Replacement required
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War takes its toll on equipment, as well as men. In some cases, it wears out. In other cases, enemy fire or accidents destroy equipment. The USA has recognized this fact by funding wartime replacement expenditures as supplemental funding, which is outside the normal budgetary process. The intent is that this money will be spent on replacing equipment that has been worn out, damaged or destroyed, or will be used to provide specialized capabilities like MRAP mine-resistant vehicles that are directly related to the demands on the front lines. Admittedly, this hasn’t always been true. Politicians are what they are, and so are large organizations like the military. One area where this ethic has undoubtedly been honored, however, has been the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter fleet.

AH-64s are in very heavy demand as escorts for other helicopters in the war zones, to the point that the AH-64 fleet had logged more than 2 million flight hours by April 2006 – nearly 1/3 of which had been logged after Sept. 11/01. Apaches have also taken losses in combat. Even armor rated to stop 23mm cannon shells may not survive a missile hit, and helicopters are relatively fragile aircraft that can be seriously damaged if they take enough fire in smaller calibers, or endure an unlucky strike in the wrong place.

This article covers US Army Wartime Replacement Aircraft (WRA) AH-64D Longbow buys, which are the only truly new attack helicopters in the America’s inventory. Travis Williams, Boeing’s AH-64D WRA Program Manager helped to put these purchases in context within the overall Apache program, which is preparing for the new Block III model….

• AH-64D Program: Past and Present
• AH-64D WRAs: Program Contracts
• The AH-64’s Future
  
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Strike Eagle w. SLAM-ERs
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Back in 2002, the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) selected the F-15K advanced derivative of the F-15E Strike Eagle for its Next Generation Fighter Program. Under that $3.6 billion contract, Boeing will deliver 40 aircraft to the ROKAF beginning in 2006 and ending in August 2008. South Korea’s 2-seat F-15K Strike Eagles will be the first F-15s produced with the GE F110 engine common on many US F-16C/D aircraft, and they will also carry the SLAM-ER missile as their medium-range precision strike weapon. F-15Ks will not be equipped with the AESA radars found on some US F-15Cs and Singapore’s forthcoming F-15SGs, however, relying instead on the AN/APG-63(v1) radar upgrade developed in the 1990s for American Strike Eagles. See this RealVideo clip of the first F-15K in flight.

In May 2006, the Korean Overseas Information Service said that the ROKAF would purchase another 20 F-15K multi-role aircraft beginning in 2009 – but that report has since been qualified, debated, and finally superseded. Under the second phase of the F-X next-generation warplane procurement project, South Korea’s military plans to purchase 20 multi-role fighters via open bidding, with an investment of about 2.3 trillion won (currently about $2.4 billion). Things haven’t quite gone as hoped, however: the F-35 was excluded for having incompatible timelines, Dassault and Sukhoi didn’t attend the DAPA presentation after being named as candidates, then Eurofighter pulled out, leaving Boeing as the only submission.

DAPA has put out a second request for tenders in response, and Boeing was the only respondent. They closed the deal in April 2008, leaving only the ancillary contracts up for grabs. Northrop Grumman has just confirmed a contract for electronic warfare systems…

• F-X to KF-X: The ROKAF’s Best-Laid Plans…
• Updates and Contracts [updated]
• Appendix A: Original F-X-2 Candidates
• Appendix B: Which SU-35?
• Appendix C: Additional Readings, News & Events
  
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RSAF F-16D
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July 11/08: The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced [PDF] Singapore’s official request for a series of American air-air missiles and precision strike weapons.

The $962 million request also includes items and services like missile containers, common munitions built-in test reprogramming equipment, testing, integration, devices, aircrew safety equipment, repair and return, weapons trainers, electronic warfare systems and support, software support and test equipment, life support and survival equipment, spares and repair parts, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor technical and logistics personnel services, and other related support.

Singapore is currently in the process of buying 20 F-15SG Strike Eagles, whose features and equipment will make them the most advanced F-15s in service anywhere in the world. Past weapons requests associated with the F-15SGs have been announced as such, but this order was simply listed as a general weapons order. Other aircraft in the RSAF’s inventory that could use some or all of the weapons listed below include their squadrons of F-16C/D Block 52+ aircraft, and F-5T Tiger II lightweight fighters that were modernized in the 1990s.

The equipment requested includes:

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FSTA Concept
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Back in March 2005, “British AirTanker Deal May Go Private” discussed the deal for a potential public-private partnership to buy, equip, and operate the RAF’s future aerial tanker fleet, and noted the selection of a preferred consortium. The RAF would fly the 14 Airbus A330-MRTT aircraft on operational missions and receive absolute preferential access to the planes, while the contractor handled maintenance, received payment from the RAF on a per-use basis, and operated them as passenger or transport aircraft when the RAF didn’t need them. The deal became politically controversial; though it was based on a practice that has been successful in Britain, it had surface similarities with the USA’s controversial and canceled KC-767 lease deal. Negotiations on the multi-billion pound, 27-year deal, meanwhile, charted new territory for both the government and private industry.

