Air International 2014-11

£4.60 MAY 2012

ju st an

th an

INTERNATIONAL

A-7

Corsair One Last Call

For the best in modern military and commercial aviation

Qantas

www.airinternational.com

NOVEMBER 2014 Vol.87 No.5

M or e

INTERNATIONAL

Ry an air

Ai rli ne

A320neo AIRBORNE • F-22’s COMBAT DEBUT • VIRGIN DREAMLINER

Headwinds for the Flying Kangaroo

Chengdu J-10

China’s Vigorous Dragon

MC-12 Liberty

...and other Sneaky King Airs

Avanti Evo

Piaggio’s Cool Flagship

Sea King Mk 7 Protecting the Fleet

NEW ! 704/14

Produced by AIR International’s worldwide team, 135 The World’s Greatest Tanker... and more, is a 100-page publication giving a comprehensive profile of the KC-135 Stratotanker and all remaining special mission variants led by the RC-135 Rivet Joint.

JUST

£5.99

Features include:

HISTORY

A synopsis of the evolution of Boeing’s veteran tanker.

SYSTEMS

Details of the KC-135’s engines, air refuelling boom, cockpit and upgrades.

MAINTENANCE

Maintaining 57-year-old aircraft for daily operations requires skill and diligence by dedicated maintenance personnel – we provide a special report from the main air logistics depot in Oklahoma City and behind the scenes insight into the work of the RAF Mildenhallbased 100th Air Refueling Wing.

OPERATIONS

Seven major US Air Force commands and four allied air forces fly KC-135 operations around the world: we present comprehensive coverage.

TEST TANKERS

AIR International visited Edwards Air Force Base and the 412th Test Wing – home of the KC-135R ‘Speckled Trout’ and flight test tankers.

SPECIAL MISSION VARIANTS

Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska is home to Air Combat Command’s 55th Wing and its fleet of OC-135, RC-135, TC-135 and WC-135 aircraft: we detail the aircraft, the systems and the missions.

AND MUCH MORE! AVAILABLE NOW FROM

AND ALL OTHER LEADING NEWSAGENTS Alternatively, Order Direct

JUST £5.99 FREE P&P* *Free 2nd class P&P on all UK & BFPO orders. Overseas charges apply.

Free P&P* when you order online at www.keypublishing.com/shop

OR

Call UK: 01780 480404 Overseas: +44 1780 480404 Monday to Friday 9am-5:30pm

S U B S C R I B E R S C A L L F O R Y O U R £ 1. 0 0 D I S C O U N T ! avaxhm.com 715 KC-135 Now.indd 87

03/09/2014 11:22

GIVE THE G THAT L IFT ALL YEASTS AR! A s ub Intern scription to

News

LEADING NEWS STORIES

06 BREAKING NEWS 14 GENERAL NEWS

04 A320neo AIRBORNE Flight testing

Strikes against ISIL in Iraq and Syria intensify, the Spanish Air Force celebrates 75 years, Australia prepares to order more C-17A Globemasters, Uruguay looks forward to getting Swiss Tigers, Garuda orders 50 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, Afghanistan is set to receive 12 more MD 530Fs, German’s first A400M Atlas is rolled out and Peru signs for New Zealand’s SH-2G Super Seasprites.

the re-engined A320neo has begun as Mark Broadbent explains.

A B-52H test launches an ALCM, the first production ICH-47F rolls out, Aerion and Airbus talk supersonics, the 40th anniversary of the Tornado is celebrated, the French Navy receives its first upgraded Rafale M, the Airbus A350 is certified, Etihad unveils its new colours, and Denel studies a new regional airliner.

AIR ational gift this makes a grea t Christm a s. See pag es 40 for det and 41 ails.

08 BIRTHDAY GIRL Virgin Atlantic Airways is the first European airline to operate the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Mark Broadbent reports. 10 FIRST STRIKE BY AMERICA’S SILVER BULLET

David C Isby details the F-22 Raptor’s combat mission over Syria.

22 LIGHTNING AT LEMOORE Rick Burgess files the latest top news stories from the US Navy and Marine Corps.

28 TRITON ARRIVES AT PAX David C Isby covers the arrival of the first MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicle at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland.

36 JUNGLIES’ NEW CAB Ian Harding reports from RAF Benson in Oxfordshire on the transition of Merlin helicopters to Royal Navy charge.

48 FRONT COVER: One of this month’s main features is on Qantas. Darren Howie/AirTeamImages LEFT INSET: Matthew Clements MIDDLE INSET: Piaggio Aero RIGHT INSET: Ian Harding

Features WINDS FOR THE FLYING KANGAROO 42 HEAD

Australia’s de facto flag carrier Qantas has to tackle several challenges, as David Armstrong outlines.

48 CORSAIR’S SUNDOWN

The Hellenic Air Force’s A-7Es – the last flying Corsairs – had a key operational role until the very end, as Kirk Paloulian recounts.

to improve air traffic management. Mark Broadbent provides the detail.

Avanti executive transport aircraft, the world’s fastest turboprop.

J-10 VIGOROUS DRAGON 70 CHENGDU

88 ETIHAD’S NEW LOOK

76 BAGGERS

94 FULL STRENGTH

Andreas Rupprecht profiles the development and operation of China’s first modern fighter.

David C Isby outlines plans for America’s ISR-configured King Air fleet.

64 

84 

CLEVER CONTROL

The UK’s air navigation services provider NATS is using new technology

Editor Mark Ayton [email protected]

Marketing Manager Shaun Binnington

Designer Dave Robinson

Marketing Assistant Amy Donkersley

Ad Production Manager Debi McGowan

Mark Broadbent looks at a new version of Piaggio Aero’s distinctive

News Editor David Willis [email protected]

Sub Editors Sue Blunt, Carol Randall Production Manager Janet Watkins

AVANTI EVOVLES

• ISSN 0306-5634 • is published monthly by:

Commercial Director Ann Saundry

Key Publishing Ltd,

Subscriptions/Mail Order Manager Managing Director & Publisher Ann Petrie Adrian Cox

PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1XQ, UK T +44 (0)1780 755131 F +44 (0)1780 757261

Group Marketing Manager Martin Steele

The entire contents of AIR International is © copyright, and no

Executive Chairman Richard Cox

Ian Harding visited AirTanker at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire now operating at full strength with nine Voyager multi-role tanker transports.

MORE THAN JUST AN AIRLINE 96 RYANAIR:

Dominik Sipinski spoke with the Irish low-cost carrier’s chief executive Michael O’Leary.

Editor’s Secretary Vanessa Smith [email protected] part of it may be reproduced in any form or stored on any form of retrieval system without the prior permission of the publisher. All items submitted for publication are subject to our terms and conditions, which are regularly updated without prior notice and are freely available from Key Publishing Ltd or downloadable from www.keypublishing.com Distribution by Seymour Distribution Ltd • T. +44 (0)020 7429 4000 • Printed in England by Warners

Ian Harding

56 THE FUTURE OF LIBERTY

The Royal Navy’s Sea King ASaC7 is finding its sea legs again after a successful deployment in Afghanistan. Ian Harding and Nick Martin visited RNAS Culdrose.

Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad revealed a fresh livery for its first A380 Super Jumbo and 787-9 Dreamliner. Mark Broadbent presents.

Advertisement Manager Ian Maxwell [email protected]

Midlands PLC. • Please refer to main Subscriptions Advertisement within the magazine or Email: subs@ keypublishing.com T +44 (0)1780 480404 F +44 (0)1780 757812 Readers in USA may place subscriptions by telephone toll-free 800-676-4049. Air International is distributed in the USA by Mail Right Int., 1637 Stelton Road B4, Piscataway, NJ 08854. Periodicals Postage Paid at Piscataway, NJ and additional mailing offices

Postmaster send address corrections to: AIR International, Key Publishing Ltd, C/o Mail Right International Inc. 1637 Stelton Road B4, Piscataway NJ 08854

We are unable to guarantee the bonafides of any of our advertisers. Readers are strongly recommended to take their own precautions before parting with any information or item of value, including, but not limited to, money, manuscripts, photographs or personal information in response to any advertisements within this publication.

3

NEWS REPORT Opposite: F-WNEO moments after departing on its first test flight on September 25. All images Airbus Bottom: From left to right Flight Test Engineer Manfred

Birnfeld, Test Flight Engineer Jean-Paul Lambert, Pilot Etienne Miche De Malleray, Flight Test Engineer Sandra Bour Schaeffer and pilot Philippe Pellerin.

A320neo Airbo

I

n recent years commercial aircraft manufacturers have responded to airlines’ demand for greater fuel efficiency and reduced costs by updating existing aircraft rather than creating clean-sheet designs. The first of this new generation of revamped mature products, the Airbus A320neo (new engine option), undertook its first flight on a sunny September 25 from Toulouse-Blagnac in southwest France.

The aircraft, F-WNEO – the first of eight neos that’ll be used by Airbus for the type’s testing and certification – conducted a two-and-ahalf hour-long flight over southwest France that explored its basic handling. Aboard were Airbus Experimental Test Pilots Philippe Pellerin and Etienne Miche de Malleray, Test Flight Engineer Jean-Paul Lambert and Flight Test Engineers Manfred Birnfeld and Sandra BourSchaeffer. Engineers back at Toulouse used

real-time telemetry from the test equipment on board the aircraft to monitor its performance during the flight. “It’s fantastic to see the aircraft fly, it’s the culmination of a lot of hard work,” commented Tom Williams, Airbus Executive Vice-President Engineering, in a live broadcast on the Airbus website a few minutes after the F-WNEO’s departure. The flight started a 3,000-hour campaign, due for completion within a year, that’ll test both powerplants available for the neo – the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM, which powers F-WNEO, and the CFM International LEAP1A. Delivery of the first customer aircraft, to Qatar Airways, is planned for the fourth quarter of 2015. At the time of the first flight the neo family, comprising the A320neo, the A319neo and A321neo (these other two versions are scheduled for service entry in 2016), had more than 3,200 commitments from 60 customers.

Fuel Burn Airbus says the neo will burn 15% less fuel per seat than the current engine option (ceo). Twelve percent of that comes from the new powerplants and 3% from the Sharklets, the distinctive 3.4m (11.1ft) wingtip devices that are already line and retrofit options on the ceo.

4

AI.11.14

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

NEWS REPORT

Flight testing the re-engined A320neo has begun as Airbus prepares for a big production ramp-up of its narrowbody airliners. Mark Broadbent explains

people, six more than the A320ceo. The A319neo will carry 160 (four more than the A319ceo) and the A321neo up to 240 (20 more from the A321ceo). Each passenger will have 18in (450mm) wide seats. The seating increase comes from optimising the aircraft’s cabin by using slim-line seats, re-configured rear galley and lavatory layouts (called Space-Flex and Smart-Lav respectively) and a new exit door arrangement that reduces the area necessary for emergency exit rows.

Industrial System

borne On-going development could improve that per-seat fuel burn saving to 20% by 2020, the company claims, with the extra 5% coming from a further 2% reduction in the engines’ fuel burn and a 3% saving from an optimised cabin layout. The neo will be able to carry two tonnes more payload than the ceo and fly 500 nautical miles (926km) further. Airbus says that compared with the current aircraft the neo will be 8% cheaper to operate, emit 10% less nitrogen oxide and 3,600 metric tonnes fewer CO2 emissions. It adds the jet will produce less noise, though it hasn’t yet said exactly how much quieter it expects the aircraft to be. Williams contended that given airlines’ narrow profit margins, these savings provide “potential to really transform our customers’ businesses”.

Cabin Innovations Cost per available seat miles (CASM) is the standard measure of a flight’s efficiency; the lower the CASM, the more efficient and profitable the flight. Minimising the CASM is every airline’s target and the way to achieve that is increasing seats to spread costs. Aircraft manufacturers are always looking at ways they can maximise seat counts and the A320neo will accommodate up to 189

A new aircraft’s testing and performance figures capture the headlines, but Airbus says an equally important aspect of the neo programme is the industrial system producing the aircraft. In the first quarter of 2016 Airbus will raise A320 family aircraft output at the type’s Final Assembly Lines (FALs) in Toulouse, Hamburg, Tianjin in China and Mobile, Alabama (due to start assembling aircraft next year) from the current 42 per month to 44. There’ll be a further rate increase to 46 every month in the second quarter of 2016. At June’s Airbus Innovation Days trade briefing in Toulouse, Klaus Roewe, the Senior Vice-President for the A320neo family, explained Airbus has placed maturity at the heart of the neo programme in order to both smoothly bring the aircraft to market and cope with the rate increases.

Quality Planning Roewe said over 2,000 lessons from the A380 and A350XWB development and test phases have been incorporated into the neo’s industrialisation, together with new working practices learned from the automotive industry. He said the neo is the first new aircraft to benefit from advanced product quality planning (APQP) tools, which have been used for years by General Motors and Chrysler. APQP lays down benchmarks on product quality which everyone involved in the programme, including subcontractors and suppliers, can see. But Roewe explained APQP goes beyond checking the quality of parts. It tests every level of the industrial system producing the aircraft: whether the build processes are correct, the people are trained correctly, the tooling and automation functions and if the logistics and supply chains work. The idea is to minimise risks by identifying and rectifying any problems before a high monthly production rate begins. “This is a fundamental requirement for a ramp-up, because if you start changing your product during ramp-up you will start stumbling,” Roewe said. Airbus’ hope is that by introducing APQP practices on the neo it’ll be able to ensure quality and maturity in the finished aircraft and cope comfortably with the rate increases ahead.

A320neo In Numbers

3000 hours of flight testing

3200 commitments

15% 2015 fuel burn reduction

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

service entry AI.11.14

5

Breaking News

Luftwaffe A400M Ready for Flight

Taxi tests of the first Airbus Defence and Space A400M for the Luftwaffe (54+01, msn 18) began on October 12 at the manufacturer’s facility in Seville, Spain. The transport was painted in Luftwaffe colours two days earlier. It was expected to make its maiden flight soon after AIR International went to press and will be delivered in November. Airbus Defence and Space

1

LEARJET 75 DELIVERED TO NAMIBIA Namibia has received a new Learjet 75 from Bombardier for use by President Hifikepunye Pohamba. The business jet (V5-RON, c/n 45-476/75-021, ex N50126) arrived at Eros Airport on September 7, four months later than originally planned, and replaces the presidential Learjet 31A (V5-NAG, c/n 31-091, ex N5019Y), which is 18 years old. It joins a Falcon 7X (V5-GON, c/n 127, ex F-WWHT) delivered in October 2011, which was acquired for $48.5 million. The Namibian government has also ordered two Airbus Helicopters AS350B3e Squirrels and a larger, eight-seat rotorcraft from an unspecified manufacturer. The Squirrels were originally scheduled for delivery in June and July this year, but have yet to be handed over. Guy Martin

1

ADDITIONAL MI-26TC FOR CHINA

Red Wings Takes Aeroflot’s Superjet 100s A contract has been signed between the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company and Red Wings airline to lease three former Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet 100s. The aircraft will be delivered to the carrier and used for one year, with an option to prolong the contract (adding to Red Wings to Conduct Crimean Flights, October, p29).

More C-17As for Australia Minister for Defence Senator David Johnston announced on October 3 that the Australian Government had begun the process of acquiring two more Boeing C-17A Globemaster III strategic airlift aircraft. He also said pricing and availability data on a further two under the US Foreign Military Sales programme has been requested. A decision on these will be taken in conjunction with the release of the next Defence White Paper, which is due in mid-2015. The Royal Australian Air Force currently operates six C-17As assigned to No.36 Squadron, based at Amberley, southwest of Brisbane. Senator Johnston said, “recent global events have seen Australia’s national capabilities, like the C-17A, come to the fore to assist our friends and allies. The ability to rapidly react and move large elements of Australia’s support systems over long distances during these times has highlighted the need for us to have a good-sized fleet.” Nigel Pittaway

6

AI.11.14

The Superjets are among those built in the ‘light configuration’ (in terms of avionics/cabin equipment) previously operated by Aeroflot and returned back to the manufacturer after it took delivery of new-built aircraft completed to the ‘full configuration’ standard. As many as ten new ‘full configuration’ Superjets were received

by Aeroflot and the same number in the Light Configuration returned to the manufacturer, with the process reported to have been completed in June. Red Wings will use the new aircraft on routes from Moscow to Ufa, Makhachkala, Chelyabinsk, Sochi and Mineralnye Vodi. Alexander Mladenov

Team Aguila Mark Spanish Air Force’s 75th Anniversary

Russian defence industry sources have revealed that the fourth Mil Mi-26TC to be purchased by Chinese government customers will be delivered next year. Like the other three previously sold to China, it will be used for firefighting and disaster relief duties. Its avionics will be enhanced with a new-generation weather radar and colour display. Alexander Mladenov

2

ELECTRONIC WARFARE AIRCRAFT FOR PERU The Peruvian government says it is interested in purchasing two multipurpose aircraft for the Electronic Vigilance Service it intends to establish. They will be acquired via a governmentto-government co-operation agreement following a study of the market, technical reports and an economic analysis. The aircraft must be equipped with a signals intelligence-gathering suite and will be used on maritime electronic surveillance missions. Santiago Rivas

3 The Ejército del Aire (Spanish Air Force) celebrated its 75th anniversary on October 11 with an airshow at Torrejón AB, Madrid. For the occasion the CASA C101EB Aviojets of Team Aguila wore 75th anniversary logos on the fuselage, as applied to E25-87/‘79-29’. Roberto Yáñez

ISR CARAVANS FOR AFRICAN NATIONS Kenya, Mauritania and Niger will each receive an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) configured Cessna 208B Caravan under a $31 million US Foreign Military Sale. The contract was awarded to L-3 Communications on September 18. The aircraft are due to be completed by September 30, 2015.

Uruguay Purchases Former Swiss Tiger IIs 5

David C Isby

According to Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya (FAU, Uruguayan Air Force) officers, the service has signed a contract with the Swiss government to purchase eight Northrop F-5E Tiger IIs and a pair of two-seat F-5Fs. The fighters will replace the FAU’s Cessna A-37B Dragonflies operated by the Escuadrón 2 of the II Brigada Aérea at Durazno AB. The former Swiss Air Force Tiger IIs are expected to arrive between

late 2016 and 2018 in several batches. RUAG Aviation will put each airframe through a major overhaul and modernise some of their equipment. Uruguay will pay approximately $20 million for the work to be completed; the airframes are being donated by Switzerland. The F-5E will be the first dedicated fighter for the FAU since the retirement of the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star in 1971. Santiago Rivas

SEASPRITES FOR PERU The Fuerza de Aviación Naval (Peruvian Naval Aviation) has ordered five Kaman SH-2G(NZ) Super Seasprite helicopters. The purchase was signed on October 9 via a government-to-government agreement with Canada, which will acquire the helicopters from New Zealand. The SH-2G(NZ)s will be overhauled and modified to Peruvian requirements by General Dynamics.

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

NEWS BY NUMBERS

They are expected to fly from the Peruvian Navy’s Lupo-class frigates, which operate AgustaBell AB212ASW and Agusta-Sikorsky AS-61D/Sikorsky UH-3H Sea Kings. New Zealand is replacing its current SH-2G(NZ)s with eight former Royal Australian Navy SH-2G(I)s, all of which are due to be in service by mid-2015. Santiago Rivas

Breaking News

Strikes Against ISIL Intensify

9

LAKOTAS FOR THAILAND Approval has been granted by the US State Department for the sale of five Airbus Helicopters UH-72A Lakotas to Thailand. Details were passed to Congress by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency on September 26. The Foreign Military Sale is worth an estimated $89 million, including training, logistical support and associated equipment.

12

MD 530FS FOR AFGHANISTAN Afghanistan will receive an additional 12 MD Helicopters MD 530Fs via the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme. The helicopters, described as “rotary-wing primary trainers” in the FMS documentation, will be delivered by September 29, 2015, after the $35.7 million option for the deal originally placed in March 2011 was exercised (see MD 530Fs for Afghanistan, May 2011, p15). Six MD 530Fs were delivered from September 2011, one of which has since been destroyed. On October 1 a separate $44.2 million contract was announced for MD Helicopters to develop, test and install a weapons system on 17 Afghan MD 530Fs by September 29, 2015.

50

737S FOR GARUDA On October 10 Indonesian flag carrier Garuda announced that it had ordered 46 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, and converted four existing commitments for 737800s to MAX 8s. The deal is worth $4.9 billion at list prices and was signed on September 12, although at the time the manufacturer said it was an “unidentified customer”. Deliveries will start in 2017 and continue into 2023, enabling the airline to replace its 737 Next Generations as they come to the end of their leases.

70

AIRBUSES FOR CHINA China Aviation Supplies Holding Co signed a general terms agreement on October 10 for 70 Airbus A320 family airliners in a deal worth approximately $7 billion. The company is one of six holding organisations of the China Civil Aviation Administration, and the airliners will be distributed among state-operated carriers. Around 920 A320 family aircraft are currently operated by Chinese airlines in the country.

An F-15E Strike Eagle receives fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker over northern Iraq after attacking ISIL targets in Syria on September 23, the first day of air operations in that country. Senior Airman Matthew Bruch/US Air Force

Operations against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forces in Iraq continued in mid-October. By then the air forces of Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and United States had participated in strikes against the militants, with the latter country providing the bulk of the sorties. On September 23 the use of airpower was expanded to ISIL targets in Syria, effectively creating two groups within the coalition, comprising those willing to conduct operations in both countries and the Europeans and Australia, who have limited themselves to targets in Iraq.

Russian UAV Ops Intensifies The flight time amassed by various unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) operated by the Russian armed forces has quadrupled in the last year. Between September 2013 and September 2014 UAVs, flown mainly by the army, naval aviation and airborne troop units for tactical reconnaissance, logged approximately 13,500 flight hours. The UAVs have been employed in all combat training and real-world military operations undertaken by Russia over the last year, including surveillance of the border areas with Ukraine in the regions of Lugansk and Donetsk. Alexander Mladenov

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

The initial coverage of US strikes against ISIL forces in August stressed the missions flown by naval aircraft, especially Boeing F/A-18C/D Hornets and F/A-18E/F Super Hornets from the aircraft carrier USS George H W Bush (see US Continues to Hit IS Targets in Iraq, October, p13). However, on September 15 the Secretary of the Air Force, Deborah Lee James, announced at the annual Air Force Association conference in Washington, DC, that her service is now carrying out the “lion’s share” of air strikes, a total of 2,749 combat missions, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, tanker and transport missions.

The total number of US air strikes against targets in Iraq had increased to 194 by the time offensive air operations were expanded to ISIL in Syria. The US Navy and Marine Corps provided about a quarter of the air strikes, as the expanded campaign opened, according to US Navy Secretary Ray Mabus on September 30. Additional US aircraft are deploying to the region. These include 12 Fairchild A-10C Thunderbolt II attack aircraft of the 122nd Fighter Wing of the Indiana Air National Guard and 300 personnel, which were due to become operational just after AIR International went to press in early October. David C Isby and David Willis

Raider Unveiled

Sikorsky rolled-out the prototype S-97 Raider (N971SK) at its facility at West Palm Beach, Florida, on October 2. The technology demonstrator builds upon the X2 and will be used to prove concepts for the Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1 offered for the US Army’s Joint Multi-Role programme. Sikorsky

AI.11.14

7

NEWS REPORT

BirthdayG

Virgin’s first 787-9, G-VNEW Birthday Girl, landing at Paine Field, Everett on October 5. Maggie Bradley

V

irgin Atlantic Airways turned 30 this year, so the airline’s name for its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner – Birthday Girl – is fitting. The aircraft’s paintwork features the carrier’s Flying Lady emblem, a Union Flag wrapped around her, holding a celebratory glass of champagne Birthday Girl’s UK civil aircraft registration, G-VNEW, reflects not only that it is Virgin’s latest aircraft but also the airline’s hopes that the Dreamliner will introduce a new era for customers and its own operations.

Deliveries G-VNEW (c/n 40956) made its first flight from Boeing’s Everett factory, outside Seattle, on September 23 and was delivered from there to Virgin’s Gatwick base on October 10. It’s the first of 17 Dreamliners to enter service with Virgin over the next four years, with the second due in November. Next year, the third should arrive in January, the fourth in February and aircraft five, six and seven in April, June and August respectively. Numbers eight and nine are scheduled for November with the tenth in January 2016. The handover schedule for the others is yet to be announced.

Crew Training After Birthday Girl arrived, Virgin began training flights across the UK to build pilot and cabin crew experience in operating the aircraft. “We have upwards of 40 trained 787 pilots, including 18 instructors/examiners,” a Virgin Atlantic spokeswoman stated. “By the end of 2014, we will have 55 pilots to cover the flying

8

AI.11.14

programme for our first three aircraft.” Virgin is aiming to train approximately 2,000 cabin crew – almost half its total number – on the 787 by April 2015. “[Cabin crew] aircraft conversion training traditionally consists of a visit to the aircraft, followed by some practical and classroom training,” the spokeswoman explained. “Having a dependency on the aircraft limits the amount of training we can do and increases the time it takes to train all of our crew, especially if you only have one aircraft flying.” For this reason, Virgin is using what it calls a “virtual 787” [cabin mock-up] to instruct cabin crew. “In removing the need for the aircraft, we’re able to train as many people as our resources can handle,” she added.

Routes Virgin’s first 787-9 route is Heathrow to Boston. As AIR International went to press, Birthday Girl was scheduled to begin serving the airline’s sixtimes per week frequency to the Massachusetts airport on October 28. The deliveries of the next three aircraft will enable Virgin to place the type on its other US east coast services from Heathrow in coming months. From December 17, Dreamliners will be used on the daily Washington Dulles flight and, from January 19 next year, on one of the two daily rotations to New York Newark, Virgin’s first destination when it began operations in June 1984. Next March, the type will take over some of the airline’s flagship four daily services to New York JFK.

On Board Virgin’s Dreamliners are configured with 264 seats: 198 in economy class, 35 in premium

economy and 31 in Upper Class, the airline’s equivalent of first. Seat width is 18.9in (480mm) in economy, 21in (533mm) in premium economy and 34.5in (876mm) in Upper Class. Unveiling the first Dreamliner routes in the summer, the airline’s Chief Executive Officer, Craig Kreeger, said: “We know the Dreamliner will set us the bar to take [service levels] even further, bringing with it new innovations and a cutting edge product.” But the Dreamliner’s cabin novelties – including anti-turbulence sensors to create a smoother ride, large dimmable windows, lower air pressure (equivalent to 6,000ft/1,828m rather than the standard 8,000ft/2,438m) and LED mood lighting – are offered by competing airlines, such as British Airways, that also fly 787s. So what sets Virgin’s Dreamliners apart? “Passengers will enjoy a new iteration of the Upper Class Suite, which incorporates all of the popular features of this [cabin] along with some new design elements,” the spokeswoman responded. The airline had yet to announce what those “new elements” were at the time of going to press. Upper Class already has a bar, and passengers enjoy seats that convert into fully-flat beds as well as 12.1in (307mm) touchscreen monitors, a flip-down cocktail table, a push panel armrest and a fullyadjustable reading light. The premium economy cabin has been refreshed for the 787-9 to include the Wander Wall, which Virgin describes as “a social space where customers can stretch their legs and mingle with other passengers”. And the airline claims the economy-class Recaro 3620 seats are the “comfiest in the sky”.

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

NEWS REPORT City, it was due to be streamed live over the internet as the 787-9 crossed the Atlantic.

Replacement

yGirl Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi connectivity throughout the 787-9s will let passengers use their mobile devices to surf the web, email, text, and make and receive phone calls via the AeroMobile service. Every seat has a Panasonic in-flight entertainment (IFE) system with movies, TV shows, audio and games. In September, Betria Interactive announced Virgin had selected its FlightPath3D Moving Map and geotainment service to be introduced to the seatback IFE across the airline’s fleet. Geotainment is a new trend in IFE that uses multimedia content presented to passengers about the locations over which they are flying. FlightPath3D uses the on-board Wi-Fi

Virgin Atlantic Airways is the first European airline to operate the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Mark Broadbent reports

to present detailed, photo-realistic satellite imagery of the earth passing below as the flight progresses. Passengers can zoom in on specific points of geographical interest to learn more. There are guides featuring detailed street maps and multimedia data for more than 25,000 locations worldwide. Virgin is the fourth airline to introduce FlightPath3D after Norwegian Air Shuttle, Air France and KLM. To highlight the Dreamliner’s Wi-Fi and satellite communications connectivity, Virgin was due to stage the first-ever live in-flight gig on October 23 as Birthday Girl flew from Heathrow to Atlanta, the home base of Virgin’s 49% shareholder Delta Air Lines. Featuring sets from UK acts Rudimental and Gorgon

The Dreamliner is set to become an increasingly familiar sight in Virgin livery: by 2018 the type will account for 40% of the airline’s fleet as the twin-jets steadily replace ageing and increasingly fuel-inefficient types. The fourth Dreamliner’s delivery early next year will enable Virgin to retire its last A340300, a type it has used since 1993. Further A340-600s and Boeing 747-400s will be phased out as more 787-9s arrive. Virgin says the Dreamliners will use 21% less fuel per seat, emit 20% fewer emissions than the outgoing A340-300s and generate 60% less noise. And the airline’s Dreamliner purchases may not be over. It has options to buy another four 787-9s and Chairman Sir Richard Branson told Bloomberg in May the carrier is assessing the stretched 787-10, saying, “it would make lot of sense for us to have some -10s”. On launching the variant in June 2013, Boeing said the aircraft is being designed to bring high capacity (323 seats in a three-class layout) for popular trunk routes.

Network While the smaller 787-8, which entered airline service in 2011, was created primarily for ‘thin’ long-haul routes – where demand is not large enough for a larger twinjet to serve it economically – the ‘Dash Nine’ Dreamliner is designed to bring extensive range (8,000-8,500nm/14,800-15,700km) to the middle segment of the widebody aircraft market, covering 250-300 seats. Virgin told AIR International that, for now, “it makes the most operational sense to have [its 787s] on some of our shorter east coast USA services,” to build up flight deck and crew hours. But it added: “The 787-9 is a very versatile aircraft and would work well on any of our routes. Because the aircraft will bring the greatest benefit in fuel efficiency on longer sectors, our future deployment plans are likely to include some longer-haul routes. “We will reveal more on this in due course. We do not have any current plans to introduce new routes using the 787-9, but we keep our network under constant review and flexible according to the aviation landscape.”

Virgin’s 787-9 In Numbers

1721%

8000 nautical mile range

aircraft ordered

lower fuel burn

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

264

seats AI.11.14

9

NEWS REPORT

First Strike by America’s Silver Bullet

T

David C Isby outlines the F-22 Raptor’s debut combat mission over Syria he US Air Force’s Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor stealth fighter went into combat for the first time on the night of September 23. An unspecified number of F-22s took part in the initial strike against ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) targets in Syria. “They did very, very well the other night — very well,” a US Department of Defense spokesman said on September 24. The F-22s, in Block 35 configuration, were among six assigned to the 27th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron that have been deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They were all from the last 25 aircraft built and are

10

AI.11.14

deployed from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, home of the 1st Fighter Wing. On the night, the F-22s were apparently tasked as offensive counter air aircraft leading the strike package – they delivered 1,000lb (454kg) GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) – see panel. No air targets were reported to have been engaged, but video footage was released showing an F-22 attacking what was said to be an ISIL command and control facility (captured from the Syrian military) at ArRaqqah. It showed a non-contact explosion demolishing rooftop radio equipment while leaving the building standing. In a statement State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: “We warned Syria not to engage US aircraft. We did not request the regime’s permission. We did not co-ordinate our actions with the Syrian

Government. We did not provide advance notification to the Syrians at a military level, or give any indication of our timing on specific targets.” While it has been weakened by years of civil war, Syria has one of the densest and most sophisticated integrated air defence systems in the developing world. In addition to F-22s, other US aircraft in the initial strike included fighters armed with air-to-air and anti-radiation missiles. US Navy Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowlers took part in a stand-off electronic role. However, Lt Gen William Mayville, Director of Operations for the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a press conference on September 24, that the Syrians did not turn on their radars or oppose the strike. Other American aircraft participating in the initial strike included Boeing F-15E Strike

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

NEWS REPORT planned, such as changes to the on-board oxygen generator fitted in response to operational problems. Despite the existence of a programme designed to give all F-22s a common configuration, this has not been possible. While the top-of-theline combinations are over represented in the high-readiness units at Langley and Elmendorf Air Force Base, most others operate a mix of Blocks each of which has a different upgrade: increment 2.0 and 3.1 (the 3.2 is likely to join them in the future). This complicates both operations (upgraded F-22s will automatically share information that has to be read to the pilots of earlier increments, who must manually enter data into the flight computer) and maintenance (the same part built for an F-22 of one block may not be interchangeable with an identical one from another block due to a difference in software). The Block 35 configuration brought together the side-looking synthetic

array radar, electronic attack, satellite communication and data link compatibility introduced with the Block 30, with additional processing power and the enhanced stores management system. The latter allows a wider weapons integration, while earlier versions require more extensive modernisation. The Raptors that carried out the attacks on Syria were Block 35s probably with the 3.1 upgrade. By August 2014, the US Air Force had fitted 69 (with a further ten to follow by the end of the calendar year) F-22s with increment 3.1 upgrades and will complete all combat-coded examples (about 144, excluding those out of service or set aside for training or development missions) by 2018. These have already received the 2.0 upgrade. Increment 3.1 adds synthetic aperture radar (SAR) ground mapping capability to the existing APG-77 AESA (advanced electronically scanned array) radar. Imagery

Above: A US Air Force KC-10 Extender refuels an F-22 Raptor after strike operations in Syria. Maj Jefferson Helland/US Air Force Main image: A pilot assigned to the 27th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron climbs into an F-22 Raptor

Eagles and F/A-18 Hornets, Lockheed Martin F-16s and Rockwell B-1Bs. Also used were 47 Raytheon Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles including an unspecified number of the Tactical Tomahawk Block IV version. Over 200 precision-guided munitions were released on the first night over Syria, compared to 253 guided and unguided munitions delivered against targets in Iraq between August 8 and 11. After the initial strike, the F-22 has not been reported in action during further missions flown over Syria.

at Al Dhafra Air Base. The unit deployed to the US Central Command area of operations in late March. TSgt Russell Scalf/US Air Force Below: An F-22 Raptor taxies to the runway prior to strike operations in Syria on September 23, 2014. These aircraft were part of a large coalition strike package that was the first to strike ISIL targets in Syria. TSgt Russell Scalf/US Air Force

Block 35 The Raptors used over Syria were drawn from a current force consisting of about 34 Block 20, 63 Block 30 and 86 Block 35 airframes. The F-22 force has incorporated upgrades, both pre-planned and un-

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

AI.11.14

11

NEWS REPORT

Above left & right: Airmen prepare to load an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile into the left hand side internal weapons bay of an F-22. Jim Haseltine Opposite: An F-22, in the markings of the now stood down 7th Fighter Squadron based at Holloman Air Force Base, drops an inert 1,000lb GBU-32 JDAM on White Sands weapon range: the same class of munition used by F-22s on September 23 against ISIL targets in Syria. Jim Haseltine

generated by the SAR mode is used for targeting purposes and significantly increases the aircraft’s precision strike capability. The SAR mode also enables the pilot to self-designate targets and use a GBU-32 JDAM for the strike. Electronic attack is the other big addition

GBU-32 JOINT DIRECT ATTACK MUNITION (JDAM) The GBU-32 JDAM is similar to the GBU31 but uses a KMU-559 guidance set to convert existing unguided free-fall 1,000lb (454kg) class warheads into more accurate munitions. The tail kit, which also houses selective availability anti-spoofing modules, is bolted onto one of two different types of 1,000lb class warhead, the Mk83 or the BLU-110 blast fragmentation version. An F-22 pilot can either load target co-ordinates into the aircraft’s stores management system prior to take-off or in flight. When a JDAM is selected it will power up using its internal battery, check the system, confirm to the pilot it is ‘on’ and that the BIT (built in test) is successful, align its INS with data from the aircraft, perform all targeting and transfer requirements and signal when ready. Once pilots see they are within the launchacceptable region, they ‘pickle’ the weapon and, within about a second, final checks are made and the JDAM is released. In flight the INS/GPS set guides the bomb to the designated target via control fin adjustments. The GBU-32 has an average CEP (circular error probable) of less than 10m (32.8ft), based on the results of dropping 450 munitions during testing. The GBU-32’s specifications depend on the warhead. Mk83 GBU-32 is 119.6 inches (3.03m) long, weighs 1,014lb/1,029lb (459kg/466kg) and has a warhead diameter of 19.6 inches (497mm). BLU-110 GBU-32(V)1 is 119.6 inches (3.03m) long, weighs 1,029lb (466kg) and has a warhead diameter of 19.6 inches (497mm).

12

AI.11.14

to the Raptor’s kinetic arsenal gained with increment 3.1 software. Equipped with an improved geolocation capability provided by upgraded passive sensors, 3.1 software increases the focusing ability of the APG77’s radar beam enabling it to either jam or damage the threat emitter’s own radar. While increment 3.1 makes it possible for an F-22 to carry eight Boeing GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs (a 250lb/113kg guided munition) internally, these were reportedly not used over Syria. Increment 3.1’s SDB launch capability is restricted to two targets. A multiple GBU-39 launch capability is set for the more comprehensive increment 3.2, which is intended to integrate Raytheon’s AIM-120D AMRAAM and AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II missiles and upgrade other onboard capabilities. Increment 3.2 has been upgraded to a standalone Major Defense Acquisition Program and divided into two parts, 3.2A (installation to start in July 2015 and complete in 2017) and 3.2B (installation to start in 2020 and complete in 2022). These are at the heart of a multi-year upgrade programme that will transform the F-22 from a single-mission air superiority fighter with limited connectivity to a networked multi-mission combat aircraft while retaining the advantages of stealth and supercruise capabilities and their designed-in survivability. Only when the increment 3.2 upgrade is fully implemented will the Block 35 capabilities be operational.

