Military Logistics International (Jan/Feb)

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Volume 6 Issue 1 January/February 2011

Afghan logistics Battlefield power

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CONTENTS Front cover: A Canadian soldier works alongside an Afghan contractor at a base in Kandahar Province. (Photo: Canadian DND) Editor-in-Chief Francis Tusa. ft@shephard.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 7284 0331 North America Editor Scott R Gourley. srg@shephard.co.uk Tel: (707) 822 7204 Contributors Nicholas Fiorenza Tim Ripley Richard Scott

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EDITORIAL COMMENT Second-class citizens?

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NEWS • UK moves logistics visibility forward • A330 tanker makes progress • Good year for airlift workhorse • French armour gets mobile • Solar power for US Army

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NEWS ANALYSIS • Afghan supply routes diversify • Managing the Dutch withdrawal • Oshkosh faces MRAP support challenges

Production Manager David Hurst. dth@shephard.co.uk Sub-editors Matthew Boas Michelle Stalker Advertising Sales Executive Mark Ludlow. ml@shephard.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)1753 727009 Advertising Co-ordinator Sandra Moore. sm@shephard.co.uk Publishing Director Darren Lake CEO Alexander Giles Chairman Nick Prest Subscriptions CDS Global, Tower House, Lathkill St, Sovereign Park, Market Harborough, Leics LE16 9EF, UK Paid subscription contacts: Tel: +44 1858 438879 Fax: +44 1858 461739 Email: shephardgroup@subscription.co.uk Military Logistics International is published six times per year – in January/February, March/ April, May/June, July/August, September/ October and November/December – by The Shephard Press Ltd, 268 Bath Road, Slough, Berks, SL1 4DX, UK. The 2011 US Institutional subscription price is £65. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by agent named Air Business, c/o Priority Airfreight NY Ltd, 147-29 182nd Street, Jamaica, NY 11413. Periodical postage paid at Jamaica, NY 11431. US Postmaster: send address changes to Air Business Ltd/Priority Airfreight NY Ltd, 147-29 182nd Street, Jamaica, NY11413. Subscription records are maintained at CDS Global, Tower House, Lathkill Street, Sovereign Park, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 9EF, UK. Air Business Ltd is acting as mailing agent.

Articles and information contained in this publication are the copyright of the Shephard Press Ltd and may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publishers. No responsibility can be accepted for loss of or damage to uncommissioned photographs or manuscripts.

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10 WHERE DO I NEED YOU? North America Editor Scott R Gourley hears the different views of contractors who have deployed in support of a wide range of equipment in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

14 GAINING GROUND Francis Tusa and Peter Donaldson look at the challenges that have so far hindered the use of land vehicle HUMS. 18 POWER TO THE PERSONNEL With fuel prices and other logistical challenges on the rise, the race is on for companies to develop more efficient solutions for power generation on the battlefield. Claire Apthorp examines some of the current projects.

21 WINGS OVER THE PACIFIC Claire Apthorp examines the evolving strategic and tactical air transport requirements of nations in the Asia-Pacific region, and looks at the range of aircraft types in service or under evaluation.

25 25 PICKING UP THE PIECES A reluctance to fly equipment ‘back home’, the use of pre-fabricated repair kits and greater contractor involvement are adding new dimensions to the task of fixing ISAF vehicles damaged in combat in Afghanistan, finds Andrew White.

28 DATA ON DEMAND Henry Canaday looks at how the Defense Logistics Agency and US Transportation Command are putting the finishing touches to a comprehensive system for tracking logistics, which should replace the current Global Transportation Network.

30 FASTER AND FASTER Henry Canaday looks at how the USAF is moving towards high-velocity maintenance, modelled on commercial practices, to maximise efficiency and minimise the downtime of expensive assets.

DEPTH FORWARD 32 VALUE FOR MONEY MLI talks to the Commanding General of the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization, Lt Gen Per Ludvigsen, about the links between acquisition and support.

DTP Vivid Associates Ltd, Sutton, Surrey, UK Printed by Williams Press, Maidenhead, UK

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Volume 6 Issue 1 | January/February 2011 | MILITARY LOGISTICS INTERNATIONAL

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EDITORIAL COMMENT

‘The equipment support manager is the new man at the bottom of the heap.’

SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS? hat had become very evident by the end of Shephard’s Military Logistics conference in late November was that there has been a change in the military pecking order when it comes to the support arena.

Go back to the 1990s, or even the turn of the century, and anything not deemed to be ‘teeth arms’ was firmly at the bottom of the pile – for weapons, communications, protection systems, training, you name it. It was still remarkable, in a really rather worrying way, to see support forces entering Iraq in 2003 in softskinned vehicles. At the time, the doctrine stated that such units didn’t need armour, as they operated in ‘rear areas’.

But harsh operational lessons have been learned, and even if there is not complete parity in how logistics forces and ‘teeth arms’ units are equipped, the differences in most armed forces are not only far fewer than they were, but in many cases almost non-existent.

An epiphany seemed to come two years ago, at the Shephard Focussed Logistics conference. There, the commander of a Royal Logistic Corps regiment commented how, on his tour of Afghanistan, whenever his brigade commander received new instructions from higher command, he always asked what the logistical implications of his orders were. On that iteration of Operation Herrick, it seemed that logistics was no longer regarded as a nuisance, a subject of marginal importance, but was at the core of operations.

That has now been confirmed, with the deployed, operational logistician’s status not just staying static, but improving. No serious commander can ignore the implications of such arcane things as daily usage rates, combat logistic patrol planning, the length of the supply pipeline and the like. Good – this is all very positive and encouraging.

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www.mil-log.com

But the support picture, which doesn’t just consider logistics, but embraces the broader combat service support piece, isn’t as rosy – far from it. What became very apparent is that while the J3/J5 community is now getting used to consulting their logistics brethren, there is precious little drive to talk to those in the equipment support (ES) area.

In several breakout sessions at the 2010 conference, as just one set of examples, the problems of the urgent operational requirement (UOR) system as regards ES were highlighted.

In practically every case of a protected vehicle UOR since 2004 (and it’s not just restricted to vehicles), the support piece, the line of development which is meant to be one of seven at the heart of procurement and support, was ignored.

LOW PRIORITY

The reason given for such persistent disregard for ES is that it was deemed necessary to get life-saving equipment into operational service ASAP – that was just a decision that had to be made. Of course, while this is true, it forgets an inevitable consequence – that in a relatively short space of time, each of those UOR vehicle families ran into an ES wall, with large numbers being taken off the road as they could not be kept in working order. In most cases, inadequate spares packages had been procured. And while they were out of service, either the effectiveness of UK operations was impacted or people had to be sent outside the wire in less protected vehicles.

The situation has, in most cases, been sorted out, but with extra work and extra cost – sometimes far more than if the ES piece had been properly funded in the first place.

But if the ES commander is the new ‘speed bump’, does this not create a fresh operational

point of failure? Rather than lack of fuel or ammunition, will lack of serviceable vehicles and equipment becomes the crux of any support failure? What is certain is that, while ES is still treated in procurement as something which can be traded out early, with no apparent risks, the cost of equipment, taken on a through-life basis, is going to stay high, trending towards unaffordable.

So while the logistician has been elevated to a far higher status, and is respected, the ES manager/commander is the new man at the bottom of the heap. One can only hope that there will not be some operational shock that will show people that they need to listen to the message of the ES branch, and that the message passed on is one intended to help, not hinder.

Francis Tusa. Editor-in-Chief

IN THE NEXT ISSUE G G G G

Ammunition Medical support Deployable infrastructure Trucks and trailers

Volume 6 Issue 1 | January/February 2011 | MILITARY LOGISTICS INTERNATIONAL

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NEWS

‘UK forces currently have close to 100 different IT systems concerned with logistics.’

UK MOVES LOGISTICS VISIBILITY FORWARD

The UK finally took a step towards a coherent logistics IT network with the award of the Future Logistics Information System (FLIS) contract to Boeing Defence UK at the beginning of December. The deal is worth some £800 million ($1.3 billion), and is set to last for 11 years.

A decision in favour of Boeing was reportedly made at the start of 2010, but the award was held up by the UK general election, the knockon effects of which lasted into the autumn.

