From DefenseNews

 

Australia Cancels Seasprite Contract

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Published: 4 Mar 22:13 EST (17:13 GMT)

 

SYDNEY - Australia on March 5 cancelled a $1 billion (930 million U.S.) contract for U.S.-made Seasprite helicopters following a review of the troubled project.

 

The Australian navy ordered 11 of the anti-submarine and anti-shipping helicopters in 1997 but technical problems meant they were never fully operational and the fleet was indefinitely grounded in 2006.

 

Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon ordered a review of the project after the center-left Labor Party won office last November as part of a wider examination of a series of controversial military acquisitions by the previous government.

 

Fitzgibbon said he had little option but to cancel the project, which had been criticized by experts for trying to install 21st century technology into airframes built in the 1960s.

 

"Today's announcement demonstrates our determination to make tough decisions whenever required for the security of the nation and the safety and capability of our defence force," Fitzgibbon said in a statement.

 

He said discussions would begin immediately with U.S. defense contractor Kama Aerospace on the legal and financial arrangements for canceling the Seasprite contract.

 

Other projects under the spotlight include a $6 billion contract for 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets from the U.S. Navy and a $550 million deal for 59 Abrams battle tanks.

 

"The new government will continue to work through the long list of defense capability nightmares it has inherited from the former government," Fitzgibbon said. "We are determined to ensure that the defense force receives the capability it needs, and Australian taxpayers receive value for their money.

 

The defense review is scheduled for completion by the end of April.

 

[CV32: You just knew this was coming down the pipe. Now, question is, where to from here?]

From Aviation Week's ARES Blog

 

Australia Cancels SH-2G(A) Super Seasprite Program

Posted by Joris Janssen Lok at 3/5/2008 2:48 AM

 

Australia's new Labor-led government is terminating the Royal Australian Navy's long-running, problematic SH-2G(A) Super Seasprite naval helicopter program, the country's defense minister Joel Fitzgibbon announced today.

 

Immediate focus will now be given to upgrade the Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk helicopters in the RAN as well as to start investigating a replacement for the Seahawk.

 

With Australia's acquisition and in-country assembly of the MRH90 land multirole version of Europe's NH90, a buy of naval NFH90s will likely be one of the key options to be considered, sources say.

 

According to Fitzgibbon, the Rudd Labor Government initiated a review of the Seasprite helicopter project just after it entered office in late 2007, in line with promises made prior to the election.

 

"After careful consideration of all the issues involved, the Government has decided that it intends to cancel the project. Discussions will be commenced immediately with the contractor in relation to the legal and financial arrangements to facilitate this," says Fitzgibbon.

 

"The Government will announce the details of arrangements with the contractor once mutual agreement on these matters has been reached, subject to any confidentiality issues."

 

According to Fitzgibbon the decision was not made easily, but the Government was left with little option.

 

"Today's announcement demonstrates our determination to make tough decisions whenever required for the security of the nation and the safety and capability of our Defense Force," he says.

 

Australia ordered 11 Kaman SH-2G(A) Super Seasprite helicopters, to be remanufactured from ex-U.S. Navy SH-2 models, under a $600-million contract in 1997. At one time, Kaman was even considering offering a UH-2G(A) version for armed reconnaissance and tactical lift as well.

 

But by 2000, the naval program had encountered significant development problems centered mainly on the new Integrated Tactical Avionics System (ITAS) from Litton Guidance & Control Systems, that was to equip the remanufactured, two-man-crew helos.

 

By June 2006, Kaman reported that ITAS software was entering Formal Qualification Testing (FQT) at Kaman’s

subcontractor CSC-Australia in Sydney and with support from Northrop Grumman.

 

ITAS was designed to provide a systems and weapons management capability that would enable a crew of 2 to

perform complex missions that would otherwise require a crew of 3 or 4 to complete.

 

But it turned out that integrating the complex 1990s-designed system on a 1960s-airframe was a tough nut to crack. Severe operational restrictions had to be imposed on the aircraft that were delivered.

 

Another problem involved an anomalous flight condition attributed to the aircraft’s airspeed sensor that resulted in grounding of the aircraft.

