Unmanned And Over Here

The federal government has committed to acquiring the NorthropGrumman unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) subject to the satisfactory execution of the US Navy (USN) development program.

Triton is intended to complement the Boeing P-8A Poseidon, replacing the AP-3C Orion under Project AIR 7000.

“We keep a close eye on the development program; it probably has not progressed as quickly as I would have liked, to be honest withyou,” AIRMSHL Brown said on the sidelines of the Chief of Air Force Symposium. “I think from the US Navy perspective they have put all their concentration on the P-8 and just left Triton to sort of go along.

“It is now on a reasonable path, so we are just sitting back, waiting for them to finish the [operational test and evaluation] and make sure that the systems all work. And we will be there in a hurry, because for us it is one of those essential surveillance capabilities because it just takes the pressure off the manned platforms. ” Speaking to journalists in Melbourne at the event where he formally launched the RAAF transformation strategy known as Plan Jericho, AIRMSHL Brown went on to explain that he believes the Triton development effort not moving as swiftly as he would have hoped has largely come as a result of the challenging financial circumstances the US government has been facing in recent times.

“I look at it from [the point of view of] our need, and if I could have it tomorrow I would have it tomorrow,” CAF said. “That would solve a lot of our challenges, so that is just the frustration of it all. ” Triton program prime contractor Northrop Grumman has declaredthat it is working with the USN to prepare the UAS for operational use by 2017.

About seven of the high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) aircraft are expected to eventually be based at RAAF Base Edinburgh, north of Adelaide. The precise number of Triton aircraft to be acquired by Australia, and their scheduled introduction into service date, is anticipated to be considered by the federal government at some point next year, following the release of the 2015 Defence White Paper.

Cooperative partner

A spokesperson for Defence confirmed when questioned by Australian Aviation that Australia is weighing up whether to take part in a cooperative program that might give rise to opportunities for Australian companies that would probably not be forthcoming in the event of an acquisition being made through the US government’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.

“Defence is considering the costs and benefits associated with entering a cooperative program for production, sustainment and followon development of Triton,” the spokesperson stated.

“This assessment is to ensure that if the Commonwealth were to enter a cooperative program it would represent value for money and the proper use of public money.

By being a partner in Triton’s follow-on development, Australian requirements could be considered for future system upgrades. ” Defence would not comment on the potential cost of entering into such an arrangement, but it seems that domestic industry would stand to gain if the appropriate investment in the program is made.

“One benefit may be that Australia may be able to influence future requirements through the follow-on development arrangements, whichmay bring Australian industry capabilities into consideration,” the Defence spokesperson added.

AIRMSHL Brown has made it clear that he would support a move to participate in a cooperative program for Triton, after the Australian government announced back in March 2009 that it had decided not to proceed to the next partnership phase of the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) program, as it was known.

“We are looking at means of a formal program at the moment,” CAF told reporters during a press conference at the Australian International Airshow 2015. “That is still under discussion; we need to do a value for money case on it.

“I am a fan of going back into the program, but again we need to do some more analysis just to see which way that decision goes. ”

Industry partnerships

Northrop Grumman told Australian Aviation that in the context of the likely Triton acquisition the company intends to build on the relationships it has already forged with Australian businesses through programs such as the F-35 Lightning II and the EA‑18G Growler electronic attack aircraft.

“We are looking at a number of partnerships with Australian industry to participate in production efforts for the Triton program; it is still too early to provide exact details of what those might be,” said Greg Miller, Northrop Grumman’s chief executive for the Triton program for Australia.

“We feel that a cooperative development program would provide more opportunities for Australian industry to participate on the program. While we would be looking for industry participation in production efforts, this could also present opportunities forAustralian companies to participate in upgrades and advancements to Triton beyond the baseline capabilities. ” Australian companies could be awarded contracts to provide parts and equipment required during the production process. “For example, Quickstep provides composite parts to Northrop Grumman that are used in producing the centre fuselage of the F-35,” Miller said.

“As the Triton program is still going through the decision phase with the Australian government it will still take some time for our industry partnerships to take shape. ” When the conditional acquisition decision was announced in March last year, the government stated that introducing Triton into RAAF service would require about $140 million to be spent on new facilities, approximately $100 million of which has been earmarked for SouthAustralia. This work might involve the expansion and enhancement of existing infrastructure at RAAF Base Edinburgh.

In addition to that, supporting the UAS should generate work for South Australian companies valued at about $20 million annually, Prime Minister Tony Abbott stated.

Turning back to the Defence Capability Plan (DCP) from 2012, it was envisaged that the acquisition of HALE unmanned aircraft and associated systems under AIR 7000 would likely trigger various industry participation requirements.

The DCP stated that anticipated Australian industry involvement might include work in systems integration; through-life support; the development and implementation of an integrated ground environment for command and control, mission planning, information management and training; and the development and implementation of a data exploitation, display and dissemination system.

