Air-air missiles delivered

A key part of the RAAF's Hornet capability upgrade is now complete.
Deliveries of new air-air missiles ordered under Project Air 5400 are now largely complete. The missiles are operational (or soon will be) and the RAAF's Hornet force is enjoying a step-change in capability.

Project Air 5400 - Air to Air Weapon Capability was established to help restore the regional capability edge in air-air combat previously enjoyed by the RAAF's force of F/A-18A/B Hornet fleet.

When they were delivered during the early-1980s the Hornets were armed with state of the art Beyond Visual Range (BVR) and Within Visual Range (WVR) weapons - the medium-range AIM-7M Sparrow and short-range AIM-9M Sidewinder missiles, respectively. It become clear during the late-1990s, however, that the Hornets were in danger of being outclassed by regional air forces which had ordered or begun fielding advanced western and Russian aircraft such as the F/A-18C/D Hornet, F-16C/D, and in particular the Mig-29 and Sukhoi-27 and Russia's emerging armoury of highly capable short and medium-range air to air missiles.

To restore the RAAF's air combat edge until the Hornet is replaced by the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter from about 2012-2015, Defence sought new BVR and WVR missiles. The latter were acquired following a competitive tender process which sw bids from Europe, the US and Israel. In the end Defence ordered the AIM-132 Advanced Short Range Air to Air Missile (ASRAAM), manufactured by MBDA in Europe,.

The BVR acquisition was almost a no-brainer: the RAAF ordered both the AIM-120B and -C Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM), manufactured by Raytheon, in a US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) deal.

The RAAF has not disclosed how many missiles it has ordered; the value of the ASRAAM contract with MBDA also remains undisclosed, but the total project budget was $309 million at December 2003 values.

Both weapons are software-driven and to achieve maximum operational potential they interact closely with the launch aircraft. In parallel with Air 5400 the Hornet upgrade project (Air 5376) is implementing the radar and avionics upgrades necessary to exploit the full capabilities of both AMRAAM and ASRAAM.

The combat-proven AMRAAM is in frontline service with the US Air Force, Navy and Marines, and with the UK's Royal Navy and RAF. Integrated with the upgraded Hornet's new Raytheon APG-73 radar, it allows a single aircraft to engage several targets simultaneously at extended range.

The AIM-120B arrived in time to arm the upgraded Hornets of 75 Sqn squadron in the Gulf in early-2003. The AIM-120C, which incorporates minor aerodynamic and software and systems modifications, was expected to be declared operational by the ADF's Airworthiness Board around the middle of 2005.

The AMRAAM is part of the baseline list of weapons selected to arm the F-35 when it enters service - it will part of the basic Block 1 "go to War" capability and the RAAF's AMRAAMs will likely transition straight to the new aircraft.

The RAAF ordered the ASRAAM in 1998 - the contract value was never disclosed. The ASRAAM is much faster and more agile than theAIM-9M Sidewinder it replaced, with a considerably greater range and is far more resistant to counter-measures. It is also designed for use with a helmet-mounted sight which enables high off-boresight engagement angles; the RAAF will acquire the US' Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) sight as part of the Hornet HUG in order to derive maximum combat benefit from ASRAAM.

On current plans the ASRAAM is also part of the baseline family of weapons which the F-35 is designed to carry when it enters service - it is the WVR air-air weapon of choice for the RAF and Royal Navy. However, recent changes to the design of the F-35B STOVL variant's internal weapons bay may force a review of that decision at some point in the future, requiring the UK partners to revert to the new-generation Raytheon AIM-9X Sidewinder instead. A decision is not due for some time.

ASRAAM deliveries to the RAAF were delayed for nearly two years by a contractual dispute between MBDA and the UK Ministry of Defence in early-2001 over ASRAAM's performance. Despite having a different contract and performance requirement from the RAF, the RAAF was unable to press on with its own acquisition program because it still wanted missiles of the same software configuration and build standard as the UK - until these could be finalised the RAAF program stalled.

This dispute was resolved in early 2002 and the Commonwealth and MBDA agreed a delivery schedule and weapon configuration based on a software build standard scheduled for RAF service in 2003. The Commonwealth began evaluating the performance of this ASRAAM configuration in August 2003 and the RAAF declared ASRAAM operational in August 2004.

The RAAF is the first export customer and the first Hornet operator to order ASRAAM and therefore had to pay for a lengthy integration and flight test process by Hornet manufacturer Boeing in the US supported by the US Navy.

However, for the first time with a modern guided weapon, Australia has been granted full access to the ASRAAM Intellectual Property which will allow the UK and Australia to collaborate on future development and enable both partners to field enhancements faster and cheaper. The ASRAAM is the first software-driven missile for which Australia has control over both missile and aircraft mission system software so ongoing enhancements will be considered jointly by the RAAF's Air Combat Group, DMO's Guided Weapons & Explosive Ordnance Division and Tactical Fighter SPO, BAE Systems Australia and DSTO.

MBDA and its Australian sub-contractor BAE Systems Australia have established an ASRAAM In Service Support Capability consisting of an Australian ASRAAM Software Support Capability (AASSC) and Deeper Maintenance Services. The support facility is located at BAE Systems Australia's factory in Adelaide, and it is scheduled to open in September 2005, some three months ahead of schedule.

By Gregor Ferguson, Adelaide