Naval Aviation

“Overall, naval aviation has had a tough couple of years. But our trends are mostly headed in the right direction,” the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO)’s Director General Navy Aviation Systems, Commodore Mark Campbell, told Australian Aviation in an interview.

“I guess one of our biggest threats is a lack of resources, both financial and human. We’re constantly fighting for resources – naval aviation is not cheap!”

Order Of Battle

The Naval Aviation Group is a ‘Force Element Group’ – or FEG – within the Navy’s Maritime Command, and currently operates 48 aircraft in four squadrons in a variety of roles including fleet replenishment and support, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), and training. All its units are home based at HMAS Albatross near Nowra on the NSW south coast.

The RAN’s primary training unit is 723SQN which operates 13 Eurocopter AS 350BA Squirrel single-engine helicopters. It is tasked with conversion training for new naval pilots fresh from their fixed wing primary and basic training courses on the CT-4 and PC-9, as well as observers who have come from the ADF’s School of Air Navigation (SAN) where they fly

Overall, naval aviation has had a tough couple of years. But our trends are mostly headed in the right direction.

King Air 350 navigation trainers.

“The Squirrel is still a very reliable aircraft and we’re getting great availability out of it,” the Commander Australian Naval Aviation Group (COMAUSNAVAIRGRP), Commodore Tim Barrett told AA. “It’s just that it has limitations in what we can teach – it is single engined, has a basic cockpit, and has few tactical training applications. Our observers learn on King Airs with SAN at RAAF East Sale, and then come back here to the Squirrels and almost go backwards. That’s why we’re seeking Air 9000 Phase 7 to improve this (see below). ” About 150 uniformed and contractor maintenance personnel work on Navy’s Squirrels, with Australian Aerospace, Raytheon and BAE Systems Australia the main contractors.

723SQN also operates the RAN’s new AgustaWestland A 109E Power Retention and Motivation Initiative (RMI) flight, which stood up last November (see October ’07 AA).

“RMI was seen as a means to maintaining training standards and motivation amongst our crews until a firm decision on Seasprite is made,” CDRE Barrett said. “The A 109s have modern digital avionics and are twin engined, and provide a much closer environment to what the crews will eventually be flying than the Squirrel. ” The Squirrels are supported by Australian Aerospace for medium and deeper level maintenance work, while Raytheon Australia owns and operates the two Powers right up to flight-line support and maintenance. A third A 190E is scheduled to enter service in March after a delay of about four months in converting it to a configuration similar to that of the first two aircraft.

805SQN will take on the Kaman SH‑2G(A) Super Seasprite when (or if) it is eventually delivered.

The Seasprite program has been dogged by repeated delays since its inception, resulting in the aircraft currently running six years late and being still at least four years away from entering service. The squadron currently has nine Seasprites allocated to it, seven of which are stored in a preservation (‘pres’) state with all orifices sealed, rotors removed, and canopies taped over. Two other aircraft are still owned by Kaman, with one in storage at Nowra and the other performing flight test duties in the US.

However, while the Seasprites have remained grounded, 805 hasn’t been resting. The currently downsized unit is continuing to train and perform maintenance on the two ‘non-pres’ aircraft.

“It’s quite fitting that 805, the Navy’s traditional strike squadron, will be operating the Seasprites – we haven’t had a strike capability since the retirement of the A-4s in the early 1980s,” 805’s CO LCDR Leon Volz said.

“We’re getting two aircraft ready to fly for test and evaluation purposes so we’re ready to go when the nod comes. We’re still running a maintenance program, including modifications and ground runs for the ‘non-pres’ aircraft in order to keep the fluids flowing and the seals wet, and to ensure the skills are maintained.

We currently have three aircrews assigned to the squadron, and have kept an engineering core, so we’ve basically managed ourselves down to a reasonable level so everyone has enough to do. ” “We’ve farmed a lot of our sailors out to other squadrons to help them complete their trades, to gain experience, or to keep their motivation up,” 805’s assistant aviation engineering officer, Warrant Officer Tony Emmett, said. “We keep the guys motivated so they are basically ready for the aircraft to fly next month if needed. Our main aim is to ensure they don’t start thinking it won’t fly for another 18 months or so. ” The plan is for the Seasprite to require about 122 uniformed and contractor maintenance and engineering personnel to support it when in service, with Kaman, SMA, Raytheon, Safeair and CSC the main contractors.

