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INTERNATIONAL

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NOVEMBER 2017
Vol.93 No.5
INTERNATIONAL
UK £4.90 For the best in modern military and commercial aviation

Scorpion’s Coming
of Age
The Aircraft
The Systems
The Firepower

EXCLUSIVE

Gripen E Flight L-159 ALCA

Test Report Draken International’s Highly
Capable Aggressor

KC-46A Pegasus C Series Swordfish

Hurdling to Delivery? Air Baltic’s Game-changer Saab’s Futuristic Patroller
Draken.indd 1 12/10/2017 16:40
 FREE DVD! CONTENTS
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Airliner Flying Displays or Aero
India 2017 DVD worth £12.49 when
you subscribe to AIR International.
See pages 26 and 27 for details.

Mass Communication
Specialist 3rd Class
Levingston Lewis/US Navy

AIRSCENE GRIPEN E
04 Top stories in military and
commercial aviation from around the world.
60 Jerry Gunner spoke with Saab’s chief test pilot about
the Gripen E’s flight test programme to date.

SCORPION EUROPEAN AIRLINES

28 Mark Ayton spoke with members of Textron
Aviation’s flight-test team about the design
64 Dominic Sipinski assesses whether a new association
of airlines in Europe will be effective.
concept and production evolution of the
Scorpion jet. KC-46A PEGASUS
F-35 LIGHTNING II 68 David C Isby brings us up to date with the progress of
one of America’s most important weapons systems.
34 David C Isby spoke with Admiral Mat Winter,
the new F-35 Program Executive Officer, about A330 MRTT
sustaining the fifth-generation fighter.
72 Nigel Pittaway reports on one of Europe’s most important
military aircraft programmes, the Airbus A330 MRTT.
DRAKEN INTERNATIONAL
40 Frank Visser and Ludo Mennes detail the first
deployment of L-159s to Europe by American
76
C-130J SUPER HERCULES
Matthew Clements visits the 61st Airlift Squadron at Little Rock
company Draken International. Air Force Base, which flies the C-130J-30 Super Hercules.

LOGANAIR AIR BALTIC

44 Mark Broadbent profiles the proudly Scottish
airline Loganair, again flying under its own 82 Dominic Sipinski reports how Air Baltic is strengthening
its Riga hub as it seeks a private investor.
name.
TANKERS AND SYSTEMS

48
VMU-4
Joe Copalman reports on an interesting 86 David C Isby lays out the different options available to
those wanting to buy an air-to-air refueller.
deployment to southern California by Marine
UAV Squadron 4. MH-60R SEAHAWK
SWORDFISH 90 Nigel Pittaway details the Royal Australian Navy MH-60R
Seahawk helicopters and its service roadmap.
52 Jon Lake provides an overview of the Saab
Swordfish, a futuristic maritime patrol aircraft HONEYWELL GODIRECT
based on the Bombardier 6000 business jet.
94 Mark Broadbent explains how Honeywell is embracing
big data to help operators.
F-15 EAGLE & F/A-18 SUPER
56 HORNET F-15E STRIKE EAGLE
David C Isby profiles the latest variants of the
F-15 Eagle and F/A-18 Super Hornet.
96 David C Isby spoke with two F-15E Strike Eagle aircrew
about the aircraft, its upgrades and other requirements.

Editor Mark Ayton Assistant Editor Mark Broadbent Editor’s Secretary Melissa Smith Advertisement Manager Ian Maxwell Group Editor Nigel Price
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 SCENE
Around the Aviation World
Qatari Commitment to Hawk and
Typhoon May Save Jobs
UK Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon
and his Qatari counterpart, Khalid bin
Mohammed al Attiyah, signed a Statement of
Intent on September 15 concerning Qatar’s
proposed purchase of 24 Typhoon aircraft.
Not mentioned at the time, but referred to
by UK Prime Minister Theresa May during
questions in the House of Commons on
October 11, was Qatar’s acquisition of six
BAE Hawk trainers, presumably to be used
COVER CREDITS MAIN IMAGE: Textron Aviation LEFT INSET: : Louis Briscese/US Air Force MIDDLE INSET: :Paul Buchroeder/AirTeamImages RIGHT INSET: Saab
as lead-in fighter trainers for the Typhoons.
When confirmed, the deal will go some
way to alleviating BAE Military Air &
GE Completes Testing
Prototype ITEP Helo Engine
GE Aviation’s T901 test engine. GE Aviation
GE Aviation has completed testing a
prototype T901-GE-900 turboshaft engine
it developed and built under a two-year,
$102 million contract for the preliminary
design review (PDR) phase of the US Army’s
Improved Turbine Engine Programme (ITEP).
The US Army launched ITEP in 2009 to
develop a drop-in replacement engine for the
GE T700 engines powering more than 2,800
Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawks and Boeing AH-
64 Apaches it operates.
In its ITEP specifications, the US Army called
for a new 3,000shp-class engine that would
offer 50% more power than the T700, as well
as 25% lower specific fuel consumption, 35%
lower production and maintenance costs and
20% longer engine life.
Ron Hutter, Executive Director of the T901
programme, said: “To validate our analytical
models ahead of the ITEP PDR with the army,
it was critical to demonstrate that a T901
prototype engine outfitted with the latest and
greatest commercial and military technologies
will meet ITEP performance requirements;
there is no substitute for testing.”
According to GE Aviation, the company-
4 WWW www.airinternational.com @ airnews@keypublishing.com
Information workers’ concerns after the
company announced in early October
the shedding of more than 1,400 workers
at facilities across the UK, because of
shrinking order books for both types and
the retirement of the RAF’s Tornado fleet.
BAE estimates it has enough work to keep
the Hawk and Typhoon lines going until
2019 and 2021 respectively. The company
says it is confident of securing a further
order for Typhoon from Saudi Arabia to
whom it has recently delivered the last of
an order for 72 under Project Salam.
funded T901 prototype test engine - which
is a single-spool design, like the T700 -
exceeded ITEP performance requirements.
As a result, if - after the US Army completes
its PDRs of the T901 and the competing
T900 from the Advanced Turbine Engine
Company joint venture between Honeywell
and Pratt & Whitney - the army chooses
the T901 for the single-supplier engineering
and manufacturing development (EMD)
phase of ITEP, GE’s engine is ready for EMD
development.
GE Aviation conducted the T901 prototype-
engine tests over a period of six months and
verified growth margin to meet future ITEP
power requirements, it said.
Following the completion of the T901
prototype test, GE continued the company-
funded portion of its ITEP PDR development
by running compressor, combustor and
turbine component tests.
The T901 makes use of a significant number
of additively manufactured parts, including
a new part that reduces an assembly of
more than 50 subcomponents into one part.
Chris Kjelgaard
www.facebook.com/airinternationalmagazine
Russian-Chinese
Widebody
The prospective Russian-Chinese widebody
twin-engine airliner was designated the
CR929 at a ceremony at the headquarters of
its developer, the joint venture China-Russia
Commercial Aircraft International Corporation
in Shanghai on September 29. The baseline
CR929-600 will carry 280 passengers and
have a maximum range of 6,500 nautical
miles (12,000km). Its first flight is planned
for 2025. Other versions will include the
stretched 320-passenger CR929-700 and
the 230-passenger CR929-500.
Russia and China have also been looking at
the potential for joint engine development
and aftermarket support infrastructure in
conjunction with this programme involving
Russia’s United Engine Building (UEB) and
Aero Engine Corporation of China, a new firm
formed by the merger of several companies
earlier this year. The engine would be based
on UEB’s PD-15, which shares a common
core design with the smaller PD-14, designed
as an alternative powerplant for the United
Aircraft Corporation MC-21. David C Isby
Trade War
Threats
Bombardier’s C Series has had a tariff
imposed on its import to the United
States after a complaint by Boeing
alleging Bombardier was selling them at
below market cost. This has escalated
into a major trade dispute involving the
United States, Canada and the UK and
has led to Canada putting a hold on a
planned procurement of 18 Boeing F/A-
18 Super Hornet fighters. UK Secretary of
State for Defence Sir Michael Fallon has
warned Boeing the dispute “jeopardises
our future relationship” with the firm.
The US Department of Commerce
sustained the Boeing complaint in
September and imposed an interim tariff
of 220% on C Series airliners. Boeing
filed the complaint after Delta Air Lines
ordered 125 CS100s in April 2016.
On October 6, the US Department of
Commerce imposed an additional 80%
tariff. A final decision on the tariff by
the International Trade Commission is
expected in February 2018
Boeing alleges the CS100s, with a list
price of $80 million, were sold to Delta
at a unit price of $19.6 million. Delta has
claimed this is not an accurate figure and
provided the Department of Commerce
with information as to the confidential
sum it paid. Boeing alleges governmental
loans and other programmes in support
of Bombardier facilities in Quebec and
Northern Ireland amount to prohibited
subsidies. While the C Series final
assembly is in Canada, over half of the
aircraft’s components are from the United
States, most notably their Pratt & Whitney
1500G turbofan engines. David C Isby
 SCENE

Testing Completed on First US Army FATE

Large Turboshaft
GE Aviation has completed testing the first
engine developed for the US Army’s Future
Affordable Turbine Engine (FATE) large-
turboshaft programme.
Harry Nahatis, VP and General Manager of
GE Aviation’s Turboshaft Engine Department,
said: “This risk-reduction vehicle is a key
step in the programme towards our final
build and performance demonstration. From
a pure design capability standpoint, the FATE
programme is the most advanced turboshaft
development engine GE has tested in our
history, incorporating an extensive use of
commercially developed technologies for the
next generation of propulsion.”
GE expects to begin testing the second
FATE engine early next year.
After a competitive bidding process, the
US Army awarded GE in 2011 a $45 million
FATE cost-share contract to design a
5,000-10,000shp-class turboshaft engine
demonstrating technologies applicable to
existing US Department of Defense aircraft GE Aviation’s test engine for the US Army’s Future Affordable Turbine Engine large-turboshaft
and future rotorcraft requirements such as programme has completed testing. GE Aviation
the Future Vertical Lift programme.
These technologies are also meant to be in power-to-weight, a 20% improvement turbine rig tests for the engine. GE Aviation
capable of incorporation into other new in design life and a 45% reduction in said the FATE compressor rig recorded the
engines, including the T901 that GE has production and maintenance costs relative highest single-spool compressor pressure
offered for the army’s ITEP programme, as to comparable in-service engines. ratio in the company’s history.
well as upgrades to existing engines such As well as increasing hot-and-high Additionally, the combustor test
as GE Aviation’s T700 and T408 military- payload and performance, the army is incorporated GE’s most extensive use
helicopter turboshafts. also emphasising extended range and to date of ceramic matrix composites
In the FATE engine-development contract endurance in the FATE programme, GE (CMCs) in the combustion module, the
the US Army set GE aggressive performance said. CMC combustor dome and liners providing
goals, including a 35% reduction in specific The first FATE engine-level test followed unprecedented high-temperature capability
fuel consumption, an 80% improvement successful compressor, combustor and and weight reduction. Chris Kjelgaard

A340 Blade

Laminar wing panels approximately 10m long to represent the wing size of a short or medium-range airliner have been installed on the A340
Flight Lab for the BLADE project. H Goussé/Airbus

The first Airbus A340-300 flight test aircraft,
F-WWAI (msn 1), is flying again in a new role
as a research testbed. The jet, now called the
A340 Flight Lab, is being used for a project
called BLADE (Breakthrough Laminar Aircraft
Demonstrator in Europe) to test new methods
of improving natural laminar flow. The A340’s
outboard wing sections have been replaced
with wing panels approximately 10m (32ft)
long to represent the wing size of a short or
medium-range airliner, for which Airbus deems
laminar flow technology is best suited. The instrumentation. These sensors are capable
starboard panel was designed and produced of collecting 2,750 dedicated measurements
by GKN Aerospace and the port panel by during the 150 hours of flight testing the A340
Saab. Flight Lab will undertake for the project. A team
Airbus said work to prepare the of ten Airbus pilots, test engineers and
A340 for the testing spanned flight test engineers are involved
16 months, and included in the testing, but the BLADE
integration of the laminar research involves 21
flow wing sections and GOT A NEWS partners working through
the installation of a new STORY, PHOTO OR the Clean Sky initiative.
system of sensors and FEATURE ? Mark Broadbent
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. 5
Please contact AIR International
at the following address
airint@keypublishing.com
 SCENE

Orion Shuffle

P-3C BMUP+ BuNo 161593 is one of several machines to pass through RAF Mildenhall in the UK during October. According to the P-3 Orion
research group it is one of only 16 of the variant in the US Navy’s inventory. The aircraft was minus its distinctive under fuselage ‘canoe’ that
carries the highly classified APS-149 Littoral Surveillance Radar System. Ade Carver

RAF Mildenhall was visited by three
P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft in
early October, the first of up to ten of the
type expected over the following weeks,
assigned to Patrol Squadron 46 (VP-46)
‘The Grey Knights’, based at Naval Air
Station Whidbey Island, Washington.
VP-46 has been deployed in the 5th, 6th
and 7th Fleet areas of responsibility in
support of Operations Inherent Resolve
and Restoring Hope for the past seven
months. Perhaps trying to blend in with
the more mundane movements was
one of only a handful of the US Navy’s
P-3C Special Projects Aircraft, probably
assigned to Special Projects Patrol
Squadron Two (VPU-2) ‘Wizards’. The
aircraft did not carry its bureau number
externally and was unmarked except
for a code ‘610’ either side of the nose.
The Wizards have long been suspected
of painting its aircraft to masquerade as
machines operated by Fleet Squadrons, in
this case P-3C AIP+ BuNo 160610.

This anonymous P-3C variant visited RAF Mildenhall on October 10. It is

believed to be one of only five P-3C Orion Special Projects Aircraft serving
with the US Navy. Wayne Button via Ade Carver.

New Spy Planes at Waddington Kazakhstan

The Royal Air Force has been flying
modified Beechcraft 350C King Air special
mission aircraft, designated Shadow R1,
from its RAF Waddington intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaisssance hub
since 2009; No.14 Squadron stood up on
the type at Waddington in October 2011.
Long threatened by defence cuts, the
type’s future was eventually assured in
the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security
Review which declared that the squadron’s
fleet of five Shadow R1s (and one bare-
bones Beechcraft King Air 350C used
for training) would be added to by three
additional airframes and that the type would
continue in service until at least 2030. The
first concrete steps towards this goal took
place on September 26, 2017 when the
first of two ‘new’ King Airs, G-GMAD (c/n
FM-54) arrived at Waddington followed by a
second, G-DAYP (c/n FM-29) the following
day. The third example is expected to be
G-LBSB, presently No.14 Squadron’s
training airframe. Current plans call for all
three to undergo conversion to Shadow
R1 configuration in the first instance before
the entire fleet is upgraded to a yet to be
specified R2 standard. One of the ‘new’
aircraft, G-DAYP, left Waddington on
October 3 and flew to Kidlington airport
near Oxford and has not returned to the
Lincolnshire base.
signs for more
Su-30SMs
Kazakhstan has agreed to buy an
additional batch of 12 Su-30SM multi-
role fighters from Russia, according
to Igor Kozhin, an aide of Russian
President Vladimir Putin, responsible
for supervising Russia’s foreign military-
technical cooperation. He said that the
new contract was inked at the Army
2017 exhibition in late August and
deliveries will take three years. Currently,
Kazakhstan flies six Su-30SMs; four
were delivered in 2015 and two more in
2016. Alexander Mladenov

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Fleet Logistics Support Multi-
Mission Squadrons
The US Navy plans to stand up two new
squadrons to operate its CMV-22B Osprey
tiltrotor aircraft for the carrier-onboard-
delivery (COD) mission and not convert its
existing C-2A Greyhound squadrons; Fleet
Logistics Support Squadron 30 (VRC-30)
based at Naval Air Station North Island,
California, and VRC-40, based at Naval
Station Norfolk, Virginia.
According to Lt Leslie Hubbell, a
spokeswoman for Commander, Naval Air
Force, US Pacific Fleet the US Navy intends
to stand-up two new Fleet Logistics Support
Multi-Mission Squadrons (VRM) equipped
with the CMV-22B. Hubbell said: “The
VRC squadrons will not transition or be re-
designated. It’s a new community, with a
Exercise Formidable Shield
– Thwarting North Korea
Early October saw some unusual American
visitors to UK shores. First to arrive, at RAF
Mildenhall, Suffolk, on October 9 were two
highly modified Grumman Gulfstream IIBs
operated by the Missile Defense Agency
as ‘High Altitude Observatory’ (HALO)
platforms. The jets, civil registered as
N178B (radio call sign Halo 2) and N779LC
(radio call sign Halo 4), had arrived from
Lajes in the Azores having left Pease
International Airport, New Hampshire, the
day before. Later the same day, a US Air
Force F-16C from the 31st Fighter Wing
based at Aviano Air Base, Italy arrived at
RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland, carrying an
AQM-37C high-speed aerial target. The
expendable drone, capable of speeds of
up to Mach 4 and altitudes of 100,000ft
and more is used for simulating airborne
threats ranging from conventional aircraft
to missiles. Although the US Air Force
would not comment, AIR International
understands the jet, which was joined
by three other Aviano-based F-16s over
the following days, was being flown by
members of Air Combat Command’s
53rd Wing based at Eglin Air Force Base,
Aviano-based F-16C Fighting Falcon 88-0413 landing at RAF Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland, on October 9. The store under the wing
is an AQM-37C Jayhawk high-speed aerial target. Ade Carver
SCENE
USAF Considers
Making all F-22s
new wing [and], two new VRM squadrons
[VRM-30 on the West Coast and VRM-40
Combat Capable
The potential air-to-air threat from so-called
on the East Coast].”
fifth-generation fighters built by near-peer
Hubbell said there will also be a CMV-22B
competitor nations has led to an interest in
Fleet Replacement Squadron in the future.
potentially increasing US air-to-air capability
The E-2 Hawkeye and C-2 type wing —
by making all Lockheed Martin F-22s
Commander, Airborne Command Control
currently used for training fully combat
and Logistics Wing Pacific — in charge
capable. This would include a proposed
of the US Navy’s E-2 and C-2 units has
$1.7 billion programme for upgrading 34
established a detachment at Marine Corps
Block 20 F-22s currently coded as training
Air Station New River, North Carolina, to lay
aircraft to the full Block 30 standard along
the foundation for Navy crew training in the
with providing them with the Increment
Osprey in company with Marine Medium
3.2B upgrade package, currently planned
Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204 (VMMT-204).
to be applied only to combat-coded aircraft.
The US Navy plans to procure 44 CMV-
Resea-F-22s used for testing would not be
22Bs, with deliveries beginning in 2020. Rick
made combat capable. David C Isby
Burgess
Two highly modified Grumman Gulfstream IIBs, including this example N779LC, call sign
Halo 4 belonging to the United States Missile Defense Agency and used as High Altitude
Observatory platforms, visited RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, in early October to take part in
Exercise Formidable Shield. Bob Archer
Florida as part of Exercise Formidable the Gulfstreams and F-16s took part.
Shield. Centred on the QinetiQ-operated UK Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon
Ministry of Defence Hebrides Range, said: “North Korean tests have shown the
the exercise ran from September 18 to danger of rogue states developing longer
October 18. Led by the US 6th Fleet and range missiles. By hosting this cutting-
supported by the UK Ministry of Defence, it edge exercise in anti-missile defence with
aimed to improve allied interoperability in a allied navies Britain is at the forefront of
live-fire integrated air and missile defence developing a more effective response to
environment, using NATO command this growing threat.”
and control reporting structures. Both
7
 SCENE
A400 Goes Tactic
Strikes and an An
by Jan Kraak
On September 1,
one of the Armée
de l’Air’s A400Ms
performed its first operational
tactical landing on an unpaved
runway at Madama in the
north of Niger. The mission
was carried out during an
operation named Mai Boulala,
which also involved Nigerian
and Chadian personnel.
According to a French Ministry of
Defence press release, the A400M
transported 200 troops and several tonnes
of cargo from Gao in Mali and N’Djamena in
Chad to Niger. The crews from Escadron de
Transport 1/61 ‘Touraine’ also transported a
Puma and a Gazelle helicopter. These first
operational sorties happened not long after
the A400M was cleared to carry this type of
mission. The A400M had previously visited
Niger in August and Mali in December 2016
for a series of trials that were carried out by
the Centre d’Expertise Aérienne Militaire to
determine how the big airlifter handles in
the difficult conditions of Africa.
The Armée de l’Air had already said
it was satisfied with the trials, as the
A400M apparently operates better from
A third deployment by Aéronavale Rafale Ms to Jordan for Opération Chammal started on October 2, 2017.
8 WWW www.airinternational.com @ airnews@keypublishing.com
unpaved surfaces than the C-130s. With
the serviceability of the A400M slowly
increasing and another two deliveries
planned for next year, the aircraft should
become a more frequent sight in the Sahel
region in the near future. The Armée de
l’Air is dealing with serviceability issues
regarding the C-130 and the venerable
C-160, which despite its age (the Transall
celebrated 50 years of service on October
5 at the BA105 Evreux) is still soldiering
on in the harsh conditions of the Sahel.
As the A400M is a step up in terms of
capacity and handles well in these difficult
environments, it is crucial for Barkhane
operations to increase the serviceability of
the type and to develop further the tactical
capabilities of the aircraft. Currently, six
A400Ms are configured to a basic tactical
capability, which includes armoured plating
to protect the crew.
Atlantique 2
On September 18, two Rafales and an
Atlantique 2 carried out a combined with a Wescam MX-series sensor, the
airstrike against a terrorist command press release stated that the Rafale’s pods
centre in the Hawijah region, one of the designated all targets. After a mission time
last remaining strongholds of ISIS in Iraq. of four hours for the Rafales and 8.5 hours
According to a communiqué by the Armée for the Atlantique 2, all three aircraft were
de l’Air, this deliberate strike was preceded back at their base in Jordan. The Atlantique
by a surveillance phase during which the 2 has been used as an ISR and strike
Atlantique 2 crew had to confirm enemy platform by French forces assigned to
combatants present. Both Rafales and Opération Chammal in which the type has
the Atlantique dropped an unspecified proven to be an important asset. The type
number of laser-guided bombs on the can fly long hours, has a large crew and
target, which according to battle damage can switch between surveillance and close
assessment was completely destroyed in air support when needed. The Aéronavale’s
the process. Although the Atlantique can Atlantique 2 deployment reached 2,000
designate targets by itself when outfitted flying hours on September 13.
www.facebook.com/airinternationalmagazine

tical, Atlantique
Anniversary
The tempo of sorties remains high for
both Opération Barkhane and Opération
Chammal. Between September 20 and
October 3, the Armée de l’Air element of
Barkhane flew 190 sorties: 38 ISR and
aerial refuelling, 59 fast jet and 93 by
tactical transports. In the same period,
the Chammal force flew 94 sorties (three
command and control, 11 ISR, five aerial
refuelling and 75 air-to-ground), which
resulted in 29 strikes and 36 destroyed
targets. Since January 1, 2017, the aircraft
assigned to Chammal have flown 1,462
sorties and destroyed 402 targets; 125 in
Syria and 277 in Iraq.
Mirage and C-135s
On September 28, a Mirage 2000N
assigned to Escadron de Chasse 2/4
‘Lafayette’ crashed on take-off from
N’Djamena in Chad. The cause of the crash
is not yet known, but local media were
said to have reported an engine fire during
take-off. Both crew were able to eject, but
the navigator sustained minor injuries to
one of his legs. The aircraft did not carry
any armament; it was on its way home with
three other Mirage 2000s, at the end of
their time assigned to Opération Barkhane.
This is the second loss of a Mirage 2000 for
Opérations Serval and Barkhane. On June
9, 2014, a Mirage 2000D crashed in Mali on
its way back to Niamey in Niger.
The French Ministry of Defence
announced on October 5 that four Rafale
Ms from 11F had arrived in Jordan three
days earlier for the third deployment since
the Charles de Gaulle entered its homeport
of Toulon for an 18-month mid-life overhaul
on December 14 2016. The Aéronavale
deployment allows the Armée de l’Air to
reduce temporarily the number of Rafales
deployed by four.
Together with the six Rafales based
at BA104 Al Dhafra in the United Arab
Emirates, the number of Rafales assigned
to Opération Chammal is currently 14. The
Rafale Ms are expected to stay in Jordan
four the next two months.
By October 5, another Chammal
C-135FR deployment came to an end.
Irregular in pattern, C-135FR deployments
that operate from the United Arab Emirates
have accumulated almost 300 aerial
refuelling sorties, totalling 2,200 flying
hours while refuelling 1.200 coalition
aircraft, since the beginning of the
operation in September 2014. This latest
deployment had flown 24 sorties (166
flying hours) and delivered 514 tonnes of
fuel between the end of August and the
end of September. A typical deployment
consists of one C-135FR, two full crews
and around 15 mechanics who stay in the
UAE for two months at a time. According
to the Armée de l’Air, a C-135FR often flies
a seven-hour sortie every other day, with
the day between flights used to perform
maintenance and prepare the plane for the
next sortie.
SCENE
While the C-160 celebrated
its 50th anniversary with the
Armée de l’Air on October 5, the
A400M is slowly coming of age.
All images by Jan Kraak
Anniversary
Sécurité Civile’s Groupement d’Hélicoptères
de la Sécurité Civile (GHSC) celebrated its
60th anniversary with an open day at its
main base, Nîmes Garons, on October 21.
This base is home to the GHSC command
and its training and maintenance facilities.
When the helicopter command was
established in 1957, the service had two
Bell 47s and operated from three bases:
Grenoble, Lorient and Issy-les-Moulineaux.
The Bell 47s were replaced by the Alouette
II and later the Alouette III; the first
helicopter capable of rescue operations in
mountainous areas. Other helicopters such
as the Dauphin and the AS350B2 Ecureuil
also served with the Sécurité Civile. Today,
the GHSC has 35 EC145s on strength and
employs over 300 personnel. The fleet is
based at the Nîmes Garons training facility,
23 different Sécurité Civile bases on the
French mainland and some overseas
departments. Sécurité Civile helicopters are
referred to as Dragons, which combined
with the base department number forms the
radio call sign for GHSC EC145s. Around
30% of rescue missions flown by the crews
are in mountainous areas, whereas 6%
are flown over water. Daily, crews remain
ready to leave on a moment’s notice from
09:00hrs until sundown. Outside of these
hours, crews are on call and have to be
airborne within either 30 or 60 minutes.
Approximately 25% of the GHSC rescue
missions take place at night.
9
 SCENE

German Counter Daesh Detachment Relocates

The relocation of German Tornados and at Incirlik by the Turkish government. One week later, on October 4, four Tornados
a single Airbus A310 Multi-Role Tanker/ The A310 MRTT left on June 9 and landed at al-Asraq to resume operations
Transport (MRTT) of the Einsatzkontingent resumed operations from al-Azraq two in support of coalition forces the following
Counter Daesh – the German Luftwaffe’s days later. The Tornados flew their last week. Germany commenced Tornado
unit involved in operation Inherent Resolve operational mission from Incirlik on operations against Daesh (ISIS) from Incirlik
against Islamic State – from Incirlik Air Base July 29, before temporarily returning to in December 2015. The German jets are
in Turkey to al-Asraq Air Base in Jordan Germany. The move of the Tornados was tasked with reconnaissance missions
was concluded in early October. The move very complicated as the 200 containers using the Reccelite system operated by
was the result of ongoing political tension with some 1,500 tonnes of equipment, the Luftwaffe since 2009. TaktLwG 51, the
between Germany and Turkey. The German including the Ground Exploration Station of Luftwaffe’s dedicated reconnaissance unit,
government decided to withdraw its assets the Reccelite reconnaissance system, had leads the deployment, during which German
from Turkey on June 7, after members of to be transported from Incirlik to Azraq by Tornados have flown almost 3,100 hours in
the German parliament were repeatedly air. The last German soldiers left Incirlik on more than 1,000 missions, photographing
refused access to the German detachment September 27. 8,500 possible IS targets. Kees van der Mark
One of the Luftwaffe Tornados that operated from Incirlik for Operation Inherent Resolve is Tornado ECR 46+52,
displaying a Counter DAESH badge on its intake. It was seen during a training flight from Jagel in August, when the
jets were temporarily in Germany awaiting their redeployment to al-Azraq in early October. Kees van der Mark

Slovakia’s First Super Tucanos Delivered to Lebanon

Spartan
Slovakia signed a contract for two Alenia
C-27J Spartans on October 29, 2014,
and the first of them was seen test flying at
Leonardo’s facility at Turin, Italy, in August
2017. Painted in full Slovak Air Force
markings, including serial 1931, it also
The US Defense Security Cooperation
Agency authorised a Foreign Military Sale to
Lebanon of up to six Embraer A-29A Super
Tucanos to counter ‘internal and border
security threats’ in June 2015. The deal,
valued at the time at an estimated $462
million, included 2,000 Advanced Precision
Kill Weapon System 2.75-inch rockets. An
order for AGM-114 Hellfire II missiles was
announced at the same time. On October 9,
2017, the first two aircraft, wearing an overall
grey colour scheme and enormous US Air
Force serial numbers 15-2021 and 15-2022,
arrived at Hamat Air Base north of the capital
Beirut. When in service, they will wear serial
numbers L-711 and L-712 respectively.

Harbins Delivered to Mali

carried experimental serial C.S.X. 62302.
When delivered, the two transports are
expected to serve with 1. Dopravná letka
at Malacky-Kuchyña Air Base near the
capital Bratislava. Marco Rossi

Scan Eagles for

the Philippines
The Philippines has bought six InSitu
ScanEagle unmanned air systems under a
$10 million Foreign Military Sales contract,
the US Department of Defense announced
on September 18. Each system includes
multiple – usually 12 – unmanned air
vehicles, plus launch and recovery systems
and support equipment. Deliveries will
be completed by 2019. The Philippines Two Harbin Y-12E light transport aircraft, TZ-WAA (c/n 093) and TZ-WAB (c/n 095) were
already uses an undisclosed number of delivered to Mali’s Armée de L’Air via Malta international airport in September 2017. It is not
Scan Eagles. David C Isby known how many the African nation has ordered. Alistair Zammit

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Eurofighter.indd 1 08/08/2017 09:01
 SCENE
Bangladesh Army’s First C295W
The Bangladesh Army received its first twin-engine fixed-wing aircraft in mid-September when Airbus Defense & Space C295W S3-BRT (msn
S-170) was delivered via Malta following an order for the aircraft in October 2016. Alistair Zammit
Bulgarian Restart
Bulgaria is restarting its fighter procurement
initiative following recommendations issued
by a parliamentary investigation board that
made a review of all aspects of the tender.
The board completed its work on September
20 and its report was set for approval by
parliament at the end of the month.
According to the report, the combined offer
for used F-16s submitted by the governments
of the United States and Portugal was
disqualified because of the improprieties
in the bidding process. The official reason
for the F-16’s disqualification was that the
payment scheme offered failed to comply
with Bulgaria’s requirement for deferred
payment. Sources in Sofia also hinted that
there were some other deficiencies.
The investigation board issued a Minister Boyko Borisov publicly voiced his
recommendation to the Ministry of Defence
to rework the RFP and expand the number
of countries invited to tender. Sofia plans
to buy its new fighter in a government-to-
government deal.
The final decision on how to proceed is
in the hands of defence minister Krasimir
Karakachanov, although he has claimed on
numerous occasions that he will respect the
investigation board’s recommendations.
Sofia has a requirement for 16 multi-role
fighters – two batches of eight. The budget
allocated for the first batch is €767 million
Combat Dragon III
Turboprop light attack aircraft will deploy
to the US Central Command area of
responsibility and fly combat operations
as a follow-on to the air force’s light attack
flight experiment held at Holloman Air
Force Base, New Mexico, in August. Under
the Combat Dragon III demonstration
programme, an unspecified number –
reported to be two each of Embraer/
Sierra Nevada’s A-29 Super Tucano and
Textron’s AT-6 single-engine turboprops –
are being considered for the deployment.
12 WWW www.airinternational.com @ airnews@keypublishing.com
to include aircraft, a small package of air-to-
air and air-to-surface weapons, a simulator,
logistics support and training.
In April 2017, the inter-service tender
commission announced that the Saab JAS
39C Gripen is the preferred candidate having
received the highest score in the evaluation.
Italy’s offer for Tranche 1-standard second-
hand Eurofighter Typhoons came second.
The temporary government in Sofia at the
time decided to leave the final decision to the
new right-wing government, which entered
office in early May.
However, the new government decided to
ignore the work of its predecessor and instead
supported the establishment of a parliamentary
investigation board to review the tender. Prime
doubts regarding the need to buy new fighters
and claimed that Gripen is far from the best
choice for Bulgaria. His right-wing GERB party
has voiced its support for the F-16 deal.
President and former Bulgarian Air Force
Commander-in-chief Rumen Radev openly
opposed the Prime Minister’s stance,
claiming his proposals harm the country’s
security, and asked for prompt and decisive
steps to restore the air force’s ability to meet
its NATO commitments. He also declared
that the government has ignored expert
contributions from the air force, which chose
Where they will operate from has not been
disclosed, but the previous test, dubbed
Combat Dragon II, used modified Rockwell
OV-10 Bronco twin turboprop attack
aircraft to fly combat missions against ISIS
insurgents in Syria. The Combat Dragon
III programme is not currently planned
to transition to a procurement effort,
although this may change. At this stage
the reports have made no mention of the
other two experiment participants; L-3’s
Longsword or Textron’s Scorpion jet.
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a fighter according to the requirements set
out in the RFP.
Saab’s bid has been the subject of a smear
campaign by representatives of the ruling
coalition and media since early May, that
have prompted the company to issue several
statements refuting speculation and rumour.
The situation was made even more complex
after a new unsolicited proposal submitted
by Lockheed Martin and the US government
in March for new-build Block 70 F-16s. This
expensive option is regarded as unrealistic
given the relatively small budget available for
the required package. Nevertheless, it is the
ruling coalition’s preferred choice.
Despite the air force’s requirement for a
supersonic fighter, Prime Minister Borisov has
hinted that the country does not need new-
generation multi-role fighter aircraft and might
be better off with cheaper platforms. He cited
the Textron Scorpion as a possible solution,
offered at unit price of about $20 million. In
June 2015, the first prototype of the Scorpion
was demonstrated in Bulgaria.
Another factor in Bulgaria’s indecisiveness is
the need to maintain good relationships with
Russia to continue maintenance of its existing
MiG-29 and Su-25 fleets, which, according to
defence minister Karakachanov, could stay in
service until about 2030. Alexander Mladenov and
Krassimir Grozev
Israel Signs for
Second F-35A
Squadron
Israel has ordered a second squadron of
17 Lockheed Martin F-35A Adirs. These
aircraft will be delivered by 2024. The
current objective is for 50 F-35As in three
squadrons. In Israeli service, the F-35A
will replace F-16s in the air-to-ground
mission. The most recent contract,
signed in August, is the third Israeli order
for F-35As. Israel had, by October, taken
delivery of seven of the type. David C Isby
 SCENE

Afghanistan’s Grob G120TP-As to Complete

First Black Hawks QinetiQ Fleet
The first batch of the initial 53 Sikorsky
UH-60 Black Hawks ordered by
Afghanistan was delivered on September
18. The Black Hawks will replace Russian-
built Mil Mi-17 Hip helicopters currently
in service in Afghanistan. While the Mi-
17’s load-carrying capability, especially
at high altitudes, is much appreciated in
Afghanistan, standardisation on US-origin
equipment allows for a single supply of
spare parts and training. David C Isby

UH-60Ms
Delivered to
Slovakia
The first two of nine UH-60M utility helicopters
ordered by Slovakia in a February 2015 US
Foreign Military Sale deal worth $261 million
were accepted by Slovak Defence Minister
Peter Gajdos in a ceremony on August 3
at Prešov Air Base. The helicopters were
delivered to Slovakia on July 6, 2017 after
arriving by sea from the United States in
Bremerhaven, Germany, a few days before.
Included in the deal is a training and spares
package covering the next two years. Four
crews are already qualified on the aircraft
and more are being trained in the United
States. Two more Black Hawks are due
next year, with the balance of five machines
arriving in 2019. Arnold ten Pas/4Aviation
Seen shortly after arriving at Norwich airport, Norfolk on September 22 is Grob G120TP-A
D-ETQI, one of two new aircraft for QinetiQ. John Bilcliffe
UK technology company QinetiQ came engineers throughout all stages of their
a step closer to finishing upgrading development. The two new machines,
its aircraft fleet in October when two wearing civilian registrations D-ETQI and
Grob G120TP-A advanced training D-ETIQ, arrived at Norwich airport on
aircraft were delivered to the UK. They September 22 from Grob’s Mindelheim,
will eventually serve with the company Germany, factory. By early October they
at MoD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire. wore marks reflecting Empire Test Pilots
The Grobs will join two Pilatus PC-21s School heritage, G-ETPC and G-ETPD
purchased in December 2016, and four (c/n 11125 and 11126 respectively).
Airbus H125 helicopters, bought in March At the time of writing they had not left
2017. They will be used to train flight test Norwich. John Bilcliffe

J-20 Enters PLAAF Service

This unidentified Chengdu J-20A fifth-generation stealth fighter took part in celebrations to mark the official introduction of the type with
China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force on September 28, 2017. Chinese internet

Informed sources believe China’s Chengdu
J-20A Dragon fifth-generation medium
and long-range fighter jet has been in
service with the People’s Liberation
Army Air Force (PLAAF) since early 2017.
Having first flown in January 2011 it was
first shown to the public during the 11th
Zhuhai Airshow in November 2016.
However, speaking at a press conference
Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry
of National Defence said all flight testing
having been conducted as scheduled, the
stealth fighter was officially commissioned
into PLAAF service on September 28.
So far, six low-rate initial production
aircraft have been identified by their serial
numbers (78271-78276), but there are
at least two more flying with no numbers
applied. The J-20A is operated by the
176th Air Brigade at Dingxin Air Base as
a dedicated ‘Blue Force’. Andreas Rupprecht

13
 SCENE

JSTARS Recapitalis
On Course to an Un
by David C Isby
The US Air Force
has identified the
recapitalisation of
its 16-aircraft E-8C JSTARS
(Joint Standoff Target
Attack Radar System) fleet
as one of its top five force
modernisation priorities.
This programme is currently in the source
selection process that will identify one
of three competing teams, each offering
a different twin-engine aircraft, to go
into the engineering and manufacturing
development (EMD) phase.
The new aircraft would replace the
current Northrop Grumman E-8C JSTARS,
converted Boeing 707-320 airliners, and be
equipped with upgraded ground moving
target indicator (GMTI) radars and BM/C4I
(battle management, command, control,
communications, computers, integration)
systems. However, the US Air Force might
now be more interested in replacing the
E-8Cs not with a new airplane, but rather
with a network tying together multiple
manned and unmanned platforms.

