Page 66 - Australian Defence Magazine Feb-Mar 2023

66 AIRPOWER HAWK UPGRADE
FEBRUARY-MARCH 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
NIGEL PITTAWAY
As explained by BAESA’s Chapman, this is unlikely to af- fect the RAAF’s LIFT engine upgrade since the RAF’s T.2 fleet is the fleet leader for the Mk.951, involving frequent engine inspections, and an issue with a compressor blade was found in the fleet leader 1,700-hour engine.
“The key is the issues were found at 1,700 hours, we’re at zero hours,” Chapman pointed out.
“We’re flying 6,500 hours a year and that equates to about 200 airframe hours a year, that’s eight years before we see the issue, that’s how the fleet leader process is sup- posed to work and it’s not going to cost us any money.
“Work is ongoing at Rolls-Royce, they’re still trying to work out whether it was a batch issue or a design issue.”
MISSION SYSTEM UPGRADE
While engine upgrade implementation was “the pacing element” being addressed in 2023/24, discussions were also underway with Defence on a mission systems capabil-
DEFENCE
“CHANGING ENGINES TAKES THREE WEEKS, AND TWO AIRCRAFT WILL BE MODIFIED AT THE SAME TIME”
ity roadmap also involving the so- called Commanders Intent signed in 2019 by BAE Systems Air Sector and BAESA, the RAF and RAAF, CASG and the UK Ministry of De- fence, relating to Australian-UK cooperation on Hawk sustainment and capability enhancements.
“What we absolutely want to do is have some of those up- grades embodied in the next 12 months because that then starts to inform Air 6002,” Chapman explained.
“We’ve got a contract to 2031 which we assume will be extended by a year to cover the Hawk’s currently scheduled withdrawal date. Defence has got a team at Air Force Head- quarters that is looking at what would notionally happen be- yond 2032. One of those options should definitely be Hawk.”
Meanwhile RAAF fast jet trainee pilots and their in- structors are now benefitting from the BAESA-developed Spa Trac (Spatial Tracking) virtual reality debriefing sys- tem, utilising the mission data files from the aircraft they had flown. This includes their screen data, helmet display, audio, and the ability to (virtually) sit in the cockpit of the Hawk they (or an adversary) had flown and review their ac- tions – or benefit from a ‘God’s Eye’ view. ■
TOP: The Hawk Mk.127 is planned to remain in RAAF service until at least 2032 following the upgrade program
ABOVE: RAAF fast jet trainee pilots and their instructors are now benefitting from the BAESA-developed Spa Trac (Spatial Tracking) virtual reality debriefing system
“The conversations we’re now having with Defence are about what keeps the LIFT sys- tem relevant; what cognitive skills does Hawk need to be optimised for as 5th generation platforms continue to be
upgraded,” Chapman said.
Some aspects of the capability roadmap would be com-
mon with what the RAF might want, so decisions would have to be taken on upgrades that might be undertaken centrally, versus relatively simple ones that could be pro- gressed now, using the same BAESA engineers who previ- ously handled incremental mission system changes on the RAAF’s ‘classic’ F/A-18A/B Hornets.