AUSTRALIAN PROGRAMMES Australian Army soldiers board an MRH90 Taipan aircraft during a training exercise at Cultana Training Area, South Australia. (Photo: Australian DoD) FIGHTING IT OUT Australia’s Tiger acquisition One of the most revealing insights into under Project Land 4503, which the the current state and future direction of Australian DoD has said ‘could include was fraught with difficulties. Australian military programmes is provided manned or unmanned systems, or a Shephard looks at possible by the DoD’s 2016 whitepaper. Not only combination of both’. does the document address priorities and Currently, the programme is in the early candidates and potential new capability requirements through to stages of risk mitigation and requirement permutations of the nation’s 2035, but it gives a firm indication of how setting, during which the DoD will be replacement programme and the global order in the Asia-Pacific region assessing various options to be eventually continues to be dominated by China and presented to the government for approval. explores the lessons that the the US. Of the 22 aircraft making up the DoD might learn from its past As a US ally, Canberra clearly has Australian Army’s current Tiger fleet, 17 are a strong level of protection from with 1st Aviation Regiment in Darwin and experiences. By Tim Martin aggression, and the DoD has little doubt that five are at Oakey Army aviation centre for threats to its borders are highly unlikely. training purposes. Indeed, the paper goes as far as stating that By objective standards, the previous ustralian military rotary ‘there is no more than a remote prospect of acquisition and in-service activities of those programmes have not a military attack by another country on platforms were particularly problematic – A always run as smoothly as Australian territory in the foreseeable future’, more so than the minor hiccups or teething expected, with the Tiger ARH (Armed while emphasising that domestic security issues that often characterise industry and Reconnaissance Helicopter) saga often will continue to be a top priority. end-user partnerships. held up as a case study for misjudged and A full critique of those troubling aspects miscalculated procurement. Despite this Bad report of the programme was provided by the adverse publicity, there are signs of On the helicopter front, the white paper Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in a improvement as the DoD prepares to buy confirms that a Tiger ARH replacement September 2016 publication that assesses light attack aircraft for the Special will be sought from mid-2020. This armed the progress made by the DoD since 2007 Operations Command. reconnaissance capability will be sourced in its bid to introduce a fully capable WWW.DEFENCEHELICOPTER.COM VOLUME 38 NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 DEFENCE HELICOPTER 21 AUSTRALIAN PROGRAMMES Tiger fleet and develop ‘cost-effective by June 2014. By June 2016, cost per flying sustainment arrangements’. hour of the Tiger fleet had reached over Most concerning within the report is a A$30,000, more than 50% over target, the suggestion that the government misjudged ANAO noted. the acquisition, allowing it to proceed On the issue of capability, there is also because the Tiger option was a ‘low-risk off- much cause for concern for the army. There the-shelf platform’, whereas the ANAO take are ‘76 deficiencies’ relating to current and the view that the aircraft was ‘more future requirements for the service, ‘60 of developmental than off-the-shelf’. That initial which were deemed by defence to be decision by the DoD is looked upon as one critical and requiring resolution’, according that ‘heightened exposure to schedule, cost to the report. Shipborne operations, pilot and capability risks, both for the acquisition numbers, flying hours, interoperability and of the aircraft and its sustainment’. communications, airworthiness, rocket There is more compelling evidence from launchers and roof-mounted sights are all the ANAO that points to the programme’s listed as capability shortcomings. foundations being unstable. This includes the The report also contains attributions size of the Tiger’s international fleet, listed as from the Australian DoD and Tiger 119 aircraft at the time of publication, with manufacturer Airbus Group Australia France, Germany and Spain making up the Pacific and parent company Airbus wider customer network. Helicopters, with the former agreeing to In this case, the relatively small collection two key recommendations that focus on of customers created a ‘niche capability’ sharing project review lessons with internal which meant that aircraft sustainment stakeholders and providing the government based on a ‘limited supply chain’ caused with a ‘value-for-money’ assessment Australian Army soldiers of the RAR 8th/9th the programme to suffer. ‘The Chief of Army pertaining to future investment in the Tiger Battalion board a CH-47 Chinook during declared Final Operational Capability for the fleet, ‘for only a short period