DAILY TRIFECTA + 1: The Defense Industry Keeps On Failing Upwards
Off They Go Into The Profitable Blue Yonder
TITLE: US Army to end development of the Future Attack and Reconnaissance Aircraft
https://www.army-technology.com/news/us-army-to-end-development-of-the-future-attack-and-reconnaissance-aircraft/?cf-view
EXCERPT: The FARA programme, which aimed to replace the Kiowa helicopter, is the third such programme that the Army has so far cancelled, following the end of development of the Comanche and Arapaho prototypes before the beginning of their production runs. The Commanche development programme spanned two decades, between the 1970’s and 1980’s, and cost $8bn. The Arapaho was cancelled in 2008, with spiralling costs and delays cited for the cancellation.
The FARA programme began in 2018 with a shortlist of five competitors producing prototypes as part of a $1.9bn programme. The US Army began with participating teams from Boeing, Sikorsky Aircraft, Bell Helicopter Textron, and Karem Aircraft along with AVX Aircraft-L3Harris.
TITLE: US Army spent billions on a new helicopter that now will never fly
https://www.army-technology.com/news/us-army-to-end-development-of-the-future-attack-and-reconnaissance-aircraft/
EXCERPT: The [FARA} helicopter program arrived in 2018 with lofty expectations. Army leaders hoped it would serve as a model for new acquisition approaches for its most complex and most expensive weapon systems. Prototypes from Bell Textron and Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky were expected to fly later this year. And, perhaps most importantly, the aircraft was slated to provide a long-needed armed scout solution after decades of starts and stops.
But Thursday, the Army’s top acquisition officials described a new vision and major aviation overhaul. In addition to ending FARA, the Army plans to get rid of its entire Shadow and Raven unmanned aircraft fleets, said Doug Bush, the service’s acquisition chief.
It will also stop fielding its new replacement for UH-60 Lima-model Black Hawk utility helicopter — the Victor-model — to the Army National Guard and instead field UH-60 Mike-models, the latest variant used in the active force, Bush said.
Finally, the service will delay procurement of its next-generation helicopter engine, which was set to be used in all UH-60s, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters as well as to power FARA.
Instead, Bush said the Army will spend the newly available money on Black Hawks, the latest variant of the CH-47F Block II Chinook cargo helicopter, the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft and research and development efforts to accelerate its unmanned aerial reconnaissance capability.
Gen. James Rainey, an acquisition leader overseeing the program, said he doesn’t view the cancellation “as a failure” for Army Futures Command, the Austin, Texas-based office heading the service’s modernization efforts.
“We are making great progress, we have momentum, the overwhelming majority of our signature modernization efforts are either on time or ahead of schedule and are starting to translate into capabilities,” he told reporters Thursday.
TITLE: Air Force's Grey Wolf deployment on the horizon in spite of looming concerns
https://interestingengineering.com/military/air-forces-grey-wolf-deployment-on-the-horizon-in-spite-of-looming-concerns
EXCERPT: [T]he MH-139's journey has been far from smooth, encountering setbacks that have led to delays and raised concerns. A report issued by the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation report highlighted significant challenges, including issues with the automatic flight control system, sensor display, intercom system, and cabin layout.
While some progress has been made, the MH-139 still awaits crucial FAA certifications necessary to initiate initial operational testing, expected to be approved only in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. The report also outlined plans to add an extra radio and an environmental conditioning system, both presenting unique challenges, with internal communication problems and uncertain impacts on power and weight requirements.
Additionally, restrictions on takeoffs in crosswinds or near obstacles were identified, along with problems with the automatic flight control system, sensor display, and intercom system, casting doubt on the helicopter's operability.
Despite the hurdles, the Air Force reached a deal with Boeing in March 2023, for the initial production of 13 aircraft in March 2023. Air & Space Forces Magazine also reported that the Air Force envisions acquiring up to 84 MH-139 helicopters, intending to deploy them for security forces patrolling the expansive intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) fields and for executive airlift at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
For the Grey Wolf to establish itself as a cornerstone in the Air Force’s fleet of helicopters, it needs to overcome the challenges outlined in the reports and adapt to ensure that it meets the Air Force’s rigorous operational standards.
The forthcoming months will be critical for the MH-139 program as the Grey Wolf inches closer to deployment. The initial six months post-deployment will focus on mission-qualifying aircrew, refining operational techniques, and fully integrating the MH-139 into day-to-day wing operations.
Subsequently, the program will enter the crucial phase of initial operational testing and evaluation in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, predominantly taking place at Malmstrom [Air Force Base in Montana].
TITLE: Report: F-35 Struggled With Reliability, Maintainability, Availability in 2023
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/f-35-reliability-maintainability-availability-2023/
EXCERPT: The U.S. fleet of F-35 fighters continued to be vexed by reliability, maintainability, and availability (RMA) problems last fiscal year, available for operations only 51 percent of the time—compared to a goal of 65 percent—according to the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation’s annual report.
“The operational suitability of the F-35 fleet remains below service expectations and requirements,” according to the report, published in late January.
Aircraft availability among all U.S. F-35s hit its high water mark in January 2021 but has declined since, the report authors noted.
“In [fiscal year 2023], aircraft availability was slightly below that in FY’22, after declining for most of FY’21,” the report assessed. “Available” means an F-35 can do at least one of its many assigned missions.
The RMA performance of the F-35 has been the subject of numerous congressional hearings and Government Accountability Office reports over the years, and the Pentagon has launched many initiatives meant to get mission capability rates up.
Newer aircraft—with more proven components—have tended to perform better than older ones across the 20-year-old program, and the Pentagon has argued that the complexity of the stealthy and computer-intensive jet means its availability shouldn’t be judged against less-complex earlier types of aircraft.
Even though the F-35 still has not met the developmental exit criteria to enter “full rate production,” the flying hours accumulated by the fleet mean it should be viewed as a largely mature system.
A total of 628 F-35s had been delivered to the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy by the end of September 2023, but that figure doesn’t include aircraft in developmental test or any of the F-35s completed but now in storage, awaiting completion of Tech Refresh-3 update testing. The report did not assess F-35 performance with foreign operators.
Aircraft that were combat-coded—which typically receive priority for spare parts and maintenance—achieved the best performance for availability, the report stated, noting that 61 percent were available on an average monthly basis. But that was still below the goal of 65 percent, and in only one month of fiscal 2023 did the F-35 fleet surpass the goal. Across all F-35s, the average was 51 percent.