Current JSTARS
recapitalisation
Three teams are competing for JSTARS
recapitalisation: the Boeing team with
the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ, a 737-
700 derivative), the Lockheed Martin,
Raytheon and Sierra Nevada team with
the Bombardier Global 6000 (the same
type currently in US Air Force service as
the E-11 communications relay aircraft),
and the Northrop Grumman and L3
Technologies team with the Gulfstream
Aerospace (a division of General Dynamics)
G550 (the same aircraft selected to meet
the EC-X requirement).
All three competitors have received
developmental and risk-reduction funding
as part of the current EMD phase (started
in 2016) and pre-EMD risk reduction.
Northrop Grumman and Raytheon have
both developed improved radar and
sensors that could be integrated on any
of the competing designs. The Boeing
design’s Raytheon Archimedes radar is
reportedly based on the Raytheon APS-154
E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack
Radar System aircraft assigned to Georgia
Air National Guard’s 116th Air Control
Wing based at Robins Air Force Base,
Georgia, evacuated to Tinker Air Force
Base, Oklahoma, to escape the path of
Hurricane Irma on September 9, 2017.
Greg Davis/US Air Force
Advanced Airborne Sensor used by the
P-8A Poseidon. Selection of a winning
team for JSTARS recapitalisation will take
place in March 2018. Initial operational
capability with the new aircraft is planned
for the end of fiscal FY2024 and full
operational capability in FY2028.
An emerging alternative
The US Air Force’s request for proposals
in December 2016 for JSTARS
recapitalisation, including selecting a new
twin-engine business jet aircraft as the
E-8C replacement, was driven by a series
of studies. These included an analysis of
alternatives (AoA) in 2011 that looked at
alternatives to the new JSTARS, such as
extending the service life of the E-8Cs
or migrating the JSTARS’ capability to a
constellation of satellites. However, a new
AoA planned for next year on Advanced
Battle Management Systems could point
to a major course correction in the future of
JSTARS.
Air Combat Command (ACC)
Commander General Mike Holmes said
in Washington on September 18 this AoA
would “talk about looking at options, that
we could tie together, that would give us
an interim capability to get GMTI while we
made the jump away from JSTARS to a
networked multi-platform ISR architecture”.

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alisation:
Uncertain Future?
He asked: “How long should we
continue to fund a GMTI capability on an
integrated platform with sensors and air
battle managers? How much of the threat
environment will allow us to do that? Or
could we take all the sensors in the joint
force and tie them together? Can we do that
in an incremental way to provide capabilities
as we go forward? We are talking about
some options. We have not changed
anything, [JSTARS recapitalisation] source
selection continues in the programme
office. The result will be announced in
March 2018, still on schedule. If the national
decision is made to recapitalise [JSTARS],
the acquisition strategy we are using is the
right way to do that . . . The question is
whether [recapitalisation] is the right thing to
do or not. If it is the right thing to do, source
selection is on track.”
The US Air Force has been required to
stay on schedule for source selection by
the language used in the FY2017 omnibus
spending bill, signed into law on May 5,
barring the source selection process from
expending any funds after March 2018.
It is possible – indeed, likely – that the
FY2019 budget request, due to be submitted
to Congress early next year, may cancel the
current programme. The US Air Force is less
enthusiastic about buying a new JSTARS
aircraft today than it was a year ago.
SCENE
Reasons for a reassessment
For the US Air Force, investing in
capabilities rather than aircraft would be
consistent with the emphasis on networked
systems throughout the service. This has
led to a reassessment of whether JSTARS
recapitalisation investment should be
in a new aircraft or in new networked
capabilities that can produce the same sort
of ISR and BM/C4I effects.
Money has not been cited as a reason
for reassessing JSTARS recapitalisation by
the Air Force leadership. It remains, like a
proverbial 800-pound gorilla in the room,
unmentioned but impossible to ignore. The
bow wave of aircraft procurement spending
15
 SCENE
Air battle managers at their work stations aboard an E-8C JSTARS aircraft. US Air Force
is here, with other aircraft procurement
programmes looking for more money to
increase or start production at the same
time as the new JSTARS would be procured.
A networked option would not compete for
scarce aircraft procurement dollars.
The US Air Force has time to come up
with an interim networked capability. The
E-8C fleet, though troubled, is not about
to fall from the sky. Inspections of E-8Cs
show that they could operate until 2030. To
keep these aircraft operational until then,
Northrop Grumman announced on August
29 that it would upgrade the aircraft’s
central computers. A road map document,
prepared with the Air Force, will set out how
current aircraft can be kept operational to
2030. Speaking at the Air Force Association
convention in National Harbor, Maryland,
on September 18, Commander, Air
Force Materiel Command, General Ellen
Pawlikowski, said: “Now we know that the
airframes are not falling off the cliff in a couple
of years, we have to do the analysis to ensure
we know what needs to be done and when.”
However, overhauls and maintenance
for E-8Cs remain lengthy and costly. Parts
are difficult to obtain for the ageing aircraft.
About six of the 16 E-8Cs are in depot-
level maintenance at Northrop Grumman’s
Lake Charles, Louisiana facility at any
time. The Government Accountability
Office published a report this year that
said, despite $1.1 billion spent on the
programme between 2011 and 2015,
overhauls have become neither quicker, nor
less expensive, or less frequent.
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Vulnerability of a JSTARS replacement
against a near-peer adversary, especially
an anti-access/area denial threat, ten or
more years from now, is a concern. Russia
is working on a 500km (270-nautical mile)
range surface-to-air missile (SAM), the
S-500. It is possible that a 600km (325
-nautical mile) range SAM will be in service
in Russia or China by 2030. How JSTARS
would be able to carry out its mission in a
future conflict until such a SAM threat is
defeated is uncertain.
What would a network put in place by
2030 instead of a new JSTARS look like? It
would link penetrating and non-penetrating
air-breathing sensors. The penetrating
sensors would probably primarily be those
on F-35s or UAVs. Non-penetrating sensors
would include an interim GMTI platform,
most likely Northrop Grumman Block 40
RQ-4A Global Hawks and, potentially, a
new high-altitude ISR platform. The battle
management function carried out by the
mission crew in the E-8C would move to
a combined air operations centre (CAOC).
Such a network would include other US
services; the US Navy is looking at its F-35C
Lightning IIs in the penetrating sensor
platform role, and its MQ-25 Stingray carrier-
based UAV or US Marine Corps Boeing-Bell
MV-22B Ospreys with podded sensors
could contribute to the standoff ISR mission.
A network would have vulnerabilities
of its own against advanced cyber and
electronic warfare threats, as well as large
numbers of surface-to-surface missiles
capable of targeting both CAOCs and the
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air bases where aircraft, such as F-35s,
being used for ISR would have to be
based. Two questions remain: would a
terrestrial centralised BM/C4I function in
place of a JSTARS be able to understand
and disseminate information in the highly
demanding timeframes required to
fight a near-peer competitor, and would
its networked links and manned and
unmanned platforms be survivable?
G550 becomes the EC-X
Boeing and Bombardier both viewed the
JSTARS recapitalisation as an opportunity
to leverage a win for their respective design
to replace a broad range of four-engine
jets and turboprops in US military service.
This motivated both firms to file official
protests in 2016 with the Government
Accountability Office when ACC decided
to meet the EC-X requirement by replacing
its aging Lockheed EC-130H Compass
Calls, a modified Hercules turboprop
transport airframe equipped with electronic
attack systems designed to disrupt enemy
command, control and communications.
It planned to do this by cross-decking
the mission systems into modified G550
airframes, designated EC-37Bs.
For ACC, the Gulfstream G550 was
the obvious choice, so it did not hold a
competition. Its selection enabled ACC
to use development that had already
been carried out for G550s modified
for EW missions, ordered by Italy and
Israel. For Boeing and Bombardier, this
action undercut their push to have their
 SCENE

A US Air Force senior director (left) and a mission crew commander (right), both with the 116th Air Control Wing, Georgia Air National Guard,
discuss surveillance operations during a night mission aboard an E-8C Joint STARS from Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. Team JSTARS,
comprising aircrew from the 116th ACW, the active-duty 461st ACW and Army JSTARS, provides joint airborne command and control, intelligence,
surveillance, and reconnaissance support over land and water to combatant commanders around the globe. SMSgt Roger Parsons/US Air Force

respective design adopted throughout the
US military and would set a precedent for
use of the G550.
On August 28, the Government
Accountability Office announced it had
turned down the Boeing and Bombardier
protests. On September 14, the US Air Force
announced cross-decking was going ahead,
with L3 Communications as the prime
contractor, which, under the terms of its
contract, had been allowed to select the type
of airframe it would use: the EC-37B. The
first EC-37B is expected to be completed in
FY2021. However, Congress could force the
Air Force to revisit the entire issue.
An uncertain course
All three of the competing teams can be
expected to try and mobilise their political
allies to keep JSTARS recapitalisation alive.
That is why the style of language inserted in
the omnibus spending bill earlier this year
was to ensure the Air Force picks a winner
by March 2018. The winner will fight hard to
keep recapitalisation on course.
A congressional delegation from Georgia,
where the current JSTARS fleet has its
home base, sent a letter to Secretary of
Defense Jim Mattis expressing support
for recapitalisation. The Senate version of
the FY2018 Defense Authorisation Bill has
had language inserted into it that would
prohibit the use of funds to cancel the
JSTARS recapitalisation programme or
retire the current fleet unless the Secretary
of Defense were to certify there would
be no capability gap as a result. While it
is uncertain whether this will be signed
into law, it shows there is likely to be
congressional opposition to replacing
today’s E-8Cs with a distributed and
survivable networked capability by
2030 (as seems, increasingly, to be
the Air Force’s preference) rather than
with a more advanced, airplane in
FY2024-2028.

An artist’s impression of the Gulfstream G550-based EC-37B, Air Combat

Command’s choice to meet its EC-X programme. Lockheed Martin

17
 SCENE
Modified X-47B being used as MQ-25
Stingray Testbed
An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle demonstrator, like this one seen landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) during
trials in August 2014, has been modified as a testbed for the future MQ-25 Stingray Carrier Based Air Refueling System. Naval Air Systems Command
At least one of the two Northrop Grumman
X-47B Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle
technology demonstrators, has been
modified as a testbed for the MQ-25 Stingray
Carrier Based Air Refueling System (CBARS)
programme as part of risk-reduction efforts
connected with the programme. The X-47B
was modified at Northrop Grumman’s
Palmdale California facility with an externally
Offers of Technology Development to India
The US has offered increased industrial
cooperation and technology transfer to
India during US Defense Secretary James
Mattis’ visit to New Delhi in September.
During ministerial-level talks, it was
agreed to expand the scope of the 2012
bilateral joint Defense Technology and
Trade Initiative. This expansion covers
cooperation on a range of technologies,
and confirms US willingness to approve
production of the Lockheed Martin F-16C
and the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet
in India to meet the nation’s fighter
requirements.
Rolls-Royce has offered India’s Defence
Ukraine and China Cooperation
Ukraine’s Motor Sich will cooperate with
China on the development and production
of engines through a joint venture (JV)
with Beijing Skyrizon Aviation Industry
Investment Co Ltd, which is China’s
only private-sector aircraft engine firm.
The JV is building a new research and
development, fabrication and overhaul
facility in Chongqing. It will initially build
Motor Sich’s current D-136, MS-500V
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mounted air refuelling pod and external fuel
tank. It was previously used to demonstrate
the capability of UAVs to operate from
aircraft carriers.
In 2017 the US Navy awarded CBARS risk-
reduction contracts to four companies –
Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Atomics
and Northrop Grumman – to develop
competing designs for the MQ-25 Stingray
Research and Development Organization
collaboration on gas turbine technologies
to support the goal of expanding
indigenous capabilities. This follows
UK-India governmental agreements,
announced in April, to expand defence
industrial cooperation and enable
technology transfer. Rolls-Royce has
facilities in India at Bangalore and Pune.
Russia’s offers include participation in
several potential aircraft co-production
programmes as follow-ons to the current
licensed production – scheduled to
conclude in 2019–20 – of Sukhoi Su-30MKI
Flanker fighters, with final assembly being
and TV3-117VMA-SBM1V turboshaft
helicopter engines, but will eventually
expand to a range of engines.
Motor Sich had previously provided
engines to a range of Russian-designed
aircraft until the severing of aerospace
industrial cooperation between the
two countries following the Russian
occupation of the Crimea in 2014. David
C Isby
www.facebook.com/airinternationalmagazine
Carrier Based Air Refueling System. The
programme, which has a $5 billion cost
ceiling, is expected to issue a request for
proposals before the end of 2017 and down-
select one of the four designs in 2018. The
UAV could be in service as soon as 2019–
2020. Half of the total MQ-25 development
costs will be spent by fiscal year 2022.
David C Isby
carried out by India’s HAL. Also mentioned
was the transition of HAL’s production line
to joint production of Yakolev Yak-130
trainers and increased participation in the
United Aircraft Corporation MC-21 airliner.
In conjunction with its offer of Israeli
Aircraft Industries’ modified Boeing KC-
767-300 tankers to meet India’s tanker
requirement, Israel has also offered an
increased level of Indian participation in
the tanker conversions and to expand
its long-standing technology cooperation
with India. This has previously included
extensive work in missiles and sensors.
David C Isby
South Korea Orders
More TA-50s
The Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF)
has ordered an undisclosed number
of Korean Aircraft Industries TA-50
light fighter aircraft, it announced on
September 25. Deliveries will start in 2019.
The jets will be used for fighter training.
The RoKAF currently operates 22 TA-50s.
The follow-on order will provide a lead-in
training capability for the F-35A Lightning
II, which will enter RoKAF service in 2018.
David C Isby

US Air Force Interest in B-52H
Re-engining
The US Air Force’s long-standing interest
in re-engining its B-52H Stratofortress
fleet is receiving renewed attention as
the FY2019 budget – to be submitted
to Congress early next year – has been
finalised. The Air Force has made a
business-case analysis of the potential
benefits to be achieved by adopting one
of the different options available. The
bomber is expected to continue in service
until 2040–2050. Savings could come
from better fuel efficiency, reductions in
maintenance requirements and a need for
less aerial refuelling on operational and
training missions.
Among the options being considered are
Bahrain F-16V Sale Approved
Bahrain’s $2.78 billion order for 22 new-
production Lockheed Martin Block
70/72 F-16Vs and a $1.08 billion order
for 20 of its current Block 40 F-16C and
F-16D versions to be upgraded to F-16V
standard both received approval by the US
Defense Security Cooperation Agency on
September 8.
The Block 70/72 F-16V, the most advanced
version of the Fighting Falcon, is equipped
with Northrop Grumman’s AN/APG-83
active electronically scanned array Scalable
Agile Beam Radar, a new Raytheon mission
Aussie KC-30 Refuels a B-52
Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport A39-005 refuels B-52H Stratofortress 60-0036 assigned to the 419th Flight
Test Squadron based at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The test sortie was conducted by members of the Royal Australian Air Force Air
Warfare Centre’s Aircraft Research and Development Unit, and the 418th and 419th Flight Test Squadrons from Edwards. Ongoing testing
with the KC-30A is part of a coalition tanker aerial refuelling certification. Donald Allen/US Air Force
a refurbished (the lowest cost option)
version of current engines or an upgraded
new-production version of the current
Pratt & Whitney TF33 and the Rolls-
Royce BR725, with the B-52H retaining
its current eight-engine configuration.
Two spectacular B-52 mishaps during the
past year, while not caused by defects
to the engines, have drawn attention to
the issue. In one case, an engine fell off a
5th Bomb Wing B-52H and plunged into
a river in South Dakota; in the other, a
B-52H from Barksdale Air Force Base had
six engines stop running – at the same
time – while in flight. Both aircraft were
recovered safely. David C Isby
computer, Link 16-compatible datalink,
upgraded cockpit displays, an enhanced
electronic warfare system and a ground-
collision avoidance system
The order has been the subject of bilateral
negotiations for several years, but President
Obama’s administration held up approval,
despite strong US-Bahrain defence
cooperation and basing agreements, to
express disapproval of Bahrain’s human
rights record. This policy was reversed by
the current administration earlier this year.
David C Isby
SCENE
Jordanian F-16s
to Get Link 16
Capability
Lockheed Martin F-16s in service with
the Royal Jordanian Air Force are to be
upgraded with a Link 16 NATO-standard
datalink system. The upgrade has been
procured under the US Foreign Military
Sales programme. Link 16 systems are
used extensively to enable coalition air
operations, including those against ISIS
insurgents in Syria, in which Jordan is
participating. David C Isby
T-X:
Congressional
Inaction May
Delay Contract
Award
The long-awaited award of a winner
for the US Air Force’s T-X trainer
competition, planned to be announced
before the end of the year, may be
delayed if Congress passes another
long-term continuing resolution (CR).
As new start programmes are, unless
specifically exempted, not permitted
to have money spent on them under a
CR, the US Air Force may not announce
a T-X winner if it is unable to sign a
contract. David C Isby
19
 SCENE
Additions and sub
Australia’s Fleet A
by Nigel Pittaway
The recapitalisation of
the Royal Australian
Navy (RAN) continues,
with the delivery in October
of the last Airbus Helicopters
EC135 T2+ helicopter for the
joint Army/Navy Helicopter
Aircrew Training System (HATS) HATS Off
and the continuing operational
test and evaluation in support
of future maritime unmanned
aerial systems.
The RAN’s remaining
AS350BA Squirrels will be
retired on December 1,
after 27 years of operational
service. Royal Australian Navy
20 WWW www.airinternational.com
It was also announced in October that
all future RAN surface combatants will be
modified with the US Navy’s HawkLink data
link system. HawkLink is fitted to the Fleet
Air Arm’s MH-60R Seahawks, but until now
there had been no funding to modify the
surface fleet.
However, on the debit side of the
ledger two veteran helicopter types, the
Eurocopter AS350BA Squirrel and Sikorsky
S-70B-2 Seahawk, will finally retire from
service in December after many years of
service.
On October 11 Boeing Defence Australia
announced that the 15th and final EC135
T2+ had been delivered, after arriving in
Australia in late August.
Boeing is the prime contractor for
the HATS being delivered under Joint
Project 9000 Phase 7. HATS will provide
ab initio training to RAN and Australian
Army students via the Joint Helicopter
School within the RAN’s 723 Squadron
based at HMAS Albatross at Nowra,
New South Wales.
@ airnews@keypublishing.com www.facebook.com/airinternationalmagazine
Boeing’s HATS programme director,
Darryn Fletcher, said: “The arrival of the
final EC135 by our partner Airbus marks an
important achievement as we prepare to
accept the first navy and army trainees in
mid-January 2018. We are now working with
our partners to complete qualification of the
simulators, finalise the training courses and
complete the delivery of synthetic devices.”
The EC135 is replacing Navy Squirrels
and Army Bell 206B-1 Kiowas in the training
role and the fleet has already exceeded
1,200 flying hours since being introduced to
the programme. The first conversion course
for Boeing and Australian Defence Force
qualified flying instructors has also recently
been completed.
First-of-class flight trials aboard the
RAN’s multi-role aviation training vessel MV
Sycamore also began in October, paving
the way for the first student course in
January 2018.
Fletcher said: “The training of the pilot
and aircrew instructors is well underway,
and Boeing is pleased with how live
and synthetic training and materials has
progressed.”

ubtractions –
t Air Arm changes
December will see
retirement of the classic
S-70B-2 Sea Hawk from
Royal Australian Navy
service. Royal Australian Navy
HawkLink for the fleet
Speaking at the second Naval Aviation
Symposium held concurrently with
the Pacific 2017 maritime exhibition in
October, Commodore Rob Elliott, Director
General Surface Combatants and Aviation
Capability Division at Navy’s Strategic
Command, announced that the HawkLink
system will be mandated on all future RAN
surface combatants. It will also be fitted
to the Navy’s new Hobart class air warfare
destroyers as they enter their maintenance
periods in the future.
He said: “The decision is very important
to us in the aviation world. It is a capability
we have of course on our Romeo [MH-60R]
combat helicopters, but it is not integrated
into our surface combatant fleet. We will
do that, and we have been given the funds
to do that. It’s just a matter of time for us
to be able to get that capability effect.
The capability will bring a challenge for
[Commander Fleet Air Arm] Commodore
Chris Smallhorn, because his team will then
have to manage the data we’re going to
have to put on the network; and work with
the Australian Defence Force, the Air Force
and Army to jointly utilise that data.”
Commodore Elliott also said that a
Capability Upgrade Programme for the
MH-60R has recently been approved.
The work will ensure that the RAN’s 24
Romeos will be upgraded in step with the
US Navy’s fleet under Project Sea 5510
Phase 1 and will include integration of
the BAE Systems Advanced Precision Kill
Weapons System.
Future UAS capability
Also speaking at the symposium,
Commodore Smallhorn said the growth
of naval aviation is evidenced by the
fact that by 2035 29 ships will be
equipped with a helicopter flight deck,
compared with only 16 at the present
time.
One of the major growth areas will
be in maritime tactical unmanned
systems (MTUAS) and Commodore
Smallhorn said the work currently being
undertaken by the Navy Unmanned
Aerial Systems Unit (NUASU), which is
currently operating the Boeing/Insitu
ScanEagle, will be instrumental in the
selection of one or more UAS platforms
in the future.
The fixed-wing ScanEagle is currently
undergoing operational evaluation in the
Arabian Gulf aboard the guided missile
frigate HMAS Newcastle, together with
a MH-60R in early manned/unmanned
teaming trials.
NUASU has also operated a pair of
leased Schiebel S-100 Camcopters
from shore bases, but both have been
lost in accidents and replacements will
arrive later in the year.
The future MTUAS capability will be
acquired in two tranches of Project
Sea 129 Phase 5. Stage one will see a
platform acquired for the 12 offshore
patrol vessels that will be delivered from
early next decade, and stage two will
acquire a (possibly larger) platform for
the RAN’s major surface combatants.
SCENE
Retirements
The RAN’s remaining AS350BA Squirrel and
S-70B-2 classic Seahawk fleets will finally
be retired on December 1, after 34 and 27
years of operational service respectively.
At the peak of service, 13 Squirrels
wore navy colours and some had actually
deployed to the Middle East aboard navy
frigates during the first Gulf War. The
helicopters were given a coat of grey paint
and had a machine gun mounted in the
cabin doorway, earning the nickname
‘Battle Budgies’.
By early October only six remained in
service, but all will finish in December, when
they will be replaced by the aforementioned
EC135s. Of the retired helicopters, one (N22-
017, a Gulf War veteran) has been presented
to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Likewise, December will see the end
of the classic SH-60B Seahawk dubbed
Bravos, which has been replaced by the
much more capable MH-60R variant.
Sixteen Bravos were delivered to the
RAN, but only three remained on the national
register by early October. Commodore
Smallhorn noted that, assuming there are
no accidents in the last two months of
operations, the Seahawk will be the only
Australian Defence Force platform to have
never suffered a loss in service.
One of the retired helicopters (N24-
016) has already been delivered to the
Fleet Air Arm Museum at Nowra and, like
the AS350BA, another will be presented
to the Australian War Memorial in
Canberra in December.
21
 SCENE

Big Changes in Europe

Monarch Airlines entering administration ended nearly 50 years of operations by the UK carrier. This A320-200 (msn 5581) was one of around
50 A320 Family jets used by the airline during its history. As G-ZBAB, it was used by Monarch until 2015 and is now with Frontier Airlines as
N229FR. Nik French

There has been further upheaval in
the European airline industry. Monarch
Airlines ceased operations after entering
administration, with passengers repatriated
from across Europe and lessors starting
the process of taking back the airline’s
fleet of mainly Airbus A320 Family aircraft.
Monarch had operated since 1968.
Factors in its demise included increased
competition from the low-cost carriers
on routes to its key markets in Spain and
Portugal, with the additional capacity
affecting yields. Reduced demand to Turkey
and Greece caused by the weakening
in the UK pound was another factor. The
decline in currency value also led to rising
operational costs, as its fuel and handling
were paid in US dollars. Monarch Aircraft
Engineering Ltd, which employs 750 staff
at six UK and four overseas locations
providing maintenance for various clients,
operates as a standalone business and as
such continues to trade.
Separate from Monarch, the Lufthansa
Group was set to acquire aircraft and slots
from Air Berlin, which declared insolvency
in August. Administrators have been
seeking to find buyers and as of mid-
October Lufthansa was nearing a deal to
buy some Air Berlin’s Niki subsidiary and
some A320s.
The carve-up of Air Berlin and Monarch’s
collapse are new European airline industry
woes after Alitalia filed for bankruptcy
earlier this year. Analysts quoted by the
financial press say these events will cut
excess capacity, easing pressure on yields
and opening opportunities for other carriers
to acquire slots. Mark Broadbent

C919 Flies Again

The COMAC C919 completed its second test flight, its first in four months. Chinese internet
On September 28, 146 days after its
maiden flight on May 5, the first COMAC
C919 B-001A (c/n 10101) performed its
second flight from Pudong International
Airport in Shanghai. This flight lasted two
hours and 46 minutes and was considerably
longer than the first flight, although it was
reportedly cut by one hour due to unknown
reasons. Reports say the aircraft will
conduct about 30 test flights before leaving
Shanghai to relocate to the China Flight Test
Establishment at Yanliang, close to Xi’an,
where it will conclude its flight testing and
carry out qualifications to obtain Civil Aviation
Administration of China type certification, an
essential first step for the plane to ensure its
commercial flights in China.
COMAC is aiming for the second prototype
C919 to fly before year’s end, the aircraft
having been powered-on for the first time
on July 28. The company has a scheduled
test programme of 4,200 flight hours before
the C919 enters service with China Eastern
Airlines in 2020, a date which may slip into
2021. The aircraft’s biggest hurdle, however,
might be the aim to achieve a US and
European type certification. Andreas Rupprecht

22 WWW www.airinternational.com @ airnews@keypublishing.com www.facebook.com/airinternationalmagazine

 SCENE

Singapore 787-10 Rolls Out

The first customer 787-10, which will be delivered to Singapore Airlines, at North Charleston. Josh Drake/Boeing

Boeing has rolled out the first customer
787-10 Dreamliner at its North Charleston
final assembly facility. The roll-out
precedes final painting before intensive
tests are carried out on the aircraft’s
key systems ahead of delivery to launch
operator Singapore Airlines (SIA).
This process will see the 787-10 follow the
pre-delivery route for all Boeing airliners,
which involves tests on the auxiliary power
unit, fuel system, plumbing, pumps,
valves, tanks and hardware. The Rolls-
Royce Trent 1000 TEN engines will be run
before assessments of the tyres and fluids.
In-flight entertainment system, ground
taxiing and rejected take-off tests will
precede the first ‘B1’ test flight involving
a Boeing-only crew. Further test flights
involving the customer will then take place
before delivery. Boeing says the 787-10
will be handed over to SIA early next year.
Singapore Airlines has 30 787-10s on firm
order and has signed a letter of intent to
purchase 19 more. Mark Broadbent

Electric Dreams A330-800neo Progress

Low-cost carrier easyJet wants to operate
an all-electric commercial passenger airliner
within a decade as part of a strategy to
cut emissions and noise. The airline is
collaborating with Wright Electric, a Los
Angeles-based company which plans to
produce a zero-emissions airliner capable
of flying short-haul city pairs. Detail on the
partnership was scant, but the airline said
the aircraft would have a 330-mile (530km)
range so it would be “perfectly suited” to
shorter easyJet sectors, such as London to
Amsterdam, Paris and Belfast.
On its website, Wright Electric lists distributed
electric engines, quick-change battery packs
with “advanced coil chemistry” and high
aspect ratio wings as key design points of
its future electric aircraft. Wright Electric
CEO and founder Jeffrey Engler said the
easyJet partnership validated the company’s
approach, as it seeks to commercialise its
electric aircraft. It already has a two-seat The fuselage section for the first Airbus A330-800neo under assembly in Hamburg. Final
assembly of the aircraft is due to start by the end of the year. Airbus
demonstrator and plans to produce a ten-
seat aircraft to lead into producing the airliner. Production of parts is advancing for the The A330-800neo is optimised for 250 seats
Although electric aircraft are advancing, it is first Airbus A330-800neo. The wing is and its larger A330-900neo stablemate for
debateable whether technology will advance being equipped in Bremen, the Sharklet 300 seats. The variants aim to cut fuel burn
quickly enough to produce an all-new aircraft, wingtip devices by Korean Air Aerospace by 14% per seat from the A330-200 and
let alone test and certify it, to meet the ten- Industries, the fuselage in Hamburg, the A330-300, with an initial ten maximum
year target. titanium engine pylons in Toulouse and take-off weight options available ranging
However, separate from this collaboration, the centre wing box in Nantes. Airbus from 230,000kg (507,063lb) to 242,000kg
easyJet is targeting environmental savings plans to begin final assembly work on the (533,519lb). The A330-900neo was due to
through other means. Next year, the airline aircraft at the A330 Final Assembly Line in have flown by the end of the third quarter of
will trial a Safran-developed electric taxi Toulouse by the end of the year, with the the year, but at the time of writing it had not
system in Toulouse to allow pushback and first flight in 2018. yet done so. Mark Broadbent
taxi without using engines. Mark Broadbent

23
 SCENE

PC-24 Nears Certification

Pilatus says it expects its new PC-24 business jet to receive both European Aviation Safety Agency and Federal Aviation Administration
certification in December. Three flight test aircraft, one of which is pictured here undertaking water spray testing, had amassed more than 1,250
flights and 2,000 flying hours at the time of writing. Pilatus Aircraft

Privilege 767

Privilege Style 767 EC-LZO (c/n 28902) pictured on stand at Birmingham’s south terminal on October 4. The jet was one of several aircraft used to
repatriate passengers to the UK following Monarch Airlines’ collapse. Thomas Nicklin

SilkAir 737 MAX 8

Singapore Airlines’ regional arm SilkAir’s first Boeing 737 MAX 8, 9V-MBA (c/n 44246), departed Seattle on September 28. It arrived in Singapore
via Guam on October 1 and was officially inaugurated three days later. The airline will introduce a new Singapore–Hiroshima route with the aircraft.
SilkAir signed for 37 737 MAXs in November 2012 as part of a 54-aircraft deal including 17 Next Generation 737-800s. Chen Chuanren/photo Boeing

24 WWW www.airinternational.com @ airnews@keypublishing.com www.facebook.com/airinternationalmagazine

 SCENE

INNUMBERS INBRIEF
MC-21 Starts Phase 2 Flight Testing
Bombardier Aerospace
The United Aircraft Corporation MC-21
airliner’s second phase of flight testing
is under way after a break of several
weeks to allow the prototype aircraft
to be instrumented to record in-flight g
loadings and for modifications to be made
in its software and onboard systems. It is
reportedly on schedule for its first public
appearance at the Dubai Air Show in
November. Long lead-time components
for the first production batch of five MC-
21s were reportedly ordered in August.
Marketing efforts continue, with the visit
of an Indian ministerial-level delegation to
the Irkut factory on September 21. Russia
is also marketing the MC-21 to Algeria at
the ministerial level through the Russian-
Algerian intergovernmental commission
on trade and economic and scientific

4 90
technical cooperation. David C Isby

Coyotes Study Maria

GLOBAL 7000S FLYING
Bombardier Aerospace has flown the fourth and final
Global 7000 flight test vehicle. The aircraft, colloquially
known as Architect, is now at the company’s Wichita
test centre validating the aircraft’s cabin and in-flight
entertainment and connectivity systems. Mark Broadbent
SEAT Q400 ORDER
Indian airline SpiceJet will be the launch customer
for the 90-seat layout on the Bombardier Dash 8
Q400 turboprop after confirming its letter of intent
to buy up to 50 aircraft. This high-density seating
offers 29in (736mm) pitch and is one of several
cabin layout options on the aircraft. SpiceJet’s
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) recently used six
Raytheon Coyote small unmanned aerial
vehicles to track and model Hurricane
Maria. The Coyotes were launched from
the NOAA’s WP-3D Orion and flew directly
into the storm. The Coyote is a small
expendable UAV originally developed for the
military that is air or ground-launched into

