Air International 2015-10

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For the best in modern military and commercial aviation

F-35B Declared on Ops

Trislander

Channel Island Hopping

MiG-21 Fishbed Croatia’s Upgraded Fighter

French Airlifters Over Africa

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OCTOBER 2015 Vol.89 No.4

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News

04 MAKS 2015

10 FRANCE: NEW WINGS, BARKHANE AND CHAMMAL

08 

Jan Kraak recounts the top stories from the French military.

LEADING STORIES

C Series water trough tests, Mi-8AMTSh-VA trials, Italian-assembled F-35 flies and European F-22 Raptor deployment.

12 

MILITARY

ee pag es 26 for det and 27 ails.

NEWS COLUMNS

Show report from Russia’s big aerospace exhibition.

14 US AIR FORCE: SCRUTINY ON THE HILL Robert F Dorr explains how key USAF programmes are facing new scrutiny from Capitol Hill.

Dutch Chinooks, Indonesia’s Su-35s, SAAF selects Seeker 400 and the US supplies AH-1Z Vipers to Pakistan.

18 US NAVY: RESTORING A TENTH AIR WING Rick Burgess rounds up the latest news from the US Navy and US Marine Corps. 20 RED FLAGS AND RED TAPE Nigel Pittaway reports on the headline news from the Asia-Pacific region.

22 COMMERCIAL

FRONT COVER: This month we report in depth on the F-35’s latest achievements. Lockheed Martin LEFT INSET: Charles Cunliffe MIDDLE INSET: Antonio Prlenda RIGHT INSET: Steve Flint/AirTeamImages

Boeing 777-9 firmed, A350-1000 wing assembly, Aeroscraft’s VTOL airship and 757 ecoD recycling.

126

Features

28 FAIR WINDS...

100 SICILIAN FOXES ON GUARD 118 DRUGS WAR

32 

104 TORNADO TRANSFORMED 122 TRISLANDER SUNSET

Andrew Drwiega explains HTM Helicopter Travel Munich’s work in the offshore wind energy sector.

AIRLIFTERS OVER AFRICA

37 

F-35 SUPPLEMENT

The latest F-35 developments in depth: USMC’s initial operational capability, UK preparations, Pax River testing, F-35A at Nellis, Australian pilot training and more.

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

Riccardo Niccoli examines the comprehensive mid-life upgrade for Italian Air Force Tornados.

Charles Cunliffe visits the Channel Islands as the end approaches for a long-serving British type.

110 POLICING IRELAND

AVIATION’S TRANSITION 126 POLICE

AIR FROM SWITZERLAND 116 FRESH

128 FULL STRENGTH

Guy Warner finds out about the Garda Síochána Air Support Unit’s work with its EC135s and Defender.

Andrew Drwiega reports on the popularity of the Marenco Swisshelicopter SKYe SH09.

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

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Santiago Rivas learns about the Colombia police aviation force.

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Andrew Drwiega details the UK police aviation force’s transformation.

Antonio Prlenda reviews the Croatian Air Force MiG-21’s life extension programme.

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Henri-Pierre Grolleau discovers how French military transport aircraft are providing support in the Sahara.

Francesco Militello Mirto profiles the Guardia di Finanza’s MCH-109A.

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3

MAKS

NEWS REPORT

2015

T

he latest Mezhdunarodnyi AviatsionnoKosmicheskiy Salon (MAKS, International Aviation and Space Salon), at Zhukovsky near Moscow was the first since a severe deterioration in Russia’s international relations combined with the oil price slump to hit its economy. The biennial exhibition showed what was expected: a decline in aircraft

Political turbulence between East and West made a commercial impact on MAKS, but significant aviation developments also emerged, as Piotr Butowski reports

purchases by Russian airlines, a slowdown of nearly all the nation’s aviation programmes and uncertainty for the future. Nevertheless, new technologies and exhibits were among highlights on show. This year 740 companies participated, 124 fewer than the last MAKS of two years ago, and the decrease was solely due to the absence of many foreign companies. In 2013 there were 287 foreign firms from 44 countries compared with 156 from 30 nations this year. Large Western companies from the civil sector were still present – the shrinking

Russian market is worth their efforts – and the Airbus A350 XWB, displayed for the first time in Russia, was among star exhibits. Significant absentees were Ukrainian companies – especially Motor Sich at Zaporizhzhya, whose engines power 80% of Russian helicopters – and Western military aircraft; the Rafale, F-15C and even the B-52H and B-1B and Western military aerobatic teams have been regular guests at previous MAKS. There was a significant increase in the Chinese contingent, which occupied an area almost three times larger than two years

Part of the display at this year’s MAKS – the Yak-130 on show had a nose-mounted LD-130 laser rangefinder, ventral gun pod, bombs and rockets and wingtip Talisman ECM pods. All photos Piotr Butowski

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Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

NEWS REPORT ago. The Chinese Y-12F light passenger and transport received its Russian type certificate on August 27.

Contracts Continuing uncertainty between East and West led to a huge slump in orders at the show. Two years ago $21.2 billion worth of contracts and agreements were signed (a record for the show), but the value this year barely reached $2.5 billion. On the first day the State Transport Leasing Company (STLC) ordered 32 Sukhoi Superjet regional airliners (with an option for a further 28) for subsequent lease to the Russian airlines. It is the largest single commitment in the history of the Superjet, but is not a commercial deal. A few weeks earlier STLC received 30 billion roubles ($450 million) from the Russian Government to purchase the Superjets. During MAKS the Belarussian Ministry of Defence (MoD) ordered four Yak-130 combat trainers, with deliveries in 2016. Its previous batch of four was delivered in April. Belarus is also interested in the Yak-130 as a light combat aircraft and an example displayed at the show had a nose-mounted LD-130 laser rangefinder, ventral gun pod, bombs and rockets and Talisman ECM pods on the wingtips. Belarus purchased some Tor-M2K antiaircraft missile systems; Jordan committed to P-7 parachute platforms and the Spanish firm Hisdesat Servicios Estratégicos ordered a PAZ satellite launch. Russia’s Ministry of Emergencies signed a letter of intent for two Il-76s and a Tu-214, and the Rosneft oildrilling company ordered ten Viking Air DHC6-400 Twin Otter utility aircraft. The Russian MoD did not place the expected order for 48 Su-35Ss, but a

week after the show an order for eight Su30SMs for the Russian Navy followed on September 7. An Su-30SM in the navy’s new camouflage scheme flew in the daily flying displays at MAKS.

Helicopters Russian Helicopters showed its whole family of military types, several featuring new additional equipment. A Russian AF Mi-8AMTSh combat transport helicopter had a Vitebsk L370E8 self-defence suite, which combines four L370-2 ultraviolet (UV) missileapproach warning sensors (mounted on the tips of the weapon racks and providing 360o coverage) and three L370-5 directional infrared countermeasures (DIRCM, two close to the UV sensors and one under the tail boom). The suite also features six UV-26M dispensers with 26mm thermal or radar decoys and the L370-01 control system with an MFPI-6V control panel in the cockpit. The prototype upgraded Mi-26T2 (‘901’), repainted in a dark olive green military scheme and equipped with L370E26L Vitebsk self-defence suite mounted in two pods on fuselage sides, took part in the flying display. An array of seven 14-round UV-26 flare dispensers have been added to each fuselage side. The Mi-28NE attack helicopter had new self-defence pods featuring UV warning sensors and a mock-up of a small DIRCM head under the fuselage. The Mi-35M parked nearby had the same infrared jammer under the rear fuselage and warning sensors installed on the fuselage and tail boom sides.

Electronic Warfare Mi-8 An inconspicuous-looking Mi-8MTPR1 was the first electronic warfare helicopter shown

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at MAKS. The last letters in its designation stand for Pomekhovyi Rychag, or jamming helicopter featuring the L187A RychagAV system. Developed from the Mi-8MT, the Mi-8MTPR1 is the latest (and the only in-production) Russian ECM helicopter for jamming enemy air defence radars. The Russian MoD ordered 18 Rychags with the first three delivered in early March. The jammer is installed in the cargo hold, with two box-shaped antennas (a receiver/ direction finder and a transmitter) on each fuselage side. The Ka-52K maritime attack helicopter sported a significant change since it was shown at the Army 2015 exhibition at Kubinka in June: a NPK SPP OES-52 optoelectronic turret. According to Kamov’s general designer Sergei Mikheyev, the new turret is “1.6-two times better”, though he didn’t specify in which respect. After acceptance trials it will be installed on production Ka-52s. A mock-up of an experimental helicopter for the PSV (Perspektivnyi Skorostnoy Vertolot, Future High-speed Helicopter) concept featured a modified Mi-24 with a longer wing, narrow, single-seat cockpit and a new rotor. According to the contract with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, trials of the helicopter were set to finish in the first half of this year, but they have been delayed until the year-end.

Airborne Weapons More new armaments for the T-50 PAK FA fighter, including internal air-to-ground weapons, are in development. During MAKS the Tactical Missiles Corporation (TMC) showed three new air-to-ground missiles that according to TMC head Boris Obnosov will

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NEWS REPORT

be ready for production within three years. The most interesting is the Grom (Thunder; izdeliye, product 80). There are two versions: the Grom-E1 rocket-powered missile and the Grom-E2 glide bomb, (the E denotes the export version). Obnosov said the Grom is being developed from the Kh-38M missile, which enters production this year, by adding a module with a long folding wing and extendable empennage. A Grom-E1 was presented in the TMC hall and the Grom-E2 was suspended under the wing of the MiG-29M (MiG-35) multirole fighter on static display. The Grom has a length of about 4.2m (13.8ft) and body diameter of 310mm (12in). The Grom-1’s launch weight is 520kg (1,146lb) with a 250kg (551lb) warhead; the Grom-2 has an additional 130kg (287lb) warhead instead of the rocket motor.

Obnosov didn’t disclose the Grom’s range, but it is believed to be longer than the Kh38M’s 40km (25 miles) or 80km (50 miles) in the version without the terminal seeker. The Grom-1’s speed is probably slightly lower than the Kh-38M’s Mach 2.2. Both Grom missiles on display had pointed, dielectric nose radomes, suggesting they house an active or passive radar seeker. However, Obnosov claimed the Grom is guided by an inertial navigation system with satellite navigation correction and doesn’t have a terminal seeker. The TMC Raduga Kh-59MK2 cruise missile, an equivalent to the MBDA Storm Shadow, was shown as the manufacturer searches for a potential foreign investor. The missile is 4.2m (13.8ft) in length, 400mm (15.7in) wide and 400mm (15.7in) tall, and its deployable wing has a 2.45m (8ft) span.

The 770kg (1,698lb) missile has a 1,000km/h (621mph) speed at its 50-300m (164-984ft) cruise altitude and is intended to destroy small strengthened targets. It uses the Kh-555 strategic cruise missile’s guidance system, and features a gimballess inertial navigation with GPS/GLONASS correction on the cruise path and electrooptical digital scene matching area correlation

Top left: Configured with ECM for jamming enemy air defence radars, the

Mi-8MTPR1 Rychag is the only in-production Russian helicopter.

Top middle: The Mi-8AMTSh-037’s Vitebsk L370E8 self-defence suite. Opposite bottom: The Grom-E1, Kh-59MK2 and Kh-58UShKE-IIR missiles. Below: A NPK SPP OES-52 optoelectronic turret has been installed in the

Ka-52K maritime attack helicopter.

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Please send all news correspondence [email protected]

NEWS REPORT

MIG 1.44 REAPPEARS The MiG 1.44 appeared at MAKS more than 15 years after its last flight.

(DSMAC). Its accuracy is 3-5m (10-16ft). The Raduga Kh-58UShKE anti-radar missile in its basic version has been tested on an Su-34 tactical bomber and preparation for series production has been ongoing for several years. Vladimir Trusov, the head of Raduga, told the author during MAKS that the missile “is just completing tests, not much is to go”. It is a thorough upgrade of the Soviet Kh-58U. The K in its designation is for Kompaktnaya (compact), and the ‘Sh’ is for Shirokodiapazonnaya (wide-band seeker). The missile’s length is 4.19m (13.8ft), body diameter 0.38m (15in), and its launch weight is 650kg (1,433lb). When launched from 20,000m (65,617ft) at Mach 1.5, the missile’s range is 245km (152 miles) or 76km (47 miles) at low altitude. Its maximum speed is 4,200km/h (2,610mph). At MAKS a new version of the Kh58UShKE(IIR), with two additional imaging infrared sensors for the missile seeker, was presented for the first time. Trusov explained the sensor provides additional target information and “increases the reliability and effectiveness of aiming”, as “when operating, ground-based air defence radar radiates great energy and gets warm”.

Slowdown There was little news about other projects. Although it was expected that a design for a stretched version of the Superjet would be unveiled, there was no update on further development. A few days before MAKS the Russian Minister of Industry and Trade, Denis

On January 12, 1999, I was one of a small group of journalists invited to Zhukovsky to be shown the MiG 1.44 fighter, the most secret of Russian aircraft. I did not expect that I would see this aircraft again nearly 17 years later. At MAKS 2015, the MiG 1.44 was displayed in an exhibition of historic aircraft beside the Tu-144, VM-T, Tu-155, MiG-25, MiG27, Su-15 and Su-27. Preliminary work on the general requirements for new-generation fighters began in the Soviet Union in 1983. The I-90 (Istrebitel – fighter for the 1990s) programme started on June 19, 1986 when the Soviet Government charged the MiG design bureau to develop a heavy MFI (Mnogofunktsyonalnyi Frontovoi Istrebitel – multifunction tactical fighter), also designated izdeliye 1.42 or izdeliye 5.12, and a lightweight LFI (Lyogkiy, light tactical fighter; izdeliye 4.12) using common aerodynamics. The aircraft, which would replace Su-27s and MiG29s, were intended to be introduced into service in 2001. (The LFI’s schedule was later postponed by five years before being stopped altogether.) The MFI was conceived as a heavy air-superiority fighter, a direct equivalent to the US Advanced Technology

Fighter (ATF) that became the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. The essential requirements included a capability to attack several widely separated targets simultaneously, a high level of automation and supersonic cruise. The canard configuration with delta wings was selected for high manoeuvrability at supersonic speeds. Stealth was not among the priorities. The structure was made of 30% composite materials and the air intake ducts were S-shaped. Weapons were to be carried in an internal bay (lacking on the 1.44 test aircraft). The MFI would also feature Lyulka Saturn AL-41F turbofan engines, a Phazotron-NIIR Sh109 all-round coverage radar system with tripleantenna N014 nose radar and a N015 rear radar, plus a Avionika KSU-142 digital fly-by-wire control system. New-generation weapons were also being prepared for the MFI. In 1991 the mock-up was approved by a state committee, and construction of the first proof-of-concept demonstrator without mission systems, designated izdeliye 1.44, began at the MiG design bureau workshop at Moscow. In 1994 the airframe was transported to Zhukovsky for flight tests, but the aircraft was still devoid of actuators

Manturov, said two enlarged Superjet options were still being considered: one for 115 seats (Stretched Version, SV), the other for 130 seats (New Generation, NG). A new engine will be needed for the NG project; possibly a de-rated variant of the Irkut MC-21 medium airliner’s PD-14. Assembly of the MC-21 is due to be completed by early 2016. On the first day of MAKS, when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Irkut hall, the manager of the plant, Alexander Veprev, appeared on a live TV link from Irkutsk – at the moment Putin entered the hall – to report that the first MC-21 fuselage was 90% complete. The PD-14 for the MC-21 will be flown on an Il-76LL test-bed in October.

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for the control system. There was no more money and development was put on hold. With the rival Sukhoi S-37 having made a widelypublicised first flight on September 25, 1997, the MiG management decided to present the aircraft to show that the company had a new fighter of its own, hence the invite to journalists in January 1999. On that day, however, the 1.44 taxied but was not flown. The 1.44 eventually flew on February 29, 2000, piloted by Vladimir Gorbunov. The flight lasted 18 minutes and the aircraft achieved an altitude of 1,000m (3,280ft) with a speed of 500-600km/h (310mph). However, of the planned series of 27 test flights, only two were ever made (the second on April 27, 2000, during which the landing gear was retracted). Funding had again run out and, after another change of MiG’s management, interest in the 1.44 aircraft vanished and the aircraft never flew again. Although it had received a new paint scheme with the Russian flag on the vertical fins and large number 144, the aircraft remained idle after 2000 – ans then it appeared at this year’s MAKS. Despite its advanced age, the aircraft was guarded carefully at the show and no-one was allowed to take close-up photos or from the rear.

The T-50 PAK FA fifth-generation fighter, a star of the previous two MAKS, presented a good flying display, but not as sharp as the Su-35S that appeared before it – some restrictions on allowable g-load were still visible. Since the 2013 MAKS only one aircraft, T-50-5, has been completed – and that aircraft is still under repair after a fire on the runway on June 14, 2014. Within five and a half years, the T-50 PAK FA prototypes have made more than 700 flights. Tikhomirov NIIP showed a full radar suite for the T-50 and gave a presentation demonstrating its arrangement on the aircraft.

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7

Leading Stories

C Series in the Water Trough Bombardier’s CS300 C-FFDK (c/n 55001) passing through the water trough at Mirabel. Patrick Cardinal/Bombardier Aerospace

Bombardier has completed water ingestion, or ‘water trough’, tests on its C Series at its Mirabel facility in Québec to validate the aircraft’s behaviour on rain-soaked runways. The tests were carried out using the sole CS300 C-FFDK (c/n 55001),

which reached a maximum speed of 120kts (220km/h) when travelling through the trough. Results of these tests will be relevant for both CS100 and CS300 aircraft models. Rob Dewar, Vice President for the C Series, said: “The team verified that neither the water

under the aircraft nor the spray generated by the nose landing gear entered the engines nor the auxiliary power unit, or impacted performance.” Bombardier reported that certification tests on the C Series were “over 80% complete” by

First P-8As for RAAF on Contract Boeing and the US Navy announced the signature of a $1.49 billion contract for 13 P-8A Poseidon aircraft on August 28, which includes the first four aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The air force has a firm requirement for eight P-8As with options on at least another four, which will be decided

with the release of the Australian Defence White Paper in October. Final assembly of the first RAAF aircraft will begin later this year with delivery scheduled for early 2017. Australia has been a partner in the P-8A programme since 2009. Captain Scott Dillon, US Navy Programme Manager, said: “By

working together since the early stages of P-8A development, the US and Australia have created one airplane configuration that serves the needs of both countries. The US and Australian P-8As will be able to operate with each other effectively and affordably for decades to come.” Nigel Pittaway

Neuron’s Sardinian Trials The European UCAV technology demonstrator, Neuron, will next go to Sweden for tests following recent low observability and electro-optical system trials at Decimomannu in Sardinia. Alenia Aermacchi

The low observability and electrooptical performance of Neuron, the European unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) technology demonstrator, was tested during 12 sorties from Decimomannu, Sardinia recently. Flights at

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different altitudes against ‘threats’, comprising groundbased systems and a Eurofighter Typhoon, assessed the Neuron’s radar cross section and infrared signature. Neuron was first flown from Istres

on December 1, 2012. Following initial flight characteristics tests, validations of the aircraft’s air-toground subsonic, autonomous detection and reconnaissance capabilities were carried out over military ranges in southern France. With the trials at Decimomannu complete, further testing of low observability and the aircraft’s internal Smart Integrated Weapons Bay (SIWB) will be carried out at Vidsel, Sweden. The Neuron programme was initiated by the French defence procurement agency DGA to research a UCAV’s aerodynamics, low observability and weapons delivery from the SWIB. Prime contractor and design authority Dassault Aviation leads a range of other European companies, including Alenia Aermacchi, Saab, RUAG and Hellenic Aerospace Industry, in the project. Mark Broadbent

early September, with more than 2,250 flight test hours completed. Noise performance is one of the next test targets to confirm the aircraft’s community noise level is up to 20 decibels below the Federal Aviation Administration’s Stage 4 limit. Mark Broadbent

PC-21 to Train Australian Pilots The Pilatus PC-21 has been selected as the next fixed-wing training aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force, with 49 aircraft to be acquired. Australian Defence Minister Kevin Andrews formally announced on September 6 that Team 21, comprising Lockheed Martin, Pilatus and Hawker Pacific, was the preferred tenderer for the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) Air 5428 fixed-wing pilot training system. The PC-21s will replace PC-9s and civilian-owned PAC CT-4B Airtrainers for fixed wing training of RAAF, Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the nation’s army students, with the first course starting in 2019. Andrews also announced that the ADF would move its basic flying training from Tamworth in New South Wales, where it is currently contracted to BAE Systems, back in-house at RAAF Base East Sale in Victoria. East Sale will be home to 22 of the PC-21s. Nigel Pittaway

GOT A NEWS STORY, PHOTO OR FEATURE ? 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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Leading Stories

China’s Rainbow 5 Airborne

Raptors Deploy to Europe

China’s largest UAV, the lowaltitude long-endurance (LALE) China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Caihong (Rainbow) 5 (CH-5), successfully made its 20-minute first flight on August 30. It also appeared in the Victory anniversary flyover in Beijing on September 1. The Rainbow 5 has a 20m (65ft) wingspan, 30-hour endurance, three tonnes maximum takeoff weight and 900kg (1,984lb) payload. David C Isby

Kuwait Buys Typhoons

Kuwait has decided to purchase 28 Eurofighter Typhoons. A government-to-government MoU was signed between Kuwait and Italy in Rome on September 11 covering a planned contract for 22 single-seat and six two-seat aircraft. The deal is expected to be finalised later this year. Aircraft will be to Tranche 3 standard and produced on the Italian production line. They will be the first export Typhoons with the new AESA radar. Deliveries to the Kuwait Air Force are due to begin in 2019.

A 95th Fighter Squadron pilot exits his F-22 at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, at the start of the unit’s European deployment. 1st Class Luke Kitterman/US Air Force

US Air Force F-22 Raptors recently completed their inaugural training deployment to Europe. On August 28, four of the type landed at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. The aircraft, 05-4086/‘TY’, 054089/‘TY’, 05-4097/‘TY’ and 05-4098/‘TY’, were all from the 325th Fighter Wing’s 95th Fighter Squadron ‘Boneheads’ based at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.

Italian-Assembled F-35 Flies

The first Italian F-35A Lightning II, MM7332/‘32-01’ (c/n AL-01, US Air Force serial number 12-5062) on its maiden flight from Cameri, Italy. Simone Bovi

Italy’s initial Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II has made its maiden flight. The aircraft, serial MM7332 (c/n AL0-1), lifted off the runway at Cameri Air Base, Italy, on September 7 at 1305hrs European Standard Time. It was flown by F-35 test pilot Bill ‘Gigs’ Gigliotti, for a 1hr hour, 22min check flight. The aircraft carries code ‘32-01’ and the unit badge of the Italian Air Force’s 32° Stormo (wing) at Amendola Air Base, whose 103° Gruppo (squadron) will be the inaugural Italian F-35

unit. Delivery is expected by the end of the year. The aircraft, produced at the Cameri Final Assembly and Check Out (FACO) facility, is the first F-35 to be assembled outside the US. Owned by the Italian Government and operated by Alenia Aermacchi in association with Lockheed Martin, FACO operations began in July 2013 and AL-01 was rolled out on March 12, 2015. Italian F-35As and F-35Bs and Royal Netherlands Air Force F-35As will be assembled at the facility.

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The Raptors, supported by a C-17 Globemaster III and approximately 20 airmen, trained with allied air forces and US services. Two of the four aircraft also completed a one-day training detachment to the Polish Air Force’s 32nd Air Base at Łask, Poland, on August 31. Four days later another pair of F-22s went to Ämari Air Base in Estonia for a single-day visit.

The Raptors’ European deployment was funded by the European Reassurance Initiative, which according to the US Air Force is intended “to bolster the security of NATO allies and partners in Europe”, demonstrate that US allies’ installations can host fifth-generation fighters and provide familiarisation flight training in Europe. They left for home on September 12.

Mi-8AMTSh-VA Trials Begin Flight testing of the latest Mi-8 derivative, the Mi-8AMTSh-VA, has started. Built at the Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant (U-UAP), eastern Siberia, this helicopter is based on the Mi-8AMTSh-V armed assault transport version delivered to the Russian Air Force (RuAF) in August 2014. Testing is due to be completed by the end of the year ahead of a full-scale production launch in 2016. Russian Helicopters said military and internal security organisations could buy up to 100 examples of the Mi-8AMTSh-Va; five have been ordered so far. Russian Helicopters’ Director General Alexander Mikheev said the type is intended for military assault transport and Arcitc air support, aerial monitoring of Russian areas of responsibility in that region and search and rescue (SAR) for the Northern Sea Route shipping lane along Russia’s northern coast. A civilian version is offered for offshore and geological survey work and polar research station re-supply.

It is powered by two Klimov VK-2500-03s (with a take-off rating 2,000shp/1,500kW) and is equipped with a PKV-8 digital autopilot, together with an enhanced TsNS-02 navigation system with a BINS-SP-1 inertial gyro reference platform for operations without ground navigation aids. A dual BMS-Navigator GLONASS/GPS satellite navigation receiver is also installed. There is an RPA-500 direction finder for SAR, a SLG-300 hoist, a searchlight and room for 12 stretchers in medical evacuation configuration. The helicopter can transport 2,900kg (4,409lb) of payload over 540km (291nm), increasing to 1,500kg (3,306lb) and 980km (529nm) with fuel tanks or 4,000kg (8,818lb) and 1,420km (766nm) with a cabin auxiliary fuel tank. There are no external pylons for forward-firing weapons but three pintle-mounted machine guns can be carried – two in the side doors and one in a hatch in the clamshell doors. Alexander Mladenov

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NEWS COLUMN

New Wings, Barkh Operation Barkhane

by Jan Kraak After reintroducing the wing structure at BA702 Avord, BA133 Nancy and BA125 Istres last year, the French Air Force (Armée de l’Air – AdlA) announced the creation of seven additional wings (Escadrons) on August 21. All had been activated by September 3. The goal of the new structure is to concentrate units with the same mission in one place and improve co-operation between operational units and maintenance squadrons. Since the creation of separate maintenance squadrons (Escadrons de Soutien Technique Aéronautique or ESTAs) outside the operational flying units, there have been difficulties in streamlining maintenance commitments and operational demands. The French Air Force’s Commander in Chief, General Denis Mercier, was at BA118 Mont-de-Marsan on September 1 for a ceremony at CEAM (Centre d’Expériences Aériennes Militaires) when he told AIR International why the AdlA has opted for the wing structure. “It is logical to regroup our maintenance in ESTAs because there is so much [versatility] in platforms such as the Rafale and operational squadrons are not equipped to deal with the entire spectrum on their own,” he said. “It’s therefore necessary to regroup the different Activation date

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competences in one ESTA. However, when we created the ESTAs we also created a gap between the maintenance crews and the pilots. That’s what we changed with this new wing structure, where the flying and maintenance squadrons are part of one and the same structure. “When we look at the new wings, the 4th Wing at BA113 Saint-Dizier for example, the Rafale squadrons and the maintenance personnel are hierarchically below the squadron commanders but assigned to the ESTA. “This allows for better cooperation between squadrons and maintenance while having all the necessary specialities available in each ESTA. This is important because with today’s complex platforms it is no longer possible to have every specialty in each flying squadron. “So with this reorganisation we combine the best aspects of the old and the new structures.” Several AdlA units will be moved around in the coming year; they will change squadron numbers, codes on their aircraft and take on traditions from their respective wings. Wing

August 25

BA120 Cazaux

8th Fighter Wing

August 26

BA113 St-Dizier

4th Fighter Wing

August 27

BA105 Évreux

64th Transport Wing – Command and Deployment Wing

September 1

BA123 Orléans

61st Transport Wing

September 3

BA116 Luxeuil

2nd Fighter Wing

September 3

Mont-de-Marsan

30th Fighter Wing

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August 1 marked a year since Operation Barkhane replaced Operation Serval, which was aimed at pushing back armed terrorists in Mali. Barkhane is a regional operation spread over Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. The area of operations is roughly 3,200km (1,988 miles) by 1,100km (683 miles). The operation aims to stabilise the region by (1) stopping terrorists from creating strongholds; (2) dismantling their supply routes and stocks; and (3) working together with the Sahel countries (those whose territories cross the zone of transition between the Sahara and the Sudanian Savanna) and United Nations MINUSMA (Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali) troops to tackle security challenges. Currently, 3,000 troops, 37 aircraft and 400 trucks and armoured vehicles are assigned to the Barkhane force. The French Army has ten helicopters based at Gao in Mali (two Cougars, two Gazelles, two NH90s, two Pumas and two Tigres) and the French Air Force has pairs of Caracals and Puma helicopters from Escadron de Hélicoptères (EH) 1/67 at N’Djamena in Chad. Because of the large distances, all helicopters are regularly deployed to different forward operating bases in the region such as Madama in the north of Niger or Tessalit in the north of Mali. The fast jet element includes four Rafales in N’Djamena and two Mirage 2000Cs and two 2000Ds in Niamey. The UAV detachment of two Harfangs and three Reapers is also based at Niamey. On average there are six to ten tanker and transport aircraft operating for Barkhane out of N’Djamena, with Transalls and Hercules flying wherever they are needed.

Rafale B of ECE 5/330, wearing full-colour squadron markings and the new tactical code of the 30th Wing, activated at BA118 Mont-deMarsan on September 3. Jan Kraak

All the AdlA operations are planned and co-ordinated by the Joint Force Air Component Command for Central and West Africa (JFACC AFCO), based at Mont Verdun in Lyon. The volume of work for the JFACC AFCO fluctuates, but between July 8 and 15 it was involved in about 100 sorties (26 fast jet, 22 reconnaissance and 52 transport). Barkhane poses unique logistical challenges that are different from operations in Afghanistan, where most of the troops were operating in a relatively small area. Besides aerial supply lines from France to N’Djamena and Niamey, there are also maritime supply routes from France to Ivory Coast, Senegal and Cameroon – from where supplies and equipment are transported by road or air.

Chammal Meanwhile September 19 marked a year of operations over Iraq against the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Operation

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NEWS COLUMN

khane & Chammal

Chammal. France is part of the coalition that acts under Operation Inherent Resolve, and has deployed around 700 personnel to the region. Missions are co-ordinated from the Combined Air Operation Centre (CAOC) in Qatar and at least one C-135FR from BA125 Istres is permanently deployed to the region to provide aerial refuelling for French and coalition aircraft. All AdlA Mirage 2000D squadrons have deployed personnel to Jordan and the Rafale squadrons staff the detachment at Al Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates. Atlantique 2 squadrons have been providing aircraft and crews for the Aéronavale (naval air arm) detachment at the same base. Late last year a C-160G Gabriel signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft of Escadron Electronique Aéroporté (EEA) 0/54 was deployed to the UAE along with a C-160R that flew aerial refuelling missions. From February 24 until April 18 the French aircraft

carrier Charles de Gaulle participated with an E-2C Hawkeye, nine Super Étendards and 12 Rafale Ms. Over the three weeks, more than 40 French aircraft operated in Iraqi skies, with the Charles de Gaulle launching around 15 combat sorties a day. The E-2C acted in the air traffic control role for the combat aircraft in the region. Normally the carrier has two Hawkeyes on board but, due to corrosion issues on one airframe and planned maintenance on the other, only one of the three aircraft assigned to Flotille 4 was available. An E-3F from Avord was meanwhile deployed to Al Dhafra as a command and control platform from March until June. On July 17 an Atlantique 2 flew the 1,000th French Chammal sortie. The intelligence gathering and reconnaissance mission lasted 11 hours, 30 minutes and took place in the Anbar region. This was the 87th Atlantique 2 sortie. That evening, two

Mirage 2000Ds flew the 354th combat sortie for the type’s detachment in Jordan. On August 19 the UAE Atlantique 2 detachment dropped its first GBU-12 for Operation Chammal. The Barkhane Atlantique 2 detachment had already released laser-guided bombs over Mali, but this was the first time an Atlantique crew dropped a GBU-12 during a sortie over Iraqi territory. The type was certified to carry four GBU-12 bombs in 2008 but does not carry a designator pod, so the crew is reliant on designators on the ground or in the air. The Atlantique 2 typically flies reconnaissance, Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) and Strike Co-ordination and Reconnaissance – Co-ordinator (SCAR-C) missions over Iraq. Just weeks after two Mirage 2000Cs were deployed to Niger, three Mirage 2000Ns from Escadron de Chasse (EC) 2/4 ‘La Fayette’ arrived in Jordan on July 31. The first operational mission took

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place the next day when a 2000N flew a combat patrol with a 2000D. The Mirage 2000Ns replaced three 2000Ds which returned to BA133 Nancy on August 2. Before being deployed to Jordan, the 2000Ns were fitted with electronic countermeasures and encrypted radios so crews could operate in this kind of mission, which is different from the Mirage 2000N’s traditional nuclear deterrent role. With the replacement of three of the Chammal Mirage 2000Ds, the two detachments in the Middle East now include six Rafales and one Atlantique 2 in the UAE and three Mirage 2000Ds and three 2000Ns in Jordan. French President François Hollande approved reconnaissance flights over Syrian territory on September 7. The next day, two Rafales from the Chammal contingent at Al Dhafra (each carrying RECO NG pods) conducted a 6.5 hour mission over Syria, with air-to-air refuelling support provided by a C-135.

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Gripen Celebrates Ten Years in Czech Service Czech Air Force JAS 39D Gripen 9820 wearing special colours on the tail to mark the tenth anniversary of the Gripen in Czech service with Cáslav-based 211 TL. Timm Ziegenthaler

New Chinooks for the Netherlands Dutch Defence minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert has revealed the Netherlands will acquire 14 new-build CH-47F Chinooks. The planned purchase, at a projected cost of €838.1 million, was confirmed in a letter to parliament on September 7. In addition, the six CH-47F(NL)s delivered in 2012-2013 will be modernised to standardise the fleet. Delivery of the CH-47Fs is due to begin in 2019 and will allow Defence Helicopter Command (DHC) to replace the 11 CH-47Ds currently flown by 298 Squadron at Gilze-Rijen Air Base. It will increase the Dutch Chinook fleet to 20, as the DHC already flies six CH-47F(NL)s. Delivered in 20122013, two of the CH-47F(NL)

s serve with 298 Squadron alongside the CH-47Ds, while the other four F models are operated by 302 Squadron at Robert Gray Army Airfield, Fort Hood, Texas. The Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD) initially intended to have its CH-47D fleet remanufactured to CH-47F(NL) standard by means of a mid-life update (MLU) programme from this year until 2019. However, by 2012 the MoD opted for new aircraft that proved more cost-effective, particularly as they could remain in service considerably longer. Unlike standard CH-47Fs, which are equipped with the Rockwell Collins Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) cockpit, CH-47F(NL)s feature the

Honeywell Avionics Control and Management System (ACMS) cockpit. The MoD preferred ACMS over CAAS for its F models because Dutch CH-47Ds also use the same cockpit type. It became clear last year that plans to have the 14 additional CH-47Fs fitted with the nonstandard ACMS would be prohibitively expensive and now all Dutch CH-47Fs will be built to the US Army’s current off-theshelf standard, including the MYII CAAS version of the cockpit. Planned modifications to the CH47F(NL)s have yet to be specified, but it is expected they will be brought to full MYII CAAS standard during the next decade. After manufacture and prior to delivery,

the new CH-47Fs will be subject to a number of Dutch-specific modifications. These will include crashworthy seats in the cockpit, VHF combat net radio, fast-rope insertion and extraction systems, emergency locator transmitter, hook load measurement equipment and an ice detection system. The Dutch MoD plans to accept the US Government’s letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) no later than December of this year, to ensure deliveries begin in 2019. The remainder of the project budget – currently at €915.3 million – will be used to standardise the Dutch Chinook fleet and modernise the six CH-47F(NL)s. The CH-47Fs are scheduled to stay in DHC service until at least 2045. Kees van der Mark

Caracal Forty-One’s Centenary Colours Arrival Delivery of an initial order for four EC725 Caracal helicopters to the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) under an order placed in 2012 has been completed. Arrival of the fourth helicopter was announced by Airbus Helicopters on August 25. A follow-on order for two aircraft was announced in 2014, with deliveries to take place next year. Fabrice Rochereau, vice president of sales and customer relations in Asia Pacific for Airbus Helicopters, commented: “With Thailand’s investment in the modernisation of its aircraft inventory, the EC725s will become a formidable asset in the Royal Thai Air Force’s helicopter fleet.” Nigel Pittaway

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No.41(R) Squadron Typhoon FGR4 ZK315 taxiing out at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, on September 2 for its first flight after receiving special colours to mark the unit’s 100th anniversary. The aircraft’s tail carries the Cross of Lorraine emblem from the squadron badge, with the rudder depicting silhouettes of some of the significant types operated since the unit was formed on July 14, 1916, at Gosport, Hampshire. The squadron’s Battle Honours are listed across the top and base of the tail. The starboard canard foreplane is marked ‘Seek’ and the port one ‘Destroy’, representing the unit’s motto, ‘Seek and Destroy’. MoD Crown Copyright

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Sales Executive, Aviation Key Publishing is Europe’s foremost transport publisher and is renowned around the globe for its wide range of magazines and media. The company produces marketleading publications and its aviation portfolio includes AIR International, AirForces Monthly, Airliner World, Combat Aircraft, FlyPast and Aviation News. We are looking to recruit a Sales Executive to work within our Aviation team. Reporting to the Senior Advertisement Manager, Aviation, you will be responsible for looking after the advertising needs of your customers. You will possess the following experience: • A minimum of two years sales experience • Successful key account management • A track record in exceeding individual and team sales targets • New business development • Strong negotiation skills You will be: • • • • • •

Self-motivated and possess a proactive attitude to conducting business Dedicated to finding creative sales solutions Able to work well under pressure and meet deadlines Competitive, ambitious and goal-orientated Friendly, sociable and outgoing A provider of excellent customer service

Whilst not essential, interest in or experience of aviation would be beneficial. In return, Key Publishing offers excellent rewards and incentives; 25 days holiday per year, a company pension scheme, a great environment for learning and career development, as well as the opportunity to get out and meet customers and readers at events. Key Publishing Ltd is an Equal Opportunities Employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Applicants will be invited for interview based on merit. If you are up to the challenge and want the chance to work within a fun, dynamic sales team, please send/email your CV with a covering letter for the attention of Ian Maxwell, Senior Advertising Manager, Aviation, stating why you are the right candidate for this role. Alternatively call Ian on +44 (0) 1780 755131 to register your interest.

Contact details: Ian Maxwell - Senior Advertising Manager, Aviation Key Publishing Limited, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 1XQ Tel: +44 (0)1780 755131 Email: [email protected] Website: www.keypublishing.com The closing date for applications is Friday 16 October 2015.

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15/09/2015 12:10

NEWS COLUMN

Scrutiny on t by Robert F Dorr

The US Air Force’s key programmes are facing new scrutiny from Capitol Hill. The service has made quantum improvements in how it purchases and tests new aircraft but because of past delays, technical glitches and cost overruns every problem, even a minor ones, now seem more susceptible to criticism than ever before.

Troubled Tanker Although kept mostly out of the public eye, problems with the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus air refuelling aircraft are causing consternation inside the Pentagon. Once slated for a first flight early this year, the first KC-46A fully configured as a tanker now seems unlikely to fly before the start of 2016. One big problem, ironic for a tanker, is the fuel system of the aircraft. Boeing is also facing issues with subcontractors. The primary air refuelling system has had problems with parts deliveries while other contractors have

had difficulty providing the refuelling pods on each of the KC-46A’s wings. Senator John McCain, Republican from Arizona, wrote to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter about his concern that “delays to the programme’s internal deadlines [indicate] a programme at risk of not meeting its planned delivery milestones”. McCain added he is “concerned that the recent problems with the tanker modernisation programme could prevent the Department of Defense from delivering this critical capability to our war fighters as promised and on

Warthog advocates tend to overlook what this missile system could do to an A-10C when carrying out close air support. Whereas advocates of the F-35A are banking on the fifth-generation fighter remaining hidden from the radar detection systems that drive this missile to its target. Chavdar Garchev Opposite Top: If times get tough for the DoD’s KC-46 tanker programme, Airbus does have an alternative ready to go. Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Defence

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schedule”. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James is furious about seemingly interminable delays with the tanker and said recently that, “the margin in the schedule is all but gone at this point”. Because the refueller is being developed under a strictly monitored, fixed-cost contract, Boeing has had to write off millions in expenses, and this author believes that given the choice, it would probably prefer not to have the programme at all today. Boeing says it is committed to delivering the first 18 aircraft by 2017. The KC-46A is a derivative

of the Boeing 767-200, an airliner that always seemed an odd size — not single-aisle but not quite widebody — no longer sought by commercial operators. Boeing is scheduled to assemble 179 KC-46As in a fixed-price programme for $35 billion. The company has undergone numerous changes since the contract was awarded, including moving some of its commercial aircraft assembly capabilities out of Washington State.

Breaking the Bank? As if tanker troubles weren’t enough, Capitol Hill lawmakers are miffed about mistakes made by the Pentagon in reporting to Congress about the cost of the Long Range StrikeBomber, or LRS-B. McCain and Jack Reed, Democrat from Rhode Island, said in a letter to Carter: “We are deeply concerned about the Defense Department’s recent congressional notification of significant errors in the long-term cost estimates of [LRS-B]... To commit administrative errors amounting to tens of billions of dollars is simply unacceptable. It cannot, and should not, be tolerated by either members of Congress or our defence leaders.” Pentagon officials have been struggling for damage control after reports of massive discrepancies in air force cost estimates — even though they appear to have been little more than the Washington equivalent of typographical errors. Last year, the air force estimated costs for LRS-B from fiscal years 2015 to 2024 at $33.1 billion. This year, in what it now calls an error, the air staff put the costs for 2016 to 2025, a similar ten-year period, at $58.2 billion. Air force officials now say the true figure for both ten-year periods should be $41.7 billion.

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NEWS COLUMN

n the Hill US Air Force Secretary James said: “It was a regrettable mistake. It occurred in part because of human error and in part because of process error, meaning a couple of our people got the figures wrong and the process of coordination was not fully carried out in this case.” The sparring over dollar figures is partly cosmetic. McCain and others are less concerned about cost totals — which are always a moving target in Washington — than about whether the Pentagon has cleaned up its act in acquisitions following a series of difficulties with earlier programmes. LRS-B, which may eventually be designated B-3, is to be a heavy-payload stealth bomber capable of carrying thermonuclear weapons. The air force wants to purchase 80 to 100 LRS-B aircraft at a cost of $550 million each, at 2010 prices. Northrop Grumman and a team of Boeing and Lockheed Martin are competing for the development contract with a source selection now overdue and expected before year’s end.

