Brakes off for new pilot training system

We believe there may be but few serious contenders for Defence's new tri-Service pilot training system with the vanguard possibly comprising Raytheon Australia, BAE Systems and ADI/Thales Training & Simulation.

With responses in to Defence's request for information on the new Pilot Training System, we assume that those with discrete flying training components, such as simulation systems, training coursework, trainer aircraft and so on, will be eyeing-off potential teammates with complementary capabilities. Even those with fully integrated systems, such as Raytheon, will still be looking to enlist incountry support. And while these elaborate courting dances are underway, the AIR 5428 program office now has the opportunity to examine industry's concepts for an all-new evolutionary training system as sought in the RFI.

AIR 5428 aims to replace the ADF's current fixed wing training continuum with an advanced, integrated pre-operational pilot training system in the 2012 - 14 timeframe and has funding provision of $600 - $750 million.

Industry has been co-opted early in the development of this new tri-service system and an industry working group was established to assist in the broad definition of requirements and to assist in the development of the RFI documentation. Chaired by Raytheon, other members reportedly include Aermacchi SpA, BAE Systems Australia, Boeing Australia Ltd, CAE Australia, Pilatus Aircraft Ltd and Thales Training and Simulation Ltd.

Military pilot training has been a core activity in Australia's aviation history for over 90 years. The formation of a Flying Corps was approved in 1912 with Point Cook chosen that year as the site for this country's first military aerodrome. Two pilots, Henry Petre and Eric Harrison, who had gained their licences the previous year in England were appointed to run what was to be termed the Central Flying School (CFS). Orders were also placed for training aircraft-two BE2a tractor biplanes and two Deperdussin tractor monoplanes. Australia's fifth military aeroplane was a Bristol Boxkite.

The function of the CFS was the training of personnel of the Australian Flying Corps (Citizens Forces) and Flying Corps Reserve (Permanent and Citizens Forces) with four officers of the Permanent Forces and eight officers of the Citizens Forces to be trained annually. The first Australian military aircraft took to the air on 1 March 1914 when Harrison flew the Boxkite and then Petre a Deperdussin. The first training course for CFS commenced in August 1914 with four Army officers as students. Training was conducted 'dual' on the Boxkite with the student leaning over the instructor to reach the controls. These positions were then reversed until the student was assessed as safe to solo.

These small beginnings gave birth to Australian air power and Point Cook's goal of graduating the most capable and competent aircrew is no different to that of AIR 5428 today.

Over the years, through operational and humanitarian need alike, the ADF has been able to punch above its weight due to the quality of its people and the effectiveness of their training.

Under current training arrangements, BAE Systems' Military Flight Training provides flight aptitude screening and basic flight training for ADF pilots at the company's academy at Tamworth, NSW. Successful Air Force and Navy candidates then proceed to No 2 Flying Training School (2FTS) at RAAF Base Pearce, WA, to begin their 130 hour advanced flying training course on PC-9/A aircraft. On successfully completing the course graduates are awarded their wings and posted to a flying squadron for operational flying training. Those selected as fast jet pilots will train on Hawk 127 jet trainers prior to operational conversion to F/A-18 and F/RF-111.

But the AIR 5428 project office says that the pace of constant technology change has left the current system deficient in some areas, particularly in the use of synthetic training systems.

'Through AIR 5428, we aim to capture the capabilities of these existing technologies and plan for future change, to effectively future proof our system wherever possible. In doing this, we need to be mindful of lessons learned in the past and remind ourselves that over the last 90 years, we have developed a great depth of flying training experience that should not be ignored. This needs to be reflected in the sustainment of the military flying training culture that identifies military aircrew as having a different role to their civilian counterparts.

'AIR 5428 will explore various acquisition and in service support techniques, to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of the flying training system. It is envisaged that a close partnership will need to be formed with industry, such that the system can retain its military identity, at the same time leveraging industry expertise in support and operations. Interested industry is being invited to propose methodologies for analysis as part of the capability development process'.

