Government, industry in accord on AP-3C support

There's now a risk-sharing arrangement in place between government and industry to develop and implement capability upgrades and through life support solutions for the RAAF's AP-3C Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft fleet.
With a risk sharing arrangement in place between government and industry to develop and implement capability upgrades and through life support solutions for the RAAF's Maritime Patrol Aircraft fleet, the future looks good - not just for the long term support of the aircraft but especially for the ongoing enhancement of Australian industry capabilities.

Late last year it was announced that the Commonwealth, Tenix Defence and Australian Aerospace had signed an accord to provide innovative capability upgrades and Through Life Support (TLS) solutions for the RAAF Orion AP-3C weapon system through to the aircraft's withdrawal date.

The three parties have now established a Joint Management Office (JMO) to supervise all Accord activities and encourage increased co-operation among the parties and other Defence companies currently supporting the platform, and enhance the sector's capacity to deliver sustainable capability, complex projects and TLS solutions. The JMO will establish Integrated Project Teams (IPT) to fulfil the requirements of the Block Upgrade Program as requested by the DMO's Maritime Patrol Systems Program Office (MPSPO).

'Rather than Tenix working on a specific project brief in relative isolation while another contractor works away on theirs, we will now have a real sense of shared purpose. This bodes extremely well for the successful completion of the large volume of work to come,' said Tenix Defence CEO Mr. Robert Salteri.

Australian Aerospace CEO Joseph Saporito said that in anticipation of the Accord signature, the three Partners had been working under Accord conditions and the results had been most pleasing. The Best for Weapon System approach adopted by the three Accord members will ensure that the AP-3C Fleet maintains an optimum capability for its full life of type.

Naturally enough, the two industry partners, Tenix and Australian Aerospace, are confident their long history of involvement with the P-3C aircraft places them in good stead to deal with the very significant scope of the work ahead.

Tenix Defence Aerospace Division has been involved in the support of the P-3C since the mid '90s. This support has included the recent Electronic Warfare Self Protection (EWSP) modification, the AIR 5276 Phase 2A Sea Sentinel production program at Avalon, the FLIR Systems Star Safire II&III EO/IR sensor system modification and aircraft/software integration activities at RAAF Base Edinburgh. Tenix Defence's P-3 design and support capability is enhanced by its strategic relationship with the US based L-3 Communications Integrated Systems.

'Australian Aerospace has been the deeper maintenance provider for the P-3C Fleet since 1993 and was the prime integrator for the RNZAF Kestrel Program, which successfully re-lifed the RNZAF P3 Fleet,' Mr Saporito said. 'We have strong ties to the P3 OEM through our P3 Orion Service Centre accreditation.

Under the Accord, Australian Aerospace will have AP-3C Deeper Maintenance facilities at both Richmond and Edinburgh and a major role in provision of sustainment functions for the AP-3C platform, building on the comprehensive TLS capability already established for the ARH Tiger and Caribou platforms.

In sustainment, TLS responsibility will also see the alliance develop and implement all needed logistics support solutions through to the AP-3C's planned withdrawal date. An Industry Plan will be developed to foster the role of SMEs able to provide niche expertise to the RAAF's AP-3C fleet and a comprehensive workforce development and sustainment program will be established.

In addition to the TLS responsibility, Tenix and AA will be responsible for a number of challenging upgrades to the RAAF AP-3C over the next few years, including the provision of new weapons such as a lightweight torpedo (JP 2070) and a stand-off weapon (AIR 5418).

Other projects to be jointly implemented under the Accord include:

AIR 5276 Ph 4 Electronic Warfare Self Protection - This has seen the integration of the ALR-47 CMDS with the AAR 60 Missile Approach Warning Systems (MAWS).

AIR 5276 Ph 5B Electro-Optics Integration - This is an upgrade to the system installed in aircraft for service in the Gulf to a fully integrated version of the FLIR Systems Star Safire III EO/IR system.

AIR 5276 Ph 6 Data Links - This program is virtually a network centric warfare (NCW) upgrade providing situational awareness through enhanced tactical communications including Link 11, Link 16, and satellite communications.

AIR 5276 Ph 8A & B ESM Update - This involves the upgrade of the Elta ALR-2001 ESM also installed in the RAF Nimrod 2000 and RAAF AEWC aircraft.

AIR 5276 Phase 9 Obsolescence issues - This future program looks at the upgrade/replacement of various installed capabilities such as the radar, ESM, Operational Mission System, simulator, etc.

MIS 886 Acoustic Data Collection and Recording System & MIS 554-P3 Crash Data Recorder - This concerns an upgrade to the AN/UYS-501 acoustic high speed processor involving replacing the sensitive tape recorder with a digital hard drive system, and the installation of crash data recording systems on 18 AP-3C aircraft.

The combined value of the TLS and block upgrades to the aircraft is estimated at more than $1 billion. So far the industry partners have recruited more than 100 highly skilled engineers and trades into the program and an additional 200 people will be required to complete the block upgrade over the life of the program.

The Joint Management Office is currently developing a series of upgrades to accommodate the various phases described above. These weapon system upgrades are being implemented by the Accord partners in a highly integrated 'Block' approach. It is anticipated that these will comprise:

* Block One: EWSP and DMS upgrades

* Block Two: Acoustic data system and crash data recorder implementation

* Block Three: ESM upgrade

* Block Four: Lightweight torpedo, future stand-off weapon

* Block Five: Electro-optic systems, communications and obsolescence issues.

Peter Weir, who is Manager, Maritime Patrol Systems for Tenix, says apportioning the heavy program of work ahead into various blocks, rather than proceeding phase by phase, will streamline workflow and reduce aircraft downtime and thus assist in meeting accord members' target cost and schedule estimates. As an example, excellent progress has already been made on Block 1, with two EWSP modified AP-3C aircraft leaving for overseas operations in September 2005. The EWSP system has been procured as a rapid acquisition program and is being integrated onto the AP-3C by Tenix under Block 1.

By Tom Muir, Canberra