army policy that mandates the reset of Army Aviation active components within 270 days and reserve components within 365 days of return to CONUS.

They noted that the AFMD will continue to perform reset of army helicopters returning from Southwest Asia, but acknowledged that constrained budgets will have a direct effect on that effort.

‘AFMD has begun to right-size operations in anticipation of this drawdown,’ an AMCOM spokesperson said. ‘A reduction of funding will accelerate plans to reduce the reset operation footprint along with their supported staffs. “Recalculated stay behind equipment” plans, rescheduling of aircraft, late inductions and increased in-theatre inspections are some variables that can be used to compensate for changes as funding shortfalls affect existing plans. The AMCOM AFMD will continue to refine opportunities provided by the AME initiative to improve warfighter support.’ DH

Crosby expects that larger defence companies like Sikorsky will be

able to weather the budgetary storm.


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SPECIAL REPORT

Bucking the

trendUnlike other countries that are cutting defence spending in an attempt to reduce national deficits, Turkey is increasing its investment, with a particular focus on developing indigenous programmes and domestic industry, Matthew Smith reports.

Positioned between Europe and the Middle East, and having land borders with Syria,

Iraq and Iran, Turkey is a country with substantial security needs and a growing influence in both regions as an economic and military power.

In order to meet requirements for indigenous military equipment and help broaden its economic base, Turkey has substantially invested in developing a defence industry with capabilities that range across air, land, sea and C4I. Of particular interest to the Turkish government is the rotary-wing sector, and as a result it has undertaken 19 helicopter procurement, development and support programmes over the past ten years.

The development of all these capabilities has seen Turkey increase defence spending dramatically, and, according to figures released by the Turkish Ministry of Finance in November 2012, the Ministry of National Defence (MND) is in line for a substantial increase in its budget over the coming years.

SPENDING SPREEThe 2013 budget projects defence spending will grow from 18.2 billion lira ($10 billion) in 2012 to 20.4 billion in 2013; 22.3 billion in 2014; and 24 billion in 2015. Should these increases proceed as planned, Turkey’s budget will have risen by nearly one third in five years – a stark contrast to the rest of Europe, where defence spending is stagnant at best.

Furthermore, these figures do not include the additional funds that are allocated to the

Savunma Sanayii Müsteşarlığı (Undersecretariat for Defence Industries/SSM) Defence Industry Support Fund (DISF) for military equipment development and acquisition, or the income from military exports. Neither of these are reported through the budget process, although the SSM states that between 1985 and 2011 a total of $11 billion has been provided to the DISF, noting that ‘80% of that total was allocated to domestic production purposes, 16% to direct procurement projects and 4% to the ATIP [Advanced Technologies Industrial Park] Project’.

The organisation with overall responsibility for managing the defence industrial base is the SSM. Established in 1985, its principal task is ‘to constitute a modern defence industry and achieve the modernisation of the Turkish Armed Forces... through domestic suppliers in the most technically and economically feasible way possible’.

It is also responsible for the coordination of export and offset trade issues relating to defence industry products and the Savunma Teknolojileri Bilgi Sistemi (Defence Technology Information System), a database of current and emerging technologies that aim to keep the MND abreast of what kind of capability is being developed by companies and research institutions.

Within the SSM’s Helicopter Department, there are three groups: Helicopter Development; Helicopter Joint Production & Development; and Utility Helicopter. Between them, they are responsible for a total of 19 development, production, upgrade and support programmes.

According to defence industry law, the SSM reports to the Defence Industry Executive Committee, ‘which makes the critical decisions relating to defence industry issues and major defence procurement projects’. It is chaired by the Prime Minister, and includes the Chief of General Staff and the Minister of National Defence as its members.

Turkey’s industry has advanced through a combination of government investment in domestic companies and the involvement of major international defence companies in Turkish programmes. The SSM oversees both the state-owned and private sector elements of Turkey’s defence industrial base, as well as co-production ventures with foreign companies.

CURRENT NEGOTIATIONSIn the rotary-wing domain, the effort is led by state-run aerospace manufacturer Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), which, as well as

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SPECIAL REPORT

priming the Tactical Reconnaissance and Attack Helicopter (ATAK) and Turkish Utility Helicopter Programme (TUHP) joint programmes with foreign companies, is also currently negotiating with SSM on the design, development and production of civil-certified light utility/training helicopters for the government and public sector. These will be based on the capabilities acquired under the ATAK and TUHP programmes.

Other key companies in the helicopter sector are state-owned defence technology developer Aselsan; joint ventures (JVs) such as aerospace engineering firm ALP Aviation and aircraft engine assembler Turkish Engine Industries (TEI), a JV with General Electric; and private sector companies Bakyar (developers of a VTOL UAS) and Global Teknik, which provides helicopter rental and logistics support services.

In conjunction with indigenous industry, a number of foreign companies have participated in Turkey’s industrial development programme,

either through direct sales of platforms or more substantial industrial participation.

Turkey is willing to procure directly from suppliers when it is necessary, as demonstrated by the selection of six Boeing CH-47F Chinooks for its Heavy Lift Helicopter Program through US FMS in 2010. However, it is clear that the government prefers co-production agreements, with successful direct sales initiatives appearing to lead to success in the larger joint development programmes.

For example, in 1998 Sikorsky sold 25 S-70B Seahawks to the Turkish Navy in two batches, with the final units delivered in 2012. The company is now negotiating with the SSM in partnership with TAI for a co-production contract of 109 helicopters for the Turkish Land Forces, Turkish Air Forces, Gendarmerie, Director General Forestry, the National Police and Special Forces Command.

Should the programme progress, TAI will be the prime contractor and Sikorsky the major sub-contractor, with participation from Aselsan, TEI and ALP Aviation.

WESTERN PARTNERSAnother company with recent success in Turkey is AgustaWestland, which is partnered with TAI on the ATAK project.

Having already provided 15 AB412 SAR helicopters to Turkish Coast Guard Command through Project Marti in 2004, AgustaWestland was awarded the contract as the international partner for the ATAK

programme in 2008. This major procurement is for 51 T129 and nine T129 EDH ATAK helicopters, based on AgustaWestland’s existing AW129 attack helicopter.

TAI will be the prime contractor to SSM, while AgustaWestland is the main sub-contractor to TAI. The SSM said: ‘Aselsan will be responsible for providing the national mission computer and integration of avionics and weapon systems; AgustaWestland for providing airworthy helicopters that meet the needs of performance; TAI for production of helicopters and installation of avionic weapon systems on helicopters.’

Qualification of the helicopter is under way and the maiden flight of the first prototype produced by TAI was successfully performed on 17 August 2011. AgustaWestland also noted that it has a collaboration agreement in place with TAI ‘to support export opportunities’.

AgustaWestland spokesperson Roberto Caprarella told Defence Helicopter why he thought they had been successful in the long-running procurement. ‘The overall performance and quality of the product, as well as AgustaWestland’s attitude and commitment to partnering with Turkish industry to design a strongly tailored and customised solution of the AW129, have been fundamental to achieving the goal,’ he said.

‘Starting from a combat-proven platform, namely the Italian Army AW129, AgustaWestland upgraded the air vehicle and its systems to meet Turkish operational requirements and to allow a 500kg increase in MTOW.’

Turkish forces could fly the flag in domestically built Black Hawks in future if current negotiations with Sikorsky are successfully concluded. (Photo: via author)

The baseline AW129 has been heavily customised to meet Turkish requirements in the form of the T129. (Photo: TAI)



SPECIAL REPORT

There is also a major industrial participation obligation – an issue that has caused difficulties for companies looking to sell into the Turkish market in the past. Caprarella acknowledges the importance of getting that part of the deal right.

‘AgustaWestland has also been able to maximise its technology and know-how transfer to Turkish industry in terms of manufacturing and development capability,’ he said. ‘This has made it possible for Turkish industry to install locally designed, developed and produced advanced electronics and weapon systems. Integrating these two aspects, as well as establishing an AgustaWestland-Turkish industry integrated team, has been key to our joint success.’

VIP TRANSPORTTurkey is continuing to expand its domestic capabilities and build its helicopter inventory across the government and security services – an area where AgustaWestland hopes to leverage its position in Turkey’s helicopter market into future sales. ‘In addition to the success of the ATAK programme partnering with TAI and SSM, we submitted a highly competitive offer in 2012 for seven AW139s to meet the Turkish government’s VIP transport requirement, and the contenders’ offers are now in the final evaluation stage,’ added Caprarella.

‘Regarding future opportunities in the government market, we are sure the latest additions to our product range, namely the AW169 and AW189, which are now both in the final stages of development, have good potential in their respective weight categories to meet a number of operational needs among police agencies, the coast guard and military services.’

As a result of the huge investment being made in Turkey’s military capability, the country’s defence market is of considerable and growing interest to many Western defence companies that see it as a potential source of export growth.

However, Turkey’s government is determined to gain the maximum possible benefit from its defence spending, and has a well-established industrial participation programme with some stringent offset requirements.

These have been particularly contentious in the attack helicopter programme, which was initiated in 1998 before being stopped and restarted in 2004 when then-winner Bell Helicopter was unable to reach an agreement

on price and licensing issues. Despite alterations to the RfP, Turkey’s technology transfer requirements remained stringent and eventually led to the withdrawal of two US-based competitors (Bell and Boeing).

Turkey’s Industrial Participation and Offset policy was revised in April 2011 and imposes a 70% offset obligation on any contracts worth more than $5 million awarded to non-Turkish companies. The full obligation extends to foreign companies that are sub-contractors to a Turkish prime.

LIMITED EXPERIENCEHowever, there are challenges in transferring such a substantial level of technology to a defence industry with limited experience of helicopter production. Caprarella said that in AgustaWestland’s experience, these included ‘stringent and demanding operational requirements, as well as a local industry entering into rotorcraft design and development for the very first time’.

He noted: ‘The T129 programme goes well beyond licence production of another manufacturer’s helicopter, as it has involved the design, development and manufacture of an advanced new helicopter variant.’

