In the hover

But the ADF’s rotary-wing fleet has again been hampered by delays, with Navy MRH IOC pushed back by 12 months and ARH Tiger’s Final Materiel Release and OCM2 delayed until mid-2013.

Further Delays For Mrh Mrh

was placed on the Projects of Concern list in 2011, and a multi-deed remediaton plan was set in place to right the AIR 9000 Phase 2/4/6 acquisition. The MRH’s reliability and Rate of Effort (ROE) have been well below contracted requirements.

These failings had impacted on the ability to train aircrew, as well as the ability to meet contracted and capability milestones, including the certification schedule.

Prime contractor Australian Aerospace’s new baseline software block for the MRH, Product Baseline Three (PBL3), was slated to improve some of these reliability issues thereby improving customer confidence.

Defence confirms that while reliability and ROE failings had improved, as had some supply chain issues such as those with the Helmet-Mounted Sight and Display (HMSD), there was still some work to be done.

“Three aircraft have been delivered in the mature configuration (known as Product Baseline 3 or PBL3) and these aircraft are demonstrably more reliable which has allowed the rate of effort to improve. The rate of effort is meeting the requirement set to support the aircraft moving to type certification.

The early configuration aircraft are now entering into a retrofit program to bring them to the PBL3 configuration,” a Defence spokesperson said.

The improved ROE was having a flowon effect on aircrew training, with the Navy’s MRH squadron (808SQN) now fully populated with qualified crews.

The project’s annual gate review occurred in late August, and concluded that the MRH would remain on the government’s Projects of Concern list until the agreed remediation actions have been completed.

Defence said that not all of the remediation plan milestones were currently being met, though “ . . . paths to resolution have beenidentified and are being closely managed by both Defence and Australian Aerospace. ” Deliveries of new aircraft were paused in early 2012 after the handover of the first three PBL3 aircraft, to allow for performance testing against the less mature PBL1 and 2 aircraft.

As of early October, still only 16 of the planned 46 aircraft had been accepted, with further deliveries no longer on hold as such, but instead subject to commercial negotiations, Defence says.

Navy had been expected to declare IOC in mid-2012, but Defence now confirms Navy’s IOC has been rescheduled for mid- 2013, a delay of some three years.

In response to the question of whether DMO was maintaining a watch on alternatives to the MRH, such as the UH‑60M Black Hawk, Defence said: “For all Projects of Concern, the government has stated that ‘formal remediation plans will be developed and agreed with Industry’ and further that ‘Projects will only be taken off the list if the project is remediated in line with the plan or the project is cancelled’. As a Project of Concern, Defence and government are closely monitoring the progress of MRH’s remediation and may consider additional actions if the program is not satisfactorily recovered. ” While it seems unlikely that the project will be cancelled, it is possible that the MRHs destined for Army could be cancelled if the remediation plan is not met. In light of the Navy’s acquisition of the MH‑60R, it would not be difficult for Defence to justify a UH‑60M procurement for Army.

But the critical decision point for Australia’s existing S-70A Black Hawk capability as they approach their life-of-type remains 12-18 months away, leaving some time for remediation plans to bed down and a greater understanding of the MRH capability to develop.

Tiger’s Claws Trimmed

Like MRH, the ARH Tiger too has suffered from immaturity delays. Though substantial, these have now been predominantly rectified and Defence says the Tiger is progressing well towards an expected FOC from early 2016, representing a delay of at least five years.

Defence advised that the FOC would represent a fully delivered and tested platform, and the timing would align with the introduction into service of the Navy’s new LHD amphibious ships. Army is building up aircrew numbers to meet FOC over the next two years.

Exercise Hamel, the annual proof of readiness in the Army’s force generation cycle, was held in June-July. The exercise was set to be a proving ground for the Tiger, coinciding with Final Materiel Release (FMR).

Defence had high hopes for Tiger’s performance at Hamel, but flying operations were suspended early in the exercise.

The Tiger fleet was grounded as a result of an airworthiness issue relating to the much-publicised issue of fumes in the cockpit. Defence has said the airworthiness issue has now been resolved and the fleet returned to flying operations in early August.

But FMR has now been rescheduled for June 2013.

