Air International 2015-05

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INTERNATIONAL

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For the best in modern military and commercial aviation

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MAY 2015 Vol.88 No.5

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INTERNATIONAL

Go Gl in ob g al

BOEING 757 ecoDEMONSTRATOR • AVRO RJ85 AIRTANKER

Boeing 747-8 The Ultimate Jumbo

UH-1H Huey

California’s Bear in the Air

Air India

Mission Impossible?

Harriers & Hornets Under Test in the Desert

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News

LEADING NEWS STORIES

04 

06 GO WITH THE FLOW

BREAKING NEWS

Chinese Chengdu Z-10 attack helicopters delivered to Pakistan,two More C-17As for the RAAF, Mitsubishi MRJ first flight delayed and Finnair A350 to Heathrow.

08 GENERAL NEWS

Germanwings A320 crash prompts two-crew policy, Airlander attracts funding, Iran-140 programme halted, Star Alliance Dreamliner, first upgraded Indian Mirage 2000s, more Dutch CH-47F Chinooks, Pakistan Seeks AH-1Z Vipers.

18 THE US NAVY’S FIGHTER CONUNDRUM Rick

This year’s Boeing ecoDemonstrator is being used to investigate how to improve aerodynamic efficiency. Mark Broadbent reports.

Claim y o or Ethio ur FREE Rafa le p Cockp ian Boeing 7 Cockpit it DVD 77-20 a 2-yea when you ta 0LR ke out r or D subscri irect Debit p ti o n to AIR Inte rnation al. S

Burgess gives the top news stories from the US Navy.

10 NEGATIVE G IN A VOYAGER

ee pag es 32 for det and 33 ails.

Ian Harding summarises the issues highlighted 20 COPE TIGER Chen Chuanren in the Service Inquiry report on the most serious visited Korat Air Base in Thailand during the near-loss incident in recent RAF history. nation’s largest annual air warfare exercise.

12 REPLACING THE TALON

24 MALAYSIAN DEFENCE ACQUISITION by Nigel Pittaway

14 F135 UPGRADE PLAN

28 REGIONAL AIRCRAFT DOWN UNDER Nigel Pittaway discovers

Robert F Dorr provides the latest stories from around the US Air Force.

Chris Kjelgaard details how Pratt & Whitney is ramping up its production and development programmes for the F-35’s F135 engine.

how the BAE 146/Avro RJ family still has a role in niche services.

FRONT COVER: One of this month’s big features is about the Boeing 747-8. Rainer Bexten LEFT INSET: Damon Duran MIDDLE INSET: Steve Flint/ AirTeamImages RIGHT INSET: Michael McGinnis/Naval Air Systems Command

78 Features

34 QUEEN OF THE SKIES

Mark Broadbent spoke with the Boeing 747-8 programme’s chief about the latest improvements to the company’s flagship ‘jumbo’.

DEVILS AND DEVELOPMENT 52 DUST,

AIR International’s Mark Ayton visits Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California to discover some of the work under way with VX-31.

Robert F Dorr outlines the current standards of the world’s number one air superiority fighter – the McDonnell-Douglas F-15 Eagle.

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48 

72 

AVIATION SAFETY

Dr Simon Bennett tries to bridge the gap between misperception and the facts about aviation safety.

Editor Mark Ayton [email protected] Designer Dave Robinson Production Manager Janet Watkins Ad Production Manager Debi McGowan Group Marketing Manager Martin Steele Marketing Manager Shaun Binnington Commercial Director Ann Saundry

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE?

After joining the Star Alliance, Air India is hoping to achieve profitability. Andreas Spaeth reports from Delhi.

TANQUE

Ernesto Blanco Calcagno gets a first-hand perspective on how the Uruguayan Air Force conducts air refuelling training.

Assistant Editor Mark Broadbent [email protected] Managing Director & Publisher Adrian Cox Executive Chairman Richard Cox

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Norman Graf profiles the latest iteration of Exercise Red Flag at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

86 GOING GLOBAL

Hawaiian Airlines’ expansion is transforming a once small regional carrier into an international player, as David Armstrong discovers.

HELICOPTER COUNTRY 92 RUSSIA’S

Alexander Mladenov describes the work undertaken by the Russian Army Aviation’s helicopter training centre.

Editor’s Secretary Vanessa Smith [email protected] Distribution by Seymour Distribution Ltd • T. +44 (0)020 7429 4000 • Printed in England by Warners Midlands PLC. Please refer to main Subscriptions Advert within the magazine or contact: Subcriptions & Mail Order, P.O Box 300, Stamford, Lincs PE9 1NA UK T +44 (0)1780 480404 F +44 (0)1780 757812 Email Subscriptions: [email protected]

Norman Graf

40 

CADILLAC OF THE SKY

78 RED FLAG TURNS FORTY

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3

Breaking News

Z-10 Attack Helicopters Delivered to Pakistan

Two of the newly arrived Pakistan Army Aviation Corps Changhe Z-10 attack helicopters awaiting re-assembly at Qasim Army Aviation Base in Pakistan.

The Pakistan Army has taken delivery of three Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) Z-10 ‘Fierce Thunderbolt’ attack helicopters at Qasim Army Base, near Rawalpindi.

Local media reports suggest the three were noted being reassembled at Qasim in late March and were expected to begin testing in April. The Z-10s have been donated by China, which hopes that after

assessment Pakistan will place a large order for the type. Two will undergo operational testing in battlefield conditions, while the third will be used for training. Nigel Pittaway

Last Upgraded Turkish F-16 Delivered During a ceremony at the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) facility in Ankara on April 10, the company handed back the last of 163 upgraded Block 40 and Block 50

F-16s to the Turkish Air Force. The final example was F-16D Block 40 89-0044, which departed the same day to return to operational service. TAI modernised 147 of the aircraft in

Ankara, while the remaining 16 were upgraded at the Turkish Air Force’s 1st Air Maintenance and Logistics Command Centre at Eskisehir, under the supervision of TAI.

Australia Buying Two More C-17As Australia is to acquire a further two C-17A Globemaster IIIs to supplement the six already in service with the Royal Australian Air Force’s No. 36 Squadron at RAAF Base Amberley. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the AUS$1 billion acquisition, which includes

associated equipment and facilities, during a visit to the Queensland base on April 10. Part of the investment will include AUS$300 million to upgrade facilities at Amberley, including a dedicated maintenance hangar and increased apron and taxiway space.

Australia will take delivery of the first C-17 within six months of the initial order and the second within ten months of the first delivery. The aircraft will be taken from the ten ‘white tail’ examples that Boeing has been building in anticipation of further orders, prior to shut-down of the production line.

Fresh Look for Transaero

Boeing 737-8MC N1782B (c/n 44435), pictured at Paine Field in March, is the first aircraft to sport Transaero Airlines’ new livery. The jet will be operated by the Russian carrier as EI-RUR. The revised colour scheme is Transaero’s first major rebrand since it started operations in 1991. Steve Bailey/vrefphotos.com

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American’s Single AOC

American Airlines and US Airways are now operating under a single air operator certificate (AOC), marking a major step in the carriers’ integration to become the world’s largest airline. The April 8 approval by the Federal Aviation Administration followed 18 months of work, after the companies’ merger was announced in December 2013, to combine flight operations, maintenance and dispatch procedures. All American and US Airways flights now use the call sign ‘American’. US Airways has dropped its ‘Cactus’ call sign, inherited after its 2006 acquisition of America West. An American Airlines statement said over 700 employees were involved in reviewing 465 manuals, and 115,000 pages on policies and procedures. The next major step is to combine reservations systems. The repainting of former US Airways aircraft into American livery continues, and is expected to be completed in a year. Mark Broadbent

KAI Preferred Bidder for KF-X Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is the preferred bidder for South Korea’s KF-X fighter programme. The decision was announced by the Defense Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA) arms procurement agency on March 30. Lockheed Martin is KAI’s foreign technical assistance partner for the project. Earlier, the bidding process had stalled when KAI submitted the only offer by the February 9 deadline for submissions. On the following day, DAPA extended the deadline to February 24, allowing Korean Air to submit a bid in partnership with Airbus Defence and Space. DAPA will now begin negotiations with KAI over the details of the contract, which is expected to be finalised later this year. The award, worth around $7.95 billion, will cover the development phase, including production of prototypes, which will run until 2025. It is planned to purchase 120 of the new indigenous fighters to replace the Republic of Korea Air Force’s fleet of F-4D/E Phantom II aircraft. Indonesia, which is funding 20% of the development programme, plans to buy 80 of the type.

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

Breaking News

Nigeria’s Ex-Luftwaffe Alpha Jets

Nigerian Air Force Alpha Jet NAF477 departs from Manchester Airport on March 25 during its delivery flight. Rob Skinkis

Two Dassault Breguet Dornier Alpha Jets have been acquired by the Nigerian Air Force to supplement its fleet. Both are former Luftwaffe aircraft that were

bought from Air USA, and the first, NAF477 (c/n 0088, ex N88XA, 40+88/Luftwaffe), has now been delivered. It arrived in the UK at Manchester

Airport on March 25 from Reykjavik, flown by an Air USA pilot. After a two-hour fuel stop, it continued via Palma on its way to Nigeria.

The aircraft has been converted for night-vision goggle operations. The delivery of the second Alpha Jet, N707XA (c/n 0007, ex 40+07/ Luftwaffe), has yet to be confirmed.

MRJ First Flight Pushed Back Mitsubishi Aircraft (MITAC) has delayed the initial flight date of its MRJ regional jet to the third quarter. The first of the four flight test aircraft (c/n 10001) will now conduct its debut flight from Nagoya Airport, Aichi Prefecture in September or October, the company said. That is a slippage from the second-quarter 2015 target announced on c/n 10001’s

roll-out last October. In a statement MITAC said the date had been revised “to fully incorporate the verification results of the various ground tests and related feedback into the first flight test aircraft”. The company added: “Static strength testing and manufacture of the second and subsequent flight test aircraft are all proceeding smoothly.”

It said it would carry out an “intensive” flight test campaign and accelerate production to ensure the first customer MRJ is delivered on schedule in the second quarter of 2017, as previously announced. A new plant adjacent to Nagoya Airport will complete final assembly, outfitting and painting of series production MRJs. The Mitsubishi

A320neo Noise Tests at Morón

Heavy Industries (MHI) Kobe Shipyard and Machinery Works will make parts for the wings, which will be assembled at the Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works Tobishima Plant. MHI’s Matsusaka Plant in Mie Prefecture will undertake integrated production of parts, and MHI Aero Engines in Komaki will assemble the engines. Mark Broadbent

Finnair A350 to Heathrow Finnair plans to fly its initial Airbus A350-900 (msn 18) to London Heathrow in the autumn. The carrier, which will become the first European operator of the A350 XWB in the third quarter, will use the jet on one of its five daily frequencies to the west London hub from its Helsinki hub on October 6. That will follow flights from Oulu and Rovaniemi to Helsinki the previous day. Mark Broadbent

GOT A NEWS STORY, PHOTO OR FEATURE ?

The Airbus A320neo began noise tests at Morón AB in Spain on April 9. The European company previously used the base, near Seville, to conduct the same trials for its A380 and A350 XWB during their respective flight test and certification campaigns. Antonio Muñiz Zaragüeta

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

AIR International is keen to hear from readers who have news stories, photos or features of modern civil and military aviation for inclusion in the magazine. Please contact AIR International at the following address [email protected]

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5

NEWS REPORT

Go with the F This year’s Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator is being used to investigate how to improve aerodynamic efficiency. Mark Broadbent reports

T

he summery blue and white livery on the Boeing 757s operated by the TUI Travel Group’s airlines is typically found at northern European airports or at leisure destinations around the Mediterranean. Not so with 757-233 N757ET (c/n 24627). Though it sports TUI’s distinctive paint scheme, this aircraft is at Boeing Field, outside Seattle, where for the next few months it will be involved in Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator programme. The ecoDemonstrator is the company’s on-going initiative to fast-track the testing of new airframe, engine and systems technologies to reduce the environmental

impact of commercial aircraft. The idea is to test diverse innovations on different aircraft each year. Boeing’s 787-8 Dreamliner ZA004 (N7874, c/n 40693) was used in 2014 and an American Airlines 737800 (N897NN/3JG, c/n 33318) before that. The 2015 ecoDemonstrator programme, which is being conducted in partnership with NASA and TUI, is focused on new methods of improving airflow over an aircraft to enhance efficiency.

Laminar Flow Boeing is using the 757’s left wing to evaluate proprietary technologies to improve natural laminar flow in support of its work on future wing designs. “During the testing, an infrared camera attached to the top of the fuselage will monitor the [air] over the wing,” a Boeing

spokeswoman told AIR International. “We will be flying through different environmental conditions and study the potential effects that these can have on the flow.” Another technology under test will be a Krueger shield on the wing’s leading edge. “In its traditional form, a Krueger flap helps improve the lift of the wing and allows for lower speed flying,” Boeing said. “On the ecoDemonstrator 757, we are using variations of the Krueger shield to test ways to prevent insect contamination.” Protecting the leading edge from bugs may seem insignificant. But the build-up of insect residues on the airframe during a flight can disrupt the smooth flow of air over the wings, therefore reducing the amount is therefore one way of lessening drag.

‘Bug Phobic’ Coatings The leading edge of the ecoDemonstrator 757’s right wing will also test technologies designed to minimise the aerodynamic impact of insects. “NASA has supplied leading edge panels which incorporate nanotechnology surface coatings,” Boeing said. “The testing will determine whether the coatings are effective in resisting insect contamination. This spring, we will conduct Main image: Boeing 757-222 N757ET during its first test flight as this year’s ecoDemonstrator platform on March 17. Boeing Top left: The 757 at Boeing Field in Seattle, from where the ecoDemonstrator test flights are being conducted over the next few months before it is sent for disposal and recycling. Andre Nordheim/AirTeamImages Left: An engineer holds a wand emitting a stream

of smoke that’s used to visualise air flow, during the wind tunnel trials on a 757 tail at the Ames Research Center. Dominic Hart/NASA Right: A NASA researcher looking at data during the active flow control ground trials. Dominic Hart/NASA

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Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

NEWS REPORT

e Flow tests in a US location where there is a high concentration of airborne insects.” There isn’t any detailed information about these so-called ‘bug phobic’ coatings, but they have been developed by NASA in its Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) Project. “Ground tests have already demonstrated the coating reduces drag and improves fuel efficiency,” NASA says on its website.

Active Flow Control On the 757’s tail, NASA will test active flow control technologies, which involve tiny actuators blowing air in a sweeping motion over the tail and rudder to optimise airflow. NASA initially tested active flow control on a 757 tailfin (which is 26ft/7.9m tall) in 2013 in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex’s wind tunnel, at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett, California. NASA said those trials showed the actuators provided a 20% improvement in the rudder’s

efficiency. It added that this may allow for a smaller vertical tail design in the future, reducing weight, drag and ultimately fuel burn. “Having a relevant test-bed, like Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator, to help mature technology concepts is extremely important,” commented Fay Collier, the ERA project manager at NASA. “Being able to prove those concepts in flight tests gives them a better shot of getting into the commercial fleet.” TUI is the so-called ‘customer-partner’ for this year’s ecoDemonstrator, following in the footsteps of American Airlines, Japan Airlines and Delta Air Lines who have all held the role in earlier phases of the programme. TUI and Boeing are “exploring opportunities to test airline-related technologies later this year on the ecoDemonstrator 757,” the Boeing spokeswoman said, without elaborating on what those would be. This isn’t the first time TUI has been involved in a project researching how

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

new technologies can reduce aviation’s environmental impact. Back in 2011 its Thomson Airways unit conducted the UK’s first commercial flight using biofuel. One of Thomson’s 757-200s flew from Birmingham to Arrecife in the Canary Islands using a blend of 50:50 conventional Jet A1 and fuel made from waste cooking oil. TUI was also the European launch customer for the fuelsaving Aviation Partners Boeing Split Scimitar winglets, which are now being installed in its Boeing 737-800s. With the exception of the Boeing proprietary technology, the knowledge from this year’s ecoDemonstrator research will be publicly available to benefit the wider industry.

Recycling N757ET was built in 1990 and was never actually used by one of the TUI Group’s airlines – the aircraft was formerly operated by United Airlines (as N506UA), and the TUI livery was applied to highlight the carrier’s involvement in the ecoDemonstrator. Once its role in the testing is over, the aircraft will go for disposal. This in itself will be another aspect of this year’s programme. Boeing will work with the Washington, DC-based Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association on testing environmentally responsible ways of disposing an aircraft and recycling the materials that it’s made from. “The number of aircraft being retired has increased as airlines invest in newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft,” the spokeswoman said. “Boeing has estimated that about 40% of today’s fleet will leave service in the next 20 years. We want to reduce the environmental footprint of disassembling an aircraft as much as possible.” Boeing said it will provide more detail about the 757’s involvement in the ecoDemonstrator later this year.

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7

Military

New Zealand’s Seasprite The first three Kaman SH-2G(I) Seasprites for the Royal New Zealand Navy have now arrived in the country. After being shipped from the United States, reassembled and test flown, they were handed over in a ceremony at RNZAF Base Auckland on March 6. Five additional helicopters will be delivered by September and will replace the SH-2G version currently in use. The Seasprites are flown by navy personnel, but are maintained by engineers and technicians

from No 6 Squadron RNZAF at Whenuapai. “The Seasprites perform a vital function for the navy and enhance the roles of our ships at sea, by undertaking a range of tasks, including maritime surveillance, search and rescue, counter-terrorism and utility lift,” said New Zealand’s Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Jack Steer during the handover ceremony. “We’ve operated Seasprites since the 1990s and they have proven to be a great capability for us.” Nigel Pittaway

Ka-28 Upgrade

Canadian Air Strike in Syria

The Indian Navy will carry out a mid-life upgrade of six Kamov Ka-28 Helix anti-submarine warfare helicopters, acquired from the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s, most of which are currently unairworthy. Russia’s Rosoboronexport has been contracted to manage the upgrade, which will add new sensors. A further four ex-Russian Ka-28s will receive engine overhauls so they can return to service. Nigel Pittaway

Two Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CF-18 Hornets undertook their first air strikes in Syria on April 8. Using precision-guided munitions, they participated in an attack on an ISIL garrison near Ar Raqqah. A total of ten coalition aircraft were involved in the mission, including six from the US. All returned safely to base after the mission. Although the RCAF had undertaken three previous sorties over Syria, this was the first one involving an air strike. Previous RCAF missions had only been over Iraq, but the Canadian Govenrment approved expansion into Syria on March 23 and an extension to March 30, 2016.

Is this an EMARRS King Air 350ER?

US Army King Air 350ER, serial number 10268, seen at Tucson International Airport on March 24 could be one of the first Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARRS) aircraft in service. Aircraft 10268 is configured with a seven-piece antenna farm under the mid-fuselage, two blade antennas under the outer wings, forward pointing exhaust fairings and it is festooned with sensors including those forming part of the AAR-47 missile warning system. It is believed to be assigned to the 305th Military Intelligence Battalion based at Libby Army Airfield, south of Tucson.

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The first flight by a RNZAF SH-2G(I) in New Zealand on March 4 at Whenaupai. The crew were Cdr Owen Rodger, Lt Ben Melville and Lt Mark Sharples. The first three RNZAF SH-2G(I)s were handed over there two days later. RNZAF

MiG-29UPG’s Maiden Flight The first Indian Air Force MiG-29 to be upgraded at the IAF’s 11 Base Repair Depot (BRD) at Nasik flew for the first time in February, according to RSK-MiG CEO Sergey Korotov. Known as the MiG-29UPG, the aircraft is the first of an initial batch of four to be upgraded in India

and follows on from six aircraft previously modified in Russia. A contract for a total of 62 MiG29UPGs was signed between the Indian Government and RSK-MiG in March 2008. The upgrade includes the integration of the PhazotronNIIC Zhuk-ME slotted antenna phased array radar. Nigel Pittaway

Upgrading the UK Helicopter Fleet AIR International attended an event held on March 12 at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire, home to the Puma Force. It showcased the enhanced capability of the Chinook HC6, Merlin HM2, Puma HC2 and AW159 Wildcat helicopters, and the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed it has delivered some of the most technologically advanced and well supported helicopter fleets in the world during the past 12 months. In particular, all four aircraft types have been declared ready for operational use. This includes, in the case of the Wildcat, service with both the Fleet Air Arm and Army Air Corps. With additional changes at various rotary-wing bases – including modifications impacting the legacy Chinook fleet and transfer of the Merlin HC3/HC3A fleet from the RAF to the Royal Navy – this represents a huge achievement, says the MoD. Parliamentary Under-Secretary Philip Dunne, who was present at the event, confirmed investment during the past four years had amounted to some £6 billion, with more expected in the future. Indirect spend includes the contracts to service these aircraft going forward. Major General Richard Felton,

commander of Joint Helicopter Command, said: “Our investment and collective endeavours are now beginning to deliver the next generation of battlefield helicopters for UK defence and these will enable the Joint Helicopter Command to remain at the forefront, projecting and sustaining key battlefield capabilities into the future.” With media attention focusing on the UK’s future Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers and F-35B Lightning II aircraft, comments by Commodore Matt Briers, Assistant Chief of Staff Carrier Strike Command and Aviation, were significant. “The Merlin and Wildcat HMA are now both fully digital and, as such, are 21st century aircraft for a 21st century Royal Navy,” he said. “Together these aircraft give the Fleet Air Arm increased capability and will make a manifest contribution to the security of the nation to counter threats across maritime sphere.” As AIR International went to press, it was confirmed that discussions have been held to consider the future replacement of the Army Air Corps’ Apache AH1 with the latest generation of Apache helicopters. Ian Harding

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Military

Colourful Eagle

F/A-18E Super Hornet BuNo 166859/‘NF300’ of Strike Fighter Squadron 115 (VFA-115) ‘Eagles’ seen at low-level in California on March 2 during a training flight from Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada. The squadron was deployed to Fallon with other elements of Carrier Air Wing 5 (CVW-5) which is home-based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan. Elements of the wing arrived at Fallon in late February to undertake the Strike Fighter Advanced Readiness Program run by the Naval Strike Air Warfare Center. Upon their return to Japan CVW-5 began preparations to cross-deck from the USS George Washington (CVN 73) to USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) later this year. The Reagan is due to replace the Washington as the navy’s forward deployed carrier. Richard VanderMeulen

Donated Caravans The Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) Air Wing has taken delivery of two Cessna 208B Caravan light aircraft donated by the United States. They were handed over by the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Kampala, Patricia Mahoney on March 16 at Entebbe Airport. They were donated, together with a spares and training package, by the US Department of Defense. They will be based at the UPDF Air Wing base in the northern city of Gulu to support the hybrid African Union/United Nations Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and will be used for transport, medical evacuation and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance

flights over Somalia. The US has provided other support for Uganda’s involvement in Somalia, such as earlier this year donating eight armoured Toyota Land Cruisers to the UPDF and a number of Cougar MRAPs earlier this year. The chief of Uganda’s military, General Katumba Wamala has also said the US is contemplating replacing the three Mil Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters that crashed on Mount Kenya on their way to Somalia in August 2012. Discussions are ongoing. Other African countries have also received Caravans donated by the US military, namely Mauritania and Niger (two each) and Kenya. Guy Martin

DARIN III Jaguar Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd has announced that the first Indian Air Force Jaguar in strike configuration to be modified to DARIN III standard flew for the first time in March. The Display Attack Ranging Inertial Navigation (DARIN) III modification upgrades the IAF Jaguar to what has been described as a ‘near-glass cockpit’, including an upgraded head-up display (HUD), engine and flight instrument system and radar warning receiver (RWR) display unit. The DARIN III upgrade will be applied to 59 IAF Jaguars in three

configurations: maritime, strike and trainer. The first flight of the strike configuration prototype follows that of the maritime version, which flew in November 2012, but which has been the subject of further modifications to its mission computer as a result of IAF concerns. “The strike version has completed four flights so far and the feedback is satisfactory,” HAL chairman T Suvarna Raju told local media on April 1. “Once the trainer too is ready, the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) phase will come into play.” Nigel Pittaway

Mi-26 Production Korean Wildcats Russia’s rotorcraft manufacturer Rostvertol plans to roll out up to eight Mi-26 heavyweight helicopters this year, including at least three intended for export customers. This figure includes two Mi-26T2s for the Algerian military and one Mi-26TS for a Chinese customer, the latter to be used in the disaster relief role (it will be the fourth Mi-26TS delivered to China). The rest of this year’s production is to be delivered to the Russian MoD; which, according to a 2011 contract will receive 20 Mi-26s, including four extensively refurbished

examples. There have also been talks regarding a follow-on order for the classic Mi-26 version for delivery to the Russian Air Force’s Army Aviation service. In addition, in 2016 Rostvertol and Mil are expected to complete the design work on a military version of the new Mi-26T2. The Mi26T2’s basic version, originally built for civil use, featuring an allnew flight/navigation avionics suite and numerous system upgrades, is expected to get its civilian type certificate in Russia later this year. Alexander Mladenov

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Two Republic of Korea Navy AgustaWestland Wildcats are currently being test flown at Yeovil, Somerset. Seen here is the second example, 15-0602/ZZ542 during a sortie on February 24. These are the first of eight on order under a contract signed in 2013. Ian Harding

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9

NEWS REPORT

Negative G

A

ir Marshal Richard Garwood, Director General of the Military Aviation Authority concluded that the positioning of a digital-SLR camera in the cockpit of an RAF Voyager caused the near loss of the aircraft in the skies over Turkey on February 9, 2014. Garwood’s Service Inquiry (SI) report was published on March 23. Some information is redacted presumably because of its legally-sensitive nature, which may imply that remedial action and recommendations will be forthcoming. But the report leaves the reader in no doubt of the serious nature of the incident, which the reporting panel considered to be “extraordinary and unnecessary” and an “extremely serious near-miss”. The reporting panel’s role was to investigate the circumstances of the incident to prevent a recurrence, rather than to apportion blame.

Pitch Down On February 9, 2014, RAF Voyager KC3 ZZ333 (an A330-200 multi-role tanker) was five hours into its flight from RAF Brize

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Norton, Oxfordshire to Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan with 198 passengers aboard, including nine crew. At the time of the incident the aircraft was over the Black Sea cruising at 33,000ft (10,058m), the captain was alone in the cockpit and the co-pilot was in the forward galley. More significantly, the captain’s personal camera was positioned between his seat-arm rest and his side-stick controller. When the captain adjusted his seat position it deflected the side-stick forward causing the aircraft to enter a rapid and steep descent. The report states the captain was unaware his camera had caused the pitch down. While the aircraft was in a steep dive, the co-pilot was weightless due to the negative g but somehow managed to traverse the cockpit ceiling, return to his seat and pull his side-stick fully aft. During the dive, the aircraft reached a speed of Mach 0.9 (358 knots indicated air speed), achieved a maximum rate of descent of 15,800 feet (4,815m) per minute and lost 4,400ft (1,341m) of altitude in 27 seconds. According to the report neither pilot had control of the aircraft from the onset of the pitch down to the removal of the camera - a period that lasted 33 seconds. After 13 seconds from the pitch-down, the

aircraft’s automatic high-speed protection system triggered which reduced the engines’ speed to idle before commencing a sustained positive g recovery when the camera was removed as an obstruction, and the aircrew regained control, which enabled them to divert and land safely at Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey. Inspection and analysis of the aircraft confirmed it sustained no structural damage. The flight deck was undamaged but some internal fixtures and fittings, ceiling panels in the cockpit, were damaged. The negative g forces which ranged from -0.58g at the onset of the dive to +2.06g at the recovery, were dynamic enough for some passengers and cabin crew to be thrown towards the cabin roof. This resulted in “up to 24% of the aircraft occupants being temporarily unfit for duties following the incident” ie 25 passengers and seven crew members were injured. The panel praised the technology of the Airbus A330’s flight control laws, and confirmed the outcome could have resulted in the loss of the aircraft and all souls onboard stating the aircraft’s systems “likely prevented a disaster of significant scale”. The presence of the captain’s camera on the flight deck was pivotal to the chain of events which ensued, but the report

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NEWS REPORT

e G in a Voyager

Ian Harding summarises the issues highlighted in the service Inquiry report of the most serious near loss incident in recent RAF history

Voyager KC3 ZZ333 taxies for departure at RAF Brize Norton after the aircraft returned to service on February 21, 2014. Ian Harding

confirmed such use was not specifically prohibited by any rule or regulation. The panel did, however, state that the Voyager operating manual stipulates that lone flight crew must refrain from “non-relevant duties”. The report said the captain had taken 28 photographs of the flight deck whilst alone in the cockpit, and highlighted that the “sidestick is vulnerable to accidental operation by a foreign object”. Further analysis by the panel confirmed the incident occurred during a period of exceptionally low workload for the crew and confirmed the camera had been used “as recently as three minutes and 20 seconds prior to the incident”. Exactly 104 seconds before the event, the flight data and cockpit voice recorders detected the electric seat motor moving the captain’s seat forward slightly and the application of slight pressure on the sidestick. As the armrest, camera and side-stick interacted with each other the latter moved forward between 0.5 and 0.9 degrees. With the autopilot engaged, the pressure applied remained below the threshold required for automatic disengagement so the aircraft’s attitude remained unchanged. However the attitude changed when the captain’s seat was moved again, which caused a geometrical lock to form between

the camera, the armrest and the side-stick, disengagement of the autopilot and the steep descent. Unfortunately, the side-stick could not be moved despite efforts by the crew to do so because it was locked by the camera. Allaying fears regarding the aircraft’s safety, the report stated that in 190 million flight hours for the A330 family of aircraft, this was the first reported incident of “flight control, object and armrest interaction” notified to Airbus.

Lessons Learned The report apportioned no blame, but highlighted important lessons with longer term consequences. It concluded the crew had “little, if any situational awareness of en route diversion possibilities” following the incident. Having issued a mayday call, they requested a diversion to Istanbul some 500nm (926km) away, rejecting a diversion offered by Turkish Air Traffic Control to Trabzon which was 60nm (111km) away. The crew eventually accepted Incirlik as a diversion airfield 340nm (630km) away. Given the uncertainty surrounding the emergency and the potential for airframe damage, the report considered the “lack of situational awareness and the subsequent decision making related to selecting a more suitable diversion to be below the standard expected

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from such an experienced crew”. Although there appears to have been no definitive rules governing what may be taken onto the flight deck and stowed, the report makes reference to the need for change in what it terms “cultures and behaviours” with regard to taking non-essential articles onto the flight deck. There will almost certainly be remedial action taken to resolve the need for safe stowage. The report states the incident was the “simple and unthinking result of placing a camera close to the aircraft controls”, it summarised the following key factors which made the pitch down more likely: • Individual acts: carriage of the camera, use of the camera in flight, the armrest’s setting, the position the camera was placed in, and movement of the captain’s seat. • Error-promoting conditions: the aircrew’s low workload and boredom at the time of the incident, having just one pilot on the flight deck and distraction. • Organisational factors: normalised behaviour regarding carriage and treatment of loose articles, and design of the sidestick area. The report is almost certain to lead to detailed recommendations for future Voyager operations.

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NEWS COLUMN

Replacing t The T-38A Talon was upgraded to T-38C configuration but needs to be replaced. AIR International contributor Robert F Dorr took photographs of aircraft for 50 years and says this image of T-38A Talon 65-10463 piloted by Major Rich Meyer and Lieutenant Colonel Tim Ayres was his last ever air-to-air shot. The aircraft is viewed on approach from T-38A 64-3279 piloted by Major Jeff Klay of the 560th Flying Training Squadron at Randolph Air Force, Texas on August 7, 2000. Robert F Dorr

by Robert F Dorr The T-X programme to replace the Northrop T-38C Talon advanced trainer is gaining momentum. Despite a recent upgrade, the T-38C is considered inadequate as a finishing school for pilots destined for digital-era warplanes. According to Brigadier General Dawn Dunlop at Air Education and Training Command, the T-38C cannot complete 12 of 18 modern day training tasks. There’s also a reliability concern: the T-38 has failed to meet a requirement for a 75% mission-capable rate since 2011. Moreover, Dunlop said, sensor management issues are fundamentally different in today’s fighters and bombers than when the T-38 was introduced in 1961. “Our inability to upgrade the T-38’s performance and simulated sensor capability presents a growing challenge each year

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to teach critical skills essential to today’s military pilots,” said Dunlop. T-X requirements released on March 20 identify three key performance characteristics: sustained G, simulator visual acuity and performance, and aircraft sustainment. A highlight in the requirements is embedded training with synthetic sensors and data link. Significant progress has been made

the past decade in synthetic training that approximates the real system. Currently, nine partner air forces already have advanced pilot training systems that take advantage of these increased capabilities. The US Air Force wants its first T-X in the autumn of 2017, with initial operational capability in 2023. Although the world’s plane makers seem to be churning out a glut of trainers, it’s

not obvious that any fully satisfy the needs of the T-X programme. The T-100, a rebranded Alenia Aermacchi M346, was once a front-runner but lacks some needed technologies and was handed a setback when General Dynamics confirmed on March 26 that it has dropped out of its partnership with the Italian manufacturer. Alenia is looking for a new US partner. A US prime contractor is considered necessary to assuage Congress’s dislike for acquisition of “foreign” aircraft. Other T-X candidates: Northrop Grumman will propose a clean-sheet design — from its subsidy — Burt Rutan’s Scaled Composites, having dropped a partnership with BAe Systems to market the Hawk AJT (Advanced Jet Trainer) which made a US tour in 2011.

