Eyes from Above

These aircraft, and the subsequent balance of the RAAF’s eventual fleet of eight, have been procured by means of a Cooperative Partnership between the DMO and the US Navy’s Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft Programme Office (PMA 290).

This arrangement gives Australia ‘a seat at the table’,

and avails the government of information on the program’s costs, development, sustainment and risk. It also provides Australia formal input into the the planned Increment 3 upgrade for the Poseidon, which will be rolled out across the RAAF’s P-8A fleet after its entry into service in early 2017.

AIR 7000

Two phases of the AIR 7000 program seek to cost-effectively replace the capability provided by the RAAF’s Edinburgh-based AP- 3Cs. To do so, two aircraft types have been identified: Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon (under Phase 2B) and Northrop Grumman’s MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), the latter (for Phase 1B) subject to the successful completion of its USN development program.

The composition of this mixed force is likely to be outlined in this year’s Defence White Paper, but it nevertheless reflects currentThis arrangement gives Australia ‘a seat at the table’. US Navy thinking in fielding both manned and unmanned aircraft to meet maritime intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and response (MISRR) missions.

The cost of replacing 92WG’s steadily dwindling pool of Orion’s is not slight – AIR 7000’s manned element alone is is expected to be around $3. 5 billion – but it reflects the importance the Australian government attaches to the ability to control maritime approaches to what is, after all, an island continent.

Poseidon

Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon emerged from the aftermath of the USN’s stalled attempts to replace the P-3 with an upgraded variant, dubbed ‘Orion 2000’. In 1990, cost overruns, schedule slippages and the end of the Cold War doomed this project, which was to have seen a new-build Orion with a glass cockpit, open systems architecture and modern, turboprop powerplants.

The next serious attempt to replace the P-3 saw the USN conduct an analysis of alternatives that included evaluating a modified P-3 airframe, when in 2004 Boeing’s modified 737 was chosen at the US Navy’s Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) of choice.

The USN and Boeing designed the aircraft to undertake a range of critical missions: antisubmarine warfare (ASW) and anti-surface warfare (ASuW) respectively requiring the detection, identification, tracking, and destruction of submarine targets and enemy surface combatants, ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) operations to collect and disseminate imagery and signals information for exploitation by joint agencies, and C3 (command, control and communications) operations to collect and disseminate tactical situation information to fleet forces.

Assembled on a dedicated production line at Renton, Washington the P-8A blends the fuselage of a 737‑800 with the wings of a -900, resulting in an aircraft with all-up gross weight of approximately 85,000kg. The P-8A incorporates a slew of missionspecific structural modifications to its baseline 737 airframe that includes an aft-mounted weapons bay, wing-mounted and forward fuselage hardpoints, and significant airframe strengthening to endure the rigours of low‑level operations in the maritime environment.

The first of five test aircraft were built in late 2007, with the first of the USN’s 109 production aircraft flying in 2011.

Australia, having been offered a role in the P-8A’s development in 2005 (at a cost of $300 million), is the first country outside the US to commit to buy the USNcommon P-8A. The honour of first export customer, however, goes to India, which ordered a unique variant equipped with a sub hunting magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) and indigenous mission systems.

Mad Decision?

The deletion of a MAD from the P-8A represents a marked shift in the prosecution of the ASW mission, and reflect a doctrinal shift by the USN towards littoral ASW in which GPS-equipped sonobuoys,high altitude torpedoes and enhanced active sensors combine to kill diesel submarines.

The USN further argues that forgoing a MAD boom resulted in diminished program risk, lower sustainment cost and a lighter aircraft with higher transit speeds and greater time on station.

(Japan, for its part, seems unswayed by these anti-MAD arguments and has equipped its new, four-engined Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft with a MAD boom. )

Poseidon Preparations

GPCAPT Roger McCutcheon is director of the Maritime Intelligence Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Response Transition Office (MISRRTO) which oversees Australia’s steadily increasing engagement with the US-based P-8A program, as well as the capital works being undertaken prior to theaircraft’s arrival in 2017.

GPCAPT McCutcheon explained that personnel are already being sent to NAS Jacksonville, Florida to begin their operational conversion to the Poseidon.

“Our first cadre of (seven) aircrew commenced training on the 27th of January. They’re a mix of pilots, air combat officers (ACO) and airborne electronics analysts (AEA). Three maintenance personnel will go over to start around mid-2015 and will become instructors. Later this year more personnel will train in the USA on the USN P-8A Tactical Operations Centre (TOC) systems. ” It is envisaged that local training on the P-8A, conducted by 92WG’s 292SQN, will commence in 2018, following the completion of the new operational conversion facility at RAAF Edinburgh. This forms part of a massive capital works program at the base that will see the construction of new administration facilities, joint 10 and 11SQN maintenance hangars, strengthened taxiways, aircraft rinse facilities and explosive ordnance facilities. Runways at RAAF Bases Edinburgh, Pearce and Townsville will be also lengthened to allow unrestricted operations of the P-8A.