Operational Concept Milestone 2, was originally set for mid-2012, but was delayed due to serviceability and supply chain issues disrupting the ROE. Defence said achieving OCM2 is dependent on the success of an Operational Evaluation that would occur later this year, as well as a demonstrated support capability. OCM2 is now planned to be achieved by mid-2013.

Tiger had been beset by a broken supply chain which had impacted on the fleet’s ability to operate away from home airfields. Defence said: “The majority of spares have now been delivered with the remaining items expected to be delivered by end-2012. The underperformance of the Tiger supply and maintenance support networks has been a significant issue. Recent improvements in supply and maintenance support networks have seen an improvement in spares availability.

With additional initiatives implemented by Industry and Defence, further improvements to aircraft availability and flying rates of effort are expected. ” Defence also noted that night flying had been occurring since September 2011, including training for night fighting.

Operational High Flyers

Defence took delivery of two ex US Army CH-47D Chinooks in February, and both were handed over to Army in June.

On their arrival the two were of a different standard to Australia’s existing fleet of five CH-47Ds, and a number of modifications are being undertaken to bring the airframes to a common ADF CH-47D configuration and maintenance baseline as part of the pathway to FOC, Defence said.

“There were some minor integration issues with a number of first type modifications which were trialled on these two aircraft. These modifications caused a slight delay in commencement of domestic operations in earnest for the aircraft. The delays were not significant and not completely unexpected for first time modifications. These modifications will now be fielded across the reminder of the ADF Chinook fleet. ” Following a period of operational evaluation and post maintenance and modification work they have now commenced domestic tasking. Although the new aircraft will be managed as part of the overall CH-47D fleet, there are no immediate plans to deploy the aircraft.

However, the extra ‘Deltas’ were an essential purchase to maintain Australia’s operational commitments in Afghanistan, with a fleet of six aircraft required to maintain two on operations. Australia has two Chinooks embedded with the US 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, known as Task Force Wings, at any one time, providing medium lift helicopter support to ISAF missions through the Uruzgan, Daykundi, Kandahar and Zabul Provinces.

As the Australian drawdown in Afghanistan approaches, it remains to be seen whether Australia’s Chinooks will remain alongside the ADF’s ongoing contribution.

Defence said a final decision on the withdrawal of Australian CH-47s from Afghanistan is yet to be made, but noted that the ADF’s commitment to Afghanistan would continue post 2014, through the provision of training and advisory support, including at the Afghan National Army (ANA) Officer Academy in Kabul and a further Special Forces contribution.

The seven D-model Chinooks are to be progressively withdrawn from service between 2014-16, coinciding with the delivery of seven newer model CH-47F ‘Foxtrots’. Defence said a disposal decision has not yet been made regarding the CH‑47D fleet.

But delays at the production end of the CH-47F procurement may impact on the Australian Chinook fleet. The US Army recently advised of delays to the original initial aircraft production delivery schedule.

“The program issues associated with aircraft delivery schedule changes are currently being worked through in order to minimise any capability delays, however the full schedule impact is still being determined,” the Defence spokesperson confirmed.

With the inquiry into the crash of CH‑47D A15-102 that killed Army LT Marcus Case in 2011 ongoing, Defence said it was inappropriate to comment on the inquiry’s impact on fleet management while the investigation was not completed.

“The specific findings and recommendations raised in the Aviation Accident Investigation Report into the CH-47D crash in Afghanistan on 30 May 2011, in which LT Marcus Case was killed, are being considered in the course of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) and therefore it would be inappropriate to discuss these matters before the completion of the COI. ” The inquiry has been told that the crash was caused by a mechanical glitch that has nearly caused three other crashes in Afghanistan, but pilots were able to regain control.

An aeronautical engineer from the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO), Rhys Lehmann, told the inquiry that the D-model Chinook’s analogue Advanced Flight Control System (ACFS) was prone to becoming overloaded in Afghanistan’s demanding high-altitude flight conditions, causing the helicopter to “porpoise”, or tilt onto its nose, as occurred in the crash that killed LT Case. Lehmann told the inquiry that the digital ACFS of the new F‑model Chinook reduced or eliminated the problem.