Ship shape

This small but potent force, which has acquitted itself with distinction in a number of conflicts from Korea, Vietnam to Gulf Wars 1 and 2, is about to undergo a dramatic transformation in its approach to its training, warfighting and operations as it prepares for a future built around the joint Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS), the Sikorsky MH-60R Romeo and the Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) and Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) ships.

Australian Aviation visited FAA headquarters at HMAS Albatross to be briefed on the air arm’s progress in bedding down the MRH-90 and Bell 429, preparing for the arrival of the next generation of maritime attack helicopters – Romeo – and to witness the ongoing operations two venerable types as their respective retirements draw nearer – S-70B-2 Seahawk and Eurocopter Squirrel.

Commander

Commodore Vince Di Pietro is a 38-year Navy veteran whose claims to fame include having flown Westland Wessexes on the final tour of Australia’s last operational aircraft carrier, the HMAS Melbourne, and having flight instructed in 1982 the current First Lord of the Admiralty, Admiral Sir George Zambellas.

From his office overlooking the FAA’s hangars, CDRE Di Pietro commands a workforce of approximately 1,200 personnel that supports the operations of one training squadron, 723SQN, and two operational squadrons, 808 and 816.

Currently, the Fleet Air Arm has aircraft detached on operations aboard ships in the far north Pacific, the north coast of Australia as part of border protection effort, Operation Resolute, and onboard ships deployed to the Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO).

816SQN currently has 16 classic S-70B-2 Seahawks of which 14 remain operational with two having been placed in storage as the squadron frees up personnel for training on that aircraft’s replacement, the Sikorsky MH-60R, which is due to operate from the decks of the Navy’s Hobart class AWD, due to be commissioned in the next decade. The arrival of the Romeo, bought from the US Navy and managed as a foreign military sale (FMS), will herald the construction of a new Romeo support facility equipped with libraries, tool control, maintenance control and simulator building,

These new facilities, along with the logistics support facility being constructed just off-base, will be completed at the end of 2014, in time to begin supporting the operation of the planned fleet of 24 Romeos.

In the meantime, the newly reconstituted 808SQN continues to expand the operational envelope of the Navy’s new maritime support helicopter (MSH), the MRH-90. Acquired under AIR 9000 (Multi-role Helicopter Phase) Phase 6 to replace the Westland Sea King and operated jointly with the Army, the FAA is currently the only air arm in the world to deploy the French-designed, locally-assembled helicopter at sea.

In addition to the Seahawk and MRH-90, the Nowra flightline also boasts three leased, glass cockpit-equipped Bell 429s as part of the FAA’s Retention and Motivation Initiative 2 (RMI 2) program to assist the progression of recently qualified aircrew from the steam gauge cockpit of the Squirrel before they embark on their operational flight training.

While addressing the status of each of the above platforms, Di Pietro also detailed how the relatively small Fleet Air Arm is evolving to meet the challenges posed by the introduction of two sophisticated platforms in a relatively short time frame.

Romeo, wherefore art thou?

Following the protracted nightmare that was the Super Seasprite, the Sikorsky MH-60R was acquired from the US in a $3 billion deal that will see the FAA equipped with a lethal maritime combat helicopter that is completely interoperable with its USN equivalent.

Di Pietro explained the task of introducing the Romeo was made somewhat easier by the fact the aircraft was an evolved variant of Seahawk.

“The majority of the airframe is common. In airframe and engine engineering, there’s a great deal of commonality and also in terms of ground support equipment, which aids us greatly. But we don’t underestimate that in the Romeo, there’s a range of weapons we don’t currently use and a range of contemporary technology in the cockpit that we don’t have in the classic. And we also have in [Romeo], a significant growth in the number of aircraft we intend to operate at sea.

“We have16 Seahawks now, and we’re buying 24 Romeos. Eight will be permanently deployed in flights, 12 will be with 725SQN and the remaining four will be on rotation through maintenance. The other thing that we’re doing quite differently with the Romeo is that a good deal of the deep-level maintenance and logistical support will be operated by an entity within our FMS case, with the US Navy and US government, which will be operating at the Aviation Technology Park, just off the airfield.

“Whereas with the classic Seahawk, we’ve done maintenance at Nowra and further afield (in Brisbane and Townsville), *********the Romeo comes to us as a package and comes with sustainment and logistics support***********, books and publications that are standardised with the USN. We just have to make sure our own orders, instructions and procedures comply and overlay that to complement the baseline documentation.