UK forces currently have close to 100 different IT systems concerned with logistics and

support, many of which are ageing and/or do not ‘talk’ to each other. This is complicated by the fact that as the MoD has overseen greater contractor involvement in equipment support, so industry has developed its own systems to manage specific contracts.

Boeing hopes to bring experience from the US defence sector, as well as its major commercial aerospace support activities, to produce an end-to-end IT solution for the UK. The company has identified logistics IT as a growth sector that it wishes to target worldwide.

A330 TANKER MAKES PROGRESS ‘Wet’ trials are set to take place soon, as the first A330 MRTT is set to be delivered to the RAF in 2011, and will be operational from 2012-13, when the current VC10 and TriStar fleets are retired from service, the latter several years earlier than planned.

At the same time, the A330 MRTT variant which is being offered to the USAF for the KC-X programme underPhoto: Airbus Military took an exercise with the Portuguese Air Force, using its Aerial In mid-December, the first Airbus Military A330 Refuelling Boom System to refuel 25 different Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) for F-16s in over 70 different fuel transfers. the RAF’s Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft As this envelope expansion continues, the first programme undertook successful contacts A330 MRTT is being handed over to the with a Spanish Air Force F/A-18 jet. These Royal Australian Air Force, the second tests were to prove the fuselage hose and Royal Saudi Air Force aircraft is set for drogue refuelling unit supplied by Cobham, handover this year, and the first airframe which also provides the two similar pods fitted destined for the UAE has an anticipated 2012 under the wings. The contacts were undertaken handover date. at speeds up to 325kts.

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MILITARY LOGISTICS INTERNATIONAL | January/February 2011 | Volume 6 Issue 1

GOOD YEAR FOR AIRLIFT WORKHORSE 2010 ended well for Lockheed Martin as the company announced a new order for its C-130J Super Hercules. South Korea signed up for four stretchedfuselage variants of the aircraft plus a two-year support contract, with deliveries commencing in 2014. The Republic of Korea Air Force already operates 12 C-130H aircraft, four of which are the stretched-fuselage model.

This announcement brings the total number of C-130J orders to 300, of which 207 had been delivered as of December.

The backlog of slightly over 90 airframes equates to around three years of production, as the Marietta, Georgia, assembly line is working at its fastest level since the 1960s, with 36 aircraft per year being built. The most recent deliveries have been to the US Marine Corps and the Indian Air Force.

Other customers in 2010 have been Tunisia (two aircraft) and Oman (an extra J-model). Last year’s orders brought the number of countries that have ordered the aircraft up to 16. The 2010 successes follow a good 2009, which saw new business from Kuwait (eight aircraft), and the UAE (12).

In another operational milestone, Italian Air Force C-130Js of the 46th Air Brigade, based at Pisa, have demonstrated their first use of precision parachute drops from the rear ramp over Afghanistan. GPSguided parachute bundles of water, ammunition and fuel were dropped from an altitude of 30,000ft, with an accuracy of less than 10m. This success opens up the possibility of using such methods to resupply Italian forward operating bases.

www.mil-log.com

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NEWS

‘The US Army quotes the fully burdened battlefield cost of a gallon of fuel at between $150-400.’

FRENCH ARMOUR GETS MOBILE The French defence procurement agency, the DGA, has delivered the first of 110 articulated trailers for the French Army’s next-generation heavy equipment transporter programme, SR PC 50, to the 516th Movements Regiment in Toul. The trailers are built

by Nicolas Industries, and the contract was awarded in December 2006.

With the commencement of deliveries, the programme will run to January 2012 at a rate of approximately eight trailers per month. The trailers can take a variety of loads, ranging from a Leclerc main battle tank at the top end, through multiple smaller AFVs, to 20 and 40ft ISO containers. The trailer’s maximum operating weight is 53.8t for commercial operations, but over 70t for

www.mil-log.com

Wyle CAS Group to support US Army utility helicopter project manager’s office 4 February 2011

VSE awarded contract for US Army Reserve equipment engineering 1 February 2011

Boeing delivers 11th C-40A to US Navy 1 February 2011

Photo: DGA

use in military camps and training areas, as well as on operations.

