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Aviation History
1993
1993 - 0709.PDF
Australia has a major contract to award to general-avaition operations involving aircraft and surveillance equipment. Examining past Coastwatch operations, Paul Phelan wonders what it will he worth to the winners. A round Australia's remote north, from Broome in the west to Cairns in the east, more than 5,000km of unpopulated coast line remains exposed to illegal immigra tion, smuggling, quarantine violations, search-and-rescue emergencies, fisheries encroachments, environmental pollution and general lawbreaking. For more than ten years, the Australian Government has met the resulting law- enforcement needs through airborne coastal-surveillance contracts, using a suc cession of general-aviation (GA) opera tors. In that process it has experimented with — and rejected — a varied range of aircraft types, equipment, operational spec ifications and methods, over short-term contracts, at huge cost to operators. Coastwatch is managed by the Customs service — the prime user and co-ordinator. Its "clients" include its own operation and Government agencies such as immigration, quarantine, federal police, fisheries and environmental agencies. Under revised specifications now being developed, the Government is likely, yet again, to scrap the whole arrangement in 1996, replacing it with new hardware — a move which represents a significant market for aircraft, systems, and expertise. The contractors provide management, fully equipped aircraft, pilots, observers, a communications and reporting infra structure and surveillance equipment in a "turn key" service, a concept which will carry over to any new contract. LONG-RANGE SURVEILLANCE Offshore patrol of up to 1,100km (600nm), and sometimes more, is flown by Israel Aircraft Industries Seascans, car rying relatively sophisticated target- acquisition and tracking systems, including integrated Litton 504V2 360° radar and 2000G forward-looking infra red (FLIR), a custom target-designator and a comprehensive communications ca pability. Flying tasks for the three Seascans provide for an annual total of 4,600h. Three radar-equipped Government Air craft Factories Nomads are equipped to give a limited capability of detecting and tracking vessels electronically. They can also be flown low enough and sufficiently EQUIPPING FOR slowly for visual inspection and identifica tion. They provide the means for close- offshore and inshore surveillance and mobility, including the ability to land on remote rough and sometimes abandoned airstrips of the kind often used by cus toms and immigration offenders. Another 12 aircraft — Rockwell Shrike Commanders — are used fully on visual coastline surveillance. A minimum of 7,450h annually is allocated between the 15 "inshore" aircraft. One Aerospatiale AS.350B Squirrel heli copter is used for logistics support and response capability in the critical Torres Strait, between Australia and the Papua New Guinea/Irian Jaya (Indonesia) main land, flying a minimum of 250h annually. Additionally, some fishing-zone surveil lance is provided by 250h of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Lockheed P-3 Orion support. Customs says that its clients' needs have changed dramatically, demanding improved offshore surveillance for earlier detection. Plans now are for a reduced emphasis on visual inshore surveillance and increased electronic-detection capa bility further offshore. Additional needs are for more flexibility in aircraft deploy ment, quicker reaction to incidents and more adaptability in the programme's modus operandi, possibly mandating a mix of visual and electronic search capability in one type. A preliminary matching of those requirements to available hardware will be one function of the request-for- proposals (RFP) process. The Shrike Commanders are certain to be replaced because of age and opera tional criteria. The Nomads too, are highly unlikely to survive the current review, and indications are that the Sea scans will also be dropped for not meeting newly defined operational requirements. A freshly perceived need for night operations and added capacity will also probably see the helicopter replaced with one or more twin-engined machine. Coastwatch National Manager Phil Burns says: "The difficulty is that the cost [of equipment] will go up considerably, because improved offshore electronic sur veillance requires a different sort of aero plane to the types we're running now." The charters have been re-awarded, up to five times, in most cases amid angry controversy and allegations of bureau cratic bungling or corruption. In one memorable debacle, the major contract was granted to a Darwin-based business man with no aviation background, no 22 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 31 March - 6 April, 1993
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