Flawed Fly-off Progress is continuing with the F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. The first two F-35As assigned to the 388th Fighter Wing were delivered to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, on September 2. The 388th at Hill is the same wing that introduced the F-16 Fighting Falcon to service in January 1979. The 388th is expected to reach initial operating capability next year (2016). Eventually, 72 F-35As will be stationed at Hill. To assess the F-35A in the close air support (CAS) role, the Pentagon’s Office of Operational Test and Evaluation plans to hold a fly-off competition between the F-35A and the A-10C Thunderbolt II. The comparison tests “will reveal how well the F-35A performs and whether there are gaps, or improvements in capability, compared to the A-10,” Pentagon test czar Michael Gilmore told reporters on August 27. The fly-off is slated for 2018 during the initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) phase of F-35A development.

The exercise will use the F-35A’s Block 3F software. Supporters of the A-10C – who are also critics of the F-35A and vociferously oppose an air force plan to retire the Warthog – are keen to point out that the A-10C is ready now, even if the F-35A is not. They see the A-10C as tried and true, while the F-35A has never been deemed optimal for CAS. Mark Thompson of Time magazine called the competition a “dubious dogfight” and wrote that, “the tardy testing highlights the second half of a twoact Pentagon play designed to make the F-35 a fait accompli”. The opening act, Thompson wrote, was developing the Lightning II using a concept called “concurrency”, under which testing and initial operations happen simultaneously. Thompson wrote that, “concurrency has delayed testing of the aircraft for years – including against the A-10 – ensuring its production no matter what the belated testing might uncover.” Air force leaders, including James and Chief of Staff

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General Mark Welsh, continue to insist that they must retire the A-10C in a $4.2 billion economy move. Gen Welsh told reporters “Delivering fire [support] to troops engaged in close proximity to the enemy is a contact sport, and we are committed to the F-35 as a critical component of this joint and combined team.” McCain and Senator Kelly Ayote, Republican from New Hampshire, among others, are arguing to keep the A-10C in the inventory. Designed to destroy Soviet tanks on the plains of Europe, the A-10 has proved to be adept at eyeball-to-eyeball CAS flying. Among ammunition for these ‘Warthog’ advocates is a General Accountability Office report issued last June saying that the air force “does not have a complete picture of the savings it would generate by divesting the A-10 and does not have a reliable basis from which to develop and consider alternatives.” The A-10C has survived the budget for fiscal year 2016, which begins on October 1, and now appears unlikely to be put to pasture before it faces off with the F-35A.

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Cavallino Rampante Italian Air Force 36° Stormo Typhoons MM.7297 and MM.7308, unusually both carrying code ‘36-10’, perform a flypast at Rivolto Air Base as part of celebrations on September 5-6 to mark the 55th anniversary of the Frecce Tricolori aerobatic team. Both have specially painted tails with a tricolour rudder and black prancing stallion (cavallino rampante) symbol, representing the markings of famous Italian World War One ace pilot Francesco Baracca who flew with 10° Gruppo, which now flies the Typhoon as part of 36° Stormo. Marco Rossi

Indonesia Selects Su-35 Indonesia has selected the Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E to replace the Northrop F-5 Tiger IIs that are currently in Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) service. The decision was announced by defence minister Ryamizard Ryacudu on September 2. The Sukhois will replace the 12 surviving F-5E/F Tiger IIs, but will be purchased in batches, as funding permits. The minister said: “We wanted to buy [enough for] one squadron, but we are aware of the situation, so maybe around eight [will be

acquired]. The jets will all be brand new and have complete weapons.” He said the deal would be signed by the end of September. Indonesia already operates a mixed fleet of Sukhoi Su-27SK/ SKM and Su-30MK/MK2 variants, all based at Ujung Pandang/ Lanud Hasanuddin with Skadron Udara 11. “We have bought Sukhois before and our pilots are accustomed to flying Sukhois, so they will suit us well,” Ryamizard said. Nigel Pittaway

Bells and Powers

Seeker’s Launch Customer The South African Air Force (SAAF) has become launch customer for Denel Dynamics’ Seeker 400 UAV, currently undergoing military certification ahead of production early next year. The SAAF is reactivating 10 Squadron, which flew Seeker I UAVs in the 1980s, to operate the aircraft. Unconfirmed reports have suggested that South Africa’s Defence Intelligence agency will also operate the new UAV. The Seeker 400, which first flew in February 2014, has an endurance of up to 16 hours, a ceiling of 19,685ft (6,000m) and a cruising speed of 80kts (150km/h). It is inaudible at altitudes higher than 3,280ft (1,000m) and can carry a 220lb (100kg) payload. Two payloads can be carried

AH-1Z Vipers Bound for Pakistan

New Philippine Air Force AW109E Power 816 flies in for the induction ceremony at Villamor on August 17. Phillippine Air Force

Ten new helicopters have recently entered Philippine Air Force (PAF) service. They were formally accepted on August 17 during a ceremony at Villamor Air Base and comprise eight Bell 412EPs and two AgustaWestland AW109E Powers. Deliveries of the Bell 412EPs began in June, when the first two arrived. Five are to be used in the combat utility role with the PAF’s 205th Tactical Helicopter Wing, while the other three are in a VIP configuration and will be

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flown by the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing. Bell Helicopter AsiaPacific managing director Sameer Rehman said the eighth and final helicopter was delivered three months ahead of schedule. The AW109E Powers were the first two of eight on order for the PAF’s 15th Strike Wing, which will use them for reconnaissance and close air support duties. The remaining six helicopters are due to be delivered by the end of the year. Nigel Pittaway

The US Department of Defense has finalised a deal to supply Pakistan with Bell AH-1Z Vipers. The helicopters have been ordered as part of a $581 million contract awarded on August 25, which also includes AH-1Zs and UH-1Y Venoms for the US Marine Corps. The purchase comprises 19 Lot 12 AH-1Zs, 15 Lot 12 UH-1Ys and one Lot 13 UH-1Y. It was not specified how many of these helicopters are for Pakistan, but the announcement said just under $58 million (only 10% of the contract value) is allocated for the Pakistan element of the award. This suggests it is likely that only two of the AH-1Zs are for Pakistan, which gained US State Department approval earlier this year for purchase of up to 15.

simultaneously, including electrooptical/infrared (typically the Airbus DS Optronics Goshawk II HD) and synthetic aperture radar as well as a laser rangefinder and illuminator for target designation. An electronic surveillance payload is available for detection and location of radar emitters. Future upgrades will include satellite communications (increasing range from 155 miles/250km to 466 miles/750km), and a sense-and-avoid capability. Underwing hardpoints can carry either external fuel tanks or four Impi-S air-to-ground missiles (in armed guise the aircraft will be known as the Snyper). Denel has so far invested R160 million ($11.5 million) in the Seeker 400 programme. Guy Martin

Chinese Su-35 Contract

Discussions between Russia and China over the purchase of 24 Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E multi-role aircraft are at an advanced stage, according to Rosoboronexport First Deputy General Ivan Goncharenko. He told Russian news agency TASS in late August the contract could be signed before the end of the year. Negotiations have been ongoing for several years, Russian media saying that the main sticking point had been the size of the order. Russian negotiators had been hoping to persuade China to purchase 48, but a compromise has now been reached. Nigel Pittaway

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NE

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NEWS COLUMN

Restoring a Tenth Air Win by Rick Burgess The US Navy plans to bring a tenth carrier air wing back up to strength by 2017, but may accept some risk by living with nine wings in a budget-constrained environment. “As we look into the budget negotiations and the fiscal realities and constraints that [we’re] under right now, we’re considering whether we can afford to do that,” said Vice Adm Mike Shoemaker, Commander Naval Air Forces. Speaking on August 12 to an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington DC think tank, he continued: “We’ve looked at the carrier plans, and one of the reasons we even talked about that as an offset is that with a little bit of risk, we will support 11 carriers and we will chase them with nine air wings”. “We’ve got some work to do, but considering we have one [carrier] in [refuelling and complex overhaul] and another one in deep maintenance, I think we’ve got the ability to do that, so, the plan right now is to stand that up [the tenth carrier air wing] in 2017. But it is one of the things we’ve looked at, potentially, as a cost-savings measure in a tight budget market right now.” Carrier Air Wing 14 (CVW-14) has existed on paper for several years. The navy has several units available to fill it, including a new MH-60R squadron due to stand up in FY2016, but

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not enough squadrons yet to completely outfit it. The tenth air wing will be CVW-14. On September 10 the US Navy announced it was preparing to conduct an environmental impact statement to transtion six F/A18C Hornet squadrons to the F/A-18E Super Hornet at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia. Accelerated retirement of the Hornet aircraft and delays in the availability of the F-35C Lightning II warrants an interim measure to ensure the requisite number of strike fighters remain at Oceana to meet operational needs. The proposed transition would involve a one-for-one aircraft replacement using existing F/A-18Es.

Fire Scout with a Radar The navy plans to deploy an MH-60S version of the Seahawk helicopter on a littoral combat ship deploying to the Western Pacific in 2016. Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23 (HSC-23) ‘Wildcards’, based at Naval Air Station North Island, California, will deploy next year with an MH-60S along with an MQ-8B Fire Scout

unmanned aerial vehicle on USS Coronado (LCS-4), said Capt Ben Reynolds, deputy commander of Helicopter Sea Combat Wing, US Pacific Fleet, at North Island. So far, all LCS deployments to Singapore have been provided by Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 35 ‘Magicians’, which currently provides an MH-60R and an MQ-8B to USS Fort Worth (LCS-1). The MH-60S is a module of the LCS surface warfare and mine countermeasures mission packages. The MH-60R is optimised for the anti-submarine warfare mission package, but can also operate with a surface warfare mission package as it has done so far. The MQ-8B deploying with the HSC-23 detachment will be the first fitted with the Telephonics ZPY-4 surface search radar. HSC-21 ‘Blackjacks’, also based at North Island, will deploy the MH-60S and the Fire Scout in the future too. The larger MQ-8C version of the Fire Scout, now in testing, is scheduled to be available for deployment in 2017.

Tridents Turn in the Orion The navy’s last active P-3C Orion squadron on the east coast returned home on September 4 from deployment, and began transition to the P-8A Poseidon. Patrol Squadron 26 (VP26) ‘Tridents’ returned to Cecil Field, Florida, a former naval air station near

Jacksonville, which is being used while runways at Naval Air Station Jacksonville are being upgraded. The Tridents will follow VP10 ‘Red Lancers’ in P-8A transition as the sixth and last active east coast operational squadron to upgrade to the new aircraft. Some P-3Cs will remain at Jacksonville, assigned to VP-30 ‘Pro’s Nest’ the fleet replacement squadron, until the six west coast units complete transition. The first operational P-8A squadron, VP-16, was sent to Kadena, Okinawa, Japan in December 2013 with further deployment to the Persian Gulf region set for the near future

Coast Guard Bonanza The US Coast Guard’s plan to modernise its aviation force progressed further in August with the delivery of two more transports scheduled to enter service as maritime patrol aircraft. Lockheed Martin has delivered a new C-130J Super Hercules to the coast guard. The aircraft will be painted in coast guard livery and flown to the Aviation Logistics Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It will be converted into HC-130J configuration and fitted with the Minotaur mission system before being assigned to an air station for operations. The aircraft will become the service’s ninth HC-130J. The coast guard has

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NEWS COLUMN

a Wing

E-2C Hawkeye, BuNo 166505/’NF600’, landing at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada on August 19. The aircraft is the CAG-bird of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 115 (VAW-115) ‘Liberty Bells’ and part of Carrier Air Wing 5 based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan. The air wing was in the United States during August as part of a carrier swap in which USS George Washington (CVN-73) changed home port with USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) now forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan. Dan Stijovich

also received a third C-27J Spartan aircraft from the US Air Force. The aircraft will be used to train pilots and maintenance personnel while the service finalises design of the Minotaur mission package, including the choice of sensors to be installed in the aircraft. The service plans to field 12 HC-27Js beginning next year, with two more in depot-level maintenance at any one time.

C-38A Couriers Replace Buckeyes Two C-38A Courier business jets recently transferred from the US Air National Guard to the US Navy will serve as chase aircraft for an air test and evaluation squadron. They have been acquired by Naval Air Systems Command and assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 20 (VX-20) at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, for use as what the navy calls “medium-energy support aircraft.” Cdr Bill Selk, commanding officer of VX-20 said: “The C-38A will be used as a chase aircraft for P-8A, E-2D, MQ-4C, E-6B and C-130 testing. Additionally, the aircraft will be used as an airborne radar target and as a cost-effective proficiency multiplier.” The two Israeli-built business jets will replace T-2C Buckeyes that have been used as chase planes for several years after the type was retired as a training aircraft. VX-20’s Buckeyes were the last flying examples in the US Navy fleet.

F/A-18F Super Hornet BuNo 166915/’NF100’ of Strike Fighter Squadron 102 (VFA-102) ‘Diamondbacks’ lands at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada on August 19. The aircraft is painted in full-colour markings as the unit’s CAG-bird. Dan Stijovich

Strike Fighter Squadron 115 (VFA-115) ‘Eagles’ is currently assigned to Carrier Air Wing 5 (CVW-5) and operates the F/A-18E Super Hornet. The squadron deployed its latest CAG-bird BuNo 166859/’NF300’ to Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada during the air wing’s recent detachment to the desert base. Dan Stijovich

Strike Fighter Squadron 195 (VFA-195) ‘Dambusters’ is one of three F/A-18E Super Hornet squadrons currently assigned to Carrier Air Wing 5 (CVW-5). The squadron deployed its latest CAG-bird BuNo 166901/’NF400’ with the legend ‘Chippy Ho!’ applied, to Naval air Station Fallon, Nevada. Dan Stijovich

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AI.10.15

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NEWS COLUMN

Red Flags & by Nigel Pittaway Two of the major themes running through news pages in the Asia-Pacific region are recurrent issues with seemingly no solutions in hand. The first is the continued military expansion of China and, in particular, its expansion into the South China Sea via the reclamation of land and construction of airfields in the vicinity of the Spratly Islands, an area disputed by China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. The second theme is rather more mundane in nature, but one which is hampering India’s military re-equipment plans. Bureaucratic process has hamstrung many major defence acquisition projects in recent times, the most prominent of which is the Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition which has been the subject of contract negotiations between India and France for years now.

The Rise of China At the demonstration of China’s military strength in Tiananmen Square on September 3, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced he would cut the number of personnel in the armed forces by 300,000. Although this was seen as a gesture to allay regional fears, it still leaves two million Chinese in uniform and the technological development and numerical expansion of aircraft and naval vessels continues apace. China is the first Asian superpower since the fall of Japan 70 years ago and its

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ability now to project maritime and air power well beyond its borders has understandably been the cause of increasing nervousness in the AsiaPacific region. The construction of the island bases is viewed as a means of projecting this power even deeper into the region. Coupled with a belligerent attitude towards what the country sees as her sovereign rights in the South China Sea, this has seen increased defence spending across the region in response. Although Japan does not have a claim to the Spratlys, it shares a claim over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea with Beijing and there is a historic and deep-seated distrust between the two countries. On August 27, Japan launched the second of its Izumo-class ‘helicopter destroyers’ – in reality large flat-tops, capable of carrying the Bell-Boeing V-22 tiltrotors it recently ordered and possibly even fixed-wing VSTOL fighters such as the Lockheed Martin F-35B. This maritime focus stretches through the region, with reports this month that Japan is considering the transfer of maritime patrol aircraft to the Philippines and has been strengthening defence and security ties with countries such as Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The Philippine Government has previously asked Tokyo for a small number of Lockheed P-3C Orions,

The demonstration of China’s military strength in Tiananmen Square on September 3 included a flypast by an Ilyushin KJ2000 (Il-76MD) airborne early warning and control aircraft. Weimeng/AirTeamImages

made surplus to Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) requirements by the introduction of the Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft. This month it was reported that Japan is looking to provide Beechcraft TC-90 King Airs, though whether this is in addition to or in lieu of Orions is not yet clear. Either way, the cashstrapped Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) is urgently trying to overhaul its rundown maritime patrol capability as well as build up its fighter, transport and helicopter fleets in response to regional instability. In broader terms, the past month has been a good

one for Russian fighter manufacturer Sukhoi, with the news in early September that Indonesia has selected the Su-35 to replace its elderly Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II fighters, beating Lockheed Martin (F-16), Eurofighter (Typhoon), Saab (Gripen) and Dassault (Rafale) for the order of between eight and 12 aircraft.

Hamstrung by Bureaucracy There is an old joke that claims the British may have invented bureaucracy, but the Indians perfected it. As the Indian Government battles through bureaucratic red tape to get some of its major

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NEWS COLUMN

& Red Tape

defence purchases over the line, however, this joke would not find favour in New Delhi at the present time. In the last month alone, no fewer than four aircraft acquisition programmes have been in the news for being hamstrung by process. The programme with the highest profile is the government-to-government purchase of 36 Dassault Rafales. Indian sources indicate that a contract is close to being signed, following Indian Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approval on September 1. By the time this column is read the deal may well have been done, but by September 7 there had

been no announcement, five months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the initiative. This latest deal follows the failure of the MMRCA programme to acquire 126 Rafales which, after three years of negotiation, could not find an agreement of terms. The government-togovernment deal was supposed to have cut through the red tape to enable two squadrons of Rafales to be ordered against an urgent Indian Air Force requirement (see Airbus’ Regional Sales Boom and India’s Fighter Woes, August, p28-29). However, it also spelled

the end of the MMRCA programme and what will now happen to the larger requirement is also unknown. Indian press reports have also suggested that the Indian Air Force finally obtained approval for three more Boeing C-17A Globemaster III strategic airlifters at a Services Capital Acquisition Plan meeting at the end of July, after months of effort – only to find that Boeing had by then sold four of the last five remaining ‘white tail’ aircraft to Qatar. Whether the IAF will now commence negotiations for the last remaining aircraft is unclear but it was believed to be still for sale in

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early September. At the end of August, Indian media was also reporting that the government had asked the United States for a further extension of one month on the agreed price for the purchase of 22 Boeing AH-46D Apache and 15 CH47F Chinook helicopters. The Hindustan Times reports that, if agreed to, the extension will be the 13th since negotiations began back in September 2013 and in effect caps the price in 2013 dollars. The US Government had previously warned that the price would only be guaranteed up to the end of the 12th extension, which occurred on July 31.

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21

Commercial

Recycling Research with ecoD 757

Ninety percent of this year’s ecoDemonstrator test aircraft, Boeing 757 N575ET (pictured during disassembly by Aircraft Demolition), will be recycled. Boeing

The parting-out process of the Boeing 757-233 used by Boeing for the 2015 ecoDemonstrator N757ET (c/n 24627) is part of the programme’s research. After the conclusion of its involvement in test flying, the 757 was flown to Burnsville, Minnesota,for disassembly by Aircraft Demolition. Practices laid down by the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association were used during the process. Boeing told AIR International that 90% of

the 757 has been recycled, with only carbon fibre and plastic parts and carpets not reused. The company added it is “working with AFRA and industry partners/ aluminium suppliers to develop better methods to extract more of the airplane-grade aluminium. “We are also trying to develop better recycling technologies. Boeing engineers studied the final disassembly of the ecoD 757 and will look at the subsequent

Scoot Goes All-Dreamliner Scoot Airlines has become the first to adopt an all-Boeing 787 fleet, after phasing-out its last 777-200ER. The

Boeing has completed the firm configuration for the 777-9, the first member of the 777X family. The design milestone was reached after the completion of what Boeing calls “configuration trade studies” required to finalise capability and the basic design. Wind tunnel test results, aerodynamic performance and structural loads were also evaluated to ensure the 777-9 meets the specifications. Boeing will now begin detailed design of parts, assemblies and systems. The 777X family comprises the 7778 and the 777-9 and had secured orders and commitments for 320 aircraft from carriers including Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Cathay Pacific and Emirates at the time of the firm configuration. A major difference between current 777s and the 777X will be folding raked wingtips. The aircraft’s wingspan on the ground will be 212ft 8in (64.8m), ensuring compliance with current regulations on spacing with airport ground infrastructure, but it will extend in flight by 23ft (7m) to 235ft 5in

low-cost long-haul carrier, owned by Singapore Airlines, is now using seven Dreamliners (two 787-8s and five 787-

shredding of the aluminium to figure out better ways to separate it from the rest of the scrap.” Before its parting-out, N757ET tested ‘bug-phobic’ coatings and active flow control technologies designed to improve aerodynamic efficiency. The aircraft, which wore the livery of this year’s ecoDemonstrator airline partner TUI, was built in 1990 and previously operated as N506UA by United Airlines. Mark Broadbent

9s) on its network. It will eventually operate 20 787s equally split between the -8 and -9 variants. Mark Broadbent

Aeroflot to Buy Transaero A commission chaired by Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov has approved the acquisition of Transaero Airlines by Aeroflot. The Russian flag carrier will take a 75% controlling interest in Transaero, enabling it to carry out a complete restructuring of the airline. The RIA Novosti news agency quoted a source in the Ministry of Economic Development as saying the decision would let Transaero pay off debts to creditors and “fulfil all obligations to passengers”. A Transaero statement said the decision was made “in the interests of the development of commercial aviation in Russia”, and would help the country’s airline sector shore up the country’s position on the global airline market. Transaero, Russia’s secondlargest carrier, has experienced financial difficulties in recent years. According to its own figures, it made a net loss of 5.74 billion roubles ($87 million) for the first quarter of 2015. It operates a fleet of 106 aircraft to 103 domestic and international destinations. Mark Broadbent

Boeing Firms 777-9

(71.8m) to optimise fuel efficiency. Boeing claims the 777X “will be the most efficient twin-engine jet in the world” and says the type

will use 12% less fuel and offer 10% lower operating costs than its competitor, the Airbus A350 XWB. Mark Broadbent

Production of the Boeing 777-9 is scheduled to begin in 2017 and service entry two years later. Boeing

A New Longest Flight Emirates will operate the world’s longest non-stop passenger flight from February. The carrier’s new Dubai to Panama City service, a sector of 8,590 miles (13,821km), is scheduled to take 17 hours and

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35 minutes on the westbound leg, Emirates said. Boeing 777200LRs will be used for the service. The route, Emirates’ first to Central America, means the Middle East carrier will edge out Qantas

Airways in operating the longest non-stop passenger air route. Last October, Qantas began flying Airbus A380s on its Sydney-Dallas/ Fort Worth flight, which is 8,578 miles (13,804km).

Both fall short of the record 9,534 miles (15,343km) sector from New York Newark to Singapore operated until September 2013 by Singapore Airlines using A340600s. Mark Broadbent

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Commercial

An-124 Flies Fire Engines to Iraq

Antonov Airlines An-124 Ruslan UR-82073N rolling out at Manchester on September 1 following its arrival from Dubai. The aircraft had been chartered by Ability with Innovation, a company that serves energy and infrastructure markets, and departed for Iraq the following day with a cargo of three fire engines. Charles Cunliffe

Israel’s New Police Helicopters Six new helicopters are to be acquired for the Israeli Police Force. The news came in an announcement that Elbit Systems has been awarded a 20-year, $115 million contract to supply leasing and maintenance services for the force’s aircraft fleet. Elbit said the helicopters, which were not identified, would be operated under a private finance initiative arrangement adding that they would be configured with mission systems to undertake surveillance, search and rescue, command and control and firefighting. Mark Broadbent

Aeroscraft VTOL Airship Advances The Aeroscraft Corporation (Aeros) has entered the design freeze phase for its ML866, the first vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) heavy-lift cargo airship. The company is planning to complete the configuration for the aircraft by end of this year and is developing structural components and test articles for its proprietary and patented control-of-staticheaviness (COSH) buoyancy management system for the vehicle. COSH technology enables the ML866 to be self-ballasting. Inert helium is compressed into large storage tanks. It becomes heavier than air and is then released back into the airship envelope to become lighter than air. No helium is lost during the process and no helium

cleaning is required. Aeros says the ML866 will be “the only rigid variable buoyancy air vehicle of its kind designed to control static lift in all stages of air or ground operations”, giving the ability to offload payload without reballasting. The technology will, adds the company, enable the ML866 to operate without the ground infrastructure or personnel traditionally needed to support airship operations. “This new capability will dramatically decrease the time and cost for delivering large ‘project’ and container cargo around the world, especially to austere areas,” it said. The COSH technology was demonstrated in 2013 as part of

the US Department of Defense Project Pelican programme using a 1:2 scale demonstrator called the Dragon Dream. Made from aluminium and carbon fibre composites, the ML866 will be 555ft (169m) long, 120ft (36m) tall and have a 177ft (53m) wingspan, making it the world’s largest aircraft. It will have a 3,100nm (5,741km) range and be able to carry 66 tonnes in payload. Aeros said it plans to achieve US Federal Aviation Administration certification for the ML866 in around five years’ time. The company already has multiple FAA airship type certificates for advanced airships and tethered aerostats. Mark Broadbent

H175s for Hong Kong The Hong Kong Government Flying Service (GFS) has purchased seven Airbus Helicopters H175s, the first time public services-configured H175s have been sold in Asia. They will be operated by the GFS in the emergency medical services, search and rescue, firefighting, law enforcement and border security roles – and will have an in-built electrooptical system for observation and tracking, an enhanced digital map display, dual hoists, loudspeaker hailers, a searchlight and steerable external lighting. The first three H175s will be delivered towards the end of 2017 – with the other four following

in 2018 – and will join the GFS’ existing Airbus Helicopters fleet of three AS332s and four H155s. The GFS order was announced shortly after the H175 (formerly the EC175) passed 1,000 flying hours in service. Dutch operator NHV put the type into use at Den Helder in the Netherlands last December for North Sea oil and gas platform transport. Its two H175s have since transported 11,000 passengers on 750 flights. Mark Broadbent The Hong Kong Government Flying Service has ordered seven H175s. Its order takes to 69 the number of commitments the type has secured. Anthony Pecchi/Airbus Helicopters

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AI.10.15

23

Commercial

Kenyan 777s Up for Sale

Initial 737 MAX Fuselage Section The first Boeing 737 MAX fuselage section has arrived at Boeing’s Renton facility in Washington to join the final assembly line for the reengined narrowbody airliner. The section was transported by rail from

subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems’ factory in Wichita, Kansas. Assembly work on the wing sections, including skin panels, spars and stringers, for the initial test aircraft began in May.

Following production by Spirit AeroSystems in Kansas, the first 737 MAX fuselage arrived at Renton in August. Boeing

The newly arrived fuselage will be joined to the wing section on the new 737 assembly line at Renton (the plant’s third), which Boeing has built specifically for the MAX. The type is scheduled to fly in 2016. Mark Broadbent

Korean Air Receives 747-8I

Korean Air Lines has received its initial Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental HL7630 (c/n 40905). The carrier, which has ordered ten 747-8Is, is the first airline to operate both the passenger and freighter versions of the ‘Dash Eight’ 747 (it currently has seven -8Fs). Korean’s -8Is are configured with 368 seats (six first class, 48 business and 314 economy) and the airline will use the type on routes from Seoul to San Francisco and Frankfurt. Boeing

COMMERCIAL ORDERS Airbus Customer Allegiant Air IndiGo Undisclosed Undisclosed Undisclosed Undisclosed Undisclosed Boeing Customer Jet2 Qantas Airways Ruili Airlines Unidentified Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company Customer Ilyushin Finance State Transport Leasing Company (for SCAT Airlines) Viking Air Customer Rosneft (for RN-Aircraft)

Aircraft A320 A320neo A320neo ACJ320neo A330-300 A330-300 A330-200 A330-300

Number 1 250 (firms October 15, 2014 purchase agreement) 32 3 15 3 2 2

Date August 19 August 15 Booked Aug, announced Sept 7 Booked Aug, announced Sept 7 Booked Aug, announced Sept 7 Booked Aug, announced Sept 7 Booked Aug, announced Sept 7 Booked Aug, announced Sept 7

Aircraft 737-800 787-9 737 767

Number 27 8 purchase agreement 30 1

Date September 3 August 20 September 1 August 11

Aircraft SSJ-100 SSJ-100

Number 32, plus 18 options 15

Date August 25 August 25

Aircraft Twin Otter Series 400

Number 10

Date September 7

Data up to September 8. Compiled by Mark Broadbent

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AI.10.15

Kenya Airways is selling four of its Boeing 777-200ERs. The airline is using broker Cabot Aviation to sell the aircraft (c/n 33681, 33682, 33683 and 36124), which were delivered between 2004 and 2007. The 777s have been parked at Nairobi Airport for several months, and have been succeeded in service by more fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliners and 777-300ERs. The airline is struggling with profitability because of a tourism downturn in the east African country following Islamist militant attacks there last year. At the beginning of September the government provided a 4.2 billion shillings ($40 million) loan to Kenya Airways to pay suppliers and for other services, while the African Export-Import Bank has approved a $200 million bridging loan. The carrier was long regarded as a financial success, but losses for the year to March rose to 29.7 billion shillings ($279 million) from 4.86 billion shillings ($45 million) a year earlier. Kenya Airways has deferred the deliveries of the last two of nine Dreamliners on order from Boeing, which are in storage in Everett, Washington, after rolling off the production line in May and June this year. It has a fleet of 46 aircraft, including Boeing 777s, 787s, 737s, Embraer 190s and Embraer 170s, and is expecting delivery of three more 777-300ERs. Guy Martin

Latest Latitude Enters Service Cessna Aircraft has delivered the first Citation Latitude nineseat bizjets. Among the initial customers was Pittsburghbased charter company Aircraft Management Group. A demonstration tour across the United States during September involved stops at 39 airports. Similar tours will take place in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The Latitude, first flown last year, is the latest addition to Cessna’s now nine-strong portfolio of bizjets. Customers include NetJets, which has ordered up to 150, with deliveries beginning in 2016. The jet is powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306D1s and has a range of 2,850 nautical miles (5,278km). Mark Broadbent

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1

NEWS BY NUMBERS

VLM F50 SOLD TO KENYA

Commercial

27

MORE BOEINGS FOR JET2

Belgian carrier VLM Airlines has sold one of its Fokker F50s to a Kenyan leasing company, Gikama. The aircraft (c/n 20121, formerly OO-VLR, now 5Y-WPA) has been leased to Nairobi-based airline Rudufu, which specialises in humanitarian relief charter operations in east and central Africa. The F50 was built in 1988 and had been used by VLM since 1999.

Jet2 has finalised a firm order, worth $2.6 billion at list prices, for 27 Boeing 737-800s. It’s the UK low-cost carrier’s first direct order with a manufacturer. The aircraft will be delivered over the next two years and will join the Leeds Bradford Airport-based airline’s existing 60-strong 737-800 fleet, which operates from northern UK airports to holiday destinations around Europe.

Guy Martin

Mark Broadbent

Metal Cut for A330neo Airbus has begun machining parts for the A330neo. Its Saint-Eloi plant near Toulouse has started producing the first engine pylon, while the facility in Nantes has commenced work on the centre wing box rib – which uses an Isogrid, composed of 330 triangular pockets, designed to provide rigidity, strength and low weight. The pylon is made from lightweight titanium and composites and

A350-1000 Wing in Assembly

A350-1000 wings in assembly at Broughton in North Wales. Airbus

Production of the initial Airbus A350-1000 wing has started at the Airbus UK site in Broughton, North Wales. The A350-1000’s carbon fibre composite wing will have the same span as that for the A350900, but feature a larger trailing edge to assist in providing the variant’s extra payload and range performance.

The A350-1000’s maximum takeoff weight will be 308,000kg (679,024lb) compared to the -900’s 272,000kg (599,658lb), and the variant will be able to fly 450km (243nm) further, to 14,800km (7,990nm). Its wing flaps will be deflected differentially to optimise the profile and provide better load control, as with the

Air China’s Milestone A330 Airbus flew Air China’s 50th A330 on September 7. The jet, A330-343 B-5977 (msn 1658, F-WWYC), pictured at Toulouse Blagnac, features the increased 242-tonne maximum take-off weight capability cleared for the type. Once delivered, it will take Air China’s fleet of A330-300s to 20; the airline also operates 30 A330-200s. Its initial A330-200 was delivered in 2006 and its first A330300 four years later. Olivier Gregoire

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A350-900. Final assembly of the first A3501000 is due to begin in Toulouse in the first quarter of 2016, with the aircraft scheduled to fly in Q3 next year. Other key parts have been undergoing assembly in Airbus’ production facilities in Germany, France and Spain since the spring. Mark Broadbent

features aerodynamics and materials technologies developed for the A350 XWB. The A330neo programme, launched in 2014, involves two variants, the A330-800neo and A330-900neo. Airbus says the aircraft, which will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, will offer a 14% reduction in fuel burn per seat and up to 400 nautical miles (704km) more range than the current A330. Mark Broadbent

Louisiana Tech’s LongEndurance UAV A faculty group at Louisiana Tech University is working on an autonomous UAV called the P9000 that can fly for up to an hour. Louisiana Tech School of Forestry geographic information systems (GIS) instructor Wesley Palmer said: “The majority of the commercial off-the-shelf UAVs that are available have limited flight times of less than 25 minutes and limited payload capabilities.” The P9000 is GPS-enabled and designed for ‘swarm’ operations, where a number of UAVs can be operated together at once. Palmer explained that the P9000 is customisable: it uses an open source flight controller that enables bespoke programming, depending on how users want to operate it. The frame is made from lightweight carbon fibre and aluminium. The aircraft has been designed for geospatial mapping applications requiring extended flight times, such as forestry work or oil and gas exploration. The team plans to test cameras and sensors on the system and then devise higher-endurance variants with increased flight times and payload capacities. Mark Broadbent

MRJ First Flight Plans Mitsubishi Aircraft has announced that its Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) will fly in mid-October. The company had previously said only Flight Test Aircraft 1 (FTA 1, c/n 10001, JA21MJ) would fly in the fourth quarter of the year. The aircraft, and three other FTAs, will carry out flight testing from Nagoya Airport on Honshu before moving next year to Grant County International Airport in Washington, where a hangar is currently being built. Mark Broadbent

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COMMERCIAL AIRBUS HELICOPTERS H135

The rapidly growing offshore wind energy sector is leading HTM Helicopter Travel Munich to expand its fleet, operations and training facilities. Andrew Drwiega reports

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ith European nations driving forward their requirement for clean energy, there’s set to be a boom in the market for helicopters serving the offshore wind industry. Dennis Bernitz, the offshore wind farm market specialist for Airbus Helicopters, said: “The offshore wind industry is relatively new and we expect the potential market over the next 20 years to grow to over 1,000 helicopters.” Figures released by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) suggest offshore wind farm capacity in Europe is set for a massive expansion between now and 2030. There is currently around 8 GW (gigawatt) of offshore capacity and with a compound annual growth rate of 31.2% from 2009-2014, the EWEA forecasts a steep expansion to 40 GW offshore by 2020 and 150 GW by 2030. The most optimistic vision from the EWEA was published in its July 2013 report Deep Water: The next step for offshore wind energy, which stated: “By 2050 offshore wind could reach 460 GW, producing 1,813 TWh [terawatt hours] and contributing to a European power supply met 50% by wind.” It qualified this by saying that it would only be possible by the use of deep offshore wind farms. The huge potential for growth in the offshore wind power business is one of the principal reasons why Bernd Brucherseifer, Managing Director of German air services operator HTM Helicopter Travel Munich (HTM), has decided to grow his fleet of Airbus H135 helicopters servicing North Sea wind farm energy companies. The latest, delivered at the end of July, is the first to be specifically configured – and delivered – for offshore hoisting operations. In addition to the rescue hoist (on the right side of the aircraft) it is fitted with emergency egress lighting, an external life raft, an automatically deployable emergency locator transmitter, weather radar, underwater locator beacon and emergency floatation system certified to Sea State 6 (wave heights of 13-20ft/4-6m and categorised as very rough). The new H135 has been delivered with Turbomeca Arrius 2B2PLUS engines while the rest of the HTM fleet of H135s are powered by Pratt & Whitney PW206BB engines. Brucherseifer told AIR International: “We are very satisfied with this Pratt & Whitney engine but wanted to have an option with the Turbomeca powered helicopter.” The company has its roots in the southern German city of Munich and founder Hans

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Ostler, himself a helicopter pilot, has seen the company grow from three people at its start in 1997 to 85 employees today. The number of helicopters has grown equally rapidly, from two to 21 machines, 18 of which are Airbus Helicopters. Eight are configured for offshore work. The HTM fleet comprises eight H135s (one EC135 T1, six EC135 P2+/e and the latest EC135 T3), with five more still to be delivered. The company also has two

BK117s (C1 and C2, one of which currently services a yacht in Croatia) and six AS350 Squirrels (AS350B, AS350BA, AS350B2 and three AS350B3+/e) – three of which are engaged in firefighting with the Portuguese authorities during the summer season. There is one H120, one AS355N and three A109s (an A109E and two A109S) primarily used for VIP transport. HTM also operates four fixedwing business jets, one initially on behalf of the Airbus Group.

Fair W The growth of the offshore wind farm market will surge over the next decade, opening opportunities for operators such as HTM Helicopter Travel Munich. Airbus

Followi

AIRBUS HELICOPTERS H135 COMMERCIAL

From Filming to Wind Farms Operationally HTM became known for its movie filming work, mainly using the BK 117, on the German TV series Medicopter 117 as well as more traditional charter and EMS roles. But Brucherseifer can see the approaching bow wave of business in the offshore wind energy market. HTM began offshore operations from Emden, northwest Germany, in April 2009 through a contract for the Alpha Ventus

field. This was a landmark event as it was the first helicopter offshore wind operation in Germany. Brucherseifer explained this first win took a long time to negotiate. “We contacted the lead person in the tender process to explain why we should be recognised within the tender process as we were rescue specialists,” he said. “We fought for the tender since it was renewed three times over a year before we were eventually awarded the contract.”

Further contracts followed in 2011 for the Riffgat and Nordsee Ost wind farms. Operations from Emden began in August 2012 and May 2015 respectively, although the Nordsee Ost farm will be serviced from Heligoland from November. In 2012 HTM won preferred bidder status for the Global Tech I, Borkum West II and MEG I offshore farms. Operations to those fields started last year. More contracts followed for Amrumbank West (owned by

Winds &

wing Seas AI.10.15

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COMMERCIAL AIRBUS HELICOPTERS H135 EON), then Borkum Riffgrund I and II with DONG Energy. In December 2013 the Alpha Ventus contract came up for renewal and HTM was pleased to retain its first offshore customer. “This was a milestone for us as it was the first tender ever renewed,” said Brucherseifer. Late last year HTM also won a European Union tender from DONG for the Gode Wind I and II farms, each of which has 80 turbines.

All in the Technique The main daily routine for servicing wind farms at the moment is to take engineers out to turbines, hoist them down and leave them to do their work, then return to collect them at a pre-arranged time, although they are in communication to alter timings if necessary. Brucherseifer said he found the H135 the best helicopter for the mission. The BK117s do not fit the operational framework of wind farm hoisting because of their lower one-engine inoperative performance. The BK 117 was operated out of Husum for a specific project, but after that project was terminated and the transport capacity does not fulfil the needs of other projects, it was returned to Munich. The AW109 is also not favoured for offshore work. The type has a lower wind speed limit for winch operations at around 30kts (55km/h) for lowering and raising an empty hook, and that is too low for the regular conditions experienced in the North Sea. There is a standard approach to offshore wind turbine hoisting operations. Following an equipment check, the engineer to be hoisted down is secured to an internal hook before taking off their seat belt. The wind speed limit for the H135 for hoisting is below 60kts (111km/h) and the door will be opened if that is confirmed. The engineer will remain hooked up internally even when attached to the actual hoist, and only when the cabin is fully exited is the internal line removed. “We hover above the platform cage on the

1 2

3 tubing at around 7m [22ft] then we perform

a power check before the engineer exits the aircraft,” explained Brucherseifer. “When we first started operations we were hovering at between 10-15m [32-49ft] above the platform which came from our mountain rescue training. The reason for that is that in the event of an incident such as a mechanical failure, we always want to have as much room to gain airspeed to allow a more controlled descent.” But that was changed after HTM found the engineers felt a lot more comfortable being winched down to the platforms from a lower height. Brucherseifer recalled an incident from a different company where a hoist cable became snagged on a defect cable deflector fitted to a BK117. It happened during a training flight with just a weight attached to the hoist. After the cable became hooked, the operator made the mistake of continuing to winch in the cable with the inevitable result that the cable spliced, then broke. “In the beginning our philosophy was that an engine failure can happen but the cable can never be destroyed. Although this could have never happened with the type of deflector on the EC135, we changed

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AIRBUS HELICOPTERS H135 COMMERCIAL

1 HTM’s helicopters begin a new day at the company’s main German Bight operational centre at Emden, northwest Germany. Airbus 2 Crews prepare for the offshore work using a training tower at Emden, Germany. Airbus 3 HTM’s new hoisting training tower with a functioning wind turbine in the background. The tower is two thirds the size of a regular turbine. Winching can be practised from the main tower without the need for helicopter participation. Andrew Drwiega 4 HTM Helicopter Travel Munich Managing Director Bernd Brucherseifer in the hangar at Emden airport with the latest H135, which has been fitted for offshore wind farm operations. Andrew Drwiega

procedures and lowered the hover height to 7m where the chance that someone can survive any fall is realistic,” Brucherseifer said. He added that at this height there was still “the opportunity for the helicopter to escape from the obstacles if there is a tail rotor failure”. HTM’s pilots sit on the right side of the helicopter and take references from that side. They did trials with the hoist installed on the left-hand side (with the need to take references cross-cockpit), but this meant they had to fly lower to maintain visual references – down to around 2m (6.5ft) above the platform fence – which they deemed as unacceptable if there was a loss of power. During the winching operation, wind turbines’ blades are put into a Hoisting position with the nacelle turned off so the helicopter can approach flying into the wind. The turbine blades are ‘braked’ during all hoisting operations, for which there are two main rotor positions: either ‘bunny’, with two blades in a ‘Y’ formation, or with one blade pointing horizontally into wind. The latter is the standard blade position chosen by all offshore wind turbine manufacturers. The exception is if the turbine’s motor is

there was barely a moment during the author’s three-hour drive to Emden that wind turbines were not in view. Once in Germany, turbines could be seen at all points of the compass. The 30m (98ft)-high tower, located alongside a basic one-storey training facility with a small number of rooms, is actually one of the smallest towers at Emden. It is around two thirds the size of a standard turbine tower, but HTM’s negotiations with various official bodies led to several changes of location. The reasons were varied, including disturbing local people, wildlife and areas of natural beauty. When the site outside Emden was eventually selected the local authorities wanted to restrict the flying to around 40 minutes per day. HTM eventually negotiated to one hour, which is barely enough time for the hoist cycles required, according to HTM’s training standard for Helicopter Hoist Passengers. The tower is fitted with a lower platform and a cantilever arm that can be extended with a winch on its far end. This setup enables training for abseils from the generator housing and rescues from the Transition Piece without the presence of a helicopter. Offshore wind turbine maintenance business accounts for around 30% of HTM’s annual turnover, so expansion makes sense. To better serve its power generating customers, including DONG, EWE, EON and others in the German Bight area (the far southeastern-most part of the North Sea), HTM is expanding its number of bases. The company is nearing 18,000 hoist cycles completed offshore since 2009 and it is now looking at conducting between 1,500-2,000 missions offshore per year from bases including Emden, Norden and the islands of Borkum (opened in 2012) and Heligoland (the newest base). The islands are only a short ferry ride from the mainland and aircrews spend one week there and one week off.