The trailer is equipped with hydraulic systems on the ramps that allow broken-down vehicles to be recovered onto the flatbed, which can be achieved by a crew of two. The trailers are compatible with tractor units already in service with the French military, supplied by Scania, Renault and SISU.

SOLAR POWER FOR US ARMY The US Army Natick Soldier Research Design & Engineering Center’s Shelters Technology, Engineering and Fabrication directorate is pressing ahead with field trials of photovoltaic systems that can be integrated into deployable structures to combine protection from the elements and electricity generation by harnessing solar power.

One system developed and tested by Natick is called Temper Fly, a 40x50cm flexible array of photovoltaic cells which can generate up to 800W of electricity under optimal conditions. A smaller flysheet-type system called QUADrant can generate up to 200W of exportable power, and there is also a range of adaptable and scalable sheets called Power Shades, which can produce up to 200kW.

NEWS ON THE WEB

The lower power ranges are suitable for battery charging and the operation of smaller deployable electrical/electronic systems, while the Power Shades allow for some generator power to be supplemented by solar energy. The aim is to use photovoltaic systems to minimise the use of generators, which require regular fuel replenishment. The US Army quotes the fully burdened battlefield cost of a gallon of fuel at between $150-400, making anything that can reduce this burden attractive.

Technical concerns to date have centred around the amount of power that the systems can produce, as well as the durability of the panel sheets. These concerns have largely been overcome, and Natick envisages a rapid roll-out of such systems into operational theatres.

Cubic receives ID/IQ contract, $14.5m task order to support training simulators 1 February 2011

NAMSA renews C-130 support contract 31 January 2011

SupplyCore, Red River Army Depot to bring maintenance support to US warfighters 31 January 2011

Wyle unit awarded $12.7m contract to support US Army's ATC product office 28 January 2011

DRS awarded $43.5m to provide contractor logistics support for US Navy E-6 fleet 27 January 2011

FLIR Systems announces delivery order for $15.8m from US Army 27 January 2011

2,000th US Army vehicle refurbished in-theatre by Oshkosh Defense 26 January 2011

All these stories can be found at www.mil-log.com

Volume 6 Issue 1 | January/February 2011 | MILITARY LOGISTICS INTERNATIONAL

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NEWS ANALYSIS

‘From June 2010, Karachi port has been an ongoing problem for us.’

AFGHAN SUPPLY ROUTES DIVERSIFY One phrase is coined practically on every occasion that logistics/support for operations in Afghanistan is mentioned: ‘You couldn’t choose a worse place to practice logistics than Afghanistan!’ One of the major reasons why the general environment is so bad is that the country is land-locked, but it also has appalling land communications coming into it, as well as inside it. As one Royal Logistic Corps commander told MLI several years ago: ‘When I was briefed on the operational theatre, I was told that there were two roads in Helmand Province. The briefing was wrong by a factor of two…’ This means that identifying reliable supply routes into and inside the country has never been more important.

SINGLE ENTRY POINT

The fragility of the supply chain, in this case the land route through Pakistan, was recently identified to MLI by Jon Faulconer, head of the operational logistics support programme at the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency.

‘From June 2010, Karachi port has been an ongoing problem for us,’ he said, highlighting a ‘go-slow’ as a result of US UAV strikes inside Pakistan, which led to customs clearance issues. These were then followed by Ramadan and Eid, which also saw a slowdown in the port’s throughput.

But NATO planners are awaiting the opening of a new supply route, via rail through Russia and even on into Afghanistan itself. A line is being built from Mazar-e Sharif to connect with the network of the former Soviet Union, and this northern access point will enable far more equipment and supplies to be moved in by surface means. The Afghan branch was expected to be open in late 2010/ early 2011. www.mil-log.com

Cdre Mike Bath, assistant chief of staff J1/J4 at the UK Permanent Joint Headquarters said: ‘We move about 50% [of our supplies] by air and 50% by surface. I’d like to move to 20% air and 80% surface. To achieve this, we need to overcome some huge fragilities.’

mission velocity, as you don’t need to stop to refuel.