“It can certainly be a challenge to keep the805SQN currently has nine Seasprites allocated to it, seven of which are stored in a preservation (‘pres’) mode. people motivated when we have no aircraft flying, but we’ve got a good bunch of guys who keep themselves involved in various team building and community focused activities,” LCDR Volz continued.

“Fortunately, the squadron is still young, so there is still work to do to get our procedures and training right. Having these guys come back with their flying experience provides a very good stabilising force for the younger crews coming through. ” “We’re still about getting as much flying in as we can,” offered CDRE Barrett.

“Apart from our regular exchange postings, we’ve got eight other people overseas flying different types – four with the US Coast Guard flying the HH-60 Jayhawk, a couple of guys in the UK flying Sea King and Lynx, and two guys in NZ flying Seasprite. ” At neighbouring 816SQN, flying operations are getting back to full swing as its upgraded Sikorsky S-70B-2 Seahawks return from receiving their much delayed self-defence and situational awareness upgrades.

816SQN has about eight to 10 aircraft available for flying duties at Nowra at any one time. “We have 16 Seahawks on strength, with three or four of them at sea at any one time,” LCDR Grant O’Loughlan, 816’s executive officer (XO), explained. “There is usually one or two aircraft over at HMAS Stirling or flying off ships based out of there, and perhaps one or two up around northern Australia on ships tasked to border and resource protection operations. ” “Plus, in addition to having one Seahawk continuously deployed in the Gulf, we usually have one either on the way back or being serviced after a deployment, and another getting ready to be deployed with the next rotation,” LCDR O’Loughlan said. “One of our aircraft will typically deploy to the Gulf on a ship, and then will stay there and hop across to the replacement ship at the end of the first ship’s six month rotation, so we may have an airframe gone for over a year. Prior to deployment, major service items which fall due during the deployment period are brought forward. ” LCDR O’Loughlan has been flying the Seahawk for a number of years and has also flown Lynx and Sea Kings on exchange with the Royal Navy, but he says the Seahawk is by far his favourite mount. “The Seahawk is built like the proverbial brick outhouse,” he enthused.

“It’s a real workhorse – you can throw it at the deck and it just soaks it up – it just keeps on performing. Our fleet leader has about 4500 hours on it, so there’s plenty of life left in the airframe and they’re very well looked after on top of that. ” Due to its high work rate and complexity, the Seahawk is the most labour intensive of Navy’s aircraft with about 500 uniformed and contractor personnel, the majority of whom are from BAE Systems, tasked to support it.

In order to help keep those airframe hours low so the aircraft can comfortably meet its planned life of type, 816 recently deployed one Seahawk to Perth and then returned two back to Nowra aboard a RAAF C-17, the first time the ADF’s latest and largest airlift asset has carried a naval helicopter.

“The use of the C-17 to take aircraft to Perth or up to Darwin saves us up to 40 airframe hours per aircraft each way,” LTCDR O’Loughlan said. “So from that point of view alone the C-17 has been a great asset acquisition for the ADF. It gives us the option to take the aircraft to meet a ship, whether that be in Perth, Darwin, Townsville, or even overseas, saving us airframe hours, the amount of time the aircraft and crew are away, or from having to source foreign airlifters. ” “The aircraft fit in the C-17 quite comfortably despite having more ‘lumps and bumps’ on them and a different undercarriage than the Army’s Black Hawk,” said CDRE Barrett. “When they arrived back they were rolled off the C-17 in the morning and, after the blades and tail boom were unfolded and were given a quick once-over, they were placed on the afternoon flying rotation. It’s an important capability enhancement for us. ” Perhaps bearing the brunt of the public’s spotlight over the past few years, albeit in a negative context, is 817SQN which flies the Westland Sea King Mk. 50A (often contracted to SK50A).

The Sea King’s reputation has been unfairly blighted since a crash on the Indonesian island of Nias in April 2005 claimed the lives of nine ADF personnel and three subsequent groundings were attributed to mechanical faults being found on the airframe.

The subsequent 20 month long Board of Inquiry (BoI) which followed the crash found no faults with the aircraftitself. Instead, after calling more than 160 witnesses and producing more than 10,000 pages of transcript, it found that a cultural problem which had manifested itself in “a general decline in following standard operating procedures and regulated practice” was prevalent. Most importantly for the squadron itself, the BoI found that these cultural issues existed not just within 817, but within many elements of the ADF as a whole.

