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Aviation History
1987
1987 - 0290.PDF
DEFENCE McDonnell Douglas outlines Advanced Apache MESA The McDonnell Douglas Heli copter Company (MDHC) has offered Germany co-develop ment and co-production of an advanced variant of the AH-64 Apache, known as the AH-64B/G Advanced Apache. The company is still attempting to fulfil the West German Army's PAH-2 requirement for an anti-tank helicopter for which the German Government favours the Franco-German Cath project, reports Norman Lynn. The AH-64B/G would be equal in capabilities to Cath, but available sooner and at less cost, says McDonnell Douglas. "A B/G programme would benefit both Germany and the USA and the Nato Alliance in cost sharing, economies of scale, reduced support costs, and weapons standardisation," Norman Hirsh, executive vice-presi dent of programme manage ment, has told the Germans. A German investment of $2-51 billion in system cost for 212 AH-64B/Gs at $11 -84 million each could meet all of the German Army's near- term mission requirements, yet leave Germany free to invest the resources saved in a longer-term higher tech nology programme such as the Light Helicopter Experimen tal (LHX), suggests McDon nell Douglas. The Advanced Apache has been under development by MDHC's Apache industry team for 18 months at a cost of $50 million in independent research and development money. That development includes all elements of AH- 64B/G, Edward Schuman, The AH-64B/G will be considerably different in detail from this first-generation Apache. A rear-looking TV camera will be mounted on the fin; the engines' power will be increased and digital engine control fitted; the cockpits will have improved fields of view and advanced simplified instrumentation; the air-to-air Stingers will be slaved to the gunner's helmet for off-axis aiming; and the gun will have a longer barrel with active recoil and digital turret control. The pilot's night vision system will have two fields of view manager for the AH-64 Improvement Programme, tells Flight. The German-produced AH- 64B/G would be 95 per cent common with the US Army's AH-64B Advanced Apache (its unofficial identification) and 75 per cent common with the present AH-64A Apache and its logistics support sys tem. The commonality would allow logistics and training, depot maintenance and repair, and support equip ment to be shared in Europe between US Army Apaches and German Army AH-64B/ Gs, MDHC points out. It also enables German industry to deliver hardware on the com panion US Army Apaches under subcontract from McDonnell Douglas, the company says. MDHC estimates that 1,955,000 manhours are required for AH-64B/G devel- The Franco-German Cath is the PAH-2 contender currently favoured by the West German Government opment, to cost $186 million initially. That figure includes 20 per cent for assembly and flight-test of two AH-64B/G aircraft in Germany, and about 20 per cent for assembly and flight-test of two more units in Mesa. The remaining 60 per cent is divided between German industry and the American partners. Schuman says that MDHC started Advanced Apache development in 1985, and that it is planned to continue until 1991. The focus is on giving Apache air-to-air combat capability. "Advanced crew station avionics and advanced flight controls are necessary, not only to achieve an air-to-air capability, but also to reduce crew workload," Schuman points out. "The emphasis is on simulation, software devel opment in Ada, the new Department of Defence com puter language standard, plus 'hot bench' and flight testing," he says. "Simulation plays a very large part because it will help bond what we can do in software and systems devel opment." The use of Ada enables the 16 computers using eight different computer languages in the current Apache to be reduced in Advanced Apache to only four MIL-STD 1750 computers. Advances have also been made in preparing the aircraft for a mission. "In the present Apache the copilot has to get into the front seat of the aircraft and enter in several hundred key strokes to get everything down in the simple, little keyboard in the front seat," describes Schu man. "Both pilot and copilot have to set up a lot of knobs and radio frequencies." But in Advanced Apache the procedure is eliminated by a Data Transfer System (DTS). Using a ground station, the crew will pre program a cassette with mission data such as naviga tion waypoints, targets, and laser codes. As part of the pre- flight, a crewman walks up to the ground station, inserts a blank cassette into a slot, and pauses for 30sec while the cassette is programmed. Then he walks to his aircraft, plugs in the cassette, and the data is automatically dumped into the Fire Control System. The electrical power-magnet sys tem in Advanced Apache man ages power and reduces the number of Apache's 85 circuit breakers from 85 to five. The all-digital Advanced Apache is made as redundant as possible, Schuman says. For example, two redundant MIL-STD 1750A mission computers are tied to two new redundant MIL-STD 1553B multiplex buses. Each com puter has its own primary roles, but if one fails the other takes over and runs the entire mission by itself. The current Apache's ten- year-old analogue electronics equipment in Advanced FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 2 May 1987
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