Fleet Support Contract a Potential Boost for GA

Both the RAAF and the RAN have for many years been using the services of civilian companies for the less demanding elements of fighter intercept and fleet support missions. These were flown with Pacific Aviation’s Learjets for many years prior to Adelaide-based Lloyd Aviation winning this contract during 1986. While the Learjets are fine for target towing and proving shipboard radar calibration, etc, they are incapable of performing the high-stress, low-level military style flying that the Navy was receiving via its own A-4 Skyhawks and more latterly with RAAF Mirages.

Therefore what is required is virtually a civilian-owned mini air force with pilots of considerable military experience flying true combat aircraft rather than merely higher performance corporate type aircraft.

For Australian aviation, this is a big step towards satisfying a number of longer term RAAF (and RAN) needs as a shrinking manpower and capital base force both services to look towards the contracting of private industry for what were traditionally Service tasks.

The present Fleet Support requirement was first officially revealed via the issuance of a joint RAAF/RAN Intent to Register Interest (ITR) back in February 1986 though readers of this magazine were made aware of the coming requirement as early as the March 1985 edition – long before Defence publicly admitted that a potential problem in this area existed.

Following the release of the ITR, which incidentally attracted no less than 14 potential contractors, a Request For Tender (RFT) was issued last October. With the RFT officially having closed early February, the stage is now set for Defence to hopefully announce the winning contractor no later than April. Many both within and outside of Russell Hill though feel that this might be a little optimistic particularly as the RFT requires the entire ‘mini air force’ to be fully operational at its Nowra base effective July 1 this year! Most contenders feel that a little more time may be required in view of the vast logistical factors involved. Certainly, if the winning contender cannot be up and running by July then the RAAF is able to continue RAN Fleet Support at the present levels via their F-18s and Macchis with perhaps borrowed Mirage Ills from No. 75 Squadron at Darwin.

So what exactly is involved in a civilian agency replacing the Services in this quasi-military function?

The task involves the use of fast military-type aircraft capable of at least 500kts at low level in both day and night operations extending up to 100nm from land and principally in the Jervis Bay naval training area off the NSW southern coast. Jervis Bay includes a specially instrumented combat range and consequently one problem that the RAAF have always had is that their Mirages are often incapable of operating effectively (ie: having adequate endurance) out of RAN Nowra’s relatively short 6800ft strip or conversely while basing out of far off Williamtown. Defence estimate that there would be between 400 and 500 hours per annum on task which allows an additional 30% flying time for transit, etc adds up to a considerable amount of activity. The general thought as to aircraft numbers is that to satisfy the DoD’s requirement for a maximum of 4 aircraft operating simultaneously then the newer aircraft could get away with say 5 aircraft in inventory while the older refurbished types would require at least 6 or 7 depending upon complexity of systems and age, etc.

Who then are the contenders?

Skywest are bidding hard and at time of writing were hoping to team with an overseas partner. Essentially, there are only four major overseas partners that are up to speed with this type of operation – Flight Refuelling, Air Work Flight International and Flight Systems. These organizations already supply high quality support for both the US and UK services and their immediate operational expertise would have to be considered an asset for an Australian newcomer to the game. However, there is a catch here and it is simply that the DoD has insisted that all contracted aircrew must be Australian by nationality and must have flown consistently in Australia these past five years. This then ensures that Australia keeps a handle on the entire operation, that foreign nationals don’t become privy to a variety of classified operational stratagems and that finally more of the funding stays in Australia.

The Ansett group meanwhile are headed by Pacific Aviation, with assistance from British Aerospace. This team also encompasses the bids from TNT Air and Ansett itself though at time of going to press this organization was unable to clarify who the final team leader would be though one does suspect that Pacific are the strongest in this camp by far.

Transecutive of Essendon are also bidding as they move to obtain a greater presence in the ever-increasing military civil contract field.