4 inoperative and the turbine is ‘dead’. Brucherseifer explained: “In this case the blades can be in any position and the nacelle in directions other than 90 degrees to the wind. For those cases, non-standard hoist procedures with higher restrictions are used. Since we know the position of the nacelle and wind direction and speed in advance, it makes it easier for us to judge if hoisting is feasible. Even a procedure for an idling rotor [a turbine blade that couldn’t be braked] has been established which ensures safe hoisting.”

Training Tower The end of July marked the opening of a training tower close to Emden used by helicopter crews to practise their approach, hover and hoisting techniques and procedures before having to do the real thing over open water in the middle of an active wind farm. Nevertheless, the tower’s main purpose is to train offshore personnel in getting hoisted to an elevated area. According to Brucherseifer, the process of installing the training tower was far from straightforward despite the whole of this region being covered by wind turbines. Having landed in Amsterdam to visit HTM,

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MILITARY OPÉRATION BARKHANE Transall R204/64-GD taxies out from Niamey for yet another mission. All images Henri-Pierre Grolleau

French strategic and tactical transport aircraft provide much needed logistics support and tactical mobility in a huge area in the Sahara desert, as Henri-Pierre Grolleau discovers

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fter the push south in early 2013 by terrorist groups towards Bamako, the capital of Mali, the urgency of the situation was such that a call for help was issued to various Allied countries. Numerous foreign

airlifters, including RAF, Royal Canadian Air Force and US Air Force C-17 Globemasters, were drafted in to bring vehicles, ammunition and spare parts into the theatre as fast as possible to thwart the terrorists’ drive towards the capital. From BA125 Istres and other bases in France, units were rushed into Mali and the enemy offensive was soon broken down. This was the beginning of Opération Serval,

which has now been expanded into Opération Barkhane. Mali, Niger and Chad are all land-locked countries with no direct access to the sea: hence the importance of airlift for French troops.

Tasked by the EATC As in Afghanistan, a permanent air-bridge has been established between France and Chad, Mali and Niger, with Airbus A310-300s

OPÉRATION BARKHANE MILITARY

AIRLIFTERS OVER

AFRICA

and A340-200s of Escadron de Transport 3/60 ‘Estérel’ from Paris-Charles de Gaulle playing a crucial role. A regular air service has been set up by ‘Estérel’ between France and these countries, plus the Central African Republic where French armed forces are still engaged as part of Opération Sangaris to restore peace. The weekly activity of the three A310300s and two A340-200s sharply increases

when troops are relieved, every four or six months. The rest of the time the Airbuses serve the French dependencies in the West Indies, South America, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific plus the French forces deployed in Lebanon, Jordan, Djibouti and the UAE (the last sortie for the French contingent in Afghanistan was on January 15, 2015). All the missions are tasked by the European Air Transport Command (EATC)

in Eindhoven, except when French special forces are carried. This is why personnel are sometimes carried by a Luftwaffe A310 or a Royal Netherlands Air Force KDC-10. ‘Estérel’s deputy operations commander (names withheld for security reasons) explained: “We always carry a mixed load of passengers and cargo. At [BA107] Villacoublay, a dedicated centre manages all the transport requirements from all branches

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MILITARY OPÉRATION BARKHANE

1

of the French armed forces and decides how the loads will be delivered to their final users: by ships, aircraft and even trains in continental Europe. “For urgent, heavy cargo the choice has to be made between military airlifters and chartered cargo planes. It’s easier for passengers, and it’s sometimes decided to rely on regular airways instead of French Air Force assets. “For example, if 15 personnel need to go

to a specific country it would be more costeffective to buy them tickets on Air France or similar companies than to dedicate a military A310 or A340. “Missions are tasked by the EATC, but the Armée de l’Air [French Air Force] can pull out a strategic airlifter for a specific mission anytime, either for VVIP transportation or for special forces support. “Mission planning is made a month in advance, and sometimes 45 days in

2

advance. Nevertheless, we’re occasionally tasked at the very last minute for various long-haul missions.”

Strict Cost Control Everything is done to ensure operating costs are kept under tight control: flights are optimised to carry the largest amount of passengers and cargo in the smallest number of sorties. For instance, a flight to Africa is likely

COMBAT ENGINEERS IN ACTION French armed forces combat engineers have spared no effort to improve and expand the infrastructure at Niamey, N’Djamena and various forward operating bases, including Madama. At N’Djamena, they have built new parking facilities to accommodate the new A400M Atlas. But even more impressive is the work completed at Niamey. Since September 2013, specialists from the Armée de Terre, the Armée de l’Air and the Service des Infrastructures de la Défense have worked to ensure the base remains operable at all times. Great care is needed to ensure electricity production and distribution remains constant. This is especially important for the Harfang and Reaper UAVs’ remote control centres installed in Niamey. Engineers and electricians constantly monitor the powerful, redundant generators. Using backhoe loaders, excavators, compactors, motor-graders, wheel loaders, bulldozers and dumper trucks, a troop of the 19e Régiment du Génie (19th Engineer Regiment) is currently engaged in massive earthmoving and grading works in Niamey. A 4,000m-long (13,123ft) perimeter road and a logistical platform for heavy vehicles and containers have been built. Various defensive French airmen have become accustomed to carrying out maintenance fortifications and Hesco bastion walls have procedures in austere environments, as with these checks being conducted on a Transall. also been set up by 19e RG sappers around key installations. nearly everything from Ivory Coast. Around 50 engineers from the 25e Régiment du Génie de l’Air (25th “Bitumen and aggregate, two basic road building materials heavily used Air Engineer Regiment) are in charge of improving the aeronautical for airfield construction, are in such short supply here that they have to infrastructure in Niamey, where considerable work has already been be trucked in from Ivory Coast for our specific needs.” completed: Weather has also become an issue for the 25e RGA detachment. • 24,000m² (258,334 sq ft) of taxiway • Fighter facility with aircraft shelters for the Mirage 2000 detachment Lieutenant ‘Tarcis’ explained: “Here, the quality of the bitumen is much lower than the one we use in France and the asphalt does not • Temporary apron for tactical airlifters cool down as quickly because of the high temperatures. • Concrete apron for a single C-135FR “During the wet season, from mid-July to early September, torrential downpours fall and all work has to be stopped for weeks. The soil itself Works have included repairs to the taxiways and aprons as part of the causes some trouble: it is naturally composed of sandy laterite. bilateral agreements between France and Niger, and work on a massive “To obtain the same taxiway and apron strength as in France we have apron capable of simultaneously accommodating a C-135FR, two to lay down three successive layers of compacted laterite, crushed A400Ms and a Transall or a Hercules. stone and bitumen/concrete to a thickness of 450mm [17.7 inches], but Personnel from 25e RGA, a regiment that exclusively supports the with a much higher percentage of stones and binding material to obtain Armée de l’Air, work in difficult conditions, as Capitaine ‘Marc’ a result that will resist wet season downpours.” explained: “Resources are scarce in Niger and we need to bring in

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1 Troops arriving in North Africa are taken to the frontline bases in northern Mali aboard Transalls, as seen here at Niamey. The CN235 crews have painted ‘Casa Team’ and ‘I love Casa Nurse’ on the tailfin. 2 The A400M is progressively taking an expanding role in Africa – the type offers twice the speed, twice the endurance and twice the load as a Transall. 3 An A340 at N’Djamena – the type is providing sterling service to the French armed forces in Africa.

to include stops in both Niamey (Niger) and N’Djamena (Chad), and will also be used for intra-theatre airlift from Niamey to N’Djamena and vice versa. “We’re not here to log flight hours for the sake of logging flight hours,” insisted ET 3/60’s deputy operations commander. “We’re here to provide a service without wasting precious taxpayer money in these times of budget constraints. “To transit through foreign airspace we require diplomatic clearance which can either be permanent or temporary. The temporary clearances are quick to obtain for VVIP flights or for medevacs. They are much slower to get approved, however, for a number of countries and for certain types of cargo.” An A310 or A340 crew is typically composed of three pilots and between nine and 11 safety personnel in the main cabin, depending on the number of passengers carried on a mission. “A twin-engine aircraft like the A310 is perfectly suited for civilian airline operations, but a four-engine airliner is better adapted to military operations as it proves much more flexible for certain types of longhaul flights,” continued ET 3/60’s deputy operations commander. “With the A310, we strictly adhere to the ETOPS rules which force us to follow certain types of ocean-crossing routes while the A340 allows us to fly direct, even over long distances across oceans, or over the highest peaks. “For example, I suffered an engine problem in an A340 during a transatlantic flight and the decision was made to continue towards our destination. In an A310, we would have had to divert at once. “On the A340, if we suffer an engine failure we will stabilise at FL280 and at FL200 if we lose two. At FL280 we can fly above most mountains in the world, except Everest and a few other high summits in the Himalayas.”

3

APODs

GTOs

Niamey and N’Djamena are, in NATO terminology, classified as APODs (Airports Of Debarkation). Lieutenant Colonel ‘Nicolas’, chief of Armée de l’Air operations in Niamey, said: “The Niamey APOD closely co-operates with the Abidjan Sea POD [Point of Debarkation], in Ivory Coast. All heavy pieces of equipment are directly delivered here from Abidjan by trucks, after a 2,000km-long road trip in sometimes horrendously difficult conditions, especially in the wet season when torrential downpours are a frequent occurrence. “Personnel and light equipment are transported here by Transalls, Hercules, A400Ms, A310s, A340s and chartered civilian aircraft such as An-124s. “Armée de Terre [army] and Armée de l’Air specialists then make sure that equipment and personnel are dispatched to the correct destination within the theatre; a complex task. “For example, in January, during a major relief period, more than 4,000 personnel – 2,000 inbound from France and 2,000 outbound back to France – transited through here in just a few days.” The A400M Atlas is progressively taking a larger role as part of the logistics airlift to and from Africa. With its high speed, large payload and long range, the aircraft is proving extremely successful, and during its rotation to N’Djamena or Niamey and back, each Atlas proves as effective as six Transalls (twice the speed, twice the endurance and twice the load). Seven A400Ms have so far been delivered to the French Air Force and a growing number of aircrews are being trained at BA123 Orléans where the fleet is stationed. Escadron de Transport 1/61 ‘Touraine’ has now taken a leading role with its expanding fleet of A400Ms, progressively relieving an overstretched Hercules fleet and a fast dwindling Transall inventory.

Two Groupements de Transport Opérationnel (GTOs, or operational transport groups) are stationed in N’Djamena and Niamey, from where they support the Groupement Tactique Désert Est (Desert Tactical Battlegroup East) and the Groupement Tactique Désert Ouest (Desert Tactical Battlegroup West) respectively. Captain ‘Emeric’, a Transall pilot detached to Niamey, explained: “The Niamey GTO was previously installed in Bamako, but you just have to look at a map to understand why it was moved to Niamey in September 2014. “A Transall required 3hrs 10mins to fly one way from Bamako to Gao [Mali]. From Niamey, the flight was cut down to 1hr 10mins, a significant reduction. “From here, we fly logistics missions to the forward operating bases in Gao, Kidal, Tessalit and Madama. We sometimes fly to N’Djamena or to Dakar, in Senegal. “We occasionally fly a round trip to Guinea-Conakry as part of the fight against Ebola, supporting the French medical detachment there. If required, we could also be re-tasked to participate in Opération Sangaris in the Central African Republic. “Although sometimes fitted with a hose and drogue, the Transalls deployed to Africa are not used for aerial refuelling.” A GTO’s size varies: it is constantly adapted to match the operational needs of the frontline units engaged deep in the Sahara desert. “At the beginning of Opération Serval in Mali, in early 2013, we had 11 Hercules and Transalls within the theatre,” revealed Capt ‘Emeric’. “When things settled into a kind of operational routine, this was cut down to just three Transalls in Bamako. When Serval became Barkhane, this was further reduced to two aircraft and two crews in Niamey.

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MILITARY OPÉRATION BARKHANE 1 Combat engineers have brought a huge amount of ancillary equipment to Africa, including this concrete mixing facility. 2 In the Sahara theatre Transalls are flown with a full load of decoys.

1

“During the troop relief peak period, every six months on average, we are allocated an additional crew to cope with the increased activity. We then carry a full load of passengers, 90 troops with their luggage and light weapons, the absolute maximum for a Transall. “We take fresh troops when they come out of their A340/A310 and load them into the Transall to dispatch them to their final destination in Gao, Kidal, Tessalit and Madama in the shortest amount of time. On the way back, we transport the relieved troops back to Niamey.”

Combat Drops Since the beginning of the combat operations in Mali, the Armée de l’Air has carried out a large number of parachute drops and assault landings to seize strategic key points – including Timbuktu, Tessalit and Gao airfields – and take the enemy by surprise. For example, 246 paratroopers were dropped by two Hercules and three Transalls on Timbuktu during the night of January 27/28, 2013. They were soon reinforced by combat engineers to remove obstructions installed on the runway by jihadists. Airborne troops exited the aircraft at a height of 300m (1,000ft) above ground while heavy loads, including bulldozers, were released from 400m (1,330ft). Since then, tactical airlifters from Abidjan and Bamako, and now Niamey and N’Djamena, have dropped hundreds of tonnes of supplies (food, water, spare parts, fuel and ammunition) to support patrols engaged in daring raids deep in the desert. Although details are sketchy, at least three large paratrooper drops have been made around the Salvador Pass in northern Niger, close to the border with Libya, in an effort to create a feeling of insecurity among the 2 terrorists and traffickers that frequently transit through the area. French paratroopers set checkpoints before being reinforced by motor patrols. With the combined use of fast jets, helicopters and tactical airlifters, France’s armed forces in Sahara dominate the battlespace, imposing their own operational tempo on enemy forces which had to retreat to Libya, where they remain out of reach. Although the Transalls are fully capable of conducting medevacs, the GTOs rely instead on CN235s, which undertake the ‘Casa Nurse’ role from Gao and N’Djamena. The two forward-deployed CN235s are held at short-notice QRA ready to be scrambled in a matter of minutes should the need arise.

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Harsh Conditions In Niamey, extreme heat and dust are a constant problem for men and aircraft. “Weather conditions in Africa have a detrimental impact on Transall performance, especially on climb rates,” said Capt ‘Emeric’. “The take-off and climb performance are the most affected, with a strong impact on payload: a rise of temperature by 10°C entails a 4,000kg [8,818lb] decrease in available payload. When the temperature reaches 40°C outside on the tarmac, we have temperatures of anything between 50° and 60°C in the main cabin.” The GTOs’ Transalls spend most of their time carrying personnel and stores ‘up north’, into the desert. “Over the years, the Transall has proved ideal for operations from austere African landing strips where other aircraft such as the CN235 and Hercules are often hampered by their undercarriage layout,” Capt ‘Emeric’ said. “The Transall, with two rows of side-by-side wheels, can land on soft sand without any problem, but Hercules and CN235 aircrews have to be more careful. “Airfields we operate from are ‘clean’, however some runways are sometimes cracked, especially in Gao. “Dust particles have an adverse effect on visibility. During the latest sortie I flew, we could not see any further than 1,500m [4,921ft] in lower altitudes. We do not have any ILS [instrument landing system] or GCA [ground-controlled approach] radars for our approaches. We have to rely on GPS instead. “In Niamey, the facilities are much better, with superb approach landing lights, and I’ve landed there with only 600m [1,968ft] of horizontal visibility. “The Transall’s head-up display proves to be a key enabler in difficult conditions: we can fly the aircraft with extreme accuracy without

having to lower our head down into the cockpit to scan the instrument panel. As a result, we maintain much better situational awareness.” With few diversion options to choose from, violent thunderstorms and missions at very heavy weights, the quality of the weather forecast is crucial. “With every degree centigrade up or down, we lose or win up to 400kg [881lb] in Transall payload,” admitted Capt ‘Emeric’. “The weatherman plays a decisive role in the mission planning loop and the French Armed Forces Meteorological/Oceanographic centre in Toulouse supports us in a very effective way.”

Maintaining the Transalls The harsh African environment takes a heavy toll on the Transall and other aircraft operating from Niamey and N’Djamena, and great care is needed to ensure good operational availability. Lieutenant ‘Valerie’, the GTO’s senior main maintenance officer in Niamey, explained: “We have to perform specific maintenance in the desert. Every two weeks we thoroughly wash the turbines and the auxiliary power unit with a special mix of kerosene, distilled water and Ardrox, an anti-corrosive agent. Airframes are also regularly washed with fresh water by the firemen to remove the dust. “The new propeller blades in composite materials that have equipped the Transall for the last few years suffer impacts from small stones and they often have to be repaired. “Depending on the size, the depth and the location of the dent, we can either repair them locally or choose to send them back to France. “Finally, we have to change tyres more frequently here than in France because of the austere runways the Transalls often operate from, especially in Madama.” To be continued…

The Programme . The Planes . The People

F-35A CTOL

F-35B STOVL

F-35C CV

F-35 Lightning II

During the last five years AIR International has devoted much editorial space to the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter and the squadrons flying the jet from its host bases. The project has been led since December 2012 by US Air Force Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan, the Program Executive Officer with the Joint Program Office, based in Arlington, Virginia. General Bogdan continues to serve in that role. During his tenure, the F-35 has been critically scrutinised by politicians, trashed by much of the media, but most importantly of all tested in flight. Some aspects of the programme remain at an immature stage, others are ‘good to go’, but most significantly two US Marine Corps F-35B fleet squadrons are flying operationally declared aircraft. The Marine Corps was the first of the three US armed services to declare initial operational capability, known colloquially as IOC, on the Lightning II. This major milestone was announced to the world by US Marine Corps Commandant General Joseph Dunford on July 31. The standard bearers in the ‘route march’ to IOC comprised Argonauts, Green Knights and Warlords. F-35 Lightning – Mark Ayton the Program, the Planes, the People – tells the story. EDITOR 38

F-35C CF-05 during an external stores high-alpha test flight on February 25, 2015. Michael Jackson/Lockheed Martin

SEMPER FI Lt Gen Jon Davis sets the scene of 40  the US Marine Corps’ F-35B IOC.

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DRIVING NAILS How Argonauts, Green Knights and Warlords prepared for IOC .

ALL ABOARD A Royal Navy perspective of F-35B 52  operational test. SALTY DOGS & FUNKY JETS Details of the latest F-35B and 56  F-35C flight-test activity by the ITF at Pax River.

ALIS An account of ongoing work by 70  Lockheed Martin to develop its Autonomic

Logisitics Information System for the F-35.

FOLLOW ME An exclusive feature about the F-35A 74  Lightning II in service with the US Air Force Weapons School.

AUSTRALIAN LIGHTNING AT LUKE An F-35 programme overview from 78  an Australian perspective.

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GRIM REAPERS’ DESERT CALLING Another exclusive feature on the first F-35C detachment to the home of Top Gun.

POWER & LIFT Descriptions of the Pratt & Whitney 64  THE ITALIAN JOB F135 engine variants and the F-35B An overview of the Italian FACO 88  LiftSystem produced by Rolls-Royce. facility at Cameri Air Base in Italy.

Editor: Mark Ayton Deputy Editor: Mark Broadbent Designer: Dave Robinson Sub Editors: Carol Randall, Norman Wells, Paul Watson, Sue Blunt and Sue Campbell Advertising Manager: Ian Maxwell Production Manager: Janet Watkins Commercial Director: Ann Saundry Executive Chairman: Richard Cox Managing Director & Publisher: Adrian Cox

Published by Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 1XQ, UK Telephone: +44 (0)1780 755131 Fax: +44 (0)1780 757261 Subscription: [email protected] Website: www.keypublishing.com

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F-35 Lightning II

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t Gen Jon Davis, Deputy Commandant for Aviation, HQ Marine Corps had plenty to occupy his mind in July tracking 14 items related to the F-35B Lightning II leading up to an initial operational capability declaration for the type. The US Marine Corps defined the criteria for its F-35B initial operational capability (IOC) as a squadron of ten aircraft capable of executing close air support, limited offensive and defensive counter air, air interdiction, air support escort, armed reconnaissance and limited suppression of enemy air defences. F-35B IOC was a specified objective with a series of implied and essential tasks required to meet the criteria. One of the implied tasks was the ability to go to sea with the aircraft. Lt Gen Davis told AIR International: “We had to demonstrate we could operate successfully from a sea base.” And that was the reason why the Marine Corps undertook Operational Test Phase One at sea (OT I) with six F-35Bs deployed aboard the USS Wasp in May. Gen Davis explained: “We tracked the items and closed them from red to yellow to green [the colour coding used] to make sure we were covered on all of them and also some of the longlead items required to modify aircraft to Block 2B configuration. A big part [of the effort] was getting the modified airplanes to the squadron so the pilots and the maintainers could learn how they were going to employ the airplane tactically in order to achieve our objectives.” Lt Gen Davis told the author he was pretty confident the timeline would be made but conceded that lots of people were implying he would declare IOC regardless of where his service was on the checklist just to meet a July deadline. Gen Davis was resolute that wasn’t what the US Marine Corps was going to do: “I went back to my RAF days with 3(F) Squadron in Germany. Before we declared ourselves operational to NATO we had an operational readiness inspection. So we [the Marine Corps] set an operational readiness inspection to serve as a capstone event.” The ORI was implemented to determine if Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA121) ‘Green Knights’, the first F-35B fleet squadron, could do close air support, armed reconnaissance, air interdiction, offensive and defensive counter air and to the degree of fidelity required. An extensive maintenance inspection was included based on very detailed inspection checklists issued by Commander Naval Air Forces. A team of experienced F-35 officers from Headquarters Marine Corps and the training unit Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) ‘Warlords’ were tasked to pick five random topics from the checklist. If any problem was found in any area they were instructed to open up another. In addition to the team’s own work, squadron pilots and maintainers sat exams on safety, procedures and tactics. “We gave them a very tight timeline to fly the five mission sets and wanted to test the ability of all of VMFA-121’s pilots to fly the profiles. Everybody flew simulation and live events in the airplane. In some cases we were able to add more threats into the simulator,” explained Gen Davis, adding that the maintainers knocked it out of the park and the pilots did incredibly well in their simulator and flight events.

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In the air-to-air scenarios flown by VMFA-121 during the ORI, the F-35Bs flew against F-5N Tiger IIs from Marine Fighter Training Squadron 401 (VMFT-401) ‘Snipers’ based at Yuma. The F-5Ns provided adversary support to the F-35Bs. One mission involved nine F-5Ns in an air-to-air duel with four F-35Bs. All nine Tigers were ‘killed’ by their fifth-generation opponents. And in accordance with the IOC checklist, VMFT401 was the only other Marine Corps unit to fly with VMFA-121 during its IOC work-up. Gen Davis said at no time during its workup was VMFA-121 part of a MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit) and with the exception of VMFT-401’s F-5Ns all of the Green Knights’ missions were flown by their own ranks. The squadron is continuing operations at Yuma and in the coming months will deploy to Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twenty Nine Palms in California for eight weeks in support of an integrated training exercise. “They’re also validating a WTI [Weapons and Tactics Instructor] class to make sure we’ve got that right. Then we’re going to fly lots of sorties integrated with helicopters and jets throughout the entire WTI between September and late October. Then we’ll run our first two F-35B students through WTI in the spring of 2016,” said the Deputy Commandant. A JTAC [Joint Terminal Attack Controller] was used for the close air support event and tested control of the F-35Bs with both voice and digital communications. According to Gen Davis, the performance of VMFA-121’s pilots was better in terms of time on target and weapon delivery accuracy than legacy platforms. “In the armed reconnaissance event, they did incredibly well against a double-digit SAM [surfaceto-air missile] threat. Not only did they find their targets, but they also dealt with an SA-11. We wouldn’t be able to fly over a target defended with such as SAM system using legacy aircraft.” The inspection team completed VMFA-121’s ORI on July 14 and then spent two weeks evaluating the spares posture and how long it takes to deliver spares to the point of departure and forward from there. Gen Davis said the biggest concern was whether the depth of spare parts was available to support the maintenance requirements for deployment. “That took us the most time. First we wanted to make sure we are fit to fight and then able to stand and fight.”

Semp

F-35 Lightning II Lieutenant General Jon Davis Deputy Commandant for Aviation. US Marine Corps

Plans for the Fleet With VMFA-121 declared IOC Gen Davis is now seeking deployment opportunities for the squadron to further test the F-35B and its various systems. He praised the quality of the unit and seeks to extend that to all F-35 squadrons that subsequently stand up for pilots and most importantly the maintainers. “We have maintainers who are really experienced on the airplane so we’ll pull some people out of 121 to stand up VMFA-211. We’ve already picked the Commanding Officer for that squadron.” Marine Attack Squadron 211 ‘Wake Island Avengers’ is an AV-8B Harrier-equipped unit currently assigned to Marine Air Group 13 at Yuma. It is due stand up as the second F-35B unit at Yuma next year. “After that, 121 will deploy ten aircraft to Japan in January 2017 in a permanent change of station to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. When that happens VMFA-122 will stand down as an F/A-18 squadron [based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort] and stand up as the third F-35B squadron at Yuma. Gen Davis explained how all the Marine Corps’ F-35Bs will be modified to Block 2B standard, and a lot will be upgraded to Block 3i and Block 3F configuration. “By January 2019 every F-35 in the Marine Corps needs to be in a common Block 3F configuration,” he said. Gen Davis and his team have set timelines for completing the upgrades with a performanceand standards-driven modification schedule. By January 2019, the Marine Corps wants to be able to configure them to Block 4 standard which offers exponentially more combat capability above Block 3F.

Benefiting the Fleet Based on his insight of the ORI, Gen Davis says he has every confidence that even a limited Block 2B aircraft is highly survivable with lethal combat capability, and as such is a game changer. “We’ve got a big leap in capabilities. Much like the MV-22 Osprey, which has changed the Marine Corps for the better: it’s much more agile, and has totally transformed what a sea base looks like. What we can do with sea-based MV-22s and in expeditionary land-based operations is a tremendous capability in the MEU. “The F-35 will be an even bigger step change for what we’re able to do with a sea-based force and a Marine Expeditionary Force. With

mper Fi

Block 3F we get not only software and more weapons, but a full operating envelope. The high-end fight requires fifth-gen airplanes to knock down air defence systems, enemy fighters and go for the hardest targets: that’s what we’re going for. Gen Davis also spoke about employing the F-35B once an air defence system is knocked down and the need for low observable radar signature has been diminished allowing carriage of weapons on the external pylons. “Now I’ve got a fourth-gen airplane with fifthgen sensors, but carrying 3,000 pounds more ordnance than an F/A-18. It’s a bomb truck with STOVL capability. Once back aboard the ship we can remove the pylons, make it stealthy again, and go out to the next hot spot. No other airplane in the world gives me that kind of capability, that kind of agility. We’re still trying to determine the impact of that and make sure we extract maximum value from this thing which is going to make the MAGTF [Marine Air Ground Task Force] much more effective. Equipped with a suite of high-performance sensors (radar, EOTS, DAS, EW) the US Marine Corps’ challenge is determining how the information gathered by the F-35B is shared with its most important user of all: Marines on the ground. Referring to the aviation and ground combat elements of a MAGTF Gen Davis said: “Making the two elements operate a little bit smarter by leveraging the capability of the systems on board the airplane is a big deal for us.” And Gen Davis also stressed the benefits of operating F-35Bs from an amphibious assault ship or sea base: “Without a sea base, we’re forced to fly tactical fighters on long missions. When based off shore we’re not cuffed by cycle or sortie time that’s wasted in transit to the target area. We need to get maximum combat capability. On a ten-hour mission, you’re getting very few assets over the target and the overheads to do that are really high. If you’re going to have a limited number of airplanes, this is the one you want to have, in enough numbers to be a part of a campaign.” During the course of his career Gen Davis has flown over 4,500 mishap-free hours in the AV-8 Harrier, F-5 Tiger and FA-18 Hornet, and as a co-pilot in every type model series of tiltrotor, rotary winged and air-refueller aircraft in the US Marine Corps inventory. When asked about the priority for the F-35B he replied: “None of us in the business of being a force in readiness would let an event like the 75th anniversary of Eagle Day and the start of the Battle of Britain go without reflection. For us in the Marine Corps, putting the numbers [of F-35s] we need on the flight line, training our guys and building combat capability is priority before the next great challenge out there. The British cadre at 501 [VMFAT-501] is building a bridge for this [the F-35B’s] combat capability in the future and the more we learn to operate together the better hedge for future uncertainties. I think that’s imperative right now.” Mark Ayton Semper Fi is the abbreviated version of Semper Fidelis, the motto of the US Marine Corps which means ‘Always faithful’.

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ighter squadrons rarely remain at the forefront of their armed service without a succession of outstanding achievements in peace time or war. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121) ‘Green Knights’ is one such unit. During its 64-year service career the Green Knights have operated around the world from locations as diverse as Okinawa, Japan and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. On September 12, 2012 VMFA-121 became the first squadron in the US Marine Corps fleet to start transition to the F-35B Lightning II. Just 1,037 days later the squadron, commanded

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by Lt Col Steve Gillette, was given its initial operational capability (IOC) declaration for the fifth-generation jump jet. The Green Knights are assigned to Marine Air Group 13 (MAG-13) based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona. The IOC criteria were outlined in a letter issued by the then Deputy Commandant of Aviation, Lieutenant General Robert Schmidle, in June 2013. Meeting the IOC criteria depended on having the following requirements on the squadron at its home station:

Ten F-35B aircraft all upgraded to Group 1 modification standard and configured with Block 2B software. Three of the key modifications made to the squadron’s Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) lot 4 aircraft were the FS496 bulkhead (structural), auxiliary air inlet door (capability) and installation of the onboard inert gas generation system for protection against lightning (safety). All of the key modifications were made to overcome restrictions placed on the aircraft. The latest compartmentalised version of ALIS (Autonomic Logistics Information System) carried in pelican cases for deployment and known as V2. Complete skill and mission set training for eight of the squadron’s pilots to US Marine Corps level 2000 (skill based) and 3000 (mission

based) training-in-readiness codes. The codes certify a pilot’s ability to conduct the missions required for IOC; armed reconnaissance, active air defence, close-air support, offensive and defensive counter air.

Missions Of the ten aircraft required for the IOC declaration, three were built in LRIP lot 5 (modified by depot workers at Yuma) and seven in LRIP lot 4 (two modified by the Ogden Air Logistics Centre at Hill Air Force Base, Utah and five by the Fleet Support Center East at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina). The first aircraft left Yuma for the depot in the fourth quarter of 2014. When F-35A serial number 10-5015 (c/n AF-27) suffered an engine fire on take-off from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida on June 23, 2014 the entire fleet was grounded until the agencies involved in the investigation had a clear

Driving Nails understanding of what took place in the F135-PW-400 engine. The mishap was caused when the third stage integrally bladed rotor (R3) forward integral

arm of the fan module fractured. This fracture occurred on the R3 forward integral arm and was caused by high cycle fatigue following a rub event on the aft plate seal of the integral arm. The aft plate seal experienced heat damage from the rub against a strip of foam material attached to the second stage stator. For VMFA-121, the grounding prevented its deployment to the UK to participate in last year’s Royal International Air Tattoo and the Farnborough International Airshow. Naval Air Systems Command, the flight clearance authority for the F-35B variant, restricted the

Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

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F-35 Lightning II

This shot of F-35B BuNo 168721/‘VK03’ clearly shows the extent of serrated panels on the top side of the fifth-generation jump jet’s design. Dan Stijovich

G envelope and provided quick and long-term fixes to the problem. The quick fix involved flying each aircraft in a specific flight profile to burn off a very thin layer inside the R3 to prevent the arm from rubbing: the cause of the engine fire in AF-27. All of VMFA-121’s aircraft flew the profile which gave them an aerodynamic envelope of 5.5 G for training. The long-term fix requires installation of a redesigned fan module with an internal pre-trenched groove. This engineering fix was installed at the depots in all ten aircraft required for IOC.

Why TacAir US Marine Corps TacAir (tactical aviation) primarily exists for one reason: to ensure whatever the ground commander’s mission, he has responsive and effective close-air support at his beck and call when needed. During a visit to Yuma prior to the IOC declaration, Lt Col Steve Gillette, VMFA-121’s commanding officer, told the author: “The core of TacAir is to drive nails with weapons in the name of what the ground commander needs you to do. As we get ready to declare IOC, first and foremost

I need to make sure this airplane and my squadron is trained to do just that. In addition, for the Marine Corps there are a host of other things the F-35 can do in support of either the MAGTF [Marine Air Ground Task Force] or the joint force commander’s mission, whether that’s the air-to-air role, escorting MV-22s or armed reconnaissance. We need to be able to do all those things well. That’s the same for the first F-35B squadron as any other Harrier, Hornet unit.” When the author asked Lt Col Gillette if VMFA121 conducts any of the mission sets differently because of the unique capabilities of the F-35B, he replied: “The manner in which you execute any given mission order doesn’t change but the manner in which you operate your aircraft can change based on its capabilities. We’re working with MAWTS-1, the Air Force Weapons School, Top Gun, Air Force OT&E [operational test and evaluation] and Marine Corps OT&E to get those tactical recommendations. We see how recommendations work and provide feedback to the respective organisations.” Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 (MAWTS-1) and Top Gun are the weapons F-35B Lightning IIs on the flight deck of the USS Wasp during OT I on May 20. Cpl Anne Henry/ US Marine Corps

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schools of the US Marine Corps and US Navy respectively. Air Force OT&E and Marine Corps OT&E refer to the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron based at Edwards Air Force Base, California and Marine Operational and Evaluation Squadron 22 (VMX-22) ‘Argonauts’ based at Yuma. Lt Col Gillette quantified 121’s work and the level of exchange: “We happen to have 17 pilots who regularly fly the missions. Other units in the F-35 programme are doing tactical employment but on a smaller scale. The OT&E units have fewer aircraft assigned so the number of sorties each one generates is fewer.”

Block 2B The final version of Block 2B software (known as 2BR5) loaded on VMFA-121’s aircraft for the IOC work-up and operational readiness inspection improved the mission systems capability and stability throughout the extended flight envelope and provided better sensor fusion. Major Greg Summa, VMFA-121’s then executive officer, said the ability to share data between aircraft and see what another pilot is seeing in his airplane without having to make any descriptive communication call translates into tactical decision making at a much quicker rate. “The kill chain, the ability to get tagged-ID and then target that chain or loop, has sped-up exponentially because of that,” he said. The advent of Block 2BR5 has benefited the combat capability of the aircraft in several ways. The pilot is not dependent on voice communications nor does he have to spend time determining the battle space environment and how to address a specific tactical problem. Maj Summa said the challenge is getting aircrew to recognise how they were going to make tactical decisions based off increased capabilities. “Our training is an iterative process of learning how to do it as a single ship then as a section [two] with lots of information flowing back and forth between aircraft. That takes our training to another level. “Simultaneously the aerodynamic envelope, both speed and G, has greatly improved. We can fly supersonically and to do things the airplane was built to do. They have been signed off and are part of our basic operating procedures.” Lt Col Gillette said: “Configured with Block 2B software gives situational awareness, sensor capability and lethality on the battlefield that is head and shoulders above anything that the Marine Corps currently flies, hands down, unequivocally. Are there glitches in the software where we see anomalies, certainly, but it will continue to improve.”

F-35 Lightning II

US Navy plane handlers move an F-35B around the hangar deck of USS Wasp. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

Flight Operations With Block 2B, the squadron was able to increase its training envelope; specifically in close air support (CAS) and armed reconnaissance and prove its ability to execute the missions and to do so more aggressively if required. “Previously the pilot had to be very aware of the airplane’s limits. Now you have a little bit more of a grace period to go to the increased G and speed limits,” said Maj Summa. Block 2B’s envelope also enabled VMFA-121 pilots to conduct much more training in longrange and short-range air-to-air engagements. In the second Weapons and Tactics Instructor course (WTI) staged by MAWTS-1 at Yuma last October, VMFA-121 participated in six of the biggest missions. Some were flown over the Nevada Test and Training Range with US Air Force types like F-16s and F-22s, and others with AV-8B Harriers, F/A-18 Hornets and EA-6B Prowlers in the local Yuma range. Configured to Block 2 standard, the F-35Bs were able to undertake strike co-ordination by identifying targets and passing their co-ordinates to Harriers and Hornets. Maj Summa said: “The sensors showed so much information at altitude we provided critical filling information for areas within the battle space where the C3 [command, control and communications] agency or ground-based air defence systems could not. But because of our software limitations at the time we were using voice communication. With Block 2B we are fully integrated in the digital picture and not

dependent on voice communication; now target information is data linked to the other aircraft.” Close air support is a sub-set of armed reconnaissance and a primary mission for all Marine Fighter Attack Squadrons executed in accordance with Joint Close Air Support standards. VMFA-121 can employ either the 500lb GBU-12 laser-guided bomb or the 1,000lb GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munitions for the necessary fire support. Much has been written about the F-35’s inability to conduct the CAS mission but much less about what it brings to the fight: primarily

Some of the marines who maintained the six F-35Bs embarked aboard the USS Wasp during OT I pose for a group photo on the hangar deck. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

prohibitive interference. What does that mean? It means the F-35B can provide CAS in a battle space with a surface-to-air missile system prohibiting aircraft such as the Harrier or Hornet from entering. Maj Summa explained: “I can take a couple of Block 2B airplanes into that environment, find, notify, and if required, negate the threat for continued F-35 operations but also for the Harriers and Hornets because the threat has been notified or degraded to a level that it’s no longer prohibitive. “The ability to map a target area using synthetic aperture radar, save the map and be able to review it while airborne and speak with the Joint Terminal Air Controller to advise him what you can see, that’s a big thing. But the ability to precisely target different objects, points or buildings by scoping down to look at something and use the targeting system to gain the ID required is also very beneficial. “The information available to you [for close air support] is at a much higher level and it’s ergonomically and tactically easier to use. We’ve completed this kind of targeting by day, by night and in an urban environment. But the difference is this airplane gives you the ability to go into areas where once we might have taken hours or days just to shape the environment for close air support,” said Maj Summa. Digital interoperability with the ground and aviation elements simultaneously seeing a common operational picture is the next logical step for close air support and a huge push for Marine aviation across the MAGTF. The weapons school, MAWTS-1, is running tactical

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F-35 Lightning II

demonstrations and evaluations specifically focused on increasing the kill chain to making the tempo as fast as possible with the highest fidelity of information. “It’s one thing to sense the environment but it’s another thing to sense the environment with extremely high fidelity. And that’s something that the F-35 has and we’ve seen with the introduction of Block 2B,” opined Maj Summa.

Work-up to the Wasp In preparation to embark on the USS Wasp for Operational Test Phase One at sea (OT I) and the IOC declaration, VMFA-121 pilots used the local auxiliary landing field (ALF) to conduct day and night FCLPs (field carrier landing practice). The ALF is built in the desert near Yuma and laid out like an LHD-class amphibious assault ship with a superstructure, deck and a full suite of landing aids, including lenses and height position indicators. Maj Summa explained the FCLP procedures used at the facility: “Each pilot has an overhead time at the ALF. They come into the break, convert into mode 4 flight and enter a hover abeam ‘the ship’. They side step over the deck and the Landing Signals Officer clears them to land on one of the spots at which point the pilot performs a vertical landing. Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 had fuel truck hot pits set up at the ALF for refuelling the airplanes ready for a short take-off to re-enter the pattern for further FCLPs before returning to Yuma.”

and glitches with the original version during the last three years. Today, Marines assigned to 121 provide advice to both the Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin about required improvements within ALIS. MSgt Brian Erline, VMFA-121’s Aviation Logistics Information Management and Support Chief, told AIR International: “In my time on the squadron many of our recommendations have been incorporated into the system, mainly from the administrator’s standpoint, but also the maintainers’.” On a squadron such as VMFA-121 the ALIS suite comprises software and hardware. Maintainers use different applications to log maintenance activities. One application called Joint Technical Data is incorporated on the servers, laptops and portable maintenance aids (PMAs). When connected to the aircraft, a PMA device provides all of the technical orders with step-by-step instructions on how to perform the maintenance task. “They can log their time and maintenance

actions, look at health reporting codes so if an error has popped up, it’ll tell them how to troubleshoot and provide what’s the most likely and the least likely cause. That’s very helpful because the maintainer might be presented with four different problems indicated by the symptom,” said MSgt Erline. The ALIS has a graphical user interface with pre-defined options for the maintainer to select from drop-down menus. Typing details into the system is only required in some instances. Before releasing the aircraft to its pilot for flying, the plane captain screens the jet by reading the work orders and checking its health and readiness. The pilot, who has authority to sign for the aircraft, also screens the aircraft electronically before they go to the flight line to conduct a walk around pre-flight inspection. The US Marine Corps conducts aircraft maintenance at three levels: organisational

ALIS on the Squadron VMFA-121 installed its first version of the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) in August 2012. Three years later the unit installed the hardware for the second version of the Standard Operating Unit referred to as SOU V2 and its second software upgrade version 2.01.0. The SOU V2 is a modular, deployable system with each component weighing 200lb or less. The V2 has updated hardware, considerably more processing power and storage space than earlier versions. VMFA-121’s Marines uncovered many faults

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An F-35B Lightning II prepares to taxi on the flight deck of USS Wasp for night operations on May 22 during OT I. Cpl Anne Henry/US Marine Corps

F-35 Lightning II

(O), intermediate (I) and depot. Typically, O level maintenance is the one undertaken on a squadron. MSgt Erline said on VMFA-121 it’s referred to as O plus because some maintenance functions have been integrated into the squadron to avoid dependency on outside agencies. “Marine Aviation Logistic Squadron 13 [MALS-13] supports us for I level tasks such as batteries, tyres and ejection seats and uses ALIS to do so,” said MSgt Erline. The ALIS has a tiered architecture. Every squadron has its own SOU. Each nation has a CPE (Country Point of Entry). The US CPE is at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Lockheed Martin has the ALOU (Autonomic Logistics Operating Unit) at its facility in Fort Worth, Texas. As VMFA-121’s SOU accumulates data, the Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 (VMX-22) ‘Argonauts’ is equipped with four F-35B Lightning IIs including aircraft BuNo 168718/‘MV56’. The aircraft is seen on take-off from Edwards Air Force Base, California. Dan Stijovich

squadron’s records remain on its SOU at Yuma and are archived at the CPE at Eglin. And, because the aircraft is only ever in one place at a time, its data remains on the squadron’s SOU to ensure maintenance actions are not double tapped. All maintenance records are retained on the SOU forever, including the user accounts of individual maintainers. When a maintainer leaves the Marine Corps their user account is retained on the SOU because it is directly tied to maintenance actions conducted on the jets. All records are backed-up both on-site and off-site

for disaster recovery. When VMFA-121 transferred some of its aircraft to the depot for Group 1 modifications late last year they also had to transfer the aircraft electronically from the squadron’s SOU to the depot’s SOU. The data packages comprised only megabytes despite containing two years of flight and maintenance records. Once the jet is electronically transferred, the new operator picks up where the previous operator left off. They log all their maintenance actions on their ALIS system. The data is captured as a package which is seamlessly transferred back to a squadron with the aircraft. “It’s a very automated process,” said MSgt Erline. The US Marine Corps’ end goal is to run the ALIS organically as an independent organisation without the support of Lockheed Martin. That’s the biggest near-term test given the complexity of some aspects of the system. One future concept under consideration by the US Marine Corps is installation of a CPE at its regional support centres. The decisions on how such a centre is staffed and whether it will be a US-only or a multination facility have yet to be made. In theory, the Fleet Regional Support Center East at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina could support the US Marine Corps fleet.

