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Westland and the Attack Helicopter – from Lynx to Apache

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Westland and the Attack Helicopter – from Lynx to Apache Journal of Aeronautical History Paper 2020/05 Westland and the Attack Helicopter – from Lynx to Apache Dr R V Smith, FRAeS; J P Graham, FRAeS ABSTRACT In July 1995, Britain selected the AH-64D Apache as the Attack Helicopter for the Army Air Corps. Prior to this, there had been sustained activity, involving Westland Helicopters Ltd (WHL), the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE)/Defence Experimental & Research Agency (DERA), Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL), Future Systems (Rotary Wing) (FS(RW)) and MoD Operational Requirements (OR) staff, to examine UK options for the provision of national and international collaborative attack helicopter solutions. Much of that work has never been reviewed publicly and, despite not resulting in a successful product, the solutions examined contained innovative technologies and design approaches. Some of these features are only now emerging in programmes elsewhere, such as the American Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) programme. This paper examines these projects, from Armed Escort Lynx and P277 through to Westland WG.47, summarising their origins, requirements and underlying technologies, to record the efforts, mainly conducted by the Future Projects and Advanced Technology Departments within Westland Helicopters Ltd. List of Abbreviations Abbreviation Definition AAWWS Airborne Adverse Weather Weapon System (AH-64) ABC Advancing Blade Concept – a Sikorsky concept for a co-axial lift-offset rotor ACGS(OR) Assistant Chief of General Staff (Operational Requirements) ACSR Active Control of Structural Response ACT Active Control Technology AEG Advanced Engineering Gearbox ADATS Air Defense Anti-Tank System (missile) AFCS Automatic Flight Control System agl Above ground level ALAT Aviation Légère de l'Armée de Terre (French Army Light Aviation) AM Amplitude Modulation AMI Aeronautica Militare Italiana (Italian Air Force) AVSRAG Air Vehicle Signature Reduction Advisory Group AUM All-Up Mass AUW All Up Weight AW Agusta Westland BERP British Experimental Rotor Programme BHC British Hovercraft Corporation 129 Journal of Aeronautical History Paper 2020/05 BTS Battalion Targeting System CAA Civil Aviation Authority CADMID Defence Life Cycle comprising: Concept – Assessment – Development – Manufacture – In Service - Disposal CSAR Combat Search and Rescue DAS Defensive Aids Suite DCF Discounted Cost Financing DERA Defence Experimental & Research Agency DE&S Defence Equipment & Support Dstl Defence Science & Technology Laboratories EMC Electromagnetic Compatibility EMDG Euromissile Dynamics Group (developer of the Trigat missile system). FAHSG Future Army Helicopter Steering Group FARA Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft FBL Fly-by-light FBW Fly-by-wire FCDS Feasibility & Cost Definition Study (for A129 LAH) FFR Folding-Fin Rockets FINABEL European organisation promoting collaboration and interoperability of member nations’ Land / Army equipment (originally from initials of founding member states) FM Frequency Modulation FPDS Feasibility & Pre-Definition Study (for NH90) FS (RW) MoD customer for Feasibility Studies (Future Systems (Rotary Wing)) FVL Future Vertical Lift (US Army program) GAO Government Accountability Office (US) GECAL 50 Multi-barrel heavy machine gun (originally developed by General Electric) GSOR General Staff Operational Requirement GSR General Staff Requirement GST General Staff Target HAC3G Hélicoptère Anti Char 3rd Generation HF High Frequency HHC Higher Harmonic Control IHADS Integrated Helmet and Display System (A129) ISA International Standard Atmosphere ISD In Service Date LAH Light Attack Helicopter LCH Light Combat Helicopter LHX US Scout helicopter programme later to lead to RAH-66 Comanche LHTEC Light Helicopter Turbine Engine Company (Manufacturer of the T800 engine) LO Low Observable (signatures) LR Long-Range (TRIGAT) LRU Line Replaceable Unit LSDW Laser Sensor Damage Weapons LTC Long-Term Costings MALT Military Advisory Liaison Team (Westland) MBB Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm 130 Journal of Aeronautical History Paper 2020/05 MDHC McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Corporation MG Machine Gun MMH/FH Maintenance Man Hours per Flying Hour MMS Mast Mounted Sight MoD Ministry of Defence MoD(PE) Ministry of Defence (Procurement Executive) MoS Ministry of Supply MOU Memorandum of Understanding MSIP Multi-Stage Improvement Plan (AH-64A) MTBMF Mean Time Between Mission Failures MTOW Maximum Take-Off Weight NEMP Nuclear electro-magnetic pulse NNEMP Non-nuclear electro-magnetic pulse NOE Nap-of-the-Earth NVG Night Vision Goggles PAH-2 Panzer Abwehr Hubschrauber (Anti-Tank Helicopter) - 2 OEI One Engine Inoperative OGE Out of Ground Effect