Despite this, Turkey’s industry was up to the challenge, according to Caprarella. ‘Turkish industry proved immediately keen to grow rapidly,’ he said, noting that this required a significant effort from AgustaWestland as well, with the company providing ‘dedicated engineering, programme management and business management teams involved and having a well-established and continuous presence in Turkey’.

This level of engagement is worthwhile, as the offset policy heavily favours programmes that deliver export capabilities. In order to

encourage suppliers to support the development of Turkey’s defence exports, offset multipliers are attached to projects that result in exportable products.

For aircraft, this multiplier is set at five, meaning that an offset programme that generated $1 million would be credited at $5 million in terms of the overall obligation. The benefit of this is clear for defence acquisition programmes, which can run into billions of dollars.

INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERINGIn addition to the industrial participation programme, the Turkish government is also looking to other market-based mechanisms to help with investment in key companies.

In May 2012, TAI announced that it would be seeking to hold an initial public offering (IPO) of 20% of its shares in 2013, with revenue generated used for re-investment in domestic industry or collaboration in international projects. This could benefit the export prospects of the T129, as, according to defence consultancy Frost and Sullivan, TAI and AgustaWestland have already been shortlisted for the South Korean Attack Helicopter programme and a successful IPO ‘is likely to boost company revenues and help investors benefit further as TAI’s market shares and brand value increase’.

The combination of high levels of defence spending, strong government support for local industry and the potential for the introduction of some elements of market competition means that Turkey’s defence market appears likely to remain a tempting proposition for defence companies looking for growth; and with that Turkey will be increasingly able to progress the development of its indigenous capabilities in the future. DH

A Turkish Navy AB212 performs VERTREP on a US naval vessel. AgustaWestland is a longstanding supplier of helicopters to the Turkish military. (Photo: USN)


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SPECIAL REPORT

ATAK forceAs part of Turkey’s overall defence plans, the country has been expanding its rotary-wing fleet with the domestically produced T129 attack helicopter. Alan Warnes provides a timely update on the programme.

With ambitious plans for an indigenous aerospace industry and a need for a

modern helicopter, it was unsurprising that the Turkish government entered into negotiations with AgustaWestland in early 2007 to co-develop and produce 51 attack helicopters based on the A129 Mangusta.

On 7 September 2007, the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries signed a contract with AgustaWestland, Aselsan and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for the Turkish Land Forces Command Tactical Reconnaissance and Attack (ATAK) helicopter.

The $1.2 billion deal comprised 51 T129s for the Turkish Army, with options for a further 40. TAI is the prime contractor, while Aselsan and AgustaWestland are major sub-contractors.

TAI also has worldwide export rights, except for Italy and the UK. The contract was declared effective on 22 June 2008, and the programme is scheduled to run for nine and a half years.

VEHICLE VARIANTSThe first 30 T129Bs will be Turkish Configuration – 1 (TUC-1) variants (known as T129B1s), with a higher percentage of foreign equipment. The remaining 20 will be TUC-2s (T129B2s), with locally produced Aselsan AVCI helmet-mounted cueing and EW systems, and Roketsan UMTAS missiles and Cirit laser-guided 70mm rockets.

The T129 is 100% Turkish-built, and under the agreement the country is developing an indigenous mission computer, avionics outfit, weapons system, self-protection suite and helmet-mounting cueing systems. Turkish Engine Industries will manufacture the 1,380shp LHTEC CTS800-4A powerplant under licence.

While the five-bladed T129 is more powerful than the four-bladed A129, fuel consumption is not much different, according to TAI. The T129 is capable of executing mission profiles in hot and high conditions for over two and a half hours.

Almost immediately after signing the 2007 agreement, TAI set about implementing several key improvements in close liaison with Turkish Army Aviation. The 50 T129Bs will be purely combat support aircraft, not anti-tank, although they will all be upgraded at a later date.

The T129 has a 20mm Gatling-style cannon in a nose turret, as well as the ability to carry a combination of four 70mm rocket pods with 7 or 19 Cirit laser-guided 70mm rockets, two Stinger air-to-air missile pods, two 12.7mm gun pods and two 294kg auxiliary fuel tanks on its stub wing pylons.

Positioned above the 20mm cannon is an Aselsan ASELFLIR-300T advanced targeting system turret, which houses a thermal camera, laser rangefinder/designator, laser spot tracker, colour TV camera and a colour spotter camera with multiple target tracking capability. They can be monitored by the pilot’s Aselsan helmet integrated cueing system.

RADAR CAPABILITIESA MILDAR advanced millimetre-wave radar is being developed by Meteksan, which will provide capabilities similar to those of the Lockheed Martin/Northrop Grumman Longbow radar used on the AH-64 Apache. They will include target acquisition tracking classifications, pulse-Doppler, synthetic aperture, inverse synthetic aperture and terrain profiling for the T129 in both attack and tactical reconnaissance roles. When operational, it will be mounted above the rotors.

Roketsan is also developing a Turkish equivalent of the Hellfire II, known as the UMTAS anti-tank guided missile for the T129B version.

A total of 51 TAI-built T129s has been ordered for the

Turkish Army. (Photos: TAI)



SPECIAL REPORT

The first of six prototypes (CSX81723 c/n P1) flew from AgustaWestland’s facilities at Vergiate, Italy, on 28 September 2009. Of the prototypes, three were built in Turkey (P4, P5, P6) and three were assembled in Italy (P1, P2, P3) by TAI. P1 was lost in an accident on 20 March 2010 while executing hover tests. The loss of power occurred in its tail rotor while flying at an altitude of 1,500ft in northern Italy.

Fortunately, the crew were able to maintain sufficient control to force-land without serious injuries. The first prototype had flown over 600 hours when the accident occurred, but only 160 in the current configuration – Basic Configuration Helicopter (BCH). As a result, another prototype, P7, has been ordered and will be built in Italy. This will allow TAI to continue with the mission and performance qualifications locally.

The Italian A129C Mangusta is classed as the BCH, and TAI will modernise the aircraft with new mainly Turkish technologies that have come on stream since the original was launched.

EARLY DELIVERYDue to the Turkish Army’s urgent requirement for new attack helicopters, an additional contract was signed with AgustaWestland on 8 November 2010 for nine T129A combat support ATAK Early Delivery Helicopter (EDH) variants, all in basic configuration.

These are in addition to the 50 T129B1/2s ordered by the army and the single prototype (P6) used for test and development. The first of three T129 prototypes to be assembled by TAI, P6, made its maiden flight from the company’s Akinci facility on 17 August 2011.

Prototype P4 is the first EDH, and Turkish Army acceptance tests commenced in July 2012.

The next example, P5/EDH-2/ATAK-1, was in TAI’s flight test sheds in late June 2012 being prepared for its rotors to be fitted. EDH-2 was due to be completed as Defence Helicopter went to press, with a stated requirement to be flying in July/August 2013 and an in-service date of 2014.

TAI continues to explore export orders, and there are a number of potential customers, such as Azerbaijan, Jordan, Malaysia and Pakistan.

In February 2010, the Pakistan Army was offered 15 T129s, but the deal fell through when there was a change of government in Islamabad, and the money allocated for the acquisition was diverted to help with the catastrophic floods in the country in summer 2010. However, Pakistan remains in the market for an attack helicopter in light of its operations against armed terrorists in its Federally Administered Tribal Areas. DH

The first 30 T129s will retain a percentage of foreign-supplied equipment.



NAVAL HELICOPTERS

Charting new watersWith its first international orders now secured, the USN and its industry partners are stepping up export efforts for the MH-60R multi-mission helicopter, Richard Scott reports.

The handover of the 150th MH-60R multi-mission helicopter at Lockheed

Martin’s Owego, New York, production facility on 31 January 2013 marked the halfway point in the delivery of the USN’s 300-aircraft programme of record.

Intended to be a cornerstone of US naval aviation well beyond 2030, and a central component of the service’s Helicopter Master Plan, the ‘Romeo’ marries the proven marinised H-60 air vehicle with a fully integrated, network-enabled tactical weapon system, embodying advanced ASW and ASuW capabilities.

With seven years of frontline service behind it, and more than 150,000 operating hours clocked to date, the MH-60R has already made its presence felt in the US fleet. Now, the USN and its industry partners in ‘Team Seahawk’ are aggressively pursuing opportunities for government-to-government FMS to allies, eyeing a potential worldwide market for over 200 export sales. Australia and Denmark have already selected the platform to meet their future maritime helicopter requirements, and

further opportunities are now emerging in Asia and the Middle East.

EXPANDED MISSION SETManufactured by Sikorsky (air vehicle) and Lockheed Martin (mission system) under a co-contracting arrangement, the MH-60R was developed for the USN to succeed the SH-60B and SH-60F, and in doing so address the operational realities of the post-Cold War era, most notably the shift from open ocean to littoral regions, an expanded range of missions and a more information-intensive operating environment. Furthermore, it was recognised that aircraft would have to increasingly go ‘into harm’s way’, demanding improved situational awareness, threat warning and self-protection.

This drove the development of an integrated multi-mission weapon system, biased towards ASW and ASuW, but with broader applications to secondary missions, such as vertical replenishment, naval surface fire support, communications relay and SAR. At the same time, the Romeo was conceived as

part of a double act with its sibling MH-60S, or ‘Sierra’. Based on the same H-60 air vehicle, and sharing a new Common Cockpit, the MH-60S is meeting requirements for a versatile rotary-wing platform for maritime utility and security roles.

The current baseline MH-60R mission suite integrates four primary sensors: the Telephonics AN/APS-153 multi-mode radar; Lockheed Martin’s AN/ALQ-210 electronic support measures (ESM); the Raytheon AN/AAS-44C(V) FLIR/laser designator; and the Raytheon AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency Sonar (ALFS). Sensor data, together with link data, is processed and fused by onboard mission computers for presentation to the crew, comprising a pilot and co-pilot/air tactical officer in the cockpit and a sensor operator (SENSO) at a mission console in the rear cabin.

