Air Power 2007: Replacing the Caribou - v2.0 | ADM Mar 07

1 March 2007

By Gregor Ferguson

The RAAF's veteran Caribou transport aircraft will be replaced by a new 'Battlefield Airlifter' under Project Air 8000, Ph.2 - this time, industry hopes the project will be consummated properly.

The last time Defence attempted to replace its ageing DHC-4 Caribou light airlifters was during the late-1990s when it sought a Light Tactical Airlift Capability (LTAC) under Project Air 5190.

EADS-CASA and Lockheed Martin Alenia Tactical Transport Systems (LMATTS) submitted tenders to supply 14 aircraft at a cast of around $600 million.

The project was terminated for budgetary reasons after the tender evaluation had identified a clear winner, leaving both contenders with a bad taste in their mouths.

The competing aircraft were EADS-CASA's C-295 and LMATTS' C-27J Spartan, a derivative of the Alenia G222 airlifter, which at that stage had yet to secure a launch customer.

It was understood then that the C-295 had emerged a convincing winner on capital and operating cost grounds.

It would appear the same contenders will fight once again for the same prize under Phase 2 of Project Air 8000 - Battlefield Airlifter.

But when this program under gets under way in 2008/09, the user requirements and even the number of aircraft sought may have changed, though it's too early to say whether any changes to the program will favour the C-27J.

The budget for this phase is only $350 million, suggesting a small purchase, or else a leaning towards extra Chinook helicopters in place of a fixed-wing solution.

However, as noted elsewhere, the Federal Government isn't afraid of spending money where it sees a genuine military benefit so this budget figure could change after First Pass.

And the DCP doesn't rule out combining Phases 1 and 2 of Air 8000 if this makes business and operational sense.

Nevertheless, the RAAF's Battlefield Airlifter (BA) requirement appears to resemble the US Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) requirement for an intra-theatre airlifter operating over the 'last mile' of the US military supply chain.

The JCA will carry military loads that would be too small and uneconomical for a C-130, and will be able to operate from strips too short for the C-130 and larger aircraft.

Its primary mission will be to move mission-critical/time-sensitive cargo to forward tactical units in remote, austere locations, and land or take off from short, unimproved runways.

The major contenders for the JCA are the same as for the original LTAC program in Australia: the C-295, offered by EADS-CASA in partnership with Raytheon; and the C-27J Spartan, offered by Global Military Aircraft Systems (GMAS), a joint venture between Alenia and L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, supported by Boeing.

The same aircraft are expected to compete for the RAAF's BA contract, and the USAF choice will undoubtedly influence the RAAF.

JCA tenders closed on 31 January.

GMAS claims, naturally to meet or exceed all of the requirements of the JCA RFP.

In addition, the company says, the C-27J offers the ability to carry heavy payloads over extended distances to meet the demands of both combat and peacetime missions.

Derived from the proven Alenia G222 airlifter, the C-27J is now in service with the Greek, Italian and Lithuanian Air Forces.

It is also under production for the Bulgarian Air Force and has recently been selected by Romania.

The Raytheon/EADS-CASA team also claims to offer a superior product.

Their C-295 pitch is based in part on its fuel efficiency: EADS-CASA claims it uses half the fuel for a given JCA mission than its competition, delivering a projected US$10 billion saving in life-cycle fuel costs.

The C-295 has been in production longer than the C-27J and so has an impressive list of customers for airlifter and maritime patrol variants.

Its manufacturers say the C-295 is completing its seventh year of JCA-type missions (including regular operations in Iraq and Afghanistan) with the armed services of Spain, Poland, Algeria and Jordan and is in production for Brazil, Portugal and Finland.

They also highlight the interoperability of the C-295 and the CH-47 Chinook helicopter: both aircraft are capable of accommodating the same size of cargo pallet while EADS-CASA has developed a mobile pallet transfer system to transfer loads from one aircraft to another.

The differences between the two are interesting: the C-295 has a lower Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) and Payload - 51,150lb and 20,400lb, respectively - and carries 16,270lb of fuel.

It can also carry five 88x108-inch 463L military pallets or 61 troops and has a range of 2,300nm carrying 10,000lb of payload at a maximum speed of 260kt.

With twin Pratt & Whitney PW127G turboprops rated at 2,645shp each, it can take off in 670m at MTOW at standard ISA conditions and land in 320m at its maximum landing weight of 51,000lb.

The C-27J is much heavier: MTOW is 70,107lb, max payload is 25,350lb.

With 26,040lb of fuel it has a range of 2,300nm carrying a 13,225lb payload at a cruising sped of 325kt.

However, it lacks the floor space of its rival with room for only three 88x108-inch pallets and one 54x88 pallet, or seven of the latter; it can carry up to 68 troops.

The C-27J uses the same Rolls-Royce AE2100 engines as the C-130J, each rated at 4,673shp and driving the same Dowty six-bladed propellers as the C-130J; it can take off from a 508m strip at MTOW under standard ISA conditions and will land in just 340m at its maximum landing weight of 67,000lb.

By comparison the C-130J-30 Hercules operated by the RAAF cruises at 355kt, takes off in 1,782m at its MTOW of 164,000lb and can land in 914m at its maximum landing weight on tactical operations of 135,000lb.

While the C-295 has the larger cargo area the C-27J, being designed originally as a military airlifter, has a bigger payload and a floor stressed to support high-density loads such as ammunition and aircraft engines.

GMAS also points out that it is designed to use the same cargo handling system as the C-130 while still being interoperable with the CH-47, enabling smooth transfer of loads and cargo up and down the supply chain.

Furthermore, the aircraft was designed to operate under military conditions, using a variety of unprepared strips with high damage tolerance, and with rapid acceleration and a high rate of climb to escape missile engagement zones.

These figures are drawn from the companies' own responses to the JCA RFP.

If the RAAF proceeds with the acquisition of a fixed-wing Battlefield Airlifter they would probably remain valid here also.

The choice isn't simple: much depends on what weight is placed on different attributes such as cargo capacity, outright payload, operating and acquisition costs and the inherent attributes of a Military Off The Shelf (MOTS) design.

In Australia's case the issue revolves also around what value the service may derive from having a BA with similar engines, propellers, flight deck and avionics to its existing C-130Js.

This should be an interesting contest - if it goes ahead, and if it actually gets into contract this time.