Operational Test Phase One OT I was the first operational training evolution that required all of the agencies and squadrons

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F-35 Lightning II

F-35B BuNo 168717/‘VK15’ of VMFA-121 slowly moves into the hover at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona before making a vertical landing on one of the hover pads. Dan Stijovich

to be ready to go to the ship. For VMFA-121 that was a big challenge to undertake while concurrently training its other pilots to meet the requirements for IOC. The second big challenge was the transfer of four aircraft from 121 and two from VMFAT-501, with their data, onto a common server on board the USS Wasp. Major Walsh VMFA-121’s Operations Officer led the four-ship of aircraft from Yuma to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina. Their transcontinental flight was supported with

air refuelling by a US Air Force KC-10 Extender. At Beaufort the 121 detachment was supported by VMFAT-501, the resident F-35B training squadron. USS Wasp pulled out of Naval Base Norfolk, Virginia on the morning of May 18 for an operating area off the east coast. Once established, the squadrons at Beaufort were called to launch the first two F-35Bs. Two other sections were launched at 30-minute intervals thereafter. The original embarkation plan required the

six pilots to land aboard the USS Wasp, conduct an engine running refuel and then take-off to start carrier qualification (CQ). Only two pilots completed part of their CQ requirements before sunset because their arrival was later in the day than originally planned. The entire cadre of ten pilots (six that flew aboard and four others that sailed with the ship) completed their CQ flying during the next three days. Major Walsh told AIR International: “We wanted to fly as many missions and generate as many hours as we could. That involved either a two or four ship launching, landing, going to the hot pits, launching out again before maintenance caught them [a term for servicing the aircraft between flights] and launched them on a second wave of a similar construct.” All missions flown in OT I were operationally orientated. They involved integration with the ship and supported training-in-readiness codes for IOC. Some involved air-to-air intercepts working with the ship’s personnel who served as air intercept controllers. Maj Walsh explained: “Operations escalated from one or two-ship intercepts into air interdiction where we were searching for targets to attack. We flew defensive counter air missions staged for us to defend the ship. We worked with the ship’s controllers against Red Air F-35s that were trying to attack it. “Because of the training we focussed on tactical intercepts in the defensive counter air and air interdiction sorties. The cadre of pilots also conducted some air-to-surface training mainly out at sea but some overland. We also flew simulated attacks on notional enemy shipping which we had to find based on information provided by the ship’s intelligence department. The last of 110 tactical training missions was flown on May 28 and all six aircraft recovered to Beaufort the following day.

Operational Readiness Inspection An F-35B Lightning II takes off from the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp on May 25. Mass Communication Specialist Rawad Madanat/US Navy

All ten F-35B pilots who flew missions from the USS Wasp during OT I pose for a group photo on May 21. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

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During the operational readiness inspection (ORI) directed by HQ US Marine Corps, VMFA-121 flew at least one sortie in each of the key mission sets required to meet the IOC criteria and included

F-35 Lightning II embarking on the USS Wasp to demonstrate the ability to successfully fly off the ship. Unsurprisingly dropping ordnance was also a requirement but had only been undertaken previously by the F-35 test units. “To meet the requirements all of our pilots dropped inert and live 1,000lb GBU-32 JDAMs and 500lb GBU-12 laser-guided bombs. This was one of the last big objectives we had to hit before we declared we were ready for the ORI. We were not going to say we’re ready for combat until we’d done end-to-end checks and successful live ordnance releases in an operational environment.” The squadron practised guiding weapons to a target in its high fidelity simulators and completed many simulated drops in the aircraft before the first live drops. The ordnance department completed training events learning how to assemble the weapon with wiring, fusing and pins, how to pre-flight it and all get familiar with the different nuances of uploading and downloading weapons. The squadron was able to train ten pilots for the ORI: two more than the prescribed minimum. The ability to fly each mission set in sections (two aircraft) and divisions (four) had to be demonstrated in Yuma’s simulators before the ORI started. Each one; assault support escort, armed reconnaissance, close air support, air interdiction and defensive counter air was subsequently flown during the inspection. The latter two were flown against the F-5N Tigerequipped Marine Fighter Training Squadron 401 (VMFT-401) ‘Snipers’ also based at Yuma. Major Walsh commended the work put into VMFA-121’s IOC declaration by its maintenance department: “That’s testament to all the Marines downstairs and their hard work figuring out all the procedures and overcoming the difficulties

US Navy flight deck crew use a tractor to push a trailer loaded with an F135 engine core module (stowed in a purpose-built crate) to an MV-22 Osprey. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

Sailors and Marines remove an engine core module for the F-35B Lightning II aircraft from an MV-22 Osprey aboard the USS Wasp. Mass

Communication Specialist Elizabeth Vlahos/US Navy

Marines align an Australian-built engine removal and installation trailer to demonstrate the procedures required to remove an F135 engine. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

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F-35 Lightning II we had to get through. How they generated all the missions, turned them faster [between missions], achieving functionality with the ALIS and handling all of the software upgrades given to us from the test community was a monumental job.”

Ongoing Ops Since the IOC declaration, VMFA-121’s day-today training has ratcheted up to further build the combat capability. “IOC was very much about our unit and training. Now we want to integrate with the Marine Corps at large by taking the squadron on detachment to exercise working with the deployed ALIS server and operate F-35s from an austere location with a little less support than the ship. Ultimately the squadron has to be ready to move to Japan in 2017,” said Maj Walsh. Lt Col Gillette said the real success story of 121 is with the Marines who work in the maintenance department. “There are countless examples where they have determined a task is inefficient when done the prescribed way. One example is the intermediate operating service; the procedures followed to rerelease the aircraft for flight. We re-wrote the procedures line-by-line, submitted them up to the Joint Program Office. A few months later they informed us the new procedures were approved. The Joint Technical Data which we completed for the IOS was adopted and is now a multi-service, multi-national procedure. Performing an IOS once took four and a half hours. It now takes less than two. “Another example is restoring the coatings and the LO [low observable] characteristics of a panel after its removal for replacing a part. Eighteen months ago that would take us days, sometimes weeks. Based on their efficiencies and improved techniques it now takes a couple of days to break into a panel and restore the LO configuration. For the exact same result, the radar cross sections of the airplanes are identical.

An F-35B Lighting II lands on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) on May 18 at the start of OT I. Mass Communica-

tion Specialist Seaman Zhiwei Tan/US Navy

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“The slope at which we learn further efficiencies will start to shallow out but will certainly continue for the next ten years at least.”

Led by the Argonauts Col Rauenhorst Commander of Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 (VMX-22) ‘Argonauts’ was the lead unit for OT I. “Our overall contract was to determine how the F-35 would integrate on board the ship for the first time and what lessons from land-based operations we could use on an expeditionary amphibious ship. OT I was the first time Marines and UK personnel assigned to VMFAT-501 had maintained F-35Bs at sea. They were supported by Marine Aviation Logistics Squadrons 13 (MALS-13) and MALS-31. They worked on the aircraft on the flight deck and in the hangar bay to determine if the Joint Technical Data (JTD) were written correctly and to validate the chock and chain procedures on the deck. “Did we have the appropriate chains on board the ship to include the pad eyes and chaining points on the aircraft to support high sea states? How do you conduct maintenance when the aircraft is chained down? We jacked up an F-35, made sure it was chained down and conducted maintenance. “We needed to make sure the ALIS system and the upgrades made to the ship’s network were aligned and talking to each

other, and the data connectivity worked to enable parts to be sourced. We were able to reach back to Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney to get parts shipped out to the ship on an MV-22.” The MV-22s, provided by VMX-22, were on call at Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina as required. They would fly to the forward operating base where the parts were waiting for delivery out to the ship to replicate an operationally realistic scenario. The largest item delivered to the USS Wasp by an MV-22 was an F135 engine core module: the largest component of Pratt & Whitney’s Joint Strike Fighter power plant. An MV-22 flew to Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland to collect a purpose-built cart designed for loading the engine onto an Osprey; loading and unloading an engine module was a key objective for OT I. Marines successfully offloaded the engine module from the MV-22 and delivered it to the store down in the hangar deck. The module was subsequently used to demonstrate the ability to replace an F135 engine. Col Rauenhorst said: “Our overall objective was to evaluate the amount of hangar space required to do an engine change. We lined up the trailer [reference to the engine removal and installation trailer built by Australian company Marand] and worked through the Joint Technical Data instructions for changing an engine on board the ship. We didn’t change an engine

F-35 Lightning II because we didn’t want to take a missioncapable aircraft down. “We successfully demonstrated the ability to remove the engine module out of its container, place it back on the skid and then move it back to the Osprey for loading and onward delivery back to Pax River. It went pretty much according to plan.” As the boss of the Marine Corps’ lead unit for OT I, Col Rauenhorst said the six pilots who landed aboard the Wasp for the first time made the procedure look easy. “By the time we were launching a division [four jets] the pilots were returning into the overhead and recovering aircraft in intervals of 60 to 70 seconds. That was a demonstration of efficiency and coordination between the pilots and the flight deck crew and is almost on par with flight operations conducted on the super carriers.” As they progressed through single-, two- and four-ship recoveries they made meticulous notes about the best procedures. “By the end of the at sea period the pilots and flight deck crew had it down

to a science. The lessons learned will be incorporated into LHD flight operations for the fleet,” said Col Rauenhorst. Based on the simulator training undertaken before OT I started, the former Harrier and Hornet pilots involved thought they would safely reduce the recovery interval time to the ship. The aircraft’s automation and flight control systems take into account the ship’s course, speed, heading, and the winds over the deck, which made landing an F-35B a lot easier than an AV-8B Harrier or a Hornet on board the carrier. Wind conditions were varied during OT I, but remained within the confines of the F-35B’s current standard operating procedures as cleared by Naval Air Systems Command. Col Rauenhorst said: “Once all the pilots and landing signal officers (LSOs) had qualified to conduct day and night carrier landings we began launching two-ship sections for 1 v 1 intercepts and ship defence. We then repeated those events with four-ship divisions.” Another objective was day and night ordnance-loading procedures. This involved VMX-22’s ordnance team, working with the USS Wasp’s ordnance-handling officer, loading bombs and missiles on to an aircraft out on the flight deck. “We completed those evolutions to validate the Joint Technical Data for loading

ordnance. That wasn’t straightforward because the aircraft has to be chocked and chained to the flight deck. We had to evaluate whether the chains impeded, in any way, the loading process,” he noted.

VMX-22 at Edwards The Argonauts has its headquarters at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, but maintains an F-35B detachment at Edwards Air Force Base in California as part of the Joint Operational Test Team (JOTT). The first Marines assigned to the det arrived at Edwards in June 2010 and initially worked with Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney while embedded in US Air Force developmental test unit, the 461st Flight Test Squadron. The first F-35B assigned to VMX-22 arrived at Edwards last October. The squadron currently has four F-35Bs assigned, some of which are currently undergoing modification to Block 3F configuration. The preponderance of test events completed at Edwards to date have been part of the overall F-35 operational test plan conducted by the multi-national JOTT. “On the Marine Corp side we’re planning to complete an expeditionary deployment to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms in California,” said Col Rauenhorst. Mark Ayton

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F-35 Lightning II Cpl Anne Henry/US Marine Corps

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All A

l Aboard W

ith less than two years to go before the UK’s first F-35B Lightning II lands on the deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth (R 08), the Royal Navy’s preparations for this historic event get ever closer to reality when the 70,000-tonne flagship commences its sea trials at the start of 2016. Personnel assigned to the Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations (RNSFDO) at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, Cornwall, are undergoing continuous training on the dummy deck at the base. The school embarked on a long-lead specialist skills exchange programme with the US Navy in 2010 whereby groups of up to ten individuals are assigned to Nimitz-class super carriers and amphibious assault ships. The programme has helped personnel to build their experience and enabled the school to update its standard operating procedures (SOPs) for deck handling. The primary aim is to ensure best practice is applied when HMS Queen Elizabeth (QE) sets sail and the F-35B Lightning II is embarked. One officer at the RNSFDO told AIR International: “Best practice involves coordination between the school and the ship and we must ensure we are teaching them what they need us to teach rather than someone’s best idea. We then assist them in developing their SOPs for the deck.” By March 2015, the Royal Navy had completed its seventh roulemont (deployment of personnel) to the United States, each one lasting about nine months. Perhaps the most important started in midMay when senior handlers and instructors from the school joined the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD-1) for the Operational Test Phase One at sea (OT I). The Wasp sailed from Naval Base Norfolk, Virginia on May 18 and remained under way off the east coast for an 11-day period during which six F-35Bs drawn from the US Marine Corps’ operational fleet conducted day and night operations. For the UK personnel onboard, learning to maintain and handle the F-35 on deck was vital. Royal Navy and Royal Air Force maintainers are already embedded in F-35 squadrons at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and Edwards Air Force Base, California. All three locations offer excellent facilities to learn how to maintain the Joint Strike Fighter, but they are all land-based. Sea-based maintenance is more challenging because it involves other physical conditions such as deck motion, space confinement and the need to move aircraft between the flight deck and hangar. AIR International spoke to Royal Navy personnel about OT I aboard the USS Wasp.

Objectives

The objectives set for OT I by Headquarters, US Marine Corps included... Demonstrating and assessing day and night flight operations in various aircraft configurations. Digital interoperability between aircraft and ship systems, F-35B landing signal officers’ launch and recovery software. Day and night weapons loading. All aspects of maintenance, logistics and sustainment support of the F-35B while deployed at sea, including engine and main lift fan changes and deck operating procedures. In addition, US Navy personnel and the UK team worked with Naval Sea Systems Command to assess specific modifications made to the USS Wasp. One notable example was the coating applied to the deck and how it would cope with the intense heat produced by the aircraft’s Pratt & Whitney F135 engine. This was particularly relevant to the UK because a decision on deck coating for the Queen Elizabeth has yet to be made. An important evaluation undertaken on May 20 involved delivering an F135 forward engine module weighing around 4,500lb (2,041kg) to the ship on an MV-22B Osprey. It took a team of US and UK personnel one hour to successfully unload the module from the Osprey’s cargo hold using winch and pulley systems: a good indicator of the Royal Navy’s future type for carrieronboard-delivery.

• • • •

F-35 Lightning II

Deck Familiarisation

Lieutenant Neil Harris and his deputy, Chief Petty Officer (Aircraft Handling) Scott Iszard, are looking forward to joining the QE for sea trials. They have key roles to play. Lt Harris will serve as the Flight Deck Officer (FDO) and CPO Iszard as the Captain of the Flight Deck (CFD). CPO Iszard has a wealth of flight deck experience gathered during his 19-year career aboard HMS Ark Royal, HMS Illustrious, HMS Invincible and other multi-spot decks including US carriers. Lt Harris, an experienced Royal Navy helicopter engineer, said: “OT I tested the US Marine Corps’ ability to embark six aircraft and support and sustain that footprint for a period of time prior to the type’s IOC. The purpose of our involvement was to familiarise ourselves with the jet, to consider American procedures and to take away best practice, bearing in mind that US large deck platforms operate an entirely different way to how we’ve historically operated.” This included assessing how easily the aircraft can be moved around the flight deck and within the hangar, what locations it can be parked and how to secure it. Ahead of OT I the Royal Navy had two primary concerns: noise and jet blast or e-flux. According to Lt Harris both have largely been resolved, based on the QE’s larger deck and the UK’s SOPs, and neither are now considered a problem. OT I gave Royal Navy personnel an opportunity to assess the SOPs in place and determine any

A Royal Navy Air Engineering Technician undertakes maintenance in the weapons bay of an F35B. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

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F-35 Lightning II changes required. CPO Iszard, the school’s embarked operations training manager, explained: “LHDs [amphibious assault ships] have much larger decks than our CVS and the US approach is more manpowerintensive. The QE has a much larger deck than the USS Wasp and we will have fewer people on deck and more ‘safe’ areas where the aircraft can transit other than on the main runway. “It was therefore important during OT I to stand in those positions that our guys will not be in to assess the worst case scenario; for example, adjacent to the spot landing position as an F-35 lands vertically. US personnel stand in this position.”

E-flux E-flux generated by the F135 engine is substantial and can potentially create issues for flight deck personnel and other operational aircraft in terms of FOD (foreign object damage). “When the F-35 launched, we stood 50, 100, 150 and 200 feet [13, 26, 39 and 52m] behind it to feel the engine’s force and to assess noise levels and potential FOD,” confirmed CPO Iszard. E-flux, although substantial, should not be an issue on the QE because the aircraft’s wing-tip safety line (referred to as the fan line by the Americans) is further away from the launch area than the 30 feet (10m) distance on the USS Wasp. The wing-tip safety line adjacent to the launch area is the position used by US Navy flight deck personnel to give launch signals to pilots.

“As the aircraft launches, the aircraft handler has to take a big stance and protect his face. Personnel will be fully covered and wear protective headgear and goggles. “In terms of the launch profile, multiple launches will be an extremely controlled scenario. More likely aircraft will launch one at a time with a safe time gap between them.” Since OT I the launch profile practised by the Culdrose-based school involves minor hand signal changes to cater for the F-35B. “We’re 95% there,” said Lt Harris.

Noise The F-35 test programme has been proactive in collecting and assessing noise data and the environmental impact this may have. Noise level testing featured prominently during OT I with microphones placed around the flight deck, in the hangar deck and other places aboard the USS Wasp. A noise measurement report dated October 28, 2014 based on test results collected at Edwards Air Force Base starting in September 2013 concluded the F-35B’s noise level is comparable to a Harrier: 87dB v 85dB on approach and 110dB v 105dB on take-off. CPO Iszard opined: “We stood at various positions including adjacent to landing spots 7 and 9. Bearing in mind we had upgraded hearing protection which worked fine, we felt the noise was not vastly different from the Harrier which was good news.”

F-35Bs and rotary-wing aircraft. CPO Iszard recalled aircraft recoveries: “It was impressive watching F-35s land vertically and literally turn around within their footprint before taxing to their holding spots to be secured by handlers. This reduces the time taken to clear the active areas of the deck and the amount of deck handling required. “You don’t need a tractor and tow bar to reposition them each time, which was a surprise. We’ll need someone on standby in the event of an emergency but the aircraft is so manoeuvrable, unlike a Harrier which has turning restrictions. “On a Wasp-class carrier, you have to taxi a Harrier in slightly, spin it around on the deck’s port elevator [which protrudes out] and use that as your guide to taxi them into position. The F-35 can turn on a sixpence and more or less taxi directly to its parking position to be secured with chocks and chains before being prepared for the next flight.” According to Royal Navy personnel the towing process for the F-35 is the same as the Harrier, comprising three ground locks: one for each outrigger and one for the nose wheel. Unlike the Harrier, the F-35 has no depressurisation pin, which means handlers simply attach the tow line and move it as they would any other fixed-wing aircraft. Securing points are different. The US Marine Corps uses a system of wheel chocks and up to 36 chains to secure the aircraft in storm

US Navy plane handlers and aircraft handling officers move an F-35B around the hangar deck of USS Wasp. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

“Our SOPs mitigate the impact of placing personnel in safer positions during landing and departure, but this policy will be reviewed prior to commencing first of class fixedwing trials. When we operated the Harrier everyone, including fire fighting personnel, would be positioned a spot and a half forward of the landing jet with nobody closer,” confirmed CPO Iszard.

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Deck Handling The ease with which aircraft can be moved around the deck is critical in efficient flight deck management. Despite space restrictions aboard USS Wasp the F-35 did not disappoint. The QE’s deck covers an area of almost 170,000 square feet (16,000m2), has a runway running it’s entire length and multiple landing spots for both

conditions. Currently the UK uses the same chocks and will determine the optimum lashing configuration.

Deck Coating Coatings applied to the flight deck came under considerable scrutiny during OT I, especially during launches, and vertical landings on spots 7 and 9.

F-35 Lightning II

US Navy safety observers watch an F135 forward engine module being loaded onto an MV-22B Osprey for delivery back to shore. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations Heat and downdraft generated by the F135 engine is substantial so a long-term solution must be found to reduce wear and tear and resolve scorching. The Royal Navy currently uses a non-oxidising anti-slip deck coating called Camrex, but a new coating must be found to cope with the intense heat generated by the engine. A new heat-resistant deck coating called Thermion was applied to spot 9 and used for vertical landings for OT I. Thermion’s properties remain unknown although a recent press release said it was made of bonded ceramic and aluminium. The coating gives the same baseline anti-skid characteristics as other coatings and shows few signs of heat stress or scorching. The UK has evaluated a thermal metallic spray coating probably with similar properties to Thermion and a final decision on its use is expected once evaluation is complete.

resilient to water and foam,” said Lt Harris. OT I proved beneficial for comparing and contrasting deck fire fighting procedures, as Lt Harris explained: “The US system includes mobile fire fighting vehicles and hydrants plus dedicated handlers and a dedicated ‘crash bosun’ positioned to manage a deck fire or crash event.” The ship’s company will grow in stages towards the full complement due to be in place by the summer of 2016. The manning process is staggered to avoid changing the ship’s full complement every two to three years. The Royal Navy must maintain stability in core areas, especially the top deck, for

the period following the first of class fixedwing trials. Royal Navy personnel embarked on the USS Wasp achieved all their objectives during OT I: they gained greater insight into the F-35 and the way it operates and handles on deck at sea. They are now working toward next year’s first of class sea trials at training performance standard. Once they reach operational performance standard aboard the QE, the ship’s company will be up and running. “It will be great to get back to fixed-wing operations aboard a ship. It’s a new ship, a new aircraft and everyone is refreshed by it,” concluded Lt Harris. Ian Harding

First of Class Sea Trials The initial cadre of Royal Navy personnel is scheduled to join the QE in January 2016 to run the SOPs and prepare the ship. The ship’s crew will have around six months to run the SOPs before the first of class rotary-wing trials begin during the summer of 2016. The F-35 is currently expected to fly aboard the QE to start the first of class fixed-wing trials in 2018. Before then, the Royal Navy will receive four F-35 replicas known as Ground Instructional Aids (GIAs), one of which will go to the QE for training. Similar in size and weight, the GIAs will enable the school to get up to speed on all aspects of aircraft handling including proving fire-fighting and deck crash procedures. “The replicas are

Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

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F-35 Lightning II

N

aval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland is home to many organisations, the primary one being Naval Air Systems Command. Within this major command is the Naval Test Wing Atlantic and its assigned squadrons. All fast jet types are operated by Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 (VX-23) ‘Salty Dogs’ including both naval versions of the Joint Strike Fighter which are flown by members of the F-35 Integrated Test Force. The tempo of testing over the past year has remained high. The ITF’s fleet of nine aircraft, five F-35Bs and four F-35Cs, has undertaken carrier trials, high angle-of-attack, asymmetric loads, the first ski jump launches and separation testing of UK-specific weapons.

ASRAAM and Paveway IV On November 21 a joint UK test team involving personnel from the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, BAE Systems, MBDA and Raytheon UK successfully completed initial flutter trials for the ASRAAM air-to-air missiles and Paveway IV precision-guided bombs on F-35B Lightning II BF02. The nine flights were flown between October 29 and November 21 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, by Lockheed Martin’s F-35 test pilot Billie Flynn and UK test pilot Sqn Ldr Andy Edgell from the Royal Air Force. Prior to the first flight, BF-02 underwent safety of test electromagnetic environmental

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effects (E3) testing on the Pax River flight line while loaded with ASRAAM and Paveway IV test articles. The E3 testing demonstrated that the test weapons and aircraft systems were not affected by electromagnetic interference and had no compatibility problems allowing the flight clearance to be released. The ASRAAM test articles used are known as Dummy Air Training Missiles and the Paveway IVs were Ballistic Standard Test Vehicles. For the first four flights, BF-02 was configured with ASRAAMs on the outboard pylons only, and for the remaining five flights Paveway IV was on each inboard and intermediate pylon and an ASRAAM on each outboard pylon. The test articles are identical in fit and form to operational weapons. All nine were flutter test flights designed to show if the weapons affect the way the aircraft structure responds to high speed: the first step to integrating both weapons onto the F-35B. The next phase of flutter testing took place in late December and involved the Paveway IV and empty ASRAAM launchers. According to Sqn Ldr Edgell nothing unexpected came out of the flutter testing last winter. Weapon separation tests followed, the first of which was flown by Sqn Ldr Edgell on June 12. The mission involved the release of two inert

Paveway IVs from F-35B BF-03 over the Atlantic Test Range. The inert bombs safely separated from the internal weapons bays (the first from the left bay and the second from the right) and made history in the process. It was the first release from an F-35 of a Paveway IV and the first partner nation weapon to be dropped. Further releases of Paveway IV will take place later this year from external stations, followed next year by weapon delivery accuracy tests: the official term for striking targets on a range. A test location has yet to be decided but is likely to be Edwards Air Force Base in California. This year an executive review board signed off an environmental test plan on April 17 which will capture data about the environment that the ASRAAM missile and Paveway IV bomb are exposed to throughout the F-35’s entire flight envelope. Test results will be used to determine whether the weapons will perform to specification once released from the aircraft. No further work has been carried out with the ASRAAM missile but initial separation tests flown from Patuxent River and the first launch are currently planned for next year.

Ski Jump Trials Her Majesty’s Ship Queen Elizabeth (R 08) is fitted with a ski jump like no other: a new design tailored to be used by very expensive new

F-35 Lightning II

Salty Dogs & Funky Jets

F-35B BF-04 runs through the wet section of the runway at Edwards Air Force Base during wet runway testing. Tom Reynolds/Lockheed Martin

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F-35 Lightning II

F-35C CF-03 makes an arrested landing aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68) on November 12, 2014 during Developmental Test Phase One. Andy Wolfe/Lockheed Martin

aircraft. Launching a 60,000lb F-35B off a ski jump requires some serious maths, engineering and testing. The F-35B ski jump test campaign should have started in March of this year, but was delayed due to brutal sub-zero temperatures and snow that blighted Patuxent River at the time. Aircraft BF-01 was originally assigned to conduct the ski jump events but was unable to remain at Pax while the weather improved. It was already scheduled to deploy to Edwards Air Force Base, California to conduct wet runway and crosswind testing. The test programme comprises two phases, the first of which eventually began on June 19 when BAE Systems test pilot Peter Wilson conducted the first take-off using the ski jump at Pax with F-35B BF-04. Sqn Ldr Edgell told AIR International: “Phase 1 is a risk-reducyion phase designed to highlight any significant hardware or software updates that may be required prior to commencing the bulk of testing. It comprises 29 ski-jump launches. “Phase 1 will ensure our models and predictions are correct. If anything needs addressing we can do so in a timely fashion and then go into the 140-sortie Phase 2.” The ski jump used on HMS Queen Elizabeth has a curved leading edge designed to simultaneously

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launch an F-35B upward and forward with a greater take-off weight and less end-speed than required for an unassisted horizontal launch aboard an LHD-class amphibious assault ship, such as USS Wasp (LHD 1). The reader may be surprised to learn that the ski ramp built at Pax River is based on the type used on the Invincible-class aircraft carriers which is a little bit shorter (50ft) and slightly shallower (0.5º) than the ramp on Queen Elizabeth-class carriers. Sqn Ldr Edgell explained: “The Pax River ramp design process dates back to 2005 but, at the time, the Queen Elizabeth ramp profile was not known. Analysis conducted in 2005 showed we simply needed to use a ramp with a profile that allows us to stay just under the predicted F-35B ultimate loads and the Invincible-class ramp achieved this.” Pax River’s ramp allows the test team to make adjustments for different profiles and encompass everything below the ultimate loads of the aircraft. “Though the verification of our models during phases 1 and 2 we can tweak the control laws to work off other types of ramp, none of which are the same,” said Sqn Ldr Edgell. When the aircraft comes off the end it is ballistic and accelerates to the fly away air speed, typically 10-20kts higher than launch speed, and therefore reduces ground roll.

“There’s a fine line between ensuring we have suitable gear loads and fly away speed,” explained Sqn Ldr Edgell. “We want lots of margin on both of those. To achieve margin for gear loads we need to be slow, i.e. start right at the bottom of the ramp. To achieve margin on minimum fly away speed we need to start towards the back of the run-up. We blend the two aspects together and meet in the middle to gain the safest launch spot. For the very first sortie, our spotting distance will be conservative and will launch the jet off the end of the ramp straight into a previously flown flight condition.” Such regimes have been flown several times during short take-offs at the field and STOVL departures. Sqn Ldr Edgell explained an interesting fact about the take-off: “You can be lined up three, four, five hundred feet back from the start of the ramp and as you slam the throttle forwards, the jet doesn’t know it’s about to go up the ski jump. It waits for certain triggers to alert it to the fact it’s going off the ski jump, at which point its flight control system moves the horizontal tails and the nozzles into the optimum position. It needs to hit 45 knots going up the ramp. “The throttle needs to be above 65% ETR, with 6 degrees of attitude and a pitch rate of 6 degrees per second. At that point it moves all of the effectors into the right place. Bear in mind the ski jump at Pax is only 150 feet long, so the aircraft hits all of those parameters with less than 100 feet remaining. By the time it goes off the edge of the ramp all the surfaces and the nozzles are at the optimum position, the aircraft rotates up to the optimum pitch attitude to fly away. It’s pretty clever stuff.” Sqn Ldr Edgell described the launch process: “You slam the throttle and guard the stick. There is no input on the stick required. As the aircraft moves down the tramline of the deck you track the centre line with your feet, just like any other carrier deck take-off, but there’s no pitch input required. The jet flies away. It’s effortless.” In the event of any kind of malfunction, the pilot takes control and manually flies off the edge

F-35 Lightning II

Sqn Ldr Andy Edgell releases the second of two inert Paveway IVs over the Atlantic Test Range on June 12: the first time Paveway IV had been dropped from an F-35B. Michael Jackson/Lockheed Martin

of the ramp, which is why he must guard the stick during the roll. There is no significant part for the pilot to play in the take-off – the result of a design philosophy to minimise the pilot’s workload. A good example is tracking the centreline on a rolling pitching deck at night. That’s a challenge in a Harrier but in the F-35B it’s his only task so he should do a much better job. The administrative burden on the pilot has been significantly reduced: in this situation to an effortless level. Phase 2 will introduce crosswinds, external stores, asymmetry, minimum performance (minimum deck) launches from the bottom of the ramp, and simulated performance degradation all to increase the aircraft’s flight envelope in Block 3F configuration. That’s imperative work for the UK which will undertake first-in-class flight trials on HMS Queen Elizabeth in the final quarter of 2018.

Asymmetric Loads Major M. Andrew Tacquard, US Marine Corps, is the lead government STOVL test pilot with the F-35 ITF at Pax River. He is currently flying test points with asymmetric loads on the Block 3F-configured F-35B. “Everything I’ve experienced as far as handling characteristics from mode 1 through to mode 4 in the aircraft are phenomenal. In the jet it’s almost impossible to tell how large the asymmetry is and I’ve flown with 26,000 foot-pounds of asymmetry.” Asymmetric loadings induce rolling moments in the aircraft’s structure which are measured in foot-pounds (ft-lb) or inch-pounds (in-lb). A footpound is a unit of work or energy transferred on applying one pound of force (lbf) through a displacement of one foot. The corresponding SI unit is the joule. “On the Harrier we measured asymmetry in inch-pounds instead of foot-pounds and it was obvious when you flew asymmetric stores on the

Harrier. This airplane [the F-35B] not so much – its flight control laws deal with asymmetric stores. From the pilot’s perspective it’s almost transparent. The only time you can tell is with a large asymmetric load during the take-off roll, which requires use of a little more pedal and track than normal. However, it was not objectionable. It was self-correcting, if drifting to the left, right pedal would correct it.” The test team’s work has involved normal PA (powered approach) speed or mode 1, into mode 4 (lower and higher-speed semi jet-borne and then jet-borne flight modes). “We took the jet further than it should ever be taken in normal flight operations trying to find the corners of the flight envelope. It was very difficult, almost impossible at times to determine if one side was heavier than the other, but you’d see a little bit of sag here and there. I had to pay specific attention to flight parameters to determine whether those disturbances actually

BAE Systems test pilot Peter Wilson launches from the Patuxent River ski jump for the first time on June 19 in F-35B BF-04. Andy Wolfe/Lockheed Martin

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F-35 Lightning II

affected the plane at all.” Major Tacquard says the jet performs nearly the same whether it’s flying with an asymmetric load or not: “You want to go left, you go left; you want to go right, you go right, without having to deal with the extra effort required in a legacy aircraft.” The test campaign is being conducted to clear the Block 3F envelope for the carriage of large symmetric and asymmetric external stores. This is one of the main objectives for the F-35B’s Developmental Test Phase Three at sea (DT III) which is currently scheduled to take place on the USS Wasp during the fourth quarter of 2016. Other DT III objectives involve more mission systems testing, specifically the Gen 3 helmet, the night vision camera and the AAQ-37 Distributed Aperture System. Testing at the field started with night time STOVL qualifications in April. Major Tacquard flew other missions at the expeditionary airfield set-up at Pax River. The

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facility simulates the flight deck of an LHD-class amphibious assault ship with similar landing aids to allow the pilot to fly normal approaches and vertical landings. Maj Tacquard flew a series of missions: one at twilight and two at night. The second night-time sortie included a series of landings using the Gen 3 helmet with its night vision camera. He described the camera of the Gen 3 helmet as a “significant improvement” compared with the one fitted to the Gen 2 version, but said that some issues were still present.

Crosswind Maj Tacquard was one of the test pilots who deployed to Edwards Air Force Base in April to conduct crosswind testing with F-35B BF-01 to further expand the mode 4 envelope. This also involved symmetric and asymmetric stores and some tests in a clean wing configuration. A third phase is likely to take place next year to complete the test programme: a result of the weather and not so much the aircraft. As

Maj Tacquard said: “you get what you get [with respect to weather] at Edwards”. “We started off with a 12,000 foot-pound asymmetry load referred to as AG-12 and conducted crosswind short take-offs [STOs] up to a 25 knot crosswind regime, which was pretty significant. The jet was very well behaved requiring a little bit of pedal input to track, then the STO was commanded. Once you’re airborne it does everything for you. Then we completed slow landings and some rolling vertical landings out to 25 knots of crosswind, which is near to the edge of the envelope. “We conduct a typical STOVL landing, refuel and sit on deck waiting for the winds to match the criteria. Once the winds are right, we launch and hopefully meet the test objectives on takeoff and another test point on the landing.” In the early spring, winds at Edwards are typically from the southwest so the main 04/22 runways are not ideal for crosswinds. Palmdale, located 40 miles to the southwest of Edwards,

F-35 Lightning II

has two runways, both are offset to the direction of the prevailing wind and both catch crosswinds. The runway selected for test is chosen based on the amount of crosswind required. Similarly China Lake, 70 miles to the north, has three runways. The orientation of one is about 90 degrees off the prevailing winds and is used as a back-up test site in the event conditions at Palmdale don’t meet the criteria. This spring’s crosswind test programme conducted at Edwards, Palmdale and Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake has increased the F-35B’s mode 4 flight envelope which will be used in next year’s DT III. But the different kinds of disturbance caused by the ship’s tower, at the end and on the edge of the deck, cannot be recreated at any of the test sites used in the Mojave desert. In late March Maj Tacquard flew aircraft BF-01 in jet-borne flight at Edwards for the first time. He then performed a creeping vertical landing at around 40 knots ground speed in jet-borne

Asymmetrical stores testing with a GAU-22 gun pod, two GBU-12 laser-guided bombs and two AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles carried by F-35B BF-02 during a sortie from Patuxent River on May 26, 2015. Michael Jackson/Lockheed Martin

rather than semi jet-borne flight. That was the first vertical landing at Edwards and it’s significant because of the field’s high elevation. Later in the deployment he completed a vertical landing at zero ground speed, which was the first time the F-35B had accomplished a VL at altitude. The jet behaved well according to Maj Tacquard.

High Angle of Attack Another test programme the Pax River-based F-35 ITF has undertaken this year involves high angle of attack also referred to as high-alpha. Because of the commonality between the F-35A and F-35B fewer test points were required for risk reduction purposes on the B-model. The 461st Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base completed an entire high-alpha test

programme in 2012 and 2013. The high-alpha work started in the third quarter of 2013 with aircraft BF-02 fitted with a spin ’chute until it was ensured that the aircraft recovers safely. Test flights without the ’chute were then flown to determine its effect was fully understood. Further sorties were flown involving intentional departures from controlled flight and tail slides. The focus of the campaign during the spring was assessing departure resistance of the F-35B and F-35C models. Sqn Ldr Edgell described the F-35B as highly departure resistant: “We are really trying to find holes in the flight control system and saturate all of the control surfaces so the flying quality engineers can accurately predict the flight regimes where we might get into trouble. “We put the aircraft into certain manoeuvres

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F-35 Lightning II

Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan Levin flew F-35C CF-01 loaded with an AGM-154 Joint Stand-Off Weapon test vehicle in each weapon bay for the first time on August 27. Dan Wiedmann/Lockheed Martin

where we know the surfaces are working as hard as they can and are potentially saturated. This demonstrates whether the aircraft is still departure resistant, and it is. It has behaved incredibly well.” In late April the test team flew a series of sorties with aircraft BF-02 to evaluate departure resistance with the gear down and intentional departure and departure resistance loaded with external pylons, AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles and the gun pod designed to house the GAU-22 25mm cannon. These were flown in up and away and PA modes. When performing an intentional departure, the test pilot tricks the aircraft by disengaging normal control using a flight-test aid. He departs the aircraft from controlled flight while the disengagement is active, then deactivates the system to awaken the flight controls, and watches it spring into life and recover. According to Sqn Ldr Edgell it has excellent and very reliable recovery modes. In one flight report he described the automatic pitch rocking recovery mode as aggressively reassuring. “You’re in absolutely no doubt that the aircraft has woken up, has taken control and will fix the situation in a very aggressive manner,” he said. By June all of the high-alpha testing with the Block 2B configuration was complete in advance of the US Marine Corps’ work-up to IOC. The team’s testing continues with Block 3F which has involved tail slides and intentional departures in asymmetric air-to-air weapons configurations. Each new software drop provides fixes to existing problems and additional capability to the aircraft. If there is a flight regime the new

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software drop has directly targeted, the fix is verified in flight test. One software drop released in the second quarter of this year fixed an air data anomaly encountered during tail slides which had a direct impact on the high-alpha testing. If a new software drop is not relevant to a particular line of testing, such as high angle of attack, the team generally conducts a single regression test flight. This involves a handful of test points to ensure the new software has not inadvertently affected other flight regimes.

Navy Plane Cdr Ted Dyckman is a US Navy test pilot assigned to the Pax River-based F-35 ITF. He was one of four F-35C-qualified pilots who conducted DT I aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) last November. Aircraft CF-03 is the primary instrumented landing gear aircraft used during DT I. Once the two-plane test detachment returned to Naval Air Station Patuxent River in late November CF-03 started a test programme designed to gain flight clearance for missed-service gear arrestment landings. With this particular flight clearance in place, an F-35C can safely recover aboard the carrier in the event that the landing gear had missed a service prior to flight. Just two arrested landings from an entire multi test-point matrix were completed using the Mk7 arresting gear at the Maryland super base. Activity was curtailed when the aircraft deployed to Edwards Air Force Base, California to support the local F-35 ITF followed by wet runway and crosswind testing. When CF-03 returned to Pax River in April it started a period of modification to Block 3F standard in preparation for DT II next year. Post-modification,

CF-03 will be used for structures testing carrying external stores in preparation for asymmetric flying qualities testing aboard the carrier during DT II.

Wet Runway Testing It’s strange that wet runway testing must be conducted at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert. Annual rainfall on America’s east coast requires runways to drain away quickly and does not provide sufficient time to conduct wet runway tests. The main Edwards runway is ideal for wet runway tests. It has a flat section that allows a sheet of water an eighth of an inch thick and a layer of AFFF (aqueous film forming foam, which is used for fire fighting) to be laid down. This gives a window of about five minutes when the runway is wet enough to meet the runway condition rating (RCR) criteria. The pilot runs the aircraft up to the wet section at which point he applies moderate braking. Cdr Ted Dyckman explained: “That represents 60% peddle deflections while tracking down the runway to see how it stops to determine anti-skid performance. We have directional control points that indicate where the pilot enters the wet section and corrects back to centre line from an offset of 20 feet. “We conduct two verification flying points. First we fly and land in the wet section to make sure there are no directional control issues. The F-35A and the F-35C each use similar types of main tyres but the F-35C’s double nosewheel configuration gives slightly better tracking performance than its single-wheel stablemates. The team conducted wet runway tests with normal field service tyres and carrier surface

F-35 Lightning II

Cdr Brick Wilson piloting F-35B BF-04 during airrefuelling testing with an F/A-18F Super Hornet on August 31. Michael Jackson/Lockheed Martin

tyres. The latter simulates catapult launches and arrested landings back on the ship. To prevent carrier surface tyres from rolling on the deck because of the side forces applied they are inflated to a higher pressure which makes them track well but hydroplane. They also take further to stop because the tyre’s surface area in contact with the deck is reduced by the higher pressure. The field service tyres also tracked well

and stopped in the same distance. Test points were conducted at 60, 90, 110 and 130 knots using wet sections measuring 2,500, 3,000, 4,000 and about 6,000 feet respectively. As soon as the RCR meets the test point (measured by an instrumented truck tracking down the side of the section to avoid the painted centre line which would give a very inaccurate value) criteria, the pilot runs down the wet

section replicating a landing run, conducts the braking test and clears the area. The truck remeasures the RCR value and records the time between the two for an average figure. During the directional test, when the main tyres run over the centre line, the aircraft skids slightly because of the effect of reduced friction on the paint. The test team completed the trials in mid-April. Mark Ayton Edwards Air Force Base is one of three locations used by the Pax River-based F-35 ITF for crosswind testing. This shot shows F-35B BF-01 at Edwards on April 3, 2015. Andy Wolfe/Lockheed Martin

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T

Power &Lift

he F-35 Lightning II is powered by the Pratt & Whitney F135, the most powerful production jet engine ever made for a fighter. Additionally, the F-35B variant incorporates the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem, which enables the aircraft to perform its unique STOVL-to-supersonic mission.