Situation report

Australia is receiving regular updates on progress as the Triton development program moves into its sensor integration phase, the US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) program manager told Australian Aviation.

Under the auspices of the arrangement that has already been established, data is being shared with Australia and a liaison officer from the RAAF is being provided with progress reports at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland.

“The information that the Australians are getting now is informing their decision process to ultimately make a selection for Triton,” said Sean Burke, program manager for the Persistent Maritime Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program Office headquartered at Pax River.

“We have a planning case in place with Australia,” he said.

“That planning case is the first foundational element, if you will,towards a full-blown case where Australia is procuring Triton, and it is yet to be determined whether that is going to be a cooperative program or a Foreign Military Sales type program. ” Defence confirmed that Australia is indeed currently monitoring the USN development program through an FMS planning case under the AIR 7000 Phase 1B Multimission Unmanned Aircraft System (MUAS) project.

“This mechanism allows the exchange of detailed cost, capability and technical information,” the Defence spokesperson stated.

In addition to this arrangement, Australia maintains very close ties with the USN in terms of requirements and operations and training with regard to both Triton and Poseidon, the spokesperson emphasised.

Special guest As well as receiving these updates on the development work, the RAAF recently got the chance to see firsthand how HALE unmannedaircraft might be operated in Australian skies when an RQ-4 Global Hawk – on which Triton is based – flew into Avalon Airport to go on display at the Australian International Airshow.

Following its 13-hour flight from Andersen Air Force Base (AFB) on Guam, the remotely piloted US Air Force (USAF) aircraft touched down on February 21, marking the first time this type of asset had landed at a civilian airport in Australia to be viewed by members of the public.

Pilots located on the island of Guam, which is a strategically important US territory in the western Pacific where five Global Hawks are based, oversaw the first part of the ferry flight before they handed off to colleagues in California that landed the aircraft ahead of the Avalon Airshow.

“This is the first time that a Global Hawk has flown into an international airshow,” stated Ian Irving, chief executive of Northrop Grumman Australia. “This really speaks to the maturity and reliability of the system.

“As the Royal Australian Air Force seeks to procure the MQ- 4C Triton UAS, a variant basedon Global Hawk, they will be able to use the system’s capabilities to transform the way they conduct maritime surveillance missions. ” While the visit offered onlookers an intriguing insight into how Triton might be handled in service with the RAAF, bringing Global Hawk to Avalon certainly also served as a strong symbol of the close relationship between the armed forces of the US and Australia.

Defence told Australian Aviation that the USAF’s Global Hawk has visited RAAF Base Edinburgh on “numerous occasions” since 2001 – the year in which it became the first unmanned aircraft to cross the Pacific Ocean when it was flown to Adelaide from Edwards AFB in California.

However, the spokesperson declined to comment on the precise nature of the visits that occurred prior to the high-profile appearance at the Avalon Airshow.

Sensor synergy Sean Burke, who assumed command of the NAVAIR Persistent Maritime Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program Office in December last year, explained when he spoke toAustralian Aviation that he believes successfully integrating all of the subsystems is the key to delivering the Triton capability.

“We have flown the radar on a surrogate aircraft for 42 flights now and we know that the radar is performing very well,” he said. “But we now have to get the installed performance, as the development testers call it, meaning we have to have it integrated with all the other subsystems on Triton: the communication system, the navigation system, the command-and-control system.

“And we have to make sure that they are all aligned perfectly, that all those nerve synapses are all connecting and firing at the right times. And so that is an integration effort that we are working our way through right now. So in terms of risk, just making sure that all those integration connections are made is probably the bigger risk in front of us. ” Flying at an altitude of up to 56,500ft, Triton aircraft will be equipped with a sensor suite intended to give a 360-degree view that includes: the ZPY-3 Multi-Function Active Sensor (MFAS) active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar; the MTS-B Multi-Spectral Targeting System, which provides electro-optical, infrared, laser designation and laser illumination capabilities; an electronic support measures (ESM) system; and an Automatic Identification System (AIS) capability.

Program challenges

As noted previously, the federal government has committed to acquiring Triton subject to the successful completion of the USN development program. So is the effort to deliver what AIRMSHLBrown regards as an essential capability for the RAAF on track to meet requirements? The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) states in its annual assessment of selected US defence acquisitions that as of January the Triton program is contending with design and production risks, as the USN works to integrate and test the mission systems in preparation for the anticipated low-rate initial production (LRIP) decision at the end of this year.

“The Navy faces supplier quality management challenges that could impact its readiness to begin Triton production in December 2015,” the GAO says in its review, which was released in March. “[The US Department of Defense] has issued at least eight corrective action requests that require the prime contractor to conduct a root cause analysis or take other actions. Most of the requests are related to supplier material and quality management issues.

“The wing represents one of the program’s most significant challenges. DOD reported that the wing supplier has not yet demonstrated that it can produce a wing that conforms to required specifications. ” In addition, significant amounts of testing are expected to be conducted concurrent with production, thereby increasing the risk of potential cost growth and delays later in the program, the GAO states.