3
order takes Q400 sales to 635 since the aircraft’s
launch back in 1999 and is the largest single order
ever received for the type. Mark Broadbent
THIRD ARJ21 DELIVERY
environments too dangerous for manned
aircraft. The system can fly for more than
an hour and up to 50 miles (80km) from its
host aircraft. The NOAA is investing in these
systems to improve its hurricane forecasting

Boeing
accuracy. Mark Broadbent
The third COMAC ARJ21 twin-jet airliner was
due to be delivered to Chengdu Airlines (owned
Thales 3D Printing
by COMAC) in October. It was flight-tested Thales has opened an additive
Customer Aircraft Number Date
on September 29 and will be followed by two manufacturing facility in Casablanca,
additional ARJ21s before the end of the year. Aeroflot Russian 777-300ER 6 September 12 Morocco, specialising in 3D printing
ARJ21 production is planned to increase to Airlines metal components, that fuses metal alloy
15 aircraft in 2018. Thirty ARJ21s will go to Japan Airlines 787-8 4 (previously September 20 powders using a laser. There are currently
Chengdu Airlines, with these deliveries scheduled unidentified) two selective laser melting machines,
but Thales plans to acquire another eight
to be completed by 2020. COMAC says it has Malaysia Airlines 737 MAX 8 purchase September 12 in the next five years. They will initially
commitments for 416 ARJ21s from 19 customers. rights, MoU produce aluminium and titanium parts at
While this number apparently includes 116 aircraft a greatly reduced cost and in less time
787-9 8 MoU September 12
for the People’s Liberation Army, other customers than conventional techniques. Thales has
(converted
to bring the current 61 disclosed orders to 300 from 737
invested around €25 million in the facility.
have not yet been publicly identified. David C Isby MAX)
Guy Martin

Airbus
Qatar Airways 747-8F 2 September 25 More Funding for SAA
777-300ER 4 September 25 South Africa’s National Treasury has given
struggling national carrier South African
Turkish Airlines 787-9 40, intent to September 21 Airways (SAA) ZAR 3 billion to pay creditors
Customer Aircraft Number Date purchase and keep operations running. On September
Air Lease A321ceo 2 September 18 VIP customer 737 BBJ 1 September 12 29, the government approved the transfer
Corporation of funds from the National Revenue Fund to
allow the airline to pay its debt to Citibank,
Cathay Pacific A320neo 32 (firms September 19
thereby avoiding a default, which would

COMAC
Group (for Cathay August 21
have triggered a call on the airline’s ZAR
Dragon) MoU)
16.4 billion guarantee. ZAR 1.8 billion went
Peach Aviation (for A320ceo 4 September 13 towards this loan and another ZAR 1.2
Peach Airlines) Customer Aircraft Number Date billion went to working capital in what the
treasury called a “last resort” measure. In
Undisclosed A330-300 4 September 29 Agricultural Bank C919 20 plus 10 September 19 June, the treasury bailed out SAA with ZAR
of China Financial options 2.2 billion to repay Standard Chartered

Bombardier
Leasing Bank. SAA is implementing its turnaround
AVIC International C919 30 September 19 strategy as it attempts to remain a going
Leasing concern, which includes adjustments to the
route schedule from October 29. Domestic
Customer Aircraft Number Date China Nuclear E&C C919 40 September 19 flights on two routes will be reduced by half,
Group while flights to Luanda will be reduced from
SpiceJet Dash 8 Q400 50 (firms June September 29 seven to four a week and Kinshasa from five
ft. Huabao Leasing C919 30 September 19
19, 2017 LoI) to four a week. Guy Martin

Data covers orders announced September 12-October 9. Key: LoI – Letter of Intent; MoU – Memorandum of Understanding.
Compiled by Mark Broadbent 25
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 MILITARY SCORPION
Scorpion N532TX simultaneously firing two 2.75-
inch rockets over the Atlantic Test Range during
a weapons separation detachment to Naval Air
Station Patuxent River, Maryland in July.
Erik Hildebrandt/US Navy
W
ichita, Self-driven, self-funded
Kansas, is Textron analysed the military market,
the home identified a gap in the market for a multi-
of Textron role tactical aircraft, self-funded the design
Aviation. and production of the first demonstrator
Its portfolio aircraft, registration N531TA (Cessna model
includes E530 c/n 721001 dubbed D1), and achieved
Beechcraft, first flight in less than two years from initial
Cessna and design. That’s a remarkable feat: one that’s
Hawker, made more remarkable considering it was
all well-known brands that produce aircraft all achieved using a commercial business
such as the twin turbo-prop King Air, Citation model and without a US Department of
business jets, the Cessna 172 and the Defense requirements document, usually the
T-6 Texan II military trainer. What then, is driver behind new military aircraft designs in
Textron doing by designing and building a the United States.
brand-new jet with a tough military name According to Steve Burke, one of Textron’s
like Scorpion? In short, to meet the need for senior defence advisors, within the gap
an alternative, low-cost aircraft suitable for there is a great deal of performance white
many of the requirements of current airpower space (meaning an aircraft that has greater
implementation, particularly in Afghanistan performance than an unmanned air vehicle
and Iraq. and a single-engine turboprop aircraft, and
28
greater loiter time and ISR capability than
fighters like the F-16 or F/A-18) that has
not been addressed by the Department
of Defense. This capability gap was also
identified in a defence white paper titled
‘Restoring American Power’ by Senate
Armed Services Committee Chairman,
Senator John McCain, who said: “At present,
our forces have neither the right mix of
capabilities nor sufficient capacity to do
so. Our military is optimised for fighting in
relatively permissive environments and too
small to serve as a credible deterrent force
in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, while
conducting prolonged counterterrorism
operations worldwide. Our military’s
capabilities are also out of balance. On
the lower end of the spectrum, we need
greater numbers of more affordable, less
advanced systems to fight terrorist enemies
in permissive environments. On the higher

Scorpion’s
Coming of Age
Mark Ayton spoke with members of Textron Aviation’s flight-test team
about the design concept and production evolution of the Scorpion jet
end of the spectrum, as nation-state rivals
can increasingly counter our military’s ability
to project power, we need longer-range,
more survivable platforms and munitions,
more autonomous systems, greater cyber
and space capabilities, among other new
technologies. In this way, the joint force
should be equipped with what is often called
a high/low mix of capabilities.”
Not surprisingly, given its concept of
development, the Scorpion jet can perform
the mission set of an unmanned air vehicle
or a single-engine turboprop light attack
aircraft, but is also optimised for a higher set
of missions across a number of domains.
Textron’s design engineers have focused on
giving Scorpion the ability to conduct the ISR
armed reconnaissance mission.
Textron sought to create Scorpion as a
basic affordable aircraft with scalability up
to the mission set required by US armed
services. This has been achieved by the
aircraft’s payload bay, which affords space,
weight, power and cooling margins that
allow new mission system pallets to be easily
fitted (even in the field), a modular open
architecture mission system and avionics,
and the ability to employ advanced weapons.
Five main criteria required:
• A tactical jet-powered aircraft with
the ability to operate with NATO fighters
during combat in terms of performance and
interoperability.
• A payload capacity, including the nose
mission bay forward of the cockpit, which
has a retractable camera mount for a 15-
inch (380mm) class electro-optical sensor
and a radar system in the nose cone, and
three payload bays in the belly of the aircraft
that provide an additional 85ft3 (2.4m3) of
available space for user-specific mission
equipment.
SCORPION MILITARY
SCORPION
CHARACTERISTICS
Length: 45ft 6in (13.86m)
Height: 13ft 4in (4.06m)
Wingspan: 47ft 10in (14.57m)
Wing area: 175.3ft2 (16.28m2)
Empty weight: 12,700lb (5.760kg)
Max take-off weight: 22,000lb (9,979kg)
Max internal payload: 3,000lb (1,360kg)
Max speed: 450kts (830km/h)
Service ceiling: 45,000ft (13,716m)
Ferry range: 1,600nm (2,960km)
Ferry range (with auxiliary tanks): 2,200nm
(4,075km)
Engines: Two Honeywell TFE731-40 medium
bypass ratio turbofan engines, each rated at
4,000lb (18kN) thrust
• A modular mission system that allows
new systems to be added in to the bay with
plug-and-play capability.
• Nearly five hours on-station loiter time,
at more than 100 nautical miles (180km) from
base with a sensor payload and mission
equipment capable of detecting targets and
generating weapon quality coordinates for
the ISR armed reconnaissance role.
• Provision for aerial refuelling and self-
protection systems. These features are not
standard to save cost and therefore meet
affordability, to avoid limitations on export.
Because Scorpion meets these design
features it can fly 11 combat roles (the
mission set) - close air support, irregular
warfare support, armed reconnaissance,
combat search and rescue, forward air
control, direct attack, humanitarian and
disaster relief, maritime security, patrol,
border security and advanced jet training,
29
 MILITARY SCORPION

Scorpion N532TX over the Atlantic Test

Range loaded with an HMP-400 heavy
machine gun pod on the left and right side
middle stations. The aircraft’s payload bays
can be seen on the fuselage underside.
Erik Hildebrandt/US Navy

30

Scorpion N532TX releases an inert 500lb GBU-12
laser-guided bomb from the left side inner pylon
with an HMP-400 heavy machine gun pod loaded
on the middle station. Erik Hildebrandt/US Navy
with the ability to conduct some components
of lead-in fighter training.
All aircraft are configured to meet the
roles undertaken by the US Air National
Guard during active-duty Title 10 combat
deployment, and those undertaken in
support of full-time National Guard-duty Title
32 missions: response to emergencies and
natural disasters, homeland defence.
To date, Textron has built three production-
standard model 530 Scorpions (P1 N530TX
c/n 530-0001, P2 N532TX c/n 530-0002,
and P3 N534TX c/n 530-0003) and have
amassed more than 1,400 hours during
demo and flight test activities.
Scorpion
Discussing the aircraft’s design, Steve Burke
said: “Scorpion has a full carbon composite
skin, carbon composite wing and features
the ability to perform field repairs, change
the wing and extend service life beyond its
baseline 20,000 hours.”
Burke told AIR International: “The
operator can perform field-based curing
to repair battlefield damage. Its composite
construction, combined with the flexibility
of its structure, allows conformal antennas
and arrays to be fitted to provide more
flexibility to the aircraft’s modular avionics
and mission systems.”
Scorpion’s mission system is called
Widow, produced by L3 Technology
ForceX. According to Textron, Widow
enables rapid development of mission
plug-ins called ForceX sensor controlled
modules, software that allows Textron
to quickly add new applications such as
surveillance and information equipment
into the aircraft’s core mission system and
at low cost.
By October, Textron had flown one of its
production standard Scorpion aircraft fitted
with a Wescam MX-25 electro-optical and
infrared sensor, a sensor that enables scene
recognition, feature extraction and object
detection. The Wichita-based company
is also hoping to add a stand-off target
recognition capability once the physics,
optics and software is tested.
In baseline configuration, the Widow
system architecture is designed for export.
Textron is already working with various Air
National Guards that run state partnership
programmes with other countries. The
company’s intent is to sell Scorpion fully
interoperable with US and western air arms.
The architecture also allows rapid
development and prototyping of different
types of technology for quick integration
and flight testing, and the ability to make
adjustments quickly. The system’s aim is to
make the process for adding new functions
easy for customers.
A new function simply plugs in and plays
without impeding the design assurance
level of the Garmin 3000 digital integrated
flight deck. Garmin has integrated what it
terms the glass touchscreen controller as
the primary point of data entry for the G3000
system featuring icon touch keys that enable
access to the aircraft’s systems and sensors
with a few keystrokes or page sequences.
Future enhancements and applications
can be accommodated without physical
alteration of the mechanical controls. The
G3000 features 14.1-inch (355mm) diagonal
WXGA high-resolution multifunction displays
that boast split-screen functionality.
Scorpion features heated leading edges of
the wing, horizontal tails, engine inlets, and
the windshield: a big benefit when operating
in the types of adverse weather generally
encountered by military aircraft when flying at
medium and low altitudes while conducting
surveillance as part of the wider ISR role.
Textron optimised the Scorpion for
what the company refers to as persistent
data collection, which can be maintained
for nearly five hours when fuel is carried
in auxiliary tanks; if the aerial refuelling
capability is eventually integrated, then time
on station extends further. The long loiter
time was a major driver for the Scorpion’s
high aspect ratio wing design with a 47ft 10in
(14.58m) wingspan.
SCORPION MILITARY
Powered by two Honeywell TFE731
medium bypass ratio turbofan engines,
each rated at 4,000lb (18kN) thrust, when
operating in an orbit at 150 to 200kts (275 to
370km/h) the aircraft’s combined fuel burn
rate is 1,000lb (450kg) per hour.
Both engines are enclosed in air load (not
structural) fairings for aerodynamic effect and
can be removed and changed quickly using
standard ground support equipment.
Honeywell’s TFE731 engines are quiet,
too, as noted by members of the Kansas Air
National Guard, who were unable to hear
the aircraft in an orbit at 9,000ft (2,740m) at
a 2 nautical mile (3.6km) slant range during
a demonstration at the Smoky Hill range.
Similarly, joint terminal attack controllers
located on the range near Holloman Air
Force Base during the US Air Force’s light
attack experiment in August were reportedly
surprised when the aircraft remained
inaudible to them at close range.
Scorpion’s tandem, about centreline,
cockpits provide good visibility, a big
advantage in the ISR role and an important
part of the aircraft’s design brief. Each
cockpit, forward and aft, is configured both
as a pilot and a co-pilot/mission operator
station, which enables Scorpion to be flown
from either cockpit for most of its assigned
roles. The aft cockpit has additional controls
to increase weapon system operator
capability.
During the early design phase, Textron
engineers evaluated a centreline vertical
tail configuration, but because the aircraft
is required to sustain 6g, flying at high
angles-of-attack might have induced some
tail blanking. In order to maintain directional
control, rudder authority at high degrees
of angle-of-attack and accounting for
the 34-inch (860mm) wide payload bay
also positioned about the centreline, the
design team opted for an outward canted
configuration to ensure the vertical tails stay
in the free air stream. Secondly, Scorpion
is not equipped with digital fly-by-wire
controls, so the vertical tails function with
31
 MILITARY SCORPION
Scorpion N534TX loaded with two GBU-12
laser-guided bombs, two 2.75-inch rocket
pods, a Wescam MX-15 multi-spectral
sensor turret fitted to the retractable camera
mount under the nose and a MX-25 sensor
turret fitted to the aft payload bay. Jim
Haseltine/Textron Aviation
the conventional elevators on trimmable
horizontal stabilisers and ailerons powered
by a 3,000psi, dual redundant manual
backup mode flight control system. The
company opted for a hydraulic-powered
system to achieve the required capability, but
also affordability; by comparison, digital fly-
by-wire systems are expensive to develop,
buy and to service. Textron’s hydraulic-
powered system is cheaper on all three
counts and according to Steve Burke, “can
be repaired anywhere”.
The Scorpion has yet to accumulate
thousands of hours of flight time, so the
aircraft’s current mission capability rate
is based on the flight operations flown by
Textron’s four-aircraft fleet. That’s now.
Nobody knows what the future mission
capability rate will be, though Textron has
sought very high assurance on mean time
between failure and mean time between
repair estimates for all components used
on the Scorpion. Steve Burke said: “We
incorporated components and architecture
commonly used in Textron’s fleet of
business jets and other types. Many of the
components used to build Scorpion, had
previously been used in other product lines.”
Weapons detachment
In mid-July Textron deployed two production
standard Scorpion jets, three test pilots and
a team of flight engineers to Naval Air Station
Patuxent River, Maryland. The detachment
was staged to test safe separation or firing of
four different air-to-ground weapons; 500lb
(227kg) GBU-12 laser-guided bombs, 500lb
BDU-50 practice bombs, 2.75-inch rockets,
and 0.50 calibre rounds fired from HMP-400
guns on either wing.
A significant amount of integration work
had to be completed before the aircraft left
Wichita for the east coast. The Textron team
had to build the weapon pylons, interface
each weapon type with the aircraft, establish
32
an envelope within which the weapons could
be flown, generate the appropriate electrical
power required and install the necessary
avionics to control each weapon type,
including switches in the cockpit.
Textron’s senior defence and special
mission aircraft test pilot, Dan Hinson said:
“The goal was to return to Wichita having
expended each of the weapon types,
thereby clearing an envelope, albeit limited,
to employ the munitions for the light attack
experiment held at Holloman. We had a two-
week schedule to complete all of the weapon
separation and firing events for the four
types of weapon in five release scenarios,
meaning the game plan over the two weeks
was aggressive.
“We evaluated separation of the BDU-50
and GBU-12, but for the gun and rockets,
like all guns and rockets, hot gas ingestion is
of concern so that was also evaluated. Each
event was slightly different, and each was
an end-to-end test of our weapons control
mechanisms.”
Textron’s team started the Pax River
tests at a very high-level of readiness
after undertaking the company’s own test
processes at Wichita and working through
those issued by Air Test and Evaluation
Squadron 23 (VX-23) ‘Salty Dogs’, the team’s
host squadron at Pax.
All of the test event undertaken at
Pax were on par with the processes and
procedures used by VX-23. He explained:
“We had five test events to complete,
simultaneous firing of rockets from each
side, firing the guns on each side, firing the
guns simultaneously from each side, and
dropping both types of bomb as they had
not been undertaken with the production-
standard aircraft before.”
The Textron team pre-positioned both
aircraft at Richmond International Airport,
Virginia, and made the short hop to Pax
River on the Monday morning; arriving at
the Maryland test base on time. Hinson
said: “We spent Tuesday going through the
review process with the Naval Air Systems
Command team, flew the first event on
Wednesday, flying for five consecutive test
days, each with a different weapon type.
We started by firing rockets, one from the
left, one from the right, then two together
simultaneously. Then we fired two off the left
side in rapid sequence, so four test events
in the one mission.
“Next, was a single firing of the gun from
the left and then the right side, and continued
taking shots to prove the gun system and
that hot gases from the gun were not being
ingested and causing engine problems.
There were none.
“Then, we dropped GBU-12s, dropping
one weapon from one side with nothing
else loaded on that wing, then a GBU-12
from a pylon on the other wing next to
a gun pod. We achieved two test points
under the same conditions. Then we
dropped BDU-50s, by repeating the profile
used with the GBU-12. The final event was
a simultaneous firing of guns, one carried
under each wing.”
Textron used LAU-131A/A launchers
(the type capable of accommodating the
APKWS guided-rocket) to launch unguided
rockets - and in doing so - saved the cost of
guidance systems.
Commenting on how the aircraft feels
when bombs come off the pylons, Dan
Hinson said: “You get a degree or two of
roll but it’s easily countered thanks to the
powerful ailerons. It’s a very stable platform
and flies very well throughout the regime.”
Everything was conducted safely
and successfully. Hinson noted: “We
scheduled five, executed five and returned
to Wichita four days early. That takes
extremely good preparation, people who
know what they are doing and a whole lot
of luck.”
 SCORPION MILITARY

Data captured from the weapons testing

Jim Haseltine/Textron Aviation

was submitted to Air Force Materiel
Command’s air worthiness authority to
gain a military flight release so US Air
Force test pilots could release bombs and
fire rockets and guns from Scorpion during
the light attack experiment.

Prospects
For the role of aircrew training Textron is
upbeat about the Scorpion’s credentials. The
company is working on a cockpit emulation
application that will enable the multifunction
display to be surrendered to a mission
system application from another cockpit
system such as the F-35 Lightning II.
AIR International understands that
ongoing work being undertaken by Textron
with the Scorpion is based on a request from
the Department of the Navy to devise ways
of increasing the readiness level of its early-
model F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets.
The US Navy is interested in exploring the
possibility of using the non-carrier capable
Scorpion to emulate the Super Hornet’s
cockpit, head-up and helmet displays, and
its HOTAS (hands on throttle and stick) to
allow junior pilots to experience the thinking
required to operate the Super Hornet’s
mission systems. The objective is to enhance
overall readiness of the Super Hornet force,
but without its cost and maintenance burden.
Elsewhere, Air Combat Command’s
boss General James Holmes is also
pursuing ways in which to improve the
readiness of his units. No surprise that
Textron believes the Scorpion can be
used as a companion trainer to other
types, once again by emulating different
cockpits. According to Steve Burke:
“The idea is to fly an F-16 or F-35 pilot
in a Scorpion to acquire tactical trigger
time while supporting JTAC training,
which costs much less than flying
and F-16 or an F-35.”

33
 MILITARY F-35 LIGHTNING II

F-35A Lightning II 12-5091/HL

from the 388th Fighter Wing drops
an inert 2,000lb GBU-31 Joint
Direct Attack Munition over the
Utah Test and Training Range dur-
ing Combat Hammer, Air Combat
Command’s air-to-ground Weapon
System Evaluation Program.
Scott Wolff/US Air Force

F-35 Ligh
Starting Worldwid
David C Isby spoke with Admiral Mat Winter, the new F-35 Program
Executive Officer, about sustaining the fifth-generation fighter

B
efore his retirement last and locations we’ll have in 10-15 years …
July after a gruelling there’s going to be an awful lot of airplanes
five-year tour of duty in an awful lot of places in an awful lot of
as the F-35 Program configurations.” Sustainment will account for
Executive Officer most of the F-35’s costs – 66 to 75% of the
(PEO) in charge of the total – over the life of the programme.
Joint Program Office Speaking in Washington DC on September
responsible for the 6, Bogdan’s successor as F-35 PEO, Vice
development of the Admiral Mat Winter explained that to manage
Lockheed Martin F-35 costs, the United States, international F-35
Lightning II, US Air Force Lieutenant General partners and Foreign Military Sales customers
Christopher Bogdan issued a warning that are linked in to a global sustainment enterprise
the programme could still go “off the rails”. that will grow to provide repair, sustainment
Bogdan identified the biggest single risk: and support capability for a global F-35 fleet
“I am worried about our ability to sustain that will eventually number over 3,000 aircraft.
these airplanes globally, with the numbers He said: “We are sustaining aircraft right now.
F-35s will be operating from 13 new operating
locations worldwide in the next four years, with
aircraft numbers increasing to almost 1,000.”
It will be, Winter said, “an exciting time to be
the PEO”.
Earlier this year, Lockheed Martin’s Vice
President of F-35 business development and
strategic integration, Jack Crisler said: “By
the end of the year F-35 flight operations
would be under way in Italy, Israel and
Norway, with the transition from CONUS-
based [continental United States-based]
sustainment to an international capability …
An ADM [acquisition decision memoranda]
signed last year describes how global
sustainment is going to work.”

34
 F-35 LIGHTNING II MILITARY

ghtning II
wide Sustainment

35
 MILITARY F-35 LIGHTNING II
Global sustainment
Once the ADM was issued in November
2016, the US Department of Defense
assigned maintenance, repair, overhaul and
upgrade (MROU) responsibility to industry in
F-35 partner countries for the first 65 of 774
different component repair capabilities. A
further 200 components followed. All 774 will
be assigned by 2020.
Companies that have not been involved
in F-35 manufacturing to date are being
encouraged to compete for supplying or
providing MROU activities. This is being
achieved through an emerging worldwide
network of sustainment activities, primarily
carried out by companies, but directly
interfacing with the air arms of all F-35
partner countries, and not just the air arm in
the company’s own country.
Winter stressed that in the allocation of
sustainment functions there is no entitlement,
each partner has a responsibility. He said:
“The US Government has an obligation to
best value in allocating workshare. Nor does
participation in one function in the F-35
programme assure that this will expand to
other roles.”
Previously on February 16, 2017, General
Bogdan explained how this would work
to the House Armed Services Committee:
“The Department of Defense will assign
to the F-35 partners and FMS customers
repair capabilities such as wheels and
brakes, electrical and hydraulic systems,
maintenance of support equipment, and
warehousing for the global supply chain.
These same capabilities either currently exist
or are being developed at depots in the US in
accordance with current US law.”
F-35A Lightning II 14-5106/HL from the 388th Fighter Wing fires an inert AIM-120C-7 missile at the Utah Test and Training Range during
Combat Archer, Air Combat Command’s air-to-air Weapon System Evaluation Program. Scott Wolff/US Air Force
36
In addition to the US facilities, F-35s
will also be supported by the two MROU
facilities established to support operators
in the Pacific and European regions (at
Nagoya, Japan and Cameri, Italy) to provide
worldwide coverage. Both the European and
Pacific MROUs are co-located with F-35
final assembly and checkout facilities. F-35s
deployed from the United States will use the
regional sustainment networks in Europe
and the Pacific regions as Admiral Winter
outlined. He said: “We will not have to take
aircraft home for organisational or depot
maintenance.”
In Europe, MROU activity will start in
2018, with work on airframes being done
at Cameri, Italy and on F135 engines at
the first European regional F135 engine
depot overhaul facility by the 1. Hava Ikmal
ve Bakim Merkezi (1st Air Supply and
Maintenance Centre or 1. HIBM) at Eskisehir,
Turkey. As the number of F-35s operating in
Europe – including US aircraft – increases,
by 2021 additional capabilities may come
on line, in the UK for airframes and in the
Netherlands and Norway for engines.
In November 2016, the F-35 JPO
announced that Australia and the UK had
been selected as MROU hubs for avionics,
starting, in 2020-2021, with a global support
mission. By 2025, both hubs will transition
to providing avionics support for the entire
European and Pacific regions to meet the
requirements of the much bigger fleet of F-35
aircraft in operation by then.
In August, the JPO announced that the
Netherlands would be the site of a European
F-35 parts warehouse, which will be
operational in 2019; an equivalent warehouse
for the Pacific region will be built in Australia
and become operational in 2020. Both
warehouses will provide spares and service
equipment to all F-35 operators.
In another example, BAE Systems
Australia, which has been selected as the
Southern Pacific region airframe MROU
provider (the Northern Pacific region is
handled by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries-
managed FACO at Nagoya) will support
not just Australia’s 72 F-35As at its depot
facility at Williamstown but also F-35s from
other countries in the region. Currently
under construction, the Williamstown facility
features eight work bays.
Each MROU facility is a major node within
a support network that Admiral Winter
described as: “A global supply chain as
nimble and agile as possible: 110 foreign
suppliers in 11 countries, with 1,250-1,300
in the US industrial base.” The global
sustainment enterprise will work with all
F-35 operators to develop partnerships
with industry at all levels. Winter said: “If we
see a small business emerge with required
capabilities, we may need to consider this as
a second or third source.”
Who owns what?
Liberating the F-35 from the traditional
approach of each nation or service investing
in and operating its own dedicated support
stovepipe – having to buy a stock of spare
parts and support equipment – is a goal of
the F-35’s networked sustainment strategy.
A part removed from an F-35 in country A
for overhaul, may be sent to an industry
partner in country B, where the workers will
not necessarily even know what country the

US Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II BuNo 169028/
VM28 assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Training
Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) ‘Warlords’ lands on the
flight deck aboard the amphibious assault ship USS
Wasp (LHD 1) during the ship’s certification exercise in
the Atlantic Ocean during August. Mass Communication
Specialist 3rd Class Levingston Lewis/US Navy
part came from. But once the overhaul is
completed, the part could be sent to an F-35
in country C, if that has the most urgent need
for it. Winter said: “The global strategy is a
spares pool, you don’t own the specific fuel
pump, but if you are there and need one, one
will arrive”.
Central management provides oversight
of each asset’s use and upkeep throughout
the global enterprise network of spares and
support equipment by linking F-35 operators
with central management. Squadrons,
bases and services have much the same
responsibilities that they have today,
providing government-furnished material,
overseeing its use, ensuring operational
availability and maintaining accountability.
An F-35C Lightning II assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 101 (VFA-101) ‘Grim Reapers’ performs a touch-and-go on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS
George Washington (CVN 73) during initial qualifications. Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Wyatt Anthony/US Navy
In many countries, the sustainment
system may be politically unpopular when
not all of the work required by a country’s
F-35s is performed locally, but rather is the
responsibility of an international network. Not
only will international partners not own spare
fuel pumps – or other components – supplied
for their F-35s, but also they will have to
explain to the voters why these airplanes’
expensive engines are being flown out for
expensive major overhauls in other countries,
rather than being trucked to the local factory
that would dearly love to do the work.
Reducing costs
The objective of the F-35’s global
sustainment enterprise is to reduce operating
F-35 LIGHTNING II MILITARY
costs. For decades, operating costs have
relentlessly driven down the numbers
of manned combat aircraft available for
coalition air operations. From its start, the
F-35 programme has been designed to bend
the cost curve downward. Winter said: “We
need to get ahead to make this affordable for
the US and international partners.”
Sustainability is the area where the F-35
programme can, if successful, achieve its
largest savings. Currently, the JPO estimates
it has achieved $81 million in development
savings, but foresees an enormous $63
billion in total-programme sustainment
costs. These actions, managed through the
Lifecycle Affordability Board (LAB) process,
have included the Reliability & Maintainability
37
 MILITARY F-35 LIGHTNING II
Commander US Air Forces in Europe, General Tod Wolters, gives opening remarks at an F-35 leadership
forum at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The forum gathered experts and stakeholders from Denmark,
Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey and the United Kingdom to plan a common vision among
F-35 users. Captain Kay Magdalena Nissen/US Air Force
Improvement Program (including identifying
and improving diagnostics), the US Marine
Corps Pathfinder Program (leveraging the
Marines’ F-35B experience in sustainment
for other users) and establishing and using
the JPO’s cost war room.
Another programme dubbed the
Industry Blueprint for Affordability
leverages contractor investment to
build the global sustainment chain while
controlling costs. This programme started
in 2014 and was extended in 2016 for
a further two years. Explaining what
should happen under the programme,
Winter said: “We solicit good ideas
for cost reduction as part of a larger
affordability strategy. Accessing industry
through best value competition, domestic
and international is critical for creating
capabilities and controlling costs.”
F-35C Lightning II BuNo 169163/
NJ124 of Strike Fighter Squadron
101 (VFA-101) approaches the
flight deck of the aircraft carrier
USS George Washington (CVN
73) for an arrested landing. During
August 2016, VFA-101 aircraft and
pilots conducted initial qualifica-
tions aboard George Washington
in the Atlantic Ocean. Mass Commu-
nication Specialist 3rd Class Clemente
Lynch/US Navy
38
Competition will be carried out throughout
the enterprise, not limited to MROU or
other specialist capabilities. Speaking at
the Air Force Association convention at
National Harbor, Maryland on September
19, Lieutenant General Arnold Bunch, the Air
Force’s top uniformed acquisition officer said:
“For F-35 sustainment, we have put rules in
place that everyone agreed to, so they can’t
say there are problems. Our biggest focus is
to drive down the F-35’s operating cost. We
continue to work with Lockheed Martin and
their partners to keep cost under control.”
Stressing affordability, Winter said:
“The initiatives we use in our war room,
aligned with action items and plans to
seek out best performers in industry and
government, need the best, brightest, most
capable performers and this needs to be
continuously re-assessed.”
ALIS: the sustainment network
linking each F-35
The F-35 sustainment enterprise is the
capstone that brings together industry,
sustainment providers and operators. The
F-35’s Autonomic Logistics Integration
System (ALIS) runs vertically. The system
links individual F-35s through successive
levels into ALIS’s central fleet-management
capabilities and represent a single standard
user interface for F-35 sustainment that will
be used by every operator.
The ALIS portable maintenance aid
and portable classified aid — ruggedised
laptops used at the squadron level — plugs
directly in to each aircraft. Each squadron,
worldwide, uses the same ALIS standard
operating unit (SOU) terminal. These link
to a central node in each operating nation
and to a global node at Lockheed Martin’s
Fort Worth, Texas facility, with separate
systems for classified data and another,
more restricted, for data relating to the
F-35’s stealth technology. Members of
the international supply chain, depots and
industrial partners that provide repairs and
sustainment are linked to ALIS.
F-35 international logistics and
sustainment is designed around a
performance-based logistics approach at
two levels: organisation-depot (primarily
handled by industry) and main operating
base (MOB) or unit (primarily handled
by military and government personnel).
Contractor support will sustain operations
at forward operation locations or ships,
where the last mile of transportation and the
hands-on support of the F-35s are carried
out by the (military or government) users. The
ALIS SOU, with its interface with the laptops
that monitor the aircraft on the flight line, will
according to Admiral Winter, pulse out to the
supply chain to get a part or a maintenance
activity. The F-35 is designed to operate for
up to 30 days without ALIS connectivity.
A MOB can make direct access to
contractor support through ALIS, which
makes F-35 regional warehouses in the US,

The Autonomic Logistics Information System is intended to be the same for all users of the F-35. Here a US Air Force and Royal Air Force technician study an
ALIS display at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Lockheed Martin
Europe and Pacific – each an ALIS node
like the MOBs and FOLs - important. On
August 29, Lockheed Martin announced it
was establishing an ALIS team in Australia,
supporting the linkage to the sustainment
network of the MROU and warehousing
facilities there. The regional warehouses will
provide spares either to a MOB (by just-in-
time commercial transportation) or directly
to a FOL or ship (by military transportation).
This, and other sustainment management
activities will be carried out primarily by
industry, connected through ALIS.
However, Winter is concerned that
transportation and distribution channels used
to get parts and capabilities to where they
are required “takes way too long”.
Until 2017, F-35 operational logistics and
sustainment experience had primarily been
with the US armed services. US Marine
Corps F-35Bs, participating in Exercise
Red Flag this summer, were able to fly 67
of 70 scheduled sorties. US Navy F-35Cs
completed 41 sorties in 19 days on board the
aircraft carrier USS George Washington. In
the final round of developmental testing sea
trials in 2016, F-35Bs completed 60 sorties
in 21 days on board the amphibious warfare
ship USS America. Commenting on the at
sea periods, Jack Crisler said: “Lockheed
Martin worked with the Marine Corps on how
the service can manage its own deployable
spares during shipboard deployments.”
The techniques and procedures
developed are likely to be directly applicable
to sustaining British and Italian F-35B
shipboard operations as well.
While ALIS has still not achieved
its full operational capability, the US
Marine Corps and the US Air Force have
already demonstrated they can support
deployments. By 2017, Air Force support
for ALIS was strong enough for the service
to start examining whether it could be
expanded to other aircraft types and into a
service-wide system. The upgraded ALIS
version 2.0.2 will be in service supporting
F-35s worldwide by the end of 2017.
Future sustainment
Making F-35 sustainment work will be a
challenge even for its biggest user, the
US Air Force. Speaking at the Air Force
Association convention at National Harbor on
September 18, Air Force Materiel Command,
Commander General Ellen Pawlikowski said:
“We anticipate the Air Force will buy so many
[F-35s] that we are more probably going to
be doing a lot of the heavy lifting in support
of the JPO to manage the global enterprise.
It is going to require global management,
because there are going to be platforms and
depots all over the world for different things.
Managing the enterprise and relations with
contractors is something the Air Force is
going to have to spend time on. It is going to
require heavy lifting from the Air Force, the
JPO and international partners to make this
as streamlined as we can.”
The last word belongs to Admiral Winter,
who, when asked if he shared General
Bogdan’s concern that sustainment might
be the thing that finally pushes the long-
running F-35 programme off the rails, said:
F-35 LIGHTNING II MILITARY
“What General Bogdan was discussing was
the capacity demanded by the increasing
number of F-35s. Meeting the needs for
MROU capability is going to be taxing and
demanding. We need to ensure that we have
enough engine, airframe and component
repair facilities around the world so we
do not have aircraft around the world that
cannot be repaired. MROU stand-up is on
track to be able to accept and accommodate
current F-35 production. The US government
continues to have performers that are
supporting both industry and government.
We have performers – US military depot
performers – who we plan to run F-35 depots
and overhauls. We are transitioning to a
hybrid project support strategy.”
A 568th Electronics Maintenance Squadron technician
at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, removes a faulty
circuit card assembly from a remote input/output unit,
which is part of the F-35’s communication system.
Tommie Horton/US Air Force
39
 MILITARY DRAKEN INTERNATIONAL