The Threat: Syria Before the current civil war started, Syria had the most formidable integrated air defence system (IADS) in the developing world. Israel’s defeat of Syrian fighters and surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) in the 1973 and 1982 wars led each time to increased investment, purchases from the Soviet Union and the arrival of Soviet advisors. Even though Syrian air defence combat operations since 1982 had been limited, it

was seen as a key element of the country’s national security strategy and it carried out training and maintenance activities comparable with those of world-class forces. Syria fielded around 320 S-75 Dvina (SA-2 Guideline), 148 S-125 Pechora (SA3 Goa), 44 S-200 Angara (SA-5 Gammon) and 195 2J12 Kub (SA-6 Gainful) launchers, plus about 4,000 man-portable SAM launchers. The number of missiles perhaps made up for what Syria may have lacked in technology. These were backed up by some 70 fighters, the most modern being Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrums. Even after its Soviet patronage came to an end, the Syrians were willing to pay hard currency to Russia to keep up this capability. This was shown to be the case in 2007 when Israel decided to take direct military action against Syria’s incipient nuclear programme. The United States, despite the urging of then-Vice President Dick Cheney, declined to do so. To penetrate the Syrian IADS Israeli jets made the first reported use of electronic attack technology, remotely inserting misleading information or disabling instructions through Syrian radars. This brought Israel’s strikers and their escorts to the target and back without opposition. The IADS had been temporarily paralyzed, not permanently defeated. Since 2007, the Syrians had lost many elements of the IADS, especially remote radar stations and SAMs. But the system’s backbone remains. Therefore when the US faced the problem of conducting air operations against insurgent targets in Syria, even if tacit cooperation with the regime in Damascus was given, it had no assurance in advance that the system itself would respond. A response could have come from resentful patriots or insurgent sympathizers looking to scramble MiGs or launch SAMs without orders at US aircraft dropping bombs on Syria. The situation inside Syria meant there

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

NEWS REPORT

were multiple threats. Syrian insurgents, including but not limited to ISIL, were known to have captured SAM sites. In addition, they had received SAMs from former Libyan stockpiles. Most of these were 9K338 Igla (SA-24 Grinch) man-portable systems, so US aircraft could fly above their effective envelopes. However, the insurgents had demonstrated their ability to shoot down Syrian combat aircraft. This is why the situation in Syria called for

the combat use of the F-22, a fighter that can operate and survive even in the face of an unsuppressed IADS. In the event, the Syrians did not engage the strikers. But if they – or someone else in control of parts of the IADS – had decided to, the F-22 offered a means to conduct the raid without running too-high a risk of losing aircraft. Fortunately no one took a shot at the F-22s or any of the other strikers over Syria. The likelihood that such an action would

not have turned out well, doubtless played a part in the Damascus regime’s politically hard decision to let the US carry out a strike on Syrian territory. Six more F-22s from the 95th Fighter Squadron based at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida and part of the 325th Fighter Wing transited through Morón Air Base in Spain on September 29. The Tyndall aircraft were en route to the US Central Command area of operations which includes Syria and Iraq.

AI.11.14

13

UK

Tornados Back in Action in Iraq RAF Tornados continue to fly armed reconnaissance sorties over Iraq. Initial strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants in Iraq were conducted by RAF Panavia Tornados on September 30. Two aircraft operating from RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus supported Kurdish forces under attack by ISIL in northwest Iraq. A Paveway IV laser-guided bomb

was used on a target highlighted by the Litening III pod carried by the aircraft. A Brimstone air-tosurface missile was also launched against an armed pick-up truck. Combat operations by British aircraft against ISIL targets in Iraq was authorised by a vote in Parliament on September 26. The proposal specifically ruled out attacks on the militants operating in Syria. British military action

Tornado Squadron Reprieved Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed on October 2 that the RAF would retain a third frontline squadron of Tornado GR4s for a further year. No.II(AC) Squadron had been due to disband on March 2015 and re-form the following month as the Eurofighter Typhoon’s operational conversion unit, which is currently No.29(R) Squadron. Nos.12(B) and 617 Squadron were disbanded in March (adding to Two Tornado GR4 Squadrons to Disband, September 2013, p8), leaving four RAF units flying the Tornado. No.II(AC) Squadron will remain based at RAF Marham, Norfolk, alongside the Tornadoequipped Nos.9 and 31 Squadrons. Operational conversion training for the fighter-bomber takes place at RAF Lossiemouth, Morayshire, by No.XV(R) Squadron. Around 80 Tornado GR4s remain in service and the type is due to be retained until 2018/2019. The fleet has until recently supported three deployments. Eight are based at RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus conducting operations against ISIL militants in Iraq, known as Operation Shader (see Tornados Back in Action in Iraq, above). At least six are based at Kandahar airfield supporting British and allied forces in Afghanistan; No.31 Squadron began the final detachment there in midSeptember (see Final Afghan Tornado Deployment Under Way, October, p5). The aircraft is due to be withdrawn from the country before the end of the year. The three Tornadoes deployed to N’Djamena in Chad for Operation Turus, the hunt for the kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls, were due to return home to RAF Marham during October (adding to Tornados to Chad, October, p6).

14

AI.11.14

against ISIL has been assigned the title Operation Shader. RAF Tornados flew their first armed reconnaissance sorties over Iraq on September 27. After the initial release of weapons on September 30, expenditure of further munitions was announced by the Ministry of Defence on October 1, 2 and 5. Three Tornados arrived on Cyprus on August 12 (see RAF

Assets Muster for Possible Attack on Iraqi Militants, September, p4). They were joined by three more aircraft later the same month. On October 2, during an unannounced visit to RAF Akrotiri, Prime Minister David Cameron revealed that another two would be deployed to support Operation Shader. The first arrived on the day of the announcement and the second on October 3.

RAF Crews Training on A400M Prototype The third prototype Airbus Defence and Space A400M Grizzly F-WWMS (msn 003) has been used by RAF crews to undertake training on the type at Seville, Spain. A number of touch-and-goes were conducted on September 11 with a mixed Airbus and RAF crew. Training with this prototype were carried out for almost a week, until the first RAF A400M (EC-404, to be ZM400) resumed flights on September 15. The service’s first Atlas was expected to be handed over in September, but nothing had been confirmed by early October. Roberto Yáñez

RAF Tornado Participates in First Flight Anniversary

Tornado GR4 ZD844/‘107’ of No.15(R) Squadron acquired special tail markings to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first flight of the then Panavia Multi-Role Combat Aircraft. An event was held on September 16 at Manching in Germany – from where the prototype made its maiden flight – during which specially-marked German, Italian and British Tornados flew in formation (see Tornado Anniversary Celebrated in Style, p15). Michael Baulter/ MBAviation Images Photography

RAF Typhoons Deploy for Bersama Lima 2014 Six Eurofighter Typhoon FGA4 fighters from No.3(F) Squadron at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, deployed to Butterworth in Malaysia in early October. The fighters will participate in Exercise Bersama Lima 2014, a Five Powers Defence Arrangement exercise held with Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia. The exercise was due to take place between October 12 and October 20. The Typhoons were supported during the flight from the UK by two RAF Airbus A330 Voyagers from No.10 Squadron, and a single No.99 Squadron Boeing C-17A Globemaster III. Nigel Pittaway

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

Europe

Tornado Anniversary Celebrated in Style

A ceremony was held at Manching airfield in Germany on September 16 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first flight of the Panavia Tornado. Tornado IDS 44+61, from Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 33, was painted to represent the first prototype Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (P01, D-9591), later named the Tornado. The specially-painted aircraft, accompanied by Italian and British examples with 40th year markings on their tails, performed a three-ship formation flypast at the event. P01 completed its maiden flight from Manching on August 14, 1974. Michael Balter/MBAviationImages Photography

Upgraded Rafale Arrives at Landivisiau Dassault Rafale M M10 was redelivered to the French Navy air base at Landivisiau on October 7, where it was issued to Flottille 12F. The aircraft is the first Rafale built to F1 standard that has been upgraded to

F3. It was handed back to the French Navy by Dassault at its BordeauxMérignac facility on October 3. Ten early F1s will be upgraded as F3s by 2017. At the time M10 returned to service, the French Navy

RNLAF F-16s Deploy to Jordan The Koninklijke Luchtmacht (Royal Netherlands Air Force, RNLAF) deployed eight F-16AM Fighting Falcons – including two operational reserves – and some 250 personnel to Jordan in early October. The aircraft departed for the Middle East following the Dutch government’s decision on September 24 to join the international coalition supporting the democratic Iraqi Government in the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Taking off from Leeuwarden AB, three F-16AMs (J-144, J-515 and J-871) were ferried to Muwaffaq Salti AB near Azraq on October 1. A fourth aircraft (J-628) returned to Leeuwarden, reportedly due to a technical issue. A further five F-16AMs (J-002, J-008, J-055, J-512 and J-514) left Volkel AB the next day, but returned there a few hours later, apparently because the supporting McDonnell Douglas KDC-10 tanker/transport (T-235) suffered a malfunction. On October 3, the same five jets arrived in Jordan, again supported

by KDC-10 T-235. A sixth F-16AM (J-061) acted as an air spare, eventually landing at Leeuwarden later that day. The Dutch F-16s flew their first missions over Iraq on October 5, followed by their first combat strike on October 7. On that occasion three laser-guided 500lb (227kg) GBU-12 bombs were used to hit armed ISIL pick-up trucks. At Muwaffaq Salti AB, the RNLAF detachment is co-operating with a Belgian Air Force detachment comprising six F-16AMs (plus two reserves) and 120 personnel. Support equipment and supplies for the RNLAF detachment were brought to Jordan via a series of transport flights, at least three of which were conducted by Antonov Design Bureau-owned An-124100M Ruslan UR-82008, flying from Leeuwarden and Eindhoven ABs. As is the case for the aircraft of several other coalition partners, the Dutch F-16s are only mandated to operate over Iraq. It is envisaged the aircraft could be in the region for up to a year. Kees van der Mark

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

had 27 Rafale F3s. The F1 aircraft were delivered equipped for the air defence role. Later standards added air-to-ground and reconnaissance capabilities, with all F2s having been updated as F3s, a relatively simple

process. Bringing the F1s to the same standard requires more work and a dedicated programme was agreed with Dassault and partners in 2009. Nine of them were stored at Landivisiau from June 2008.

Last TLP Course of 2014

Taking off from Albacete AB on September 19 is Czech Air Force Aero Vodochody L-159A Advanced Light Combat Aircraft 6063, one of three from 212 Taktická Letka deployed to Spain to participate in TLP flying course 2014-5. Roberto Yáñez

The final Tactical Leadership Program (TLP) flying course 2014-5 took place at Albacete from September 15 to October 10. The course included pilots and aircraft from eight nations: the Czech Republic (212 Taktická Letka Aero Vodochody ˇ áslav); Denmark L-159As from C (F-16AM Fighting Falcons from Skrydstrup); Germany (Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 31 EF-2000 Typhoons from Nörvenich and Aufklärungsgeschwader 51 Tornados from Schleswig-Jagel); France (Escadron de Chasse 2/4 ‘Lafayette’ Dassault Mirage 2000Ns from Istres); Greece

(331 Mira Mirage 2000EGs from Tanagra); Italy (36° and 37° Stormo EF-2000s from Gioia del Colle and 51° Stormo AMX ACOL from Istrana); Spain (Ala 14 EF-2000s from Albacete, Ala 46 F/A-18A Hornets from Gando and Ala 12 F-18Ms from Torrejón) and Turkey (151 Filo F-16C/Ds from Merzifon). Acting as the ‘red air’ forces were Greek Mirage 2000EGs from 332 Mira; Swiss F-18Cs from Fliegerstaffel 11; British Aerospace Hawk T1s from No.100 Squadron; 4° Stormo EF-2000s; F-16C/Ds from Turkey’s 142 Filo and Spanish Ala11 EF-2000s and Ala 74 Casa C101 Aviojets. Roberto Yáñez

AI.11.14

15

Europe

Belgium Alpha Jet Anniversaries

Dassault Alpha Jet 1B+ AT-29 (c/n B2901139) has received special markings to celebrate two significant milestones by the type within the Composante Aérienne (Belgium Defence - Air Component). The starboard side of the tail commemorates 35 years of service with Belgium. On the other side, the aircraft wears artwork to mark the tenth anniversary of the formation of the Advanced Jet Training School, based at Cazaux in southern France. Benoît Denet

Elliniki Polemiki Aeroporia (Hellenic Air Force) Beechcraft T-6A Texan II 037 appeared at the Third Athens Flying Week at Tatoi on September 28. It is operated by 361 Mira Ekpedefseos Aeros (Air Training Squadron) ‘Mystras’ of the 120 Pteriga Ekpedefseos Aeros (Air Training Wing) based at Kalamata. On its tail is a representation of the winged figure from the unit’s badge, with silhouettes of the Texan and the Cessna T-37 previously flown. The artwork was applied for the unit’s 50th anniversary in 2013. Antonios Sacketos

Belgian F-16s Return from Afghanistan 3. As part of Operation Guardian Falcon, initially four and later six F-16s flown out of Kandahar Airfield from September 1, 2008,

in support of the International Security Assistance Force. They flew the last of 2,840 missions on September 28. Kees van der Mark

Ten Years of German Typhoons

Eurofighter Typhoon 30+47 has received tail art to mark ten years of operations by the type in Luftwaffe service. The fighter is assigned to Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 73 ‘Steinhoff’, based at Rostock-Laage. The unit received its first Typhoon on April 30, 2004. Jens Schymura

16

AI.11.14

SWISS TIGERS TO BE RETIRED

Switzerland will decommission its remaining 54 Northrop F-5E/F Tiger IIs by 2020. The decision was announced on September 22 when the National Council adopted Armaments Program 2014. The aircraft were due to be replaced by 22 Saab JAS39 Gripen Es, but procurement was halted by a ‘no’ vote in a public referendum on May 18.

French Air Strikes in Iraq

Mystras Texan

After more than six years of continuous operations over Afghanistan, Belgian F-16 Fighting Falcons returned home on October

54

NEWS BY NUMBERS

Three additional Armée de l’Air (French Air Force) Dassault Rafales were deployed to Base Aérienne 104 at Al Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates on October 5. The aircraft are from Escadron de Chasse 1/7 ‘Provence’ and 2/30 ‘NormandieNiemen’ at St Dizier. The aircraft bolster six examples from Escadron de Chasse 3/30 ‘Lorraine’ already based there to undertake sorties against ISIL forces in Iraq as part of the French Opération Chammal. France announced its first strikes on targets in Iraq on September 19. Two Rafale fighter-bombers were reported to have attacked and destroyed a logistics depot in northeast Iraq. The Rafales were armed with 500lb (227kg) GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs. Tanker support was provided by a French Air Force Boeing C-135FR Stratotanker, which deployed to Al Dhafra on September 14. French Navy Dassault Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft, from Flotille 23F based at Lann Bihoué, deployed to Al Dhafra at the beginning of September and provided poststrike assessment. The target had been identified by the crew of an Atlantique 2 on September 17 conducting the type’s first combat mission over Iraq, a 10-hour sortie. This was followed by a reconnaissance mission over the target involving two RECO NG-pod equipped Rafales. These aircraft had already flown combat reconnaissance over Iraq on September 15 and 16. All of the Rafale sorties were conducted in daylight until October 2, when the aircraft hit targets around Mosul at night. David C Isby and David Willis

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

Russia & CIS

Bears First ‘Trade’ for Relocated QRA North

Two Tupolev Tu-95 Bear-Hs were intercepted over the North Sea by RAF Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4s on September 16. The scramble was the first Quick

Reaction Alert (Interceptor) North by the aircraft operating from RAF Lossiemouth, Morayshire, since the base took over the role on September

1. The relocation of the duty followed the move of Nos.1(F) and 6 Squadrons to the base from RAF Leuchars in Fife. The Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily Rossii

(Russian Air Force) bombers, based at Engels AB in Saratov Oblast, were intercepted approaching UK airspace by No.6 Squadron Typhoons.

Tupolev Tu-95MS Bear-H RF-94122/‘20’ red (c/n 34666) named Dubna, shadowed by Typhoon ZK317/‘ES’ on September 16. MoD/Crown

Large Scale Exercises in Russia’s Far East An air defence exercise in Russia’s Eastern Military District (EMD) in early September involved Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker fighters, Su-24M Fencers and Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot attack aircraft, as well as multiple types of surfaceto-air missiles. During the exercise Su-25s operated from a highway strip in Primoye krai. The first mission on September 5 was flown by Colonel Aleksandr Aripov, commanding officer of the 18th Attack Aviation Regiment. It was followed by Vostok, a multiservice rapid response training exercise held between September 11 and 18. Aircraft participating from elsewhere in Russia included Mikoyan MiG-31 Foxhound fighters,

Su-24M bombers and Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft, and Antonov An-12 Cub transports from the Central Military District. During the exercise, EMD Su-27s, Su-35Ss and Su-30SMs and Su-24Ms dispersed to forward operating bases, as did Dal’ney Aviatsii (Long Range Aviation) Tupolev Tu-95MS Bear-H and Tu-22M3 Backfire-C bombers. The bombers flew missions in support of the Pacific Fleet and were refuelled by Ilyushin Il-78 Midas tankers. The exercise’s parachute dropping component, which took place over the island of Sakhalin, included the first use of Antonov An-124 Ruslan transports in the role. A total of 632 aircraft participated in the exercise. David C Isby

Antonov Seeks Support for An-70 Ukraine’s Antonov State Enterprise is trying to find foreign partners to help keep the An-70 programme viable and an investor to fund production. Flight trials of the transport have been completed, but Antonov says it does not have access to sufficient funds to establish a production line. The An-70 was originally developed for the Ukraine and Russia, but the latter’s annexation of Crimea and involvement in the conflict in the east of the country has ended co-operation in the programme. Russia withdrew its financial support for the aircraft’s development and creation of a viable production line in late 2013, putting the programme into doubt. Antonov currently has only one order, covering a batch of five aircraft placed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, but no funding has been allocated so far and may not materialise. Chances of finding foreign partners interested

in purchasing An-70s are widely regarded as slim. Antonov’s Director General, Dmitry Kiva, revealed in early October, that while there has been no formal notice from the Russians about withdrawing from the An-70 programme, cooperation and funding support have been terminated. The Ukrainian partners decided in early 2014 to complete the flight test programme without any Russian participation. Mr Kiva said the final protocol for the completion of An-70 flight tests was signed on June 5 and the aircraft was recommended for entry into service with the Ukrainian Air Force. High-ranking Russian representatives, including the United Aircraft Corp’s Military Aircraft Programmes Manager, Vladimir Mikhailov, have stated that they do not see the An-70 as a baseline type for the Russian Air Force’s Military Transport Aviation command. Alexander Mladenov

Russian Crimean Fighter Regiment to Get Su-30M2 The Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily Rossii (VVS, Russian Air Force) fighter regiment due to be established at Belbek airfield, near Sevastopol in the Crimea Federal District, is set to

receive an undisclosed number of Sukhoi Su-30M2 multi-role two-seat fighters by the end of the year. VVS Commander-in-Chief, Colonel General Viktor Bondaryov, confirmed

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

the news on October 10, during a joint acceptance ceremony for Su-30M2s and Su-35s held at the Russian Ministry of Defence’s National Command Centre.

It is believed the Belbek regiment will be equipped with Sukhoi Su-27SM Flankers and will take at least two Su-30M2s on strength. Alexander Mladenov

AI.11.14

17

NEWS COLUMN

B-52 Boost, C-2 Break-up, C-17 B by Robert F Dorr The idea of prolonging the service life of the B-52 Stratofortress by installing new engines came up again in October after having been proposed and rejected two decades ago. Lt Gen Stephen Wilson, head of Air Force Global Strike Command, told reporters he has been conferring with engine manufacturers, who say that a new, off-the-shelf powerplant for the B-52 “could save us 25-30% on fuel” and ease logistics and maintenance costs.

In September 1996, Boeing formally proposed replacing the B-52’s eight Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbofan engines with four Rolls-Royce RB211-535 turbofan engines. The reduction in the number of powerplants reflects the quantum leap in engine thrust that has occurred since the B-52s were manufactured. Also in 1996, Boeing’s Dick Iverson said the B-52 fleet could be re-engined “with no up-front costs and substantial, long-term savings.” General Ronald Fogleman, air force chief of staff at the time, said he liked the idea – but the money was never forthcoming and the reengining didn’t happen. A Boeing official told AIR International the planemaker would gladly reconsider a re-engining effort today for

the current fleet of 75 aircraft (down from 94 in 1996) but that, “we would want to know there is a serious interest.” Given the priority assigned to the Long Range StrikeBomber project, it is open to question whether the Pentagon or Congress has much heart for a new B-52 powerplant effort at this time. The B-52 enjoys better reliability rates and lower operating costs than the air force’s 56 B-1B Lancers and 19 B-2 Spirits and has no structural fatigue issues. Wilson said it could remain in service “until 2040”, with or without new engines.

Go Tell the Spartans The US Air Force announced on October 8 that wrecking crews had completed the

destruction of 16 Alenia C-27A Spartan tactical airlifters – identified in a press release by an older name, Fiat G222 – purchased for the Afghanistan Air Force at a price of $486 million. Acquired in 2008 and 2009 along with four more examples that were never delivered, the fleet logged a mere 234 hours because Afghanistan had too few pilots qualified to fly them and almost no mechanics certified to maintain them. Two separate Pentagon watchdog offices looked into the status of the aircraft. One was told it would cost a further $200 million to keep the C-27As airworthy at Kabul Airport, where they spent much of their time basking in the sun. John Sopko, Special

The first A-29B Super Tucano for the Afghan Air Force, serial number 13-2001, at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, on September 26, 2014. Airman 1st Class Dillian Bamman/US Air Force

18

AI.11.14

Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, filed a report that led to the aircraft being towed away from the apron at Kabul Airport and scrapped. According to the blog ‘War is Boring’, $486 million worth of C-27As yielded a monetary return of $32,000 as scrap metal. The first A-29B Super Tucano light attack aircraft for Afghanistan arrived on September 29 at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, where the newly formed 81st Fighter Squadron will

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

NEWS COLUMN

-27A 7 Bed-down

helicopters and a handful of L-159 light attack aircraft – with US foreign military sales dollars – remains unfulfilled at press time and it is unclear whether Iraq will proceed with plans to buy South Korea’s T-50 Golden Eagle jet trainer to hone its F-16 pilots. Iraq also wants to acquire its own AH-64 Apache battlefield helicopters, like those that US soldiers took into battle against ISIL in Iraq’s Anbar Province on October 5. Because the US dismantled the former armed forces of Saddam Hussein, Iraq shares with Afghanistan a paucity of junior, trained service members for military aviation duties.

Airlifters and the Unmanned

Could the US Air Force be pursuing a new powerplant for the B-52H fleet? SSgt Vernon Young Jr/US Air Force

train 30 Afghan pilots and 90 maintainers in the type over the next four years. Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and Embraer have the $427 million contract for the Brazilian-designed aircraft, 20 of which are being assembled for Afghanistan at the Northside plant in Jacksonville, Florida. SNC says the A-29B programme is on schedule. Representative Ander Crenshaw, Republican of Florida, said the A-29B is the result of “a lot of time, energy, blood, sweat and

tears to help [Afghanistan] become an independent nation” – although it has been one for centuries. Most observers say Afghanistan is still far from having the infrastructure and trained personnel to operate 20 A-29Bs. Although it was not used as justification when the purchase was initiated, US officials now say the A-29Bs will replace Afghan Mil Mi35 Hind attack helicopters, which have logged few sorties because of the need for trained personnel.

The C-27A fiasco constitutes an extreme situation, but US aid to the air forces of Iraq and Afghanistan faces other challenges. Although the first Block 52 F-16IQ Fighting Falcon for Iraq was formally delivered at the Fort Worth, Texas assembly plant as long ago as June 12, the airframe remains in the Lone Star State while a besieged regime struggles to defend Baghdad Airport against ISIL. Iraq’s plan to acquire seven Mil Mi-24 Hind attack

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

The 167th Airlift Wing, West Virginia Air National Guard at Martinsburg received its first C-17 Globemaster III transport on September 25 and is currently transitioning from the C-5A Galaxy. The unit’s C-5A airframes will be retired. The 107th Airlift Wing, New York Air National Guard at Niagara Falls completed its final mission in the C-130H Hercules, also on September 25, and is soon to take on operations with the MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft. In September, the Inspector General of the Defense Department questioned an air force plan to procure 401 Reapers. In response, air force officials quickly changed their planned buy to 346 Reapers and said they have received only half that many so far. The service says Reapers have now flown 700,000 hours, mostly in combat.

AI.11.14

19

North America

Market Garden Commemorative Operations From September 14 until 21 commemorative events were held in the southern part of the Netherlands to mark the 70th anniversary of Operation Market Garden – the largest allied airborne operation of World War Two. To support activities marking the occasion, four US Air National Guard Lockheed C-130 Hercules flew out of Eindhoven AB for more than a week. Two C-130Hs (91-1236 and 91-1237) from 165th Airlift Squadron (AS), 123rd Airlift Wing (AW) based at LouisvilleStandiford Field, Kentucky, arrived on September 10. They were joined three days later by another two (80-0320 and 80-0322) from the 158th AS, 165th AW, based at Savannah International Airport, Georgia. In addition, two Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Hercules (06-8612/‘RS’ and 07-8608/‘RS’) from the Ramstein, Germanybased 86th AW, 37th AS, arrived on September 18. Also involved in the commemorations were single aircraft from the Belgian Defence – Air Component (C-130H CH-03), the Royal Netherlands Air Force (C-130H-30 G-273) and Royal Air Force (Hercules C5

At Eindhoven AB in the Netherlands on September 20 are C-130H Hercules 91-1236 from the Kentucky ANG’s 165th Airlift Squadron (AS), 123rd Airlift Wing (AW) and C-130H 80-0320 from Georgia ANG’s 158th AS, 165th AW. Kees van der Mark

ZH881), while the German Air Force sent three C160D Transalls (50+59, 50+97 and 51+10) to Eindhoven and three Airbus C295Ms (013, 014 and 016) from the Polish Air Force. Unfortunately, the majority of the

parachute droppings planned for the main celebration, on September 20, had to be cancelled due to fog in the morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon. To support an event at Grave, on September

17, five Germany-based US Army Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawks (83-23875, 86-24551, 88-26037, 88-26071 and 89-26165) deployed to Gilze-Rijen AB from September 16 to 18. Kees van der Mark

First Flight of KC-46A Programme Delayed The first test flight by a Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker programme aircraft – a Boeing 7672C test platform without a boom or mission-specific equipment – has been pushed back to mid-to-late November. The first of two test KC-46As with refuelling booms will fly in April next year. The delay reflects problems with

E-2D ARS PDR Completed The Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Aerial Refuelling System (ARS) has successfully completed its preliminary design review (PDR). The $228.7 million contract to develop the capability was announced in January. The PDR is a step towards providing an air-refuelling facility for retrofit to existing E-2Ds and inclusion in new production aircraft. The upgrade will include new pilot seats (for longer flights), formation lights and changes to control software. David C Isby

20

AI.11.14

internal wiring bundles. The KC-46A will have 120 miles (93km) of wiring, compared to 70 miles (113km) for a commercial 767. Inspections revealed that among the wire bundles designed for the KC-46A were some carrying both primary and secondary power sources for critical flight functions; so damage to a single bundle could

endanger the control of the aircraft. The wiring design has had to be audited and up to 10% of the wires rebundled to meet redundancy and survivability requirements. By September the USAF had already trained 11 KC-46A pilots through the Boeing commercial 767 training programme in Miami. They are now based at Boeing

ARL-M Transits Edinburgh

US Army de Havilland Canada EO-5C Airborne Reconnaissance Low – MultiMission N53993 (c/n 104) transited through Edinburgh Airport in Scotland on September 20 before departing later that day for Keflavik in Iceland on its way to the US. EO-5Cs are used to gather communication and imagery intelligence in low-threat areas. Chris Melasi

Field, Seattle, ready for the KC-46A test programme. Boom operators for the trials were due to start training in October. By the time the first 18 KC-46As are delivered in August 2017, as required by contract, the air force will already have 46 pilots and 32 boom operators for the type. David C Isby

Joint USBangladesh Naval Exercise A US Navy Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft joined Bangladesh Navy Dornier Do 228s for the Co-operation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise from September 25 to 30. The P-8A was based at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong for the duration of the event, which was held in international waters in the Bay of Bengal. Nigel Pittaway

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

2

C-145As IN HONDURAS

NEWS BY NUMBERS

A detachment of two USAF Special Operations Command PZLMielec C-145A Combat Coyotes, temporarily deployed to Colonel José Enrique Soto Cano-Palmerola AB in Honduras, rotated home through Roátan Island between September 12 and 15. At the same time, their replacements were outward bound to the base. The light transports are used to support US Southern Command operations in the region, and are understood to be assigned to Joint Task Force Bravo. The C-145As are operated by the 919th Special Operations Wing, 6th Special Operations Squadron, from Duke Field, Florida. David C Isby

GAO Challenges F-35 Sustainment Costs The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s sustainment costs will be higher than the aircraft it’s replacing in US service. It identified the combined operating and support costs of the Boeing F-15C/D Eagle, Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, Boeing AV-8B Harrier II and McDonnell Douglas F-A-18C/D Hornet fleets in fiscal year (FY) 2010 as exceeding $11 billion – compared to F-35 sustainment costs (in constantyear dollars, adjusted for inflation) in 2040, assuming production goes ahead as planned, of approximately $19.9 billion. Lt Gen Christopher Bogdan, head of the F-35 Program Office, while agreeing with much of the report, said the projections of future sustainment costs did not reflect improvements in learning, feedback and processes that have already begun to reduce the aircraft’s costs. David C Isby

North America

B-52H Test Launches ALCM Tenth CBP Orion

Upgraded

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Lockheed P-3B AEW&C Orion N144CS (c/n 5242, ex BuNo153446) was redelivered on September 23 after Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) work undertaken by Lockheed Martin. MLU adds new avionics and an update of the airborne early warning system’s computers. The aircraft is the tenth of 14 CBP Orions to be modernised, including a mixture of AEW&C and ‘slick’ aircraft. John Rossino/Lockheed Martin

SixthGeneration Fighter Work from FY 2018? The USAF’s sixth-generation fighter design programme, the F-X (Fighter Experimental), may be ready to go through its Department of Defense ‘Milestone A’ review by fiscal year (FY) 2018, as set out in the FY 2015 budget request. If the decision is approved, the programme would enter its technology development phase and end its material solutions analysis phase. The review will follow completion of the F-X Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) study. A range of F-X design options are being considered, including both manned and unmanned aircraft. Should it progress to production, the F-X will replace Boeing F-15 Eagles and Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons in the 2030s. David C Isby

ACC Commander Reluctant to Retire U-2 The US Air Force will replace its current force of 33 Lockheed Martin U-2S high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft with the Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Block 40 Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle, even though Air Combat Command’s chief, Gen Michael Hostage, said it was not the best military solution. Speaking on September 17 at the annual Air Force Association conference in Washington, DC, he said: “We’ll make the Global Hawk work; we’ll do the best we can with it, but it’s not the optimum military solution…Global Hawk will take eight years before it can meet 90% of the current capability of the US.” He added that the US Air Force is planning to develop a universal payload adapter, at a cost of some $487 million, to enable U-2 sensor and communications systems to be integrated with the Block 40.

US African Airlift Contract AAR Airlift has been awarded a $49m contract for personnel recovery airlift services in West Africa by the US Navy’s Naval Supply Systems Command. The company, which announced the deal on September 24, will provide personnel recovery, casualty evacuation and search and rescue services using helicopters and short take-off and landing aircraft on behalf of US Africa Command (US AFRICOM). They will be based in Niamey in Niger, and serve an area including Ghana, Mali, Togo, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Benin. The award follows a $34m contract by the US Transportation Command for helicopter services to US AFRICOM throughout Central Africa – which AAR was scheduled to begin work on in October. AAR Airlift will support ‘allied forces’ from a base in the Central African Republic while also serving the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Uganda. Guy Martin

David C Isby

B-52H Test Launches ALCM An unarmed Boeing AGM-86B Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) falls away from Boeing B-52H Stratofortress 61-0018/‘LA’ of the 2nd Bomb Wing, based at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. The weapon was launched over the Utah Test and Training Range on September 22 during a sortie for the Nuclear Weapons System Evaluation Program (NWSEP), known as ‘Combat Sledgehammer’. NWSEP evaluated the Eighth Air Force/Task Force 204’s ability to take a nuclear weapon from storage and deliver it on target. The 2nd BW is assigned to the Eighth Air Force (part of Air Force Global Strike Command) which is designated Task Force 204 by US Strategic Command. Staff Sgt Roidan Carlson/US Air Force

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

AI.11.14

21

NEWS COLUMN

Lightning at L by Rick Burgess The US Navy has decided to base its first operational F35C Lightning II strike fighter squadrons at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. It was announced on October 2, 2014 that: “A total of 100 F-35C aircraft in seven Pacific Fleet squadrons (ten aircraft per squadron) and the Fleet Replacement Squadron (30 aircraft) will be based at NAS Lemoore beginning in 2016.” The press release added: “The proposed action will be completed in the 2028 timeframe.”

The 100 F-35Cs will replace 70 F/A-18 strike fighters already based at Lemoore. Because there are only three strike fighter squadrons at Lemoore still equipped with F/A-18C Hornets, the aircraft being replaced by F-35Cs presumably will include some F/A-18E Super Hornets. The navy plans to equip each carrier air wing with two F-35C squadrons, some of which may be Marine Corps units.

P-8A Increment 2 Upgrades The first increment of upgrades to the Boeing P-8A Poseidon, called Increment 2, will begin in FY2015, according the US Navy’s P-8A programme office. The upgrades will be phased in as a series of Engineering Change Proposals (ECPs) and will be retrofitted on aircraft already delivered. Martin Ahmad, the navy’s deputy programme manager for maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, said the first part of Increment 2, a multi-static active coherent (MAC) acoustic capability, is a significant upgrade to the aircraft’s acoustic antisubmarine warfare (ASW) detection and tracking capability. The MAC will represent ECP-1. ECP-2, scheduled for FY2016, will include the automatic information system (AIS) and the first segment of the high-altitude

22

AI.11.14

antisubmarine weapon capability (HAAWC), a sonobuoy equipped with a GPS transmitter and the ability to be deployed from high altitudes. The AIS is a system that receives identity, course, speed and other information from commercial ships in which it is installed. ECP-3 will integrate the full HAAWC, a Mk54 lightweight torpedo fitted with a wing kit for gliding to the water entry point. The weapon also will have mid-course guidance capability to alter the water entry point as needed. Ahmad said the five mission crew stations in the P-8A allow the crew “to be much more effective than in the P-3 in the past.” He added that the navy has begun development of Increment 3, which includes ASW and sensor upgrades, a net-enabled weapon and software, and architecture improvements. The net-enabled ASW weapon will allow thirdparty control. The software architecture improvements will include hosting of generic applications and will enable competition for prototyping of the applications, which Ahmad said will reduce the cost of future integration. The P-8A is on its second operational deployment. Patrol Squadron 5 (VP-5) ‘Mad Foxes’ succeeded VP-16 at Naval Air Facility Kadena, Okinawa, in July and will be followed in sequence by VP-45. The fourth

squadron to switch from the P-3C Orion, VP-8 ‘Fighting Tigers’, began its transition this summer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida.

Air Wing Shift in Japan The US Navy is positioning two aviation support detachments in Japan to support Carrier Air Wing 5 (CVW-5) when it moves its fixed-wing squadrons to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, from Naval Air Facility Atsugi. On October 1, 2014, the navy set up Commander, Fleet Air Forward Detachment Aviation Support Division Iwakuni, to provide, what its establishing document described as: “aviation support and supply services to forward-deployed naval force squadrons, deployed aircraft, transient aircraft, and the AIMD [Air Intermediate Maintenance Detachment] at MCAS Iwakuni.” CVW-5 embarks onboard the navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier, currently USS George Washington (CVN 73). Its move is part of a bilateral agreement with the government of Japan’s Defense Posture Review Initiative. The six fixed-wing squadrons — Strike Fighter Squadron 27 102, 115 and 195 (VFA-27, VFA-102, VFA115, and VFA-195) with Super Hornets, Electronic Attack Squadron 141 (VAQ141) with EA-18G Growlers,

and Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 115 (VAW115) with E-2C Hawkeyes, plus a detachment of C-2A Greyhound carrier onboard delivery aircraft from Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 30 (VRC-30) — will move to Iwakuni and be based alongside the Marine Corps squadrons of Marine Aircraft Group 12. The two rotary wing units, Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 77 (HSM77) equipped with MH-60R Seahawks and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC-12) with the MH-60S model will remain at Atsugi, close to the carrier’s base in Yokosuka, Japan. A third helicopter squadron that supports expeditionary detachments, Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 51 (HSM-51) equipped with MH-60Rs, also will remain at Atsugi.

Malaysia Offers Base Malaysia has offered the use of a base in East Malaysia on the island of Borneo to the

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

NEWS COLUMN

t Lemoore

Strike Fighter Squadron 101 (VFA-101) ‘Grim Reapers’ is the F-35C Fleet Replacement Squadron currently based at Eglin Air Force Base in northern Florida. Although unconfirmed, the Grim Reapers are likely to move to NAS Lemoore as per the October 2 announcement. Paul Ridgway

United States as a site for detachments of navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. Speaking on September 8 about the Asia-Pacific strategic rebalance to an audience at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm Jonathan Greenert said: “recently, the Malaysians had offered us to fly detachments of P-8s out of East Malaysia. You can see the closeness to the South China Sea. So we have opportunities and we ought to continue to nurture them.” A staging site in this region would enable the navy’s maritime patrol aircraft easier access for operating over the South China Sea and shipping lanes, such as the Strait of Malacca and the Sunda Strait, through which much of the world’s commerce passes. Malaysia allowed navy P-8A and P-3C aircraft to

operate from West Malaysia during the search for Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 that disappeared on March 8. The country’s government expressed appreciation to the United States for its response. The South China Sea has been a region of increased tensions in recent years because of competing claims over islands and shoals where mineral resources may exist and because of the Chinese naval build-up, particularly the submarine base on Hainan. There have been several incidents at sea involving Chinese coast guard and US Navy ships, and aircraft in international waters off China. The most recent involved a Chinese Shenyang J-11 [a Chinese-built Flanker] fighter reportedly flying dangerously close to a US Navy P-8A over the South China Sea in late August. Greenert stressed the “need to build a constructive relationship with China,” but

said the US Navy would not be deterred from exercising international rights of navigation. “I don’t think this air incident should define the relationship, but it should be noted,” he said. “There is a norm for aircraft entities to operate safely. We will continue to operate in international airspace.”

