Simulation and Training: Flight training into the future | ADM May 2009
Gregor Ferguson, Sydney
The early years of this century saw a flurry of contests to provide major training devices for ADF air platforms.
While a few, such as the C-17 Globemaster III simulators, have been ordered off the shelf the majority were the subject of hard-fought contests by the three industry heavyweights; CAE Inc, L-3 Communications Link and Thales.
The score now looks like this: Thales has delivered the Operational Flight Trainers (OFT) for the RAAF's AP-3C Orion and B737 Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) system; it has delivered the Crew Procedures Trainers (CPT) for the Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) at Oakey and Darwin (the latter will be commissioned mid-year) and it is about to implement the final configuration upgrade for the Tiger ARH Full Flight and Mission Simulator (FFMS) at Oakey.
This final step has been delayed pending final French type certification of the Tiger HAD variant on which Australia's Tiger ARH is based.
Concurrently, CAE Australia has delivered or upgraded the RAAF's C-130H and -J full flight simulators and will be prime contractor to deliver the full-flight simulator for the KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT).
L-3 Communications Link has delivered the upgraded cockpit simulators for the RAAF's F/A-18A/B ‘classic' Hornets under a sub-contract from Raytheon Australia and will undoubtedly deliver the flight simulators to support the RAAF's F/A-18F Super Hornet Block 2s at Amberley from next year - like the simulators for the C-17, these will be acquired under a US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreement.
The next big wave of simulator and training system purchases will come over the next five years as the ADF seeks simulators for the MRH90 helicopters and its new naval helicopters; seeks modern training solutions for ADF fixed and rotary wing pilots under Projects Air 5428 and Air 9000 Ph.7; and establishes the training infrastructure to train pilots for the F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).
Air 5428
Project Air 5428 has come under intense scrutiny internally within Defence because it has been put forward as a potential Private Finance Initiative (PFI) program.
Under the PFI (also known as Public-Private Partnership or PPP) model a prime contractor would own the aircraft and facilities and provide these, along with some but not all of the instructors, on a fee for service basis.
The model has been adopted widely within the UK for a number of defence functions.
While it seems to have worked well for things like rotary wing flying training, it has attracted much criticism in areas such as defence force housing; and the complexities of negotiating a PFI-based contract for the RAF's Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) program resulted in huge delays.
The level of risk to be borne by the prime contractor, the cost of borrowing money to fund the initial investment in equipment and facilities, and the due diligence required before contract signature make a PFI agreement hard work for all involved - the more so given the current Global Financial Crisis.
On current timings 1st Pass approval is expected around the middle of this year with an RFT in mid-2010 and introduction of the new training system around 2015-16.
But the complexities inherent in scoping and negotiating a PFI-based agreement could see the in-service date fall back as late as 2019, warn some industry observers.
That said, there are now proven models for PFI arrangements: CAE runs the UK MoD's Medium Support Helicopter Advanced Flying Training (MSHAFT) program at RAF Benson under a successful PFI agreement with Serco and a banking partner; and Thales is a member of several consortia (including the AirTanker team which won the FSTA contract) which are either bidding for or in contract for major UK PFI-based operations and training programs.
Regardless of the business model adopted by Defence, Project Air 5428 will see a single contractor assume responsibility for the ADF's Basic Flying Training (BFT) which is currently provided by BAE Systems at Tamworth, and Advanced Flying Training (AFT), which is currently carried out in-house by 2 Flying Training School (FTS) at RAAF Pearce, WA.
The issues shaping (or pummelling) this project are significant.
The 110-120 hour 2FTS syllabus takes students to ‘Wings' standard where they are then streamed for fast-jet or multi-engine conversion.
Navy helicopter pilots graduate separately to the rotary wing conversion course at RAN Air Station Nowra.
Meanwhile, Army helicopter pilots go straight from the 100-hour BFT course at Tamworth to the Army Aviation Centre at Oakey for rotary wing conversion.
Not only does the RAAF wish to ‘download' some of the current Hawk fast jet conversion syllabus to a simpler, cheaper advanced trainer, it is also understood to be examining the prospect of ‘streaming' pilots earlier in the 110-120 flying hour 2 FTS syllabus.
