Delta to Foxtrot?

Meanwhile, Army Continues to Work Its Small Fleet Hard on a Rotational Rest, Raise and Sustain Cycle. There’s No Doubting the Flexibility the Chinook Brings to Small and Highly Mobile Forces in Combat Areas Such as Afghanistan – the Recent Engine Upgrade and Other Self Protection and Situational Awareness Improvements Have Dramatically Improved the Aircraft’s Capability to the Point That It is Almost Indispensable to Australia’s Special Forces and Reconstruction Task Forces (Rtfs) Operating in the Region.

But This Indispensability Has Brought With It Additional Wear and Tear on the Aircraft From Continuous Operations in What is a Harsh and Unforgiving Environment, and Thus Has Seen the Need for Renewal or Replacement of Part or All of the Fleet Become More Urgent.

Current Fleet

Army’s Current Ch-47d Fleet Was Delivered in Two Batches; the First Four Aircraft Entering Service in Early 1995, and a Follow-on Order of Two New-build Chinooks Being Delivered in Late 2000. The First Four Aircraft Were Modified From Ch-47cs Which Had Been in Service With the Raaf Since 1973 and Had Been Transferred to Army in the Late 1980s. A15-002 to-004 and -006 Were Returned to Boeing in September 1993 for the Upgrade Which Comprised a Zero-timing of the Airframe, the Fitting of More Powerful T55-l-712 Turboshaft Engines, New Rotor Transmissions, and Fibreglass Rotor Blades. Internally, the Ch-47ds Added a Redesigned Cockpit Layout With Improved Avionics and an Advanced Flight Control System, Additional Redundancy in the Electrical Systems, and a Modularised Hydraulic System. The Extent of the Upgrade Meant the Aircraft Were Given New Construction Numbers and Us and Australian Army Registrations Before Returning to Service. Of the Original 12 Ch-47cs Operated by the Adf, Eight Aircraft Were Traded in to the Us Army, Upgraded to Ch-47ds, and Most Were Last Noted in Service With the Hawai’i National Guard.

Under Project Air 9000 Phase 5a, the Ch-47ds Were Further Upgraded in 2007 With T55-714a Engines Common to the Ch-47f and Which Maintain the -712’s Sea-level Power Rating of 3750shp (2790kw) Up to 4000ft (1200m) and at 35degc, Providing a Substantial Increase in Performance at the Hot-and-high End of the Spectrum. Prior to the 2006 Deployment of Two Ch-47ds to Afghanistan, the Fleet Also Received New Cabin and Cockpit Modular Ballistic Protection Kits, Enhanced Electronic Warfare Self Protection Suites, a Secure Communications Suite Including a Blue Force Tracker Gps Terminal, Side Door and Ramp Mounted M134 Gun Positions, an External Hoist, and Crash-worthy Crew and Passenger Seats.

Further Upgrades Were Planned but Remained Undefined Under Phase 5b.1, to Provide Further Obsolescence-related Upgrades to the Aircraft “to Ensure Operational Viability Until End of Service Life.” but This Sub-phase, Much of Which Was Covered by the Pre-deployment Upgrade in 2006, Was Subsequently Rolled Into the Follow-on Phase 5b.2 Which the Dmo Says is “intended to Provide a Substantial Upgrade to the Chinook Capability to Ensure Long Term Cost Effectiveness”, as It Was Largely Dependant on the Planned Outcomes and Timing of the Latter Phase. This May See the Current Aircraft Receive Further Modifications Like Those Performed in-country in Recent Years, or Alternatively May Result in This Phase in Turn Being Rolled Over Into a New Phase 5c Which Will See All Six Aircraft Renewed for New Build or Remanufactured Ch-47fs. Options for Future Upgrades Include Further Avionics and Communications Enhancements, Another Zero-timing of Various Elements of the Running Gear and Airframe Structure, and the Fitting of Further Enhancements to Aid in the Aircraft’s Ability to Operate in Hot and High Conditions Such as Those Regularly Encountered in Afghanistan.