Dutch
Frank Visser and
Ludo Mennes detail
the first deployment
of L-159s to Europe
by American
company Draken

Drakens
International
Frank Crebas/Bluelife Aviation

40

T
his year, Draken
International flew four of
its Aero L-159E ALCAs
across the Atlantic to
take part in the Fighter
Weapons Instructor
Training (FWIT) course at
Leeuwarden Air Base in
the Netherlands as Red
Air in the aggressor role.
Dutch company Skyline Aviation played an
important part in the exercise.
Skyline Aviation
Skyline Aviation has been towing targets for
the Koninklijke Marine (Royal Netherlands
Navy) for 25 years. It started business with
a rented Aero L-39 based at Den Helder
Air Station after it won its first contract.
Kim Olde Bijvank, director and co-owner of
Skyline Aviation, flies the L-39, as well as
the company’s Learjet 36A. He said: “The
DRAKEN INTERNATIONAL MILITARY
first year of operation we flew only 15 hours
and the second year this increased to 100
flying hours, which gave me the feeling, as
a pioneer in the business, that we were on
the right track.” The company has slowly
gained a reputation for providing high-
performance aircraft support to the military.
It has moved from Den Helder to Groningen
Eelde Airport and now owns two L-39s and
a Learjet 36A and employs its own pilots,
engineering and support personnel. The
company has greatly increased its areas
of expertise and now, besides the original
target-towing, offers electronic warfare
training, communications jamming, radar
calibration, Joint Terminal Attack Controller
training and other scenarios requiring flying
platforms. The customer base has grown,
too, and in addition to the Navy now
includes the Dutch Army and Air Force,
as well as industry in the Netherlands and
customers in Europe.
Cooperation with
Draken International
The demand for services like those provided
by Skyline Aviation has grown enormously
in recent years. One of the attractions for
the military is that by using a contractor to
provide training, valuable frontline assets
can be used for their primary tasks while
aircrews still maintain their proficiency levels.
Another important benefit is that this training
is achieved at a lower cost. For example,
the German Bundeswehr uses several
contractors, including German company GFD,
which uses 14 Learjet 35A and 36As from
Hohn Air Base and the Canadian Discovery
Air Defence was awarded a contract in early
2014 to fly seven A-4Ns from Wittmund
Air Base. In the United States, Draken
International, which has its headquarters at
Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Florida,
is the biggest contractor, with more than 70
41
 MILITARY DRAKEN INTERNATIONAL
Ludo Mennes
jets, the world’s largest commercial fleet of
ex-military aircraft. Draken focuses mainly on
the supply of air-to-air training, carrying out
the role of aggressor or Red Air. The company
is now a vital part of US military training and
is a regular participant in Exercise Red Flag
at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, where it
shares the Red Air role with the F-16s of the
US Air Forces’s 64th Aggressor Squadron.
It bases a number of its A-4 Skyhawks and
Aero L-159E ALCAs at Nellis. Besides the
air-to-air role, Draken International also
carries out air-to-ground, fleet missile defence
and air-to-air refuelling training. As part of
42
its growth plan, the company sees a role
for itself beyond the United States. It first
worked with the Koninkijke Luchtmacht (KLU
or Royal Netherlands Air Force) in 2015,
when A-4Ks trained with KLU F-16s and the
Netherland’s first two F-35As at Edwards
Air Force Base. That same year, Draken
International approached Skyline Aviation to
discuss Draken acting as Red Air during the
FWIT course run at the KLU’s Leeuwarden Air
Base. The FWIT course is based on the US
Air Force Weapons Officer training run by the
Weapons School at Nellis, and is managed
by 322 Tactical Training Evaluation and
Standardisation Squadron at Leeuwarden.
This year, pilots from the four European
Participating Air Forces group of F-16
operators – Belgium, Denmark, Norway and
the Netherlands – plus Portugal took part.
Kim Olde Bijvank Director explained:
“To us it was a dead certainty that we
would lead the project for FWIT. Draken
International would provide the aircraft
and pilots and we would take care of
the rest.” Deals were made with Draken
International whereby Skyline would
accept full responsibility as a contracting
party. The aim was to take part in the 2016

FWIT, but as it turned out things couldn’t
be arranged until 2017. Because Draken
International’s aircraft are registered with
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
a deployment outside the United States
for military purposes required a letter
of authorisation from the FAA. Skyline
Aviation had to comply with certain Dutch
regulations, too, and sought the authority
of the Human Environment and Transport
Inspectorate (ILT) and the Military Aviation
Authority (MAA). Skyline Aviation’s L-39s
had previously been registered in Estonia,
but the new contract required them to bear
American civil registrations; the Learjet was
already registered in the United States. One
of Skyline’s L-39 pilots flew to the United
States to qualify on the L-159E ALCA; all
missions flown by Draken during FWIT
had a Skyline Aviation pilot taking part. It
took 18 months to set everything up, but
eventually the ILT and the MAA issued
a temporary release to Skyline Aviation
permitting its participation in FWIT. Kim
Olde Bijvank: “Since we were the contract
partner of the KLU, we undertook to do
the tender. After obtaining the assignment
we arranged all kinds of matters, such as
the fly-over permissions.” During FWIT,
Skyline Aviation supplied two ground crew
engineers, a pilot and Kim Olde Bijvank
as chief of operations. The L-159E cannot
be refuelled in the air, so the transit to the
Netherlands was planned to comprise seven
or eight stages, dependent on the weather
conditions. The four jets took off from Nellis
Air Force Base on June 20, 2017, planning
to fly to the US east coast and then Canada,
Greenland, Iceland and the UK. Having
landed safely at Leeuwarden on June 22,
DRAKEN INTERNATIONAL MILITARY
they flew daily Red Air missions for the next
three weeks, simulating various types of
aircraft. Former US Air Force pilot Lt Col
Jerry Kerby, Vice President (Operations) of
Draken International, told AIR International:
“We simulated different types of aircraft like
the Fitter and the Flanker and so delivered
Red Air training for one fifth of the normal
costs.” All four virtually brand-new Aero
L-159Es simulate modern air-to-air missiles.
These highly capable aircraft constitute
an advanced threat, equipped as they are
with Leonardo’s GRIFO-L pulse-Doppler
radar, Sky Guardian 200 radar warning
receivers, and Thales Vicon 78 Series 455
countermeasures dispensing system. The
ALCAs left for home using the same route
on July 14.
Evaluation and future plans
The KLU as well as Skyline Aviation and
Draken International were satisfied with the
outcome of the FWIT. Jerry Kerby said: “We
are very pleased with the outcome and have
provided the Red Air assets FWIT asked for.”
Kim Olde Bijvank added: “The participation
in FWIT has turned out to be even more
positive than we had anticipated. Especially
the accuracy in carrying out the Red Air
missions and the added value for the 16
pilots taking part in FWIT has been an eye-
opener for the KLU. This trial was important
for us to find out which future assignments
could be interesting and what kind of
obstacles there could possibly be.” Although
the deployment appears to have been a
successful test for the three participants, it is
not known if there will be a follow-up in 2019.
The supervisor of FWIT will communicate his
findings to the KLU command and if they are
enthusiastic a new tender may be submitted.
Kim Olde Bijvank said: “I am interested in
delivering a product, not in flying. If you do
not deliver in time there will be no place for
you in this business. Together with Draken
International we have shown to be the party
for such assignments.” Now fielding credible
fourth-generation capabilities, Skyline
Aviation is convinced it can meet the growing
demand for contracted air services. Both
parties would like to extend their portfolios in
Europe and the opportunities are there with
new contracts expected to be on offer in
the near future.
Ludo Mennes
43
 COMMERCIAL LOGANAIR

S
eptember 1 saw a fresh roots but also confidence in its future as an in Kirkwall and routing through Westray,
start for Loganair, when independent regional operator. Papa Westray, Eday, North Ronaldsay,
the carrier once again Sanday and Strondsay.
flew under its own Fleet and network This shuttle includes the world’s shortest
name after 24 years Thirteen 34-seat Saab 340s form the bulk of commercial airline flight. The hop between
operating for other Loganair’s fleet but the airline also uses five the neighbouring islands of Westray and
airlines under franchise 50-seat Saab 2000s, three 32-seat Dornier Papa Westray, according to the current
partnerships. Between 328s, three DHC-6 Twin Otters and two winter 2017/18 schedule, takes just two
1993 and 2008 it flew Britten-Norman BN-2 Islanders. minutes to fly. Sometimes the flight time is
for British Airways and Loganair’s route network mainly consists closer to 60 seconds.
then from July 2008 for Flybe. of services in Scotland. It serves Glasgow, The shuttle is a Public Service Obligation
The franchise with Flybe ended on August Inverness, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, various (PSO) route, as are the flights out of
31 and the newly re-independent Loganair’s points in the Western Isles (Benbecula, Glasgow to Barra, Campbeltown and Tiree
first flight the following day under its own Barra, Tiree, Islay and Campbeltown), and Stornoway to Benbecula. A PSO is
colours and LC flight code was operated by Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands, Stornoway a European Union legislative mechanism
Saab 340 G-LGNG (c/n 302), named Spirit of in the Outer Hebrides and Sumburgh in the which can be used by EU member states
Harris, between Islay and Glasgow. Shetland Islands. to ensure an air service to a community
The aircraft sports Loganair’s new tartan The airline also operates an inter-island is maintained for economic and social
livery, which reflects not just the carrier’s shuttle in the Orkneys, starting and ending reasons, even though the service may not

Going Solo
The proudly Scottish airline Loganair is again flying under its own name.
Mark Broadbent reports

44

be commercially viable. Croatia, Finland,
Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain are other EU
members with PSO routes.
Regional links
Loganair doesn’t operate exclusively within
Scotland however. It has 12 flights a day (six
to Glasgow, three to Inverness and three to
Norwich) from Manchester, which with 25.6
million passengers in 2016, is the UK’s third-
busiest airport by passenger numbers behind
Heathrow and Gatwick.
The airline also flies from Norwich
to Durham Tees Valley, Edinburgh and
Jersey, from Edinburgh to the Isle of Man,
from Inverness to Dublin, from Dundee to
Stansted (another PSO route) and from
Aberdeen to Durham Tees Valley. During
the summer, the Saab 2000s operate
to Bergen in Norway from Glasgow,
Edinburgh and Kirkwall.
Contract flying is another part of
Loganair’s operations. Four aircraft are
used to transport workers from oil and gas
companies operating in the North Sea, and
there’s an agreement with the Royal Mail until
early 2022 to fly mail from East Midlands
Airport (where there’s a major Royal Mail
hub) to Inverness, on the services between
Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Inverness, and the
Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles flights.
At Glasgow, one of Loganair’s key hubs on its network of routes around Scotland, Saab 340 G-LGNG (c/n
302) was greeted by bagpipes at the end of the carrier’s first flight as an independent carrier again.
All photos Loganair unless stated
Finding niches
The trend in the European airline industry
for many years has been for larger network
carriers to divest routes with marginal
passenger demand, however just because
such services are unsustainable for a larger
airline doesn’t mean they are for a smaller
operator and this creates openings for
independent carriers.
Loganair Managing Director Jonathan
Hinkles told AIR International: “Those kind
of opportunities, where airlines are providing
a limited service or [there’s] no service but
there’s demand for it, is the kind of thing
we’re focusing on pretty heavily.”
The carrier’s Manchester services
and the Edinburgh-Isle of Man route are
examples. So too is the new route, which
started in October, between Norwich and
Durham Tees Valley. Together with the
existing Durham Tees Valley-Aberdeen
connection, this service is meant to tap into
the travel demand between East Anglia,
the Tees Valley and Aberdeen which exists
because of the offshore energy industry
uniting these areas.
Hinkles said this type of selectivity, finding
little pockets of demand that are underserved
or not served at all, is driving the ‘new’
Loganair. The focus is on finding, he said,
“a rational business opportunity that suits
LOGANAIR COMMERCIAL
the business model that we have: smaller
aeroplanes, higher frequency”.
He said: “Anything we do will be driven
by the fact there’s a customer demand for
a service or product. What we’re not about
is just going into markets for the sake of it
irrationally or illogically.”
Finding niches is also prudent because
of the competition posed by low-cost
carriers. Hinkles said: “Going up against
Ryanair or easyJet would not be a logical
or sensible thing to do. If they are serving
a route three or four times a day then there
is no way there would be space for us to
enter that market.”
Scottish identity
Sensible network planning is a must for small
independent airlines like Loganair but brand
recognition is important too.
Despite 24 years of its aircraft operating
in other carriers’ colours, Hinkles said:
“There’s still a lot of affinity and knowledge
of Loganair. We’re finding very clearly that
people still know and recognise the name.”
He claimed there’s “a huge support base
in the Highlands and Islands for what we’re
doing”. A positive reaction from Scots about
the return of the Loganair brand perhaps isn’t
surprising, but apparently the recognition
goes beyond this heartland.
45
 COMMERCIAL LOGANAIR
Twin Otter Series 400 G-HIAL is one of the aircraft owned by Highlands and Islands Airports and
used by Loganair to operate on Public Service Obligation routes. Ray MacFadyen/AirTeamImages
Hinkles said: “In some of our other markets
we’re seeing a good build [of traffic]. We’ve
seen a tremendous influx of bookings from
the Manchester area. Turning the clock back
25 years, Loganair was a big operator at
Manchester. There are people in that market
who remember the name.”
Such recognition is beneficial but Loganair
has nevertheless introduced a brand which
unashamedly plays up to the airline’s Scottish
identity.
Along with the tartan tailfins the aircraft
also bear the slogan Scotland’s Airline, staff
uniforms and seat headrest covers have
multicoloured Harris tweed patterns and
complimentary Tunnock’s caramel wafer bars,
made in Glasgow, are served to passengers.
Hinkles believes the new brand can only
be an advantage: “Some people say, ‘you’re
too Scottish’. But Aer Lingus paints its aircraft
green and put a shamrock on the tail and
no-one criticises them for being ‘too Irish’.
If you’ve got a national identity, it’s right and
logical to use it.”
46
Partnerships
However re-establishing Loganair requires
not just branding bells and whistles but also
building a comprehensive distribution network.
A significant development in this area
in September saw Loganair becoming a
founding member of the new Worldwide
by easyJet initiative. This “global airline
connections service” involves easyJet selling
tickets on behalf of the scheme’s partner
airlines to give travellers choice over their
connections. The other partner airlines are
currently Norwegian, WestJet, Neos, Aurigny,
La Compagnie and Corsair.
Loganair also has an expanded codeshare
with British Airways which allows BA
customers on flights from Heathrow to
Inverness, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen
to fly on Loganair’s Highlands and Islands
services from those airports, and a new
codeshare with sister company BMI Regional
(both airlines are owned by AIL Group)
on routes from Aberdeen, Edinburgh and
Manchester.
These partnerships matter for Loganair
for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they simply
boost awareness of the carrier among
a greater number of travellers. When
Loganair’s membership of Worldwide
by easyJet was announced, Hinkles
commented: “We expect it to lend strength
to Loganair’s sales efforts in markets where
easyJet has a strong presence but our brand
may not be well recognised.”
More crucially they broaden Loganair’s
potential customer base and therefore the
level of feed onto its services. For example,
easyJet says its website has had 360 million
unique visits in the last year.
Hinkles said: “The introduction of such a
well-known name also selling stand-alone
tickets for travel on the Loganair network
vastly improves our distribution capability by
promoting the Loganair name and network to
a worldwide audience.”
The importance of these partnerships is
underlined by Loganair’s erstwhile franchise
partner Flybe, the UK’s largest regional airline,
recently strengthening its Scottish presence
with a five-year joint revenue and risk-sharing
agreement for Eastern Airways to operate
four turboprops for Flybe on services from
Sumburgh to Aberdeen, Edinburgh and
Glasgow.
Fleet
The Twin Otters are the latest DHC-6 Twin
Otter Series 400 variants from Viking Air.
Two of the aircraft, delivered in 2015, were
acquired by Highlands and Islands Airports
to be operated by Loganair specifically for
the PSO routes and their short take-off and
landing performance and ruggedness makes
them ideal for these services.
The Saab 340s are undergoing a cabin
refit which involves installing lightweight
seats to improve passengers’ legroom,
re-covering all interior panels to reduce
vibration, introducing soundproofing
between the interior panels and the fuselage
to improve cabin acoustics and installing
LED lighting.
 LOGANAIR COMMERCIAL

Loganair will continue using these aircraft,

the Dornier 328s and the Saab 2000s for
the time being, Hinkles said, but he added:
“I think there will come a point where we
have to upsize aeroplanes, simply due to
economics and the fact that nobody is
building 30-seat turboprops any more.
“The longer-term plan is re-fleeting with a
single type of aircraft and then we get some
good commonality benefits for pilot training,
engineering [and] ground equipment. That’s
something we’re looking at with a keen
degree of interest.”
That’s for further ahead. Right now, a
major focus for all airlines in the UK is
coping with the impact of the fall in the
pound’s value over the last 18 months.
Hinkles explained: “For an airline which
buys a lot of its maintenance and spare
parts and insurance in dollars, those
commodities became 30% more expensive.
It has a very big impact on your cost base
when you are a regional operator which
earns the vast majority of its income in
sterling.”
The pound’s value has rebounded from
the low it fell to in 2016 but it is still down
on where it was in 2015. With negotiations
continuing over Britain’s exit from the EU
and the UK Government recently confirming
Loganair believes emphasising its Scottish identity gives it an advantage on the marketplace.
it is seeking a two-year transition period
after Brexit, wider macroeconomic factors
are likely to continue to loom large for the A new ticket distribution agreement with easyJet, one of whose A320s is in the
UK’s airlines. background in this shot of a Saab 340 at Glasgow, is a partnership Loganair is hoping
Hinkles observed: “All we can do is what will help establish its market presence.
we have done, which is try and make sure
we’re running our business as efficiently as
we can and watch our operating costs. It’s
not easy.”
Which is exactly why establishing
Loganair in consumers’ minds, growing the
distribution network and making prudent
route development choices will remain
high on the agenda for Loganair as it
continues to fly solo.

47
 MILITARY RQ-7B SHADOW

Counting S
VMU-4’s Marines Take a

A
s the Marine Forces
Reserve’s dedicated
aerial reconnaissance
specialists, the ‘Evil
Eyes’ of Marine
Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle Squadron 4
(VMU-4) are used to
spending long nights
at the controls of
the unit’s AAI RQ-7B Shadow Unmanned
Aerial System (UAS) searching for enemy
combatants or signs of hostile activity. With
up to nine hours of loiter time, optical and
infrared sensors and a laser designator,
Shadow offers a persistent eye in the
sky, allowing VMU-4’s Marines to provide
over watch for convoys or infantry patrols
moving through hostile territory, gather
pattern-of-life intelligence on suspected
enemy compounds, or detect, track and,
if necessary, target enemy vehicles or
personnel for airstrikes or artillery fires. A typical RQ-7B crew consists of an air vehicle operator (left) who flies the aircraft, a mission payload
On the weekend of August 18–20, 2017, operator (right) who operates the sensors and communications payloads, and an unmanned
however, the ‘Evil Eyes’ put the Shadow to aircraft commander (UAC, not pictured), an officer in a nearby command centre. The UAC is often
work against an entirely different kind accompanied by an intelligence specialist assigned to the squadron. On this flight, the UAC was
of target. accompanied by game wardens and wildlife biologists. Instructors often sit in on RQ-7B flights,
which is the case with the Marine pictured at far left in this image.

VMU-4 is the last operator of the AAI RQ-7B Shadow UAS in the US
Marine Corps, and will begin transitioning to the Boeing-Insitu RQ-21A
Blackjack early next year. The wildlife survey missions flown in August were
actually the squadron’s penultimate flight operation with the Shadow.

48

g Sheep
e a Walk on the Wild Side
Situated on over 125,000 acres (506km2)
of land on the California coast north of San
Diego, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
is the largest tract of undeveloped land in
coastal Southern California and home to
some of the most varied biodiversity in the
region. Camp Pendleton Game Wardens
(CPGW) are responsible for managing
everything to do with the base’s wildlife,
from overseeing the protection of the 18
threatened or endangered species that call
Camp Pendleton home to regulating the
hunting and fishing that occurs on base.
One of the tasks that falls on CPGW is
keeping tabs on Camp Pendleton’s robust
population of southern mule deer. Gunnery
Sergeant Bill Franceschini, an active-duty
RQ-7B operator and VMU-4’s operations
chief explained the purpose of these
surveys: “They’re looking at the status of
the herds to figure out if they’re breeding
correctly based on the numbers and the
dispositions of where the herds are, as that
allows the game wardens to determine
where to place food plots, and for things
like hunting season, which is coming up
soon. Based on the count, the wardens can
either place restrictions on hunting, or tell
the hunters to go in certain areas because
of overpopulation.”
A safer approach
Historically, deer surveys on Camp
Pendleton have been done using civilian
helicopters contracted by CPGW for a
low-altitude aerial survey. That has been a
fairly effective method of counting the deer,
but it also carries some significant risks.
Camp Pendleton Game Warden and wildlife
biologist Michael Tucker experienced first
hand the potential hazards of this approach.
He told AIR International: “Previously we
used the technique of a low-elevation
helicopter survey. I was on a survey flight last
November when we struck a powerline, and
we realised that that wasn’t a safe way to do
things. Everyone survived the incident, but
we don’t want to do that anymore.”
The idea for using VMU-4’s RQ-7s for the
deer survey started in Camp Pendleton’s
contracting office, where Franceschini’s
wife works and had heard about CPGW’s
RQ-7B SHADOW MILITARY
Joe Copalman reports on
an interesting deployment
to southern California by
Marine Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle Squadron 4
The Shadow’s primary payload is the IAI POP300
electro-optical/ infrared sensor turret, equipped
with a laser designator. The POP300 can
generate ten-digit target coordinates, precise
enough for GPS-guided weapons, but also useful
for other functions, like pinpointing where a
southern mule deer was spotted.
quandary now that helicopter surveys were off
the table. When she brought up the idea with
Franceschini – himself an avid hunter – he
was extremely enthusiastic about it. The idea
gained traction as VMU-4 met with CPGW
to discuss the RQ-7’s capabilities and how
they can meet the game wardens’ needs. On
49
 MILITARY RQ-7B SHADOW

The Deer Hunters

This image shows to good effect the type of terrain VMU-4 has to contend with while operating out of
the HOLF. While undeniably scenic, Camp Pendleton’s large hills force the RQ-7B to higher altitudes to
maintain electronic line-of-sight with the ground control station. In the foreground are two of VMU-4’s
ground control station vehicles. The GCS is effectively the ‘cockpit’ of the RQ-7.
paper, the Shadow offered several advantages
over the helicopter, aside from just increased
safety. As Franceschini explained, “If they’re
in the helicopter, they’ll say, ‘Okay, I’m kind
of here-ish on the map, and I see deer over
there, so he’s probably here on the map.’
However, from the sensor on the Shadow,
we can say exactly where that deer was. In
the helicopter, they’d be writing that down.
Meanwhile, every time I drop a target mark,
it records it into a graphic user interface and
they can then plot them all on a map.”
Game Warden Mike Tucker expressed
similar enthusiasm for the potential
advantages of the RQ-7, telling AIR
International: “When we have this
opportunity to work with the Marines with
their UAV technology that can do things
safer, I think this is a good use of our time;
and we benefit from that because there’s
no cost to us, so there’s no taxpayer dollars
paying for an aircraft that is maybe unsafe to
operate in the lower elevations here.
“The infrared imagery is a game-changer
for us, because we can look for animals
at night. With the low-elevation helicopter
surveys, it’s hard to see the deer when
they’re standing still. We need to really see
them when they’re moving, because that’s
what catches our eye. With the infrared
technology, we can see them when they’re
holding still and get more realistic counts.”
For the Marines of VMU-4, the wildlife
survey mission was not just an opportunity to
help out the base’s game wardens, but also
a unique training opportunity. Franceschini
said: “In this day and age, we’re flying a lot of
notional missions, where we have a notional
enemy. Most of the time when we support the
ground combat element at Camp Pendleton,
it’s against a notional enemy, unless of course
we have role players, but then that gets into
spending a lot of money. At ITX [Integrated
Training Exercise at Twentynine Palms,
California], we’d be lucky to find a piece of
metal out there that’s been baking in the sun
all day.” The wildlife survey mission gave
VMU-4 the opportunity to train against live heat
signatures that provide the kinds of contrast
through the sensors that the RQ-7B operators
would see in real-world missions. The task
of searching for elusive targets over broad
areas of wilderness created a further training
challenge for VMU-4’s Shadow operators.
The purpose of these initial flights was not
necessarily to make official deer population
counts with the RQ-7B, but rather to test
the suitability of UAVs to the wildlife survey
mission, to validate the concept and to
establish a framework for standard operating
procedures. As CPGW’s Tucker explained:
“Really, this year isn’t so much about counting
the animals here, it’s about finding the method
that is going to work for us in the future. We’re
learning by experience because there isn’t
a manual for this right now.” In addition to
just getting a first glimpse at what the RQ-7’s
sensors are capable of producing, Tucker (as
well as a visiting wildlife biologist from the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife,
which is also expressing an interest in using
UAS for aerial survey work) was also interested
in evaluating the manual and automated
search functions of the RQ-7’s sensors.
The main objective for the first flight was
to locate a bison herd in an area of known
bison activity simply to verify whether the
RQ-7 could find and observe wildlife at
resolutions good enough to make positive
identification of what type of animal is being
observed and get an accurate count. While
the Shadow operators were successful in
finding a herd of bison, it was in an area on
the far eastern edge of Camp Pendleton, a
significant distance away from the Helicopter
Outlying Landing Field (HOLF) VMU-4 was
operating from. With the mountainous terrain
The second survey flight of the weekend was
cancelled when clouds moved into the area
almost immediately after the RQ-7B for this
mission was launched. Looking at the mission
payload operator’s screen, it is clear just how
thoroughly these clouds obscure the ground.

A ‘short-wing’ RQ-7B awaits assembly at the HOLF. With six hours endurance and Camp Pendleton’s ranges only a short flight away, VMU-4 typically opts for
the short-winged Shadows for local missions, versus the long-winged variant, which offers nine hours endurance. Capabilities between the two are the same,
only the long-wing RQ-7 takes longer to defuel after shorter missions.

50

surrounding the HOLF, electronic line-of-
sight – necessary for maintaining the datalink
between an RQ-7 and its ground control
station – can be difficult to manage at longer
distances, and on this flight, both distance
and terrain conspired to keep the RQ-7 at
an altitude that did not provide a level of
resolution that satisfied the game wardens.
The bison on the mission payload operator’s
screen showed as large heat signatures
clustered near some oak trees, and while it
could be inferred that those signatures were
indeed bison, there were concerns that with
deer being significantly smaller, the resolution
needed to identify individual heat signatures as
deer might not be there.
On the second night, the wardens and the
RQ-7 operators agreed on an area very close
to the HOLF to survey for deer. With terrain
and distance no longer an issue, the Shadow
could be flown at lower altitudes, improving the
resolution of the sensors, and hopefully giving
the game wardens the ability to positively
identify heat signatures as deer. Unfortunately,
this flight was not able to accomplish its
objectives, as low-hanging clouds moved in on
the area almost immediately after the Shadow
was launched, obscuring the sensor’s view of
the ground and forcing an early recovery at
the HOLF. The inability of either flight to locate
deer did not mean that Camp Pendleton’s
deer were not being counted. Along with the
planned aerial work, CPGW were employing
other survey methods such as passive trail
cameras and faecal DNA plotting, in which
deer droppings are collected with the locations
logged and analysed to track the movement
and numbers of individual deer. Both are
methods CPGW intends to continue using
while further evaluations of UAS suitability for
aerial surveys are conducted.
Making tracks
Despite the frustrations of this first attempt
to use UAS to survey wildlife populations,
Tucker remains optimistic about working
with VMU-4 on future surveys, and with
good cause. The Marine VMU community is
currently going through a transition from the
legacy RQ-7B to the newer Boeing-Insitu
RQ-21 Blackjack, with VMU-4, as the reserve
VMU, being the last squadron to make the
transition. The ‘Evil Eyes’ will make their final
One of VMU-4’s Marines inspects the main
antenna on a ground control station prior to a
night-time wildlife survey mission.
RQ-7B SHADOW MILITARY
Marines inspect an RQ-7
launcher prior to sending a
Shadow up on a wildlife survey
mission. Most of VMU-4’s
Marines are reservists, and
the wildlife survey flights were
scheduled for one of the
squadron’s monthly
drill weekends.
EVIL EYES
VMU-4 is the only UAS squadron in the US Marine Corp’s reserve component, and the only VMU with a
pedigree going back to a manned squadron. The ‘Evil Eyes’ trace their history to World War Two, when the
squadron was established as a Marine Observation Squadron (VMO) flying the Stinson OY-1 Sentinel in the
aerial reconnaissance and artillery/naval gunfire spotting roles, a mission nearly identical to that with which
VMU-4 is tasked today. After the war, VMO-4 was deactivated and then reactivated as a US Marine Corps
Reserve squadron at NAS Grosse Ile, Michigan, in 1962. The squadron flew the Sikorsky H-34 until 1968, when
it re-equipped with the North American OV-10A Bronco, adding forward air control to the squadron’s aerial
observation and artillery adjustment portfolio. The squadron, which relocated from Michigan to Atlanta, Georgia,
in 1976, flew the OV-10 until it was deactivated in 1994 as the last Bronco operator in the Marine Corps.
In 2010, VMU-4 reactivated at MCAS Yuma, equipped with the AAI RQ-7B Shadow UAS. Assigned to Marine
Aircraft Group 41, 4th Marine Air Wing, VMU-4 is manned mostly by reservists, Marines who drill once a
month and then attend a two-week annual training period every summer. A small cadre of active-duty Marines
comprise the instructor and inspector (I&I staff). In addition to managing the day-to-day operations of the
squadron between drills, the I&I staff also ensure that the training requirements for each individual reservist are
met throughout the year. As a reserve squadron, VMU-4 is not on the same deployment rotation as the three
active component VMUs. While still deployable, VMU-4 is effectively the Marine Corps’ go-to UAS squadron for
exercise support. While VMU-1, 2 and 3 still support exercises, especially as part of their own pre-deployment
work-ups, VMU-4 allows the active VMUs to focus on their own training and readiness syllabuses by supplying
aircraft and marines when other ground and air units need live UAS to train with in order to meet their pre-
deployment training goals. Gunnery Sergeant Bill Franceschini gave some insight into these kinds of missions,
explaining how after flying the wildlife survey flights on the squadron’s drill weekend, it was spending the
following week supporting the 3rd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (3rd ANGLICO) on a combat readiness
exercise (CRE). He told AIR International: “We’re supporting ANGLICO in their CRE, so we can pretty much
ensure that they’re going to know how to talk to and utilise UAS when they go out.”
Initially scheduled to upgrade from the baseline RQ-7B to the RQ-7Bv2 with an improved engine and more
robust datalink, VMU-4 is instead following the active component VMUs by converting to the Boeing-Insitu RQ-
21A Blackjack. With greater endurance, better sensors and a much quieter engine than the RQ-7, the Blackjack
will allow the ‘Evil Eyes’ to provide even better support to the Marines on the ground.
RQ-7B flights in December while supporting Ultimately, the survey job might end up
exercise ‘Steel Knight’ at Twentynine Palms being a better fit for the Marine Corps’
and begin converting to the Blackjack in early planned Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance
2018. While Blackjack has some of the same (MALE) UAS. While several proposals
limitations as Shadow, namely electronic-line- are being made, the goal is to have an
of-sight control, one of its main advantages expeditionary, non-runway-dependent
with regard to the wildlife survey mission UAS controlled via satellite uplink, with
is that it is not runway dependent. Like the the endurance, high-resolution cameras
RQ-7, the RQ-21 is launched from a portable and armament capabilities of the Air
launcher, but requires a semi-improved, Force’s General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper.
graded surface like a runway to land. The RQ- As currently proposed, the MALE would
21 relies on the same ‘Skyhook’ system the solve two of the biggest problems faced by
Boeing-Insitu Scan Eagle used for recoveries, the RQ-7 (and, presumably, the RQ-21): it
meaning that instead of having to operate out would eliminate the potential for terrain-
of the HOLF at the far northwest corner of induced signal disruptions and its more
the base, VMU-4 can establish an operating robust sensors would have the resolution
location on higher ground toward the centre to make better identifications. Until then,
of Camp Pendleton, allowing the Blackjack CPGW remains committed to working with
to get lower for animal identification without the Marines of VMU-4 to validate the use
risking signal interruption. The game wardens of UAS for aerial wildlife survey work and
are also looking forward to seeing what kind to develop the tactics, techniques, and
of resolution the Blackjack’s improved camera procedures for employing the RQ-21 for
offers over that of the Shadow. this type of mission.
51
 MILITARY SAAB SWORDFISH
Genesis
of the
Swordfish
Jon Lake provides an overview of the Saab Swordfish,
a futuristic maritime patrol aircraft based on the
Bombardier 6000 business jet
T
hough Saab’s innovative
Swordfish anti-
submarine warfare
(ASW) aircraft has yet
to win an order, it is one
of the most important
programmes in its
class. It promises to
break what has been
an accelerating cost
curve, providing much the same capability
as larger rivals at significantly reduced
acquisition cost and with much reduced
life cycle costs. It has spearheaded the
development of a new generation of
business jet-based maritime patrol aircraft
(MPA) and ASW aircraft, which promise to
win significant market share.
The continuing global proliferation
of smaller, faster, quieter submarines
has fuelled a demand for high-end,
long-range MPA capable of undertaking
ASW operations as well as anti-
surface warfare, long-range search
and rescue and the bread-and-butter
maritime intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance, including counterpiracy,
and maritime counterterrorism.
Legacy long-range, four-engine MPA
aircraft like the BAE Systems Nimrod and
Lockheed P-3 were expensive to operate
and support, and also imposed a heavy
manning burden on operators. Today,
with smaller, lighter mission, command,
control and communications and sensor
systems, which are easier to integrate
and require less cooling and less power,
it is now possible to conduct ASW with
smaller, more efficient, more lightly
manned aircraft platforms.
Smaller, lighter, twin-turboprop ASW
aircraft like the Airbus Military C295
and Leonardo ATR 72 lack the reach,
52
endurance and capability of the big Cold
War sub-hunters. However, some air forces
and navies need to replace their existing,
ageing MPA platforms, and others need to
introduce enhanced ASW capabilities. At
the same time, the available replacements
for aircraft such as the P-3 Orion (aircraft
like Kawasaki’s P-1 and Boeing’s P-8
Poseidon) are unaffordable for some
potential operators.
Improvements in technology and in
automation allow aircraft to fulfil the same
role with fewer crew members, and a new
class of MPA based on larger, long-range
business jets promises to combine P-8A
levels of capability, reach and endurance
with significantly lower purchase and
operating costs.
Sweden’s Swordfish
At the Singapore Air Show in February
2016, Saab announced it would
integrate its Swordfish maritime patrol Why the Global 6000?
system on the Bombardier Q400 The Global 6000 promised a smaller logistics
turboprop regional airliner and on the footprint than the P-8, with reduced manning
Global 6000 business jet. and a real ability to be self-sufficient when
Joakim Mevius, Saab’s then head deployed, and offered growth potential in
of airborne ISR, explained that with an terms of weight, cooling and power.
increasing maritime threat: “[Following] a Neither the DHC-8 nor the Global Express
lot of discussions with potential customers was entirely new to the MPA role, with the
regarding future requirements in the field United Arab Emirates Air Force having
of maritime patrol and anti-submarine fielded a pair of MPA-configured DHC-8
warfare, Saab had introduced new Q300s in 2012, with L3 offering a Q400 MMA
platforms in order to address the demand (multi-mission aircraft) and with IAI/Elbit
for greater capability and flexibility.” offering its ELI-3360 MPA package on both
The company was also mindful of the the Q400 and the Gulfstream G550. Saab
increasing trend towards commercial jet selected the larger Global 6000 because
solutions, and saw the Global 6000 and of its bigger cabin, greater redundancy,
the use of commercially procured off-the- synthetic vision system and ability to be
shelf hardware as a means of providing weaponised. The cabin provides a clean,
levels of capability close to the American spacious, ergonomic workplace to help
P-8 Poseidon at 70% of the flyaway cost maintain crew concentration and capacity.
and 50% of the life cycle costs. Each operator sits in front of a single,
 SAAB SWORDFISH MILITARY

30in (760mm) display screen and further

situational displays are provided on the
flight deck and at the sonobuoy launchers,
providing collective situational awareness for
the whole crew.
Rather than simply fitting the existing
Swordfish system to the new platforms,
Saab also introduced a new C4 (for
command, control, communications and
computer) capability, which promised to do
the same mission with fewer operators. The
company also reinforced and highlighted the
armed capabilities of the system.
On the Q400-based solution, Saab, like
other companies offering DHC-8 based
MPA, planned to incorporate additional fuel
tanks in fuselage-mounted sponsons, giving
the aircraft a patrol time of about five-and-
a-half hours, 200 nautical miles (370km) out
from base. It also featured an integrated
mission display and an in-flight operable
airdrop door and two underwing weapons
stations. Saab described the aircraft as:
“still being a high-end solution”, albeit with
marginally less endurance than the Global
6000-based Swordfish.
From the launch of the new Swordfish,
however, Saab’s emphasis was on
the Global 6000-based aircraft, which
shares about 70% commonality with the
company’s new GlobalEye Swing Role
Surveillance System, a launch order for
which was announced in November 2015 at
the Dubai Air Show.