 

Despite ongoing attempts to overcome these and other problems, and significant cost overruns, the SH-2G(A) fleet has yet to achieve its planned operational functionality.

 

Key subsystems installed on the aircraft are from Telephonics (APS-143B inverse synthetic aperture radar), Raytheon (AAQ-27 FLIR) and Elbit Systems/Elisra (AES-210 electronic support measures).

 

Responding to the Australian announcement, Neal J. Keating, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Kaman Corp., says, "We have received a communication from the Commonwealth that we are reviewing at this time with the expectation that we will enter a constructive process with the Commonwealth in order to arrive at a mutually agreeable conclusion to the Seasprite program."

 

"Although we have created a highly capable aircraft for the Royal Australian Navy and continue to fulfill our obligations to the Commonwealth under our contract, we appreciate the thoughtful approach and time invested by the current Government in addressing our program and we will work with them toward arriving at a satisfactory arrangement. "

 

Egypt, New Zealand and Poland also operate the Super Seasprite but these do not feature the fully integrated mission avionics systems that was at the core of the Australian version.

 

Kaman is presently upgrading the nine Egyptian aircraft with a new Digital Automatic Flight Control System (Dafcs) and mission subsystems, avionics and a health and usage monitoring system. Formal qualification flight testing of the Dafcs was completed at the end of last year, Kaman communicated on Dec. 21.

From Aviation Week

 

Australia Kills Super Seasprite Program

Mar 5, 2008

By Joris Janssen Lok

 

Australia's new Labor-led government is terminating the Royal Australian Navy's long-running, problematic SH-2G(A) Super Seasprite naval helicopter program under Kaman Corp., the country's defense minister Joel Fitzgibbon announced March 5.

 

According to various sources, immediate focus will now be given to upgrade the Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk helicopters there, as well as to an investigation toward a replacement for the Seahawk. With Australia's acquisition and in-country assembly of the NH Industries MRH90 land multirole version of Europe's NH90, a buy of naval NFH90s will likely be one of the key options to be considered.

 

One industry source said Sikorsky had been expecting such a move, and is confident that the S-70B will be found to be the best alternative. But the U.S. company understands that the subsequent competition will be tough. "It's going to be a dogfight whether they upgrade and buy new S-70B's, buy MH-60Rs, or opt for the new naval variant of the NH-90, which does not exist yet and is high risk," the source said.

 

According to Fitzgibbon, the Rudd Labor Government initiated a review of Seasprite (known as Project Sea 1411) just after it entered office in late 2007. The new government, following a more conservative one known for its U.S. support, has announced several efforts to put its imprimatur on defense planning and programming, including fighter aircraft and other defense needs.

 

"After careful consideration of all the issues involved, the government has decided that it intends to cancel the project. Discussions will start immediately with the contractor in relation to the legal and financial arrangements to facilitate this," Fitzgibbon said.

 

"The government will announce the details of arrangements with the contractor once mutual agreement on these matters has been reached, subject to any confidentiality issues." The defense minister said the decision was not one taken easily, but the government was "left with little option," he added.

 

"Today's announcement demonstrates our determination to make tough decisions whenever required for the security of the nation and the safety and capability of our defense force," he says.

 

Responding to the Australian announcement, Neal J. Keating, Kaman chairman, president and chief executive officer, said, the company expects to "enter a constructive process with the Commonwealth in order to arrive at a mutually agreeable conclusion to the Seasprite program."

 

"Although we have created a highly capable aircraft for the Royal Australian Navy and continue to fulfill our obligations to the Commonwealth under our contract, we appreciate the thoughtful approach and time invested by the current Government in addressing our program and we will work with them toward arriving at a satisfactory arrangement."

 

Australia ordered 11 Kaman SH-2G(A) Super Seasprite helicopters, to be remanufactured from ex-U.S. Navy SH-2 models, under a 1997 contract worth some $600 million at the time.

 

But by 2000, the naval program was encountering significant development problems centered mainly on the software of, and sensor and weapons integration with, the new Integrated Tactical Avionics System (ITAS) from Litton Integrated Systems, that equips the remanufactured, two-man-crew helos.

