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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 0651.PDF
Bids to replace the US Navy's ageing P-3C aircraft are in. Now the stage is set for the service to choose between a jet and a turboprop STEPHEN TRIMBLE / WASHINGTON DC | he US Navy will soon award a $2.25 billion contract to develop its Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA), the long-awaited replace ment for the submarine-hunting Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion. With an unlikely face-off between Lockheed Martin's Orion 21 turboprop and Boeing's 737-based jet, the selection could depend as much on the service's operational philosophy as on pricing and technical details. It took 10 years to secure the blessing of navy leadership for a P-3C replacement, and the MMA programme has adopted a low- risk development strategy that is designed to avoid straining that support. But there is little margin for delay during the development phase and the winning team has less than six years to begin flying the new aircraft, and less than nine years to deliver enough of them for the navy's ini tial operational capability in 2012. The first aircraft will arrive as most P-3Cs are sched uled to be phased out of service. Key operating criteria outlined in the MMA solicitation ask for relatively mar ginal improvements over the Lockheed Electra-based P-3C in speed, altitude and range. The desired 90% reliability rate, while higher than the 58% availability rate of the ageing P-3Cs, seems modest com pared with commercial standards. Baseline system The MMA's mission systems is not required to improve on the reconnaissance capabil ity of the current fleet, although the base line architecture must allow easy insertion of new technology and hardware. The MMA's sensor suite must include an elec tro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) imager, a syn thetic aperture radar, acoustic processor and an electronic threat warning system. The rival teams led by Boeing and Lockheed Martin have proposed widely different solutions, although the navy has drawn up performance requirements that accommodate both bids. Boeing's proposal is based on a mili tarised deriva tive of its 0 $t The Orion 21 proposal builds upon an extensive knowledge of the P-3C's airframe 737-800, which borrows the wing from the larger 737-900, and introduces a weapons bay in the aft cargo hold and wing- mounted weapons stations. The airliner's jet performance would offer a 20% faster dash speed and 31% higher transit speed compared with a turboprop, plus an ability to climb to 41,000ft (12,500m) says Boeing. These advantages aim to offset the higher fuel burn of a turbofan at low altitude. Notionally, the aircraft would be assem bled and receive fuselage modifications in Renton, Washington before completing preparation in Wichita, Kansas. Raytheon would supply the APS-137 maritime sur veillance radar, Northrop Grumman the datalinks and EO/IR sensor, and Smiths Aerospace would provide flight manage ment and stores management systems. Having once considered a bid based on the Airbus A320 family, Lockheed Martin has instead settled on an improved version of the P-3 called the Orion 21. Upgrades include a 60% increase in thrust (provided by the new integration of Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150 7,000shp-class (5,200kW) turboprop engines with eight-bladed Hamilton Sundstrand NP2000 propellers, plus strengthened wing, glass cockpit and auto throttle. Powerplant improvements raised the Orion 21's maximum ceiling by about 7,000ft to 35,000ft. Orion 21 production would involve sev eral Lockheed Martin units. Programme management would be based in Marietta, Georgia and assembly in Palmdale, California. Mission systems would be delivered by Lockheed Martin in Owego, New York, and training systems supplied from Orlando, Florida. UK-based GKN Aerospace has also signed on as a signifi cant partner in the programme. The competing proposals have a clash of operational styles. The jet offers advantages in dash speed and altitude performance, while the turboprop offers an efficient long- endurance loitering capability, even at low altitudes. Navy Cdr Mark Hewitt, the MMA requirements officer, acknowledges a capa bility gap between "dash speed and range on one side, and endurance on the other". The winner, expected to be chosen in late May or early June, would gain billions of dollars in fol low-on produc tion orders and a strong foothold : in the in- ternation- 36 11-17 MAY 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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