‘Also, on Afghanistan missions, the C-5M only has to top up with about 20,000lb of fuel on the ground before it returns, as opposed to close to 100,000lb for other strategic airlifters,’ he concluded.

OVER THE TOP

Jeff Armentrout, C-5 programme business development manager at Lockheed Martin, told MLI about a new initiative to get equipment incountry. This is set to use the C-5M aircraft, which is being upgraded by the company, to open a new air route.

CONTRACTORS DELIVER

Within theatre, the UK has seen greater use of contractor rotary-wing (CRW) support to deliver supplies to the growing range of forward operating bases. Whereas on Operation Herrick IX (UK operations in south Afghanistan, October 2008-April 2009) there were some 55 bases, as at late November, there were 132, which has meant a rise in the complexity of logistic operations. It is into this picture that CRW has fitted.

‘CRW will actually go into places that military support Contractor rotary-wing support is an integral element of the helicopters won’t,’ Brig James UK’s logistics operations in Helmand. As the number of Cowan, commander of the bases established has risen, so has the tonnage delivered.

British Army’s 11 (Light) (Photo: MLI) Brigade on Op Herrick until April 2010, told MLI, adding that contractor ‘The USAF is very impressed with performaircraft don’t tend to have the range of ance of the C-5M, and already they are using defensive aids that military helicopters do. it very differently from how they used the C-5 The contract that the UK has for rotary in the past,’ he explained. ‘They are now looking support guarantees a minimum of 250 hours at polar overflights to get to Afghanistan in the per month, and a nominal maximum of 400. But near future. Doing that gets rid of a large Cowan explained that on his tour of duty, the number of diplomatic clearances, so it’s easier contracted hours were exceeded in three to set up. months out of seven, and were comfortably ‘Typically, aircraft would fly to Rota more than 250 hours in five out of seven. The [in Spain] and then stage from there to payload carried rose dramatically from around Afghanistan. But the C-5M has a 27% 300t a month to around 500t. increase in payload [over a C-5A/B], and a

By Francis Tusa, London 20% increase in range. This increases the Volume 6 Issue 1 | January/February 2011 | MILITARY LOGISTICS INTERNATIONAL

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NEWS ANALYSIS

‘The RDTF had to move 450 vehicles and 2,300 containers of materiel.’

MANAGING THE DUTCH WITHDRAWAL The withdrawal of the nearly 2,000-strong Dutch contingent of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from Afghanistan illustrates the challenges larger nations will face when they eventually go home.

The transfer of responsibility for Uruzgan to a US-led force on 1 August was preceded by the arrival of the 700-strong Netherlands Redeployment Taskforce (RDTF) a week and a half before.

Created in January 2010, the RDTF’s tasks are to dismantle or transfer infrastructure, pack materiel and make it transportable, move it by convoy and provide security for the withdrawal.

The RDTF had to move 450 vehicles and 2,300 containers of equipment back home.

Some infrastructure was left in place for the relieving force – for example, the Role 2 hospital at Camp Holland in Tarin Kowt was handed over to US forces in late October. Other equipment was transferred to forces remaining in Afghanistan – 13 of the 81 Patria armoured vehicles sold to Estonia were due to be transferred directly to Estonian forces in-country in December. The RDTF prepared the vehicles for the handover.

After its arrival, the RDTF collected and prepared materiel in Tarin Kowt and Deh Rawod for transport home. Because of a lack of trucks, the RDTF used vehicles of the 4th Afghan National Army Brigade, whose soldiers received driving lessons in return.

The task force was relieved by RDTF 2 on 6 December, with some 20 personnel at Camp Holland and around 90 at Kandahar airfield handling transport of the last equipment by air and sea. Some 150 containers and 30 vehicles still had to be moved to Kandahar by the end of January. Together with 300 containers and

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The RDTF supervised the redeployment of the 2,000-strong Dutch contingent in Afghanistan back to the Netherlands. (Photo: Netherlands MoD)

160 vehicles already there, this materiel had to be transported back to Europe.