 

By June 2006, Kaman reported that ITAS software was entering Formal Qualification Testing (FQT) at Kaman's subcontractor CSC-Australia in Sydney and with support from Northrop Grumman.

 

ITAS was designed to provide a systems and weapons management capability that would enable a crew of two to perform complex missions that would otherwise require a crew of three or four to complete.

 

But it turned out that integrating the complex 1990s-designed system on a 1960s-airframe was a tough nut to crack, leading to continuing operational restrictions to be imposed on the aircraft that were delivered.

 

One problem encountered involved an anomalous flight condition attributed to the aircraft's airspeed sensor that resulted in grounding of the 10 aircraft delivered to the Australian naval air station at Nowra starting in March 2006.

 

Despite ongoing attempts to overcome these and other problems, and significant cost overruns (as of today, the total program cost has reached some A$900 million, $830 million), the SH-2G(A) fleet has yet to achieve its planned operational functionality.

 

Key subsystems installed on the aircraft are from Telephonics (APS-143B inverse synthetic aperture radar), Raytheon (AAQ-27 FLIR) and Elbit Systems/Elisra (AES-210 electronic support measures).

 

Egypt, New Zealand and Poland also operate the Super Seasprite but their fleets do not feature the fully integrated mission avionics system that was at the core of the Australian version.

 

Kaman is presently upgrading the nine Egyption aircraft with a new Digital Automatic Flight Control System (Dafcs) and mission subsystems, avionics and a health and usage monitoring system. Formal qualification flight testing of the Dafcs was completed at the end of last year, Kaman said in December 2007.

From Flight Global

 

DATE: 20/03/08

SOURCE: Flightglobal.com

 

Australia, Kaman reach agreement on Seasprites cancellation

By Siva Govindasamy

 

Australia has reached an agreement with Kaman on the cancellation of the country’s Super Seasprite helicopter project, with the decision projected to result in savings of A$150 million ($139 million).

 

Canberra ordered 11 Super Seasprites – upgraded ex-US Navy SH-2Fs – in 1997 for delivery from 2001. Ongoing problems with the helicopters' avionics have delayed the programme by seven years, and Australia has spent A$950 million in all trying to get it on track for delivery by 2011.

 

The previous Liberal government reviewed the programme in 2007, but opted to continue amid concerns over legal action by Kaman. But the new Labor government, which came to power late last year, said on 5 March that it would cancel the project.

 

“The Australian government will receive at least 50% of the proceeds from any sale of the helicopters by Kaman with a guaranteed financial return …of A$39.5 million. In addition, a further $30 million worth of spares will be retained for use on the Seahawk and Black Hawk helicopter fleets,” says the defence ministry. “The Australian government has saved A$150 million that would otherwise have been spent on the Seasprite project that will now be available for use on other capability.”

 

The government now plans to improve the operational availability of the Royal Australian Navy's Sikorsky S-70B Seahawks, which have an inferior surveillance capability, but has not provided further details. Another billion-dollar replacement order is likely to provide the navy's Anzac frigates with a surface surveillance and attack capability. It will also look at replacement options for the Seahawk during a Defence White Paper study this year. This could include additional NH Industries' MRH90s, 46 of which are already on order for the navy and the Australian army.

 

Earlier this week, as part of a review of Australian defence procurements, the government said that it would stick to an A$6.6 billion order for 24 Boeing F/A-18Fs to replace its aging General Dynamics F-111s and as a stopgap before the induction of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

 

However, defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon also rounded on his predecessors and accused them of lacking “sound long-term air combat capability planning during the last decade”. “It is the only aircraft which can meet the small delivery window created by the former government’s poor planning processes and politically-driven responses,” he added.

 

The ministry will now examine Australia’s air combat capability needs until 2045, including the plan to acquire the F-35s. Further announcements on this are expected in late-April. The review’s findings will be incorporated by end-2008 into the Defence White Paper, which will guide future defence planning.

 

[CV32: Shucks, not much money to be made by the lawyers there at all. ]