‘All three [crew] stations can operate all the systems on the platform, with the one exception that you don’t have fire control authority from the SENSO console,’ said Robert Kimble, Naval Air Systems Command’s (NAVAIR’s) H-60 deputy

DH_MarApr13_p18-22_Romeo_MH-60R.indd 18 22/03/2013 15:08:48


NAVAL HELICOPTERS

programme manager in PMA-299. ‘Only the pilot or co-pilot can fire a weapon. However, everything else can be operated from the SENSO station, so you can really split the workload. In the past, it was more a case of federated systems, individually operated at different consoles. Now, you can balance the load across the three crew.

‘So while the pilot is maintaining control and flight balance for the helicopter, the co-pilot can be working the FLIR and doing ID and track of a contact of interest. Likewise, the sensor operator in the back can be doing a different mission, whether it’s ASW or maybe some more detailed interrogation of the target that you’re interested in.’

UPDATE FEATURESAPS-153, an update of the earlier APS-147 adding an automatic radar periscope detection and discrimination capability, is a high-performance, coherent multi-mode radar capable of both long- and short-range search, detection and classification, and also featuring inverse

synthetic aperture radar imaging and IFF Mode 5 interrogator capability.

Meanwhile, the ALQ-210 provides threat warning as well as surveillance and passive targeting capabilities (improvements over the ALQ-142 fitted to the SH-60B include superior angle-of-arrival accuracy, expanded frequency coverage and an improved identification capability).

The AAS-44C(V) multi-spectral targeting system/FLIR device is mounted just ahead of the aircraft’s nose. It provides an improved capability for passive identification and targeting. Features include a dual-mode video tracker, multiple fields-of-view and real-time image processing with contrast enhancement.

As regards acoustics, the AQS-22 ALFS system combines the expandable array and reeling machine of the Thales Folding Light Acoustic System for Helicopter active dipping sonar with a COTS-based acoustic processor, which also performs sonobuoy processing over eight channels. As well as supporting the detection, tracking, localisation and classification of submarine threats, AQS-22 additionally performs acoustic intercept, underwater communications and environmental data acquisition.

An integrated self-defence suite combines the AAR-47A(V)2 missile/laser warner, ALQ-144C IR jammer, and an AN/ALE-47 chaff/flare dispenser. Long-term plans call for the introduction of the Joint and Allied Threat Awareness System, which is designed to enhance aircraft survivability by providing warning of missiles and laser-based threats, and hostile fire indication for small arms, rockets and other unguided threats.

Commensurate with its gestation in a net-centric era, the MH-60R is fitted with two different data-link systems to provide direct support to the carrier strike group – Link 16 enables the Romeo to send data ‘snippets’ to air assets to build the wide area picture; while the AN/SRQ-4 Hawklink tactical common data link (CDL) is a dedicated encrypted high-speed data link.

‘The different data links allow you to do different things,’ explained Kimble. ‘The [Hawklink] CDL is line of sight, so you actually have to be visible to the ship in order to transfer that data, whereas Link 16 can link through satellite or other platforms to give you an over-the-horizon capability. The situational awareness that you can share across all the units within the battle group is tremendous.

‘Hawklink is really a direct connect between the MH-60R and the ship. So anything that the aircraft sees can be sent back as raw data and then processed on the ship. They get the same picture as that which the Romeo sees out in front of the battle group.’

From 2012, the original C-band Hawklink was replaced by a new high-bandwidth Ku-band link. This enabled the MH-60R to stream video and other data at speeds of up to 10Mb/s.

SALES SPRINGBOARDMH-60R acquisition for the USN through FY2012-FY2016 is continuing under a multi-year procurement (MYP) programme definitised in 2012. The MYP deal – covering the delivery of 131 aircraft – has given the navy and its industry teammates a springboard from which to go out to the overseas market.

‘Production volumes for the navy still leave Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin with significant spare annual production capacity for international sales,’ pointed out Kimble. ‘We currently have up to 20 slots per year available for FMS customers.

‘I see two big discriminators when we go out to the international market. First, we have an operationally proven platform with more than 150,000 operating hours behind it. Second, if you buy into the Romeo, you’re also buying into the parent backing of the USN. That means you become part of a fleet of over 500 H-60 variants, with the benefits that brings in terms of training, logistics and through-life sustainability.’

Over 150 MH-60Rs out of a total planned buy of 300 are now in USN

service. Armament options include the AGM-114N Hellfire (above right).

(Photos: USN)


NAVAL HELICOPTERS


In terms of competition, the MH-60R finds itself up against both the NHIndustries’ NFH naval variant of the NH90, and the AgustaWestland AW159 (the export variant of the UK’s Wildcat). While the former, another 10t-class multi-mission helicopter, represents a true peer competitor, the 6t two-crew AW159 falls into a different category with regard to both cost and capability.

FACING COMPETITIONAt the same time, the MH-60R has on occasions also found itself pitched against Sikorsky’s own S-70B Seahawk export model. ‘From a USN perspective, we always want to push the MH-60R,’ noted Kimble. ‘But there are some navies that want to meet their needs through a DCS [direct commercial sale] route, either to meet procurement regulations or because they prefer to work more directly with a contractor.

‘Obviously, while Sikorsky is a partner on MH-60R, we do not complain if they put the S-70B into the market if it has a better chance of

success – for example, where they are looking to sell additional S-70Bs into their existing customer base. But having in the past encountered the situation where we had both the MH-60R and S-70B in the same marketplace, we are now trying to avoid that, so we go into a competition with a single solution with the full backing of the US government.’

Kimble also pointed out that, while the MH-60R and the S-70B are based on an essentially common air vehicle, the propositions for each are very different. ‘The S-70B has been sold by Sikorsky in a variety of configurations to suit the performance and budget parameters set by specific customers. With the Romeo, you’re buying into exactly the same pedigree as the USN.’

The international advocacy for the Romeo is deployed along a broad front. As an FMS article for government-to-government sale, the MH-60R marketing effort is fronted by NAVAIR (through PMA-299), with additional support by the Navy International Programs Office, the

Defense Security Cooperation Agency and the Department of State.

Ranged alongside is Team Seahawk, an industry grouping comprising Sikorsky (airframe), Lockheed Martin (mission systems), GE (engines), Raytheon (sensors) and CAE (pilot training simulators).

According to Doug Laurendeau, Lockheed Martin’s director of business development for the MH-60, this combination of government and industry actors – addressing the full gamut of political, military and industrial aspects – has ‘been invaluable as we’ve gone to market, and the wider security cooperation piece adds an extra dimension to the [MH-60R] solution’.

IN FAVOURHe believes that there are a number of factors working in the Romeo’s favour. ‘We’re seeing a lot of interest in the MH-60R, which reflects the aircraft’s capability and its relevance to today’s missions in terms of ASW, ASuW, counter-piracy and SAR. Our best salesmen are the USN aircrew.

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They fly it, and they believe in it. Overseas customers recognise they are buying into a strong pedigree. And the MH-60R has been designed from the outset to achieve a high level of interoperability within the battle group and with coalition assets.

‘Add to that we’re in the middle of an MYP programme. The production line is going at full scale for the USN – we have a proven low-risk product, a good offer on price through economies of scale and the ability within our production line to meet an aggressive delivery schedule.’

In a sector where many marketeers extol the number of equipment and configuration choices available to the customer, those articulating the MH-60R export case preach a deliberately different message.

‘There is a degree of flexibility to adapt and tailor the MH-60R to suit individual navies’ operating circumstances,’ Cdr Andy Lynch, deputy programme manager for H-60 international programmes in PMA-299, told

Defence Helicopter. ‘But we will only do this to the extent that it does not violate the “core” basis of the Romeo in terms of the air vehicle, the mission system and the sensor fit.

‘From our perspective, this approach alleviates discounting from the value that comes from having WRAs [weapon replaceable assemblies] and support solutions that are common to the USN. So while the MH-60R baselines agreed for Australia and Denmark do incorporate some configuration changes, they have been incorporated without violating the core elements of the MH-60R.

He continued: ‘What I’d also point out is that while the Romeo is a 10t-class medium-lift rotorcraft with a dipping sonar, it can also operate from destroyer/frigate-size ships. That’s a big sell to international navies.’

INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPSApart from approving any technology transfer, it is not the US government’s role to get involved in the industrial cooperation piece. Rather, Team

Seahawk provides the mechanism to negotiate the placement of meaningful work with in-country suppliers.

Laurendeau holds up Ferra Engineering, based in Brisbane, Australia, as a prime example: ‘We have brought Ferra in to supply weapons pylons and mission kits for the MH-60R as part of our global supply chain. It’s not just simple offset for the 24 helicopters Australia is buying – we are bringing them in for all production.’

Similarly, Danish industrial offsets were made after selection of the MH-60R. ‘Lockheed Martin has developed plans to integrate Systematic’s EW support system with the [AN/ALQ-210] ESM,’ he continued. ‘Danish Aerotech signed a memorandum of agreement with Sikorsky on in-country logistics support, and Terma concluded an MoU with Sikorsky, covering potential collaboration in areas such as composite structures and aircraft survivability equipment.’

The first export success for the Romeo came in 2011 when Australia selected the model –



ahead of the NH90 NFH pitched by Australian Aerospace and NHIndustries – to meet the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) requirement for a Future Naval Aviation Combat System under Project Air 9000 Phase 8. A letter of offer and acceptance for the acquisition of 24 aircraft, plus training, support and logistics, was signed in June 2011, with the programme currently costed at just under A$3 billion (US$ 3.1 billion).

Project Air 9000 Phase 8 will deliver a new fleet of multi-mission maritime rotorcraft to replace the RAN’s 16 S-70B-2 Seahawks. It also provides for the introduction of an offensive ASuW capability, filling the void left by the cancellation of the Penguin missile-armed SH-2G(A) Super Seasprite.

Australia’s selection decision followed a 15-month competitive acquisition process. Cost, risk, interoperability and availability as a military-off-the-shelf acquisition via FMS all weighed in favour of the MH-60R option.