The USN is expecting to have completed only about 13,000 of the 25,000 developmental test points before seeking approval to begin production, with the remainder scheduled for completion during the production phase itself.

“The Navy has delayed the start of fatigue testing on the aircraft until 2017 – two years after the start of production,” the congressional watchdog points out in its acquisition projects report.

“According to program officials, this testing has been delayed twice as costs have increased and funding has been diverted to other development activities.

“Based on the current production schedule, the Navy will have ordered at least 34 aircraft and delivered at least 22 before the full results of this testing are available in 2023.

Without knowledge about the long-term durability of the aircraft, the Navy may have to initially limit its missions or its lifespan.

“Our previous work suggests that such concurrency in testing and production can increase the risk of discovering deficiencies in production that could require costly design changes and modifications to systems already produced. ”

The USAF’s Global Hawk has visited RAAF Base Edinburgh on “numerous occasions”

Strike capability

With a view to starting Triton operations from a strong position, the federal government announced in October last year that two Heron remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) were being retained following the withdrawal of the capability from Afghanistan as part of a plan to ensure that pilots maintain the necessary UAS skills.

And then on February 23 the government stated that RAAF personnel had commenced training on the MQ-9 Reaper in the US, in an effort to increase understanding of complex unmanned aircraft operations and to explore how this type of medium-altitude longendurance (MALE) capability could be deployed in the future to protect troops.

Significantly, the turboproppowered RPA that General Atomics Aeronautical Systems markets as the Predator B is capable of carrying various weapons packages, although the idea of Australia seeking to acquire an unmanned aircraft with strike capability is certainly not new.

“We brought Heron back from Afghanistan,” AIRMSHL Brownsaid during the discussion on the sidelines of the event where he launched Plan Jericho. “I wanted to continue that experience as well as investing in Reaper, so I will have a cadre who have qualified on Reaper – they are actually undergoing their training right now and they will operate out of Creech with the US Air Force – in the hope that the Defence Capability Plan looks at a medium [unmanned aerial vehicle] for us. ” Speaking frankly before the expected completion of his tenure as Chief of Air Force on July 3, AIRMSHL Brown expressed interest in the possible acquisition of eight Reaper aircraft, provided that there are sufficient personnel available to operate them.

As of February, the RAAF has five personnel training to be Reaper air vehicle operators and payload operators at Holloman AFB in New Mexico, and a communications systems engineer being trained at Creech.

But despite the training effort over in the US, the General Atomics system has not actually been formally selected by Australia. This means the Heron TP multipurpose UAS from Israel Aerospace Industries could still be in the running to meet the likely requirement for a MALE unmanned aircraft capability that AIRMSHL Brown is eager to see formalised in the forthcoming DCP.

Naval platforms

It is not just the RAAF that is signalling its intention to embrace developments in the field of unmanned systems technology.

Defence informed Australian Aviation that the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Capability Development Group are in the process of developing requirements for unmanned aerial vehicles as part of an effort to determine whattypes of unmanned systems will be required to operate from naval platforms.

Defence is continuing to informally monitor progress on the Fire Scout unmanned helicopter program, among others, under the SEA 5000 Phase 1 Future Frigate Preliminary Design Work project, the spokesperson said.

And the USN is so impressed with the maturity and capability of Northrop Grumman’s Fire Scout that the NAVAIR program manager is keen to share lessons learned with the RAN.

Captain Jeff Dodge told Australian Aviation that Australia stands to benefit from US experience in operating unmanned systems from naval ships. “We are very happy with the Fire Scout, so we are looking for the opportunity to share what we have learned so far about operating unmanned air systems,” he said.

“We have been so impressed with the maturity of the system that we have already started production of these; we are building them off the line right now. We are looking

The RAAF has five personnel training to be Reaper air vehicle and payload operators.

forward to getting them in the fleet, and we think there are excellent opportunities for our friends and partners to leverage that active production line to take advantage of some of this capability. ” The MQ-8C Fire Scout, which is based on the Bell 407, is intended to provide an increase in range of more than 30 per cent, twice the endurance and increased payload capacity compared with the smaller MQ‑4B variant.

CAPT Dodge explained that the unmanned systems architecture that was developed and matured forthe MQ-8B has been transferred across in a process akin to a “brain transplant” in an effort to not only deliver the capability rapidly but also to take advantage of lessons learned.

Even though Australia has not yet formally put in place a mechanism for monitoring the program, let alone committed to an acquisition, Australian industry is already getting involved. Melbourne software developer Sentient has been awarded a contract for its Kestrel automated detection software under the Fire Scout program.

Sentient stated that it is delivering the technology, which it says is designed to automatically detect objects of interest within full-motion video over land and sea, to improve the unmanned helicopter’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

Industry will be aiming to emulate this success story as the Australian Defence Force takes its next steps into the unmanned era.