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g the Talon A Boeing-Saab team is also working on a clean-sheet design, and not a derivative of the Gripen fighter, the companies say. Lockheed Martin and Korean Aerospace are joined to offer a version of the latter’s T-50. Textron is expected to enter a version of its Scorpion. T-X calls for 350 airframes to replace the 431-aircraft T-38 fleet. If, as expected, the air force abandons specialised training in the T-1A Jayhawk for multi-engine pilots and restores a universal pilot training system, the number of T-X aircraft could rise to 550. Officials say T-X is on schedule. In fact, the programme was moving at snail-like velocity even before initial draft requirements were released in 2012.

Long Range Strike-Bomber The US Air Force sent out a request for proposals for its Long Range StrikeBomber (LRS-B) on April 3, although it has been studying

air force acquisition effort that is bigger than T-X, with officials expecting 100 aircraft at a rigidly capped, ‘cost-plus’ price of $550 million each. US Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh, talking to reporters on April 7, pointed to expanding military influence by Russia and China – and “53 countries that have Russian or Chinese top-end fighters” – as one reason to modernise US strategic forces. Welsh said he is isolated from the source-selection authority for the LRS-B programme and will have no role in choosing a competitor. Two teams are competing to build the LRS-B, one, an unusual partnership of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, the other headed by Northrop Grumman. LRS-B is a followup to the Next-Generation Bomber (NGB), launched in 2007 and cancelled for cost-saving reasons in 2009. LRS-B emerged in 2011, with significant restrictions on cost and emphasis on risk reduction. Nothing has been publicly revealed about the thinking

from greater emphasis on stealth. The Pentagon says it will save on costs by exploiting “existing technologies”. The challenge to the contractors will be to fashion an advanced bomber that is stealthy but not as costly to operate, as difficult to maintain or as slow as the B-2 Spirit. LRS-B will almost certainly be capable of supersonic cruise. LRS-B will have nuclear capability, but nuclear certification will be undertaken only two years after initial operating capability is declared. In a perfect world, the Pentagon would like acquisition of the LRS-B to overlap with modernization of the rest of the nuclear triad, including a new nuclear ballistic missile submarine and a new intercontinental ballistic missile. Neither the submarine nor the ICBM is currently in development.

Army Dash Eights The twin-turboprop Bombardier (de Havilland Canada) DHC-8-315, or

The US Army wants to buy and modify five Dash Eights from contractors that currently fly government missions in Afghanistan such as Dash 8-315 N8300T (c/n 358) operated by Dynamic Aviation. The aircraft is seen at Glasgow-Prestwick Airport, Scotland on May 12, 2014. Colin Gordon

suggestions from contractors for many months. The Pentagon plans to award a contract to build the LRS-B later this year and hopes to integrate the new bomber into the fleet by the mid-2020s. The LRS-B programme is the only current

of the Pentagon, or of the contractors but it’s possible to make educated guesses about key points. Where NGB would have been a huge aerial delivery ‘truck’ — a modernday equivalent to the B-52 Stratofortress — LRS-B is likely to be smaller and will result

Dash Eight, is becoming increasingly valuable to the US Army as a platform for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. On April 7, the Pentagon announced the army would acquire Dash 8s for special intelligencegathering missions dubbed

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NEWS COLUMN

Saturn Arch, Desert Owl and Radiant Falcon. The announcement referred to six airframes, without providing a breakdown by mission. The army wants eventually to acquire nine, including one to function as a trainer. Of these, three will be acquired in fiscal year 2016, which begins October 1, if Congress permits. The Dash Eights will enable the ground combat branch to own more specialized equipment and place less reliance on civilian contractors, who have been conducting what soldiers call Airborne Reconnaissance LowEnhanced, or ARL-E. The service also wants to use the Dash Eights to replace RC12 Guardrail reconnaissance craft that conduct airborne direction finding of hostile transmitters and intercept enemy radio traffic. The army plans to get the Dash Eights second hand since Bombardier no longer manufactures the type. The service wants to buy and modify five Dash Eights from contractors that currently fly government missions in Afghanistan. As part of the larger ARL-E mission, Saturn Arch – first conducted on civilian King Air aircraft – detects and tracks improvised explosive devices. Desert Owl conducts measurement and signature intelligence and imagery intelligence. Radiant Falcon conducts infrared imaging, and signals intelligence. Aircraft configured for the three missions are not interchangeable. The announcement does not say where the aircraft will be used. The United States officially has no more combat forces in Afghanistan but could operate the aircraft to support Afghan troops. Saturn Arch has previously been noted in Djibouti on the horn of Africa and in South Korea.

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F135 Upgr

NEWS REPORT

Pratt & Whitney is ramping up its production and development programmes for the F-35’s F135 engine, reports Chris Kjelgaard

H

aving identified an intermediate-term fix for the problem which caused a Lockheed Martin F-35A’s F135 engine to catch fire at Eglin Air Force Base on June 23, 2014, Pratt & Whitney is focusing on increasing F135 production and on a long-term development strategy for the engine. The US Marine Corps has set a July target for achieving initial operating capability (IOC) for its first F-35Bs, and the US Air Force is targeting IOC for its F-35As in the summer of 2016. So P&W’s long-term F135 sustainment strategy now calls for it to set up maintenance and overhaul depots worldwide. By March 31, P&W had delivered 217 F135 engines in total, including test examples, according to Bennett Croswell, President of Pratt & Whitney Military Engines. Nearly 150 F-35s have been delivered to date, but by 2020 the number is expected to have risen to 600.

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“On the F135 programme, it’s an interesting time,” said Croswell. “We are [working] in all three phases: development, production and sustainment. The [F-35C] ship trials [in November 2014] were a huge success: there were 124 catapult launches and arrested landings and there was no unscheduled maintenance required on the engine.” Because the initial System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase of the F-35 and F135 programmes are due to end in late 2016 – Croswell said P&W would prefer it if SDD lasted into 2017, because F-35 delivery rates are slower than originally planned – the company is now fleshing out a newly revealed, long-term development programme for the F135.

The F135 Block Upgrade Plan This two-stage programme is aimed at increasing the F135’s thrust, reducing its fuel burn, improving its durability and cutting overall life-cycle cost. P&W expects the programme – which Croswell called the F135 Block Upgrade Plan – eventually to produce improvement levels

for F135 and F-35 performance that others have said can only be achieved by fitting the airframe with a new engine of adaptivecycle design. Under the Block Upgrade Plan, P&W aims initially to develop a package of Block 1 interim improvements, which could be available for installation in new-production F135s and retrofitted in existing engines as early as 2018. At the same time, the engine manufacturer will work to create a more substantial Block 2 package of improvements which could be available from the early 2020s. These upgrades would be based on P&W’s research for its Adaptive Engine Technology Development (AETD) project for the Air Force Research Laboratory but would not actually be adaptive-cycle in nature. Instead, they would apply what P&W has learnt from developing its AETD three-airstream architecture to the F135’s existing two-airstream architecture. An article on P&W’s future US fighterengine strategy in the next issue of AIR International covers the proposed Block 1 and Block 2 upgrades in detail.

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grade Plan

NEWS REPORT

Interim Fix

Croswell said P&W has now installed in all but one of the 17 SDD F-35s (the other, BF-05, has just completed testing in the McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin) the intermediate fix it has developed to prevent a reoccurrence of the problem which led to the June 2014 engine fire. P&W said the fire was caused by excessive rubbing between a polyimide-foam, knife-edge seal on the rotating low-pressure spool of the engine and the static, abradable tips of the stators between the second and third rotating stages of the engine’s fan. Both stages are singlepiece integrally bladed rotors, known as IBRs. P&W’s intermediate fix, which it has tested and verified for efficacy and preservation of engine performance, is to cut a ‘trench’ in the polyimide foam forming the knife-edge seal, to create more space between the spinning seal and the static stator tips. P&W is retrofitting this fix to the entire existing fleet of more than 140 F-35s delivered by the end of March, “prioritising the US Marine Corps IOC engines”. All existing F-35s will have the fix by spring 2016. It is also now evaluating longer-term fixes for the problem.

The company’s original production target for 2014 was to deliver 58 F135s, including installed engines and spares for its external customer and others for internal use, but informally P&W wanted to produce 62 engines during the year. In the event, F-35 production rates for Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) batches led to the company delivering only 46 engines for installation in aircraft and five spares during 2014. Croswell said P&W has completed F135 production for the LRIP 7 F-35 batch and in April was beginning deliveries of LRIP 8 engines. The company’s F135 delivery target for 2015 is 64 engines, including spares and any it needs for its own use – P&W is purchasing one internally as a test-bed for its AETD project – and Croswell has proposed to the F-35 Joint Programme Office (JPO) that P&W delivers 60 engines in 2016 under the LRIP 9 contract. Under LRIP 10, which Croswell aims to complete negotiations before the end of this year, P&W hopes it could deliver “closer to 100” F135s in 2017. P&W could see F135 production escalate sharply in 2018 given that Lt Gen Christopher Bogdan, the F-35 Program Executive Officer wants the F-35 procurement model to change for LRIP 11 so that it also covers LRIP 12 and LRIP 13 (the last two planned) and international orders.

Cost-efficiency and Performance

Even though F135 production remains relatively slow, Croswell said P&W has made excellent progress in meeting its production cost-efficiency targets for the programme. Over the LRIP 7 and LRIP 8 production batches, the company has been able to cut its unit price to its customer by another 5%; “that has taken the cost of the engine down now by about 55% as part of our ongoing [price-reduction] commitment.” Croswell said that, by engine 200, P&W had “accomplished 92% of [its] objectives” in terms of production and delivery cost. “We’re on track to meet the T300 goal we targeted in 2009, to deliver the F135 for the same cost as the F119,” from which the larger F135 is derived. Meanwhile, he added, “We’re really pleased with performance of the F135. Mission-readiness rates are already up around 98%, the level we were expecting at

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200,000 [flight] cycles. Now we’re focused on the sustainment cost and increasing the life of the F135. Our goal is to reduce the current [life-cycle maintenance cost] estimate by 30%. If we graph mean time between removals against the [engine] maturity curve, we’re already well above it, even with the Rotor 1 issues from last year.” Here Croswell may have been referring to the failure of the first fan stage in P&W’s highest-time developmental ground-test F135 during accelerated mission testing in December 2013. P&W had already begun redesigning this IBR stage with solid rather than hollow titanium blades, to reduce manufacturing costs and complexity and increase durability.

Richard VanderMeulen

Latest Production Targets

Long-term Sustainment P&W’s F135 maintenance concerns today don’t involve the need for any unscheduled engine removals. However, said Croswell, “We’re having to do a lot of line-level maintenance. We’re working though these issues.” A massive long-term sustainment effort is now under way to prepare for F135 engines entering operational service. Because the US Air Force is aiming for F-35A IOC in just over a year, P&W is working to stand up the first major maintenance depot for the F135 at Tinker Air Force Base near Oklahoma City. The USAF’s largest maintenance base, Tinker already handles the depot maintenance for the F-22’s F119 and many other engine types in air force service. Now, also, “We’re standing up sustainment around the world,” as international customers prepare to receive their first aircraft, said Croswell. He said the schedule dictated by the JPO for standing up regional F-35 and F135 sustainment globally calls for maintenance depots in Turkey and Australia to become the first international operational facilities, in 2018. Next to become operational will be the depot maintenance capability for the RollsRoyce LiftSystem on the F-35B, which P&W will assist in setting up. Scheduled to open in 2020, this depot will be at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina. F-35/F135 depots in the Netherlands and Norway are scheduled to stand up in 2021 and a depot in Japan in 2023. “The UK has not announced any requirement to do depotlevel maintenance – it will do flight-line maintenance,” noted Croswell.

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Military

Diamondbacks Make 60

US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet BuNo 166917/‘NF102’ from Strike Fighter Squadron 102 (VFA-102) ‘Diamondbacks’ based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, departing from Langkawi, Malaysia, on March 23 after appearing at the LIMA exhibition. The aircraft wears full-colour markings to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the unit. Dietmar Fenners

‘Off-the-Shelf’ Rafales for India Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced during a visit to France on April 10 that an order for 36 ‘off-the-shelf’ Dassault Rafales is to be negotiated to meet urgent Indian Air Force (IAF) requirements. The decision follows the three-year stalemate in finalising an order for 126 Rafales for the IAF’s medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA).

The new deal is expected to be worth an estimated €4 billion. At a news conference in Paris, Modi said that the terms and conditions will be discussed in more detail for what will now be a government-togovernment deal. Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on the following day that first deliveries could be in about two years time.

More Dutch Chinooks The US State Department has approved a possible sale of 17 Boeing CH-47F Chinooks, plus associated equipment and training, to the Netherlands. Costs are estimated to be just over $1 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on March 23 that it has notified US Congress of this Foreign Military Sale (FMS) proposal. A fleet of 17 Chinooks is already in use with the Royal Netherlands

US Army’s 100th AH-64E Delivered The US Army announced on April 3 that it has taken delivery of the 100th Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter. It was formally handed over in late March. The first unit to re-equip with the type was the 1-229th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (ARB) at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The unit was also the first to deploy to Afghanistan with the Echo model and has flown nearly 11,000 combat hours in theatre. The unit will be replaced in Afghanistan later this fiscal year by the AH-64Es of the 1-101st ARB.

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Air Force (RNLAF). The new sale would also include 46 T55GA-714A engines (34 installed and 12 spares), additional global positioning systems, radio and identification friend or foe (IFF) transponders, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, plus personnel training. According to the DSCA, the proposed sale of CH-47F aircraft will improve the Dutch capability to meet current and future requirements for troop

TF-X RFI Issued

The Turkish Government’s Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) released a request for information (RFI) on March 15 for the design, development and production of the indigenous twin-engine TF-X fighter, intended to replace Turkey’s General Dynamic F-16 fighters in the 2030s. The TF-X programme, received approval on January 7 from the Defense Industry Executive Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutog˘lu. David C Isby

It is as yet unclear where this leaves the negotiations with Dassault over the larger order, as Marriker said on April 13 that any future orders for the type would also be government-togovernment contracts. Under the original deal, it was planned that Dassault would build the first 18, following which HAL would assemble the remaining 108 in India.

The new order will see all 36 bought direct from Dassault, but it has not been announced whether there are still plans to produce additional aircraft in India. Concerns over who would have been responsible for product liability of the HAL-built Rafales in the original proposal had been one of the major sticking points in previous negotiations.

movement, medical evacuation, parachute drop, search and rescue, disaster relief and fire-fighting. The RNLAF has been a Chinook user since the mid-1990s, when the first of a number of CH-47Ds arrived. These D-models involved seven former Canadian aircraft, plus six new-built helicopters. Two were lost in accidents, leaving 11 D-models in service. More recently, the Dutch also took delivery of six new-built CH-47F

models, four of which remain in the US for training purposes. The rest of the Dutch Chinooks are based at Gilze Rijen Air Base in the Netherlands, the RNLAF helicopter hub. The purchase of 17 more Chinooks would significantly enlarge the Dutch helicopter fleet, which also consists of Boeing AH-64D Apache attack helicopters and Airbus Helicopters AS532 Cougars. Besides these, a small number of Alouette III helicopters are still in service. Bob Fischer

Mexican Winglets

Winglet-equipped Mexican Navy C295M ANX-1254 (c/n S-133) takes off for a test flight from Seville-San Pablo Airport, Spain, on March 27. This is the first production C295 to be fitted with performance-enhancing winglets, which will become standard on future aircraft. Airbus Defence and Space

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Military

846 Naval Air Squadron Returns Home Royal Navy 846 Naval Air Squadron Merlin HC3s ZJ121/‘E’, ZJ128/‘M’, ZJ129/‘N’, ZJ130/‘O’ and ZJ131/‘P’, plus HC3A ZJ994/’AC’, fly in formation en route from RAF Benson to Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton on March 26. MoD Crown Copyright

Re-formed as a frontline squadron on September 30 last year at RAF Benson, Oxfordshire, 846 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) began the next stage of its transition from the AgustaWestland Sea King to the AW101 Merlin on March 26 when its commanding officer, Lt Col Derek Stafford, led a flight of six Merlin HC3/HC3A helicopters from Benson back to the squadron’s spiritual home at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, Somerset. Approaching line abreast, the aircraft (five HC3s/ one HC3A) completed a run and break over the airfield before landing, repositioning in front of their new squadron HQ and shutting down together.

Speaking to AIR International, the commanding officer of the Royal Navy’s Commando Helicopter Force (CHF), Captain Niall Griffin, said the unit’s return was a historic event and a very special moment for everyone at Yeovilton. “The Merlin represents the future but it’s important to also reflect on the helicopter it’s replacing, the Sea King, which has served the force admirably for the last 40 years. Lt Col Stafford explained: “We’ve just returned from our latest two-month Exercise Clockwork in the Arctic and had a week-and-a-half to pack the squadron up and get ready. It’s been an incredibly powerful, moving and humbling experience as a CO returning to the southwest, flying

U-28s Stay Put

Pakistan Destroys Target with Indigenous UCAV

Pilatus U-28 single-engine turboprops will remain in service with Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). Consequently the number of MC12W Liberty aircraft transferred to AFSOC will be reduced to 13. These will be used to equip a new Oklahoma Air National Guard (ANG) intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) training squadron at Will Rogers Air National Guard Base. Eight MC-12Ws will be transferred to the army. The future of the remaining 51 USAF MC-12Ws is now uncertain. Congressional opposition to investment in upgrading additional MC-12Ws to AFSOC standards, which is seen as not worth the cost of the capabilities provided, has led the USAF to reconsider its plans. David C Isby

Pakistan demonstrated the capability of what it described as its Burraq (Flying Horse) indigenous unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) on March 13 when it fired a Baraq (Lightning)

Irkut’s 2015 Production Plans Russian combat aircraft manufacturer Irkut Corporation has committed to deliver to the Russian MoD 27 Su-30SM multirole fighters and 12 Yak-130 jet trainers in 2015. The Su-30SMs will be taken on strength by both the Russian Air Force and the Russian Naval Aviation service, with the first of these due to be handed over in April. In addition, Irkut announced plans to deliver eight aircraft to export customers in April. Alexander Mladenov

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through Yeovil, where the aircraft was built, to your spiritual home. We will now work on our move – continuous tasking before preparing for our return to sea during early summer once ship deck clearance trials, which are currently ongoing, are complete.” He confirmed that two flights had returned to Yeovilton (some 200 personnel now; full complement is around 300). A third (the operational conversion flight) should relocate in July and the intention is the remainder will be relocated by the end of this year. Major Jon Parry RM, senior pilot 846 NAS, confirmed the transition to Merlin remains on schedule.

laser-guided air-to-surface missile. It reportedly scored a direct hit on a target at a demonstration held for high-ranking Pakistani military officers. The unarmed version of the Burraq

“It’s been a big learning curve with training continuing at Benson for more than five years. The Sea King has served us with distinction, but this is the new face of the CHF going forward. “Recently we’ve taken the aircraft into extreme environments in the desert and Arctic where the weather was challenging. The aircraft held up well but we learned a lot, especially on the ground during incredibly harsh conditions. Our work-up for our maritime role continues apace as we work towards supporting 3 Commando Brigade.” The next unit to convert, 845 NAS, will begin its transition from Sea King to Merlin at Benson from July.

had previously been inducted into Pakistani operational service in 2014. It is reported in the Pakistani press to be based on the Italian Falco UAV built by Selex Galileo

Another Type Bites the Dust

Seen making one of its final public appearances at its base at RAF Northolt on March 5 is No.32 (The Royal) Squadron BAe125 CC3 ZD621. The type was formally withdrawn from RAF service on March 31, following the final operational mission on March 16. Three (ZD620, ZD703 and ZE395) have been sold to West Sussex-based Transworld Aviation Trading Ltd and were ferried to Dunsfold Park Aerodrome on March 25. They are expected to be parted out for spares. Of the other two active aircraft, ZE396 was flown to Chester-Hawarden on February 25 for spares recovery, while plans for ZD621 are unconfirmed. Ian Harding

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NEWS COLUMN

The US Navy’s Strike Fighter C by Rick Burgess

The US Navy’s director of air warfare told the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) that the procurement rate of F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters is insufficient to avoid a strike fighter shortage. During his March 26 testimony to the HASC’s tactical air and land forces subcommittee, RAdm Michael Manazir, director for Air Warfare on the navy staff said: “The F-35Cs that the navy and marine corps require are not being procured in the numbers that we need to go into the future. “We need to get to 20 F-35Cs a year in 2020,” RAdm Manazir said in response to a question from Rep Sam Graves, R-Missouri. “But the CNO [Chief of Naval Operations Adm Jonathan Greenert] has already testified [that] two to three squadrons of [F/A-18E/F] Super Hornets will reduce risk to a manageable level. That would be 24 to 36 airplanes. I support that number.” The President’s 2016 budget proposal calls for the procurement of a total of 38 F-35Cs for the navy and marine corps through 2020, in addition to 83 F-35Bs also for the marines. “The President’s budget… had to defer 16 F-35Cs out of the FYDP [Future Years Defense Plan] for fiscal reasons and priorities of the Department [of the Navy],” Manazir said in response to a question from Rep Marc Veasey, D-Texas. “We use 35 to 39 strike fighters a year just in utilisation attrition. If you’re not replacing 35 to 39 aircraft per year you cannot sustain your inventory into the future. We look forward to working with Congress on

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acquiring enough airplanes to meet our strike fighter needs.” On March 25, in testimony to the HASC’s Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, Manazir said the navy manages a shortfall of 65 strike fighters through tiered readiness of its operational squadrons. It also manages the static shortfall for the next five years of about 100 aircraft, with a difference of about 36 aircraft, the number recently cited by Greenert as needed for about two or three more squadrons of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. The US Navy is experiencing severe problems with its F/A-18 Hornet fleet, with nearly half of the aircraft awaiting depot-level maintenance or service-life extensions up to 10,000 flight hours. Manazir said the service is altering its depot process and is examining its flight training regimen before and after deployment to be sure that “we’ve got just enough training, but not too much.” He continued: “We’re also asking Boeing [builder of the F/A-18] to step in and use their resources to solve additional challenges that we have.” Manazir said F/A-18E/F Super Hornets are going to be extended to 8,000 flight hours per airframe, and the F-35C is designed for a 30year life of 8,000 flight hours per airframe.

In response to a question from Rep Steve Knight, R-California, Manazir said the navy’s 153 EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft “satisfies the navy mission. We’re embarking on a study, as the chief of naval operations said, to evaluate the number we need for the joint mission going forward. The [Boeing production] line still being open in St Louis keeps our options open.” During a March 10 hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Greenert said: “We still have a way to go with the [F-35 Block] 3F software. Right now we’re on track for an IOC [initial operational capability] of late Fiscal Year 2018 or early 2019. My concern is that the software is able to integrate all of the weapons systems that we have on the current aircraft in our air wings. “This aircraft has to fit into our air wing. We can’t fit the air wing around the aircraft. So far, so good, but we have to keep a really close watch on it.” Vice Adm Paul Grosklage principal military deputy assistant secretary of the navy for Research, Development and Acquisitions said: “The navy needs the F-35C to win the high-end fight”.

F-35B On Track for IOC The US Marine Corps’ deputy commandant for aviation

assured members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) that the F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is on track to reach initial operational capability (IOC) with the service in June, with a few test points to go before that milestone is achieved. In testimony to the panel’s Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee on March 25, marine Lt Gen Jon Davis told Sen Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, who had asked about shortfalls in the aircraft’s software, that “the F-35B is on track for us

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NEWS COLUMN

s r Conundrum

New Path for Helicopter Pilot Training

The F-35C Lightning II Carrier Variant undertook its initial atsea trials aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in November 2014. Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Huey Younger Jr/US Navy

to declare an IOC in July of this year. We won’t declare IOC unless we meet all of our gates. “We’ve got 13 things that we track continuously to make sure our pilots, the aircraft, the maintainers and the test programme make their gates. We still have some data points we’ve got to pull in. But the [Block] 2B software is giving us what we need [for] IOC to take this aircraft to combat… it’s working very well.” Lt Gen Davis said the first operational F-35B squadron, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-

121) ‘Green Knights’ based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, “has been working through those software shortfalls but is actually finding tactical workarounds. In many ways, the software is giving us a lot more capability than we have in our current fleet [of tactical jets] today. “If the aircraft, the pilots and the squadron are not ready to declare IOC, we won’t declare IOC,” he continued. “The decision to declare IOC will be event-based and conditionsbased.” Davis said there are issues with fusion data link

communication among four F-35s in a flight, but the problems between flights of two F-35Bs had been resolved. “The F-35B will give us a through-the-weather, closeair-support attack capability and also gives us the ability to attack targets in contested environments that we don’t have today,” he said. “We can take the aircraft to amphibious ships, to shortfield 3,000-foot runways and operate. We can see that we’re getting a step up in capability than we have in our legacy aircraft today.”

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The US Navy is two-thirds through an analysis of how it trains rotary-wing aviators, and is considering leasing some TH-67 cockpit simulators previously used by the US Army as an interim measure. During March 25 testimony by naval aviation flag officers on Capitol Hill before the Senate Armed Services Committee Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee , Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, asked about possible navy plans to augment its TH-57 Sea Ranger training helicopter fleet with TH-67 Creek helicopters that the army is retiring. The TH-67 is based on the same Bell Jet Ranger airframe as the TH-57 but has more modern instrumentation. The navy uses the TH-57B for visual flight rules training and the TH-57C for instrument flight rules training. The navy cancelled a programme to convert some of its helicopters to TH-57D standard with modern digital cockpits. RAdm Manazir said: “The TH-57 is a very effective initial trainer. It’s a good way to teach a kid how to fly a skid helicopter. It is obsolete. A couple of years ago, we tried to replace it with the TH-57D…essentially integrate a glass cockpit in the Jet Ranger, and we couldn’t get the right configuration, so we cancelled it.” “In the interim, what I am working with the [Naval Air Systems Command] staff and the army to bring down some of the TH-67 [simulators] and convert them to TH-57 configuration,” he said, “so at least we can give them [the students] a short-term better simulation than they have now.”

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NEWS REPORT

Cope Tiger Chen Chuanren visited Korat Air Base in Thailand during the nation’s largest annual air warfare exercise

I

n the tropical heat of Thailand, one of Southeast Asia’s largest air warfare exercises kicked off at Korat Air Base on March 9. Codenamed Exercise Cope Tiger 15 (CT15), it involved the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF), the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and the United States Air Force (USAF). Cope Tiger is the evolution of two former training events, Exercise Air ThaiSing between Singapore and Thailand, and Cope Thunder, a US-led multinational exercise held in the Philippines. Cope

Thunder was permanently moved to Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 forced air operations at Clark Air Force Base to be halted. Cope Tiger which was initiated in 1994, aims to promote closer military ties between the three countries, interoperability and sharpen combat skills – it is now an event that’s pinned to the calendars of each air force. The 2015 edition of Cope Tiger started on December 18, 2014 at Paya Lebar Air Base in Singapore. The annual event comprises two phases, a command post exercise that

Main image: A Royal Thai Air Force JAS 39C Gripen approaches the boom of a

Republic of Singapore Air Force KC-135R tanker during a CT15 mission. All images Chen Chuanren Below: An RTAF Saab 340 Erieye taxies from its

dispersal for a morning sortie.

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takes place in the Multinational Operations and Exercise Centre at Changi Naval Base, Singapore, and the bigger flying training exercise (FTX), which is held at the RTAF’s Korat Air Base. RTAF Korat was built in 1955 and throughout the Vietnam War was the largest US Air Force facility in Thailand hosting Republic F-105 Thunderchief and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms. Today it is the home of the RTAF’s F-16A-equipped 102 and 103 Fighter Squadrons which are assigned to the 1st Wing. It also hosts the annual Cope Tiger exercises. Originally Cope Tiger was staged as an air-to-air and air-to-ground exercise. Today it includes combat search and rescue, dissimilar air combat training, tactical airdrop, close air support and large force employment training between Red and Blue forces. The exercise scenarios also employ surface-to-air assets. This year these comprised the RSAF surface-to-air Python-5 and Derby (SPYDER) missile unit as well as those from three of Thailand’s armed services which were all deployed at the Chandy range. This year’s FTX ran between March 9 and 20 and focused on multinational interoperability and regional partnerships. The exercise was aimed at increasing readiness, co-operation and interoperability among security forces, contributing to maritime security, counter-terrorism, search and rescue, and humanitarian disaster relief efforts in the Asia-Pacific region.

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NEWS REPORT

Speaking to the media, RSAF Exercise Director Colonel Kevin Goh said: “We value the opportunity to train alongside our counterparts from Thailand and the United States in this exercise. It allows us to execute air defence and strike operations to enhance our combat readiness and operational capabilities. The successful conduct of the exercise is testament to our strong defence relationship and the interoperability between the three participating countries.” Col Paul Johnson, the exercise director for the US Air Force said: “Cope Tiger brings all three air forces together, so we can become interoperable.” According to Johnson, the humanitarian disaster relief applications of this year’s

COPE TIGER 2015 PARTICIPANTS Royal Thai Air Force 9 F-16s

102 and 103 Squadron

Korat Air Base

5 Saab JAS 39C/D Gripens

701 Squadron

Surat Thani Air Base

1 Saab 340 Erieye

702 Squadron

Surat Thani Air Base

5 Alpha Jets

231 Squadron

Udon Thani Air Base

6 L-39ZAs

401 Squadron

Takhli Air Base

Republic of Singapore Air Force 9 F-16C and F-16Ds

143 Squadron

Tengah Air Base

6 F-15SGs

149 Squadron

Paya Lebar Air Base

5 F-5S/Ts

144 Squadron

Paya Lebar Air Base

1 G550 CAEW

111 Squadron

Tengah Air Base

1 KC-135R

112 Squadron

Changi

2 CH-47SD Chinooks

127 Squadron

Sembawang Air Base

Above: RTAF L-39ZAs were used in strike missions. Below: A JAS 39C Gripen and an F-16B Fighting Falcon fly in formation behind a Republic of Singapore Air Force KC-135R.

exercise were integral to its execution. “If we need to [aid] of any of our Southeast Asian partners with the assistance of the Thais and the Singaporeans, we are just that much better off to get the job done, because we know our strengths and weaknesses through the exercise we have done at Cope Tiger,” he said.

United States Air Force 12 F-15C and F-15D Eagles

44th Fighter Squadron

Kadena Air Base, Okinawa

1 E-3B Sentry

961st Airborne Air Control Squadron

Kadena Air Base, Okinawa

1 C-17A Globemaster III

517th Airlift Squadron

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska

1 C-17A Globemaster III

15th Wing

Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii

3 C-130H Hercules

36th Airlift Squadron

Yokota Air Base, Japan

Notes The RSAF Chinooks were later deployed to Chiang Mai Air Base to assist with forest fire-fighting operations. All transport aircraft were stationed at Udon Thani Air Base and participated in airdrop missions. Cope Tiger 2015 was the first to feature an AEW aircraft from each of the three nations: a USAF E-3B, a RTAF Saab 340 Erieye and an RSAF G550 CAEW. This year’s edition involved 71 aircraft, 45 air defence systems, 2,226 personnel and 856 sorties flown in various large force employment missions over the ten-day air war.