All aircraft will be delivered in standard USN configuration, and will be armed with the Mk 54 lightweight torpedo and AGM-114N Hellfire air-to-surface missile. Seven minor modifications will be embodied in-country after delivery.

PRODUCTION DRIVEProduction activities for the initial Australian aircraft are now well advanced. ‘We have accepted the first two Common Cockpits for the [RAN] order from Lockheed Martin,’ added Kimble. ‘The first airframes are in build at Sikorsky’s Troy facility in Alabama prior to transfer to Stratford [Connecticut] for completion.

‘Flight sell-off is due in July, with the aircraft then going to Owego for Lockheed Martin to complete mission system integration. Following a short test in Owego, and then Pax River, the first pair are due to arrive at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, in December.’

The first RAN aircrew have already arrived in Mayport to start training, with maintainers arriving from March. While prior experience with the S-70B-2 brings a degree of familiarity from the point of view of the H-60 air vehicle, aircrew will find a very different avionics and mission suite, according to Lynch. ‘Just as USN SH-60B and SH-60F crews had to adjust the way they operated when they switched to the Romeo, so the Australians will change their tactics and operating plans when they move to the MH-60R,’ he explained.

The RAN plans to achieve an initial operating capability in 2015. At full operating capability, the 24-strong MH-60R fleet will give the service the capacity to concurrently provide at least eight warships with an embarked helicopter flight.

Denmark became the second nation to opt for the MH-60R in November 2012, selecting the Romeo over the rival AgustaWestland AW159 Lynx Wildcat. The FMS deal, worth approximately DKr4 billion ($686 million), will see nine aircraft supplied to replace eight ageing Lynx Mk 90B helicopters from 2017. Deliveries to the Royal Danish Air Force’s (RDAF’s) helicopter wing at Karup are expected to run from 2016 to 2018.

In a statement, the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization said that the choice of the MH-60R, as an off-the-shelf helicopter already in service with another NATO country, represented ‘a good opportunity for collaboration with other users, for example in relation to logistics, training and future updates of the helicopter’.

Given that the Danish requirement is primarily focused on surface surveillance, ASuW, utility operations and SAR, the standard acoustics fit – including the AN/AQS-22 ALFS dipping sonar and sonobuoy dispensers – will not be fitted to the aircraft supplied to the RDAF. However, Lynch noted: ‘The modular nature of the aircraft means you can take that equipment out of the aircraft without having to change the design. The infrastructure is already in place, so if they did decide to reintroduce the ASW capability package at some future point, the equipment would simply plug in.’

One other notable change is the deck lock device. Unlike US and Australian aircraft, Danish Romeos will be configured with a ‘harpoon’ deck lock system.

Options in the USN’s MYP contract provide for the insertion of FMS customers in the production line. Accordingly, Kimble expects Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin to get approval in the second quarter of 2013 to start materiel procurements for the Danish order.

SPLIT DECISIONAfter success in Denmark, the outcome of South Korea’s Maritime Operations Helicopter competition – where AgustaWestland’s AW159 emerged victorious – came as a disappointment. While the Republic of Korea Navy’s preference was for the MH-60R, as a more capable helicopter, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration judged in favour of the AW159, with price, operational compatibility and commercial aspects weighing heavy in its decision.

With the long-running Danish and South Korean campaigns concluded, attention is now turning to a number of other emerging market opportunities. A potential deal with Qatar for six aircraft was notified to Congress in September 2011, with the Qataris completing a flight evaluation of both the MH-60R and MH-60S in late January 2013.

Also in the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia has shown interest in the MH-60R in connection with the planned Saudi Navy Expansion Program II fleet recapitalisation. Initial approaches have also been received from the UAE.

India is another prospect. ‘The S-70B is currently in contention for the 16-aircraft Multi Role Helicopter (MRH) requirement,’ said Kimble. ‘Beyond that, there is an expectation that India will come out with a new RfP later this year for a follow-on Naval MRH. This is potentially 120 aircraft, and that’s where we see an opening for the MH-60R.’ DH

NAVAL HELICOPTERS

All the aircraft’s mission systems can be operated from either cockpit seat or (with the exception of weapon firing) from the rear sensor operator’s console. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)


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LATIN AMERICA


Combating the cartelsIn a region plagued by guerrilla groups and drug traffickers, rotary-wing assets are frequently called upon to help fight organised crime. José Higuera provides an update of recent procurement activity.

Balancing different budget scenarios against operational and capability needs

derived from their particular defence and security requirements, countries between the Rio Bravo and Patagonia are expanding and upgrading their helicopter fleets.

Since 2006, Mexican authorities have been engaged in a wide, joint military and police effort against cartels producing and trafficking drugs on the national territory, and have utilised a number of rotary-wing assets from the armed forces and police services.

The cartels are active along the whole country, although mainly in the states of Baja California, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and Michoacán y Guerrero, and have managed to extend their influence and criminal activities to neighbouring Central American countries like Guatemala. As well as the ongoing conflict with the government, these cartels are fighting between themselves for the control of organised crime in the country.

It is estimated that this situation has cost the lives of between 60,000 and 100,000 people over the past seven years. Helicopters play a key part in operations against these cartels.

MEXICAN FLEETAll land-based military aircraft are operated by the Mexican Air Force (MAF), which is not an independent service, but an organisation directly subordinated to the army, with a fleet of around 70 helicopters.

Those platforms include 27 Mil Mi-8/Mi-17s for medium lift; two Mi-26s and two Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallions for heavy lift; and six Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawks, 11 Bell 412EPs (including eight donated by the US, received

between 2009 and 2011) and 22 Bell 212s tasked with transport and liaison duties.

A $212 million order for six Eurocopter EC725s was placed in March 2009, with a package that included extensive training as well as technical and logistics support from the OEM. The air force order was later increased, with another six of the type added in September 2011.

The MAF also operates a fleet of aircraft in support of the presidential staff, including five AS332 L1 Super Pumas and two SA 330 Pumas acquired in the 1970s and 1980s. In March, it was announced that the seven ageing helicopters will be replaced by six AgustaWestland AW109 SP helicopters to be procured at a cost of $776 million.

The Brazilian Navy is due to receive a total of 16 EC725s. (Photo: Eurocopter)

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LATIN AMERICA


The Mexican Navy is equipped with a fleet of around 40 helicopters, including five MD 902 Explorers and four MD 500Es, which were originally operated in armed configuration, but have been re-assigned to SAR duties more recently.

Some four AS555 Fennecs and six AS565 Panthers are used for shipborne patrol and transport tasks, supplemented by 11 MBB Bö 105s used for transport and liaison duties. Some 20 Mi-8s and Mi-17s provide general medium transport capabilities, mainly in support of the marines – three of the former type were received in November 2012 under a leasing contract signed in December 2011.

A total of three UH-60Ms donated by the US government was received in September 2011. In November 2012, the navy also received the first of three EC725s that were ordered in early 2011. The service has plans to procure up to nine machines of this type to support Marine Special Forces on anti-drug operations.

FIGHTING CRIMEDuring the past decade, the Policía Federal (PF/Federal Police), has been at the forefront of the offensive launched by Mexican authorities against organised crime and drug trafficking. This has demanded the exhaustive use of helicopters, as well as advancing its modernisation and expansion efforts.

The PF’s fleet includes ten UH-60M Black Hawks – following delivery of the final helicopter in December 2011, three additional machines have also been ordered. The UH-60Ms, together with four Russian-built Mi-171Vs, are used as transport platforms. A total of three Bell 412EPs and seven AS350 L1 Ecureuils (with three more are on order) are used in transport and surveillance roles. Some seven MD 530Gs and five Bell 206Ls

are also available for liaison and surveillance duties.

These PF assets have been heavily involved in the effort to curtail and prevent the activities of the violent criminal organisations active in Mexico. During that time, and especially since 2008, the machines have become the target of attack by the cartels.

Initially, the drug trafficking cartels used to position high wires over their plantations of opium poppies and cannabis to bring down helicopters. However, they rapidly turned to firearms – the first attack was reported in 2003, when gunmen guarding a plantation opened fire on two police helicopters, shooting down the aircraft, which crashed and killed five officers.

Official reports pointed out that four PF helicopters were hit with firearms in 2008, with one incident resulting in injuries, and six more platforms suffered similar attacks in 2009. The aircraft were hit on their rotors, side doors and even the engine compartments, but in all cases the crews were able to keep control for a safe landing.

The situation worsened in 2010, and 14 police helicopters were hit with firearms, with one crew member injured. Some of the aircraft were impacted as many as seven

times, including on the windscreen, fuselages and rotors.

Only three such cases were reported in the first quarter of 2011 – since then, the PF adopted the policy of not disclosing further information on the frequency of these attacks. A leak to the local press suggested that two police officers were wounded in May of that year, when their helicopter came under attack by cartel gunman in Michoacán.

BRAZILIAN PLANSAs part of plans to increase its military power and develop a defence industry simultaneously, Brazil is acquiring 50 EC725s for its armed forces, according to the aims and guidelines of its National Defence Strategy.

The $2.65 billion contract was signed in December 2008, and confirmed in September 2009. Three of the machines were built in France and delivered in December 2010. The remaining 47 are being assembled locally by the Brazilian subsidiary of Eurocopter, Helibras, and there will be a progressive increase of local manufactured parts and components to around 50-60% before the completion of deliveries in 2017.

Each of the three military services will receive 16 EC725s, and the two remaining examples will be used for VIP transport and be operated by the air force on behalf of the government. In February 2013, both the navy and army received their second EC725s, which were the first aircraft assembled by Helibras at its new facilities in Itajubá, and are designated as the UH-15 Super Cougar and HM-4 Jaguar, respectively.

Once all the deliveries are completed, Helibras will be ready to produce a further series of EC725s, against both follow-on orders derived from other requirements of the Brazilian armed forces, and export orders from other South American countries.