This would see the final stages of training devoted to either multi-crew/multi-engine or fast jet preparation.
Indeed, one potential participant in Air 5428, Pilatus Aircraft, believes it would be cost-effective for the ADF to lease a small number of PC-12 single-engine transports to introduce students economically to multi-crew operations and Cockpit Resource Management (CRM).
‘Downloading' some of the fast jet conversion work from the Hawk 127 to a new advanced trainer means the PC-9 replacement must be a very capable aircraft.
Singapore and Switzerland are the first two customers for the new Pilatus PC-21 - indeed, the Swiss Air Force takes students straight from the PC-21 to Hornet conversion.
An all-new aircraft despite its resemblance to the PC-9, it incorporates a Head-Up Display, a digital cockpit with a far ore complex fight management system and embedded simulators for things like radars, EW and the like.
Importantly, it has much higher, jet-like performance from its 1,600hp PT-6 turboprop engine, shorter wings which bestow more jet-like handling characteristics, including a faster roll rate, and a flight control system that automatically compensates for things like torque reaction when the throttle is opened.
The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) operates the PC-21 at RAAF Pearce where it conducts its Basic Wings Course (BWC).
Lockheed Martin is prime contractor to the RSAF, with Hawker Pacific responsible for supporting the aircraft, but few of the Air 5428 contenders have made (or at least announced) firm teaming commitments or chosen a preferred aircraft type in advance of the RFT.
Exceptions include Raytheon Australia which has selected the Hawker Beechcraft T-6A Texan II, a derivative of the PC-9 selected by the Pentagon as its new primary trainer a decade ago.
The T-6 has been extensively modified and upgraded along similar lines to the PC-21 and for the same reasons.
The other contender to make a choice of aircraft is Thales which announced at Avalon this year it had teamed with Singaporean firm Aerodef Asia to offer the Aermacchi SF260 piston trainer for the BFT component of Air 5428.
This has been extensively modernised with a glass cockpit and flight management system to provide an early introduction to the digital cockpit environment which future ADF pilots will inhabit.
However, Thales hasn't disclosed much of the detail of its thinking on Air 5428, and nor have the other potential prime contractors, including BAE Systems, which currently provides the BFT component at Tamworth.
Aermacchi has made no secret of its interest: not only is the SF260 a BFT contender, its MB311, a significantly enhanced variant of its earlier S211 (which was replaced in RSAF service by the PC-21, ironically), is also a contender for the AFT component.
Its advantages are obvious: as well as having a digital, fighter-like cockpit, it is a jet and therefore well suited to training fast jet pilots as well as the future crews of jet-powered AEW&C, transport and maritime patrol aircraft.
Aermacchi's sister company, Agusta-Westland, is a strong contender to provide the helicopter for the rotary wing flying training contract in Air 9000 Ph.7.
The A109 LUH (for Light Utility Helicopter) has already been ordered by the New Zealand Defence Force to train its NH90 and SH-2G(NZ) Super Seasprite helicopter pilots.
The A109LUH uses much of the avionics architecture and componentry of the MRH90 - within the NH Industries consortium, Agusta-Westland is responsible for this element of the NH/MRH90's design, along with the drive train, so the technical synergies are obvious.
Air 9000 Ph.7
The best guidance so far suggests an RFT for Air 9000 Ph.7 - Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS) could come out this year, but most industry observers expect it in 2010.
And if the PFI option is pursued this could take even longer.
One thing is certain - HATS will be located at Nowra, a decision announced late in 2007.
It will turn out up to 60 pilots, 40 aircrewmen/loadmasters and 12 observers each year; Army pilots will undergo 100 hours of fixed-wing flying training at Tamworth before transferring to Nowra for rotary wing conversion.
On completion they will move to Oakey for operational conversion.
The RAN, with its very different operating environment, trains its pilots at 2 FTS before they start rotary wing conversion at Nowra.
