Australian engineering consultancy Ascent Professional Services has secured an Australia-first deal to perform key certification work on the RAAF’s new MC-55A Peregrine electronic warfare aircraft.
Ascent chief financial officer John Giffard said Ascent would perform aircraft structural integrity (ASI) and propulsion structural integrity (PSI) certification of the Peregrines, a highly modified version of the Gulfstream G550 business jet.
Ascent, located in Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra, was contracted for this work by L3Harris in the US.
Unusually, Ascent is working on the left hand side of the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case, delivering to L3Harris which in turn delivers the aircraft, by way of the US Air Force, to the RAAF.
Giffard said he had no idea if any Australian company had worked this way before.
“We are still working out all of the finer points and details of what we are allowed to do within the US system,” he said.
“Initially it is just for the Australian aircraft. We are getting four to start with. There is an expectation that number will grow.”
Gulfstream no longer makes the G550 so should the RAAF decide it wants more, they will have to be sourced from the second-hand market. That’s not a problem as business jets typically notch up far fewer hours than military aircraft.
Giffard said other nations also used G550s as the basis for their EW aircraft and L3Harris was now on the global lookout for suitable used platforms.
Because business jets like the G550 fly so few hours and mostly in benign conditions, there’s no realistic maintenance schedule translatable to military use. A business jet might do no more than 400 hours a year.
“We are going to fly it a lot more. But what’s the outcome of that. That’s where the ASI and PSI come in,” he said.
ASI is monitoring an aircraft through its life, establishing processes and procedures to ensure it can perform the required missions throughout its life. PSI is the same for engines.
Giffard said Ascent’s success was an indication of the growing acceptance of Australian companies within the US system.
“Within the US system itself, there is a huge amount of enthusiasm to tear down a lot of the barriers. They are trying to minimise the impact of regulation and bureaucracy to allow for greater export of information and systems,” he said.
“They are very very keen to partner with Australian industry, to get input from our side of the fence.”