Shadow 200 in Iraq
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In November 2005, “Field Report on Raven, Shadow UAVs From the 101st” discussed the limitations on UAV use imposed by the threat of collisions between UAVs and manned aircraft. An RQ-7 Shadow UAV is definitely large enough to create real problems if it hits a helicopter or other aircraft, and a UAV’s extremely narrow field of view is a lot less safe than the awareness available to a human in a cockpit. Worse, many UAVs are small enough that a potential collision may not be noticed by other aircraft until it’s too late. There have already been accidents.

This isn’t just a military problem. It’s also the largest barrier to widespread civil UAV use. Europe’s EDA has a program underway to address deconfliction, the Israelis are looking into it, the US military is funding research, and even private contractors are busy searching for the key that will unlock a vast UAV market. The ultimate goal is a system that’s small enough to equip smaller and more affordable tactical and civil UAVs, as well as larger and more expensive military UAVs like the MQ-9 Reaper and RQ-4 Global Hawk.

A recent project sponsored by the US Army, and led by Lockheed Martin, is bringing that goal closer – and may have ramifications for the inter-service balance of power…

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CH-47Fs take off
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Trying to make sense of government releases and contracts is challenging at the best of times. Trying to make sense of defense-related contracts takes the challenge to a whole new level. Research quickly revealed that the scattered CH-47F contracts we’ve been seeing were part of a much larger effort to recapitalize America’s CH-47 Chinook helicopter fleet. The USA expects to be operating Chinooks in their heavy-lift role past 2030, and the history and structure of that effort is detailed below thanks to some help from Boeing.

This is DID’s FOCUS Article for the CH-47F/MH-47G helicopter programs, in the USA and abroad. While the forced re-compete of the HH-47’s $10-15 billion CSAR-X program win goes on, Boeing has completed operational testing of the CH-47F, and delivery orders are in for CH-47Fs and MH-47G Special Forces configuration helicopters.

The latest news involves a 5-year, multi-billion dollar deal…

• The New Chinooks: CH-47F, MH-47G, HH-47 (Continue reading…)
• The US Army’s Acquisition Plan, Plus Global Events & Contracts [updated]
• Appendix A: Reconciling Previous Contracts and Numbers
  
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Harpoon in flight
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The sub-sonic, wave-skimming *GM-84 Harpoon is the US Navy’s sole anti-shipping missile, with the minor exception of small AGM-119B Penguin missiles and anti-tank Hellfires carried on some H-60 helicopters. The Harpoon has accordingly been adapted into several variants, and exported to a wide variety of world navies. Its best known competitor is the French/MBDA *M39/40 Exocet, though recent years have witnessed a growing competitive roster at both the subsonic (Israel’s Gabriel family, Russia’s SS-N-27 Klub family, Saab’s RBS15, Kongsberg’s stealthy NSM, China’s YJ-8/C-802 used recently in Lebanon) and supersonic (Russia’s SS-N-22 Sunburn/Moskit and some SS-N-27 Klub variants, India’s PJ-10 BrahMos derived from Russia’s SS-N-26) levels.

At present, the Harpoon family includes air, sea/land, and submarine-launched versions of the GM-84 missile. Variants such as the land attack SLAM variant and the modern AGM-84K Joint Standoff Land Attack Missiles-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) will also be covered in this DID FOCUS Article, which describes the missiles themselves and covers global contracts involving this family since Oct 1/06.

The most recent addition involves a mixed multinational order for SLAM and Harpoon missiles and equipment…

• GM-84 Harpoon Family: The Missiles
• GM-84 Harpoon Family: The Contracts [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources: Harpoon Family
  
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AP-3C over Darwin
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In November 2005, the Australian Government, Tenix Defence and Eurocopter subsidiary Australian Aerospace (AA) have signed the P3 Accord Master Agreement to provide capability upgrades and Through Life Support (TLS) for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) AP-3C Orion maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft. The three parties have established a Joint Management Office (JMO) to supervise all Accord activities under a unique risk-sharing contractual arrangement. The JMO will develop and implement all RAAF AP-3C capability upgrades and TLS solutions through to the aircraft’s planned withdrawal date – at which point it will likely be replaced by the 737-based AP-8A MMA.