Defence wants an evolutionary military pilot training system with the primary missions of basic flying training and qualified flying instructor training. The primary drivers for introducing a new system are:

Rectification of training deficiencies through provision of a system including training aircraft and a synthetic training environment

Training aircraft milestones (CT-4B and PC-9/A) fast approaching contract end and planned withdrawal date respectively

Development of a system to jointly and efficiently manage an ADF pre-operational flying training system to meet future training needs

Primary output is suitably qualified military pilots ready for operational roles or type conversion

Existing aircraft assets and training system will be replaced entirely

New aircraft and special support equipment will be required to replace ageing aircraft through PFI, lease or capital arrangements to be determined on cost effectiveness grounds.

According to the RFI, the training needs of Navy, Army and Air Force will need to be addressed through a common training system, as long as it is effective and economical to do so. With this in mind, consideration should be given to how any proposed system will coalesce with fixed wing and rotary wing operational systems.

It is fortuitous that the contract end for current Basic Flying Training (BFT) and the planned withdrawal date for the PC-9/A training aircraft will occur almost simultaneously, enabling a clean start on a new system that embraces the various technical elements.

Support of the Defence of Australia and other strategic objectives that extend from the immediate neighbourhood to global security inherently require extensive use of airpower for combat and non-combat roles. In all roles there is an increasing responsibility and leadership challenge for pilots as they seek to effectively employ sophisticated technology enablers in more challenging and network centric military environments.

Air Combat is the most important single capability for the Defence of Australia and fast jet pilots are a vital and integral component of this capability. The development of fast jet pilots will continue to be the most demanding aspect of the Pilot Training System.

The current and predicted expansion of virtually all other air capabilities into the challenging domains of night, single pilot/reduced crews and Network Centric Warfare (NCW) operations, however, will require that future ADF pilots will require higher levels of flying training prior to undertaking operational conversion.

AIR 5428 will comprise the following technical and personnel elements to support flying training and additional roles:

trainer aircraft (fixed wing)

synthetic flying training systems including Part Task Trainers and Flight Simulators

computer based training systems

flying/ground training and operations facilities

aircraft, synthetic flying training and computer based training systems support
managers, administrators, instructors and students

The contract will provide a system that facilitates both flying training and secondary roles. Technical equipment and support personnel through COTS/MOTS solutions and contracted services are preferred for all system elements in order to contain costs and avoid use of ADF personnel unnecessarily in a non-operational system. Australian-specific requirements shall be avoided, but if necessary they shall be incorporated by the contractor in order to avoid post delivery modification costs and schedule.

The existing aircraft and associated training systems will be replaced entirely. The ADF is currently considering a business case for the conduct of basic flying training modules at RAAF East Sale. RAAF Peace will be used for conduct of the advanced modules of flying training. The location of the current ADF BFTS will not necessarily be retained. RAAF Pearce will be retained and can be utilised within the boundaries of ROE of up to 16 000 hours a year for Air 5428 associated flying activities. Government employees will be retained.

New aircraft/s and associated specialist support equipment will be required to replace ageing CT-4B and PC-9/A airframes. The acquisition method, (private finance, lease or capital) will be determined on cost effectiveness and risk grounds. The aircraft may require military registration to meet Service airworthiness and legal requirements.

New ground training systems including Flying Mission Simulators (FMS), Part Task Trainers (PTT) and Computer Based Training (CBT) equipment will be required to complement the flying system. Generic systems may be used where appropriate if the task to be trained is not dependent for training efficiency or safety critical reasons on actual flying system characteristics.

While a variety of training system solutions are possible ranging from the acquisition of training aircraft, simulators, etc with industry contracted to provide training and support personnel, to all-in-one turnkey private finance initiative (PFI) systems, those towards the latter end of the spectrum are the more likely to find favour. Here we might see industry majors combining to offer MOTS platforms and equipment paired with training and management specialists, or we might see just one company such as Raytheon, BAE Systems or Thales bidding for the overall project.

BAE Systems of course has very extensive expertise in the field. Aside from its present involvement in the provision of ab initio flight training at Tamworth, the huge and ongoing Al Yamamah contract between the governments of Great Britain and Saudi Arabia has always incorporated a hefty element of training, particularly aircrew and aircraft support technical training. In relation to RSAF pilots, BAES has been involved at all levels of training from flight screening & selection, ab-initio training, fast-jet conversion using the Mk 65 Hawk trainer, and conversion training to both Air Defence Variant (ADV) and Interdictor Strike (IDS) Tornado aircraft.

Could we see BAES teaming up with Pilatus, linking the former's systems and infrastructure at Tamworth and elsewhere and its flight training expertise with Pilatus' aircraft and its own groundbased systems and courseware?