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AI.05.15

21

Military

Rare Combat King II

HC-130J 09-0108/‘OT’ seen at Jacqueline Cochran Airport in Thermal, California on April 15, 2014 is assigned to the 88th Test and Evaluation Squadron, which is part of the Combat Search and Rescue Combined Test Force (CSAR CTF) headquartered at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. According to an Air Combat Command press release, the CSAR CTF is one of only two integrated test units in the 53rd Wing and comprises both developmental and operational test units. The 88th TES is responsible for the HC-130J Combat King II testing and flies this aircraft from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. Dan Stijovich

Yak-152 Anticipation

Irkut Corp, manufacturer of the Yak-152 new-generation pistonengine prop trainer for the Russian Air Force, anticipates potential sales of up to 150 examples to the Russian MoD. They will be used in the initial and basic flight training roles, currently performed on Aero L-39C jet trainers. A 300 million rouble design and development contract for the type was signed between Irkut and the MoD in 2014. The planned Yak152 procurement has also been confirmed by the Russian deputy defence minister, Yury Borisov, who claimed the purchase order for 150 aircraft is set for completion by 2020 and the long-term purchase contract for the entire quantity should be finalised soon. According to Borisov, the new trainer aircraft is expected to make its maiden flight in 2016. The Yak-152, powered by a German-made RED A03 heavy-fuel piston engine, rated at 500shp, will have a maximum speed of 173kts (320km/h), maximum range will be 1,400km (755nm) and the normal take-off weight will be 1,320kg (2,910lb). Its tandem cockpits will be equipped with SKS-94M lightweight ejection seats and the glass cockpit will be a derivative of that already used on the Yak-130 jet trainer. Alexander Mladenov

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Mirage 2000s Handed Over

Upgraded Indian Air Force (IAF) Mirage 2000TI KT201 taxies out for a test flight at Istres, France, on September 17, 2014. Together with Mirage 2000I KF107, it was handed over to the IAF during a ceremony at Istres on March 25. Dassault Aviation

Dassault Aviation has handed over the first two upgraded Mirage 2000I/ TI aircraft to the Indian Government during a ceremony at the company’s flight test centre at Istres, France. The ceremony, on March 25, was hosted by Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier, in the presence of India’s Ambassador to France Arun K Singh.

“Today’s ceremony is the result of the excellent understanding between the Indian and French partners and of our commitment to India,” Trappier said. “India is Dassault Aviation’s first export client and the historical relationship we nurtured with the Indian Air Force has spanned 60 years, growing from strength to strength.” The aircraft are the first of 51 to

be upgraded for the IAF, with the balance being completed in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd at Bangalore. The maiden flight of the first aircraft to be modified in France occurred on October 5, 2013. Indian sources suggest that No.9 Squadron ‘Wolfpack’ at AFS Gwalior will be the first unit to receive the upgraded Mirages. Nigel Pittaway

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Military

Pakistani Vipers? The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has revealed plans for Pakistan to acquire 15 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters. In a statement on April 6, the DSCA said US State Department approval has been given for the potential Foreign Military Sale, which will also include 1,000 AGM-114R Hellfire II missiles. Congress has been

Reaper Hits Maritime Target An MQ-9 Reaper successfully hit a sea-going target with an AGM-114 Hellfire missile during a joint service training exercise over the Gulf of Mexico on March 17 – the first time a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) has hit a maritime target. Capt Timothy Ford, a 26th Weapons Squadron flight commander, noted: “For our [RPA] community it’s a big step forward. It’s a mission set we had looked at for a long time and training opportunities over water are not very prevalent [at Nellis Air Force Base].” The exercise was also a chance to integrate the MQ-9 with other aircraft, including A-10s, F-16s and F-35As. “It’s the first opportunity for us to fly with the F-35, talk to each other and co-ordinate attacks between the two platforms and ensure deconfliction while we’re doing that,” said Capt Ryan Cross, a 26th WPS training officer.

Philippine Air Force C295 The first of three Airbus Defense & Space C295 medium airlifters for the Philippine Air Force arrived at Clark Air Force Base on March 22. The aircraft were ordered by the Philippines Government in February 2014 and the final two aircraft are due to be delivered in 2016. Nigel Pittaway

Indonesia Su-35 as F-5 Replacement Indonesia’s air force and defence ministry have announced the selection of an unspecified number of Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-Es to replace Northrop F-5E/Fs currently in service. The deal will include extensive technology transfer to Indonesia. Deliveries are scheduled to be completed by 2024. David C Isby

notified of the planned contract, which is estimated to be worth $952m, including associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support. The DSCA says the sale would contribute to US national security by helping improve the security of “a country vital to US foreign policy and national security goals in South Asia” – and would provide

Pakistan with military capabilities in support of its counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in South Asia. “This proposed sale will provide Pakistan with a precision strike, enhanced survivability aircraft it can operate at high altitudes,” the DSCA added, enhancing its ability to conduct operations in North Waziristan Agency (NWA),

the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and other remote and mountainous areas in all-weather, day and night environments. The Pakistan Army Aviation Corps has been considering an AH-1Z purchase for some years. If it goes ahead, this will be the first export order for the type, which is currently only flown by the US Marine Corps.

KAI Selected for Helicopter Programmes Airbus Helicopters has been selected to partner with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to develop two variants of a five-tonne helicopter for South Korea’s Light Civil Helicopter (LCH) and Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) programmes. The announcement was made on March 16. The LCH and LAH will be based on Airbus Helicopters’ H155 (EC155) Dauphin/ Panther family, and the civil variant is due to enter service in 2020. The military LAH will follow in 2022. Airbus Helicopters President Guillaume Faury said: “The LCH and

Tu-142 Bear-F Upgrade According to the Russian news agency, RIA Novosti, the entire Tu-142MZ/MK fleet of about 20 aircraft operated by the Russian Naval Aviation (RNA) service is set for a deep upgrade, slated for completion by 2020. Primarily this aims to replace the mission and flight/navigation avionics and weapons suite to significantly enhance the Bear-F’s overall anti-submarine capabilities. The main component of the upgrade will be the new surface search radar supplied by AO Zaslon, and the company will work together with two other Russian electronics and weapon development businesses– Radar MMS and the Taganrog MachineBuilding Plant. Alexander Mladenov

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A impression of the proposed Korean Light Armed Helicopter, which will be based on the Airbus Helicopters H155 Dauphin/Panther. Airbus Helicopters

Electronic Warfare Mi-8s In early March the Russian Air Force reported that it had just taken on strength three new Mi-8MPTR-1 electronic warfare (EW) helicopters, built at Kazan Helicopters. It is assumed that all of them have been assigned to the 378th Air Base (Army Aviation) at Vyazma in the Western Military District, which operates a detachment equipped with various EW versions of the Mi-8. The Mi-8MPTR-1 is equipped with a powerful active jammer and signals intelligence equipment. The jammer will offer group protection of fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, ground equipment and ships against attacks with modern air-launched weapons at ranges extending to “several hundred kilometres”’, according to press information released by Russia’s Armed Forces Western Military District. Alexander Mladenov

LAH programmes will build on our collaboration with Korea Aerospace Industries on the Surion, which has become a reference in successful rotorcraft collaboration. By continuing our relationship, we will significantly reduce the risks of these two new development programmes, while meeting all of the mission requirements.” Nigel Pittaway

Russian MoD MS-21

Russia’s Ministry of Defence is interested in the Irkut Corp’s new MS-21 180-seat jet airliner, according to the country’s deputy defence minister Yuri Borisov. He noted that there is a high demand for aircraft in this class to be used for VIP transport, replacing the aged Tu-154 and Il-62 fleet currently operated by the Russian Air Force. According to MoD rules, only Russian-manufactured aircraft are allowed to be used to transport high-ranking military officials. The MS-21’s maiden flight is slated to take place between April and July 2016. Alexander Mladenov

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NEWS COLUMN

Malaysia’s Defe Acquisition Con Saab 2000AEW&C and MPA aircraft to Malaysia, says it is now treating each as a separate competition.

The Malaysian Government is

however, are hoping the new plan will also include funding for the RMAF’s Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) programme, which seeks to replace the surviving Mikoyan MiG-29N air defence fighters with a modernmulti-role platform. At LIMA, UK Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, Philip Dunne, said: “We are aware the Malaysian Government will be entering into its next five-year plan shortly and we are hopeful there will be a line (of funding) in that plan for the MRCA which will allow them to proceed. But it’s up to the Malaysian Government to make that decision.” Other aviation capabilities competing for funding with the MRCA programme in the next five-year plan are requirements for a maritime patrol capability, highlighted by the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight

currently putting together its 11th five-year defence plan, which will come into effect on January 1, 2016. The focus in the near term at least will continue to be on the local threats. Fighter manufacturers,

MH370 last year, and an airborne early warning and control platform. It was perhaps significant that Saab, which has previously proposed a package deal of Gripens,

In addition to the Nuris, the army has begun fitting its fleet of AgustaWestland A109 light utility helicopters with a Dillon Aerospace M134D 7.62mm Gatling gun, mounted in the cabin and

by Nigel Pittaway The defence budget problems facing the Malaysian Government were evident at the 2015 Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) exposition by the lack of fighter aircraft on display. Fighter manufacturers from around the world were once again well represented in the exhibition halls, if not the actual flight line. The main attention grabbers from an acquisition point of view were Malaysia’s first A400M transport, together with the first two Sikorsky S-61A-4 Nuri helicopters to be transferred from air force to army control and the first public showing of an army AgustaWestland A109 fitted with a Gatling gun. The helicopters in particular represent the Malaysian Government’s response to an incursion by militants in the East Malaysian state of Sabah, on the island of Borneo, during 2013. The event caught Malaysia unprepared to counter a terrorist attack and resulted in a change of defence priorities which is still echoing today. LIMA 2015 show coincided with the 9th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) which addressed issues facing security in the region and highlighted the growing concern with regard to Islamic State (IS) terrorists. Speaking aboard the Royal Malaysian Navy warship KD Jebat on March 16, Malaysia’s defence minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein revealed that his focus was on such threats. “So whatever acquisitions we make in the future will

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depend very much on the perceived threats and the real threats, that we have to face,” he said. “I believe that it is important for us to think outside the box, it is important for us to work in tandem with the other neighbouring countries that we have in this region, because there are common enemies.”

Five-year Defence Plan

Current Antiterrorism Measures In the wake of the 2013 insurgency, Malaysia has begun transferring a number of its Nuri helicopters from the RMAF to the army and plans to arm them with 7.62mm door-mounted guns. The first two (M23-01 and M23-31), resplendent in a new digital camouflage scheme, were ceremonially handed over at LIMA on March 20. Malaysia’s Airod has produced a single prototype of a Nuri upgraded with a glass cockpit and is waiting on a contract to similarly modify an undisclosed number of production helicopters, but this project also awaits funding.

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NEWS COLUMN

fence

onundrum

A400M M54-01, the first to be handed over to the Royal Malaysian Air Force, made its public debut during the opening ceremony of LIMA 2015 at Langkawi. All images Nigel Pittaway Opposite: The first two Nuri helicopters (M23-01 and M23-31) transferred from the RMAF to the army were handed over at LIMA on March 20. Aircraft M2301 is shown resplendent in a new digital camouflage colour scheme.

capable of firing out of either sliding door. One of the modified helicopters was in the static display at LIMA. Hishammuddin noted that his government was due to relocate a disused oil rig off the coast of East Malaysia in March, for use as a base for helicopters, boats and UAVs in the fight against terrorism and raised the possibility of converted oil tankers being used as ‘mother ships’ for the same purpose. “You will see the Gatling gun that we have fitted on our A109s at LIMA,” he told journalists aboard KD Jebat on the eve of the show. “And maybe the threat that we face just requires a Gatling gun.”

Fighters For several years now, fighter

manufacturers from both East and West have been trying to interest Malaysia in a MiG29N replacement. The leading contenders have been widely accepted as Boeing, with the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet; Dassault (Rafale), Eurofighter (Typhoon) and Saab (JAS 39C/D Gripen). It still remains to be seen whether there will be adequate funding contained within the new plan. Joining the fray at LIMA 2015, however, was Malaysia’s Aerospace Technology Systems Corporation (ATSC), which announced a proposal to upgrade the 16 surviving MiG29s for what it says is a fraction of the cost of a new type. ATSC chief executive officer, Lt Col (ret) Mohd Fadzar Suhada explained: “We launched the MiG upgrade programme six months ago in conjunction

with RSK MiG, the original equipment manufacturer. “It is similar to the MiG29UPG [upgrade] being undertaken by India and is therefore a proven blueprint. It is not an interim solution until MRCA comes along, it is a medium- to long-term solution for Malaysia’s fighter requirement.” Fadzar said the upgraded aircraft, which would be known as the MiG-29NM in RMAF service, would add a multi-role capability, together with a new radar, glass cockpit, an increased airframe life and 30% more internal fuel for around 20% of the cost of a new fighter.

Transports, MPA and AEW Airbus Defence & Space

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handed over the first of Malaysia’s four A400Ms only two days before LIMA 2015. The aircraft made its public debut during the opening ceremony, when it flew overhead in formation with four RMAF BAE Systems Hawks. The aircraft will be used to supplement and enhance the existing transport fleet of two squadrons of Lockheed C-130 Hercules and a single CASA-IPTN CN235 unit. Among its many other duties, it will undoubtedly be used to maintain the air bridge between the Malaysian Peninsula and East Malaysia. Although this will add a significant transport capability, Malaysia is also looking to upgrade its Hercules – a project that is also competing for funding.

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25

Commercial

Jambojet Q400s

Airbus x 9,000

Airbus has handed over its 9,000th aircraft – an A321-200 (VN-A651, msn 5295) for VietJet Air, the first such aircraft for the Vietnamese carrier. The delivery came less than two years after the 8,000th Airbus jet was handed over in August 2013. With the production rate increasing to 600 aircraft per year, the 10,000th delivery is expected in the second half of 2016. Airbus

2016 Delivery for CS100

Bombardier is planning to deliver the first CS100 to a customer early next year, according to the company’s Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare. He told investors during a conference call that although Bombardier is still planning to complete flight testing and achieve certification of the new twin-jet narrowbody by the end of this year, the delivery to the initial operator will only take place early in 2016. Bombardier still hasn’t disclosed the identity of that airline, but some business media reports have suggested it could be Swiss International Air Lines. Mark Broadbent

Crimea’s Prospective Airline Authorities in Crimea are to launch an airline using six Sukhoi SSJ-100 Superjets to connect the annexed peninsula with Russia. The Crimean Government said initially the carrier would serve 14 routes, though it did not specify a name or launch date. The target is for the airline to be profitable within three years and expansion to a fleet of 36 SSJ-100s is being considered. David C Isby

Etihad’s Darwin Investment Cleared Switzerland’s civil aviation office, BAZL, has approved Etihad Airways’ purchase of a 33.3% stake in Darwin Airline. The Abu Dhabi carrier agreed to buy into the Swiss regional carrier early in 2014, and the airline was rebranded Etihad Regional. BAZL said in a statement that it approved the deal following the adoption of a business model that reduces Darwin’s dependence on Etihad. Darwin will operate flights on behalf of airberlin and Alitalia. Mark Broadbent

Fastjet Gets Zimbabwean Permit Fastjet has received an Air Service Permit (ASP) from Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, a step on the road to receiving an Air Operating Certificate (AOC) to launch Fastjet Zimbabwe. The ASP means Zimbabwean authorities have approved the carrier’s business plan, aircraft choice and

Iran 140 Programme Halted

proposed structure. Ed Winter, the airline’s Interim Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said: “Fastjet has identified many potential routes within and from Zimbabwe where it believes that the low-cost model will stimulate the market and tap into the huge market of passengers

currently travelling by bus. “For example there are as many as 100 buses a day travelling the 1,100 kilometres between Harare and Johannesburg at fares up to $120 return.” Fastjet began flying in Tanzania in November 2012. Its long-term strategy is to become the first pan-

Air India Boeing 787-8 VT-ANU (c/n 36292) is the first Dreamliner to become a Star Alliance logojet. It was the 20th 787 delivered to the Indian flag carrier and is pictured here at Boeing’s final assembly line at North Charleston, South Carolina, where it was built. Boeing

Kenya Airlines subsidiary Jambojet has put a single Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 into service. The aircraft, chartered from DAC Aviation, is flying to three new coastal destinations, Lamu, Malindi and Ukunda, from its base at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Jambojet Chief Executive Officer Willem Hondius said the Q400’s short-field performance and speed complements the carrier’s existing Boeing 737 fleet. Jambojet marked a year of operations on April 1 and is planning to grow its fleet and fly to new destinations in the East African region. It carried 500,000 passengers in its first year. Jambojet is the second new Q400 operator in Africa this year, following on from Ghana’s Starbow. Guy Martin

Jet Airways’ Cargo Unit Jet Airways is to become the first Indian airline to set up a dedicated cargo unit. It is using an Airbus A330-200F wet-leased from Etihad Airways, its strategic partner, and 49% stakeholder. Jet said in a statement that the new aircraft would complement the belly cargo capacity in its passenger aircraft, and provide additional volume on constrained sectors. Initial services will operate from New Delhi to Bangalore domestically, and to Hong Kong, Hanoi and Singapore internationally. Mark Broadbent

African low-cost airline. However, it has encountered numerous regulatory hurdles that have significantly slowed its expansion plans. Fastjet recently secured its Zambian ASP and is in the process of acquiring its AOC there. Fastjet Plc is also the holding company of Fly540, which operates in Ghana and Angola. Guy Martin

Star Alliance Dreamliner

Iran announced in March that the Iran 140 airliner programme, based on the Antonov An-140 design, is being halted at the research and development phase after more than $1 billion had been spent on it. Previously announced plans had included 12 production aircraft. The halt has been presented as a temporary measure. David C Isby

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Commercial

H145 Tours Brazil

The H145 was presented to civil and offshore operators in Brazil during a month-long sales tour. Jay Miller/Airbus Helicopters

The Airbus Helicopters H145 (formerly EC145) has been presented to civil and offshore operators in five major Brazilian cities in the South American country. The month-long tour

concluded in Rio de Janeiro in mid-April following previous stops in São Paulo, Curitiba, Brasilia and Belo Horizonte. The intention was to showcase recent improvements to the H145, including its flight

characteristics and safety, plus reduced pilot workload and noise. Mesrob Karalekian, Airbus Helicopters’ Vice-President – Head of Latin America region, said: “We expect the H145 to have the same

More E-Jets to Replace KLM Fokkers The Air France-KLM Group has confirmed it will retire KLM Cityhopper’s remaining Fokker F70s by 2018 after it placed an order for

up 36 Embraer E-Jets. Two E190s will be delivered this December and 17 E175s from March 2016. The E175s will replace the F70s

on a one-for-one basis, with the ageing regional jets all gone by June 2018. Seventeen options give the group the flexibility to order

success in Brazil as it has already seen in other countries. This rotorcraft is able to meet customers’ operational needs in this region’s demanding high temperature environment.” Mark Broadbent

more E-Jets for either Cityhopper or Air France’s subsidiary HOP!, which operates 25 of the type. Mark Broadbent

Airlander Attracts Funding Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) has received a €2.5 million European Union grant to help bring its Airlander 10 airship to flight testing. The Oxfordshire-based company said the funding, through the EU’s Smart, Green and Integrated Transport Societal Challenge, would support the development of a regulatory framework for the European Aviation Safety Agency certification of hybrid airships and “migrate the technology from the military specification” the Airlander was originally designed to. “The Airlander Civil Exploitation Project will undertake this work, resulting in a fully specified civil variant, an engaged regulator, approved

regulations and significant risk reduction for commercial customers, thereby allowing orders to be made,” HAV said in a statement. The Airlander is derived from the hybrid airship programme developed by Northrop Grumman (and in which HAV was a partner) in response to the US Army’s nowcancelled Long Endurance Multiintelligence Vehicle requirement for a surveillance airship. HAV has previously received two separate UK Government funding grants and aims to generate a further £2 million from the public through the equity crowdfunding website, Crowdcube, by midMay. Mark Broadbent

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

The Airlander was developed from the hybrid airship created for the nowcancelled US Army Long Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle programme, seen here at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Hybrid Air Vehicles

AI.05.15

27

NEWS REPORT

Regional Aircraft Down Under Firefighting and unpaved runway operations in Australia show the BAE 146/Avro RJ family still has a role in niche services. Nigel Pittaway reports

B

AE Systems’ 146 and Avro RJ series of regional aircraft have been in the news in Australia recently, demonstrating enhanced capabilities in demanding local conditions. An Avro RJ85 Airtanker from Conair in Canada was operated for three months over the Australian bushfire season and successfully fought fires across four states before returning home for the northern hemisphere summer. And in March BAE Systems won European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) approval

to increase the maximum take-off weight (MTOW) for its 146-100/200 when operating from an unpaved runway in a remote region of Western Australia. Work is now under way to extend this approval for other BAE 146/Avro RJ variants and other Australian unpaved runways.

Firebombing Avro In December 2014, the Victorian Government announced the use of two large air tankers (LATs) to fight bushfires for the very first time in Australia. LATs have previously been trialled, but this is the first time that two have been engaged on contract together. Emergency Services Victoria awarded contracts to Conair Aerial Firefighting and

Top: The increased MTOW for the BAE 146-100/200 came after Cobham Aviation

Services’ 146-100 VH-NJC (c/n E1013) was equipped with accelerometers to measure G loads during operations from Kambalda. BAE Systems Regional Aircraft Below: Saddle tanks on the outside of the pressure hull hold up to 3,236 US gallons (12,253 litres) of retardant. Conair

28

AI.05.15

Coulson Flying Tankers for the supply of an Avro RJ85 (N355AC, callsign Air Tanker 162) and Lockheed EC-130Q Hercules (N130FF, Air Tanker 131) respectively. Both aircraft arrived at Avalon, southwest of Melbourne, in early December. Avalon was chosen as the operating base due to its low volume of traffic and relatively central location within the state of Victoria. “The Hercules and Avro RJ85 have a [retardant] capacity of over 12,000 litres and can reach anywhere in the state within an hour from their base at Avalon Airport,” an EMV spokesman noted at the announcement of the contract. “The aircraft are ideal for the Victorian environment because of their large capacity and their ability to be used in different terrain.” N355AC flew with Lufthansa CityLine as D-AVRN until its retirement in 2011 and was allocated Australian firefighting number 391 for its stay down under. It is one of three RJ85s converted to Airtanker configuration so far by Aero-Flite, a Conair subsidiary in the US, and was brought to Australia in conjunction with Field Air of Ballarat, a local aerial agriculture and firebombing company. The retardant is carried in saddle tanks on the outside of the pressure hull and capable of holding 3,236 US gallons (12,253 litres) of retardant, released through a computercontrolled system. Because the tanks are externally mounted, the RJ85 Airtanker can be pressurised, allowing it to transit to the fire front quickly. The aircraft left Canada on November 30, travelling via Oakland, California, Hawaii,

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

NEWS REPORT

ft

Above: Conair Avro RJ85 Airtanker

N355AC fought fires in Victoria, the Adelaide Hills, Western Australia and Tasmania during its three months in Australia. Conair Below: The interior of Avro RJ85 (N355AC, Air Tanker 162). Conair

Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands, Honiara, Solomon Islands and Cairns, before arriving at Avalon on December 7. The Airtanker was fighting fires in Victoria only a week after its arrival and was also soon released by EMV to fight fires in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia. By January 8 it had completed 14 drops over the two states. During a two-day period in South Australia, it dropped 200,000 litres of retardant on the fire front. The RJ was later dispatched to fight fires in Western Australia and Tasmania, and it also performed firebombing demonstrations for visitors to the Australian International Air Show at Avalon, before completing its contract and returning to Canada in early March. Conair pilot Ray Horton, who has over 30 years’ experience flying air tankers, said the RJ85 was adapted to its new role with the support of BAE Systems, which provided specialist technical, engineering and flight test expertise, as well as ongoing support that will stretch over the 20-25 years the aircraft is expected to remain in service. “As expected, the RJ85 has adapted to its new role extremely well,” he said. “The handling characteristics and performance of the tank/airplane combination have come through as expected and allowed it to become an excellent air tanker.”

BAE Systems said that the increased MTOW could allow four tonnes of payload, passengers or extra freight to be carried, or an increase in range of 700 nautical miles (1,296km). “This approval is great news for Cobham and as a result we’re seeking to carry out further tests at other unpaved runways across Australia by using a combination of our BAE 146-100/200s and our newer Avro RJ85 aircraft,” Cobham’s vice president and general manager Regional Services, Ryan Both stated. “Being able to operate with full payloads from a range of unpaved runways for our mining resource clients would increase our competitive advantage in a market where we offer something that other operators do not.” BAE Systems’ Head of Regional Aircraft Flight Operations Support at Prestwick, Stephen Morrison, said that although most variants of the 146/Avro RJ family are already certified for unpaved runway operations, using a protection kit developed

by the manufacturer, they are payload/range restricted by the reduction in MTOW. “This reduction was because of an increased structural ‘bump’ factor which was applied to maintain the same factored ground loads as for paved runways. Historically in the BAE 146/Avro RJ programme there had only been limited flight testing of operations from unpaved runways with fully instrumented aircraft as market demand had been limited at the time,” he said. The challenge was to carry out the trials without a dedicated flight test instrumented aircraft, which was ultimately solved by installing accelerometers at three locations in the 146-100 dedicated to the Kambalda operation. “A databank of measurements was collected and a statistical comparison performed for both Perth and Kambalda and this showed no significant difference in paved and unpaved runway operations, so supporting the removal of the ‘bump’ factor,” Morrison added.

Unpaved Runway Approval BAE Systems and Australia’s Cobham Aviation Services have been working together for two years to increase the MTOW for the 146-100/200 when operating from unpaved runways. The project was aimed at increasing the number of passengers that can be carried on ‘Fly In, Fly Out’ mining contract operations from Perth to unpaved airfields in the remote regions of the state. The trial was undertaken using a Cobham 146-100 (VH-NJC, c/n E1013) equipped with accelerometers to measure G loads during runway operations from Kambalda, 60km (37 miles) from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia’s Goldfield’s Region.

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

AI.05.15

29

Commercial

2

Long-Endurance Vanilla

H135S FOR POWER LINES WORK Airbus Helicopters signed a contract at LIMA 2015 in Malaysia in March with Aerial Power Lines Sdn Bhd for two H135s to be used for emergency medical service duties. The company also announced that it has placed options for six more H135s and two H175 helicopters, the latter to be used on power line monitoring and utility work. “We are honoured to be chosen as the helicopter manufacturer for this important milestone in Malaysia, delivering the first rotorcraft fully dedicated to EMS, search & rescue and medical operations in the country,” Airbus Helicopters’ head of sales for the Southeast Asia and Pacific, Fabrice Rochereau said.

VA001 testing hours will be gradually built up to the ultimate target of keeping the aircraft airborne for ten days. Vanilla Aircraft

Vanilla Aircraft has flown its VA001 ultra long-endurance UAV. The type reached an altitude of 6,000ft (1,828m) and was airborne for 24 hours during its first flight, which took place from an unspecified location in New Mexico in February but was only disclosed over a month later. The VA001’s development benefited from a grant from the NASA Earth Sciences Division. The type is designed to undertake ultra-long endurance (ten-day)

NEWS BY NUMBERS

missions. Over the next four months Vanilla will put the VA001 through what it described as “multi-day” flights and take the aircraft to its 20,000ft (6,096m) operational ceiling, building to the eventual target of flying the aircraft for ten days. The VA001 is powered by a modified heavy fuel engine. Its maximum take-off weight is 600lb (272kg), enabling it to carry a 30lb payload in addition to around 320lb (145kg) of fuel. Mark Broadbent

Nigel Pittaway

10

BELL 505S FOR SECO Japan’s SECO International has

signed a Letter of Intent for ten Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopters, which will be used for passenger transport, sightseeing, aerial photography and television broadcasting from its Nagoya base. Nigel Pittaway

44

AIRCRAFT REMOVED BY UTAIR Russia’s third-largest airline UTair has reduced its fleet by 44 aircraft. Thirty-three aircraft have been returned to lessors: six Boeing 737-800s, 12 Airbus A321s and 15 Bombardier CRJ200s, while nine 757-200s and two 767-300s were transferred to Katekavia, a charter subsidiary of UTair, specialising in air transport services to Russian tour operator Anextour. UTair also plans to cut 39 helicopters from its fleet of 182 and reduce charter flights. The restructure followed the airline earlier phasing out its 11 ATR 42300s. Its fleet now numbers 71 aircraft. Alexander Mladenov

Austrian Updates Livery

Kawasaki’s Carbon Fibre Plant

Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries opened a new 35 billion yen ($288 million) carbon fibre manufacturing facility in Yatomi, Aichi prefecture in March. The 60,000m2 (645,834sq ft) plant, under construction since December 2013, is intended to

produce carbon fibre fuselage components for the Boeing 787, including stretched-fuselage versions. The factory includes a kiln 30m (98.4ft) long and 9m (29.5ft) in diameter for curing composite fuselage sections. Nigel Pittaway

Austrian Airlines has introduced subtle changes to its colour scheme. The previous light blue has disappeared, new paintwork applied to the engine casings and ‘My Austrian’ added to the fuselage. The belly now bears the word ‘Servus’, which is the Austrian slang for ‘hello’. The livery is seen here on A321200 OE-LEC (msn 581) at Manchester. Ashley French

Solar Impulse Crosses China

Solar Impulse 2 is protected by a mobile hangar at each stop on its round-the-world flight. Solar Impulse

Solar Impulse 2 (Si2, HB-SIB) has crossed China on the latest leg of its attempt to become the first solar-powered aircraft to fly round the world. It entered Chinese airspace on March 29 having departed Mandalay, Myanmar, where it had arrived from India. The aircraft flew to Chongqing and then Nianjin. From there it was scheduled

30

AI.05.15

to undertake a crossing of the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii. The single-seat Si2 is powered by photovoltaic cells installed on its fuselage and wings. The cells charge batteries that enable the aircraft to fly during the night. Si2’s maximum cruise speed at altitude (77kts/140km/h) means the Pacific leg will take several days and nights to complete.

The pilot (either of the project co-founders Bertrand Piccard or André Borschberg; a decision had yet to be announced) will take 20-minute periods of sleep, just like round-the-world yachtsmen, during the transpacific flight. From Hawaii, Si2 will undertake another long oceanic crossing to Phoenix, Arizona, before it flies across the USA to New York. Mark Broadbent

FedEx Agrees TNT Deal FedEx has signed a conditional agreement to acquire Netherlands-based TNT Express. The American company is offering €8 per share, valuing TNT Express at approximately €4.4 billion, but it will only go ahead with the offer if it can gain 100% ownership. The companies expect the deal to be finalised by June 2016. Should it go through, “TNT Express’ operations as a European air carrier will be divested to address applicable airline ownership regulations,” the companies said. TNT Airways currently flies 14 Boeing 737s, four 747Fs, a 757, three 767s and ten BAE 146s from its Liege base. Operations will be maintained at the Belgian airport. “Where permitted by regulation, FedEx intends to transition TNT Express’ intercontinental air operations to FedEx,” according to the companies. Mark Broadbent

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

Commercial

Germanwings Crash Prompts Two-Crew Policy Airlines worldwide have moved to ensure two crew members are present in cockpits at all times, following the March 24 crash of Germanwings flight 9525 in the French Alps. French investigators said the first officer on the Airbus A320-200, Andreas Lubitz, deliberately flew the aircraft into a mountain in the French

Alps 100km (62 miles) northeast of Nice, during a flight from Barcelona to Düsseldorf. Lubitz had apparently locked the captain out of the cockpit when he went to the bathroom. All 150 on board were killed in Europe’s worst air disaster for two decades. Representatives from the BEA, France’s air accidents investigation agency, said flight data information

showed Lubitz had accelerated the aircraft during its descent. Having a flight attendant or a relief crew member step into the cockpit to replace a pilot who has temporarily left the flight deck has been a US Federal Aviation Administration rule for US airlines since 9/11, but it was not a mandatory requirement in Europe.

