Budget cut adds to pressure as Ministry of Defence officials are told to minimise risks in fleet reorganisation
UK procurement chiefs have been ordered to put caution at the heart of new plans to revitalise the country's ageing and overworked battlefield helicopter fleet. Ministry of Defence officials working as part of the Future Rotorcraft Coherency (FRC) forum have been instructed to reorganise all UK helicopter procurement plans so that ministers can make decisions by mid-2005.
Stung by criticism from the National Audit Office that the UK's existing helicopter fleet is insufficient, officials on the Investment Approvals Board have ordered that no risks be taken with anything that could be considered a first-of- class project. Every UK helicopter programme is likely to be affected by the FRC effort, with several probably facing major reorganisations and budget reductions.
A £1.4 billion ($2.5 billion) cut to the helicopter procurement budget announced in the UK's mid-2004 defence review has increased the pressure on the Defence Procurement Agency and the ministry's equipment capability branch, say industry sources. The UK cannot afford cost overruns or programme delays, but shortages in helicopter lift have increased pressure to field solutions in the near term.
The UK's ageing Westland/ Aerospatiale Puma HC1 and Westland Sea King HC4 transports are unable to operate efficiently in the hot and high conditions of Afghanistan and the Middle East. The Royal Air Force's eight Boeing Chinook HC3s now in storage are prime candidates to replace a squadron of Pumas, but the replacement of the Royal Navy's Sea King HC4s is proving more problematic.
A plan to develop folding rotor blades for the Chinook to allow below-deck storage on aircraft carriers is unlikely to be given the go-ahead unless the technical challenges can be proved as low-risk. This leaves a purchase of either a maritime variant of the RAF's troop-carrying AgustaWestland EH101 Merlin HC3 or the NH Industries' NH90 a strong near-term possibility. In the longer term, advanced versions of the Chinook and the US Marine Corps' CH-53X are also contenders.
The imminent retirement of the Army Air Corps' Westland Lynx and Westland/Aerospatiale Gazelle light helicopters is driving the need to field a new scout and utility helicopter to support Boeing/Westland Apache AH1 attack helicopters. The Battlefield Light Utility Helicopter project appears to have been deemed unaffordable and a more modest sensor fit is likely, to cut costs. A new build of 38 Lynxes or a purchase of NH90s, Eurocopter EC120s or EC635s are possible. The launch of the Watchkeeper unmanned air vehicle project and the Apache's ability to fly scout missions make a new reconnaissance capability a low priority.
Debate is also raging within the Royal Navy over its future helicopter fleet mix and whether to move to a single-type solution based on the EH101 Merlin. The Surface Combatant Maritime Rotorcraft project to replace the Lynx HAS3/8 fleet is considered unlikely to go ahead in its current form.
The industrial implications of the planning shift could also play a part in the FRC debate. The survival of AgustaWestland's Yeovil plant will be a key consideration for political reasons, but also to ensure long-term maintenance and through-life upgrade services for UK helicopters.
TIM RIPLEY / LONDON
Source: Flight International