Last Guardian Retires The US Coast Guard has completed the phase-out of its HU-25 Guardian fleet after 32 years of operation. The last Guardian, HU-25D 2114, was retired on September 23, 2014 at Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. The HU-25 fleet has been replaced by the new Airbus HC-144A Ocean Sentry twin-turboprop maritime patrol aircraft. The Coast Guard purchased 41 HU-25s derived from the Dassault Falcon business jet and used the

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

aircraft for maritime patrol, search and rescue, air intercept of drug-running aircraft and tracking of oil spills. The jets represented a dramatic improvement in performance over the patrol aircraft they replaced: the slow piston-engine HU-16E Albatross and HC-131A Samaritan. The high speed of the jets enabled the aircraft to rapidly respond to situations and arrive on station quickly. Some of the 41 HU-25As were modified with sensors for specialised missions. The HU-25B was equipped with a APS-131 side-looking airborne radar and used to track oil spills, including the disastrous spill in the Persian Gulf in the immediate aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War. The HU25C was modified with an APS-66 air intercept radar for countering drug-smuggling aircraft. The HU-25D was equipped with the APS-143 multi-mode radar and an electro-optical/infrared sensor turret.

AI.11.14

23

Asia & Australasia The first of two Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters for the Royal Australian Air Force (A35-001, b/n AU-1) took off for its maiden flight from the manufacturer’s Fort Worth, Texas, facility on September

29 in the hands of F-35A Chief Test Pilot Al Norman. Two days later the second aircraft (A35-002, b/n AU-2) flew for the first time – with Bill Gigliotti in the cockpit. The two jets were ceremonially rolled out on July

24 and, after acceptance testing, will be ferried to Luke AFB, Arizona, for training. “Australia’s first aircraft, AU-1 and AU-2, will undergo further flight testing in the lead up to acceptance and ferry

to Luke Air Force Base in 2015,” said Australian defence minister David Johnston. “The fifth-generation JSF [Joint Strike Fighter]... will replace our fleet of classic Hornets, which by 2020 will be over 35 years old.” Nigel Pittaway

First Flights of RAAF Lightning IIs Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II A35-001 on its first flight on September 29. It wears the tail markings of No.2 Operational Conversion Unit. Lockheed Martin

1

NEWS BY NUMBERS

AVANTI FOR THAILAND

Piaggio Aero Industries is to provide a single P180 Avanti II to the Royal Thai Air Force under the terms of an agreement reached on September 29. The aircraft will be fitted with rolespecific equipment for photoreconnaissance operations. The contract was signed by Air Chief Marshal Sutthiphan Kritsanakhup, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Royal Thai Air Force, at Piaggio’s headquarters in Genoa, Italy. Nigel Pittaway

2

Y-8FQ PROTOTYPES FLYING The People’s Liberation Army Naval Air Force continues to test its Shaanxi Aircraft Company Y-8FQ (also reportedly designated GX-6 for Gaoxin-6 or ‘High New 6’) anti-submarine warfare aircraft. A second prototype (‘732’) has entered the test programme, joining ‘731’ which was reported flying in late 2011 (see Maritime Patrol Y-9 Revealed, January 2012, p17). The aircraft is a modified ‘Y-8 Category III’ (Y-9) equipped with four WJ6C turboprops and six-bladed propellers. Mission-specific features

24

AI.11.14

include a chin radome and a magnetic anomaly detector ‘stinger’ at the rear of the fuselage.

Second Batch of Texans Delivered to New Zealand

David C Isby

1

A400M FOR MALAYSIA ENTERS FINAL ASSEMBLY The first Airbus Defence and Space A400M Atlas (msn 22) for the Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia (Royal Malaysian Air Force, RMAF) is on the final assembly line at the manufacturer’s purpose-built facility in Seville, Spain. Malaysia ordered four A400Ms in December 2005 and the RMAF is expecting its first to be delivered in the first quarter of 2015 and the last in 2016. Nigel Pittaway

4

K-8WS DELIVERED TO BANGLADESH Four Hongdu K-8W Karakorum advanced trainers arrived at Bir Sreshto Matiur Rahman Air Base at Jessore, Bangladesh, on September 27 after their delivery flight from China. They were ferried by Bangladesh Air Force pilots, and support was provided by two of the service’s Antonov An-32 Cline transports. Bangladesh ordered nine K-8Ws in 2013, which will enter service with 15 Squadron. Nigel Pittaway

A second pair of Beechcraft T-6C Texan IIs for the Royal New Zealand Air Force, NZ1404/N2842B and NZ1405/N2845B, transited through Glasgow Airport on September 23 on their delivery flights. They left Wichita, Kansas, on September 20 for Ottawa-Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, Canada, via Des Moines International Airport in Iowa, and continued the following day to CFB Goose Bay in Labrador – departing on the 23rd for Narsarsuaq in Greenland, Keflavik in Iceland and on to Glasgow before leaving for LondonStansted Airport in Essex. The rest of the trip is understood to have taken the same route as the first two, delivered in August (see Initial ‘Kiwi’ Texans Delivered, September, p19), which travelled via Italy, Greece, Jordan, the UAE, India, Thailand, Singapore, Bali, Australia, the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia to New Zealand. Iain Mackenzie

Japan Studies Indigenous AEW&C Capability The Japan Ministry of Defense is studying the feasibility of developing an indigenous airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) capability. The ministry is considering using the airframe of the Kawasaki P-1 anti-submarine warfare aircraft fitted with radar incorporating local

technology, and press reports suggest the department will request ¥80 million for the study in the government’s next budget. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force currently operates four Boeing E-767s and 13 Grumman E-2C Hawkeyes in the AEW&C role. Nigel Pittaway

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

1

NEWS BY NUMBERS

REPLACEMENT BOEING 737 FOR NIGER A Boeing 737-75U has entered service as the Nigerian government’s VIP aircraft, primarily for the use of President Mahamadou Issoufou. The aircraft (5U-GRN, c/n 28976, ex VP-BRM) was acquired for approximately $40 million and was previously operated by Bayham Holdings; it is configured to carry 24 passengers. Air Livery at Norwich Airport, Norfolk, UK, painted the aircraft in its new colour, before it was delivered on August 31 and unveiled to the public in the capital Niamey. It replaces Boeing 737-2N9C(Adv) 5U-BAG (c/n 21499), which was named Monts Baghzane (see Classic Republic of Niger Boeing 737, May, p25); the new aircraft is Mont Greboun, a mountain near None. Defence minister Karidjo Mahamadou said the 737-200, in service since 1978, would be retired soon. Guy Martin and David Willis

UAE Hitting Libyan Islamists? During August and September a small number of air strikes were undertaken against insurgents in Libya. On September 18 unidentified aircraft struck Libyan Dawn insurgents at Qasr bin Ghashir and Al-Manarah. The identity of the air force that flew the attacks has not been officially revealed. However, two similar strikes on August 17 and 23 were, according to US officials, conducted by the United Arab Emirates Air Force from Egyptian air bases. Egypt has denied that any of its aircraft were involved in the operation. The raids in August were mounted as part of an (ultimately unsuccessful) attempt to stop Libyan Dawn and its allies taking control of Tripoli and announcing a breakaway regime. It is understood a command centre and ammunition dump were hit, possibly with the help of special forces on the ground. The elected Libyan government was forced to relocate to Tobruk in the east of the country later in August. Meanwhile, Libyan Air Force helicopters were reported in action near Benghazi on September 5, striking targets on Man-Made River Road. The helicopters supported Major General Khalifa Hafter’s forces, which are fighting the Islamist militias in the city. By early October fighting was continuing around Benina Airport, the only area in Benghazi that was still held by the General’s forces.

Africa

AHRLAC Debuts at Waterkloof

The Paramount AHRLAC (ZS-XDM) made its public debut at the recent Africa Aerospace and Defence 2014 show. Guy Martin

The Paramount Group Advanced High-performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft (AHRLAC) made its exhibition debut when it flew into the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2014 show at Air Force Base Waterkloof on September 17. The first prototype, the Experimental Demonstrator (XDM), flew over the base as part of the opening ceremony before landing and entering the static display for the duration of the show. The XDM, which performed its maiden flight on July 26 from Wonderboom Airport outside

Pretoria (see AHRLAC Takes to the Skies, September, p21), is involved in a busy flight test schedule, recording four flights per week. Paramount is completing the second prototype (the Advanced Demonstrator, ADM), which will evaluate mission equipment and weapons, and be equipped with Martin-Baker Mk 17 ejection seats. The ADM is scheduled to fly next year, when Paramount also plans to start full marketing activities to promote the aircraft on the international market. The AHRLAC has been designed to complement light attack

and surveillance aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. It can be used for a number of roles, such as reconnaissance, training, electronic intelligence, counter-terrorist operations, disaster relief, border patrol, anti-poaching, light attack and emergency resupply. Its flexibility is greatly increased by having an interchangeable belly pack, which can be swapped in half an hour. Production costs have been reduced by using paperless design, jigless construction and other advanced manufacturing techniques. Guy Martin

The South African Air Force (SAAF) recently held its second Air Capability Demonstration of the year at the Roodewal range in Limpopo, giving it the chance to highlight its operational capabilities. As the demonstration took place on September 16, the day before the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2014 exhibition opened, it gave the heads of overseas air force visiting the exhibition an opportunity to witness the SAAF in action. While most Air Capability Demonstrations are held in

daytime, the latest was conducted at dusk. It began with Pathfinders parachuting from a Cessna 208 Caravan into the operational area, while a Vinten-equipped BAE Systems Hawk Mk 120, escorted by a Saab JAS39 Gripen fighter, gathered reconnaissance data. Most of the SAAF’s aircraft were represented during the event, including the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, which conducted a low-level supply drop; Hawks and Gripens (dogfighting and providing close air support), Atlas TP-1 Oryx

helicopters (transporting troops and conducting water drops); an AgustaWestland AW109 Light Utility Helicopter (observation, command and control); a MBB BK117 (search and rescue) and Denel AH-2A Rooivalk Mk 1Fs (close air support). A ground component from the South African army engaged in a mock firefight using small arms and 81mm mortars, backed up by air support from Gripens, Hawks and Rooivalks. Guy Martin

SAAF Hosts Air Capability Demonstration

Troops run towards Lockheed C-130B Hercules 402 (c/n 3749) of 28 Squadron. The transport carries artwork on the tail to commemorate ‘20 Years of Freedom’ since the end of the apartheid regime. Guy Martin

David C Isby and David Willis

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

AI.11.14

25

Rest of the World

PC-21s Begin to Arrive in Qatar

UAE A330 Tanker Transport at RAF Brize Norton Airbus A330-243 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) 1301 (msn 1186, ex MRTT014) of the United Arab Emirates Air Force at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, on September 24. The aircraft left the following day. Three A330-243 MRTTs were delivered to the air force between February and August 2013, based at Al Ain International Airport in Abu Dhabi. Rick Ingham

Ramat David May Become International Airport Israel may turn its Ramat David Air Base in the Jezreel Valley into the nation’s second international airport within five years. Details of the proposal, to supplement Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International, were announced on September 18, following negotiations between Israel’s defence and transport ministries. The defence ministry has reported that, while no operational decision has been made, the two ministries will co-operate on a feasibility study. If the go-ahead is given to convert the air base, the squadrons currently resident there will move out and a new terminal will be built, while consideration is being given to extending the runways. The new airport would be operated by privatesector entrepreneurs and could handle between five and six million passengers annually. It is planned that a rail link being constructed from the capital to central Israel could be extended to serve the airport. Other schemes previously considered for a new international airport include Nevatim airport (which the military is reluctant to give up); a new construction in the Megiddo area; expanding Ben Gurion (opposed by local residents) and enlarging Haifa airport (where nearby mountains restrict approaches). The need for a second international airport became an issue during this year’s Gaza conflict, when the US Federal Aviation Administration temporarily closed Ben Gurion International to US civil traffic because of the threat from surface-to-surface rockets. Ramat David was built 77 years ago by the Royal Air Force during the British mandate. David C Isby

26

AI.11.14

Pilatus Aircraft delivered the first pair of PC-21 trainers to the Qatar Emiri Air Force on September 29. The aircraft (QA-353/HB-HVD, c/n 213, and QA-354/HB-HVE, c/n 214) left Stans-Buochs in Switzerland – they are the first of 24 destined to equip the new Al Zaeem Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al Attiyah Air Academy. Qatar’s first PC-21 flew in February (see Flight Tests of Qatari PC-21s Begin, April, p13). Pilot training on the type began in Switzerland in June, and eight aircraft for the air force had flown by early October, with two others nearing completion on the production line.

Lebanon to Receive Another Armed Caravan An additional Cessna AC-208B Armed Caravan and other support aircraft will be supplied to Lebanon. The aircraft will be delivered by the United States to help Lebanon

counter Islamic State extremists, using finance provided by Saudi Arabia. The number and type of the support aircraft promised has not been revealed. In addition

to the new AC-208B, a second Caravan already in Lebanese Air Force service will be modified so that it can fire AGM-114 Hellfire airto-surface missiles.

Former RNLAF Fokker 50 U-06 (c/n 20287) at Lelystad on September 26, with its Peruvian markings covered. It will become AE568 after delivery. Kees van der Mark

Peruvian Navy Acquiring RNLAF Fokker 50s The Fuerza de Aviación Naval (Peruvian Naval Aviation) is expected to receive both Koninklijke Luchtmacht (Royal Netherlands Air Force, RNLAF) Fokker 50s. As of early October the Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD) had not confirmed the deal, as it was waiting to officially inform the Dutch Parliament of it, despite the fact that both aircraft have already been resprayed in Peruvian colours. Fokker 50s U-05 (c/n 20253) and U-06 (c/n 20287) entered service with 334 Squadron at Eindhoven Air Base in late 1996 and were officially withdrawn from service on October 1, 2010, as the result of budget cuts announced in September 2009. Despite their retirement, both continued to make occasional flights for 334 Squadron until August 2012, when

they were flown to Lelystad airport to be stored in flyable condition (see Royal Netherlands Air Force Fokker 50s Finally Withdrawn?, October 2012, p8). By September 12 they had been stripped of their RNLAF markings, and the last one emerged from the Quality Aircraft Painting Services paintshop at Lelystad on September 25. Both rolled out of the paintshop with their Peruvian markings covered with tape, which was expected to stay on at least until the sale was officially confirmed. The Fokker 50s will become AE567 (ex U-05) and AE568 (ex U-06) in Peruvian service. In 2010 all four former RNLAF Fokker 60s were sold to the Peruvian Navy (see Peru Buys RNLAF Fokker 60MPAs, April 2010, p8). Two separate deals

saw the two Fokker 60MPAs (AE563, c/n 20321, ex U-01; and AE564, c/n 20327, ex U-03) depart Woensdrecht AB on June 2, 2010, for their delivery flights to Peru, followed by two Fokker 60 Utility transport versions (AE565, c/n 20324, ex U-02; and AE566, c/n 20329, ex U-04) on December 3, 2010. Unconfirmed reports state that the RNLAF’s three Agusta-Bell AB412SP helicopters, currently operated by 303 SAR Squadron at Leeuwarden, and slated for retirement in January 2015, have also been sold to the Peruvian Navy. They could be used for operations from the former Royal Netherlands Navy support ship HNLMS Amsterdam, which was sold in July and is scheduled to enter Peruvian Navy service next year. Kees van der Mark

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

Unmanned Aerial Systems

Zephyr Flown in Dubai The Airbus Zephyr HighAltitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) successfully completed its first flight in civil airspace in late September. The flight, in Dubai, involved a team of engineers from the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST). The solar-powered Zephyr reached an

altitude of 61,696ft (18,804m) and completed a full day-and night cycle of operation; the highest altitude and longest endurance of any flight undertaken in the Middle East. All previous Zephyr flights took place in controlled military airspace when the programme was operated by QinetiQ. Airbus acquired the

programme from the UK company in 2013. The UAE flight was the first time its operation had been authorised by a civil aviation authority. Airbus said the sortie was significant as it proved Zephyr’s ability to operate above busy airspace and in temperatures ranging from 40°C (104°F) to -80°C (-112°F) at night.

EIAST and Airbus intend working together on the development of more advanced HAPS systems and payloads, including HD video, environmental monitoring and communications relay, before putting a production HAPS aircraft into operation by the end of 2016. Mark Broadbent

The Airbus Space and Defence Zephyr 7 High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite unmanned air vehicle has conducted its first civilian-authorised flight. Airbus Space and Defence

New Paramount UAVs

The Paramount Advanced Technologies Mwari shares an external configuration with the manned AHRLAC. Guy Martin

Paramount Advanced Technologies displayed new and upgraded unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) at its stand at the Africa Aerospace and Defence show in Pretoria, South Africa. The latest additions to the company’s stable are the Mwari and Roadrunner. The Mwari is a scaled-down version of the manned AHRLAC (Advanced High Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft). Paramount used experience gathered testing its unmanned quarter-scale AHRLAC flight testing model to produce the Mwari. Two prototypes have been built so far, equipped with a sensor turret in the nose. The 25kg (55lb) aircraft has an endurance of four

hours and a line of sight range of 40km (25 miles). The other addition is the rhomboid-wing Roadrunner, with a wingspan of 1.50m (4ft 11in) and a weight of 15kg (33lb). It is being tested with a variety of engines, including petrol, electric and jet, to give a wide range of speeds from 40 to 185mph (70 to 300km/h). Endurance with the electric engine is 45 minutes and with a ‘wet fuel’ engine it increases to two hours. The Roadrunner, which should be ready for production early in 2015, is catapult launched and lands on its belly or via a net. Sensors include an infrared camera and electro-optical sight. Guy Martin

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

Watchkeeper Finally Operational in Afghanistan The British Army’s Thales WK450 Watchkeeper tactical unmanned air system (UAS) is finally in use in Afghanistan. It is the first operational UAS developed and built in the UK and is flown by the Royal Artillery from Camp Bastion in Helmand Province. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has not disclosed how many air vehicles are in theatre but said operations with the type started in August. Watchkeeper is providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities for what the MoD calls “force protection” for British troops, as they prepare to complete the draw-down of combat

units from Afghanistan by the end of this year. Watchkeeper’s arrival in Afghanistan is about four years later than once expected. The system was ordered in 2005. Flight trials in restricted airspace near Parc Aberporth in west Wales did not start until 2010 – the year when it was originally due to enter service. Following the handover of Camp Bastion from the International Security Assistance Force to Afghan forces, the Watchkeeper systems will return to Wiltshire, where Royal Artillery troops will continue to train with the system in restricted airspace over Salisbury Plain. Mark Broadbent

US Moving UAV Base in Niger The United States is moving its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) base in Niger closer to where Islamist militants operate in North Africa. US officials said the UAVs would relocate to Agadez, 460 miles (750 km) northeast of the capital Niamey, where they and 120 American military personnel are currently deployed. In July the US Air Force issued a $5 million to $10 million request for bids to re-pave the runway at Manu Dayak Airfield in Agadez,

while in February the US Defence Logistics Agency requested bids for the delivery of 7 million US gallons (26.5 million litres) of jet and diesel fuel to the site later this year. Officials in Niger said the government had approved the establishment of the base at Agadez. The US already flies UAVs from neighbouring Chad and uses them over Somalia, Yemen and Libya. General Atomics MQ-1 Predators fly from a base in Sicily, primarily covering Libya. Guy Martin

AI.11.14

27

NEWS REPORT

Triton Arrives a

T

he first Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton naval unmanned air vehicle (UAV), BuNo 168457, arrived at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland at 7.53am on September 18, some five months later than had been originally planned. The air vehicle arrived after a cross-country flight from the Northrop Grumman facility at Palmdale, California where it had been undergoing initial developmental testing. The transcontinental flight marked the beginning of the Triton’s system development and demonstration test phase with sensors and communications systems fitted. Air vehicle 457, the first system development and demonstration aircraft

28

AI.11.14

(SDD-1), also known as B-1, was flown across the country by navy and Northrop Grumman operators working in the Naval Systems Integration Laboratory (NSIL) at Patuxent River, which served as the main operating base, while a ground station in Palmdale served as the forward operating base. The Pax-based NSIL team flew Triton BuNo 168457 for the first time on August 19, when its operators took control of the air vehicle after take-off from Palmdale and landed it back there. The air vehicle was loaded with a new iteration of software that enabled a successful demonstration and use of an additional beyond-line-of-sight wide band satellite communications command and control link for rapid transmission of data. During the September 17-18 flight handover of control from operators located in Palmdale to those working in the NSIL at Pax occurred just outside of the restricted airspace near

Palmdale, and both sets maintained oversight during the duration of the flight. To avoid other air traffic during the 10.8-hour trans-continent flight, air vehicle 457 cruised at altitudes of up to 50,000ft (15,240m), and followed the same route as the first two RQ-4A Global Hawk Maritime Demonstrators when they were transferred from Edwards Air Force Base to Pax in March and December of 2006. The former US Air Force Global Hawks were operated by Naval Air System Command’s PMA-262 Persistent Maritime Unmanned Aircraft Systems programme office as Broad Area Maritime Surveillance - Demonstrators (BAMS-D). MQ-4C Triton BuNo 168457 flew along the border of the southern United States, over the Gulf of Mexico, across Florida and up the Atlantic coast. The second of the navy’s two

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

NEWS REPORT

s at Pax

David C Isby covers the arrival of the first MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicle at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland

Main Image: MQ-4C Triton BuNo 168457 during the final stage of its inaugural crosscountry ferry flight near Naval Air Station Patuxent River. The aircraft took off from the Northrop Grumman facility at Palmdale on September 17. Erik Hildebrandt/US Navy Opposite bottom: MQ-4C Triton BuNo 168457 approaches runway 32 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River at 7.53am on September 18, after completing its inaugural cross-country flight from Palmdale, California. Greg Davis/US Navy

developmental Tritons was scheduled to fly for the first time at Palmdale in early October and a Northrop Grumman-owned developmental test aircraft is due to fly the same route, arriving at Patuxent River before the end of October. Before beginning the system development and demonstration test programme, the three air vehicles will be inspected and undergo ground-based sensor and payload testing, as well as electromagnetic environmental effects testing in one of the two anechoic chambers at Pax. By the end of the year each air vehicle is due to be fitted with a new build of Integrated Functional Capability software, each of which enables the programme office to integrate new hardware. A build referred to as IFC 2.1 was used for both the August 19 mission from Palmdale and the crosscountry flight on September 17-18. The programme will load IFC 2.2 prior to flight testing with the various sensors carried: the AN/ZPY-3 Multifunction Active Sensor active electronically steered array (MFAS AESA) radar, MTS-B multi-spectral targeting system, the all digital AN/ZLQ-1 electronic support measures, and an automatic identification system shipping transponder interrogator. Air vehicle SDD-1 was fitted with some sensors, including the electro-optical/infrared targeting system, for the cross-country flight but none of them were activated. According to Northrop-Grumman, the Triton’s sensor payload provides the air vehicle operator with a 360o field of regard and some leading edge capabilities: the MFAS radar provides two-dimensional AESA, maritime and air-to-surface modes, and long-

range target detection and classification; the electro-optical/infrared MTS-B system has auto-target tracking, multiple high-resolution field-of-views, and full motion video. Over the next three years the initial three air vehicles and associated control systems will undergo continued developmental and operational aircraft and sensor testing. The flight test programme began with the first flight in May 2013 and included the crosscountry flight to Pax. The number of flight test hours will be continuously evaluated to adequately assess the systems’ performance prior to the Triton system being delivered to the fleet. The first flight from Pax is expected to occur in early 2015. The Triton programme is still on schedule to achieve initial operational capability (IOC) at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2017 with four air vehicles. An early operational capability will be demonstrated six months earlier with a

MQ-4C TRITON SPECIFICATIONS Wingspan: 130.9ft (39.9m) Length: 47.6ft (14.5m) Height: 15.4ft (4.7m) Gross take-off weight: 32,250lb (14,628kg) Max internal payload: 3,200lb (1,452kg) Max external payload: 2,400lb (1,089kg) Self deploy range: 8,200nm (15,186km) Max altitude: 56,500ft (17.22km) Max speed: 331 knots (613km/h) true air speed Max endurance: 24 hours

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

planned deployment of two air vehicles to Andersen Air Force Base on the island of Guam. Under the current plan, Triton will enter service without its planned automatic SeeAnd-Avoid (SAA) radar capability. The system was originally being developed by ITT Exelis but after problems were encountered work was halted in 2013. To meet Triton’s SAA radar requirement, NAVAIR is actively evaluating a new solution, which is expected to be announced before the end of 2014, with a planned service introduction to the fleet in 2020. While the Triton programme of record states a requirement for 70 air vehicles (68 operational and two for development), this may be reduced next year because of lower attrition forecasts and changes to operational requirements. The number of Tritons to be ordered will be reconsidered in the FY2016 budget request, which is anticipated to include the first low-rate initial production lot. The MQ-4C Triton is a naval derivative of the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk unmanned aerial system with a reinforced airframe and wing, de-icing and lightning protection systems. Modifications from the baseline Global Hawk design allows an MQ4C Triton to operate at lower levels than its air force cousin – a mission requirement to gather imagery and intelligence data about ships and maritime targets. Three key features of the Triton system are persistent maritime ISR at a mission radius of 2,000nm (3,704km) with 80% effective time on station, a 51,000-hour airframe life, and due regard radar for safe separation from other aircraft.

AI.11.14

29

Business Aviation

Airbus and Aerion Team for Supersonic Technology The Airbus Group and the Aerion Corporation, developer of the AS2 supersonic business jet, are collaborating on technologies for the future of high-performance flight. They will exchange knowledge and capabilities in design, manufacturing and certification. Under the agreement, Airbus’s Defence and Space Division will provide technical and certification support, which will include the assignment of senior engineering staff to Aerion’s recently enlarged engineering offices in Reno, Nevada. The joint effort provides

Citation Latitude Performance Increases Cessna reports that the model 680A Citation Latitude flight test programme has revealed improvements in forecast range and runway performance. Range is now predicted at 2,700nm (5,000km), a 200nm (370km) increase over original projections, while takeoff distance is reduced from 4,030ft (1,228m) to 3,668ft (1,118m). On October 1 a fourth aircraft (N683CL, c/n 680A0003) joined the flight test programme, which had then accumulated over 600 flight hours in more than 260 flights. US Federal Aviation Administration certification is expected in the second quarter of 2015. “The certification programme is about two-thirds complete and has hit the mark every step of the way. The entire Citation Latitude team is focused on ensuring we exceed customer expectations, whether in terms of design, production quality, or in making improvements like we’ve seen in the performance numbers,” said Scott Ernest, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cessna’s parent company Textron Aviation. Mike Jerram

expanded engineering capabilities to Aerion as it enters a phase in which propulsion systems, structures, avionics and equipment are specified and sourced. Aerion is forecasting first flight of the AS2 in 2019, followed by Federal Aviation Administration certification in 2021. “This agreement provides validation from the industry leader in aerospace innovation, and it decisively kicks the programme into high gear,” said Aerion Chief Executive Officer Doug Nichols. “Each company will benefit. Aerion moves quickly toward building a

A Wipaire float-equipped Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX recently delivered to Hai Au Aviation of Vietnam. Textron Aviation

Cessna has delivered the first two Grand Caravan EX amphibians to Vietnam. They are operated by Hai Au Aviation, the country’s sixth largest airline, and will be joined by a third aircraft before the end of the year. Hai Au Aviation provides a range of services for the premium travel sector

Learjet 75 F-HINC is the first of its type delivered to a European operator. Bombardier

30

AI.11.14

reaching the ground. Aerion revealed the AS2 in May at the European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition at Geneva, Switzerland. The company previously worked on the smaller Supersonic Business Jet (SBJ), but customer feedback revealed longer range and a larger cabin would be preferred. Aerion was also faced with having to modify the SBJ’s design because of non-availability of the chosen Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219 powerplant. While it would have used two engines, the AS2 has three. Mike Jerram

Grand Caravan EX Amphibian Operating in Vietnam

Initial European Learjet 75 Delivered

Two weeks after the European Aviation Safety Agency granted full type certification to the Bombardier Learjet 70 and 75 on September 12, the first EASA-registered aircraft was handed over at the manufacturer’s Wichita, Kansas, facility. Learjet 75 F-HINC (c/n 45-487, ex N40077) was delivered to the French Roullier Group. “It is a great milestone for us to

supersonic jet, and Airbus Group gains exclusive access to more than a decade of successful research and proprietary high-performance aircraft technology.” The 12-passenger AS2 is expected to have a range of more than 4,750nm (8,770km), enabling it to fly non-stop between such city pairs as London-Seattle or San FranciscoTokyo. Over water it will cruise at Mach 1.4 to 1.6. Where supersonic speed is prohibited, the AS2 will cruise at speeds up to Mach 0.99, and elsewhere would sustain speeds up to Mach 1.2 without a sonic boom

introduce this aircraft in Europe, which remains the second largest market for business jets,” said Simon Burrows, Bombardier Business Aircraft’s Regional Vice President, Sales, for Western Europe. “The region currently represents 12% of the worldwide installed base and is expected to receive 3,575 unit deliveries by 2033,” he added. Mike Jerram

and plans to offer scenic flights with the aircraft, which have seating for up to 12 passengers in first class cabin interiors. The company operated its first services in late September with 30-minute flights from Hanoi Airport to the northern city of Ha Long along a scenic route over the Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The

route typically takes four hours by tour bus. When the third Grand Caravan EX Amphibian arrives by the end of this year, the airline plans to connect Ho Chi Minh City with tourist destinations in the central and southern regions of Vietnam. Mike Jerram

DA42 MPP NG for Delmon Aviation Diamond Airborne Sensing has delivered the first DA42 MPP New Generation (DA42M-NG) in South Africa to local company Delmon Aviation, which specialises in airborne laser scanning services. The aircraft arrived in South Africa in the second week of September and was handed over on September 18 at Air Force Base Waterkloof on the second day of the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2014 exhibition. The DA42 MPP GeoSTAR aircraft is fitted with a Leica laser scanner and is equipped with a Garmin G1000 ‘glass cockpit’, GFC 700 autopilot, low noise exhaust system and turbocharged Austro Engines AE300 diesel powerplants. The aircraft was bought via the Elegance Group, Diamond Aircraft’s representative in southern Africa. It is the second DA42 to be operated

by Delmon, but the first of this type. A third example could be on the cards. Bob Neill, Managing Director of Delmon Aviation said, “our business has changed since we purchased our first Diamond DA42 MPP last year. Operating the planes provides our business with extremely low operating cost, JET-A1 fuel burn and long endurance of up to eight hours.” Delmon used to operate helicopters but it says the Diamond twin has better stability, endurance and operating costs. The GeoSTAR is one of a family of variants of the DA42 MPP Guardian. There have been two generations of DA42 MPPs; the DA42M based on the Thielert Centurion-powered DA42D, and the DA42M-NG on the DA42NG, with AE300 engines. Over 130 have been delivered. Guy Martin

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

Commercial

MA700 Avionics Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) has selected the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion advanced avionics system for the cockpit of its MA700 twin-turboprop airliner. The Rockwell Collins HGS-3500 Head-up Guidance System compact head-up display will also be available as an option for MA700 customers. Pro Line Fusion consists of four interchangeable 14in (354mm) widescreen flight displays and includes MultiScan weather radar with predictive windshear capability along with configurable primary and multifunction display windows showing system information, flight-critical data and synoptic diagrams of aircraft system information. Interactive graphical maps with weather overlays, obstacles, geopolitical boundaries and geo-referenced electronic navigation charts can also be displayed to aid the pilot’s situational awareness. The MA700, a development of the Xian MA60 and MA600 Modern Ark family of aircraft, is expected to enter service in 2019 (see AVIC Launches MA700, February 2013, p13).

COMMERCIAL ORDERS Airbus Customer easyJet IAG (for Iberia) Lufthansa (for Eurowings) (for Swiss International Air Lines) Boeing Customer Avolon Ethiopian Airways FedEx GECAS Unidentified customers Unidentified VIP customers Bombardier Customer Macquarie AirFinance Embraer Customer Republic Airways Holdings (for Shuttle Air) Mitsubishi Aircraft Customer Eastern Air Lines Group Viking Air Customer Scottish Government

Aircraft A320ceo A330-200 A320ceo A320neo

Number 27 (firms existing options) 12 (firms existing options) 10 15 plus 10 options

Date September 18 September 22 September 17 September 17

Aircraft 737-9 737 MAX 9 737 MAX 8 767-300F 777 787 737 BBJ

Number 6 (firms July 14 agreement) 5 (firms July 14 agreement) 15 plus 20 options 4 2 15 3

Date September 17 September 17 September 20 October 3 October 3 October 3 October 3

Aircraft CS300

Number 40 plus 10 options, purchase agreement

Date September 26

Aircraft E175

Number 50

Date September 17

Aircraft

Number

Date

MRJ90

20 plus 20 options (firms July 14 MoU)

September 26

Aircraft Twin Otter Series 400

Number 2

Date September 30

All orders are firm unless stated. Key: MoU – Memorandum of Understanding. Compiled by Mark Broadbent

Etihad’s New Facets

Mark Broadbent

A380 Takes on Longest Haul The Airbus A380 is now flying the current longest non-stop air route. The airliner is being used by Qantas on Flight QF7 from Sydney in Australia to DallasFort Worth, Texas, a distance of 13,804 miles (22,215km), taking 16 hours and 50 minutes. The new route makes Delta Air Lines’ service between Atlanta, Georgia, and Johannesburg, South Africa – operated with Boeing 777-200ERs – the second-longest at 13,582 miles (21,858km); it had briefly held the record after Singapore Airlines ended its 15,345-mile (24,695km) New York Newark to Singapore route in November 2013, which was served by an Airbus A340-600. Mark Broadbent

Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner A6-BLA (c/n 39646) appeared in Etihad Airway’s new livery on September 28. It is the first of 41 787-9s and 30 787-10s on order for the carrier. Boeing

United Arab Emirates flag carrier Etihad Airways revealed its new livery in late September with the roll-outs of its first Airbus A380 and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, saying its new ‘Facets of Abu Dhabi’ scheme is inspired by traditional Emirati design patterns, the landscapes of its desert and the geometric shapes of modern architecture. The revised livery, Etihad’s first colour scheme change since it started operations in 2003, was designed by Landor Associates, which has been involved in

developing several airline identities, including British Airways’ ‘World Tails’ series. It will take three years for the Etihad fleet to be repainted (see Etihad’s New Look, p92-93). Etihad took on the first of its ten A380s (A380-861 A6-APA, msn 166, ex F-WWSS) at the Airbus Hamburg facility in Germany on September 27. Its first route will be Abu Dhabi-Heathrow from December 27 and, with the delivery of two more in early 2015, the airline’s services to London will be an all-A380 operation. It will also

fly A380s to Sydney and New York. The first 787-9s will be used on routes from Abu Dhabi to Doha, Qatar and Düsseldorf, Germany, from December, followed next year by routes to Brisbane, Frankfurt, Moscow, Mumbai and Washington, DC. The A380 delivery came a week after Qatar Airways accepted its first example (A7-APA, msn 137, ex F-WWST), which began services from Doha to Heathrow on October 10. Thirteen airlines now operate A380s. Mark Broadbent

First and Final Light for Solar Impulse in the UAE Abu Dhabi will be the start and finish point for Solar Impulse’s attempt to undertake a round-the-world flight in 2015 using only solar power. Solar Impulse 2 HB-SIB will be transported

by cargo aircraft from its base at Payerne in Switzerland to Abu Dhabi towards the end of this year. It will appear at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi from January

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

17 to 22 before starting flight trials. The round-the-world tour is expected to take 25 flying days over four to five months. After departing Abu Dhabi the aircraft will make stopovers in Asia,

the US and either southern Europe or North Africa, before returning to Abu Dhabi in July. Some flights over the Pacific and the Atlantic will last up to six days. Mark Broadbent

AI.11.14

31

Commercial

Formation Flight Marks A350 Certification

The five Airbus A350-900s used in the certification programme fly in formation on September 29, the day before the type received approval from EASA. S Ramadier/Airbus Airbus A350-941 A7-ALA (msn 006) for Qatar Airways was rolled out of the paint shop at Toulouse-Blagnac on October 2. It is the first A350 due to be delivered. J B Accariez/Airbus

The Airbus A350 XWB achieved European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification on September 30 – within the company’s target time – paving the way for deliveries of the new twin-jet to begin. The first A350-900 for a customer (A350-941 A7-ALA, msn 006, ex

F-WZFA) is scheduled for handover to launch customer Qatar Airways before the end of the year. The A350-900 is certified for 315 passengers over a distance of 7,750 nautical miles (14,500km) and two maximum take-off weight variants: a basic 268,000kg (590,839lb) and a

higher 275,000kg (606,271lb) option. Airbus says it is waiting for EASA to confirm the airliner’s extended twinengine operations (ETOPS) clearances. The certification approves the use of nickel-cadmium battery cells in the aircraft. Airbus originally designed the A350 to use lithiumion batteries, but after Boeing experienced problems with them in the 787 Dreamliner in 2013 (see Dreamliner Grounding Update, April 2013, p19), its European rival elected to use the heavier but safer NiCd devices, but says it is still committed to certifying a lithium-ion battery option in 2016. To mark the certification, the five A350-900s used by Airbus during the airliner’s 15-month-long test

Selection Nears for Delta Widebodies Delta Air Lines has reportedly narrowed its widebody fleet replacement options to the Airbus A350-900 and the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The Minneapolis Morning Star reported the airline’s chief executive, Richard Anderson,

saying during a September 24 speech to the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport Foundation the carrier was “in the process of either choosing a 787-9 or A350-900”. Delta has been studying the market for new aircraft to replace

its 58 Boeing 767-300ERs and 16 Boeing 747-400s since the spring (see Long Haul Renewal Planned by Delta, May, p20). It discounted the 777X from the outset, but said it would assess the currentgeneration 777-300ER alongside

Turkish Airlines Marks Centenary of Film

Boeing 737-8F2(WL) TC-JHY (c/n 42003) of Turkish Airlines carries special titles on its forward fuselage to commemorate 100 years of Turkish cinema – in English on the starboard side and Turkish on the port. The airliner is a relatively new addition to the flag carrier’s fleet, having been delivered on February 19. It was noted at Birmingham Airport in the West Midlands on September 30. Charles Cunliffe

32

AI.11.14

campaign came together for a formation flight over southwest France. Using the callsign CARBON, they departed ToulouseBlagnac led by the first cabin-fitted airframe (F-WWCF, msn 2) used for recent route-proving trials (see A350XWB World Tour, October, p40) and flew several east-west tracks over the Pyrenees. At the time of certification, the A350 XWB family had 750 orders from 39 airlines. Airbus will produce three A350s a month by the end of the year and plans to ramp-up monthly output to ten by 2018. Qatar Airways is understood to be taking eight within the next year, Vietnam Airlines four (the first in mid-2015) and Finnair three. Mark Broadbent

the 787, A350 and A330neo. The carrier is due to make an announcement by the end of the year. Meanwhile Virgin Atlantic, in which Delta holds a 49% stake, is about to put the 787-9 into service. Mark Broadbent

E175s Replaced by Q400s by Flybe Flybe has cancelled most of the remaining 24 Embraer 175s it had on order and instead will lease 24 Bombardier Q400 Dash 8 turboprops from US regional airline Republic Airways Holdings (RAH) from March 2015. Flybe ordered 35 Embraer 175s in July 2010 but after 11 were handed over, a change in strategy saw the airline postpone delivery of the remaining 24 to 2015, then to 2017. Recently Flybe’s commitments for 20 have been terminated and handover of the other four has been deferred to 2018. Mark Broadbent

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

Commercial

Regional Aircraft Unveiled by Denel Denel Aviation and Denel Aerostructures unveiled their concept for a new regional aircraft on September 18 at Africa Aerospace and Defence 2014. The South African Regional Aircraft (SARA) was envisaged as a way to retain local design skills and promote innovation in the aerospace industry. Ismail Dockrat, CEO of Denel Aerostructures, said the seed for SARA was planted two years ago. Denel saw a need for a modern, point-to-point regional airliner on low-density routes, seating 15 to 24 passengers in a four-abreast configuration. The twin turboprop aircraft will be pressurised, have short takeoff and landing capabilities, a range of 2,600km (1,615 miles) and a maximum take-off weight of 8,400kg (18,518lb). Several versions are under consideration, including variants for passengers, a combi with 12 seats and one container, and a freighter able to accommodate three LD2-type containers. As part of its objective of promoting aerospace research and development and engineer training across South Africa, Denel’s own engineers are partnering on the project with academics and postgraduate students at local universities – including North West University, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Rhodes University and the University of Pretoria. SARA is also receiving support from government departments, industry and industrial associations. Over the next 18 months Denel and its partners will conduct a market feasibility study, analyse development costs and determine a market-related price. It is hoped a five-toseven-year development phase will follow, eventually resulting in the construction of a prototype, and the company aims to have international and domestic collaboration on the new aircraft to assist with development and marketing. Denel is currently using its own funds for the project, but some financial support from Technology and Human Resources for Industry Programme, run by the South African Department of Trade and Industry, and the National Research Foundation will be used to sponsor ten masters and PhD students. Guy Martin

Air China 747-8I Delivered

Boeing 747-89L Intercontinental B-2485 (c/n 41191) was handed over to Air China on September 29 and departed Snohomish County Airport/Paine Field, Washington, the following day, arriving at Beijing Capital International Airport on October 1. The carrier has seven 747-8Is on order (correcting Air China 747-8I Flown, September, p28). Boeing

Little Red to Fade Away Virgin Atlantic is to close its Little Red short-haul subsidiary next year because of poor load factors. The Heathrow to Manchester service will cease at the end of March and the Edinburgh and Aberdeen services in September. Little Red was launched in March 2013, but Civil Aviation Authority figures showed an average load factor of only 37.6% in 2013. Virgin Atlantic says bookings improved in the first half of 2014, but added: “The demand has been predominantly from pointto-point customers rather than connecting traffic. High levels of

connections onto Virgin Atlantic’s long-haul network have always been important to the success of Little Red.” Virgin established the subsidiary after being awarded ‘remedy slots’ at Heathrow by the European Commission following the takeover of British Midland International (bmi) by British Airways’ (BA’s) parent company, International Airline Group (IAG). Bmi had previously been a major source of feeder traffic for Virgin’s services from the UK regions. Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive Craig Kreeger said: “It was always

a huge challenge on behalf of the consumer, as the totally inadequate number of slots made available by the European Commission did not deliver close to BA’s network position. The time lag between the takeover of bmi and our entering the market, meant Little Red initially faced an uphill battle to win recognition and convert customers to its services.” The decision to close Little Red follows a review of Virgin Atlantic’s network that will see an increased number of transatlantic services (see Routes Overhauled by Virgin, October, p29). Mark Broadbent

TransNusa Receives Indonesia’s First ATR 42-600

ATR 42-600 F-WWLX (msn 1015) – delivered to TransNusa Aviation Mandiri of Indonesia as PK-TNJ on September 29 – on test at Toulouse-Blagnac in southern France on September 22, a week after its first flight. TransNusa ordered a single ATR 42-600 and placed options for a further three in 2013. The airliner is based at El Tari Airport in Kupang and is expected to begin operating revenue earning flights in November. Oliver Gregoire.