Following the French crash, the European Aviation Safety Agency recommended to the continent’s airlines that two crew, including at least one qualified pilot, should be in the cockpit at all times. Numerous European carriers had already moved to ensure that was the case when first details of the accident’s cause emerged. Mark Broadbent

Japan’s Police Dauphins Airbus Helicopters has picked up orders for five new Dauphin-family variants from Japanese customers. Airbus Helicopters

Airbus Helicopters has announced that Japan’s National Police Agency has ordered one H155 (formerly the EC155) for the Kagawa Prefectural Police and an AS365 N3+ for the Fukuoka

Malaysian Oil and Gas AW139s WestStar Aviation Services Sdn Bhd (WASSB) of Malaysia announced on April 1 that it had secured an RM370 million contract to provide two AW139 helicopters to the Carigali Hess Operating Company and Carigali-PTTEPI Operating Company Sdn Bhd. The two helicopters will be operated from WestStar’s base at Kota Bharu, in Kelantan, for five years. “In the current paradigm of industry and market irregularities, it is a timely boost for WASSB’s strategic expansion to further consolidate our standing in markets where our clients operate,” said Director of Business Development Datuk Anuar Noordin. Nigel Pittaway

Prefectural Police. Both will be delivered in 2017. The orders follow the deliveries in March of three Dauphin family helicopters to police and firefighting agencies in the

country: an H155 for the Hyogo Prefectural Police, an AS365 N3+ to the Hiroshima Prefectural Police and another AS365 N3+ to the Nagoya City Fire Department. Airbus Helicopters says that 56

Dauphins are currently operated in Japan, including three H155s and six AS365s with Japanese police agencies, and 24 AS365s for firefighting and disaster relief operations. Nigel Pittaway

COMMERCIAL ORDERS Airbus Customer All Nippon Airways CIT RwandAir Boeing Customer All Nippon Airways Copa Airlines Unidentified Unidentified Bombardier Customer Flymojo Mesa Airlines Palma Holding Embraer Customer KLM (for Cityhopper) Republic Airways Holdings Evektor Customer APFT Services Senai Airport Terminal Services

Aircraft A321ceo A321neo A321neo A330

Number 4 (firms January 30 agreement) 3 (firms January 30 agreement) 5 2 MoU

Date April 2 April 2 April 2 March 24

Aircraft 787-10 737 Max 9 737 787

Number 3 (firms Jan 30 purchase commitment) 61 1 30 (believed to be for Hainan Airlines)

Date March 27 April 10 March 31 March 27

Aircraft CS100 CRJ900 NextGen Dash 8 Q400 NextGen

Number 20 plus 20 options, LoI 7 1

Date March 17 March 12 March 17

Aircraft E175 E190 E175

Number 15, plus options 2 5

Date March 30 March 30 March 11

Aircraft EV-55 Outback EV-55 Outback

Number 2 MoU 2 MoU

Date March 27 March 27

Key: LoI – Letter of Intent; MoU – Memorandum of Understanding. Compiled by Mark Broadbent

Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

AI.05.15

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COMMERCIAL BOEING 747-8

Dash Eight Jumbo Mark Broadbent spoke with the Boeing 747-8 programme’s chief about the latest improvements to the company’s flagship ‘jumbo’

T 34

AI.05.15

he 747, for decades Boeing’s crown jewel, is arguably one of the few airliners that has entered into the popculture consciousness, an aircraft recognised instantly everywhere. Boeing has sold 122 of the latest generation,

the 747-8, since it launched the type in November 2005, comprising 51 examples of the -8 Intercontinental (-8I) passenger version and 71 of the -8 Freighter (-8F). The orders pace is sedate when compared with the thousands of commitments notched up by Boeing and Airbus for twin-jet widebodies in the same period, but Boeing stressed to AIR International it remains unswerving in its support for its iconic product.

“We’re continuing to look at things we can do to incrementally improve [the aircraft],” said Bruce Dickinson, Vice-President and General Manager of the 747-8 Program.

Weight Reduction Since the two variants’ respective service entries – October 2011 for the -8F with Cargolux and May 2012 for the -8I with Lufthansa – Boeing has introduced several

BOEING 747-8 COMMERCIAL

A Performance Improvement Package for the GEnx-2B contributed 2% of the 3.5% fuel burn reduction. Angelo Bufalino/AirTeamImages

enhancements to the type. The most notable is a reduction in the type’s operating empty weight (OEW), meaning 7478s built today are 9,000lb (4,082kg) lighter than the first line production ‘Dash Eights’. So how was this achieved? “It all started with the original flight testing,” Dickinson said. “When we do our flight loads surveys we monitor the aircraft thoroughly. We took that data and determined what parts of the

aircraft had a slight amount of overdesign or opportunity to trim, due to load margins being more than adequate.” He explained that the reduced weight, “didn’t come on one particular line number where we made a big splash – it was 150lb here, 400lb there, hundreds and hundreds of little changes” to the airframe. Improvements in the production and assembly processes also contributed to the

reduced OEW. “Mechanics don’t necessarily optimise for weight, so we’ve done a lot of training for that, the proper use of sealants and the appropriate amount of work,” Dickinson said.

Fuel Burn A second major advance is a 3.5% reduction in fuel burn, 2% of which came from a Performance Improvement Package (PIP)

AI.05.15

35

COMMERCIAL BOEING 747-8 on the GEnx-2Bs introduced in December 2013. The PIP incorporated a redesigned lowpressure turbine, high-pressure compressor and an improved combustor, and saw the reactivation of the horizontal tank fuel system in the 747-8I which boosted that variant’s range to 8,000 nautical miles (14,816km) from the initial 7,700nm (14,260km) design range. The 9,000lb OEW reduction accounted for some of the remaining 1.5% improvement; the rest came from subtle changes to the ‘jumbo’s’ aerodynamic profile. “We have nearly half a percent from an outboard wing improvement,” Dickinson said. “We added what we call an outboard aileron bias to optimise the span load of the wing for even [airflow] distribution all the way to the wing tip.” What Dickinson described as “very minor corrections” were applied to the elevator and rudder to enhance their performance. This 1 work, he said, was “based on some studies we did [into] how the control surfaces settle out in the cruise in cold conditions [to see if they] can be perfectly trimmed.”

Flight Management Computer Boeing has also upgraded the -8’s flight management computer (FMC). “The FMC allows airlines to gain uploaded data in real time about wind and fuel burn, so it’s yet another opportunity for operational fuel burn improvement,” Dickinson noted. “It will tell you the optimum altitude to fly based on current wind conditions, not just on predictions. This FMC allows you to fly based on the conditions. It allows for optimised winds, all the latest navigational approaches, including GLS [global positioning landing system], required navigation performance and optimised approach settings, so [pilots] can fly very precise arrivals.” The FMC upgrades involved changes to make the -8’s climb and cruise performance more efficient. Dickinson explained: “We’ve made small adjustments to make it 2 operationally friendly for flight crews, basically ensuring the features were always available to the flight crews in every circumstance, in 1 Outsize load carrying capacity is one advantage of the 747-8F, according to Cargolux. Boeing 2 The other words [that] there weren’t fault messages -8F has 30,288 cubic feet (857.75m3) of cargo capacity. Moni Shafir/AirTeamImages 3 Korean Air Cargo that would prevent that information from being HL7610 departs Anchorage, a destination that many 747-8Fs operate to. Angelo Bufalino/AirTeamImages available. It was about enabling trouble-free 4 The 747-8 build rate is currently 1.5 jets per month; it will reduce to 1.3 from September, reflecting the current size of the backlog. Boeing operations, savings and availability.” In March the -8 became the first fourengine type to receive 330-minute Extended Operations (ETOPS) approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration, up from the previous 180-minutes clearance. This will “allow operators to fly long distances more directly on virtually any worldwide city pair routing,” Boeing said in a statement. “There was quite a bit of work that went into that,” Dickinson said. “We worked on a number of changes – you need sufficient oxygen and halon, and you need to have the airplane equipped and serviceability demonstrated for that level.” (Halon is a liquefied, compressed gas needed for fire suppression.)

747-8 In Numbers

122 14%

15

customers more fuel efficient*

*than 747-400

36

AI.05.15

orders

16%

fewer carbon emissions*

Positive Reactions Customers are seemingly very satisfied with their 747-8s. A spokesperson from Luxembourg-based Cargolux told AIR International: “Our experience has been excellent and dispatch reliability is constantly improving. Fuel efficiency has

BOEING 747-8 COMMERCIAL

747-8 FLEETS 747-8I Orders

747-8F Deliveries

AirBridgeCargo Air China

6

Arik Air

Orders

Deliveries

1

1

9

9

4 2

Atlas Air Cargolux

14

12

Cathay Pacific Cargo

14

13

7

5

Lufthansa

19

17

10

0

Korean Air Cargo Korean Air Lines Nippon Cargo Airlines

14

8

Silk Way Airlines

5

2

2

2

5

5

71

57

Transaero Airlines

4

0

Unidentified customers

1

0

VIP

9

8

51

29

Volga-Dnepr Airlines Totals

3

4

Data: Boeing. Figures correct as at March 31.

been proven and community reports on noise are favourable.” With 12 examples now in service (the last two from its initial 14-aircraft order will be delivered this year), Cargolux primarily flies the 747-8F on the trunk routes between principal freight hubs, such as Anchorage, Dubai, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Los Angeles, New York JFK, Seoul, Shanghai and Singapore. The airline’s spokesperson told AIR International the -8F’s capacity makes it ideal for serving these routes with their high demand, or those where there are demands for outsize loads. Commonality to the 747-400F fleet also gives Cargolux operational savings for crew training and maintenance. Other operators also talk in positive terms. “The -8 has more flexibility than the -400 as it has greater range and capacity, which contributes to a lower unit cost,” said Fukashi Sakamoto, Nippon Cargo Airlines President and CEO, in a Boeing customer testimonial video.

Quiet Climb Pilots have been impressed by the modern avionics. “The quiet climb profile [is] a big selling point in noise-sensitive areas, for instance Frankfurt and Amsterdam,” said

Captain John Bloom, a 747-8F captain with Atlas Air, in the testimonial video, which also included praise from AirBridgeCargo and Cargolux pilots for the integrated approach navigation function and airport moving map in improving situational awareness. The cockpit features a Vertical Situation Display (VSD), which presents a profile view of the aircraft’s vertical position relative to the predicted flight path and terrain. The VSD also assists with landings by, in Boeing’s words, reducing “the likelihood of missed approaches, rejected landings and runway excursions or overruns”. The flight deck has commonality with the Boeing Class 3 Electronic Flight Bag, providing a paperless cockpit with electronic checklists, real-time fault reporting to ground operations centres and performance calculations. Lufthansa executives have also left glowing endorsements about the 747-8I in the testimonial video. Jens Bischof, the airline’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We can take advantage of its cost efficiency and its really good carbon footprint.” Boeing said in a March presentation on the 747 that the ‘Dash Eight’ burns 14% less fuel per seat than the 747-400. Another advantage from the previous ‘jumbo’ generation is that the -8I has 26% more revenue cargo volume.

Market Trends A striking aspect of the 747-8 programme is the number of Intercontinental sales – 51 units in a decade, nine of which are Boeing Business Jet examples configured with luxury interiors for VIP and head of state customers. One factor that’s likely to have impacted sales is that the -8I shares the so-called very large aircraft (VLA) segment of the passenger commercial aircraft market with the Airbus A380. But commitments for the European aircraft have been sluggish too – Airbus has sold 318 since it launched the double-decker 15 years ago. A wider trend is at play: airlines no longer have to buy a four-engine VLA. Engine technology improvements and extended range operations clearances mean Boeing and Airbus twin-jets offer comparable performance while providing twin-engine economics. Their sales have flourished: in the decade the 747-8 has been on the market, Boeing and Airbus have each notched up over 1,500 orders for their respective twin-jet product lines, the 777/787 and A330/A350.

Future Projections Both manufacturers believe this trend – for twin-jet sales to far outstrip those for VLAs – will continue. Boeing’s latest Current Market

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COMMERCIAL BOEING 747-8

1 2 Outlook, published last July (this year’s edition

IMPROVING THE JUMBO REDUCED WEIGHT A 9,000lb reduction in operating empty weight since service entry was achieved through both design changes and production improvements

FMC UPGRADE Flight management computer upgrades to ensure operators can take advantage of efficient climb and cruise functionality

will be out in mid-summer), projected a market for just 620 VLAs to 2033 out of a notional figure of 8,600 new widebodies, the rest being twin-jets. And Airbus’ most recent Global Market Forecast predicted VLAs will account for only 1,500 out of a requirement for 9,300 widebodies by 2032. While the two companies predict VLAs will be comparatively niche players in tomorrow’s commercial aircraft market, a striking aspect of their forecasts is that Airbus reckons there’s demand for more than double the number of VLAs that Boeing envisages. The variance reflects diverging philosophies in Seattle and Toulouse about future air transport trends. Airbus believes in the growth of what it calls ‘aviation megacities’, which it classifies as airports that handle more than 10,000 long-haul passengers per day. It says there are now 42 such points worldwide and that economic growth and rising travel demand will more than double that number to 89 by the 2030s. The company claims this, together with slot constraints at hub airports, will create demand for more VLAs over the long term. Boeing, by contrast, believes air travel growth will mainly be generated by frequency. It thinks this will drive a correspondingly greater demand for twin-jets – meaning VLAs will only have a marginal role on a relatively small number of routes with high-capacity demands where frequency is less important.

Boeing

Revenue Generation

OPTIMISED AILERONS Outboard aileron bias added to deliver efficient wing loading in the cruise

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FUEL BURN Two percent of the 3.5% fuel burn improvement came from a Performance Improvement Package for the GEnx turbofans

The sales pace for the 747, the reasons for it and the predicted trends, has prompted some media outlets to question the ‘jumbo’s’ future longevity. In 2013, USA Today ran an article entitled ‘Is Boeing’s iconic 747 nearing the end of the line?’, and last year The Economist published a blog titled ‘Boeing 747: The End?’. What is Boeing’s response to this narrative? “People don’t understand what a great performing aircraft we now have with the 3.5% [less] fuel burn [and] 9,000lb out of the aircraft,” Dickinson told AIR International. “We’re at 26% less fuel per trip than the A380 and 8% less fuel per seat. That’s hard to do

BOEING 747-8 COMMERCIAL

Cargo Market

747-8 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Wingspan: 224ft 5in (68.4m) Length: 250ft 2in (76.3m) Height: 63ft 6in (19.4m) Engines: Two General Electric GEnx-2Bs Maximum take-off weight: 987,000lb (447,700kg) Fuel capacity: 64,055 US gal (242,470 litres) Cruise speed: Mach 0.86 (1,053km/h) Range: 8,000nm (14,816km) at MTOW with 467 passengers (-8I) or 4,390nm (8,130km) with full payload (-8F) Passengers (-8I): Maximum 467, comprising 24 first class, 87 business, 356 economy Underfloor cargo volume (-8I): 5,705 cubic feet (161.5m3), creating capacity for 7 pallets and 16 LD-1 containers  Total cargo volume (-8F): 30,288 cubic feet (857.75m3) Cargo payload (-8F): 302,400lb (137,160kg) Data: Boeing

Dickinson added that it is easy to take “a passenger-centric view of things” regarding the 747. “Let’s not forget the 747-8 is really the first aircraft we’ve had at Boeing, unless you count the MD-11 from heritage McDonnell Douglas, which began as a freighter,” he said. He acknowledged -8F sales have been slow, too, with the global recession and the resulting decline in the air cargo market having “been a challenge” for the company. But he added: “The market is coming back and that’s a really big deal for this aircraft. We have a well-performing aircraft, that’s made a lot of 3 improvements that is hitting a market at the right time, so we’re quite optimistic about the considering the A380 is bigger. interest in the freighter.” “We know it’s a niche, [but] it’s an important Boeing said in a March presentation that niche,” he said of the VLA market. “The the air cargo market grew by 5% last year revenue-generating potential with the high from 2013. It sees this trend continuing and number of premium seats is often understated. forecasts a need for over 250 new aircraft When you look at how these aircraft [-8Is] are in the 80 tonnes-plus segment of the cargo configured, there are large business-class market over the next decade to replace ageing and first-class areas, and that’s a big revenue 747-400Fs, creating demand for the -8F. opportunity.” “We’ll be seeing a significant number of Bischof said in the Lufthansa testimonial 747-400F replacements,” Dickinson said. video that this factor was a prime reason “Remember, their retirements will come much why the German carrier decided to buy the later than the -400 passenger retirements, -8I. “The upper deck of the 747 always was because the freighters were the latter part of a premium spot because it creates that cosy, the -400 production line.” private jet-like atmosphere that you really love Cargolux told AIR International that it would as a premium traveller. This is the preferred be “interested” in buying more -8Fs in the spot when it comes to seat reservations.” future to replace its current fleet of 11 -400Fs. Dickinson’s view is that an enlarged Dickinson noted Boeing is seeing “interest -8I operator base will reinforce the 747’s not just from the big freight guys but also the commercial case. “People are realising how smaller ones”, highlighting the March order much money this aircraft can make for them, so by Baku, Azerbaijan-based Silk Way West we’re optimistic [about future -8I sales],” he said. Airlines for two more -8Fs to add to its three“The number of operators is growing and that strong fleet. will only help us. Air China’s fleet is just starting Meanwhile, the Pentagon has chosen to fly internationally. As it adds aircraft it’ll begin the 747-8I to become the new Air Force a more broad-based international service, One, replacing the current VC-25As as the largely to North America. And we have Korean presidential aircraft. Air Lines receiving its first -8Is later this year.”

Project Ozark

4 Boeing’s work to improve the ‘Dash Eight’

1 AirBridgeCargo Boeing 747-8HVF VQ-BLR, pictured at Helsinki in March, is one of five -8Fs used by the airline. Aleksi Hamalainen/AirTeamImages 2 Saudi Arabian Cargo has not been officially undisclosed as a 747-8F customer, but it operates two examples. Here HZ-A14 (c/n 37563) taxies at Frankfurt. Ralf Meyermann/AirTeamImages 3 Air China will start flying intercontinental services with 747-8Is later this year. Boeing 4 The flightdeck includes integrated approach navigation, airport moving map and Vertical Situation Display functions. Boeing

continues, under a programme called Project Ozark internally. “We’re studying the ability for more revenue payload as an option and an optimised thrust rating for performance requirements in hot and high environments,” Dickinson said. “We’re also curious about [providing] additional take-off weight. Not all of the Ozark features are yet available but we’ve brought them to market like a menu, asking airlines what they want.” He believes the improvements will especially interest cargo airlines because of the rebounding freight market. “They typically have the most to gain through things like payload improvements,” he said. “The timing’s really good. Freighter customers that were not flying full maybe had less interest in additional weight capability. That’s changing now because these aircraft are flying full. The market has returned, [operator] yields are good, so interest in some of these features is growing.” And the efforts to finesse the ‘Queen of the Skies’ won’t stop. “We’re always studying new things, always investing in this aircraft and always interested in what our airlines would like to see,” Dickinson concluded. “We have an extraordinary commitment to the 747 and we are believers in a bright future.”

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A

t the controls of an F-15C Eagle at 28,000 feet, Chico is preparing to attack a mixed gaggle of MiG-23 Floggers and MiG-31 Foxhounds. With hands on throttle and stick and eyes on his head-up display, Lieutenant Colonel Edward ‘Chico’ Martinez isn’t fooled by what American pilots call a ‘monkey’ insertion. During today’s mid-air encounter, the monkey (or decoy) flight is a two-ship formation of Floggers that will abruptly peel off and hurry out of the way, tempting Chico to follow. If he and his wingman buy the bait, the Foxhounds lurking at lower altitude, armed with state-of-the-

art air-to-air missiles, will pick them off like ducks in a shooting gallery. But Chico’s Eagle has AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, avionics upgrades and a new AESA radar known as a (V)3 radar, so the attempt to deceive him isn’t working. “I don’t want to get into a close-quarters dogfight with these guys,” Chico told AIR International. “I could beat them if I did. But I’d rather kill them before we ever have eyeballs on each other.” Chico’s twin-tail, twin-engine Eagle remains steady and stable in the high, cold air and Chico prepares to shoot.

Mock Mauling Today, the MiGs aren’t real. F-15C Eagles from United States Air Force and Air National Guard squadrons have been tossed together into an aerial rehearsal for

Cadillac of the Sky Robert F Dorr outlines the current standards of the world’s number one air superiority fighter – the F-15 Eagle

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war, a field exercise not along an embattled border with Russia or any other potential troublemaker but high over the salt flats of Nevada. It’s March 2015. The occasion is Red Flag 15-2, an air-to-air mock war game engineered to create a combat situation so realistic that if a pilot later experiences realworld combat for the first time, it will seem familiar. Needless to say, in the mock battle just described, Chico is the winner. According to Boeing, which acquired F-15 maker McDonnell, the Eagle enjoyed a 111-to-8 kill ratio against top of the line aggressors in the recent Red Flag. In real-world aerial battle, no fighter has ever shot down an F-15 – not once, not ever. Some argue that fighters exist in

F-15C EAGLE MILITARY

Not so New No one is denying the age of the Eagle’s heritage. Today’s single-seat F-15C Eagle and its two-seat F-15D cousin are derivatives of the very first F-15A (serial number 710280), taken on its maiden flight by test pilot Irving Burrows on July 27, 1972. Burrows told AIR International: “I knew we had a

winner that day and we still do.” Fast-forward to 2015: to Captain William ‘Taz’ Sullivan of the 114th Fighter Squadron, today’s F-15C is “easy to fly and difficult to use as a weapon”. Like so many dated aircraft that have undergone changes over the years, the F-15C now challenges its pilot with “task saturation”, Sullivan told AIR International. His squadron is part of the 173rd Fighter Wing, Oregon Air National Guard, based at Klamath Falls Airport. Sullivan said the Eagle is as big on the inside as on the outside. The roomy cockpit offers “tons of places where you can stow your helmet bag”. Only a few things in the cockpit have changed, he said. “We have a radar screen and a multi-function display. Frankly, the radar screen is small and most F-15 pilots would like to see it bigger. The

rest of our instruments are analogue steamgauge dials, so in a perfect world we’d have a digital glass cockpit.” Sullivan insisted, however, that the F-15 is “the perfect fighter” and that “we can beat anybody”. Major General Jon ‘JB’ Kelk of the California Air National Guard said in a press release: “The F-15C remains a force to contend with.” Kelk is credited with the first aerial victory of Operation Desert Storm in 1991, an Iraqi MiG-29 Fulcrum, and is currently the world’s high-hour Eagle pilot with almost 4,200 flight hours in his logbook, including 296 combat hours. Although the author has interviewed Kelk several times, his staff were unable to make him available for this article. In the press release he called the Eagle “a world beater”.

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All images Jim Haseltine

generations and that the Eagle lags by one generation behind the world’s most advanced types. Yet at Red Flag and in actual combat, the F-15C Eagle is still the fighter many consider the best in the world. Reports of airframe fatigue – the stuff of wild rumours after a mishap back in 2007 – have turned out to be false. The Eagle has plenty of fatigue life ahead and has undergone a revolution beneath its skin.

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1 An AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile captured shortly after launch from an F-15C Eagle of the 173rd Fighter Wing. 2 An Eagle driver assigned to the 142nd Fighter Wing of the Oregon Air National Guard prepares for a sortie. 1

Close behind Kelk in the high-hour sweepstakes are two recent retirees from the 173rd Fighter Wing, currently the only formal training unit that introduces new pilots to the F-15C. They are Colonel Rich ‘Peewee’ Kelly and Colonel James Miller, each with 4,000 hours, and both say the basic design was so sound, the aircraft itself so robust, that Eagles have many years of solid service ahead.

Appreciating the Eagle The F-15C and F-15D improved on the F-15A and F-15B models by adding 2,000lb

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(907kg) of internal fuel and the capability to carry conformal fuel tanks containing a further 9,750lb (4,422kg). The Hughes (now Raytheon) APG-63 evolved into a lightweight X-band pulse-Doppler radar with a reprogrammable signal processor but is now being taken into a new generation (see later). The F-15C model made its first flight on February 26, 1979. Today, as we shall see, the F-15C/F-15D fleet is undergoing a new round of upgrades, especially to the radar. There’s an easy way to soak up an understanding of both the basic F-15C Eagle design and today’s improved version with new

features under the skin: it is to do a walkaround check of the aircraft, like a pilot who is ‘stepping’ – preparing for flight. It helps to remember that, while many fighters today have twin engines and twin tails, the Eagle’s configuration was not always so familiar. The F-15 is big. The pilot sits high atop this twin-engine fighter on a tall, almost stalky undercarriage. With its straightforward but very large wing of 608 sq ft (56.48m2) and a wing span of 42.8ft (13.04m), the Eagle is one of the few fast jets that has no need for a braking parachute: it lands smoothly and gently without one. The ‘business end’ of the Eagle is straightforward enough – an 2 M61A1 Vulcan six-barrel 20mm cannon mounted in the starboard wing root with 940 caseless rounds. A typical air superiority load would include four AIM-9X Sidewinder heat-seeker and four AIM-7 Sparrow radarguided missiles. Our walk-around now takes us to the wing. Early in the Eagle’s life there were important modifications to its wingtip shape, tail plane and dorsal ‘barn door’ speed brake. McDonnell removed some three square feet of wingtip on each side, beginning with the fourth airframe, to cure severe buffet experienced above 30,000ft (9,689m) at speeds between Mach 0.85 and 0.95 and at 6g or more. The Eagle’s tail plane leading edge was given a notch (dogtooth) to cure flutter problems. This, in turn, produced buffet when the huge speed brake was deployed, so the manufacturer reduced the speed brake’s extension angle and increased its area from 20 to 31.5 sq ft (1.85 to 2.92m2). The Eagle’s mix of manoeuvrability,

F-15C EAGLE MILITARY acceleration, range, weapons and avionics is key to air superiority, pilots say. Manoeuvrability and acceleration are achieved through high engine thrust-toweight ratio and low wing loading. Low wing loading – the ratio of aircraft weight to its wing area – is vital to manoeuvrability and, combined with the high thrust-to-weight ratio, enables the aircraft to turn tightly without losing airspeed. The basic Eagle design from day one called for a multi-mission avionics system that included a head-up display, advanced radar, inertial navigation system, flight instruments, ultra high frequency communications, tactical navigation system and instrument landing system. The Eagle has an internal tactical electronic warfare system, identification friend or foe system, electronic countermeasures set and a central digital computer. Much of our discussion of present day Eagle capabilities – and of our walk-around check – needs to be devoted to engines and radar, both of which are pivotal to success in combat.

3

4

5 6

Powerplant Possibilities The F-15C/F-15D fleet is nearing completion of an engine upgrade that replaces the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-100 with the F100-PW-220; and some with the F100-PW-220E version 7 which produces 23,600lb of thrust (104.97kN) and incorporates a digital electronic engine control. The ‘E’ suffix is for ‘equivalent’ and the abbreviation is given to engines upgraded from the earlier, trouble-prone -200 variant to the -220 – making them equivalent to those built as 220s from the outset (as used by the F-16 Fighting Falcon fleet). The left and right engines of the Eagle are interchangeable and, under ideal conditions, can be replaced by maintenance crews in as little as 20 minutes. Because the -220E engines are digitally controlled, the pilot can squeeze better performance out of them by working the throttle.

3 A maintainer assigned to the 18th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron performs line maintenance on an F-15C at Kadena Air Base, Japan. 4 Ammo troops use a MJ-1 lift truck to load an inert CATM120C AMRAAM missile on to a launcher unit fitted to the inner portside weapon pylon of an F-15C Eagle.

5 Airmen discuss the maintenance status of their F-15C Eagle during the turnaround between sorties at Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon. 6 Ammo troops assigned to the 173rd Fighter Wing at Klamath Falls Air National Guard Base, Oregon lift an inert CATM-120C AMRAAM missile off the trolley. 7 The 104th Fighter Wing based at Barnes Air National Guard Base at Westfield Airport in Massachusetts transitioned from the A-10 Thunderbolt II to the F-15C Eagle in 2007.

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MILITARY F-15C EAGLE Some in the F-15C community say that, despite the advantages it offers, the -220E engine doesn’t actually produce more thrust than the -100s – only that it responds more quickly, making the Eagle more agile and more fuel-efficient. The -220E turbofans are reliable and powerful but critics have long wondered why the F-15C/F-15D fleet hasn’t adopted the F-15E Strike Eagle’s F100-PW-229 turbofans which produce 29,000lb of thrust each (129.99kN). Representatives from engine maker Pratt & Whitney were discussing the idea on Capitol Hill as recently as February 2015. Pratt & Whitney is in strong favour in

This former aggressor F-15C Eagle was reassigned to the Oregon Air National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing.

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Congress and has managed to shut General Electric out of the fighter engine market for the F-15 and F-35 Lightning II aircraft. Some, however, argue that the F-15C/F-15D fleet would benefit even more if a way could be found, and funds could be appropriated, to convert to General Electric F110s. An F-15C engine mechanic told AIR International it’s “a myth” the more powerful and more economical F110 won’t fit in the Eagle’s engine bay, and that “wiring and plumbing issues” are “small, and easily overcome. The F110 can, in fact, fit in the Eagle. It’s not exactly a direct in and out swap. There are issues with air and electrical

lines, and some rerouting, but these issues can be overcome.” The mechanic added: “Performance is key here, especially in a dogfight. All the other upgrades would amount to nothing if the ’C and ’D models don’t have engines to move all the extra weight around. If the ’C model is still expected to play in the air superiority role, upgrading the engines is of vital importance. This is something the air force has neglected and it’s time they did something about it.” Over the years, the typical gross weight of an F-15C on a mission has gone up from about 46,000lb (20,985kg) to about 51,000lb

F-15C EAGLE MILITARY (23,133kg). General Electric engines have been spectacularly successful on recent export Eagle variants. The F110-GE-129IPE (the suffix meaning ‘improved performance engine’) is standard on the F-15SA model for Saudi Arabia and is liked so much that the Saudis are considering retrofitting the 68 F-15Cs in its inventory (of 98 delivered) with the engine.

Radar Upgrade Our discussion – and our walk-around – must of necessity bestow plenty of attention on the radar in the nose of the Eagle. The Pentagon is working to upgrade current F-15C/F-15D Eagles with the

Raytheon AN/APG-63(V)3 active electronically scanned array (AESA) version. Unlike existing mechanically scanned arrays, which passively scan and receive signals, the AESA radar is able to transmit and receive electromagnetic signals. This allows for more precise and accurate radar, threat detection and targeting technology, including the ability to track more than one target simultaneously. Because of funding constraints the upgrade has moved in fits and starts. The exact number of Eagles to receive the new radar is “a moving target”, said an official, because of long-term funding uncertainties. The original Eagle radar was the AN/APG-

63(V)0, or ‘vee-zero’, found on aircraft used by the formal training unit, the 173rd Fighter Wing at Klamath Falls. The designation APG-63(V)2 applies to an interim or ‘beta’ version of the AESA unit installed on just 18 Eagles. The new and definitive APG-63(V)3 – often called simply the (V)3 or ‘vee-three’ – is now fully operational with the 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, which has 58 Eagles, and the Florida Air National Guard’s 125th Fighter Wing. The V(3) is currently being adopted by the 493rd Fighter Squadron ‘Grim Reapers’ based at RAF Lakenheath, England. Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Fighter Wing based at Portland – unlike Klamath, a

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combat rather than a training wing – now has the (V)3 on its 18 F-15Cs. Its assigned flying unit is the 123rd Fighter Squadron, known as the ‘Redhawks’. “This gives us a more formidable air-to-air weapons platform,” Lieutenant Colonel Rick ‘Ammo’ Morris, the 123rd Fighter Squadron commander, told AIR International. “With the new radar, it’s a particularly capable aircraft.” In a company press release, Todd Burns, F-15C AESA programme manager for Boeing, noted: “The fielded APG-63(V)3 air-to-air capabilities put the type in a class by itself and ensure the US Air Force and Air National Guard F-15C/F-15D fleets remain capable, maintainable and affordable.” About half of the original fleet of F-15C/F15D Eagles have been retired in a series of

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It is now being flown on US Navy Super Hornets. On the Tomcat, the sensor was mounted beside the television camera system protruding beneath the nose of the aircraft. Lockheed Martin says the pod “significantly enhances multiple target resolution compared to radar, providing greater discrimination of threat formations at longer ranges”. Moreover, “data from the IR sensor is fused with other on-board sensor data to provide maximum situational awareness to the warfighter”. Pentagon officials told AIR International they could not say how many Legion Pods are in use today. The Legion Pod has been seen on Eagles operated by the 493rd Fighter Squadron at Lakenheath, the only F-15C/F-15D squadron in Europe. In response to Russian activity in Ukraine, in March the 493rd FS deployed to Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania, a relatively 1 new ally among the 28 countries in the North fund-saving measures. The Pentagon’s most Atlantic Treaty Organisation. recent plan was to retire the 38 oldest aircraft The two-seat F-15D Eagles in the to retain an active fleet of 211, of which 178 Lithuanian deployment were carrying the would receive the (V)3 radar. This latest Legion Pod. Said one observer: “Instead of retirement plan is on hold and the current sending the first pods to Air National Guard F-15C/F-15D fleet is staying at 249 aircraft units as originally planned, they did a ‘current (out of 408 F-15Cs and 62 F-15Ds built). needs’ switch and gave them to the [493rd] Last year the air force began an in-service Eagles to see how the pods worked in evaluation of the F-15C with the Legion Pod, near-combat situations, such as confronting a multi-function sensor system produced Russian Su-27 Flankers, MiG-31 Foxhounds by Lockheed Martin that incorporates the and Tu-16 Badgers. And they were on the company’s IRST21 infrared search and two-seaters [F-15Ds] to make sure someone tracking system, plus networking capability. had his eyes on a screen and someone else This small pod, housed in a 16in-diameter was watching the sky.” (406mm) structure and weighing 250lb (113kg), Talon HATE is an outgrowth of the AN/AAS-42 IRST system Apart from the Legion Pod, the other new used on the F-14 Tomcat in US Navy service device for the Eagle focuses on Talon and on non-US variants of the Eagle.