So **********there’s a great deal of logic in what we’re doing with the next generation of aircraft************ and that will allow us to operate more aircraft at sea, because we have more aircraft and because we have a system that’s being purchased to accommodate that.”

Di Pietro is currently focused on juggling personnel and resources in a complex ballet as the FAA maintains classic Seahawk operations while training a cadre of future instructors on its eventual replacement.

“…there’s a great deal of logic in what we’re doing with the next generation of aircraft…”

“The current Seahawk squadron, 816, will transit its workforce into the next iteration of 816, which will happen after we’ve fully populated our new training squadron, 725SQN. We currently have 725 personnel in Mayport Florida. It has a core of expertise, people being trained to operate and fix the machine. We are de-risking the process so we can introduce the aircraft as smoothly as possible to its home base here in Nowra. That will happen for the fist batch at the end of next year.

“So, 725SQN will be the centre of mass in the early days of that operation. Because without instructors you don’t have aircrew and maintainers.

“The first flight, which will get to initial operating capability around August 2015, will come from 725. Across that period 816SQN will stay in business working the classic Seahawk to logical conclusion and as we start ramping up the aircraft into 816SQN towards the end of 2015, we will then start taking manpower from 816 and transitioning it to Romeo.”

The Hellfire-equipped Romeo boasts a comprehensive suite of advanced sensors and mission avionics including the second generation AAS-44E FLIR system that permits expanded night vision and Hellfire targeting capability. It is also equipped with the new APS-147 multi-mode synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and an integrated low frequency sonar and dipping sonar, which compared to the classic, represents a greatly enhanced sonobuoy processing capability.

The introduction of an air to surface missile represents a prodigious leap in offensive capability over the classic’s current warload of Mk 46 torpedoes.

Di Pietro explained what the considerable abilities of the Romeo would bring to the FAA.

“There’ll be new mission sets like dipping sonar. We haven’t been doing that since the Sea King. We do have some folks who’ve done dipping helicopter operations on exchange and of course we’ve got our own personnel learning the ropes with the USN.

“That will bring a whole new mission set. Why? Because in the old days we used to dip as a part of a gang off the carrier in a screen, and have mid-range anti-submarine warfare (ASW) being done by Trackers and A-4s doing CAP. Soon, we’ll have a couple of AWDs 200 miles apart using their extremely capable sensors, and the Romeo, which is very capable in its own right. The challenge is to bring the two together to get the most out of them in the ASW role.”

“There’ll be a whole new mission with the Hellfire, the new (Mk 54 lightweight) torpedo, using those sensor suites – dipping sonar, active and passive sonobuoys. We’ve been doing a great deal of active and passive sonobuoy type operations with the classic, but the Romeo comes with considerably more to play with so we’re going to have to understand very, very well how we might get the most out of that machine. And that’s going to be a significant learning experience for us.

“It’s fair to say that **********interest in subs around this part of the world is always on the rise**********. Many countries in the broader region are acquiring them. And there is a great deal of emphasis being placed around the region on the importance of subs. So *******the Seahawk Romeo is coming along with the right capability at the right time***********.”

“…interest in subs around this part of the world is always on the rise. Many countries in the broader region are acquiring them.”

MRH-90

Of Australia’s total buy of 46 MRH-90, six are currently in service with the FAA in the maritime support role. The aircraft is currently working towards achieving full operational maritime capability (OMC), with the plan being to deploy three aircraft as single flights aboard the LHDs and frigates. Training of naval aircrew is currently undertaken at Oakey, Queensland, with Army.

Di Pietro outlined the aircraft’s progress and explained the joint operational arrangements under which the MRH-90 is being operated.

“The MRH-90 is approaching OCM 1. We have a number of things that we’re still working on after the Australian military type certification and service release, which was issued in April this year. We’re working towards getting something that’s operationally safe and fit for purpose, and is environmentally compliant.

“How are we doing it? It was acquired as an aircraft for Army then because of the early retirement of Sea King and the need to fill the MSH role at sea, six MRH-90s were seconded to Navy.

“In terms of technical airworthiness, they are identical in all respects to Army’s. In terms of operational airworthiness, the MRH-90 has two operational airworthiness representatives – one is for the MSH role and one is for the Army’s role, which is as a combat troop lift helicopter in the field.