“We’ve obviously had some well documented problems with Sea King airworthiness,” DMO’s CDRE Campbell said. “However, these were nothing to do with the aircraft itself, and were more a cultural issue with maintenance staff, some of whom are no longer working on aircraft. ” “The cultural issues we experienced are ones that are endemic to the aerospace industry, and indeed to other skill-based industries,” expanded 817’s CO, CMDR Tim Leonard. “The cultural issues were addressed not just within the squadron, but across Navy and the ADF as a whole, and the positive effects are being felt elsewhere. ” CMDR Leonard said that recent media reports that pilots were unwilling to fly the Sea Kings are “old news,” and that he and his staff now have complete confidence in not only the aircraft, but also in the engineers and maintainers who work on them. “In the months after Nias I did have a few pilots say they weren’t entirely comfortable flying the aircraft. Most of these guys were good hands and were worth sticking with, and they quickly regained confidence in the aircraft. ” “I’ve flown Sea King with the RAN and in the UK,” said CDRE Campbell, “and I’m very comfortable with the airworthiness of the aircraft. ” “We’ve certainly come a long way in the last couple of years since Nias,” CDRE Barrett said. “We’ve learned a lot of hard lessons. More than half the recommendations from the BoI have been completed, and the rest are in hand. ” After being returned to flight status in September, 817 has been busy upgrading its aircraft and preparing for a busy 2008. “We have one aircraft almost permanently at sea, but we’ll have two for most of next year as well as a third at the RIMPAC exercise in Hawaii for a couple of months,” CMDR Leonard explained. “So, we’re still out there doing the business. ” Meanwhile, the aircraft are being fitted with upgraded cabin seating designed to improve the survivability for passengers in the event of a crash, a recommendation that in the aftermath of Nias, and despite the Sea Kings being due to be retired in 2010, is seen as a priority.

“There are several structural mods to the aircraft’s frames where the new impact absorbing seat components are mounted in the rear fuselage, just to beef them up so they can withstand the forces associated with impact,” CMDR Leonard explained. “We’ll have the first Sea Kings anywhere in the world fitted with this mod – each aircraft takes 25 days to have the mod completed, so we’re planning on having the whole fleet completed by the end of February. We’ve also added a GPS/INS and new radios to the aircraft, and we are performing airframe maintenance work within the squadron which is quite technically challenging. ” The Sea King is supported by about 280 maintenance and engineering personnel, with contractor support being provided by AgustaWestland and BAE Systems Australia.

“Once the first aircraft is finished we’ll weigh and test fly it, but I don’t imagine there’ll be any more than a 60-70kg increase in overall weight with little impact on aircraft handling,” added CMDR Leonard. “We already have a big margin between empty and max takeoff weight anyway so it’ll be easy to accommodate.

“The Sea King is a very robust aircraft. Our fleet leader has only flown about 8500 hours – there are Sea Kings out there with more than 30,000 hours, so ours are pretty young by world standards.

When AgustaWestland came onboard as our support contractor, they were very impressed with the condition of our aircraft. ”

Major Projects

SEA 1405, PHASES 1 & 2 – Project Sea 1405 will see the RAN’s Seahawks receive enhanced surveillance, situational awareness and self protection systems through the addition of an Elisra AES‑210 radar warning receiver (RWR) and electronic countermeasures (ECM) system, a Northrop Grumman AAR‑54 Missile Approach Warning System (MAWS), dual boom-mounted Tracor ALE-47 Counter Measures Dispenser Systems (CMDS), and a relocated FLIR (forward looking infrared) turret.

This drawn out project began back in March 1998 when a contract was signed with Hawker de Havilland (Victoria), now part of Tenix Defence’s Aerospace Division. Integration difficulties resulted in the Phase 1 final design of the upgrade being delayed, meaning prototype testing did not commence until 2003, and the start of Phase 2 production was delayed until April 2005.

Modifications to the aircraft include the re-installation of the FLIR turret on the nose of the aircraft, the installation of the MAWS and ESM sensors and receivers on the aircraft’s fuselage quadrants, the tail boom installations of the two CMDS systems, and associated avionics bay and cockpit instrument panel installations.