F135 Propulsion System The F135 is a larger-diameter, higher-airflow derivative of the company’s F119 engine, which powers the F-22 Raptor. The F135 and F119 are both axial-flow engines (air goes through the core of the engine in a straight line) and they share a ‘highly common core’. From front to back, these two-spool engines are largely common through the compression system, though the commonality is mainly in the form of shared engine architecture rather than common part numbers. Despite their similarities, there are however some crucial differences between the F135 and the F119. One is that the F135 needs to be able to generate up to 43,000lb (191.27kN) of thrust ‘wet’ (with afterburner) for the single-engine F-35, whereas the F119 provides 35,000lb (155.7kN) with full afterburner. So the F135 has a larger inlet diameter (46 inches/1,168mm), larger fan diameter (50 inches/1,270mm) and a larger overall engine diameter (51 inches/1,295mm) than the F119 to achieve a higher airflow. Like the F119, the F135 has a three-stage fan (in military engine parlance, the fan is the entire low-pressure compressor assembly). Each fan stage comprises a one-piece integrally-bladed rotor (IBR, or ‘blisk’, short for bladed disc, which consists of a solid titanium hub with titanium blades welded onto it. The first stage blisk has hollow fan blades that are fixed to the hub by linear friction welding and machined to the required dimensions. The second stage blisk has solid blades that are fixed by the same process. Linear friction welding involves forcing two pieces of metal together under a very high load, vibrating them back and forth to create a frictional load to generate enough heat to weld the two together. Aft of the third fan stage the accelerated airflow is split, 57% of it going through the fan duct as bypass air and the remaining 43%

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entering the core to be compressed, mixed with fuel, ignited and then exhausted as hot gas to turn the turbine stages and produce up to 28,000lb (124.55kN) of dry thrust before afterburner. The F135 has a six-stage high-pressure compressor (HPC) and, again, each stage is a blisk. Some of the initial HPC stages are made from titanium but because the airflow becomes hotter as it passes through each stage of compression, one or more later HPC stages are made from nickel-based alloys to withstand the high air temperature. In conventional F-35 flight, air exiting the HPC into the combustor is at 28 times the pressure it was when entering the fan – and 29 times the pressure when the F-35B is in hover mode. The engine’s single annular combustor features removable liners and a series of fuel nozzles, all housed within a diffuser case. The F135 combustor is very similar to that in the F119, but features improvements to accommodate the appropriate temperature requirements of the higher-power F135. Overall, the cores of the two engines – the core includes the HPC, combustor and HPT – are essentially the same size and since the F135 has to produce more dry power at full thrust than the F119, it is likely to run hotter than the F119. While both the F119 and the F135 feature a single-stage high-pressure turbine (HPT), the F135

has a twostage low-pressure turbine (LPT) and the F119 a singlestage LPT. This is because, in the F-35B STOVL aircraft, the low-pressure spool to which the LPT is attached has to drive not only the fan stages but also the driveshaft powering the Rolls-Royce LiftFan located behind the cockpit and ahead of the engine. The LiftFan (one of three major components of the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem, which provides the F-35B’s hover capability) is not engaged while in normal forward flight and is, of course, not present at all in the F-35A CTOL and F-35C CV variants of the Lightning II. However, from the outset, the specification for the F-35’s engine called for ‘tri-variant compatibility’ – the engine powering an F-35A is identical to that powering an F-35B or an F-35C. Nevertheless, they are designated differently: the F-35A powerplant is the F135-PW-100; the engine for the F-35C is the F135-PW-400; and the F-35B’s is the F135PW-600. Since the F-35B powerplant needs an extra LPT stage to provide the power necessary to turn the driveshaft (which, through a clutch and gearbox, drives the LiftFan), F135s built to

t

F-35 Lightning II

Below: This schematic shows the LiftFan, gearbox, driveshaft, Roll-Posts and roll duct components of the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem. Rolls-Royce

An upper titanium blisk fan comprising a hub and 24 hollow blades. Rolls-Royce

In both engines, cooling air is taken from the bypass airflow and by bleeding air away from the HPC stages to cool the HPT and LPT stages – probably by means of complex

networks of tiny air channels within their blades and into the turbine casing, as is the case in commercial turbofans.

Counter-rotating Spools, Ceramics and Augmentors power other F-35 variants have the second LPT stage as well. The engine was designed to support the severe STOVL requirement. For engines powering CTOL F-35As and F-35Cs, the additional turbine stage offers a substantial extra power margin, allowing for potential F-35 weight growth. Since the engine isn’t heavily taxed in many CTOL missions, its maintainability is improved too. The geometries of the cooling-air paths and airflows in the F135’s hot section are different from those in the F119. Turbine blade thermal barrier coating materials – used to prevent nickel super-alloy turbine blades and vanes from melting in the more than 3,000°F (1,649°C) airflow coming from the combustor – were updated too.

An important feature of the F135 – which Pratt & Whitney doesn’t talk about much – is that the engine’s two spools are counter-rotating, like those in the F119. Since in some cases spool counter-rotation can be used to shape the direction of core airflow as it transitions between the HPT and LPT to improve the overall efficiency of the airflow through the engine, this might have allowed P&W to dispense with one or more rows of static stators and vanes in the F135. (Stators and vanes, which are static blades found between many fan, compressor and turbine stages, act to condition and present the core airflow optimally to each subsequent rotating stage.) So P&W has possibly been able to reduce the parts count in the engine and make it lighter – but it declines to confirm this. The F135 uses ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) in its exhaust nozzle, primarily on the

outside sections of the exhaust nozzle on the F135-PW-600 STOVL version of the engine. Some sections of the fan ducts on the STOVL engine – particularly at the bottom – are also made from organic matrix composites (OMCs), whereas the fan ducts for the F-35A and F-35C engines are made from titanium. Some of the inlet ducting in the aircraft is also made from OMC material. Another key feature of the F135 is its augmentor, or afterburner system. While details have remained hard to come by, the F135 is known to employ multi-zone (probably three-zone) fuel injection aft of the afterburner’s pilot light. These zones inject fuel independently, so that the afterburner does not act in an all-or-nothing way but instead provides a variable range of additional, smoothly transitioning wet thrust at the pilot’s command. Also, like the F119 augmentor, the F135 is stealthy: the designs of the two engines’ augmentors place multi-zone fuel injection into curved vanes which eliminate conventional spray bars and flame holders and block the line of sight to the turbine when looking into the engine from behind.

The Rolls-Royce LiftSystem One of the most remarkable features of the F-35 programme is that when the STOVL F-35B is hovering, its propulsion system produces very nearly as much thrust without afterburner as the engine does in forward flight with its afterburner fully lit. The F-35B’s engine has to produce 39,400lb (176kN) of vertical thrust without afterburner in hover mode, while in conventional flight it produces 28,000lb (124.55kN) of dry thrust and 43,000lb (191.27kN) with full afterburner. The F135-powered F-35B relies on two systems to achieve the high level of vertical thrust. First is its full authority digital engine control (FADEC) unit – computers made by BAE Systems and attached to the engine but run on Pratt & Whitney proprietary FADEC software. In hovering flight, the FADEC computers make the engine work harder, increasing dry thrust from 28,000lb to 39,400lb without using afterburner. Second, the F-35B relies on the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem, an assembly of four major components integrated with the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine to

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F-35 Lightning II

F-35B BF-01 with the LiftFan doors open during mode 4 flight. Andy Wolfe/Lockheed Martin

make up the STOVL propulsion system. First is the LiftFan, a horizontally-mounted fan unit located behind the F-35’s cockpit. The 50-inch (1,270mm) diameter, 50-inch deep LiftFan draws in cold air through an inlet on the top of the fuselage and accelerates it to produce vertical lift. The LiftFan inlet is covered by a large, Lockheed Martin-made door – nicknamed the ‘57 Chevy Hood’ – hinged to the structure of the aircraft aft of the LiftFan inlet. It is only opened when the F-35B is hovering, performing a short take-off or transitioning between horizontal and vertical flight. The LiftFan features two counter-rotating fans, one directly above the other. Each is a blisk, the upper fan containing 24 hollow titanium blades and the lower fan 28 solid titanium blades. Each fan is driven by a bevel gear system. (Bevel gears allow torque from a horizontal shaft to be transmitted through 90° to a vertical shaft by means of conical gears.) Both bevel gears are contained in a common gearbox and are powered by a driveshaft which runs along the F-35B’s longitudinal axis. The driveshaft is powered by the low-pressure spool of the F-35B’s engine, which is located behind the LiftFan. The LiftFan is located in front of the engine inlet and the driveshaft connecting it to the engine runs through the inlet, under a fairing. On the engine, the driveshaft is connected to the fan hub for the engine’s first fan stage, which is driven by the low-pressure spool. Another major LiftSystem component is the clutch for the LiftFan gearbox. The driveshaft is always spinning when the engine is lit, but when vertical lift from the LiftFan is not required – for instance, in conventional flight – the clutch is disengaged. It only engages and locks when vertical thrust is commanded. Because of the friction generated and the high temperatures involved, the clutch plates are made from the same hard-wearing material used in the carbon brakes of large commercial aircraft such as the A380. Below the LiftFan, the variable area vane box (VAVB) provides an exit path for the cool air driven downwards vertically by the LiftFan. RollsRoyce produces the VAVB, which consists of an aluminium structure and contains six louvred titanium vanes. These can be angled all the way from 42° degrees back, through fully vertical to 5° forward to provide variable directionality for the downward cool air flow from the LiftFan, as commanded by the pilot through the aircraft’s FADEC units. Gregg Pyers, LiftSystem Chief Engineer, said:

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“The variable area vane box nozzle can be used to vector the thrust generated by the LiftFan from straight down for hover or a vertical landing, but also 42° aft. It is used for short take-offs and during conversion from wing-borne flight to direct lift in a hover and ultimately for a vertical landing. “The interesting aspect of the variable area vane box nozzle is it’s integral to the aircraft’s structure and is designed with the jet’s structural loads in mind. The box is delivered to Northrop Grumman for installation into the centre fuselage section up to 18 months prior to the LiftFan’s delivery.” The box is designed and installed as a structural component of the aircraft to save weight, a key parameter for STOVL flight: the aircraft must generate more thrust than its weight. “The variable area vane box nozzle comprises F135 CTOL/CV Engine Design

Maximum thrust Intermediate thrust Length Inlet diameter Maximum diameter Bypass ratio Overall pressure ratio

43,000lb (191.3kN) 28,000lb (128.1kN) 220 inches (5.59m) 43 inches (1.09m) 46 inches (1.17m) 0.57 28

The horizontally-mounted fan unit has a 50inch diameter. Rolls-Royce

six vanes that are controlled somewhat independently to give the combination of vector and area control of the LiftFan exhaust,” said Gregg Pyers. When the F-35B is hovering, the driveshaft delivers 28,000 shaft horsepower to the LiftFan’s clutch-and-bevel-gear system so that the LiftFan provides nearly 20,000lb (124.55kN) of downward thrust as a column of cool air. (In hover mode the F-35B’s coupled F135driveshaft arrangement acts exactly like a turboprop engine, except that most of its power output is used to drive air vertically rather than horizontally – so the F135 is actually the world’s most powerful turboprop engine when installed in the F-35B.) In hover mode another 15,700lb (69.84kN) of thrust exits the engine exhaust as hot gas and is directed downwards at the rear of the aircraft by the aircraft’s Three-Bearing Swivel Module (3BSM). This remarkable piece of equipment consists of three articulated sections of nozzle casing, each of which is made from titanium. Each section is joined to the others driven by its own ring bearing. When the F-35B hovers, the FADEC commands the 3BSM – which can direct air through a 95-degree range from 5° forward to horizontally back – to swivel downwards to direct hot engine exhaust air in the same direction as the direction of the cool air produced by the LiftFan near the front of the aircraft. Gregg Pyers said the 3BSM enables the engine’s thrust to be vectored straight out and downward by 95° for a vertical landing and in STOVL operating mode. The system completes the 95° transition (swivel from horizontal to vertical orientation) in 2.5 seconds, completely redirecting its entire 15,700lb of thrust in that time. The 3BSM also provides plus or minus 12.5° of lateral control. “It was a unique challenge for the LiftFan designers to enable all of the thrust required for hover and take-off conditions and be able to turn it down when transitioning back to wing-borne flight or vice versa.” Together with nearly 20,000lb of downward thrust produced by the LiftFan and the 3,700lb (16.46kN) of bypass-air thrust directed vertically

F-35 Lightning II downwards by the F-35B’s two wing-positioned Roll-Posts (see below) to enable the F-35B to hover, this means the F-35B can turn 15,700lb of horizontally directed thrust into 39,000lb of thrust directed vertically downward in less than 3 seconds. This astonishing capability to redirect – in the twinkling of an eye – more thrust than powers two BAE Systems Hawks and turn it into more thrust than powers a Panavia Tornado at full reheat (and nearly as much as powers a fully-reheated Eurofighter Typhoon) is made possible by the F-35B’s enormously sophisticated FADEC software, which was developed by Pratt & Whitney specifically for the F-35B’s propulsion system. The ring bearing for the first 3BSM nozzle section is driven by its own actuator, while the bearings for the second and third sections are driven by a common actuator which acts directly on the ring bearing for the second nozzle section and drives the ring bearing for the third section through a transfer gearbox. The two sections can’t articulate independently but do so through a fixed ratio, and are set at oblique angles to each other. Both ring bearing actuators for the 3BSM are powered by ‘fueldraulics’: some of the aircraft’s fuel is pressurised to 3,500lb per square inch (2.46kg per square millimetre) to act as a hydraulic fluid to power the 3BSM actuators’ servo-valves.

Other major components of the LiftSystem are the aircraft’s two Roll-Posts and the Roll-Post ducts which connect them to the engine. Each Roll-Post duct is a very complex part whose shape changes from circular at one end – where it connects to the engine – to toroidal (a complex surface generated by rotating a closed plane curve about a coplanar line that does not intersect the curve) at the other, where it attaches to the Roll-Post. Each titanium RollPost duct is superplastically formed,

Pratt & Whitney

diffusion-bonded and laser-welded. The Roll-Posts themselves are variable-area nozzles situated in the lower part of each inner wing section and act to provide roll control for the F-35B in hover mode. To do this, the ducts direct bypass air from the engine to the RollPosts which drive the air out through the bottom of each wing. In the F-35B, 3,700lb of thrust in the form of bypass air is directed out to the two Roll-Posts while hovering. Each Roll-Post assembly features a pair of flap-type titanium doors in the bottom of the wing, controlled by the FADEC. These are controlled by rotary actuators which enable fully variable opening, providing thrust variability and

directionality so the pilot can control roll while hovering. Lockheed Martin’s original X-35 concept demonstrator featured valves between the engine casing and the Roll-Post ducts which could be closed when the aircraft was not hovering, but in production aircraft there are no such doors and bypass airflow is constantly sent to the ducts. The only way to control Roll-Post thrust is via the flapdoors in the bottom of the wing. The demand for very high power during hover requires the engine to receive a high amount of airflow, so Lockheed Martin designed the F-35B with a pair of Auxiliary Air Inlet Doors (AAIDs) in the upper surface of the fuselage behind the big inlet door for the LiftFan. These AAIDs provide additional inlet air for the F135 engine, not the LiftFan. During testing by the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, the original AAID design was found to suffer from excessive wear and fatigue due to the buffet environment; had an inadequate seal design; and the door locks had an inadequate service life. Low Rate Initial Production aircraft were restricted from some STOVL-mode flight operations until the redesigned AAID gained its flight clearance from Naval Air Systems Command. The redesigned door is now being retrofitted to all F-35Bs built in LRIP 1 to LRIP 5.

Production Rolls-Royce has transferred 3BSM and Roll-Post assembly and test functions from its facility at

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F-35 Lightning II Bristol in the UK to Indianapolis, predominantly to save money and to consolidate activity now the system has entered production. LiftFans have always been assembled and tested in Indianpolis. LiftFans are assembled on a flow line with three main stages; the clutch, gearbox and fan modules are built on independent component lines that feed a stack line. The plant currently produces one complete LiftFan system each month with capacity to treble output at the peak of F-35B-model production. The Indianapolis plant also assembles the 3BSM (using actuators manufactured by Moog in the UK) and produces the Roll-Posts and the VAVB. The structural component of the VAVB nozzle is a machined aluminium rectangular box with interface points used to attach it to the aircraft’s structure. Six hollow titanium vanes are installed in the box structure. Vanes one, two and three are ganged on one linear actuator, vanes four and five are ganged on a second linear actuator, while vane six uses a standalone rotor actuator. The assembly process also includes installation of the actuators, plumbing, harnesses, hydraulic lines and their control units. Describing the 3BSM, Gregg Pyers said: “The three bearing comprises three casings numbered one, two and three. Casing one is fitted to the engine, number two is in the middle and three at the end. Each one is assembled to a bearing to allow the casings to move independently of one another. Separate actuators, powered by ‘fueldraulics’ drive casings one and two. A transfer gear box connects casing two with casing three and drives it in equal and opposite direction.” Casings are machined at the Bristol facility and fixed to the bearing as part of the assembly process in Indianapolis, which includes installation of the actuators and external plumbing. Each 3BSM is shipped to East Hartford, Connecticut for fitting to the engine on Pratt & Whitney’s production line. The fully assembled 3BSM is shipped to Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth facility, fitted on the engine. The 3BSM control of the aircraft is phenomenal, according to Gregg Pyers. “Just think about the mass of hardware being moved and the rate at which it’s moving,” he enthused. “One of the truly amazing things about the digital control system is how it keeps the aircraft so steady and easy for the pilot to fly.” Discussing production of the of the RollPost duct, he explained how the component is hydro-dynamically formed by applying pressure on the inside of the duct against the metal die to expand the metal out to the shape required. “We’ve worked extensively with Doncasters [the UK based manufacturer] to improve the process and get our conformance to print requirements. Our scrape rate is reduced and throughput has increased,” he noted.

Supporting the Marines Rolls-Royce provided huge support to the US Marine Corps for its work-up to the July 31 initial operating capability declarations. The company helped to ensure the ten aircraft required by the squadron (VMFA-121 based at MCAS Yuma) had all the LiftSystem modifications needed to operate in the full envelope with adequate spares. A team led by LiftSystem Program Director Jarrett Jones focused on modifying the

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A Three-Bearing Swivel Module on Rolls-Royce’s Bristol production line. Rolls-Royce

F135 STOVL Propulsion System Design

Maximum thrust class Intermediate thrust class Short take-off thrust class Hover thrust Main engine LiftFan Roll-Post Length Main engine inlet diameter Main engine maximum diameter LiftFan inlet diameter LiftFan maximum diameter Conventional bypass ratio Powered Lift bypass ratio Conventional overall pressure ratio Powered Lift overall pressure ratio

41,000lb (182.4kN) 27,000lb (120.1kN) 40,740lb (181.2kN) 40,650lb (180.8kN) 18,680lb (83.1kN) 18,680lb (83.1kN) 3,290lb (14.6kN) 369 inches (9.37m) 43 inches (1.09m) 46 inches (1.17m) 51 inches (1.30m) 53 inches (1.34m) 0.56 0.51 28 29

interstage vanes in the LiftFan and the bearings in the 3BSM. Gregg Pyers recalled: “The interstage vanes were vibrating in a particular mode of operation that imposed an operating restriction on the aircraft. The initial solution to dampen out the vibration was ineffective in colder temperatures because the dampening material became less effective and resulted in a 5° Fahrenheit temperature restriction. So we redesigned the vane to remove the vibration mode. The dampening material was no longer required, thereby removing the corresponding temperature restriction. The Chief Engineer detailed how the 3BSM modification involved the bearings. “As a conditioning flow exited the bearings it was impinging on the aircraft structure. Blowing hot air on an aircraft’s aluminum structural components is not a good idea. We conducted rig testing, which determined the conditioning flow on the bearings was not required. They were redesigned without the conditioning flow which successfully removed the hot air impingement.” The interstage vane modifications were all completed at the Indianapolis factory because of the requirement to dissemble the LiftFan. By

contrast the 3BSM retrofits were finished at Bristol in the final work to be carried out there.

LiftWorks and Challenges The Rolls-Royce Indianapolis plant currently has the only LiftFan test cell in the world. Equipped with a 40,000 horsepower electric motor to drive a LiftFan, the cell continues to support developmental testing and production pass-off checking. And the Indy plant is home to another one-of-a-kind facility: a LiftFan depot. In the future, the US Marine Corps intends to operate its own indigenous LiftFan depot. More recently Rolls-Royce commissioned its own MR&O facility at Indianapolis called LiftWorks, which is housed in the same complex as the 3BSM assembly line. The company will use the MR&O to supplement the Department of Defense’s own facilities and for international depot-level maintenance. The author was interested to know what the biggest challenge had been for the Rolls-Royce team in designing the LiftSystem. “The gear box,” replied Gregg Pyers. “The loading in the gears is higher than any other gearbox we’ve flown in our corporate history. We had to use finite element stress modelling on the gears as opposed to industry standard gear design rules. And we had to validate the models to get the gears light enough for the STOVL application, but have the structural integrity needed. “While a two-stage counter-rotating gear box using spiral bevel gears is fairly simple to devise, the amount of stress analysis and the tools and methods used to design them had to be dramatically changed to achieve the size and weight limitations and be strong enough to last for the life of the system.” To ensure the LiftSystem design is robust enough to last for its service life, Rolls-Royce has accumulated more than 15,000 test hours on the hardware. “From my perspective we’ve proven the endurance and reliability is there with a very stringent development programme,” concluded Gregg Pyers. Chris Kjelgaard and Mark Ayton

Cubic F_P.indd 1

14/09/2015 09:33

F-35 Lightning II

ALIS The Continuing Development of

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F-35 Lightning II

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ockheed Martin’s Autonomic Logistics Information System successfully supported the three US Marine Corps F-35 squadrons involved in the type’s work-up to the initial operational capability (IOC) declaration on July 31. But the overall system has not achieved the level of maturity originally planned for this point in time although the latest version, ALIS 2.01, was delivered in time to support the Marines. ALIS is the operations and management system for the F-35, providing an interface with the aircraft with a range of capabilities that also include prognostics, supply chain, customer support services, training and technical data. It is a highly complex and integrated softwaredriven system which is critical for flight operations. However, like most software-intensive systems, the development of ALIS has proved to be a bigger challenge than originally anticipated. Each F-35 partner nation will acquire and

operate its own ALIS system as part of an integrated logistic network environment. Its integration with each nation’s information and communications technology (ICT) systems, and with extant operational, maintenance, training and supply processes, while meeting national regulation and certification requirements will present future challenges. Development of ALIS was probably overshadowed by the focus on aircraft software during the initial stages of the F-35 programme. However, significant additional resources have since been directed to develop the system to the standard necessary for the US Marine Corps IOC milestone at the end of July. The system will continue to be refined to meet the needs of operating units around the world.

Recent Development Lockheed Martin rolled out ALIS 2.0.0 software to the fleet in the first quarter of 2015, which

addressed many of the earlier issues with the system. Just a few months later the company’s ALIS 2.0.1 followed and was the baseline version required for the Marines IOC declaration. In addition, the second version of the Standard Operating Unit (SOU), which is the unitlevel server set supporting squadron operations, has begun roll-out through the fleet. Known as SOU V2, the system addresses deployability issues with the earlier version and is capable of supporting sub-squadron level deployments. James Sprang, Lockheed Martin’s ALIS field and development lead, said in early August, just days after the Marines IOC milestone: “SOU V2 is in the field today; it’s installed at Yuma and has been delivered to our customer. They have the capability to field a deployable ALIS right now. “ALIS 2.0.1 software is also in the middle of deployment fleet-wide and we’ve got about five sites under our belt right now.”

A sailor aboard the USS Wasp signals to the pilot of an F-35B Lightning II to land as it arrives for OT I on May 18, 2015. LCpl Remington Hall/US Marine Corps

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F-35 Lightning II The pilot of F-35B BuNo 169024/’VM11’ steers his aircraft off the landing spot on board the USS Wasp. Mass Communication Specialist Zhiwei Tan/

US Navy

Sprang said the methodology and the processes by which version 2.0.0 was approved for fleet release were heavily scrutinised by the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) and the US services, to ensure it could be refined, enhanced and streamlined for 2.0.1 rollout just a few months later. “We saw a much-improved implementation timeline and we’ve gathered a lot of good customer feedback. We are continuing to roll it out to the rest of the fleet so a lot of other users, including the Air Force and the Navy are starting to get their hands on it as well,” he said. “So far the feedback we’ve received on 2.0.1 has been very positive. There has been a lot of praise for the ease by which it was installed but also for the usability of the software itself.” However he noted that the ALIS programme was still in its development phase. “The ALIS software capability is still maturing, we have the 2.0 suite in development, the 2.0.2 release is coming out for [US] Air Force IOC next year, which increases the overall end-state capability significantly and then we have the ALIS 3.0 release coming out shortly after that,” he said. “We are now focussing our efforts on Air Force IOC.”

Trials aboard USS Wasp One of the major precursors to US Marines’ IOC was an operational test, known as Operational Test Phase One at sea (OT I) conducted aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD-1), off the coast of Virginia in May. Six US Marines Corps F-35Bs (two from VMFAT-501 and four from VMFA-121) were embarked aboard the ship and flew a series of representative day and night mission profiles under operational conditions. Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) ‘Warlords’ is based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121) ‘Green Knights’ is based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona. One of the main test points was the

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performance of the current ALIS V2.0.0 during deployed shipboard operations. “Until this point, all ALIS infrastructure was land-based to support flight test, training and aircraft modifications,” James Sprang said. “This event demonstrates the maturing ALIS capability by facilitating communication from ship to shore and connecting directly to ship networks to support F-35 operations.” A standard operating unit was embarked aboard the Wasp during last year and simultaneously supported training flights from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. After the successful conclusion of the trials Lieutenant General Jon Davis, Deputy Commandant for Aviation, HQ US Marine Corps, said: “We focussed this carrier period on logistic sustainability to include a lot of forced maintenance actions, both above deck and in the hangar deck. “The onboard autonomic logistics system, worked very well to achieve our turnaround times.”

A Customer’s Perspective With the first two Royal Australian Air Force F-35A aircraft flying daily training sorties as part of the F-35 international training centre at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona and the first aircraft due to be delivered in-country by the end of 2018, Australia is keeping a close eye on the development of ALIS. An ALIS experimentation system, known as a ‘SOU Lite’ has been established at Lockheed Martin’s Australian headquarters in Canberra. It is currently using ALIS 2.0.0 baseline software to better understand the functionality resident within the system and to de-risk the integration effort required to allow ALIS to interface with existing networks. However, Air Vice Marshal Chris Deeble, Australia’s F-35 Programme Manager, notes that the SOU Lite is also being used to develop possible work around solutions in the Australian context, due to the present lack of ALIS maturity. “ALIS is not likely to be at the level of maturity we would have otherwise hoped at the point we

get the first aircraft here in Australia in late 2018, but we are planning to work around some of those issues,” he explained. “I think the key issues of US Marine Corps and US Air Force IOCs and the ramp up of ‘real-world’ operations in the United States has highlighted a number of issues associated with ALIS. The issue for us is really around taking that system, at the level of maturity it will be at the end of 2018, and then being able to integrate that into the Australian environment.” AVM Deeble said the complexity of ALIS was due to the requirement for it to be the single toolset to support engineering, maintenance, supply chain, training and operational mission planning. “ALIS is a very, very complex system; it’s trying to be the enterprise toolset for the JSF [Joint Strike Fighter] which means it is trying to go to a place where no other system has been before, and to have all of that in one tool is always going to be a big ask,” he commented. “I think they’re going to have to roll that back a little bit, to some core functionality and then add the bells and whistles downstream.” AVM Deeble said the key for the RAAF was to Marines aboard the USS Wasp perform engine tests on an F-35B Lightning II during OT I on May 20, 2015. LCpl Remington Hall/US Marine Corps

F-35 Lightning II understand exactly the level of maturity ALIS will have achieved when it begins to ramp up its own F-35 capability in 2018, as a precursor to aircraft arriving in Australia, he explained: “We’re going to have to understand what other, extant, tools we might have to employ to fill some of the gaps. “I think training is an area where they were very ambitious and they’re going to have to roll some of that back. They might look at breaking out some of the mission planning functions and look at those a little bit differently and potentially re-integrating at a later stage. I feel we can handle all of those perturbations but we just need to understand what they mean for us as we look at the aircraft arriving back and what we need to be able to operate back here in Australia.”

Exporting ALIS With every international F-35 partner nation having its own bespoke ICT infrastructure, the integration of ALIS into those sovereign networks will present further challenges. From an Australian perspective, AVM Deeble said that in addition to the experimentation work being undertaken in the SOU Lite in Canberra, a lot of time is being spent in the JSF executive steering and strategy boards. This is being undertaken to determine how ALIS will translate from the US context into that of each partner nation, how cost-effective it will be and what affect it will have on local industry contracting outcomes. “The issue is how to then integrate ALIS into our defence information environment. That can be quite challenging, because a line of software that you enter into that environment has to be qualified and certified for use within that environment, and that can be quite a long timeline in its own right.” he noted. “Cyber security testing is still being undertaken by the United States and we await the outcomes. We’re engaging closely now with key stakeholders like CIOG [Chief Information Officer Group] and using that environment to better understand where we’re going in that regard.”

Security of Sovereign Data One of the principal tenets of the ALIS operation is exchange of data between the national central point of entry servers and the Autonomic Logistics Operating Unit servers within Lockheed Martin’s global sustainment kit in Fort Worth, so protection of sensitive sovereign data is another

Marines use a Portable Maintenance Aid on the flight deck of the USS Wasp to check the status of an F-35B. The PMA is the interface between the aircraft and the ALIS. LCpl Remington Hall/US Marine Corps

focus of attention. “Every nation will have a range of national security issues to consider and the issue for us is how to control data that we wouldn’t want to go back into someone else’s IT system, and what this might mean for cyber security perspective,” AVM Deeble pointed out Current work with the secure off board information systems centre (OBISC), under construction at RAAF Williamtown, would determine how much information goes back into the Lockheed Martin ALOU or other systems in the US. “But there’s a fine line that needs to be struck in this and we want to be able to take advantage of the global JSF data in its own right and then feed our data into that, so it’s analysed and solutions to problems can be developed and the cost shared across the enterprise,” he continued. “Working out what that data is, how it gets transferred, the frequency at which it gets transferred, what it means as a single piece of information are all issues that we’re working through at the moment.”

Towards the Future James Sprang said that when the first RAAF aircraft arrives in Australia in 2018, a yet to be determined variant of ALIS 3.0 software should

be in service, the SOU V2 should have mature software and its deployability will have been tried and tested. “The Australian Government will have a holistic time on ALIS leading up to their jets arriving in-country in 2018, so they will be familiar with the ins and outs, not only from a software perspective but also from a deployability perspective,” he said. The work carried out in the eight months leading up to the US Marine Corps IOC was ‘unprecedented’, with the deployment of two major releases of ALIS to the fleet within six months of each other, observed Sprang. “The capability growth of ALIS, between what was in the fleet last year and where we are today, has increased significantly. We’ve added to the number of bases we’re supporting, and the numbers of sorties generated, and transactions have increased many times over, in terms of what the system is processing and handling throughout the enterprise,” he said. “Looking forward we have US Air Force IOC coming up in a year or so and our first international installations ahead of us that we are taking very seriously, the first of which is the Australian OISC, and we will have some exciting news coming with future releases of ALIS as well.” Nigel Pittaway

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F-35 Lightning II

F-35A 12-5051/‘WA’ with tail markings of the US Air Force Weapons School, takes off from Nellis Air Force Base on August 24. This aircraft is one of five F-35A Lightning IIs now assigned to the Weapons School. Dan Stijovich

Follow Me

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he long-awaited arrival of the first F-35A Lightning II at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, for the US Air Force Weapons School was a major milestone. The aircraft, F-35A 125049/’WA’, was delivered on January 15 by Capt Brent Golden, an instructor pilot with the 16th Weapons Squadron ‘Tomahawks’ (16th WPS). For the squadron and the school, the event heralded the beginning of the type’s introduction to both organisations – a goal dozens of people had been working towards for several years. The 16th WPS runs the Weapons Instructor

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Courses (WIC) for the F-16C Fighting Falcon and, in the future, the F-35A Lightning II.

Seed Corn The first main objective for the 16th WPS was to determine how to train weapons officers for the F-35 community. AIR International spoke to Lt Col David Eppersen, Commander of the 16th Weapons Squadron about the F-35’s introduction to the squadron. “We looked at the lessons learned from the stand-up of the F-22 course to enhance what

and how we were doing it for the F-35,” he said. The US Air Force will not have an F-35 WIC at the time it expects to declare its first F-35A unit, the 34th Fighter Squadron (34th FS) based at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, as IOC (initial operating capability) in the summer of 2016. To achieve that milestone the 34th FS requires pilots qualified as F-35 Weapons Officers. This is one of the 16th’s current objectives. Lt Col Eppersen explained: “We developed the F-35 Weapons Officer seed corn plan, in which we selected two instructors, one a graduate of the F-15E Strike Eagle course and the other from the F-16. They’ll be assigned to the 16th WPS for two years. During that time they will help to develop tactics and the F-35 syllabus, which will be followed by pilots graduating from Luke or Eglin [the F-35 training bases] to qualify them as combat ready pilots; either wingman, flight lead or instructor. “They took conversion training at Eglin, graduated as F-35 instructors and returned to Nellis, where they initially flew missions with the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron because at the time we [the 16th WPS] had no aircraft.” At the end of their two-year assignments with the 16th WPS, both Weapons Officers will be assigned to Hill next January and June. A third pilot joined the squadron in June this year and a fourth arrived at the Tomahawks in August. Lt Col Eppersen said: “Our ultimate mission at this point is to make F-35 IOC happen on time. To that end we have to develop the tactics, conduct testing and develop the syllabus to make sure everything is ready for when pilots show up at Hill.”

F-35 Lightning II

Sharing Jets All F-35s assigned to Nellis Air Force Base are treated as Warfare Centre assets, meaning the two F-35 squadrons on base share each other’s jets. The 422nd TES is part of the 53rd Wing at Eglin Air Force Base and the 16th WPS is assigned to the 57th Wing at Nellis: both report to the Warfare Centre. F-35As assigned to the 422nd TES are Block 1 aircraft; those with the 16th WPS are Block 3i: the first Warfare Centre jets configured with IOC standard hardware. Sharing the Block 3i aircraft has enabled the Warfare Centre and both squadrons to undertake tactics development to the level required for the IOC declaration next summer. The majority of the lines being flown during the spring and summer were with the Block 3i aircraft. This continues to give the pilots the desired advanced capabilities with which to develop the latest tactics required for combat employment of the aircraft. Tactics will be adjusted as follow-on software upgrades are released under Block 3i before IOC. The Weapons Officers already assigned to the 16th WPS are integrated with the 422nd TES, but they are focusing on basic close air support (CAS), a SEAD-DEAD (suppression-destruction of enemy air defences) mission, and will also soon fly a counter air capability. All three mission sets have been set by the commander of Air Combat Command [ACC] for IOC. Lt Col Eppersen explained: “F-35s are flying local close air support missions with A-10s, F-16s and F-15Es to determine the tactics

required in a fourth/fifth-generation mix and how an F-35 can manage and support the fourth-gen fighters. We’ve also examined where the F-35 will play as the threat scenario gets much more difficult if we enter a major combat operation.” Some observers doubt the F-35’s capability in the CAS mission despite the aircraft’s sensors and systems which, on paper, all punch above the weight of those of legacy aircraft. The F-35’s ability to perform CAS in a non-permissive environment is the prime capability that the 16th WPS has spent time evaluating. According to Lt Col Eppersen, sensor fusion and stealth make the F-35 a formidable CAS platform even in a non-permissive environment. “Although the pilot will still have to worry about surface-to-air threats, this will be less of a factor when executing the CAS mission. The F-35 will also offer greater loiter time allowing it to remain on station because it can carry a lot of fuel compared with an F-16,” he said. Suppression of enemy air defences is the second mission currently being flown and is one of the big mission sets envisaged for the F-35 by the Weapons School. “It’s also one of the core mission sets that the commander of ACC has declared [as a requirement] for IOC,” said Lt Col Eppersen. “The aircraft is best poised to conduct SEADDEAD because of its stealth capabilities, synthetic aperture radar, EOTS [the AAQ-40 ElectroOptical Targeting System], and electronic warfare systems. It should be able to find and locate surface-to-air missile systems fairly well.”

SEAD and its Sub-sets Initially the Air Force won’t have enough F-35s to conduct the SEAD mission on its own, so work is under way to determine how to integrate the F-35 with fourth-gen SEAD platforms such as the Block 50 and Block 52 F-16C and the US Navy’s EA-18G Growler. Lt Col Eppersen posed some questions: “How do we incorporate the F-35 in? How do we pass data and targeting information? How do we leverage the stealth capabilities on some target sets but not on others where we might be able to use fourth-gen so that we don’t waste munitions from the fifth-gen platforms when we don’t need to? “For one phase of our course we conduct SEAD-DEAD by finding surface-to-air missiles sites and destroying them with air-to-ground munitions. During the first Weapons School class of 2015 [which finished in June] we fully integrated the F-35 into the SEAD phase to start developing interoperability. This included operating with an RC-135 Rivet Joint. “The F-35 also participated in the final integration phase of the course, which enabled 16th WPS F-35 pilots to fly in a mission with just F-22 Raptors and B-2 Spirits to determine how an LO [low-observable] strike force can work. But the 16th also participated in a mission involving every fourth- and fifth-gen type flown by the air force to evaluate how the F-35 fits in and which of its capabilities can be best used.” The 16th WPS specialises in SEAD and DEAD with its long-established F-16 course and has shaped the mission into three subsets: avoid,

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F-35 Lightning II suppress, and destroy. Each one gets more complex and more difficult with associated higher risk. Avoid is self-explanatory. Suppression can be achieved with kinetic effect by employing an AGM-88 HARM missile, or by using electronic warfare techniques, such as jamming. “You don’t have to employ a HARM missile, but you may not have good enough co-ordinates to kill a surface-to-air missile [SAM] system with another type of air-to-ground munitions. With the F-35, we could drop a GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb in the SAM’s general location so the resultant explosion suppresses the missile system, whether we actually killed it or not.” Part of the squadron’s tasking involves working with the US Navy’s Growler Wing based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington. EA-18G Growlers deployed to Nellis during the SEADDEAD phase of its course in May. Two Growlers flew on most missions: an average SEAD-DEAD force comprised eight F-16Cs, two F-35As, two EA18G Growlers and one RC-135 Rivet Joint.

Other Weapon Schools The ongoing work between Growlers and F-35As is brand new, although the 16th WPS has a longestablished working relationship with the Naval Fighter Weapons School (the N7 Department of the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center) based at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, more commonly referred to as Top Gun. Lt Col Eppersen said: “The Growlers from Top Gun come to Nellis and fly with us during each Weapons School class. This allows students from both schools to work with each other. We send F-16 instructors to teach classes in the Top Gun course, which helps the Navy pilots better understand our capabilities and vice versa. As we move forward, the F-35 will slide into that role and we’ll use our relationship with Top Gun to bring the F-35 into the same fold and [become] fully integrated. Lt Col Eppersen told AIR International how the US Air Force Weapons School is working with both Top Gun and Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 [MAWTS-1, the US Marine Corps Weapons School] to ensure all three move forward with the F-35 together. “We’ve been working with MAWTS-1 over the past year to align F/A-18 and F-16 tactics so our F-35 pilots are working from the same baseline. In the future we are planning a programme between the Weapons School and MAWTS-1 to exchange instructors back and forth. We’ll probably establish something similar with Top Gun but, at this point, the US Navy’s F-35 IOC is later, so it’s not time yet to start those conversations.”