In the UK, the MOD plans to introduce a new tri-service military flying training system by the end of this decade. It will cater to the needs of fast jet, multi-engine and rotary wing pilots for the RN, RAF and Army Aviation. Bids from three consortia are currently under evaluation and the successful bidder will be the MOD's Training System Partner, incrementally replacing military aircrew training up to Operational Conversion.

The three bidders are:
Lockheed Martin with the VT Group
Thales Defence and the Boeing Co.
KBR with EG&G/Lear Siegler and Bombardier

There are a number of candidate training aircraft on the market that would suit the AIR 5428 requirements for basic and advanced flying training however we feel that the main competition will lie between the incumbent, Pilatus and Raytheon/Beechcraft for advanced flight training. However for reasons stated later we have also included Aermacchi's new jet trainer as a potential contender.

Raytheon will be offering an Integrated Pilot Training System based around the company's Beechcraft T-6B turboprop military trainer aircraft, and includes the aircraft, flight simulators, part-task trainers, computer based training and an integrated management system. The T-6B is of course a development of the PC-9 but boasts a stronger airframe and a more powerful turbo-prop engine (but not as powerful as that of the PC-21 although both have versions of the same PT6A-68 power plant).

The predecessor, Texan T-6A won the US JPATS (Joint Primary Aircraft Training System) competition to select a standard training aircraft type to be used by both the USAF and US Navy. The program involves approximately 780 aircraft, built under license to Pilatus with deliveries continuing to 2017.

The T-6A Texan II offers better performance and significant improvements in training effectiveness, safety, cockpit accommodations and operational capabilities than present aircraft. It has a pressurised cockpit to permit training at higher, less-congested altitudes and reduce the stress on student pilots. The aircraft is equipped with an onboard oxygen-generating system that reduces the time needed to service the aircraft between flights.

The T-6B Texan II which Raytheon will be proposing for the Australian requirement features an advanced avionics system from CMC/Flight Visions with three large colour displays and a head-up-display. The T-6B has six wing-mounted hardpoints and each wing can carry 680 kg of weapons and fuel tanks.

Raytheon brought the fully pressurised T-6B to this country last year when, on visits to all major training base, the aircraft was flown by ADF pilots currently familiar with PC-9s. Raytheon says its' proven training systems allow students to 'train as they are going to fight'. This includes gaining experience with the latest avionic systems that they will have to operate in Australia's front line aircraft, such as head-up displays, night vision devices, and advanced navigation, combat and flight management systems.

According to the company extended airframe life together with the open-architecture design of the T-6B permits the flexibility to handle changes to training systems that may be required to train pilots for the JSF and beyond. The low cost of operation and maintenance allows high quality training to be conducted at minimum cost. Should Raytheon win this important contest, Hawker Pacific will be co-opted to support the aircraft.

It is anticipated that Pilatus will offer the PC-21, an advanced development of the Pilatus turboprop trainer series, which the company says was defined in consultation with likely customers, including Australia. Like its predecessor and the T-6B, the PC-21 is a single-engined, low wing swept monoplane with a stepped tandem cockpit. It is designed for basic, advanced and fighter lead-in training and is stressed to +8/-4 g. The wing is designed for higher speeds than previous Pilatus trainers and is equipped with a combination of ailerons and spoilers to give fighter-like rates of roll.

The PT6A-68B engine is based on that used in the Beech T-6A Texan II and Embraer EMB-314M ALX, but considerably re-engineered to integrate it with the PC-21. A sophisticated electronic power management system automatically restricts available engine power for take-off, but ramps-up to full power above 250 kts (460 kph) to give sustained high cruise speeds.

Associated features include an automatic yaw compensator to adjust for variations in propeller torque, a pressurised cockpit with automated cockpit air conditioning, an anti-g system and an on-board oxygen generation system. The latter is not normally fitted on such small aircraft and will improve mission availability by eliminating the need to carry heavy oxygen bottles, which require replenishment after almost every mission.

Instruments in the fully 'glass' cockpit are dominated by three multi-function displays (MFDs) and two smaller stand-by MFDs for each pilot, and a head-up display (HUD) in the front cockpit. A HUD repeater can be fitted in the rear cockpit if required.

