Gearing up

Its objective is to produce Army pilots and loadmasters, Navy pilots, taccos and sensos and aircrew for the advanced Tiger ARH, MRH 90 and MH-60R Romeo helicopters. HATS will be based at Nowra’s HMAS Albatross on the NSW South Coast.

The current Defence Capability Plan reads: “HATS is intended to provide a rotary-wing training capability for Navy and Army to meet the future rotary wing training needs of the ADF. The project aims to deliver a system that encompasses elements of live, synthetic and classroom aviation instruction to overcome the broadening gap between the current rotary training systems and the ad-vanced operational helicopters in the current and planned future ADF inventories. ” A key feature of the HATS RFT is its lack of prescriptiveness in defining its re-quirements. Defence told AA in response to our questions: “The Helicopter Air-crew Training System will be introduced through a performance-based contract-ing model. The key performance indica-tors, which will include aircrew trainee throughput, will be negotiated through the tender process. ” This means several key questions on the ultimate shape of the training system remain unanswered. For example, the use of civilian flying and/or simulator instructors has not been ruled in or out with the “shape of the final solution … informed by the AVIATION tender process”. Similarly, “Defence has not mandated a set ratio between the live and synthetic environments”. And again: “The shape of the final solution will be informed by the tender responses”.

One industry insider told AA the tender is difficult to prepare a bid against because it is so minimalist in its requirements. An-other concern is that industry will have to keep their bid teams on staff for 18 months during the down-select process, which is “bloody expensive”.

Other layers of complexity to the tender comes from HATS preceding the AIR 5428 Pilot Training System (PTS) program and the need to accommodate differing Army and Navy requirements. Defence notes: “The Helicopter Aircrew Training System requirement has been defined as a set of rotary-wing flying com-petencies, which are themselves a subset of the ADF Aircrew Training Continuum.

“The RFT has been designed to produce a system that can accommodate changes in the entry standards that may arise fol-lowing the introduction of AIR 5428 and AIR 5232. ” More specifically, there is still debate within Defence over how much train-ing Army and Navy pilots will receive on fixed-wing aircraft under the PTS before transferring across to HATS, so the HATS tender has been designed to accommodate different transfer points between the two systems.

Head of Helicopter Systems at DMO Rear-Admiral Mark Campbell recently told AA: “If you get a pilot with 40 hours, as opposed to a pilot with 80 hours, there’s a big difference there. Army wants a Black Hawk co-pilot, while Navy wants a first pilot with day/night, instrument flying – essentially quite a capable pilot.

“There’s a very different requirement there, so we’re very sensitive to what comes out of AIR 5428 – that has the potential to change HATS. What I need from this RFT is the costs of that, so I can go to government. ” But with a draft RFT for AIR 5428 recently released to industry and a formal RFT expected late this year, the outputs from the oft-delayed AIR 5428 should be known during the course of HATS tender evaluation. RADM Campbell added: “Before I sign a contract with Phase 7 I’m going to have everything out of 5428 understood down to the final detail. We’re still well away from that, given that we have to release the RFT, evaluate, negotiate and go to government, etc. ” Evaluation of the various teamings’ bids will lead to a shortlisting process before a winning tender is recommended to government in late 2013. Defence says that HATS IOC and FOC milestones “will be informed by the tender responses”, that it expects the system to start graduating stu-dents in 2016 and that the system will have a life-of-type of 25 years from FOC.

Six teamings have plans to bid for AIR 9000 Phase 7.

Australian Aerospace

As expected, local Eurocopter subsidiary Australian Aerospace will bid its EC135 for Phase 7. It’s already delivering ARH Tigers and MRH 90s to the Army and Navy, unsuccessfully bid its NH90 NFH for the AIR 9000 Phase 8 naval combat helicopter and during 2009 and 2010 had two EC135s placed with 1 Aviation Regiment at Darwin in support of Tiger proficiency training.

The company says the EC135 has systems commonality with the ARH and MRH. It also supports the RAAF’s AP-3C and C-130J fleets with deeper maintenance services at RAAF Base Richmond. The EC135/635 is in military service with a number of na-tions, most notably Germany’s School of Army Aviation at Bückeburg.