ALSO BY AIR

The redeployment was supported by Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) Chinook helicopters, with Dutch F-16s from Kandahar and AH-64 Apaches from Tarin Kowt providing security and supporting RDTF and ground troops. The Apaches escorted convoys, while the F-16s checked the route to be taken for IEDs. The CH-47s transported personnel and materiel from withdrawing units. The last such flight took place at the end of September, after which the helicopters were packed for airlift to the Netherlands, with the first two arriving by An124 at Gilze-Rijen on 12 October. The last Apache mission was flown in mid-November, and these were also airlifted home in December.

Within Afghanistan, an L-100 civil transport flew equipment, including Bushmaster and Fennek armoured vehicles, between Tarin Kowt and Kandahar. The amount of materiel transportable via this route was limited by the upgrading of the dirt strip at the former airfield, starting at the beginning of September. This involves hardening, lengthening and widening the runway. After completion of the work, which is being done by an Afghan company, fully loaded C-17s will be able to land and open a direct air route to the Netherlands.

LONG-HAUL CONVOYS

On 14 August, the RDTF led its first big convoy to bring containers and vehicles from Camp Hadrian in Deh Rawod to Camp Holland. A US Stryker brigade provided security on the ground, with Dutch armoured engineers

MILITARY LOGISTICS INTERNATIONAL | January/February 2011 | Volume 6 Issue 1

checking for IEDs and RNLAF Apaches flying overhead. The 70km trip took under six hours.

At the beginning of September, the RDTF led the first convoy from Tarin Kowt to Kandahar, again escorted by US Strykers and Dutch Apaches. Containers, Bushmaster, Patria and YPR armoured vehicles were moved 180km for onward air transport to the Netherlands.

The Dutch convoys include Afghan ‘jingle trucks’, with least one example carrying a Patria AFV rolling over. In addition to US Stryker units, French and Australian forces have provided ground security.

Dutch EOD teams have been destroying captured munitions as well as Dutch ammunition whose exposure to the Afghan climate has made it too dangerous to send back to the Netherlands.

The airlift of equipment back to the Netherlands began in mid-September, with the first An-124 landing at Woensdrecht on the 17th. In addition to An-124s, Il-76s and C-17s flew cargo back to Woensdrecht as well as Eindhoven and Gilze-Rijen.

Sealift was also used to return equipment back to the Netherlands. The first ship carrying materiel from the UAE arrived in the port of Eemshaven on 10 December.

Arriving materiel goes to the logistical reception facility in Coevorden, where it is unpacked and checked, and then sent to operational units or maintenance facilities ready for future missions.

The personnel of Task Force Uruzgan and the commandos and marines of Task Force 55 were back in the Netherlands before 1 December, while their equipment will arrive no later than 1 May.

By Nicholas Fiorenza, Brussels www.mil-log.com

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NEWS ANALYSIS

‘The marines wanted M-ATVs waiting for people, not people waiting for them.’

OSHKOSH FACES MRAP SUPPORT CHALLENGES Deployment and support of a new combat vehicle suited to the rugged terrain of Afghanistan has so far gone remarkably well.

By late November, Oshkosh Defense had delivered over 8,000 of its Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) All Terrain Vehicles (M-ATVs) to US forces. On 1 December, the company received an order for 250 more ambulance versions of the M-ATV. A total of 335 Oshkosh field service representatives (FSRs) are now supporting the vehicle fleet in-theatre.

An RfP for repair, return and refurbishment of all MRAPs is now expected in March. Ken Juergens, VP and general manager of joint programmes at Oshkosh Defense, said his firm is considering bidding for this work. ‘Now we make the majority of MRAPs,’ he noted.

FAST MOVERS

The entire M-ATV programme has moved very fast. The Pentagon asked for a 25,000lb vehicle with the right survival characteristics against ballistics and blast as well as off-road mobility in December 2008. Proposals were made in January 2009, and Oshkosh produced two vehicles for tests in February, with three more delivered for run-off trials in May that year. The company was awarded the contract on June 30 and delivered 26 M-ATVs in July. The first M-ATV arrived in Afghanistan in October 2009, and by December Oshkosh was producing 1,000 a month.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Oshkosh workers in October 2009 that this was the fastest development seen since World War II. ‘It was based on the MTVR [Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement] platform, which operates extremely well off-road and has 400,000 miles of experience,’ Juergens explained. The MTVR is a US Marine Corps www.mil-log.com

A new operational environment requires a new vehicle.

