Defence Business: Filling gaps and jets | ADM Nov 08
Julian Kerr
Omega Air is meanwhile negotiating the acquisition of the RAAF’s three retired 707-338C tankers and its 707-338C simulator as part of a plan to enable it to expand AAR services to both the US and allied forces.
Omega Air established a local presence early in 2007 with the recruitment as Director Australian Operations of Group Captain (Ret’d) Stephen Bucholtz, a former commanding officer of both 84 and 86 Wings who concluded his 33 years with the RAAF as Director of the A330 Tanker Transition team.
In the past 18 months Bucholtz has progressed the acquisition of the 707-338Cs, organised AAR for nine RAAF F/A-18s that deployed to Alaska in April for Exercise Red Flag, and put together an innovative proposal that could see one or possibly two Omega Air tankers based in Australia, either for the exclusive use of the RAAF, or shared with the US Navy (USN).
Established in 1980, the main operational elements of Dublin-headquartered Omega Air comprise Omega Air Refuelling Services (OARS) based in Washington DC, and the 7Q7 KDC10-MPTT and KC707-MPTT maintenance operation based in San Antonio.
This is also the world’s largest trader in Boeing 707s.
The company’s AAR capability currently consists of two Boeing KC707-MPTTs and one McDonnell Douglas KDC10-MPTT, the latter converted from one of 20 ex-Japan Airlines’ DC-10-40s purchased by Omega Air along with four ex-Italian Air Force KC707s, the first of which is being refitted.
The company says some or all of the DC-10s could be converted to tanker use given sufficient demand from the US military and allies. In the meantime they undertake charter work or are in storage.
Omega Air charges AAR per hour as a turnkey event – nominally US$10,500 an hour for a KC707-MPTT and US$15,500 per hour for the KDC10-MPTT, which includes crews and handling charges but not fuel.
According to Bucholtz, Omega Air can operate these ageing aircraft profitably in the AAR role because they are well maintained, fly considerably more hours than they would in military service, and benefit from hour-based as opposed to time-based maintenance.
“We’ve got a Boeing-endorsed maintenance regime which is very much like that of a commercial aircraft fleet and when the aircraft are inducted, they’re basically brought up to new.
"That sounds expensive and it is, but it results in a reliable aircraft – over seven years our reliability factor has been more than 98 per cent which is considerably better than that of the military.
“With military aircraft you have to time-base maintenance because the flying rates are nowhere as high, and that’s why it has been so expensive. Our maintenance is hours-based and very efficient, we know the aircraft extremely well, and we also maintain DC-10s and 707s for a number of other customers – John Travolta being one.”
Omega Air undertook its first major operation with the RAAF in April when it supplied a KDC10-MPTT and a KC707-MPTT to both carry support equipment and to help ferry the nine F/A-18s to and from the USAF’s Elmendorf Air Force Base for Exercise Red Flag.
“Most refuelling missions are five to six hours maximum, it’s a comfortable working day for all concerned,” Bucholtz said.
“That particular deployment was from Tindal to Amberley to Pago Pago to Honolulu, then Miramar up to Alaska.”
The company was also used earlier this year to ferry a squadron of Royal Air Force Tornadoes across the US.
Meanwhile it is benefiting from increased use by the USN and US Marine Corps which is driven by the heavy demand on US military AAR resources caused by the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In undertaking most such operations, Omega leases its participating aircraft to the USN and the customer - e necessarily pre-approved by the US - then sub-leases the aircraft from the USN under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreement.
“Flying on a straight commercial registration means you run into restrictions in getting onto US military bases so when we’re on a USN mission we become a USN aircraft,” he commented.
However, the US-Australia FMS agreement allowed a simple dry lease in the case of the RAAF, meaning it could bypass USN administrative charges for fuel and other services.
Bucholtz said the Omega refuellers were certified by both the Federal Air Administration (FAA) and the USN, a qualification which was vital in progressing the purchase of the ex-RAAF tankers.
“We have to meet USN requirements which include flight trials at Patuxent River, and special FAA endorsement for AAR is necessary because the FAA considers air to air refuelling by a civil aircraft as a collision under normal circumstances.
“We’re the only commercial company that has that endorsement; it’s achievable by other people but it took us seven years to get it.”
Bucholtz said he hoped the purchase of the three ex-RAAF tankers would be concluded by the end of this year.
Defence confirmed to ADM that it was in discussion “with a party” regarding the disposal of the aircraft, which are currently parked at RAAF Richmond.
Conclusion of negotiations was expected “in the near future”.
Official reaction to what Bucholtz concedes was an unsolicited proposal for stop-gap AAR and other services has been less positive.
“There is no requirement for the support proposed and as such, no action has been taken.
"Should the requirement emerge for commercial support, Defence will test the wider market in which Omega is a participant,” a Defence spokesperson told ADM.
Bucholtz said Omega looked to lease one or two aircraft to the RAAF, both to cover any AAR requirements prior to initial operating capability for the RAAF’s five multirole tanker transports (MRTT) – the first two of which are expected to achieve IOC around mid-2010 - and in a training role.
Omega’s KDC10-MPTT currently provides only hose refuelling as required by the RAAF’s F/A-18s, Super Hornets and USN aircraft, although boom delivery should also be available by the end of 2010.
Using the same FRP 900 series wing pods that will equip the RAAF’s MRTTs, the KDC10-MPTT can offload up to 180,000 lbs of fuel at an operating range of 1,000 nautical miles.
The company’s KC707-MPTT fitted with twin centre-line hose and drogue units is capable of offloading up to 100,000 lbs of fuel at the same range.
“The Joint Strike Fighter will required a boom but I think our aircraft will be well and truly retired before any JSFs will be needing our services,” Bucholtz commented.
Were the RAAF to lease an Omega Air aircraft, the preference would be for it to be placed on the RAAF register, thus eliminating the FMS construct, bypassing administrative fees, and giving the service full operational control of the aircraft with RAAF or Omega crewing, or a combination of the two.
Alternatively, an aircraft could be based in Australia under FAA registration and be contracted to the RAAF via FMS for a guaranteed minimum number of hours.
A timeshare proposal was also possible linking the RAAF and the USN, which had expressed interest in having an Omega Air capability based in Australia or regionally.
“Between the two organisations it’s likely there’d be more than enough work to make this concept economically viable.
"Basing an aircraft in Australia instead of the US west coast saves the client the expense of positioning,” Bucholtz said.
“In the case of a deal with the USN alone, other basing options would be Guam or one of the US bases in Japan.”
In addition to providing AAR services until all five MRTT were operational, Bucholtz pointed to the longer-term training benefits of a leasing arrangement.
“The routine training of the fighter force is quite demanding on the airframes and the older airframes tend to be more robust.
"You don’t want to be doing high cycle-type operations with a brand-new aircraft.
"Wear out our aircraft instead and preserve the MRTT for the 20-30 years that the RAAF hopes to use them for,” he said.
“While a simulator will give the tanker crews a lot of capability, it won’t give the ab initio fighter force the refuelling experience it requires.
“It’s a political decision at the end of the day but it would certainly be more cost-effective to use our aircraft for a maximum US$10,500 an hour against the A330 for a lot more.
"A larger aircraft costs more to run, even if it’s new.”