Page 63 - Australian Defence Magazine October 2021

OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
BATTLEFIELD AVIATION 63
LEFT: Two Leonardo AW139 helicopters have been leased from Helicorp
(Toll Helicopters) under Plan Corella, as an Army Interim Commercial Helicopter capability.
BELOW: Sixteen Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) light and rapidly-deployable helicopters are being acquired under Land 2097 Phase 4 (Light Special Forces Support Helicopter).
The previously announced timeline for the acquisition of the 16 light helicopters calls for major equipment delivery to begin occurring in 2022. Defence is looking for a helicop- ter that is already in service with other operators, capable of being rapidly airlifted aboard the RAAF’s C-17A Globe- master III (four helicopters in each aircraft) and able to be easily fitted with electro-optical Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) sensors and potentially weapons such as rockets and machine guns. The primary role of the helicopter is to provide air assault capability using small Special Forces teams, with secondary roles to include ISR, fire support and general utility and the successful helicop- ter will need to be readily reconfigured between roles.
The helicopters will be operated by 6 AVN at Holswor- thy alongside the MRH 90s, with possible detachments to support Special Forces operations in Western Australia and elsewhere.
A Request for Proposals (RFP) was released to industry in August 2020 and three bidders responded, including Airbus Australia Pacific offering the Airbus Helicopters H145M, and Babcock and Jet Aviation each with a solution based on the Bell 429. The announcement of the successful bidder is expected before the end of the year, but as ADM reported in July, sources close to the project suggest the H145M has been eliminated from the competition.
PLAN CORELLA
Two Leonardo AW139 helicopters have been leased from Helicorp (Toll Helicopters) under Plan Corella, as an Army Interim Commercial Helicopter capability to preserve air- crew advanced flying skills and provide general aviation support to the ADF until MRH 90 Rate of Effort reaches desired goals. The initial contract term is due to end on 30 June 2023, albeit with two 12-month extension options.
“Defence has acted swiftly to implement this capability to preserve the advanced flying skills of Army aircrew. This capa- bility will also support the wider ADF by providing general avia- tion support, including moving personnel and cargo in support of major exercises, training ADF units in helicopter operations and other non-combat tasks,” the spokesperson said.
“It will supplement Defence’s helicopter response opera- tions by providing additional non-combat lift and emer-
gency response capabilities to Army and the civil commu- nity from a highly capable and cost-effective commercially available aircraft.”
THE FUTURE OF BATTLEFIELD AVIATION
The Defence Force Structure Plan 2020 forecasts up to $2.1 billion will be spent on a future long-range rotorcraft capability between 2028 and 2038; and $1.6 billion for what the document terms a ‘next generation rotorcraft with enhanced capabilities between 2035 and 2040, but does not provide further detail.
As ADM noted in the July/August issue, the US Army is staking its battlefield aviation future in its Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program, which will acquire rotorcraft able to fly twice as far and twice as fast as its current Black Hawk and Apache helicopters, beginning in 2030.
As it looks towards its own future battlefield aviation capa- bility, Defence says its key value proposition for Army Aviation lies in its ability to provide speed and reach the Joint Force. “The ability to improve on both of these attributes in conjunc- tion with enhanced force protection and awareness will be key elements of any future acquisition,” the spokesperson said.
“However, the core criteria will be maturity and sustain- ability, ensuring we remain true to the hard-won lessons of our past. Army Aviation will seek to stabilise in the near term with reliable and sustainable capabilities. Doing so will reduce the risk associated with the transition to Next Generation Rotorcraft in the 2040s and beyond.” ■
NIGEL PITTAWAY
DEFENCE