South African Collaboration with Airbus Airbus, Aerosud and Denel Aerostructures (DAe) have signed an agreement to further strengthen South Africa’s aerospace industry and enable it to bid for large work packages from Airbus and other global manufacturers. At the signing on September 16, Simon Ward, Airbus Vice President

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

International Co-operation, said the agreement will make South Africa an important destination for the aerospace industry, as well as research and development. Since 2005 Airbus has committed ZAR4 billion ($360 million) in work packages and research to South Africa. Meanwhile Aerosud

makes airliner and A400M parts for Airbus while DAe produces A400M components. The announcement is part of DAe’s aim to diversify away from purely military projects. The company is positioned to conduct industrial offset work on aircraft being acquired by SAA and South African Express. Guy Martin

AI.11.14

33

NEWS BY NUMBER

Commercial

COMAC C919 Prototype Coming Together

1

FOKKER 100 FOR AVANTI AIR German aircraft charter and wetlease specialist Avanti Air is to begin operating its first jet, a Fokker 100. The aircraft will enter service in January 2015 and complement two ATR 72-500s the company wet-leases to EuroLOT and Darwin Airline (Etihad Regional). Mark Broadbent

1

The front fuselage of the prototype COMAC C919 airliner in the final assembly facility at Shanghai Pudong. Via Andreas Rupprecht

Final assembly of the prototype Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) C919 started on September 19 at Shanghai Pudong, following deliveries of pre-manufactured parts from several Chinese enterprises over the past few months. Forward fuselage sections of the airliner – manufactured by the Hongdu Aviation Industry Group from a third-generation aluminium alloy – were delivered in May. They were followed by the cockpit section, produced by the Chengdu Aircraft

Industry Group, and the centre fuselage and centre wing box from the Xi’an Aircraft Industry Group) in July and August respectively. The C919 will be the largest commercial airliner designed and built in China since the stillborn Shanghai Y-10, of which only prototypes were produced. It is envisaged as a family of 158- to 174-seat single-aisle airliners and is expected to make its first flight in 2015. Deliveries to customers are scheduled to begin in late 2018. Andreas Rupprecht

Renewal for Titan

IAG Seeking Chinese Partners

UK-based charter and subcharter specialist Titan Airways is to renew its fleet. Speaking to the industry news resource Routes during the World Routes convention in Chicago, the airline’s Commercial Director, Alastair Kiernan, said Titan will triple its Airbus A320 fleet in the coming months with delivery of a second A320 this autumn and a third in spring 2015. The company began flying its first A320 in 2013. Titan would also work towards introducing Airbus long-haul types in the next five years, Mr Kiernan added, and phase-out its three Boeing 737-300QCs, two Boeing 757-200s and its sole Boeing 767-300ER. The company provides these aircraft and a Cessna Citation CJ2+ for ad hoc charters and aircraft, crew, maintenance, insurance (ACMI) leases on a seasonal and sub-charter basis for many airline and tour operator customers. Mark Broadbent

34

AI.11.14

The International Airlines Group (IAG), owner of British Airways (BA), Iberia and Vueling, has revealed it has held talks with China’s major airlines over potential partnerships. IAG’s Chief Executive, Willie Walsh, said in October that the company had met China Airlines, China Southern and China Eastern over establishing codesharing arrangements. He said such agreements would help IAG tap into the expanding Chinese domestic market and help BA increase its presence in Asia. Mark Broadbent

another four, new 737-800s in late 2015 and 2016 and has paid a deposit on eight new 737 MAX 8s to be delivered from 2019 to 2021, becoming the first African customer to order the type. In June, Comair announced growth in turnover and income, despite a shrinking domestic market (4% contraction over the previous year) and devaluation of the rand, which increased fuel costs by 19%. Guy Martin

6

ARIK AIR CRJ1000 ENTERS SERVICE

ERJ-145S TO BE WITHDRAWN BY LUXAIR

Nigeria’s Arik Air introduced its first Bombardier CRJ1000ER (5N-JEE, c/n19037, ex C-GZQW) into revenue service in mid-September having receiving the aircraft on June 27. It had ordered three CRJ1000s and four Q400 NextGen turboprops during the 2013 Parish Air Show. Its first CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft is configured to carry 100 passengers in all-economy class while the other two, expected later this year, will be delivered in a two-class configuration with 80 economy and 12 business class seats. The first aircraft will later be retrofitted with the dual-class layout. West Africa’s largest airline, Arik Air already operates four CRJ900s and two Q400s. Guy Martin

Luxair is to phase out its six Embraer ERJ-145s by the end of 2015. No decision has been made by the Luxembourg flag carrier about a replacement, though Vice-President Martin Isler said it is in talks with its workforce over the decision, and any new aircraft acquired are likely to be turboprops. Luxair already operates six Bombardier Q400 Dash 8s. Mark

2

TWIN OTTERS FOR HIGHLANDS ROUTES The Scottish Government has ordered two Viking Air Twin Otter Series 400 aircraft for operation on public service obligation routes from Glasgow to Campbeltown in Argyll and Bute; Tiree, Inner Hebrides; and Barra in the Outer Hebrides. The aircraft are expected to be delivered by May 2015 and will replace the Twin Otter Srs 300s currently operated on the route by Loganair, whose contract to provide the lifeline routes to the remote Highlands and Islands communities is due for renewal next year. Mark Broadbent

2

FORMER QANTAS 737S FOR COMAIR Comair has announced plans to acquire two Boeing 737-400s from Qantas for ZAR44 million ($3.99 million). They will be delivered in 2015 and join the six 737-300s, ten 737-400s and ten 737800s operated by Comair airlines Kulula. com and the South African branch of British Airways. Comair will take on

Broadbent

33

BOEINGS CANCELLED BY AIRBERLIN German carrier airberlin has reached an agreement with Boeing for its orders for 18 737s and 15 787 Dreamliners to be cancelled. The termination agreement does not include any compensation to Boeing from the airberlin group. Ulf Hüttmeyer, Chief Financial Officer at airberlin, said: “Not taking on the 33 aircraft ordered will significantly reduce future capital expenditure for airberlin and improve our balance sheet.” The airline said it would standardise on its 45 Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft and focus on short- and medium-haul routes; it had planned to use the 787s for longhaul flights. Mark Broadbent

52

BOEING 737S A MONTH Plans to raise output of the Boeing 737 to 52 per month by 2018 – equating to 624 aircraft per year, the highest-ever rate for the aircraft – have been confirmed by the manufacturer. The increase will partly come from the introduction of the 737 MAX in the third quarter of that year. Boeing previously announced the rate would rise from the current 42 per month to 47 in 2017. The company has a backlog of more than 4,000 737 Next Generation (NG) and MAX orders, with NG production set to run into 2019. Mark Broadbent

Air Côte d’Ivoire Q400 Ready for Delivery

Bombardier DHC-8-402 Q400 C-GZDV (c/n 4474) on approach to Toronto Downsview Airport, Ontario, on September 24. The first of two for Air Côte d’Ivoire, on delivery it will be airline’s first new aircraft – it currently flies three leased Airbus A319s and an Embraer 170. Its order for a pair of Q400s (plus two options), with a two-class cabin configuration, was announced as a conditional purchase agreement on November 18, 2013 and confirmed on December 18. Andrew H Cline

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

Rotary Wing

Italian Foxtrot

ICH-47F trials aircraft MM81778/‘EI-701’ at Vergiate on October 2 during the official handover ceremony of the first aircraft to the Aviazione dell’Esercito. Riccardo Niccoli

The first ICH-47F for the Aviazione dell’Esercito (AVES or Italian Army Aviation) was handed over during a ceremony at AgustaWestland’s Vergiate plant on October 2. The aircraft, MM81779/‘EI-702’, is one of 16 due to be delivered to the AVES by 2017 under a €900 million contract signed on May 13, 2009. Logistics support for five years and the option to buy four more helicopters are also included. When the need for a new medium-lift helicopter arose, the AVES chose to replace old Chinooks with new ones. The decision was largely based on nearly four decades of experience operating 40 CH-47Cs, the first of which was delivered in 1973. The original aircraft were built under licence by Elicotteri Meridionali: a subsidiary of Agusta.

Boeing and AgustaWestland (AW) signed an industrial agreement in July 2008 for joint manufacture and licence production of the CH-47F in Italy. The agreement allows AW to market, sell and produce the F-model to other nations around Europe and the Mediterranean. Boeing builds each fuselage at its Ridley plant, outside Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, while AW produces the entire drive system and undertakes systems integration, final assembly and aircraft delivery. The AVES requested a series of modifications to the baseline CH47F that resulted in Italy’s aircraft being designated the ICH-47F. Modifications are a satellite radio, a FLIR turret, a helicopter emergency egress lighting system, a selfdefence suite called SIAP (Sistema Integrato di AutoProtezione)

integrating radar, missile and laser warning systems and six chaff and flare dispensers, self-defence machine gun support kits, the Selex ES LOAM obstacle warning system, a high intensity search light, a new generation IFF and a multi-mode receiver. Performance data for the ICH-47F is a maximum all up weight of 23,500kg (51,762lb), a maximum speed of 170kt (315km/h), a three-hour endurance, and a maximum internal load of 12,254kg (26,991lb). The aircraft is powered by two Honeywell T55-GA-714A turboshaft engines, each delivering 4,168shp (3,108kW) in continuous power. The first aircraft built, experimental serial number CSX81778, made its maiden flight at Vergiate on June 24, 2013. Flight testing

and trials continued for about 12 months. The trials aircraft, now painted in the standard green AVES colour scheme and wearing its military serial number MM81778/‘EI-701’, was present at the October 2 ceremony. Aircraft MM81779/‘EI-702’, took off from Vergiate at the end of the event and flew to Viterbo, home of the 1st Regiment ‘Antares’, Italian Army Aviation’s Chinook unit since 1973. The AVES will use its ICH-47Fs to continue fulfilling the same combat and special operations support roles already flown by the C models, and civil protection and disaster relief tasking. According to the Italian Army Chief of Staff, the hope is to sign for the four options as dedicated special operations variants. Riccardo Niccoli

Guardia di Finanza Celebrates 60 Years of Air Operations Special liveries have been applied on two helicopters of the Servizio Aereo della Guardia di Finanza (Italian Custom Police Air Service) to mark its 60th anniversary. Agusta-Bell HH412C (AB412HP)MM81442/‘GdiF-205’ (c/n 25705) and Nardi NH-500MC MM81015/‘GdiF-86’ (c/n 21-0270M) were painted at Pratica de Mare, near Rome. The service is responsible for combating financial crimes, including money laundering, smuggling, crossborder narcotics trafficking and illegal immigration. Michele Monteleone

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

AI.11.14

35

All images Ian Harding

NEWS REPORT

Junglies’ New C

A

fter 16 months of transition, No.846 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) ‘Junglies’ became a frontline squadron once again following its formal standing-up ceremony at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire on September 30. The event marked the end of a chapter for No.78 Squadron Royal Air Force, which disbanded, and the start of a new era for the senior service: the Merlin HC3/HC3A fleet’s move to Royal Navy charge. A transition process is now under way with the aircraft passing from the Support Helicopter Force to the Commando Helicopter Force (CHF).

Naval Merlin Force Aircrew and engineers from the CHF have been integrating into the Merlin Force at Benson since 2012, working alongside their RAF counterparts. Having ‘stood up’, No.846 NAS, allocated six Merlin helicopters (Royal Navy helicopters are colloquially known as

36

AI.11.14

‘cabs’), will remain at Benson until the spring of 2015 when they will return home to Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in Somerset. By then, stage 1 of the Merlin Life Sustainment Programme (MLSP), designed to ‘marinise’ the navy’s ‘new’ Merlin fleet will have begun. Following the departure of No.846 NAS from Benson, No.845 NAS (which currently operates the CHF’s remaining 12 Sea King HC4s) will move to the Oxfordshire base to work alongside No.28 (AC) Squadron to transition to the Merlin. The Royal Navy’s ‘new’ Merlin fleet will be consolidated at Yeovilton when No.845 NAS returns to Somerset. During the transition, No.28 (AC) Squadron will effectively fall under Royal Navy command before it disbands next summer.

Merlin Life Sustainment Programme

Faced with a Sea King HC4 out-of-service date (OSD) of March 2016, the UK Ministry of Defence announced on January 29, 2014 that AgustaWestland (AW) had been awarded a contract to convert and prepare 25 former RAF Merlin HC3/HC3A helicopters

for maritime operations. This conversion programme will take place at AW’s Yeovil facility in Somerset following which the helicopters will be designated as Merlin Mk4s and Mk4As for operation within CHF. The MLSP, valued at £455 million, has two primary elements: a life sustainment package which solves legacy obsolescence issues, and a marinisation process to enable embarked operations. The programme has three distinct conversion phases as follows:

Phase One Seven aircraft will be converted to ‘interim’ Mk3 (iMk3) standard to enable embarked operations. Key differences to the former RAF configuration are: a folding main rotor head (non-folding tail) controlled by the ground crew, a new fast roping point, a modified undercarriage for deck operations, and new lashing points for deck security. The first HC3 airframe is already on the modification line at AW’s Yeovil facility, and is due to be delivered to the CHF in November 2015. All seven aircraft in phase 1 are scheduled to be operational by March 2016

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

NEWS REPORT

Ian Harding reports from RAF Benson in Oxfordshire on the transition of Merlin helicopters to Royal Navy charge

w Cab to meet CHF requirements before the Sea King HC4 OSD.

Phase Two Nine aircraft will be converted to Mk4 standard to enable embarked operations. Additional modifications to iMk3 aircraft will include: a folding main rotor head and tail pylon which is controlled by the crew (ten minutes from fully folded to fully spread), and an avionics upgrade (a glass cockpit) in common with the Merlin HM2 cockpit. Key features of the cockpit design are five 10 x 8 inch (254 x 200mm) integrated display units, two touch screen units for controlling the aircraft’s systems and mission equipment, as well as two devices for cursor control of the tactical displays. The first Merlin Mk4 is scheduled to be delivered to the Royal Navy by September 2017 with a current initial operating capability date targeted for mid-2018 and an operational declaration of all nine aircraft expected at the end of February 2020.

Phase Two-Three Converting the remaining HC3, HC3A and

iMk3 aircraft to give the CHF a fleet of 19 Mk4s and six Mk4As. A full operating capability is set for March 2022 and an OSD has been extended as a result of the conversion to 2030. Discussions with AW MLSP programme managers confirmed the system’s architecture to be fitted in the Mk4 is familiar to the AW work force because it has integrated similar systems as part of the upgrade programme for the Merlin HM2 AntiSubmarine Warfare and Anti-Surface Warfare variant currently under way. The HM2 programme, which involves 30 aircraft for the Royal Navy (based at RNAS Culdrose, Cornwall) under the Merlin Capability Sustainment Programme, is well advanced and the final aircraft are scheduled for delivery during March 2015. Other sources confirmed the rear fuselage modification for the folding tail is a relatively simple retrofit, which was first proven on the Italian Navy’s Amphibious Support Helicopter variant of the AW101. Although the configuration of the Mk4’s internal mission system is less complex than the HM2, AW estimates the MLSP will take approximately nine months per aircraft to complete. Allowance is included for the platform’s external changes, plus some additions that include an integrated digital map, an electro-optical device and defensive aids suite systems, as well as a role-specific communication system for embarked operations.

Aircrew Training The challenge for navy personnel integrating within the Merlin Force at Benson was to ‘absorb’ more than a decade of its operational experience in less than two years. After a slow start, the progress made by CHF personnel in understanding the Merlin’s infrastructure has been swift on the ground and in the air. A point the new No.846 NAS Commanding Officer, Lt Col Derek Stafford, stressed when speaking with AIR International. Stafford is a former Gazelle and Sea King HC4 pilot. He recently qualified on the Merlin HC3. “We currently have 320 navy personnel (engineers and aircrew) at Benson working through their various training packages. In terms of 846 aircrew qualification, we are approximately half way. The OCF [Operational Conversion Flight] has five

No.846 Naval Air Squadron’s Commanding Officer, Lt Col Derek Stafford at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire on September 30, following the unit’s formal stand-up ceremony.

crews [ie ten pilots] and 846 stood up with 14 crews [ie 28 pilots]. “The next course will leave the OCF in December 2014 and thereafter, we will be in the build-up phase for 845 which will take over from 28 Squadron next summer [2015]. Aircrew conversion takes approximately seven to eight months but it will require some subtle tweaks to support deck qualification and other slight nuances particular to naval service. “Ultimately, the volume of personnel transitioned is entirely down to the RAF here at Benson in terms of them embracing the process, training us up and giving us a great handover”. Stafford added: “It is great to be at the vanguard of this new era for CHF and a huge honour to stand up the squadron.” Decisions regarding the provision of ‘synthetic’ training have not been finalised yet but it seems likely that navy CHF pilots will use a combination of the simulator facilities available at Benson plus those contained within the Royal Navy’s ‘world-class’ Merlin Training Facility (MTF) at RNAS Culdrose. Specific elements of ‘Junglie’ rear crew training will take place at RNAS Yeovilton. The expectation is that the CHF will deploy its first iMk3s to sea during 2015. In addition, exercise participation is scheduled during the remainder of 2014 and No.846 hopes to deploy to Norway during early 2015. Initial deck clearances will hopefully be in place by then to allow exercise participation to increase substantially.

No.846 Naval Air Squadron became a frontline squadron again following its formal stand-up ceremony at RAF Benson on September 30, 2014. On display were two of the Merlin HC3s that transitioned to the squadron.

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

AI.11.14

37

Rotary Wing

Flight Tests of Nigerian AW101 Under Way

AW139 Milestones Reached

AgustaWestland AW139 N495SH is the 200th example of the medium twin-engined helicopter assembled in the United States. It was recently delivered to Yokohama in Japan. AgustaWestland

AgustaWestland AW101 Mk 641 ZR344 (c/n 50251) is one of two destined for the Nigerian Air Force. It will be delivered as NAF280 and is expected to serve with the 101 Presidential Air Fleet at Abuja (see Nigeria Acquiring VIP AW101s, October, p37). The helicopter was noted making what is understood to be its maiden flight at Yeovil, Somerset, on September 19. It was originally due to be handed over to the Indian Air Force (as ZW-3407) to fulfil its VVIP requirement, before that programme was cancelled and the airframe reassigned. Ian Harding

In mid-September AgustaWestland’s assembly line in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, delivered its 200th production AW139 (c/n 41385, with the temporary US registration N495SH). It will be operated in a firefighting configuration by Mitsui Bussan Aerospace and the City of Yokohama in Japan. The US facility began assembling

AW139s in December 2006 and currently delivers nearly 40 each year. At the company’s Italian Vergiate plant, two AW139s were handed over at the end of September to Samsung Techwin Co of the Republic of Korea, including the 700th production machine. Nearly 210 customers have ordered 800. Mike Jerram

Dutch Budget Increase Benefits DHC A modest increase in the Netherlands’ defence budget is planned for 2015 after decades of continuous cuts. It is the first increase in more than 20 years. The rise was confirmed by the Dutch cabinet when it presented proposals for next year’s national budget and the Budget Memorandum to the House of Representatives on September 16. The annual defence budget of €7.6 billion will increase by €50 million in 2015, €150 million in 2016, and €100 million in 2017 and beyond. The extra finance will partially be spent to enlarge the transport helicopter fleet of the Dutch Defence Helicopter Command (DHC). The Boeing CH-47 Chinook fleet will grow from 17 to 20, as the

3

MI-24S SOLD BY SLOVAKIA Slovakia has sold three Mil Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters through an Internet auction site, it was confirmed by a defence ministry spokesman on September 20. The identity of the purchaser/s has not been revealed. The ministry will attempt to sell 15 Mil Mi-2 Hoplite utility helicopters by the same method in the near future. David C Isby

3

SRI LANKAN MI-17S DEPLOYED The Sri Lanka Air Force has deployed a detachment of three Mil Mi-17 Hip-H helicopters, 17 pilots and 107 personnel

38

AI.11.14

DHC will have its long-standing requirement for three additional CH-47Fs fulfilled, with an order to be placed within the next few years. Gilze-Rijen based 298 Squadron currently operates 11 CH-47Ds and three CH-47Fs, while another three CH-47Fs are flown by 302 Squadron at Killeen Army Airfield in Fort Hood, Texas. It has also been confirmed the number of Airbus Helicopters AS532U2 Cougar Mk 2s, operated by 300 Squadron at Gilze-Rijen AB, will expand from the eight to 12, by returning four of the nine that entered storage in May 2011 to service before the end of this year. The Cougars are required to fill a gap caused by the limited availability of DHC’s NHIndustries NH90 NATO

in support of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic. The Hip-Hs are drawn from No.6 Helicopter Squadron based at Anuradhapura, and form No.62 Helicopter Flight. The aircraft left Sri Lanka in the hold of an Antonov An-124 on September 8 and became operational in the Central African Republic one week later. It marks the first time the Sri Lanka Air Force has participated in United Nations peacekeeping. A similarly sized detachment was due to be sent to support the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan in October. David C Isby

Frigate Helicopters (NFHs). The troubled Dutch NH90 programme, for which deliveries were deferred by five years and serviceability reduced by a lack of spare parts, suffered another setback on June 27. Defence minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert announced acceptance of the final seven of the 20 NH90s ordered in June 2000 would be suspended until NHIndustries offered a solution to the corrosion and excessive wear problems found on 860 Squadron’s aircraft deployed onboard ships in 2013 (see Dutch MoD Suspends Acceptance of NH90s, August, p35). Officially, the Dutch Ministry of Defence still intends to replace the Cougars with eight NH90 NFHs. There are doubts, however,

NEWS BY NUMBERS

2

ADDITIONAL MI-17V-5S FOR THAILAND

Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency recently revealed the armed forces of Thailand had ordered two Mil Mi-17V-5 Hip-Hs for approximately $40 million. The tactical transport helicopters will join three of the same type delivered in February 2011 to the Royal Thailand Army (see Hips For Thailand, December 2008, p10). Talks on the follow-on purchase started in October 2011 and the contract was signed this year. They will be built by Kazan Helicopters. Alexander Mladenov

whether the maritime version of the helicopter is suitable for the transport role undertaken by the Cougars. In particular, the under fuselage radome’s lack of ground clearance could cause problems when the NH90 NFH is used for tactical operations. Other decisions announced on September 16 include the acquisition of a multi-disciplinary helicopter simulator, suitable for training complex missions with all types of helicopter of the DHC. A Gulfstream IV VIP transport operated by Eindhoven based 334 Squadron, which was originally earmarked for retirement on December 31, 2013, will remain in service for an unspecified period.

Kees van der Mark

9

JET RANGER XS ORDERS AT AAD 2014 Bell Helicopter received orders for nine 505 Jet Ranger X helicopters at the Africa Aerospace and Defence exhibition in Pretoria, South Africa, in September, while another five have been ordered by other customers in the region. The company said it worked with its South African representative, National Airways Corporation, to secure the new commitments, which have come mainly from private pilots. More than 170 Bell 206 JetRangers currently operate in South Africa, the majority of which are more than 20 years old, and will require replacement in the coming years. Guy Martin

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

Rotary Wing

AS365N3+ Delivered to Thai Police The Royal Thai Police (RTP) Aviation Division received the first of two Airbus Helicopters AS365N3+ Dauphin IIs on September 23, when it arrived in Bangkok. The helicopter (3001, c/n 6987, ex F-WTCK) is configured primarily for search and rescue missions and has an electrical hoist, rappelling installation, cargo sling and searchlights. Crews will train in nearby Singapore in an AS365N3+ full-flight simulator. The two AS365N+s were ordered in 2012 and 2013 and the second is scheduled for delivery in mid-2015. The recent delivery is the 30th aircraft for the RTP, whose fleet also includes five Airbus Helicopters EC155Bs, which have been in operation since 2009, primarily on royal transport duties. Mike Jerram

Peru to Assemble Russian Helicopters Russian helicopters will be assembled in a technical centre to be built at La Joya, Peru, from 2016. Defence minister Pedro Cateriano Bellio announced the go-ahead on September 10. The facility will co-produce 11 of the current batch of Mil Mi-171s ordered by Peru and will also undertake overhauls and maintenance of existing helicopters. David C Isby

NATO Evaluates Finnish NH90s The NHIndustries NH90 Tactical Troop Transport (TTT) equipped Helicopter Battalion, assigned to the Utti Jaeger Regiment special forces unit of the Finnish Army, has been evaluated by NATO. The unit’s capabilities in the medical evacuation role were investigated by a NATO inspectorate team to determine if it met the organisation’s standards for deployability. If the unit is certified, it would be allowed to deploy as part of the European Union’s Nordic Battle Group, led by Sweden. A Finnish helicopter detachment assigned to the battle group would consist of four NH90 TTTs and 50 personnel. David C Isby

New Build MH-47G Chinook Delivered

The new build Boeing MH-47G Chinook during a test flight at Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, prior to hand over to US Army Special Operations Command. Boeing

Boeing delivered the first new build MH-47G Chinook to the US Army Special Operations Aviation Command, on September 29, a month ahead of schedule. The MH-47G incorporates a number of production improvements, including a digital advanced flight control system, more robust machined-frames, and improved air transportability.

The MH-47G programme calls for eight deliveries by the end of 2015. It is valued at approximately $300 million. Originally the US Army received 62 MH-47Gs, converted from CH-47D, MH-47D and MH-47E airframes; the last being redelivered on March 14, 2011 (see Final MH47G Delivered to US Army, June

2011, p18). They entered service with the 160th Special Operation Aviation Regiment. The recently delivered aircraft was ordered on December 11, 2012 in a $34.2 million contract. A further deal for the other seven MH-47Gs was placed on September 27, 2013. All are due to be handed over by the end of October 2015. Mike Jerram

A Kiss from Fama

Fama Helicopters Africa displayed the KISS 209 (K209) light turbine helicopter at the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) 2014 exhibition, held from September 17 to 21, in Pretoria. The aircraft arrived in April and has been certified by the national civil aviation authority. Another three K209s are on their way to South Africa. Fama Helicopters Africa is the local agent for the Italian-made aircraft. The company is based at Wonderboom Airport outside Pretoria, alongside the Powered Flight helicopter school, which uses the first K209 for training. The school plans to operate more of the type to train pilots, as it offers a turbine rating at operating costs matching the Robinson R22. The K209 is powered by a 160hp (119kW) Solar T62 gas turbine and can run on jet fuel, diesel or paraffin. It has a spacious ‘glass cockpit’ and 100kg (220lb) baggage bay under the engine compartment. Carbon fibre is used extensively

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

The Famà K209 light helicopter displayed at AAD 2014. The prototype first flew on August 13, 2009. The test pilot was accompanied by a dog. Guy Martin

in the helicopter’s construction, including the rotor blades, giving them an indefinite lifespan. An unusual feature is the ability to change the centre of gravity of the K209 in flight using oil reservoirs. Metal tubing in the helicopter is filled with nitrogen for automatic crack detection. Fixed skids or retractable wheel landing gear are the main distinctive features of the two versions offered, respectively

the K209MF and K209M. Zulu Aviation at Wonderboom Airport has been accredited to maintain the K209 in South Africa. Famà Helicopters is working with the company to establish an assembly facility. Fama Helicopters Africa said it received an enthusiastic response to the aircraft at AAD 2014, with people lining up to either fly one or place an order. Guy Martin

AI.11.14

39

t h at l a s t s all year round SAVE OVER

£28!*

BEST IN MILITARY & COMMERCIAL AVIATION

AIR International is dedicated to the best in modern military and commercial aviation. It includes all the latest news reports, air exercise reports, airline profiles and much more! Now with bigger discounts on 24 issue subscriptions.

O T H E R T I T L E S AVA I L A B L E F R O M K E Y P U B L I S H I N G THE GLOBAL AIRLINE SCENE

SAVE OVER £11

Airliner World is the world’s favourite commercial aviation magazine featuring the latest news, reviews of airlines, airports, and aircraft, details of new leases, colour schemes, deliveries and airline preservation from around the world.

HISTORY IN THE AIR

SAVE OVER £4

THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF FLIGHT

SAVE OVER £8

Now incorporating Classic Aircraft, each issue of Aviation News features latest news and in-depth features, plus first-hand accounts from pilots putting you in the cockpit. Aviation News brings you the past, present and future of flight.

TODAY'S GATEWAYS TO THE WORLD...

Aeroplane traces its lineage back to the weekly The Aeroplane launched in June 1911, and is still continuing to provide the best aviation coverage around. Aeroplane magazine is dedicated to offering the most in-depth and entertaining read on all historical aircraft.

SAVE OVER £5

AT THE HEART OF AVIATION HERITAGE

SAVE OVER £8

FlyPast is internationally regarded as the magazine for aviation history and heritage. Having pioneered coverage of this fascinating world of 'living history' since 1980, FlyPast still leads the field today.

THE WORLD'S NUMBER ONE MILITARY AVIATION MAGAZINE

Airports of the World is a bi-monthly magazine which provides an in-depth look at the layout, activities, aircraft, airlines and people at a wide selection of the world's airports. Reporting on airports large and small around the world, it includes articles on both major city hubs and smaller regional airports.

SAVE OVER £11

Published monthly, AirForces Monthly is devoted entirely to modern military aircraft and their air arms. It has built up a formidable reputation worldwide by reporting from places not generally covered by other military magazines.

3 E A S Y WAY S T O O R D E R ONLINE www.keypublishing.com/xmas14

PHONE UK: 01780 480404 Overseas: +44 1780 480404

POST Christmas Subscriptions, Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 300, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1NA, UK

For our full range of titles visit: www.keypublishing.com/xmas14

CHRISTMAS WITH KEY PUBLISHING PAYERS DETAILS THE WORLD'S NO1 FLIGHT SIM MAGAZINE

SAVE £4.99

From the most detailed instrument-only simulator to fast-paced combat sims and everything in between, PC Pilot is your one-stop shop for Flight Simulation! Each issue includes a FREE CD featuiring demos, movies, freeware and much more!

NORTH AMERICA’S BEST-SELLING MILITARY AVIATION MAGAZINE

With thought-provoking opinion pieces, detailed information and rare archive imagery, Combat Aircraft is your one-stopsource of military aviation news and features from across the globe. SAVE OVER £7

THE BEST IN VINTAGE AND CLASSIC JET AIRCRAFT

SAVE OVER £1.50

JETS is a fresh and feature-packed publication that focuses on our civil aviation heritage from the 1950s onwards, reflecting the birth of jet-engined aircraft and their subsequent dominance of our skies. Aside from iconic civil types such as Concorde, the magazine also looks at memorable military jets such as the Harrier and Hurricane.

FREE GIFT CARD WITH EVERY SUBSCRIPTION

Title .................First name ............................................ Surname ................................ Address ....................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... Postcode ......................... Country ............................................................................ Email address .............................................................................................................. Please complete to receive news updates and offers from us by email.

DELIVERY DETAILS

Title .................First name ............................................ Surname ................................ Address ....................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... Postcode ......................... Country ............................................................................ Email address .............................................................................................................. Please send Gift Card 

SPECIAL OFFER

(PLEASE TICK)

SUBSCRIPTION PRICE

Title



Frequency

Number of Issues

UK

Europe

USA

R.O.W

AIR International



Monthly

24

£79.99

€116.00

$132.50

£94.99

AIR International



Monthly

12

£45.00

€66.00

$75.00

£55.00

AirForces Monthly



Monthly

12

£45.00

€66.00

$75.00

£55.00

Airfix Model World



Monthly

12

£42.00

€62.00

$69.00

£52.00

FlyPast



Monthly

12

£43.00

€63.50

$71.00

£53.00

Airports of the World



Bi-Monthly

6

£22.50

€33.00

$37.50

£27.50

Airliner World



Monthly

12

£45.00

€66.00

$75.00

£55.00

Aviation News



Monthly

12

£43.00

€63.50

$71.00

£53.00

Britain at War



Monthly

12

£44.00

€64.99

$71.00

£54.00

Combat Aircraft



Monthly

12

£43.00

€66.00

$69.90

£55.00

PC Pilot



Bi-Monthly

6

£24.95

€43.00

$42.00

£35.00

Further discounts available on two year subscriptions visit www.keypublishing.com/xmas14 for details. AIR International subscriptions are also available by easy Direct Debit** Just £9.99 quarterly plus a FREE DVD!

F ro m :

Photo: Simon George

w w w. a i r i n t e r n a t i o

(IF DIFFERENT)

nal.com

01/12/2011 15:48 Generic Gift Card.indd

9

Visit www.keypublishing.com/xmas14 for details

PAYMENT DETAILS

READERS IN THE USA MAY PLACE ORDERS BY:

I enclose a cheque for £ / € / $ ................................. made payable to Key Publishing Ltd

TELEPHONE TOLL-FREE: 800-676-4049 OR FAX: 757-428-6253 WRITE TO: Christmas Subscriptions, 3330 Pacific Ave, Ste 500, Virginia Beach, VA 23451-9828

Expiry date

ALTERNATIVELY, ORDER ONLINE: www.imsnews.com/xmas14 QUOTING/ENTERING CODE: XMAS14

Please debit my

Mastercard 

Visa



for £ / € / $ ......................

