Defence Business: Raytheon RMI win strengthens A9K Ph.7 bid | ADM November 2011

Gregor Ferguson | Sydney

Raytheon Australia has finessed itself into a strong position to bid for prime contractorship on the ADF’s Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS) project.

Shortly before responses to the draft RFT for the HATS Project, Air 9000 Ph.7, were due to close, Raytheon secured a four-year extension to its existing retention and Motivation Initiative (RMI) contract to provide a fleet of three light utility helicopters to the RAN.

The RMI initiative was introduced during the darkest days of the Super Seasprite program when there were insufficient aircraft to maintain pilot, Aviation Warfare Officer (AWO) and aircrewman training and currency. The RMI provides the Navy’s 723 Squadron at Nowra with a fleet of contractor-supported aircraft to allow junior qualified aircrew to consolidate and enhance their skills prior to operational conversion.

When Raytheon won the original four-year RMI contract back in 2007 it selected the AgustaWestland 109E for the task. For the new four-year contract it has chosen the Bell 429, the same aircraft it will offer for the HATS program, though there is no linkage between the RMI contract and the HATS project, says managing director Michael Ward.

Although the RAN is the first military customer for the Bell 429, which will be required to undergo Australian military type certification, it will still be significantly cheaper to support than the older AW109E, says Ward. The company is able to supply, operate and support three brand-new aircraft for less than the original budget for the first RMI contract

Under the $26 million contract Raytheon will provide three aircraft for four years, at a total rate of effort of 1,500 hours a year. This does not include ship-board operations which aren’t part of the RMI contract; 723 Sqn will provide its own instructors and conduct all of the RMI training and utility flying, except for maintenance and acceptance test flights.

Raytheon looked at the Bell 429 as platform for that original RMI contract, he told ADM, but rejected it then because it was immature and uncertified. That’s no longer the case, and operating the newer aircraft in the RMI role will help to establish training and support capabilities in-country as well as significantly de-risking the company’s bid for the HATS contract. Raytheon’s bid is also underpinned by its existing presence at Nowra where it provides In-Service Support to the RAN’s 13 existing AS350 Squirrel helicopters.

The Bell 429’s military type certification for the RMI contract will apply also to the HATS project. The aircraft’s cockpit is already compatible with Night Vision Goggles (NVG) so no further development and integration work is required on that score, says Ward.

The draft RFT for Project Air 9000 Ph.7 was released in early September, closing 5 October. It contained no surprises, ward told ADM, and was an accurate reflection of everything defence had told industry before and since the 1st Pass Approval milestone several years ago. Respondents are required to provide feedback on 17 separate issues ranging from life cycle costing and cost and schedule drivers, to ADF’s cockpit anthropometric requirements.

In essence, the HATS is required to establish a “student-centric” Joint Helicopter School (JHS) at Nowra capable of sustaining an annual throughput of 13 pilots, 11 AWOs and 12 aircrewmen from the Navy, and 34 pilots and 20 aircrewmen from the Army – about 90 students in all, with Army in a significant majority. These will graduate to fly all of the ADFs current and future helicopters: Black Hawk, Seahawk (S-70B and MH-60R), Tiger ARH, MRH90 and Chinook.

The HATS, in simple terms, will provide:

• essential training courseware for pilots, aviation warfare officers and aircrewmen
• a fleet of twin-engine helicopters with options for basic and advanced avionic systems;
• a mix of synthetic training devices (potentially part-task trainers through to full flight mission simulators);
• the JHS to house and accommodate operational level maintenance, ground and air training, administration and potentially warehousing facilities (the possible subject of a future RFT)
• an Aviation Training Vessel (ATV); and
• logistic Through Life Support (TLS) utilising a total civilian maintenance workforce.

There are no surprises in this shopping list, nor in Defence’s warning that it is exploring a separate acquisition strategy for the ATV so this may not form part of the final RFT. That final RFT is expected in the final quarter of this year (though most respondents would probably welcome a post-Christmas release), and will result in a shortlist of “one or more tenderers” to participate in the Request for Final Committed Proposal (RFCP) process, with 2nd Pass Approval and contract signature expected in 2013.

Notwithstanding some speculation that defence might opt for a two-type solution, using a light single-engined aircraft for initial rotary wing conversion training, the drat RFT specifies a single type: a light twin-engined aircraft which ADM understands will be owned by the Commonwealth and placed on the military register.

According to Raytheon’s Michael Ward the company’s view is that a single type is more economical overall, taking into account the cost of maintaining two separate fleets, with two separate teams of instructors, two separate certification regimes and two logistics and maintenance regimes, not to mention additional student and instructor flying hours converting from one type to the next during flying training.

While a twin-engined aircraft may be more expensive to purchase the operating costs of modern types such as the Bell 429 are much lower than for their predecessors, he says: modern aircraft, engine and systems design philosophies, including health and usage monitoring and on-condition maintenance, drive costs down significantly so the operating economics are quite different. This was an important factor in the choice of the Bell 429 for the RMI contract. The likely requirement for HATS will be “around” 30 helicopters, estimates Ward, subject to careful analysis of the final RFT documentation – no fleet size has been specified in the draft RFT.

Another factor was undoubtedly the opportunity to de-risk Raytheon’s bid for the HATS contract by demonstrating many of its features such as cockpit anthropometrics which accommodate the full spectrum of aircraft from a 5th percentile female to a 95th percentile male wearing a flying helmet with NVGs, and a flat cabin floor to facilitate aircrewman training and winching.

Not only can the customer become familiar with the type, so can Raytheon and its partner, Port Stephens, NSW-based Virtual Simulation Systems (VSS), which has developed a suite of helicopter weapons, cabin and crew trainers for civil and military helicopters. Raytheon’s HATS bid will include a full suite of VSS-developed training devices, including a Complete Aircrew Training System (CATS) which teaches basic and core aircrewman and collective aircrew skills right up to NVG formation flight training. Last year VSS sold a CATS system to the British Army’s Army Air Corps.

Ward confirmed to ADM that its teaming agreement with Bell to offer the 429 is exclusive. The Commonwealth has been very consistent in stating what it wants from the HTS program, he said, which enabled Raytheon to conduct its trade studies and then team early with Bell in order to develop and de-risk a solution that suits the customer. The company’s early start means the Commonwealth will get a much more mature solution, he told ADM.  

Subject: Air