The six bidders in the Australian AIR 87 attack helicopter are firming up their industrial partnerships as the Australian Army prepares to draw up a shortlist of contenders.
According to Hervé Moray, leader of the Franco-German Eurocopter's Tiger helicopter proposal, a shortlist is expected at the end of March. This will be followed by a draft request for tenders (RFT)in July, requiring industry comments within 60 days. The final RFT should come in October, with a selection in February 2000.
The army wants 20-24 armed reconnaissance helicopters to replace its Bell 206 Kiowas and Bell UH-1H Iroquois gunships. The requirement demands good payload/range and hot-and-high performance, and is understood to be worth in excess of $1.2 billion.
The contenders are: Agusta, with the A-129 Scorpion (Mangusta); Boeing, with the AH-64D Apache; Bell Helicopter Textron, offering its AH-1Z Viper; BAe/Denelwith the RedHawk (Rooivalk); Eurocopter with the Tiger; and Sikorsky with the S-70 Battle Hawk variant of the Black Hawk.
Each bidder is offering its own partnership with local industry, to meet the Australian demand for at least 20% offset in the acquisition phase of the programme, and at least 80% in through-life support.
Agusta is partnered with the Tenix Group, which would assemble the Scorpion. Denel is partnered with British Aerospace (BAe) Australia, and Eurocopter with ADI - which is looking after logistics support and systems integration, although the announcement of further training and production partnerships, including final assembly in Australia, is understood to be imminent.
Bell is proposing that AH-1Z final assembly should be done by Helitech in Brisbane, with Canberra-based Scientific Mana-gement Associates offering software and training aids, and AAA, in Adelaide, to partner Sundstrand Aerospace to supply the helicopter's auxiliary power unit. Other Viper partners include GE Aircraft Engines, Marconi - giving its parent company BAe a foot in two camps - Litton Guidance and Control Systems, Lockheed Martin Electronics and Missiles, Rockwell Collins, SAIC and Smiths Industries.
Sikorsky has signed a teaming agreement with Israel's Elbit Systems for its Battle Hawk bid. Elbit is to provide its modular integrated display and sight helmet, the Toplite II infra-red/optical targeting sensor with a laser designator and range-finder, stores management computers and other items.
It is thought Sikorsky's bid is weakened by it being the only contender with a side-by-side cockpit seating configuration. The Australian Army is believed to be concerned about the relatively restricted field of view offered by such a configuration, after the loss of two army helicopter crews and passengers in a mid-air collision during a 1996 formation flight.
Source: Flight International