The GlobalEye, three of which are on order

for the United Arab Emirates Air Force, is
based on the Bombardier Global 6000 and
represents a continuation of Saab’s popular
Erieye airborne early warning and control
system, with a new gallium nitride-based
Erieye ER active electronically scanned array
(AESA) radar in a fairing above the fuselage.
This provides wide-area ground moving
target indication radar modes, as well as
searching for airborne targets.
It is not fitted to the Swordfish, though the
latter aircraft does use the same mission
management system, electronic warfare
and self-protection systems, automatic
identification system and most of the same
communications systems, and both aircraft
have the same belly-mounted radome
and Selex Seaspray 7500E 360° maritime
surveillance AESA radar and FLIR Systems
Star SAFIRE 380HD electro-optical and
infrared sensor turret.
By the time Saab launched the new,
Global 6000-based Swordfish, the company
had further reinforced its ASW credentials,
not least because of the acquisition of
the Kockums shipyard to Saab from
ThyssenKrupp on July 22, 2014. With
Kockums as part of the Saab group, the
company found itself as the manufacturer
of the next-generation A26 submarine with

53
 MILITARY SAAB SWORDFISH
air independent propulsion and GHOST
(for Genuine HOlistic STealth) technology.
Kockums forms just part of a unique maritime
portfolio that now includes submarines,
surface vessels and torpedoes, as well as
MPA. As a result, Saab contends it really
understands the maritime domain and the
demands of modern-day ASW.
As for the Swordfish, Saab’s in-house
expertise is augmented by the decades of
experience gained by partners including
GDMS-Canada, CAE and sonobuoy
specialists Ultra Electronics UK.
Saab’s own Bombardier Global 6000-BD-
700-1A10 aircraft, registered in Sweden as
SE-RMT, was used for proving and flying
simulated ASW/MPA mission profiles in
support of the Swordfish development
effort, but no prototype or demonstrator is
being produced. Saab reasoned that any
prototype would likely be unrepresentative
of a customer aircraft and would thus be of
limited use.
Aspirations
As the successor to both the US Navy’s
P-3 Orion and the RAF’s Nimrod, Boeing is
positioning the P-8A Poseidon as the new
gold standard among high-end ASW aircraft.
Poseidon carries out ASW in a revolutionary
new way (from medium to high altitude) and
relies on the use of multiple receiver buoys in
54
a multistatic field to allow wide-area searches.
Neither these tactics nor this equipment
has been properly proven operationally, and
Saab has optimised the Global 6000-based
Swordfish for the demands of low-level ASW
operations, which is where it believes the
game is truly won or lost.
Saab is sceptical about high-altitude ASW
operations. It believes that while it may be
advantageous to fly higher to save fuel, to
increase crew comfort and to increase the
effective range of some sensors, the maritime
environment and the nature of the target
and tactics will often make it necessary to
descend to low level, perhaps below a thick
layer of cloud, in poor visibility, and with a
high sea state.
EO/IR sensors in particular give better
resolution at closer ranges and lower
altitudes, and require the aircraft to be below
the cloud layer.
Magnetic anomaly detectors (MAD) can
only be used to pinpoint the location of a
submerged submarine at low level. Many
believe that MAD remains a viable and
indeed vital confirmation sensor, especially
useful if rules of engagement do not allow
an attack to be carried out using acoustic
information alone.
Acoustic sensor performance is not directly
affected by the altitude of the aircraft, since a
sonobuoy’s sensor is below the sea surface,
and the radio link to and from the sonobuoy
may be picked up from longer range by
a high-flying MPA, though there will be a
danger of greater RF interference.
Moreover, the precision with which buoys
can be dropped will be negatively affected by
launching them at higher altitude. There will
consequently be increased difficulty in ensuring
the security of pattern, and there may be poor
accuracy in placing any in-fill buoys. Modern
sonobuoys may be fitted with GPS, but this
ensures only that the ASW aircraft crew knows
where a buoy is, even when it’s in the wrong
place. The precise placing of sonobuoys can
be critical, as one experienced ASW operator
explained: “You only need to lose contact with
a single source sonobuoy and it can be time to
give up and go home; you may not re-establish
contact in the remaining endurance.”
Operating at low altitude minimises the
tactical reaction time of the aircraft, allowing
it to react more quickly to a submarine’s
manoeuvres. It minimises the time it takes
to get a buoy into the water and to start
sending back meaningful information, and it
allows the ASW aircraft to get a weapon into
the water quickly.
Even in clear weather and without RF
interference, questions may legitimately
be asked of the practicality of operating
an ASW aircraft in restricted airspace, at
higher altitude, and perhaps having to

drop sonobuoys, weapons and even small
unmanned air vehicles through layers and
layers of busy and controlled airspace, which
might easily be the case in some oceans and
in other busy shipping areas.
There is focus on the use of multistatic
acoustics, with all the passive sonobuoys
within a field acting as receivers for the active
buoys. The proprietary Multistatic Active
Coherent (MAC) system used on the P-8A
is much trumpeted, with claims that this
variation on the Multistatic Active (MSA) theme
somehow represents a unique capability.
In fact, MSA has been around for a long
time, and a global community of military,
industry and research communities has been
testing the concept for decades. Operational
results have been modest in most cases
and current reports show that MAC and its
equivalents have not proven rigid in the full
range of conditions required.
Saab has therefore provided a fully modern
multistatic-capable system on the Swordfish,
but views multistatics as one (increasingly
valuable) tool in the ASW toolbox, highlighting
the significant leap forward in passive
acoustic technology achieved by GD-MS and
demonstrated on the CP-140 Aurora, as well
as the improvements in MAD technology.
One Swordfish programme insider said:
“The global MPA community has wrestled
with MSA for decades, and so we will not
base our platform ethos singularly on the
promise of multistatic.”
In most other respects, the similarities
between the Swordfish and the P-8A are
more obvious than the differences. Both
aircraft have five or six mission consoles and
a similar sensor suite, though Swordfish has
a 360° AESA radar and a MAD. Swordfish
enjoys a marginally longer range and slightly
longer endurance, and carries slightly
more sonobuoys, with two 10-shot rotary
launchers, two pressurised single-shot
launchers and racks for 112 A-sized, 224
G-sized or 336 F-sized buoys (a total of
134 buoys compared to the 129 all A-sized
buoys on the P-8A). With its mix of underwing
pylons for air-to-surface missiles and an
internal weapons bay, the Poseidon carries a
heavier payload, but the Swordfish can carry
more torpedoes (six as opposed to five).
Torpedoes are largely a deterrent,
so carrying large numbers is probably
unnecessary. Even a single torpedo in the
water will disrupt a submarine commander’s
decision-making.
Some have called the Global 6000-based
Swordfish ‘the smart man’s P-8’, since
it offers significantly lower acquisition
and operating costs with no areas of
compromise. The aircraft is marketed as
a high-end, multi-mission MPA and ASW
aircraft and strategic ISR platform, with a
SAAB SWORDFISH MILITARY
true next-generation C2 system that enables
shorter decision-making times.
AIR International points out that while there
is every reason to believe that a Swordfish
will be a capable MPA, the P-8A Poseidon
and its systems together make a good MPA.
Remember, the P-8A is in service with the
world’s most powerful navy, one with plenty
of MPA experience and therefore requirement
specialists, has won four export contracts
and has already served around the world
on combat and humanitarian missions for a
number of years. Saab’s credentials certainly
hold water, but its product has yet to prove
itself or indeed win an order.
No surprise, however, that Saab maintains
it has potential customers on every
continent; the aircraft seems especially well
suited to replace New Zealand’s ageing fleet
of P-3K Orions.
Saab also says the aircraft can also be
delivered quickly, promising a 36 to 42-month
period from contract award to delivery,
depending on precise configuration.
Sweden’s aerospace giant has plenty of
aeronautical and integration experience, and
can hold hands with a customer that might
be new to the kind of technology designed
into the Swordfish. This should ensure
potential customers will get a meaningful
capability with appropriate training and
concept of operations.
55
 MILITARY F-15QA EAGLE & BLOCK III F/A-18 SUPER HORNET
An artist’s illustration of a Block III
F/A-18F Super Hornet loaded with
a Lockheed Martin ASG-34 Infrared
Search and Track pod on the
centreline pylon. Boeing
B
oeing’s latest fighters,
the F-15QA Eagle
- for Qatar - and
F/A-18 Block III Super
Hornet - for the US
Navy – are both going
to be produced at
the St Louis, Missouri
facility until 2022
and likely beyond.
These upgraded fourth-generation fighters
are going to be in service into the 2040s.
Boeing’s warm production lines offer potential
economies of scale for further international
customers buying the advanced variants of
the Eagle and Super Hornet as well as life-
extension upgrades to existing aircraft, most
notably US Air Force F-15C Eagles (still being
considered) and US Navy F/A-18 Block II
Super Hornets (ready to start modification).
F-15QA Eagle
Qatar’s $4 billion buy of 36 (plus an option
for 36 more) F-15QA (Qatar Advanced)
two-seat, air-to-ground Eagles under the
US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, as
part of a $12 billion package, was the result
of many years of diplomatic and military
engagement by the Gulf State and the
56
United States. Production is planned to start
in 2019 and be completed by 2022.
Qatar’s current confrontation with
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, plus the
continued threat from a resurgent Iran has
made fighter sales important as a way for
Qatar to demonstrate its continued support
from allies outside the Gulf. As with any
major high-performance aircraft procurement
in the Middle East, diplomatic, symbolic
and legitimating considerations can often
overshadow the operational ones. This
was demonstrated by Qatar’s decision,
announced in September, to procure a
squadron of 24 Eurofighter Typhoon fighters,
which follows the procurement, announced in
May 2015, of 24 French-built Dassault Rafale
fighters, the first of which is expected to
arrive in mid-2018.
This build-up will provide four squadrons
of three different advanced fourth-generation
fighters which will replace the Qatar Emirati
Air Force’s (QEAF) a single squadron of
12 (nine currently flying) low-hour 20-year-
old Dassault Mirage 2000-5s operated by
7 Squadron based at Doha. The build-up
is planned to take place simultaneously
with a dramatic expansion of Qatar’s naval
capability, including the procurement of
seven new warships from Italy. While Qatar
has recently invested in an indigenous pilot
training capability, this is not yet operational.
Unlike the KSA and UAE, Qatar has not
invested in an indigenous aerospace industry
to help support its aircraft. With a total
population of 600,000, Qatar will likely have
to look to the world market for pilots and
technicians that are capable of operating
alongside US, UK, French and other western
air arms during exercises like the series
called Eagle Resolve or deployments such
as the one staged with Mirage 2000-5s from
Crete during operations over Libya in 2011.
Qatar’s Mirage 2000-5s have also deployed
as part of the KSA-led coalition for operations
over Yemen, and to Turkey for air defence
missions during coalition air operations
against ISIS insurgents in Syria. Qatar may
base one of its two F-15QA squadrons, with
12 or more aircraft, in the United States for
training.
The F-15QA sale was approved in the
closing months of President Obama’s
administration and the United States signed
a letter of agreement on June 14, 2017. Aside
from the types and numbers involved, details
about the F-15QA, or about the other systems,

Boeing’s F-15QA
Eagle and Block
III Super Hornet
David C Isby profiles the latest variants of the F-15 Eagle and F/A-18 Super Hornet
weapons, training (through aircrew transition
to the F-15QA), operations and maintenance
support that make up Qatar’s US-supplied
package, have not been made public.
The F-15QA is reportedly based on the
most advanced current Eagle, the F-15SA
(Saudi Advanced), which finally and officially
started operations with the Royal Saudi Air
Force earlier this year, after completing a
prolonged development and testing process
managed by US Air Force professionals
under the FMS programme. Qatar will be
using the same approach for its Eagle
procurement, but without the introduction
of new technologies or capabilities, so the
F-15QA’s development should be briefer
and less expensive.
The F-15QA has reportedly, like the
F-15SA, been designed from the outset
for a 20,000-hour service life. It uses the
fly-by-wire system first introduced for the
F-15SA, which required a complete re-
testing programme throughout the flight
envelope, contributing to delays with Saudi’s
programme. Also following the F-15SA’s lead,
two General Electric F110-GE-129 engines
will power the F-15QA.
Sensors will include the Raytheon APG-
81(V)1 active electronically scanned array
F-15QA EAGLE & BLOCK III F/A-18 SUPER HORNET MILITARY
New from St Louis:
(AESA) radar – an advance over the F-15SA
which uses the APG-63(V)3 - and the BAE
Systems integrated Digital Electronic Warfare
System providing passive sensor detection,
threat warning, active jamming and chaff
and flare countermeasures dispensing. As
with the F-15SA, the F-15QA will feature two
new wingtip weapon stations, numbers 1
and 9, capable of carrying Raytheon AIM-9X
Sidewinder air-to-air missiles; provision,
in both cockpits, for the Vision Systems
International Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing
System; a Link 16-compatible data link,
upgraded mission computers, advanced
wide-angle head-up displays and multi-
colour, multi-functional cockpit displays.
Conformal fuel tanks, mounted along the
fuselage sides, provide additional fuel and
weapon hard points.
Qatar’s package includes multiple types of
sensor and navigation pods as well as air-to-
air and air-to-ground weapons. The quantities
listed in the panel represent ceilings and
include hardware that may be ordered for the
36 options, so the quantities of systems, if
not weapons, procured are initially likely to
be half those given; but the F-15QA will be
delivered with the capability to use all of the
systems listed.
One interesting fact about the F-15QA
is that it may not be the end of Boeing’s
development of the F-15 Eagle. Israel is
considering buying one or two squadrons
of advanced Eagles, unofficially referred to
as F-15IA (Israeli Advanced) or F-15SX. If
procured, the aircraft would provide Israel with
a long-range strike capability for decades to
come, replacing the current F-15I Ra’am and
supplement F-35A Adir Joint Strike Fighters
in other air-to-ground missions. The F-15AI
would use an advanced AESA radar and
incorporate datalinks and weapons systems
currently flying on the F-15I.
Perhaps the biggest question about the
Eagle’s future is what the US Air Force will
do with its F-15C fleet, now reduced to
three active-duty squadrons (the 44th and
67th Fighter Squadrons based at Kadena,
Okinawa and the 492nd Fighter Squadron
based at RAF Lakenheath, UK) with the
remainder assigned to the Air National Guard,
by a fleet totalling fewer than 200 combat-
coded aircraft? Will they be upgraded to allow
them to continue until 2040, flying both air
superiority and homeland defence missions?
Alternatively, will they be withdrawn in the
late 2020s and replaced by accelerated
F-35A production, possibly with a number
57
 MILITARY F-15QA EAGLE & BLOCK III F/A-18 SUPER HORNET
F-15QA WEAPON AND
SYSTEMS PACKAGE
80 Lockheed Martin AAQ-13 LANTIRN navigation pods.
80 Lockheed Martin AAQ-33 Sniper advanced targeting pods
80 Lockheed Martin AAS-42 Infrared Search and Track
System pods
200 Raytheon AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles
250 Raytheon AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles
100 Raytheon AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles
200 Raytheon AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapons
80 Boeing AGM-84L-1 Harpoon anti-ship missiles
200 Raytheon AGM-65H/K Maverick air-to-surface missiles
500 Boeing GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition
guidance kits
500 Boeing GBU-31(V1) JDAM guidance kits
250 Boeing GBU-54 Laser JDAM guidance kits
250 GBU-56 Laser JDAM guidance kits
500 500lb (227kg) BLU-111/B penetrating bombs
500 2,000lb (907kg) BLU-117/B penetrating bombs
of F-15Cs or F-16Cs being upgraded as an
interim measure? Competing for funding is a
proposal to modify all Lockheed F-22 Raptors
to make them combat-capable. While only
31 well-worn F-15Cs have been identified for
retirement by 2022, no decision is currently
scheduled on the future of the remaining fleet
until that year. Ongoing Eagle production at
St. Louis is a strong argument for continued
investment in the aircraft.
Block III F/A-18 Super Hornet
Revival of US Navy F/A-18E and F/A-18F
Super Hornet production was moved forward
this year. The original US Department of
Defense FY2017 budget request did not
include for procurement of new Super
Hornets, except for two replacement aircraft
to be procured with overseas contingency
operations (OCO) funding. This has changed.
Both the House of Representatives and
A shot of the Boeing-
operated F-15E test and
demonstrator aircraft,
serial number 86-0183, in
the advanced F-15 Eagle
configuration with a multi-
role weapon payload.
Boeing
58
the Senate agreed on a supplemental logged extensive flying hours, as a result of
appropriations bill for FY2017 that added flying extensive combat missions since 2003
12 new-production aircraft at a cost of $979 and absorbing operational tasks previously
million. The FY2018 budget request includes carried out by F/A-18C Hornet-equipped
14 new production Block III Super Hornets, squadrons; units that have suffered low levels
with 80 - at a cost of $7.1 billion – included of availability in recent years. Acquisition
in the FY2018 Future Years Defense Plan of new Block III aircraft would also enable
(FYDP), covering production up to FY2022: the Navy to accelerate the retirement of its
23 in FY 2019, 14 each in FY2020 and last operational Naval Reserve F/A-18A and
2021 and 15 in FY2022. Navy operational F/A-18B Hornets, still equipping Fighter
requirements may keep production going, Composite Squadron 12 (VFC-12) ‘Fighting
likely to 120 or more aircraft. Omars’ based at Naval Air Station Oceana,
Starting in FY2019, all new-production Virginia and Strike Fighter Squadron 204
F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets will be (VFA-204) ‘Death Rattlers’ based at Joint
delivered in Block III configuration, whether Reserve Base New Orleans, Louisiana.
to the US Navy or international customers. At Both squadrons, like their US Marine Corps
the same time, the US Navy’s current Block Reserve counterparts, have particularly
II Super Hornets (but not Block Is), which are suffered from low availability in recent years.
fitted with an AESA radar, will be upgraded to The US Navy foresees that its F/A-18 Super
Block III configuration as part of the Service Hornets will operate, for the remainder of their
Life Modernization Program (SLMP) that will service lives, and with the F-35C Lightning II,
extend their service lives from 6,000 to 9,000
flight hours. The FYDP includes $265 million
for the SLMP.
The first Super Hornet to reach 6,000
flight hours came about this year. By the
mid-2020s, some 60 to 70 aircraft will reach
6,000 hours annually. Boeing has said
the Block II to Block III upgrade could be
done, in production quantities, for about
$10 million per aircraft. New-production
Block IIIs incorporate structural upgrades –
reinforced longerons and wing structure – for
a 9,000-hour life. The SLMP will be carried
out at US Navy depot facilities with Boeing
participation.
Investing in the Block III will keep the US
Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornet fleet operational
past 2040. New-production Block III aircraft
will enable the Navy to retire (rather than
upgrade under the SLMP) at least some
of its Block I force, which have

once the fifth-generation jet achieves initial
operational capability in 2018-2019.
The current plan is to have two squadrons
of each (comprising 12 Block IIIs and ten
F-35Cs) along with one squadron of EA-18G
Growler electronic warfare aircraft, flying from
each deployed US Navy carrier. The tanker
role, currently provided by Super Hornets,
will be taken over by the forthcoming MQ-25
Stingray unmanned Carrier-Based Aerial-
Refueling System.
The Super Hornet Block III configuration
is a development of Boeing’s Advanced
Super Hornet originally offered to the
US Navy and international customers in
2013, but omits some of the signature-
reduction technology (such as an external
low-observable hump-backed enclosed
weapons pod), but retains unspecified
advanced signature enhancements to the
nose section and angle of attack indicators.
F-15QA EAGLE & BLOCK III F/A-18 SUPER HORNET MILITARY
Most of the proposed Advanced Super
Hornet’s systems have been retained for the
Block III, including new enhanced General
Electric F-414-400 engines.
The Super Hornet Block III is designed
from the outset for networked combat
operations using the Naval Integrated Fire
Control Counter Air (NIFC-CA) network,
linked to the Distributed Targeting Processor
Networked (DTP-N) mission computer
(which Boeing says offers two orders of
magnitude improvement in performance
over the current baseline, configured
to enable an open architecture) and its
Rockwell Collins-developed Tactical
Targeting Network Technology (TTNT) multi-
channel datalink system.
Additional situational awareness
generated by greater network connectivity
will be presented to the aircrew on an Elbit
advanced cockpit system with a 10 x 19-inch
(254 x 484mm) display and improved crew
interfaces in both cockpits. Mounted atop the
fuselage at the wing roots, CFTs fitted with
weapon rails free up under wing pylons for
weapons, and provide the Block III with some
120nm (220km) of additional range, for a
maximum of up to 750nm (1,385km).
The Block III will retain upgraded variants of
the Block II’s sensors: the Raytheon APG-
79 AESA radar, Exelis ALQ-214 Integrated
Defensive Electronic Countermeasures Block
IV suit and the Lockheed Martin ASG-34
Infrared Search and Track (IRST) pod, available
as an interim measure. An advanced IRST
system is currently under development and
is expected to be ready by 2020. It will be
internally mounted with its seeker head housed
in a low-drag lower fuselage fairing forward
of the nose wheel, an installation originally
designed for the Advanced Super Hornet.
Production of the Super Hornet Block
III and the SLMP will provide economies
of scale for the already-planned upgrade
programme dubbed the Advanced EA-18G
Growler. In addition to the Block III upgrades,
the advanced Growler upgrade will add the
capability to use Raytheon’s Next Generation
Jammer (ready by 2021), enhanced mission
computing and datalink capabilities.
Among international customers, Australia
has details of the SLMP and Block III
upgrade programmes, but its F/A-18F Super
Hornets currently have less than 2,000 hours
of flight time. Canada has put its $5.23
billion order for ten F/A-18Es and eight F/A-
18Fs on hold, though this sale was approved
by the US State Department on September
12. This is an important procurement that
may lead to a follow-on Super Hornet buy
to replace Canada’s current CF-18 Hornets
built back in the 1980s. Boeing filed a
trade complaint with the US Department
of Commerce, alleging that Canadian-
built Bombardier passenger aircraft were
receiving unfair price subsidies (although the
majority of content is produced in the US).
As an alternative, Canada has considered
buying older Hornets from Australia.
Kuwait’s current $10.1 billion order for
40 Super Hornets (eight of the two-seat
aircraft will be based in the United States
for training) will probably be delivered in
Block III configuration. Other potential Super
Hornet customers, such as Finland and
Malaysia, will probably buy Block III aircraft
if they go ahead. Boeing has offered the
Block III and extensive industrial cooperation
amounting to significant technology
transfer for the Indian Navy and Air Force.
Switzerland will also likely be offered the
Block III Super Hornet.
59
 MILITARY GRIPEN E

The first Gripen E, 39-8, over

Östergötland, southern Sweden
on its June 15 first flight with
Marcus Wandt at the controls.
All images by Saab

Gripen E
The Story So Far
Saab’s contender for the title ‘European Fighter of Choice’ has been flying for a little
over six months. Jerry Gunner spoke to the Swedish company’s chief test pilot, Hans
Einerth, to find out how the test programme is progressing

60
 GRIPEN E MILITARY

T
here are arguably
four key warplane
programmes in Western
Europe. The long-
established Typhoon
and Rafale have been
in service for many
years and are only now
approaching maturity
with the introduction of
active electronically scanned array (AESA)
radars and advanced missile systems.
America’s F-35 Lightning II, in which many
European nations have invested heavily,
has yet to enter service fully with any
non-US air arms. The US Marine Corps
F-35B was declared to have achieved initial
operational capability in July 2015 and the
US Air Force’s F-35A in August 2016. The
other contender for the title, a product from
non-NATO member Sweden, is, of course,
Saab’s Gripen E multi-role fighter. Many
might think the Swedish project is old hat,
with the first Gripen flying as long ago as
December 1988; but the jet has already
gone through one major transformation
that saw early Gripen As and Bs replaced
by much more capable C and D models
and the trend continues with the new kid
on the block. Such is Saab’s reputation
for producing high-quality, affordable
products that the conglomerate has already
achieved its first overseas sale – 36 jets
to Brazil – as well as a commitment from
Sweden itself to buy 60.

Preparing for the

test programme
The first Gripen E to fly, known as test
vehicle eight based on its manufacturer’s
serial number, 39-8, made its first flight
over Östergötland near Saab’s test
airfield at Linköping in the hands of test
pilot Marcus Wandt on June 15 this
year. Upon landing, he said: “The flight
was just as expected, with the aircraft
performance matching the experience
in our simulations.” He singled out the
aircraft’s acceleration and smooth handling
for particular praise.

61
Test vehicle 39-8 in the test hangar at Linköping before the jet’s first flight.
 MILITARY GRIPEN E
The first Gripen E in the special engine test-cell hangar at Linköping.
As testing progresses 39-8 will be
joined by two others of the type, but it is
already accompanied by a specially built
test vehicle. Saab JAS 39NG Demo 39-7
was converted from a redundant JAS
39B (s/n 39803). It has been flying in its
new guise for nearly a decade and will be
familiar to visitors to air shows. Rebuilt from
the ground up, it features the Gripen E’s
General Electric F414G turbofan engine,
as well as many of the new jet’s systems,
including its AESA radar and infrared
search and track (IRST) sensor. The front
seat avionics have not been changed to
replicate the new version of Gripen, but
the back one has. This saves money and
improves safety – the front-seater does not
have to be qualified on Gripen E – although
one still has to be a test pilot to get the job,
of course. The pilot’s colleague flies the
aircraft using Gripen E’s systems.
Stretching the boundaries
Hans Einerth oversees Saab’s military
air operations and bears the title Wing
Commander Flying. As such, he is the
boss of seven other test pilots working
for Saab. He told AIR International about
the progress so far in the Gripen E test
programme: “I have not yet personally
flown the Gripen E,” was his first revelation,
“but I have flown as a chase pilot and in our
test centre. I am quite familiar with the test
programme.”
This was the first of many self-
deprecatory statements in the interview.
Einerth is not one to blow his own trumpet
and one gets the impression that every
word is carefully considered. Before
leaving the Svenska Flygvapnet (Royal
62
Swedish Air Force) as a Lieutenant Colonel
in 2013, he was head of its test centre
– Försökscentralen – also at Linköping,
working on Gripen development.
Describing the aims of the flight test
programme, Einerth said: “The overall aims
of where we are right now are what we call
‘envelope expansion’; we want to see that
the aeroplane aerodynamically and all the
general systems on board work nominally in
the complete envelope. That’s what we’re
doing right now; we’re starting off with a
limited flight envelope and then expanding.”
As well as thousands of hours of
computer simulations, the first flight was
preceded by exhaustive testing of 39-8.
Every system was examined as Einerth
explained: “Starting in the spring of 2016,
having received the aircraft, we did a lot
of ground testing before the first flight.
Obviously the first thing to check is the
electrical system and then to load up the
software to all computers to see they are
loaded correctly. Next is the fuel system
and filling up the hydraulics and checking
they are working nominally. We did a lot
of landing gear testing before we flew,
retracting and extending the gear. To do
that, the jet is mounted on the three jacks
normally used for maintenance. We then
disconnect certain switches and fool the jet
so it believes it is in the air. Having tested
electrical, hydraulic and fuel systems and
the landing gear, we moved on to the
environmental control system. Next came
the engine tests that were carried out in our
specially designed hangar.”
While the engine was being put through
its paces, vital vibration tests were carried
out to check the integrity and design of the
airframe, to make sure, as Einerth put it: “. .
. we don’t end up with a vibration we didn’t
expect! We want to see that the wings are
vibrating in a way we anticipated in our
data models.”
While all this is going on, separate
tests are being conducted in simulators,
using exactly the same hardware/software
combinations. Einerth said: “We don’t use
a complete hydraulic system, for example,
but we have the actual flight control
computer, the mission control computer
and stuff like that. It’s just like the real
aircraft.”
Of course, the purpose of all this testing
is to make sure that when a pilot straps
on the jet for the first time and takes off he
or she is confident about what is going to
happen and how the aircraft will behave.
Einerth said that the profile for the test
flight was rehearsed in a JAS 39C before
the first flight to remove even the slightest
risk. Everyone involved in the effort, ground
handlers, air traffic control, chase pilots and
those monitoring the flight from the control
room, knew their roles and what to expect.
The flying programme is divided into
different phases, identified alphabetically
by the aircraft performing them. At the
moment only Gripen E 39-8 is involved,
though two others are planned to join.
This means the phases will be identified
using the number of the jet and a letter
to show the test – 8A, 8B and so on. The
first of these, 8A, was not designed to
expand the jet’s envelope, but was a series
of functional check flights to verify the
aircraft’s basic handling characteristics.
This phase comprised six or seven flights
– it’s difficult to say exactly, because

The powerful General Electric F414G turbofan engine with the afterburner engaged, blasting into the inlet of the air outlet stack of Saab’s engine test cell.
some missions involve take-off, landing,
hot refuelling and relaunch. Because the
programme is in its infancy – at the time
of writing the aircraft has only been flying
four months and one of those took in the
Swedish summer holiday period – Saab
is now about eight flights into phase 8B.
This second phase is designed to expand
the flight envelope in relation to speed and
altitude, exploring different g forces and
angles-of-attack and angle-of-side-slip.
Einerth stresses that the very complex test
matrix is designed to examine carefully
every aspect of the aircraft’s designed
flight profile.
While all this is going on, 39-7 is being
used to test the aircraft’s tactical systems,
IRST and AESA radar.
And so it will continue, Einerth says,
little by little, phase by phase with
the flight test programme gathering
momentum as more aircraft join the trials.
He is very pleased with progress so far,
from first flight onwards. As to the future,
8C will explore the flight envelope with the
jet carrying various external stores load-
outs and at the same time 8D will run the
first weapons tests.
Einerth believes the results of the
tests conducted so far vindicate Saab’s
decision to reuse hardware from Gripen
C/D and he is particularly pleased with the
jet’s software, saying: “We have had no
problems with the software! We did a very
thorough job before first flight and that has
surely paid off, it’s very stable.” Obviously
there have been some glitches that have led
to modifications to both soft and hardware,
but they have been few and far between
and easily remedied.
AIR International asked if the advertised
20% of extra thrust generated by the
GE F414G engine results in a noticeable
improvement in performance, given that
the new jet weighs 2,500kg (5,511lb)
more than its predecessor and is slightly
bigger. Einerth says that the effects of the
extra thrust are very noticeable from his
perspective flying chase in a Gripen C, but
he is particularly impressed with the E’s fuel
capacity: “We have much more endurance
with the E than the chase aircraft, so we
have to fit them with a lot of fuel tanks to
match the test aircraft.” He wouldn’t be
drawn on how much more endurance the E
has over the earlier Gripen, preferring to say
that the new jet would typically carry one
external fuel tank, leaving more pylons for
stores – and it already has more weapons
stations than the C.
Smart fighter
Someone has coined the phrase ‘Smart
Fighter’ to describe the new Gripen and the
name fits nicely. Although a very impressive
aircraft, like its competitors it is nothing
without its avionics. Those same avionics
are what typically cause most problems
with modern aircraft, both in development
and in service and it is in this realm that
Saab believes it scores big. Gripen E has
been designed from the outset to be, like
your home computer, easily updated.
The design of the jet’s computer systems
has been compartmentalised so that a
series of code can be updated without
affecting the functionality of other systems.
Whole subsystems can be modified in
the same way and commercial, off-the-
shelf components can be added without
GRIPEN E MILITARY
time consuming (and expensive) testing
to validate their compatibility with the jet.
Think of adding an app to your smartphone.
It doesn’t need to affect the internal
operating system of a device, because
both systems are designed to work with
or without each other. Saab knows which
bombs, rockets, missiles, sensors and
other stores are likely to be carried by its
aircraft so ‘all’ it has to do is design the
software to interact with that store. It’s
very nearly plug-and-play. This design
philosophy has another benefit by making
the Gripen E future proof. Improvements
to the aircraft’s core computers, those
affecting the Leonardo ES-05 AESA radar
or Skyward-G IRST sensor can easily be
applied, as technology advances without
altering the aircraft’s mainframe.
Einerth describes the advantages: “What
I would say about Gripen E is that it does
everything a modern jet fighter should, but
it also has this extremely advanced avionics
system we can guarantee will stay modern
for many years to come. It’s very easy to
make improvements when necessary. It has
all the performance you need but it also
has the most advanced electronic systems,
foremost of which will be the electronic
warfare system, which will be the best in
the world. This is very important for the
Swedish Air Force which wants the best.”
In September, Saab announced it has
increased its world-wide projected sales
figures for all marks of Gripen over the next
15 years by a factor of two to around 450.
With Gripen E coming in a little cheaper
than Rafale and Eurofighter and a lot
cheaper than F-35 those estimates
could be conservative.
63
 COMMERCIAL EUROPEAN AIRLINES
New Allies, O
Dominic Sipinski assesses whether a new association of airlines in Europe will be effective
W
hen Airlines just months before the Brexit referendum.
for Europe The new organisation was meant to
(A4E), a new replace the plethora of increasingly divided
Brussels- and ineffective antecedents, such as the
based Association of European Airlines (AEA) and
lobbying the European Low Fare Airlines Association.
association, But not all airlines were happy with the
was formed new body. Some were excluded from it by
in January design, as A4E membership is only open to
2016, its goal airlines from European Union member states.
was to create a single voice for the major Others felt they would be marginalised by the
players in the industry. Its founding members industry leaders.
Lufthansa Group, Ryanair, International Thus, this summer a new organisation
Airlines Group (IAG), Air France-KLM and was created. Based on the older
easyJet are the five largest airlines in Europe. International Air Carriers Association (IACA)
They joined forces for the first time the new body, called Airlines International
at a crucial moment: shortly after the Representation in Europe (AIRE), is mostly
European Commission published its first the brainchild of LOT Polish Airlines and
ever comprehensive Aviation Strategy and Turkish Airlines.
64
Single voice
A4E was created to be a single voice of the
EU-based airlines, but by design that came
with a number of limitations.
Thomas Reynaert, the association’s
Director General and a seasoned Brussels
lobbyist, admits some issues were off the
table from the very onset. A4E identified
matters of concern to all airlines and
focused on those where the members’
interests are similar.
This covers many challenging issues. A4E
focuses primarily on airport charges (arguing
for their lowering), air traffic controllers’
strikes (proposing to curb them through
stricter regulation and, importantly, forcing
the controllers to announce strikes with
a longer notice) and generally airspace
reform, including the introduction of the
 EUROPEAN AIRLINES COMMERCIAL