The combined value of the TLS and block upgrades to the aircraft is expected to be more than A$ 1 billion…

• Australia’s AP-3C Programs [updated]
• The AP-3 Accord
• AP-3 Accord Updates [updated]
  
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AN/ALR-67 V3
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DID has covered Australia’s ALR 2002 attempt to develop its own radar warning receiver & protection suite for its aircraft, including the RAAF’s F/A-18 Hornets. That failed, forcing Australia to turn to the global standard for Hornets and Super Hornets: Raytheon’s AN/ALR-67(v)3. Canada also has a CF-18 Hornet upgrade program underway, as the current CF-18 fleet is expected to serve until at least 2017. As attacks from Pakistan rise, the government is also looking hard at sending its Hornets into harm’s way in Afghanistan.

Raytheon’s AN/ALR-67v3 is a radar warning receiver that provides visual and audio alerts to F/A-18 aircrew when it detects ground-based, ship-based, or airborne radar emitters. It’s designed to provide accurate identification, azimuth displays, and threat levels for hostile and friendly emitters. It has become the modern standard for F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet aircraft, and has been incorporated into a number of earlier model Hornets flown around the world.

Canada has now added itself to that list…

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TCOM 17M RAID Aerostat
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The RAID program is a combination of cameras and surveillance equipment positioned on high towers and aerostats. Aerostats differ from blimps in that blimps are powered, while aerostats are anchored to the ground via a cranked tether that also supplies electrical power. Because the aerostats are not highly pressurized, bullets won’t burst them and they can actually remain buoyant for hours after suffering multiple punctures.

The RAID concept used a smaller TCOM 17M instead of the TCOM 71M JLENS aerostats used for cruise missile and air defense, and has sensors optimized for battlefield surveillance rather than powerful air defense radars. The result is a form of survivable and permanent surveillance over key areas that has been deployed to Afghanistan & Iraq. It can also be deployed as a tower system, and this “Eagle Eye/ GBOSS” deployment is turning out to be the preferred mode.

Raytheon recently received a contract from the US Marine Corps for more systems, which has now been followed by a pair of additional US Army orders. Other recent news includes incremental funding for another 100…

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Afghanistan drop-off
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In December 2005, “Canada Purchases $200M in Equipment for Operation ARCHER in Afghanistan” noted 2 things: the wide variety of emergency equipment that Canada was buying prior to its second Afghan deployment, and the critical omission of battlefield support helicopters from that list. Canada’s absence of helicopter support capability would prove costly in the field, and was discussed again during Canada’s delayed RFP for 16 CH-47F helicopters.

This issue was also discussed in Parliament. The January 2008 Manley Report [PDF] recommended that Parliamentary approval for Canada’s continued participation in the Afghan mission should hinge on having Canadian battlefield transport helicopters available by February 2009. Since Stephen Harper’s current Conservative Party government is a Parliamentary minority government, that recommendation became a de facto requirement.

In order to be useful, however, any helicopters bought would need to deliver useful loads despite Afghanistan’s performance-sapping hot weather season and consistent high altitudes. Which led to the problem: where to get the helicopters? The problem was simple. Available helicopters weren’t adequate. Adequate helicopters weren’t available.

Hence the current solution set, which was clarified in a recent political speech…

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C-5 Galaxy
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When it was introduced, back in 1970, the C-5 Galaxy was the largest plane in the world. A second construction program in 1981-1986 delivered 50 more; 4 have been lost in crashes, for a total fleet of 126. Each C-5 aircraft can carry 265,000 pounds of cargo for 4,000 miles (roughly double that of the newer C-17A), or 125,000 pounds for 8,000 miles. Its hinged nose can even be raised to make loading or unloading easier, and the Galaxy’s ability to lift even the heaviest main battle tanks into theater made it a critical part of the transatlantic air bridge that would reinforce Europe in the event of a Russian attack.