‘The cartels used to position high wires over their plantations to bring down helicopters.’

Colombia is the world’s fourth largest Black Hawk operator. (Photo: via author)



LATIN AMERICA

The Brazilian Air Force is also receiving ten UH-60Ls, ordered in June and September 2009, to expand the fleet of 22 machines. Ten out of the 12 Mi-35M attack helicopters ordered for the service under a $300 million contract signed in November 2008 had been delivered by the end of 2012.

Delivery of the first batch of six machines began in April 2009 and was completed in April 2010. Delivery of the second batch should have continued in 2010 and 2011, but was delayed due to complications caused by budget cuts and freezes in Brazil. Deliveries resumed in 2012 and are expected to be completed by mid-2013.

The army is said to be interested in acquiring six more S-70 Black Hawks to supplement the four machines already in its inventory, while the navy has received two of six S-70B Seahawk helicopters, armed with Kongsberg’s Penguin anti-ship missiles. These were ordered under contracts with a combined value of $250 million, signed in December 2009 and June 2011. The deliveries have been delayed, but will be completed during 2013. The S-70B will replace the SH-3 Sea King.

COLOMBIAN COMPLICATIONSColombia is a country facing a complicated situation – on one hand, its military and police forces continue fighting an irregular war against an alliance of guerrillas and drug traffickers; and on the other, it has been forced to update and bolster the conventional defence capabilities of its armed forces in order to balance the advancement of Venezuela’s military capabilities over the past ten years.

The expansion and modernisation of its rotary-wing assets has been conditioned by both requirements. In fact, Colombia is the world’s fourth largest operator of Black Hawks, with close to 100 of the type in service with the army, air force and national police. As result, a state-of-the-art training facility, including an advanced simulator with full-motion, high-fidelity capabilities certified as FAA Level D-equivalent, was inaugurated in March 2013 at Melgar air base to train UH-60 pilots from Colombia and other countries in the region. With the support of Sikorsky, a centralised maintenance depot for the type has been established at Tolemaida.

Some 50 UH-60Ls are in service with the National Army of Colombia, which has plans to add ten additional examples in the near term, including five that were ordered in July 2012.

The machines are supplemented by 22 Mi-17MDs and 25 Bell UH-1Hs. The air force operates 20 armed AH-60L Arpia attack variants, as well as eight UH-60A standard transports, with the latter being upgraded to L standard under a contract signed with Sikorsky in May 2011.

The UH-60s are supplemented by a number of Bell 212s, Agusta-Bell AB 212s and UH-1Hs, of which 12 will be upgraded to Huey II standard and armed for ground attack duties to supplement the Arpias. The air force also operates 30 Bell 206 JetRanger IIIs and OH-58 Kiowas for training and liaison. The latter, acquired from US surplus stocks, have retained their weapons capabilities.

The National Police operates 15 UH-60Ls and a number of Bell UH-1Hs upgraded to Huey II standard. The navy operates four Bell 412s, one Bell 212, two AS555 SNs, two Bö 105s and a single BK117.

RUNNING INTO TROUBLEThe Chilean Army’s ambitions to acquire nine surplus AS532 transport helicopters from the Royal Netherlands Air Force, in order to supplement eight machines of the same type already in its inventory, ran into trouble in late 2012 – it is believed that Turkey also showed interest in those machines and demanded first refusal to purchase them as a fellow NATO member. While the Chileans look for other options to acquire up to 16 additional AS532s, a single machine of the same type was bought at the end of 2012 at a value of $20 million.

The army is expected to launch a call for bids to procure between 12 and 16 attack helicopters during 2013. Another tender is also going to be released for procure an armed scout helicopter to replace the MD 530. The air force is expected to open a bidding process to buy five or six medium transport helicopters, with a requirement for operations at high altitudes.

At the end of 2011, the Chilean Navy acquired two second-hand AS332 L1 Super Pumas for use on SAR and troop transport duties, and there are plans to buy three additional machines. The

seagoing AS532 SC maritime attack helicopters acquired in the late 1980s are undergoing an upgrade of ASuW/ASW systems and a life-extension programme.

This includes replacing the original Varan radar with the IAI Elta EL/M-2022A and fitting L-3’s Helicopter Long Range Active Sonar low-frequency dipping sonar. The navy expects a budget allocation to launch a competition to select and procure a single helicopter type to replace its ageing fleet of Bell 206 JetRangers and Bö 105s used for training and liaison duties.

GUERRILLA GROUPSBudgeting priorities for rotorcraft in Peru are set by the requirements of the military and police forces fighting the Shining Path guerrilla group, which is still active in the area of the Valle de los Rios Apurímac, Ene and Mantaro (VRAE), where it is allied to drug traffickers. A $108 million contract was signed in June 2010 for the procurement of six new Mi-171s and two new Mi-35Ps, which were delivered between 2011 and 2012.

Four older Mi-25M attack helicopters were also upgraded in Russia, at a cost of $20 million, and delivered back in October 2012 to the Peruvian Air Force, which deployed them to the VRAE the following month. The Peruvian Navy agreed to acquire six UH-3H Sea King cargo helicopters from US surplus stocks in 2009, valued at $6 million, but only three aircraft were received between 2010 and 2011.

In November 2011, Argentina received two Mi-171s, ordered in 2010 at a cost of $27 million, for operation by the air force in Antarctica. Plans for a follow-on order of three of the same type have not yet materialised.

Meanwhile, in 2011 the Argentine Army launched a programme to refurbish and upgrade its three AS532s, completing the first machine in 2012. The service also continues upgrading its UH-1s to Huey II standard, under plans envisaging up to 40 machines. The army is also receiving around 30 Agusta-Bell AB206s and Bell 206 Jet Rangers formerly equipping Italy’s Carabinieri and the US Army. DH

Peruvian Mi-171s support anti-guerrilla operations in the VRAE region. (Photo: Russian Helicopters)


DH_MarApr13_p27.indd 27 22/03/2013 12:50:04


SOF AVIATION

Becoming a global brand

Once associated mainly with US forces, dedicated special operations helicopters are

appearing on the inventories of more and more nations, finds Jim Dorschner.

As recent French operations in Mali demonstrate, and following on from

demanding international commitments in Afghanistan, there is a growing recognition among special operations forces (SOF) of the necessity of dedicated rotary-wing aviation support, with the exacting training, skills and equipment required to work effectively with operators in an array of environments.

This capability may range from regiment-sized units with a hundred or more aircraft to selected aviators and a handful of designated machines within a conventional helicopter force.

AFRICAN DEPLOYMENTThe first French Army casualty in Mali was a Gazelle attack helicopter pilot from the 4th Special Forces Helicopter Regiment (RHFS), killed by ground fire on 11 January in the opening stages of the campaign. At the same time, among the first reinforcements deployed through Bamako were a number of EC725 Caracals from the 4th RHFS at Pau that quickly went to work supporting SOF teams around the clock as they led the northward advance of French and African forces.

Having successfully ousted Islamists from most of northern Mali, this combination of SOF teams and aviation assets is now engaged in critical operations to eliminate insurgent remnants that have gone to ground in the rugged Adrar des Ifoghas area in the northeastern corner of the country.

On 8 February, the last of a batch of five new Caracals ordered in 2009 was delivered to the 4th RHFS, bringing its complement of these highly capable helicopters to 14, with additional orders likely.

Based on the record established by US and European SOF aviation, particularly since 2001, more countries are engaged in the laborious and expensive process of building a similar capability.

Indeed, impetus is growing within NATO for a multi-national SOF aviation structure similar to the E-3 AWACS component or the C-17-equipped Heavy Airlift Wing. As evidenced by the turmoil in parts of Africa and the Middle East, coupled with the reluctance of Western nations to commit conventional ground forces, SOF will be an important tool of choice for the foreseeable future, including effective, integrated aviation elements.

The origins of SOF aviation can be traced back to dedicated helicopter support for US

Jordanian special forces fly the UH-60 and MD 530, enjoying a close relationship with their

US counterparts. (Photo: US DoD)

DH_MarApr13_p28-30_SOF.indd 28 22/03/2013 15:16:16


SOF AVIATION

special forces during the Vietnam War, which produced a raft of technological and doctrinal innovations that were preserved by a post-war base of experienced aviators.

The catalyst came with Operation Eagle Claw, the mission to rescue US hostages in Iran in 1980, the failure of which was primarily attributed to an inadequately trained and equipped helicopter component.

Among a host of initiatives launched in the aftermath of this debacle, one of the most important was the establishment of Task Force 160 by the US Army in October 1981. In May 1990, the unit became the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), which today boasts four battalions equipped with around 190 specially configured helicopters.

These are a mix of AH-6M and MH-6M ‘Little Birds’, MH-60L/M Black Hawks and MH-47G Chinooks. Over the years the 160th has participated in a long list of operations, from Grenada and Panama to Iraq and Afghanistan, accumulating a wealth of experience.

While the 160th is tasked with supporting joint SOF and has done so ably by all accounts, the USN has also dabbled with an organic capability to support Naval Special Warfare Command. The latest iteration, launched in 2011, is two Naval Reserve units, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadrons 84 and 85, one on each coast, equipped with the HH-60H Seahawk.

An important trend emerging from operations in Afghanistan is a blending of roles across conventional and SOF aviation, which is likely to continue in the US forces and will impact how similar elements evolve in other countries.

As Col John Evans, commander of the 160th SOAR, alluded in a January 2013 conference, as SOF requirements increase, conventional aviation has stepped in to help.

‘I can tell you right now, we have as good a relationship as we’ve ever had with conventional

aviation. It’s been a very collaborative and collegiate one. We’ve got units within the conventional army that are doing missions that are very similar to what we’re doing with regard to assault, precision fires and then all the critical medevac, logistics and supply functions as well.’

Evans added that the 160th already relies heavily on mainstream army aviation for virtually everything it does, from manning to training and resourcing, and will continue to strengthen those bonds.

‘As we take a look at not just the current battlefield and what our emerging battlefields are going to be and see our forces become more regionally aligned, we’re also looking at things like emerging global force requirements.’