OR Operations Research PD Product Development PNVS Pilot’s Night Vision System (AH-64) PV Private Venture R&D Research and Development RAE Royal Aircraft Establishment (Customer for most pre-feasibility and technology studies) RAM Radar Absorbent Material RAM-D Reliability, Availability, Maintainability - Durability RCS Radar Cross-Section RF Radio Frequency (Hellfire) RN Royal Navy RPH Remotely Piloted Helicopter RR Rolls-Royce RARDE Royal Armament Research & Development Establishment RDAF Royal Danish Air Force RSRE Royal Signals & Radar Establishment RTM Rolls Turbomeca (engine manufacturer) SACLOS Semi-Active Command to Line Of Sight SAR Search and Rescue SARO Saunders-Roe Ltd SSB Single Side Band TADS Target Acquisition and Designation System (AH-64) TI Thermal Imagery TNA The National Archives TOW Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided anti-armour missile UHF Ultra High Frequency VFW Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke (VFW) VNO Maximum normal operating speed 131 Journal of Aeronautical History Paper 2020/05 VNE Never exceed speed VHF Very High Frequency WHL Westland Helicopters Ltd WP Warsaw Pact INTRODUCTION Figure 1. Westland WG.47: A design drawing upon experience from unmanned helicopters, and the WHL Advanced Engineering and Advanced Technology research programme. The UK’s operational experience of anti-armour helicopter operations is largely restricted to the Westland-designed Lynx AH.1 and AH.7 and the McDonnell Douglas (latterly Boeing) WAH- 64D Apache, assembled in Yeovil. This bald statement leaves the impression that, other than the Lynx, Westland Helicopters Ltd has not done any significant work on the technology or design of attack helicopters, following on from the design and development of the Lynx. This paper sets out to correct that impression. It establishes the scene by describing the origins and procurement of Lynx and contemporary proposals for its development in attack roles. This is followed by a review of a series of advanced attack helicopter studies, developed to differing levels of maturity, from the late 1970s, through to the early 1990s. These studies were largely driven by the evolving requirement for an attack helicopter to survive in the face of developing sophisticated threats and, among other features, had a common thread of the reduction of detectable signatures. Little has been previously published about these designs, but they variously incorporated several features that were novel at the time, some of which are now emerging on other companies’ projects. 132 Journal of Aeronautical History Paper 2020/05 The paper discusses the attack helicopter work carried out in the context of WHL’s approach to the generation of future projects, its development of advanced technology and the relationship of these studies to the contemporary MoD acquisition processes and organisations. Finally, reference is made to developments elsewhere which were to some degree anticipated by the studies conducted at Westland Helicopters Ltd. 2. ORGANISATIONAL ASPECTS To provide context for the rest of this paper, this section briefly comments on the contemporary MoD study and procurement processes and the organisational arrangements within Westland relating to the development of new projects. The primary context for this discussion is the period following the rationalisation of the helicopter industry that took place in 1960. Up to this point, Westland’s product range was dominated by the licence production (and development) of products originally designed by Sikorsky Aircraft in the United States. Following this rationalisation (Figure 2), Westland absorbed the helicopter interests of the Bristol Aeroplane Co Ltd, Fairey Aviation Ltd and Saunders-Roe Aircraft Ltd (SARO). During the early helicopter years, MoD policy excluded Westland from the receipt of UK rotorcraft research and development funding, as Westland’s rotorcraft technology was initially perceived as solely comprising that transferred from Sikorsky (1). Figure 2. Britain’s Rotorcraft Industry 133 Journal of Aeronautical History Paper 2020/05 2.1 UK Procurement Process The current MoD acquisition process is known as CADMID, an acronym relating to the project life cycle: Concept – Assessment – Development – Manufacture – In-service – Disposal. The understanding of the likely operational performance, technologies, cost, timescales and key risks (and their mitigations) of likely conceptual design approaches is dealt with in the Concept phase. In parallel, the Operational Requirements staff will be developing a set of User Requirements. The studies required to clarify and quantify these aspects are contracted directly with organisations that are perceived as possessing the required skills and technologies. The body of knowledge thus generated allows the MoD Procurement organisation to determine its procurement strategy and to evolve the User Requirements
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