Maximising availability

“It is also testament to the support and sustainment services that Boeing has established in partnership with industry and the Commonwealth to sustain the aircraft and enable that declaration of FOC. ”The project has come a long way over the years. As part of Operation Okra, which is the ADF contribution to the international effort to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) within Iraq, the Wedgetail routinely controls more than 60 aircraft during a single mission.

“I am sure that there are a number of lessons to be taken away from the project, but I think the demonstration is really the ongoing value for money that this capability is certainly going to deliver over a number of years,” Horton said, following the achievement of the FOC milestone, which was announced on May 26.

“And I think, looking back on the lessons learnt, the capability that is now being provided for the Commonwealth of Australia for many years into the future will certainly justify the difficulties in getting to this point. ” Separately, Mark Ellis, director of Airborne Surveillance, Command and Control, added: “Since beginning work on the platform in 2000, it has taken a true team spirit across Boeing in Australia and the United States to bring the aircraft to final operational capability.

“The incredible capabilities and performance of this aircraft exemplify the dedication of our partners in the Royal Australian Air Force, our key suppliers and Boeing. I am thrilled to have reached this milestone, and look forward to watching the Wedgetail soar for decades. ”

Turnaround story

Industry has been busy since the RAAF’s fleet of six Wedgetail aircraft reached initial operational capability (IOC) and the AEW&C project was removed from the Projects of Concern list at the end of 2012, having been added in 2008 because of schedule delays and

Our training is continuing to mature and evolve as we work jointly as ‘one team’. MARK HORTON

increasing complexity. For instance, the supply chain is one of the key elements of the capability to have matured from industry’s perspective in recent years.

“As the Air Force has flown more hours supporting international operations, we have had to establish a robust supply chain that was able to perform and sustain the aircraft over that period,” Horton said. “Jointly with our industry partners, we have now got a very robust supply chain service that supports all those operational needs, and as one of the key underpinning requirements for being able to support the FOC declaration.

“Our engineering services have grown and matured to also provide the level of support to implement new capabilities that are required for the type of international operations that are being conducted at the moment. ” Commenting on activities at RAAF Base Amberley, where deeper maintenance is carried out, he continued: “We have worked very hard with Air Force to reduce the amount of time to conduct those [maintenance] operations, to ensure that we maximise aircraft availability for Air Force in support of those operations as well.

“Our training is continuing to mature and evolve as we work jointly as ‘one team’ to roll in lessons learnt, and continue to evolve the training product in support of operations as well. ” The performance of the aircraft’s multirole electronically scanned array (MESA) radar system has also matured over time. “Any of the early problems with the radar have certainly been overcome,” Horton emphasised. “The radar is performing beyond expectations in an operational sense now, and is really delivering an amazing capability for the Air Force. ” Boeing Defence Australia assumed prime support responsibility for the Wedgetail in July 2013. The company signed a five-year support contract extension valued at $901 million in March 2014 that came into effect at the start of July that year.

Boeing stated at the time of contract signature that it would be continuing to provide program management, supply chain management, engineering and maintenance services until at least 2019, with the potential for annual extensions based on performance and continuous improvement.

“Under the construct of the current contract, ongoing productivity and efficiency savings is one of the areas that we are measured across through our annual performance review and the associated consideration for award of the rolling wave additional years to the contract,” Horton said.

“Productivity is really built into the contracting mechanism, and there is considerable focus and formal planning across all aspects of the business to ensure that we can demonstrate productivity savings and efficiencies on an annual basis. ”

Operational experience

Boeing has been working closely with the RAAF to learn more about the AEW&C platform’s capabilities with a view to future improvements while the aircraft has been operating in a complex, multinational environment.

“It is a closed loop of feedback in that we are working with the operators almost in real time, taking on board lessons, understanding some of the challenges they are seeing in that operational environment, and bringing the power of the broader Boeing engineering company to look in the solution space and provide innovative design solutions to support emerging requirements,” Horton explained.

A spokesperson for Defence stated that a number of minor projects have been executed since the declaration of FOC, with the nextmajor capital acquisition project being the AEW&C Interoperability Compliance Upgrade known as AIR 5077 Phase 5A.

“The minor projects have or will deliver some improvements to ensure Wedgetail is compliant with emerging international and domestic air traffic management standards, and to ensure that Wedgetail is able to operate more efficiently in its air battlespace management role through an interim fitment of a command‑and‑control communications system ahead of AIR 5077 Phase 5A,” the spokesperson said.

Phase 5A, which was listed in the Defence Portfolio Budget Statements 2015-16 as being in development for first pass approval consideration in the current financial year, has an approved project expenditure totalling $106 million.

The project is intended to address mandatory military and civil compliance upgrades that have emerged since initial acquisition contract signature, the spokesperson said.

The upgrades are likely to include, but are not limited to:

>> Mode 5/Mode S identification friend or foe (IFF) interrogator;

>> cryptographic modernisation; >> Web-enabled Internet Protocol (IP);

>> GPS Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM);

>> Integrated Broadcast System; and >> the resolution of obsolescence issues.

“Defence is refining a Wedgetail roadmap that identifies the key drivers of future capability in the context of strategic and tactical environments, and technology and supportability inputs,” the spokesperson commented when questioned about possible future upgrades for the AEW&C platform.

“AIR 5077 Phase 6 is pre-initiation, and is dependent on the outcomes of the Force Structure Review and the Defence White Paper. ”