Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Guy Norris/SEATTLE
Boeing's Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) with its distinctive rotodome, whether mounted on a 707 or 767 based airframe, is likely to be the last of the large, expensive surveillance platforms. While the USA is looking towards space-based surveillance in the long term, international customers are seeking a more affordable airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform.
One competition is seen as leading the drive towards affordable AEW and that is Australia's Project Wedgetail. The winner of this contest, which is scheduled to be decided in July next year, is tipped to take pole position in other AEW&C competitions under way and pending around the world. The Wedgetail competition is between three new entrants into the affordable AEW market: Boeing's 737 AEW&C, Lockheed Martin's C-130JAEW&C and Raytheon's Airbus A310-based AEW&C system. Contests under way elsewhere have broadened the field to include Ericsson's Embraer RJ-145-based AEW&C system and Northrop Grumman's upgraded E-2CHawkeye 2000.
LONG LIVED AWACS
Boeing's AWACS still has a long life ahead of it, emphasises Bill Adams, vice-president for airborne surveillance systems at the Northrop Grumman division responsible for the aircraft's radar. Under the Radar System Improvement Programme (RSIP) now under way, sensitivity, operability and reliability are being increased, he says. The improved radar is better able to detect small targets such as cruise missiles, and computer and operator console improvements are removing 1970s technology while providing room for growth.
NATO's 17 E-3 AWACS aircraft are now being upgraded, and Boeing is under contract to update the UK's seven E-3s. The USA is completing a trial installation, and plans to upgrade its 30 E-3s at a rate of three to five a year. The RSIP is also "on the list" for E-3 operators France and Saudi Arabia, says Adams, as well as for Japan - which took delivery of the first 767-based AWACS aircraft earlier this year.
The 767 AWACS is now Boeing's offering in the high-end AEW market. Japan is the launch customer, and the aircraft has been proposed in Turkey and shortlisted is South Korea (although the latter requirement is currently in abeyance). While Adams believes Japan will buy more than its initial four aircraft, and that Saudi Arabia may purchase the 767 AWACS, the market for such a high-end system is seen as limited.
The companies, therefore, have teamed to propose an "affordable" 737-based AEW&C system, which combines Boeing's Next Genera-tion 737 with Northrop Grumman's Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar. They had been working on the design for some time when Australia released its Wedgetail requirement early in 1997. "That really caused us to sharpen our focus," says Boeing information and surveillance systems vice-president, business development, John Lorbur.
"We are continually looking for price reductions on the 767 [AWACS], but we also want an aircraft that is less costly to operate," says Adams. "We need a moderately priced system with as much performance as we can fit in."
Now under development, the MESA is an active array radar, with electronically scanned transmit/receive modules mounted on a T-shaped fairing on top of the aircraft fuselage. Two side arrays and "end-fire" arrays on the "Tophat" fairing provide 360í coverage. Advantages of electronic scanning include the ability to steer and dwell the beam to improve air and surface surveillance.
The airframe selected for the 737 AEW&C is that of the Boeing Business Jet, a hybrid of the -700 and -800 variants. The strengthened wing of the -800 allows the AEW&C to operate at higher weights. Together with belly-mounted long range fuel tanks and aerial refuelling capability, this allows the aircraft to remain on station 5,500km (3,000nm) from base for over 9h.
While the 767 AWACS is capable of greater range and endurance, and has space for more operators and systems, Boeing says the 737 AEW&C has a much lower operating cost and can be aimed at a wider variety of roles and customers. Abig factor in Boeing's projected cost figures is the widespread availability of 737 spares and maintenance centres.
Boeing's approach to marketing the 737 AEW&C and 767 AWACS is to match the aircraft to the requirement. "It's like comparing a laptop computer to a desktop," says 737 AEW&C Project Wedgetail programme manager Bob Roe. "They have much the same capability, but are packaged quite differently."
LOOKING BOTH WAYS
Northrop Grumman finds itself in a similar situation with its Hawkeye 2000 and its role on Lockheed Martin's C-130J AEW&C. The company has sold the E-2C to six countries, but is aware that the endurance and altitude capabilities of the twin-turboprop do not match the requirements of every customer looking for an affordable AEW aircraft.
The company, therefore, has teamed with Lockheed Martin to offer the Hawkeye 2000 mission system in the larger, faster, higher flying and longer endurance C-130J airframe. The resulting C-130J AEW&C is a contender in the Australian and Turkish competitions - while in Greece it is competing against Northrop Grumman's own Hawkeye 2000.
The Hawkeye 2000 is the latest upgrade of the long-running E-2 family and is under development for the USNavy. Changes from the current Group 2 configuration include a new mission computer, operator workstations and satellite communications system. The Lockheed Martin APS-145 radar is retained.