, Old Issues
The newly-established Airlines
International Representation in Europe
includes Turkish Airlines and LOT
Polish Airlines but its membership is
mainly made up of smaller carriers
such as Corsair, whose Boeing 747-
422 F-GTUI (c/n 26875) is pictured
departing Paris-Orly. Paul Marais-Hayer/
AirTeamImages

65
 COMMERCIAL EUROPEAN AIRLINES

delayed Single European Sky initiative. The
organisation also lobbies for the removal of
national air taxes which, it argues, hinder
air traffic growth and bring little economic
benefit to local budgets.
These are issues central to all airlines
and it is easy to get such diverse carriers
as Ryanair and Lufthansa on board. Indeed
these carriers’ respective Chief Executive
Officers, Michael O’Leary and Carsten
Spohr, well understand that when it comes
to lobbying in Brussels, a strong industry
voice matters. The European Commission
prefers to talk with one powerful
organisation which represents the whole
industry rather than a number of smaller
players. Because airlines have not had such
a single voice for a long time, Reynaert
argues their interests were disregarded.
A4E does not discuss matters which
could spark conflicts between its members.
For example, airline ownership and control
rules, a controversial European law which
bars non-European investors from owning
majority shares in EU airlines, is a non-topic.
The regulatory approach towards the Middle
Eastern carriers is another, particularly
because IAG’s largest single shareholder is
Qatar Airways. A4E also does not discuss
highly technical yet often minor matters,
focusing rather on the larger issues.
Since A4E’s establishment nearly two years
ago, a number of other carriers have joined,
including Cargolux, the Luxembourg-based
freight carrier, low-cost carriers Air Baltic,
Norwegian, Jet2.com and Volotea, leisure-
oriented Travel Service and full-service
carriers such as Finnair and TAP Portugal.
The membership is by design limited to EU
airlines. With such a broad membership and
the support of all five major airlines, A4E has
indeed become the sole voice of the industry
in talks with the European Commission and
other bodies.
All equal, but some more
equal than others?
This design had a huge appeal for many
airlines, but A4E has got many critics, too.
Although A4E brought together the major
carriers in one room for the first time and then
managed to broaden its membership to a
dozen airlines, some industry players see it as
dominated by the biggest airlines. In theory,
every member of A4E has got an equal say,
but some representatives of medium and
small-sized airlines explain their reluctance
to join the organisation by the perceived bias
towards the issues that matter for the big five.
Other critics point out the unclear mandate
of A4E. As a Brussels-based lobbying
organisation, it makes the most sense for it
to focus on issues for which the European
Commission is responsible. However, out of
A4E’s three core topics only one, the airport
charges directive, is an EU issue. Neither air
traffic controllers’ strikes nor national aviation
taxes are the EU’s responsibility. Critics point
out that trying to lobby for solutions to either
of those problems in Brussels is pointless,
although they readily admit it does increase
awareness of these issues.
Another critique relates to the limited
membership, from which some key players
in the region, such as Turkish Airlines or
Aeroflot, are excluded. A4E argues it makes
sense to have only EU members when
dealing with the EU institutions, but the critics
point out Turkish Airlines and Aeroflot are
respectively the sixth and seventh-largest
European airlines and not having them at the
table substantially lowers the impact.
For 18 months, the critics of A4E had no
viable alternative. The only other remaining
organisation, after AEA was finally formally
wound down at the beginning of 2017, was
the European Regional Airlines Association,
a body with an entirely different focus and
membership.
This changed in the summer of 2017
when, much to the surprise of many industry
players, a new organisation was launched.
A breath of fresh AIRE
AIRE is not an entirely new organisation; in
essence, it is a revamped IACA with a new
name. Most of the members remain the
same, Sylviane Lust is still the organisation’s
Director General, and even the inner structure
has not changed much. But it is not just
the name that has changed; AIRE has also
acquired two powerful new members.
Turkish Airlines is by far the largest non-EU
airline which is interested in dealing with
Brussels. Aeroflot, strongly protected by the
national government which has no warm
feelings towards Brussels, sees limited value
in lobbying the European Commission.
LOT Polish Airlines might not be the
biggest airline, but with more than 20%
growth, it is one of Europe’s most dynamic.

Lufthansa is one of the big five European airlines which in

January 2016 formed Airlines for Europe, a new Brussels-based
lobbying association to create a single voice for the major
players in the industry. Here A350-941 D-AIXC (msn 87) is
pictured at Tel Aviv. 4x6zk-moni shafir/AirTeamImages

66

The Polish carrier was also the driving force
behind the creation of an opposition to A4E,
as it is oriented strongly against Lufthansa
and other major carriers. Rafał Milczarski,
LOT’s Chief Executive Officer, believes the
airline is powerful enough to be a player in
its own right and wants to have a big say
in the association. Milczarski will become
AIRE’s CEO next year.
Other members of AIRE include a
mix of airlines with no clear focus. The
association’s predecessor, IACA, gathered
mostly leisure-oriented carriers. The likes
of TUI Fly, Spanish Wamos Air, Italian Blue
Panorama Airlines, Portuguese EuroAtlantic
Airways and French Corsair still constitute
the majority of the members. The Dutch
low-cost Transavia, a member of the Air
France-KLM Group, is an odd addition,
given its parent company’s status as the
founder of A4E.
Sylviane Lust says AIRE might not
have any major EU carriers as members,
but argues it is at least a democratic
organisation. A voice of every member
matters in her organisation, she says,
clearly alluding to the alleged domination
of the big five in A4E. She adds that AIRE
will capitalise on its technical expertise and
work with lower-level Commission officials,
focusing on smaller, but nonetheless
crucial issues alongside the bigger political
debates. Lust further stresses that AIRE is
more of an expert-based body rather than
a pure lobbying organisation and plans to
work together with the legislators instead of
simply trying to influence them.
EUROPEAN AIRLINES COMMERCIAL
Ineffective division
While having a larger association for political
issues and the biggest players, and a smaller
one concerned mostly with technicalities could
make some sense, industry experts are critical.
One veteran EU lobbyist, speaking off
the record, pointed out that such a setup
only weakens the voice of the industry. And
now, with Brexit looming, a single position of
the entire industry is badly needed. Airlines
might be among the biggest losers of a so-
called hard Brexit, since if there is no new
trade deal between the UK and the EU in
force on the day of the divorce, effectively
no flights between these two entities will
be possible. Air traffic rights are not subject
to World Trade Organisation rules, so the
default setting is a ‘closed’ sky. There is no
air traffic treaty between the UK and any of
the other EU countries; there was no need
for such an agreement since all these states
were subject to the EU Open Skies regime.
This might end in 2019, though.
For A4E and some of its largest members,
Brexit is an increasingly urgent issue.
Negotiations for the new air traffic rights
regime have not yet started, and for many
airlines this might soon become a strategic
problem. UK-based easyJet, British Airways
owner IAG and Ryanair, heavily dependent
on UK-EU traffic, are loudly calling for a quick
resolution of this issue.
On the other hand, AIRE is much less
focused on this problem. Except TUI Airways
(the former Thomson Airways) the association
has no UK-based members, and even for this
leisure-focused airline traffic rights to the EU,
perhaps with the exception of Spain, are not
a key problem.
Another Brussels-based analyst questions
whether AIRE can be efficient at all. It is a
much smaller organisation with little clout in
comparison to A4E. Furthermore, the analyst
adds, IACA has had a poor reputation in
Brussels and this image lingers behind AIRE.
Finally, it remains to be seen how seriously
the European Commission will treat a
Brussels-based organisation of which the key
members, namely Turkish Airlines and Ukraine
International Airlines, are non-EU airlines.
Many analysts agree A4E might not be
a perfect match for many smaller airlines,
not to mention the non-EU carriers,
but one experienced lobbyist suggests
another approach would have been more
successful. LOT Polish Airlines should have
waited out another couple of months and
then slowly dragged other similarly-sized
airlines from A4E. The likes of Finnair, TAP
Portugal, Air Baltic and Aegean Airlines by
then may have become disillusioned by the
big five-dominated A4E and be happy to
join a new body.
Now, however, the foundation of AIRE
seems like a hastened decision. The
association’s membership is limited, its
political clout weak (particularly given both
Turkey’s and Poland’s poor relations with the
European Union officials).
It has stirred the Brussels airline lobbying
microcosm, and it does have a potential to
develop into a larger organisation countering
the A4E narrative, but so far it seems to
be a largely empty change.
67
 MILITARY KC-46A PEGASUS
T
he Boeing KC-46A
Pegasus tanker, one of
the three highest priority
aircraft programmes
for the US Air Force,
is sprinting towards
the delivery of the first
operational aircraft. The
date of this delivery
remains uncertain, but
will be within a matter of months. Boeing
signed a contract to have the required assets
available (RAA) – defined as the first 18 of
the 179 KC-46As on order – delivered to the
US Air Force and mission capable by August
2017. Clearly, that did not happen.
Standing between the current test
programme aircraft – four developmental
and two low-rate initial production (LRIP)
machines – and the contractual objective of
18 KC-46As parked on flight lines are two
hurdles: the successful completion of flight
testing, and type certification. The problems
with the tanker’s refuelling system have
been considered ‘Category I deficiencies’
by the US Air Force.
No one doubts that the 18 RAA KC-46As
will eventually be delivered, allowing the US
Air Force to train aircrew and technicians
while concurrently integrating the aircraft into
its operational force structure. For the Air
Force, the sooner this happens the better.
Boeing, under the terms of the programme’s
contract, has absorbed an estimated $2
billion in development costs and is liable for
unspecified damages for having failed to meet
its delivery milestones. Boeing also very much
wants to see those 18 KC-46As delivered.
First hurdle: testing and
certification
General Carlton Everhart, commander of
the US Air Force’s Air Mobility Command,
who will own and operate the operational
KC-46As, said at the Air Force Association
convention in National Harbor, Maryland
on September 19: “The KC-46 is still going
through lots of testing. The heaviest testing
is coming up. There are still things that have
to go on to it.” As of mid-September, the
programme of KC-46A flight-testing was
about two-thirds to three-quarters complete.
The addition earlier this year of the
first two LRIP aircraft to the development
programme allowed the pace of testing to
increase. Another help was when one of the
original test machines, a standard 767-2C
reconfigured as a tanker, was added to the
test fleet. This brought the number of tanker-
configured aircraft available for the remainder
of the test programme up to four.
68
A KC-46A Pegasus refuels an A-10C Thun-
Boeing carries out most of the testing derbolt II during a test flight on July 15, 2016,
at its Washington state facilities, but test one of a series of test refuellings to test the
programme aircraft deploy elsewhere hydraulic pressure relief valves installed on the
for specialist missions. For example, the KC-46A to correct higher than expected axial
second LRIP KC-46A deployed to Naval loads in the boom. US Air Force
Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, to
complete electromagnetic pulse (EMP) testing
successfully, according to a press release
from Boeing on July 27. The requirement for
EMP hardening was that the 767-2C design
be extensively modified. Other changes to the
basic airliner include fitting ballistic armour
in the cockpit and cabin, fuel tank protection
and nuclear, biological and chemical
protection. There are many differences, inside
and outside the aircraft, between the KC-46A
and earlier tanker versions of the 767 currently
flying with Italy and Japan.
Under the terms of the programme’s
development contract, the KC-46A is
required to gain both military and Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) certification.
This includes an amended type certificate
(ATC) for the basic 767-2C freighter on
which the KC-46A tanker is based. The
ATC signifies the FAA’s approval of the
modifications to the basic airframe required
to turn the 767-2C into the KC-46A. The
required FAA supplemental type certificate
(STC) includes tanker-unique components,
as well as meeting civil extended
transoceanic passenger service requirements
for twin-engine aircraft. Secretary of the Air
Force Heather Wilson described achieving
STC certification as “the long pole in the
tent”, and that, along with completion of
flight testing, is the main source of delays in
the KC-46A. In June 2017, ATC testing was
92% complete, but STC
testing only 62%.
At the outset of the
programme, the US Air Force and FAA
both agreed to use a ‘test once’ strategy
where test results would be accepted by
both organisations after one trial. Even
with this agreement, flight testing required
some 29,000 data points to be collected
during 32 months of intensive flying.
General Everhart said: “What they are
trying to do with the type certification is
do parallel certification.” It has proved to
be challenging.
Following certification testing, the KC-
46A still must go through Air Force system
verification testing, which will take place
after the flight test programme is completed
but before delivery. This will determine
whether the KC-46A meets specifications.
Boeing will be responsible for any
modifications required to bring RAA aircraft
up to spec.
 KC-46A PEGASUS MILITARY

KC-46A
Pegasus
Sprinting Over Hurdles
towards Delivery
David C Isby brings us up to date with the progress of
one of America’s most important weapons systems

69
 MILITARY KC-46A PEGASUS
Second hurdle: Cat I deficiencies
General Everhart said: “Category I deficiencies
are the worst.” The US Air Force defines
them as imposing risks to life, safety, mission
accomplishment or production. The KC-46A
has recently had three of these deficiencies,
all connected with the refuelling systems
that enable its core capability, the integrated
multipoint refuelling system with a maximum
fuel capacity of 212,300lb (96.26 tonnes). It is
designed to incorporate a Boeing-designed
centreline boom, capable of a maximum fuel
transfer rate of 8,000 pounds per minute
(ppm) or 3,635kg. This boom had to be
modified with the insertion of two overflow
valves after problems with refuelling heavy
aircraft were encountered during testing. The
drogue-equipped centreline pod system (CPS)
and two drogue-equipped Cobham Wingtip
Aerial Refueling Pods are each capable of a
2,600ppm (1,200kg) transfer rate. The KC-46A,
unlike the Boeing KC-135s it will partially
replace, is required to be able to use both its
boom and drogue systems during the same
mission. The KC-46A’s refuelling systems are
integrated with the Rockwell Collins Remote
Vision System (RVS), which uses electro-
optical/infrared sensors to provide all-weather
situational awareness through the fly-by-wire
air refuelling control system, displayed on
Kaiser electro-optical head up displays. All
KC-46As will be configured to be air refuelled
at a transfer rate of 8,000ppm (3,635kg). (Only
eight of the US Air Force’s current Boeing KC-
135 Stratotankers can be refuelled in the air.)
The first of these refuelling-system-related
deficiencies is a problem officially defined as
‘undetected contacts outside the receptacle’
(UCOTR), or more colloquially, boom scrapes.
When the KC-46A refuelling boom disengages
from the receiver aircraft, something – the
tip of the boom or the RVS camera are the
main suspects – scrapes along the outside
of the receiver aircraft’s fuselage, potentially
doing damage, especially to the specialised
coating of stealth aircraft. General Everhart
said: “When the probe comes down, the boom
has got to hit the [receiver] tray; sometimes
it comes out [of] the tray.” However, tell-tale
70
marks on the upper fuselage of receiver
aircraft have shown that the CPS drogues
have also been making contact.
The Air Force’s root cause analysis
includes going back and seeing if the higher-
than-Stratotanker scrape rate is because
of a design fault or manufacturing error in
the boom. If either of those proves to be
the cause, Boeing will be responsible for
engineering a modification and putting it in
place. A review of KC-46A testing data and
video recording of refuelling showed boom
scrapes were occurring more often with the
KC-46A than with older KC-135s. The boom
operators on board the KC-46As were not
aware they had taken place. Everhart said:
“The engineers and scientists are going back
to figure out why this is happening.”
The second Category I deficiency comes
from the requirement for any tanker, when
refuelling, to ensure its high-frequency radio
is securely turned off. This is done to prevent
electrical interference before the receiver
aircraft makes contact. Testing was needed
to prove this would happen even if something
failed on board the tanker during refuelling.
The US Air Force hoped this ‘deficiency’
would be fixed by October–November 2017.
The third Category I deficiency is described
as ‘uncommanded boom extensions’.
Lieutenant General Arnold Bunch, the service’s
uniformed acquisition chief, explained at
National Harbor on September 19: “Once
you get a disconnect, the boom extends
back out.” Fortunately, these extensions have
only taken place during ground testing and
during one specific situation, where the boom
disconnects from the receiver aircraft when
fuel is still flowing. Although the potential to
damage the receiver aircraft is limited, an
extending boom did hit a test rig. The Air Force
is going back and analysing test results to
find out what modifications might be needed.
Again, the service is aiming to resolve this
problem by October–November.
Another deficiency identified during testing
– not amounting to a Category I – resulted
from the KC-46A pilot’s ability to mute the
warning horn that sounds when the autopilot
is manually disconnected. This is a designed-
in feature common to all Boeing airliners
except its 787 Dreamliner. The FAA became
concerned during certification that the
autopilot could be inadvertently disconnected,
leaving no aural warning in the pilot’s headset
(though there would still be a visual warning
displayed on each pilot’s indicator panel).
Boeing is asking the FAA for a temporary
exemption from the requirement until the end
of 2019 that will permit the deficiency to be
resolved through flight computer software
changes scheduled in the 2020 timeframe.
The finish line?
The KC-46A programme delays are being
caused not by the need to resolve the
deficiencies, but by the need to complete
the flight test programme, something that is
going to become more challenging as autumn
weather arrives in the Seattle area. The Air
Force issued a statement on September 20,
2017, that the three Cat I deficiencies “are
not on the critical path for aircraft delivery”.
A decision about what will be done about
the deficiencies will not be made until flight
testing is completed. The service will conduct
its own flight testing, including working on the
UCOTR issue, starting in late autumn.
Boeing remains confident that the first
delivery will take place before the end of the
year. Sean Martin, Boeing’s chief aerial refueller
operator for the KC-46A programme, said in
Washington on September 20 that Boeing
“remained committed to the Air Force and
on track to deliver the first KC-46A by mid-
December” of 2017. Boeing had previously
revised the date from September 2017.
However, the US Air Force is not expecting
its first delivery until the spring. Everhart said:
“We’re running into a testing crunch period
right now, where we may not be able to get all
the test points done . . . Boeing could get this
thing accelerated, it could all fall together.” He
expects the first deliveries in April–June 2018:
“I believe it will be there in 2018. I need it to
be a war-fighting aircraft when I get it . . . I am
going to fly the first airplane when it arrives
in 2018.”

When asked about the differences
between Boeing and US Air Force
perceptions of the likely date for first delivery,
Lieutenant General Bunch said: “Boeing is
really committed to the programme. They
are great partners. We are doing whatever
we can to support them. Our assessment of
the schedule is that, considering the amount
of testing work, we do not believe that they
are going to make it by December. Spring is
the earliest we can get it done. We recognise
there is a difference between the two parties
involved. We briefed our leadership that
spring – I am thinking more likely April – will
be when the first KC-46A is delivered.”
The first 18 RAA aircraft are expected to
be delivered by October 2018. They will not
be considered operational unless they have
two spare engines and nine sets of WARP
pods to share between them. WARP is the
acronym for Cobham’s Wing Aerial Refueling
Pod. Boeing has been pushing hard to resolve
long-standing FAA certification issues with
the WARP pod design, which, though in
service with air arms worldwide since 2000,
has never previously had to undergo the
extensive documentation of components
and their manufacturers that is required for
FAA certification. Boeing has informed the Air
Force that these pods will be delivered before
October 2018.
Into service
In March 2017, the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) estimated that the KC-46A was
one of the rare aircraft programmes where the
estimates of the total cost had decreased since
it started in February 2011. Originally costed
at $51.7 billion, the GAO’s 2017 estimates
reduced this to $44.4 billion, (all then-year
dollars), representing a reduction of over 14%.
This reflects that under the terms of the
contract with Boeing, Air Force expenditure
for the development phase were capped
at $4.9 billion, with Boeing absorbing the
additional costs.
Currently, 34 KC-46As have been ordered
in three LRIP lots. A fourth LRIP lot of 15
aircraft will be ordered in January 2018. Once
the first KC-46A is delivered, Boeing plans to
deliver the remainder of the 18 RAA aircraft
at a rate of three per month, split between
the first two operational bases, before
transitioning to a 15-per-year sustained
production rate. All 179 KC-46As will be
delivered by 2027.
Japan has signed up to be the first
international customer, ordering four aircraft for
$1.9 billion in October 2015. This procurement
included provisions for Japanese industrial
participation; some 16% of the content of each
civilian 767 is already manufactured in Japan.
The KC-46A is also being offered to India. The
Israeli Air Force’s new chief of staff is reportedly
interested in the KC-46A.
Everhart said: “I have to get people ready
to fly these aircraft, whether they come
ready in December or in 2018. We have
got to have maintainers, got to have all the
folks trained. There’s a familiarisation period
once the aircraft hit the ramp, then we have
to get initial OT&E [operational testing and
evaluation] and get it operational. I’ve got the
simulators and am moving out, but there is
still a lot of work to be done.”
The US Air Force has been filling out its
basing plans. As with the entire development
programme, these feature compressed
timelines and a high degree of concurrency. For
example, rather than using the first aircraft for
training before starting deliveries to operational
units, the 18 RAA aircraft will be split evenly
between operational use and training.
General Everhart said: “Once the aircraft
start getting on the ramp, they are going
to clear out pretty fast. Those 34 airplanes
will first be heading to McConnell [Air
Force Base, Kansas], then to Altus [Air
Force Base, Oklahoma], the schoolhouse
[where all training is concentrated], then
to Pease [Air National Guard Base,
New Hampshire] and Seymour
Johnson [Air Force Base, North
Carolina].” On September 18 it
was announced that Seymour
Johnson Air Force Base
would receive the first of
12 KC-46As in FY2020;
KC-46A PEGASUS MILITARY
the resident 916th Air Refueling Wing will
be the first Air Force Reserve unit to receive
the new jet.
General Everhart is focusing on getting
the KC-46A into service and assuring it
meets the demanding key performance
parameters set out in its specification,
rather than modifying the aircraft later. The
KC-46A design has been frozen since the
development contract was signed. He
believes the compressed timeline for the
programme was only possible because
“once we had the requirements down, we
did not change the requirements at all”.
Everhart will wait: “. . . until we have enough
KC-46As on the flight line that we break
even, then we will start adding things like
sensors. I’ve got to protect that airplane.
I need to put defensive systems on the
airplane.” Other potential upgrades include
more use of automation in the refuelling
system and modernising the equipment for
its communications relay mission.
Although the KC-46A’s developmental
issues have overshadowed many of its
achievements, once they have been
overcome, this, the first of a projected three
procurements of new tankers for the US Air
Force, has the potential to shape the future
of US airpower for decades to come.
KC-46A Pegasus
N462KC arrives at
Travis Air Force Base,
California on March 7,
2017. Travis has been
selected as one of the
preferred locations for
the next two active-duty-
led bases to operate the
KC-46A. Louis Briscese/
US Air Force
71
 MILITARY AIRBUS A330 MRTT
A Royal Australian Air Force KC-
30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport
aircraft awaits its next Operation
Okra mission at a base in the
Middle East Region. Cpl David
Cotton/Royal Australian Air Force
W
ith its A330-
based MRTT
now in full
operational
service
with four
air forces
around
the world,
including
the Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air
Force, and ordered by seven others, Airbus
Defence & Space is now looking for the
next-generation tanker.
Most recently, Germany and Norway
became the newest MRTT customers, with
the announcement in June that the two
countries would join with Luxembourg and
the Netherlands to pool aircraft under the
European/NATO Multinational Multi-Role
Tanker Transport Fleet (MMF).
72
As of early October 2017, 29 of the 51
aircraft on order had been delivered and
the first of what the manufacturer calls the
new standard definition or second wave
of aircraft, including the first aircraft for the
Republic of Singapore Air Force and France’s
Armée de l’Air, were already flying, with
deliveries set to begin in 2018.
Over and above the improvements
incorporated into the new standard aircraft,
Airbus Defence & Space is working on a
range of technology insertions into the basic
tanker airframe. These are intended not only
to enhance capability in the core air-to-air
refuelling role, but also to add additional
communications and data-sharing capability,
making the MRTT an important node in the
networked battlespace of the future.
At the Australian International Air Show,
held at Avalon in March 2017, Airbus D&S
head Fernando Alonso announced that
Th
the first four of these technologies were
being bundled together under the ‘Smart
Tanker’ programme.
New Standard
Definition tankers
The first New Standard Definition aircraft has
begun certification testing of the upgraded
configuration in Spain, prior to delivery to the
Republic of Singapore Air Force. All MRTTs
delivered after this aircraft will be to the new
standard.
The new configuration takes advantage of
the upgrades made by Airbus to the green
A330-200 and will incorporate structural and
aerodynamic changes to improve efficiency,
as well as adding new computers and
displays.
In addition to the structural and
aerodynamic upgrade packages, the
changes include an increase in maximum
 AIRBUS A330 MRTT MILITARY

The Smart
Tanker
Nigel Pittaway brings AIR International readers up to date
with one of Europe’s most important military programmes –
the A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT)

take-off weight (MTOW) and a flight
management system based on the current
‘Power 8’ computers.
The MTOW of the new variant is increased
to 242 tonnes (529,100lb), up from 233
tonnes (513,677lb), resulting in structural
enhancements to the wings (including a load
alleviation feature) and main landing gear.
The fuselage is beefed up by the addition of
doublers to the existing structure in strategic
areas. Aerodynamic improvements include
the reshaping of the No.1 Slat inboard of the
engines and shortened flap track fairings,
which Airbus D&S says together reduce fuel
consumption by up to 1%.
Mission equipment enhancements
include: wideband satellite communications
(SATCOM); an air-to-air refuelling capability
software upgrade; IFF Mode 5 transponder,
compatible with ADS-B Revision 2; and new
mission computers, which Airbus D&S calls
the Tanker Integrated Mission System (TIMS).
TIMS is based on the Intel Core 17
processor and incorporates new software
to allow in-flight mission replanning, as well
as a Link 16 datalink management system
and a mission debrief capability, which
allows mission debriefing to be undertaken
onboard the aircraft using the boom
operator’s console on the flight deck. Airbus
D&S says the new system has a growth
capability for secure IP network (chat)
connection via SATCOM.
The system is based on the company’s
Fully Integrated Tactical System currently
integrated into maritime patrol aircraft such
as the C295 MPA aircraft Airbus D&S has
delivered to Chile, Oman and Portugal and
the upgraded P-3AM Orion maritime patrol
aircraft of the Força Aerea Brasileira (Brazilian
Air Force), albeit optimised for the tactical
nature of a tanker mission.
An electronic flight bag will be added to
the flight deck and the fly-by-wire Aerial
Refueling Boom System (ARBS) will receive
the latest software upgrades, as well as
a new operator’s control stick that the
company says has “improved behaviour”.
Some of the features of the New Standard
Designation, such as the IFF Mode 5
capability, will be incorporated into a retrofit
kit that Airbus D&S is currently developing for
the first-wave aircraft.
Smart Tanker programme
Although Fernando Alonso used the Avalon
Air Show to launch the Smart Tanker
formally, the company has been working on
the idea for some time and one of its key
partners in the development of the concept
is the Royal Australian Air Force, which was
the launch customer for the A330 MRTT
back in 2004.

73
 MILITARY AIRBUS A330 MRTT

Four new initiatives have been bundled
together into the initial Smart Tanker
package, but it is intended to be an evolving
programme that will see other technologies
added as time goes on. Included in the initial
four are an automatic air-to-air refuelling (A3R)
capability for the ARBS, initiatives to transform
the MRTT into a command and control (C2)
node, with enhanced communications, using
Airbus’ Space Data Highway programme, and
a big data system aimed at predicting failures
in critical mission systems and therefore
increasing mission success rates.
Alonso said: “We will not launch all of
the four elements at the same time. The
Smart Tanker configuration is not exclusive,
technology is moving very quickly and this is
not a closed concept. We will be developing
them all at the same time, but what is
important to note is that this is an open-
ended concept; as technology gives us the
opportunity to add more capabilities to the
aircraft, we will do so.”
He said Airbus D&S has been working
across its product portfolio to leverage digital
technology and provide higher levels of
situational awareness and connectivity and
noted that the strategy closely aligned with
the Royal Australian Air Force’s Plan Jericho
concept to deliver what the Australian Chief
of Air Force, Air Marshal ‘Leo’ Davies calls
the “fifth-generation Air Force”.
Speaking at Avalon, Alonso said: “I see
here that two stars have aligned themselves:
our strategy at Airbus D&S and Plan Jericho.
[The Royal Australian Air Force] wants to
incorporate additional capabilities into its
aircraft and it wants rapid prototyping and
rapid testing to introduce these technologies
quickly.”
Following the announcement, Alonso
and Air Marshal Davies signed a research
agreement to cooperate on the development
of the first of the Smart Tanker initiatives, the A Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super
A3R capability. Hornet and a KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker
Transport aircraft taxi for a mission in support of
Air Marshal Davies said: “It is a
Operation Okra from a base in the Middle East.
combination of real-world operational Cpl David Cotton/Royal Australian Air Force
experience, industry experience and the
exploitation of technology, and it is an
indication of joint thought – the reason why
we need cooperation between air force and
industry to realise Plan Jericho.”
A3R refuelling capability
Airbus D&S says the A3R concept will
reduce crew workload during boom refuelling
missions by day or night and in all weather
conditions, by allowing consistent and
accurate contacts with the receiver aircraft.
The system uses a series of 3D cameras,
together with image processing software,
to determine the precise location of the
receiver’s refuelling receptacle in space and
then automatically direct the boom to a point

OWNERS AND ORDERS

OWNERS
Australia
Australia was the launch customer for the A330 MRTT programme
with an order for four aircraft (later increased to five) under Project Air
5402 in 2004. The first aircraft was converted by Airbus at Getafé and
the remaining four by Qantas Defence Services in Australia. In Royal
Australian Air Force service the aircraft are designated KC-30A. The first
aircraft was handed over in July 2011 and the acquisition of a further
two aircraft (ex-Qantas A330-200s) under Project Air 7403 Phase 3
was announced in June 2016. The sixth aircraft arrived in Australia
in September 2016 and the seventh will follow in 2018. The latter
aircraft will also be fitted with a partial VIP interior and the Australian
Government has foreshadowed an order for a further two aircraft in the
second half of the next decade.
Saudi Arabia
The Royal Saudi Air Force became the fourth MRTT customer with an
order for three aircraft (later increased to six) announced in January
2008. The first aircraft was delivered in November 2011, but retained
by Airbus D&S (then Airbus Military) for crew training. The MRTT first
entered service with the Saudis in February 2013 and all had been
delivered by early 2015.
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates Air Force announced the selection of the
MRTT in February 2007, becoming the third customer for the aircraft
behind Australia and the UK. The first aircraft was delivered in February
2013, followed by the second and third aircraft later that year.
United Kingdom
The UK formally became the second MRTT customer in June 2007, with
the announcement that the government had approved a private finance
initiative solution with the AirTanker consortium, under the RAF’s Future
Strategic Tanker Aircraft programme.
AirTanker subsequently signed a contract with the UK Ministry of
Defence in March 2008 for 14 aircraft, to be known in RAF Service
as Voyager and comprising seven in two-point tanker configuration
(Voyager KC2) and seven three-point aircraft (Voyager KC3).
The first aircraft made its maiden flight after conversion in September
2010 and the final aircraft was delivered in 2016. In 2015, it was further
announced that one aircraft would receive a partial VIP interior and this
aircraft entered service in May 2016.
ORDERS
France
In late 2011, France announced that it would replace its ageing
C-135FR fleet with the MRTT and announced in late 2012 that it would
order 14 aircraft the following year. In the event this was reduced to 12
aircraft, to be acquired in three tranches of one, eight and three, but
at the present time only the first nine are funded. To be named Phénix
in Armée de l’Air service, the first aircraft made its maiden flight after
conversion to MRTT configuration at Getafé in September this year.
Deliveries are due to begin in 2018.
Germany and Norway
Germany and Norway became the most recent MRTT customers in
June, when they officially joined the European/NATO MMF programme.
The MMF is managed by Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en
matière d’Armement (OCCAR) and the aircraft will be pooled with
those already ordered by Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Five
aircraft will be ordered by the two countries and there are options on a
further four.
Luxembourg and the Netherlands
Luxembourg and the Netherlands became the first members of the MMF
with a memorandum of understanding in July 2016 for the acquisition
of two aircraft, with options of up to six more as further nations join the
grouping.
Singapore
The Republic of Singapore Air Force announced an order for six MRTTs
in March 2014, becoming the sixth MRTT customer and the first for
the second wave of New Standard Definition aircraft. The MRTT beat
the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus for the order and the first aircraft began
conversion in Getafé in October 2015. The first aircraft will also be the
certification platform for the new tanker configuration, with deliveries to
Singapore to begin in 2018.
South Korea
South Korea selected the MRTT in June 2015, after also considering
the KC-46A and the IAI 767-300-based MMTT. Four aircraft will be
acquired for the Republic of Korea Air Force, with all aircraft to be
delivered by the end of 2019. The first green aircraft for Korea was
delivered to Airbus D&S in May 2017 and is currently undergoing
conversion at Getafé.