Building a School House The Combat Air Forces (CAF) syllabus will be the baseline of the Weapons School syllabus. It’s still in development because the aircraft is not fully operational and its full envelope is not yet cleared. But the 16th WPS has started determining tactics for within visual range air-to-air engagements and made a flight programme and structure of what’s required to determine them. As the aircraft gains more capabilities, the syllabi for the CAF and the Weapons School will evolve. Each syllabus will have the same skill sets; the Weapons School edition will be taught at a higher level. The 16th WPS is working on perfecting

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the delta between the two as it continues to establish the F-35 in the Weapons School. The 16th WPS will build up its instructor cadre at a rate of four per year. Each one will come from different MDS [Major Design Series] types to mirror the fighter components of a Combat Air Force. The current composition of Combat Air Forces is 50% F-16 and the remainder split between the A-10, F-15E and F-22. As the 16th WPS reaches its full complement, it will have an instructor cadre comprising approximately 50% former F-16 pilots, 20% A-10, 20% F-15E and the remainder from the F-15C and F-22 communities. Provided everything related to the F-35A programme remains on track, the 16th WPS hopes to start its first F-35 WIC in January 2018. The goal is to start with four students, one for each US Air Force F-35 Wing at the time, graduating by the summer. Three years might appear to be far into the future, but compared with the F-22 Raptor coming online, the F-35 plan is quicker. Part of the reason for the timing is the aircraft’s capabilities and also the preference to fly Block 3F aircraft with greater capabilities than the current Block 3i jets. So demanding are the performance and capability requirements for any WIC that starting the first one before 2018 may mean not meeting the objectives. As more F-35s are assigned to Nellis, the Lightning Aircraft Maintenance Unit (AMU) will grow in size to meet the requirements of both the 422nd TES and the 16th WPS. Ultimately, the 16th WPS will have more aircraft than any of the Weapons School squadrons: it currently operates 21 F-16s, but will receive a greater number of F-35s. Eventually the 16th WPS will split: the F-35 mission will go to a new squadron and the F-16 mission will stay with the 16th. And the Lightning AMU will also divide into two separate units - one for the Weapons School and one for the 422nd TES. By that time frame the 422nd TES will have more than ten aircraft assigned and will be conducting traditional operational test on the F-35A. With two separate AMUs, the two squadrons will be able to sustain normal ops in the way that each unit runs its maintenance and flying programmes between test activities and the Weapons School. The F-35 is the future of the US Air Force, so it’s an exciting time for the 16th WPS and 422nd TES. Both are playing a significant role in helping to bring about the IOC declaration by making sure that once the F-35 is mission-ready the pilots have the tactics and capabilities they need to go to war and win. “That’s ultimately our mission here and we’re excited to be a part of it,” said Lt Col Eppersen. Mark Ayton

F-35A Lightning II 12-5049/‘WA’ and F-16C Fighting Falcon 93-0553/‘WA’ assigned to the 16th Weapons Squadron approach the Lake Mead National Recreation Area en route to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada on January 15, 2015. Senior Airman Cody Griffith/US Air Force

F-35 Lightning II

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F-35 Lightning II

Luke Australian Lightning at

A

ustralian pilot training on the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II is now well under way at the international training centre at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. In early August, the second Royal Australian Air Force F-35 pilot became the first international student to fly his first sortie with the 61st Fighter Squadron at Luke, as part of his training. Squadron Leader David Bell is also the first international student at Luke and joins the RAAF’s first F-35 pilot, Sqn Ldr Andrew Jackson, who previously undertook training at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Sqn Ldr Jackson is now an F-35A instructor pilot. In addition, F-35A Lightning IIs A35-001 and A35-002, the first two of 72 currently approved by the Australian Government are on the

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Luke flight line, as part of what will become an international pool of aircraft. The two aircraft were delivered to the 61st FS from Lockheed Martin’s facility at Fort Worth in January this year and by early August had amassed 250 flight hours, flying at a rate of around 20 hours per month. Preparations are also under way for the arrival of the first aircraft in Australia, currently due at the end of 2018, with a capital works programme worth around AUD $1.5 billion, which began in early May.

Australian Programme Update The 72 F-35A aircraft approved so far by the Australian Government will replace three operational F/A-18 Hornet squadrons, as well as

an operational conversion unit. Decisions about the future of the RAAF’s 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets, acquired in 2011, are yet to be taken. The outcome might see the eventual total of Lightning IIs increase to 100 aircraft. The production profile for the other 70 is dependent upon the timely ramp-up of production at Fort Worth – which is scheduled to increase to a full-rate production of 17 aircraft per month by the middle of the next decade. The profile, and the unit cost, may also be affected by a US Government decision to embark on a ‘block buy’ of between 450 and 500 aircraft, to be delivered between 2020 and 2022. This plan was first mooted by US Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics

F-35 Lightning II

Royal Australian Air Force F-35A A35-001 in formation with US Air Force F-35A 12-5056/‘LF’ on June 23. Two Australian F-35A Lightning IIs are assigned to the 61st Fighter Squadron ‘Bulldogs’ a component of the 56th Fighter Wing based at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. F-35A 12-5056/‘LF’ has tail markings for the 56th Fighter Wing commander. Matthew Short/Lockheed Martin

(AT&L) Frank Kendall in May. It will be dependent upon international partners, such as Australia, also signing up to the deal. Australia’s F-35 Programme Manager, Air ViceMarshal Chris Deeble told AIR International that significant savings could result if the proposal goes ahead. “If the US is prepared to enter into a block buy, then it feels more confident about the F-35 programme,” he said. “A block buy has the potential for us to realise savings in terms of cost. The first two aircraft were purchased for $126.7 each and we think the average cost across the 72 aircraft on order will be in the region of $90 million per aircraft. “With a block buy of around 450 aircraft, we would expect to see savings to unit cost of at

least 10%, based on our production plan profile.” Currently, the next tranche of F-35As for the RAAF (eight aircraft) is not due to be delivered until 2018, which will enable training to gather pace in the United States before aircraft arrive in Australia at the end of that year. With regard to aircraft development, AVM Deeble noted the programme was still on track to achieve F-35A initial operational capability (IOC) with the US Air Force in 2016, a milestone that will be critical for the RAAF timeline. “Overall I think we’re now in a different part of the programme. While we’ve had issues in the past, the technical issues that have arisen can now be resolved,” he said. “We’re not necessarily achieving every one of the goals that we set ourselves, in terms of

reliability, maintainability and software problems, but the progress remains positive and I am confident we will have a good capability when the aircraft enters service here in Australia.”

Preparations and Timeline for Australian Ops Under the current schedule, the first two aircraft are expected to be delivered to Australia at the end of 2018. They will start a period of operational test and evaluation (OT&E) designed to find out how the aircraft will operate within the infrastructure of the Australian Defence Force. There will be an evaluation of how the F-35A’s capabilities interface with networks and systems, and new facilities around the country. More aircraft will be delivered in 2019 to start

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F-35 Lightning II conversion of 2 Operational Conversion Unit (the training unit) and No.3 Squadron (the first operational unit) at RAAF Base Williamtown, north of Sydney. Australia’s IOC criteria are the ability to conduct pilot and maintenance personnel training in-house and having the first squadron declared as operational. The next squadron to convert will be No.77 Squadron at Williamtown, followed in the 2023 timeframe by No.75 Squadron at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory. The final RAAF Hornet will have been retired at that time. “Some aircraft will initially stay in the United States as part of the training pool at Luke. We’ll be training pilots in the States until we set up our own capability in Australia around October of 2020.” From an infrastructure standpoint, the first earth was turned at Williamtown in early May, as part of an AUD $950 million redevelopment programme at the base. Work will include construction of a combined squadron operations facility to house No.3 and No.77 Squadron, and an integrated training centre that will eventually house six full mission simulator (FMS) domes. Maintenance facilities include a low-observable coating repair shop. “In the not too distant future, Williamtown is going to look very different to the base it is today,” commented AVM Deeble. Facilities will also be built at Tindal to support No.75 Squadron, including a training facility to house two FMS domes. Elsewhere, capital works will be undertaken at RAAF Bases Townsville and Scherger in Queensland; Pearce, Curtin and Learmonth in Western Australia; Edinburgh in South Australia; Darwin in the Northern Territory and the weapons facility at Myambat in New South Wales.

Australia’s Industrial Footprint By the end of April this year, Australian industries had won $484 million worth of work in the production phase of the Joint Strike Fighter programme. The total is predicted to rise to around $2 billion by the time full-rate production is realised in around 2020. However the onus is upon industry to remain competitive in the international market place if the predictions are to be realised. “They [companies] are going to have to continue being competitive through that ramp-up period, maintain themselves at that first or second source of supply level. If they can do so, there is potentially $4 billion worth of production opportunities alone by 2030,” AVM Deeble detailed. One undoubted success story involves Marand, an Australian precision engineering company, which manufactures the trailer for removing or installing the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine. Every F-35 main operating base throughout the world and every US Navy warship capable of embarking F-35s will have at least one of the company’s trailers on its books. In 2011 Marand also won a contract from BAE Systems to manufacture 722 vertical tail sets, the first of which was installed on US Air Force F-35A 13-5067 (c/n AF-73), which made its maiden flight from Fort Worth on July 17. Defence Minister Kevin Andrews announced in February that Australian industry had also won major sustainment contracts in the AsiaPacific region, to maintain F-35 airframes and components, including the F135 engine. BAE Systems will be the South Pacific Regional Depot Airframe, Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul and Upgrade (MRO&U) provider for the F-35, beginning in 2018, and Tasman Aviation Enterprises will provide similar support

for the engine. “Airframe [MRO&U] will be shared in the North Asia/Pacific region between Japan and Australia. US and Japanese aircraft deployed in the North Asia region will be maintained in Japan, but it’s highly likely that we will be supporting deep maintenance for Korean and Singaporean aircraft here in Australia, as well as our own airframes,” said AVM Deeble. “We have also won the support contract for all of the [F135] engines in the Asia-Pacific region for at least the first four or five years, before there is a review to determine whether a facility will need to be set up in Japan to support F-35s in North Asia.”

Remaining Risk Risk still remains in the overall F-35 programme, particularly with the aircraft’s software and the Autonomic Logistics Information System. To meet its IOC, Australia’s F-35As will rely upon the timely delivery of the Block 3i software, which essentially has the same level of capability delivered by Block 2B currently used by the US Marine Corps’ F-35B, albeit hosted on different processors. One issue with hosting the latest version of Block 3i software on the new processors has resulted in the reversion to an earlier drop, which AVM Deeble says has less functionality than desired and is currently restricting the extent of training operations at Luke. “That is being incrementally addressed now and we envisage it will be the middle of next year before we’re up to speed with where Block 3i software should be, to support training and initial weapons training,” he explained. “While our current software does not have full functionality, it will very rapidly catch up to the Marines’ [Block] 2B baseline software

Royal Australian Air Force F-35A A35-002 taxies back to the flight line after an eight-ship training sortie from Luke Air Force Base. Simon Bullimore

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F-35 Lightning II F-35A A35-001 (c/n AU-01) and A35-002 (c/n AU-02) parked under sun shelters on the Luke Air Force Base flight line. Both aircraft carry their US Air Force serial numbers (12-5060 and 12-5061) on the forward landing doors. Simon Bullimore

and will represent a good training and initial operational capability.” Arguably the biggest challenge to be faced by F-35 operators around the world will be fully understanding and harnessing the fifth-generation technology in the aircraft, and then integrating that capability across the wider defence force. US Air Force experience to date has shown the F-35 training continuum, in a mature state, results in about 18 flights and 42 simulator rides – compared with more than 70 flights and around 20 simulator sessions traditionally employed in the training of F-16 pilots. Most of the pilots who have trained on the F-35 to date are, however, experienced aviators with hundreds, if not thousands, of flight hours on legacy types. Effective use of simulation will also become far more critical, not just in pilot training, but also in high-end exercises, where the full capability of the F-35 might not be reached due to the sheer logistical challenge and cost of assembling an aggressor force. “We’ll be flying the F-35 as a four-ship on a routine basis, so if you are flying a four-ship you have to generate the equivalent aggressor force. Flying JSF against JSF, as the US Air Force found out with the F-22, is not good training value,” explained AVM Deeble. Another issue will be the problem of operating the fifth-generation F-35 in coalitions, both in exercises and on operations, where it may not be desirable to reveal the full capabilities of the aircraft. “It is very hard in the real world, because you

don’t want to expose fifth-generation capabilities and tactics in an open environment unless you really have to, so simulation will become even more fundamental to the way we operate the F-35 and much more significant than it has been for legacy aircraft,” said the AVM. “It is a complex programme to say the least

but I’m not as concerned as I have been about aircraft maturity, though will continue to monitor progress. I am concerned about the support system, the sustainment system and integrating the capability into Australia. That’s really where the big challenges exist now,” concluded AVM Deeble. Nigel Pittaway The Australian F-35As based at Luke Air Force Base have the tail markings of the RAAF’s 2 Operational Conversion Unit applied. Simon Bullimore

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F-35 Lightning II

Grim Reapers’ First Desert Calling

Strike Fighter Squadron 101 F-35C BuNo 168845/‘NJ107’ and two Super Hornets assigned to the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center return to Fallon after a mission on the local range complex. US Navy

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or two weeks in late August and early September, aircraft of Strike Fighter Squadron 101 (VFA-101) ‘The Grim Reapers’ took to the skies of Northern Nevada for the first time. In a historic first detachment of the US Navy’s F-35C Lightning II from its home station at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, the unit deployed four jets and a complete package of support equipment to Naval Air Station Fallon to focus on the integration of the F-35C with the

Fallon Range Training Complex and enable VFA101 to develop and refine tactics, techniques and procedures for the F-35C with the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC formerly the Naval Strike Air Warfare Center or NSAWC). The Detachment involved missions flown with a variety of adversary aircraft from NAWDC and F-5N Tigers assigned to Fighter Composite Squadron 13 (VFC-13) ‘Saints’. Other aircraft from NAWDC and F/A-18F Super Hornets from Strike Fighter Squadron 154 (VFA-154) ‘Black Knights’ augmented the F-35Cs in the blue air role.

Desert Missions Two events were scheduled per day, each pitting a mix of two F-35Cs alongside two to four FA18E/F Super Hornets against a mix of opposing Red Air aircraft. The missions focused on defensive counter air (DCA) to defend a known threat sector for a Carrier Strike Group (CSG). The flights were also designed to explore the viability and effectiveness of Navy fighter integration tactics and to assess how well an average fleet pilot could successfully implement them. In addition, VFA-101’s pilots evaluated their ability to identify, locate and share data generated by the F-35C’s sensors with other

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F-35 Lightning II

The fifth-generation F-35C is laden with technology and cutting-edge systems but the tyres still smoke when the rubber meets the runway. All photos Scott Dworkin unless noted

airborne aircraft. The F-35C’s main sensors are the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array radar, Lockheed Martin’s AN/AAQ-37 Distributed Aperture System, Lockheed Martin’s AN/AAQ-40 ElectroOptical Targeting System and the BAE Systems AN/ASQ-239 Barracuda Electronic Warfare System. Tests included evaluation of the sensors and link communication with other F-35Cs, FA-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers. The synergy between these aircraft and others in the CSG is where a lot of thinking is being invested by the NAWDC staff to ensure lethal strike power is available to commanders across the range of military operations. Data points gathered during the detachment will help to validate the reliability of the link structure between the aircraft types, and determine the lethality and survivability for both the fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft. The detachment to Fallon was a critical undertaking at this juncture in the Navy’s F-35C development. Deploying jets and their necessary support equipment had never been undertaken

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and took more than a year to plan and coordinate. The first Fallon detachment was a much-needed stepping stone in the F-35C’s evolution, the results from which will be used by the Navy to plan future, larger detachments and eventual integration into a Carrier Air Wing. Cdr James Christie, Commanding Officer of VFA-101, described the planning required to get the squadron to Fallon: “Preparation for the Fallon Tactical Development and Evaluation [TAC D&E] began in July. The genesis of the detachment makes perfect sense when you understand one of the primary missions of the Navy Fighter Weapons School [Top Gun] is to develop next-generation tactics for the strike fighter community. “That has primarily focused on F/A-18 employment for the last 15 years. Starting about three years ago a small cadre within Top Gun began to develop F-35 tactics alongside the US Air Force and US Marine Corps. “Top Gun’s involvement with the Air Force Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures [AFTTP 3-1] for F-35 has spurred innovative thinking within its entire staff, with particular focus on fighter

integration [FI]. FI is the realm of how best to leverage the strengths of fourth-generation aircraft with those of fifth-generation. The US Air Force has pioneered FI in how to best integrate F-22 Raptor with F-15C and F-16 aircraft.” This provided Top Gun with a logical stepping stone, and in March the school hosted a TAC D&E detachment at Fallon involving FA-18E/F Super Hornets from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 9 (VX-9) ‘Vampires’ based at Naval Air Warfare Station China Lake, California and F-22 Raptors from the 422nd Test & Evaluation Squadron based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Top Gun tested and evaluated their burgeoning FI tactics to see how well they worked with the fifth-generation F-22. Similar testing with the F-35C was not possible during the first Fallon Det because of operating limitations associated with the then-loaded Block 2A software. But the March detachment yielded many valuable lessons which were used to refine FI tactics that needed to be validated with Navy F-35C aircraft. Cdr Christie told AIR International: “The opportunity for F-35 validation presented itself

F-35 Lightning II

A sailor assigned to VFA-101 refuels an F-35C on the Fallon flight line.

during the first two weeks in September. We were able to load Block 2B software into our aircraft, which brought about an expanded flight envelope [6 G, Mach 1.2] sufficient to support useful FI testing. “Top Gun extended an invitation to VFA-101 to support a planned TAC D&E detachment when there were no air wing training detachments or strike fighter tactics instructor (SFTI) classes running. Conveniently, this coincided with a relatively low demand on pilot production for VFA-101, as well as a period of strong jet availability. “VFA-101 jumped at the opportunity to contribute to the development of FI tactics with its F-35C aircraft. The flights were promised to build upon the test points achieved in March, and heralded the very first time that the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center hosted F-35C aircraft in support of organic Navy FI tactics development.” In addition to flight operations, VFA-101 maintenance and support personnel were tasked with learning what is needed to work on the F-35C once away from its home station. Every aspect of

a deployment was considered, from what tools to bring, and not to bring – and figuring out how to communicate information over the networks back and forth between Eglin and Fallon – to finding suitable airfields to land at for refuelling (the F-35C is not cleared at this point for air refuelling) during the cross-country flight.

Maintenance Master Chief Jeff Rushing, who has served with VFA-101 since November 2012 and is slated to be the first F-35C Maintenance Master Chief at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, described some of the massive leaps in capability the squadron has seen over the past two years – capabilities that enabled the Fallon Det to become a reality. “About two years ago we had four aircraft on our line at Eglin, and one at Pax River, doing some testing at that time,” he said. “We kept those four for a long time – that’s what we worked with. As production at the Fort Worth factory increased, new aircraft arrived in pretty quick succession up to the 17 we currently have on the ramp.

“When I came on board in 2012 we were small and didn’t have anybody qualified to do anything on the aircraft. We were for the most part watching Lockheed Martin maintainers do everything. Since then we’ve qualified 25 Collateral Duty Inspectors [CDIs] at the squadron from scratch. We’ve also qualified the very first Navy F-35 Plane Captain and one Quality Assurance Representative [QAR]. What we’ve done in just a couple years has been remarkable. “We took a jet from their [Lockheed Martin’s] maintenance and made it our jet. We worked on it as our jet, so instead of us standing over their shoulder, as in the early days, they were now standing over our shoulder to make sure we did everything the right way, acting as quality assurance. “Then we pulled another jet from them and did the same thing until we had all four jets on the line. “While we worked on those four jets new people arrived on the squadron who were fully qualified on the aircraft. As the number of aircraft assigned grew, we [VFA-101] still scheduled all maintenance on the four original aircraft and Lockheed Martin maintained all the newer airframes. “When our big Aviation Maintenance Inspection (AMI) took place about three months ago, the Navy inspectors looked us over and issued their report, which stated we were ready to conduct maintenance on our own. In one month we went from maintaining four planes to maintaining all of them.” The maintenance department’s ability to carry out the required aircraft maintenance at an airfield away from its home station enabled the Navy to decide now was the right time to send the squadron on its first detachment. Additionally, in early August, VFA-101’s F-35C aircraft were also upgraded to Block 2B software configuration, giving greater capability in time for deployment to Fallon. Master Chief Rushing continued: “It was a challenge for us to get the 2B software in the aircraft, get them flown, get them turned around and then get them ready to come out here in such a short period of time. We started loading the software very close to coming here, got all

Grim Reaper F-35C Lightning IIs on the Fallon flight line for the first time.

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F-35 Lightning II

A vision of future flight operations at Fallon: two F-35Cs lined up on the threshold of the 14,000ft long runway 31L.

four jets done, but we’re still working out the changes that 2B brings. “Another challenge faced at Fallon is working with the maintenance computer system [ALIS or Autonomic Logistics Information System], the main system for which is set up at Eglin. “Because a lot of the data is going through secure internet, getting information back and forth to the computer through the internet or via VPN has been a challenge. Over time I think we’ll find a more efficient way to communicate with the system. “The aircraft held up well at Fallon. The tool system we use is so different from what we’re used to on other aircraft and presented a challenge to figure out how to pack up the tools for the Det. There have been a couple tools we really wished we had out, ones that we just don’t use very often at Eglin. “Once the Det is over, the departments will write up their recommendations and discuss what needs to be done to fix it for the next time. The important part for us as maintainers on this first Det is what the Navy takes away, and what we learn for future events like this. The challenge is it’s ever-evolving. “We may come here next time with a new version of ALIS, new ground rules on what we can and can’t do in ALIS or a new version of software in the plane. That’s to be expected on such a new piece of equipment. “The sailors in this squadron are working with the pinnacle of technology in Naval aviation. We are doing things on a daily basis that we have all never seen or done before, and writing the book for the future of the F-35.”

Range Complex The Fallon Range Training Complex is the Navy’s crown jewel operational training range for carrierbased tactical aircraft. The airspace facilitates air-toair combat and its well equipped electronic warfare range provides realistic training and feedback for pilots and aircrew. The P5 Combat Training System (P5CTS/TCTS) used by the Navy at Fallon is designed to provide secure, real-time and post-mission tracking of aircraft using the range. The system displays a live-air picture, records mission data and relays time, space and positional information of aircraft participating in air-to-air and air-to-ground sorties. VFA-101 did not use the system during this Det. In the future the F-35C will use an internally mounted version of the Cubic system designed to provide the same tracking capability and maintain the aircraft’s stealth characteristics. Speaking about VFA-101s trip to Fallon, Rear Admiral Scott Conn, commander of NAWDC, said:

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“VFA-101 is training for the first time at Fallon to learn more about tactics and the capabilities of the F-35C. For NAWDC, this is only the beginning. The aircraft is going through various tests and continues to mature. In a few years more training cycles [that involve the F-35 and its increasing capabilities] will ensure pilots will know their roles and will be familiar with the jet.

“The role of the NAWDC is for pilots and their crews to be properly trained when their squadrons are deployed aboard aircraft carriers. Although the F-35C is the Navy’s jet of the future, the Super Hornet will be around for 20 or 30 more years. The F-35Cs, the EA-18G, the Super Hornets will need to work together in the Navy within the joint force and

F-35 Lightning II with our partners.” As this issue went to press, VFA-101 was halfway through its two-week detachment to Fallon. A full evaluation of the successes of the exercise may take many months to determine, but Cdr Christie reflected on the lessons learned so far: “During the first week of the Fallon Det, we have flown F-35C aircraft embedded in flights with Top Gun aircrew flying fleet-representative Super Hornets to see how well they communicate to each other through tactical data links, and to evaluate the efficacy of FI tactics. “It’s too early to make any definitive conclusions about the data collected, but our initial sense is the tactics are sound, and the Navy will greatly benefit from a blended fifth- with fourth-generation flight of aircraft in order to maximise our lethality. “The Navy’s FA-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft are extremely capable platforms with mature software and a proven combat track record. We’re beginning to see how that fits into the unique capabilities that F-35C brings to the fight, so that we can maximise the potency of our future Carrier Strike Groups.” Scott Dworkin

This shot shows the nose landing gear and the F-35C’s distinctive twin-wheel configuration.

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F-35 Lightning II

Above: An aerial view of the FACO plant in July 2012 showing the wing-set production facility in the foreground and the final assembly and flight check plant behind. CePoVa via Riccardo Niccoli

T

he Province of Novara in the Italian region of Piedmont is an unlikely location to be associated with the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft. It is however home to Cameri Air Base, a former Aeronautica Militare Italiana (Italian Air Force or AMI) Lockheed F-104 Starfighter base, and now the location of a unique facility: the F-35 Final Assembly and Check Out factory known as the FACO. The factory replicates the capability and working process of Air Force Plant 4, the US Government-owned plant in Fort Worth, Texas, run by Lockheed Martin. The FACO is the only F-35 assembly facility in the world outside of the United States.

Terms and Conditions The origin of Italian participation in the JSF programme dates back to 1996. The possibility of gaining a substantial share of the production activity came later. A preliminary memorandum of understanding with the US Government to take part in the Production, Sustainment and Follow-on Development (PSFD) phase was signed by the Italian Ministry of Defence in February 2007. The contract, which included the establishment of a FACO, was signed in June 2010 and was the conclusion of long and detailed negotiations that aimed to bring as much work share to Italy as possible to offset

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the cost of acquiring the F-35 aircraft. The US Government accepted the Italian proposal to build a FACO facility in Italy, under the guarantee that the plant would be located on a military installation and controlled by the Italian Air Force to safeguard the industrial and military sensitivities of the F-35 programme. Cameri is perfectly suited to meet these requirements. The base is assigned to the Air Force Logistic Command. It is the home of 1° RMV (Reparto Manutenzione Velivoli, or aircraft maintenance wing), the technical unit that undertakes maintenance and overhauls of the AMI EF.2000 and Tornado fleets. Cameri is also located near many of the Italian defence companies involved in the F-35 programme. The FACO agreement covers the production of wing-sets (originally 1,215, today 835) and the assembly of Italian and the Dutch aircraft. It involves the US and Italian governments, Lockheed Martin and Alenia Aermacchi as the prime contractor.

Statistics and Cost Located on the eastern part of the base, the overall area of the FACO site is approximately 124 acres (500,000m2) and comprises 21 buildings occupying 1.33 million sq ft (124,000m2). At full rate the FACO will provide work for 1,500 people, mostly highly specialised engineers, and have a maximum planned production rate of 72

The I wing-sets and 24 aircraft per year. The facility is divided into two main areas: one for wing production and the other for final assembly, painting and pre-delivery checking of aircraft. Italy has a 4% share in the development phase of the F-35 programme valued at more than $1.6 billion (to the end of 2014) and the PSFD phase is worth about $900 million. The total cost of the FACO factory, which is owned by the Italian Ministry of Defence, is about $795 million. The value to Italy of the offset from production activity is about $14.4 billion, about 76% of the country’s F-35 acquisition cost. However, the Italian Government and the various aerospace companies involved are trying to gain an even better level of offset and hope to reach 100%. Construction work of the factory started in January 2011 and has remained on track ever

Credit?

F-35 Lightning II

An Italian Air Force F-35A on the assembly line at the FACO. Riccardo Niccoli

Credit?

e ItalianJob since. That’s a very important aspect of the FACO project because it has to meet timing, quality and cost criteria set out in Lockheed Martin’s ‘best value’ concept to which all contractors within the F-35 programme must adhere. Most contracts in the programme are signed on an annual basis to help maintain the ‘best value’ practice. Any contractor unable to meet the terms of the agreement is unlikely to have its contract renewed. In order to comply, work on the first wing components (destined for the final assembly line at Fort Worth) started at Cameri in 2009 thanks to the availability of a hangar owned by 1° RMV, which has been in use since July 2012. The first fuselage section produced by the FACO was finished in 2012 followed by the first wing box in early 2013. In May 2013 Lockheed Martin and Alenia Aermacchi

This F-35A is shown in one of the flight-check hangars at Cameri. Riccardo Niccoli

signed a $141 million contract covering wing production and a number of other F-35 components. Assembly of the first Italian Air Force F-35A AL-01 began on July 18, 2013. The first complete wing-set was completed in March.   Delivery of aircraft AL-01, which made its maiden flight on September 7, is expected by the end of this year to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona to start training Italian pilots. Work on aircraft AL-02 started in November 2013, and should be delivered in the first quarter of 2016. Alenia Aermacchi currently employs 750 workers at the FACO.

Long-term Plan The first F-35A to be assigned to an AMI wing will be delivered to 32° Stormo at Amendola Air Base in 2016, the same year Maintenance,

Repair, Overhaul & Upgrade (MRO&U) activity will begin. These sustainment activities represent the long term workload for the Cameri plant and will gradually transform the FACO into a maintenance and overhaul centre. Following long discussions, Italy was able to secure an agreement with the US DoD to conduct F-35 maintenance until 2050 – a longterm necessity for such a major plant faced with an unknown and uncertain production run. Cameri will provide depot level maintenance not only for AMI F-35s, but also those of other European operators; Norway, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The MRO&U deal is part of the strategic teaming agreement that could involve more than 500 F-35 aircraft using Cameri for depot level maintenance, including those assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe.

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Tooling used for F-35 wing production inside one of the assembly facilities. Riccardo Niccoli

This will allow the FACO/MRO&U to operate at full rate for the long term and safeguard thousands of Italian jobs through to 2050. Cameri will be one of only four MRO&U plants in the world, the others being Fort Worth, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and another in an as yet unannounced location in Australia. In February 2013, Alenia Aermacchi concluded a preliminary agreement to a contract that will cover the production of 119 wings for the Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lots 6 to 11 worth $950 million. The initial agreement between the United States and Italy anticipated assembly of 216 aircraft at the FACO: 131 for Italy and 85 for the Netherlands. Today, both the Italian and Dutch F-35 requirements have been reduced to 90 and 37 respectively. Italy’s requirement is the minimum quantity that’s permitted under the terms of the deal with the United States Government: any further cut could lead to a review of the deal. This means the Italian authorities need an agreement to produce F-35 aircraft at Cameri for a third nation to make the facility cost effective. The current production plan already falls short of its full rate: in 2017 the FACO is expected to assemble five aircraft rather than the 15 originally planned and by 2019 output is likely to be 16 aircraft as opposed to 24. It’s important to note that the F-35 procurement process differs from European programmes because it is based on the US Fiscal Year system. All aircraft are paid for on a year-by-year basis according to the total order placed by the US DoD each fiscal year and includes international customer orders. The later a nation orders aircraft in the long

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An Italian Air Force F-35A undergoing work in the final finishes facility at Cameri. Riccardo Niccoli

term production plan the lower the unit cost, which is why many countries have delayed approving a final firm order. Once other nations commit to firm orders it is likely their aircraft will be included in production plans for the Cameri FACO. Italy, however, cannot delay its orders for the F-35 because it is committed to the production plan. The disadvantage of paying the higher price of LRIP Lot aircraft is offset by the industrial and economical benefits gained from the production and maintenance agreements for the FACO and MRO&U.

Italy has yet to confirm a procurement plan for the 90 aircraft declared in 2012, but they will be ordered over a 14-year period and delivered between 2015 and 2025: 26 in LRIP Lots 6 to 11; 40 in multi-year contract 1, and 24 in multi-year contract 2. Deliveries will peak with 11 aircraft delivered each year between 2022 and 2024. The Italian Defence Staff is reported to be studying a different plan that involves moving 11 LRIP aircraft to the 2020-2025 multi-year contracts. Because all F-35 orders will be discussed

F-35 Lightning II by the Italian Parliament, and included in the defence budget on an annual basis, in theory it is feasible order numbers could be reduced in some years and moved to other contracts beyond 2025. Like other nations interested in buying the F-35, Italy will have the option to purchase more after 2025. According to data provided by the AMI, the estimated unit recurring flyaway costs for each F-35 ordered are: Variant

LRIP Lot

Multi-year Contract

F-35A F-35B

97.9 million (LRIP Lot 6) 105.5 million (LRIP Lot 6)

65.2 million (buy year 2019) 84.5 million (buy year 2021)

However, other sources reveal that the contracts include logistic support and spares. Italy looks like it will spend 1.9 billion for its first 14 F-35s (a mix of A and B models from LRIP Lots 6 to 9) complete with engines, spares and logistic support.

Part of the assembly line at the FACO facility. CePoVa via Riccardo Niccoli

Centro Polifunzionale Velivoli Aerotattici

The F-35 is destined to replace six types in Italian service – the AMX, AMX-T, AV-8B Plus, TAV-8B, Tornado ECR and Tornado IDS – which should yield savings in the total cost base for maintenance and logistics. To manage the F-35 programme effectively the AMI established a new command, the Centro Polifunzionale Velivoli Aerotattici (CePoVA, or multi-function tactical aircraft centre), at Cameri on November 21, 2012. The CePoVA is commanded by a General, reports to the 2nd Division of the Logistic Command and controls 1° RMV, and controls all maintenance units at Cameri including the new Nucleo Iniziale Formazione JSF (NIF-JSF or JSF Initial Training Unit). Its mission is to manage all technical and logistical issues of the F-35 and other AMI combat fleets, the EF.2000 and Tornado. The Italian MoD and defence industry seem willing to defend the F-35 programme: which will not only provide the AMI with a big increase in operational capability, but also safeguard more than 10,000 jobs in 40 companies. At the beginning of July 2013, the Italian

The central fuselage section of US Air Force F-35A AF-63. Riccardo Niccoli

Parliament passed a new motion in support of the F-35 programme, mirroring that of the new Government. It seems that, in spite of the usual mix of politics and internal quarrels, the

Italian Parliament continues to support all the decisions taken on the F-35 by its successive governments over the last 17 years. Riccardo Niccoli

An Italian Air Force F-35A after roll-out from the Cameri assembly line. Riccardo Niccoli

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Going

Skinny

A

IR International was the first magazine to run an article on the UK’s F-35B test squadron. We ran that report in the March 2015 issue, timed to mark No.17 Squadron’s centenary on February 1. At the time the unit had one aircraft, F-35B ZM135 (c/n BK-01), and had begun flying missions under UK sovereign capability from its home at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Inspection Before aircraft BK-01 was flown from the Fleet Support Center East at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina by Wg Cdr Jim Beck, OC 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron, the unit underwent a major inspection. An assurance team from HQ 1 Group

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conducted a thorough examination of the standards and practices set up by the UK team. Wg Cdr Beck told AIR International: “It’s a fifth-gen system, we’re in America, eight hours’ time difference from the UK. There were a lot of unknowns facing us. The team didn’t give us many areas to further investigate.” Last November Air Vice Marshal Gary Waterfall, Air Officer Commanding 1 Group, gave Wg Cdr Beck a formal endorsement that the squadron was ready to receive its first F-35B. At that time BK-01 was at Cherry Point undergoing modification to the standard required for operational evaluation. Wg Cdr Beck delivered the aircraft to Edwards on January 13. He said the moment a British engineer chocked the wheels at Edwards, the aircraft was automatically signed over from the

US Marine Corps to 17 Squadron. He explained: “Theoretically, that was the first autonomous operation we conducted because we were using engineering practices in accordance with UK sovereign jurisdiction. That was a massive moment for us and for the UK.” During the next three weeks 17 Squadron engineers undertook acceptance checks to ensure the aircraft and its mission systems met UK military airworthiness standards.

Mission One When BK-01 was flown at Edwards for the first time on February 4, the UK made history as the first nation outside America to fly an F-35 under sovereign jurisdiction. Wg Cdr Beck described it as a significant event for the UK and, more

F-35 Lightning II

Dan Stijovich

importantly, the whole programme. The first mission was flown for continuation training of the engineers and the pilot. It involved a simulated air-to-surface strike and was the start point for a series of subsequent flights, each increasing in levels of complexity. Squadron engineers would turn the jet overnight ready for the next day’s mission. The one-perday flight schedule continued for a couple of weeks until Wg Cdr Beck took the decision to launch two daily missions with a standard turn in between. “To do that on a new jet, still in an embryonic phase of its development, was another a big moment for us and doubled our proficiency of turning the jet,” said Wg Cdr Beck. “There were periods when the jet went down

for five days with faults that were so in-depth we had to wait for the programme to advise the rectification method. That’s where the intricacies of our system come in. Lockheed Martin writes to the UK Lightning Project Team outlining the rectification. The UK team then confirms the rectification to be safe and notifies me. We don’t do anything [to the aircraft] that isn’t endorsed by the Lightning Project Team back at Abbey Wood and thereby conform to UK legislation.” To strengthen the understanding of new procedures by the engineering team, Wg Cdr Beck implemented a daily in-brief followed by an out-brief. “We analyse what we’ve done. We analyse the performance and draw out what’s unnecessary. No one gets away with anything. No one can hide from anything. It’s a cultural

change for the engineers to understand how sharp and acidic a pilot debrief can be, but we conduct everything with total humility. “We need to learn quickly and everything [maintenance procedures and problems] has to be packaged up and sent back to the UK and into the JPO [Joint Program Office] to change engineering systems.” Gp Capt Glenn Littlejohns, the UK’s F-35B duty delivery holder based at Edwards, requires assurance for each phase of maintenance developed by 17’s engineering team. This is provided in a service paper written by Wg Cdr Beck and his staff, which the Group Captain authorises. “We’ve got a unique system that doesn’t exist in the UK. There’s one delivery duty

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F-35 Lightning II

Hot pit refuelling enables an F-35B to upload 13,000lb of fuel and take off for a second sortie within 30 minutes.

the ground-based pantograph fuelling system. Wg Cdr Beck said: “We are the only nation that constantly does hot pit refuelling when we want to surge our flying. The jet flew four times a day on four missions.”

A Royal Navy technician, assisted by a fuel specialist, connects the hose to the aircraft ahead of a hot pit refuelling.

STOVL Qualifications Sqn Ldr Frankie Buchler was qualified to fly vertical landings in the F-35B when he arrived at 17 Squadron as an instructor pilot. Sqn Ldr Buchler was the first RAF pilot to learn to fly the F-35B with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) ‘Warlords’. At the time of Sqn Ldr Buchler’s arrival on 17 Squadron, the two pilots assigned, Wg Cdr Beck and Lt Cdr Ian Tidball, F-35B BK-02 in the hot pit at Edwards uploading fuel from an R-11 bowser truck.

holder, one squadron boss and one squadron, which means the level of scrutiny is great,” commented Wg Cdr Beck.

Hot Pits At the end of March Wg Cdr Beck’s team started hot pit refuelling. The term ‘hot pit’ refers to a refuelling station that tops the aircraft’s tanks up while the pilot remains in the aircraft with the engine running. Using the hot pit after the first flight each day enabled Wg Cdr Beck’s team to

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complete a second flight before recovering to the flight line to turn. The same fly-pit-fly routine was repeated in the afternoon wave and doubled the number of hours flown each day. When AIR International last visited Edwards in early May, 17 Squadron was flying F-35B ZM136 (c/n) BK-02 on a similar schedule: the aircraft uploaded 13,000lb of fuel in the hot pit and was airborne again within 30 minutes. Initially, the UK team conducted hot pit refuelling with a fuel bowser before switching to

F-35 Lightning II

A Royal Navy technician marshals BK-02 on to the spot for hot pit refuelling.

were not qualified to conduct vertical landings. To allow both officers to gain the qual, the team wrote a syllabus, tested it in the simulator, submitted a service paper and received an endorsement from the UK’s Lightning Project Team. The UK syllabus was a phase-based adaption of the US Marine Corps course flown by VMFAT-501. During a week-long detachment to Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona, Sqn Ldr Buchler was able to teach the two pilots jet, semi-jet borne and full-jet borne flying. Wg Cdr Beck explained: “We were getting airborne, landing, getting airborne again, landing again, going to the hot pits, airborne, landing,

airborne, landing. We completed six vertical landings on each sortie.”

Tactical Formations In June, UK pilots flew their first high-end tactical missions with the United States Air Force using aircraft BK-02. Mission sets included air-to-air, surface-to-air, suppression and destruction of enemy air defences and close air support. The COMAOs (Combined Air Operations) were not staged as part of the operational test programme but as spin-up missions ahead of the official start of Block 3F testing. No.17 Squadron’s participation will inform

the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy chains of command of the aircraft’s capability prior to declaring IOC at the end of 2018. Block 3F testing is expected to be completed close to that timeframe. Before the Edwards-based Joint Operational Test Team (JOTT) starts the Block 3F operational test period, the squadrons assigned are flying valuable missions to progress the current software loads before Block 3F is introduced. This allows 17 Squadron to help form the configuration of Block 3F. Squadrons within the JOTT are the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron US Air Force, the US Marine Corps’ equivalent; Marine

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F-35 Lightning II Aircraft BK-02 performs a short take off at Edwards.

Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 (VMX-22) ‘Argonauts’; 323 Test, Evaluation and Standardisation Squadron of the Royal Netherlands Air Force and No.17 Test and Evaluation Squadron, Royal Air Force. In June 2014 Wg Cdr Beck and his team were tasked to compile a tactics manual to meet the UK’s requirements. All flying evaluation to date is based on BK-01 and BK-02 in Block 1B configuration and conducted in parallel with the US Marine Corps and the US Air Force. Wg Cdr Beck told AIR International: “We are phasing each module [mission set] in as new capabilities are introduced on the jet and then feed our results back to the UK team to develop the tactics manual.” To achieve this objective, the Ministry of Defence uses an Integrated Test Evaluation and Acceptance Plan (ITEAP) to formally accept Aircraft BK-02 performs a short take off at Edwards.

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any system, including the F-35B, into service. Each ITEAP is written in accordance with public procurement legislation and requires evidence to support formal acceptance. “It needs tactics, value, doctrine, and all of the defence lines of development answered,” explained 17 Squadron’s boss. Wg Cdr Beck said that 17 Squadron will deliver the evidence and the tactical manual required ahead of No.617 Squadron’s build-up. “They will need the manuals and doctrine many months before IOC so they can start working to it and building up.” Each module is first tested in a synthetic environment and a report is issued. The module will be perfected and then re-tested in a high-fidelity simulator. The module is then flown, revised if required, reflown in the simulator followed by the aircraft.

“I don’t jump between modules during a mission, but report against each one because we modularise each chapter of the tactics manual. It’s a constant cycle,” said Wg Cdr Beck. All tactics evaluated by 17 Squadron are focused on the UK’s IOC requirement. Nobody from the RAF would discuss criteria for the UK’s IOC for No.617 Squadron. According to Hansard the IOC criteria is defined as operating from a land base and having 16 crews and ten jets ready to go to war by December 31, 2018.

Tactical Pairs The first tactical formation with BK-01 and BK-02 was flown in July: a notable achievement that involved launching, pitting, turning, and relaunching two aircraft. Before BK-02 entered Block 2B modification in

F-35 Lightning II mid-August, Wg Cdr Beck declared the squadron ready with full operating capability for test. As AIR International went to press, 17 Squadron’s boss was preparing for the UK’s Military Aviation Authority to run a final assessment of the squadron’s strategic oversight, supervision and structure. During August, BK-01 participated in a series of high-end multinational COMAOs involving four F-16s, two F-35s, a KDC-10 tanker and four different types of surface-to-air missile systems. Six aircraft were from the Royal Netherlands Air Force: four F-16s detached to Edwards from the detachment at Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing based at Tucson International Airport, the KDC-10 tanker and a single F-35A. Red Air adversaries for each mission were provided by contractor-operated A-4 Skyhawk fighters. The fifth-generation F-35s provided fighter escort for the F-16s, but the Dutch F-35A hosted the strategic picture of the battle space and fed the data to the strikers. Host is a tactical term that refers to target identification and placing those targets on the link for handover to the strikers. The F-35s entered the target area despite the presence of the SA-2 Guideline, SA-6 Gainful and SA-8 Gecko surface-to-air missiles due to their low-observable credentials. This kind of target ingress is colloquially known as ‘going in skinny’. The boss explained: “We were able to shape the battle space and find targets by using the synthetic aperture radar [SAR] mode. We were linking those back to the F-16s and taking out pop-up threats so the F-16s could go in and strike the targets we’d identified. At the same time we were spinning roles, suppressing

F-35B ZM136 (c/n BK-02) pulls out of a barn in the area of the base allocated to Lightning II operational test.

any regenerated aircraft [the A-4s] that were coming up, and then we led the F-16s out of the area. It was a proper fourth and fifth-gen integration trial. “Integration between F-35 and F-16 was impressive and, in some areas, above our aspirations.” Wg Cdr Beck was also surprised at the number of targets he was able to host. In late August the BK-01 flew signature trials, a part of the Joint Strike Fighter programme

against the UK’s rig of sensors called Robocop. This was 17 Squadron’s first full data-gathering trial. The aircraft was flown against the rig in important profiles and regimes of flight. “That’s at the cutting edge of research and the development of the tactics,” said Wg Cdr Beck.