Perhaps the strongest bid though is coming from the Adelaide-based Lloyd Aviation group. Lloyd won the navy target towing contract from Pacific Aviation through the middle of last year and are now planning to greatly expand their activities in support of the Australian Defence Force. Their Learjet RAN operation is already based at Nowra and the team can easily expand this for the more in-depth Fleet Support role if required. In addition, Lloyd’s have at their disposal a very fine hand picked team of ex-Service pilots which comprises some of the best aircrew currently available.

So much for the major contenders, but what of the aircraft? For the aviation aficionado, the Fleet Support contract will certainly have film sales as some very interesting aircraft take centre stage. As each type represents a different scenario we shall evaluate them separately.

MDC A-4 Skyhawk

This venerable fighter bomber has been the attack backbone for many air arms for more than three decades. Indeed age is not wearying it as the A-4 is nowadays the prime target of a number of life-extending retrofits which will see it in operation well into the 21st century. Singapore for instance is upgrading the avionics, zero timing the airframe and replacing the fuel-guzzling and maintenance-intensive P&W turbojet with the new non-reheated version of the GE F404 – a conversion that will result in a low-priced attack aircraft of unbeatable value. But that of course is another story!

Most contenders are looking strongly at the A-4 as it is available still in sufficient quantity to ensure that its overall price is viable if not exactly cheap. Israel and the US are primary sources though after total refurbishment the aircraft are still dearer than many would wish due to their real-time alternative combat capability that even in standard form is hardly outdated in many areas of the world. The other drawback with the A-4 is that it is fairly maintenance intensive and being an old aircraft it would require the full complement of at least 6 airframes in inventory to be able to guarantee a four-ship flight element at any time day or night as the fleet requires.

A story doing the rounds at Defence Central is that the RNZAF has privately suggested that either the DoD directly, or the winning contender, leases excess RNZAF Skyhawks. Apart from its black humour value it is difficult to envisage a political situation where the present Federal Government would allow such a move considering that they were, just a few short years ago, Australian aircraft. Though do you remember the Airtrainer saga – anything is possible though we won’t put our money on this option despite its relative logic.

Bae Hawk

The Hawk has now been in service for more than a decade with the RAF as their primary jet trainer and has met with excellent sales success internationally. Hawk is widely felt to be the number one aircraft for such a task due to its low level of technical complexity, modern yet simple systems, low maintenance requirement, wide array of stores carriage capability and its abundant performance. Drawbacks are that principally the type is available only to one group (though if the Ansett/Pacific/TNT combine fail then the Hawks may be offered elsewhere) and that it comes naturally with a high price tag as it is a new generation aircraft. Much of this extra upfront cost though would be saved over a period of years through a lower maintenance cost and the requirement to only need say 5 aircraft on line rather than 6 or 7 owing to the greater reliability of the newer technology jet.

Dassault Alpha Jet

Like the Hawk this is a relatively expensive aircraft though it is known that the required number are available for immediate lease owing to a less than brilliant credit rating of a third-world African nation and the resultant non-delivery of four such aircraft. The Alpha France as a unique opportunity of getting their aircraft back into Australia after losing both the Super Puma and Mirage 2000 battles to rival American aircraft. Another advantage with the Alpha Jets is that they are twin-engined and thus ideal for the extended offshore missions that would be required. On a dark and stormy July night, one hundred clicks off Nowra, even the bravest pilot is eternally thankful of that second heat source!

Sabre

The venerable Sabre jet nowadays is of course not used for combat though large numbers do still exist as drones and manned test vehicles performing roles precisely as envisaged by the creators of the Fleet Support task. The Sabres are plentiful and cheap. Their maintenance requirement is classified in the medium to high range and at least 7 would be required. Perhaps the best of the breed, the Orenda-powered RCAF version is the most suitable and a number of these aircraft are known to be readily available for a mere $150,000 each. Overall, a front runner for the requirement from all camps.