Security Code (last 3 digits on reverse of card)

Signature ..................................................................................... Today’s date .................................................................... 814/14

OFFER CLOSE DATE: 28 February 2015 PLEASE QUOTE: XMAS14

**Direct Debit UK only. Payments are accepted by Direct Debit, Cheque, Postal Order, Credit Card and US Dollar Check. Payments by credit or debit card wil be shown on your statement as Key Publishing Ltd. Key Publishing wil hold your details to process and fulfil your subscription order. Occasionally we may wish to contact you to notify you of special offers on products or events. If you do not wish to receive this information please tick here  or mention when calling. *Saving based on a 2-year subscription compared with our UK newsstand price. Please note: Free gift is only available on Direct Debit when taking out a minimum 2 year subscription. Should you cancel your subscription earlier then an invoice wil be raised for the full price of the gift. See website for full terms & conditions.

COMMERCIAL QANTAS

Q

antas Airways has been flying for nearly 94 years, yet Australia’s iconic ‘Flying Kangaroo’ has never faced an aviation environment as complex, turbulent

and challenging as it is now. Qantas faces a formidable set of problems. Aside from the global recession and high fuel prices that have challenged airlines around the world, there’s a strong Australian dollar that’s raised operating costs, an airfare war with its chief domestic challenger, growing competition from the Asia-Pacific region’s burgeoning low-cost carriers and limits on foreign ownership and

Headwi n ds for the

investment that restrict Qantas more than Australia’s other airlines. Alan Joyce, the airline’s Irish-born chief executive officer, has said: “We are now enduring some of the toughest conditions we’ve ever faced.”

Contentious Decisions Back in 2011, Joyce initiated moves to restructure the loss-making airline. Many

Flying K

42

AI.11.14

QANTAS COMMERCIAL which drew fire in the Australian Parliament and from those unions representing pilots, ground crews and engineers, who’ve clashed with management over pay, work rules and overseas outsourcing. Joyce also said Qantas will slash overall costs by A$2 billion, pause the expansion of its low-cost unit Jetstar Airways and phase out its Boeing 767-300ERs – the last will be gone by the end of this year – and six Boeing

747-400s. Purchase agreements for 50 aircraft are being cancelled or delayed, pay rises and bonuses frozen, the Brisbane call centre and Adelaide catering facilities closed and engineering consolidated at one base. Joyce has taken drastic decisions before. On October 29, 2011 he grounded the entire mainline Qantas fleet, briefly stranding thousands of passengers around the world, after trades unions announced planned

Angelo Bufalino/AirTeamImages

have proven contentious and made the 48-year-old executive one of the most controversial business leaders in Australia. When Qantas reported a fiscal year 2014 first-half loss of A$252 million, the pace of change accelerated and dissention among unions over Qantas’ restructuring intensified. As a cost-saving measure Qantas in February 2014 announced the workforce will be reduced from 33,000 to 27,000 by 2017,

g Kangaroo Australia’s de facto flag carrier Qantas has to tackle several challenges, as David Armstrong outlines

AI.11.14

43

COMMERCIAL QANTAS

1

industrial action to protest against earlier stages of corporate restructuring. “It’s an unbelievable decision, it’s a very hard decision. We have no alternative,’’ Joyce declared at the time. The Transport Workers Union called the grounding “reckless, unwarranted and disgraceful”. Two days later, following government intervention, the airline’s aircraft began flying again.

Transformation Qantas’ accelerated restructuring has concentrated the minds of aviation-watchers inside and outside Australia. Industry observers say the reinvention of Qantas is sorely needed and should happen even faster. The airline’s spokesmen say the job, while far from finished, is on track. In an e-mail to AIR International, Thomas Woodward, Qantas’ communications manager, contended much progress has been achieved in remaking the world’s tenthlargest passenger airline. “We’ve already shown we can deliver major transformation, with a 21% cut in non-fuel costs between 2011 and 2013, while hitting record levels on measures such as customer satisfaction and on-time performance. Qantas’s ability to bring about change, while remaining tightly focused on business as usual and, most importantly, service, will be our greatest asset in this transformation,” he wrote. Daniel Tsang, co-founder of Hong Kongbased consultancy Aspire Aviation, says the

embattled Joyce is likely to fend off calls from critics for his resignation. “While Qantas is undergoing significant transformation, its management has weathered the turbulence intact in recent years, the most notable of which being the unprecedented 2011 union grounding,” Tsang wrote in an e-mail to this reporter. “As long as its board and its key shareholders – including the US’s Franklin Templeton, which owns 18.66% – remain supportive of the restructuring devised by the current management, there is unlikely to be significant change at the top.” The CAPA Centre for Aviation, a Sydneybased research and consultancy firm, has produced extensive commentary on Qantas. In a February 24, 2014 report it observed: “Qantas faces two main challenges to its future: (1) its classic legacy model is extinct, notably internationally; and (2) domestically it is overweight…with the competition that Virgin Australia has generated since its metamorphosis from LCC [low-cost carrier] to full-service airline. The first is a longterm problem that requires major surgery; the second is a pressing one that has to be addressed immediately…Staff reductions and a level of restructuring at Qantas may help reshape the short term.’’ For the long term, it stated baldly, “more complex solutions are required’’.

Rich Heritage This is a fine fix to be in for a company

1 Qantas domestic’s fleet includes 28 Boeing 737s – this one is pictured departing Cairns. Timo Breidenstein/AirTeamImages 2 Jetstar is Qantas’ offering in Asia-Pacific’s competitive low-cost carrier market. Darren Howie/AirTeamImages 3 Analysts say Qantas’ in-flight experience, typified by first-class suites on its A380, remains a differentiator. Angelo Bufalino/AirTeamImages 2

44

AI.11.14

that’s closing in on a century of operations, spanning the era of opencockpit biplanes to the enormous, technology-rich aircraft of the 21st century, such as the Airbus A380. Qantas was founded in November 1920, in the outback of Queensland (Qantas originally stood for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, Limited). The fledgling carrier started scheduled passenger flights in March 1921 with an Avro 540K and launched international services in May 1935 between Darwin and Singapore. It flew throughout World War Two, and has operated continuously under the same name longer than any other airline. It’s the world’s second-oldest carrier after KLM, which was founded in 1916.

Australian Identity Privatisation in 1995 ended Qantas’ government-owned status but it remains Australia’s de facto flag carrier and arguably the country’s most famous global brand. This identity is central to Qantas’ marketing strategy. The airline sponsors Australia’s national rugby union team, the Wallabies, is the official carrier of the national cricket team and sponsors the national association football team, the Socceroos. In line with its ambition to be considered synonymous with all things Australian, Qantas occasionally festoons aircraft with shimmering, geometric Aboriginal designs to complement the signature white kangaroo on the red tails of its aircraft. In this context, the question of what’s next for Qantas is very much on the minds of Australians. The possibility that foreign interests could eventually buy Qantas has been greeted with concern in political and nationalist circles Down Under. The business community professes to be less alarmed, as do Qantas executives, though none have said cash-rich foreign players – think mainland Chinese carriers or state-linked Persian Gulf airlines awash in petrodollars – actually should buy Qantas and give it a new lease of life. In any case, the Qantas Sale Act, which laid out the terms for the airline’s privatisation, forbids it – though that could change.

QANTAS COMMERCIAL

Regional Growth Qantas’ home Asia-Pacific region became the world’s largest aviation market in 2011, with 30% of the planet’s air passengers, edging ahead of North America’s 29% and Europe’s 27.5%. Some, such as CAPA’s analysts, claim Qantas has been slow to capitalise on this rapid growth and has even made some moves that could harm its cause. In 2013 the airline ended an 18-year joint services agreement with fellow oneworld alliance member British Airways and forged a similar partnership with Emirates Airline. Consequently, Qantas discontinued the intermediate stop at Singapore on its Sydney-Frankfurt and Sydney-London services – the latter the famed ‘Kangaroo Route’ – in favour of Emirates’ home base at Dubai International Airport. This change, critics say, reduces passenger connectivity to major Asian markets from distant Dubai and thus gives Qantas less exposure in Asia. CAPA says the move means regional rivals, such as the high-end carriers Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways offer more seats and connectivity in the fast-growing region than Qantas. “It is scarcely conceivable that a major Australian airline would forsake the potential for expansion in the world’s highest-potential market,’’ CAPA tut-tutted in a February 14, 2014 report. “This is where the market growth will be – and not incidentally where a great deal of corporate activity will occur.’’

Jetstar

Partnerships Qantas’ codeshare agreements with oneworld partner airlines – among them British Airways, American Airlines, Japan Airlines and LAN – help boost the carrier’s presence in competitive markets, Qantas spokespeople say, as does its joint agreement with Emirates. Cross-border collaboration is a key element in the Qantas business plan. “Partnerships are a big priority for us, especially in Asia,” Thomas Woodward remarked. “As with Emirates, we’ve recently launched alliances with China Southern and Bangkok Airlines, which add to our existing partnerships with China Eastern and the Asian carriers in oneworld. Our strategy is to fly to regional ‘gateway’ hubs and then partner with strong airlines in this market to extend our network. This is an approach that is working well for us, and we certainly plan to keep expanding our range of alliances.” In the first half of the 2014 fiscal year – the most recent period when financial results were available – Qantas’ prestigious international division generated the lion’s share of losses: $A262 million, up from a loss of A$91 million in the same period last year. Its domestic service, long a cash cow, made

$A57 million, but this was down sharply from a A$218 million profit in the same period a year earlier.

Domestic Competition In the domestic market Qantas is locked in fierce competition with Virgin Australia, co-founded by Virgin Group’s Sir Richard Branson in 2000, a year before the collapse of Ansett Australia. Renamed Virgin Australia in 2012, the Brisbane-based airline has secured major investment stakes from foreign airlines, giving the carrier – which has over time metamorphosed to a full-service airline – a strong hand. “The domestic Australian market is being flooded with capacity,” as the rivals battle for market share, comments Aspire Aviation. “As a result, the domestic business class airfares have slumped to unprecedented multi-year lows.’’ This has proved harmful to both carriers, but especially to Qantas, which holds 85% of the domestic Australian corporate market and has long been the airline of choice for business people, whether they be international high-flyers or ‘fly-in, fly-out’ travellers for western Australia’s economically important mining companies. Simon Willson/AirTeamImages

Aspire Aviation’s Tsang says Qantas’ Asian penetration and performance look better when its subsidiary budget carrier Jetstar is taken into account. “Some markets do hold potential, such as Japan, whose aviation market is four times the size of Australia’s, and Jetstar has had a breakthrough establishing a second base in Osaka Kansai in recent weeks,’’ Tsang wrote in late June. Low-cost carriers in the Asia-Pacific region have soared to 47 in number from 30 in 2009, according to the Wall Street Journal, and their market share has shot up to 25% of the region’s air passenger travel, from less than 10% in 2007. SIA’s Scoot, Kuala Lumpur-based AirAsia, India’s SpiceJet, Singapore’s Tigerair and other contenders join Melbourne-based Jetstar in the hyper-competitive LCC market. These airlines expect to grow substantially: taken collectively, discount carriers have ordered some 1,500 aircraft. Jetstar’s overall performance has been mixed. Encouraging growth in Japan has been matched with what Tsang characterises as “turbulence at its other affiliates – freezing growth at Singapore-based Jetstar Asia and Jetstar Hong Kong is an unwelcome distraction adding to its full plate.’’ Jetstar Hong Kong is a joint venture between Qantas (24.5%), China Eastern Airlines (24.5%) and Shun Tak Holdings (51%) that’s seeking regulatory approval from the Hong Kong government to start flying routes to Chinese cities and other destinations around southeast Asia. Breaking into the lucrative market at Chek Lap Kok International via Jetstar Hong Kong would give Qantas feeder traffic to and from booming mainland Chinese cities.

3

AI.11.14

45

1 1 Six Boeing 747s will be retired by mid-2016, although nine recently upgraded with new business class seats will be retained. Andres Contador/AirTeamImages 2 Cost-cutting measures announced early in 2014 will see Qantas phase out its last Boeing 767-300ER by the end of the year. Darren Howie/AirTeamImages

Rivalry

2

46

Adding intensity to the competition between Qantas and Virgin Australia is executive rivalry. Virgin Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, John Borghetti, was Qantas’ Chief Financial Officer when Alan Joyce was Jetstar CEO early in the last decade. Joyce became Qantas CEO and Managing Director in 2008, edging out Borghetti, who joined Virgin Australia four years later. That airline has made big losses too – in August it posted a A$355.6m after-tax loss for the full year ending in June, more than three times’ the previous year’s A$98.1m loss – but the carrier remains well-funded. Three international airlines – Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways – together own nearly 70% of it, topped by ANZ’s 29.99% stake, the highest a foreign airline can own under Australian law. A A$300 million injection from these three government-linked airlines in late 2013 helped Virgin Australia ride out losses in the first half of fiscal y ear 2014. Virgin’s domestic division

AI.11.14

QUANTAS COMMERCIAL

lost A$25.7m, down from a A$57.4m profit in the same timespan a year ago. Virgin’s smaller international division lost A$29.5m, down from a profit of A$26.6m last year.

Capacity Australia’s ABC News quoted chief market analyst Peter Esho at brokerage firm Invast Australia averring: “The future will be around the domestic capacity war. Who will blink first?” Esho continued: “We still hold the view that Virgin is now majority-owned and controlled by a group of international airlines that have a primary motive to become a lasting nuisance for Qantas.” The Qantas Sale Act holds Qantas to a stricter limit on investors than other Australian airlines – a holdover from its preprivatisation days. The government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott suggested this spring that it may amend the law. “Our position has always been that foreign investment rules must be consistent,”

Qantas’s Thomas Woodward commented. “Australian international carriers are permitted to be foreign-owned up to 49%; for Qantas, there are additional limits of 35% on foreign airline investment and 25% on individual investors. This is clearly not a sustainable situation given the intensity and increasingly competitive global aviation market. Reform of the Qantas Sale Act would level the playing field in Australian aviation, but our focus is on our own transformation programme.” To that end, Qantas is emphasising its strengths. These include a A$2 billion cash reserve; a loyalty programme that earned a record A$146 million profit in the first half of FY 2014; an enviable safety record; a 131-aircraft mainline fleet that averages 7.6 years old and high-end lounges in busy hubs, such as Sydney, Melbourne, Los Angeles and Dallas-Fort Worth. The DFW-Sydney flight, the longest scheduled commercial flight in the world, was serviced with an A380 for the first time on September 29.

In-Flight Experience Qantas in-flight service on long-haul international routes, historically well regarded, is still very popular with travellers. Daniel Tsang says, “Qantas International’s cabin products, including the refreshed Marc Newson interiors on its 747 and A380, are actually quite good in terms of legroom, seat width, etc, especially versus its US and European counterparts.’’ Surveying the dismal financial performance of Qantas and Jetstar, Alan Joyce declared in a February 26 speech: “This performance by our airlines is unacceptable. Over our 93-year history, Qantas has a history of resilience and adaptation. We are now enduring some of the toughest conditions we’ve ever faced. We must and we are making the hard but necessary decisions that will protect this great company, and ensure its return to a profitable and sustainable future.”

AI.11.14

47

Sund MILITARY LTV A-7 CORSAIR

Corsair’s

The imposing sight of two single-seat A-7s taxying towards the ‘last chance’ checkpoint at Araxos Air Base. The twin-seat TA-7C could not taxi with the canopy raised due to its shape; the crew opened it during last-chance checks. Ian Harding

O

n October 17, 2014, the Hellenic Air Force (HAF)’s 336 Mira (Squadron) hosted the retirement ceremony for the last airworthy A-7Es and TA-7C at Araxos Air Base in the western Peloponnese. The squadron – one of the oldest in the HAF, with a tradition going back to World War Two as an RAF Hurricane unit with Greek

48

AI.11.14

personnel – proudly operated the A-7E/H Corsair for 20 years. Despite Greece being rocked by financial turmoil, the unit kept up its traditions, and the Corsair’s readiness, to a very high standard right to the end, the 20-strong fleet playing an important role as the HAF’s only lead-in fighter trainers (LIFTs).

Towards Retirement By late 2013 there were 23 Corsairs left in use. The 116th Fighter Wing’s A-7E Sminos Metekpaideusis (or operational conversion

unit, OCU) was deactivated on August 9, 2013 and pilot type certification authority passed to 336 Mira’s in-house OCU flight and its seven two-seaters. The squadron hosted a ceremony on October 11, 2013 to commemorate its 70 years of continuous service and the loss of squadron pilots who had flown Hurricanes, Spitfires, F-84Fs and F-104Gs with the unit. Four pilots in A-7Es performed fly-bys, including the ‘missing man formation’, before conducting simulated ‘double-90’ low-level attacks on the squadron hangar.

down LTV A-7 CORSAIR MILITARY

The Hellenic Air Force’s A-7Es – the last flying Corsairs – had a key operational role until the very end, as Kirk Paloulian explains

Retirement Decision At that time, there was hope that the fleet may have a life extension. Major Kostas Niras, 336 Mira’s deputy commanding officer and the ex-116 Fighter Wing A-7E OCU commander and instructor, told the author: “We still receive HAF Academy graduates so there’s hope the squadron will carry on with this type of aircraft.” The HAF General Staff assessed whether the aircraft’s service life could be extended into the 2015-2018 timeframe. But a

longevity report released early in 2014 concluded that extending the Corsair’s service career wasn’t possible and the type would be retired by November. The main issue was a lack of spare ejection seat firing cartridges in stock depots worldwide, the report concluding it would be unsafe for pilots to fly the A-7E and TA-7C without new ones. The HAF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Evangelos Tournas, told the author: “Given the circumstances of the operational standards of the Hellenic Air Force I do not

want to retire this airplane; however, I have to confront the short supply of sub-parts in the ejection seat mechanism and parts in the powerplant.” The Corsair fleet was depleted during 2014. On May 8, an A-7E on a low-level mission lost its UHF/IFF aerial housed on top of the vertical stabiliser when it struck a highvoltage cable. The pilot brought the aircraft back safely. In early June, pre-flight wing folding/ unfolding inspections on one of the last four TA-7Cs revealed a wing structure crack,

AI.11.14

49

MILITARY LTV A-7 CORSAIR

1 The tiger-striped Corsair seen from a TA-7C flying abeam Scorpio Island, a former Onassis family resort in the Ionian Sea. Kirk Paloulian 2 This 336 Mira A-7E’s artwork depicts Mount Olympus, the eagle from the squadron badge and a stylised version of the Greek flag. Lt Col Spyros Malakakis via Ian Harding 3 The 335 Mira ‘Tiger’ aircraft holds at the Araxos last-chance area as 336’s specially-painted A-7 takes off. Now flying Block 52+ F-16s, 335 is the oldest HAF squadron, having been formed in October 1941. Ian Harding 7 A 336 Mira pilot in an TA-7C during the final stage of training. Ioannis Lekkas via Kirk Paloulian 1

3

50

probably sustained from ‘over-g’. On August 26 an A-7E flying as the lead in a pair of Corsairs on a low-level exercise in northern Greece suffered loss of thrust over the area of Komotini. The pilot ejected safely and the cause of the accident is under investigation. Despite the losses the squadron carried on training and participating in national exercises and airshows. On July 5, four A-7Es carried out the type’s last bombing practice with live ordnance over the Kranea firing range during the HAF’s Kamberos 2014 exercise. One TA-7C (s/n 154477) was repainted in the wraparound camouflage scheme worn when the A-7Es and TA-7Cs were delivered to Greece from the US Navy in 1993-1994. That aircraft, along with an ‘Olympos’ anniversary-schemed A-7E, took part in the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in July, where the latter won the Concours 2 d’Elegance for best livery.

AI.11.14

LTV A-7 CORSAIR MILITARY

4 4 Mounted on this A-7E’s wing is the Autonomous Free-Flight Dispenser System, which the Corsairs used during their last ten years of operation. Kirk Paloulian 5 An A-7E at Araxos carrying laser-guided bombs and an AIM-9L for self defence. Kirk Paloulian 6 The Texas Instruments ANB/ AAR-45 forward-looking infrared pod remained a key element of the A-7’s armoury, helping students prepare for low-level and night sorties before stepping up to the Block 50 F-16C/D. Ian Harding 5

6

The same pair of jets displayed at the Athens Flying Week airshow on September 28. A spotters’ day was held at Araxos on October 16, the day before the retirement ceremony. The last flight of an HAF Corsair was scheduled for October 31, bringing to an end more than 39 years of A-7 operations in the nation’s air force.

Eurotraining

In the meantime the HAF had entered the Advanced European Jet Pilot Training (AEJPT) initiative, also known as Eurotraining, to develop a common advanced training programme for student pilots from 12 European nations. Previously, new HAF student pilots logged

around 255 to 265 flight hours (plus 65 in flight simulators) during training – relatively low figures given they were going into the advanced cockpits of the Block 52+ F-16 and Mirage 2000-5. Having signed up to Eurotraining, the HAF decided to close the gap between its T-2s and its third- and fourth-generation fighters

LIFT Role

7

With the introduction of glass cockpit Mirage 2000-5 and Block 52+ F-16C/Ds to five fighter squadrons in the past decade, effective LIFT capability became a necessity for the air force. Initially the HAF planned to activate a dedicated LIFT squadron at Kalamata, where jet training is conducted for HAF Academy graduates on T-2C and T-2E Buckeyes of the 120th Aerial Training Wing and its constituent 362 ‘Nestor’ and 363 ‘Danaos’ Miras. The air force had planned to buy 37 new advanced jet trainers for the LIFT role, with the BAE Systems Hawk Mk128, Aermacchi M-346 and Aero Vodochody L-159 the shortlisted candidates. But Greece’s debt problems following the 2008 financial crisis made such a purchase unrealistic. An alternative plan to have six F-5Bs and an NF-5B (stored since 2002 at Mikra Air Force Base, Thessaloniki) upgraded abroad was similarly rejected on cost grounds.

AI.11.14

51

MILITARY LTV A-7 CORSAIR

by increasing total training flight time to 300 hours, implementing crew resource management/operational risk management concepts, evaluating new options for LIFT and taking part in AEJPT and exchanges with other air forces – the HAF having signed agreements with the Armée de l’Air (French Air Force); and the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMI, Italian Air Force) for Greek student pilots and instructors to fly the AMI’s MB-339C/Ds (see Mediterranean Training Teamwork, February, p34).

Valuable Service As a result of Eurotraining it was realised the A-7Es and TA-7Cs could provide an inexpensive in-house LIFT capability, giving much-needed extra training and augmenting student pilots’ flying skills and self-confidence before they went on to highly advanced frontline aircraft. The Corsairs’ use in the LIFT role raised students’ total flight training time to around 350 hours. They spent six months with the OCU before either staying at Araxos to join

1 An A-7E gets airborne for another mission from Araxos. Those fortunate to fly the type said it was a ‘joy’ to fly, incredibly stable at low level, very powerful, reliable and rugged. Ian Harding 2 The TA-7C sent to RIAT 2014 for the type’s last UK visit wore an all-over camouflage scheme that was on the A7Es and TA-7Cs when originally delivered. Ian Harding

52

AI.11.14

the resident Block 52+ F-16M squadron or moving on to another F-16 Fighter Wing at either Nea Aghialos, Larissa or Souda. Among HAF officers, it was felt pilots coming from the A-7E progressed smoothly onto the F-16 as both types have a common system philosophy. Lieutenant Kostas Anthoulakis, a former 336 Mira A-7E Corsair pilot who transited to the Block 52+ F-16 with 343 Mira at Souda, explained: “The 200-hour experience accumulated from the A-7 was precious. When I came into the F-16 OCU to be trained on the Block 52+ F-16D I’d [already] practiced intercepts, dogfights and bombing runs. After my first bombing run, during the post-flight debrief 1 my instructor asked me: ‘Kostas, have you practised with the F-16 before?’”

At the OCU The OCU training consisted of 55 sorties, averaging some 80 flight hours on both singleseat and two-seat versions, with 60% of the time logged in a TA-7C and 40% in an A-7E. Following the ‘Corsair College’ curriculum used by the US Navy when it operated the A-7, the HAF Corsair training originally consisted around 20 hours in a flight simulator transferred by the US Navy to the HAF in 1994. Students learnt procedures for normal

LTV A-7 CORSAIR MILITARY

manoeuvres and air combat manoeuvring • Low-level tactical navigation at 500ft using surrounding terrain and aircraft systems • Air-to-ground firing with Mk82 bombs • Counter-offensive mission planning • Close air support, tactical air support maritime operations and armed recce mission planning

FLIR The TA-7C had excellent flying qualities and rock-steady handling. It also enabled the instructor to demonstrate advanced manoeuvres such as departure from controlled flight and various attack profiles

AI.11.14

Ian Harding

operations, instrument flight rules, emergencies, tactical mission and electronic warfare, with checks at each stage. There was mandatory training for handling emergencies and dealing with ejection seat pins and safety mechanisms, before the first flight in a TA-7C. The initial flying phase lasted about a month, when trainees logged ten flight hours, consisting of touch-and-goes, simulated emergencies, stuck throttle and flapless landings. They also had to conduct emergency drills for engine fires and ejections. 2 After a stage check, the trainee could fly a sortie per day in either an aircraft or solo in an A-7E, their first flight comprising on a simulator. Instruction consisted a circuit closely monitored by another A-7E of conversion, formation, low-level flown by an instructor. More touch-andnavigation, air combat manoeuvres, goes and further instruction on normal and air-to-air refuelling, air-to-ground and emergency procedures followed. tactical missions and emergencies practice Low-level navigation flights were carried involving landing and decelerating with the out within the Peloponnese and over the help of the arresting gear. Ionian Sea. As the students built confidence On graduation from the OCU a pilot would flying solo they were entrusted to fly TA-7C be able to conduct: let-down approaches at Nea Aghialos, Larissa and Mikra using radio-navigation • Day and night take-offs and landings instruments and the head-up display. • General familiarisation missions • Full mission under instrument Combat Training meteorological conditions (IMC); all A five-month combat training phase tactical formations as leader and wingman; followed, lasting 70 flight hours, with defensive and offensive basic fighter

53

“Given the circumstances of the operational standards of the Hellenic Air Force, I do not want to retire this airplane; however I have to confront the short supply of sub-parts in the ejection seat mechanism and parts in the powerplant.” Lt Gen Evangelos Turnas, HAF Chief of Staff

1

1 The Corsair was an extremely stable aircraft for low altitude missions. Hellenic Air Force via Ian Harding 2 Despite its age, the A-7 matched up well against fourth-generation fighters especially at low level thanks to its manoeuvrability and near ‘smokeless’ engine, which heat-seeking missiles found hard to track. Ian Harding 3 A-7s maintained 24/7 QRA status throughout their career at various locations. Captured at Araxos Air Base during its twilight years is one such aircraft carrying Mk82 bombs and AIM-9L sidewinder missiles. Ian Harding 4 The ‘Olympos’ jet was part of the Corsair’s retirement event in October. Ian Harding

HELLENIC AIR FORCE A-7Es AND TA-7Cs In July 1990 the Greek and American governments signed a new bilateral defence and economic co-operation agreement leading to the renegotiation of US bases on Greek soil. After Greece’s participation in Operation Desert Storm over Iraq in 1991, the US administration offered the Greeks former US Navy A-7Es and TA-7Cs. The HAF reacted positively as its A-7Hs had more in common with the US Navy E-models than the US Air Force A-7D model. Agreement was reached for the supply of A-7Es then in storage at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (the variant had been retired by the US Navy on May 23, 1991) along with TA-7Cs still in use with fleet aggressor squadrons and test units. A delegation of four HAF Corsair pilots – who visited Naval Air Station (NAS) Cecil Field in Florida and Naval Depot Jacksonville, Florida – made the selection. Some 32 A-7Es and four TA-7Cs were chosen and US Navy TA-7C

54

AI.11.14

instructors trained the four pilots on the differences between the aircraft and Greece’s A-7Hs. With the impending transfer of some 100-plus aircraft to Greece (F-4Es/RF-4Es as well as the Corsairs), the HAF’s Tactical Command rethought its squadron structure and on July 31, 1992 decided that 335 Mira and 336 Mira at Araxos should re-equip with the Corsairs. The first four departed Florida on their delivery flight to Greece in late March 1993 and transited via Lajes in the Azores. However, one of the two-seaters couldn’t extend its main landing gear properly due to technical malfunction and declared an emergency. The three other aircraft flew on to Araxos via NAS Rota, Spain, and NAS Naples, Italy, arriving in Greece after the 336 Mira’s F/TF/RF-104G retirement ceremony on March 31. The TA7C that had the problem eventually arrived later. The first TA-7Cs handed over to HAF during 1993 were ex-A-7E 156753 and ex-TA-7Cs 156768 and 156774. The rest, transferred

later that year (BuNos 154379, 154404, 154424, 154489, 154507, 156738, 156747, 156750, 156767, 156787, 156800), came directly from AMARC. In all, the HAF received 62 Corsairs – 36 in the first batch and, crated to Greece, 26 in the second which were turned into flyable status by HAI. The primary batch of A-7Es were former VA-46 ‘Clansmen’ and VA-72 ‘Blue Hawks’ aircraft that had just completed their last cruises during Operation Desert Storm. The HAF team that went to Florida converted Greek pilots to the A-7E, a task demanding only a few sorties with the TA-7C which differed little from the –H model. One drawback was that the aircraft were delivered without electronic countermeasures and radar warning receivers (RWR). HAI at Tanagra went on to install ECM and ALR-66 RWR units in the aircraft. Later, a new Sperry gyro was added experimentally to the A-7E avionics. The former deputy CO of 335 Mira, Lieutenant Colonel Athanasios

Sextos, who has a total of 3,000 flight hours in Corsairs, recalls: “When we received the A-7E from the US Navy the aircraft could fire the AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile. By the time the Block 50 F-16 arrived in the HAF in the late 1990s this capability was taken over by 341 Mira at Nea Aghialos.” A-7E and TA-7C accidents were rare in HAF service despite the aircraft’s age, with only five losses in their first decade of Greek operation – attributed to the excellent maintenance provided by the Araxos technicians and engineering staff. Nevertheless, after the losses, replacement TA-7Cs joined HAF in the 2000s (BuNos 154477, 156784, 156790, 156795). They were sent, crated, to HAI which returned them to flying status. Corsairs took part in early air-to-air refuelling trials of the HAF’s Mirage 2000EGM/BGM, with TA-7Cs providing ‘buddy-buddy’ refuelling and, in 2004, the type was certified to operate and drop the EADS Autonomous Free-Flight Dispenser System (AFDS) stand-off weapon.

LTV A-7 CORSAIR MILITARY with an operational benefit – including long-range dive toss, low apex, double-90 manoeuvres and aerobatics such as a cloverleaf and Cuban Eight. Progressing onto the weapons phase, the student would fire the gun against various targets and drop training bombs. Carrying the Texas Instruments AN/ALR-45 forwardlooking infrared (FLIR) pod on station six, the TA-7C could train pilots in flying low-level and night sorties well before they went to the Block 50 F-16 with its Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) interface. ‘Hot seat’ sorties were a custom acquired 2 from the US Navy. After a training flight the crew would take the aircraft to the end of 3 the taxiway and, with chocks on and thrust set to idle, the instructor pilot and student would disembark and another IP and trainee would step aboard – saving fuel by skipping start-up/shutdown procedures.

Versatile Beyond LIFT training, the Corsairs also had other roles in the HAF. The TA-7Cs helped in the dissimilar air combat training (DACT) role for frontline F-16C/D and F-4E units during Ierakas and the Andravida-based Fighter Weapons School’s (FWS) Iniohos exercises. The FWS used Corsairs in the development of courses to train HAF pilots for their NATO commitments with neighbouring air forces, such as Combined Air Operation or Composite Air Operation preparation and vulnerability and formation leader instruction. An A-7E pilot with 3,000 flight hours’ experience on the F-104G Starfighter, who completed a tour as an HAF fighter weapons instructor at the FWS, recalled: “We practised a lot in the FWS course in defensive dogfights with every type in our arsenal, [including] F-16s, F-4s. I never received a lock-on from an infrared heatseeking missile!” Another Corsair pilot, Colonel Panagiotis ‘Takis’ Valsamos, a type examiner in HAF and former 335 Mira deputy CO, commented: “We

got into a certain point with constant practice where we could confront a threat like an F-4E in equal terms. If he could sneak in our six o’clock, for instance, we could out-turn him. Then if we carried an AIM-9L all-aspect infrared missile, just simply take a defensive shot and bug out!” The A-7Es and TA-7Cs also provided buddy-buddy air-to-air refuelling training to Mirage 2000EGM/BGMs. The capability was

HAF A-7 CORSAIR SPECIAL COLOUR SCHEMES Araxos has historical significance for Greece as it is there that RAF aircraft first landed in October 1944 as Nazi occupying forces withdrew. The two squadrons based there now, 335 and 336, became the basis of the post-war Royal Hellenic Air Force (RHAF). The early Greek Hurricane pilots, with their fighting spirit, carried on the battle against the Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht, forging the spirit of the youngsters entering the RHAF (the ‘Royal’ prefix was dropped in 1973). Two A-7E Corsairs were selected to be painted in an anniversary scheme to mark 336 Mira’s 70 years. The former 335 Mira ‘Tiger’ Corsair, which participated in exercises and airshows in Greece and across Europe in the 2000s, transferred to 336 when 335 moved onto the Block 52+ F-16M in 2009. The idea of similarly decorating a Corsair for 336 Mira came up in 2007 and the result was A-7E 160616 in the ‘Olympos’ scheme designed by Lieutenant Nikos Danias, then an A-7H pilot on 336 Mira

(and currently with 343 Mira as a Block 52+ F-16 pilot). The design features mountain tops symbolising Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece and the resting place of the gods of ancient Greece. A similar design adorned an F-104G Starfighter during the last days of that legendary fighter with 336 Mira, although black and silver was selected for the Corsair rather than the F-104G’s blue and white. The commemorative Corsair was painted at the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI) facilities in Tanagra during the second half of October 2007 and presented to the public during the HAF’s Patron Saint (Archangel Michael) celebration day festivities the following month. Both specially-marked Corsairs took part in the September 2008 airshow in Tanagra airbase and have featured in many Greek and international airshows since, the ‘Olympos’ jet serving as the flagship for the Corsair’s retirement.

developed in the 1990s with the help of US Navy S-3B Vikings aboard Sixth Fleet carriers during their regular Mediterranean Sea cruises, using the D-704 aerial refuelling store system. Training included missions at night. The TA-7C was also used for check rides on the HAF’s instrument flight rules refresher courses with navigation exercise flights to Europe. Until the end, the Corsairs did a sterling job. 4

Acknowledgements The author would like to thank HAF spokesperson Colonel Alexandros Marinos, 116th Wing CO Col Petros Hatziris and 336 Mira deputy CO Major Kostas Niras for their help, as well as former Corsair pilots Col Panagiotis Valsamos, Col Athanasios Sextos, Col Giorgos Koutsouras and Col Vangelis Panagiotou.

AI.11.14

55

MILITARY MC-12W LIBERTY AND OTHER SNEAKY KING AIRS

A

US Air Force Raytheon MC-12W Liberty aircraft gained the world’s attention in May 2014 when it joined the search for 250 female students kidnapped by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram

in Nigeria. The multi-spectral intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft, flying from Niger, was the first US military asset to be committed to the international effort to find the girls. It was joined by US unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) and ISR aircraft from several countries in missions which continued over some of the most difficult terrain in West Africa until the end of June.

MC-12W Liberty The MC-12W is an unarmed version of the familiar twin light turboprop Textron Beechcraft King Air 350ER (extended range). It is relatively cheap to procure and operate and is capable of being based at short fields, supported by only a few personnel. Radar and infrared sensors can search for individuals or vehicles on the ground, even in areas of dense vegetation.

The US Air Force plans to start a three-year process of moving all except eight (to be transferred to the US Army) of its 41 MC-12W Liberties to Air Force Special Operations Command in the current FY2015. Matthew Clements

Libe

The Future of 56

AI .11.14 AI.11.14

MC-12W LIBERTY AND OTHER SNEAKY KING AIRS MILITARY Its communication intelligence (COMINT) capacity allows it to concurrently intercept and monitor radio and cell phone traffic. The MC-12W lacks the long endurance of some UAVs but offers great tactical flexibility. The aircraft, taking off with a full fuel and payload, can carry out mediumaltitude surveillance for more than seven hours, and then fly 100 miles (160km) back to base and land with 45 minutes fuel

reserve on board. The MC-12W’s communications system is designed to data link information to the US Air Force Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS). It can also use voice radio to relay communications or provide information to coalition partners that lack compatible equipment, such as the African forces searching for the Boko Haram militants, something a UAV cannot do. A

manned ISR platform offers regional partners a demonstration of outside support. The need for ISR by those carrying out counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism missions has proved to be insatiable. The MC-12W offers a reliable and economical way to supply much of it, using its ability to fuse the data from its multiple sensors to provide a high degree of accuracy. US Army Brigadier General John Linder,

erty AI .11.14 AI.11.14

57

MILITARY MC-12W LIBERTY AND OTHER SNEAKY KING AIRS

US Africa Command (AFRICOM) special operations head, said: “What I need is situational awareness development…so that someone else on the continent can take action or decide not to take action.” In Nigeria, the decision was not to take action against Boko Haram (by the end of June, a quarter of the kidnap victims had made their own way home). The operation underlined the need for appropriate ISR platform tools for a range of difficult missions. The MC-12W is suited for providing the type of situational awareness General Linder described. The Liberty fleet is a veteran of the closing years of US involvement in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan (it had logged 300,000 total combat hours by the end of 2013) but is now a target of cutbacks in US force structure. The same level of utilisation applies to ISR aircraft using King Air airframes operated by other services. Worldwide, ISR-configured King Airs are in the thick of many conflicts. They represent the cutting edge of airpower today, much more than jet fighters in terms of combat flight hours and missions flown.