One Such Enhancement Could Be Lockheed Martin’s New Pathfinder Forward-looking Infrared (Flir) System Which Aids in Low Altitude Flight at Night or in Adverse Weather, as Well as Providing Better Situational Awareness in Conditions Such as Brown or White-outs or in Sand Storms. Word From Inside the Dmo is That Senior Members of the Helicopter Systems Team Are Very Interested in the Pathfinder System for Some or All of Army’s Transport Helicopter Fleet, and That a Trial of the System on an Army Chinook May Be Conducted Later This Year.
But While Studies Such as This Go on in the Periphery, the Final Definition of Phases 5b.1 and 5b.2 Will Likely Be Linked to the Adf’s Air Lift Study Currently Being Conducted as Part of the Wider White Paper Process, and This May Mean the Previous Government’s Plans to Acquire Additional Airframes and Upgrade the Existing Ones to Ch-47f Standard Will Be Realised.

Ch-47f – Improved Chinook

Although the Chinook Can Trace Its Roots Back to a Piasecki Design of the Late 1950s Which Led to the Boeing Vertol Ych-1b of 1961 and the Us Army’s Ch-47a of 1962, the Latest Ch-47f Shares Little With Its Ancestors Apart From the Basic Airframe Mould Line and the T55’s Engine Core.

The Ch-47f Was Designed to Extend the Service Life of in-service Ch-47ds Beyond 2030 by Providing the More Powerful T55-714a Engines; the Rockwell Collins Common Avionics Architecture System (Caas) Cockpit Which is Common to Us Army Mh-47gs as Well as Uh-60l/m Black Hawks; the Bae Systems Digital Advanced Flight Control System (Dafcs); a Mil Std1553 Data Bus to Process Datalinked Communications and Off-board Navigation Data; an Upgraded Airframe With Larger Single-piece Sections and Finer Milled Tolerances to Reduce the Overall Part Count, Lower Weight, Reduce Vibration and Flexing, Thus Meaning Fewer Inspections and Repairs Are Required While Increasing the Aircraft’s Fatigue and Service Life. The Aircraft’s Aft Pylon Structure is Also Modified to Allow for a 60 Per Cent Reduction in Time for Breaking-down and Rebuilding of the Aircraft for Air Transport in C-5 and C-17 Transports.

Ch-47fs May Be Remanufactured From Ch-47ds, With the Original Aircraft’s Transmissions, Rotor Heads, Rotor Blades, and Other Discreet Dynamic Components Being Overhauled but Retained in Order to Substantially Reduce Cost, or Alternatively May Be Built as New Aircraft at Boeing’s Ridley Park, Pennsylvania Production Line.

The Us Army Signed a Five Year Us$4.3bn (a$6.6bn) Procurement Contract Last August for Up to 215 Ch-47fs for Delivery From January 2009, and Noting That Many Ch-47ds, Including Australia’s First Four Aircraft, Were Remanufactured From Ch-47a, B and C Airframes, More Than 60 Per Cent of These Expected to Be New Build Airframes. This Number Comes on Top of Low Rate Production of About 50 Ch-47s Already Delivered to the Army, Many of Which Have Already Been Deployed to Afghanistan and/or Iraq, and Six New Aircraft for the Netherlands. The Us Army is Believed to Have a Requirement for More Than 510 Modernised Chinooks Including 452 Ch-47fs and 61 Special Mission Optimised Mh-47gs.

Other Potential Customers Identified by Boeing Include Canada Which Has Ordered 16 Ch-47fs, Italy Which is Expected to Soon Confirm an Order of Between Four and 20 Ch-47fs to Be Built Under Licence by Agustawestland, as Well as Turkey, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and of Course, Australia, While the Netherlands is Expected to Eventually Upgrade Its 11 Ch-47ds to the Ch-47f Standard. Boeing Says It Has a Current Capacity of About 55 New or Renewed Chinooks Per Year

Air Lift Study

The Number of Ch-47d/fs Army Eventually Ends Up With, and in What Configuration, Will Ultimately Depend on the Outcomes of the Adf Air Lift Study (Als).

A Quick Recap of the Air 9000 Helicopter Recapitalisation and Consolidation Project Has Seen an Initial Order for 12 Mrh 90s Placed Under the Phase 2 Additional Troop Helicopters Phase and a Subsequent Order for a Further 34 Mrh 90s to Replace Army’s Black Hawk and Navy’s Sea King Transports Under Phase 4. Into This Mix Must Be Injected the Air 87 Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter Program Which, After a Delay of Nearly Two Years, is Expected to Achieve Initial Operating Capability (Ioc) Later This Year; and the Sea 1405 Program to Upgrade the Seahawk’s Flir, Electronic Support Measures (Esm) and Electronic Counter Measures (Ecm) Systems Which is Nearing Completion.