MATURE ATTITUDEMeanwhile, UK SOF aviation has matured in parallel, having gained considerable experience in Northern Ireland and other operational areas. Rather than a dedicated unit like the 160th, with whom they frequently serve alongside, British elements are embedded in established Joint Helicopter Command RAF and Royal Navy squadrons flying Sea Kings, Merlins, Chinooks, Pumas and, in the near future, the new AW159 Wildcat.

Similar to France’s 4th RHFS, Italian SOF aviation capability largely resides with the

army’s 26th Special Operations Helicopter Unit, equipped with the AB412, a growing number of NH90s and the CH-47C+, slated for replacement in a few years by new F-model Chinooks. Italian naval aviation also supports SOF with specially selected and trained crews flying EH101 Merlins.

In 2006, the Canadian Air Force rebranded 427 Tactical Helicopter Squadron as 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron (SOAS). From 2015, plans call for the CH-146s (Bell 412s) of 427 SOAS to be augmented by new CH-147F Chinooks of a reactivated 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, with a number of SOF-certified crews.

Australian Army SOF aviation primarily consists of the S-70A Black Hawk-equipped 171st Aviation Squadron, with additional support from 5th Aviation Regiment CH-47D Chinooks and the recently introduced MRH-90s.

In the Middle East, little is known about Israeli SOF aviation, other than reliance on a combination of UH-60 Black Hawks and the 40-year-old CH-53 Yas’ur. While the latter have been repeatedly upgraded with modern sensors, avionics and self-protection systems, they cannot keep flying forever and could well be replaced by a version of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor.

Neighbouring Jordan’s Joint Special Operations Command includes a rotary-wing component which flies UH-60L/M Black Hawks and MD 530F ‘Little Birds’. The force has a close working relationship with the 160th SOAR, including retired aviators from the regiment serving as advisors. Another capability in the region is the UAE’s 18 Group, which also operates UH-60Ms, along with Chinooks and AS550 C3 Fennecs.

Meanwhile, Saudi SOF are steadily expanding, apparently to include an aviation force equipped with UH-60Ls, which participated in a joint exercise with French special forces in Corsica last October.

‘Relying on the few special air-capable NATO nations to fill the collective SOF need has not proven feasible.’

The MH-47G is one of three main types operated by the 160th SOAR.

(Photo: US Army)

Canada’s SOF-dedicated CH-146s will be joined by Chinooks in the

near future. (Photo: DND)


SOF AVIATION


Not surprisingly, Brazil, India and China, along with other emerging powers, are keen to enhance SOF capability by integrating rotary-wing aviation over the next decade.

Within Brazil’s capable Army Aviation Command, the 1st Army Aviation Battalion is responsible for supporting the Rapid Reaction Force, which includes SOF. The 1st Battalion is equipped with a mix of AS532 Cougars, AS550 Fennecs and HM-1 Panteras – locally built AS565 Panthers. The latter are currently going through a major upgrade that includes FLIR, radar, rotors, avionics and uprated engines.

However, Brazil is a large country and the battalion’s base at Taubaté is over 1,000km from the Special Forces Brigade at Goiânia, making close cooperation difficult. Along with international commitments such as the UN mission in Haiti, Brazil’s SOF are focused on securing rugged border areas in the vast Amazon region, for which they rely on Brazilian Air Force UH-60Ls from the 8th Aviation Group’s 7th Squadron at Manaus.

Deliveries of locally produced HM-4s (EC725s) through 2016 will further enhance SOF aviation, with 16 each slated for the army, air force and navy. While 1st Battalion is taking on the first army aircraft, air force HM-4s are entering service with the 1st Squadron of the 8th Aviation Group at Belém in the Amazon.

While India recently announced plans to establish a new three-star-level joint special operations command by 2017, inter-service squabbles are holding back development of integrated SOF aviation support. The Indian Army is keen to launch its own air corps, complete with new AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and other aircraft, but faces stiff resistance from the Indian Air Force (IAF), which has historically provided battlefield helicopter support.

In October 2012 a decision handed down by the Indian MoD allocated the Apaches to the army, though the IAF is not expected to give up

the fight just yet. Meanwhile, Indian Army SOF relies on IAF aviation for lift, primarily Mi-17V-5s, to be augmented from mid-decade by 15 new CH-47F Chinooks. The IAF has an additional 59 Mi-17V-5s on order specifically for SOF support, which the army would also like to gain control of.

STATE OF FLUXMeanwhile, Chinese SOF evolution is in a state of flux and largely shrouded in secrecy, though substantial investments are being made across the services, presumably including the People’s Liberation Army Aviation Corps. The corps operates more than 400 helicopters, including over 200 new Mi-17 variants and numbers of Z-9s, a local derivative of Eurocopter’s AS365 Dauphin. Under development, with potential for supporting Chinese SOF in a similar way to the Chinook in the west, is the Avicopter AC313, itself a derivative the SA 321 Super Frélon-based Z-8 heavy helicopter.

Beyond the BRICs, with their large armed forces and robust defence budgets, SOF aviation is also proving popular in countries of relatively modest means, such as Norway.

The latter has announced plans to unify army and naval special forces in a single command that will presumably also strengthen the training and mission tasking relationship with the Royal Norwegian Air Force’s Bell 412-equipped 720 Squadron at Rygge, which is charged with SOF support, among other tactical helicopter roles.

For smaller air arms that cannot maintain dedicated SOF aviation squadrons, capability has to be embedded in conventional units in the form of designated aircrew and mission planners with sufficient experience and training in advanced tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) while employing aircraft with the proper performance, sensors, avionics, self-protection suites and weapons to permit successful insertion and recovery of SOF under combat conditions, day or night.

THE FUTUREOne way to make the most of limited assets and personnel is to link them together internationally to facilitate combined operations.

Making this work requires a high degree of standardisation in terms of training, TTPs, equipment and language. With this in mind, and taking advantage of experience gained in Afghanistan by multi-national crews working together to train the Afghan Air Force, NATO is developing plans for an aviation capability to correspond with the increasingly capable alliance SOF.

Just as the development of quality SOF units has gathered pace as a means for small countries with limited resources to ‘punch above their weight’, SOF aviation offers a more affordable alternative to procuring and maintaining modern multi-role fighters while satisfying a critical capability gap within the alliance.

For countries like Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia, or Sweden and Finland that are already investing in SOF and possess established tactical rotary-wing capability, NATO-standardised SOF aviation is a logical next step. For example, Sweden has already announced that some or all of the 15 UH-60M Black Hawks recently procured from the US will be devoted to SOF support once the Afghanistan mission winds down.

Last year the commander of NATO’s Special Operations Headquarters (NSHQ), USAF Lt Gen Frank Kisner, began promoting the concept of ‘building a NATO SOF aviation framework’ involving an air warfare centre to provide standardised doctrine and training, and ‘the possible development of an interim NATO SOF operational flying capability’.

Kisner believes that ‘the overarching strategy envisioned from the NSHQ perspective involves a coherent framework for NATO SOF aviation development that facilitates an end state of synchronised, integrated and mutually supporting SOF aviation capacity across the alliance.’

More to the point, he said that ‘relying on the few special air-capable NATO nations to fill the collective SOF aviation need has not proven feasible, and does not posture NATO well for future missions’.

An April 2012 paper by a team from the US Naval Postgraduate School on NATO SOF air warfare that was commissioned by NSHQ adds detail to the concept. DH

French Army EC725 Caracals played a key role in recent SOF operations in

Mali. (Photo: Eurocopter)



COUNTRY FOCUS

Balkanworkhorse

The Croatian Air Force has acquired a number of Mi-8/17s over the years. Alan Warnes visited the air base at Split-Divulje to find out why the type has been so popular.

Like many new NATO members, Croatia utilises the Mi-8/17 Hip for a major part

of its helicopter operations. Most of the countries that formed independent air forces following the breakup of the Warsaw Pact and Yugoslavia, still fly the type today. In fact, the Hip is the most popular medium-lift helicopter still being built, with more than 10,000 derivatives sold worldwide.

The Croatian Air Force’s (CAF’s) 21 or so Mi-8/17s fulfil many roles, including SAR,

medevac and fire-fighting in addition to general transport duties, and are arguably the backbone of its operations. The helicopters are split between two bases – Lučko, near Zagreb, and Split-Divulje on the Dalmatian coast.

The country gained its first Mi-8 when a Yugoslav Air Force example was forced down and captured by Croatian forces on 22 September 1991. It became the embryonic air arm’s first helicopter and was serialled H-101. It was ushered into service and mainly used for

transport duties and casevac. Eventually, it was named ‘Stara Frajila’ (‘Old Maid’).

BREAKING THE EMBARGOAnother five Mi-8Ts (H-102 to H-106) were sourced in 1992, funded by those sympathetic to the independence cause, thus breaking the international embargo on arms deliveries to the region. Three of these have been withdrawn from use and are stored at the Zrakoplovno Remontni Zavod (ZTZ) factory in Velika Gorica, while the

In early 2012, the ETH at Split-Divulje took on responsibility for providing helicopter support to the Croatian Coast Guard – hence the special marking on the fuselage. (All photos: author)

DH_MarApr13_p31-33_Croatia.indd 31 22/03/2013 15:17:44


COUNTRY FOCUS

others have been given new serials (274-276) and are still flying today from Split-Divulje.

Three VIP helicopters have also been purchased over the years (252-254), but only one remains (see panel above). All the Mi-8/17s had H- as part of their serials, but this was dropped a couple of years ago.

A batch of Mi-8MTV-1 helicopters (201-214) was acquired through a Hungarian agent from various civilian sources, such as Russia’s Aeroflot and Slovakia’s Slov-Air between 1992 and 1993. Four of them were also given names: H-203 ‘St Ivan’ (the guardian of Trogir); H-204 ‘St Duje’ (guardian of Split); H-210 ‘St Vlaho’ (guardian of Dubrovnik); and H-211 ‘St Donat’ (guardian of Zadar).