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F-15C EAGLE MILITARY

1 The 493rd Fighter Squadron ‘Grim Reapers’ based at RAF Lakenheath, England is the only F-15C Eagle unit remaining in Europe. 2 An 18th Wing F-15C based at Kadena Air Base, Japan releases flares from the ALE-45 dispenser over the Pacific Ocean. 3 A three-ship of Redhawks, F-15C Eagles assigned to the Portland, Oregon-based 142nd Fighter Wing.

HATE, a communications pod for carriage on the F-15C. An air force press release describes the device this way: “The pod will combine information from fourth and fifth-generation fighters, national sources and command and control assets. This data will be transmitted over a common data link for use by joint aircraft, ships and ground stations. The single operational picture formed by Talon HATE will provide warfighters with a capability to more efficiently engage and defend against nextgeneration threats.” The term “national sources” refers to real-time intelligence gathered on behalf of intelligence agencies by platforms such as the U-2S Dragon Lady reconnaissance aircraft. Talon HATE is one of several measures intended to address a problem that’s been an ongoing embarrassment: the F-22 Raptor and F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, because of their radar-evading stealth properties, cannot communicate using Link 16 – the data link common to all other US warplanes. The Multifunction Advanced Data Link unique to the F-35A has suffered 3 developmental problems – along with its helmet-mounted cueing sight and its cannon. An F-15 Eagle pilot can use Link 16 to communicate with air, ground and naval assets everywhere throughout the battlespace, but can communicate with an F-22 only one way. “We have to use voice radio,” said Sullivan. As of March, only four Talon HATE pods had been funded. The pod, to be carried on the F-15C, will include an infrared search and track sensor (missing on the F-22), a Multifunctional Information Distribution System link (similar to the ubiquitous Link 16), satellite communications link and an airto-ground link. Talon HATE will undergo a utility evaluation once fielded. An air force press release says the system shows “great promise”.

The Bottom Line The story of the F-15C/F-15D Eagle is a tale told in the present tense about a warplane whose capabilities are right in line with today’s needs. Small wonder then that many observers of the US Air Force wonder if the service’s investment in the F-35A, to the intentional exclusion of every other possibility, is the right policy. Some experts say the Air Staff should use some of its precious dollars to restart production of a 21st century Eagle, a multi-role aircraft developed from Boeing’s F-15SE Silent Eagle design. With top-of-the-line data link, radar, engines and weapons, a new aircraft building on F-15C/F-15D experience would be a world-beater. “We have superior missiles and a superior AESA [radar] that enables us to see our adversary at greater range,” said Sullivan. “We can lock on multiple [targets] and shoot multiple missiles at once. In a typical engagement, we might be going along at about 350 knots when we learn of trouble, either from our own systems or from an AWACS.

“We CAP [fly a combat air patrol], we run our radars to sanitise the area, we give a ‘shoot list’ to the radar – telling it whether this is a hostile, an ‘outlaw’; we get our burners cooking, turn on our ID matrix and engage.” AWACS, of course, is the airborne warning and control system aboard an E-3B/E-3C Sentry, a derivative of the Boeing 707. The term ‘outlaw’ refers to a MiG or other aerial adversary deemed hostile under the combat theatre’s rules of engagement. ‘ID matrix’ refers to the combination of tools that enable the Eagle pilot to identify his foe: old-timers in the F-15C/F-15D community remember that there have been several ‘blue-onblue’ shoot-downs in conflict zones, so procedures are in force to prevent ‘friendly fire’ incidents. Perhaps summarising what the Eagle story is all about from the viewpoint of a young, confident, capable pilot, Sullivan used a three-letter term that refers to basic fighter manoeuvring, or BFM. “Our aircraft is the Cadillac of the sky,” he said. “And BFM is the sport of kings.”

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COMMERCIAL AVIATION SAFETY

P Jorgen Syversen/AirTeamImages

Dr Simon Bennett examines the public’s misperception of aviation safety Misperceiving Risk eople experience risk pressure groups, elected representatives

in two ways. First, physically, as when they are knocked off their push-bike; secondly, emotionally, as when they conclude from hyperbolic tabloid reporting that they are highly likely to be killed by Jihadists…even though they live in a generally safe place. In media-rich societies, the likelihood that bad things will happen can be overstated to the point where the public begins to think and act irrationally. Academics Nick Pidgeon, Roger Kasperson and Paul Slovic describe the phenomenon of risk inflation in their 2003 book The Social Amplification of Risk: “...signals are subject to …transformations as they filter through… amplification stations. Such transformations can increase or decrease the volume of information about an event”. The authors claim that the likelihood that bad things will happen can be exaggerated (‘amplified’) by television, radio, newspapers, magazines,

and other ‘amplification stations’ to the point where people no longer see the world as it is. Rather, thanks to ‘social amplification’, they see it as those with vested interests want them to see it. Aping the behaviour of amplifications stations, such as newspapers, individuals can exaggerate (or diminish) the likelihood that bad things will happen. For example, a teenage motorcyclist may play down the fact that motorcycling is one of the riskiest ways to get around. Subjectively, the teenage motorcyclist believes he or she has the experience and innate skill to defy the actuarial tables. Denialism characterises not only how teenagers perceive the risks inherent in motorbiking, but also those inherent in recreational drug use, alcohol consumption, obsessive (and pointless) computer gaming, sedentary lifestyles and cigarette smoking. Somehow, they believe themselves immune to the misfortunes that befall others (overdoses, acute alcohol poisoning, sclerosis of the liver, obesity-related diseases, such as stroke and heart disease and cancer of the tongue, throat or lung).

Hyperbolic reporting – for example, of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, the January, 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris or the demise of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, Air Algérie Flight AH5017 and AirAsia Flight QZ8501 – can induce feelings of dread. In extremis, a routine activity – for example, hopping on a plane – can be stigmatised to the point where safety facts are misinterpreted or ignored. The media panic over Ebola shows how risk can be misinterpreted. Dr Tom Frieden, the Director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), commented on media misbehaviour in his testimony to the US Congress: “It is understandable that there is intense media interest. Ebola is new to the United States... Some of the coverage – I think many would agree – may exaggerate the potential risks, or may confuse people about the risks”. The way the press reports the nuclear industry is another example of media misbehaviour. In the energy sector, far more workers are killed mining coal than are

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AVIATION SAFETY COMMERCIAL killed operating nuclear power plants. Yet, because of the post-1960s stigmatisation of nuclear power generation (amplified by hyperbolic media reporting, the Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disasters, environmentalists’ media-savvy campaigns and the unfortunate association of nuclear power generation with nuclear weapons), many believe the opposite to be true. In The Social Amplification of Risk, Pidgeon, Kasperson and Slovic observe: “Nuclear energy … once so highly regarded for its promise of cheap, safe power, is today subject to severe stigmatisation, reflecting public perceptions of abnormally great risk.”

Aviation Through a Distorting Lens

In the same way that Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima influenced perceptions of nuclear power generation, the MH370, MH17 and AH5017 disasters influenced perceptions of commercial aviation’s safety performance – to the point where on July 24, 2014, the International Business Times thought it acceptable to print the headline: “After MH17 And Two Other Plane Crashes, Is It Still Safe To Fly?” On the

same day, MailOnline used the headline: “Is it safe to fly? As ANOTHER jet crashes, plane disaster fatalities soar 300% but experts reveal 2014 is still one of the SAFEST years in aviation history”. Aviation journalist David Learmount observed: “The 2014 Malaysian disasters … have twisted perceptions of airline safety.” Doubtless the AirAsia QZ8501 loss on December 28, 2014, and Virgin Atlantic emergency at Gatwick the following day will have heightened concerns about commercial aviation safety. The AirAsia Airbus twin-jet plunged into the Java sea killing 162. The Las Vegas-bound Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 landed at Gatwick with one of its main bogeys not fully down. Despite the fact that the Virgin Atlantic Flight VS43 crew handled the emergency with text-book precision, elements of the press had a field day. On December 29, a Daily Mirror journalist wrote: “Passengers on board a Virgin Atlantic jumbo jet endured four hours of terror as its hero pilot desperately burned off fuel before making a dramatic emergency landing.... The plane eventually landed on three sets of main wheels with 447 passengers in the brace position.” Note how a routine fuel burn-off in response to a not-

uncommon hardware malfunction (gear failure) is framed as “four hours of terror”, and how the Captain’s successful execution of a nonnormal procedure earns him the soubriquet “hero pilot”. In the journalist’s account, the Captain “desperately burned off fuel”. It is safe to assume that the Captain did nothing “desperately”. The landing was far from “dramatic”, video footage confirming that the aircraft performed as un-dramatic a touchdown and roll-out as one could imagine. The journalist informs Daily Mirror readers that the passengers were in the brace position. Well, yes, they would be. Instructing passengers caught up in an in-flight emergency to “brace, brace, brace” is standard practice (as learned by this author during his 737 and 747 flightcrew safety courses). Why the hyperbole? Because drama sells newspapers. It all comes down to money – the more copies one sells, the more advertising revenue one attracts and the more money one makes for the proprietor and shareholders. Bad news – even if it is, to a degree, manufactured – is good news for newspapers. Further evidence for the overdramatisation of technical malfunctions can be found in the MailOnline’s reporting

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COMMERCIAL AVIATION SAFETY of the October 2014 Jet2 loss-of-engine episode. On October 13, 2014, an oilpressure warning from the number one engine of a Tenerife-bound Jet2 737-800 prompted the Captain to perform an in-flight shutdown. According to the airline: “Around 30 minutes prior to landing in Tenerife, passengers were informed there would be a controlled shutdown of one of the engines as a precautionary measure…The pilot issued a Squawk 7700 Mayday emergency warning to air traffic controllers.” The engine shut-down having been handled with utmost skill, the aircraft landed safely. Ignoring this fact, and the safety margin provided by the Extended Range Twin Engine Operation (ETOPs) 60-minute standard, the MailOnline ran the headline: “Terror at 35,000 feet as Jet2 airliner’s engine fails over the Atlantic on flight to Tenerife”. One of the supporting headlines ran: “Three babies and 47 children aged two to 16 were among 191 passengers”. While it is factually correct that the shut-down occurred while the 737 was “over the Atlantic”, it was, in fact, just 30-minutes flying time from Tenerife’s Reina Sofia airport. The MailOnline’s headline could be taken to mean that the aircraft was mid-ocean at the time of the shut-down. The number one engine did not “fail”. The Captain shut it down as a safety precaution. The MailOnline’s inclusion of information about babies and children served only one purpose – to dramatise the episode. Dramatic reporting attracts readers. Readers generate income. Unfortunately, the ‘human angle’ tells us nothing about the degree of professionalism with which an event like an emergency landing or in-flight engine shut-down was handled. Printing irrelevant human-interest detail leaves less room for pertinent fact. Incidents involving passengers induce the same hyperbolic reporting as incidents involving aircraft hardware. For example, in September 2014 a Jet2 departure from Malaga was delayed by two hours while

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a passenger who had allegedly “acted suspiciously” was removed from the aircraft and questioned by Spanish police. When the police re-boarded the passenger, the Captain ordered that the aircraft be prepared for take-off. At this point, 36 passengers said they wished to leave the aircraft. Although the incident was resolved with minimum disruption, tabloid reporting gave a somewhat different impression. A MailOnline report claimed the aircraft had been “left stranded on the runway”. In reality, the Spanish authorities’ investigation struck the right balance between passenger safety and the airport’s and airline’s commercial objectives. According to the MailOnline, “...some flight passengers [were] forced to remain in Malaga, forking out for their own accommodation as they were unable to book flights until Saturday.” No-one “forced” any Jet2 passenger to remain in Malaga. Passengers walked off the aircraft of their own volition. The MailOnline report quoted one passenger as saying: “As soon as the man got back on the plane the captain ordered for the door to be shut and began making the usual announcements without consulting his staff.” Two questions occur: First, how could this source possibly know whether or not the Captain had consulted his First Officer and cabin crew (his “staff”)? Secondly, why did the MailOnline quote a source who was obviously guessing at what happened? Embedded in the on-line item was some video footage shot inside the aircraft. The grainy footage showed a number of passengers sitting, and a number standing. It had no explanatory value whatsoever. Which begs the question: Why use it? Perhaps as a gimmicky way of attracting the more gullible reader? Finally, the report’s headline “Travellers abandon Jet2 flight from Malaga after ‘agitated’ passenger sparks panic by taking photos of plane and cabin crew” gives the impression that everyone walked off the aircraft, when only 36 sought alternative flights.

Media coverage is frequently selective and nuanced. In his paper Airline Accidents and Media Bias: New York Times 19781994, Dr Todd Curtis analysed which types of air accident were more likely to be reported by the quality broadsheet. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the New York Times focused on the more dramatic types of air accident. “From 1978 to 1994, the New York Times disproportionately reported the 25 fatal airline events that involved jet aircraft that were hijacked, sabotaged or destroyed by military action. These 25 events averaged 53 references each, compared with 7.2 references for the other 160 fatal jet events …Fatal events were also more likely to be reported as the magnitude of fatalities increased” says Curtis. Curtis’s research suggests that even the quality press is in thrall to the sensational and dramatic. A newspaper report’s substance and style is influenced by what media analysts call ‘news values’. As academic Graeme Burton explains in his book More Than Meets The Eye: An Introduction to Media Studies: “News…is the result of a process of selection and construction. Items are selected in or out. Newspapers…are artefacts that are put together…meaning is constructed into them. The meanings do not just happen to appear, they are there because someone made them.” Put another way, a newspaper report is generally a version of an event – one of several possible. The version that is printed reflects the tastes, values and objectives of the newspaper’s editorial staff. It is risky to equate reporting with fact. The media lens is a distorting lens.

Element of Truth Despite its shrill tone, the Mail headline “Is it safe to fly? As ANOTHER jet crashes, plane disaster fatalities soar 300% but experts reveal 2014 is still one of the SAFEST years in aviation history” communicates an important fact: Despite high-profile disasters, last year was one of the industry’s safest. According

AVIATION SAFETY COMMERCIAL of disasters.” The media’s intense focus on the possibility that MH17 was shot down side-lined other salient factors, like passengers’ desire to pay as little as possible for an air ticket, aviation authorities’ cavalier attitude to routing and passenger-hungry airlines’ willingness to minimise costs by flying over, rather than around, conflict zones. The press generally failed to explore the nexus between passenger demands and airline industry behaviour. In an August 2005 article for AirlineSafety.com Dr Robert Baron urged the media to behave more responsibly: “Just throwing out contrived titbits for the sake of viewership or readership needs to stop. We owe that to the survivors, the victims, and the families.”

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to Flight International’s David Learmount: “The previous best airline safety year was 2012, with a fatal accident rate of one per 2.37 million flights … In the other years since 2010, the fatal accident rate was one per 1.91 million flights in 2013, one per 1.4 million in 2011 and one per 1.26 million in 2010. The average for the last five years is now about one fatal accident per 1.75 million flights.” If the numbers show that flying is safe, why do so many people think the opposite? As aviation website AirSafe.com explains, roughly one third of passengers are what the industry calls “nervous flyers”: “One of the most important studies on fear of flying dates back to 1980, when two Boeing researchers found that 18.1% of adults in the US were afraid to fly, and another 12.6% of adults experienced anxiety when they fly. In short, about one in three adult Americans were afraid to fly.” Because subjects either attenuate or amplify risk signals, it follows that nervous flyers will tend to assume the worse. Some passengers are content to trust unseen strangers (pilots, controllers, dispatchers, fuellers, engineers, regulators, airframe designers, manufacturers, thirdparty maintainers, etc.), others are not. Trust issues induce negativity. Negativity amplifies risk signals. Perceptions are skewed. The tone of post-disaster newspaper headlines (especially those in tabloids, such as The Sun, Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, Daily Express, London Evening Standard, Metro and Daily Star) can border on alarmist. Hyperbole colours perceptions. Academics Peter Vasterman, Joris Yzermans and Anja Dirkzwager argue that saturation coverage, allied with the media’s tendency to focus on a single plausible explanation (something sociologists call ‘reductionism’), may have societal mental health impacts: “Media hypes are media-generated news waves reinforcing over and over again one specific frame while ignoring other perspectives. Such news waves can fuel fear and anxiety among people involved in one way or another in the aftermath

Aviation Safety – The Facts Flying is not without risk. As this author has written in The Leicester Mercury: “Flying several hundred people six miles above the earth at close to the speed of sound in an environment subject to turbulence and low temperatures (-55°C) in a pressurised aluminium tube packed with fuel, generators, air-conditioning units (that run hot), batteries and cabling is not without risk.” Fortunately, thanks to the determined efforts of those who work at the coal-face of commercial aviation, flying is remarkably safe. Following the September 11 attacks, many Americans switched to land-based transport. The switch to terra firma produced a spike in transport-related deaths. Why? Because flying is safer than almost every other mode of transportation. Had the defectors stuck with aviation there would have been fewer deaths. An irony par excellence. The Guardian’s James Ball reminds us that misperceiving risk has deadly consequences: “Fear of dying in a plane crash might kill you…motorcycling is more than 3,000 times more deadly than flying. Travelling in a car or truck is about 100 times more deadly than flying. Travelling by train [is] twice as deadly, mile-for-mile, as flying”. It’s not flying per se that kills, but misperceiving the risk.

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Dust,Devil Dust,Devil & Develop AIR International’s Mark Ayton visits Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California to discover some of the work under way with VX-31

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ir Test and Evaluation Squadron 31 (VX-31) known as the ‘Dust Devils’ is unique. It is the only unit within the US Navy that has 11 different major design series aircraft assigned. It shares its mission with sister

squadron, VX-23 ‘Salty Dogs’ based at NAS Patuxent River in Maryland – an entirely different location to the high desert of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake near Ridgecrest, California. The Dust Devils are a Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) developmental test (DT) squadron that conducts mission systems software and weapons integration testing, including hardware and software, for

Harriers, Hornets, Super Hornets, Growlers, AH-1 Cobras and UH-1 Hueys. The squadron also flies the navy’s last T-39D Sabreliner. This vintage jet is used to test radars and as a taxi for jamming pods required for certain test events. But its three MH-60S-model helicopters are used for search and rescue (SAR) mission. Their crews are the unsung heroes of VX-31 providing SAR cover throughout

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VX-31 recently completed testing and integration of two modifications for the AV-8B Harrier II: an improved AIM-120 AMRAAM missile weapons engagement zone model, and the MIL-STD-1760 cable to the aircraft’s outboard stations to enable carriage of smart weapons. All images Michael McGinnis/Naval Air Systems Command unless stated

R2508, a huge area of restricted airspace used by aircraft from China Lake, Edwards Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Lemoore, Naval Air Weapons Station Point Mugu and Nellis Air Force Base. China Lake is located in the middle of R2508 so the squadron’s SAR flight is perfectly positioned to cover the entire area and is primarily tasked to support the military, though most flights are undertaken

to rescue civilians who get in trouble in the wilderness. The SAR flight will feature in a separate article in a forthcoming issue of AIR International.

Test Projects As current weapons are upgraded to a standard that makes them network-enabled, the vital test requirement for VX-31 is to determine the functionality of the data link

used between the weapon and its launch or targeting aircraft. Cdr Eric Buus, VX-31’s commander told AIR International: “Weapons are now getting the capability to receive and send information back and forth to the aircraft, so all hardware and software comes through VX-31 [for developmental test] and then goes to VX-9 [for operational test]”. The fleet is currently operating the

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MILITARY AIR TEST AND EVALUATION SQUADRON 31 Super Hornet and Growler with H8 Phase I software, the first of two iterations built for the H8 System Configuration Set (SCS). Last summer VX-31 completed H8 Phase II testing (that set is currently in operational test with Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 9). By the end of 2014, VX-31 had also completed H10: the follow-on upgrade from the second phase of H8, which adds further capabilities to the Raytheon AN/ APG-79 AESA (active electronically scanned array) radar. During November 2014, VX-31 deployed to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, to participate in a series of large-force exercises with Air Combat Command’s 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron. The exercises were designed to test the H10 software in what’s referred to as a dense-link environment, meaning that most, if not all of the Blue Force aircraft involved were on the link. The missions flown at Nellis tested VX-31’s Super Hornet and Growler aircraft to a degree likely to be encountered only in one of three situations. Either an exercise similar to Red Flag, a Strike Fighter Advanced Readiness Program event staged by the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center at Naval Air Station Fallon in northern Nevada, or real combat. The objective was to ensure H10 performed as it should. The biggest capability provided by SCS H10 is MSI (Multi-Sensor Integration), more commonly known as sensor fusion. Software engineers assigned to the Air Warfare Laboratory at China Lake have built new algorithms to enable all the data that comes into the aircraft via the data link and that’s fed from the various sensors (radar, RWR, FLIR and IRST), to be integrated into a single-track file. That file is then displayed to the aircrew in a manner that makes it 1 easier for them to interpret and to make tactical decisions upon. Development continues with SCS H12, one of the biggest software changes for the Super Hornet and Growler to date, which VX-31 started to test in November. This software load provides a complete redesign of the cockpit displays, primarily those used for tactical purposes such as radar attack and air-to-ground weapons stores. Cdr Buus, an experienced Super Hornet pilot, told AIR International that the radar attack display has completely changed from the aircraft’s original B scope to a God’s eye view. Just like the MSI algorithms built into H10, the point of H12 is to display information to the aircrew in a way that’s easier to interpret and act upon, which is a difficult task. To retain the thread in this part of the story, the same MSI algorithms used in H10 are also in H12, but the change to the displays are an additional capability that are presented using the existing DDI displays. There is no hardware change in the cockpit. During the past 18-months, VX-31 has also performed a series of weapon tests

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that include the AGM-88E AARGM and JSOW-C1 air-to-ground missiles. The latter is a good example of a network-enabled weapon with an in-flight retargeting capability that can be used after release or to ‘sweeten up’ its target designation. The JSOW-C1 is equipped with Link 16, GPS and an IR seeker in the nose. The Dust Devils also flight-tested the AIM-120D [in November] and performed developmental testing of upgrades to the earlier AIM-120C5 and C7 versions. It also completed DT of the AIM-9X Block

1 Dust Devils’ F/A-18F Super Hornet BuNo 165666/’DD201’ releases ten GBU-31 JDAMs over the China Lake weapons range. 2 The Dust Devils are responsible for all AV-8B Harrier performance, flying qualities, structures, mission system software and weapons testing for the US Marine Corps. The squadron flies two variants: the AV-8B Harrier II Plus equipped with the APG-65 radar and 3 the AV-8B Harrier Night Attack variant. Paul Ridgway

2 Sidewinder air-to-air missile, which was subsequently passed to VX-9 for operational test. The only existing air-to-ground weapon tested by the Dust Devils in recent months was the GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition (LJDAM).

AV-8B Harrier II One mission unique to VX-31 lies with the AV-8B Harrier II. The squadron conducts all performance, flying qualities, structures, mission system software and weapons testing for the marine corps’ jump-jet. While the marine corps is waiting for the

F-35B Lightning II, it must sustain its Harrier fleet by adding capabilities to the aircraft through new software and hardware. The squadron recently tested and integrated two modifications: an improved AIM120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile weapons engagement zone (WEZ) model and the MILSTD-1760 cable to the aircraft’s outboard stations to carry smart weapons. The new WEZ model is designed to ensure that the information displayed to the pilot about when and where he can employ the missile is as accurate as possible. Interestingly, VX-9, the operational test squadron at China Lake doesn’t have any Harriers assigned; therefore its Harrier pilots undertake their test flying using VX-31 aeroplanes. One Harrier test campaign carried out by VX-31 last year [2014] was the evaluation of the aircraft’s speed brake. Fleet squadrons were finding cracks in the brake after instances of premature braking, but did not understand the cause. Major Douglas Rosenstock, VX31’s Harrier Deputy Project Officer, explained how a fully instrumented speed brake was used to collect the data required to help understand the conditions, loads and environments causing the worst reactions in the aircraft’s speed brake. Maj Rosenstock said: “We found the Litening II targeting pod carried on the centre line station was altering the airflow on the speed brake. This caused the speed brake to overstress and crack prematurely. To prevent the problem recurring in the fleet, an air speed limitation was placed on the speed brake. At the same time we were also testing for the cause of cracking found in the leading edge root extension (LERX), though this was not as severe as the speed brake.” During most of 2014 VX-31 was developing the latest software load for the AV-8B called H6.1, which provides the ability to use an upgraded version of the Litening targeting pod made by Northrop Grumman. This took considerable time because many of the functions undertaken by previous versions of the pod are now performed by the aircraft’s mission computer. Any upgraded Litening pod can now be used by any marine corps fast-jet type without the need to load different software because the aircraft controls most of the pod’s operation. VX-31’s Harrier shop had to determine how to do that, evaluate it and correct any problems. “You have to know how it’s supposed to work, how it used to work and what guys in the fleet are used to seeing, otherwise you have no idea how to judge what the deviations are and whether or not it’s objectionable. Initially it looked relatively simple but ended up being quite complex. In the end we were able to get it to work,” Rosenstock explained. His shop has also been busy with integrating GPS-guided JDAM on to the

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MILITARY AIR TEST AND EVALUATION SQUADRON 31 Harrier. This programme was undertaken in the same context as the upgraded Litening pod but, in reverse. The jet used to determine where the weapon could be dropped and displayed the information to the pilot. Today the weapon software is updated more frequently and feeds the data to the jet, which displays where to drop it. “Pilots used to have to know what the target was doing, what direction it was going, use rules of thumb and apply them to the data displayed. Now the pilot does not have to apply rules of thumb and can rely on the data displayed to release the weapon,” said Rosenstock. During the JDAM test campaign VX-31 pilots had to determine whether the display was showing the correct information in accordance with their expectations, whether the weapon reached the target and whether messages were being correctly sent back and forth between the jet and the weapon. The JDAM integration tests used the upgraded Litening pod already described. That version of the pod is able to generate the velocity of a moving target and feed the information to the display as a moving target velocity indicator, the integration of which also had to be evaluated. During the targeting procedure the upgraded pod can track a moving target and generate its velocity. The data is sent to the aircraft and then fed to the weapon. The weapon then computes a launch acceptability region, which is fed back to the aircraft and displayed to the pilot. Rosenstock explained: “There are a lot of processes going on there, so if the test pilot sees any problems, he’s got to start ‘peeling back the onion’ to determine where the issue might be. Is it the velocity coming from the pod? Well, we know the velocity coming from the pod is accurate because that was tested individually. Is it therefore being sent to the weapon correctly and what data is the weapon getting? So we have to record data from the aircraft to see what’s being fed to the weapon.” Rosenstock explained how his office then ran a desktop simulator for the weapon to devise what should be displayed in the aircraft and to determine any differences. For example, is the software telling the system to display the wrong number, or is the software adding some kind of bias that the Harrier team does not know about? The Harrier team determined that when a pilot cued the weapon in both dive and loft delivery modes, they were providing the weapon with a cue but sending the wrong information for the display. “The test pilot has to know exactly what it’s supposed to look like and what the fleet is expecting it to look like. Equally, we have to be able to work through everything in an iterative way to find the problems before we release it to the fleet,” he said. The Harrier project team undertook a similar evaluation for the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile, improving the accuracy of the data displayed in the cockpit and based on the velocities of the target and the aircraft the position from where the pilot should launch the missile. To accomplish that computation

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the weapon-management system uses a completely new algorithm. Pilots can now use real-time simulation running in the aeroplane. By using the different parameters fed from the radar and the aircraft, inputting them to a simulation and running it continuously, the data output is far more accurate than a lookup table because many more parameters are taken into account. The integration work completely changed the way the software displayed certain information. Once again, the test pilot has to know what the display is supposed to look like and what appearance to expect. He must then evaluate whether it meets expectations and if it doesn’t match, why not? Rosenstock said: “If it doesn’t match and we can’t figure out why or we can’t change it, is it acceptable, is it objectionable or not? If it’s objectionable then we need to change it. “Sometimes we end up with a solution that we weren’t intending to have, but one that’s better because, for example, it

1 Dust Devils 215, F/A-18F Super Hornet BuNo 165793/’DD215’ launches an AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile during developmental testing of the Block II version. 2 Dust Devils’ Super Hornets loaded with live GBU-31 JDAMs.

displays additional information which is of benefit to the pilot.” The AV-8B now uses the BRU-70 digital ITER (DITER), an improved triple ejector rack that enables the aircraft to carry three GPSguided weapons on a single station. The Harrier has seven pylons, six can be used to carry weapons of which just four can carry and drop a JDAM GPS-guided weapon. Rosenstock explained the benefit: “With a digital ITER fitted on two of the four stations we have the capability to drop six JDAMs instead of just two. If we hang them on the outer pylons outside of the external fuel tanks we have four GPS-guided compatible stations”. Both payload configurations were successfully tested by VX-31 “We’ve had to ensure that the structure of the racks could withstand the environment the Harrier puts them in. This required structures and vibrations testing,” he said.

One test mission flown by Rosenstock involved a payload comprising a digital ITER and a laser-guided AGM-65E2 Maverick air-to-surface missile fitted with a plastic MaDICS (Maverick Disposable Igniter Cable Saver) clip on the LMAV to hold the firing wire in place. The clip is smaller than a pen cap and of similar weight. Prior to using the MaDICS clip, when the LMAV fired, the rocket blast burned up the firing wire and destroyed it. Now it fits into the station, holding the firing wire up to prevent the damage. The mission was flown to ensure the clip didn’t crack or fall off and was an entire modification to the initial structures and vibrations test plan for LMAV E2. Under a US$13 million contract awarded by NAVAIR, Exelis is supplying 181 BRU70/A DITER units to upgrade the AV-8B’s existing carriage and release system: the BRU-42. Delivery of the first units to the US Marine Corps fleet was originally expected to begin in mid-2015 and be completed by March 2016. However, in December an AV-8B squadron forward deployed to the CENTCOM theatre requested accelerated delivery of BRU-70/A racks to maximise its mission capability. NAVAIR’s Aircraft Armament Equipment team, the AV-8B program office (PMA-257), delivered four flight-test units to the deployed squadron in theatre. They had previously been used by VX-31. The first combat mission using DITER was flown in support of the US-led campaign against ISIS in January. According to NAVAIR, a single aircraft delivered four LJDAMs from two DITERs. Combat use of the units meant further evaluation was needed to ensure fleet operational readiness. The NAVAIR team executed all of the required testing and documentation necessary for delivery in one month. VX-31’s current Harrier work involves the next OFP H6.2 software which will integrate RNP (required navigation performance) and RNAV (required area navigation) systems to enable the aircraft to fly in a GPS air structure. Rosenstock and his colleagues are conducting a flight-test campaign to ensure the Harrier meets the required specification. All navigation is currently based on either TACAN or way points input by the pilot. In the future the new navigation system will be based on the NGA database input to the aircraft’s mission system and allow the pilot to fly pre-programmed and GPS-based approaches. Maj Rosenstock told AIR International: “Integrating the new navigation system into the aircraft is the largest part of the test program, which is difficult on an aeroplane that’s not designed specifically for flying in the commercial air structure like an airliner. We’ve got to integrate the systems onto the existing hardware, which is one of the bigger challenges before we have to fix any software issues.” NAVAIR awarded General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems a contract to support the implementation of FACE (Future Airborne Capability Environment), an application programme interface onto a new open systems processor card. This upgrades the Harrier’s mission computers

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MILITARY AIR TEST AND EVALUATION SQUADRON 31 to host RNP and RNAV and provides a common operating environment that supports faster and cheaper integration of common applications. That test programme will be followed by the integration of Link 16 into the Harrier which is part of OFP H7.0: the follow on to the H6.2.

EA-18G Growler VX-31’s EA-18G Growler project office is currently completing the testing of the SCS H10, starting the follow-on H12 and supporting the Royal Australian Air Force as it prepares to receive the aircraft. Once the first RAAF EA-18G is built, it will be delivered to VX-31 where it will be tested to ensure it is documented correctly and matches the existing US Navy documentation and to make sure it functions correctly.

