Rotor & Wing

Farnborough Airshow, Monday 19 July: AgustaWestland could have pulled off a political masterstroke at the first day of Farnborough during the surprise launch of their new helicopter, the AW169.

The AW169 is billed as “a multi-purpose twin engine light transport utility helicopter” of around 4.5 tons and was launched with numerous declarations about its worth to the UK in terms of industrial commitment. Giuseppi Orsi, CEO, AgustaWestland described it as “a real and exciting potential”, emphasising that “the company commitment to the industrial base in the UK is real.”

Graham Cole, Managing Director, AgustaWestland added that the AW169 represented a new opportunity for a civil programme in the UK – which has previously only been a focus of the military production side of AgustaWestland’s business. The promise of keeping valuable engineering jobs in the UK was underlined as the design and production of certain parts – especially the transmission and rotor blades.  

“I am delighted that AgustaWestland in Yeovil is to play an important role in the design, development and production of the AW169. We see a large market for the AW169 [1,000 over 20 years was cited] and the real prospect of a production line for an AgustaWestland commercial helicopter in Yeovil.”

He added that “we have already formed a UK parapabulic team which will vigorously pursue with the AW169 and our other products, all UK parapublic opportunities. AW169s which are acquired within the UK will be built and supported in the UK and will be key to opening the production line early.” 

This news must have seemed like sweet music to the guest VIP. It was a shrewd move to invite Dr Vince Cable MP (Liberal Democrat), Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, to be the honoured guest at the opening, and he bravely consenting to be draped all over the new machine for photos. An AgustaWestland corporate release quoted him thus:  “The Government recognises and appreciates the significant investments Finmeccanica have made into the aerospace and defence industries in the UK in recent years and is delighted that this continues with the launch of the AW169. The AW169 is indeed an exciting project that typifies the type of project which will sustain and grow our domestic high technology engineering and manufacturing base into the future.”

No coincidence either that the Member of Parliament for Yeovil is David Laws – also a Liberal Democrat.

Cue the arrival of Defence Secretary Liam Fox (Conservative), expected Tuesday. He is the man charged with reducing the defence budget by 10% from its current total of around £36 billion. With government currently talking to all industry about where cuts could be made, and looking at all potential programmes to see which could be cut, the much previously debated AW159 Wildcat must be one of those being considered.

The relationship between AgustaWestland and the British Government has been one that has been envied by other OEMs and the position that the company has in the government’s manufacturing portfolio should not be underestimated. What better way then, where a coalition government is charged with making difficult policy decisions in cutting the defence budget, to have one side of that coalition firmly and publically on your side.

By Andrew Drwiega

London, UK: Phil Dunford, Vice President and General Manager, Boeing Rotorcraft Systems yesterday called once again for greater collaboration among OEMs in the helicopter business and said that joint industry / government partnerships were the way forward for the good of the industry sector.

Dunford was speaking at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London, UK, where he gave a lecture on Global Rotorcraft at the Crossroads – What does the Future Hold?

This is a theme that Dunford has been evangelising since he briefed this writer on at the Le Bourget Airshow in Paris last summer. Dunford is acutely aware that Boeing’s rotorcraft production rate drops of significantly after 2018. This contrasts drastically with the company’s short term construction programme which will see the CH-47 Chinook factory being rebuilt as the company ramps up to producing six of the aircraft per month – the highest output of these heavy lifters since the Vietnam War.

The fact that worries Dunford is that the CH-47 first flew in 1961 (making it a 50 year veteran). Sure the performance has increased and the company designers have done a sterling job in continually modernising the aircraft (the newest is the CH-47F) keeping it in position as one of the most sought after aircraft on the battlefield, along with its little cousin the AH-64 Apache. But that attack helicopter also first flew35 years ago, even though its Block III development cycle again makes it one of the most complex and effective flying weapons systems.

Dunford comes back to the fact that there have only been nine new build military programmes in the last 50 years in the United States – and only two in the last 36 years (the V-22 and the  RAH-66 Comanche – the latter of which was cancelled).

There are numerous difficulties that helicopter OEMs have got to overcome he states, not least the fact that although helicopters are now more widely used in the military and in the civil sector, they still do not draw funding anywhere near as much as the fixed wing sector. Research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) for rotorcraft is virtually at a 50 year low he said, contrasting this with a statement that the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightening II (Joint Strike Fighter) development costs alone would exceed the total of the last 50 years of rotorcraft development in the USA.

Having played a central role in the development of the V-22 (itself a complex platform) Dunford highlighted the off again, on again commitment of the US government towards the programme which resulted in a 14+ year development run. As in that case, Dunford feels that the complexities of rotorcraft development are often not fully understood by the client. “We really didn’t have enough test aircraft and we should have done more up front” in development, he said. However, the programme was suffering as tens of millions of dollars of cuts and savings had to be made – with (as it turned out) tragic consequences.