GPCAPT McCutcheon revealed that despite not replacing the Orion on a 1:1 basis (the current P-8A order stands at eight, with an option for four), the organisational structure of 92WG will remain unchanged, “It will be 10 and 11SQNs operating the P-8As, with 292SQN remaining as the primary training provider. The 92WG HQ will remain, so the C2 (command and control) is essentially planned to remain the same as it is now. ”

Incremental As Anything

In line with current USN philosophy, the P-8 was designed to undergo a rolling series of spiral upgrades, or Increments, to enhance its effectiveness while not taking the aircraft offline for extended periods. In 2009 Australiasigned an MoU with the USN to participate in the development of the Increment 2 standard.

It is understood the RAAF’s P-8As are to be delivered as Increment 2 aircraft and as such will feature an initial High Altitude ASW Wing Kit (high altitude torpedo capability), Automatic Identification System ID for use with civilian maritime vessels, updates to the Tactical Operations Centre (TOC) mission system, and the Multi-Static Active Coherent (MAC) for wide-area acoustic surveillance.

MAC represents arguably the most important of the P-8A’s weapons in the hunt for increasingly difficult to detect conventional submarines.

It features a combination of Boeing’s tactical control system and a sonobuoy that sends out electronically cued pings whose returns can be detected and analysedby grouped, receiver sonobuoys.

MAC promises greater active and passive detection ranges and much improved accuracy over legacy acoustic systems. The US Navy intends to complete the search, locate, track and attack chain using the MAC technology to be delivered under P-8A Increment 3.

As deputy director of the MISRRTO, WGCDR Lee Read, outlined: “The big thing about Increment 2 is MAC, which will allow us to put a larger array of sonobuoys in the water to enable us to search a larger area of ocean. The P-8A is capable of carrying 54 per cent more sonobuoys than a P-3; 129 of them, in three rotary launchers, holding 10 at a time. It also has three pressurised launch tubes which can launch from attitude. There’s a free fall chute, if all else fails. ”

Weapons

With an airframe aerodynamically optimised for high altitude, the US Navy has tailored the P-8A’s mission systems, weapons and tactics to prosecute the ASW mission from 10,000ft and below. From this level the aircraft is better able, it’s argued, to surveil greater swaths of ocean, using its advanced MAC sonobuoys, high resolution APY-10 maritime, littoral and overland surveillance radar, a high definition electro-optic and infrared camera and electronic aupport measures equipment.

The Poseidon’s time on station can be extended with inflight refuelling (IFR), pushing the aircraft’s theoretical maximum mission to 20+ hours. IFR test and evaluation planning is currently underway with US Navy P-8As, with a similar capability likely to be adopted by 92WG’s Poseidons after clearance work with 33SQN KC-30As. With a warload of 10,000kg, the P-8A is initially being fielded with an anti-ship missile and upgraded torpedoes.

WGCDR Read noted: “We’ll be moving forward with essentially the same weapons capability as on the P-3. The USN will have a mining capability, we don’t intend to bring that forward. We will still have Harpoon, still have a torpedo capability and we’ll go from the current Mk 46 to the USN-common, and MH-60R-common, Mk 54 airlaunched torpedo. ”

Program Risks

The fiscal year 2013 report by the US Department of Defense’s Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) was heavily critical of the P-8A, citing that deficiencies in its radar, sensor integration and data transfer left it unable to successfully conduct vital ISR and broad area ASW missions.

It should be noted that these shortfalls apply to Increment 1, and that the faults identified by the DOT&E will be rectified and addressed with the introduction of Increment 2, which will be the standard that the RAAF’s P-8As will enter service with in 2017.

The most recent DOT&E annual report, of FY14, noted significant improvements in hardware and software reliability, stating that although problems with the aircraft’s synthetic aperture radar’s image quality and data dissemination impacted on the aircraft’s ability to perform ISR, it was nevertheless “operationally suitable for anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface unit warfare, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), C3, and related maritime patrol missions”.

Software upgrades aimed at the deficient areas are presently under development and testing in the P-8A program.

We are deliberately coming in behind the USN to minimise the risk.