While the ADF aims to have the same basic and advanced rotary wing conversion course for all helicopter pilots, the huge differences in experience levels between Army and Navy students when they start conversion must somehow be accommodated, as must the different goals of the Navy and Army training systems: Army pilots go to a multi-crew environment where they will fly as second pilot for a lengthy period before becoming an aircraft captain.
Navy pilots, on the other hand, assume aircraft captain responsibilities very quickly, hence the need for a higher level of training in flying and general airmanship before they start conversion.
There's little doubt the two most favoured aircraft solutions for HATS are the A109LUH and the EC135, or EC635 in military guise.
According to Agusta Westland sources, the ADF training helicopter requirement is very similar to New Zealand's.
Until last year Army pilots transitioning to the Tiger from the single-engined, analogue-cockpit Kiowa undertook a 10 hour conversion course on civil-registered Agusta A109s before starting Tiger conversion at Oakey.
However, Australian Aerospace is now providing two EC135 helicopters, twin-engined aircraft with a glass cockpit, to 1st Aviation Regiment in Darwin for two years to provide ongoing currency and lead-in training for the Tiger.
The ADF plans to withdraw the EC135s within two years, which rather defines the schedule for the HATS program.
Eurocopter believes the German Army's MRH90 training system at Buckeburg (which also employs EC135s) would be a good model for HATS.
However, the ADF wants to take the concept further: it will outsource the entire training system, not just provision of the training aircraft, and Eurocopter is preparing to contest this.
Uncertainty over whether or not Defence will favour a PFI solution for these two training projects has clouded the picture; few contenders have shown much of their hands at this stage.
As far as ADM can determine, there's little support for the concept of PFI within the services themselves, and if the service chiefs (and especially the Chief of Air Force, who has most invested in Air 5428) had their ‘druthers' it's a safe bet they'd prefer a more traditional, and transparent, service delivery model.
For the potential bidders, both training contracts are complex but potentially very rewarding to both contractor and customer.
They are not just about providing simulators, part-task trainers and aircraft: they provide an opportunity to capture synergies by integrating all elements of the training system and this is where specialist training providers have a key role.
While equipment manufacturers such as Aermacchi, Agusta, EADS/Eurocopter, Hawker Beechcraft and Pilatus are competing to provide the visible components of the new training regimes, it's the specialist training providers such as Thales and CAE, and increasingly now Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing and BAE Systems, who hold the key to unlock those synergies.
CAE to invest C$714 million in R&D
Gregor Ferguson, Sydney
Bucking the trend of global fiscal pessimism, CAE announced last month it will invest up to C$714 million in Project Falcon, a five-year research and development (R&D) program.
The goal of Project Falcon is to expand CAE's current modelling and simulation technologies, develop new ones and increase its capabilities beyond training into other areas of the aerospace and defence market, such as analysis and operations.
The Government of Canada will participate in Project Falcon through a repayable investment of up to C$250 million.
This investment is being made through the government's Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative (SADI), which supports strategic industrial research and pre-competitive development projects in the aerospace, defence, space and security industries.
"Innovation is essential for CAE in order to sustain its leadership position in modelling, simulation and training.
"We will therefore, continue to invest in R&D, even in these challenging times," said Robert E. Brown, President and CEO of CAE.
"This new Project Falcon will allow us to continue diversifying our revenue base by leveraging our core technologies into adjacent segments."
Project Falcon will focus on six main technology thrusts.
Among these will be the development of an augmented visionics system-a technology enabling a pilot to take off and land safely even when visibility outside the cockpit is restricted.
CAE will expand its research and development initiatives in its traditional training markets, including simulation and modelling for new types of aircraft, unmanned vehicles and replacement models for current aircraft.
CAE will also develop networking technologies to allow defense forces of many nations to participate simultaneously in real time training and mission rehearsal exercises.
Through the course of the program, approximately 1,000 jobs will be created or maintained.
CAE will carry out Project Falcon at its R&D laboratories and test and integration facilities in Montreal.
It will continue to partner with universities and key research organizations in Canada, as well as innovative small and medium-sized suppliers across the country, Brown said.