Which may help to explain why the final decision to move ahead on a “Private Financing Initiative” basis had yet to be issued, and procurement had yet to begin, over 2 years after a preferred bidder was selected. That hurdle is now clear, and Britain has just issued the world’s largest-ever Defence Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract. This FOCUS Article describes the current British fleet, the aircraft they chose and how the new fleet will compare, the innovative deal structure they’ve chosen, and the project’s key events. The most recent events include a contract for LAIRCM self-protection systems…

• RAF Tankers: The Current Fleet
• A330-200 MRTT: The RAF’s Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft [updated]
• FSTA Program Details [updated]
• PFI: The Art of the Deal
• UK FSTA: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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Darkest before dawn?
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The USA’s aerial tanker fleet is the backbone of American global air power, but its youngest KC-135 planes were built over 40 years ago. Replacing them is the USAF’s #1 priority, and the initial KC-X phase of 175 operational aircraft amounts to a $35 billion buy. When EADS Airbus and Northrop Grumman’s A330 MRTT was picked over Boeing’s KC-767 on Feb 29/08, therefore, the shockwaves were felt around the world. DID’s members-only Insider article “The USAF’s KC-X Aerial Tanker RFP” offers full coverage of the RFP, the decision, and subsequent events.

The most recent event has sent shockwaves of its own, however, and deserves its own depth coverage. As everyone predicted, the losing firm immediately launched a protest with the Congressional Government Accountability Office. The GAO has no power to compel the Air Force, but the US military usually works to comply with GAO decisions in order to minimize political difficulties. Those difficulties have just increased significantly, however, as the GAO sustains Boeing’s protest and pours fuel on the smoldering discontent among many Congressional representatives. The implications extend beyond the USA’s borders, and into the global defense industry as a whole. Now, the full decision has been released – and the Air Force may be about to try to bull its way through to an award by the end of the year, using the same playbook it tried the CSAR-X helicopter contract…

• The Summary
• The GAO Release
• The Full Decision [NEW]
• The Way Ahead: Analysis [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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EAV-8B Matador
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In December 2006, Spain’s Minister’s Council has authorized a number of aircraft contracts in addition to their Eurocopter-related plans, creating more maritime patrol aircraft, expanding the transport fleet slightly, modernizing its EAV-8B Harriers/Matadors, and buying engines and spares for its CH-47 heavy-lift helicopter fleet. The total value of these contracts is over EUR 130 million.

In June 2008, the Harrier modernization contract was announced by EADS. DID offers details below regarding the upgrade’s elements, scope, and final cost.

DID thanks subscriber Pedro Lucio for bringing these items to our attention, and assisting with translations.

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Hawk LIFT
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Back in October 2006, DID covered an $840 million contract for BAE’s Hawk LIFT trainers to provide advanced jet training for both Royal Air Force and Royal Navy pilots, as part of the consolidated UK Military Flying Training System. In November 2006, the Ascent team of VT Group plc and Lockheed Martin announced their status as Preferred Bidder for a GBP 6 billion (about $11.7 billion) contract to provide military flying training to the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Army Air Corps for the next 25 years. The Sterling (Thales and Boeing), and Vector teams (KBR and EG&G/Lear Siegler, see source) were left waiting for negotiations to fail in order to have another chance at the contract.

The intent at the time was to sign a formal deal in 2007, whereby Ascent will partner with the UK Ministry of Defence and begin supporting Advanced Jet Training operations. Other training capabilities would then be added incrementally until the agreement became a full service operation that covered airfields, simulators, aircraft, fuel, and instructors while providing all aspects of pilot and rear crew specializations.

That deal has finally come through…

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Most European defense budgets are currently stable or declining, despite an atmosphere of stepped up operations abroad. Unsurprisingly, many European defense firms are embarking on a globalization strategy in an effort to broaden their markets.

EADS’ light helicopter and aerial refueling wins recently allowed it to begin to match the transatlantic foothold of Britain’s BAE Systems. Now Italian defense conglomerate Finmeccanica has joined the mix, with a pair of deals: a $5.2 billion acquisition of DRS that shows some upside from the Euro’s problematic strength, and an agreement that deepens cooperation and joint marketing with Boeing in the aviation field.

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MiG-21 ‘Lancer’
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Israeli companies have made something of a specialty of refurbishing older Western fighters and even Soviet fighters with modern radars, avionics, and Israeli weapons like the Python air-air missile, giving the systems new life. India’s refurbished MiG-21 ‘Bisons’ combined Russian, Indian and Israeli technology* to excellent effect in the COPE India 2004 and 2005 exercises with the USAF, and there’s even a Russian-Israeli MiG-21 2000 variant that exists for general sale. An all-Israeli effort was undertaken along somewhat similar lines to create Romania’s MiG-21 ‘Lancers’ via upgrade.

In 2005, rumor had it that the success of those efforts had led to a more ambitious fighter deal between Israel and Romania for upgraded Cheyl Ha’Avir F-16A/Bs – but 3 years later, that doesn’t seem to have gone anywhere. Other firms entered the mix, including Saab with its JAS-39 Gripen and – surprisingly – EADS’ Eurofighter. In the end, however, the USA appears to have flown away with more new orders for its F-16C/D fighters…

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Dutch CH-47D, Afghanistan
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On September 27, 2006, the US DSCA notified Congress of the Netherlands’ request for up to 9 of the newest CH-47F Chinook cargo helicopters along with 18 T55-L-714A turbine engines and ACMS Block 6 cockpits. Holland is also looking to upgrade 11 of its existing CH-47D Chinook Cargo Helicopters to the newer CH-47F configuration. If all options are exercised, the DSCA notification places the total value at up to $652 million.

Early procurements are going to be a bit more modest, however. Now, a contract for missile warning systems has been announced…

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