Dunford considers that one of the solutions is closer collaboration between the world’s OEMs, and between this group and government. He says that the Vertical Lift Consortium that has been established in the USA is a good way in that it will encourage industry and the user to jointly talk and debate what will be important in terms of capability a decade into the future.  But he still cites a number of factors where industry needs to come together more in collaborating over common problems: the gap needs to be closed on fixed wing productivity; programme requirements need to be solidified early by customers and funding profiles optimised; and investment in RDT&E needs to be found, not only from government but also from within each OEM; and there needs to be a return to prototyping.

By Andrew Drwiega

Military Editor, Rotor and Wing

Rotor and Wing military editor Andrew Drwiega, embedded with 3rd Marine Aviation Wing, is briefed by Group Captain Nick Laird, Commander Task Force Jaguar (COMJAG), Royal Air Force, about the impending change to the structure of how rotary wing forces will be organised in southern Afghanistan

Monday 17^th May – Camp Bastion, Helmand Province, Afghanistan: In the next few weeks the British helicopter force in Afghanistan will complete its integration into 3^rd Marine Aviation Wing, part of the 1^st Marine Expeditionary Force, based alongside British forces at Camp Bastion, Helmand Province.

This is not an integration of ground forces. It is the practical pooling of rotary wing assets within the new region of RC South West (which covers Helmand). The old RC South is being divided along two Provincial lines: RC South West (Helmand Province) and RC South East (Kandahar Province).

“The Joint Helicopter Command (Afghanistan) will conduct joint operations with the 3^rd Marine Air Wing,” said Laird. “We are optimising intelligent tasking at the coal face.” In its most simple terms, those responsible within the ISAF/MEF command structure responsible for daily tasking will be able to match the right type of aircraft to the requirement sought. This will ensure calls by ground troops for rotary wing support will be met quicker and with an appropriately sized aircraft. It is a waste of resource to send a British Chinook to lift four soldiers when an USMC Huey or Osprey could be closer and able to do the job. Likewise a British Apache Longbow might be closer than a USMC Cobra to US Marines who suddenly make a Troops in Contact (TiC) call.

The commanding general of 1^st Marine Expeditionary Force is Maj Gen Richard Mills, with Brigadier George Norton (UK) in the role of deputy commander. The overall commander or the rotary forces in RC South West will be USMC Brig Gen Andrew W.O’Donnell Jr, with Group Captain Nick Laird as his deputy commander. This integration does not apply to fixed wing aircraft – either fast jets, UAVs or transports – although the MAW’s assets will still contribute into the capability.

Such a move does seem to make sense. The British have years of operational experience in the Helmand region and now have around 40 aircraft providing a wide range of capability across light (Lynx, Sea King), medium (AW101 Merlin) and heavy lift (CH-47 Chinooks), together with their attack helicopter force (WAH AH-64D Apaches). Likewise, the 3^rd MAW have a similar profile but with a much large force of aircraft: the Light Attack squadron with its Cobra Whiskys and Huey Yankees, the medium lift MV-22 Ospreys and the heavy lift CH-53D/E Super Stallions.

Also, as the fighting season is now breaking and with the intensity of conflict already escalating, different aircraft may be more able to respond at certain times of the day. “The level of sustainment we can offer by doing this will be key to the ongoing campaign by providing more capacity for air manoeuvre,” said Laird. “It will bring a significant step change in deliberate operations.”

By Andrew Drwiega

Rotor & Wing’s military editor Andrew Drwiega reports from Camp Bastion, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, where he is embedded with 3^rd Marine Aviation Wing

Sunday 16 May, 2010: The contrast between the last time I was in Camp Bastion in spring 2008 and being here now in May 2010 is that the US Marines have – without a shadow of a doubt – arrived!

Two years ago it was a relatively small and functional British forward base. There were a couple of Apache AH-64Ds here and there, a handful of Chinooks and the odd Sea King depending on the time of year. Now the collection of Marine aviation along the new runway is a wonder to behold.

Two squadrons of heavy CH-53D/Es, a mixed Light Attack squadron of Cobra Whiskys and new Huey Yankees, a full squadron of medium lift MV-22 Ospreys. Nearly everything that makes up a Marine Air Wing.  The other elements are here too, but located elsewhere. The fast jet Harrier force, soon to be replaced by Hornets, is located at Kandahar Airfield (KAF) and the Unmanned Aerial Systems are deployed out nearer the Marines’ forward bases – yes, Camp Bastion is less forward than it used to be.

The British too have expanded their presence over those couple of years with CH-47 Chinooks, AW101 Merlins, Sea Kings (S-61s), Lynx Mk9s and Apache AH-64Ds now side by side on the opposite side of the runway to the line of American airpower.

There are also Russian Mi-8/17s on private contract occasionally clattering in and out.  The US Army Pedros have also co-located two of their Black Hawk ‘dustoff’ helicopters alongside the British Immediate Response team (IRT) – a move that has already proven invaluable in at least one major incident with a joint call-out.

Then there is the fixed wing element, with C-130 Hercules, C-17s and a plethora of Russian aircraft bringing in supplies and material goods around the clock. The base too is growing its infrastructure, with numerous new permanent buildings under construction.  In fact, you can almost feel it growing under your feet.

By Andrew Drwiega