Australia’s SH-2G Seasprite Helos: (Mis)Fortune Down Under

SH-2G: rocky shoals

In 1997, Australia signed an $A 667 million contract with Kaman to purchase 11 upgraded SH-2G(A) “Super Seasprites,” with modernized avionics. This compact helicopter design was thought to be well suited to operation from the RAN’s ANZAC Class frigates, and even from patrol boats with helicopter decks. The first SH-2G(A) was unveiled in 2003, but by 2005 up to 40 deficiencies had been identified, including inability to operate in bad weather and low-light conditions, and inability to meet Australian airworthiness certification standards. Placing modern avionics into a 1960s airframe proved challenging indeed: the helicopters were restricted to “passenger and supply transport in good weather” in 2005, then grounded entirely in May 2006.

By 2007, the project was 6 years behind schedule, costs had risen over 50% to $A 1.1 billion (about $900 million) for 11 helicopters, and the program was being used as a negative case study in the Australian Defence College’s leadership and ethics course. It was estimated that at least $A 45 million more and 29 months of work would be required to make them serviceable, with full operational status unlikely until at least 2010. In 2007, Australia’s Liberal Party government elected to continue the Super Seasprite program – but their successor Labor government reversed that decision in 2008, and come to an interesting agreement with Kaman. Who now has 11 helicopters and associated infrastructure to sell. Six year later, in 2013, they finally made that sale. And the winner is…

Kuwait the Latest Gulf State in the C-17 Club?

Qatar Emiri C-17

In September 2010, Kuwait added itself to the list of existing and potential Gulf Cooperation Council C-17 customers. Within the Gulf Cooperation Council, both Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have bought the aircraft, even though they’re both small countries whose territories are well within the operating radius of smaller planes.

A hint of why might be found in neighboring Qatar’s decision to paint their first military C-17 in the bright colors of their national airline. C-17s that can deploy across oceans are a potent asset in a world that’s very short on advanced airlift. When disaster strikes, they boost the prestige and soft power of countries that possess them. If a Kuwaiti sale goes through, it could push total GCC fleet orders to 12 planes.

2013: Britain Buying Hellfire Missiles

British AH Mk.1

April 17/13: The US DSCA announces [PDF] Britain’s official export request for 500 AGM-114-N4/P4 Hellfire missiles. The estimated cost is up to $95 million, but that will depend on contract negotiations. Lockheed Martin Corporation in Orlando, FL will be the prime contractor, and any sale won’t require any more government or contractor assistance.

The request appears to involve replenishment of missile stocks that have been drawn down by the fighting in Afghanistan and Libya. Britain already uses Hellfire missiles, and the types they picked for this request are interesting…

SALIS’ Sibling: NATO’s C-17 Pool Inaugurates In-House Heavy Lift

SAC 01: Come to Papa!

The long-range C-17 Globemaster III heavy transport aircraft remains the backbone of US Air Mobility Command inter-theater transport around the world, and its ability to operate from shorter and rougher runways has made it especially useful during the Global War on Terror. Recent buys by Australia, Britain, and Canada have broadened the plane’s its global use. Now NATO, who has relied on the SALIS arrangement and its leased super-giant AN-124s from Russia, is looking to buy and own 3 C-17s as NATO pooled assets with multinational crews. Participating countries will receive allocated flight hours relative to their participation, and thus far they include 12 nations: Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United States.

This order will not materially change the coming shut-down of C-17 production, but it does look like the inauguration of a pool that will fill a gaping hole in Europe’s defense capabilities – its complete lack of heavy airlift. This article covers NATO C-17 acquisition program, including its structure and ongoing announcements.

Program is now an adequate name, as NATO SAC has signed a contract, all 3 aircraft have been delivered, and SAC C-17s have been busy on missions for a couple of years now.

Embraer’s Multinational KC-390 Tactical Air Transport Program

KC-390 refuels AMXs

Global competition in the 20-ton air transport segment continues to intensify, with Brazil’s launch of its KC-390 program. Embraer figures reportedly place the global C-130 replacement market at around 700 aircraft. In response, it will develop a jet-powered rival to compete with Lockheed Martin’s C-130J, the larger Airbus A400M, Russia’s AN-12 and its Chinese copy the Yun-8/9, and the bi-national Irkut/HAL MRTA project. Smaller aircraft like the EADS-CASA C-295M, and Alenia’s C-27J, may also represent indirect competition.

Embraer is extending its efforts and markets by crafting a jet-powered medium transport with a cargo capacity of around 23 tons, that can be refueled in the air, and can provide refueling services to other aircraft by adding dedicated pods. The KC-390 has now become a multinational effort, and may be shaping up as the C-130′s most formidable future competitor. A potential tie-up with Boeing just underscored the seriousness of Embraer’s effort.

Tomahawk’s Chops: xGM-109 Block IV Cruise Missiles

Block IV Cutaway

Block IV Tomahawk is the current generation of the Tomahawk family of cruise missiles. The BGM-109 Tomahawk family began life in the 1980s as sub-sonic, low-flying nuclear strike weapons, before being developed into long-range RGM/UGM-109 conventional attack missiles. They’re most frequently launched from submarines and surface ships, and have been the US Navy’s preferred option for initial air strikes in Iraq, Libya, et. al. Britain has also bought Tomahawk missiles, and launches them exclusively from submarines.

Block IV is the latest variant. It adds innovative technologies that improve combat flexibility, while dramatically reducing the costs to buy, operate, and support these missiles. That’s why the Block IV program, under US Navy PMA-280, has been one of the USA’s defense acquisition success stories over the last decade.