Like Raytheon Pilatus, with experience gained through many years of manufacturing training aircraft, has developed an Integrated Pilot Training System, designed around the Pilatus range of training aircraft and includes not only flight training but also synthetic and academic training. All are fully integrated to improve the efficiency of the training and management is treated as an essential element of the system.

In the 1960s the RAAF were looking for a replacement for their Vampires and Winjeels in an attempt to establish an all-jet form of pilot training. Having evaluated jets including the BAC Jet Provost, Canadair Tutor, Fuji T-1 and SAAB 105, the Macchi MB-326 was selected in August 1965.

But the RAAF's philosophy of all-jet pilot training only lasted for two courses before reverting back to piston-then-jet training. From 1989 the Pilatus PC-9 replaced the venerable Macchi MB-326 in the area of advanced pilot training. The remaining Macchis were then transferred to the lead-in-fighter role until replaced by the BAE Hawk 127 in 2000.

While some may tend to discount the reintroduction of a jet for advanced flying training AleniaAermacchi make the point that the twinjet M-311 trainer offers significant reduction in acquisition and life-cycle costs, equalling that of the high power turboprops. Such turboprops are in the same weight class and equipped with similar systems which entail similar maintenance and operating costs, but Aermacchi says they have more limited performance and therefore less teaching effectiveness than the M-311.

And while turboprops may seem more appropriate as lead-ins to multi engine turboprop transports such as AP-3C and C-130, Wedgetail and C-17s are jets of course as is the A330 MRTT tanker and, on the horizon, the MMA replacement for the P-3.

The Aermacchi M-311 is an uprated version of the S.211 jet trainer which is operated by Singapore at Pearce WA. It features a revised aerodynamic configuration, strengthened structure, more powerful engine and a completely new avionics suite. The aerodynamic configuration has new wing tips and fences and fuselage ventral fins. Strengthened structures and landing gear will allow fatigue life extension to 15 000 flight hours and the maximum manoeuvre load factors are now in the range of +7g / -3.5 g at 3100kg clean take-off weight.

The high by-pass ratio turbofan engine (Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-5C) equipping the M-311 provides 1447 kg of maximum continuous thrust, 30% more than the S-211. The avionics include a glass-cockpit including 3 LCD MFDs for both front and rear cockpit, HOTAS control, two mission computers for redundancy, embedded GPS Inertial Platform, a HUD in the front cockpit and a rear cockpit repeater.

The introduction of pressure refuelling and, like the others, an on-board oxygen generating system, also brings a significant reduction in the maintenance manpower requirement. The consequent, very short turn-around-time, therefore, brings with it the potential for a more intense, hence more economic utilisation of the aircraft (more movements per day).

The type of comprehensive solution that AIR 5428 probably aspires to, although in this case confined to ab initio training, was recently awarded to EADS Military Air Systems by the French Air Force. Worth up to $175 million (or nearly $A300 million) the 10 year contract will provide the l'armée de l'air with military flight training services under a contract which covers procurement of new aircraft, line and base aircraft maintenance, and the provision of ground-based training facilities, including flight simulators and integrated logistic support. Also included is integrated logistic support with supply-chain management plus infrastructure handling. In addition, EADS will handle future staff recruitment as well as the transfer of existing technical functions carried out by the French MoD.

EADS Socata will provide training services under the contract-marking the first time the French Ministry of Defence has initiated a comprehensive outsourced service solution. The contract covers ab initio flight training for pilots and navigators for the French Air Force, French Naval Aviation and the French Army.

We understand that EADS provided two alternative solutions during the 18-month competitive tendering process. The first focused on provision of a fleet of upgraded EADS Socata TB30 Epsilon aircraft to fulfil the requirements of the French Air Force's flying school at Cognac in western France, where all three services receive initial flying training. The second - selected by the French ministry - focused on partial replacement of the Epsilon fleet by Grob Aerospace 120A trainer aircraft. The future training aircraft fleet will, therefore, consist of 24 Epsilons and 18 new Grob 120As.

To cater to the high likelihood of future changes in ab initio training requirements, the contract requires the service provider to be flexible regarding the number of flying hours completed, with a minimum of 15 000 hours per year rising to a maximum of 32 000 hours. Payments to EADS will be based on the number of hours flown within the maximum contract value.

By Tom Muir, Canberra