Many of the Hips played an active part in Operation Oluja (‘Storm’) in 1995, when they were used to ferry troops and cargo to Krajina, where Croatian soldiers forced the Serbs to retreat, thus effectively ending the Yugoslav war. Some were even armed to augment ten Mi-24s the CAF was operating at that time.

The Hips were eventually divided between the 20th Helicopter Transport Unit (ETZ) at

Split-Divulje (tasked with maritime duties, special mountain missions and SAR), and the 28th ETZ at Lučko (using them predominantly for CSAR and other special missions).

At one time in the mid-2000s, the Hip fleet was operating in two different camouflage schemes. Those overhauled in-country by ZTZ were resprayed in a new grey scheme, while those serviced in Ukraine were given a camouflage pattern. Today, only three of the latter remain, and are based at Split-Divulje.

Since a single Mi-8 joined the first Partnership for Peace (PfP) exercise at St Dizier in October 2002, Croatia has been a frequent participant in these manoeuvres – even if the PfP movement seems to have taken a back seat due to other NATO commitments.

NEW ACQUISITIONAs part of the former USSR’s debt settlement, the CAF acquired ten Ulan-Ude-built Mi-171Shs in 2006, which were delivered between December 2007 and July 2008.

These modern Hips, with their more powerful 2,200hp engine, rear ramp and a door on both

sides of the fuselage, are suited for special operations across a variety of environments and conditions, day and night, and are equipped with Western avionics and NVGs.

All ten Mi-171Shs were delivered to the Multirole Helicopter Squadron (EVH) at Lučko, reporting to the 91st Air Base at nearby Zagreb-Pleso.

Until their arrival, the unit had flown a mix of Mi-8MTV/Mi-8Ts, with detachments at Pula and Split-Divulje. These older Hips were transferred to the 95th Air Base at Split-Divulje to equip what today is the Transport Helicopter Squadron (ETH).

Known until recently as the 20th Transport Squadron, the ETH operates three Mi-8Ts, seven Mi-8MTV-1s and one Mi-17-1VA in a variety of different roles.

Other than the usual transportation tasks, Split’s Hips are regularly called upon for medevac/casevac, SAR – both at sea and in the mountains – as well as fire-fighting. The main external difference between the Mi-8T and the Mi-8MTV is the tail rotor position – the former has it located on the right-hand side, while the latter, which was developed by the Russians for operations during the 1980s Afghan conflict, has it on the left. The Mi-8MTV when exported is referred to as the Mi-17.

A flying hospital version, the Mi-17-1VA serialled 215, was once a dedicated VIP helicopter for President Franjo Tudjman, who suffered from ill health for the last six years of his life. After he passed away in 1999, the helicopter, retaining all its onboard medical equipment, became an air ambulance for general use around the islands off Split, although it does sometimes go as far as Zagreb.

GOOD SERVICEAs part of the country’s national emergency services, aircraft 215 is kept extremely busy. There are many recent examples of the ETH’s great work. On 20 November 2012, the Mi-17-1VA was used to transport an expectant mother, who went into labour prematurely, resulting in a life-threatening condition, from Dubrovnik to Split Hospital.

The journey took less than an hour and saved both the mother and her baby. The next day, the Mi-17-1VA was dispatched to Dubrovnik again on a medevac sortie after an 11-year-old girl was hit by a car. She was picked up and flown to the hospital to be given suitable medical care.

The loss of H-253ON 9 JULY 2007, MI-8MTV-1 H-253 CRASHED inside the military barracks at Vukovar and claimed the lives of three – a flight engineer and a soldier on board, and a nurse on the ground who died of her injuries the following day.

Others on board, including the pilot and co-pilot, as well as the Deputy Chief of the Croatian Army General Staff, Gen Slavko Baric, were injured. The Hip was one of two VIP versions flown by the 28th ETZ at Lučko.

This was the second time an Mi-8 serialled H-253 had been written off – the first one was destroyed on 18 September 1997.

The rear cabin of the CAF’s sole Mi-17-1VA,

which is outfitted for medevac work.



COUNTRY FOCUS

During the summer months when thousands of foreign holidaymakers flock to the Croatian coast and mountains, the helicopters are kept busy rescuing those that have got lost, are in trouble due to the heat or injuries, or at sea without any proper sailing skills. August is always the busiest month, and in 2011, the ETH flew 366 medical flights – a similar figure was recorded in 2012.

During the dry summer season that usually starts in June and runs until October, there is the added burden of fire-fighting duties as the temperatures rise. With the strong bora winds whipping off the mountains along the coast line, a small fire can soon escalate into an inferno.

The Hip’s main weapon for putting out these fires is the Flory bucket. Having a capacity of around 2,600l, the underslung containers are dipped into a lake or sea by the helicopter and emptied over the flames. They can also be used for rescue missions, when daring fire-fighters can get inside them and be flown to the fires.

INTENSE WORKDuring Defence Helicopter’s visit to Split-Divulje, two resident Mi-8MTV-1s had spent all day battling with a fire some 160km away at Lika, north of the Velebet mountains. So intense was the work that two relief air crews had to be driven by coach to Zadar (where the helicopters refuelled) to take over their time-expired colleagues’ work.

The two helicopters dropped 78 ‘bombs’ of water before they returned to base at dusk, with their buckets hanging underneath. The summer of 2012 saw the ETH helicopters putting out fires in the Montenegro national park for three days,

using a canyon in the River Tara to extract the water and refuelling from Podgorica. While the helicopters were away, two Mi-171Shs from Lučko were detached to Split-Divulje in case there was a need to transport troops.

For the first four months of 2012’s fire-fighting season, the Mi-8MTV-1s had dropped 660 ‘bombs’ and a total of 1,320t of water. In 2012, one of the Mi-8MTV-1s was also assigned to support the coast guard.

For international exercises, the Mi-8s have participated in European battle group manoeuvres in Ronneby, Sweden, in late 2010 and mid-2011. However, the CAF’s Mi-8/17 force is stretched with continuing operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo.

CAF Mi-8/17 crews regularly deploy to Kabul International Airport as air advisors to mentor, supervise and train Afghan aircrews. In doing so, they are supporting the ISAF’s training effort in Afghanistan.

As there are no Croatian helicopters at Kabul, the CAF pilots fly Afghan or Czech Mi-17s. They work with Czech, Hungarian and US aircrews from the 444th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron that forms part of the USAF’s 438th Air Expeditionary Wing.

HOSTILE SITUATIONWhile renowned for their professionalism, CAF aircrews have also gained a reputation for their bravery. In mid-September 2012, during a few weeks of high tension between the Afghan community and the Americans, as a result of a US-made film insulting the prophet Mohammed, 38 soldiers from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and

Montenegro had to be rescued from a hostile situation in Kabul.

With the US forbidding its helicopter crews to carry out a rescue mission in case they were shot down, Croatian aircrews flew an Afghan Mi-17 to the trapped personnel and recovered them to Bagram.

Back in Croatia, the aircrews can usually be recognised during the summer as they continue to wear their sand-coloured flying suits, not for the ‘pose’, but because they are much lighter than CAF ones and better for the hot weather.

KOSOVO OPSTwo Mi-171Shs from Lučko have been a feature of Kosovo Force (KFOR) operations out of Camp Bondsteel, near Ferizaj/Uroševac, since July 2009. The latest four-month deployment came on 16 November 2012, when the 11th HRVCON (Croatian contingent), comprising 18 mainly CAF personnel, left Zagreb.

While serving in KFOR, the helicopter’s main task is to transport troops and cargo in support of military operations. KFOR’s basic mission is to provide a safe and secure environment for everybody in the country. HRVCON is often engaged in different duties to support personnel, and this can often mean rapid air insertion and extraction of crowd and riot control units, trained and ready to react if a violent incident erupts.

Having a capability to transport 24 troops, the CAF Mi-171Sh helicopters are the largest in KFOR service. There is a small Croat population in the villages of Janjevo and Letnica, and CAF aircrews usually go there every Sunday to attend mass and bring food to the villagers. DH

Having dropped their Flory buckets, two Mi-8MTV-1s return to their parking spot after a three-hour fire-fighting mission on Brac Island.


INDUSTRY INSIGHT


As director of rotorcraft flight operations at Boeing, Mark Metzger oversees developmental activities for the AH-64, CH-47, V-22 and AH-6 aircraft. Soon to retire after 43 years of military and test pilot status, he spoke to Scott R Gourley about current service fleets and a possible vision for the future.

‘As a 20-year-old going to flight school, I thought that the coolest possible thing

you could be in the entire world was a scout or an attack driver,’ Metzger recalled. ‘I’m going on 62 now, and I am convinced that the coolest thing you can be is a scout or attack driver.’

Originally drafted during the closing years of the Vietnam War, his early ground service with the M551 Sheridan light tank was followed by flight school and 22 years of army aviation. His transition to industry began with experimental flight work with prototypes of the ‘D’-model Apache, along with other activities involving the MD 900, MD 600 and AH/MH-6 ‘Little Bird’ aircraft.

‘I was here doing a lot of that development work; a lot of the flight control laws development for the D-model; the electronic fly-by-wire backup control system – that type of work,’ he explained. ‘Then the opportunity came up after I had been here about four years, and I applied for and got this position. It was not long after that when Boeing and McDonnell Douglas merged.’

Shortly after this, all Boeing rotorcraft flight operations were placed under Metzger’s oversight.

AVIATION ADVANCEMENTSLooking back over more than four decades of flying experience, Metzger observed: ‘The world has changed and the aircraft have changed, but the path we took, I think, is very, very interesting. We all had in our minds this [future] era where we were going to go faster, higher, carry more and do all that.’

Pointing to the developmental eras of current helicopter fleets, he noted: ‘What we thought was going to happen didn’t happen. What did happen was that we made incredibly good dust covers. And [other companies] did the same thing.