During the 2003 run-up to Operation Iraqi Freedom I, C-5s proved their worth again as they helped clear logistics bottlenecks in Europe. Even so, the fleet is not without its issues. The C-5 has the highest operating cost of any Air Force weapon system, and those costs stem from extremely high maintenance demands as well as poor fuel economy. Availability rates routinely hover near 50%. To add insult to injury, the Russians not only built a bigger plane (the AN-124), they sold it off at the end of the Cold War to semi-private operators, turning it into a commercial success whose customer list now includes… NATO.

Sunrise? Sunset?
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Meanwhile, the USA needs long-range, heavy load airlift. The AN-124’s commercial success may get its production line restarted, but the C-5 has no such hope. C-17s cost more than $200 million per plane, which isn’t far from the cost of a 747-8 freighter, but is still a lot of money. The US Air Force believed it could save money by upgrading the older C-5s to renew their avionics (AMP) and engines (RERP). Their hope was that this would eliminate the problems that keep so many C-5s in the hangar, cut down on future maintenance costs, and grow airlift capacity without adding new planes. Unfortunately, the program is program experiencing major cost growth, and a battle is ongoing between C-5M and C-17 supporters in Congress.

DID’s FOCUS Article explains why the C-5 AMP/RERP program is such a challenging project, and covers developments on the political and contracting fronts – including the apparent removal of C-5A aircraft from the program, and a testing milestone at Lockheed…

• The C-5’s AMP/RERP Changes
• The AMP/RERP Program
• Contracts & Key Events, 1999 – Present [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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UH-1Y and AH-1Z
by Neville Dawson
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The US Marines’ helicopter force is aging on all levels, from CH-46 Sea Knights far older than their pilots to the 1980s era UH-1N Hueys and AH-1W Cobra attack helicopters that make up the Corps’ helicopter assault force. While the V-22 program has staggered along for almost 2 decades under accidents, technical delays, and cost issues, replacement of the USMC’s backbone helicopter assets has languished. Given the high-demand scenarios inherent in the current war, other efforts are clearly required.

Enter the H-1 program, the USMC’s plan to remanufacture 100 of the Marines’ old UH-1N Hueys and 180 of its AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters into advanced variants. The new versions would discard the signature 2-bladed rotors for modern 4-bladed improvements, redo the aircraft’s electronics, and add improved engines and weapons to offer a new level of performance. At least, that was the idea. It hasn’t quite worked out that way, and the H-1 program has encountered its own share of delays and issues. Nevertheless, the program survived a recent review, and continues on into the low-rate initial production stage and OpEval Phase II.

This is DID’s FOCUS Article regarding the H-1 program; it will be updated and backfilled as events and opportunity dictate. Recent developments include an IOC declaration for the UH-1Y, which paves the way for its upcoming deployment to the front lines. Unfortunately, the AH-1Z will be very delayed…

• The H-1 Helicopters
• The H-1 Program
• Contracts and Key Events (1999-Present) [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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APG-77 AESA Test

AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radars offer a number of improvements over previous-generation technologies. They are more sensitive. They have better operational “uptime” because moving parts are eliminated, and the failure of one module doesn’t take the entire radar off line or leave it useless. They are also far better at handling large numbers of targets. AESA radars can do many things at once by just dedicating groups of transmit/receive (T/R) modules to each task, instead of switching rapidly between targets to simulate multi-tasking. Among other abilities.

The challenge for AESA radars has been cost, specifically the cost of the thousands of individual T/R modules that make up an AESA array. In July 2008, Raytheon produced a release regarding a variant technology called AESLA, an Active Electronically Scanned Lens Array radar. Their approach was aimed at improving the cost of an AESA radar’s T/R modules, a move that could have industry-wide significance if successful.

To find out more, DID talked to Joe Smolko, Raytheon’s program manager for the AESLA effort….

• AESLA: The Imperative, and the Idea
• AESLA: Employment and Uses
• AESLA: Funding and Next Steps
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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