Clipped wings

The additional delays will also see the planned initial operating capability (IOC) and full operational capability (FOC) of the program slip by nearly a year to the second halves of 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Air Vice Marshal Chris Deeble, the DMO’s AEW&C program manager, confirmed that the first three aircraft will be delivered with an interim training capability only, and that the full system won’t be available until early 2010.

“Boeing previously committed to delivering the aircraft for acceptance in the March 2009 timeframe, and we would have had the remaining four aircraft delivered into the middle of 2009,” he told Australian Aviation on June 26. “But this new schedule takes into account the complexity and concurrency of the test program, and that the ESM (electronic support measures) will need to evolve a little more before we could accept it.

“So we are now working with Boeing to start training in the July 2009 timeframe,” he added. “It is their intent to supply the first two aircraft to support that training evolution, and the third aircraft will be delivered in the latter half of 2009. The remaining three aircraft will not be delivered until after we have taken final acceptance of the full system, including ESM, in early 2010, and then there will be a retrofit cycle so the first three aircraft will receive whatever software or hardware changes that might require. ” The incremental delivery will at least give the personnel of the RAAF’s 2SQN and its parent 42WG a chance to work up their crews and to hit the ground running when the full system aircraft arrive in 2010.

“The key issue for us is if we start training in July 2009, that will be the long ‘pole in the tent’ for us to declaring IOC,” AVM Deeble explained.

“We would estimate IOC will be in the third or fourth quarter of 2010, and then FOC will be a year later than that, so starting the training is an important part of that evolution, and clearly the operational capability is based as much on the aircraft’s capability as it is on the number of crews we have trained. ” “We’ve worked very closely with Air Force regarding the people dimension,” he added.

“When we had the abortive start of the capability before, it was a significant issue, and I was concerned that there were some people now who may not get onto AEW&C who had been earmarked to do so because they had progressed through their careers. Anyone who is currently employed within 2SQN and 42WG are fully engaged in developing the foundation for the capability. My intent is when the aircraft hits the tarmac, we will have the first cut of the initial operating procedures ready, we will have all of the other governance associated with running a squadron and a wing established, we will have all of the things that are essential for operational airworthiness established to the extent that we know at the time, and that we will have the maintenance and those things in place with the trained personnel with the knowledge we have of the system at that time in place. ” The latest delays have been attributed to a number of different issues within the program rather than to any one dominant cause.

“The latest reschedule, in my mind reflected the risk we had been seeing on the program for some time,” AVM Deeble said. “Primarily it’s addressed the risk associated with, and the complexity of the testing program, and it assumes the radar performance will improve with some of the initiatives in place, so that will be something I’ll be looking at very closely. It also takes into account some of the issues we’ve encountered with the development of the ESM and some of the ground support segments. “We will always, from a customer’s perspective, have a more pessimistic view than Boeing who might have an optimistic view, but I believe it’s a step in the right direction.

“I clearly need to work with Northrop Grumman on the radar because that will be a significant primary sensor of this aircraft and there are still some issues we’re confronting there,” he added. “The radar performance is yet to be proven.

We’re just at the cusp of entering into formal acceptance testing and that will be a precursor into conducting the radar and some of the integrated system performance trials which are coming up in the latter part of this year. I think the overall concept is sound, but clearly the installed performance isn’t there yet, taking into account the fact that this radar is sitting on top of a 737 in very close proximity to the aircraft, so there are a range of issues we’re working through with Boeing. That was always going to be the most technically challenging part of the program, and is an area that we’re still working on in a development test and evaluation context. ” But with a new government which has already proven itself willing to ‘house clean’ underperforming projects, and with Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon declaring he was “disappointed” in the latest delays and holds a “high degree of concern” on a June 20 visit to BAE Systems’s integration lab in Adelaide, the frank AVM Deeble is keenly aware that the Wedgetail program remains high on the minister’s hit list.

“AEW&C could well be number one on that list,” he openly admitted. “Whilst I don’t think it’s directly at risk, I think it’s a project of concern by virtue of the very technical nature of the issues we’re confronting, and I am not surprised that the government would be concerned about a project that has had these substantial slippages.

“But I would also say that the government and the parliamentary secretary are aware of the nature of this capability and what we’re trying to deliver,” he added.

“I hope people see this as something like the Collins class rather than as something which may never work – I think we are at the cusp of realising a great capability and that what we’ve undertaken here will pay off. So while I would love to get off the list, I envisage that I’m going to be on it for a while until I deliver some outcomes in the July 2009 timeframe. ” Moving forward, AVM Deeble is visibly excited about the prospect of finally bringing Wedgetail and its revolutionary MESA radar into service, citing the “synergies” the aircraft’s sensors will have with those of the Navy’s forthcoming Air Warfare Destroyers, as well as the RAAF’s current and future combat aircraft.

“I think this capability has the strong potential to not only be a world class capability when it enters service, but evolving into something that people will look back on in the same way that they do with the F-111,” the former Canberra and F-111 pilot enthused.

“When we crack the nut it will bring a change in the way we do AEW&C. And there is clearly a lot of growth potential in this capability.

Things like CEC (cooperative engagement capability) that currently work in the maritime domain are possible, and that is something we’re definitely looking at evolving into this capability.

“But in the shorter term when this aircraft hits the tarmac, it’s going to be interacting with classic Hornets and Super Hornets, and while the Super Hornet dimension with its capability and AEW&C will be a very potent combination, I wouldn’t like to underestimate what the classic Hornet will also be able to achieve with its various HUG elements.

JSF will quite clearly be an important part of the equation down the track too. So, it’s effectively the ability to fuse the picture of AWD or Super Hornet or JSF-unique sensors, and the sensors we have on AEW&C, to create a more coherent picture of the operating environment. ” AVM Deeble says the day a USAF AWACS comes off a mission and is seamlessly replaced by a Wedgetail would just be the “perfect day”. But such a scenario is still at least three or four years away based on the latest schedule.

“It will take some time to fully understand the capability of this radar,” he cautioned. “The main issue for this aircraft is it’s a first-of-type, we’re the first customer, and this is the first time this level of capability has existed in the ADF, so we will have to learn as we go. My imperative is to provide the best foundation for the capability so the guys can get it into service, but I’m certain the concept of operations we have might change and morph into something else as the capability matures, and the L-band MESA radar will be an important part of that. ” And despite the delays, AVM Deeble remains confident that prime contractor Boeing can deliver the capability it promised.

“We’ve reserved our rights in terms of liquidated damages, and we clearly will be covering our costs and looking at appropriate remediation of the issues associated with the program,” he said. “I clearly believe that Boeing understands that they’ve disappointed us, and that we’re going to suffer from a capability perspective and also from the cost of maintaining teams overseas. But Boeing has made some major changes to its organisation and has brought in considerable resources, and there’s no doubt it has a very significant commitment to the program.

“In a partnership you should be prepared to have hard conversations, so I wouldn’t resile from that,” AVM Deeble said in closing.

“The underpinning of a partnership is trust and respect, so you should be able to have hard conversations and leave the table after a hard conversation respecting each others’ position and trusting what we’ve said. So while I’m holding Boeing to delivering the aircraft, I’m not going to beat them up because I don’t think that’s the way to have an enduring partnership that’s fundamental to delivering the aircraft.

“If we achieve our aspirations, and I think we’ll eventually do better than that with this capability, it will be not only world class, but a world beater. ”