New Helicopters for Navy

In the interim before the Anzac’s own helicopters are delivered however, the Anzacs will train with Seahawks. In fact the Navy would like to activate the four Seahawk helicopters currently in storage (at any one time four of the 16 delivered are in storage) to give the Anzacs a helicopter capability until their own are delivered. However at the time of writing this program was unfunded.

The Anzac helicopter’s primary roles will be surface surveillance and anti surface warfare. Anti submarine warfare will be a secondary role and the helicopters will not be fitted with any ASW sensors. This is a function of the Anzac frigates’ role, rather than a downgrading in the perceived threat from submarines since the end of the Cold War. Also there is only so many sensors and systems that can be fitted. Our multi-mission Super Seasprite is ready for any task.

New Helicopters For Navy

Apart from surveillance and ASuW, the helicopters will be tasked with contact investigation and counter infiltration and the usual variety of utility tasks performed by ship based naval helicopters, such as some carriage of personnel and freight and search and rescue.

The requirement calls for the helicopters to be equipped with a 360° search radar, an ESM suite for passive surveillance, chaff and flares for self protection, FLIR for passive target classification, a datalink for data transmission to the parent ship and an integrated air-to-surface missile. The helicopters will have two crew (a pilot and observer), have accommodation to carry a boarding party of five, will be able to carry a door mounted machine gun, and will be fitted with a winch for SAR. They will be able to carry and launch torpedoes at submarines using targeting data supplied from other ships or aircraft. Finally they should have at least a 10,000 hour service life.

One of the challenges of the program is the requirement for two crew. Most current naval helicopters in this class carry a crew of three or four, and the contenders will have to ensure that crew workload is kept down, through the use of advanced displays and a high degree of integration and automation.

The range of the search radar and missile the RAN requires is classified. The service is not calling for a fire and forget weapon however, what is more important is that the range of the weapon is greater than the range of potential target ships’ air defences. Another issue with the weapon is the missile’s sensor performance, and the missile’s capabilities in congested island archipelagoes. The tenderers were requested to offer weapons other than those currently qualified on their helicopters, with weapons offered including the NFT Penguin, BAe Imposed Sea Skua and the OTO Melara Marte Mk 2. The missile manufacturers have also been invited to offer their missiles separately from the helicopter project. (Part offers have also been invited for the operational flight trainer and major components of the logistics support package.)

The RAN’s requirements are unique and cannot be met by any helicopter currently in production. Consequently the tenderers for the project have had to tailor their designs to meet the requirement and the program should result in the RAN operating the most capable maritime helicopter in the small to intermediate size class.

The RAN is keen to minimise the risks of acquiring a unique system and has specified that no items of equipment be specifically developed for the helicopter so it does not have to carry the risks and costs of research and development.

The degree of integration was certainly a factor in Sikorsky’s decision not to offer a navalised S-76, the S-76N, for the project. Sikorsky planned to offer the navalised S-76 after the weight restriction ruled out its Seahawk. However Sikorsky elected not to tender for the project as it felt that while it could confidently meet the requirement it could not be done for a realistic development cost.

Meanwhile Eurocopter decided to withdraw from offering its AS 565 Panther, in part because France’s three week general strike late last year threw its bid preparations into chaos. Agusta was another potential bidder, however its AB 212 has skid undercarriage and the RAN has specified wheeled undercarriage.

Thus when tenders closed on March 20 the two companies to bid for the project were Kaman, offering the Seasprite and Westland with the Lynx. Evaluation of these two designs is currently underway, with the winning tender due to be announced in September or October and contract signature expected by December. First deliveries would be in 1999 or 2000 and they would remain in service through to 2025.

Eurocopter had intended to tender its Panther (military Dauphin) but the option to acquire helicopters for the OPCs (around a dozen or so, depending on the number of OPCs built) would have to be converted within three years of contract signature. The OPC helicopters would be near to identical to the Anzacs’ helicopters, the only difference would be that because of latter construction the OPC helicopters could be fitted with upgraded equipment of the same basic model. If the OPC helicopters are ordered, the successful manufacturer would have the option of building the helicopters in two batches to meet the different delivery requirements, or building them in a single run with the OPC aircraft placed in storage until they are needed.

If the OPC deal goes through, the helicopters will be funded as part of the broader OPC project. This will be the first time RAN ships and their helicopters are funded and ordered at the same time.

Apart from the capabilities of the helicopters themselves, other factors influencing the decision will include through life support and costs, Australian Industry Involvement aspects and the degree of commonality with other equipment currently in ADF service.

The Navy will perform operational maintenance on the helicopters, however the service would prefer that the contract winner provide deeper maintenance, possibly subcontracted out for the life of the helicopter. There is also considerable scope for maintenance cooperation with New Zealand, should the two navies select the same helicopter for their similar requirements.

New Zealand is due to order six helicopters for delivery from as early as next year. Like Australia, New Zealand’s program was to find a naval helicopter for its two Anzac frigates it has on order as well as its current Leander frigates. However New Zealand’s requirement differed in that the primary role of the helicopters will be anti surface warfare and less customising was required to meet the specifications. Both the Australian and New Zealand project officers for each country’s program have been in close consultation with each other, sharing information, however otherwise the projects are separate. Australian Aviation August 1996.

Commonality is likely to be an important influence on the selection process, and the Navy aims to achieve maximum commonality with equipment (anything from engines to radios) currently in ADF service, where it makes sense to do so. The advantages of commonality are mainly cost savings through using maintenance and support infrastructure currently in place in Australia, however the Navy doesn’t want to be tied to having items of commonality on the helicopter where it comes at a significant integration or acquisition cost, a performance penalty, or the commonality is with out of date and ageing equipment.

One specific area of commonality requested is that of the Anzac helicopter’s FLIR and ESM. The Navy has asked in the RFT that if the FLIR and ESM systems offered for the Anzac helicopters is not the same as that selected for the Seahawks, that the Seahawk’s ESM and FLIR be offered as a costed option. In particular British Aerospace Australia’s thermal imaging system which was specifically developed for Australia’s Seahawks is to be offered on the Anzac helicopters, at the minimum as a costed option. (Contract signature for the FLIR and ESM project for the Seahawk, Phase 1 and 2 of SEA 1405, is due in September. Phases 3 and 4 of the project will seek to equip the Seahawks with an air-to-surface missile and a dipping sonar respectively.)

Australian Industry Involvement requirements of the project are in line with Federal Government policy objectives and seek to maximise in country support for the helicopter, its engines, sensors and other systems. Commonality with the New Zealand naval helicopter would also provide further scope for regional cooperation on maintenance support.

Finally SEA 1411/1427 calls for operational flight training equipment as part of the helicopter procurement, to ensure that the primary aircrew training aids for the helicopter are available when the new type enters service. The Navy feels a full motion flight simulator is not necessarily the most cost effective solution to the training needs for new helicopters as the aircraft, although home based at Nowra, will operate from ships based at Garden Island in Sydney, HMAS Stirling, near Perth and Darwin.

When it comes to fruition, naval aviation’s biggest and most complex program since the Seahawk is likely to result in the most capable surveillance and anti ship intermediate naval helicopter in the world.

The two contenders for this project, the Kaman Seasprite and Westland Lynx, will be covered in the next issue of Australian Aviation.