74
directly above the receptacle. The telescopic
portion of the boom can be controlled either
manually by the air refuelling officer (ARO) or
via a number of automatic modes, including
a relative distance-keeping mode and a fully
automatic mode, to perform the contact.
The imaging technology behind the system
had originally been developed by Airbus’
Space division to study the possibility of
refuelling satellites in space and the feasibility
of removing space debris; it has been further
developed by Airbus D&S for the A3R role.
The world’s first automatic coupling was
made between an Airbus D&S’ A310 MRTT
testbed and a Força Aérea Portuguesa
(Portuguese Air Force) F-16A off the
Portuguese coast on March 21, 2017. The
90-minute test included six contacts at an
altitude of 25,000ft (7,620mm) and a speed of
270kts (500km/h).
In a press release some time after the
trials, Airbus D&S provided comment from
the Portuguese F-16 pilot who flew the
receiver aircraft. Identified only by his call
sign ‘Prime’, he said the test mission was
uneventful and was accomplished with no
unexpected issues: “From the moment that
the boomer [ARO] accepted the contact, the
boom was immediately in the correct spot.
For the contact itself, it was very precise
and expeditious. He said. “You can notice
the difference. The less that you feel in the
cockpit, then the more precise you know the
tracking is.”
Further testing will include the use of an
MRTT as a receiving aircraft and, as part
of the development agreement signed with
Australia, a Royal Australian Air Force KC-
30A will be used alongside the A310 testbed.
Airbus predicts that the A3R system could
be installed on current A330-based MRTTs,
including the Royal Australian Air Force’s KC-
30As, as early as 2019.
Communications node
Another initiative included in the initial
Smart Tanker proposal is the development
of the aircraft as a C2 node. This project is
considering a range of connectivity proposals
that can be added, together with the upgrade
of existing communications capabilities such
as the Link 16 Tactical Data Link.
Included in the proposals are the
addition of Link 16 Joint Range Extension
functionality, which allows the existing Link
16 system to act as a data relay, to make
the data available to a Command, Control,
Communications and Intelligence network
and/or access information from networks that
are at beyond-line-of-sight ranges. A further
initiative may be the installation of an airborne
laser terminal that, as the name suggests,
uses a laser communications system to
transmit and receive large amounts of data
to or from a satellite in geosynchronous
orbit. Airbus D&S is already testing this latter
system aboard its A310 testbed.
The company says the intention is
to capitalise on the MRTT’s size and
performance and the fact that it typically
operates close to the operational area.
Fernando Alonso explained: “The
communications node activity is a wide-
ranging concept to enable the MRTT to
operate in an intelligence surveillance and
reconnaissance/C2 role in addition to its AAR
role. The concept has generated considerable
interest among current A330 MRTT operators
and development work continues, informed
by our conversations with customers.”
Space Data Highway
The Space Data Highway concept uses laser
technology to transfer high volumes of data
via SATCOM to provide an extremely secure
means of transferring data at rates up to
double those possible using today’s systems.
In simple terms, it is an airborne fibre-optics
system that could enable the transmission of
very large quantities of, for instance, high-
definition video between multiple platforms.
The Space Data Highway is a wider Airbus
D&S programme to improve communications
infrastructure and in the Smart Tanker context
it is also due to be tested on the company’s
A310 in the near future.
Big data
Big data makes use of the commercial A330’s
central maintenance computer philosophy, but
expanded and enhanced to enable the capture
of data from the MRTT’s mission systems. In
the airline world, this information is used to
improve technical despatch rates (and therefore
increase profits) by anticipating component
failures and allowing preventative maintenance
activity to be scheduled in advance.
Fernando Alonso said: “It is about combining
the data from the aircraft systems with big data
algorithms to develop predictive maintenance
plans and take action before the actual failure
happens, so we can increase the operational
reliability and availability of the aircraft.”
At Avalon, Alonso also mentioned Airbus
D&S’ covert tanker operations initiative,
a concept aimed at enhancing night AAR
operations in a hostile environment by
reducing the visibility of the tanker. Although
he was unable to release any further details, it
is understood that the concept will involve the
means of conducting AAR without the tanker
using its current external lighting system.
He said: “All of this actually fits in beautifully
with Plan Jericho. It is important because we
have launched the project internally and we’re
delighted that the [Royal Australian Air Force] is
supporting us as we move in this direction. I’m
sure that together we will be able to convince
the other [MRTT] users that giving additional
capability to this aircraft is moving forwards.”
75
 MILITARY C-130J SUPER HERCULES

T
he US Air Force’s 61st
Airlift Squadron (61st
AS) ‘Green Hornets’, is
part of the 19th Airlift
Wing (19th AW) and flies
the C-130J-30 Super
Hercules from Little Rock
Air Force Base, Arkansas.
The unit predominantly
deploys overseas in
support of Operations New Dawn and
Enduring Freedom.
The squadron’s first C-130J-30 Super
Hercules, aircraft serial number 11-5734,
arrived at Little Rock on October 24, 2013
and its last, 14-5796, just over three years
later, on June 20, 2016. Each of the 19th
AW’s two squadrons (the other is the 41st
AS ‘Black Cats’) has a unit establishment
of 14 aircraft.
C-130J-30
The C-130J-30 differs most obviously from
the basic C-130J by having a cargo floor
stretched from 40ft to 55ft (12.2m to 16.76m).
The added 15ft (4.56m) means the stretched
Super Hercules can carry eight standard
463L cargo pallets, two more than the shorter
version. Other cargo options include 97 litters,
24 CDS (US Container Delivery System)
bundles, 128 troops or 92 paratroopers.
The aircraft’s four Allison AE2100D3
turboprop engines, each of which is rated at
4,591 shaft horsepower (3,425kW), make the
aircraft significantly cheaper to operate over
its lifetime than earlier C-130 models.
AIR International spoke with Major
Jeremy Hague, 61st Airlift Squadron’s
Assistant Director of Operations about what
the C-130J-30 is like to fly. He said: “The
C-130J-30 is state of the art. The head-up
display [HUD] allows nearly every piece of
information required to fly the aircraft to be
available to pilots as they look through the
windscreen. Knowing that data at a glance
makes our job easier and enhances our
mission focus. In the low-level environment,
it can be challenging to fly the aircraft and
we are constantly thinking about what’s
around the next valley or what’s beyond the
next ridgeline – so the HUD gives situational
awareness at all times.”
The minimum crew complement for the
C-130J-30 is two pilots and one loadmaster.
In the legacy C-130E and C-130H models,
the loadmaster was solely concerned
with the cargo. While loadmasters in the
C-130J-30 are still the experts as far as
loading, off-loading and weight and balance
are concerned, they have other essential roles
during the en-route section of the flight, acting

Green Hornets a
the Super Hercu
The 61st Airlift Squadron has flown the
C-130J-30 Super Hercules since 2013;
Matthew Clements visited the squadron
at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas
to find out about its mission

US Army soldiers board a

C-130J Hercules from the 61st
Airlift Squadron, for a paratroop
drop at Fort Bragg, North
Carolina. Senior Airman Asha Kin/
US Air Force

76
 C-130J SUPER HERCULES MILITARY

a bit like an old-fashioned flight engineer. Their
duties include monitoring various systems,
most notably the fuel to ensure the aircraft
remains balanced. The loadmaster will also
help in an emergency by referencing flight
manuals and running checklists when the pilot
and co-pilot are task-saturated with flying and
talking to air traffic control.
The C-130J-30 can airdrop loads of up
to 42 tonnes and crews practise dropping
armoured vehicles when training with their
partners in the US Army. The most common
types of stores delivery when deployed
overseas are CDS airdrops where 24 bundles
weighing up to 2,200lbs (1,000kg) each are
rolled out the back of the aircraft. As well as
the usual loads of paratroops and general
cargo, the C-130J-30 is also used to drop
leaflets and GPS-guided bundles from high
altitude. Smaller bundles can be dropped
from the side doors at low altitude during
search and rescue missions. Green Hornets’
pilot Captain Lance Peak described some
of the payloads recently dropped by the
Super Hercules in combat operations around
the globe. He said: “The C-130J has been
dropping rations via HVCDS [high velocity
container delivery system] in Iraq in recent
months. We can airdrop food rations, water
- realistically anything that the ground forces
request that we have data and procedures
on in our technical publications. We also
airdrop heavy equipment to include Humvees
or a max cargo load of 42,000lbs. We also
have the capability to airdrop 92 combat-
rigged paratroopers as well as HAHO and
HALO [high altitude high opening, high
altitude low opening] jumpers.” Maj Jeremy
Hague compared the C-130J to its C-130E
and C-130H predecessors: “While the
electronics and flight management system
are completely new for the C-130J, flying
the aircraft is very similar to the C-130E and
C-130H. Many people transitioning from the
older aircraft recognise that it still flies like
a Herc. The most recognisable difference
is the HUD, which gives pilots significantly
more awareness regarding how the aircraft is
flying. As pilots, we talk about the instrument
crosscheck, which involves periodically
scanning your instruments to ensure that you
are flying the desired parameters [airspeed,
attitude, altitude]. In the C-130J-30, nearly
every instrument is constantly right in front
of your eyes, which allows us to quickly
recognise when we are not flying within our
desired parameters. Furthermore, our flight
deck is integrated into a glass cockpit, with
digital information that can be customised to
suit each individual pilot. Flight plans can be

s and
cules
Loadmasters from the 61st Airlift Squadron look out the back of a C-130J Hercules during
exercise Mobility Guardian at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington on August 7.
Senior Airman Clayton Cupit/US Air Force

77
 MILITARY C-130J SUPER HERCULES
C-130J-30 Super Hercules 07-
4636 takes off from runway 25
at Little Rock Air Force Base.
Matthew Clements
overlaid on radar displays and navigational
facilities and nearby airports can be added
to enhance our situational awareness.
Furthermore, we rarely use paper charts in
the C-130J-30. Our digital map display can
be used to reference charts and imagery on
the screens in the cockpit.”
The daily grind - training
around Little Rock
The area around Little Rock is perfect for
practising tactical combat airlift. Low flying is
practised in the mountains to the northwest
of the base in Arkansas and the base’s
central location in the continental US makes
the whole nation with its different terrain
quickly accessible. The deserts of west Texas
are a short hop away and the mountains of
Colorado and New Mexico are within easy
reach. The squadron practises dropping army
paratroopers on a weekly basis, rarely flying
more than an hour to pick up its passengers.
Capt Peak described the benefits of being
based in Little Rock: “Flying at Little Rock
presents its own unique challenges. We fly
78
several formation sorties during the week
to train to our mission set - which is tactical
low-level airdrop - and tactical approaches to
austere landing zones. We also have a regular
tasking of cargo moves across the continental
United States, the Caribbean and into Central
and South America on occasion. It can be
a lot of juggling to make sure we meet all of
our training needs, while at the same time
providing our planned cargo moves and any
humanitarian relief mission that may arise,
such as Hurricane Matthew which struck
Haiti in early October 2016. There are benefits
to flying in and around the local Little Rock
area. We have some rising terrain in northern
Arkansas and several rivers that converge in
the area that we incorporate into our low-level
training. We also have access to several
drop zones and landing zones within 30-40
minutes of flight time.”
The 61st AS practises tactical landings at
locations within a few minutes’ flying time
including a dedicated assault landing zone
on the airfield and others in North Arkansas,
Louisiana, Texas, Missouri and Alabama.
Capt Peak elaborated on how the tactical
landing strips are used, and how they aid in
real world operations. He explained:
“The landing lengths and widths vary
slightly at each zone, as well as the surfaces,
with some being asphalt, and others being
unimproved or dirt strips. The average
you will probably see on a typical training
flight would be a runway 60ft [18.3m] wide
by 3,000-3,500ft [914-1,066m] long. The
crews train to land in the ‘zone’ which is
a 500ft [152m] marked box. If the crew
lands within that 500ft distance, then all
our take-off and landing data previously
computed is validated. We train to the same
standard during day and night missions
with the crews operating on night vision
goggles. There are several landing zones
in Afghanistan that are similar to the ones
we use in training; the major difference
being the added factor of pressure altitude
in Afghanistan. Our landing zone in training
typically averages only a few hundred feet
in elevation, whereas some of the fields
in Afghanistan sit at an altitude of 6,000ft

[1,828m] and higher in some cases. This
is also why we plan training missions
to mountainous areas so that we have
experience in dealing with landing at higher
pressure altitudes. The C-130J crews that
operate in Africa deal with unimproved
landing zones on a routine basis, sometimes
landing at fields that have been vacant for
years. The training accomplished at home
station helps prepare the crews for some
adversity they may face in the future.”
Green Hornets at Red Flag
Many squadron members have attended
Exercise Red Flag at Nellis Air Force Base,
Nevada in the C-130J-30. As a tactical
airlift platform, the mission during Red Flag
is to carry cargo to austere dirt landing
zones or airdrop equipment in a challenging
environment.
Maj Hague highlighted the benefits Red
Flag brings to the squadron: “Much of the
training at Red Flag is focused on avoiding
detection from ground and air threats.
We typically have the opportunity to push
C-130J SUPER HERCULES MILITARY
the limits of the C-130J by flying fast and
low through mountainous terrain to avoid
threats. We add in the capability of getting
to our objective area on time, to the second,
and we really enhance our ability to project
combat airpower throughout the exercise.
Furthermore, one of the most rewarding
opportunities at Red Flag is working with
our international allies and sharing our
knowledge and capabilities thereby improving
interoperability. Aircrews from our squadron
have worked with aircrews from Thailand,
Indonesia, Japan, Belgium, Australia and
Italy. Along with Red Flag, the US military
and our allies provide many opportunities
for our aircrews to practise combat airlift in a
complicated environment. We regularly travel
to Alaska, North Carolina and even Europe to
support large scale exercises.”
Combat operations
The 61st AS is constantly involved in combat
operations all over the world - at least four
crews were deployed to locations worldwide
on every day of 2015. The squadron deployed
in support of Operations Resolute Support,
Freedom Sentinel and Inherent Resolve
during the summer of 2016 and deploys to
Europe and Africa supporting operations in
several areas.
When its crews are not deployed, they fly
missions spanning the western hemisphere
from South America to Greenland. Currently,
the C-130J-30 is used for a vast array of
missions: carrying cargo and passengers
in and out of hostile territory, performing
airdrops of supplies to troops on the ground
and MEDEVAC. In 2015, the squadron moved
more than nine million tonnes of cargo
and over 19,000 passengers, supporting
operations on five continents spanning 97
million square miles.
Capt Peak spoke about his recent combat
tour: “Personally, my most notable mission in
the C-130J-30 was on a recent deployment
to Afghanistan in 2016. I was fortunate
enough to be a part of the first crew to
supply a cut-off FOB [forward operating
base] with fuel that we downloaded into
their fuel bladders. They [the troops on the
79
 MILITARY C-130J SUPER HERCULES
The aircrew of C-130J, radio call sign Raven 11, in a right-hand turn over Arkansas. Matthew Clements
ground] were only days from running out
of their fuel supply that is used to run their
vehicles and generators. The roads were
too congested for fuel trucks to attempt a
re-supply, so we planned and coordinated
for the movement of fuel off-loads. It made
for an extremely long day, totalling eight
fuel runs made into the LZ [landing zone]
that night. Over the next several weeks,
the squadron continued resupplying and
keeping the FOB up and running. It was an
opportunity to see first-hand the impact of
your own actions and how it plays into the
larger picture. It was a rewarding experience
Airmen from the 61st Airlift Squadron remove a pallet from the back of a C-130J on an airstrip in Port-au-Prince,
Haiti in support of United States humanitarian relief efforts in October 2016. SSgt Paul Labbe/US Air Force
80
to see the mission go from a planning stage
to an execution stage in a relatively short
time period. Having assisted with the bulk
of the planning and being able to fly the first
mission in, was a rewarding experience.”
Aircrews from the 61st AS are constantly
called to maximise the capabilities of the
C-130J. Most recently (2016), it has had
fully loaded aircraft landing on dirt landing
zones in parts of Africa and Central Asia.
Furthermore, squadron crews have been
tasked to perform airdrops to support
operations in Central Africa and the Horn
of Africa.
Maj Hague described a memorable
C-130J-30 mission: “My most memorable
mission was carrying special operations
forces and landing at a dirt airstrip in the
mountains of Afghanistan in the middle of the
night. The airstrip was only marked with five
lights to show the touchdown zone of the
airstrip and the end of the runway. Due to the
terrain surrounding the airfield, we were not
able to see the lights until one mile [1.6km]
from the runway and 300ft [91m] from the
ground. We couldn’t identify the edges of
the runway until about 100ft [30m]. It was
this situation that made the HUD invaluable,
since we could use our cues in the HUD to
fly the airplane towards the landing zone until
we could identify it and successfully land the
airplane on the runway.”
Block 8.1 and the future
From its first flight in 1954, the C-130 has
constantly been upgraded and modified
in response to the changing operational
environment. The C-130J-30 provides an
extensive suite of electronics giving aircrews
vastly improved situational awareness over
earlier models.
The newest upgrade Block 8.1 promises
to bring a whole new set of capabilities
to the C-130J-30 including a flight
management systems (FMS) integrated from
commercial aircraft with enhanced GPS
capabilities and communications systems,
and updated friend-or-foe identification.
The new FMS will include improved lateral
and vertical guidance profiles to allow more
precise time control and more efficient
flying. It will also include a datalink for
 C-130J SUPER HERCULES MILITARY

The co-pilot of C-130J, radio call sign Raven 11, observes the Arkansas River during a low-level training flight from Little Rock. Matthew Clements

receiving real-time information about the
battle space and to communicate beyond
line-of-sight with mission planners and
troops on the ground. Capt Peak told AIR
International what Block 8.1 will bring to
the C-130J-30 community: “Some of the
upgrades that Block 8.1 will incorporate
are two additional GPSs so that we can
comply with FAA regulations and be legal
to fly RNAV GPS [random navigation GPS]
approaches, which we currently aren’t able
to do. We will be able to assess our timing
status in a climb or descent, or several
step-down altitudes which currently can
cause minor timing problems, requiring
crews to use techniques to fix ahead/
behind times in regards to meeting TOTs
[times on target] TOAs [times of arrival].
Block 8.1 will also compute with a desired
factor, the SD [slow down] point. Currently,
crews plan to use a specific slow down
factor and use the math to calculate a
desired slowdown distance, 8.1 will allow
you to add your desired slowdown distance
factor and use that to calculate a
slowdown distance for you.”

C-130J 11-5736 heads a line-up of

four 19th Airlift Wing Super Hercules.
Matthew Clements

81
 COMMERCIAL AIR BALTIC
Baltic Conne
Boosted by its new Bombardier C Series jets, Air Baltic is strengthening
its Riga hub as it seeks a private investor. Dominic Sipinski reports
I
n 2016, some 5.4 million passengers
travelled through Riga Airport. That is
two-and-a-half times more people than
the population of Latvia, of which Riga
is the capital. In fact, it is only slightly
less than the population of all three
Baltic states, Latvia, Lithuania and
Estonia, combined.
A big contributor to these numbers
is Air Baltic. The Latvian flag carrier
has got over 55% share in capacity to and
from Riga. Last year it carried 2.9 million
passengers, a growth of over 11% in
comparison to 2015. In 2017, it increased its
capacity by a further 18% and is poised to
carry nearly 3.5 million passengers.
Air Baltic’s strength is not only Riga,
although the Latvian capital is by far the
largest hub for the airline. It has also got
82
a 17% share in capacity to and from
Tallinn, the capital of Estonia (where it is
the second largest carrier after Nordica
together with LOT Polish Airlines, both
operating on LOT’s air operator certificate)
and 11% in Vilnius (where it is third behind
Wizz Air and Ryanair).
Martin Gauss, Air Baltic’s Chief Executive
Officer explained to AIR International: “Our
goal is to connect the Baltic states, not
just Latvia. We do something that no other
carrier can copy without a network in all
three countries.”
Gauss went on to explain how thanks
to its unique network, Air Baltic can offer
connecting flights in all directions. On top
of high-frequency flights between all three
Baltic states’ capitals, the airline offers a
number of European destinations directly
from Tallinn and Vilnius.
Consequently, Air Baltic’s passengers can,
for example, fly from Amsterdam to Vilnius
directly, via Riga or via Tallinn. Someone
trying to get from the Netherlands to Riga
can just fly directly or via either of the other
capitals. This gives Air Baltic a competitive
edge as it can offer many more services than
any other carrier would be able to sustain.
Connectivity in general, not just
between the three Baltic capitals, is key
for Air Baltic. Gauss said throughout the
year the ratio between connecting and
direct passengers in Riga is nearly 50:50,
with slightly more passengers travelling
on point-to-point routes in the summer
months. To build such a strong hub in
a small country, Air Baltic has had a
combined focus on its fleet and network.

ections
All-Bombardier
Air Baltic’s headquarters is located inside
the airport terminal in Riga in wooden-clad
offices, unmistakeably Baltic in style. When
Gauss, a down-to-earth German pilot and
former executive of Malév Hungarian Airlines,
first entered his new office in Riga in 2011,
the airline’s future was not bright.
At that time, Air Baltic had just requested
a 60 million lats (around €85 million) bailout
from the Latvian Government and the
local media speculated on an imminent
bankruptcy. The airline lost €121.5 million in
2011.
But a radical cost-cutting approach,
combined with a focus on building a strong
hub in Riga, quickly brought profitability back.
In 2012, the losses were reduced to €27.2
million and in 2013 the airline earned €1
million net; it has been in the black ever since.
Passenger numbers dropped from 3.3 million
in 2011 to 2.6 million in 2014, as the airline’s
capacity was limited by European Union
constraints for receiving state aid, but since
then it has rebounded to pre-crisis levels.
Fleet replacement was and remains a
strong driver of Air Baltic’s recovery. In
2013 the airline ceased operating its last
remaining Fokker 50 turboprops and a year
later the Boeing 757-200s met the same fate.
Deliveries of new Bombardier Dash 8 Q400
turboprops commenced in 2010; the last of
12 on order arrived in Riga in August 2013.
And an even more revolutionary step was
taken in November 2016, when the first of 20
ordered Bombardier C Series CS300s landed
in Latvia. Air Baltic was the launch customer
of the bigger variant from the C Series family.
AIR BALTIC COMMERCIAL
Air Baltic was the launch operator for the
Bombardier CS300. It is using the aircraft very
intensively and says operational results are better
than expected. Here YL-CSC (c/n 55005), the
third CS300 to be delivered to the airline, is on
finals at Zurich. Paul Buchroeder/AirTeamImages
Game-changing C Series
While the C Series was severely delayed,
Gauss stressed it was a game-changer for
the airline and performs exceptionally.
He said: “These are very good planes,
both passengers and our crews like them.
But they are also very efficient. Efficiency
was the reason we ordered them and
their operational results are even better
than predicted. According to the delivery
schedule, we should get the last CS300s in
2019, but we would be very glad if this could
happen earlier.”
Gauss underlined the reliability of the C
Series. In June, Air Baltic broke a record,
flying a CS300 for 16 hours in a day. In July,
it only took 50 minutes between the arrival of
a brand new CS300 from the assembly line in
Canada to the first commercial take-off.
83
 COMMERCIAL AIR BALTIC
Gauss said: “Even Bombardier tells us we
use the aircraft very intensely, but I see no
reason to keep them on the ground.”
He accepts that as a new model the
aircraft might have some teething problems,
but stressed that as a launch customer
Air Baltic gets additional support from the
manufacturer. It also helps the airline already
had experience with Bombardier aircraft,
being a Q400 user for seven years.
For the time being there are still 11 older
Boeing 737 Classics flying for Air Baltic. The
aircraft are being gradually replaced with
CS300s, but given the pace of growth the
deliveries of Canadian-made jets are simply
not quick enough.
Gauss said: “We bought the 737s back
from leasing companies, so now we have
got more flexibility. We can choose when to
sell them, as we are not limited by expiring
leases. The goal is to have no more
Boeings by 2020.”
Despite the continuing use of older 737s
the Bombardier-based fleet has allowed
Air Baltic to transform its network. Smaller,
fuel efficient aircraft can operate on some
routes with higher frequency, which allows
the airline to build an optimal schedule
for business travellers, particularly on
cross-Baltic routes. It also helps to create
a steady flow of traffic through Riga. The
airport positions itself as a strong hub
especially on connections from western
and central Europe to the Baltic and
Scandinavian countries.
Traffic growth necessitates further
changes. Gauss admitted the Q400s are
already too small on many routes. He said:
“We will replace them with jets with more
than 100 seats. We have not decided yet,
whether these will be Bombardier CS100s
or Embraer E2s. These are the two options
available on the market.”
Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 YL-
BAX (c/n 4324), pictured climbing
from Kiev, is one of the 12 Q400s
delivered to Air Baltic between 2010
and 2013. Oleg Belyakov/AirTeamImages
84
Regional hub
Gauss is a realist; he does not intend
to expand Air Baltic beyond what is
sustainable in the Baltic market. For
instance, he does not
plan to offer long-
haul services,
although
such an offer
from the Baltic
states is currently
very limited, with the
only such route being
the Uzbekistan Airways
fifth freedom connection from
Tashkent via Riga to New York JFK.
Latvian passengers, like Estonians
and Lithuanians, need to use the hubs
of LOT Polish Airlines, Finnair, Lufthansa or
SAS to travel long haul.
But when it comes to regional and
European connections, the airline’s CEO
believes Air Baltic is uniquely placed to serve
the market. He is confident his company’s
position will not be undermined even in light
of LOT’s expansion in Tallinn.
Air Baltic currently flies to around 60
destinations. Despite its location at the
outskirts of the EU, Riga is still more or
less at the geographical centre of the
airline’s network. While there are more
connections to the southwest, where the
core of the continent lies, Air Baltic also
offers flights to three cities in Finland, two
each in Sweden and Norway, Iceland and
Aberdeen in Scotland. It also flies to the
east and southeast, including three cities
in Russia as well as Baku, Tbilisi and Abu
Dhabi. Many of the key connections, such
as Stockholm or Helsinki, are offered as
high-frequency routes which increase their
appeal to both business customers and
transfer passengers.

Gauss explained: “Thanks to this network,
we can offer the passengers the best service.
For example, LOT offers low prices from
Estonia, but for many people flying from
Tallinn via Warsaw to western Europe makes
little sense. It just takes longer. Somebody
might do it once, but will not do it again.
Flights via our hubs are simply shorter.”
He still sees untapped potential in flights
both from and via Riga. The terminal in the
Latvian capital is undergoing expansion to
handle up to seven million passengers a year
and, according to Gauss, in the future might
handle up to ten million. Surface transport is
being improved, too, with new motorways
and railways widening the catchment area
in the Baltic states and even to northeastern
Poland, which does not have its own airport.
AIR BALTIC COMMERCIAL
The airline also relaunched domestic flights
to Liepaja which, Gauss is quick to point out,
make sense only due to transfer traffic.
The current pace of growth of the airline is
extraordinary.
Gauss said: “Since the beginning of
this year, we are finally no longer limited
by the compensatory measures imposed
by the European Commission in return for
us receiving state aid. So the only factor
which slows our growth is the availability of
jets in our fleet.”
In the longer term, there will be some
slowdown. But Gauss estimates 10% annual
growth is a sustainable rate which could be
maintained over a number of years.
Future investment
Such good results and forecasts are a draw
for investors. Air Baltic is now majority
owned by the Latvian state, which holds
80% of shares. The remaining 20% is
owned by Lars Thuesen, a Danish
entrepreneur and owner of the
airline Jet Time. The government
in Riga is looking for options
to sell its stake.
Gauss said, “The
Latvian state was a good
shareholder in difficult
times, and it always ran
the airline as a business
rather than a political tool”,
pointing out for example the extensive
network to Russia, with which Latvia has
tense political relations. “But the ownership
will soon change,” he added.
The privatisation process should
conclude by the end of 2017. There are
undisclosed bidders and while currently it
is hard to predict who might buy Air Baltic,
it seems clear the Latvian airline is a good
investment. Gauss said currently he does
not see Air Baltic joining any of the major
groups or alliances but with a new investor
things may change.
One thing is clear, though. With its unique
geographic position, increasingly modern
fleet and tailored business model, Air Baltic
will remain a major player in the northeastern
part of Europe, regardless of who buys it.
85

The Busine
Tankers and their Air R
David C Isby lays out the different options available to those wanting to buy an air-to-air refueller
A
ir-to-air refuelling
tankers in service
today will be flying
well into the 21st
century incorporating
improved versions of
one or both of the two
basic types of air-to-air
refuelling systems,
boom or drogue. Like
armament is to fighter aircraft, they are
the critical onboard systems that allow
them to do their jobs. Reliability and
interoperability with many different types
of receiver aircraft throughout a wide
operational envelope are the key criteria for
air refuelling systems, but so are their rates
of fuel transfer. While an operational tanker
may seldom transfer fuel at its maximum
rate, the ability to do so when needed is no
less important than maximum speed is to
a fighter.
The US Air Force-developed flying boom
system offers a high rate of fuel transfer, up
to some 6,000–8,000lb per minute (ppm)
(2,761–3,650kg). It requires an operator
on board the tanker to fly the boom, a
telescoping rigid tube (containing a fuel
line) with small wing-like aerofoils, into
86
the receiver aircraft’s dorsal receptacle;
originally a purely manual feat, modern
tankers use a computer-assisted system.
No other air arm expects its tankers
routinely to deploy worldwide to carry out
such a sustained high operational tempo
as does the US Air Force, with its large
numbers of thirsty receivers needing to
operate in any weather or environment.
The more widely used hose-and-drogue
system trails its drogue behind the tanker.
When stabilised, the receiver aircraft flies
its probe into the drogue. Fuel can be
dispensed at a maximum rate of 5,000ppm
(2,300kg) from a large centreline drogue
system, but a lower rate of 2,500–2,800ppm
(1,180–1,270kg) is more usual; most tactical
aircraft’s plumbing cannot receive a greater
fuel flow.
The US-built Boeing KC-46A Pegasus
tanker and the Airbus Defence & Space
A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT), the
two major tanker designs coming off the
production lines today, are designed to use
both these systems regularly at the same
time without having to be reconfigured. While
these two tankers dominate world markets,
there are several cheaper and, in most cases
less capable, alternatives available.
A US Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey refuels
during a mission in support of Weapons and
Tactics Instructor course 1-17 at Marine
Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona. Lance Cpl.
Danny Gonzalez/US Marine Corps
Legacy tankers
The US Air Force currently operates
342 Boeing KC-135R and 54 KC-135T
Stratotankers. It is currently planning to
continue operating decreasing numbers of its
KC-135s until they are replaced by the last
of the still notional, yet to be defined KC-Z
tankers, an event thought likely to take place
around 2060. The US Air Force’s KC-135s
have an airframe life of 60,000 flight hours
and even the oldest are only halfway there.
A Stratotanker has a maximum fuel load
of 203,000lb (46 tonnes), which yields
some 161,000lb (30 tonnes) available for
transfer – the tanker’s total ‘give’ – over
the course of a four-hour mission. The
KC-135 uses boom refuelling, though it
can be modified to trail a drogue from 9ft
(3m) of hose attached at the end of the
boom. Officially designated the Boom
Drogue Adapter, during the 1991 Gulf War
this modification earned the nickname
‘Iron Maiden’ from unimpressed RAF and
US Navy pilots who had to refuel from
its rigid drogue. Of the about 400 US
Air Force Boeing KC-135s, only 20 have
been plumbed to use both the boom and
underwing pod-mounted drogues on the
same mission.

