By Ann Roosevelt
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. [EADS] team’s company funded prototype demonstrator Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) 72X Technical Demonstration Aircraft is ready for any potential Army competition, a year after the project was unveiled, officials said here.
“We feel very strongly it fills a capability gap,” David Haines, EADS vice president of the rotorcraft line of business, said at the Army Aviation Association of America annual conference.
The Army is in the process of briefing an Analysis of Alternatives that could be out as soon as next month.
The Army AAS requirement remains for a scout able to cope with evolving mission scenarios now and in future conflicts. The new helicopter would also allow the retirement of the aging OH-58 Kiowa aircraft, which continue to receive performance upgrades. The Kiowa Warrior has been in service since 1991, though earlier versions date back to 1969.
EADS North America Vice President and Program Manager Armed Aerial Scout 72X program Gary Bishop said, “We’re in the middle of our buildup–this is a point of time in our development phase.”
Standing beside AAS N940AE at the Nashville International Airport, Bishop told Defense Daily that since the AAS first flight in December weapons pylons have been added and a multipurpose seven-pod rocket launcher. The N940AE airframe now has 60 hours. Once the aircraft leaves Quad A, it will continue risk reduction and prepare for any potential fly-off competition.
It was a year ago April 15 at the Quad A annual conference in Fort Worth, Texas that EADS unveiled the AAS project as the next logical step for the Light Utility Helicopter UH- 72A Lakota helicopter the company was producing for the Army (Defense Daily, April 16, 2010).
At the time, EADS North America CEO Sean O’Keefe said such a move was not the norm for the largest aerospace company in the world. “This is unusual–the entrepreneurial spirit of a company this size,” he said.
Teammate Lockheed Martin [LMT] is supplying and integrating the mission equipment package (MEP). To aid the effort, the company has created a systems integration lab for the MEP at its Orlando, Fla., facility.
EADS operating unit American Eurocopter would produce the aircraft in Columbus, Miss.
The AAS is an evolution of the Lakota, and both are based on the EC-145 to present a low-risk offering combined with mature technologies.
Walking around N940AE, American Eurocopter Instructor Pilot John Bourgeois said the twin Turbomeca engines consist of five modular pieces, each of which can be pulled for maintenance if necessary, easing the burden for maintainers. All cowlings can be removed as well. For ease of maintenance, there are conformal maintenance steps so maintainers can climb the aircraft.
Bishop said having twin engines improves the safety margin for the crew, and adds to power available.
The transmission can run dry for 15 minutes and that is being upgraded so the helicopter can fly 30 minutes, Bourgeois said.
Among advantages the EADS team pointed out were the high rotor system, with fewer moving parts than most rotorcraft, providing ease of maintenance. A wire strike protection kit is also mounted.
The AAS has a crashworthy fuel system and can carry 80 gallons of auxiliary fuel in the back for approximately four hours of flight time.
Right now, there is ballistic protection around the pilot and co-pilot seats, which could be extended to the rest of the aircraft. The AAS would also have crashworthy seats.
Since answering the Army Request for Information about an AAS last year, the team has kept updating the service, mainly with cost data and past performance information, Bishop said.
Lockheed Martin, leveraging some 25 years of experience with mission equipment, uses a federated mission equipment package from the tactical flight management system, said Ronald Ouellet, senior program manager, AAS. Other helicopters have fully integrated MEPs and flight management systems that require extensive testing to incorporate change. Having a federated system, “we believe we have a discriminator on the aircraft that allows rapid technology insertion,” offering more latitude and flexibility, he said.
“There’s plenty of room to grow on the system, Ouellet said. The AAS mission computers, for example, are only using 10 percent to 15 percent of their capability.
The majority of the MEP hardware is “best of breed,” with high technology readiness levels. They are not “not purely Lockheed Martin” products, he said.
For example, an M3P gun is mounted on this AAS, because it is already used on the Kiowa and Army aviators are familiar with it. The rocket pod is one already found in the Army inventory.
The idea is to provide a package with low risk from a maintenance and logistics standpoint.