58

AI.11.14

The MC-12W-equipped 361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron (ERS), based at Kandahar Airfield, deactivated on September 1 and its last assigned aircraft returned to Beale Air Force Base in California on September 22. According to Air Force Times, the 361st ERS stood up in May 2010, flew over watch of more than 50,000 friendly troops and scanned about 8,000 miles (13,000km) of highway, accumulating 115,000 combat flight hours. The 361st was also responsible for over watch of 190 vehicle interdictions, 150 drug caches, 320 weapons caches and killing of 890 insurgents, with another 950 detained, according to Col Rhude Cherry, commander of the 451st Air Expeditionary Group speaking during the September 1 deactivation ceremony at Kandahar. Today just one MC-12W-equipped unit — the 4th ERS stationed at Bagram Airfield — remains in country, its home station since 2009.

Special Ops Javaman Air Combat Command (ACC) operated 41 MC-12Ws at the start of the year; 34 were

deployed overseas and the remainder at Beale Air Force Base in northern California. Following a Congressional mandate, the air force plans in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 to start a three-year process of moving all except eight (to be transferred to the US Army) of its MC-12W Liberties to Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). They will be modified to Javaman III configuration. Operations and maintenance costs will be funded by Special Operations Command (SOCOM). Closing down all ACC MC-12W operations is estimated to save the service $420 million annually, compared with the option of keeping 21 ACC MC-12Ws operational. Upgrading to Javaman III is going to be more expensive than appeared at first glance. The MC-12W design, developed to meet urgent operational requirements by the US Air Force’s Big Safari programme office in 2007-2009, uses readily available off-theshelf systems, with little thought given to how they could be replaced with improved technology. The FY2015 budget request included $40.5 million to upgrade the first

MC-12W LIBERTY AND OTHER SNEAKY KING AIRS MILITARY

US Army RC-12X Guardrail 93-0701 at Leeds Airport, Yorkshire during a transit stop in February 2013. The aircraft was originally delivered as an RC-12P and was subsequently upgraded to RC-12Q (in 2011) and RC-12X configuration. Chris Procter/AirTeamImages

batch of ACC-operated MC-12W Liberties to Javaman IIIs. This includes fitting a laser target designator in the chin-mounted sensor turret. Sensors and communications will be modified to SOCOM’s requirements. It remains uncertain whether the programme will be fully funded in FY2015, as the Senate appropriations committee cut the request by $5.4 million, stating it was unimpressed by SOCOM’s sensor priorities. The first unit to receive Javaman III will be a new AFSOC squadron to be formed at Will Rodgers Air National Guard Base in Oklahoma, where 13 (11 of them operationally coded) will be based. The remaining Javaman IIIs will go to AFSOC squadrons at Hurlburt Field, Florida, and Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico; replacing single-engine Pilatus U-28/PC-12 special operations aircraft. Other US Air Force GOCO and COCO King Airs have already left service, including the Blue Devil I with scene-matching wide-area sensors, a capability now migrating to Reaper UAVs

using the Gorgon Stare pod. The acronyms GOCO and COCO mean government owned, contractor operated; and contractor owned, contractor operated respectively. In addition to the Javaman IIIs, AFSOC will also get and operate the ten original Javaman ISR aircraft (nine operational and one trainer), that are based on the King Air 350 airframe. These ten Javaman aircraft are currently operated by SOCOM as GOCO aircraft, having transitioned from COCO status in 2012. Currently, the ten aircraft operate with US civil registrations but in their new status will acquire serial numbers and military markings. The original plan was to upgrade these aircraft to Javaman III baseline configuration, but it is uncertain whether there will be sufficient funding approved for this. Javaman 2014 deployments include SOCOM-support missions flown from Burkina Faso, West Africa. There is nothing covert about the Javaman’s external appearance. Ferry missions are

flown through civil airports in the UK and Europe but little has been released about missions and capabilities. Its L-3 Systemsdesigned multi-spectral sensor suite and communications are designed to meet SOCOM requirements.

MC-12S, MARSS and RC-12X

The US Army has been using King Airseries aircraft for ISR missions since the 1970s. At the start of 2014, army ISR aircraft were flying 550 sorties a week worldwide, including combat missions in Afghanistan. Under current planning, the army’s fixedwing ISR force, will, in the future, operate more than 110 aircraft, either new production or modernised, upgraded to a common interoperable baseline architecture. All will use King Air airframes except for the nine army Research-Low altitude (ARL) aircraft, which will change from their current four-engine Bombardier EO-5 Dash 7s to ARL-Enhanced Bombardier Dash 8 twin-

AI.11.14

59

MILITARY MC-12W LIBERTY AND OTHER SNEAKY KING AIRS

“The 361st ERS provided over watch for this area [of Afghanistan] which means it was responsible for scanning 57,000 square kilometers of land, 700 convoys, 190 vehicle interdictions, 150 drug caches, and 320 weapons caches, it’s truly remarkable,” Col Rhude Cherry, Commander 451st Air Expeditionary Group

1

turboprop airframes carrying new sensors. The Boeing-Sierra Nevada MC-12S Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARSS) is based on the King Air 350ER airframe. According to Boeing, EMARSS will provide the US Army with a persistent capability to detect, locate, classify, identify and track surface targets in nearly all weather conditions, day or night, with a high-degree of timeliness and accuracy. Four engineering and manufacturing and development (EMD) EMARSS aircraft are currently flying. They were supposed to deploy for evaluation in Afghanistan but delays in the programme have kept them test-flying, based at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. The fourth EMARSS was not delivered until the end of 2013, by which time the other three aircraft had completed

more than 100 flights and 400 hours in their test programme, which was scheduled to run through FY2014 after which the milestone C decision (whether to start full rate production) will be made. Congress approved a further two EMD EMARSS aircraft in 2013. Conversion has not been ordered. The US Army purchased two 350ER airframes in 2013 and would like to have 12 new production EMARSS, which will include the EMD aircraft brought up to operational standards. The EMARSS programme has proved politically controversial from its origins, arising from the Airborne Common Sensor (ACS) programme, a multi-spectral ISR platform using a twin-jet airframe that proved too expensive. Originally, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) proposed transferring all the MC-12Ws to the US Army

1 The RC-12X is the latest version of the Guardrail system. It uses a new Northrop Grumman multisensor suite and was first deployed to Afghanistan in February 2011. Kevin Boydston/AirTeamImages 2 MC-12Ws prepare for a training flight from Beale Air Force Base in California. Senior Airman Shawn Nickel/US Air Force 3 Sixteen of the US Army’s 44 current multi-variant RC-12 Guardrails will be modified to RC-12X standard. The fleet already includes some aircraft upgraded to X-model configuration. Chris Procter/AirTeamImages

2

and cancelling EMARSS. Both services opposed the transfer. The army originally wanted 36 built-for-purpose ISR aircraft that, it argued, would cost less than upgrading MC-12Ws to meet its requirements. The FY2014 defence authorisation bill required the air force to draft a plan to “potentially transfer” MC-12Ws to the army so the agreement with SOCOM to convert the bulk of ACC’s MC-12Ws to Javaman IIIs meant the army was not stuck with operating aircraft it did not want. The MC-12W provided multi-spectral ISR at a theatre-wide level and Javaman does the same for SOCOM’s diverse operations. The MC-12S will be assigned to US Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) Aerial Exploitation Battalions and will be directly linked to the ground unit headquarters.

MC-12W LIBERTY AND OTHER SNEAKY KING AIRS MILITARY The ACC’s MC-12W is tasked by the theatre air component commander through the air tasking order (ATO). The Javaman is tasked by the theatre special operations command (TSOC) or directly by SOCOM at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. The MC-12S is tasked by the land component commander and, like a helicopter, will operate under the command of a division or corps headquarters. The differences between missions and the commander that the aircraft will be working for require different sensors and communications systems for each type. The original US Army’s MARSS force remains operational in 2014 while the EMARSS is still being tested. It is made up of mainly GOCO King Airs, logistically supported by Lockheed Martin since 2009. MARSS had its origins in the army’s TF (task force) ODIN (observe, disrupt, intercept, neutralise) that saw action in both Iraq and Afghanistan using King Air 90, 200, 300 and 350 airframes with a large variety of sensors. These aircraft were among the large numbers of different ISR aircraft developed and deployed under quick reaction capabilities (QRC) to meet urgent operational needs in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere. The QRC aircraft were each developed and controlled by different organisations. Overlap and competition was considered less important than getting needed capabilities into action. In October 2011, the army centralised the management of all QRC aircraft under the Fixed Wing Program Office of its Procurement Executive Office (PEO) Aviation to rationalise the diverse force structure. Many of these aircraft had already been withdrawn from service, including the Desert Owl with its ground-penetrating radar (to be transferred to ARL-Es) and the Highlighter with its full-motion video. Currently, the army is looking at retaining five Constant Hawks (King Air 350s equipped with L-3 wide-area video scene matchers), two MARSS (King Air 300 airframes fitted with Sierra Nevada mufti-spectral sensor suites), three JAUDITTACOP LIDAR using first King Air 200 and then King Air 350ER airframes and two King Air 350s with the Lockheed Martin VADER (Vehicle And Dismount Exploitation Radar). To explain the systems noted above, JAUDIT

3

stands for Jungle Advanced Under Dense Vegetation, which in the case of JAUDITTACOP is a electro-optical sensor system classed as a LIDAR (Light Detecting and Ranging), which uses a laser to probe under the jungle canopy to capture images of people and equipment below. VADER comprises a Northrop-Grummanbuilt radar and a geolocation system that are integrated and designed to provide vehicle and dismount detection together and generate high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging, all at long-range. The army’s fixed-wing and integrated electronic programme managers are making a detailed analysis of their sensors and communications; determining what capabilities will be replaced or migrated to UAVs, which aircraft will be retained, and which will be replaced by King Air 350ER airframes. Investment continues in these aircraft. On April 29, 2014 the army announced it would continue to operate its three CEASAR (communications electronic attack surveillance and reconnaissance) King Air 200CTs based in Kandahar for another year. These are COGO aircraft, owned by Dynamic Aviation and flown by army and National Guard aircrew. Its main system is the CAESAR pod, used to intercept and jam cell phones beyond line of sight, a version of

the Raytheon AN/ALQ-227 Communication Countermeasures Set/Electronic Attack Unit carried by the EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft. On May 7, 2014 Lockheed Martin announced it had won a $25 million contract to equip a King Air 350ER with upgraded VADER capability by March 2015. The contract was signed on August 18, 2014. The VADER pod had been introduced to combat operations over Afghanistan carried by Bombardier Twin Otters. Shifting to pressurised King Air 350s provides a surveillance capability up to 25,000 feet where its ground moving target indicator (GMTI) and SAR capabilities allow targets as small as individuals on foot or pack animals too be tracked. The army is also still working on other King Air-mounted ISR systems, including the BuckEye (with a capability to point target mapping similar to the EMARSS), which has already been approved to transition to an acquisition programme. The Night Eagle is an advanced multi-spectral wide area surveillance system that features a change-detecting system to identify improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The TRACER (tactical reconnaissance and counter-concealment enabled radar) system improves the foliage-penetration capability already operational on some King Airs.

AI.11.14

61

MILITARY MC-12W LIBERTY AND OTHER SNEAKY KING AIRS

1 1 MC-12W Liberty 09-0642 at Beale Air Force Base, California on September 22, 2014 following a 6,500nm trip back from Kandahar airfield in Afghanistan.

Airman 1st Class Ramon Adelan/US Air Force 2 In its FY2015 budget proposal, the US Air Force plans to transfer 33 MC-12Ws to US Special Operations Command to replace the Pilatus-built U-28A. Ryan Dorling

In addition to EMARSS and MARSS, the US Army plans to upgrade 16 of its 44 current RC-12 Guardrails (all based on King Air 200 airframes). All 16 aircraft will be modified to RC-12X configuration, the latest version of the Guardrail that was first deployed to Afghanistan in February 2011. By June 2012, four were in theatre and had flown 1,000 combat sorties. The RC-12X uses a new single-baseline Northrop Grumman multi-sensor suite, replacing

the theatre-specific Guardrail Common Sensor (GRCS) communications intelligence package used by earlier versions. Unlike other ISR-configured King Air aircraft, Guardrails do not have a mission crew, but instead downlink information directly to a ground station for analysis and fusion. All operational Guardrails will have full-motion video capability from an electro-optical/ infrared (EO/IR) sensor mounted in the chin turret by 2017.

Other American Users The US Air Force, SOCOM and the US Army are by no means the only US government operators of ISR-configured King Airs. The US Navy and US Marine Corps also use the King Air for research and development of ISR systems that includes equipment destined for the Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton UAV. The navy has used COCO ISR King

Boeing

RECONFIGURABLE AIRBORNE MULTI-INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM (RAMIS)

Boeing’s RAMIS King Air 350ER N60125 (c/n FL-645) is an aircraft packed with intelligence-gathering sensors. These include a SIGINT (signals intelligence) system, with its associated array of antennas fitted to the aft of the aircraft and two IMINT (image intelligence) sensors: a Wescam MX-15 fitted in a retractable turret in the nose and a wide-area motion camera in the forward section of a canoe on the fuselage underside. It has a frame rate that captures imagery almost like a movie camera which allows vehicles to be tracked and shows how they have moved over a very large area. Active sensors, such as radar or a hyper-spectral system, can be housed in the bay aft of the camera under the main wing chord. The RAMIS aircraft captures a

62

AI.11.14

lot of intelligence data, therefore it is mission critical to be able to download and distribute the information to ground stations in near real time. To meet that requirement Boeing has integrated various data links: the satcom dome on the top of the fuselage provides K- or Ku-band highspeed satellite connectivity, while tactical common data links provide line-of-sight capability. All of the engineering work required to modify the baseline King Air 350ER to the RAMIS configuration (56 modifications) was undertaken at Boeing’s Ridley plant near Philadelphia. One of the most notable mods is the nose extension which helps to provide a favourable centre of gravity when additional sensor payloads are installed in the canoe and houses sensors, such

as the MX-15. The standard crew comprises two pilots and two or three system operators, although the number of crew in the aft cabin is specific to operator requirements. All operators use single or two-screen consoles. Born from Boeing’s development of a fused sensor suite known as Yellow Jacket – a US Army programme intended for COMINT, MASINT and SIGINT tasks and integrated on a King Air series aircraft – RAMIS is designed as a similar but reconfigurable system, which gives the operator the ability to gather different types of intelligence using a single airframe. In the past, different subsets of the entire range of ISR requirements were each fulfilled by a niche aircraft: each requirement can vary by target, technology, terrain, vegetation and the size of the search area. Boeing is offering the RAMIS as a commercial off-the-shelf system that provides additional margins in size, weight and power enabling the aircraft to carry a wide variety of sensors that are available on the international market. The system is certified by the Federal Aviation Authority as a production standard aircraft and Boeing’s demonstrator

has logged about 2,000 hours during testing, development and demonstration to the US and foreign governments. Because the reconfigurable RAMIS King Air 350ER is a low-cost platform to operate, Boeing uses it to carry experimentation payloads for sensor and system manufacturers. Boeing’s Mike Ferguson, a business development official for Boeing Electronics and Mission Systems confirmed that the RAMIS aircraft has not been deployed to a theatre of operation but said it had supported a number of exercises for US Special Operations Command and has conducted training for domestic customers. The aircraft recently returned from Crestview Airport in northern Florida, a location close to the SOCOM’s main base at Hurlburt Field. Ferguson also said the original airframe (c/n FL-645) was built for a US Government customer and was one of a line of King Air aircraft missionised for the government by Boeing. Although Ferguson would not divulge details of specific potential customers he did say the company has proposals out with international customers and is pursuing domestic opportunities with the system.

MC-12W LIBERTY AND OTHER SNEAKY KING AIRS MILITARY

2

Airs as surrogate UAVs during exercises in US airspace where safety regulations limit where UAVs can fly. It has also modified a small force of King Air 350ER ISR platforms and deployed them to conflicts overseas. The US Navy, in partnership with the US Army, operates two King Air 200s fitted with the Compact Hydrographic Airborne Rapid Total Survey (CHARTS) system used by the US Naval Oceanographic Office. The system uses joint airborne LIDAR bathymetry sensors to map littoral waters. The US Department of Homeland Security, like the Department of Defense, operates a variety of air arms. One is the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), an agency that is tasked with border security and counter-narcotics smuggling operations. The CBP is procuring the Multirole Enforcement Aircraft (MEA) version of the King Air 350ER. The type is similar to a US Air Force MC-12W Liberty but fitted with sensor and communications suites developed by the Sierra Nevada Corporation. Seven MEAs were scheduled to be delivered by October 2014 from an initial production batch of ten aircraft. Aircraft delivered to date are currently operating

from bases in San Diego, California, and Jacksonville, Florida. Under the terms of a 2009 contract between Sierra Nevada and the CBP, up to 30 MEAs may be ordered. The agency has a requirement for up to 50, making follow-on orders possible. Operational use of the King Air 350ER MEA was demonstrated on June 12, 2014 when an aircraft operating from San Diego detected two smuggling boats 160 nautical miles off shore. In co-operation with a US Coast Guard Lockheed Martin HC-130J Hercules, the MEA’s crew directed a Coast Guard cutter to intercept them. The MEA is replacing 26 King Air 200s and former military C-12C and C-12Ms that the CBP has been using against smugglers for years. On June 13, 2013 Royal Navy frigate HMS Lancaster directed CBP King Air to a suspected cocaine runner’s boat off Puerto Rico. The frigate intercepted the boat and put a US Coast Guard search team aboard. They found an estimated 1,500lb (680kg) of cocaine. Once the evidence and smugglers had been secured, the frigate sank the boat by gunfire.

Future Operations There is intense competition between all the US-based defence contractors for King

Air-compatible sensor and communications suites. For off-the-shelf export sales, Boeing is offering the Reconfigurable Airborne Multiple Intelligence System or RAMIS (see panel p62) based on the Yellow Jacket programme. An exportable version of the MC-12S, the EMARSS Risk Reduction Prototype (ERRP) received its US Supplemental Type Certificate on August 13, 2014. The L3 Communications Spydr King Air 350ER version has been marketed since 2011. The Beechcraft Special Mission King Air 350ER demonstrator has been marketed and displayed worldwide since 2012. King Airs configured for the ISR mission have, in the past decade, increased in number and capability in response to urgent operational needs. For today’s destabilising conflicts, especially but not exclusively in permissive air-combat environments, ISR-configured King Airs provide greater flexibility than a UAV. They prove cost effective in the absence of the extensive investment on infrastructure required for UAVs, as in the US Air Force model. While not a certainty, this factor is likely to make them increasingly important as an element of airpower, both in the US and worldwide. Senior Airman Shawn Nickel/US Air Force

AI.11.14

63

COMMERCIAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL A graphical representation of a typical morning’s air traffic tracks over the UK and Shanwick. NATS

Clever Control T

The UK’s air navigation services provider NATS is using new technology to improve air traffic management. Mark Broadbent reports

he aviation industry wants to clean up – but while new fuel-efficient aircraft capture the headlines, improving air traffic management is equally vital in cutting fuel burn and emissions. NATS, the UK’s air navigation services provider (ANSP), is operating several initiatives to get aircraft through its airspace not just safely, but efficiently. Its strategic aim is to reduce CO2 emissions in UK airspace by 10% per flight by 2020. A shorter-term objective is to achieve a 4% per flight reduction by the end of this year, equating to 400,000 tonnes less CO2 emitted in British airspace compared to 2013. “It’s looking like it could be a reduction of 4.3%,” said Ian Jopson, NATS’ Head of Environmental and Community Affairs, in an interview with AIR International.

Trajectories To reach these goals NATS is using new technologies at its Swanwick and Prestwick area control centres and at airport air traffic control (ATC) units. One of the most important is iFACTS, a bespoke software tool in place at Swanwick that uses data from aircraft and ATC systems to calculate flight path trajectories and enable controllers to

64

AI.11.14

‘see’ up to 18 minutes ahead of real time. This helps them give more direct routings and avoid instructing unnecessary, fuelwasting course changes or climbs and descents. There’s a safety benefit too: potential aircraft conflicts are highlighted in advance. Martin Rolfe, NATS’ Managing Director Operations, told AIR International: “Because we’ve now got such good trajectory information, controllers who probably would have vectored an aircraft off its heading, to make sure separation minima were met, can now leave the aircraft alone.” NATS says in its first full year of its operation, 2012, iFACTS increased overall airspace capacity by 15%, with some sectors growing as high as 40%, without an increase in staff or routes being redesigned.

Arrivals Management On April 1, 2014 NATS began trialling a new procedure called Cross Border Arrivals Management (XMAN), which aims to reduce the time flights inbound to Heathrow spend in holding stacks. The west London hub is one of the world’s busiest airports. It handled 469,552 movements in 2013 – an average of 1,286 per day – according to data from its operator, Heathrow Ltd. Beforehand NATS controllers could only influence an arrival’s approach once

it entered UK airspace over the English Channel, which limited their window of opportunity to manage traffic. If delays occurred, flights would spend longer in the holds over southeast England. XMAN attempts to tackle that problem by sharing arrivals sequence data with NATS’ adjacent air traffic control providers – France’s DSNA, the Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre in the Netherlands and the Irish Aviation Authority – through open data exchange technology called GO Publisher, developed by Southampton-based Snowflake Software. The system has increased NATS controllers’ ‘virtual’ field of view around Heathrow from 160 to 500 nautical miles (296 to 926km), covering all of the UK, Ireland, France, the Low Countries, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway’s southern coast, northern Italy and much of Germany. “Controllers understand further out exactly what aircraft are arriving into a piece of airspace at what time,” Jopson said. If the software predicts there’s going to be a delay in the holds, controllers at the adjacent ANSPs are notified and are able to instruct Heathrow-bound aircraft cruising at altitude through their airspace to slow down by up to 20kts (37km/h). The speed adjustment gives NATS controllers more time to start sequencing arrivals while inbound aircraft are still

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL COMMERCIAL

AI.11.14

65

COMMERCIAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL hundreds of miles away, before they come under their control on entering British airspace. Flights are no longer, in Rolfe’s words, “racing to the holding point – they know their spot in the sequence”. They arrive in the stacks at the right moment and avoid holding for longer than necessary. The XMAN trial will finish at the end of 2014 and, while the findings won’t be released by NATS until next year, the company expects holding times to decrease by 25% from the current average of just below eight minutes. It estimates each incoming flight will save 100-200kg (120240lb) of fuel, equating to 60,000 tonnes less CO2 in a full year of operations.

Climbs and Descents Other significant research projects are precision area navigation and continuous climbs and descents, which use modern airliners’ advanced flight management systems to help crews fly routes with an accuracy of a mile (1.6km) or better.

NATS

NORTH ATLANTIC AIR TRAFFIC EFFICIENCY

NATS’ responsibilities extend halfway across the Atlantic to 30 degrees west, an area known in ATM terminology as Shanwick Oceanic Area Control Centre (OACC). This is the world’s busiest oceanic airspace, more than 1,300 flights crossing it daily. NATS is seeking efficiencies there with the Gander Automated Air Traffic System Plus (GAATS+) developed by Nav Canada, which controls the airspace on the North American side of the Atlantic west of 30°W (Gander OACC). GAATS+ will use a network of 66 communications satellites, called Iridium NEXT, which will be put into low Earth orbit (LEO) over the next two years. Each will carry an automatic dependent surveillance broadcast package enabling aircraft crossing oceans to transmit precision location data via the satellites every few seconds. The GAATS+ system will automatically process this data to generate waypoint reports, let flight crews issue text-based messaging for routine requests such as altitude changes and integrate air traffic data with airspace information and weather models. This all means NATS controllers will have their first real-time, radar-like picture of traffic crossing the Atlantic. By contrast, today they receive position reports only every few minutes. Controllers’ improved situational awareness will mean they’ll be able to give flights optimal routes and the most efficient flight level. “We’ll be able to reduce the separation, probably down to as little as 15 miles. At the moment we’re still running at 30-plus miles,” said Rolfe. “In the long run you can imagine running the track structure across the Atlantic far more dynamically, closer to the jet stream to reduce flight time and fuel burn. I see a far more preplanned environment where we make decisions far in advance. We could plan the airspace a month beforehand as we’d know roughly what the day’s traffic will look like. “We could de-conflict traffic before it leaves the ground. The flight crew could upload a preplanned trajectory into the aircraft’s flight management system. We’d only have to intervene if there was some anomaly or a situation developed that required manual intervention.”

66

AI.11.14

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL COMMERCIAL Rolfe said NATS wants continuous climbs and descents for “as many aircraft as we can. The more you’ve got pilots on the throttle, or throttling back and levelling out, the less efficient it gets.” A continuous descent from 20,000ft (6,096m) can save up to three tonnes of CO2, according to Sustainable Aviation, a coalition of UK aerospace companies (including NATS) created to reduce the industry’s environmental impact. In July 2014, it challenged NATS to increase the number by 5%. They are already in operation at London’s four airports and month-long trials took place at Edinburgh in 2012 and Bristol last year. NATS is also trialling continuous climbs using revised Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs), the routes aircraft use after take-off, at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. All this work is helping, Jopson said, in understanding accuracy, “so we can design airspace in the future that will allow us to safely get more aircraft on the most optimal point-to-point route”.

Measuring Performance Underpinning these initiatives is the ‘3D inefficiency score’ (3Di), an analytical tool developed by NATS which compares the most fuel-efficient route, climb, cruise and descent profiles for every flight in UK airspace (some 2.1 million during 2013) with the ground track the aircraft actually flew. The difference between the two determines efficiency scores for each flight, all of which are combined at the end of the year to give an annual average. Zero represents zero inefficiency – the best possible flight – and NATS’ target is to get the lowest score possible. If the annual 3Di score is 21 points or less the company receives a bonus from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority or, if it’s above 27, pays a penalty. Around £2.4 million can be awarded for a score of nine or less; the maximum fine is £4.8 million for a score of 51 or more. In 2013, the annual 3Di score was 23. This financially incentivised metric is designed to provide a focus for NATS to reduce holds, track miles and encourage

its controllers to direct aircraft in the most optimal ways possible. Jopson thinks its potential goes beyond the UK: “Airlines need airspace efficiency all the way through their flight and if we can support others in deploying this metric and targeting themselves then it can only be good for the industry.”

Flight Profile Monitor NATS tracks efficiency, and therefore its progress towards the 3Di target, with its Flight Profile Monitor (FPM) software. This uses radar data to build a real-time database of the climb and descent rates, airspeed and heading for every UK flight. Video playback highlights flights that achieved continuous climbs and descents and those that didn’t, enabling flight patterns that deviate from the ideal to be identified – and where procedural improvements can be made. The FPM can be linked to measuring capability that collates accurate data on CO2 emissions which airlines and airports can use for their own performance analysis.

1 1 The operations room in the Swanwick area control centre. NATS 2 Satellite coverage will enable NATS controllers to control flights crossing the North Atlantic more efficiently. Javier Guerrero/AirTeamImages 2

AI.11.14

67

COMMERCIAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

Noise Reduction NATS is also working on schemes to minimise aircraft noise. A trial in 2012-2013 of revised SID routes from Heathrow saw controllers instructing pilots to avoid flying over specific areas of London and Berkshire on alternate weeks. NATS said the trial gave people respite from noise, but acknowledged it increased for other communities. In a blog after the results were published, Jopson wrote: “It will always be a balancing act, but precision navigation technology is an exciting opportunity. Being able to route aircraft along carefully designed pre-defined tracks gives us another tool to help minimise noise.” NATS is now investigating the acoustic impacts as part of the Heathrow and Stansted precision navigation trials. Jopson told AIR International that continuous descents can reduce noise beneath a flight path by between one and five decibels. The company has also joined forces with Airbus and British Airways on the ‘Quieter Flight’ project to explore how amended procedures may reduce noise around Heathrow. The study will identify possible improvements, such as using reduced thrust on departure and optimised climb-out profiles. Revised procedures will be tested in a British Airways flight simulator and then

68

AI.11.14

in a series of demonstration flights with a British Airways A380 from Heathrow early in 2015. The A380 is already one of the quietest aircraft in its size class but, Jopson told AIR International, “we wanted to ask how much quieter can it get if you were optimise the departures and the airspace?”

Sensors Meanwhile NATS and Envirowatch, a UKbased company that makes environmental sensing equipment, have jointly developed new solar-powered noise sensors. These are cheaper than earlier units, which typically cost five-figure sums, and can be mounted on street furniture. They are being tested in the Stansted precision navigation trial and have yielded, in Jopson’s words, “some promising results”, though he didn’t elaborate. NATS intends to use the sensors’ findings to create a contour map of aircraft and background noise. It will be used as “factbased evidence alongside the concerns of residents” to inform the design of approach and departure routes.

Any Airspace New technologies are influencing NATS’ working practices. The company’s long-term vision, Rolfe explained, is “any controller, any

workstation, any airspace, any centre”. The plan is for Swanwick and Prestwick controllers to be validated on the tools they use, rather than a single piece of airspace in one geographical area as they are now. This means a Prestwick controller might be responsible for airspace over the southeast, even though they’re sitting hundreds of miles away, or a Swanwick controller with a night-time validation might control low-level airspace at night over northern England. “That gives you efficiency by being able to follow the traffic and put the supply where the demand is,” Rolfe explained. “For example if there’s demand southbound we can move controllers towards that rather than have a whole set of people validated for one area.”

VoIP Such flexibility will be made possible by Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies, which transmit voice signals as digitised packets of data over a public or private internet network. It’s a technology that’s increasingly used for control purposes by safety-critical industries like banking and retail. “VoIP would allow us to put our people where they need to be and rapidly switch circuits around so any controller can broadcast in any airspace to any aircraft

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL COMMERCIAL

1 1 Flights inbound to Heathrow from Europe can be instructed to slow down thanks to the Cross Border Arrivals Management software. Bailey/AirTeamImages 2 NATS controllers at Heathrow handled an average of 1,286 flights every day in 2013. NATS

anywhere,” Rolfe explained. “And in Prestwick and Swanwick we’ve got two highly capable, secure centres with significant amounts of redundant power and fire protection systems.” NATS will select a VoIP provider in the next year, Rolfe added. The company is studying how the technology can be used alongside improved trajectories information, a new common workstation – jointly being developed by NATS and Spanish and German air traffic providers AENA and DFS – and an advanced flight data processing system called iTEC. “iTEC will make it easier to share information with neighbouring ANSPs,” Rolfe said. “There’s no reason, for example, why you couldn’t have a virtualised service delivering flight data to any number of countries from one or two data centres.”

working partnerships were needed, given the region’s air traffic growth. The solution, he wrote, “is to break things down and focus on specific projects” such as optimising point-to-point regional routes or international arrivals, just like Heathrow’s XMAN trial. “I see signs this is now starting to happen,” Swift continued. “Over the last year the aviation authorities of the Gulf Co-operation Council have refocused

their efforts, with joint projects for the management of aviation data and future plans for the management of airspace.” Whatever the region, Rolfe said, “efficiencies are a virtuous circle. We find them for the airlines and they use less fuel and spend less time on the ground; and we have a more efficient operation where we’re able to provide the same capacity and more.” 2

Towards the Future NATS is feeding its technology innovations into the European Commission’s Single European Sky ATM Research Programme, where it’s responsible for researching the efficiency of arrivals into major hubs. But NATS is looking beyond Europe. In October the company was scheduled to open its first Middle East office, having worked on ATC projects in several Gulf countries. John Swift, NATS Director Middle East, blogged in September that closer

AI.11.14

69

MILITARY CHENGDU J-10

J-10As taxying at Yangcun Air Base. Weimeng/AirTeamImages

Vigorous D

he Chengdu J-10 ‘Meng Long’, or ‘Vigorous Dragon’ is China’s first home-grown, fourth generation fighter. Several indigenous versions of Russian fighters were built between the 1950s and 1970s, but these types, such as the J-6, J-7 and J-8 series, arrived in service when

70

AI.11.14

China’s potential enemies already had far more modern aircraft. The Shenyang J-11, J-15 and J-16 brought improvements to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and People’s Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF) forces, but they were still developments of the Russian Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker.

Request for Proposal The J-10 story began in 1981 when preliminary specifications were laid down by

the Central Military Commission (CMC) for a new fighter to succeed the J-7. A February 1982 CMC conference specified the new type’s performance should be close to the US F-16 and Russian MiG-29. A formal request for proposals was issued to all major Chinese aircraft design institutes. Nanchang’s Factory 320 presented its proposal in 1984 based on its Q-6 fighterbomber, itself derived from the MiG-23. Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) used experience gained with the J-13 project that

CHENGDU J-10 MILITARY

s Dragon had been cancelled in March 1981. A third design was submitted by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC). Its design also reused data from an earlier project – in its case, the J-9B-VI-1/-3 featuring a belly intake configuration. The aircraft layout was finally accepted by the majority of the supervising departments at CAC after three years of intensive research and comparisons with other configurations.

Go Ahead The CMC’s Aviation Department Science and

Andreas Rupprecht profiles the development and operation of China’s first modern fighter

Technology Committee selected Chengdu’s proposal in February 1984. Three months later, the national authorities confirmed the new fighter’s development should be conducted by the CAC’s 611 Design Institute and Chengdu Aircraft Manufacturing Factory 132. Final requirements were formalised in January 1986 when the new type was designated J-10. Wang Ang was appointed administrative director, Song Wencong the chief designer, Su Longqing the deputy chief designer and Xue Chishou the chief engineer.

Help from Abroad Improving relations between China and Israel in the 1970s and 1980s led to several agreements between the two nations, including a September 1983 contract for the delivery of Israeli Python III air-to-air missiles for the PLAAF. Whether the Chinese received technical assistance from Israel in the J-10’s development has been the subject of debate on internet forums for many years. There were rumours three Chinese pilots went

AI.11.14

71

MILITARY CHENGDU J-10

1 This J-10A carries a PL-11, based on the Italian Aspide, and a PL-8B short-range air-to-air missile, a licence-built Python III. All images Chinese internet unless stated 2 The K/JDC01 laser designator pod used for the LS-500J laser-guided bombs carried by the J-10 is seen here on this CAC-owned test aircraft, CAC 95613 3 There are rumours an upgraded, semi-stealthy multi-role variant designated J-10C featuring enhanced avionics and other improvements is under development. 4 The J-10 has a modern glass cockpit with one wide-angle head-up display and three multi-function displays. The improved J-10B features larger screens and a wide-angle holographic HUD. 5 Reportedly taken in the 1980s, this photo shows a Chinese delegation including the J-10’s chief designer Song Wencong (fourth from right) in front of an IAI Lavi prototype.

to Israel in 1986 to ‘fly’ the simulator of the subsequently cancelled IAI Lavi fighter, though that’s never been confirmed. A photograph emerged on the internet of a Chinese delegation, including Song Wencong, standing in front of the Lavi prototype in the mid-1980s. In a 2007 interview published on the website China.com, Wencong said the J-10 was completely indigenous. “Our nation’s new fighter’s external design and aerodynamic layout are made completely by us and did not receive foreign assistance, which made me very proud. Those statements that say the J-10 is a copy of the Israeli Lavi are just laughable,” he said. CAC’s project director Yan Xiang acknowledged in a 2009 interview published on HRJS.net there had been overseas assistance. He said help had been limited and did not specifically mention Israel. “Through international co-operation, our technical level has been noticeably improved, especially with the engineering and personnel technical skills to update the design,” he said. “We need to emphasise that the J-10 fighter is a totally independent and indigenous design, others just gave us some ideas and methods to finalise it.” In 2006 the Russian Siberian Aeronautical Research Institute confirmed it provided guidance to the Chinese in how to design a new aircraft. Conjecture on internet forums said Russian technicians were involved with developing the aircraft’s Type 634 digital quadruplex fly-by-wire system, though such claims have never been verified.

Design During its development there were several changes to the J-10’s design, although the airframe retained the same general configuration. The first model had a highly cranked wing but the planform evolved from a pure delta to a double delta and finally to the delta with a

72

AI.11.14

break in the leading edge, which is often called an inverted gull wing. The design’s early iterations had a twodimensional intake with an adjustable centre shock cone to respond to the PLAAF’s requirement for high-altitude and high-speed performance. Information given during interviews by Yan Xiang revealed the initial plan was to install a 122kN (27,426lb) WS-6 turbofan engine, which passed its preliminary flight rating test in 1982. The WS-6 was cancelled due to technical problems and replaced by the WP-15 turbojet,

1

2 3

EXPORT POTENTIAL AVIC has been marketing the J-10 for overseas customers. In late February 2006 the aircraft was shown to the then Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf. He noted the Chinese had offered to sell the type to Pakistan and said it would be considered by the country’s government. It was reported in April 2006 the Pakistani cabinet had approved the purchase of at least 36 J-10s for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The acquisition was confirmed on March 7, 2009 by Air Marshal Tanvir Mehmood Ahmed, then PAF Chief of the Air Staff, who said the aircraft would be designated FC-20 and serve with two squadrons, with aircraft deliveries in 2014 and 2015. Since then news about the deal has gone quiet. Rumours have circulated of a possible cancellation due to the political and economic situation in Pakistan, the necessary improvements the J-10 would need to comply with PAF requirements and the possibility of the PAF acquiring F-16C/F-16Ds instead. Several other countries have apparently shown interest in the J-10, but so far without any result.

CHENGDU J-10 MILITARY a re-engineered version of the Russian R-29. Development of the WP-15 was also troubled, which almost led to the whole J-10 project’s cancellation. Another problem was the general lack of expertise to handle such a complex programme.

Change of Emphasis Overall progress was not smooth during the early days and reportedly the PLAAF rejected the first J-10 design. Chengdu went back to the drawing board and work continued, boosted by one of the programme’s leading advocates, Jiang Zemin, becoming chairman of the CMC in 1989 (as well as China’s President in 1993). A re-design saw the J-10’s emphasis switch from a pure fighter and high-speed interceptor to a multi-role aircraft, combining subsonic and supersonic air-to-air performance with dogfighting agility and air-to-ground capabilities. It also addressed the aircraft’s low speed and a less than expected maximum angle-of-attack at subsonic speeds; problems both identified in wind tunnel tests. The development of the J-10’s sophisticated digital fly-by-wire flight control system continued, taking into account avionics changes brought about by the modification in the aircraft’s role. Its design was finally completed in March 1996.

