AVIATION PROGRAMS UPDATE

By RICHARD R. BURGESS, Managing Editor

Following are status reports on three naval aircraft programs not discussed elsewhere in this issue.

E-2C Hawkeye

As the delivery of the first production Hawkeye 2000 version of the E-2C radar early warning aircraft nears, the aircraft's builder, Northrop Grumman, is looking at a further development--now called Advanced Hawkeye--to meet the battlespace command-and-control requirements of the future.

No replacement airframe for the E-2C is yet envisioned, so it seems likely that the E-2C will be the platform of choice for any further improvements in the Navy's airborne early warning capabilities. Northrop Grumman envisions a transformation from the current platform-centric E-2C to a network-centric E-2C with connectivity to theater air and missile defense, overland cruise-missile defense, and emerging littoral surveillance and targeting systems and platforms.

Among the improvements and upgrades envisioned for the Advanced Hawkeye will be several under the Radar Modernization Program, which includes installation of both a next-generation solid-state radar transmitter and a 360-degree electronically scanned array (ESA) radar--the antenna of which would be housed in the current E-2C radome (to avoid the need for flight recertification of a redesigned radome). Other improvements now planned include the installation of a modular communications system and upgraded cooling and electrical power systems. The Surveillance Infrared Search and Track (SIRST) capability, for which testing is planned this year, will enable the Advanced Hawkeye to participate in theater missile defense. The aircraft is expected to be fitted with a tactical cockpit with multifunction displays that will enable the cockpit crew to participate in tactical decisions.

An NC-130H (formerly EC-130V) Hercules assigned to the Naval Air Warfare Center at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., is being modified into a test-bed for the Advanced Hawkeye's mission systems. Northrop Grumman officials said that the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the Advanced Hawkeye program will begin in fiscal year 2003, and that initial operational capability is scheduled to be achieved in 2010.

Systems involved in two interim-development programs--the Mission Computer Upgrade (MCU) and the Advanced Control Indicator Set (ACIS)--have been installed on one Group II E-2C test-bed aircraft. Operational evaluation of the MCU was completed in April; a decision on full-rate production of the system is expected this month.

Of the Navy's ten operational E-2C squadrons, eight are equipped with the Group II version, one flies the Group II with the MCU/ACIS upgrade, and one flies the Group 0 version. The two Naval Reserve E-2C squadrons both fly the Group 0 version. The Group II version introduced the APS-145 radar, the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System, and the Global Positioning System to the E-2C.

The Hawkeye 2000 features the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC), satellite communications, the MCU and ACIS, an improved electronic support measures system, the Vapor Cycle Upgrade (an improvement to the aircraft's cooling system), and the T56-A-427 turboprop engine.

Delivery of the first production Hawkeye 2000--to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 120 (VAW-120), the E-2C fleet readiness squadron--is scheduled for October 2001. The first fleet squadron to fly the Hawkeye 2000 will reach initial operational capability in 2002; four of the Navy's 10 operational VAW squadrons are expected to be equipped with Hawkeye 2000s by 2006.

Continued multiyear production of the Hawkeye 2000 is being considered for funding in the fiscal year 2003 budget cycle in order to: (a) increase the number of CEC squadrons; (b) support transition to the Advanced Hawkeye configuration; and (c) sustain a viable force level of E-2Cs beyond 2015. The Navy hopes to field a force of approximately 75 Hawkeye 2000s by 2015.

Several of Northrop Grumman's international customers also are scheduled to receive new aircraft or upgrades to older aircraft. France plans to take delivery in 2003 of a Group II E-2C that will bring its complement up to three E-2Cs; a fourth aircraft is under consideration. Taiwan is scheduled to receive two aircraft in 2004 with the MCU/ACIS upgrade to augment the four E-2Cs it now has in service--the latter also are planned for the upgrade. Japan is slated to receive the first of 13 MCU/ACIS upgrade kits this year as well as other upgrades; the initial E-2C will be inducted for modification in Japan in 2002. The Egyptian Air Force's five E-2Cs will be inducted one per year into Northrop Grumman's facility in St. Augustine, Fla., for upgrade to the MCU/ACIS standard--the first was inducted last month. Singapore flies four E-2Cs but has not announced any upgrade plans. The Israeli Air Force has withdrawn its Hawkeyes from service.

In a related development, the NP2000 eight-bladed propeller--built by Hamilton Sundstrand--has been flight-tested on an E-2C for the first time. The NP2000--easier and less expensive to maintain than the current four-bladed steel-spar propellers--is now going through Phase I testing and will be put through carrier suitability testing in late summer 2001. Phase II testing will involve further perform-ance and shipboard testing. The new propeller is scheduled to be retrofitted on all U.S. Navy E-2Cs and on all of the service's C-2A Greyhound carrier-onboard-delivery aircraft, with fleet introduction scheduled for late 2002.

The AH-1Z Viper and the UH-1Y Venom

The first AH-1Z Viper development helicopter, Zulu 1, has arrived at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., to begin Phase II of its flight-test program. The helicopter, fitted with a new four-bladed rotor, is the first of three AH-1Z EMD (engineering and manufacturing development) aircraft that will be tested at Patuxent River.