Australian Aerospace has left the door open to partner with other companies, especially to provide synthetic train-ing devices, but has yet to announce any details. Australian Aerospace CEO Dr Jens Goennemann explained at Febru-ary’s Pacific 2012 conference: “We would seek a teaming arrangement where it comes to the training devices. For example, the full flight simulator for the Tiger came from a supplier, we were the integrator. ”

BAE SYSTEMS/AGUSTAWESTLAND/CAE BAE

Systems Australia has teamed with AgustaWestland and CAE and will base its offering around the AW109 GrandNew light twin. The teaming will combine BAE’s already large domestic rotary-wing support base and its experience in operating the BFTS and IBFT at Tamworth, with CAE’s experience in supplying and operating syn-thetic training devices.

The AW109 is familiar to aspiring Navy helicopter pilots with four AW109 Powers in Navy service through the Raytheon Australia operated Retention & Motivation Initiative (RMI) at Nowra.

Boeing/thales

Boeing Australia and Thales Australia announced their teaming to bid for Phase 7 at Avalon 2011. In January 2012, the team further announced it would offer the Eu-rocopter EC135, of which there are more than 1,000 in service worldwide, as the preferred platform for its bid.

Boeing provides helicopter pilot, aircrew and technician training for the Army under the Army Aviation Training and Training Support contract. The company trains air-crew on Black Hawks and Kiowas at Oakey and on Chinooks at Townsville.

Thales previously operated the F-111C simulator and training programs under contract to Boeing. The companies also partner in providing simulator support for the Wedgetail AEW&C Operational Flight Trainer at Williamtown and the C-17 air-crew training simulator at Amberley.

KBR/QDS/ELBIT

Less is known about the teaming of KBR, Qantas Defence Services and Elbit. The team reportedly favours the EC135 as the basis of its bid and industry sources tell AA that Elbit will provide the aircraft’s mission and support systems, KBR will develop and operate the training course-ware and systems and QDS will support the aircraft in service.

Lockheed Martin/bristow Helicopters

The teaming of Lockheed Martin and Bristow Helicopters is playing its cards close to its chest and is yet to announce the preferred helicopter platform for its bid. But through its worldwide resource support and training programs, Bristow’s vast experience in buying and operating helicopters is likely to inform the platform it will offer.

Bristow operates the Bristow Academy helicopter flight training school with three campuses in the US, while in the UK it is a joint venture partner with FR Aviation Group in operating the Defence Helicopter Flying School (DHFS), which trains British Army, RAF and RN heli-copter aircrews.

Partner Lockheed Martin operates the UK’s fixed-wing Military Flying Training Scheme and the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s Basic Wings Course. It also provides training services to many US service branches and other services world-wide. Lockheed Martin also is prime contractor to supply 24 MH-60R Romeo naval combat helicopters to the RAN from 2013 under Phase 8 of the AIR 9000 program.

Raytheon/bell

First to announce their teaming for Phase 7 in August 2010 were Raytheon Australia and Bell Helicopter, saying they would base their bid around the Bell 429. This new medium twin-engined helicopter has a large cargo area and rear hatch doors under the boom, giving it a secondary light utility capability.

The machine recently made inroads into the ADF with Raytheon announc-ing in 2011 that it would replace the four AW109s it operates under Navy’s RMI scheme with three 429s from later this year.

Raytheon has said it will draw on its systems engineering expertise and its experience in operating the four AW109s to provide maintenance and engineer-ing support under its Squirrel in-service support contract for the RAN as well as in supporting RAAF Hornet and Super Hornet training systems in partnership with Milskil.

Gearing Up

For the AIR 9000 Phase 7 project team, these last few days before tenders close are the quiet before the storm.

With the Phase 7 tender only broadly defining requirements to allow industry to propose innovative training solutions, tender evaluation of what are likely to be quite dis-parate bids will doubtless be a detailed and resource intensive process, especially as ques-tions remain over the final shape and form of AIR 5428. n This article first appeared in the March issue of Australian Aviation’s sister publication, Australian Defence Business Review.