Australia's Army Aviation Air 87 project team is wrestling to reconcile the military's long standing requirement for a new reconnaissance and fire-support helicopter, with the growing need for improved troop mobility.
The project team has been asked to analyse whether the two roles can be fulfilled by a single multi-purpose aircraft, instead of the army having to acquire separate, purpose-built, helicopters.
Its findings will be contained in a major capability submission scheduled to be made to the defence-force-structure policy and programmes committee later this year.
After several years of continual delay, the Australian Army now hopes finally to secure initial funding for Air 87 in 1998 and to issue a request for tenders by the second half of the year. It requires between 30 and 50 helicopters, depending on the size and capability of the type selected, for delivery from 2002/3 onwards.
Moves to try and combine the two requirements have sparked a debate within defence and army-aviation circles. AIR 87 was originally conceived as an armed-scout replacement for the army's Bell 206B-1 Kiowas and UH-1H gunships. More recently, as part of the overall Army 21 study, heavier emphasis has been placed on enhanced battlefield mobility.
Supporters of the original Air 87 concept are pushing for a tandem-seat-helicopter, fitted with a forward-looking infra-red sensor, as well as chin-mounted gun and rockets for the reconnaissance/ fire-support mission.
Others, however, argue that the army's overstretched existing resources and infrastructure will not support the acquisition of two different machines.
Manufacturers are, for now, hedging their bets and promoting a variety of options. The local Bell distributor plans to offer either the Bell AH-1W Cobra or 412; Denel will offer the CSH-2 Rooivalk or Oryx; Eurocopter will propose the Tiger or AS565 Panther; McDonnell Douglas will offer the AH-64 Apache, or possibly a military version of the MD900; and Sikorsky is looking at an accelerated RAH-66 Comanche, or armed MH-60K variant of the Black Hawk.
Other possible contenders include Kaman, following on its recent sales success with the Royal Australian Navy, offering a multi-purpose variant of its SH-2G.
Source: Flight International
