Royal Australian Air Force

A suite of aircrew and ground training devices for the Army’s new Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH Tiger) was handed over by the prime contractor, Australian Aerospace Pty Ltd, at a ceremony at the Army Aviation Training Centre (AAvnTC), Oakey, today.

The suite of devices includes a state of the art Full Flight and Mission Simulator (FFMS), a Gun System Trainer, Centre Fuselage Trainer, Underwater Escape Trainer, and Environmental Control System Trainer. All of the devices will be located at the AAvnTC with the exception of the Underwater Escape Trainer which will be installed at Darwin.

The Chief Executive Officer of Australian Aerospace, Mr Joseph Saporito said, "We knew from the beginning that the program was going to be very challenging because the Tiger is a very complex flying system to simulate.

“But thanks to great team work and team spirit, we have achieved our goals and today's handover will enable Army to significantly increase its training capacity to produce aircrews which have been well prepared for their tasks in a safe and efficient manner,” he said.

The simulator and trainers were handed to Brigadier Andrew Dudgeon, Director General Army Aviation Systems, on behalf of the Defence Materiel Organisation for use by the Army.

“The Army’s Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter is an exciting new platform for the Australian Defence Force providing both reconnaissance and light attack capabilities in support of ground troops,” Brigadier Dudgeon said.

“The FFMS is a state of the art flight simulator with two separate modules replicating the front and back cockpits of the ARH Tiger.

“The suite of Ground Training Devices allows us to teach our maintainers and ground handlers most of the skills they need before they touch a real aircraft.”

Training of air and ground crews has begun at the AAvnTC, while the ARH Tiger is expected to be introduced into operational service in mid-2008.

First Multi-Role helicopters accepted into service

The Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) accepted the first two MRH 90 Multi-Role Helicopters (MRH) at the Australian Aerospace facility in Brisbane today. Under Project AIR 9000, 46 MRH 90s are being procured to the Navy’s Sea King and Army’s Black Hawk fleets as well as additional air-mobile support. The on-schedule in-service date milestone is a major achievement in the project with the ceremony attended by senior parliamentary, Defence and industry representatives from Australia, France and Germany. Head of Helicopter Systems Division, Major General Tony Fraser said the acceptance of the first two MRH 90 helicopters was a critical milestone in the project. "It will provide our sailors and soldiers with a new troop lift helicopter designed for the demands of modern combat operations over land and from ships at sea," he said. "It is a tangible result of the extensive work done by many contractors and project personnel in a tight timeframe." The MRH 90 is the first true fly-by-wire helicopter in the world and is equipped with a Forward Looking Infra Red system for flight in low light and has the same pilot helmet-mounted sight and display as used in the Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter. It has a larger cabin than the current troop lift aircraft. A period of test and evaluation, training and aircraft development will now be conducted, leading to initial operational capability for Navy in 2010 and Army in 2011.

That would include the latest Russian Sukhoi 35 and MiG-29 fighters, which compare favourably on performance and very favourably on price with US-built planes.

In the early 1990s Sukhoi offered the government a fleet of its Flanker aircraft for less than the RAAF spent upgrading its existing fleets.

Politics and the ANZUS alliance with the US prevented serious consideration of the offers.

Both Sukhoi, with its Su-34 and 35 attack aircraft, and MiG, with its MiG-29 combat fighter, are in service with air forces around the world including India, China, North Korea, Burma, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Malat, a division of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), has been selected by the Australian customs service to supply unmanned air vehicles for its northern Australia-based operation.

The customs service issued a tender last year for UAVs to be used as an alternative platform to the ageing de Havilland Dash 7 twin turboprops in service.

The main mission is to detect illegal immigrants that try to land on the country's beaches. According to Yair Dubester, general manager of Malat, the Heron 1, equipped with an Elta maritime radar and Tamam elctro-optic payload, will be tested during April in the patrolled area.

A satcom system will enable the Heron 1 to relay real-time images over a great distance. The one-month demonstration will be funded by the Australian government.

Last year the Israeli air force equipped two of its Heron UAVs with maritime patrol sensors and will operate them on behalf of the navy as a replacement for its IAI Westwind 1124 business jets which it has been operating since 1978 in a "Seascan" configuration.

The UAVs will be simulalrly equipped with an Elta search radar and a Tamam stabilised long-range optical

observation system. The Heron has an endurance of over 40h at an altitude of 30,000 ft (9,150m). It can carry multiple payloads with a total weight of 250kg (550lb).