Supporting Britain’s Apaches: IOS and Beyond

Afghan success
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Jan 29/14: IOS, Period 2. AgustaWestland receives the 2nd 5-year period within Britain’s Apache Integrated Operational Support (IOS) contract, valued at about GBP 430 million from April 1/14 – March 31/19. The amount is very similar to the GBP 439 million paid for the 1st contract period (q.v. Oct 6/09), even as:

“The UK Apache AH Mk.1 fleet is fast approaching the 150,000 flying hour milestone and recently more than 40% of annual flying hours have been performed on operations in Afghanistan, providing protection for UK and allied forces.”

Core arrangements remain the same, with prime contractor AgustaWestland still teamed with Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Longbow International and Selex ES. They’ll continue to manage in-depth support at the fleet’s main base in Wattisham Airfield, the British Army’s main Apache AH Mk.1 operating base, and deliver the contracted number of flyable hours at Army Aviation Centre Middle Wallop’s School of Army Aviation. The Apache IOS programme office at AgustaWestland’s Yeovil facility will continue to manage the IOS contract. Sources: UK MoD, “Helicopter investment secures 1,000 UK jobs” | AgustaWestland, “AgustaWestland Awarded UK MoD Merlin Life Sustainment Programme and Apache Integrated Operational Support Contracts Valued at £760 Million”.

Sept 10/13: Engines. The UK MoD announces a 6-year, GBP 367 million (about $570 million) contract with Rolls Royce to provide engine maintenance for the RTM322 engines that equip Britain’s 66 AH-64 Apache (2 engines each) and 57 AW101 Merlin (3 engines each) helicopters. Rolls Royce doesn’t actually own the engine any more (q.v. Sept 2/13), so the British firm will probably manage France’s Turbomeca, who will in turn use some transferred Rolls Royce employees to perform support.

Work will take place at RAF Benson (Merlin), RNAS Culdrose (Merlin), Army Air Corps airfields at Wattisham and Middle Wallop (Apache), and at Rolls-Royce and Turbomeca sites in the UK and France.

This is a separate arrangement from AgustaWestland’s IOS and Merlin support contracts. Meanwhile, the ministry is touting imagined savings of more than GBP 300 million compared to previous arrangements – which is to say, at least 45% savings over the 6 years. Time will tell. Sources: UK MoD, Sept 10/13 release.

Sept 2/13: Engines. Rolls-Royce announces the finalization of its GBP 293 million (about $454 million) sale of its RTM322 helicopter engine share to its partner, Safran’s Turbomeca (q.v. April 23/13). Turbomeca now assumes full responsibility for managing the design, production and support of the RTM322 engine, though there will be a transition period wherein Rolls-Royce will provide full assistance to maintain customer support. Sources: Rolls Royce & Safran’s Sept 2/13 releases.

April 23/13: Engines. Safran will buy out Rolls-Royce’s 50% share in their joint RTM322 helicopter engine program, which equips British AH Mk.1 Apaches, some NH90s, and the AW101. Safran will take over responsibility for all customer support, and will also receive all intellectual property rights.

In the near term, Rolls-Royce’s revenue share from the RTM322 amounts to about EUR 85 million per year, most of which comes from support. Safran will use the buyout to streamline the processes involved, as Rolls Royce progressively hands over all relevant manufacturing and service work.

Turbomeca’s strategic goal appears to involve using RTM322 technology as a platform to go from its current 2,100-2,600 shp to 3,000 shp and beyond. Turbomeca doesn’t have an offering in that class, and “In the next 15 years, Turbomeca aims to supply about 3,500 engines, on existing military platforms as well as future civilian and military platforms in the 8-13 tons range…” Sources: Safran Group, April 23/13 release.

Oct 6/09: AgustaWestland and the UK Ministry of Defence sign a GBP 439 million (currently $695 million) Apache IOS contract for through-life support, with an initial period that will last to 2014. Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies announces the award at Wattisham Airfield in Suffolk, where 3 and 4 Regiment Army Air Corps, who operate the helicopter in Afghanistan on a rotational basis, are based. Quentin Davies:

“I can say without any exaggeration at all that there’s not been a battle we’ve fought in Afghanistan in which Apache hasn’t played an absolutely decisive role and every day the Apache fleet are saving the lives of our infantry soldiers in Afghanistan and of course they are taking out an enormous number of the enemy.”

The UK MoD release added an operational dimension to the IOS contract:

“The contract, which is similar to recent ones awarded for the maintenance of Merlin, Sea King, and Chinook helicopters, means that, while industry maintains the aircraft at home, the British military’s Apache engineers are freed up to deploy to Afghanistan where they can keep the aircraft in the air, supporting operations almost around the clock… AgustaWestland have security and know where the cash flow is coming from and what is required of them for the next few years, while for us it means an awful lot of the risks are taken off our shoulders. And as far as our operational training squadron is concerned it is really a complete availability arrangement. We don’t even bother to think about the machines, we just turn up and fly them, and AgustaWestland have got them all ready for us when we need them.”

Colonel David Turner, the Apache Force Commander, explained the shift in more detail:

“In the front line we are doing servicing at more frequent periods. We do servicing at 50 hours and 100 hours. We don’t take it apart completely but we open the panels, we check the engines, gear box, rotor blades, we check all the systems. It all goes from daily flight servicing. Every aircraft is checked on a daily basis; you wouldn’t fly it until it had been checked by a technician, so there’s a huge burden of maintenance effort still required on the front line and I need the soldiers from here to move to that effort and that’s happening.

To allow AgustaWestland to take over the DSU and now to take over the provisioning of all spares and equipment allows us to focus again more tightly on the operation.”

See: UK MoD | British Army | AgustaWestland release.