Project Air 9000 Australie

The Australian Minister for Defence, Senator John Faulkner, today announced that the Government has given first pass approval for a major project to provide the Australian Defence Force with a new naval combat helicopter.

Project AIR 9000 Phase 8 is included in the Defence Capability Plan to provide naval warships with a new combat helicopter.

Senator Faulkner said that two potential helicopters had been identified.

“The Government has decided that the new helicopter will be either the Sikorsky-Lockheed Martin built MH-60R sourced through the United States Navy, or the NATO Helicopter Industries NH90 NFH sourced through Australian Aerospace”.

Senator Faulkner said that a competition would be held between the two helicopter options which would be cost-capped by the Defence Materiel Organisation through the tender process.

“The new naval combat helicopter will enhance the Royal Australian Navy’s ability to conduct a range of maritime operations. It will be capable of undertaking anti-submarine warfare and will be equipped with air-to-surface missiles,” Senator Faulkner said.

“This fleet of combat helicopters will form the centerpiece of naval combat aviation to beyond 2040.

“The new helicopter will greatly extend the eyes and ears of our surface fleet and allow the conduct of combat and support operations in the complex and demanding maritime environment.

“They will replace the current fleet of Seahawk anti-submarine warfare helicopters and fill an operational need left by the cancellation of the Seasprite project,” Senator Faulkner said.

The procurement of the new naval combat helicopters as a matter of urgency was announced in the 2009 Defence White Paper.
This decision demonstrates the Government’s commitment to this important Defence capability.

Sufficient helicopters will be acquired to provide at least eight helicopters concurrently embarked on ships at sea, which under the White Paper requires a fleet of 24 helicopters.

“The competitive process would commence in the next few months with the Government making a final decision about the new helicopter in 2011,” Senator Faulkner said.

“This schedule will enable the new helicopters to be delivered from 2014.

“Any decision Government makes in 2011 will take into account all relevant considerations including capability, cost, interoperability with other ADF capabilities, Australian industry opportunities, risk and value for money,”
Senator Faulkner said.

The Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, Greg Combet, said that the decision to progress the project via a competitive tender was consistent with the Kinnaird and Mortimer procurement reforms.

The tender will allow the companies to offer innovative solutions that satisfy the capability, cost and schedule requirements and detail what opportunities they will offer local industry.

“A competitive process will ensure value for money for the tax payer and ensure the project's acquisition strategy provides the Government with the best possible information to support a decision for this vital capability,” Mr Combet said.

New Chinook CH-47 helicopters

The Minister for Defence today further announced that the Government has given second pass approval to a major project to acquire seven CH 47F Chinook helicopters for the ADF at a cost of around $755 million.

“The Government has now approved the details of this procurement, announced in last year’s White Paper, which will replace the existing fleet of six CH-47D Chinooks,” Senator Faulkner said.

“These new helicopters will give the ADF a robust, deployable medium-lift helicopter capability out to 2040.”

Senator Faulkner described the existing Chinook helicopters as the mainstay of the ADF’s deployable medium-lift helicopter capability.
He said the Chinook was an exceptionally versatile aircraft, capable of performing a wide range of roles, including moving combat units into battle, carrying out frontline aero-medical evacuation and performing a vital role in disaster relief.

Senator Faulkner said that while the existing fleet of ‘D’ model Chinooks had provided outstanding support to the ADF since entering service in 1995, the aircraft faced increasing capability and support issues and had been replaced
in production by the new ‘F’ model.

“Capability and support issues in the current Chinook helicopters will be addressed with the acquisition of the new model aircraft, which will bring safety, supportability and operational benefits to the ADF,” Senator Faulkner said.

The CH-47F offers a range of improvements over the CH-47D including a strengthened airframe, to reduce airframe fatigue; significantly improved deployability; and digital systems supporting safer flying.

Senator Faulkner said the new aircraft will be procured and maintained in the same broad configuration as the United States Army Chinooks, the principal CH-47F operator.

This will provide enhanced benefits to the ADF in areas including spares, support, training and airworthiness.

The Government will consider whether to participate in the United States Chinook Product Improvement Program when information on this program is of second pass quality.
Participation in this program would align the configuration of Australian Chinooks with future United States Army Chinooks.

“The new Australian Chinooks will also receive some additional ADF-specific equipment to meet certain operational and safety requirements,” Senator Faulkner said.

The new aircraft will be procured under Project AIR 9000 Phase 5C.
They will be based at Townsville, where the existing CH-47D are operated by ‘C-Squadron’ of Army’s 5th Aviation Regiment. The first two aircraft are planned to enter service in 2014, with all seven in service by 2017.

“As with the current Chinook fleet, Australian industry will have the opportunity to support the new helicopters as part of through-life support arrangements,” Senator Faulkner said.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

BRISBANE, Queensland |

Boeing Defence Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA], has signed a three-year
contract worth AU$4.5 million to provide the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) with support for F/A-18 Hornet aircraft technical publications.

Boeing Defence Australia has provided F/A-18 technical publication services including management, production of amendments and additional support tasks as required to the RAAF for the past five years.

"By working in partnership with the RAAF's Tactical Fighter Systems Project Office (TFSPO), Boeing Defence Australia has been able to deliver responsive and innovative solutions," said Scott Marosek, Boeing Defence Australia senior manager for Global Services & Support – Australia Technical Support.

"Our highly skilled and supportive team is committed to delivering the best outcome for TFSPO. We look forward to
continuously improving our working relationship to ensure world-class technical publication services for the RAAF's F/A-18 fleet over the next three years."

TFSPO Engineering Support Manager David Martinek said the effectiveness of technical publication support for the F/A-18 fleet provided by Boeing Defence Australia to date is mainly due to their expertise with managing the configuration of instructions for continued airworthiness within a common source database environment.

"At the end of the day, we share the common goal of delivering highly responsive and reliable technical publication support to ensure the safety and availability of the F/A-18 fleet," said Martinek.
"The commitment and sound knowledge of the F/A-18 that Boeing Defence Australia offers enable optimum solutions to be developed. We look forward to working with Boeing Defence Australia as a partner over the next three years."

Other services Boeing Defence Australia provides to support the F/A-18 fleet include platform maintenance, modifications and upgrades at RAAF Base Williamtown, as well as supply chain services such as spares manufacturing and repairs from Brisbane.