“The Seahawk has been in harm’s way for much of its life already,” CDRE Campbell said, referring to repeat deployments to the Persian Gulf region since late 1990 of RAN ships embarking Seahawks. “It hasn’t had great self-protection but we’re changing that. We’re about half way through the production phase of Sea 1405 – the new ESM is being flown but hasn’t been cleared for airworthiness yet, but the FLIR has been cleared and we have an aircraft in the Gulf using the FLIR at the moment, and that has been performing excellently. ” “The addition of the CMDS and front mounted FLIR has been great,” noted 816SQN’s LTCDR O’Loughlan. “Even though it’s the same FLIR that we used to mount on the side station, the nose mount gives us a greater field of view, plus it frees up the station for weapons or auxiliary fuel tanks. ” Previously completed under Project Sea 1511 Phase 2, the Seahawk’s flight and mission simulators have also been modified to reflect the aircraft’s new FLIR and ESM capabilities. Additionally, the element of Project JP2070 which involved the integration of the new MU‑90lightweight torpedo with the Seahawk is likely to be brought under the Sea 1405 umbrella.

SEA 1411 – Eleven Kaman SH‑2G(A) Super Seasprites were ordered in 1997 under project Sea 1411 to meet a requirement for missile equipped and datalinked ASuW helicopters for the Navy’s Anzac frigates.

The requirement at the time, perhaps in retrospect over-ambitiously, called for a crew of just two, when three was the norm for ASuW/ASW helicopters. The radically upgraded Super Seasprite, which mated ‘zero-lifed’ 1960s and 1980s build airframes with modern avionics, electronics and combat systems, was to have entered service in 2001.

But since 2001 when the original avionics systems integrator, Litton, pulled out of the program, the aircraft’s entry into service has been repeatedly delayed due to various software integration, flight safety and certification issues, culminating in then Defence Minister Brendan Nelson grounding the aircraft in early 2006.

Kaman contends that it has been hard done by, telling Australian Aviation that the ADF had undertaken to manage the aircraft’s certification.

“The aircraft’s airworthiness certification issue is a problem,” Kaman’s Aerospace’s vice president of engineering, Michael Bowes, told AA in February 2007. “The certification process falls within the Commonwealth’s area of responsibility, and despite (Kaman) warning them back in 2000/2001 that it could be done but would take a lot of work, they didn’t approach it with enough vigour. ” The main area of dispute centres around the aircraft’s single channel digital flight control system. Kaman told AA that in order to comply with the ADF’s required US FAA’s FAR Part 29 standard which covers civil transport helicopters, the Seasprite’s single-channel FCS computer must be made redundant with a backup unit, a process Kaman estimates will take two to three years to complete from go-ahead.

In the lead up to and immediately following the grounding, the language from the DMO and the then Minister’s office indicated that cancellation of the project was imminent. “It’s now clear that we made a mistake back in the mid ’90s in going down this path,” DMO CEO Dr Stephen Gumley told a February 2006 Senate Estimates hearing. “We are now looking at future capabilities and we are treating upgrades with a lot more caution than we did back in the mid ’90s. ” “I have asked the Department of Defence to consider all options including, if appropriate, legal action against the contractors who have not fulfilled their obligations to Australia and to Australian taxpayers,” Minister Nelson told media on May 14 that year. “We have had delays and essentially, as far as I am concerned, the software failures we faced . . . have been the straw that’s broken the camel’s back. ” However, in May 2007 the government appeared to reverse course, announcing instead that it would persevere with Seasprite. “After detailed consideration of the issues involved, the government has decided to continue the Seasprite project, subject to satisfactory contract arrangements,” a ministerial release read. “The return to flying will involve a series of controlled steps to assess the contractor’s performance, and to ensure the safety, performance and reliability of the Seasprite. ” How the new government and the new Defence Minister view the project remained unclear at presstime.

“Obviously we did not agree with Kaman over the Automatic Flight Control System safety requirements but we’re moving forward,” CDRE Campbell stold AA. “I’m still in negotiations with Kaman to define the program’s scope, revised timeframe, and on the contractual framework to protect the Commonwealth against further schedule delays. I think we’re quite close, and I hope to be able to put forward a recommendation to government in the next few weeks. ” “We know we have got a very capable aircraft, but we need to make sure we know what we’ve got,” CDRE Campbell continued. “If it goes ahead, we’re planning to operate with a special flying permit so we can fly the aircraft to introduce the new software prior to airworthiness being granted. We’ve already had a few test pilots flying the prototype in the US, going through the FCS remediation process. ” “If all goes well moving forward, I’d expect the aircraft to enter service in 2011/12, and to achieve full operational capability in 2013/14,” CDRE Campbell said. “But if it doesn’t move forward, we’ve got a bunch of options to consider. ” These options may include bringing forward Air 9000 Phase 8 to replace both the Seahawk and Seasprite capabilities earlier.