Hawker Hunter

The thoroughbred of the set is the Hawker Hunter. We say thoroughbred as this aircraft certainly is just that. The Hunter still operates as a front line fighter in a number of respectable world air arms, including Switzerland, and is available at a good price from UK sources. BAe have done an excellent job of maintaining and updating these elegant fighters and the type intrinsically has more than adequate performance and external stores capacity to complement the task.

Australian teams would be looking at up to 7 Hunters and don’t be surprised if they eventually end up wearing VH registrations. That of course is an interesting point as all these aircraft are also required to be on our civil register.

Boeing Skyfox

This aircraft was originally conceived as a radical refurbishment of the aged Lockheed T-33 jet trainer by a group of ex Lockheed Skunk Works designers. Their early eighties attempt to get the project going failed due to lack of funding and was, in 1985, taken over by the giant Boeing Military Airplane Company. Boeing has to date developed the aircraft relatively slowly though has in recent months launched into an intensive programme of development designed to get the Skyfox fully operational by 1988.

Performance at present is well below par though higher thrust Garrett engines and some intensive aerodynamic streamlining hopefully will get the Skyfox up to its 500kt + design speed some time in the coming year. Other benefits of Skyfox are that it would require a low comparable level of maintenance, thus less airframes to begin with, has an expansive, almost cavernous fuselage in which to store the necessary kit that the task requires and is twin-engined.

Unfortunately, there is no way the Skyfox will see Australian service in the next few years due to its protracted development schedule though as a long-term solution the type ranks highly.

Aidc At-Tc-3

This Taiwanese-designed jet trainer has won a lot of respect from all the teams involved. The AT-TC-3 was designed with technical assistance from Northrop, features reliable civilian Garrett TFE turbofans (2) and a large enough airframe to cope with the vast array of stores that will grow with the mission. However, a bit like the RNZAF A-4 offer, the spectre of any Australian contender being allowed to import jet combat-type aircraft from Taiwan is virtually nil owing to our close trade associations with the PRC. Despite its political problems we have included this aircraft as more than any other it embodies precisely what is required for the civilian-operated Fleet Support mission.

So there you have it – a number of highly capable operators and a veritable smorgasbord of available aircraft. It is hoped that Defence will now be able to announce a winner by this April, indeed they will have to in order to have the assets in being by July 1. However, while a delay of a few months could be accommodated with borrowed RAAF assets in the Macchi, Hornet and re-deployed Mirages from Darwin, the operation must be fully functional for this September’s Fleet Concentration Period (FCP) so it is expected that Defence will be giving this Tender its maximum effort in getting it through in the previously advertised time scale – which we might add would be a welcome change!

As we have stated many times in this magazine over the past year, the attitude of DoD towards the employment of civilian assets is changing. Civilian maintenance assets are nowadays taking a greater share of the military maintenance task while even SAR helos are to be withdrawn in favour of civilian assets. The Army are looking to using civilian companies for its newfound rotary wing maintenance in addition to even put out for tender its primary helo training obligations. The RMF is meanwhile placing with industry the entire maintenance function of its primary CT-4 training organization while the Navy are in the process of replacing some of their long lost FM fixed-wing component with the above-mentioned civilian aircraft.

It is in this light that the present Fleet Support contract is so appealing to those involved as a whole host of unsolicited proposals can be later suggested to Defence that could save it money in the longer term. At present, the Fleet Support aircraft would be operating largely with the fleet, running high and low level, all weather, day and night attacks against the surface ships so that they can calibrate their radars, test defensive electronic suites and of course exercise their anti-aircraft gun and missile systems. The RMF, at a later date could also avail itself to more of this type of high-performance capability through exercising the F-18s in Beyond Visual Range (BVR) radar intercept and missile firing exercises with high agility aggressors if’) addition to operating as ‘dummy’ tankers, trailing a dry drogue on which the F-18s can practice plugging in at minimum cost as against using a 707. The long-term possibilities are endless and this is precisely why this latest Fleet Support contract is so important to both our Defence Forces and the Australian General Aviation industry. The outcome will certainly be worth watching.