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Aviation History
2004
2004-00 - 0018.PDF
DEFENCE RE-EQUIPMENT TIM RIPLEY / LONDON UK may divide Canberra missions Defence ministry sources say mapping and survey tasks may be outsourced to civilian contractors when aircraft are retired The UK Ministry of Defence is con sidering splitting its replacement programme for the Royal Air Force's veteran BAC Canberra PR9 photo- reconnaissance aircraft. The move would mean mapping and survey missions would be performed by a different platform to the one selected for intelligence, surveil lance, target acquisition and recon naissance (ISTAR) tasks. According to sources in the min istry, the mapping and survey task could also be outsourced to civilian contractors when the RAF's fleet of five PR9s and two T4 trainers leave service in April 2006. So far no decision has been taken on moving the replacement for ward, and the effort is still in the research stage, according to the ministry. "We are assessing the way to continue to provide the cap ability," it says. The Canberra was described as providing an "impor tant component" of the RAF's ISTAR capability in recent operations. The Canberra force at RAF Mar- ham received a major upgrade in the late 1990s, when US-supplied long-range oblique photography (LOROP) electro-optical sensors, similar to those fitted to the US Air Force's Lockheed U-2, were installed, along with datalinks to allow real-time downloading of still photographic imagery. The successful use of the system in Afghanistan prompted the UK to look to replace the Canberra air frame, which is proving increas ingly expensive to keep flying. A major contender to take over the LOROP mission is a business jet in the Bombardier Global Express class, which has almost the same range and operating ceiling as the Canberra. The platform would have the stability and altitude necessary to operate effectively both the sen sor package's cameras and datalinks. The use of business jets is not considered straightforward, how ever, because of the need to pro vide the crew with an escape sys tem when flying over hostile territory. The Afghan experience The Australian government will run a second round of competition between an Australian Aerospace/ Eurocopter team and Sikorsky for its Air 9000 requirement to ratio nalise the Australian Defence Force helicopter fleet, effectively delaying a final source selection until the second quarter of 2004. The announcement came in parallel with Department of Defence con firmation that an AgustaWestland bid based on the EH101 has been dropped from consideration. The Air 9000 project office will receive further guidance on the project from Australian defence minister Robert Hill late this month. "Details of the additional competitive process are being developed," says the DoD. Australian defence analysts say the most likely process is a form of par allel negotiation that also allows limited bid revisions. Alternative methods, such as a best and final offer process, are dis couraged by Australian govern ment procurement guidelines, and any process requiring submission of new bids would result in signifi- also showed that the mapping and survey role was vital to generating the maps needed for expeditionary warfare and suggested that military rather than civilian aircraft were needed because of the risks associ ated with flying in hostile airspace, say ministry sources. If the search for a replacement is unsuccessful or delayed, then a life- extension programme for the Can- berras, which all date from 1959 and 1960, could be possible. "There is no problem provided you are willing to pay the cost," says an RAF officer close to the pro gramme. "We've done a study about keeping the PR9s going until 2012 and it can be done." cant project delays. A source selec tion had been expected late last year, with a contract award to be in place by March to ensure the avail ability of additional troop lift heli copters for the Australian Army before 2007. Meanwhile, the DoD has restruc tured the army and navy's planned Air 9000 Phase Y rotary wing flying training rationalisation into two separate projects. The army requirement is now designated Air 9000 Phase 7, while the navy's has been renamed the Air 9001 Phase 1 maritime interim rotary- wing training and support system (MIRTASS). Under the latter sys tem, the service's Eurocopter AS350B Squirrels will by early 2005 be replaced with new 5-6t utility helicopters operated under a 10- year lease deal funded through the navy's operations budget. Consideration is also being given to replacing the navy's Westland Sea King Mk50A heli copters, which are scheduled to receive a second life extension under Air 9000 Phase 6, under the MIRTASS programme. MANUFACTURING GUY NORRIS / LOS ANGELES Northrop Grumman reopens Prowler wing production line Northrop Grumman has reopened an outer wing-panel production line for the EA-6B Prowler, 18 years after it closed its original production line in Bethpage, New York. The new panels are part of a wider effort to combat severe airframe ageing issues encountered on the EA-6B, as a result of its heavy use as the US military's only electronic attack aircraft. Built at the relocated line site in St Augustine, Florida, the new wing panels will be used to restore the Prowler fleet to full operational readiness. The first of 54 shipsets will be delivered in July 2005, with almost half of the fleet of 95 aircraft likely to be grounded for repairs. The St Augustine production line also delivered its 64th replacement cen tre wing section for the EA-6B last month, and has increased production to two centre sections a month. In November, Northrop Grumman won a contract worth a potential $32 mil lion from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to demon strate a system capable of detecting fatigue and corrosion damage to the EA-6B, and of predicting structural capability in real time or near real time. The wing panels will combat airframe ageing issues on the Prowler HELICOPTERS PETER LA FRANCHI /CANBERRA Australia aims to delay Air 9000 selection 16 6-12 JANUARY 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.conn
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