In the meantime, reports indicate the Seahawk’s current rate of effort of about 2800 hours per year will be increased to 4600 hours in 2010-11 to meet the RAN’s operational requirements.

AIR 9000, PHASE 3 – With key elements of the ADF’s Air 9000 helicopter rationalisation plan now well advanced, the project office is looking to define the next phases of the project.

“We’re developing options on how we’d like to take the Seahawk forward,” explained CDRE Campbell. “We will need to spend some money dealing with obsolescence issues in the airframe andsome systems to allow the DMO to support the aircraft moving forward.

This will be under Phase 3, and if the full scope of the upgrade is realised, the aircraft should be able to operate out to 2023. ” However, CDRE Campbell also said that, depending on what happens with the Seasprite, the Phase 3 Seahawk upgrade may be reduced in scope if the aircraft’s replacement program has to be brought forward. “In the interim, we’re also thinking about options and initiatives as to how we might increase Seahawk availability. ” An option floated earlier in 2007 to obtain a few second-hand ex-US Navy Seahawks to fulfil a training-only role in order to free up the current aircraft for operations appears to have lost favour, as the US Navy is transferring its best SH-60B/F airframes to reserve units or is having them rebuilt into new MH‑60R/S aircraft.

“The important thing is that we maintain the Seahawk availability,” CDRE Campbell said. “Our objective is to have a total of nine tactical Navy helicopter flights available. ” Under a new Phase 3E, the project team is also studying the possibility of integrating the Penguin anti-ship missile to the Seahawk.

“Our Seahawk is basically an SH-60F airframe and some integration work is required because the USN operates Penguin from the SH-60B. Greece also operates Penguin capable Seahawks.

There are integration issues, but physically the missile shouldn’t be much of an issue as we already have the appropriate pylons. Integration with the mission system computer will be the biggest risk. ” “I expect it would take at least two years from go-ahead to successfully integrate the Penguin onto the Seahawk,” he added. “There are three ways we could go with the missile – a minimalist option, a middle of the road option, or an all bells and whistles option. ” The “minimalist” option is believed to involve little integration with the carrier aircraft, with much of the weapon’s targeting being provided by its own seeker head, or perhaps via a datalink from a third party platform such as a ship or UAV. The “bells and whistles” option carries greater risk, but would provide the capability for the Seahawk and the missile to operate independently of third party platforms, with the missile taking targeting cues and mid-course guidance from the aircraft’s FLIR and/or radar.

PHASE 5B. 1 & 2 – While not a naval focused phase of Air 9000, the future of the Army’s Chinook heavy lift helicopter force has implications for the composition of the helicopter complements to be embarked upon the Navy’s forthcoming Canberra class amphibious ships.

Army currently operates six CH‑47D Chinooks, all of which recently completed an upgrade which saw them fitted with more powerful engines, and improved self protection, communications and ballistic protection systems.

In addition, former Minister Nelson confirmed shortly before the November federal election that an additional three Chinooks would be acquired.

“First Pass approval for three CH‑47Fs was announced on 20 November 2007 and we are setting up the project in order to commence acquisition of these,” the DMO’s Head of Helicopter Systems Division, MAJGEN Tony Fraser, told Australian Aviation. “It is our goal that our six D models will go through the F model remanufacturing process after the first F models arrive in order to have a common fleet. ” While there is funding for up to $350 million in the current Defence Capability Plan (DCP – the roadmap for defence acquisitions) for a mid-life upgrade of the Chinook in the 2015-2020 timeframe, this may need to be brought forward to 2011/12 and probably topped up for all six D models to be remanufactured into F models.

Certainly the three additional aircraft will provide an element of redundancy for the current small fleet which has been stretched by the tempo of operations in recent years, and would allow for two or more Chinooks to be embarked on the LHDs for amphibious operations or disaster relief efforts.