‘But what has happened is that we introduced things like new engines. Look at the Cobras or Hueys with their old T53-L11 engines – putting out a little over 1,000hp, sucking down gas at an absolutely incredible rate, with external oil coolers for both the transmission and the engines. Now all of that has been combined into engines that have gotten smaller and lighter, with improved specific fuel consumption. All of those things were combined to make those dust covers more efficient.

‘Everybody went through exactly the same development scheme. You got more and more horsepower, you got cooler and cooler avionics

Rotary reflections

Photo: Boeing

DH_MarApr13_p34-35_Boeing.indd 34 22/03/2013 15:19:26

INDUSTRY INSIGHT


and stuff that went into the platform to make it much more capable.’

Metzger believes that those efforts, combined with several key industry developments surrounding rotor blade composition and design, have managed to make the ‘dust cover’ applicable for the next 10-20 years.

‘The next step in this whole process of what’s going to happen with our dust covers, to me, is obvious,’ he continued. ‘We’ve just built the E-model [AH-64E]. So now they are going to come back and say: “Now I have blades and a transmission that can take the power, so I’d like some more power please.” So you have an advanced engine programme out there that is going to give us 3,000shp engines and a reduction in specific fuel consumption of around 25%. You throw that into the aircraft, and all of a sudden my 2:30-hour airplane is a 3:15-3:40 airplane that can go many more places.

‘Then they will say: “You guys have put this stuff on it and now it’s too slow.” So then they will go to five main rotor blades. Just look at all of [the helicopters] and you can see how that is going to turn out, in my opinion.’

CRITICAL DEVELOPMENTSLooking further into the future, Metzger highlighted the US Army’s Joint Multi-Role aircraft and other follow-on programmes.

‘Those are critical,’ he stressed. ‘Because… in reality you are now building the dust cover for the next 50 years. So the people and the companies that are really investing their time and talent in that are setting the future.’

While acknowledging some technical challenges in the coming decades, Metzger expressed his belief that ‘a lot of the new materials are eliminating those challenges’. He illustrated this with examples of new materials integrated in 787 Dreamliner engines, innovative battery developments and reduced size/increased power of new electric motors.

‘There are huge technical challenges that are coming up, but I think we’ll meet those challenges and overcome them at a pace faster than we ever did before,’ he said. ‘I think airplanes will still pretty much look like airplanes, and helicopters will still pretty much look like helicopters, but the insides of those platforms and the efficiencies are going to grow hugely.’

Metzger also characterised the availability of UAVs as ‘hugely useful’. Emphasising that the

technology behind ‘wingman’ capabilities of unmanned platforms has already been proven, he identified remaining technical challenges in providing a computer system with ‘the ability to improvise change that you do in air-to-air scenarios or various combat scenarios’.

Asked how the growth of helicopter capabilities over the past few decades may have impacted expectations of air support, he noted: ‘With the change in my lifetime what we have seen is that we have conquered the night, and we have almost conquered the environmental conditions – in fact, we prefer to go at night, we prefer to go in lousy weather.

‘There are still times that the weather can get bad enough to where we can’t move, but there are technologies coming that are going to fix that.’

Relating the situation to his own early pre-flight school army service, Metzger offered: ‘There I could get aviation support if the weather was good and it was daytime. Now, [a soldier] can get aviation support pretty much 24 hours a day – and that’s expected.’

TACTICAL EVOLUTIONHe said that one interesting change over the decades was a tactical evolution from the 1960s/1970s emphasis on small unit support to large anti-armour operations, and back to small unit support today.

‘I think it’s really a testament to the people that designed these dust covers to begin with, that they were able to switch from the low-intensity [combat], to the mid-intensity, to some extent high-intensity, in the opening days of the first Iraq War, and back down into low-intensity,’ he said.

‘If you think about it, the flight characteristics you want in an aircraft that is never going to

get higher than “one scream from the ground”, dodge between trees and hover in 45kt tail winds are completely different than the flight characteristics you want for diving fire and manoeuvring fire. So it is interesting to me that they were able to adapt and pull that off by giving them good-quality aircraft that would do both.’

Asked to reflect on ‘the path not taken’ in any aspect of rotorcraft development over the past few decades, he replied: ‘I think we’ve taken the paths. But did we get down them as far as we would want to? Probably not.’

COMPOSITE BLADESHe offered a somewhat humorous example from the development of composite blades for the Apache, an effort designed to integrate advanced technology, affordability and performance advances in a new design. Metzger pointed to three ways to improve performance: change the aerofoil; increase rotor span for more lift; and increase density by adding another blade for greater speed.

‘The Apache had obviously gotten heavier,’ he said. ‘So we needed the performance now. And we could see that we were going to get it. We knew we wanted to be able to “pick up” more, so we went in and said: “Listen. It’s a glass blade. You can make it whatever length you want. Give me another foot on each blade.” And now your performance calculations are through the roof. There’s no “Can we make it?” You have huge, huge margins.

‘Well, the objections that came back were just incredible,’ he continued, relating a series of discussions on various technical aspects of the design. ‘Finally, the E-model blade is 6in [15.2cm] longer in radius – not a foot. And it was driven strictly by the fact that I could increase that blade by 6in and not do anything about the blade boxes that they came in. The increase in span was driven by the boxes they come in. So we got there, but I think it’s humorous because you don’t think of this huge logistics trail that goes along with it.’

Coming full circle to his ‘dust cover’ analogy, Metzger concluded: ‘In that 40+ years, I’m sorry, but a Black Hawk kind of looks like a Black Hawk. And Apache isn’t getting any better looking. Little Bird kind of looks the same too. But there are huge differences in performance and what they can do.’ DH

‘I think we’ve taken the paths. But did we get down them as far as we would want to? Probably not.’

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TAIL SPIN

www.rotorhub.com36 Defence Helicopter | March/April 2013 | Volume 32 Number 2

The RNZAF is inducting the AgustaWestland A109 LUH and NHIndustries (NHI) NH90 to

replace Bell 47G Sioux and UH-1 Iroquois fleets that entered service nearly 50 years ago.

Sexton, who has directed the Helicopter Transition Unit (HTU) since October 2010, explained it was established to help separate the new platforms’ introduction into service (IIS) from the ongoing operational output of 3 Squadron.

The service procured five A109s for the training and light utility roles, and an interesting decision was to order an A109 and an NH90 attrition airframe. Sexton explained the reasoning. ‘It gave us components that weren’t available for acquisition directly, and of course it gives us the option to reconstitute an airframe should we ever wish to, either to grow the fleet or replace an aircraft,’ he said.

CRAWL, WALK, RUNIntroducing the A109 LUH has been a ‘crawl, walk, run process’, but since late 2012 the A109 has undergone a capability development cycle that includes advanced flying techniques. Most type certification has been achieved, and Sexton expected to obtain full capability in the second half of 2014. He suggested the A109 would eventually become a single-pilot platform, and described the light observation role as a potential A109 growth path.

Noting that the IIS of the A109 LUH was ‘probably a little behind schedule’, he said: ‘I have to admit, it’s been a real learning path for us. I’d say that we underestimated the time required to fully introduce the systems to service.’

He stated that personnel constraints were probably ‘the most limiting factor’. The first

ab-initio flight training course was scheduled to start in March. (Aircrew are also being trained on the A109, something that was impossible to do on the diminutive Sioux.)

The NH90 is the Iroquois’ true successor and it should remain in service for 30+ years. The first two aircraft reached New Zealand in December 2011, with a further two in October 2012. Four more in final configuration will arrive this year. ‘Once these are delivered, it will allow us to sequence and manage the retrofit of the four airframes we [currently] have in New Zealand.’

Deliveries were a year behind schedule, but nonetheless the RNZAF is satisfied with progress to date. Sexton pointed out the HTU had learned a lot from the A109’s IIS and that lessons had been incorporated into the NH90 project. The aircraft achieved its first interim type certificate in February 2013 for carriage of internal cargo and passengers within New Zealand, something he described as a ‘really significant milestone’.

Regarding full operational capability, he said: ‘The key timeline, the long pole in the tent, is aircrew training. We have to get quite a lot of crews trained, so it’s the end of 2015, I’d say, all going well.’

Regarding international criticism of the NH90, Sexton replied: ‘A lot of the snags and issues that countries have experienced have been ironed out, if not with technical solutions, at least with sufficient understanding to allow them to be managed, and therefore the aircraft to be serviceable.’

New Zealand’s first four aircraft are the equivalent of Australia’s Product Base Line 03. While Rolls-Royce Turbomeca seeks a technical solution for compressor deformation,

the RNZAF operates the RTM322 engines according to NHI parameters.

Floor robustness has not been an issue, even though the final floor configuration has not been delivered yet. The RNZAF traditionally places load spreaders on compartment floors to prevent passenger and cargo damage. On the UH-1H, these were made of plywood, but the air force is currently developing a more advanced NH90 load spreader of aluminium and compressed foam. The RNZAF is also able to ‘work around’ the aircraft’s low ground clearance.

SIMULATION TRAININGThe centrepiece of the Helicopter Synthetic Training Centre at Ohakea is an A109 full-motion simulator, upon which ab-initio trainees will perform approximately 50% of their flying.

Meanwhile, NH90 simulator training is expected to move from Italy to Australia, plus the air force is considering an indigenous simulator for later this decade. The Iroquois is slated to retire in the second half of 2014 once the NH90 reaches minimum output levels, which will include the ability to deploy overseas and embark on the navy’s multipurpose ship HMNZS Canterbury.

‘In the roughly 300 hours we’ve flown, we’ve only seen one or two instances of possible global problem reports [PR] arising… Through education and training, the aircrew are able to manage PRs and other avionics faults when they do arise.

‘You can only establish specific issues when you start to use it, when you get soldiers in the back. But in terms of where it’s at now – we’re happy.’ DH

TransitiontimesWing Commander Shaun Sexton of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Helicopter Transition Unit speaks to Gordon Arthur about the reasons for recent procurements and the outlook for the future.

DH_MarApr13_p36_Tailspin.indd 36 22/03/2013 15:21:03

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