Engines The Soviet Union’s collapse had revived old connections with Russia and opened new possibilities. Problems with the WP-15 led the Chinese authorities to start negotiations with Russian company MMMP Salyut for the supply of AL-31F engines. An agreement was reached in 1992 for tailoring of the engine for the J-10 as the AL31FN. China’s order had to be substantial to convince the Russians it was committed to buying a large enough quantity to justify the engine being given a separate assembly line. A firm order was placed in 1996 and first examples were delivered between 1997 and 2001. It was a logical decision by the PLAAF. Its Su-27SK/J-11s already used the engine, meaning support, maintenance and logistics requirements for the new type were eased. Time was needed to design, test and certify the new engine because the AL-31FN’s gearbox needed to be mounted on the J-10’s underside. On the Su-27, it was installed on top of the fuselage. The new powerplant also influenced the final design of the entire rear fuselage, which was lengthened and the intake’s geometry was 5 changed to its final boxy but fully adjustable configuration.

Delays Again The first J-10 was finished in May 1997 and rolled out at a ceremony the following month, fully loaded with PL-8 and PL-11 missiles and two laser-guided bombs under the intake pylons. Turbine blade cracks were discovered after only two taxi runs and repairs made. Ground tests resumed and the maiden flight was planned for March 12, 1998. On the day, with official guests present,

4

an oil leak was found just before take-off and the flight was cancelled. The J-10 finally made its first flight nine days later, two years behind the original schedule. It lasted for 17 minutes and was performed by chief test pilot Lei Qiangjia. The tradition of new Chinese aircraft wearing yellow zincchromate primer was continued. Only later did it receive the serial 1001 and a white scheme with red, yellow and blue linings.

Testing A two-stage test programme took place over five years. The first phase involved airworthiness and qualifying trials at CAC’s home facility at Chengdu-Wenjiang with the 3rd Flight Regiment. After about a year’s work, testing transferred to CFTE at Xi’an-Yanliang on December 20, 1999. By then, additional prototypes had been built and airframe 1002 was a static test aircraft. The first-flight test aircraft’s original white livery was replaced by a dark, two-tone scheme. Phase two involved Block 1-configured aircraft (numbers beginning with 101), the first of which made its initial flight on June 28, 2002. They had a light grey and blue-grey camouflage and were thought to have a limited air-to-air capability with a KLJ-3 radar. In 2002 and 2003 several J-10s were used in intensive air combat simulations, dissimilar aerial combat exercises and mock dogfights against Su-27s and Su-30s. Rumours emerged the J-10 beat the Su-27 Flankers. No official details

were published by Chinese authorities but engagements likely involved a wide variety of conditions and terrain. Flight testing concluded on March 23, 2003 after which the PLAAF reported the J-10 was “in service”; although the five test aircraft (now renumbered 01 to 05) were actually delivered to the 13th Operational Trials Regiment at the Flight Test and Training Centre (FTTC). Following a provisional certification, the J-10 was declared ‘operational’ on December 15, 2003. Early 2004 marked the introduction of the J-10 into regular PLAAF service with the 44th Fighter Division. Its aircraft were finished in a two-tone camouflage of a light pale grey on the topside and a slightly lighter shade on the underside, which remains the standard scheme today.

Official Unveiling Even though the J-10 had been developed, entered service and was operational, the Chinese government did not confirm its existence until January 2007 when the first photographs of the type were published via the state media service, Xinhua. The type made its first official public appearance at Airshow China at Zhuhai in 2008. In early 2009 the prototypes were put on display in the headquarters of AVIC and CAC or transferred to the Xiaotangshan Aviation Museum in Datangshan. The J-10 was also shown to numerous military attachés, the first occasion in April 2010 at Yangcun Air Base near Tianjin.

J-10A The type was re-designated J-10A beginning with production Block 4 to signify modernised avionics, which included improved KLJ-10 radar, multi-function displays and enhanced electronic warfare (EW) and electronic countermeasures (ECM). The J-10A has different blade antennas, including a WL-9 radio compass installed in an elliptical antenna behind the cockpit. All older J-10s were

AI.11.14

73

MILITARY CHENGDU J-10 retrofitted to ‘A’ standard. Block 5 and 6 included two slightly modified subtypes: the J-10AY aerobatic version (to reequip the PLAAF’s Ba Yi, or August 1 Aerobatic Demonstration Team), and the J-10AH landbased naval version for the PLANAF. The latter reportedly does not differ substantially from the air force’s Block 4 aircraft but has some improved anti-corrosion protection to make it suitable for the humid and saline environment of naval operations. From late 2013 and into early 2014 a final production block (number seven) was manufactured as production shifted to the more advanced J-10B. The J-10A now equips ten frontline PLAAF regiments and one test unit; each regiment having 28 aircraft. It’s

estimated 16 to 24 J-10A/ASs serve with the test and training centre and 12 J-10AY/SY equip Ba Yi. Some 24 J-10AH/SHs serve with the PLANAF. It’s estimated there are around 290 J-10s in service in total. The J-10 has the NATO reporting name Firebird.

Two-Seater In parallel with the single-seater’s flight test progress, development of a two-seat version started in 2000 under the direction of Yang Wei for more demanding missions. It was dubbed the J-10S, the ‘S’ standing for ‘shuang’ or, simply, ‘two-seater’. Extensive changes were made to the front and centre fuselage, including a larger bubble canopy and an enlarged, much deeper dorsal

spine that houses the electronics for the second cockpit. The first two-seater, aircraft 01, was rolled out in early 2003 and began taxi trials before making its first flight on December 28 that year. A second airframe was built for static testing. In early 2004 a second flying prototype was finished which carried the number 03. Both flying aircraft were soon re-numbered as 1021 and 1023 respectively. The J-10S followed the same two-stage test programme, including participation in operational trials and training exercises, which was completed towards the end of 2005. The J-10S received its certification in early 2006. The variant has been manufactured in three production blocks and, matching the J-10A,

1

2

J-10 OPERATIONAL UNITS PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY AIR FORCE Code

Unit (Division/Regiment)

Base

1st Fighter Division 10x2x (51-99)

2nd Air Regiment

Shenyang MRAF – HQ Anshan Chifeng

2nd Fighter Division 10x3x (51-99)

5th Air Regiment

Remarks

Guangzhou MRAF – HQ Suixi Guilin

3rd Fighter Division

Nanjing MRAF – HQ Wuhu

10x4x (51-99)

8th Air Regiment

Changxing

20x0x (51-99)

26th Air Regiment

20x3x (01-49)

34th Air Regiment

20x6x (01-49)

43rd Air Regiment

30x5x (51-99)

72nd Air Regiment

Tianjin Yangcun

Serial number range indicates aircraft belonging in fact to 71st AR, 24th AD

xx

Ba Yi (August 1) Aerial Demonstration Team

Tainjin Yangcun

J-10AY/SY aerobatics version

9th Fighter Division

Guangzhou MRAF – HQ Shantou NE Huizhou-Huiyang

12th Fighter Division

Jinan MRAF – HQ Jinan Qihe

15th Ground-Attack Division

Beijing MRAF – HQ Datong-Huairen Datong-Huairen

24th Fighter Division

Beijing MRAF – HQ Tianjin Yangcun

44th Fighter Division 50x5x (51-99)

131st Air Regiment

73x5x (01-49)

124th Brigade

Chengdu MRAF – HQ Mengzi Luliang

First operational J-10A unit – reportedly currently converting to J-10B

Bose/Tianyang

Final unit to receive the J-10A

Nanning Base

Guangzhou MRAF – HQ Nanning Wuxu

Flight Test and Training Centre (FTTC) 78x1x (01-49)

170th Air Brigade

Directly assigned to the PLAAF Headquarters / Central Command HQ Cangzhou-Cangxian Gucheng

Also operates JL-9 Former 1st Blue Force Regiment, alternatively listed as 13th Operational Trials Regiment Base often called Jiugucheng. Reportedly received the first operational J-10B

Base

Remarks

Taizhou-Luqiao

J-10AH

PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY NAVAL AVIATION FORCE Code

Unit (Division/Regiment) 4th Naval Aviation Division

83x4x

74

12th Air Regiment

AI.11.14

East China Sea Fleet Naval Air Force – HQ Ningbo-Zhuangqiao

CHENGDU J-10 MILITARY 1 J-10s from the 44th Fighter Division have regularly deployed on exercise to forward operating bases like here in Tibet. Here they’re seen together with a J-11A from the 33rd Fighter Division 2 J-10A prototypes 1003 to 1006 in their dark camouflage and the first pre-series 1013 and 1016 in their light two-tone scheme together on the FTTC ramp at Jiugucheng during the flight trials.

3 A rare photograph of four J10As flying in formation. Weimeng/ AirTeamImages 4 An operational 24th Division J-10AS, with the twin-seater’s large bubble canopy, avionics spine and the rarely seen open chaff-and-flare boxes on the rear fuselage clearly in evidence. 3

the twin-seaters are designated J-10AS, J-10SH (or ASH) for the naval version and J-10SY for the aerobatics version.

Second Generation Several years of speculation ended when a second-generation of the aircraft – the J-10B – was noted as having made its first flight on December 23, 2008 piloted by Liang Wanjun. Most analysts were originally sceptical about the level of the modifications but when the aircraft – coded 01 – was spotted on the CAC factory airfield in Chengdu on March 16, 2009 the extent of the changes became visible. The J-10B has a fixed diverterless supersonic inlet to control airflow into the engines, instead of the previous complex adjustable inlet. This change reportedly saves weight, while improving engine performance, and provides stealth characteristics. Additional features to reduce the radar cross-section are enlarged and angled vertical 4 stabilisers and a longer, flatter nose and front fuselage. Other notable points are an ovalshaped radome with its canted demarcation line with the front fuselage bulkhead. This led to speculation about whether a passive electronically scanned array or even an X-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar might be fitted. Other modifications are said to be an amended inner wing structure, greater use of composite materials, stealthy inboard pylons or ECM pods, a redesigned vertical tail and wingtip with integrated EW sensors, more antennas and a missile approach warning sensor below the parachute container on the tail root. In August 2009 a second J-10B, coded

1033, flew followed in 2010 by a third (1034), fitted with an in-flight refuelling-probe. The fourth, 1035, was the first J-10 powered by the indigenous WS-10B Taihang engine. It was thought production versions might use this powerplant but pre-series aircraft that took flight in 2012/2013 at both the CFTE and the FTTC all featured the proven AL-31FN. Initially the J-10B was intended to enter service by the end of 2011. Internet conjecture said integration of new avionics, radar, infrared search and track and the EW suite was more complex than expected and needed more time for completion. It also seems the PLAAF wanted the J-10B to be powered by an uprated AL-31FN Series III featuring 137kN (30,798lb) of thrust (from 127kN/28,550lb in earlier AL-31FNs) and an extended service life. Recent observations indicate the FTTC has had its J-10As replaced with the B-models.

The first operational frontline unit is expected to be another regiment within 44th Division or the 131st Air Regiment. The J-10B is intended to complement the larger Shenyang J-16 and is thought to be comparable to the US Block 60 F-16E.

J-10C A persistent rumour since mid-2013 on internet forums discussing the J-10 is that an upgraded, semi-stealthy multi-role variant – reportedly designated J-10C – featuring enhanced avionics is under development. When aircraft number 2-01 – reportedly the first such machine – undertook its maiden flight on December 31, 2013 it looked like a J-10B except for a small antenna ahead of its vertical tailfin. Some regard 2-01 as a test-bed and it remains to be seen how any new multi-role variant will be different to a J-10B.

AI.11.14

75

The Royal Navy’s Sea King ASaC7 is finding its sea legs again after a successful deployment in Afghanistan. Ian Harding and Nick Martin report

76

AI.11.14

Bag

SEA KING ASaC7 MILITARY

The Sea King ASaC7’s distinctive large grey radome ‘bucket’ houses the Thales UK Searchwater 2000 radar. Nick Martin

aggers

T

he legendary AgustaWestland Sea King dates from the 1960s but a new world unfolds when you step inside the Royal Navy’s Sea King Airborne Surveillance and Control Mk7 variant (SKASaC). This unique airframe belies its age and remains firmly in the operational fast lane, as recent operations confirm. Little is known about the Airborne Surveillance and Control (ASaC) Force due to the highly sensitive nature of its work. Fitted with some of the most advanced radar and sensor systems available, SKASaC helicopters operate as an airborne radar station charged with placing a protective radar ‘shield’ around the Fleet or coalition ground forces. The ASaC Force returned home to Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, near Helston in Cornwall, during July 2014 to regenerate maritime capabilities, following five years of unbroken daily support to Operation Herrick in Afghanistan. No.857 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) handed over to No.854 NAS to finalise the force withdrawal from the theatre after 26 months’ continuous duty at Camp Bastion from March 2012 to May 2014. Six weeks later No.857 NAS was re-honing its maritime skills. AIR International had the rare opportunity to join No.857 NAS at Culdrose and on board the Fleet Aviation Training ship, RFA Argus, to learn more about the SKASaC, an Observer’s role, Afghanistan operations and the desire to regain their ‘sea legs’.

Sea King Mk7 History Affectionately known as the ‘baggers’, the ASaC7 can be distinguished from remaining Sea King variants serving with the Royal Air Force (HAR3) and Royal Navy (HC4/HU5) by a large grey radome ‘bucket’. Pivoting down from the starboard (right) side of the aircraft, the ‘bucket’ houses a Thales UK Searchwater 2000 radar, which, along with the Cerberus mission system located inside the rear cabin, enables the platform to provide its highlyvalued range of airborne surveillance services to a diverse range of users. The aircraft charts its development to 1982 when the Sea King Airborne Early Warning Mk2 (AEW2) helicopter was rushed into service to meet naval airborne early warning requirements following the loss of a number of surface ships to enemy aircraft during that year’s Falklands War. Thirteen Sea King HAS2s were modernised by GKN Westland (now AgustaWestland) and Racal Radar Defence Systems (now part of Thales UK) under the Cerberus mission system upgrade from 1997, eventually being redesignated as the Mk7 (ASaC7). Two further Mk6 (HAS6) helicopters were later modified to Mk7 standard following the loss of two aircraft in theatre. The first two Mk7s were delivered to the Royal Navy in May 2002 with the deliveries completed by 2004.

AI.11.14

77

MILITARY SEA KING ASaC7 The Mk7s and their highly skilled crews were soon providing Royal Navy Command with a significant improvement in intelligence surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance capability, completing missions previously the domain of much larger fixed-wing airborne surveillance aircraft. They were deployed on board HMS Ark Royal for the first time during Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003.

Current Force Structure The ASaC Force comprises three Culdrosebased squadrons: No.849 NAS (the training unit) and two frontline squadrons, No.854 1 and No.857 NAS, which share the ten remaining aircraft, each of which has more Observer Role than 10,000 flying hours. The highly specialised task has developed A dedicated group of engineers and considerably throughout its 60-year history. avionics specialists work hard to keep the We will review this specialist role in a future platform and mission system serviceable article. Broadly speaking, Observers are and safe to fly. The UK Ministry of Defence responsible for applying a helicopter’s (MoD) has no other specialist AEW capability weapons systems, sensors and tactics to available so it is imperative the SKASaC’s complete specific missions. Highly trained ability to provide battle space ‘connectivity’ and versatile, their precise role is ultimately is available at all times. determined by the rotary type they convert The flight crew comprises a single to: Lynx HMA8, Merlin HM1 and SKASaC at pilot and two specialist observers seated present or an AW159 Wildcat HM1 or Merlin side-by-side in the rear cabin behind two HM2 in future. touch-screen mission consoles. The pilot SKASaC Observers provide airborne sits in the right cockpit seat bearing full surveillance, control fast jets as a fighter flight responsibility except in the event controller and direct ground troops. Merlin of an emergency when an Observer, fully Observers primarily focus on anti-submarine conversant with malfunction handling warfare (ASW) and anti-surface warfare procedures, will support them in the cockpit. (ASuW). When the SKASaC reaches its SKASaC is the only UK support helicopter anticipated out-of-service date around 2018, operating with a single pilot. The Sea King future Merlin Observers will deliver ASaC AEW2 initially had two pilots before one was capability from the modernised Merlin HM2 removed to reduce the aircraft’s weight. using the ‘Crowsnest’ system (see Merlin Despite the sophisticated mission system, Mk2 Advances, October, p46-51). Wildcat the cockpit is analogue and no tactical Observers ‘fight’ aggressor surface and information is displayed to the pilot. Links airborne targets, as directed by the ASaC between the pilot and Observers are by voice capability. only except in the event of an emergency.

Mission System and Capability

The rear cabin layout confirms this is no ordinary aircraft. Lieutenant Commander James Hall, Commanding Officer of No.857 NAS, said: “The Mk7 is a bit like taking an old Transit van and placing the best computer you can obtain in the back of it. What we can deliver from this old helicopter is fantastic.” Lt Cdr Hall has deep knowledge of the platform’s value with more than ten years’ frontline experience obtained with the ASaC Force during Operations Iraqi Freedom, Ellamy (Libya in 2011) and most recently Herrick (Afghanistan); working aboard most UK aircraft carriers and the French carrier Charles De Gaulle. Central to its capability is the Thales UK Searchwater 2000 AEW radar. The Cerberus mission system’s hardware is ‘palletised’ and laid out in a fixed position behind the Observers to ensure components are cooled. The cabin is certainly cramped but there is enough room to gain access to the cargo door, the winch and to undertake Hover InFlight Refuelling (HIFR). The Cerberus mission system, specifically

1 During their five-year Afghan deployment, No.854 and No.857 NAS completed more than 2,000 sorties flying in excess of 9,000 hours to ensure coalition objectives were achieved. Brian Aitkenhead 2 Heat impacted the mission system’s instruments during Operation Herrick so more time was spent maintaining them and cleaning the aircraft to reduce dust contamination. Brian Aitkenhead 3 The ASaC7’s upgraded Rolls Royce engines and running take-offs ensured the aircraft performed to its potential on deployment. Brian Aitkenhead 4 The SKASaC Observer Full Mission Trainer (FMT) at Culdrose, which replicates all aspects of an Observer’s mission and environment with the exception of forward motion. Ian Harding 5 The Thales UK Searchwater 2000 AEW radar fitted as part of the Cerberus mission system, with No.857 NAS Commanding Officer Lt Cdr James Hall. Ian Harding 2

78

AI.11.14

SEA KING ASaC7 MILITARY designed for AEW and control over land and sea, incorporates a high-power Pulse Doppler radar integrated with automatic identification systems (AIS). These include IFF (identification friend or foe), ESM (electronic support measures, which aid threat detection and targeting), INS/ GPS (inertial navigation system/global positioning system) navigation, Link 16 JTIDS (joint tactical information distribution system) data link, HaveQuick II secure radio communications system, a video recorder unit and an AN/APX-113(V) interrogator transponder. The system has multi-mission capability provided by its various radar modes which include air-to-air, ground moving target indicator (GMTI) and maritime surveillance 3 (ASW/ASuW/littoral). Ground and maritime environments appear distinct but not to the demands,” one Observer confirmed. radar. “Imagine the desert as the sea surface It’s no surprise accolades for the ASaC with a mountain range or an island,” one Force have flowed. In October 2013, the Observer explained. US Regional Commander to Afghanistan The HMI (human machine interface) at the time said: “There is no other ground consists of twin operating consoles and movement target indicator [GMTI] asset touch-screen panels. Lt Cdr Hall explained: available that can replicate the organic, wide“Mission profile downloaded, the Observers area responsiveness of SKASaC.” The First then set the radar parameters to obtain the Sea Lord, Admiral Sir George Zambellas, best picture. It makes no difference which later said: “The contribution of the SKASaC seat they sit in, you can set them up exactly Force over five years has been magnificent, as you wish, irrespective of the environment. taking the fight to a determined enemy in With three radar modes, planners can a vastly unfamiliar environment. Your vital choose to do all three at the same time if work saved many lives and proved the value they wish, it’s purely mission dependent. of the aircraft over land.” The Observers’ challenge is to ensure the Returning to Cornwall in June 2014, radar information gathered gets back to the No.857 NAS received the prestigious command centre where it can be reviewed Australia Shield, a gift from the people of and analysed by dedicated intelligence Australia which is awarded by the Royal analysts. This information is transmitted Navy’s Fleet Commander to the front-line in real time via the platform’s secure squadron that has demonstrated the greatest communication Link 16 JTIDS.” operational efficiency through the calendar Desert Operations year to March. During their Afghan deployment supporting Afghan Preparations 903 Expeditionary Air Wing, the deployed Aircrew realised the Mk7’s radar was capable ASaC Force of 50 personnel (threeof detecting movement in all environments – month rolling deployments) and two/three sea, coastal, inland and littoral – throughout helicopters completed more than 2,000 its development. Its ground tracking sorties, flying in excess of 9,000 hours, to capabilities really opened eyes during ensure coalition objectives were achieved. the 2003 Iraq conflict. The ASaC Force, On call 24/7, they were the ‘eye in the supporting Royal Marines going ashore from sky’ for a wide variety of coalition ground HMS Ark Royal in the Al Faw peninsula by forces and other land-based intelligence boat and helicopter, provided a picture of gathering assets. They used their secure what they could expect on the ground. communication data links to provide early The ASaC Force work-up for Afghanistan warning of insurgent activity, resulting in started in earnest during late 2008 and the interdiction of significant quantities of was relatively straightforward. Lt Cdr Hall explosives, weapons, IED components and drugs. said: “Knowing we could perform to our “What makes it [SKASaC] unique is the 5 flexibility and reactive capability of the asset. 4 In Afghanistan, we would regularly get the call to achieve this mission [GMTI]. In around two hours, the aircraft would be on task, capable of landing to refuel if necessary, to extend missions,” Lt Cdr Hall said. The physical and mental demands on aircrew were considerable, with sorties generally lasting approximately three and a half hours and some more than seven, in temperatures ranging from -15ºC (-5ºF) to 45ºC (113ºF). “Aircrew would lose a few pounds during a single sortie so it was vital you hydrated well before the mission and then ate well when you returned to ensure you recovered from the sorties physical

potential certainly helped. Our operational tempo had been geared towards this type of deployment throughout the decade and we, therefore, didn’t require much time to prepare. However, we did need to acclimatise and quickly adapt to land-based operations. The immediate skills required involved learning weapon drills, integrating directly with other ground units, building work flows and determining how best to exploit the helicopters’ capabilities in the extreme temperatures. We knew we would be slightly constrained in this respect initially but then so were the insurgents we were tracking. It’s hard for anyone to operate when temperatures are in the high 40s centigrade.”

Acclimatisation Theatre qualifications were necessary to ensure the aircraft could perform safely and effectively in the desert environment. A ‘crawl-walk-run’ training profile was adopted from the outset involving ‘short’ training missions to and from Camp Bastion before expanding sortie profiles. For example, these involved rolling take-off and landings due to the weight of the aircraft. Aircrew had to convert their night vision goggle (NVG) capability for desert operations. Further modifications enhanced the aircraft’s performance and safety. These included ‘Carson’ composite main rotor blades, a five rather than six-bladed tail rotor which improved lift, and a sophisticated defensive aids suite (DAS). The main blades were manufactured by Carson Helicopters in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, for the Sikorsky S-61. These specific composite blades

AI.11.14

79

MILITARY SEA KING ASaC7 enable the SKASaC to carry an additional 1,700lb (771kg), fly up to 15 knots (27km/h) faster and 50 miles (80km) farther on the same horsepower. The blades are not required for maritime operations and were removed when the aircraft returned home. Deployed personnel generally spent four to five days acclimatising on arrival at Camp Bastion, stepping up their daily activity before mission demands increased. A typical pattern, with aircrew numbers limited, was to fly a sortie one day, test fly the next and support the briefing/intelligence process the following day before their next operational sortie. Mission requirements ultimately dictated workloads. Despite cooler

temperatures, night sorties created their own challenges, especially the inevitable nighttime body rhythm ‘dip’.

Engineering Challenges Chief Petty Officer Shaun Gimbert’s 25 years’ experience maintaining Sea Kings means there is little he does not know about the aircraft. As one might expect, the major engineering challenge proved to be the

Ground crew worked a three-month, 12-hour on/off ‘watch’ system inside a temporary hangar at Camp Bastion where temperatures often reached 50ºC. Brian Aitkenhead

80

AI.11.14

combination of heat and dust contamination. Ground crew worked a three-month, 12-hour on/off ‘watch’ system inside a temporary hangar where temperatures often reached 50ºC (122ºF). “For us, the routine is broadly the same irrespective of whether we are at sea or involved in desert operations, although we added extra tasks because of the

SEA KING ASaC7 MILITARY environment,” Gimbert explained. “Heat did impact upon the mission system’s instruments so more time was spent maintaining them and cleaning the aircraft to reduce dust contamination. The Mk7’s upgraded engines [Rolls Royce 1400-1(T)s] created few problems and we generally fared better in that respect compared with other rotary types due to the flight profile of the Mk7 which is generally at a higher altitude so brown out/dust effect was limited. “The unknown quantity when we arrived was whether we’d be able to operate the

aircraft in the heat and actually get it off the deck due to its weight. The modified blades, upgraded engines and running take-offs enabled us to do so and it was a really good moment when we first got the aircraft in the air,” he said.

Operational Routine The ASaC Force ticked all boxes in terms of operational flexibility. They needed to get airborne day and night at short notice and did so. Some missions had pre-determined departure times, others not. Mission planning was critical. Aircrew always briefed together. Sometimes the process was short but for more complex missions it

might be three to four hours before aircrew walked to their aircraft. For pre-determined missions, the crew would enter the aircraft approximately 30-40 minutes before departure in order to prepare the mission and accept any final command updates. Lt Cdr Hall said: “If we had ten minutes to plan we could do so but we generally had more time. Planning would initially involve determining what coalition activity was taking place on the ground and in the air simultaneously to our mission before considering our aims in more detail which were very much ‘customer’ based. Basically, we would receive a series of questions from perhaps three to four which we would then try to answer. The radar modes meant we could fulfil two to three different missions simultaneously, undertaking GMTI, controlling air assets.”

AI.11.14

81

MILITARY SEA KING ASaC7

1

2

One Observer would maintain continual air surveillance despite the lack of air threats in theatre. Working with other coalition force manned and unmanned platforms in congested airspace, Observers needed to maintain a clear aerial picture at all times. If necessary, they would call in other aircraft to support their missions.

incredible capabilities. The FMT replicates all aspects of an Observer’s mission and environment with the exception of forward motion. Watching Lt Cdr Hall in action, one can understand why personnel regard the FMT so highly. One Observer would control the whole mission picture whilst the other would act as a fighter controller. Central to its success is that Observers were involved in its design from the outset; it was designed by an operator, for an operator, so that valuable mission time is not lost computer processing. The system has built-in redundancy, meaning a mission can be completed using

‘Pattern of Life’

Central to the operational success in Afghanistan was crews’ ability to build a ground picture of the ‘pattern of life’ over time using the aircraft’s GMTI surveillance capability. Travelling at around 90 knots (166km/h) aircrew would fly to the outer reaches of their target area and use the aircraft’s radar to record ground movements which could then be analysed. “Identifying the absence of normal behaviour or the presence of abnormal behaviour over time was vital,” Lt Cdr Hall explained. “We were looking to build a picture of routines which allowed ground forces to tailor their operations accordingly. For example, where was the traffic by day 3 and night? What were the reasons for 1 A most recent arrival back home following its Afperiods when traffic disappeared? If a ghanistan deployment was XV714/188 which had vehicle moved a set distance and stopped both its Carson main composite blades and fivethen started again, did that indicate some rather than six-bladed tail rotor. It also needed a kind of insurgent activity? We do the same in good wash. Ian Harding 2 Below deck on board the maritime environment. RFA Argus ground crew prepare XV656 for flight “As a command and control platform with deck operations. RNAS Culdrose 3 During the exLink 16 JTIDS capability, everything the radar ercise’s second week, the squadron worked with can see and process can be forensically other surface ships going through their Flag Officer analysed simultaneously by dedicated Sea Training (FOST) force generation and participated in the ‘Thursday War’, integrating with other intelligence analysts operating in a similar Culdrose units and USAFE F-15s. RNAS Culdrose time cycle to us. Depending upon specific 4 RFA Argus under way in the UK’s South West mission requirements or importance, aircrew approaches; its deck is marked out like a frigate would support analysts interpreting the data which helps facilitate this specific training. RNAS gathered the minute they returned to base or Culdrose 5 The exercise schedule aboard RFA later as full intelligence reports are prepared Argus included day/night missions, flight deck opand then provided to the ship’s command, erations; take-off/landings, hover in-flight refuelling ground unit commanders to determine the and approach work, shown here. Ian Harding next course of action. Our mission was to 6 Ground and aircrews must train hard to avoid the hazards that go along with the embarked maritime build a picture of insurgent supply routes, to environment – here, flight deck operators confirm intercept their activity, thereby reducing their XV707 is detached from the flight deck and awaiting frontline operations.”

Full Mission Trainer Maritime Force Protection is the ASaC Force’s primary role and, once it returned from Afghanistan, no time was lost getting back to sea for a two-week exercise. Before embarking on RFA Argus in the UK’s southwest approaches with No.857 NAS, Lt Cdr Hall powered up the SKASaC ‘Observer’ Full Mission Trainer (FMT) at Culdrose to provide a glimpse of the mission system’s

82

AI.11.14

flight air control clearance. Ian Harding

4

one console and screen; one reason why Observers prepare together and perform the same functions. Lt Cdr Hall said: “Within three screen presses, an Observer can move from one part of the system to the opposite end [air to ground, say]. Its operation is intuitive and short cuts exist to help us. However, Observers still have to ‘fight’ the radar to achieve their goals. They must continuously retune the radar to ensure the clearest picture is obtained and information gathered is communicated to the command centre where it can be analysed. Airborne, the radar can maintain the surface (land and sea), air picture or both simultaneously.”

Threat Detection In Lt Cdr Hall’s demonstration, after the radar parameters were set, the system produced, transmitted and recorded surface data almost immediately. Cornwall and Devon’s coast lines appeared surrounded by red/yellow outline circles depicting airspace and radar coverage; blue dots represented processed radar returns. To monitor specific returns and identified activity, Lt Cdr Hall highlighted an area (dimensions unrestricted) and immediately the number of ‘tracks’ built. The system automatically recorded, updated and refined the course and speed of each track while Link 16 sent the information to the command centre or ships, as required. AIS/IFF helps build a picture of normal or abnormal activity which the Observer uses to decide if the tracks (destination, direction, speed, altitude) represent a threat. If no data is obtained, a ‘probe’ asset like a Lynx may be sent to investigate. Friendly forces would auto-track as a different colour to a suspicious track. In the maritime role, the Observer’s aim is to ‘sanitise’ the sea surface and maintain air integrity surrounding the Fleet to a set distance. In the air, radar tracks monitored are instantly distinguished as current or historic. Information gathered includes velocity, direction and speed. Fast moving,

SEA KING ASaC7 MILITARY inbound aircraft with no IFF pose the greatest threat and Lt Cdr Hall confirmed an Observer (acting as a fighter controller) would expect to pick them up on just three radar returns. Depending on the perceived threat level, they may ask a maritime combat air patrol aircraft to investigate or, in the future, provide their radar picture to an F-35 and ask it to engage.

Maritime Regeneration No.857 NAS deployed 55 personnel including 35 engineers and 15 aircrew, approximately 70% of its total complement of 80, plus two aircraft on board RFA Argus. Lt Cdr Hall said around 70% of the squadron had not been to sea recently so it was vital maritime operations started as soon as possible to maintain aircrew flight deck qualifications and competencies. Experience varied greatly: from aircrew with more than 2,500 flight hours to an ab initio Observer. “The best part of our job is the variety of our work; Cornwall one week, desert the next,” Lt Cdr Hall said. “During the months ahead, it’s vital we all reach a position of high readiness together so whatever the exercise or task required, we are trained, qualified and ready to go. We have adopted the same ‘crawl-walk-run’ training approach we applied in Afghanistan. The main thing is we progress as a team at the pace of the least experienced person. This 5 period provides an opportunity to mentor younger and less experienced crews, whilst them. Thereafter, we move into a more experienced crew hone their own aircraft advanced air and maritime integration serial captaincy and mission skills. Our goal is working with FOST assets including some UKto provide full SKASaC capability from an based US fighter jet participation. embarked platform for the years ahead.” “Aircrew will have less structure during Operations from sea challenge air and the ‘Thursday War’, as they must learn to ground crew alike and personnel confirmed react as the situation unfolds. Our aircrew it takes time to rebuild skills, even for the will build the maritime picture using the most experienced. For example, engineers external asset as a ‘probe’ aircraft to must get used again to moving tools from identify contacts of interest and assess the hangar to the flight deck and aircrew what activity is taking place. Radar have to re-learn how to integrate with the information gathered will be transmitted ship’s routines and fly from a platform that’s to those units undertaking FOST training continually moving. “It’s vital we train to avoid via the aircraft’s Link 16 data links which the hazards that go along with the embarked improves their situation awareness. The maritime environment and operating from a key to making the most of this aircraft’s moving flight deck,” Lt Cdr Hall noted. capability is its position at sea and Training Schedule ensuring it’s properly employed.” The exercise schedule was full, incorporating day/night operations. During week one 6 aircrew focussed on general flight deck operations (take-off/landings, approach work) plus secondary roles such as winching and HIFR. RFA Argus’ deck is marked out like a frigate which helps facilitate this specific training. ASaC crews regularly practise confined area landings for this purpose. During week two the squadron focused on tactical elements, working with other surface ships going through their FOST force generation. Their end-of-week target was participation in the FOST ‘Thursday War’, with other Culdrose units and an external asset. Lt Cdr Hall explained. “During the initial air defence phase of week two we will work with No.736 Squadron (NAS) Hawks acting as aggressor aircraft towards the Fleet Task Force. We will provide them with AEW such that the Task Force’s own fighter controllers can then engage their inbound raids before threatening

Reflections Ashore, we reflected on the ASaC Force’s incredible capabilities. The Fleet and MoD is preparing for a new era of Carrier Air Wing operations. The fifth generation Lockheed Martin F-35B Joint Strike Fighter (the future Joint Lightning Force) and Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers are grabbing all the headlines while the ASaC Force is quietly preparing to protect these new assets. The reality is an F-35B will never undertake flight deck operations without a SKASaC or, in the future, a Merlin HM2 airborne to protect them. Without these helicopters the impact of an attack on the Fleet could be catastrophic. The ASaC Force will remain in demand for the foreseeable future.

AI.11.14

83

COMMERCIAL PIAGGIO P180 AVANTI EVO

I

t’s fitting that Formula One team Ferrari uses a Piaggio Aero P180 Avanti to fly drivers and senior management to Grands Prix. Speed and sleek lines make the Avanti ideally suited to a brand synonymous with performance and style. The legendary car firm says the P180 is “the only aircraft deemed worthy” of carrying its famous ‘Prancing Horse’ logo.  Ferrari’s aircraft is one of more than 200 Avantis sold by Piaggio Aero since the type

84

AI.11.14

entered the business aircraft market in 1990. Now the P180’s manufacturer, based at Villanova d’Albenga southwest of Genoa, has launched a new generation of its flagship type, called Avanti EVO. It retains the Avanti’s signature twin pusher engines and forward wings but Piaggio Aero said performance and features were radically improved, from not only the original 1990s P180 but also 2005’s Avanti II. The EVO has a greater range, reduced costs and less noise.

Difficult Market

Business aviation has had a turbulent few years. Sales of new aircraft slumped after the financial crisis. The Avanti’s market segment, the light and midsize sector, was hit particularly hard. Declining sales saw annual P180 production drop from a peak of 30 aircraft in 2008 to just two in 2013, according to the Ascend aircraft fleet database. Piaggio Aero responded by developing new versions of the Avanti – a Multirole Patrol

PIAGGIO P180 AVANTI EVO COMMERCIAL its stake to 41%. In May 2014 it became the 98.05% majority shareholder; the remaining 1.95% is owned by Enzo Ferrari’s son, Piero.

Enhancements The EVO, announced in May 2014 at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Geneva, features numerous airframe, performance and cabin improvements designed to reduce the type’s operating costs while enhancing efficiency, safety and the passenger experience.

The most visible external difference between the EVO and first and secondgeneration Avantis are winglets. Piaggio Aero said the drag reduction provided – and the slight reshaping of the engine nacelles – will mean the EVO will burn 3% less fuel and emit 3% less carbon dioxide than the earlier generations. The aerodynamic efficiencies provided by the Avanti’s distinctive forward wings and laminar flow fuselage and main wings remain. “Most aircraft shove air aside, the Avanti EVO caresses it,” the company said.

All images Piaggio Aero

Aircraft variant for security missions and the unmanned P1HH HammerHead for mediumaltitude, long-endurance intelligence and surveillance (see Head First, January, p110). The Italian company decided to breathe new life into the core business aircraft version after a reported $260 million investment in the business from the Mubadala Development Company, the Abu Dhabi government’s sovereign investment fund. Mubadala bought into Piaggio Aero (as a 35% shareholder) in 2006 and in 2013 upped

Avanti Piaggio Aero has introduced a new version of its distinctive Avanti executive transport aircraft, the world’s fastest turboprop. Mark Broadbent reports AI.11.14

85

COMMERCIAL PIAGGIO P180 AVANTI EVO

The aircraft differs from earlier variants by featuring new Hartzell five-blade scimitar propellers. The blades, each 2.16m (7.08ft) in diameter, are made from aluminium and feature swept tips, hence their name. Piaggio Aero said the props’ geometry, combined with the redesigned engine nacelle and new lownoise exhaust stacks in the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66B engines, translates to an external noise reduction of 68%.

Speed and Range The EVO has the Avanti’s characteristic speedy performance. Its 402kts (745km/h) cruise speed makes it the fastest civil turboprop – quicker than many high-performance military turboprops – but aerodynamic improvements means it can fly further. In standard configuration the range is 1,470nm (2,722km), some 50nm (92km) more than the previous generation. An optional Increased Range Configuration enables customers to order a 176.9kg (390lb) fuel tank to extend the distance to 1,720nm (3,185km). The tank will enable the EVO to fly coastto-coast across the USA, from New York to South America, from London to Moscow and sub-Saharan Africa or from Hong Kong to Mumbai, Australia and northern Japan. The aircraft has several new features designed to reduce maintenance costs. A Magnaghi landing gear offers a 10,000-cycle, 15-year time before overhaul (TBO), up from the 6,000-cycle, 12-year TBO on the Dowty undercarriage of previous Avantis. The EVO also has antiskid brakes, a digital nosewheel power steering system and long-life LED exterior lights.

