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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 2109.PDF
Agust Westland's A129 is the only operational European-built combat helicopter aims Jean Chamberlain, Boeing RAH-66 rogramme manager. "Its low observable uality allows it to get in and out of a mis- on where no other vehicle can. Signature not just acoustic and infrared, which ther helicopters can address, but it is also bout] meeting the RCS [radar cross see- on] requirement in static and dynamic sting." As part of the ongoing engineering and lanufacturing development effort, a fully ticulated Comanche pole model is idergoing RCS testing. The helicopter is aimed to have an RCS smaller than a )ckheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire anti- nk missile, up to six of which can be :commodated in the helicopter's two ternal weapons bays. The helicopter's frared (IR) signature is one-quarter of at of a Boeing AH-64 Apache and is most twice as quiet as the Bell OH-58D owa Warrior Scout it replaces. LO features include a graphite, Kevlar and glass reinforced plastic airframe, a shrouded low-noise eight-blade tail rotor, retractable landing gear and stowable 20mm cannon. Comanche will be equipped with a version of the Northrop Grumman/Lockheed Martin Longbow fire control radar (FCR) as fitted to the AH-64D Apache Longbow, but upgraded with an electronically scanned antenna and repackaged into mast-mounted cone con siderably smaller in size and signature than the Apache's doughnut-shaped housing. The RAH-66 has been designed from the outset to be fully integrated with other assets operating in the battlespace such as ground forces, unmanned air vehicles or other manned aircraft. Target data from the FCR can be fused with forward looking infrared (FLIR) imagery, automati cally classified and prioritised using Northrop Grumman's Aided Target Detection/Classification system and trans mitted with position data to other assets. Designers plan to minimise Comanche operating and support (O&S) costs by incorporating prognostic health manage ment systems and adopting a two-level maintenance plan. A goal of 2.6 mainte nance hours per flight hour has been set, compared with 8.8h for the Apache, while support equipment has been trimmed to 52 items, one-sixth that of the AH-1. "That's something you just can't go back antl do to a legacy aircraft," says Thomas Rains, Boeing; SikorSky RAH-66 director business development. Plan| call for the Comanche to initially replace the OH-58D, which lacks the range, weaponry and stand-off sensors to survive on a modern battlefield. With the addition of external weapon pylons, the RAH-66 is capable of carrying up to 16 Hellfire missiles and performing the AH-64D's heavy attack role. The Apache is earmarked to remain in service until 2030, but the future shape and size of army avia tion is being reassessed as part of a wider review of the US military. One variable that could affect this is a proposed increase in full rate production of the RAH-66 from a planned 62 machines a year to 96 by 2009, which would accelerate delivery of the final Comanche by seven years and save $3 billio'fr (Flight Inter national, 10-16 April,P4). The US Army is in the process of receiving an initial 232 AH-64As remanufactured to Apache Long bow standard and recently placed a second multi-year contract for another 269 rebuilds. If the helicopter is to remain in service for another 30 years, the army adds, further improvements will be needed. "That can all change as part of the options we're now going through," says Col Howard Bramblett, US Army Apache PARIS 2001 "The lesson from Kosovo was the need for greater speed,range and positive target identification" CAPT TOM CURTIS USMC H-1 PROGRAMME MANAGER programme manager. "Right now we're trying to figure out whether or not we're going to replace Apache with Comanche and, if we are going to do that, how soon and what return are we going to get on our investment before pouring money into it. You wouldn't want to rebuild your car on the way to the junk yard." If Comanche is the army's lead Objective Force helicopter, Apache is the transition vehicle to the leaner military envisaged by Chief of Staff Gen Eric Shinseki. In addition to the Longbow FCR, the helicopter is get ting new colour displays, communications, navigation, data management, datalink and weapon processors. Also in the post- Kosovo procurement pipeline is a second- generation Lockheed Martin Arrowhead targeting FLIR, Suite of Integrated Infrared Counter measures (SIIRCM) and ITT's ALQ- 211 Suite of Integrated Radio Frequency Countermeasures (SIRFC) due to be fielded by 2006. Improvements Boeing has mapped out a series of further enhancements loosely designated as AH-64X. "The basic platform has not changed significantly since the original design of the 1970s and fielding in the early 1980s. The airframe, rotor and drive system are all approaching 20 years old and are beginning to become the high- cost drivers on the platform," says Larry Plaster, Boeing Apache modernisation pro gramme manager. New systems have steadily pushed up the Apache's primary operating weight from the original design target of 6,630kg (14,6001b) to over 8,170kg. As a result the helicopter is close to falling short of the operational requirement for a 2.3m/s (455ft/min) vertical rate of climb and is already below the 145kt visual metrologi- cal conditions speed. To restore the AH-64's performance requires either uprating the General Electric T700-701C engine beyond its l,445kW (l,940shp) rat- vw.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 12-18 JUNE 2001 93
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