18G’s two-person crew. The process of rationalising the menu selection process is defined and written by the NAVAIR EA-18G Growler Program Management Authority at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. Project officers such as Jordan assist in that process by introducing the operator’s invaluable perspective gained from flying and executing the mission. Jordan said: “The engineers provide us with their best estimate of how they think a system or process should be and we refine and specify what’s wanted in the jet. They

Software Evolution H6 through H12

Now all of the electronic attack squadrons based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, have transitioned from the EA-6B Prowler to the Growler, the Electronic Attack Wing and NAVAIR’s PMA-265 have a much clearer understanding of the EA-18G. Both organisations have subsequently built upon the initial configuration and the tactics, techniques and procedures used by the fleet to try to make it easier for the operator to manipulate all the information available in the aeroplane. Lt James Jordan, VX-31’s EA18G Growler Project Officer said: “The Growler is a very capable aeroplane. There’s a lot of information at your disposal at any given time. The hardest part of operating the aircraft is learning how to manage 1 the information by displaying the appropriate detail at the right time. “As we learn more about each of the aircraft’s systems and how to evolve each one into the electronic attack mission, we are making each one a little bit better. But the bigger part of solving the information-management issues lies in the crew vehicle interface. “We have to make sure that when you push a menu option on a screen or a pushtile you get what you need and are not required to push three or four times to get what you require. Streamlining the button and menu sequences is the biggest change to the crew stations from H6 to H12”. To gain some kind of measure of the issues faced by Growler aircrew consider that the amount of information available to them has gone up while the number of crew has halved from four in a Prowler to two in a Growler. Managing all the information is a huge requirement of the two-person Growler crew: each subsequent software build seeks to improve that situation. According to the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation’s FY2014 Annual Report, the new ALQ-218 receiver, improved connectivity, and linked displays are the primary design features integrated to reduce the operator workload in support of the EA-

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display the information for the operator. Jordan said: “We have reduced the time required to perform many of the tasks necessary to complete the mission and, in the bigger picture, we’ve learned how to integrate multiple aircraft and work together faster to provide information to the battle space more expediently. We have already increased its capabilities four-fold compared with the fleet’s initial use.” “There are a lot of things the aeroplane is capable of doing in terms of electronic countermeasures [ECM] that we as a community aren’t capable of grabbing a hold of yet. We have to introduce those pieces little by little. You don’t give somebody an entire cake and say, ‘Eat it in one bite.’ You have to serve slices of the cake and eat it little by little. As we eat each new cake, we tell the baker how to refine it so the next one is even better. That’s a multilateral effort”. For the electronic attack (EA) role, NAVAIR is currently at the early design stage of the Next Gen Jammer (NGJ): the new EA pod for the Growler. VX-31 is currently working on the NGJ software so when the first NGJ pod is delivered for testing, it should be easier to integrate on the aircraft. “That’s hard to accomplish because the NGJ is only loosely defined right now,” said Jordan.

Lessons Learned

1 A Dust Devils’ AV-8B Harrier II passes through a canyon close to China Lake during a mission. Paul Ridgway 2 VX-31’s EA-18G Growler project office is completing tests of the SCS H10, starting the follow-on H12 and supporting the Royal Australian Air Force as it prepares to receive the aircraft. 3 VX-31 continues to operate F/A-18C Hornet BuNo 165210 which was painted in a fullcolour test paint scheme to mark the Centennial of Naval Aviation in 2011. Paul Ridgway

then specify what they can provide us with, and from that we choose what we want. A project officer must try to marry those up as closely as possible, to get the maximum capability from the dollars spent. “We have an integral part to play in the design and are able to provide input during the system’s development to the point where it is between 60 and 95% complete. We never make 100% because of the constraints imposed by schedules and budget.”

Role and Capability Evolution In a similar way to the evolution of the Growler’s software, NAVAIR and the Electronic Attack Wing has learned more about passive detection of the latest threats and how to better characterise, identify and

The EA-18G Growler has already been exposed to a variety of escalating threats early on its service career. Consequently much of what NAVAIR and the VX-31 Growler project office undertake in its developmental test role has been hugely influenced by the fleet’s combat experience. Jordan told AIR International: “We visit the Electronic Attack Wing at Whidbey and listen to their complaints to see what they want based on their experiences, what they are utilising, what they are currently doing and where the jet is not as good as it could be. We do our best to fix everything, but inevitably we miss things. When further problems occur we try to either get a quick fix out to them or include the fix in the next iteration of software. But we also meet with the US Navy organisations that are looking at what we are likely to be doing in the future, and try to get those requirements included in the next SCS. We try to do both simultaneously and consistently”. AIR International posed this question to Jordan: Imagine a simple square as the boundary of the Growler’s capabilities as originally specified. Does the aircraft now fill that box? “Two-part answer,” he replied. “One, we have over-filled the box that was originally given to us, and two, we are adding to the box exponentially. As we got halfway through filling the box, we discovered other things we can do, so we slowly expanded the boundaries and blew through the top of them. “With the new satellite receiver we’re

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MILITARY AIR TEST AND EVALUATION SQUADRON 31 increasing the situational awareness fourfold, and by using the IBS satellite data, there’s a massive amount of information that can be given to the fleet. “We [the electronic attack community] also took ourselves out of a myopic unidirectional role as an EA platform and are now starting to become the DSEA and EMI battle space management platform. We’re trying our best not to overstretch some of the capabilities we can provide, which is very hard to do because the capabilities are expanding left over right,” Jordan explained.

Automation Many of the Growler’s sensors are produced by different companies and each has its own software load. So have the manufacturers been able to add additional automation to the aircraft, to reduce the aircrew’s workload especially under the difficult circumstances of a combat environment? “Absolutely,” said Lt Jordan. “Designers and engineers for the ALQ-218(V)2 wing tip pods have introduced further automation, but more importantly, have allowed the aircrew to select what they do and don’t want to be automated. “There are times when the operator has

help when they need to shed or share a task for the mission,” concluded Jordan.

Super Hornet AIR International asked VX-31’s F/A-18 Weapon Systems Integration Project Officer, Lt Ben Orloff, where the additional capability given to the Super Hornet was found with SCS H10. “In the air-to-air picture,” he replied. “The jet started out in a world that was driven by the need to perform a radar intercept. The aircrew used their radar to track other air threats. Now we are moving to a network-based battle space in which different assets are linked giving interoperability between us, surface vessels, our controlling platforms, other Hornets, all using their sensors to gather information. “Any one jet has access to an incredible amount of information about tracks and threats that are out in front. The radar itself paints a big air picture. But when the number of adversaries was increased in large-force exercise scenarios to test the system, the old algorithms were breaking down. “We were encountering serious software limitations. So we went back to scratch, working with Boeing to tear down all the code.” The problem was overcome with Multi-

1 1 EA-18G BuNo 168377/’DD523’ carries a standard Growler payload comprising an external fuel tank and an ALQ-99 pod under each wing. The upper part of each pylon is marked with an orange patch denoting a test fitting. Paul Ridgway 2 An EA-18G Growler assigned to VX-31 returns to Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake over the city of Ridgecrest, California. 3 The AV-8B now uses the BRU-70 digital improved triple ejector rack (DITER) that enables the aircraft to carry three GPS-guided weapons on a single station. A DITER can be fitted to the outer pylons (as shown) giving the aircraft four GPSguided compatible stations.

to be in the loop to make sure that the right nut gets on the appropriate bolt. But there are other times when it’s OK for the system to automatically put the nut on the bolt. That works with almost every single system within the jet. “For the most part, each manufacturer has done a very good job of staying on the same sheet of music when it comes to integration and listening to what aircrew want automated. “That said, when you add additional capabilities, you take that benefit away again. It’s a tough balance and we must ensure that we give the fleet operator the ability to select what is automated to suit the mission requirements. “A Growler crew must consistently task-shed and task-share and the aircraft gives them the flexibility to do just about everything from either seat. That’s a huge

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Sensor Integration (MSI), which fuses the aircraft’s self-generated air picture with those fed from other players into a large intuitive display. Because the Super Hornet can be likened to a flying super computer that can handle a high volume of throughput, with the right software, algorithms, and integration it can solve numerous problems for its aircrew. But despite the automation, the aircrew is still limited in capacity by the interfaces between the screen and the eye and the eye and the brain. Software is not available to improve either. With a finite amount of brainpower, how can aircrew figure out what they are looking at quickly, repeatedly and accurately? Remember that they are also busy doing other things including flying the jet and managing the weapons systems. This requires management of the battle space as opposed to their weapon systems. It is the management of the battle space that

needs to be streamlined so the aircrew’s brain capacity isn’t being used up trying to interpret what they are seeing. Orloff explained: “Our main focus with H10 was to ensure the aircraft knows what is going on in the battle space by improving the mission computer’s algorithms to interpret the air picture in the best way possible.” The follow-on software, H12, picks up where H10 left off and its capabilities will represent a complete rethink on how information will be displayed to the pilot. NAVAIR and VX-31 has worked with the F-22 and F-35 Integrated Test Forces based at Edwards Air Force Base, California, to leverage off the work they have already completed on managing the aircraft’s data from cockpit displays. This co-operation resulted in a better understanding of the potential of the Super Hornet’s systems and an improved product. There is not enough money available to make a Super Hornet’s cockpit do what an F-35’s cockpit should eventually be able to do. So NAVAIR has done some amazing things with the hardware already fitted to the aircraft. Orloff opined: “We are really happy with the results of H12 from the lab, which rethinks how we display the plethora of information to the aircrew, and are now starting to test-fly the new software. “We have talked a lot about what is tactically relevant and worked with TOPGUN [the Naval Fighter Weapons School based at Naval Air Station Fallon] to establish what its instructors would like to see on the display. A unit like TOPGUN is really good at knowing what the human factors are for getting consistent, repeatable performance out of each pilot and WSO [weapon systems officer], each of whom has a variety of skill levels,” he explained. “Today it takes the better part of a decade to take someone through undergraduate and post-graduate flight training until that person is an experienced flight lead, simply because it’s a difficult thing to do. “If we can scope down the training time and make things a little bit easier by getting rid of the clutter, because that uses brain power for the aircrew to sort through, then we are increasing performance and giving them more time to look at the tactical picture and decide on what to do.” VX-31 will test H12 for 18 months. At the end of last year the squadron was at the initial stages of the test campaign and was experimenting with the software in the simulator and the aircraft. Orloff told AIR International: “We realised some funny things. In the simulator we might decide to use cyan to colour one symbol, magenta and red on others to distinguish friendly contacts. Then when you fly it for the first time, initially it might look OK until you turn so that the sun is behind you and shining on the display. Now red and orange look similar and we can’t tell which one is which, so we have to find a different colour. “We are challenged by the number of colours available because there are not enough. With the DDI [digital display indicator] displays, the colour space and the dynamic range were built with just four colours. Now we are trying to do colour gymnastics, which requires a great deal of creativity.”

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he Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) in California operates Bell UH-1H Huey, serial 7422540 (N186SD, formerly N240SP), a helicopter with a special history of US Government operations. What’s notable about this Huey is it spent its entire military career as a VIP transport for the West Point Military Academy (USMA) in New York, carrying generals and VIP passengers. It was then offered to state or city governments under the US Government surplus programme. The Huey was acquired by the Georgia State Police, which used it in various roles including search and rescue (SAR), firefighting and SWAT team insertions. Georgia State Police kept the Huey in its basic USMA paint scheme and added only a civil registration (N240SP). After a fleet change, the helicopter once again went back into the government surplus system. The OCSD was on the waiting list for a medium lift helicopter and a deal was struck.

It acquired the Huey for $1, including the upgraded T53-L-703 Cobra engine, FastFin tail and composite main rotor blades. After packing spares and getting the Huey (now re-registered N186SD) ready for the flight out to California, a crew made up of two pilots/deputies and two civilians – Sergeant Bill Fitzgerald, Deputy Jeff Crowley, OCSD Mechanic Chris Freeman and Michael Larch of HeliStream – set off on their journey west. The flight, in March last year, took three days. The Huey was welcomed by ‘Duke 1’, one of the OCSD Air Support Unit’s two AS350 B2 AStars, which flew in formation with it into its new home, John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana. The crew were met by members of the unit as well as other officers and leaders of neighbouring police departments. After delivery, the door art (by ‘Nubbie’ from Nub Grafix, from the US reality TV show American Chopper) and the stars and bars on the tail were removed and replaced by the OCSD Air Support Unit’s ‘Duke’ logo, a caricature of Hollywood actor John Wayne (on the door), and the Orange County Sheriff

badge on the tail. No plans have been discussed regarding the West Point paint job, which remains (as does its previous civil registration, N240SP).

Medium Lift Capabilities The OCSD’s Aviation Support Unit started operations in 1985, initially with a pair of MD500s (replaced by the AStars in the early 2000s). It assists the department’s specialised units, helping them conduct their roles efficiently. In an interview with AIR International, Sgt Fitzgerald – who flew the AH-1F Cobra, OH-58 Kiowa, AH-64 Apache and the UH-60 Blackhawk during his US Army career, including Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004/2005 – said the Huey’s benefit is that it gives medium lift capabilities “for SWAT insertions, diver insertions, K-9 deployments, firefighting and search and rescue”.

Training With its good mechanical condition, the Huey needed little modification. Since its acquisition last year, it’s been used in two major training

Orange County’s H 1 exercises to familiarise those in the OCSD’s

specialised units, such as the dive and search and rescue teams, with the Huey’s operating characteristics and procedures. In the hills of Southern Orange County, the Huey and the two AS350B2 AStars were used during a simulated aircraft crash scenario, the AStars searching for the wreckage of the ‘crashed’ aircraft. Once it was found, the Huey was used to bring in SAR team members, including a doctor and a Mercy Air flight nurse, to assess crash victims. The second major training event involved the department’s divers jumping from the helicopter to a capsized boat in the Pacific Ocean used for training purposes, about a 2 mile offshore from Dana Point, California. The Huey, along with an AStar, made multiple trips with divers wearing either full scuba gear or just wetsuits. The flights helped familiarise the dive teams with procedures and the characteristics of jumping from the Huey into the ocean. In the year since the Huey’s arrival, the

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Damon Duran profiles a UH-1H with a unique history that’s now providing air support in California

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Aviation Unit’s pilots have learned a lot. Santa Ana Police Officer/Pilot Jeff Van Es, whose primary flying duty is the AStar for the OCSD, said flying the Huey has given him a new experience – and an opportunity to realise a lifelong dream to learn to fly the type. Van Es described handling the UH-1H as like flying a big truck: “The Huey requires a lot more movement on the controls to get a response – as opposed to the AS350 B2 AStars which can be controlled with a light touch. It’s very straightforward once you learn the systems and its flight characteristics. It really does not have any bad habits. It is stable in a hover and is very fun to fly.” Sgt Fitzgerald, an experienced helicopter pilot from a Cobra background, added: “The FastFin upgrade makes a big difference. In the Cobra, we would routinely run out of left pedal – however the UH-1H with the Fast Fin gives you much more tail rotor authority.”

Avionics Refit The Huey has been undergoing major maintenance and upgrades since December with new avionics, a civilian transponder, Garmin 530 GPS/NAV and a Goodrich External Fixed NVG Hoist being installed. Aviation Support Unit mechanic Chris Freeman took out approximately 12.5lbs (5.66kg) of military antenna wiring in preparation for the new equipment’s installation. Heavy military radios were removed and replaced by a law enforcement radio package. Future plans include upgrading additional flight instruments. Meanwhile the OCSD expects to take delivery of two AS350 B3s, one this year and the second in 2016.

4 1 Huey N186SD in a training exercise off the Californian coast for the department’s dive teams. All photos Damon Duran 2 The Orange County Sheriff Department Aviation Support Unit’s crews have spent the past year getting to grips with the UH-1H, here flying alongside its two AS350 B2s. 3 Search and rescue for aircraft crash survivors is another role for the Huey, practised here during an exercise in the Southern Orange County. 4 The UH-1H is very stable and straightforward to fly, say Orange County Sheriff Department Aviation Support Unit pilots. 5 Supporting the Orange County Sheriff Department’s dive teams is one of several Aviation Support Unit roles.

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he display on the wall in Air India’s modern operations control centre within Terminal 3 at Delhi Airport shows an on-time rate of just 67% on the day of AIR International’s visit one winter’s day. Nine aircraft due to land had to be diverted to Mumbai early in the morning. “This rate is exceptionally bad, it’s normally much better,” staff members admitted. Staff can follow each Air India flight anywhere in real time on their displays and mitigate problems if there are delays. Fog in winter is normal in Delhi, but most other carriers delivered their passengers there on that morning, albeit with delays. Not so Air India.

Despite now flying many long-haul routes with the Boeing 787, which joined its fleet in September 2012, bureaucracy remains a major obstacle to the airline’s operations with the type. “Our Dreamliners are not yet certified for landings in low visibility, but we expect the OK from the aviation authorities in due course,” Rohit Nandan, Air India’s Chairman and Managing Director, told AIR International. Nandan took the helm of Air India in August 2011 and has achieved a lot since taking over. But still, he’s had a challenge on his hand due to the airline’s archaic structure and billions of US dollars of losses and debt. “You cannot use ‘profit’ and ‘Air India’ in the same sentence. It simply is never going to happen while the airline remains in its current messy state,” says Saj Ahmad, Chief Analyst at StrategicAero Research.

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After finally joining the Star Alliance, Air India is hoping to turn itself around and achieve profitability. Andreas Spaeth reports from Delhi

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Sanjay Kapaul, Director of the Centre of Aviation Studies in India, adds wearily: “Air India has seen biblical proportions of money pumped into it over the last decade.” Receiving government bailouts simply for survival has become standard procedure. The airline received $500 million (all in USD) in March 2009 and $1.1 billion in March 2012. A $4.7 billion recapitalisation has been under way since 2013, although that is coupled with strict performance targets. If 1 VT-ANN (c/n 36285) is one of 19 Boeing 787-8s in service with Air India. The type has replaced the 777 on the airline’s AsiaPacific routes and most frequencies to European destinations. Olivier Corneloup/ AirTeamImages 2 The airline’s 12 Boeing 777-300ERs, including VT-ALO (c/n 36313), have been substituted by 787-8s on most long-haul routes. They will soon only be operated to US destinations. Darryl Morrell/AirTeamImages

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they are not met, no money flows. That was the case in February 2015, when revenue targets were missed after two profitable months before. But overall, due to low oil prices, Air India is expected to narrow its annual losses in the current year.

Catalyst for change Internal figures seen by Bangalore Aviation made headlines in India last year. They revealed Air India had lost money in the

previous fiscal year (which ended on March 31, 2014) on 57 of its 59 international routes, accumulating losses of $712 million. On 32 of the long-haul routes, the report said, the airline wasn’t able to recoup operational costs, let alone meet interest rates and debt repayments. With the airline’s finances in such dire straits, it’s unsurprising a turnaround at one of the world’s most historic flag carriers (it started operations in 1932) seems nearly unthinkable.

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3 Joining the Star Alliance last year led to a study in co-operation with Lufthansa Consulting that identified 20 areas of improvement in service. This is Executive Class on the 787-8. BaoLao/AirTeamImages 4 The Air India operations control centre at its Delhi Airport hub. Andreas Spaeth

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AIR INDIA FACTS AND FIGURES IATA code: AI ICAO code: AIC Callsigns: Air India; Express India for Air India Express Ownership: 100% NACIL (state holding) Operations started: October 15, 1932 Employees: c. 13,000 Passengers carried: 2013 – 15.6m, 2012 – 13.8m Fleet: 22 Airbus A319-100s, 19 Airbus A320-200s, 20 Airbus A321-200s, 5 Boeing 747-400s, 3 Boeing 777-200LRs, 12 Boeing 777-300ERs, 19 Boeing 787-8s Aircraft orders: 17 Airbus A320-200s, 3 Boeing 777-300ERs, 2 Boeing 787-8s, 6 Boeing 787-9s Hubs: Delhi, Mumbai Route network: 51 domestic and 38 international destinations Financial performance: 2013 – $655m loss, 2012 – $1bn loss

The latest dismal financial figures follow losses of over $1 billion in 2012 and $655 million in 2013. With a fleet of 99 aircraft at Air India mainline and a further 31 jets at affiliated low-cost carriers Air India Express and Alliance Air, the state-run airline now ranks third in its country behind IndiGo and Jet Airways. Air India carried 15.6 million passengers during 2013. Its domestic market share is about 19%, serving 51 destinations within

India. Internationally, there are 38 cities in the network, a number that’s been reduced considerably, for example by cutting routes to North America. Of the half a dozen destinations there, only New York (JFK and Newark) and Chicago remain. Between August 2013 and August 2014, thanks to the incoming Boeing 787s, new cities have been added to the network, such as Milan, Rome, Moscow, Sydney and Melbourne. On the Australia routes,

however, the results are poor. In March 2014, revenues on services there didn’t even cover fuel costs as internal papers published by the Indian press revealed. “The expectations in Australia haven’t been fulfilled, these routes are up for review,” Nandan admitted. At the same time, he complained about the extremely high costs for fleet depreciation and interest. “That’s why in total cost, only very few Air India long-haul flights are profitable, but we are in the first phase today of trying to recover the variable cost,” he said. Such a statement would probably lose most airline CEOs around the world their jobs, as that’s a prerequisite for anything resembling a profitable operation. However, the boss of Air India is a convincing and energetic man, and gives the impression that he has a can-do attitude and achieves things that others before him didn’t. Joining the Star Alliance was still a difficult undertaking. The original invitation was extended in 2007, but the airline’s entry was delayed after the derailed merger with former state-run domestic carrier Indian Airlines led both businesses into chaos. Star postponed the planned integration of Air India in August 2011. Talks resumed two months later, but the airline only joined in July 2014. Air India is very proud of its membership, as it should be a catalyst for a turnaround towards better times.

Closing Gaps After Air India was admitted to Star, a study carried out by the airline in co-operation with Lufthansa Consulting identified 20 areas for improvement in service delivery.

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“We gave an assurance to Star that we would close these gaps within the next six months, and we did it in just four and a half,” Nandan explained. For example, the quality of food and wine was improved and, for the first time, flight attendants were assigned specific tasks to carry out during flights. “Our experience with Star has been exceptionally good,” Nandan said. “One issue that has been discussed outside India is our safety. Star appointed one of the toughest auditors to extensively audit us for 21 days. Star is known for its safety standards, and being part of the alliance means that 26 airlines believe in you. That’s important for our brand image.” Besides Star’s thorough check of Air India’s performance, the Indian Government as its owner introduced a tougher regime. “To get equity infusions by the government necessary to stabilise our operation, there is a mandate for the company to reach certain levels of efficiencies, which we have achieved up to now,” Nandan said. “Equity is only released by the government to us based on the performance of the last three months. “We [are moving] in the right direction, we have a $250 million surplus now over the variable cost, and we are supposed to become cash positive by 2018 and profitable after tax in 2022. With oil getting cheaper, it might work out earlier.” And Nandan does not subscribe to the idea of shutting Air India and starting from scratch. “That was discussed, but imagine the legal and infrastructure issues involved. Air India has the great advantage of grandfather slot rights, a new entity would

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not have that. We would not get these slots for a new carrier, or [if we did, they would be] at a price that would beat us to death. It’s good for academic discussions, but very difficult to achieve.” Nandan is throwing his weight behind initiatives to reduce Air India’s staffing rates from 23,000. “That [figure] was before we spun off maintenance and ground handling,” Nandan said. “For the core airline we now have a workforce of about 13,000 people, roughly 130 per aircraft.” Because the average age of personnel (which is 48), about 7,000 employees will be retiring in the next few years. This natural wastage means Air India will have around 9,000 employees, “so it will be 92 people per aircraft in 2017, one of the best [rates] in the world,” Nandan pointed out.

777s and 787s One of the biggest issues within Air India is the fleet. In January 2006 the carrier placed a huge order for 68 Boeing aircraft, consisting of 19 737-800s for Air India Express, 27 787s, eight 777-200LRs and 15 777-300ERs. The -200LR fleet, delivered from July 2007, proved to be unsuitable. Initial plans to use this ultra-long haul variant of the 777 on routes to the US were scrapped due to a lack of demand and, according to a CAPA Centre for Aviation report in 2013, the aircraft was used on short- and medium-haul routes instead. Five of the -200LRs were sold last year to Etihad Airways (for $69 million per aircraft, according to a Wall Street Journal report). Now they are flying for Air India’s main competitor Jet Airways, partly owned by Etihad,

competing head-to-head with Air India. “We still have three 777-200LRs, which we don’t use and only minimally did so before, and [we] try to lease them out,” Nandan explained. “The 777-200LR wasn’t a good fit because of high fuel prices and our geographical location,” he added. Nandan, who was not chairman and MD at the time the aircraft were bought, pointed out: “It’s easier to fly a 777 from the centre of the world, like the Middle East or Turkey. We bought it under different assumptions, at the time the competition we have today didn’t exist. At the time it was expected that a non-stop flight to America [from India] would be a unique product, so we hoped to command a 10% premium on fares. That didn’t work out as many more carriers like United and American started to fly [to India] non-stop, and the market was completely swamped by the Gulf carriers with their new traffic rights.”

Dreamliner The introduction of the Boeing 787 has changed everything, Nandan said. “Thanks to the unique economics of the 787, we have been able to substitute the 777 for the 787 on all Asia-Pacific routes and all of Europe, except one flight to London-Heathrow, which we also plan to convert to the 787 when we have more of them. For the time being we have two 787s and one 777 to Heathrow daily.” The 12 777300ERs “will soon only be deployed on routes to the USA,” Nandan stated. Currently, Air India operates 19 787-8s with 256 seats each; six unfulfilled orders are being converted to 787-9s, which will offer 40 more seats. With more Dreamliners, Air India

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2 1 Pre-flight preparations under way aboard the cockpit of 787-8 VT-ANA (c/n 36273) at Chennai. Bailey/AirTeamImages 2 Air India Express uses 17 Boeing 737-800s, including 737-8HG VT-AXZ (c/n 36336). It plans to add 737 MAXes, but an order has yet to be announced. BaoLao/ AirTeamImages 3 VT-SCH (msn 3288) is one of 22 A319-100s used by Air India for short- and medium-haul services, together with 19 A320s and 20 A321s. Andreas Spaeth 4 Five Boeing 747-400s, including VT-EVA (c/n 28094), are used for head-of-state transport duties. The ‘jumbos’ were formerly the backbone of Air India’s long-haul fleet. Aleksi Hamalainen/AirTeamImages

also wants to start flying to new destinations seen as typical 787 routes. There is talk of a Bangalore-Munich-Amsterdam flight as well as a service from Delhi to Amsterdam and on to Stockholm or Copenhagen, and also a flight to Barcelona and Madrid. The mainline Air India short- and mediumhaul fleet is concentrated on Airbus jets. Fourteen A320s, which are now 18 to 20 years old, are due to be replaced by leased A320neos by 2016/2017. The Air India Express fleet, comprising 17 Boeing 737-800s, is due to more than double to 36 aircraft by 2017, “but with Boeing 737 MAXs”, Nandan explained (though Air India has yet to place an order with Boeing). The 747-400, of which Air India still retains five examples, is only used for head-of-state flights, as Indian dignitaries are required not to travel in twin-engine aircraft. “But we will phase it out and look for newer aircraft,” Nandan said. The average Air India fleet age is 8.5 years; in 2017, this will come down to less than six. By then, Rohit Nandan will no longer be working at Air India. This year he is supposed to become the Secretary of India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation. Even there, he won’t be able to change the fact that the world’s third-largest economy is still a tiny aviation market, with only 0.5% of the population of 1.2 billion people able to afford to fly. But he might be able to make life easier for the airlines of India, which suffer from overtaxed jet fuel, high interest rates and hefty airport charges. And he could facilitate the long-overdue privatisation of Air India to potentially give the state carrier a new lease of life.

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TECHNOLOGY MOBIL JET OIL 387

ExxonMobil

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Jet engines requiring more from lubricating oils led Mobil to create a new product. Mark Broadbent reports

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he introduction into service of airliners powered by new engines designed to significantly reduce fuel burn and emissions has created a need for an equally new generation of engine lubricants. “New jet engine technologies are bigger, faster and run hotter, stressing lubricants as never before,” Susan Ardito, ExxonMobil’s Aviation Product Deployment Manager, told AIR International. “As engine power, operating temperatures and time-on-wing climbs, more aircraft operators are looking for engine oils designed to manage the increased demands being placed on engines.” Running hotter creates coking, or oil degradation, which leaves behind solid residues in the engine – leading to costs for airlines in removing the deposits and lost revenue from having an aircraft sitting on the ground. One solution is to use high thermal stability oils that can handle the heat. But they have a downside. “They can also be aggressive on elastomers,” Ardito explained. “Damaged seals and O-rings lead to oil leaks and can require more frequent, and costly, maintenance and parts replacement.”

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High Performance Capability The issue led the industry to realise a new breed of high performance capability (HPC) oils was needed that provided both a low coking level to help engines deliver the required performance, while ensuring the integrity of the seals and O-rings. SAE International, a global association that develops standards in aerospace engines, issued a new specification – SAE AS5780A for Aero and Aero-derived Gas Turbine Engines Lubricants – that defined the basic physical, chemical and performance limits for HPC oils. Using that specification, lubricant manufacturers’ R&D departments went to work developing HPC products that could provide low coking without maintenance drawbacks. ExxonMobil’s response was Mobil Jet Oil 387.

Meeting the Standard

To meet the specification, HPC lubricants must undergo extensive evaluation. Ardito said ExxonMobil spent more than a decade

developing its oil in partnership with engine manufacturers. Trials were carried out, she said, “on-wing as well as in laboratory and high-stress, land-based turbine tests, under conditions even more demanding than normal aircraft service”. Mobil Jet Oil 387 was fully approved in February 2014 for the GE Aviation GEnx turbofan (which powers the Boeing 747-8 and 787 Dreamliner) and the CF34-10 that’s installed in the Embraer E190/E195 and Lineage 1000. Rolls-Royce also cleared its use for the Trent 1000, Trent 900 and Trent XWB engines. In January, Virgin Atlantic Airways announced it would use the product for the Trent 1000s on its new 787-9 Dreamliners. Mobil Jet Oil 387 is also approved against US military engine oil lubricant specification MIL-PRF-23699, which is equivalent to SAE AS5780. ExxonMobil says the oil is suitable for a wide range of civil, commercial and military aviation applications ranging from today’s most advanced, modern turbine engines to single-engine helicopters.”

The Tests 2

Ardito expanded on the evaluations the product was put through to verify

MOBIL JET OIL 387 TECHNOLOGY its performance and ensure it met the HPC classification. A vapour-phase coker trial involved technicians heating the oil in a flask while bubbling air through it to create vapours and oil mist. “In this process, deposits formed as the oil flowed through a heated stainless steel tube in a furnace,” Ardito explained. “We then weighed the deposits to indicate the vapour-phase coking propensity. Our tests revealed that Mobil Jet Oil 387 [deposits are] typically 170mg lighter than the other oils tested.” An anti-wear test measured the oil’s ability to resist gear scuffing. “Technicians applied oil to the gears at 90°C and added load in stages, recording the highest load stage reached before the gears scuff,” Ardito said. “Mobil Jet Oil 387 reached ten of 12 stages of load, a very strong performance.”

Tensile Strength The oil’s compatibility with seals was evaluated by testing the tensile strength of O-rings (also known as ‘dog bones’) that had been exposed to the lubricant.. “While the ‘dog bones’ exposed to other oils in our laboratory test cracked easily when technicians applied force, those exposed to Mobil Jet Oil 387 retained their tensile strength and didn’t become brittle,” Ardito said. “Additionally, technicians assessed the weight change, or swell, using O-rings tested at 200°C. With competitive oils, the O-rings visibly increased in size, demonstrating approximately 55% volume swell, but Mobil Jet Oil 387 showed only about 22%.”

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Temperature The oil’s low-temperature fluidity, which is important for cold starts, was examined by holding it at -40°C for 72 hours. To pass this test, oil must rank below 13,000 temperature shock transformation (Tst). The product scored less than 10,000 Tst during the trial. Scientists assessed the oil’s performance at the other end of the temperature spectrum by heating a metal rod to 375°C (707°F) and circulating oil and air over it for 20 hours. They then measured the number of oil deposits left behind on the tube. “We measured less than 0.1mg of deposits, which was a significantly lower level than seen in competitive oils,” Ardito said. “On a cleanliness scale of 1 to 100, it rated 96.4.” Cleaner engines mean longer intervals between maintenance.

Viscosity Another test analysed Mobil Jet Oil 387’s propensity to change its viscosity, or thickness, when exposed to high temperatures. This trial involved bubbling air through oil held at 200°C (392°F) for 72 hours. Its viscosity increased by around 10%, Ardio said (the test allows a limit of 22%). In other words, the oil resisted changes to its thickness despite the temperature increase. ExxonMobil says that shows the oil will help with hotweather starts and reduce the potential for clogs. “Additionally, we looked at the filter papers that collected deposits from stressed oil,”

1 Virgin Atlantic Airways announced in January that the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000s on its new Boeing 7879 Dreamliners, including G-VNEW (c/n 40956) pictured here, are using Mobil Jet Oil 387. Ben Montgomery 2 Susan Ardito, ExxonMobil’s Aviation Product Deployment Manager. ExxonMobil 3 GEnx engines are among the engines for which Mobil Jet Oil 387 is approved. KSK/AirTeamImages 4 Mobil Jet Oil 387 is approved for several General Electric turbofans, including the CF34-10 used on the Embraer E190. Felix Gottwald/AirTeamImages

Ardito said. “The paper had very low levels of deposits, almost as clean as the filter paper that wasn’t in use.” Finally, a thermal stability test evaluated the oil’s behaviour at high temperatures in the absence of air. “We held the oil at 525°F for four days and then evaluated the viscosity change, acidity and corrosion on metals,” Ardito said, adding that Mobil Jet Oil 387 “remained very stable under these conditions”.