“For the MSH role, as commander of FAA, I am the Operational Airworthiness Representative, so I will be operating the MRH-90 in accordance with the relevant Navy regulations at sea, but will be answerable to the Operational Airworthiness Authority for the aircraft, which is an Army two-star general.”

Squirrel

Ironically purchased as an interim type to provide an organic aviation capability to the RAN’s guided missile frigates, the FAA’s 13 Squirrels have since accumulated more than three decades of service including deployments during the Gulf War (performing shipping surveillance, top cover for merchant ship boardings, mine searches and light logistics support) and Timor.

Currently operated by 723 training squadron, the Squirrel is due to be replaced by a yet-to-be selected type, which will become the standard training helicopter for the Navy and Army under the $1 billion Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS).

Di Pietro explained the limitations of the Squirrel as a training platform for the Seahawk’s crew of three.

“When you step out of the Squirrel and into a Seahawk, for a pilot it’s big step. For a sensor operator, it doesn’t have the impressive technology. And for the tactical co-ordinator it’s a completely different ballgame – there’s nothing you can do in a Squirrel except basics of navigation using very ‘analogue’ tactics. So it does have limitations which is why the Bell 429 RMI was needed to retain, motivate and give initiative to some exercises and further skill development so aircrew didn’t atrophy.”

LT Mathew Dank is currently undergoing conversion to the Seahawk, having completed his emergency and day flying phase, which is to be followed by utility, load lifting, transfer and winching phases, before undertaking to ASW and ASuW (anti-surface warfare) instruction.

Despite its age, the Squirrel is still capable of giving budding naval aviators a thorough grounding in the art of flying in the maritime environment.

“So far I’ve operated a Squirrel off ANZAC and Adelaide class frigates in the eastern Australian exercise area. It’s quite a challenging environment, certainly a thrill to land on the back of a ship when it’s pitching and rolling,” Dank said. “It really involves a lot of preparation, being aware of what contingencies you have, like the possibility of the deck being unavailable, engine failure or mechanical malfunction. It’s the pinnacle of our aviation training to get to the point where you handle that with confidence.”

“… certainly a thrill to land on the back of a ship when it’s pitching and rolling.”

Centre of learning

HMAS Albatross was selected as the location for all joint training for the ADF’s rotary-wing assets, which is to be provided by a private contractor (either Australian Aerospace, Boeing Defence Australia or Raytheon Australia) to be selected next year.

As outlined in a ministerial statement this year, current planning calls for the successful tenderer to provide a “combination of light twin-engine helicopters, with options for basic and advanced avionic systems; a mix of synthetic training devices (simulators and part-task trainers); new training, administration and warehousing facilities; and Integrated through-life support.”

In addition, an aviation training vessel will also be supplied as a part of the new training system through “existing Defence Maritime Support arrangements.

While the project will involve further construction on base, the fact that HATS is a contracted solution means resources of the FAA will not be required for its establishment. As Di Pietro explained, “We’ll have some service folks in there, gaining their instructor qualifications and being the instructors on the unit, but the machine, the simulators that come with it, the maintenance formula that accompanies it will be a contracted solution. So there’s not a great deal of impact on us.”

A very bright future

Australian naval power is set to be transformed in the coming decade with the introduction of the AEGIS-equipped Hobart class AWD and two new LHDs currently under construction in Melbourne.

Having served on Australia’s last aircraft carrier, Di Pietro is pleased to see the return of flat tops and is pleased that his service will be playing a vital, albeit niche, role.

“With the Canberra class, we’re really only going to have the MSH element of that under our immediate FAA responsibility, but the biggest part of our engagement is with the Army [which will use the ship as a ‘lilly pad’ to operate troop lift MRH-90s]. We’ll make sure that when the Army needs to get on board to do what it needs to do, we’re going to make sure we bring much of our inherent knowledge to bear.”

And when the LHDs deploy it will be the FAA’s network-enabled MH-60Rs protecting the task group at large with its potent weapons and sensor suite.

With a diverse range of missions performed with thoroughly modern aircraft types and a stable workforce based at HMAS Albatross, the FAA has much to recommend to those contemplating a career in military aviation.

LT Dank summed up the irresistible pull of the sea on naval aviators.

“To me it’s the challenges of the unique operational environment – away from squadron, at sea, in a small team where you have to operate in difficult conditions against different threats in different mission roles. You might be hunting a sub or conducting search and rescue or medevac from the ship. There’s quite a diversity of roles.”