ness End:
r Refuelling Systems
Current US Air Force upgrades to the
KC-135 do not directly improve its refuelling
system. The first upgraded Block 45 versions
were delivered in 2013. This programme, to
be completed in 2026, provides the KC-135
with a new digital glass cockpit incorporating
a new communications, navigation,
surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/
ATM) suite to make the jet compliant for
global airspace access. An upgraded
autopilot makes the Block 45 more
responsive during air refuelling. In a separate
programme, the US Air Force is upgrading
1,400 of its KC-135’s CFM International
CFM56-2 (F108) turbofan engines, increasing
fuel efficiency and reducing operating costs.
Former US Air Force KC-135s have been
procured by air forces worldwide. As more
leave US Air Force service, replaced by the
KC-46A, it is likely that others may follow.
France still has the KC-135 versions it
ordered in the 1950s, while Chile, Singapore
and Turkey are currently flying ex-US Air
Force KC-135s.
The 59 Boeing KC-10A Extenders – the
US Air Force’s largest capacity tanker – are
fitted with a centreline boom as well as a
drogue and can refuel aircraft using either
system on the same mission. Total onboard
fuel capacity is 356,000lb (161 tonnes),
about twice as much as a KC-135. KC-
TANKERS AND AIR REFUELLING SYSTEMS MILITARY
10As can dispense 200,000lb of fuel 2,200
miles (3,520km) from their base. This year,
an upgrade to make the KC-10A fleet CNS/
ATM compliant and upgrade their cockpits
was completed. The US Air Force had been
considering retiring the KC-10s in 2019–24,
but the current tanker shortfall has put
this on hold. The Royal Netherlands Air
Force operates two similar KDC-10 tankers
that were produced by converting two
commercial DC-10 transports.
Turbofan tankers
Converted airliners operating as tankers are
widespread. These include Canada’s current
CC-150 Polaris tankers which were formerly
Airbus A310 airliners. Israel’s Bedek and
Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) have carried
out more than 60 tanker conversions from
Boeing 707 and 767 airliners; these are in
service with Israel and air arms worldwide.
A typical KC-707 tanker conversion has
two drogue-equipped pods, each with a
3,300ppm (1,500kg) flow rate, capable of
carrying out refuelling at 1,500–35,000ft
and 200–350kts indicated airspeed (KIAS).
The Israeli Air Force continues to rely on
its KC-707s – it recently bought an airliner
for spares – and is making modifications to
allow them to refuel Israel’s Lockheed Martin
F-35i Joint Strike Fighters.
Israeli KC-767 conversions have over
91 tonnes (200,000lb) fuel capacity; many
use an IAI-developed version of the boom
system, with an enhanced fly-by-wire version
now being offered to export customers.
The IAI-developed advanced ARP-3 wing-
mounted drogue pod system has been
exported on a number of converted airliners,
including a KC-767 conversion for Colombia.
In addition to 707s and 767s, Israel
has converted other types for tanker
operations, including Lockheed Martin
C-130 Hercules transports and six Soviet-era
Ilyushin Il-78MKI Midas for India. Israel has
offered India the KC-767-300ER MRTT, an
upgraded version of the platform it supplied
the Colombian Air Force, as a lower-
procurement cost (reportedly a quarter of the
price) alternative to the Airbus A330 MRTT
preferred by the Indian Air Force.
The Brazilian Embraer KC-390 first flew
in 2015. It is designed to be a multimission
aircraft, using two Cobham 912E underwing
drogue pods – designed specifically for the
KC-390 – and internal auxiliary fuel tanks to
refuel rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft. It
has a fuel capacity of 23.4 tonnes (51,500lb)
and is capable of being refuelled in the air
itself. Some of the 28 KC-390s ordered by
Brazil will be configured as tankers; deliveries
are planned to start in 2018.
87
 MILITARY TANKERS AND AIR REFUELLING SYSTEMS
The Cobham 912E pod utilises the latest technology for the
KC-390 to meet the aircraft’s high performance criteria includ-
ing its ability to satisfy a wide number of receivers at extended
ranges. Embraer
Russia and China are investing in
upgrading their tanker capabilities. To
replace Russia’s current Soviet-era Il-
78M Midas tankers, its United Aircraft
Corporation is developing a tanker version
of the Il-76MD-90A transport, the Il-476. The
new jet is fitted with four fourth-generation
PS-90A-76 turbofan bypass engines and
equipped with three UPAZ-1M drogue
refuelling units, each with a maximum
transfer weight of 5,200ppm (2,400kg). It will
have a maximum transferable fuel load of
110 tonnes (242,500lb). The programme has
been delayed, reportedly by a requirement
to design out all airframe and refuelling
system components produced in Ukraine. In
addition to a requirement for 30 aircraft for
88
On April 22, 2015, an Omega Boeing 707
tanker fitted with a Cobham FR300T fuse-
lage refuelling unit was used to prove the
autonomous aerial refuelling capability of
the Northrop Grumman X-47B unmanned
combat aerial vehicle demonstrator.
Naval Air Systems Command
the Russian Air & Space Force, the machine
is being offered for export, especially to
countries operating combat aircraft built in
countries comprising the former Soviet Bloc.
Turboprop tankers
Tanker versions of the Lockheed Martin
C-130J Super Hercules include the US
Marine Corps’ KC-130J, US Air Force Air
Combat Command’s HC-130J Combat
King II and Air Force Special Operation
Command’s MC-130J Commando II. Their
primary mission is refuelling helicopters, but
they can also refuel probe-equipped fixed-
wing aircraft. These are normally equipped
with two 2,000ppm (910kg) Cobham
901E underwing drogue units and have a
Cobham’s 905E
series pod.
Cobham
maximum fuel load of 57,000lb (26 tonnes).
They can refuel from sea level to 29,000ft
and be fitted with either a low-speed drogue
for helicopters (105–130 KIAS) or a high-
speed one (185–210 KIAS). A KC-130J can
offload 57,000lb of fuel at 500 nautical miles
(925km) radius. The helicopter refuelling
mission is challenging. The speed difference
between the tanker and the helicopter
means that hoses of the tanker can easily
get caught in the rotors of the helicopter.
The KC-130J has been exported to Kuwait
(three) and Saudi Arabia (five) and France
(two, primarily to refuel special operations
forces helicopters). Six Italian C-130s are
capable of using roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro)
refuelling equipment.
The Airbus Defence and Space A400M
Atlas was designed from the outset as a
multimission aircraft with tanker capabilities.
With a fuel capacity of some 37 tonnes
(81,500lb), or 45 tonnes (99,000lb) with extra
internal tanks, all except the RAF’s versions
are delivered with hardpoints and plumbing
for three drogue refuelling systems, one
4,000ppm (1,800kg) pallet-mounted
centreline system and two 2,600ppm
(1,200kg) underwing pods. The major
A400M partners – France, Germany and
Spain – originally planned on each procuring
nine or ten sets of refuelling equipment. The
new Cobham 908E underwing pod system
with an improved coupling system was flight
tested on an A400M tanker in 2015, when
it refuelled a Spanish F/A-18 Horner. Like
larger turbofan-powered tankers, the A400M
is limited in its ability to refuel helicopters.
The A400M can receive fuel at 2,900ppm
(1,800kg).
The Bell-Boeing developed V-22 Air
Refueling System (VARS) prototype tanker
kit was tested on its MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor
in August 2013. Adopted as a procurement
programme by the US Marine Corps, VARS
is scheduled to achieve initial operational
capability (three deployable systems in one
squadron) in 2018. VARS provides Ospreys
with a ro-ro refuelling capability including
two additional fuel tanks with 4,000lb (1.8
tonnes) of fuel and a Cobham drogue
system. Using the plumbing already built-in
for fuel ferrying and rapid ground refuelling,
Ospreys will be able to refuel Lockheed
Martin F-35Bs (at 220 kts) and other

A Royal Australian Air
Force KC-30A refuels
an Armeé de l’Air E-3F
Sentry during flight trials
of the Aerial Refuelling
Boom System.
Airbus Defence
Ospreys and helicopters (at 110 kts) while
serving as a recovery tanker on board US
Navy amphibious warfare ships that cannot
accommodate fixed-wing aircraft. The VARS
will be upgraded to a 10,000lb (4.5 tonne)
fuel capacity, starting in 2019.
Airbus is developing a comparable ro-ro
drogue-based refuelling system for its
CN235 (6 tonnes/13,200lb fuel capacity) and
C295 (9 tonnes/19,840lb) twin-turboprop
transport aircraft, intended primarily to refuel
helicopters used for special operations and
rescue missions.
Buddy-tankers
Tactical aircraft buddy-tanking capability
requires appropriately scaled refuelling
systems. The idea was first introduced
in the 1950s, giving carrier-based US
Navy A-4 Skyhawks the ability to fly strike
missions against the Soviet Union. Self-
contained, usually with their own ram-air
turbine for power, these systems require
only low-voltage electrical connections
and a hardpoint plumbed for access to the
aircraft’s fuel system.
US Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18s
routinely use these systems for carrier
operations, logging 30,000 hours a
year, fleet-wide, in tanker missions that
often amount to a quarter of the sorties
generated by deployed squadrons.
Hornet/Super Hornet tankers are
configured with a Cobham 31-301 drogue
system mounted in a modified centreline
fuel tank with a 1,370ppm (620kg) transfer
rate. Capable of refuelling at 500–25,000ft
and at 180-300 kts, an F/A-18E can carry
a fuel load of up to 24,000lb (11 tonnes)
in what the navy calls the ‘five wet’
configuration – five external fuel tanks
with which the tanker can drag a flight of
four Super Hornets 1,000 nautical miles
(1,850km) from their carrier.
Germany and Italy with their Tornado strike
aircraft and France with its Rafale swing-
role fighters are among the NATO nations to
equip and train its forces for buddy-tanking.
TANKERS AND AIR REFUELLING SYSTEMS MILITARY
Future of air refuelling
technology
The most immediate issue in the future of
air refuelling is the resolution of remaining
issues in the development of the systems
that will equip the emerging generation of
tankers. While there is no reason to believe
the problems will not all be resolved – with
time, money and testing – the refuelling
equipment associated with the KC-46A
(including delays to the Cobham RP-
910E-75 Wing Aerial Refueling Pods, the
A330 MRTT (including the Airbus Military
Aerial Refuelling Boom System (ARBS)
for receptacle-equipped receiver aircraft),
the A400M (especially limitations in its
intended capability to refuel helicopters)
and the Israeli KC-767 conversion
(including the boom system) have all
encountered well-publicised problems
during development that have added
costs overruns and time delays.
Unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) have the
potential both to operate as tankers and
be air refuelled themselves. The Northrop
Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air
System Demonstrator demonstrated its
air refuelling capability in April 2015 when
it autonomously flew up to a tanker and
manoeuvred its probe into the basket. The
US Navy is planning to make air refuelling
the primary mission of its first carrier-based
Cobham’s 4820
series pod.
Cobham
UAV, the MQ-25 Stingray Carrier Based
Air Refuelling System. In 2017, the Navy
awarded risk-reduction contracts to four
firms – Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General
Atomics and Northrop Grumman – to
develop competing designs for the Stingray.
The programme, which has a $5 billion cost
ceiling, is expected to issue a request for
proposals before the end of 2017 and select
one of the four designs in 2018.
The ability of a tanker to survive
in contested airspace is increasingly
important. The 324 nautical mile-range
(600km) surface-to-air missile is likely to be
a threat by 2030. On the ground, forward-
deployed tanker bases – and the fuel
storage they rely on – are likely to attract
increasingly accurate ballistic and cruise
missiles. The US Air Force is considering
emphasising survivability in its next new
clean-sheet-design tanker, the KC-Z,
projected to enter service around 2035. The
gap between the KC-46A and the KC-Z
will be filled by procurement of an interim
type, designated KC-Y and likely to be an
improved KC-46 design with survivability
enhancements. The KC-Z may use a
stealthy blended wing design and have
extensive electronic warfare capabilities
to give it greater range, survivability, and
penetrating capabilities to go into a
contested environment.
89
 MILITARY MH-60R SEAHAWK

Aircrew are winched off the

flight deck and into HMAS
Parramatta’s embarked MH-60R
Seahawk. ABIS Richard Cordell/
Royal Australian Navy

90

Cutting
Edge ASW
Australia’s Naval
Combat Helicopter
The Royal Australian Navy now has all of its 24 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters on
strength and is on track for final operational capability at the end of 2018.
T
Nigel Pittaway details the type and its service roadmap
he MH-60R or Romeo, as
it is known, is in service
with two Royal Australian
Navy (RAN) squadrons,
an operational support
squadron and a training
unit, and it regularly
deploys to sea aboard
the RAN’s major surface
combatants. In Australian
service, the MH-60R is replacing the earlier
Sikorsky S-70B-2 Seahawk fleet that was
procured in the late 1980s, which will have
been retired by the end of the year.
With anti-submarine (ASW) and anti-
surface warfare (ASuW) as its primary
roles, the Romeo delivers capabilities to
the RAN’s Fleet Air Arm that have been lost
for decades. Primarily, the new helicopter
has an advanced dipping sonar, which
the earlier Seahawk does not, and is an
important ASW capability that has been
missed since the Navy’s Westland Sea
King Mk50 helicopters were converted to
the utility role in the early 1990s. Second,
the MH-60R has an anti-surface attack
capability by way of its ability to carry the
Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire missile,
an offensive capability lost when the Fleet
Air Arm was forced to retire its Douglas
A-4G Skyhawks and Grumman S-2G
Trackers in the early and mid-1980s.
The Romeo is already routinely embarked
aboard the RAN’s Anzac-class (FFH) and
Adelaide-class (FFG) guided missile frigates,
and from early 2018 it will be integrated
with the three new Hobart-class air warfare
destroyers now being acquired. In the
second half of the next decade, the Romeo
will also serve aboard the nine future frigates
to be built in Australian shipyards. In late
September, one Romeo was embarked
on HMAS Newcastle (an FFG) serving in
the Arabian Gulf as part of the Australian
Government’s Operation Manitou.
Selection
The MH-60R was the successful contender
for Australia’s Naval Combat Helicopter
competition, run under the aegis of Project
Air 9000 Phase 8, beating the NH Industries
NH90 NATO Frigate Helicopter. The
Romeo was announced the winner of the
competition in 2011, at which time Australia
became the first export customer for the
helicopter, which has since been selected by
Denmark and Saudi Arabia.
The RAN MH-60Rs are almost identical
to their US Navy counterparts, which was a
deliberate strategy by the Australian project
office to de-risk the acquisition programme
(which required the helicopters to be in
service within a relatively short timeframe)
and to leverage the much larger American
MH-60R and MH-60S fleet, in terms of both
sustaining and upgrading the helicopter
throughout its life.
However, in order to address specific
sovereign requirements there are some
minor differences. These include: a VOR/
ILS (which is already fitted to US Navy
MH-60S helicopters); automatic dependent
surveillance – broadcast capability; a voice
recorder incorporated into the existing crash
recorder; an off-aircraft acoustic conversion
system for data commonality with RAN
systems; additional Link 16 tactical datalink
message sets; variable message format for
communication with army platforms; and
a low-power beacon installation that will
allow the use of the ASIST deck recovery
system on the Hobart-class destroyers in the
automatic modes.
Like their US Navy brethren, RAN MH-
60Rs are equipped with: the Raytheon
AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency Sonar as
MH-60R SEAHAWK MILITARY
the primary acoustic sensor; a Telephonics
APS-147 multimode radar; Lockheed
Martin’s ALQ-210 electronics support
measures subsystem; and Raytheon’s AAS-
44C multispectral targeting system, which
provides long-range surveillance, target
acquisition, tracking, range finding and laser
designation of laser-guided munitions.
Besides the AGM-114 Hellfire missile,
weapons include up to three US Navy-
standard Mk54 lightweight torpedoes and
either a 0.50cal machine gun or 7.62mm
general-purpose machine gun mounted in
the cabin doorway. Australia’s Romeos also
have the Ku-band HawkLink tactical datalink
used by US Navy MH-60Rs, but the RAN’s
surface ships have not yet been modified
and it remains an option for the future.
Delivering the Romeo to
Australia
The first two of the 24 on order for the
RAN were handed over in a ceremony at
Lockheed Martin’s MH-60R production
facility in Owego, New York, on December
10, 2013, and departed for Naval Air Station
Jacksonville, Florida, the following day.
At Jacksonville they joined the RAN’s 725
Squadron, which had been working up on
the Romeo alongside US Navy squadrons.
In order to prime the Australian training
process, it had been decided to train crews
in the United States and for 725 Squadron
as the first unit (and later to become the
RAN’s Romeo training squadron) to work up
alongside their US Navy counterparts.
One significant operating difference
between the RAN and US Navy, however,
lies in the way the former crews its
helicopters. Australian Romeos fly with a
pilot in the right-hand cockpit seat and an
Aviation Warfare Officer (AvWO) in the left
hand seat, together with a sensor operator
91
 MILITARY MH-60R SEAHAWK
(SENSO) in the cabin, which allows tactical
flexibility and a degree of autonomy. The
US Navy operates its Romeos with two
pilots and a SENSO, leaving many of the
tactical decisions to the host ship, and this
difference has meant the American training
syllabus has had to be significantly adapted
to meet Australia’s requirements.
In November 2014, 725 Squadron arrived
back in Australia and commenced flying
operations at the Fleet Air Arm’s major
shore base at HMAS Albatross (Naval Air
Station Nowra) in January 2015, before being
formally commissioned the following June.
The first-of-class sea trials were conducted
aboard one of the Anzac-class frigates
during the same year and initial operational
capability was declared in September 2015.
The 24th and final aircraft was handed over
at Owego in July 2016 and the second unit,
816 Squadron, began its transition from the
S-70B-2 shortly afterwards.
Capability overview
To find out what the Romeo gives the Fleet
Air Arm, AIR International recently spoke
with Captain Grant O’Loughlan, Director of
Aviation within Navy Strategic Command.
Capt O’Loughlan, himself a former
S-70B pilot, said the MH-60R is viewed
as an extension of the host ship’s sensors
and weapons systems by the RAN,
describing the Romeo as a state-of-the-
art military combat helicopter, which has
delivered a large increase in capability
over the older S-70B.
He said: “For us, it has provided a
quantum leap in anti-submarine and
anti-surface warfare capability. We have
increased the effectiveness of our embarked
aviation at sea, and the other benefit is that
we’ve bought into the US Navy system.
A Royal Australian Navy MH-60R conducts
anti-submarine warfare exercises with HMAS
Rankin off the coast of New South Wales in
the vicinity of Jervis Bay. LSIS Sarah Williams/
Royal Australian Navy
92
We’re tapping into a fleet of several hundred
and we can draw on that to maintain the
capability into the future.”
In August, the US Defense Security
Co-operation Agency announced that the
US State Department had approved a
ten-year, $360 million contract to upgrade
Australia’s MH-60Rs in step with the US
Navy roadmap for continuous improvement
of the helicopter’s capabilities. The work
will be undertaken under the RAN’s Project
Sea 5510, dubbed the Seahawk Capability
Assurance Programme.
Capt O’Loughlan explained the thinking:
“We want to maintain the effectiveness of the
helicopter, so we’ll use the US Navy roadmap
to stay aligned with their programme. When
we introduced it into service we had a clear
goal of how we wanted to do that, which is
effectively by a spiral upgrade, rather than
waiting for it to reach mid-life and undertake
a large upgrade.”
From an ASW perspective, however, the
MH-60R is already a huge improvement
over the S-70B, which, although a very
capable helicopter, lacks a dipping sonar
capability, for which Capt O’Loughlan calls
the Romeo a game-changer. He said: “From
an operational point of view, sonobuoys give
you an ability to put a pattern in a local area
and try to detect a submarine. Dipping sonar
puts a lot more energy into the water and
therefore your detection rates are greater and
you can continually put it in and take it out
of the water wherever you like, so you’re not
expending anything.
“With sonobuoys you can operate until you
run out of them and then you have to come
back, but with a dipping sonar you can put
it in the water continually hunt a submarine
with a greater level of power. It does change
the ASW game considerably, and it provides
an increased level of complexity for the
submarine commander to counter.”
Training for the Romeo
With the transition well underway of 816
Squadron, the RAN’s operational support
squadron, the focus for 725 Squadron is
now to train air and ground crews to train
the number of personnel to support the
end goal of eight ships’ flights. In general
terms, a ship’s flight comprises one Romeo
helicopter and 19 personnel including two
pilots, two AvWOs, two SENSOs and 13
maintenance staff.
Commander Matt Royals is the current
Commanding Officer of 725 Squadron and
the man responsible for the growth of the
Romeo workforce to achieve the desired
target by the end of next year, marking
the full operating capability milestone. He
said the sixth ship’s flight has now been
trained and will be followed by a seventh in
the middle of next year and the eighth and
final flight will follow by the end of 2018.
Cdr Royals explained: “Initially, when 725
Squadron stood up, we took on board the
first two flights and, at the end of December
2015 when I took over command, I handed
over all responsibility for Romeo flights to
816 Squadron, which runs all the flights at
sea. We recently stood up the sixth flight,
which doesn’t actually embark until the end
of the year, but the personnel are there and
ready to go to sea.
“The Navy has all 24 aircraft now and
I have seven helicopters on 725. I’m also
responsible for the two full-motion tactical
operational and flight training simulators
and as far as the training system goes
we’ve also got a great mix of computer-
based training, synthetic training and live
aircraft training, as well.”
 MH-60R SEAHAWK MILITARY

One challenge within the MH-60R

transition has been to adapt the US Navy
curriculum to meet the RAN’s different
crew model for the Romeo, as Cdr Royals
explained: “Our training in Australia is
slightly different, because of the different
crew model, so we’ve had to adapt the
curriculum the US Navy has given us.
We operate slightly differently in our crew
model, but the read-across is very good.
We have such a good relationship with the
US Navy that it really is working well now.
“We’ve established ourselves as a
Romeo schoolhouse, and one that is
world class, using a mix of computer-
based training, simulation and flying to
meet the fleet output required for both
aircrew and maintainers.”

Operational perspective
The main focus of 816 Squadron, the
RAN’s operational support squadron, is
to provide parenting and standardisation
support to the flights at sea, as well as
being responsible for all warfare and tactical
development of the MH-60R fleet. The unit’s
current Commanding Officer is Commander
Anthony Savage, who is tasked with
maintaining the growing Romeo capability
and, at the same time, retiring the S-70B.
The last Bravo deployment to the Middle
East (aboard HMAS Arunta) arrived home in
August and there are only three helicopters
now remaining in service.
Cdr Savage previously served as the
project manager for the Romeo acquisition,
so he knows the capabilities of the new
helicopter very well. He said: “We used to
refer to the Bravo as the role-adaptable
weapons system, so it could readily
change from the warfare environment to
afloat logistics support or the support

The embarked aviation department with an MH-60R in the hangar on board HMAS Perth. ABIS Richard
Cordell/Royal Australian Navy

helicopter role. The big difference with the
Romeo is that it is a combat helicopter.
It has highly complex systems on board,
such as airborne low frequency sonar, the
multimode radar and the like. We can re-role
it as required – and we have procedures to
do so – but it’s a combat asset, and if you
want it to do something else it comes at a
cost. We arguably have the best maritime
combat helicopter in the world in the ASW
and ASuW space, and its ability to operate
in the networked environment with Link 16
and the imaging camera is a significant leap
in capability from the Bravo.”
Describing the difference between the
RAN and US Navy concepts of operations
the differing crew model addresses, Cdr
Savage said: “In broad terms the US Navy
sees the aircraft as a remote sensor that
sends back information to the ship and
decisions are made on the ship. With our
different crew model, with an AvWO in the
left hand seat, we make our own tactical
decisions and at times we will be the scene
commander, co-ordinating and running the
engagement from the helicopter, using RAN
surface assets and RAAF assets.”
A current focus is on maturing the mix of
stores each flight will take to sea. The next
steps will involve working on the integration
with Australian and allied fleet units and
with the RAAF’s Lockheed AP-3C Orion and
Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance
aircraft, but Commander Savage says he
is already very happy with the Romeo’s
capabilities: “We’re exceeding expectations in
terms of availability and capability. Sometimes
we are a bit sceptical of the glossy [sales]
brochures, but with the Romeo we
certainly got what we asked for.”

93
 TECHNOLOGY HONEYWELL GODIRECT
Honeywell
GoDirect
One of the aerospace industry’s major suppliers is embracing big data to
T
help operators, as Mark Broadbent explains
oday, organisations in
numerous high-value
industries handle
ever-larger amounts of
information, because of
the growth in connectivity.
This means big data,
which broadly refers to
the gathering, storage and
usage of the information,
has become a big business trend.
With the complexity of aircraft and their
systems, it is little surprise to see aerospace
industry powerhouses bringing out new
products that help customers manage and
interpret the huge amounts of data they now
have to handle.
Earlier in 2017, Airbus and Boeing brought
out new big data resources, respectively
called Skywise and AnalyTX (Boeing has
also established a new dedicated business
unit called Global Services to strengthen its
94
big data offering), and GE Aviation offers its
Predix digital services platform.
Honeywell is another major OEM making
strides in big data. This company, whose
products feature in military, commercial,
business aviation and private aircraft,
has long offered comprehensive support
to operators: its Flight Support Services
division has for over 30 years provided VHF
and satellite communications to datalink-
equipped aircraft worldwide.
However, according to Nate Turner,
Product Manager for GoDirect in the Flight
Support Services Team at Honeywell
Aerospace (and a former American Eagle
ERJ-145 pilot and still a licensed commercial
pilot), the company is seeking to go further.
Turner told AIR International: “Honeywell
up until now has really been an industrial
company, producing hardware. We’re trying
to move into being a software company
where we can analyse the data that’s coming
in from our multiple products out there.”
The result is a platform called GoDirect,
which is designed to be a single support
source for flight planning, operations,
maintenance and ground handling for
operators.
Tablet access
GoDirect is an app-based system that links
to web-connected systems through the
aircraft interface device using on board wi-fi
connectivity. Pilots and engineers then use a
tablet such as an iPad or a Microsoft Surface
to access the system; no software update to
an aircraft is required.
Honeywell is probably best known
for manufacturing auxiliary power units
(APUs), but it also supplies other hardware
and software for commercial, military
and private aircraft, including avionics,
environmental control systems, actuators,
lighting and wheels.

The Weather Information Service app, here showing a flight from Boeing Field to Oakland, presents a
live picture of the weather down route.
GoDirect is designed to assist operators
more easily access information about
these systems. For instance, there’s an
app that shows the performance of the
APU and lets operators see performance
trends flight-by-flight and assess wear
and tear. In a similar vein, a separate app
called MyMaintainer presents performance
data that enables a maintainer to, Turner
said, “see all the different fault codes for
an aircraft and to better see the trends in
their activities”.
All GoDirect data is sent to Honeywell’s
Global Data Centre in Phoenix, Arizona,
which operates 24 hours a day and gathers
information from all the company’s multiple
product lines. Honeywell data scientists
and aviation professionals based there
analyse the information collected to support
operators.
Turner said Honeywell providing a
support product for the systems the
company has itself supplied is a key
advantage of GoDirect: “We know our
hardware. We understand the FMS [flight
management system], the avionics, the
APU and their internal workings [and] how
they interconnect. We understand the
data and we can make better predictions
from it.”
Flight optimisation
GoDirect also features apps that draw
information from the FMS which flight crews
can use to support flight planning, operations
and optimisation.
A Weather Information Service app shows
up-to-date weather data en route. Turner
said this app enables a crew, “to see a live
picture of the weather ahead hundreds of
miles down path, typically beyond what an
onboard radar will show the pilot”.
A Flight Preview app uses Federal Aviation
Administration data to display the flight path
ahead, including waypoints and vertical and
lateral profiling, and the state of the runway
at the destination.
HONEYWELL GODIRECT TECHNOLOGY
Another app, Fuel Efficiency, tracks fuel
consumption during the flight. According
to Turner, this app is used by more than 35
airlines and aboard more than 2,100 aircraft.
Pilots can also access an app called
MyGDC, which enables them to use a tablet
to create and file flight plans, customise,
email and download trip kits, and access
weather updates. Business aircraft pilots
can use the Pilot Gateway app, which gives
instant access to dedicated resources
for pilots of corporate aircraft fitted with
Honeywell products and services.
Making use of data
An issue with big data in any industry, but
especially one as data-rich as aerospace, is
making use of data. There’s little point having
lots of data if it doesn’t have a purpose or if
Flight Preview shows the flight path ahead, including waypoints and vertical and lateral profiling.
it’s too complex to make something of it.
Honeywell has tried, in Turner’s words, to
“give operators more actionable insight” with
GoDirect, rather than just lots of raw data.
For example, the Fuel Efficiency app, which
displays fuel burn, shows specifics such as
usage at cruise altitude and even the impact
of when the flaps are deployed on approach.
Turner said crews can therefore decide
how to configure the aircraft during flight to
improve efficiency.
Turner gave other instances of practical
benefits. He said: “On a flight up to Idaho,
I was able to see [from the Weather
Information Service app] that between
32,000ft [9,753m] and 34,000ft [10,363m]
there was going to be clear-air turbulence.”
As air traffic control cleared him initially up
to 32,000ft, there were a few bumps. Turner
said he knew from the app there would be
no turbulence above 36,000ft (10,972m),
so he asked control for clearance up to that
altitude. At that level the bumps subsided.
Of the connected APU app, Turner said:
“We have the ability to use analytics to predict
when faults might occur, so the airlines
themselves can predict when to take an
aircraft off the line and do the repair proactively
instead of reactively. We’re able to make better
predictions. We did a test with our connected
APU product with Cathay Pacific. There was a
35% reduction in operational disruptions and
less than a 1% false positive rate.”
The future
Returns like these will likely continue to
create demand from operators for products
providing deep analytical insights. In turn,
the business opportunities stimulated by this
demand will likely mean the major aerospace
OEMs like Honeywell will continue to develop
services managing and analysing big data.
Turner observed: “Connectivity is only
going to grow. The data coming off and on to
aircraft will also grow, but that’s just data. It’s
about providing insights to do something with
it. That’s where the trend is going. We’ve
got to tie the benefit to operators.”
95
 MILITARY F-15E STRIKE EAGLE
View from
the Cockpit:
F-15E
Strike
Eagle
David C Isby spoke with two F-15E Strike Eagle aircrew
T
about the aircraft, its upgrades and other requirements
he Boeing F-15E Strike
Eagle is currently the
most capable air-to-
ground fighter in US Air
Force service. Flown by
a crew of two, pilot and
weapons system operator
(WSO), their skill and
partnership is particularly
important. The F-15E
today is heavily engaged in combat in the
US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of
responsibility, from Afghanistan in the east to
Syria in the west.
The 4th Fighter Wing, based at Seymour
Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, has
to be able to deploy and sustain F-15Es in
combat in CENTCOM. At the same time, it
trains to be ready to engage highly capable
peer adversaries, especially those with an
anti-access/area denial capability. Two of
the aircrew meeting these challenges are
Captain Caleb Jones, a pilot in the 335th
Fighter Squadron, and Captain Aaron
Richardson, an F-15E WSO in the 4th
Operations Support Squadron.
Strike Eagle crew and
the missions
F-15E crews fly and fight as a team.
Richardson said: “During initial qualification
training, students will usually be paired in
crews to provide mutual support to one
another as they learn how to fly and operate
the jet for the first time. However, once we
have trained a crew to the point they are
combat mission ready, they are expected
to be able to fly with any other pilot or
weapons systems officer. To help crews
operate efficiently as a team, our tactics
96
manuals include entire chapters dedicated
to standardising crew coordination contracts
that aircrew brief, train and debrief to on
every sortie. These contracts ensure that
each crew member knows their role and
expectations in the cockpit, no matter who
they are flying with.”
Jones relies heavily on his WSO. He
said: “The massive increase in combat
capability that the WSO brings to the fight
is something that is easily overlooked and
misunderstood by our single-seat fighter
brethren. As a two-seat community, we train
to specific rolls and standards that allow us
to easily fly with different crew members. An F-15E Strike Eagle receives fuel from
At home station, it is unusual to fly with the a KC-135 Stratotanker over Iraq. The
same crew member every day. However, image shows the visibility afforded to the
two-man crew by the F-15E’s cockpit
during deployments, crews will frequently
layout. TSgt Larry Reid/US Air Force
fly together for extended periods to improve
crew efficiency and task management.”
F-15Es have been tasked to strike many
different types of targets in combat dating
back to Operation Desert Storm over Iraq in
1991. Jones said: “In recent deployments,
the F-15E has been primarily used for pre-
planned deliberate strikes and provide close
air support to friendly ground troops. Our
typical pre-deployment spin-up training will
emphasise these mission sets to increase
aircrew proficiency; however, we still regularly
train to combat proficiency in all mission sets
assigned to the F-15E.”
Operational tempo
All US Air Force fighter units face a high
operational tempo, and, Jones said, none
more than the relatively few squadrons
An F-15E approaches the flying boom of a equipped with F-15Es: “With only six
KC-10 Extender for aerial refuelling during a
operational squadrons, it is a virtual
strike mission in support of Operation Inherent
Resolve. Senior Airman Joshua Hoskins/US Air Force certainty that at any given time one F-15E

squadron will always be deployed, while the
others are either at an exercise or returning
from one. This high ops tempo has meant
that aircrew are gone three to six months
a year during an average operational
assignment, which has been one of the
significant factors causing the current
fighter aircrew retention problem.”
Richardson set out in more detail what this
ops tempo means for F-15E aircrew: “Back
in 2010, the Air Force moved from four to
six‐month deployments, which [for F-15E
squadrons] means combat deployments now
occur about once every two to three years;
so while deployments are longer they are
somewhat less frequent. Exercises, however,
have increased in frequency. Following the
shutdown of the [F-15C-equipped] 65th
Aggressor Squadron, each [F-15E] squadron
now spends anywhere between 20 and 40
additional days per year at Nellis Air Force
Base to supplement the 57th Adversary
Tactics Group. For aircrew, the additional 20
to 40 days are a double whammy because
they are not only away from family, but
also the time is spent replicating adversary
tactics instead of training to the tactics we
use in combat. When added to our existing
schedule of exercises and deployments,
an aircrew member will likely spend
anywhere between one third and one half
of an assignment away from home. That
commitment is a significant obstacle to
retaining fighter aircrew.”
Strike Eagle’s radar
The F-15E has been in service since 1988
and upgrades are currently in progress,
intended to keep the type operationally
viable until 2040. Richardson said: “The
F-15E STRIKE EAGLE MILITARY
biggest upcoming advancements for the
F‐15E are the addition of the APG‐82 [active
electronically scanned array radar or AESA]
and the AIM‐9X [air-to-air missile], both of
which will radically change the way we train
and operate in the air‐to‐air fight.”
The APG-82 AESA radar is at the heart
of current F-15E upgrades. Jones said:
“Seymour Johnson was the second of the
three combat-coded F-15E bases to receive
the APG-82. In fact, it was only recently
[early summer] that our first jet to receive
the upgrade returned to the flight line after
months of overhaul work in the hangar. Our
simulators were upgraded several years ago
to replicate the APG-82, which has allowed
aircrew to train and build proficiency with
the new system in advance of its rollout
in the fleet. The APG-82 gives the already
formidable F-15E an exponential increase
97
 MILITARY F-15E STRIKE EAGLE
An F-15E Strike Eagle over
the Grand Bay bombing and
gunnery range at Moody
Air Force Base, Georgia,
during close air support and
weapons training. Airman
Daniel Snider/US Air Force
in combat capability and survivability in a
hostile environment.”
Explaining the improved capabilities
the F-15E will get from the new radar,
Richardson said: “The APG‐82 is a
generational leap in radar performance and
capabilities compared to our old APG‐70
[the F-15E’s original radar system]. First,
the APG‐82’s AESA design allows the array
to reposition its radar beam so rapidly that
diverse tasks such as search, track, ground
map and air‐to-ground ranging can be
interleaved, together with near seamless
transition. Additionally, because the APG‐82
steers its beam electronically, it makes the
radar more reliable for both operators and
maintainers.”
JHMCS
A critical F-15E upgrade, Richardson said,
had been the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing
System (JHMCS): “It has been a game-
changer for the F‐15E in both air‐to‐air and
air‐to‐ground. In the air‐to‐air arena, JHMCS
allows us to make the transition from fighting
beyond visual range to fighting within visual
range [WVR] much easier. Once we get WVR,
the JHMCS allows us to cue our weapons
and radar on to the enemy by simply looking
at them and pressing a button. All the while,
the JHMCS also provides us constant
positional awareness on our flight lead,
wingmen and other friendlies in the [area of
responsibility]. In the air‐to‐ground arena,
the JHMCS allows us to find, designate and
98
cue sensors to targets by looking outside
the canopy. In close air support, this allows
the WSO to focus on the detailed image fed
from the targeting pod and talking to the
JTAC [Joint Terminal Air Controller] while
the pilot can focus on the broader picture
outside. When this is combined with Blue
Force Tracking [a ground forces system that
identifies and tracks friendly forces], the
pilot can also look out, press a button and
instantly see the locations of friendly forces
in his helmet.”
Jones also stressed the importance of
the JHMCS: “The JHMCS is an incredibly
powerful system for helping a pilot build
3D situational awareness about the battle
space around the aircraft, regardless of
environmental factors that hinder visual
acuity, such as weather and darkness.
Preliminary work has been done on our jets
to support JHMCS for our WSOs as well,
but there has been no funding allocated
to complete the modification for the rear
cockpit, which is unfortunate because of the
tremendous capabilities it brings to the fight.”
Other upgrades
Other upgrades have also increased F-15E
capabilities. Richardson said: “Regarding
the air‐to‐ground fight, the biggest
advancements have been the addition of
more and more players on Link 16 [datalink]
and the ROVER [Remote Operational Video
Enhanced Receiver] downlink that links the
F-15E’s targeting pod to the JTAC’s receiver.
This allows JTACs on the ground to see our
targeting pod video feed in real time and use
it to talk us on to the target.”
However, Richardson would like to see
further upgrades that, like backseat JHMCS,
are not currently funded for the F-15E: “One of
the biggest advancements aircrew are fighting
to get is in our displays. Right now, over half
of our cockpit displays are old, green‐and‐
black monochrome screens from the 1980s.
This is a problem because our targeting pod,
our radar and our reconnaissance pod all
produce images well above the resolution
of these old screens; this means our old
screens fail to display important details our
sensors already capture. This is why many
aircrew view high definition, colour displays
as a simple, cost‐effective and vital combat
upgrade worth fighting for.”
F-15E future
The view from the cockpits – front and
back – of the F-15Es based at Seymour
Johnson, show that this aircraft, the cutting
edge of forward-deployed US airpower for
years to come, is carrying out its missions
despite the slow – and incomplete –
upgrades and the high operational tempo.
The current fighter pilot shortage facing the
US Air Force – unlike the US Navy and US
Marine Corps – was reflected in the latest
FY2018 budget request, with addressing the
readiness challenges imposed by personnel
issues having to be a higher priority than
procuring aircraft.
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