PHASE 6 – Air 9000 Phase 6 will see the Navy’s six Sea Kings replaced in 2010 with a similar number of NHI/ Eurocopter MRH 90s.

Originally ordered by Army as a supplement to and then to replace its S-70A Black Hawks, an additional six MRH90s were ordered to replace the Sea Kings following the 2005 Nias disaster.

“The opportunity came to go over to the MRH in conjunction with the Army’s buy,” CMDR Tim Leonard said. “Even though the Sea Kings could have flown for years longer, for the sake of type consolidation through Air 9000 it made sense to make the switch sooner rather than later. We transition to the MRH in 2010, and in order to manage that transition phase, we’ll draw down the Sea King fleet prior to the MRHs arriving. ” “The plan is for there to be a pool of MRHs from which we’ll draw our aircraft,” he added. “Ideally, as one aircraft becomes due for maintenance, another will arrive from the ‘pool’ the daybefore so we can maintain our capability.

The goal will be to maintain at least three operational flights at all times. ” “There’ll be a joint management agency for MRH to ensure the fleet is dispersed appropriately to meet the desired capability outcomes,” confirmed CDRE Barrett. “Even though I think we’ll be walking for a while after we go to MRH, I already have a Navy test pilot flying MRH in France, so I guess we’re already in transition mode. ” PHASE 7 – CDREs Barrett and Campbell also provided more information on the growing Phase 7 Helicopter Aircraft Training Scheme (HATS) capability which will replace Army’s Kiowa and Navy’s Squirrel helicopters early next decade, revealing that the selected aircraft will likely have a light utility capability to replace that lost with the recent retirement of Army’s Iroquois.

“We went through first pass in early 2007, and I’m hoping to have an RFT out in the middle of 2008,” CDRE Campbell explained. “Second pass is due in mid 2009, and service entry will be in 2011/12. I’m hoping to bring this forward as much as possible, and we’ll be looking to buy as much off-the-shelf as possible – we’ve learnt our lesson from Seasprite!” “Although we’ll be wanting a common type for both Army and Navy,” he added, “Army is often tasked with light utility missions and the Phase 7 aircraft might have some application in this regard.

We’re looking across similar programs in the US, UK, France and Singapore and may take the best bits of all these programs in helping us to define ours. ” “Although they’re completely separate programs, the RMI program we have with the A 109s is a model which will be studied as we refine our HATS requirement,” CDRE Barrett added. “Army and Navy will continue to do our basic training together, then there’ll be some Navy-specific training for things such as deck landings and such. However, it may come to pass that Army pilots might come down here to get some deck landing training as well. There’s certainly an opportunity to get a lot more cross exposure and ‘jointness’ with MRH. ” PHASE 8 – The Phase 8 replacement program for the Seahawk appeared in the last DCP, and envisages a selection in the middle of next decade with service entry around 2020. However, if the new government decides not to persevere with the Seasprite or if a less comprehensive Phase 3 Seahawk upgrade is approved, this timing may be brought forward.

“Our Phase 8 requirements are important to the future of Naval Aviation,” CDRE Campbell said.

“Ideally it will be a single platform with minimal crewing, be able to shoot missiles and torpedoes, and be fully networked with our own and with coalition forces. The package we’re sending to government will have several options on when we need to do that. ”

Setting A New Course

With the well publicised cultural issues seemingly in its wake and a raft of new equipment on the way, the future for the Naval Aviation Group appears to be bright.

“Our primary strength is our people,” noted CDRE Campbell. “We have some really dedicated strength in the squadrons and in support. When people leave their uniformed jobs, I’m quite happy to give them a job as a contractor if their skills are appropriate. But there are concerns in the aerospace industry’s capacity to support us, something which (DMO chief) Dr Gumley is doing his best to address. ” Then there is the prospect of a new Defence Capability Plan, which will map out any changes in course for naval aviation projects. It is expected to be released in mid 2009 following the issuing of a new Defence White Paper in late 2008.

“The Air 9000 process remains our greatest opportunity,” CDRE Campbell said. “Our aim is to keep our capacity and capability at the forefront. ” “Air 9000 is a really big issue for us,” noted CDRE Barrett. “Not only will Phase 8 see the replacement of the Seahawk and Seasprite, but we’re also replacing the Sea King and our Squirrel training helicopters as well. Our whole fleet will be rolled over in the next 10 to 15 years, and we’d like to see a rationalised force for us in the future. ”