Aircraft Modifications Between March and June aircraft BK-01 underwent modifications for three months

F-35B ZM135 (c/n BK-01) emerges from the hangar after a maintenance period. The aircraft is the only one currently being flown by 17 Squadron at Edwards; BK-02 is undergoing upgrade to Block 2B configuration.

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Aircraft BK-02 performs a short take off at Edwards.

during which time the engine was returned to Pratt & Whitney for analysis and to be rebuilt. Because the jet was configured to the earlybuild Block 1B configuration, a spare engine of a similar standard was not available, and a Block 2B engine cannot simply be fitted in Block 1B aircraft. While BK-01’s engine was removed the engineering team used the opportunity to modify the LiftFan. This was the first time the team had removed an engine and a fan. The aircraft emerged from its modifications and returned to flight operations in June. Shortly after this, BK-02 entered upgrade to Block 2B standard at Edwards, a work programme that is expected to be complete in November. “The upgrade is designed and maintained by the Lightning Project Team at Abbey Wood, which has tasked 17 Squadron to do the modifications albeit augmented by Lockheed Martin engineers,” said Wg Cdr Beck. Modifying an aircraft from Block 1B to Block 2B, known as an H mod, involves removing

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the engine and LiftFan, installing new mission computers, configuration changes and some structural measures. With 75 extremely capable personnel assigned, a modification of this nature is a major test of the squadron’s depth of knowledge. Wg Cdr Beck said it is vital for his team to conduct the upgrade. Aircraft BK-01 will receive the same upgrade following completion of work on BK-02 and is expected to emerge in the early part of next year. That’s another significant point in 17 Squadron’s calendar: the third UK test aircraft, ZM138 (c/n BK-04) configured to Block 3i standard, is expected to arrive at Edwards. August was 17 Squadron’s most successful month to date with more than 30 hours logged despite having only BK-02 available. In February the squadron flew just 15 hours. “That shows our expertise and knowledge is growing because we’re able to fix or service the jet much quicker. I’m content with our development,” said Wg Cdr Beck. Mark Ayton

UK technicians use an Eagle TT-8 all-wheel drive tow tractor to move the F-35Bs around the flight line and hangar at Edwards.

PARAMILITARY AGUSTAWESLTAND MCH-109A

All photos Francesco Militello Mirto

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he Guardia di Finanza (GdF, Financial Guard) is an Italian special police corps responsible for dealing with crime and smuggling, and its Sezioni Aeree (Air Squadrons) undertake highly diverse tasks. Coastal and ground reconnaissance, searching vessels and patrolling over territorial and international waters enforcing Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) regulations are among its remit. The squadrons also fight drug trafficking, illegal immigration, smuggling, illegal building/ fishing and cannabis cultivation, and enforce protection of the environment and state property. There is great variety, too, in the work of the various Sezioni Aeree across Italy, from the north in Bolzano and Venegono to the south in Palermo, Sicily. In the latter’s case, activity focuses on surveillance and fighting illegal immigration from North Africa. Last year the Palermo unit amassed more than

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550 flight hours with 405 operational, training and rescue flight missions.

On the Front Line The Palermo Sezione Aerea is subordinate to the Commander of ROAN (Reparto Operativo Aeronavale, naval operational group) in Palermo, Colonel Alessandro Carrozzo. Based in Sicily, with the islands of Lampedusa and Pantelleria in its operational area, places the unit on the front line in the fight against illegal immigration and trafficking by sea. Its helicopters and crews are regularly deployed to Lampedusa and in summer 2014 they contributed to a GdF operation on Pantelleria where two ships and 70 tonnes of drugs were confiscated. Additionally the unit conducts day and night missions supporting anti-mafia operations by special units of the GdF, such as the ‘Apocalisse’ operation in June last year when 95 people belonging to alleged mafia gangs were arrested. Commander of the Palermo Sezione Aerea, Captain Massimo Anedda, told AIR International: “Our location makes us

naturally integrated in the fight against illegal immigration. We [have] consolidated our active participation in Frontex operations to fight illegal immigration of people coming from North African countries.” Frontex, the European Union agency that co-ordinates European border management, launched Joint Operation Triton in the Central Mediterranean last November. It involves three open sea patrol vessels, two coastal patrol vessels, two coastal patrol boats, two aircraft and one helicopter. Working in conjunction with the GdF’s operational command in Rome, the Palermo Sezione Aerea has deployed one of its AgustaWestland MCH-109A Nexus helicopters – colloquially known as the ‘Fox’ in GdF service – on Lampedusa. Crews from the various Sezioni Aeree rotate through Lampedusa to operate this aircraft on patrol and search and rescue (SAR) missions. Sergeant Giorgio Nicita, an OH-500 and MCH-109A pilot with more than 1,200 flying hours, explained: “We keep in constant radio contact with the GdF’s control rooms, in cooperation with naval units. Any non-EU vessels

Sicilian

The Italian Guardia di Finanza in Palermo is using its MCH109A helicopters in the fight against illegal immigration from North Africa. Francesco Militello Mirto reports

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PARAMILITARY AGUSTAWESLTAND MCH-109A are reported. We note the position, course and features, as well as situations that may give doubts about illegal trafficking – a ship at anchor in an unusual area or a movement of boats from the coast to a ship. [We also note] situations of sea pollution.”

The Nexus The GdF has 18 MCH-109As that equip the Sezioni Aeree in Rome, Naples, Bari, Lamezia Terme, Palermo and the Pratica di Mare training centre near Rome. The MCH-109A is a high-speed, multirole helicopter, equipped with two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW207C engines, each capable of delivering 671kW (900shp) of continuous power. It has a fully articulated four-blade main rotor, a two-blade tail rotor and a retractable forward tricycle landing gear. Accommodating up to six people, it is designed to undertake roles ranging from surveillance and SAR to emergency medical service and patrolling. The type is equipped with Telephonics RDR-1500B+ search radar, a FLIR Systems SeaFLIR II forward looking infrared (FLIR) sensor, a video recording system and realtime transmission of digital images. The FLIR can acquire colour and infrared video images in both day and night to locate, recognise and identify targets and follow their movements. A Spectrolab SX-5 Starburst searchlight provides high-intensity external lighting for search and target identification during night operations. The cockpit is nightvision goggles (NVG)-compatible and the flight instrumentation is certified for both instrument flight rules (IFR) and (instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). A winch system and an emergency floatation kit can also be installed. The MCH-109A’s maximum indicated air speed (IAS) is 168kts (311km/h), its maximum service ceiling 16,000ft (4,876m) and endurance of about three hours with additional tanks.

A Different Beast The A109 was created as a fast helicopter to transport people; the A109AII was optimised exclusively for the GdF’s coastal patrol missions. Although the Nexus is an evolution

of the original A109, and to inexperienced eyes their silhouettes are similar, the two helicopters have little in common. AgustaWestland (AW) entirely redesigned the A109 to enable the MCH-109A to carry out multi-mission roles (the MCH in the designation stands for Multimission Cargo Helicopter). It is longer and wider, allowing for a larger and more comfortable passenger cabin. The 671kW (900shp) PW207C engines are double the rating of the 313kW (420shp) Rolls-Royce (formerly Allison) 250-C20Rs in the A109AII. The Nexus is a Category A helicopter. Even in the event of an engine failure after the Take-off Decision Point (TDP), the helicopter can continue the flight in one engine inoperative (OEI) mode. Capt Anedda, an instructor pilot with OH500, A109AII and MCH-109A experience and more than 4,000 flight hours, said the OEI performance gives a greater safety margin, while an automatic Wing Level system – which stabilises the helicopter in a level position and in a slightly nose-up attitude – is useful in night and over-sea operations. Crew comfort has been improved from the A109AII with an air conditioning system, especially useful for long-range operations and amid the heat of Mediterranean summers. Capt Anedda said the MCH109A’s “greater range, both day and night, and a better safety and crew comfort standard, has been a qualitative leap for the Sezione Aerea in Palermo.” Sgt Nicita explained the engine performance lets the helicopter perform a ‘moving back take-off’ (or ‘back up’) from platforms or heliports where there are obstacles in front of the helicopters. “We use the cyclic and collective controls [to] ensure a climb rate of 500ft/min and simultaneously we begin a slow moving back manoeuvre, keeping the right corner of the helipad in view,” he said. “Stabilised in the climb [and] reaching the TDP, we take a 15° down pitch attitude until the helicopter reaches 35kts [65km/h], the VTOSS [Vertical Take-Off Safety Speed]. Then we reduce the down pitch attitude and continue accelerating until we reach the Vy (Best Rate of Climb Speed), with which we continue the climb up to the desired cruise level.” The MCH-109As work closely with other GdF units and here an example is flown over the Buratti class patrol boat G202 Appuntato Salerno.

Avionics But the avionics are the biggest difference between the two models. There were analogue systems in the A109AII – those in the Nexus are fully-digital. The only commonality is the hydraulic system that supports the flight control management servos (for the main and tail rotors) and auxiliary services and equipment, such as the landing gear extension and retraction system, wheel brakes and main rotor brake. A modern four-axis autopilot and the Flight Management System (FMS) enable the crew to schedule a flight’s activity. The interface between the digital map and the FMS, radar and FLIR enhances situational awareness and assists the crew in fulfilling their mission, and the avionics also guarantee IFR and IMC operations. Sgt Nicita continued: “Personally, coming from a single-engine machine, I have no benchmarks with other twin-engine helicopters, but I can say the Nexus is very stable, even in marginal weather.” He said the main challenge in flying the aircraft is managing its endurance: due to the effect of hot summer temperatures on the air conditioning system’s performance (40º/104ºF peaks can be reached during the summer months in Sicily), and he noted a “marked increase in fuel consumption” at full engine power.

MCH-109A In Numbers

18 3hours’ in service

endurance

168kts IAS

Pilot Training

The training programme for pilots to convert to the MCH-109A takes place at the GdF’s Aviation Centre at Pratica di Mare. It lasts about four months and is made up of several phases, with both theoretical and flight examinations at the end of each. Sergeant Antonj Vilardo, who has more than 700 hours on the OH-500, said: “Coming from a brief experience on a single-engine helicopter, I [underwent] the first phase with a theoretical ground course from the technicians of AgustaWestland, studying the airframe, its performance, the flight manual, the flight equipment and mission sensors. Once the theoretical lessons end we will have

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AGUSTAWESLTAND MCH-109A PARAMILITARY

the chance to spend some time inside the aircraft to become familiar with the cockpit and onboard avionics, simulating data and flight schedule entry through the FMS.” The flying element of the first phase then begins, during which a pilot becomes familiar with the helicopter’s handling and interacts with the avionics without using any of the operational equipment and automatic systems. At the end of this stage, a pilot achieves the initial piloting qualification – known as Capacità Operativa (CO, or Operative Ability). At the end of the CO qualification, phase two begins, where the pilot learns techniques employed by the GdF over the sea and mountains. The pilot is sent to the AW flight simulator at Sesto Calende, northern Italy, or a session of emergency resolution missions with flight instructors. The third phase (advanced training) differs for each individual and depends on the pilots’ background, and whether they are single or twin-engine and Crew Commander qualified. Phase four, AOA (Advanced Operational Ability), focuses on day and night operational procedures, using mission sensors, the study of IFR and flying by instrument techniques. Sgt Vilardo explained: “The training ends with an in-flight examination by the instructor pilots from Pratica di Mare and the assignment to a flight department. At the end [a pilot] is a 2nd pilot, so ready to go to the departments and work on the MCH-109A alongside a Crew Commander.”

Maintenance Maintaining the MCH-109A is integrated into the GdF’s complex technical and logistical organisation, ensuring the fleet’s airworthiness and efficiency, and is carried out centrally at the Pratica di Mare Aviation Centre and locally at Sezione Aerea level. The

activities performed at the Nucleo Efficienza (Efficiency Group) within the Palermo unit are Recurrent and Special Inspections. Recurrent Inspections involve the scheduled maintenance programmes that affect all systems and equipment. These inspections occur every 200 flight hours, up to the full overhaul at 3,200 flight hours, and there is a yearly scheduled Recurrent maintenance check independent from the flight hours logged. Special Inspections, which take on an ad-hoc basis, concern a specific system or equipment All these maintenance intervals are for the airframe and do not include checks on the PW207C engines. The technical team in Palermo is qualified only for 1st Technical Level on the engines up to 200 flight hours. Such maintenance, and the annual engine check, requires specialist equipment that is not available locally, so colleagues from the II Air Group at Pratica di Mare (2nd Technical Level qualified) conduct the work. Scheduled maintenance on the engines is still carried out directly by AW, although a process to transfer it has started with training GdF’s technical staff and acquiring the necessary tools to become autonomous at Sezione Aerea level up to 400 flight hours. Recurrent Inspections are the most frequent, representing at least 80% of the maintenance performed on the type. They mainly relate to lubricating rotating parts in the main rotor, greasing and replenishing the components that need a nitrogen charge for running, such as hydraulic system accumulators and landing gear shock absorbers. The current Commander of the Nucleo Efficienza at the Palermo Sezione Aerea is 1st Marshal Tommaso Aristodemo. He said: “The technical reliability of machines is inversely proportional to the degree of complexity of the machine itself. Helicopters, in general terms

being very complex, are subject to reliability problems. Of course the reliability of a flying machine must necessarily be very high, and is secured by the constant development and improvement of the individual systems and [how they] interface. “Mechanically [reliability] is already very high due to the experience with the A109AII. The flight controls management, hydraulics and the main transmission of the two helicopters are very similar. [The engines] have very high reliability. Even if they are new on this machine, [they] are very reliable because of their employment on other helicopters for a long time. “The avionics are new so are often a source of small failures that might need [a] long time to identify and solve, because of the complexity of the architecture.” Maintenance interventions have included work on parts transferred from the A109II, for which improvements are necessary to adapt them to the Nexus. These include improved dampers (shock absorbers for the main rotor blades’ tilt), stronger bolt assemblies, engine supports and landing gear, and some avionics.

Looking Ahead Of the Palermo Sezione Aerea’s activities, Capt Anedda said: “There will be an increase in operational activity, a strengthening of synergies with the [GdF’s] territorial departments and the Naval Component of ROAN in Palermo. There will be a growing in training of pilots and technicians, with new qualifying and CO courses on the MCH-109A helicopter [and] advanced courses for the use of sophisticated NVG qualification.” He personally hoped there would be further purchases of Nexus helicopters for the Palermo Sezione Aerea, due to the size of the unit’s jurisdiction and the strategic significance of the area in which it operates.

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Tornado Transformed

A comprehensive mid-life upgrade programme has brought a range of improvements to the Italian Air Force’s Tornado fleet, as Riccardo Niccoli explains

T

he Tornado MLU (MidLife Update) programme studied by the Italian Air Force is today nearing its end, meaning now is an appropriate time to review its main phases, technical features and its results. At the end of the 1990s, the various Tornado operators started working on an MLU programme to make the swing-wing type better suited to the needs of modern air warfare. Above all, the focus was on network-centric interoperability and operational capability in the fields of

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navigation and precision attack. The experiences gained during various international exercises, and during NATO air operations over the former Yugoslavia, have helped to define the new systems and capabilities. The Aeronautica Militare (AMI, Italian Air Force) decided to divide the MLU programme into three different phases, spread over many years, to make the project less expensive and to take advantage of modifications already certified or under certification.

Phase One The MLU 1st Upgrade contract was signed by the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado

Management Agency (NETMA) on behalf of the AMI and Panavia (Alenia Aeronautica was the Italian National Partner Company) on July 10, 2002. This first phase, technically designated as Retrofit Enabling Task 6 (RET.6), included 18 examples of the Tornado IDS (known as the A-200A under Italy’s Mission Design Series classification), which would be upgraded from their existing RET.3 configuration. The modification introduced a wide range of new equipment and systems, such as a laser Inertial Navigation System (INS) coupled to a GPS; a radar altimeter; TACAN (tactical air navigation) and two co-ordinated VHF/UHF radio sets. Provision was made

ITALIAN AIR FORCE TORNADO MILITARY

were carried out by Alenia Aeronautica using the three aircraft based at its Turin-Caselle facility (c/n IS047, IS078 and IS084) that are operated as test-beds for all modifications to the Italian Tornado fleet. The first of these aircraft to have the new configuration was IS047, which flew with the new systems for the first time from Caselle on September 14, 2002. The initial frontline aircraft to undergo the modification was MM.7063, which arrived at Caselle on June 10, 2002, and was accepted by the AMI on July 12, 2004, being assigned to 6° Stormo at Ghedi Air Base. The RET.6 modifications proceeded for three more years, until March 2, 2007, when the 18th and last aircraft, MM.7061, was delivered.

Second Phase The heart of the MLU started with the second phase, which concerned 40 aircraft destined to be kept in frontline service until the very end of the Italian Tornado’s operational life. Phase two was divided into two parts. The first, designated Full Basic MLU (or RET.7) started in March 2007 and concerned 15 aircraft – all IDS variants, including three twin-stick examples (TA200As) – which were at RET.3 standard. Equipment introduced in this phase included a display system upgrade (DSU), which introduced five new elements: a navigator head down display (NHDD); a pilot head down display (PHDD); an enhanced

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All photos Riccardo Niccoli unless stated.

for a satcom system, the national SICRAL military satellite system, a new generation IFF and a Microwave Landing System (MLS) for precision landing approach. In addition RET.6 included a new MILSTD-1760 databus to integrate several new precision guided munitions (PGMs). These were the 2,000lb (908kg) GBU-24(V)/B Paveway III laser-guided and GPS-guided bomb, the 1,000lb (454kg) GBU-32(V)/B Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) GPS-guided bomb, the Storm Shadow conventionally armed stand-off missile and the RecceLite digital recce pod. The software for the avionics was upgraded to manage the new capabilities. Testing and evaluation of the new systems

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MILITARY ITALIAN AIR FORCE TORNADO

1

digital scan converter (EDSC); a digital map generator (DMG); and a Video Switching Unit (VSU). Both the navigator and pilot’s new displays use digital maps and operate independently. The VSU sends the video formats to the NHDD and PHDD screens. Other RET.7 upgrades comprised: • Improved Navigator Hand Control (INHC)

• VHF/UHF2 radio system in the rear cockpit • Enhanced Communications Control Equipment (ECCE, enabling independent control of the pilot and navigator radio sets) • Multi-Mode Receiver (MMR, which replaced the Microwave Landing System) • A new Instrument Landing System (ILS) • Enhanced Secondary Attitude and Heading

Reference (EnSAHR) with Laser INS • Digital Accident Data Recorder (ADR) • Maintenance Recorder Unit (MRU) • A waterproof localiser • Emergency Location Transmitter (ELT) with satellite localiser • Night Vision Imaging System (NVIS) which includes the complete modification of 2

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ITALIAN AIR FORCE TORNADO MILITARY equipment and lights using Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) according to the standard approved by Panavia • The full Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) • Provisions for the colour TV Tabular display screen (TV-Tab) • IFF Mode 4 • Provisions for the secure voice radios and upgrades to the software, which facilitates the use of MIDS and recce modes. The MLU modifications also foresaw the introduction of a new DASS (Defensive Aids Sub System) integrated self-defence system, but this was discarded on cost grounds. The first Tornado transformed by Alenia Aeronautica to the RET.7 standard (designated A-200C) was MM.7087, which arrived at the Turin-Caselle plant on October 8, 2008, and was delivered back 3 to the AMI on December 16, 2010. The last to be upgraded was MM.55008 (a trainer), handed back to the air force on 4 January 28, 2013. Unfortunately, two aircraft from this batch were lost in a tragic air accident: MM.7009 and 7087 from 6° Stormo collided in flight on August 19, 2014, near Ascoli Piceno, and all four crew members died.

‘Full MLU’ The third and last phase of the upgrade, designated ‘Full MLU’ (RET.8), started on February 28, 2011, when MM.7039 (an IDS model) arrived at the Alenia Aermacchi plant. 1 During Operation Unified Protector in May 2011 a Tornado IDS RET.6 from 6° Stormo armed with two GBU-32(V)/B JDAMs, two AIM-9L Sidewinders and two BOZ-102 chaff and flare dispensers departs Trapani-Birgi. Troupe Azzurra/Italian Air Force 2 Tornado ECR RET.8 ‘50-01’ from 50° Stormo taken at Piacenza-San Damiano in January before a training flight. This aircraft is one of 15 ECRs upgraded under the RET.8 contract. 3 One of the first MLU Tornado ECRS delivered to the 50° Stormo taking off from Piacenza-San Damiano. The ECR MLU is distinguishable by the MMR’s white antennas fitted to the sides of the fin. M Cirillo via author 4 Two GBU32(V)/B JDAMs being loaded to a Tornado IDS at Trapani-Birgi air Base in May 2011, during NATO air operations over Libya. Troupe Azzurra/Italian Air Force

After the modifications, it was delivered back to the 155° Gruppo (squadron) of 50° Stormo on February 14, 2013. This last tranche covers 25 aircraft: ten IDS (upgraded from RET.3 standard) and 15 ECRs (designated EA-200Bs and previously at RET.2 standard). The ECR RET.8s have been re-designated as EA-200Ds. The MLU programme is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016. Besides the RET.6 and RET.7 modifications, this last batch also received the colour TV-Tab, a new display for the TF radar, secure voice radios and new buttons for the navigator to fire chaff and flares. The 13 remaining RET.7 aircraft are being upgraded to RET.8 standard, and will be designated A-200Cs. The ECR RET.8s have some different equipment from the IDS. They’ve received an improved Raytheon Emitter Locator System (ELS), which introduces new functions for the identification and localising of threats (ELS Multiship Ranging), coupled to a new ELS recorder and MIDS. The ECR can also use GBU-32 JDAMs, and the latest model of AGM-88B HARM missiles. The first ECR RET.8 (MM.7052) was delivered to 50° Stormo on August 1, 2013. All the RET.8s upgraded so far have been delivered to 50° Stormo, but the plan is that 155° Gruppo will operate the ECRs plus

some IDS examples. The remaining IDS RET.8s will be passed to 6° Stormo.

New Weapons In parallel with the MLU, more weapons systems have been, or are going to be tested and certified. These are the Rafael Litening III targeting pod, the GBU-39/B SDB I (Small Diameter Bomb Increment I) and the AGM88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGE) for the ECR model. The integration of the GBU-39/B and AGM-88E is included in the Major Engineering Task 27 (MET27) contract, signed by NETMA and Panavia on February 13, 2013. The integration of the AARGE’s software in the ECR model is under development and the end of this process is scheduled for 2016, when a live fire validation campaign will be arranged. The ECR model will be improved in the future also with the introduction of a digital version of the ELS system, which is under development by Airbus Military. Looking ahead, RET.6 aircraft will not be upgraded to RET.8 standard. Some RET.6s have received MIDS as a retrofit, but some others have already been retired from service. The official retirement of the Italian Tornado fleet started in 2012, when some RET.3s at Cameri and Ghedi were withdrawn

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MILITARY ITALIAN AIR FORCE TORNADO 1 A Tornado ECR RET.8 (foreground) and a Tornado IDS RET.7 from 6° Stormo at the 50° Stormo base of Piacenza-San Damiano in January. 2 The AMI’s Tornado fleet is maintained at 1° RMV’s depot Cameri where this Tornado ECR RET.8 from 50° Stormo was photographed. 3 The RecceLite pod, introduced on the Italian Tornado during the first phase of the MLU, is seen here carried by a 6° Stormo Tornado IDS RET.7 taxiing at Ghedi.

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from service. Work has begun to recover all the equipment and materials that can be re-used or recycled. The AMI is aiming to deploy a frontline force of Tornados at the same RET.8 standard.

Results Italian Tornado crews say Tornado MLU aircraft have delivered good results. Beyond their use in day-to-day training and in various exercises (for example, RET.6 aircraft attended Red Flag Alaska

CHANGES TO ITALY’S TORNADO FORCE Two Italian Air Force wings operate the Tornado: 6° Stormo at Ghedi (102°, 154° and 156° Gruppo), which is tasked with OCU, reconnaissance and attack missions, and 50° Stormo at PiacenzaSan Damiano (155° Gruppo), which undertakes Suppression of the Enemy Air Defences – Electronic Attack (SEAD-ETS) mission. On December 31 things will change: 50° Stormo will be disbanded, and it is highly probable the aircraft and personnel of 155° Gruppo will be passed to 6° Stormo at Ghedi. At the same time, one of the three squadrons of 6° Stormo will also be disbanded. The new capabilities made possible by the RET.8 configuration mean that in the future all Italian Tornados will be able to carry out attack, SEAD and recce missions. It is likely that 155° Gruppo’s operational capability might be expanded to include attack missions from the introduction into its ECR models of the MIL-STD-1760 databus. This will enable them to fire precision guided munitions, such as the Storm Shadow, Paveway III, JDAM and SDB systems.

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ITALIAN AIR FORCE TORNADO MILITARY and Distant Frontier in June 2010), the new MLU modifications have been committed to real operations. The first campaign was Operation Unified Protector, the NATO air war over Libya in 2011, in which Tornado IDS RET.6s of 6° Stormo were deployed to Trapani-Birgi, Sicily, and integrated in the Task Group Air Birgi. Initially these aircraft were used for reconnaissance and in-flight refuelling missions to support Tornado ECR missions (thanks to the ‘buddy-buddy’ pod they carry). But they were later cleared to carry out bombing missions, usually with GBU-32s and GBU-16s. On several occasions, when the target assigned was deep inside the Libyan territory, the Tornado used Storm Shadow missiles, with a 96% rate of success. More recently, in November 2014, a number of Tornado IDS RET.7 and RET.8s were deployed to the Middle East as part of the Italian Air Force Task Group Air Kuwait – together with KC-767A tankers and MQ-9A Predator UAS – to carry out reconnaissance missions in support of the allied operations against Islamic State. In parallel with the upgrade of the operational capabilities under the MLU programme, the technical and maintenance aspects of managing the Tornado fleet have been updated too. 3

Removing Obsolescence Obsolete equipment has been replaced during the upgrades. This work is carried out under Prescrizioni Tecnico Applicativa (PTA, or technical directions) issued by ARMAEREO, the Italian defence procurement agency, and Istruzioni Tecniche (IT, or technical instructions) from the 1° RMV (Reparto Manutenzione Velivoli, the AMI’s maintenance depot for the Tornado fleet). Each RET contract has included an element dedicated to PTA/IT modifications. For example, from 2010 RET.7 and RET.8 aircraft were fitted with Martin-Baker Mk10 ejection seats to make them fully compatible with the Panavia NVIS certification. Additionally, in 2008 it was decided that some airframes receiving the RET upgrades would be put through life extension programmes to increase their operational lives from 4,000 to 6,000 flying hours. This involves reviewing or replacing specific items, and non-destructive testing (NDT). The first aircraft that underwent this process at the 1° RMV was MM.7003, which flew its acceptance flight on December 23, 2008, and was then reassigned to the 6° Stormo. About a dozen aircraft have undergone the life extension programme. With the Tornado having entered the final years of its operational life in Italy, a new contract with Alenia Aermacchi and Avio meant the fleet received a new Maintenance Record System (MaReS). This is designed to provide more accurate calculations of the Load

Severity Index (LSI) for the flying hours of each airframe. The maintenance units, and especially 1° RMV, will then be able to monitor the fleet with greater accuracy, produce more precise statistics and forecasts to maintain the Tornados until the end of their operational lives. In the future, thanks to the new capabilities integrated in the RET.8 configuration, all Tornados will be able to carry out attack, SEAD and recce missions effectively, while the introduction into the ECR model of the MIL-STD-1760 will support the use of PGMs such as the Storm Shadow, Paveway III, JDAM and SDB. The Italian Tornados will be able to operate effectively and safely until the type’s retiremen, at present planned for 2025, when the F-35 line should be combat-ready in sufficient numbers.

TORNADO The Multinational Swing-Wing Fighter & Bomber If you want to read more on Italian Air Force Tornados then checkout this latest special produced by the Aviation News team. It is a comprehensive 100-page guide to both variants and among the areas covered are development, combat operations plus fascinating aircrew insights. To order your copy today for just £5.99, visit www. keypublishing.com/shop or call UK: 01780 480404, Overseas: +44 1780 480404.

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PARAMILITARY IRISH POLICE AIR SUPPORT UNIT

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ir Support Units are a well-established feature of modern police work throughout the world, playing a valuable role by giving police on the ground the ability to control operations and maintain communications over a much wider area than previously possible. The Irish Republic’s Garda Síochána can lay claim to having a unique position in that its Garda Air Support Unit (GASU) is a joint police and military operation. The aircraft are owned by the Garda Síochána and are manned by Police Air Observers, but are flown by Irish Air Corps (IAC) pilots and have military registrations. Day-to-day command is exercised jointly by the Commanding Officer of No.304 Squadron, currently Commandant Philip Bonner, and Garda Sergeant-in-Charge Brian Coade. The GASU is based at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, just to the southwest of Dublin, in a purpose-built facility. Three aircraft are currently on strength. Before the first was delivered, the Garda was able to call upon IAC aircraft to assist with tasks, but no aircraft were routinely tasked or equipped

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to operate specifically in support of the police. After several years of intensive study, the need for the police to have its own aircraft was presented to the Irish Government. The necessary funding was approved and in 1997 a Pilatus Britten-Norman 2T-4S Defender 4000 (Air Corps serial 254) and a Eurocopter AS355N Squirrel (255) were purchased. As the police on the ground began to realise just what an asset the ‘eyes in the sky’ could be, it became obvious the ASU had to expand. Police helicopters had developed and it was recognised that a more advanced type was needed. Accordingly, in 2002, an EC135T1 (serial 256) was delivered; this helicopter was upgraded to T2 standard four years later. An EC135T2+ (272) was purchased in 2007 to replace the Squirrel.

Mission Equipment Both helicopters have a thermal imaging device and a broadcast-quality, high-

magnification FLIR Systems digital camera; the images it records can be subsequently used in court as evidence. A microwave downlink and the advanced onboard radio suite enhance communications with the ground, as does a loudspeaker system should the need arise. The introduction of the force-wide TETRA digital communications system in the Garda in 2010/2011 considerably improved the efficiency of air-ground radio contact. The helicopters are fitted with Skyforce moving map displays that give pinpoint accuracy to track and location. The helicopters can also illuminate an area with their powerful Nightsun searchlights – serial 256 has a 15 million candlepower light, serial 272 has a 30 million one. The ITT ANVS F4949 Night Vision Goggles (NVG) capability for all three crew members on 272 achieved in 2008 was another huge step forward. Commandant

IRISH POLICE AIR SUPPORT UNIT PARAMILITARY Although based near Dublin, the equipment in EC135T2+ serial 272, including an NVG mode modification and extra endurance, mean it can operate anywhere in the Irish Republic. All photos GASU unless stated

Policing Guy Warner finds out about the Garda Síochána Air Support Unit’s work with its EC135s and Defender AI.10.15

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PARAMILITARY IRISH POLICE AIR SUPPORT UNIT Bonner remarked: “NVG gives us good visual acuity in the urban environment, making it much safer when, for example, pursuing a stolen vehicle in poor weather conditions in darkness,” to which Sgt Coade added, “as many a joyrider has found out to their dismay.” These high-spec NVGs are not prone to ‘blooming’ (the effect of excess light), so they operate equally well over a brightly lit city as they do in a dark rural environment, where they supplement the thermal imager. Commandant Bonner said: “The EC135 is a delight to fly with an instant response time to control inputs due to its rigid rotor head design. It is also a very stable platform. The airframe has been designed with a high degree of crashworthiness, which increases the entire crew’s sense of wellbeing.”

CAD and VEMD The avionics are carried in a McAlpinedesigned pod beneath the fuselage. The Thales ‘Avionic Nouvelle’ EFIS avionics suite comprises two multi-function LCD displays providing all necessary flight and navigation information. Each screen is capable of displaying a variety of information and, in the event of one screen failing, the information 1 can be called up on the other. 2

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1 The GASU is a joint Garda/Irish Air Corps unit and is jointly controlled by the IAC at Baldonnel and Garda HQ in Phoenix Park, above which EC135 272 is seen. 2 The crew must synthesise the information provided by the sensors as well as watching surrounding airspace and co-ordinating with Garda officers on the ground. 3 EC135 serial 256, pictured at Baldonnel, was delivered to the Garda Air Support Unit in 2002. Guy Warner

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There are a further three LCD displays: one for CAD (caution and advisory) information and two for VEMD (vehicle engine management display). The CAD automatically displays any warnings and/or cautions associated with the aircraft; those that require the pilot to acknowledge them are accompanied by an aural warning. The VEMD screens show all the important power and temperature parameters and electrical and hydraulic information. All engine power, temperature and engine speed parameters are shown in one display called the FLI (first limit indicator), which means the pilot only needs to watch one indication to see how the engines – twin Turbomeca Arrius 2B2s that give a combined power output of 900kW (1,200shp) – are performing. The helicopters are fitted with an advanced digital autopilot, giving single pilot IFR (instrument flight rules) capability. Hands-off modes include heading, altitude, airspeed, vertical speed and navigation hold; instrument approaches can also be flown. A Trimble GPS can be coupled to the autopilot. The pilot also has a Honeywell Sentinel Multifunction Display with a moving map and a traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) and the ability to download waypoints from the GPS. Full authority digital engine control (FADEC) automates all stages of engine operation, from the start phase to fuel and power management in flight and providing engine protection in the event of engine failure. Manual pilot over-ride is possible in the event of FADEC malfunctions. The second EC135, 272, has an advantage over 256 in that it has a higher all-up weight limit (allowing sufficient fuel for about an extra 15 minutes’ duration). It also has an NVG mode modification, an automatic rotor function engaging below 55kts (101km/h) that gives 3% extra rotor speed in the hover, an upgraded forward-looking infrared and a more powerful Nightsun.

Demanding Work One Garda Air Observer sits in the left-

hand seat and operates the thermal imager and the video camera, both of which are mounted in a ball on the nose of the helicopter. The rear Garda Air Observer, who is the designated mission commander, sits behind the pilot on the right-hand side on a Martin-Baker swivelling seat. He is in control of the moving map display and the communications suite. Flying police helicopters is demanding work: the density of radio traffic from all sources can be quite daunting, the sensors provide a considerable range of information and a constant external watch must be maintained on the surrounding airspace and on the ground below. If the workload becomes too high for any particular crew member, they can share it to concentrate fully on their own primary task. Crew resource management (CRM) is a very important feature of ongoing training, development and discussion. Commandant Bonner stressed that the closest cooperation and teamwork is required from all three crew members. He added: “As the aircraft commander, the pilot is ultimately responsible in the air for flight safety and Air Traffic Control matters, which is no easy task in the Greater Dublin Area as there is a lot of traffic, both fixedwing and helicopters.” However, as a very experienced GASU pilot, Captain Oisin McGrath pointed out, there is more to the job than flying the helicopter. “On a dark, damp winter’s night over Dublin, with a lowering cloudbase and a moisture-laden atmosphere, 272 was called to the robbery of a convenience store. We were advised by a Garda over TETRA that a getaway car had made off in a certain direction. I was assisted in navigating directly to the scene by the local knowledge of Forward Air Observer, Garda Shane Cooke [who had been a beat policeman in that area of Dublin before joining the GASU]. “Through my NVG, I spotted an individual

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close to the abandoned car, acting suspiciously. I passed this information to Shane so he could track the suspect with the camera and TI as he ran across some parkland and into a house. The mission commander, Garda Enda Dwyer, could watch this on his screen and immediately communicated the information to nearby ground units via TETRA, leading to the rapid detention of the suspect for questioning. This is typical of the type of co-ordination between pilot and police crews.”

Defender The Defender 4000 is a substantially upgraded version of the famous Islander, with an enlarged wing and lengthened fuselage. The GASU’s aircraft was the first Defender off the production line after the prototype. It has greater range and longer endurance than the helicopters and can operate from any of Ireland’s regional airports and airfields. Its crew will typically comprise a pilot and two or three Garda Air Observers, depending on operational requirements. Sgt Coade said: “With its ability to loiter at very slow speeds and remain airborne for approximately four hours, fuel and weather factors considered, it allows great flexibility and is a very important platform for a wide variety of police tasks. Its main use is for pre-planned overt or covert missions, the majority of which are IFR.” The helicopters can respond within two minutes of a call being received; the Defender will be ready within ten. The aircraft is powered by two Allison 250-b17F/1

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engines, capable of producing 400shp (298kW) at maximum take-off power and maximum continuous power. The aircraft will normally cruise at 140kts (259km/h) and can loiter at 80-85kts (148-157km/h) with flaps at the take-off position. The Defender has a number of Bendix/ King systems, including a KFC 325 Autopilot and Flight director, which interfaces with the KAS 297C Vertical Speed and Altitude Preselector. There is also a RDR 2000 Digital Weather Radar, a KMC 321 Mode Controller to operate the flight control system and a KLN 90B TSO GPS to aid en-route navigation. Anti-icing and de-icing equipment are standard. The mission equipment is broadly similar and complementary to the helicopters’.

Organisation The GASU is controlled by the Garda Commissioner at Garda headquarters, Phoenix Park, and by the General Officer Commanding IAC at Baldonnel. The Superintendent Operational Support Unit and the Air Corps’ Chief of Air Operations have direct responsibility, with daily management of the unit on base in the hands of the Garda Sergeant-in-Charge and the Air Corps’ Commandant. There are 20 Air Observers (three sergeants and 17 Gardaí) on the GASU. The 14 pilots, all either captains or lieutenants excluding the Commandant, are all members of No.3 Operations Wing IAC. Maintenance on the Defender is undertaken by the IAC; that for the EC135s is contracted out

to a dedicated on-site team from Airbus Helicopters UK. The aircraft fly on average about 2,000 hours per year, so to maximise availability the maintenance schedule has to be carefully programmed and requires a great deal of dedication from those involved.

Training To be eligible to apply for the GASU as an Air Observer requires the candidate to have served five years as a Garda. The pool of pilots is drawn from the ranks of the IAC for a tour of duty of two years or more and the GASU is regarded as a stimulating and challenging flying environment. Pilots are selected primarily on their previous experience on twin-engined aircraft, and night-flying experience. Sgt Coade noted that the equal partnership between the Garda and the Air Corps is a vital element in the success of the GASU, as is the harmonious dovetailing of personalities in a fast-moving and often stressful operational environment. Training is a continuous process. There are mandatory debriefs after every mission, and internal NVG training is on-going, with annual proficiency checks carried out by the US company, Aviation Specialities Unlimited. Line Oriented Flight Training (LOFT) is carried out yearly in the level D, full-motion EC-135 simulator at Airbus’ Donauwörth facility in Germany. Commandant Bonner explained: “We aim for realism in each two-hour session [in the sim], testing command ability, decisionmaking skills and CRM. The first 30 minutes

IRISH POLICE AIR SUPPORT UNIT PARAMILITARY can be spent relatively quietly on a typical GASU task over a city, then we add in some complicating factors, for example lowering weather or operational pressure from the ground, but not throwing in random [and very rarely occurring] technical faults, which we can test on other sim sessions.”

Tasks The GASU’s prime task is surveillance in direct support of Garda officers on the ground. The work is very varied and can range from searching for suspects, missing persons or property, to the pursuit of vehicles, the containment of crime scenes, support to public order units, the policing of major events, ceremonies or protests, and aerial photography. Garda officers spread out over a wide area can be kept in touch with changes on the ground as a situation develops, and appropriate direction or guidance can be given. There is also a capacity to carry trained police dogs onboard for special operations and/or quick dispatch around the country when necessary. Garda Air Observers can make arrests if required, which has been very useful: on occasions a helicopter has landed in a remote area and they have disembarked to arrest a suspect and detain him or her until the ground units arrive. The GASU’s availability for immediate dispatch, coupled with the modern equipment, means it can also be a vital asset for the emergency services, as was seen last December when the unit assisted the Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team when a woman became lost on Bray Head. The GASU found the woman

and remained overhead, directing the mountain rescuers to her. The aircraft are available for call-out on a 24-hour basis. The pilots work a 12-hour shift, while the Air Observers have a ten-hour shift. All aircraft can be tasked for operations anywhere within the Irish Republic. The Greater Dublin Area, which has a quarter of the country’s population, accounts for a large percentage of the work, but the GASU receives calls for assistance from all over the 26 counties. EC135 256 can take on tasks at night within 80 miles (128km) of Dublin on designated routes, while 272 can go anywhere in the country day or night. Secure refuelling facilities are available at Shannon Airport in the west and at numerous other army barracks and airfields. For a pre-planned mission a military fuel bowser can be deployed if required. Detachments away from Baldonnel can be maintained for several days and tasks can be handed over in the air between any of the aircraft. The GASU is justly satisfied that when the Queen and, soon afterwards, the US President visited Ireland in 2011, it maintained a continuous overwatch. The major challenges facing the Garda Síochána today are obvious. Organised crime, smuggling of drugs, cigarettes and fuel, other drug-related offences, the increasing diversity of population in Ireland and a fastermoving world means policing is going beyond national boundaries. For these reasons the GASU maintains close working relationships not only with the Police Service of Northern Ireland and other UK forces, but also with forces in the European Union, the United States and beyond.

The mission commander sat at his station in EC135 272 on a night flight over Dublin. From his Martin-Baker swivelling seat the commander controls the moving map display and the communications suite.

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Fresh Air from SKYE SH09 TECHNICAL DATA

Maximum take-off weight (with internal load): 2,650kg (5,842lb) Capacity: One pilot plus seven passengers Sling-load capacity: 1,500kg (3,306lb) Maximum operational weight with external load: 2,800kg (6,172lb) Powerplant: Honeywell HTS 900-2 Maximum take-off power (thermodynamic power equivalence): 1,020shp (760kW) Fast cruise speed (at MTOW): 140kts (260km/h) Maximum range (with standard 800 litre/211 US gallon tanks): 800km (430nm) Endurance (with standard tanks): 3.7 to 5 hours Data: Marenco Swisshelicopter 1 A computer-generated image of a SKYe SH09 in its home environment in Switzerland, although the manufacturer says 40-48% of sales have come from North America. All images Marenco Swisshelicopter 2 The first SKYe SH09 prototype will be joined by a second example by the end of the year. 3 A panel between the pilots’ seats means the crew can look directly down to monitor swing loads.