Phases Still to Be Decided Upon Include the Phase 3 Seahawk Mid Life Upgrade (Mlu) and Life Extension Program; the Phase 7 Helicopter Aircrew Training Scheme (Hats) for Army and Navy Which is Expected to Be Provided Under a Public Private Partnership (Ppp) Arrangement From 2013; the Longer Term Phase 8 Requirement to Replace Navy’s Seahawk and Stillborn Seasprite Anti-submarine (Asw) and Anti-surface (Asuw) Combat Helicopters; and a New but Yet-to-be-defined Phase 9 Requirement From Army for a Light Utility Helicopter (Luh) to Replace the (Some Say, Irreplaceable) Uh-1h Iroquois and Slot in Under the Highly Capable Mrh 90.

The Als’s Brief is a Much Broader One, Looking Not Just at Army’s Rotary Winged Requirements, but Also at the Future Fixed Wing Requirements for the Whole Adf. To This End, the Study Should (Finally) Decide Under Project Air 8000 Phase 1 on How to Replace the Caribou Tactical Transport Which is Likely to Be Retired This Year; on Whether to Upgrade or Replace the 12 C-130hs Which Have Been Drawn Down to a Core Fleet of 8-10 Airframes in Recent Times Under Air 8000 Phase 2; on Whether to Upgrade or Replace the C-130js in the Medium to Long Term and as a Part of This to Look at Possibly Acquiring the Recently Delayed Airbus A400m; and Whether to Take Additional C-17as Over and Above the Four Currently in Service.

Other Elements of the Als Will Likely Look at the Potential of Expanding the Fleet of Five Kc-30 Tankers Currently on Order and Whether or Not to Fit Some or All of These Aircraft With a Main Deck Cargo Handling Capability and/or Long Range Vip Interior Option; What the Medium to Longer Term Replacement Options for the Raaf’s Vip Fleet of Leased 737bbjs and Challenger 604s and Leased King Air 350 Navigation Trainers and Light Transports Might Be; and Whether the Bell/boeing V-22 Osprey, the Proposed Ac-27j ‘gunship Lite’ Version of the Alenia C-27j Tactical Airlifter, or Even Unmanned Aircraft Have a Place in the Adf’s Future Order of Battle.

Certainly, the Caribou Replacement Question is the One Most Closely Linked to the Future Disposition of the Chinook Fleet, but So Too Might the Decision on the C-130h. The Als May Decide That the Caribou’s Successor, for a Long Time Now Rumoured to Be the C-27j, Can Also Fulfil a Large Percentage of Those Missions Currently Performed by the C-130h, and May Therefore Be Moved Up a Notch in Capability and Thus Open Up Space for More Ch-47s in the Tactical Role. Conversely, a Decision to Refurbish the C-130hs to Give Them an Extra 10-12 Years Fatigue Life or Place a Follow on Order for Additional C-130js to Replace the C-130hs May Mean the C-27js Will Be Employed Almost Exclusively in the Tactical Mission, Thus Leaving Little Room for Additional Chinooks. A Further Defining Influence on the Eventual Timing and Final Number of C-27js to Be Acquired is Whether the Aircraft Are Bought Through an Fms Deal via the Us Army/usaf Joint Cargo Aircraft (Jca) Program or Direct Through Alenia, and the Respective Availability of Production Slots.

Prior to the Als, Army Had Hoped to Have Gained Second Pass Approval Late Last Year for a Rapid Acquisition of Three Ch-47fs From Us Army Production Slots via an Accelerated Phase 5c of Air 9000 So That It Could Recapitalise the Current Ch-47ds Two or Three Aircraft at a Time, Whilst Maintaining a Core Capability of Six Aircraft. Also Around This Time, Phase 5b Was to Either Have Been Fully Defined and Also Put Up for a Combined First and Second Pass Approval, or Otherwise Quietly Dropped if Phase 5c Had Got Up. A Further Three Ch-47fs Were Then Planned to Be Ordered at a Later Time for Delivery in the Early 20-teens to Provide a Total Fleet of 12 Ch-47fs.