More Certifications With the engine certified for the GEnx, CF34 and Trents, Ardito told AIR International that ExxonMobil is now working to have the oil certified for other engines, including pursuing approvals in the complete line of Pratt & Whitney PurePower engines that will enter service on the Airbus A320neo, Bombardier CSeries and Embraer E-Jets E2 families.

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MILITARY URUGUAYAN AIR FORCE A-37B DRAGONFLY

America, the first being Ceibo 2005 in Argentina. They have since conducted AAR with tankers during the Cruzex exercises in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2013 and, last October, the A-37Bs – referred to as ‘Alfas’ by FAU crews – took part in the Chilean Air Force’s Salitre exercise for the first time, which involved a US Air Force KC-135R Stratotanker.

The Exercise

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he pilot of the Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya (FAU, Uruguayan Air Force) Cessna A-37B Dragonfly attack jet had the Fuerza Aérea Argentina (FAA, Argentine Air Force) KC130H Hercules tanker in his sights. The Argentine aircraft, a Falklands War veteran, was flying a mission to requalify the pilots of the FAU’s Escuadrón

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Aéreo 2 Caza (2nd Fighter Squadron), or EA2, in air-to-air refuelling (AAR) as part of the bilateral Tanque exercise. As Uruguay’s own two C-130Bs lack AAR kits, Argentina’s two KC-130Hs (TC-69 and TC-70) are an important tool for the Dragonfly pilots. Tanque was first held in 2003 and grew out of the two air forces working together on the Águila (Eagle) exercise the previous year. The co-operation to develop Uruguayan pilot refuelling skills led to the FAU’s Dragonflies participating in major exercises in South

Tanque involves one of the FAA’s KC-130Hs from Grupo 1 de Transporte Aéreo (Air Transport Group 1) travelling from its El Palomar base outside Buenos Aires, to the Uruguayan air force’s attack squadrons’ lair at Base Aérea Teniente 2° Mario Walter Parrallada” near Durazno, 91 miles (188 km) north of the capital Montevideo. The base is home to Brigada Aérea II (Air Brigade II), which is made up of EA2 with its Dragonflies, Escuadrón Aéreo 1 Ataque (EA1) with IA-58A Pucará twin-engine turboprops and Escuadrón de Vuelo Avanzado (EVA)’s Swiss-built Pilatus PC-7Us. The Argentine contingent consisted of three 1 Hercules pilots, two navigators, electronic warfare officers, maintenance personnel and A-4AR Fightinghawk pilots from Grupo 5 at Villa Reynolds. The latter sit alongside their Uruguayan counterparts in the A-37B’s side-by-side cockpit, helping them with the intricacies of air refuelling.

Briefing AIR International witnessed a recent Tanque exercise. FAA Captain Mariano Caneba, one of the KC-130H pilots, and an AAR instructor, led the briefing in the EA2 operations room. Sitting in front of him were three FAU A-37 pilots, each 2 alongside an Argentine A-4AR pilot. A rundown of the standard operating procedures (based on ATP 56, NATO’s Airto-Air Refuelling Procedures publication) and details of the Hercules’ hose drum unit (HDU) were given. The HDU contains a 27in-wide (685mm) probe and drogue basket, which is attached to a 93ft-long (28m) hose. Watches were synchronised and the frequencies (two VHF, one UHF and one emergency) were noted. All communications would be in English, used as standard in multinational exercises, except in an emergency, when Spanish – the common tongue of both nations – would be used. Major Carlos Correa, then commander of EA2, instructed his A-37B-qualified instructor pilots to to provide handling time for the Argentine A-4AR pilots to ascertain the Dragonfly’s behaviour during refuelling. Major Correa covered emergency procedures. If a Uruguayan pilot becoming

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URUGUAYAN AIR FORCE A-37B DRAGONFLY MILITARY

Ernesto Blanco Calcagno gets a first-hand perspective on how the Uruguayan Air Force conducts air-to-air refuelling training

1 Each A-37B received 454 US gallons (1,719 litres) of fuel during each ‘wet’ contact. All images by the author unless stated. 2 Smooth handling is needed when preparing to make contact with the refuelling drogue. 3 Three refuelling contacts are made by each Dragonfly pilot – one ‘dry’ and two ‘wet’. 4 The FAU A-37Bs and FAA KC-130H TC-69 at Base Aerea Mario Walter Parallada during a Tanque exercise. Sergio Wilson via author

incapacitated, the Argentine crew member would have to take control and land the jet with radio directions provided by another A-37 flying in a ‘formación de vigilancia’ (surveillance formation). The optimal height for a controlled ejection, 2000ft (609m), was also discussed – the ageing Cessnas do not have modern zero-zero seats that enable ejections from low altitudes – as were locations to drop the pylon fuel tanks in case an engine failure forced an emergency landing.

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Racetrack Pattern After departure, the Dragonflies were vectored by controllers to an initial point 15 nautical miles (30km) from the base to meet with the KC-130H (callsign ‘Tanque’) which set up a 4 racetrack holding pattern in the designated

AAR area at 10,000ft (3,048m). Tanker circuits would each take 20 minutes and would be flown at 220 knots (407km/h) and clear of cloud. For collision avoidance the jets flew at 8,000ft (2,438m) until becoming ‘visual’ with the KC-130H and closing in to within 1,000ft (304m) behind it. Lights fitted on the trailing edge of the tanker’s HDU system provided the approaching pilot with visual cues on its state of readiness. Yellow indicated ready for connection, green ‘contact’ (where the probe is attached and fuel flows) and red ‘no-go’. If no visual contact was possible due to cloud, the FAU jets would abandon the refuelling and exit the area with a 90º turn. They would complete a one minute leg at 240kts (444km/h), descend back to 8,000ft and contact Halcon, the codename of Brigada II radar control, for new vectors to the tanker and to make another attempt.

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AIR INTERCEPTION EXERCISE

1 Refuelling in the Dragonfly is challenging for the pilot because of the restricted view caused by the aircraft’s side-by-side seat layout.

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Other units stationed at Durazno alongside EA2 are Escuadrón Aéreo 1 Ataque (EA1) with its IA-58A Pucará twin-engine attack turboprops (known as A-58s in Uruguay) and Escuadrón de Vuelo Avanzado (EVA) with Pilatus PC-7Us (locally designated AT-92s). The latter aircraft are mainly used as advanced trainers but have a secondary light attack role. Stationing the attack squadrons at Durazno, in the centre of Uruguay, means their aircraft can reach any of the country’s borders in approximately 20 minutes, dependent on weapons and fuel configuration. Typically the Pucará has 337 US gallons (1,275 litres) of internal fuel, 900 rounds of ammunition for the four 7.62mm Browning M2 machine guns and 270 rounds for the two Hispano Suiza HSDCA804 20mm cannon. The AT-92s are armed with 7.62mm machine guns. On the day of the author’s visit, three Pucarás and three AT-92s were on the tarmac ready to scramble for an air defence interception exercise. Their ‘target’ was a Cessna C-206H from the Escuadrón de Enlace (Liaison Squadron), which was playing the role of an aircraft flying illegally 30 miles (62km) north of the base. Once airborne, each aircraft was under the guidance of Brigada II’s radar ground controllers. Pucará reaction time – for this distance and flying at 240kts (444km/h) – was eight minutes. On initial visual contact with the Cessna, the pilots called “tally” – excitement clearly heard in their voices – and ‘Judy’ as they proceeded with the interception. (‘Tally’ and ‘Judy’ were both calls used by RAF Fighter Command, respectively indicating they’d seen the target aircraft and that they were able to complete the interception without further assistance). The FAU’s pilots do not use individual callsigns during radio transmissions to avoid identification and the potential for reprisals against them or their families by drug traffickers. Pucará pilots use the callsign ‘Sable’ (Sabre) and the AT-92 crews ‘Lanza’ (Spear). Pilots approach the unidentified aircraft from the rear before flying alongside its port side. They report the aircraft type, heading and registration details to Halcon and await directions. Radio contact is then attempted and, if unsuccessful, a card with instructions to the offending aircraft and/or a radio frequency would be shown to the pilot of the intercepted aircraft. If higher command makes the decision to force the unidentified aircraft to land, the interceptor signals this action by lowering its undercarriage.

Control Inputs

being ingested through the engine intakes and a possible engine compressor stall.

Each Dragonfly made three contacts with the tanker; one ‘dry’ (no fuel dispensed) and two ‘wet’, alternating between the KC-130H’s left and right probe and drogue systems due to the restricted view for the A-37 pilots caused by the Dragonfly’s seat layout. To enable the fuel to flow, the basket has to be pushed forward by twice its own 54in (1.37m) length. That requires smooth control column inputs from the pilot of the receiving aircraft. Pilots also have to be aware of the possibilities of a basket getting stuck on the Dragonfly’s probe or connecting with the hose too quickly, which might induce oscillation and cause fuel from the hose to spray over the aircraft. That, in turn, could lead to fuel

Fuel Loads During each ‘wet’ refuelling the A-37B received 454 US gallons (1,719 litres) of JP-4 fuel. The wingtip tanks each received 90 US gallons (340 litres), the two pylon tanks – one carried per wing – 97.8 US gallons (370 litres) each and the internal ‘seat’ tank in the fuselage 79 US gallons (299 litres). The wingtip and internal tanks filled in three to four minutes with a HDU pressure of 50psi. The combined 909 US gallons (3,440 litres) supplied during the two contacts was more than a third of the total fuel capacity of the A-37. After taking on the fuel, the A-37s returned to their base and exchanged pilots on the ground, while the tanker continued in flight.

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3 2 Based in central Uruguay, the IA-58A Pucarás can reach the country’s borders within half an hour. 3 Primarily trainers but with a secondary attack role, PC-7Us are locally designated AT-92s. 4 The Argentine Air Force has been sending its two KC-130Hs to Uruguay for Tanque exercises since 2003. 5 Pucarás ready for departure ahead of an air interception exercise.

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The incoming pilots taxied their aircraft to the end of the runway, shut down the left engine to enable the handling pilot to exit the aircraft safely (the FAA instructor remained on board) and allow a new FAU pilot to strap in. The aircraft immediately launched on a new sortie.

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Dragonflies to Tigers Uruguay has not had a true fighter aircraft since 1971 when the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star was retired from service. The A-37B is really an attack/counter-insurgency jet. The FAU recently made efforts to analyse secondhand fighters and the Uruguayan and Swiss Governments recently signed a contract for ten former Swiss Air Force Northrop F-5 Tigers to be donated to the South American country. Eight F-5Es and a pair of two-seat F-5Fs will be upgraded by RUAG Aviation in Switzerland before being sent to Uruguay. They are due to be delivered in batches to Brigada II over two years from 2016, replacing the A-37Bs and providing a step forward in the FAU’s capabilities. In the meantime, Tanque will continue to provide valuable training for Uruguay’s A-37 force, helping it to prepare for its participation in the next major South American exercise.

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Buenos Aires H

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ruppo Modena was established in the 1990s to be a sales representative for luxury brands in Argentina. Starting out by importing Ferrari sports cars and later Maseratis, it became the dealer in the country for Bell Helicopter Textron In 2006. Modena Air Service was created to offer VIP/cargo transport and filming services using Bell 206, 222 and 430s. In 2008 Gruppo Modena diversified into Helicopter Emergency Medical Service

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(HEMS) flying with its first aircraft being a single MBB Bo 105CBS, fully equipped for medical evacuation. Two years later a second Bo 105 was added and now Modena HEMS has five, to which it is planned to add an Agusta A109A in the future. One of the Bo 105s currently operates in Neuquén province, in the southwest of Argentina, supporting oil production activities in the area. The others are based at the company’s two heliports in Buenos Aires – two at the downtown Puerto Madero district and two at Don Torcuato, north of the city.

HEMS Agreement In December 2010 Modena HEMS signed an agreement with SAME (Sistema de Atención 2 Médica de Emergencias), the emergency service in Buenos Aires city, to provide permanent HEMS cover at no cost (private companies fund it through donations). It was the first HEMS provider in Buenos Aires. Last year alone it undertook 150 rescue operations in Buenos Aires city. There has been an increase in operational tempo in the last three months with around 50 flights undertaken from January to the end of March. The value of the HEMS presence was vividly demonstrated after the serious rail accident on February 22, 2012 when a train crashed at the 11 de Septiembre station in the Balvanera neighbourhood. On that day. Fifty-one people died and more than 900

were injured when the brakes of a train failed as it reached the station and crashed into the platform. The two helicopters Modena HEMS had at the time were immediately mobilised, landing on a small street near the station to transport nine of the most seriously wounded people to hospital. The casualties were taken from the scene to the hospital in a few minutes.

On Alert Two of the four Bo 105s in Buenos Aires are held on alert to respond to emergencies, one at three minutes’ readiness and the other at 40 minutes (the other pair are undergoing maintenance or being used for a role with another company). Pilot Eduardo Forgan, the operational coordinator of the service, told AIR International that each helicopter crew comprises a doctor who specialises in emergencies, the pilot, and a technician who is also a fireman. “At the moment [SAME] calls us, the doctor starts co-ordinating [with doctors] and the pilot starts the engines,” he said. “We take off in three minutes. Sometimes we arrive [at the accident scene] so fast that [first responders] are still organising the safety for the landing.”

Daily Routine There is a set routine for each member of a crew on alert. “The pilot looks for the

GRUPPO MODENA HEMS PARAMILITARY

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aeronautical information, the operational technician at [data] related to the [helicopter’s] equipment and the doctor all that’s related to his work, like oxygen [and] equipment batteries,” the pilot explained. “We call the SAME and inform them about the crew on alert for that day, and they tell us if there’s any problem with a hospital or something that forces us to go to a different hospital for some cases.” One of the main advantages is its flight speed– crossing the entire 203.3km2 (526.5sq miles) city in four minutes and 30 seconds. “When there’s a big accident, like in the case of 11 de Septiembre station, the nearby hospitals get saturated, so we take the wounded to those that are available. “We can take the wounded directly to a

provide fire cover. This happens in only one or two minutes.” Many of the hospitals in Buenos Aires do not have a heliport, so Modena HEMS had to look for streets and parks with space for the helicopters, and co-ordinate their adaptation with the city authorities. Protocols were prepared for operations at each of these sites for co-ordinating with firemen and the hospitals.

Traffic Accidents Most of the Modena HEMS work is attending traffic accidents, mainly on avenues and highways, where the traffic jams generated by the accident itself prevent ambulances arriving by road. The highway provides a perfect landing place, as usually there is no traffic ahead of the accident.

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harbour terminals, an insurance company (providing assistance to their customers up to 150km/93 miles from Buenos Aires), the Polo Argentine Association and the Argentine Army’s Campo de Mayo facility. Forgan described the Modena HEMS Bo 105s, despite their age, as ‘trusty’, easy to operate and relatively low cost compared with a larger, newer helicopter with more equipment aboard. One disadvantage for doctors working inside the helicopters is that they have little space to work around the patient. However, the Modena HEMS crews told AIR International that as the flights from the accidents to the hospitals often last only a few minutes, the doctors don’t require a lot of room. And the Bo 105’s compact size ultimately

Modena HEMS is proving its value in a city that previously had no helicopter rescue service. Santiago Rivas reports

1 A Bo 105CBS takes off from Don Torcuato, 15 miles outside downtown Buenos Aires. All photos by Santiago Rivas 2 Good visibility from the Bo 105’s cockpit makes it ideal for medevac operations in a busy city. 3 The Modena HEMS Bo 105s are fully equipped for medical evacuation and intensive care, carrying a medic and a stretcher. 4 The heliport at Puerto Madero, near downtown Buenos Aires, is the main base for the Modena HEMS operations.

specific hospital to be better treated, for example if the patient has burns.”

Urban Operations Because Buenos Aires didn’t have a HEMS service before the Modena operation, there was little knowledge among the city’s emergency services about the needs of a helicopter to operate safely in an urban environment. Modena HEMS trains firemen, ambulance drivers, the metropolitan and federal police and the safety personnel from the highways agency in how to provide safe landing locations. The company identified 130 possible landing sites across the city. “When we train the ground teams we explain to them how to detect the landing places [based] on size, surface and [avoiding] the problem of cables and obstacles,” said Forgan. “They learn the signals they have to use for the helicopter to land, which ones if they have to abort and, once on the ground, how to approach [the helicopter] and help carry patients.” For operations in urban areas, the pilot explained: “We are in communication with SAME, the firemen and police. We perform a small circuit, which is a verification of the size of the streets and antennas. We try to co-ordinate with the people below for the police to close the street, secure the area and the firemen to

“Initially it was established that once we arrived there would be someone attending the wounded, usually a SAME ambulance, but experience has shown that sometimes we are the first to arrive,” said Forgan. Usually, only a few minutes pass between the call to SAME and a helicopter’s arrival on scene. Javier Revilla, one of the six operational technicians, said: “The quantity of accidents changes [with the seasons]; in summer they are fewer but [more] serious. There are fewer cars but people drive faster.” Over time, the city’s emergency services and hospitals have become more used to working with the helicopters and the organisation of moving patients from the accident scene to helicopter landing sites has also improved. There are obstacles in the city such as overhead power lines which are not illuminated so Modena HEMS only operates in daylight. “Usually, in the night, we perform planned flights, for example, from the domestic airport to a hospital that has a heliport with illumination,” stated Forgan.

makes it ideal for the HEMS role in Buenos Aires: a larger helicopter would be unsuited to operations in a city with high buildings, narrow streets and restricted landing sites surrounded by obstacles. “It’s a small helicopter, ideal for urban operations [and] can land on an intersection,” Forgan pointed out. Modena HEMS is not planning to replace the helicopters, and will use them as long as it can get spares for the type. He said the company will still have spares ten years after starting operations. The Bo 105s will be flying over Argentina’s capital for some years yet.

Metropolitan Police Besides the SAME agreement, Modena has contracts to provide HEMS services for the city’s Metropolitan Police (to evacuate wounded policemen), the Buenos Aires

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Red Flag Turns Forty Norman Graf profiles the latest iteration of Exercise Red Flag at Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas, Nevada

F-15E Strike Eagles were deployed from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina to join the Red Force in Red Flag 15-1 at Nellis. All images Paul Ridgway

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as Vegas, 1975: Fremont Street (aka Glitter Gulch) was the place to be. Neon was rampant and Elvis was king. Fast forward 40 years and the Fremont “Experience” is a pedestrian mall, the marquee signs are relegated to a museum, and Elvis “has left the building”. As remarkable as those changes may seem, the transformation of Exercise Red Flag, staged at Nellis Air Force Base, just north of Las Vegas, in those four decades has been even more revolutionary. Col Brian Dudas, Red Flag 15-1 Air Expeditionary Wing Commander and 48th Fighter Wing Vice-Commander explained: “In the 1970s,

when Red Flag began, much of the technology we rely on today was still developing, and wasn’t yet part of day-to-day employment. Today, everything overlaps across the domains, and they continue to evolve.” Perhaps the only thing that remains the same is the enduring commitment to provide modern warfighters with a training exercise so realistic and demanding that it increases both their effectiveness and survivability in combat. Red Flag 15-1 involved about 120 aircraft, in addition to the locally-based aggressors, with roughly 3,000 personnel temporarily deployed to Nellis Air Force Base. US Air Force units from across the country and Europe were joined by others from the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command, as well as squadrons from the US Navy and US Marine Corps. Coalition forces included air and ground assets from the Royal Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force. Over the course of the three-week exercise, 29 vuls – meaning vulnerability periods or flight missions – were undertaken, one daily during the afternoon and another every night. More than 50 fighters and up to ten heavies (bombers, tankers and ISR aircraft) made up the Blue Force involved in each flight. Deployed against the Blue Force was a Red Force under the command of the 57th Adversary Tactics Group. Most visible of these were the boldly painted F-16s and F-15s of the resident 64th Aggressor Squadron. This was the penultimate Flag for the last six operational aggressor Eagles, which will be retired at the end of March, 2015. Eight F-15E Strike Eagles of the 335th Fighter Squadron from Seymour

Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina joined the Red Force to provide adversary support. Lt Col Trent Tripple, 335th Fighter Squadron Assistant Director of Operations, said: “Red Flag gives our aircrew the opportunity to learn more about adversary tactics and weapon systems and to become more familiar with possible threats we might be facing in the future. Our main purpose this time is to support the squadrons that are preparing to deploy. It’s a different role than we’re used to, but flying in an advanced large force exercise always provides excellent training regardless of the role.”

Integration, Integration, Integration

Mission success depends on much more than individual proficiency, and takes a large-scale exercise such as Red Flag to hone those cooperative skills. Airman First Class Johnelle Walker, one of ten intelligence specialists from the 48th Operational Support Squadron Intelligence Division, RAF Lakenheath, explained it simply as: “Integration, Integration, Integration. From the first week of us being here to the second week we can already see improvement in the way that information is being shared. That’s the biggest thing. Sometimes it won’t be the tactic that people beat us with, but how we beat ourselves by not sharing information, and by not communicating effectively. Learning how to communicate effectively, not just between different countries, but even between our other services, and share information and overcome our limiting factors [is crucial].” Capt Brendan ‘Bloc’ Bond, a B-2 pilot with the 393rd Bomb Squadron from Whiteman Air Force Base, concurred: “The primary difference is that, day-to-day [at our home base], we’re primarily operating the B-2. We do air refuelling with tankers, but we’re not

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doing a lot of integration. So actually being down the hall from the Raptor squadron, from the AWACs unit, using all the different resources from the air force and the coalition partners, has been really useful. It’s eyeopening. We don’t get to do that every day.” Bloc continued: “The B-2 can bring a lot to the fight. It’s not a new aircraft, it’s two decades old now, but we’re still getting new upgrades and are always practising new

tactics and procedures. The stealth capability is well-known: the payload, the range, and the precision-guided munitions that it can bring to the fight are things that no other bomber in the world can do. It’s of great benefit to get out here [Nellis] to talk with other crews on how they can help us to take out an integrated air defence system or hardened and deeply buried targets. That’s where Red Flag has been really useful for us.”

The importance of sharing correct information in a timely fashion on the battlefield, or the lack of it, is nothing new: they were a part of military theorist von Clausewitz’s famous notions of “fog” and “frictions” of war. But as the modern warfighter becomes more reliant on having an integrated view of the complete battlefield environment, learning how to operate in contested airspace with near-peer threats becomes more critical.

1&2 Red Flag 15-1 involved two first-time participants: Royal Australian Air Force C-130J Hercules and Royal Air Force Sentinel R1s. 3 The F-22 Raptorequipped 94th Fighter Squadron based at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia used Red Flag 15-1 as a final work-up exercise before deploying to US Central Command’s Area of Operation in early April.

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Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Providing an integrated overview of the airspace is the purview of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft such as E-3 AWACS, EC-130H Compass Call, EP-3C Aries and RC-135 Rivet Joint. During Red Flag these are rarely seen flying during the day. U-2s participated remotely from Beale Air Force Base, California, and unmanned air vehicles such as the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper were thought to be launching out of Creech Air Force Base, also near to Las Vegas. Two RAF Sentinel R1s, of No.V (AC) Squadron, deployed from their temporary station at RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire, made the type’s Red Flag debut this year. Based on a Bombardier Global Express business jet, the ASTOR (Airborne STand-Off Radar) aircraft is the RAF’s only long-range, wide-area battlefield surveillance asset, providing critical intelligence and target tracking information. They definitely received a workout at Red Flag, flying a sortie on each of the two daily missions.

Swing Role Eight Typhoon FGR4s from RAF Lossiemouth, Moray, also participated. The Tranche 2 jets were loaded with the latest Phase 1 Enhancement B (P1EB) software which, among other things, adds the capability of employing Paveway IV Mk2 precision-guided munitions. Red Flag was the first opportunity to train with the new bomb in an operational environment. Flt Lt Rory Denman, a pilot with No.6 Squadron, summed up the difference: “It’s relatively easy to drop a bomb under range

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conditions with no other factors being present but on Red Flag we have a simulated airborne enemy, surface-to-air missile systems and advanced electronic warfare, all trying to target us while we fight our way to our target to deliver the Paveway IV. This exercise provides a hugely challenging environment, similar to what we might expect if we were involved in a large scale conflict.” The Typhoons operated primarily as swing-role fighters, simultaneously performing the air-to-air and air-to-ground roles. Typhoon pilot Flt Lt North told AIR International: “We’ve been doing the RAF’s whole spectrum of warfare: pushing through, attacking the enemy, dropping live and inert Paveway IVs and then heading back. We’ve had some air-to-air engagements as well, integrating between fourth and fifth generation jets [F-22 Raptors].”

The Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) has more than 1,000 targets that can be selected, and two ranges where live weapons can be dropped. The B-2 Spirit bomber is capable of delivering both nuclear and conventional weapons from 500 pounders up to a 30,000 pounder: the precision-guided GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker buster capable of penetrating 200ft (60m) of concrete. Although the B-2s were not dropping live bombs, a number of other aircraft were. Roughly 50% of the sorties were dry, meaning no ordnance was released, but half of the bombs dropped were live. For instance, the Typhoons flew 150 sorties enabling each pilot deployed to Nellis to gain the experience of dropping one of the 25 live Paveway IVs used by the RAF on the exercise.

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Lt Paul Heins, the deputy targets chief with the 547th Intel Squadron at Nellis, is a member of the Red Flag White Force. One of his responsibilities is developing target sets for missions. “From a target shop perspective, it means going to the [participating] units and saying ‘what does a typical mission set look like for you?’ These sets remain largely the same for the day and night missions. The kind of threat picture presented is normally a bit higher at night mostly because a lot of the junior pilots fly the day missions. They’re just starting off and getting their mission quals. But the pilots who fly nights are more experienced so we give them a bit tougher threat.”

The overarching goals of every Red Flag remain the same, but the flames are a bit higher on the burner for larger Flags or those involving allies such as Australia and the UK. There’s a greater requirement because the mission set is correspondingly at a higher level. It was perhaps no surprise that two top units from United States Air Forces in Europe were present. The F-15C Eagleequipped 493rd Fighter Squadron ‘Grim Reapers’ from RAF Lakenheath, UK, was recently named the top fighter squadron in the air force, winning the Raytheon Trophy for 2014. When Russia annexed the Crimea from Ukraine, the Grim Reapers were ordered to supplement the Baltic Air

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B-2 83-1088/’WM’ Spirit of Louisiana was one of three deployed to Nellis by the Whiteman Air Force Base-based 393rd Bomb Squadron for exercise Red Flag 15-1.

Policing Mission and deployed to Siauliai Air Base, Lithuania, in less than 20 hours. The squadron deployed to Nellis with 11 F-15C Eagles and one F-15D, including 84-0027, bearing two ‘kill’ stars from Operation Desert Storm. The 555th Fighter Squadron ‘Triple Nickel’, based at Aviano Air Base, Italy, provides combat airpower to US and NATO combatant commanders and was deployed to Lask Air Base, Poland, when the Ukrainian crisis started. Among the 14 F-16C Fighting Falcons the Triple Nickel deployed to Red Flag was 89-2137, bearing three stars for kills scored flying over Bosnia.

Down Under Australia, like the UK, is a regular at Red Flag, having taken part in more than 30 exercises since 1980. This year 150 Royal Australian Air Force personnel participated with two C-130J Hercules transports from RAAF Base Richmond, an AP-3C Orion surveillance aircraft from RAAF Base Edinburgh and an Air Battle Management contingent from 41 Wing. Wg Cdr Darren Goldie, Commanding Officer of Herculesequipped 37 Squadron, explained their

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goals: “The RAAF is a technologically advanced air force but a small air force, so generally we’re going to participate as part of a coalition. Red Flag is a very important step for us to understand how to best operate as a coalition. From an Australian perspective the integration with a coalition force often happens for the first time on operations, so it’s critical that we’re prepared and speak the same tactical language and apply the same tactics, techniques and procedures [TTPs] as our coalition partners.” Although only a small number of aircraft and personnel attend any one Flag, the lessons learned are taken home and shared. “We hold Australianbased exercises as well and that way we can apply the lessons from the big multinational exercises into an Australian exercise hoping to replicate information, as simple as the information that’s displayed on a pilot’s kneeboard. [The goal is] to keep it consistent across a coalition so that if we’re operating with an American or British formation we can expect the information to be presented the same way each time so that when it gets difficult in the heat of the battle in the middle of the night you can glance down and know you where to look to find important

information quickly. It’s important to keep that information consistent, and as the nature of warfare is changing it’s important that we continue to evolve with it,” he said. The AP-3C Orion, from 10 Squadron, on its first deployment to Red Flag, was tasked with overland surveillance missions in a highly-complicated electronic warfare environment. Wg Cdr Jason Begley, RAAF, said: “The Orion helps to build ‘the big picture’ of what’s happening on the ground and in the air within the exercise area. The scale and complexity of Red Flag makes it unique, so we stand to gain a lot of experience in working with partners. Because of the extensive investment the United States has made on the NTTR, it’s a level of complexity that you can’t get anywhere else in the world.” Red Flag 15-1 was also the first for the RAAF C-130J Hercules. It was conducting airborne insertion of special forces by paratrooping, landing on salt pan runways, doing quick turnarounds and getting airborne again, all while gaining experience flying against the Red Force air and ground based threats. Wg Cdr Goldie told AIR International: “Unlike the USAF and the RAF,

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we only have one squadron that operates the C-130 so our role has to go from what you’d call high-end war fighting skills to humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and search and rescue. We require each of our crews to be skilled right across that continuum. Here at Red Flag we’re fighting at the high end and to be honest we’re overmatched by almost everything in the sky. So our role is to get down low and hope that people are trying to target a B-2 or a Raptor and not look down to target the Hercules. And you’d be surprised how effective that technique is. If you’ve got a war split over 50,000ft [15,240m] and if you’re down at 250ft [76m], it’s pretty hard to find us hidden in the hills.”

Secret Squirrels The 547th Intelligence Squadron is the centre of excellence for adversary tactics analysis for the United States Air Force. The squadron analyses, refines and disseminates intelligence on adversary air, air defence, electronic warfare, cyber and space tactics, and weapons employment. The information is summarised and published in the Threat Reference Guide and Countertactics: the air

force tactics, techniques, and procedures threat guide. Lt Heins said: “The exercise extends beyond the aircraft in the air and the crews supporting them on the ground. Red Flag ops are run through a Combined Air Operations Center [CAOC] that commands both real assets participating in the exercise as well as additional simulated ones employed in a larger conflict scenario. Overall the exercise comprises the live element that flies and operates at Nellis, and those that are virtual and constructive which are integrated into the CAOC. This concept is definitely one of several that Red Flag has its sights on developing further to expand the scope of the exercise. This will enable the organisers to provide a training platform that is as realistic and challenging as possible: not just for the pilots and crews that attend, but also for those who are likely to be tasked with commanding them on coalition operations.” He pointed out: “We train for future wars. We, as a large coalition, take what we know about our adversaries, study their tactics, and then fight against it.” With the increasing reliance on connectivity in the modern battlefield, cyber

and informational threats pose a much greater danger. TSgt Guillermo Salcedo, an F-22 aircraft maintainer with the 1st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, supporting the 94th Fighter Squadron, explained how this was being tested. “From a maintenance standpoint the biggest difference is the introduction of informational and cyber threats. The Raptor, for example, is very integrated and a lot of systems have to be imported over for us to be able to support flying. They have introduced specific things to simulate scenarios in which we will not have those things to work with,” he said. Red Flag is an opportunity for innovation. Organisers this year are determining how they can integrate real training events that happen locally with virtual events occurring on a much broader scale. Capt Bond explained this notion from a B-2 pilot’s perspective: “It isn’t just about the aircraft in the air it’s also about the non-kinetic effects from space and cyber assets that we might be able to use in the future.”