of improved a non-combatant evacuation operation at Shoalwater Bay Training Area, Queensland. Tiger on 14 April 2016, allowing the performance, against other alternatives’. (Photo: Australian DoD) helicopter to be operationally employed. The result of the second recommendation The declaration was seven years later than was a value-for-money analysis conducted planned, and was accompanied by nine in late 2017, according to the DoD, under operational caveats,’ the report states. the Land 9000 ARH Capability Assurance continue until the ARH Tiger is withdrawn Figures also show that the A$571 million Programme, designed to replace ‘essential from service,’ a spokesperson said. outlined in the original contract for components’ of the Tiger and cover its sustainment costs and set aside for a 15-year sustainment until mid-2020. ‘Obsolescence Superior capabilities period from 2004-2019 had been spent treatments have commenced and will Those from industry vying for the replacement include Bell, who is set on offering its AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter. An Australian Army Tiger ARH performs a demonstration of its countermeasure dispensing system A company spokesperson said the focus is at the Port Wakefield proving ground, South Australia. (Photo: Australian DoD) on the platform’s multi-mission capabilities being beneficial to Australia. ‘It is designed specifically for sustained operations at sea, expeditionary bases ashore, in the littorals and in desert and tropical environments,’ a Bell spokesperson said in a statement. ‘Additionally, the AH-1Z offers significant savings of tax payer dollars due to both a lower cost per flight hour as well as lower total life-cycle costs. The cost savings over the life of the programme can actually save Australia billions.’ Making a case for the Viper as a Tiger replacement is complicated by the fact that the aircraft does not hold a strong export record, and its production could come under pressure before Australia approaches a final decision on the programme. ‘The 22 DEFENCE HELICOPTER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 VOLUME 38 NUMBER 1 WWW.DEFENCEHELICOPTER.COM AUSTRALIAN PROGRAMMES management that has been lacking on the Tiger. Davis gave the example of these manned-unmanned assets and their associated data links providing Apache aircrew with a direct feed from the Reaper to control weapons on the UAV. Despite this obvious capability increase, however, he voiced concern over a series of issues that have yet to be resolved by Boeing on the Guardian. The Apache’s air dominance in theatre is beginning to be eroded, for example, meaning that it is becoming even more challenging for the aircraft to survive in ‘contested aerospace’, especially with adversaries using ‘sophisticated’ short-range air defence capabilities, said Davis. Furthermore, Boeing is yet to come up with a unit cost for Australia on the AH-64E – an obvious issue that would need to be corrected sooner rather than later. Moreover, the 64E model is not ‘marinised’, thus ruling out ship-based helicopter take-offs and landings. Given Australia’s location and surrounding geography, the ability to operate an attack platform from naval carriers would appear to be a priority for any future acquisition. ‘Boeing have indicated that they could try and marinise an Apache, but so far no one has given a clear indication of how long that would take,’ Davis explained. Viper’s longevity in production is not The AH-64E can provide an ISR capability Certainly, the recent AH-64E US Army assured,’ said Dr Malcolm Davis, senior integrated with weapons carriage and has programme difficulties do not appear to analyst in defence strategy and capability at advanced networking and interoperability support the cause of a marinised Apache the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. ‘It potential, including Link 16 and VMF data being developed easily. Issues concerning could be by the time we get to the point of links, according to Boeing Defence salt water corrosion of strap pack nuts – deciding on the Tiger replacement – the Australia (BDA). large bolts holding the rotor blades onto the Viper is out of production and a decision is According to Davis, since it is imperative helicopter – led to the US Army stopping out of [decision-makers’] hands.’ that Tiger pilots remain in contact with deliveries of Guardian aircraft in April. Such One other candidate that is likely to be friendly assets or ground stations, they are was the scale of the problem and the put forward is Boeing’s AH-64E Apache having to use tablet computers in the impact on the programme that Boeing Guardian, which Davis claimed is the cockpit – a clear indication that better data explained in October that the need to invest preferred option for Tiger pilots and links are required for future missions. time and effort on fixing the problem meant aircrew. The type is able to provide that only 34 of 48 planned deliveries of the superior communication links compared to Mixed modes aircraft could take place in 2018.