Putting weapons pylons on the AAS–the gun and rocket pod–does not change how the helicopter flies, said Jeff Traing, experimental test pilot at American Eurocopter. There’s some extra drag, he said, but there’s no vibration, no change in the handling quality and there’s plenty of power. There’s still the “same philosophy on how it operates” in common with the Lakota.
AAS N940AE is an experimental aircraft, meaning while under development it falls under FAA purview. Once it’s contracted to the military, it falls under their control. That means the weapons and pylons are inert systems and not operable. However, the inert systems have the same mass, shape and fly the same as actual weapons, Bishop said.
The AAS has clamshell doors in the back that allow for multiple missions and ad hoc medical evacuation. Civilian emergency medical technicians like this, as well as the fact that the high tail and rotors means patients, or troops for that matter, can be loaded while the aircraft is running.
The helicopter has redundant and back-up systems, such as dual hydraulic systems, and dual autopilot systems. The current three-axis autopilot will go to four-axis, including the collective, which would allow pilots to move to a landing in small increments, as does the Boeing [BA] CH-47F model.
In March, EADS set out the growth path for the EC-145 at Helicopter Association International HELI-EXPO, Bishop said. The EC-145 T2 will offer improved performance, especially in high and hot regimes, improvements in engine power and transmission, and “smart displays” in the cockpit.
Additionally, the T2 upgrade will include an enclosed tail rotor known as a fenestron, offering more control in high and hot regimes.
Ouellet said the AAS carries the Army Common Sensor Payload, since there are no Army requirements as yet. Risk reduction can be done by using the System Integration Lab in Florida, set up in April 2010.
The AAS first flight took place Dec. 7, nine months after the project announcement at the American Eurocopter Facility in Grand Prairie, Texas (Defense Daily, Dec. 9). The flight demonstrated an integrated targeting sensor, manned/unmanned teaming (MUM-T) and communications and navigation capabilities.
Prior armed scout efforts failed, including the cancellation of what was called a Cold-War relic, the Bell Helicopter Textron [TXT]- Boeing RAH-66 Comanche helicopter. That was followed by the Bell Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter program that fell victim to cost and schedule concerns.
On the edge of the airfield, a Humvee carried VUIT equipment and the AAS has been downloading and demonstrating video to the OSRVT during its flights here.
Lockheed Martin Engineer Dan O’Connor said the download can go to a large screen, or to a small handheld device. Lockheed Martin demonstrated manned unmanned teaming (MUM-T) during the December flight.
Ouellet said this VUIT system is much more mature than the system currently on the Apache–for example, it is one-tenth the weight.
For Army aviators, a few things stand out, Bourgeois said. Students who train on the LUH at American Eurocopter are all certified Army aviators. One thing they notice immediately, Bourgeois said, is the ease of start up. A minimum amount of checks means a quick start, something that can be important on the battlefield.
As the engines spool up to their required RPMs, the autopilot can be put into play. This is while the helicopter is on the ground. The autopilot senses the pressure from flight control inputs by the pilot, and will maintain that pressure.
Once through 50 knots, the rotor RPMs drop as the autopilot determines the optimal rotor RPM for the engines.
Then, it’s “look ma, no hands.” Bourgeois said, that impresses the students.
The autopilot guided the AAS to 2,500 feet at a heading of 130 degrees, Bourgeois also banked the helicopter, and the autopilot held that bank until other controls changed. The autopilot could have flown entering the flight plan in the GPS system.
The autopilot maintains the altitude, heading and optimal rotor RPM, reducing pilot work load, Bourgeois said. It’s easy to tell on the displays. There’s a phrase for that– “Blue is you, Green is the machine.” When the pilot is actually flying the helicopter, the display information is blue, on autopilot, it turns green.
Bourgeois demonstrated the safety margin of two engines by turning one engine to idle
The rigid rotor system makes the aircraft extremely maneuverable, he said.
Students like the expanded field of view from the cockpit, aiding situational awareness, which can also improve navigation.
Bishop said, “we are a company that meets our commitments.”