Crucial Aspects Although mass departures and returns of participating aircraft are the most visible part

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of any Red Flag exercise, the feedback and interaction gained during the post-mission debriefs is a crucial part of the learning process. It is for this reason that units deploy to Nellis for the duration instead of simply flying in and meeting over the range for the mission. Each vul involves about an hour and a half of flying, but for the aircrew the whole day is about a 12-hour duty period. There’s an enormous amount of time spent preparing for sorties and then much more time is spent in debrief because that’s where the learning takes place. Wg Cdr Goldie said: “That’s certainly part of why Red Flag is the world’s best training. Each of the engagements is tracked using a whole range of different mechanisms. At its simplest, if there was an adversary weapon on the range and you were flying your aircraft against the weapon, if it were to engage you and you were to try to defeat it, then you’ll have your own way of debriefing, for instance watching HUD [head-up display] footage. We can understand what we think happened but it would be a pointless exercise if we couldn’t get feedback from the ground. The White Force staff give us feedback, for instance they might confirm that a manoeuvre did or didn’t work, or advise that they don’t think it was world’s best practice, or they may suggest that we need to go and talk to one of the

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participating units and find out how they would do that. That’s a critical part, the closed-loop feedback on whether what we’re doing in fact makes any sense.” Captain Christy Ashby, an electronic combat officer with the 963d Airborne Air Control Squadron from Tinker Air Force Base, reinforced this sentiment. “For most of our crew this is their first Red Flag, also their first major exercise of any sort. It’s a big integration piece for them,” he said. “Where we’re stationed in Oklahoma we’re not co-located with any fighters. Being able to go down the hall and put a face to a name and talk to them face-to-face and see exactly what they’re bringing to the fight is important. The big advantage is being able to debrief with them afterwards and get the lessons learned so that we can improve next time. That’s the big piece for the AWACS here.” The NTTR’s highly-instrumented range provides the ability to play-back the complete vul and to compare what is being recorded with what was experienced by the players. B-2 pilot Capt Bond told AIR International: “We don’t talk on the radio. We’re silent. Regardless of what happens, we’re going to conduct our mission. The ROEs [rules of engagement] set for strike aircraft at Red Flag are to ingress into the country, strike, and egress. Even if it’s [later] validated that I’m shot down or I’m called

out, I’m going to continue on my planned flight plan and complete my mission: but the munitions dropped will not be counted. After I’ve completed the strike, then I’ll be considered as regenerated [and back in the fight]. It is only at the debrief when we validate every shot taken by the Red Air, and our weapons releases.”

All Aspects In its 40-year history, Red Flag has provided training for more than 440,000 military personnel from 28 countries (including 145,000 aircrew) flying 385,000 sorties and logging 660,000 hours. It started as a tactical exercise, stressing air combat manoeuvring and surface-to-air missile avoidance training, but now incorporates practically every aspect of modern aerial combat in a contested environment. This includes air-to-air engagements, air-toground attack, suppression of enemy air defences, ground troop insertion, electronic warfare such as communications and GPS jamming, night operations and even space, cyber and informational threats. Col Dudas concluded: “Nowhere else will you find such a coordinated environment to test every aspect of our war fighting capabilities. Nowhere else will you find such a welltrained team dedicated purely to replicating the best threats, challenges and issues we may face in combat operations.”

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1 An F/A-18D Hornet assigned to Marine Fighter Attack (All Weather) Squadron 225 ‘Vikings’ based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California lands at Nellis following a Red Flag mission. 2 RAF Typhoon FGR4s employed live Paveway IV Mk2 precision-guided munitions for the first time during Red Flag 15-1. 1 2

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Hawaiian Airlines’ expansion of long-haul services is transforming a once small regional carrier into an international player, as David Armstrong discovers

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hen the Hawaiian’s international coverage only in 1929 with two eight-seat Sikorsky S-38 trade winds began in 2004, when it launched a non-stop amphibians. Although Hawaii is a US state, blow, the service to Sydney, and until 2010 that was it was an independent nation until annexation Hawaiian its only international route. Since then it’s in 1898, and in some ways it still feels like a Islands are launched a flurry of new long-haul flights and land apart. outposts of currently operates 11 routes in the AsiaKeenly aware of this, Hawaiian Airlines has tranquillity. Pacific region. closely aligned itself with its namesake home Tall, slender Initiating international services “is not only island. The carrier’s President and Chief coconut [a] brilliant strategy but the only one open Executive Officer, Mark Dunkerley, told this palms rustle to Hawaiian”, Michael Boyd, principal of magazine: “Our corporate strategy is to sell and bend in the breeze, the tropical blaze Denver, Colorado-based airline consultancy Hawaii as a destination. Everything we do gives way to cooling comfort and Hawaii the Boyd Group, told AIR International. is tailored to that mission. There’s plenty of lives up to its nickname: Paradise. When the “There’s no way that inter-Hawaiian routes room for growth in that business model.” trade winds stop, the archipelago becomes can make money. There’s high-density Underlining the point, Dunkerley sits on stiflingly hot, islanders’ energy levels ebb and traffic, but the routes are too short. Until this the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau’s the mid-Pacific isles feel dead in the water. strategy of leveraging Hawaii’s value as a board of directors. And no wonder. Tourism The trade is the most winds have held important steady for Hawaii’s business in largest and oldest lush, beautiful “Europe is very much on our radar screen. We could be carrier, Hawaiian Hawaii, which Airlines, these past is immensely there by the end of the decade,” few years and it popular with Mark Dunkerley, Chief Executive Officer Hawaiian Airlines has prospered leisure travellers accordingly. from the Hawaiian has held western US and onto market share East Asia. global vacation destination began, the airline in its home region, increased its links to the At the start of this year, 25% of business in Hawaii mainly kept bankruptcy west coast of the United States, launched Hawaiian’s passenger traffic originated from attorneys in business.” a non-stop service to New York City and its inter-island service, 45% flew between expanded long-haul international services Hawaii and the US west coast and 30% (up A Land Apart from its hub airport, Honolulu International, from 6% in 2010) came from international Hawaiian’s transformation from local to to New Zealand and the Far East. flights. All told, Hawaiian carried a recordglobal is not unprecedented, but it is unusual The strategy seems to be working. Parent high 10.2 million passengers last year, up in modern aviation given the airline doesn’t company Hawaiian Airlines Inc recorded a 2.4% on 2013. benefit from direct government investment. net profit of $68.9 million in 2014, up 33% Leap Forward While it is considered the de facto flag from 2013’s $51.9 million. Not bad for an Some wondered if Hawaiian’s aggressive carrier of the State of Hawaii, the carrier has airline that for most of its 86-year existence expansion into long-haul international been privately owned and operated since it was a small, local carrier serving the six main services was an over-reach. Would it have first took flight as Inter-Island Airways Ltd inhabited islands of the 50th US state. the expertise, the aircraft and the worldliness 1 to take such a great leap forward? UK-born Dunkerley, a former long-time British Airways executive who assumed his post at Hawaiian in 2005, inherited the airline’s international expansion in its early stages and embraced it. Far from being a romantic quest akin to tilting at windmills, Dunkerley characterises Hawaiian’s decision to go global as a clear-eyed business decision. “In 2008, the global financial crisis hit,’’ he said. “We saw a lot of capacity leaving the Asian-Hawaii market. This gave us a window of opportunity to grow very rapidly. We pulled forward our deliveries of aircraft.” 1 Boeing 717 N489HA (c/n 55002) during turnaround at Lihue. Eleven 717s operate There were two years of slow growth but the routes between the Hawaiian Islands. Simon Gregory/AirTeamImages 2 This colourful tailfin then, from 2010 and the start of non-stop design is part of Hawaiian’s efforts to reflect its home islands’ character. Jorge Chavez/AirTeamImages Honolulu-Tokyo services, things picked

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up. “We front-loaded our growth. This allowed us to establish bridgeheads in these markets.” Hawaiian began flying from Honolulu to Pago Pago, American Samoa; Papeete, Tahiti; and Osaka, Sapporo and Sendai in Japan as well as Auckland, Brisbane, Seoul and, most recently, Beijing. Dunkerley acknowledged there have been missteps along the way. Hawaiian scrapped services to several underperforming destinations such as Taipei when hoped-for revenues didn’t materialise. Overall, though, he counts international expansion as the key driver of growth for the airline, which has some 5,300 employees, flies a fleet of 50 aircraft and operates more than 200 flights a day, 160 of them in Hawaii. It also serves 11 US mainland cities, including Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco, from Honolulu

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– a city of 400,000, Hawaii’s capital and its largest city. Henry Harteveldt, a principal in the Atmosphere Research Group, agrees with fellow analyst Boyd that going global was to a considerable extent dictated by circumstances. Hawaiian, Harteveldt said, ‘‘faces stiff competition from the mainland carriers, who have much bigger networks and frequencies and all of whom have bigger frequent flier programmes [than Hawaiian Miles]”. Hawaiian’s chief competitors on HawaiiUS west coast routes are United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. “And,” Harteveldt warned, “it’s only a matter of time before Southwest Airlines flies to Hawaii.” But five years into Hawaiian’s expanded international service, Harteveldt noted: “The fact they’re still doing it shows it works. They’re certainly a strong competitor.”

A330s and 767s Twenty Airbus A300-200s form the backbone of the long-haul fleet, each configured with 294 seats. Hawaiian also uses seven Boeing 767-300ERs with 252 to 264 seats on trans-Pacific routes. Eleven Boeing 717200s, configured with 123 seats, dominate short-haul flights between Honolulu and neighbouring islands. The airline expects to take delivery of three more A330-200s by the end of this year and 16 narrowbody A321neos by the end of 2020. Despite Hawaiian’s ambitions, Harteveldt noted “their first class product is not necessarily competitive; they don’t have lie-flat seats”. This puts Hawaiian at a disadvantage in competing for premium passengers on longhaul international flights with gilt-edged Asian

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES COMMERCIAL executive who joined Hawaiian in 2005, cites the Hawaiian terms mea hoiokpa (caring) and aloha (hello and goodbye, love and affection) as watchwords in the carrier’s passenger experience. “We want to have a consistent approach,’’ he explains, “and the culture is our calling card.” Hawaii is an ethnic melting pot. Hawaiian Airlines’ employees reflect that, many coming from Asian American and non-Asian cultures. Asked if the background of staff gives the airline a leg-up in pleasing Asian customers on trans-Pacific routes, Ingram doesn’t hesitate: “It absolutely does. Exposure to people with Japanese and Chinese and Korean and Filipino backgrounds allows us to have cultural sensitivity.’’

of Economics, was the airline’s Chief Financial Officer. The CFO-turned-CEO said Hawaiian’s time in Chapter 11 was a success, setting the table for prosperity while not ruffling too many feathers in the process. “We paid creditors 100 cents on the dollar, didn’t cut employees’ pay and we are operationally better,” he recalled. The same could not be said for Aloha Airlines, Hawaiian’s primary competitor from 1946 until it ceased passenger operations on March 31, 2008. It, too, spent several years in bankruptcy protection before engaging in a ruinous low- fare price war with go!, a subsidiary of regional carrier Mesa Airlines, before folding. In 2014, go! pulled out of Hawaii. After exiting Chapter Intra-Island 11, Hawaiian flew forth “In 2008 we saw a lot Within Hawaii – where as a brilliant tropical of capacity leaving the most people fly to get to butterfly, according to one island from another Dunkerley, who says Asian-Hawaii market. – Hawaiian functions the experience put This gave us a window as what Ingram terms the airline in a better ‘a highway system in position to compete, of opportunity to grow the sky’. The airline diversify and extend its very rapidly.” underlines its regional reach. roots by offering slightly “When we emerged Mark Dunkerley, lower intra-island fares from bankruptcy in the Chief Executive Officer to permanent residents mid-2000s, there was Hawaiian Airlines of Hawaii than it charges not much room for visitors. Its Ohana by organic growth in flying Hawaiian unit (operated between the islands,” by Empire Airlines) serves he remembered. “When the lightly-populated islands of Lanai and we looked to the west coast from Hawaii, Molokai. there were not many underserved cities The carrier’s many short flights of 25 or looking for new services. 30 minutes between islands – in brilliant “Looking at long-term trends in the world, Hawaiian weather and seldom plagued we saw the fleet of Boeing 767s we flew by delays – have helped the airline lead between Hawaii and the west coast didn’t US carriers in on-time performance for 11 have the range for Asian and South Pacific consecutive years. In 2014, nearly 92% of routes.” Hawaiian bought Airbus A330s, and Hawaiian’s flights were on time. the airline’s growth spurt followed. The airline’s growth and performance are Chinese Market impressive considering parent company In the mid to long term, Dunkerley said, Hawaiian Holdings was in Chapter 11 Hawaiian is banking on the growing middle bankruptcy reorganisation a decade ago. class in China to lift future growth. “What Buffeted by high fuel prices, lagging will it take for the Chinese to see Hawaii as a economies and the SARS crisis in Asia, it destination?’’ he wondered aloud. “Hawaii is entered Chapter 11 in 2003 – and emerged very different from the other destinations that from it in 2005 when Dunkerley, who holds Chinese visitors are discovering around the an MSc degree from the London School 1

carriers such as All Nippon Airways (ANA), Cathay Pacific Airways, Japan Airlines, Korean Airlines and Singapore Airlines, all of which operate between the US mainland and major East Asian cities.

1 Hawaiian predominantly uses its 767s on routes to the US west coast: here, N588HA taxies at Los Angeles. Simon Willson/AirTeamImages 2 The airline’s seven Boeing 767s are configured with 252 to 264 seats. Each passenger flying in business class receives a complimentary iPad mini to use during their flight. Simon Gregory/AirTeamImages

Transport and Transformation Hawaiian may not have all the bells and whistles in the cabin, but it has one thing in greater abundance than its American and international rivals: Hawaii, which Harteveldt aptly describes as “an aspirational destination for many”. Peter Ingram, Hawaiian’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, says: “We’re really bringing people to Hawaii, and not just providing transportation but transformation. We’re bringing a sense of the spirit of Hawaii. Most of our staff were born and raised in the islands and are steeped in that culture.” 2 Ingram, a former American Airlines

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1 Airbus A330-200 N384HA (msn 1259) at Tokyo-Haneda, one of the Asian destinations Hawaiian has added as part of its expansion into the Far East. Keishi Nukina/AirTeamImages 2 A330-200 N381HA (msn 1114) – one of 19 of a type that has powered Hawaiian’s international expansion. Stephane Beilliard/AirTeamImages 3 An evening landing for A330-200 N384HA (msn 1259) at Las Vegas’ McCarran International. Timo Breidenstein/AirTeamImages

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Pacific Rim. That won’t happen overnight.” No matter what, Hawaiian plans to keep its distinctive identity, with gregarious cabin crews and airport workers garlanded in colourful aloha shirts, Hawaiian-flavoured food crafted by celebrity chefs, swooning, soothing Hawaiian slack-key guitar and ukulele music playing during flights and sweet mai-tais with pineapple juice and rum brightening the drinks menu. Passengers on Hawaiian’s 767s receive complimentary iPad minis in business class for use during the flight (they’re for rent in economy, and economy class passengers are served free meals on North America, Brisbane and Pago Pago routes). Dunkerley and Ingram emphasised Hawaiian will continue to focus on the valueconscious leisure travellers who comprise

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much of its customer base and who consider a family vacation of a week’s length a long time. Unlike many of its competitors, Hawaiian is not besotted with high-flying customers or with cutting-edge consumer electronics in the cabin. In-flight Wi-Fi and voice communications are being evaluated as part of a policy of watchful waiting. Analysts such as Harteveldt think that may hurt the carrier with tech-mad younger customers, but Ingram said there is no rush.

Alliances Hawaiian has not joined any of the three major airline alliances, though Dunkerley said, without naming names: “We’ve had some invites.” The carrier has forged codeshare agreements with 11 carriers,

including ANA, Air China, Korean Air and Virgin Australia. In a December 2014 report, the Sydney-based CAPA Centre for Aviation noted that codeshares with Hawaiian enable Asian airlines to extend their networks in the big American market, following recession-induced seat reductions by the US majors. Can Hawaiian continue as an independently owned and operated airline in an era of mergers? Does it want to? “We need to run the absolute best stand-alone, independent airline we can,” Dunkerley said. But he added, leaving the door slightly ajar: “We don’t say that as a matter of religious conviction.” Analyst Michael Boyd thinks Hawaiian has no choice but to remain independent. “They don’t really offer a whole lot to a potential suitor, which is why they have none,’’ he remarked.

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Henry Harteveldt has a different take, saying: “Mark Dunkerley is very cognisant of consolidation of market players in the US. If an airline determines Hawaiian is an attractive acquisition, I don’t think he’d fight it, as long as the terms, beyond purchase price, were good. “He’d seek a commitment ensuring that inter-island flights would remain; and that flying into Asia and the South Pacific would remain.’ For now, Hawaiian has hit pause on growth, to pay down debt and reward stakeholders. However Dunkerley emphasised growth will resume before long, lifted by favourable economic trade winds, and says 2015 is shaping up really well. “Clearly, much lower fuel prices are very, very helpful to us. And our experience in new markets is starting to pay off with a

maturation of those markets.’’ Hawaiian, he added, will continue to hedge purchases of fuel, anticipating that what goes down – as petroleum prices did in the second half of last year – must go up.

South America and Europe

At Honolulu airport, which handled 20 million passengers last year, Hawaiian is upgrading passenger lounges. It has also filed a request with the US Department of Transportation to take over what it says is an underutilised slot at Tokyo Haneda International Airport held by Delta, explaining it would use the slot to fly between Tokyo and Kona, on the ‘Big Island’ of Hawaii. As it stands, Tokyo is the

most successful destination in Hawaiian’s international route structure. In future, Dunkerley said, Hawaiian will expand further: “We have a list of ten to 12 really attractive places we can’t disclose yet.” But Bogota, Mexico City and other markets in Latin America could be among them, hinted Dunkerley, who served as BA’s Senior Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean earlier in his career. Europe is not out of the question either. Immediately prior to joining Hawaiian, Dunkerley was Chief Operating Officer for the Sabena Airlines Group in Brussels. “Europe is very much on our radar screen. We could be there by the end of the decade,” he said.

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he Russian Army Aviation’s 344th Combat Training and Aircrew Conversion Centre (CTACC) is stationed in the small city of Torzhok, 200km (110nm) northwest of Moscow. Recent expansion, with newly established units and helicopters taken on strength, means this is a very busy time for the centre. It is staffed by motivated, well-trained aircrews and maintenance personnel who are leading the effort to rebuild the Russian Army Aviation (RAA) force. The RAA has embarked on a significant

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fleet recapitalisation and expansion programme since 2008, with completion planned by 2020. Six helicopter types will be delivered to replace ageing Hinds, Hips and Halos. The centre at Torzhok plays an important role in the process of inducting new types into service. It implements and validates various modifications deemed necessary by the aircrews and engineers following their experimental and operational evaluation of the helicopters. The 344th CTACC is a component branch of the Russian Air Force’s 4th State Aviation Personnel Training and Field Trials Centre. Its primary tasks include experimental operation and comprehensive field trials

of all new RAA rotorcraft, training an initial instructor cadre and providing conversionto-type training of aircrews from the frontline units taking on the new types. The skilled instructors also regularly visit all the RAA’s combat squadrons to train pilots in advanced combat employment techniques, such as using night vision goggles (NVG), mountain operations and air-to-air combat.

New Generation The ambitious replacement programme for the venerable Mi-24V/P Hind-E/F has seen an almost simultaneous introduction into RAA service of three new attack types with sophisticated night-mission capabilities and anti-tank/anti-air guided missiles: the Mi-28N

RUSSIAN ARMY AVIATION 344TH TRAINING CENTRE MILITARY

rCountry Country The Russian Army Aviation’s helicopter training centre undertakes a wide range of instructor, testing and research work, as Alexander Mladenov describes

The 344th CTACC has eight Ka-52 Alligators on strength, including four in the full configuration like this Ka-52 ‘White 91’ which boast the sophisticated Vitebsk-52 self-protection suite and the Arbalet-52 millimetric radar. All photos Alexander Mladenov unless stated

Havoc ‘Night Hunter’, the Ka-52 Alligator and the Mi-35M Hind-E. The first four Mi-28Ns were taken on strength at Torzhok in January 2008. These were followed in December 2010 by the initial three Ka-52 Alligators and the first four Mi-35Ms in December 2011. Torzhok aircrews and engineers are still dealing with the entry-into-service process of these three types, analysing any problems and, together with the design authorities (Mil MHP for the Mi-28N and Mi-35M and Kamov for the Ka-52), recommending appropriate fixes. The period between 2011 and 2014 saw the peak of inducting the new attack types into service. This year and next sees

experimental and field trials taking place of the Mi-28UB and the Mi-26T2, which feature an all-new digital fight/navigation suite.

Combat Techniques The 344th CTACC’s research departments are also tasked with developing and evaluating new combat employment tactics, techniques and procedures for both the new and the existing types in the RAA inventory, to maximise the combat capabilities of the new day/night sensors and anti-tank/air-toair guided missiles. The centre additionally trains aircrews from Russian Air Force branches and the air arms of other Russian organisations that operate helicopters, such as the Federal Security

Service, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The centre also provides conversion-to-type training for the aircrews of overseas customers purchasing Russian-made attack and, sometimes, tactical transport helicopters. The centre’s current organisational structure includes the headquarters, research and development departments, four composite instructor-research helicopter squadrons and maintenance and repair units. Between 2012 and 2014, the centre’s helicopters logged in excess of 8,000 hours annually, while last year, some 150 pilots and navigators from the RAA’s frontline units underwent various training courses. The majority received conversion-to-type training

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on the new types. The main ‘customer’ in 2013 and 2014 was the 15th Army Aviation Brigade (AAB) at nearby Ostrov, which will continue to have pilots trained at Torzhok this year and in 2016. The 15th AAB, established in mid-2013,

will have a fleet of 80 helicopters of five different types, which means the 344th CTACC will be training 450 pilots and navigator-operators for the unit – all while continuing to train pilots for other RAA squadrons converting to Mi-8AMTShs/MTV5s, Mi-28Ns, Mi-35Ms and Ka-52s.

Transport and Attack Types The 1st Instructor Research Helicopter Squadron (IRHS), equipped with the Mi-26 and a mixture of Mi-8 derivatives, is tasked with training tactical and heavylift transport helicopter pilots and performing the relevant research work. 2

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RUSSIAN ARMY AVIATION 344TH TRAINING CENTRE MILITARY 3 centre each log between 80 and 100 flying

Via auth or

hours annually, which translates to between 140 and 180 sorties. Most, if not all, of the experienced instructors fly at least 150 flying hours. Flight training operations at Torzhok, which has two short runways (optimised for helicopter rolling take-offs and landings), take place four days a week. The most comprehensive conversion-totype training courses are those for the Ka-52, Mi-26 and Mi-28N, which last two-anda-half months for each type. The Mi-28N conversion is the most complex, due to the lack of a dual-control version of the ‘Night Hunter’. The type has controls only in the rear cockpit, occupied by the pilot. During conversion training, the instructor (in the front cockpit) has no ability to control the helicopter or

The 2nd IRHS does the same for both the Mi-35M and Mi-28N, while the 3rd IRHS is equipped with new and old attack types such as the Ka-50, Ka-52 and Mi-24P; it also has a handful of Ka-27PS search and rescue helicopters. The centre controls a composite instructor research squadron, based at the Klin-5 airfield near Moscow. That unit is equipped with a variety of helicopters modified for night operations in addition to non-NVGcompatible types. Currently, its fleet incudes the Mi-8AMTSh, Mi-8MTKO, Mi-8MTV-1, Mi-8MTYa, Mi-24PN and Mi-24P. Among this squadron’s primary roles is the provision of air support to the special

operations forces from the Russian Ministry of Defence, mainly the special-purpose brigades subordinated to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff. The unit is also involved in the NVG training of frontline pilots and performs various research initiatives related to nightvision operations.

Training Regime Colonel Andrey Popov, the commanding officer of the 344th CTACC, told the Russian MoD’s newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) that the young aircrews serving with the four component squadrons of the Torzhok

4

1 The CTACC’s Berkuty display team performing at MAKS 2013. 2 The giant Mi-26, operated by the Torzhok centre since 1982, is a 40-tonne machine with a 20-tonne payload, primarily designed to provide mobility for airborne and the special operation forces in the battle zone. 3 A four-ship Mi-28N formation of the Berkuty display team, led by the Colonel Andrey Popov, the commanding officer of the 344th CTACC, during the MAKS 2013 airshow at Zhukovsky. 4 The Ka-52 is the Russian Army Aviation’s main attack helicopter, with the first four examples inducted in late 2010 by the Torzhok centre for aircrew conversion training and tactics development. 5 With the Mi-8MTV-1 still in mass operation with Russian Army Aviation, the 344th CTACC has a handful of helicopters for use in the conversion-training role. 5

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HISTORY The 344th Army Aviation Combat Training and Aircrew Conversion Centre (Army Aviation Personnel) was originally established on November 1, 1979. Its initial structure was based on the 696 Independent Helicopter Regiment, which was later redesignated as the 696th Research Instructor Helicopter Regiment (RIHR). In the beginning, its structure comprised one transport squadron equipped with 12 Mi-6s and 16 Mi-8 plus two attack squadrons – a total of 32 Mi-24Vs. In the 1980s the 344th CTACC provided conversion-to-type and advanced training courses to 400 to 500 pilots and navigators annually. It was also tasked to perform a number of research programmes evaluating the operability, functionality and reliability of new equipment, mission avionics and weapons. It also conducted various experimental trials aimed at expanding the operational use of the army aviation helicopters, such as mountain flying and helicopter air-to-air combat. In March 2011 the 344th CTACC was incorporated within the structure of the 4th State Aviation Personnel Training and Field Trials Centre of the Russian Ministry of Defence, headquartered at Lipetsk.

demonstrate to the student how to handle the aircraft and complete complex manoeuvres. Partly for that reason, the Mi-28N conversion is reserved for experienced Hind pilots only. Younger attack helicopter crews serving with the centre and frontline RAA units fly the Mi-24P, Mi-35M and Ka-52. All three of these types have dual controls, enabling the instructor to have overall control to

1 1 Demand for conversion-to-type training for the Hind-F continues and it will serve with the centre until the end of the decade. 2 The Mi-28N Night Hunter was fielded in service in late 2008, with the first production-standard helicopters taken in strength by the Torzhok centre. Field tests and evaluation followed before it was commissioned into Russian Air Force service in November 2013. Via author 3 The Mi-8MTV-5-1 is a new-generation tactical transport rotorcraft operated by the Torzhok centre in addition to three frontline units, all of them stationed in the Western Military District, each equipped with one squadron flying the type.

demonstrate appropriate handling techniques in normal flight and emergency procedures. The experienced instructor pilots serving with the centre all have combat experience. Most are veterans from two military campaigns in Chechnya in the 1990s, the war with Georgia on the territory of South Ossetia in 2008 and various counter-terrorist operations in the North Caucasus region in

the 1990s and 2000s. A large proportion of them also have experience in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions, such as those conducted in Sudan and Chad in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The centre sources most of its new pilots from the lieutenants graduating from the Syzran training centre, who have between 100 and 130 flying hours under their belts. They 2

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attain a full combat-ready status after seven to ten years of intense training at Torzhok.

FLEET RENEWAL

Ratings The training path involves pilots initially attaining the 3rd Class rating, which takes at least a year. At this stage, the pilots have a basic qualification for performing a range of relatively simple day-only combat missions in visual meteorological conditions (VMC). They usually fly as a co-pilot/navigator with more experienced aircrews on transport types, or as a navigator-weapons system operator on attack helicopters. The 2nd Class rating is the next proficiency level, achieved once a pilot has three to four years of training and a total flight time of 400 to 500 hours. At this stage, they are qualified to fly more complex combat missions in VMC conditions during both day and night. They are also cleared to perform daytime combat missions in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) and land in minimum visibility conditions. At this time, most of the pilots serving at Torzhok also attain their instructor qualification. That enables them to undertake conversion-to-type training courses for junior pilots, including those provided for foreign crews converting to the Mi-8MTV-2, Mi-8MTV-5 or Mi-35M. To obtain the 1st Class rating, the highest combat readiness state and qualification to conduct day and night combat operations in both VMC and IMC, pilots are required to accumulate between 700 and 900 flying hours. At this stage, they are also deemed experienced enough to start their NVG basic qualification course. There is another aircrew qualification, Pilot-Sniper, which is awarded to a small number of experienced aircrews. Achieving this level means the aviator is a top-class combat employment and weapons systems expert. The Pilot-Sniper rating is awarded to the best aircrews with three years of flying experience after receiving their 1st Class rating and 1,500 hours total flight time. They are also required to demonstrate a consistent

This is one of the recently delivered Mi-26s after a comprehensive refurbishment at Rostvertol, taken on strength in 2013.

About 50% of the fleet at Torzhok is composed of new types taken on strength after 2008, although operation of the ‘legacy’ rotorcraft such as the Mi-24P and Mi-8MTV-2 continues – mainly for conversion training of pilots from the frontline units still operating those types, and for training of young and relatively inexperienced pilots assigned to the 3rd IRHS. In 2013 and 2014 the centre received a handful of Mi24Ps and Mi-8MTV-2s fresh from main overhauls. These machines are set to remain in service until about 2020. All the helicopters operated at Torzhok and Klin-5 use yellow bort numbers (serials). Col Popov said it is possible

the Mi-24P might replace the Mi-28N in the Berkuty formation display team, which flies six helicopters. This team, established in 1992, flew Mi-24s until 2011 before converting to the Mi-28N the following year. The planned reversion to the Mi-24, Col Popov says, is that the type’s flying display is much more spectacular than those of the Mi-28N due to the former’s more fearsome, predatory look. This could happen only when the centre’s fleet of overhauled Mi-24s reaches seven or eight examples. Between late 2010 and early 2012, the 334th CTACC was reported to have taken delivery of two dozen newly

built helicopters, including nine Ka-52s and ten Mi-28Ns. In 2013 and 2014 it received two extensively refurbished Mi-26s and a handful of Mi8MTV-5-1s, while in January 2013, the Kiln-5-based squadron took on strength three Mi-8AMTShs. In addition to its own fleet, since June 2013 the centre has temporarily operated the initial batches of Mi-28N and Mi-26 helicopters destined for delivery to the newly established 15th AAB at Ostrov. These helicopters were transferred to that unit at the end of 2013, but last year the centre was operating a handful of examples for aircrew conversion training.

3 and outstanding combat employment

performance, solid theoretical knowledge and a flawless flight safety record.

NVG Training Russia has gained a lot of ground in night helicopter warfare since 2000, but still has some way to go before it becomes comparable to its Western counterparts in NVG assault and attack operations. According to Col Popov, 85% of the pilots at Torzhok are qualified for night-combat operations, and 40% trained to fly and fight using NVGs. All the new helicopters taken on strength by the centre since the late 2000s are NVG-capable, while the three new attack types introduced into RAA frontline service – the Mi-28N, Mi-35M and Ka-52 – boast sophisticated day/night targeting suites with thermal vision cameras. The centre’s aircrews were the first within the RAA to start real-world combat operations on NVGs in the early 2000s. This was in Chechnya, where the Mi-8MTKO helicopter was used for night-time reconnaissance and special operations support.

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1 1 The co-axial rotor Ka-52 completed its extensive test and evaluation effort in the definitive production configuration in November 2011, with first deliveries to Torzhok reported the following month. 2 Armour plating in the nose fuselage sides and floor of the Ka-52 provides protection from 23mm calibre projectiles while the windshield can withstand hits from 12.7mm calibre rounds. An extra degree of side-on protection for the pilots is provided by add-on armour screens on the movable canopy sections. 3 NVG training offered by the 344th CTACC includes terrain-following and terrain-avoidance manoeuvres, with pilots using Russian-made Geophizika ONV-1-01. These sets are used by the aircrews of all types of NVG-capable helicopters. Via author 2 The RAA uses mainly the Geofizika GEOONV-1-01 Gen 3 NVG sets, which, the manufacturer claims, work sufficiently well at low level to help crews detect obstacles such as electricity poles, patches of woodland, individual trees or vehicles travelling through an open field out to a distance in excess of 1km (0.54nm) in average night-lighting conditions. The GEO-ONV-1-01 also enables pilots to perform take-offs, hovering and level flight at altitudes between 165ft and 655ft (50m-200m) at night, maintain visual contact with the terrain below and in front, and fly approaches and landings onto unprepared and unlit landing sites. The NVG courses at Torzhok comprise a theoretical component, followed by 15 hours’ simulator training and then 50 hours’ real-world flying, mainly over flat terrain. 3

There is also an advanced NVG course for tactical flying in mountain conditions. Considered as a particularly difficult kind of training, this incorporates flights in narrow gorges and terrain at ultra-low level as well as target search and infiltration/exfiltration of special operations teams at high-altitude landing sites. The centre has a small cadre of selected pilots and flight engineers qualified to perform factory acceptance check flights for newly built or overhauled helicopters.

Training Helicopters The 334th CTACC aircrews have also played

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an instrumental role in the experimental operation and induction into service of the RuAF’s new-generation training helicopters, the Ansat-U and Ka-226. The Ansat-U started its experimental operation and field trials at Torzhok. That work continued at the RuAF’s training base at Sokol, flown by experienced instructors, with research pilots from the 344th CTACC continuing to be involved. The trials were completed in 2013 and, last year, the Ansat-U was used for the first time for initial training of student pilots. The Ka-226’s field trials were completed in 2014 and it is now being inducted into initial training.

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