GPCAPT MCCUTCHEONGPCAPT McCutcheon acknowledges that Australia will be the beneficiary of the ongoing remediation efforts to bring the Poseidon up to its promised capability, one that is keenly needed as the Orion runs out of airframe life.

“We are deliberately coming in behind the USN to minimise the risk. The P-8A will be new and we expect availability and serviceability to be very high and we expect it will give us more capability. It’s a significant step forward, not only with its sensors being more capable, but the range means we can go further, stay longer and get places more quickly. Equally as important, the AP-3C is an ageing platform, so we’re seeing like an old car, it’s safe but it costs you in time and money more for maintenance as the platform gets older. ”

Commonality

With its input into the ongoing development of Increments 2 and 3, Australia is well placed to ensure that future iterative upgrades allow for 92WG’s unique mission requirements. WGCDR Read explained: “It’s one that we’re working forward with, we do have a degree of influence to make those upgrades. It becomes a very important choice if we’re going to diverge in configuration from the USN. We don’t intend to do that at this point, but there may be capability that we may want to clear – a search store for example – and the USN may not have a requirement for, we’ll have the ability to do that going into the future. ” That said, the example of Australia’s indigenously upgraded Orions, while delivering worldleading capabilities, also bequeathed the RAAF an orphan system that imposed greater sustainment costs than did a common variant.

GPCAPT McCutcheon outlined the approach that would be taken with the P-8A, “the intent is to stay as much as possible the same configuration as the US Navy to lessen the risk and cost of support in future years. The AP-3C is an excellent aircraft but the problem is it’s expensive when you’re the only operator flying that type of aircraft. ” And while sustainment and support contracts have not been finalised, GPCAPT McCutcheon indicated that deeper maintenance of the aircraft is expected to take place within Australia, with WGCDR Read stating that while the aircraft were non-operational, upgrades such as Increment 3, pending government approval, could be undertaken.

“We do anticipate there will be more significant modifications required than just the software. And the timing could be aligned with when our aircraft would go into deeper maintenance in the future. And we can see advantages in aligning that project with those deeper maintenance milestones, such that we don’t take aircraft offline for extended periods. ” MQ-4C While this year’s Defence White Paper is expected to reveal the preferred number of MQ-4C Tritonsto fulfil Phase 1B of AIR 7000, the RAAF’s website states that the number of platforms to be operated is “up to seven”.

Under testing by the USN, the MQ-4C Triton (the solution to the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance, or BAMS requirement) is a development of the USAF’s RQ‑4B Global Hawk, optimised for maritime surveillance and ISR missions. The Triton’s ZPY-3 multi-function active sensor (MFAS) permits it to survey 2. 7 million square miles of the earth’s surface in a single, 30-hour mission and is designed to act as a companion ISR platform to the Poseidon, though operating at much higher altitudes, both for mission effectiveness and to give it sufficient height to trade in the event of the failure of its single engine.

As GPCAPT McCutcheon noted, the MQ-4C offers unique capabilities to 92WG,. “It offers very long range to get to an area and the fact that it can stay out so long is its biggest advantage, [as is] it’s contribution to the common operating picture.

“In terms of operating altitude, Triton can climb and descend as directed by RAAF pilots, known

That it can stay out so long is its biggest advantage. GPCAPT MCCUTCHEON

as air vehicle operators. While we envisage it operating at high level, it also has the capability to go down to lower levels if required, maybe due to weather for example. An operating concept might be the P-8A operating at a lower band, and the Triton higher. However, it does offer the flexibility to go up and down, as the mission necessitates. ” GPCAPT McCutcheon stated that should the Triton enter service with 92WG as expected, it is likely to be operated by a RAAF Edinburgh-based squadron, still to be stood up. He also hinted at how a division of labour might work between Poseidon and Triton.

“We’ll look at using the MQ-4C as a persistent platform. It will detect and track a lot of contacts over a very large area. The P-8A can do some of that, but will operate with a shorter duration, but it’s also a response platform perhaps being cued by what the Triton has detected. The P-8 also has critical roles that the Triton cannot do such as ASW and maritime strike. However, they’ll certainly be complementary platforms for many missions. ” While the Triton’s aircrew are to be based at ground stations at RAAF Edinburgh, current plans for Poseidon’s development ‘roadmap’ call for the capability to control the UAS from onboard the P-8A.

There is every confidence that, despite its early troubles, Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon will quickly mature into a genuinely multi-mission maritime patrol asset and one that is indispensible to the protection of the nation’s sovereignty. Its joint employment with the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C sees the RAAF enter the big league of unmanned aerial systems, an epochal event that may herald a future, more remotely piloted Air Force.