Zulu 1--remanufactured from an AH-1W Super Cobra by Bell Helicopter Textron--was flown to Patuxent River in an Air National Guard C-5 transport from the company's flight research and test facility in Arlington, Texas. The helicopter already had completed Phase I (59.9 hours) of its developmental flight testing, which began on 7 December 2000, as well as harmonic-vibration testing with 80 different configurations of ordnance loaded on its weapon stations. During the earlier tests Zulu 1 achieved 220 knots airspeed, reached 10,000 feet in altitude, and flew in four mission configurations.

Phase II will combine both developmental testing and operational testing, Navy officials said, to keep flight testing "efficient and affordable," and to allow problems to be identified earlier and corrected before operational evaluation (OPEVAL).

The second and third AH-1Zs--Zulu 2 and Zulu 3--as well as two UH-1Y Venoms--Yankee 1 and Yankee 2--are scheduled to arrive at Patuxent River later this year to participate in the EMD testing, which is expected to be completed by the summer of 2003. Bell is scheduled to complete assembly of Yankee 1 in July 2001 and to begin flight testing of the Venom in November 2001--OPEVAL is scheduled for late 2003, after completion of approximately 1,500 test-flight hours. Bell also will build one non-flying test article of each type of aircraft.

The AH-1Z and UH-1Y were designed with more than 85 percent commonality of their mechanical and avionics components. The concurrent test program is designed to reduce overall test time by eliminating redundant test flights.

The Marine Corps plans to procure 180 AH-1Zs--remanufactured from AH-1Ws--and 100 UH-1Ys--remanufactured from UH-1N "Hueys" and a few unarmed HH-1Ns. The remanufactured aircraft--with their airframe lives extended by 10,000 hours--share common four-bladed composite rotors, T700-GE-401 engines, gearboxes, hydraulic and fuel system components, crashworthy seats, and integrated avionics and software. Both types of aircraft are fitted with integrated glass cockpits and the Integrated Helmet Display and Sighting System, which will replace night-vision goggles and head-up displays. The AH-1Z also will be equipped with the Lockheed Martin Hawkeye target sight system, which includes a third-generation infrared detection system, a laser rangefinder, low-light color television, and large-aperture optics.

The improvements in the AH-1Z are expected to give it three times the radius (or twice the payload) of an AH-1W in a typical close-air-support scenario. The UH-1Y is expected to have both twice the payload and twice the range of the UH-1N in a typical night-insertion scenario.

The names Viper and Venom are now listed in Department of Defense documents as the official names of the AH-1Z and UH-1Y, respectively.

F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

Fleet introduction of the Boeing-built F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is well underway, with the first fleet squadron--Strike Fighter Squadron 115 (VFA-115)--transitioning to the single-seat F/A-18E and working up toward its deployment next year on the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. VFA-115 will deploy with a tanker capability on the Super Hornet's first deployment. Fighter Squadron 102 (VF-102) is scheduled to transfer to Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif., from Oceana, Va., in August 2001 to begin transition to the two-seat F/A-18F.

Boeing has so far delivered almost 50 Super Hornets to the Navy and expects to deliver at least 32 in 2001. The first center-aft fuselage section--built by Northrop Grumman--for a full-rate production batch aircraft was delivered in April, one month ahead of schedule. Boeing officials said that the Super Hornets are being delivered at 300 pounds less than their specified weight.

Unit cost for a Super Hornet is approximately $50 million for an aircraft in the third LRIP (low-rate initial production) batch, Boeing officials said. The company is trying to lower the cost to the low-to-mid $40 million range.

Several improvements already are being planned for the Super Hornet. Boeing has been awarded a $69 million contract for an LRIP batch of 15 Raytheon-developed ATFLIR (Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared) pods; ATFLIR combines laser targeting, an electro-optical camera, and infrared navigation and targeting in one pod. The SHARP (Shared Reconnaissance Pod), which will replace the TARPS (Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System) installed on the F-14 Tomcat being replaced by the F/A-18F, also is under development. The Navy also has initiated flight testing of the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) for the Super Hornet.

The JHMCS will allow aircraft crews to steer sensors and aim weapons simply by looking at a target.

Block 1 improvements to the Super Hornet include replacement of the AYK-14 computer with a more advanced system. Block 2 improvements include installation of the APG-79 AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar--scheduled for delivery in 2005 and for initial operational capability in 2006. Boeing has been awarded a $324.5 million contract for the design, development, and fabrication of five full and two partial AESAs for the Super Hornet.

Block 2 also will feature the Advanced Crew Station, which will include an 8-inch by 10-inch display for the F/A-18F's rear cockpit. The JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) also is being planned for deployment on the Super Hornet.

Boeing is under a multiyear contract to deliver 222 Super Hornets to the Navy. The Navy plans eventually to procure 548 Super Hornets, but that number has the potential of increasing to 765 if deliveries of the Joint Strike Fighter in the next decade are delayed.

Boeing marketing officials are approaching current international Hornet operators for future foreign sales of the Super Hornet. Boeing officials estimate a foreign sales potential of 200 to 300 Super Hornets. Boeing also has proposed a variant of the F/A-18F--the F/A-18G "Growler"--as a replacement for the EA-6B Prowler electronic attack aircraft under the Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) analysis of alternatives now under consideration by the Department of Defense.