Cockpit The cockpit has three full-colour, multi-function LCD screens and a Rockwell Collins ProLine 21 avionics suite incorporating weather radar

86

AI.11.14

1 1&2 Two angles of the EVO showing it’s symmetry and also it’s streamlined elegance. 3&4 Piaggio Aero says the Avanti EVO’s cabin will be 20% quieter than earlier versions of the aircraft. 2

PIAGGIO P180 AVANTI EVO COMMERCIAL

AVANTI EVO SPECIFICATIONS Maximum cruise speed: 402kts (745km/h) Ceiling: 41,000ft (12,500m) Rate of climb: 2,950ft/min (899m/min) Take-off distance: 3,262ft (994m) Landing distance: 3,282ft (1,000m) Range: 1,500nm (2,778km) or 1,720nm (3,185km) in the increased range configuration Wingspan: 14.35m (47.08ft) Length: 14.40m (47.24ft) Height: 3.98m (13.05ft) Cabin dimensions: 1.75m (5.74ft) tall by 1.85m (6.06ft) wide, volume 12.88m3 (375ft3) Passengers: up to eight (plus two crew), with four cabin layouts Engines: Two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66B, each generating 634kW (835shp) Maximum take-off weight: 5,511kg (12,100lb) Maximum landing weight: 5,126kg (11,500lb) Maximum fuel capacity: 1,271kg (3,200lb) or 1,451kg (3,200lb) in the increased range configuration

3

Useful load: 794kg (1,750lb) or 1,837kg (4,050lb) in the increased range configuration In service date: Q4 2014

and a traffic collision and avoidance system. Innovations include a graphical weather display option and a localiser performance with vertical guidance approach capability; the latter assisting with poor weather landings. Optional cockpit avionics include airborne collision and avoidance, terrain awareness and warning and enhanced ground proximity warning systems. There’s also a highfrequency radio, full cockpit voice and data recorders, the L3 Stormscope lightning detector, video integration to the multi-function displays, engine data acquisition and Inmarsat connectivity. The EVO will be certified to European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) CS-23 and US FAR Part 23 standards, enabling operations by one or two pilots by day or night, in visual or instrumented flight rules environments and into known icing conditions.

Cabin Improvements An all-new passenger cabin includes leather seats developed by the Italian design house Iacobucci HF, which makes features such as coffee machines and ovens for commercial aircraft and yachts. The seats, which are able to move laterally and longitudinally and swivel 180°, will be hand-finished by the Turin-based luxury furniture maker Poltrona Frau. Piaggio Aero said the EVO’s cabin will be one decibel, or 20%, quieter than the earlier versions of the aircraft, thanks to the engine improvements. It will also have LED mood lighting and an improved air conditioning system with 25% greater capacity than the Avanti II’s, giving a 6,600ft (1,828m) cabin altitude at the aircraft’s maximum

4

41,000ft (12,500m) cruising height. Options include an in-flight entertainment system, premium leathers and foam padding, an AirCell Axxess air-to-ground data link and a satcom phone. Four different floor plans are available, enabling operators to customise interior configuration based on their needs.

Support and Sales Piaggio Aero is planning improvements to its customer support and service network including a customisable spares inventory programme called Parts Total Care. This is designed to provide EVO operators with competitive per-flight hour rates on spares and give greater budgetary control over their supply chain. The Avanti EVO has already attracted orders. Hong Kong-based investment firm Bravia Capital announced a commitment in July to buy ten and signed options on a further 40. They will be used for transporting its executives coast-to-coast in the US.

No other sales had been announced at the time of writing in late September. To help its promotional push, Piaggio Aero has appointed the aircraft services provider ConnectJets as its exclusive sales agent for the EVO in the British Isles, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and Ireland. Alberto Galassi, Piaggio Aero’s Chairman, said: “The Avanti EVO represents excellence and provides everything business aviation requires to meet the increasing demands on time that prevail today. It improves performance and delivers more for our customers but with even greater efficiencies, all combined with our unbeatable Italian style.” A new production line at Villanova has been opened specially for the aircraft. The type is due to be certified by the fourth quarter and enter service with its first customers by the end of the year. Piaggio Aero Chief Executive Carlo Logli said the EVO was “a perfect starting point that underpins future growth” for the company.

AI.11.14

87

An aircraft handler directs a T-45C Goshawk as it parks on the flight deck of the USS Harry S Truman (CVN 75). Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Justin Pacheco/US Navy

88

AI.11.14

US NAVAL AVIATION TRAINING COMMAND MILITARY

Flight& Replication Rick Burgess explains how modernisation and simulation is enabling US Naval Aviation to pace its training needs

T

he US Navy is continuing the modernisation of its training of Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers (NFOs) even as it reduces the numbers of types of training aircraft, accomplishing this through increased aircraft modernisation and use of simulators. The Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA, usually pronounced ‘Sinatra’) is responsible for producing the pilots and NFOs for the navy, marine corps and coast guard,

and some pilots and navigators for the US Air Force and foreign militaries. CNATRA’s portfolio includes the navy Flight Demonstration Team, the Blue Angels.

Budgets and Output CNATRA has not been immune from the budget challenges faced in the fleet and has had to deal with keeping up with demand despite fewer resources. The command’s budget was $608 million in FY2014, plus $35 million for the Blue Angels, compared with $655.5 million and $25.1 million in 2013, respectively, including reimbursable costs, said Lt Brynn Olson, spokeswoman

for CNATRA. The lower 2013 budget for the Blue Angels reflects the cut to its season because of sequestration. The navy’s training wings fly almost a quarter of the service’s total flight hours, 254,255.5 flight hours, or 23.5%, in Fiscal Year 2013. CNATRA operates 26% of the active aircraft in the navy’s inventory, Olson said. CNATRA’s training load is considerable. The command produced 1,074 pilots in FY2013, including 626 navy, 340 marine corps, 60 coast guard and 48 international officers. The number for 2014 is slightly higher at 1,084, including 636 navy, 322

AI.11.14

89

MILITARY US NAVAL AVIATION TRAINING COMMAND marine corps, 68 coast guard and 58 international trainees. More than half of the pilots enter the vertical flight communities. The helicopter communities will absorb 46% of the pilots, with another 6% flying the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The tactical jet communities will take 24%. Five percent will fly the E-2 and C-2; 2% the E-6 Mercury, and 17% will go to the P-3, P-8, EP-3 and C-130. “Our incoming flight students are dependent on the needs of the fleet and are planned for years in advance,” said RAdm Roy J Kelley, Chief of Naval Air Training. “We have maintained a consistent input/output of just over 1,000 aviators a year and expect the same for the near future.” The 223 NFOs and other navigators produced in FY2013 included 176 navy, 23 marine corps and 24 international officers. Fiscal Year 2014 will show an increase to 306, including 265 navy, 18 marine corps and 23 international officers. The training program for NFOs is called the Undergraduate Military Flight Officer programme. To accomplish this, CNATRA is staffed with 865 instructor pilots and NFOs, including 628 navy, 188 marine corps, 30 coast guard and 19 air force officers. The training load is lightened by the services of 254 selected reservists and 84 full-time support officers. “The creation of the CNATRA Reserve Component was in response to chronically unmanned active-duty flight instructor billets,” said Cdr Christian Schomaker, assistant Reserve Component Operations Support Officer at CNATRA. “Active-duty officer end strength quantity and placement priorities outside of CNATRA left about 15% of CNATRA’s flight instructor billets unmanned on a year-to-year basis. These active-duty billets were converted to Reserve component billets on a 1-to-4 ratio where every unfilled active-duty billet morphed into four Selected Reserve billets and is an example of the Navy Reserve working with CNAF [Commander, Naval Air Forces] and CNP [Chief of Naval Personnel] leadership to creatively solve constraints 1

90

AI.11.14

detrimental to our mission. “Each Reservist, therefore, contributes a quarter of a year’s worth of instruction,” Schomaker said. “That’s about 60 days per year on a 240-work-day-per-calendar year basis. These 60 days are integrated into CNATRA’s annual production plan. CNATRA’s Reservists are not ‘extra’ instructors that are ‘nice to have’. Their participation is required for CNATRA to meet end-of-year production goals. CNATRA’s Reserve instructor pilots typically serve an average of ten years and are widely respected repositories of tried and true training techniques, corporate knowledge and reliability.” Although the instructor availability is sufficient, the training process is burdened with material problems brought on by budget constriction. “We are currently experiencing backlogs in both pilot and NFO primary training due to parts shortages in 2013 and hurdles with aircraft availability,” Olson said.

Old, New and Upgraded All student naval aviators and NFOs receive their initial flights in one of two primary training aircraft, the Beechcraft T-34C Turbomentor or the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II. As of August, CNATRA operated only 41 T-34Cs, all of which are scheduled to be retired by September 2015, said Colleen Myers with the navy’s T-34 programme office. CNATRA had 43 T-6As and 207 T-6Bs on strength in August, said Bruce Mahaffey with the navy’s T-6 programme office. The T-6A is used for NFO training, while the T-6B is used for pilot training. Delivery of the last of 252 T-6Bs for the navy is scheduled for June 2016. With its digital glass cockpit, the T-6B is better equipped than the T-34C to help prepare aviators to fly the modern aircraft in the fleet. It also features increased manoeuvrability and cross-wind capability, higher altitude ceiling, lower fuel consumption, improved bird-strike protection, ejection seats, full protection against G-forces and a wider range of

anthropometric accommodation in the crew seats. The T-6B also has increased reliability and maintainability. For multi-engine training, CNATRA uses the Beechcraft T-44 Pegasus and the TC-12 Huron, the latter converted from UC-12B transports. As of August, the command operated 20 T-44As and 34 T-44Cs. The remaining T-44As are being upgraded to T-44Cs, a process scheduled for completion in FY2015. The upgrade includes a new avionics suite, digital engine gauges and a rewiring of the wing. “These modifications improve pilot training by providing a digital cockpit, which makes transition from a T-6 [primary trainer] to the end platform [E-2, P-3, P-8, etc] easier,” said John Stevenson of the navy’s T-44/TC-12 programme office. “Further, the new aircraft systems are easier to maintain, improving availability and, therefore, scheduling. “The T-44 does not have a formal end date,” he said. “Its design and training flight envelope do not seriously restrict the airframe. The new cockpit addresses and mitigates identified obsolescence issues. The navy is conducting analysis to determine if, when and what type of a follow-on system is required.” A T-44 simulator, the T-44 Flight Trainer Device (FTD), will be delivered in October and is scheduled to be ready for test in November, Olson said. Three other FTDs will be delivered and ready for test through November 2015. In addition, two Unit Training Devices will be delivered and ready for test by April. The 25 TC-12Bs, added to the multiengine training fleet to augment the T-44, have analogue instrumentation and will not be modernised, Stevenson said. As the T-44 FTD simulators come online, the TC-12Bs will be retired by the end of FY2016. The navy and marine corps’ strike fighter and attack pilots are trained on the Boeing T-45 Goshawk. The T-45 has been going through a cockpit modernisation programme in which the T-45As with analogue cockpits are being upgraded with digital cockpits to the T-45C configuration. Boeing delivered 85 T-45As and 138 T-45Cs to the navy, of which 199 remain in service. So far, 70 T-45As have been modified to T-45Cs, with the upgrades nearing completion. The navy plans to put the T-45C through a service life extension programme (SLEP), said Cdr Bill Coleman of the navy’s T-45 programme office. “The T-45 does not have a formal retirement date,” he said. “With the cockpit modernisations, the SLEP and careful monitoring of fatigue life, we have been able to extend its life. The navy is conducting analysis to determine if, when and what type of a follow-on system is required.” The T-45C also is used for NFO training in the Advanced Strike Fighter Syllabus at Training Squadron 86 (VT-86) ‘Sabrehawks’ at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Florida, including training the NFOs to conduct air intercepts by radar. Until this year, CNATRA used the Rockwell T-39N Sabreliner with a nose-mounted radar as the interceptor and another aircraft as a target. A non-radar version, the T-39G, also was used to train

US NAVAL

AVIATION TRAINING COMMAND MILITARY

3

2

4

1 An instructor pilot and a student naval aviator with Training Squadron 31 (VT-31) ‘Wise Owls’ conduct pre-flight procedures before a training flight in a T-44C Pegasus aircraft. Richard Stewart/ US Navy 2 A T-45C Goshawk assigned to Training Squadron 7 (VT-7) ‘Eagles’, launches from the USS Harry S Truman (CVN 75). Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Karl Anderson/US Navy

NFOs in navigation. The last T-39G was retired in January, followed by the phase-out of the T-39N in August, according to John Tyner of the navy’s trainer programme office.

Simulators To replace the expensive-to-maintain T-39, the navy has procured the Virtual Mission Training System (VMTS), a synthetic radar simulator installed in 15 T-45Cs, the first of which became operational in December. The VMTS, which reached full operational capability in August, generates a target on the radar scope in the T-45 and enables the student NFO to guide the aircraft to an intercept of the simulated target. The cost of also using another aircraft is avoided. “The Student Naval/Marine Flight Officers [SNFOs] will complete the advanced training in the T-45C Virtual Mission Training System [VMTS] aircraft supported by the advanced VMTS HighFidelity Operational Flight Trainers,” Olson said. “Those students advancing to the syllabus will go to the F/A-18/EA-18G and Marine EA-6B communities. “The primary change to the syllabus was the expanded use of high-fidelity simulators to replace older legacy aircraft the T-39G/T39N and the legacy 2B49 radar simulators,” she said. “The syllabus reduced the SNFO receiving 132 flight hours/78 simulator hours to 105 flight hours/101 high-fidelity simulator hours.” For NFOs destined for other communities, a new simulator is going to significantly change the training track. Currently, NFOs being trained for the E-2, P-3, P-8 and EP-3 receive advanced training after they leave

3 A TH-57B Sea Ranger helicopter hover taxies down the flight line at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Florida. Alan Warner/US Navy 4 A T-45C Goshawk training aircraft assigned to Training Squadron 9 (VT- 9) ‘Tigers’ prepares to land on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman (CVN 75). Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Justin Pacheco/US Navy

their training squadrons and report to their respective Fleet Readiness Squadrons (FRS). They receive their wings part way through the training. With the new Multi-Crew Simulator (MCS), they will receive their wings while in the training squadron before they report to the FRS. The MCS, developed by CAE USA Inc, scheduled to be ready for training at NAS Pensacola in October, “consists of two reconfigurable mission trainers and associated supporting interactive courseware,” Olson said. “The MCS system will train multi-crew aircraft student Naval Flight Officers to acquire advanced military aviation skills in airways and radar navigation, weapons system operations, sensor utilisation and electronic warfare operations, communications effectiveness, situational awareness and in-flight decisionmaking for E-2, P-3C, EP-3E and E-6B Naval Flight Officer undergraduate training. The MCS programme supports introduction of E-2D and P-8A aircraft training along with the divestiture of T-39 aircraft.” For training helicopter pilots, the navy relies on a vintage fleet of 119 Bell TH57 Sea Ranger helicopters. The service procured 51 TH-57Bs, used for visual flight rules training, and 75 TH-57Cs equipped for instrument flight rules training. The navy had planned to upgrade the TH-57 fleet to ease the transition of pilots to the advanced cockpit standards in the fleet by developing a TH-57D version. The TH-57D was designed with a digital cockpit with twin multifunction displays, airbag crew protection, impact-absorbing seats, a ‘stick shaker’ system to warn the pilot that the engines are exceeding safe

parameters and compatibility with nightvision goggles. Only 15 TH-57Cs are equipped to train pilots in the use of nightvision goggles. The TH-57D, however, was cancelled in the planning for the FY2013 budget, said Capt Steve Comstock, the navy’s TH-57 programme manager. “The navy is conducting analysis to determine if, when and what type of a followon system would be required,” he said. The challenges the CNATRA’s training aircraft fleet faces are similar to those of the platforms of the operational fleet: rising costs coupled with diminishing budgets, obsolescence and keeping up with technological advances. “It has been 28 years since I earned my wings of gold at NAS Kingsville in South Texas,” said Kelley. “Since that time, we’ve transitioned to new aircraft [T-6B and T-45C] that are light years ahead in technology and enable smooth transitions to fleet aircraft such as F/A-18E/F or EA-18G. At the same time, our simulators have made major advances in capabilities and have allowed us to download flight hours from aircraft to simulators, reducing the cost of training and more accurately replicating the flying experience in a safe environment. “Our organisation has become very lean and efficient over the past 20 years,” Kelley said. “As we move forward in an uncertain budgetary environment, we will continue to make production decisions based on the needs of the fleet — always focusing on the balance of quality, quantity and safety.” Reprinted with permission of Seapower, the official publication of the Navy League of the United States

AI.11.14

91

COMMERCIAL ETIHAD AIRWAYS

Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad revealed a fresh livery for its first A380 Super Jumbo and 787-9 Dreamliner. Mark Broadbent reports

1

Etihad’s New E

tihad Airways has become ever-more familiar at airports worldwide. To signify its growing presence and the delivery of two new aircraft types, the United Arab Emirates’ flag carrier has unveiled a new livery – its first colour scheme change since it

started flying in November 2003. The rebrand was unveiled at the Airbus Hamburg facility on September 27 when Etihad accepted its first A380 A6-APA (msn 166). The colours were also shown on the carrier’s initial 787-9 A6-BLA (c/n 39646) a week later at Boeing’s Everett plant north of Seattle. The 14 aircraft that’ll be delivered to Etihad in 2015 – four A380s, three 787-9s, six A321s and one A320 – will all have the livery. It’ll

2 1 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner A6-BLA showing the ‘Facets of Abu Dhabi’ scheme. Boeing 2 Etihad’s first A380 A6-APA after roll-out at Airbus Hamburg. Paul Marais-Hayer/AirTeamImages 3 One of three rooms in The Residence aboard the Etihad Airways A380. Etihad Airways

92

AI.11.14

take three years for the airline’s existing 102 aircraft to be repainted.

Facets of Abu Dhabi The fresh identity is called ‘Facets of Abu Dhabi’ and was created by Landor Associates, a London-based brand consultancy that has worked on several airline revamps, including British Airways, Delta Air Lines and Garuda Indonesia. Etihad said the scheme “is inspired by traditional Emirati design patterns, the landscapes of the desert and the geometric shapes found in the modern architecture of Abu Dhabi”. The colour palette features gold, dark sand, dark brown, metallic platinum, white, off-white, grey and the colours of the UAE flag: black, red and green. According to Etihad, the livery represents the “varying hues of the landscape of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from the darker sands of Liwa to the lighter colours seen in the Northern Emirates”. The UAE national emblem is displayed along the fuselage next to the Etihad name, and the country’s flag is located near the cockpit. The design’s colours also feature in the cabin interiors of both aircraft and corporate branding. Peter Knapp, Global Creative Officer of Landor Associates, explained: “This new livery tells the remarkable story of this region and of Abu Dhabi’s past, present and future. We used the ambient geometry present in

ETIHAD AIRWAYS COMMERCIAL ultimate in high-end luxury”. No other A380 operator has introduced an exclusive multiroom product onto its aircraft.

First Class Apartments The nine ‘First Apartments’ are fully-enclosed private suites that each offer 3.6m2 (39ft2) of space and a 30.3in (769mm) reclining lounge seat. An ottoman opens out into an 81in (2,057mm) full-length bed. Alternatively there is what Etihad calls a ‘Business Studio’ featuring an ottoman for storage and 22in wide (558mm) seats with direct aisle access that convert to fully-flat, pneumatically-adjustable 80.5in long beds. Economy features the Economy Smart Seat, which the airline says is “an industry first” by providing a fixed headrest and in-seat massage.

787 Seating

ew Look the architecture and culture of the emirate and reinterpreted it with a sense of Arabian modernism, which has become synonymous with Etihad and Abu Dhabi itself.”

The Residence by Etihad Etihad’s A380s have been configured for 498 passengers: two customers in its new VIP product, The Residence; nine First Apartments (each for one person); 70 in 3

Business Class and 417 in Economy. The Residence by Etihad is a three-room suite designed for two guests travelling together. It features a living room, separate double bedroom and en-suite shower. Guests are served by a personal butler trained by the Savoy Butler Academy in London. Located on the forward upper deck, Etihad claims The Residence is the first such suite in commercial aviation and represents “the

Etihad’s 787-9s will carry 235 passengers: eight in first class, 28 in business and 199 in economy. ‘First suites’ will, says the airline, “offer guests a private sanctuary”. Laid out in a 1-2-1 configuration, they feature the industry’s first curved aisle and suite wall, a 26in wide (660mm) seat that converts to an 80.5in long fully-flat bed, a mini-bar and leather upholstery. The same Business Studio and Economy Smart Seats in the A380s will also feature in the 787s. Both the new aircraft types have the Panasonic eX3 in-flight entertainment system, which Etihad says provides 750 hours of on-demand entertainment (including TV programmes, movies, audio and games) and mobile and internet connectivity to every seat aboard. The system has touch-screen handsets, providing an additional screen for passengers to play games or view the moving map while watching a movie.

Into Service Etihad’s first A380 service will be operated on December 27 when the Super Jumbo takes over one of the three daily flights from Abu Dhabi to London-Heathrow. The airline has ten A380s on order – four will arrive in 2015, followed by three in 2016 and two in 2017, according to the industry news resource Routes. Deliveries of the next two A380s early in 2015 will enable Etihad to make its services to the west London hub an all-A380 operation. After the fourth and fifth examples arrive, the carrier will begin using the type on its Sydney and New York JFK services later in 2015, though it hasn’t yet specified dates. Etihad’s first 787-9 routes will be to Doha, Qatar and Düsseldorf starting in December 2014, followed by services to Brisbane, Mumbai, Moscow and Washington DC in the first half of 2015. Etihad has ordered 71 Dreamliners, numbering 41 787-9s and 30 787-10s, and the airline says it has identified more than 40 international routes for future operations with the type. “The 787 is a fantastic addition to our fleet and, similar to the A380, it sets new standards in terms of passenger comfort, product and, crucially, economics,” commented Etihad Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, Peter Baumgartner. “Over the coming years this next-generation aircraft will be used to launch flights to new destinations, add capacity in existing markets and progressively replace existing, less-efficient aircraft.”

AI.11.14

93

1 Voyager KC2 ZZ331 taxies back to parking after an air-refuelling mission. All images Ian Harding

2 In time the MSO will have full control of airrefuelling, but for now they only do so once the aircrew has passed the receivers over. A view of the airspace behind the tanker is displayed to the MSO on a large screen to make it clear precisely what is happening out back.

Ian Harding visited AirTanker at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire now operating at full strength with nine Voyager multi-role tanker transports

Full Streng A irTanker took delivery of its ninth Voyager aircraft (ZZ338 msn 1419 ex F-WWTN/ EC-331) under the Future Strategic Tanker Transport programme on May 29, 2014. This three-point tanker, a Voyager KC3 variant, was delivered with an upgraded fuselage refuelling unit to complete the core fleet flown by No.10 and No.101 Squadrons as scheduled. The RAF’s Air Mobility Wing subsequently accepted the full Voyager capability during a formal ceremony at Brize Norton on July 30, 2014. The Voyager fleet now comprises three twopoint KC2 variants and five three-point KC3s, with one further aircraft (G-VYGG msn 1363 ex-FWWKI/EC-333) operated by AirTanker on the civil aircraft register.

94

AI.11.14

Surge Fleet

A tenth aircraft, G-VYGJ, arrived at Brize Norton on August 14, 2014 and is currently undergoing conversion from its military configuration to a civilian fit. On June 24, AirTanker announced it had agreed in principle to a ground-breaking three-year civil leasing deal with Thomas Cook Airlines. AirTanker will lease a single aircraft from the surge fleet subject to Ministry of Defence approval and operate it under its civil Air Operator Certificate from May 2015. The final aircraft is scheduled for delivery by the end of the first quarter of 2016.

Aeromedical Capability

AirTanker has confirmed the Voyager aircraft received its aero medical release-to-service in the summer enabling it to carry stretcher-bound patients. Configuration to the role is made by removing banks of seats from any of the aircraft’s five zones. Each

zone has a bulkhead used to separate patients from passengers as required. The minimum aero medical fit involves removal of four rows, leaving two medical attendant seats in place. Up to eight stretcher modules can be fixed to floor rails set across the cabin within each zone providing places for 40 stretcher-bound patients. Equipped with fixed power supply units, the Voyager ensures that medical equipment, such as heart monitoring equipment and suction points for infusion, can function at all times. A Voyager can be re-roled for the aero medical mission within 24 hours.

Fleet Projection All aircraft are configured with a single-class cabin comprising 291 seats and the capacity to carry a maximum 111 tonne fuel load. Fuel burn averages 6 tonnes per hour but Wg Cdr Jamie Osborne, Officer Commanding No.10 Squadron said the rate can be reduced to approximately 4 tonnes per hour at maximum endurance speed. Both rates compare favourably with the nowretired TriStar and VC-10, and the Voyager’s efficiency materially enhances the RAF’s rapid deployment capability. Now fitted with an improved defensive

VOYAGER MILITARY system operator) was 27, just three short of the target. There were fewer than ten in November 2013. Seven of the 27 pilots currently trained (the figure includes captains and co-pilots) are Sponsored Reservists and all of the MSOs are military.

Air-to-Air Refuelling

ngth 1

aids suite, Voyager can deliver personnel and aircraft directly into the theatre providing greater operational flexibility. AirTanker has said Voyager will benefit from the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS) once all of its capabilities are switched on. JTIDS supports a wide range of data communications, navigation, positioning and identification. In the future the system should enable a Voyager to hand off its receiver aircraft at the location required using a picture of the battle space presented to the Mission Systems Operator or MSO (who controls the air-refuelling) and aircrew by JTIDS: a picture predicted by Osborne to “eventually be phenomenal”. The system will also allow the aircrew to communicate with troops on the ground.

Voyager received clearance to refuel Hercules C4 and C5s earlier this year following on from the Tornado GR4 and Typhoon FGR4 in 2013. Trials with the Sentry AEW1 Airborne Warning and Control System began recently and are set to conclude by the end of the year. Similar trials in support of the Airbus A400M Atlas continue in Spain. Interoperability with types used by other nations, specifically the US Navy, is being considered but no one from the RAF or AirTanker was able to divulge any information. The requirements of the US-led operations against ISIL in Syria and Iraq will no doubt drive any pending decision by the UK Ministry of Defence. Wg Cdr Osborne was able to discuss the Voyager’s air-refuelling effectiveness citing two examples: “Voyager has the capability to drag four Typhoons from the UK to the eastern seaboard of the United States in one go, make one overnight stop and then take the aircraft to an exercise like Red Flag [a possibility for 2015] in one hop. A VC-10 trail would have required more overnight

stops, presenting more opportunities for the aircraft to go unserviceable. Going east, we can take four armed Tornado GR4s into the region in less than 24 hours. Historically, we would go via Cyprus so the warning alerts were already triggered and the effect lost. In terms of speed and delivery, this aircraft is a game changer.”

Operations As AIR International closed for press, the Voyager fleet was supporting RAF Tornado GR4s undertaking air strikes in Iraq, yet despite this focus, contingent operations continue apace. Wg Cdr Osborne confirmed a number of operational milestones had been achieved in the last 12 months. During December 2013, Voyager started to support the Afghanistan air-bridge, while the Falklands air-bridge (including the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) and air-refuelling support) commenced in the first quarter of the year. In February the aircraft also assumed responsibility for the UK’s QRA. More recently one Voyager participated in the 2014 NATO Summit flypast and provided dedicated air-refuelling support to Typhoon FGR4s undertaking continuous combat air patrols over Celtic Manor in South Wales on September 4-5. According to Wg Cdr Osborne, the Voyager fleet also supported the deployment of No.6 Squadron Typhoons to Malaysia for participation in Exercise Bersama Lima: the latest of over 20 trails undertaken by Voyager to date. Aircraft serviceability levels are at 98% as Wg Cdr Osborne explained: “Recently, nine jets were tasked and nine jets flew, which is unheard of. The Fleet’s evolution has been quick.” Voyager was also due to conclude its participation in Exercise Joint Warrior 14-2, which ran from October 6 to 17, and plans are afoot to participate in a Red Flag exercise during 2015 though future military operations may weigh heavily on the ability to take part in future exercises. The achievements of the Voyager to date have been impressive. “From first delivery to our first no-notice operation over Iraq took just 18 months. I don’t know of any other fleet whose evolution has been that 2 quick,” Wg Cdr Osborne concluded.

Squadron Structure The Voyager fleet and its tasking are shared by No.10 and No.101 Squadrons. Due to the spread of experience and the fact the Voyager force continues to train new aircrew, missions are flown by mixed crews. By September 2014, the number of crew (each comprising a captain, co-pilot and mission

AI.11.14

95

RYANAIR More than just an airline Dominik Sipinski spoke with the Irish low-cost carrier’s chief executive Michael O’Leary

W

ith the delivery on September 10 of the first Boeing 737-800 from its order for 180, Ryanair has started an era of fleet expansion that should enable the Irish low-cost carrier (LCC) to nearly double its traffic in the next ten years. But the growth will not stop there. “We have tried to be just an airline for

96

AI.11.14

too long,” says Michael O’Leary, who this year celebrates 20 years as Ryanair’s Chief Executive Officer. The Irishman, who’s overseen the transition of Ryanair from a loss-making small airline to Europe’s largest LCC operating over 300 aircraft, told AIR International about the carrier’s plans for the future.

Resuming Growth In 2013 Ryanair carried 81.4 million passengers, a relatively modest increase of 2.3% year-on-year. This ensured the carrier’s place as Europe’s second biggest airline in passenger numbers (the leader is Lufthansa

Group with nearly 105 million carried in 2013), but this was a slowdown compared with 4.1% growth in 2012 and 5.1% in 2011. Ryanair’s expansion will now recommence. “The new aircraft will mean we should go from over 80 million passengers last year to double that size in the next ten years,” O’Leary said. “That means we should go up to 150 million passengers annually.” This would translate to an average annual growth rate of more than 6%. Ryanair, which always took pride in the low average age of its fleet, has recently been forced to use slightly older aircraft to accommodate growing demand. According to AirFleets.net, the airline’s

R

RYANAIR COMMERCIAL

An artist’s impression of the new Boeing 737 MAX 200, of which Ryanair is the launch customer, with 100 firm orders and 100 options. Boeing

average fleet age now stands at 5.7 years. The new Boeing 737-800s will not only enable Ryanair to reduce this age, but also grow its fleet beyond the current 300 aircraft. “We think some 100 of them [the new aircraft] will increase the fleet, some 80 will be for replacement of the older aircraft in the 300,” explains O’Leary. “And then the new order we announced on September 8 is 100 firm and 100 options for Boeing 737 MAX 200s. These aircraft come in with eight extra seats, which are worth about $1 million additional revenue a year, and give more than 15% fuel saving, which is worth another $1 million per aircraft per year.” Both orders ensure Ryanair will have a steady

inflow of new aircraft over the next decade. The regular deliveries and relatively young ages of in-service jets give the airline flexibility. If the market performs better than forecast, older aircraft can be kept flying, which will take the fleet size above 420. Or if there’s a downturn or an event that weakens demand, Ryanair says it will be able to sell or ground more of its older aircraft and downsize capacity.

New Services O’Leary is passionate about expanding into new services. “The big opportunity for us now is with the website and the mobile app,” he says. “We will carry 86 million passengers

this year, we increasingly know their habits, whether they travel twice or 15 times a year, whether they have a holiday home in Italy, whether they go on business to Brussels 16 times a year. “With that data we now know more about them and their lifestyle,” he explained. “That is a huge opportunity to try to monetise this information, not by selling it to someone else, but by making use of it to make a passenger feel we care about him and we want him and his family to feel good.” In the future, O’Leary believes, forums and user-to-user travel advice networks could be integrated into Ryanair’s website. Birthday

AI.11.14

97

Ryanair

COMMERCIAL RYANAIR primary airports. feed our hub’. A sort of In some cities, such order flight, say for €80 as Madrid, the carrier a seat, and we fly in has long used the main and out of Frankfurt on airport due to the lack behalf of Lufthansa.” of alternatives, but O’Leary reckons that flights to hubs, such in a decade Ryanair as Brussels-Zaventem could carry twice the and Rome-Fiumicino number of passengers. (where the airline By then it intends to established a base in have introduced all 2013) are a novelty. the new aircraft, have Three daily flights from an IT system catering Dublin to Zaventem for the personal needs were introduced for the of travellers, fly more 2014 winter schedule, business passengers, which also sees the offer a whole range of 1 airline open new bases travel support services at other primary airports and feed the network “There will be five big vouchers and incentive gifts could be given such as Cologne, carriers. to frequent travellers. Ryanair could provide Gdansk, Glasgow and For the full airlines in Europe: individual cabs to get passengers to and from Warsaw-Modlin. 2013/2014 financial Lufthansa, British the airport, co-operate with hotels, restaurants O’Leary said Ryanair year that ended in and tourist attractions to offer exclusive bargain will expand further March 2014, Ryanair’s Airways, Air Franceoffers for loyal passengers and send maps and into major hubs, but profits fell for the first KLM, easyJet and directions directly to travellers’ mobile devices. also continue using time in five years, to In his time as Ryanair’s CEO, O’Leary secondary airports. €523 million, down Ryanair, and we will be has often made controversial or provocative “I think you will see from €569 million the the biggest,” comments, of which he now says: “They were more of double airport previous year. a function of a time when we were running operations in big Ryanair’s results Ryanair Chief Executive Officer around trying to be the cheapest airline in cities.” Brussels is a for the first half of Michael O’Leary Europe and we wanted to generate a lot of free good example – the the current financial publicity by saying anything. new Zaventem services year were due to “Now we are big, we do not need to make complement those be announced in noise just for the sake of making noise. Some flown to Charleroi, near the Belgian capital. November, but in September the airline raised people do not like flying with us. We have to O’Leary insists there are only three airports its full year traffic and net profit forecasts. change that. It has to be cheaper than anybody the airline will not fly to: Heathrow, Paris CDG “While still too early to be confident about else, but it also has to be a great experience.” and Frankfurt. Not due to costs, he says, but second-half fares and yields, the continuing because of congestion and long turnaround strength of our forward bookings and the Innovations times, which would lead to a reduced improving customer experience leads us to To that end, in autumn 2013 Ryanair launched number of sectors being flown by a given cautiously raise our full-year traffic forecast to a range of product innovations including aircraft during a day. 87 million customers, and our full-year profit flexible tickets for business travellers, with However, O’Leary’s vision includes his carrier guidance towards the upper end of our current fast track security, free airport check-in and providing low-cost feeder service for the major €620-€650 million range,” O’Leary said in a other options. Baggage restrictions were flag and network airlines at their bases – an offer news release on September 25. eased and boarding card re-issue charges Ryanair made to Alitalia, but which was rejected. The change of image and expansion of and bag fees were reduced. The airline also “There will be five big airlines in Europe: services will require Ryanair to balance its overhauled its website, created a social media Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France-KLM, very focused business with a customerpresence and established a team to respond easyJet and Ryanair, and we will be the centric approach and, if it does that, its CEO to customers’ emails. biggest,” O’Leary said. “The flag carriers will might well realise his vision for Ryanair to According to the YouGov Brand Index, come to us and say ‘we want you to fly and become more than just an airline. which measures the public perception of leading brands, the number of people who said 2 1 Ryanair received the first of 180 new they’d consider flying Ryanair rose from 13% Boeing 737-800s in September. to 17% within six months of the new products Jan Ostrowski/AirTeamImages being announced. 2 Ryanair has a growing presence Further change under way has this year at hub airports. Ryanair comes with the airline signing agreements with the Global Distribution System (GDS) companies Travelport and Amadeus that will see its tickets made available for sale through travel agencies across Europe. In a press release, O’Leary described the Amadeus GDS partnership as “a significant opportunity for us to reach a wider range of business and corporate customers”. Currently 27% of its passengers are business travellers.

Routes From an operational perspective, the continuing challenge – as for all LCCs – remains finding profitable routes. Ryanair for many years flourished by using secondary airports, which offered lower fees, while still providing sufficient passenger flows. It continues to fly to those locations but the carrier is now moving into

98

AI.11.14

officially the world’s number one military aviation magazine AirForces Monthly provides the best military aviation news coverage from around the globe and is essential reading for anyone seeking a well-informed view. Devoted entirely to modern military aircraft and their air arms, AirForces Monthly has built up a formidable reputation worldwide by reporting from places not generally covered by other military magazines.

NOVEMBER issue features:

Free Supplement: B-1 Lancer In this supplement, Thomas Newdick provides a detailed look at the development, the operations and the upgrades of this remarkable nuclear bomber that has now become the close-air support weapon of choice for troops-in contact.

Gaining Confidence

In the second part of AFM’s coverage of a Mission Rehearsal Exercise (MRX) at RAF Marham, Glenn Sands discovers how the ‘Warlord’ of 31 ‘Goldstars’ Squadron and the RAF Regiment instill confidence across the ranks.

Attacking ISIL

The Air Forces Monthly team provides an in-depth look at the current operations over Iraq and Syria by the RAF, USAF and coalition partners giving a full analysis of the strikes.

ONLY

£4.70

The ‘Flying Scythes’ over Europe

The US Air Force announced in March 2014 an intention to reduce the number of fighter aircraft based overseas as part of overall cuts to its fleet. Dick Wells looks at the impact this may have at RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk.

And much more! SEARCH

AIRFORCES MONTHLY

FREE APP

with sample issue IN APP ISSUES £3.99

AFrom VA I L AandB other L EleadingNnewsagents OW For latest subscription deals visit www.airforcesmonthly.com ALSO AVAILABLE ON also available for PC, MAC & Kindle Fire from

Search: Airforces monthly

735/12

802/14

802 AFM UK Latest.indd 15

02/10/2014 12:02

Russian Helicopters F_P.indd 1

30/09/2014 09:20