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Marenco Swisshelicopter’s order book continues to grow, as Andrew Drwiega reports he Marenco Swisshelicopter SKYe SH09 light turbine helicopter only made its first flight less than a year ago, yet it has secured over 75 orders, with deliveries due to begin in 2016. What makes this story even more surprising is that it is the company’s first and only helicopter – and the first helicopter to be designed and manufactured by a Swiss firm. Marenco Swisshelicopter is based in Mollis, a small town deep in a valley in eastern Switzerland. According to its Chief Commercial Officer Mathias Senes, the SKYe SH09 is the first in a new generation of light single-engine helicopters.

The Idea The helicopter, he says, was the creation of Martin Stucki, the company’s founder and Chief Executive Officer. It was during a flight in an EC120 in 2001 when Stucki thought about the helicopter he was in and wondered whether he could design something better, something more modern. “His focus was fixed on a five-seater and as the project grew in his mind he saw that in the 2.5 tonne helicopter category, there was nothing flying that had not been certified

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after the mid-1970s,” said Senes. “Existing [helicopters] were all based on earlier models and derivatives without any fresh designs. He believed there was no modern helicopter in the market that could offer improved ergonomics.” Stucki sat down with a blank piece of paper and started from scratch. “That does create some complexity but he could design afresh with the ambition of creating a highperformance single-engine helicopter with the highest modularity possible,” said Senes. “If we compare a light twin-engine with a light single-engine helicopter, it is very rare to find a buyer for a light twin who doesn’t have a contract that pays for the aircraft. In contrast, in terms of a single-engine, it is rare for an operator to have a contract. “When I was working for Helifrance and we were operating up to 20 single-engine 2

helicopters, the only way to make them profitable was as an established tourism/ sightseeing operator or a regular charter business. But when you fly on demand, either as a charter, ferrying sling loads or [flying] rescues, you have limited visibility over your annual billable hours. “For a single-engine operator to be profitable they need to change the mission of the aircraft quickly. If you look at the worldwide market, [they] fly up to three different missions per day,” explained Senes.

Removable Seats To meet this need, the SKYe SH09 has adjustable seats that can be removed quickly, a roomy cockpit and all-round good visibility. Safety and spatial awareness are enhanced by a clear panel between the pilots’ seats, so the crew can look directly

m Switzerland MARENCO SWISSHELICOPTER SKYe SH09 COMMERCIAL

down to monitor swing loads. The selection of the Honeywell HTS9002 engine came with an on-condition maintenance philosophy, which involves maintenance actions only being carried out where necessary to rectify problems. This is achieved by the engine’s condition based monitoring systems detecting problems and co-ordinating the response, so that costs are reduced and availability is maximised. “We are still in discussion with all engine manufacturers but we want an engine that we believe performs well in hot and high [environments] and [is] beyond the usual engines found in this helicopter class,” Senes said. The HTS900 was developed from the Honeywell (previously Lycoming) LTS101 and has an output of 1,020shp (760kW). Senes explained that the engine’s compact size and 300lb (136kg) weight were factors in its selection. It has a dual channel full authority digital engine control (FADEC) system with a manual back-up. The cockpit 3 avionics are all digital, providing for allweather operations and digital night vision goggles compatibility, as well as featuring large area displays and enhanced graphics.

Airframe The SKYe SH09’s airframe is fully composite. It also has a bearing-free, five-blade composite main rotor and shrouded tail rotor blades which was designed to reduce noise emissions and increase safety.

Large clamshell doors at the rear of the cabin are a standard feature. They make the helicopter suitable for utility operators, and should be especially useful for emergency service (EMS) operators. The helicopter’s cabin also offers a high ceiling internally.

“We are looking at starting production in 2016 and want to deliver the first aircraft to customers close to us regionally so that we can work closely [with them] from the beginning,” Senes added.

Testing

“We have a few sightseeing operator clients who are engaged in re-fleeting; one has ordered four. We are aligned with our single-engine competitors in terms of the customer location, with between 40-48% in North America, 20-27% in Europe and some in South America, Asia and Africa,” he said. “We have deliberately focused on the traditional two volume markets [Europe and North America]. It is important the first sales go to well-founded operators so we can get the proper maintenance feedback to quickly improve the product if needed.” Marenco has selected established suppliers to provide airframes and critical components. “The market wanted to hear how we would establish the worldwide network, as there are many examples of companies [who have done that] such as Bell Helicopter and Airbus Helicopter,” explained Senes. Marenco’s ambition is to create regional service hubs, but for the shorter term, professional service centres will be used. In September Marenco took the SKYe SH09 to the China Helicopter Exposition in Tianjin. Senes confirmed the company holds pre-production orders from Chinese customers and that demand has increased since the first flight. and ongoing trials.

Since the first flight on October 2, 2014, further testing has continued in the hands of chief test pilot Dwayne Williams. “It was a milestone in that it motivated our team, gave confidence to our backers [who include the Russian entrepreneur Alexander Leonidovich Mamut], and the market to show that the aircraft was real and it is flying,” Senes said. “In the beginning we had to face some doubters so it was important to show what we had achieved. We have since performed a quantity of test flights.” The second prototype, including some improvements and modifications, is due to fly later this year.

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Santiago Rivas visited Colombia’s police aviation force to learn how its aircraft are used in the counter-narcotics role

Drugs W Fighting Colombia’s

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A rescuer descends from a Black Hawk during combat rescue training. The Servicio Aéreo de la Policía plans to buy six more Black Hawks to join the ten it operates, including three S-70is. All photos Santiago Rivas

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n a country with a large drug production and trafficking problem and a sizeable presence of communist guerrillas, Colombia’s Policía Nacional has the biggest aviation force of its kind. Its Servicio Aéreo de la Policía, based in Bogotá, is equipped with more than 70 helicopters, including Bell UH-1H Huey IIs, Bell 212s and S-70 Black Hawks, and 50 aircraft. The growth of the drugs problem in Colombia during the 1980s – complicated by the rise of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and National Liberation

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FORCE DEVELOPMENT Colombian police aviation began in the 1950s when authorities in the Bolívar Department began using aircraft, although the first official police aircraft, a Cessna 410, was bought only in the early 1960s. Other aircraft followed and, in 1973, a unit called Transporte Aéreo was created, later named Grupo de Transporte Aéreo. Its first helicopters were two Bell 206L-3s and one Bell 212, donated by the US Government in 1981 to help fight the rising tide of drug trafficking. Two years later, the Servicio Aéreo de la Policía was established at the Base Aérea Guaymaral Capitán Fernando Álvarez in Bonilla, to the north of Bogotá. The fleet size increased later in the 1980s with more helicopters, a DHC-6-200 Twin Otter and three Ayres Turbo Thrushes to destroy the coca plantations. The helicopters were also used to deploy special forces and evacuate hostages during the terrorist attack on the Justice Ministry in Bogotá on November 6, 1985. Just seven days later, they delivered aid to the population of Armero, devastated after a volcanic eruption. The service’s fleet was increased significantly from 1987 due to the escalating drug problem. First came a Bell 212, a Bell 206L-3, another Twin Otter and, in 1989, the first 12 Bell UH-1Hs, two Hughes 500Ds and one 500E. Two more Turbo Thrushes, six Basler BT-67s, six Cessna 206s and other small aircraft arrived later, some of which were captured by drug traffickers. Another Bell 206L-3 and four Bell 212s arrived in 1994, followed by the first Beechcraft 300 Super King Air. Deliveries of UH-1Hs eventually totalled 58. The Escuela de Aviación at Mariquita was inaugurated in 1996. Three years later, an agreement with the US Government led to the deliveries of eight Sikorsky UH60A Black Hawks, two Bell 412EPs and 24 Huey IIs, while 12 UH-1Hs were upgraded to Huey II standard (another 12 were lost in accidents or in combat and the others were retired). Also in 1999, fixed-wing aircraft began operating from Eldorado Airport in Bogotá. The fleet size increased again in the 2000s, with three Beech B-200, one ATR 42, two Cessna 172s, three Cessna 206s, three Piper Navajos, one Piper Cheyenne, 12 Bell CH-135s (UH-1N) and five Huey IIs. The US State Department Air Wing began operating aircraft in Colombia on eradication flights over drug plantations in the early 1990s. It operated four Alenia C-27s, some Cessna Grand Caravans, 11 OV-10D Broncos, 15 Ayres S2R Turbo Thrushes and about ten Air Tractor AT802s, all with police serials added to the US numbers. The C-27s and Grand Caravans were used to support the operations of the other planes, which were equipped for eradication flights and received extra armour. At least two Air Tractors, two Broncos and some Turbo Thrushes were shot down during operations against the illicit plantations. Three Turbo Thrushes are still used by the US on operations in the country.

Army (ELN) guerrillas – led to a change in the service’s orientation. Previously, like other police aviation units around the world, it was focused on preventive operations. But as it started to fly against well-equipped forces and in remote regions, it began to use firepower and an impressive transport capability to move large forces.

Inhospitable Terrain Maj Jorge Vanegas of the Compañía de Aviación de Bogotá described the nature of the drugs war in Colombia: “When the problem of the coca, poppy and marijuana began, it was in the jungle region of the San José del Guaviare Department, because that is an inhospitable location. The drug traffickers began to deforest the area and plant the illicit crops; there was no control from the state. When the pressure from the police began, [the traffickers] started to move to the coast of the Pacific Ocean, to the Cauca Valley and Tumaco.” Maj Vanegas explained the drugs cartels have also now moved into the Norte de

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Santander Department, near the border with Venezuela, and in Antioquia, close to the border with Panama. Those regions offer the right conditions for growing both coca at sea level, but also for poppy, which is grown at altitude in the mountain regions. “It’s a more difficult place to fight them,” he commented.

The Fleet The Servicio Aéreo de la Policía’s fixed-wing force currently includes four Basler BT-67s (turboprop engine-equipped DC-3s), two Twin Otters, a Beech 99, two Cessna Grand Caravans, a Caravan, three Piper Navajos, a Piper Cheyenne and two Beech 1900s. There are also three ATR 42s, a Dash 8, a Beech 300, six Beech B200s, seven Fairchild C-26 Metros, five Cessna 206s, two Cessna 172s and three Cessna 152s. The BT-67s are still the main transport aircraft, but the arrival of the ATR 42s marked the beginning of their replacement. The Beech B200s and B300 are used for VIP flights; another Beech marked with a police serial, belonging to the Office of the

Attorney General, is used to carry criminals following arrest. Three of the Metros have forward-looking infrared (FLIR), radio scanning and electronic and signals intelligence equipment; one also has a high-definition vertical camera. These aircraft are used to intercept signals and communications from short wave radios and mobile phones to locate traffickers’ positions. The Metros act as command posts to support ground operations. The other four Metros can be used for transport and medevac duties, as they have conversion kits to carry two patients in intensive care. The service’s rotary-wing fleet consists of ten S-70 Black Hawks, one Bell 412EP, ten Bell 212s, nine CH-135s, 30 Huey IIs, nine Bell 206Ls, five Bell 407s and two Hughes 500Ds. The last three Black Hawks, received during 2012 and 2013, are the latest S-70i variant. The unit is analysing the use of UAVs for intelligence tasks. It is negotiating the purchase of six further Black Hawks and plans to buy eight Mi-17s and another ATR 42.

Operations The fixed-wing aircraft are used only for transport and logistics support. Aerial eradication of drug plantations has since the early 1990s been carried out by the US State Department Air Wing, although some of the Servicio Aéreo de la Policía’s pilots have been trained for the role. The police also encourage farmers to stop planting coca, poppy and marijuana to help eradicate the problem. Maj Edison Rubiano, from the police’s Guaymaral Company, said the Bell 412 is operated only for VIP flights and the Hughes and Jet Rangers for city patrolling. The rest operate missions against drug trafficking, antiguerrilla operations and routine police work. He explained: “We perform escort missions for the fumigation [eradication] aircraft; we always fly in packs of four helicopters, three armed and one for search and rescue [SAR]. The armed helicopters cover the aircraft if they are being shot [at] and the SAR always stays far and high, waiting to enter into action in case an aircraft or helicopter is shot down.” For escort missions the helicopters usually operate with six-barrel 7.62mm calibre GAU17 machine guns. Maj Rubiano’s colleague, Maj Rodrigo Soler, said the helicopters receive fire from drug traffickers or guerrillas on 70% of their operations.

Interdiction Maj Rubiano continued: “We perform interdiction operations concentrated on the destruction of laboratories and runways [in the jungle] and drug seizures. As [these facilities] are usually located in inhospitable locations, we usually arrive by air, with support from the intelligence aircraft. The illegal runways are destroyed with explosives.” The aviation unit works in conjunction with the Grupo Jungla, the police’s special forces branch. The helicopters insert the ground eradication teams that clear drug plantations in isolated jungle locations, move supplies and offer medical evacuation. The unit usually operates for three months in a particular zone, advancing across the plantations. “We also fulfil missions to verify if fumigation was [successful]

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ORGANISATION The Servicio Aéreo de la Policía’s operations are managed by the Dirección Antinarcóticos (itself is controlled by the Dirección de la Policía Nacional) although creating a dedicated Dirección Aviación is under discussion to give the unit greater independence and obtain more resources. The service’s main base is the Compañía de Aviación de Bogotá at Eldorado Airport, the command and control centre for all police aviation in Colombia. There are companies at Guaymaral (in Cundinamarca Department), about 15 miles (25km) to the north of Bogotá, Santa Marta (in Magdalena) and Tuluá (in Cauca Valley). The Guaymaral and Santa Marta companies are equipped with Bell 212s and that in Tuluá, where there’s a big presence of drug traffickers, with the Huey II. There are also smaller units at San José del Guaviare (in the Amazon region), Villagarzón (Putumayo) and Tumaco (Nariño). These have no assigned equipment but they receive helicopters deployed from Guaymaral. Hughes and Bell 206s operate in Cali, Cartagena, Villavicencio, Pereira (in the coffee-producing region) and Medellín. The

or to reconnoitre the terrain for a ground eradication operation,” Maj Rubiano added.

Night Attacks For interdiction operations, the air unit uses the Huey II, Black Hawk and Bell 212 – the selection depends on the complexity of the job, the place and the number of people to be carried. For attacks against laboratories (or for those against illegal mining operations,

Escuela de Aviación (Aviation School) at Mariquita (Tolima), employs Bell 206s, Cessna 152s and 172s, for training police pilots. All units, except those at Bogotá and Mariquita, use helicopters and each performs minor maintenance on its own aircraft, while deeper maintenance work takes place at Eldorado and Guaymaral. At the command and control centre, every police aircraft is monitored via satellite. Each has a control panel, an Iridium antenna for satellite communications for secure voice and data, GPS, audio and Honeywell Sky Connect tracker systems that use Flight Explorer software. The control panel has buttons that enable pilots to notify the command and control centre if they’re encountering a technical problem, if they’re receiving enemy fire or to indicate places of interest. The aircraft automatically transmit their location every three minutes, but can do so every 30 seconds when the buttons are manually operated. The software on board receives meteorological information from the command centre. The system can even guide them in case the aircraft loses instruments.

in which the guerrillas are also involved), the Black Hawk is usually deployed, with a Bell 212 or Huey II bringing support or acting as a command post. The missions are almost always are carried out in conjunction with the Colombian Air Force or Colombian Army. All parties verify the intelligence information, the air force conducts bombing raids on the plantations and then police arrive by helicopter to

1 Guaymaral is home to a company of Bell 212s. 2 Colombia’s police force uses this type to support antidrug trafficking and guerilla operations. 3 One of the two Bell 412EPs are used for VIP flights.

occupy the site, make arrests and capture equipment or drugs. Most attacks take place at night, so all Black Hawks and Bell 212s are equipped with night vision goggles. Sometimes night operations with the Black Hawks are undertaken against a specific person, as with the missions in September and December 2010 that respectively saw the deaths of the FARC’s second-in-command, Víctor Julio Suárez Rojas, and the drug lord ‘Cuchillo’ 3 (‘The Knife’, Pedro Oliverio Guerrer), two of Colombia’s most wanted men. Besides the GAU-17 machine guns, the Black Hawks, Bell 212 and Huey II are also equipped with 12.7mm GAU-19s, 12.7mm Browning M2s and 7.62mm M240s. The aviation unit is also using flare launchers after the guerrillas were found to have MANPADS (man-portable air defence) missile systems. Away from the anti-narcotics operations, the unit also undertakes firefighting, for which they have received four Bambi Buckets to be used with the Black Hawks and Bell 212. Maj Vanegas said the future focus for the aviation unit is on improving “logistics capacities, efficiency and speed”. He also noted: “The war is not face to face but in communications. The people don’t say they are drug traffickers, as in the past, so we must improve our intelligence.”

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COMMERCIAL AURIGNY AIR SERVICES

Trislander S

1 1 Aurigny re-registered one of its Trislanders as G-JOEY after a character in a series of children’s books. Jean-Marie Urlacher 2 Delivered to Aurigny in March 1976, G-BDTO previously wore TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland liveries, and is one of the carrier’s last three Trislanders. All photos Charles Cunliffe unless stated

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AURIGNY AIR SERVICES COMMERCIAL

Sunset T

he Britten-Norman BN-2A Mk3-2 Trislander’s long career with Aurigny Air Services will soon come to an end after more than 40 years in service as the backbone of the Guernsey airline’s network in the Channel Islands. Aurigny (pronounced ‘or-ee-nay’), named after the French translation of Alderney, once operated 16 examples of this short take-off and landing-capable aircraft. Now only three remain in service and they will be retired over the next year.

Background The 16-seat Trislander made its first flight on September 11, 1970 from the BrittenNorman factory on the Isle of Wight. Aurigny bought the aircraft to replace the earlier Islander, produced by BrittenNorman from 1965. The Trislander boasted a larger passenger and cargo capacity over its predecessor, a stretched fuselage, a fixed tricycle undercarriage, and most notably a third engine in the vertical tail fin. Production spanned ten years, with 72 airframes built.

Island Hopping Aurigny started operations on March 1, 1968 with Islanders. The airline was set up after British United Airways withdrew from the Alderney to Guernsey route, and its network soon linked all the Channel Islands (with the exception of the smallest, Sark). During the first year the airline carried 45,000 passengers between Guernsey, Jersey and Alderney. It became the first commercial operator of the Trislander in July 1971, and remains the biggest. Using the

The end is approaching for the long-serving British type in the Channel Islands. Charles Cunliffe reports

Trislander enabled Aurigny to expand its network further from Guernsey and open up new routes to the south of England, such as Southampton (still a Trislander route), and to northern France. At the peak of their operations the Aurigny Trislanders were flown on the routes from Guernsey to Jersey, Alderney, Cherbourg and Dinard; from Alderney to Jersey, Southampton, Bournemouth, Shoreham and Cherbourg; from Cherbourg to Southampton; and from Jersey to Caen and Dinard. The Trislanders were ideal for the Aurigny network because of their (at the time) low operating costs, their ability to fly from from short runways (making it suitable for Alderney, where the main runway is 2,887ft [880m] long), and the fact they could be turned around quickly to maximise profit. Back in the early 2000s, Aurigny used its Trislanders as advertising billboards to gain extra revenue. Some of the aircraft were re-registered (hence the lack of registration commonality in the fleet) and repainted into special liveries for various companies. This policy lasted around ten years before it was decided to repaint the aircraft back into the standard Aurigny scheme.

Current Operations The Trislanders currently operate from Guernsey to Alderney and Dinard, and from Alderney to Southampton, although the Dornier Do 228 is soon to replace the Trislander on the latter route. In 2013 G-XTOR was removed from the fleet due to its age and after being deemed surplus to requirements, leaving Aurigny with four Trislanders: G-BEVT: delivered on June 10, 1977, this aircraft has had this registration

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FLYING ON THE TRISLANDER

Islands that, unlike the other Trislanders which were repainted, it has always stayed in the original all-yellow Aurigny scheme.

JOEY Retires

The Trislanders were retrofitted with a GPS system and a digital primary flight display enabling single-pilot instrument flight rules operations in poor weather.

In the spring the author flew from Guernsey to Alderney on the Do 228 and back on a Trislander during a day of challenging weather. Flying on the Dornier certainly differs to the experience on the Trislander. The Do 228 boasts 19 reclining leather seats, complete with drop-down trays, with the seats separated by a narrow middle aisle. It is a much quicker aircraft than the Trislander, travelling roughly 80kts (148km/h) faster due to its powerful twin-turboprop engines: we touched down in Alderney after a quarter of an hour, five minutes quicker than with the Trislander. The Do 228 carries more passengers and cargo and can cope with stronger crosswinds, which makes it ideal for wind-prone Alderney, where the airport sits around 270ft (82m) above sea level. The aircraft gives passengers the freedom, albeit limited, to move around the cabin – unlike the Trislander, where it is impossible to stand up. I found the Do 228 to be extremely comfortable and a joy to fly aboard. I flew the Trislander, luckily on board the famous G-JOEY, back to Guernsey. Prior to boarding, the passengers were asked to wait beside the aircraft while the dispatcher called each of us to our respective seats; a quick chat with one of the friendly ground operatives got me the seat behind the captain. The Trislander fleet has been retrofitted with a modern GPS system and a digital primary flight display, enabling the aircraft to operate in bad visibility and single-pilot instrument flight rules operations, making it perfect for the low cloud on today’s flight. Within seconds, all three piston engines started and we taxied out to the asphalt runway 26. As we became airborne we were hit by some strong crosswinds off the sea but the Trislander coped with ease as we climbed to our cruising altitude of 2,000ft (609m). As the aircraft cruises more slowly than the Do 228, we made it to Guernsey in 20 minutes, landing on runway 27. The Trislander was fantastic fun to fly on and I can easily see why it is loved by the islanders; it is best described as flying on a supercharged Cessna 182.

since its delivery. It was previously painted in a hybrid scheme of both Aurigny (keeping the yellow tail) and the blue colours of Aberdeen Asset Management; G-RLON: delivered on February 28, 1975, this aircraft has completed more flights than any other Aurigny Trislander. The ‘RLON’ stands for Royal London Insurance; the aircraft formerly wore an eye-catching pink colour scheme to advertise that brand; G-BDTO: delivered on March 16, 1976, it was re-registered G-OTSB for the TSB and then G-RBSI for the Royal Bank of Scotland, 1

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before going back to its original registration. G-JOEY: delivered as G-BDGG on July 7, 1975, this is perhaps the most famous Trislander built. Aurigny re-registered the aircraft after the character featured in a series of children’s books called The Little Yellow Plane Adventures, written in 1981/82 by Peter Seabourne. Subsequently, G-JOEY became a marketing tool for the airline, with a face painted on the aircraft to represent ‘Joey’. The aircraft remains the airline’s official mascot and is so well-loved in the Channel

On June 28, G-JOEY was retired after 36 years of service. During its time with Aurigny it amassed 28,580 hours and flew 91,700 flights and 3.7 million miles (equivalent to seven times to the Moon and back or 150 times around the Earth). In a statement on its Facebook page, Aurigny explained the reason for G-JOEY’s retirement: “To carry out the heavy maintenance needed to renew [the aircraft’s airworthiness] certificate would have been uneconomic.” The airline added that it may use parts from G-JOEY on the three remaining Trislanders, should the parts be suitable and pass stringent safety inspections. A decision on G-JOEY’s future has yet to be made. There have been calls for it to remain on the Channel Islands on static display, but whether that would be on Alderney or Guernsey is unclear. Aurigny said in June: “We have a considerable stock of non-flyable spares to replace those removed should a museum be interested in the aircraft intact.”

Dornier Do 228 The average fleet age of 40 years and everincreasing maintenance costs mean time is catching up with the Trislander. Last year two of the other three examples (G-BDTO and G-RLON) were sent to Cormack Aviation at Cumbernauld Airport for an SB 190 heavy maintenance check so they could continue flying until retirement. In 2013 Aurigny leased a Dornier 228 for a two-week trial, which was so successful with the airline and passengers alike that the type was chosen as the replacement for the Trislanders. A Do 228 (CS-TGG) was wet-leased from Aero VIP in Portugal, with Portuguese pilots and technical crew initially operating the aircraft until Aurigny pilots and technical staff were trained on the aircraft. A second Do 228 (G-SAYE, c/n 8046, formerly D-ILFM), Aurigny’s first owned example, was delivered in April. The airline eventually intends to operate three or more Do 228s, and plans to replace the used aircraft with new-builds. In Aurigny service, the Do 228 will be flown by two pilots, an increase in crew costs over the Trislanders’ one. It will be interesting to see how the Do 228s perform in the summer with high tourist demand, especially during Alderney Week in August when it increases even further. The existing schedules have the Trislanders on the ground in Alderney for 15 minutes. That leads one to wonder how the Do 228 will cope with the short turnaround given that turboprop engines require time to cool down, unlike the piston engines of the Trislander. Potentially high initial lease costs compared with the owned Trislanders are another factor. The increase in seats provided by the Do 228 should mean more revenue for the airline, although in the winter when demand drops it could also equate to more empty seats and a higher running cost. On the other hand, the Do 228 can land in higher crosswinds and lower visibility, making cancellations less likely than with

AURIGNY AIR SERVICES COMMERCIAL

AURIGNY’S TRISLANDER FLEET 16 AIRCRAFT OPERATED IN TOTAL: 262/G-AYWI, 305/G-AZJA, 319/G-AZLJ, 359/G-BAXD/G-XTOR, 362/G-BBYO, 1005/G-BCNO, 1007/G-BCXV, 1008/G-OCTA/G-ITEX/G-RLON (active), 1011/G-BCYC, 1016/G-BDGG/GJOEY (retired June 28), 1026/G-BDTN, 1027/G-BDTO/G-OTSB/G-RBSI/GBDTO (active), 1035/G-BDWV/G-RBCI, 1052/G-BEPH/G-PCAM,1053/G-BEPI/ G-FTSE, 1057/G-BEVT (active). 1 Two Aurigny Trislanders, G-BDTO and GRLON, received SB 190 maintenance checks last year to enable them to continue flying until retirement. 2 G-JOEY, Aurigney’s most famous Trislander, was retired from service in June. Jean-Marie Urlacher 2

the Trislander. Due to the Do 228’s increased speed, passengers can get to destinations faster. The ability to carry more passengers should enable the airline to reduce services over the existing Trislander schedule, meaning less fuel burn (one Do 228 sector uses as much fuel as two Trislander sectors) and less downtime for maintenance.

Phase Out No firm date has been set for the retirement of the Trislanders. At one time, Aurigny said it intended to put the remaining airframes up for sale, but this has not proved successful in the past so it is possible all of them (bar G-JOEY) could be scrapped. The airline will continue to operate Trislanders on the Guernsey, Alderney, Southampton and Dinard routes with a mix of Trislanders and Do 228s until the Dornier fleet is at full strength. Two Trislanders – which are highly likely to be G-RLON and G-BDTO following their SB 190 maintenance checks last year – will remain in service until 2016. What is apparent – whether that be from the pictures of the aircraft dotted around the terminals of the Channel Islands’ airports or the models that hang from their ceilings – is that the Trislander is a much-loved aircraft and will remain a legend on the islands for a long time to come.

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PARAMILITARY NATIONAL POLICE AIR SERVICE

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s part of a widespread modernisation process, the three EC145 helicopters of the Metropolitan Police Service (callsigns NPAS 61, NPAS 62 and NPAS63, formerly India 97, India 98 and India 99) joined the ranks of the UK’s dedicated National Police Air Service (NPAS) on March 31. Based at Lippitts Hill, the helicopters cover all of central and greater London. In March 2016 the unit will move from its long-standing base to Elstree Airfield in Hertfordshire as part of a cost-reduction plan. The Met Police unit joined NPAS as part of a programme that began in 2009 with a review of the 1993 National Air Operations Strategy conducted by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). Their recommendation was

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that a change needed to be made in the way the police managed air support on a national basis in England and Wales (not Scotland), driven by operational and financial reasons. The new model would see a reduction in the number of bases from 30 to 22 and a rationalisation in the helicopters being operated across the whole force. It was thought that savings of 20% or more could be made. The lead force for the conversion is West Yorkshire Police, which opened a new purpose-built operations centre in Wakefield on August 24. Ollie Dismore, Flight Operations Director for NPAS, said the centre has an aviation bias with better information exchange and the benefit of being co-located with NPAS HQ.

Type Consolidation Before NPAS, the UK’s police forces operated several helicopter types, largely because each force had established its own air support unit with no or little restriction on the make of helicopter it could buy. There are now four EC145s, 15 EC135s, one AW109 and seven 2 MD902s in service, although the latter two types will be disposed of as the service moves to an all-Airbus Helicopters fleet of EC145s and EC135s. This was supported by a contract awarded directly to Airbus Helicopters UK (based at Kidlington Airport, Oxford) on September 11, 2014 for the airworthiness management, maintenance and parts provision to the NPAS fleet. The contract, which began on October 1, 2014 and runs for five years, will provide 17,100 hours of support per annum with a total of 85,500 hours over the period. The single-source contract replaced a variety of agreements established before the formation of NPAS with a system that

maximises economies of scale and would deliver, in Dismore’s words, “better value for money for the taxpayer”. All the EC135T2s are being upgraded to ‘plus standard’. Dismore explained this involves introducing a “higher AUM [all-up mass] and endurance and going through a state-of-the-art mid-life upgrade programme that will incorporate integrated onboard data and a wireless router. The first helicopter, ex-G-SURY now G-POLB, will be formally handed over to NPAS at Helitech [in London in October] by Bond Helicopters.” When the programme is complete all aircraft and operations will be night-vision capable.

Vulcanairs The NPAS board has approved the purchase of four Vulcanair P68 fixed-wing aircraft, three of which are intended to be available 24/7 to support pre-planned and intelligenceled operations. Their arrivals follow a sixmonth trial period last year. Austrian company Airborne Technologies has won the contract to deliver and maintain the aircraft which, according to Dismore, will be based at an as yet un-determined location somewhere in the centre of the country. The first aircraft is due to arrive imminently, with the following three being delivered in 2016. There has been a slight delay to their deliveries due to the requirement to confirm the Home Office will fund the multiple-year support contract for them. The first Vulcanair will also not be IFR (instrument flight rules)capable, although the remaining three will be certified for IFR on delivery. The initial aircraft will later be retrofitted to the fleet standard. Dismore was asked by the NPAS Board to evaluate the performance and cost of

Police Aviation’s

Transition As Andrew Drwiega reports, the UK’s police aviation force is being transformed with changes to basing and types, single-source maintenance and a new fixed wing contingent

1 1 Fifteen EC135s are operated by the UK’s National Police Air Service. Danish Aviation Photo/AirTeamImages 2 The Augmented Reality System overlays addresses, street names, business names and other data on the realtime video picture from the MX-21 sensor. Churchill Navigation 3 The seven MD902 Explorers, including Greater Manchester Police’s G-GMPX, operated by NPAS will be disposed of as the service moves to an all-Airbus helicopters fleet. Simon Willson/AirTeamImages

taking on a fixed wing fleet. He explained the need for the Vulcanairs: “The cuttingedge surveillance equipment, the Wescam MX-10 and the Churchill Navigation Augmented Reality System [ARS], is fully integrated into a mission system presented in an ergonomic working environment. This will reduce the workload of the single Tactical Flight Officer crew and will enable the aircraft to perform tasks normally carried out by our helicopters, freeing them up for more time-critical missions.” The MX-10 sensor’s attributes include low weight (37lb/16kg), room for six different sensors and suitability for low-altitude surveillance, including search missions. In addition, the ARS overlays addresses, street names, business names and other data on the real-time sensor video picture. Chief Superintendent Ian Whitehouse, NPAS manager, stated that “fixedwing aircraft are cheaper to fly than rotary aircraft”. Their greater speed and endurance will also enable them to be dispatched over greater areas of the country. Whether there might be a requirement for two operational bases to further reduce the length of time of response to the more remote parts of the country, only time will tell.

Base Reductions Now that the NPAS plan is well under way there is further commitment to downsizing the number of bases from 22 to 15 nationally, from where the future fleet of 19 helicopters and four fixed-wing aircraft will operate. According to NPAS, the process has already saved the taxpayer an estimated £11 million. But, said Whitehouse, cost-

savings need to continue: “NPAS needs to find further substantial financial savings with a target of 14% of revenue cuts over the next three years. This is on top of the 23% savings already made. Local police forces facing similar savings are looking at how they rationalise their estate and ways of operating, and NPAS is no different in this regard.” This will put further distance between the old structure, where individual forces would operate their own helicopter with only sparse inter-force co-operation, to a more ‘ondemand’ model, where regional police forces will request air support from the nearest aircraft, although there will be a reserve if needed. The decision on which bases to retain has been made on an analysis of ‘threat, risk and harm.’ The move to a 15-base model faced some resistance due to the significant reduction in the number of police helicopters since NPAS was first proposed. Mark Burns-Williamson, the West Yorkshire police and crime commissioner (PCC) and chairman of the NPAS Strategic Board, said the reduction was the result of the 3 harsh economic climate that has affected all areas of UK Government spending. He said the government would continue to monitor the effectiveness of the new structure: “The Board have been assured that the performance of NPAS will be maintained in line with the needs of the forces and PCCs we serve as we move to a truly borderless tasking of the national air service.” The five bases that have been closed or that will close in the financial year 2015/2016, which ends in April, are Rhuddlan (September 15); Halfpenny Green and Pembrey (January 1, 2016); Ripley (January 31) and Sheffield (February 1).

In the following financial year, 2016/2017, the final five base closures will occur: Durham Tees Valley; Warton; Wattisham; Husbands Bosworth; and Lippitts Hill. This will leave 15 NPAS operational bases: Newcastle; Wakefield; Barton; Hawarden; East Midlands Airport (two bases – one for fixed wing aircraft, one for rotary aircraft – subject to contract negotiations); Birmingham; Boreham; Elstree; Benson; Filton; St Athan; Redhill; Bournemouth; and Exeter. Each will be staffed on a 24/7 basis. One agreement to note is that NPAS entered into a formal collaboration with British Transport Police regarding the provision of air support to its operations with a subsequent contribution to both capital and revenue funds in return. The only police forces now outside NPAS are Dyfed-Powys and Humberside Police, although they are expected to join on January 1, 2016 and September 1, 2016 respectively. Neither force has an aircraft.

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Full Strength T Antonio Prlenda reports on the long-awaited completion of the Croatian Air Force MiG-21’s life extension programme he Croatian Air Force and Air Defence (Hrvatsko ratno zrakoplovstvo i protuzracˇna obrana – HRZ i PZO) has finally completed testing the last of the 12 life-extended MiG-21 fighters, accepting it into operational service on July 16.

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Several days later US Air Force General Frank Gorenc, the Commander of NATO Allied Air Command, inspected the HRZ i PZO’s sole fighter aviation squadron (or Eskadrila borbenih aviona, EBA) at its Zagreb-Pleso base. The squadron regularly maintains a fully-armed Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) pair of MiG-21bisD fighters there, under the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System (NATINAMDS).

Old Jets, New Pilots

Gen Gorenc was very complimentary about the HRZ i PZO air policing efforts with its venerable interceptors. That followed the squadron getting positive media coverage in July when its QRA pair, under command of the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre from Torrejón, Spain, intercepted and escorted through Croatian airspace a Monarch Airlines Airbus A321 that had lost communication on its flight from London to Larnaca, Cyprus. Now at full strength with eight MiG-21bisD Fishbed-L single-seat fighters and four MiG-21UMD Mongol-B two-seat trainers, the dozen pilots of the EBA eagerly conduct different levels of fighter training. Waiting for the completion of the MiG21s’ overhaul in Ukraine, the Croatian fighter pilots had a reduction in their flying hours and now are facing a challenging task to gain the necessary proficiency for NATO air policing. More pilots are needed, and two new ones recently began their conversion flights on MiG-21UMDs.

Upgrade Work The Croatian Ministry of Defence and the Ukrainian company Ukrspetexport signed a €13.9 million contract to overhaul seven MiG-21s and purchase five others for the HRZ i PZO at the beginning of July 2013. But due to problems integrating Western

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CROATIAN AIR FORCE MIG-21 MILITARY 1

1 Croatian MiG-21bisDs are scrambled on practice interceptions on a weekly basis. All photos Tomislav Haramincˇic´ via author unless stated 2 New avionics comprise (1) KFS-564A control unit, (2) SN3500 primary navigation display, (3) GPS 400W, (4) AN/ARC-210 digital radio, here temporarily replaced with TY92 High Power VHF radio, (5) Thommen analogue instrument and (6) TSC 2050 IFF system. Jadranko Ec´imovic´ via author

h equipment, the MiGs’ original delivery date of October 2013 slipped, with the first two airframes arriving by road in April 2014. Each was then tested in a series of flights, during which three technical malfunctions occurred, but all the aircraft were later repaired and declared operational. The integration of new electronic equipment was conducted by the Czech company CˇLS at the Odesaviaremservis Aircraft Repair Plant in Ukraine. Some avionics were retained from the MiGs’ previous major overhaul, carried out in 2003 by Aerostar in Romania, and which saw the installation of NATO and International Civil Aviation Organization equipment. But there are several new pieces of hardware that help Croatian MiG-21bisD and MiG-21UMD jets (the ‘D’ stands for ‘Doradcen’, or modified) to be more effective for NATO and IFR (instrument flight rules) operations.

CROATIA’S MIG-21s Type

Serial

Official c/n

Built

Remarks

MiG-21bis Fishbed-L

116

75057500

December 1977

Ex-Soviet AF, Kyrgyzstan AF, delivered Croatian AF 1993, modified by Aerostar 2003

117

75092923

December 1981

Ex-Soviet AF, Kyrgyzstan AF, delivered Croatian AF 1993, modified by Aerostar 2003

118

75092905

December 1981

Ex-Soviet AF, Kyrgyzstan AF, delivered Croatian AF 1993/1994

131

75038327

August 1976 officially (probably 1974)

Ex-Algerian AF, ex 2234 Yemen serial, delivered Croatian AF 2014

132

75038147

July 1976 officially (probably 1974)

Ex-Algerian AF, ex 2230 Yemen serial, delivered Croatian AF 2014

133

75036406

June 1976

Ex-Algerian AF, ex 2236 Yemen serial, delivered Croatian AF 2014

134

75038399

August 1976 officially (probably 1980)

Ex FA-92 Algerian AF, ex 2235 Yemen serial, delivered Croatian AF 2014

135

75038314

August 1976 officially (probably 1973)

Ex FA-96 Algerian AF, ex 2233 Yemen serial, delivered Croatian AF 2014

164

516969001

1974

Ex-Soviet AF, Kyrgyzstan AF, bought by Aerostar, modified and delivered Croatian AF 2003

165

516911036

January 1974

Ex-Soviet AF, Kyrgyzstan AF, bought by Aerostar, modified and delivered Croatian AF 2003

166

516951031

1975

Ex-Soviet AF, Kyrgyzstan AF, bought by Aerostar, modified and delivered Croatian AF 2003

167

516987091

September 1977

Ex-Soviet AF, Kyrgyzstan AF, bought by Aerostar, modified and delivered Croatian AF 2003

Avionics The Bendix/King KFS-564A navigation control unit that displays active and standby navigation frequencies in both civil and military operating modes was fitted during the Romanian overhaul. At that time the unit was coupled with the Bendix/King KI-206 VOR/ILS and KDI-572 DME instrument landing system. In the latest upgrade, a Sandel

MiG-21UMD Mongol-B

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MILITARY CROATIAN AIR FORCE MIG-21 channels. It features a separate guard receiver for monitoring civilian and military emergency frequencies (121.5 and 243 MHz) while simultaneously monitoring the active channel selected. The radio includes embedded anti-jam waveforms and it has now been upgraded to the latest AN/ARC210 Gen V version. The radios were inspected and upgraded in a process that was separate to the rest of the avionics, so the HRZ’s overhauled MiG-21s were temporarily equipped with civilian Trig TY92 high power VHF radios. The majority of the aircraft were re-equipped with upgraded AN/ARC-210V radios last winter. In 2003 the upgrade avionics package included a Davtron M877 digital chronometer, but that has now been replaced by a Thommen analogue instrument. For the efficient involvement in NATO operations the MiG-21s were equipped with the French TSC 2050 identification friend of foe (IFF) transponder (manufactured by Aerostar under licence from Thales), which is fully compatible with the HRZ i PZO’s Lockheed Martin AN/FPS-117 long-range air surveillance radars. For the latest avionics package, the MiG-21s received the upgraded TSC 2055 IFF system produced by Thales, with further enhanced capabilities.

Further Improvements

This HRZ MiG-21UMD sports the colours of the Croatian national flag.

SN3500 primary navigation display was introduced. This is an enhanced electronic horizontal situation indicator that has the essential features of an electronic flight instrument system, but integrates data from different sources from the aircraft. By combining the functions of an electromechanical horizontal situation indicator, radio magnetic indicator and a moving map, the new system greatly simplifies pilot workload in scanning instruments. Navigation and situational awareness is further improved by replacing the Garmin GPS 155XL TSO receiver (installed in 2003) with the Garmin GPS 400W, which can simultaneously give pilots vital approach information as well as weather and traffic data in relation to their position on a colour moving map display. The map itself features a built-in database that shows cities, roads, railways, rivers, lakes, coastlines, and includes a complete Jeppesen airports database. The most important improvement with the GPS 400W is that it enhances a pilot’s performance in low visibility CAT II instrument landing system approaches.

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Radios In the 2003 upgrade the old Soviet-era radio with 20 pre-selected channels was replaced with a Rockwell Collins AN/ARC-210 digital radio, which covered the full range of military and civilian VHF/UHF frequencies and gave the ability to select from 557

In February the Croatian Ministry od Defence launched a tender to purchase Rockwell Collins RCU-8150A control units for the MiGs’ AN/ARC-210s, three Trans-Cal 62NE(AE) encoders, three more Bendix/ King KFS-564A navigation control units, two KDM-706A DMEs and two KNR-634A digital VOR/LOC/GS/MB receivers, to further improve the MiGs. It is expected that all the latest upgrades will give Croatia’s MiG-21s a further 850 flying hours, or ten years’ operational life. Some observers, however, believe they will only be able to serve until 2020 as they reckon some of the five ex-Algerian Fishbeds may be older than their ‘official’ construction dates. The real key to the MiGs’ sustainment will be in the supply of spares. Meanwhile, Croatia’s highest authorities have declared that they will decide on a new fighter aircraft before the end of 2016.

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