The computer and workstation upgrades were required to accommodate the Cooperative Engagement Capability datalink that is part of the US Navy's Hawkeye 2000 configuration, but will provide growth capacity for future mission system upgrades, says E-2 programme manager Ken Tripp. "The 1960s computer is 'maxed out'. The new computer is sized for further development."
The Navy is now testing the Hawkeye 2000 upgrades and plans to switch new production to the improved aircraft beginning with E-2Cs procured in fiscal year 1999. The Navy plans to buy 21 new Hawkeye 2000s over five years, while upgrading Group 2 E-2Cs to maintain a fleet of around 75 aircraft.
The Hawkeye 2000 mission system is the baseline for both E-2Cs and C-130Js being offered to export customers. "We try to best match the platform to the requirements," Tripp says. The system is tailored differently for the E-2C and C-130J, he says, "-to provide a competitive edge." In the case of Wedgetail, for example, the C-130J is being offered with an "advanced version" of the mission system.
While the larger C-130JAEW&C provides space for more operators, as well as overall higher platform performance, Tripp believes the E-2C can appeal to customers "with economic, geographical or political constraints" on their ability to buy and operate AEW aircraft. He says an AWACS "...costs four times a much, for no difference in system capability."
Northrop Grumman continues to look at improvements to the E-2 platform, he says, and is now offering an aerial-refuelling capability - not fitted to USNavy aircraft - to extend endurance by 60-80% from its current 6.5h.
Lockheed Martin, meanwhile, is promoting the superior range, speed and endurance of the C-130J. The company also emphasises the crew comfort afforded by its tactical command centre, a "temperature controlled, acoustically treated and vibration isolated" module installed in the cargo compartment which accommodates up to 12 operator workstations and provides a crew rest area.
The company is pressing the AEW&C variant's commonality with earlier C-130s which are already in widespread service. In Greece, for example, the C-130J AEW&C would offer some commonality with the air force's C-130Hs. "Buying the E-2C would require creation of a new logistics infrastructure to support a rather small number of aircraft," says director of AEW programme David Larson. "Buying the C-130J offers tremendous savings in logistic support costs."
Lockheed Martin plays down the "turboprop versus turbofan" argument, largely because of the re-engined C-130J's substantially improved speed and altitude capability compared with earlier version of the Hercules. Larson argues that the C-130JAEW&C can get on station in about the same amount of time as a turbofan-powered AEW aircraft, and can then stay on station longer because it is able to fly slower.
Sweden's Ericsson Microwave Systems is staying out of the argument because its Erieye AEW&C system is available on both turboprop and turbofan-powered platform. The system is in service with the Swedish air force on Saab 340B twin turboprops and has been ordered by Brazil for installation on twin-turbofan Embraer EMB-145s - the configuration offered to Greece. South Korea shortlisted the system on the Saab 2000, but this may be switched to the EMB-145, which is now the main export platform, says marketing manager Lars Tornquist.
The Erieye mission system includes a phased-array radar mounted above the fuselage and an onboard command and control system using commercial computers and consoles. It is promoted as the most affordable of the AEW options, at least to operate. Tornquist says the EMB-145 AEW&C will be three to four times cheaper to operate than the E-2C and C-130J and "10 to 15 times cheaper than AWACS."
Flight testing on the EMB-145 is to begin early in 1999, with delivery of five aircraft for Brazil's Amazon surveillance programme to start in mid-2000. The Erieye EMB-145 AEW&C is being marketed jointly by Ericsson, Embraer and Thomson-CSF, which has joined the programme to ensure NATO compatibility of the system. The company is also to offer the system on the Lockheed Martin/Alenia C-27J transport - but not on the C-130J, although it has been discussed.
ISRAELI INVOLVEMENT
Completing the affordable AEW line-up is Raytheon 's A310-based system, which uses the Elta Phalcon phased-array radar. The companies have teamed to offer the A310 AEW&C to Australia and Turkey, and plan to propose the same aircraft to South Korea in place of the Elta-led 767 solution originally shortlisted.
Raytheon Systems says it surveyed the market before selecting the A310 and the Israeli radar as providing the most cost-effective AEW solution. The phased arrays will be packaged into a fixed antenna mounted above the fuselage to provide 360í coverage, and integrated with the US company's open-architecture mission system. Raytheon says its A310 AEW&C will cost substantially less than a 767 AWACS.
All bidders agree that winning the Wedgetail competition will be key to unlocking the market for affordable AEW. As many as 10 countries are seriously interested in operating aircraft in this class, and Australia is keen to see the system it chooses being adopted by as many other nations as possible, to reduce costs. As Boeing's Lorbur puts it: "Whoever wins in Australia becomes the de facto market leader."
Source: Flight International
