Interim training

An Invitation To Respond (ITR) was issued in early 2009, and four companies; BAE Systems Australia, Boeing Australia, Raytheon Australia, and a teaming between Thales Australia and Flight Training Adelaide (FTA); were shortlisted on August 13 to submit a tender for the IBFT. A decision on the successful tender is due to be made in May 2010 with contract signature in September 2010, and IOC is rather sportingly scheduled for January 1 2012. The initial six year contract has options written in for up to six single year extensions, meaning it could theoretically be 2024 before a permanent ADF basic flying training solution is in place.

“A decision on the successful tender is due to be made in May 2010 with contract signature in September 2010, and IOC is rather sportingly scheduled for January 1 2012.”

AIR 5428

The larger Project Air 5428 has a broader scope than IBFT, being tasked to not only ultimately replace the ADF’s current and interim flight screening and basic flying training capabilities, but also that of the advanced training provided by 2FTS at RAAF Pearce and the instruction of Qualified Flight Instructors (QFIs) at Central Flying School based at RAAF East Sale on the PC-9.

Previously favoured to be an industry financed Private Financed Initiative (PFI) arrangement, this option has been shelved due to many companies having difficulty in obtaining finance for such an initiative, as well as a perception within the DMO that the process was too complex and thus risked further delays, and that it may lose control of its contracting processes.

So, rather than industry fund and provide aircraft, synthetic training devices and basing facilities at an agreed rate to the commonwealth, it is more likely these will now be fully funded by the commonwealth and that a high degree of industry support will be drafted in to support the training initiatives instead.

But simply replacing platforms on a near one-for-one basis, and retaining the current flight screening, basic training, and advanced training structural elements is seen by many in industry and defence as being inadequate as the ADF’s airborne order of battle develops next decade. Defence is currently struggling to fulfil pilot quotas, particularly in the RAAF’s fast jet world where just 18 pilots graduate from 2OCU each year out of about 275 flight screening candidates, and the current system is broadly regarded as being inefficient and not achieving the desired and required outcomes.

Project Air 5428 achieved Government First Pass approval in mid 2009, and current plans call for a year of decision in FY2013-14 or 2014-15 for an Initial Operating Capability (IOC) in the 2015 to 2017 period, thus the IBFT has been established to bridge the period from cessation of the current BAE contract to Air 5428 IOC.

The desired outcomes of Air 5428 are also closely linked to those of the ADF’s Project Air 9000 Phase 7 which will see Army and Navy Kiowa and Squirrel training helicopters replaced with a new type and consolidated at a new Helicopter Aircrew Training Scheme (HATS) facility at NAS Albatross near Nowra. Industry has noted the concurrent timings and goals of these projects and is thus likely to push for an integrated solution utilising common approaches and methodologies, as well as common training providers.

It has been suggested that the current advanced flying element which sees all ADF pilot candidates progress from the basic flying element at BAE’s Tamworth facility to the PC-9 at 2FTS is the element most likely to be reviewed and restructured under Air 5428, with the basic flying and lead-in fighter elements being adjusted up or down in hours accordingly.

There is an effort within Air Force to better utilise the Hawk 127 lead-in-fighter fleet moving forward, with this in part may be achievable by getting pilot candidates into the Hawk sooner, thus increasing the number of hours on these aircraft and thus producing a more mature fast jet pilot candidate for 2OCU and 6SQN. The 33-strong Hawk fleet is currently operating a core of just 24 aircraft and about 6500 hours instead of a planned 9000 hours annually due in part to a lack of pilot throughput, and as a result of flight envelope operating restrictions which are expected to be lifted by mid 2010.

Getting pilots into the Hawk earlier could be achieved by performing an expanded flight screening and basic flying training element on a cheaper to operate aircraft than the CT-4 such as a Cirrus Sr20/22, Diamond DA20/40 or Grob G115 with digital avionics and an IFR capability, and then bringing in a higher performance turboprop or even a light jet powered advanced training aircraft to replace the PC-9.

Another option is to move to a higher performance basic flying training aircraft and syllabus which could also cover much of the former advanced course before progressing straight to the Hawk, and possibly contract to industry the initial flight screening element outside of the enlistment process.

Interestingly, industry sources say the RAAF’s PC-9 fleet, with an original planned withdrawal date of 2013, will be severely fatigue life limited and will have limited advanced training value well before 2015, which opens up the possibility or perhaps, the probability of another capability gap emerging, although proponents of a restructuring of the advanced training element say this could be bridged by transferring hours from the PC-9 to the Hawk, and by bringing in a more advanced type under the PC-9 under the IBFT banner.

IBFT

The IBFT contenders will likely offer varied approaches for the tender – with three of the four bidders, Boeing, Raytheon and Thales/FTA – basing their bids around the former National Safety Council (NSC) facility at West Sale with financial and planning support from the Victorian state government and the local Wellington Shire Council.

This approach has been based on unofficial moves within air force to co-locate basic flying training at nearby East Sale, with the service’s other officer training facilities, CFS, Officer Training School and the School of Air Warfare (SAW, formerly the School of Air Navigation) already based there.

But East Sale is already a busy small base with CFS’s PC-9s and the RAAF 32SQN’s King Airs based there, and therefore has limited ramp and hangar space for another 20 to 30 aircraft, let alone educational and residential facilities for 300 or more pilot candidates per year. So the three bidders are hoping West Sale, 15 kilometres away, will be a ‘foot in the door’ so to speak for IBFT, while East Sale is developed to the appropriate standard in time for Air 5428. None of the bidders have yet specified what they are proposing in terms of training aircraft, and in the case of Boeing and Raytheon, whether they will team up with any partners.

BAE Systems has proposed to retain its existing facility at Tamworth for IBFT, and is expected to bring a couple of options to the table including the continuation of the current system using CT-4B aircraft, although these aircraft may be upgraded to better comply with ADF crashworthiness requirements, or perhaps replaced with a new type. Tamworth already has student accommodation, a fine training facility, sufficient ramp space and aircraft carports, a dedicated runway, relatively uncluttered training airspace and support fields established to the west of the city, and a great flying training environment. Local, state and federal members covering Tamworth have called upon the NSW state government to support BAE Systems in its bid.

West Sale is perceived by some to have a wetter and windier climate, although this is not reflected in weather charts in recent years and may not be such a bad thing anyway for an RAAF looking to give greater IFR experience earlier to its pilot trainees. There are few if any airspace issues in the east Gippsland area, and the former NSC site is currently occupied by a TAFE college and will be vacated in time for a refurbishment and occupation by early 2012, but there is no student accommodation currently on site.

But the main issue for the IBFT bidders will likely be that no consideration will be given in the tender to the mature Air 5428 solution. This means the IBFT bidders are expected to bid for the contract without any insight into what aircraft, structure, basing requirement and other outcomes may follow in just six to 12 years time, albeit despite the perceived air force preference for East Sale. In a written statement to Australian Aviation, Defence says only that it “does not have a preferred aircraft solution” and “has not specified any preferred location of IBFT”, and that “the solution (and therefore the location) will depend on the responses from industry and take into account technical merit, crash protection compliance, risk and contract cost in determining the Best Value for Money solution.”

Whilst the IBFT shouldn’t be allowed to drive Air 5428, it hoped that any innovative solutions that may arise from IBFT will be considered as part of the future project’s structure, especially as the establishment of new facilities at West Sale, the employment of QFIs and support staff, and the acquisition of 20 or more aircraft is not a cheap exercise.