Supporting them has required Oshkosh to deploy over 300 FSRs to Afghanistan.

(Photo: US Army)

(USMC) truck made by Oshkosh with 6.3t of capacity off-road.

Oshkosh has trained over 7,000 marines and soldiers on operating, maintaining and troubleshooting the vehicle. Lessons learned on earlier MRAP deployments ensured that FSRs, part stocks and battle damage repair kits were pre-positioned before the vehicles arrived. ‘We had parts on the ground ahead of time, and that’s why they have been fielded successfully,’ Juergens said. The M-ATV also enjoys parts commonality with the MTVR and several other platforms, easing logistics worries.

LIGHTER BUT BETTER

The USMC operates about 1,500 of the 6,500 M-ATVs now in Afghanistan, according to David Hansen, principal deputy programme manager for the Joint MRAP Vehicle Program at Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC).

‘The truck is meant to replace Humvees outside the wire, to be mobile like a Humvee but survivable like an MRAP,’ Hansen explained.

That required less weight than even a light 17,200kg MRAP, but more than a 7,2508,150kg HMMWV. ‘It allows people to go where they have not gone before.’

The standard M-ATV seats four, with a spot for the gunner and a small cargo bed, like a pick-up truck. US Special Operations Command has taken more than 400 M-ATVs which differ slightly from the standard version.

Deployment was fast because the marines wanted M-ATVs ‘waiting for people, not people waiting for them’, Hansen stressed. The same logic put parts, kits and FSRs on the ground fast. ‘We wanted to put FSRs in the field before they were needed.’

The preparation appears to have paid off – the entire MRAP programme has never reported availability at less than 90%, and M-ATVs have never been below 90% either.

‘We met expectations and we are very happy with it.’

The biggest support challenge has been the reason for the M-ATV itself. ‘It is the lack of infrastructure in Afghanistan,’ Hansen said. ‘It is so hard to distribute parts and FSRs to where they are needed and to push them to forward bases.’ MCSC has worked closely with the Defense Logistics Agency, US Transportation Command, and US Central Command to meet these challenges.

By Henry Canaday, Washington, DC

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CONTRACTORS

‘We provide a fully self-contained support capability in theatre.’

WHERE DO I NEED YOU? s noted in a recent report to Congress by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), ‘The US military has long used contractors to provide supplies and services to deployed US forces, and more recently contractors have been involved in every major military operation since the 1991 Gulf War.’ The comments emphasise the validity of other recent projections, such as those contained in the January 2003 US Army Field Manual FM 3-100.21, Contractors on the Battlefield: ‘Contractors have always accompanied our armed forces. However, the increasingly hi-tech nature of our equipment and rapid deployment requirements have significantly increased the need to properly integrate contractor support into all military operations. Recent reductions in military structure, coupled with high mission requirements and the unlikely prospect of full mobilisation, mean that to reach a minimum of required levels of support, deployed military forces will often have to be significantly augmented with contractor support. As these trends continue, the future battlefield will require ever-increasing numbers of often critically important contractor employees…’

In light of that reality, MLI recently spoke with representatives of three companies who related their experiences and responsibilities in the ‘contractors forward’ arena.

A

THEN AND NOW

At General Dynamics C4 Systems, four field service representatives (FSRs)/customer service representatives shared personal insights gained

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while supporting the Common Hardware/ Software (CHS) contract and the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Adam Correll served as the CHS-3 Contingency Regional Support Center (CRSC) manager in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) from January-December 2005.

CRSC is a centralised turn-in point for CHS-sold computer hardware repair across multiple programmes, covering ruggedised and commercial items such as desktops, laptops, servers and routers.

‘We were there to assist and train young soldiers, and they didn’t always have all the resources other organisations did,’ he explained.

Mario Soto, staff engineer, WIN-T Increment 1, related changes since his initial contractor deployment in 2003 as part of the US Army’s 16th Signal Battalion, when he supported units and users using Mobile Subscriber Equipment (MSE), a predecessor to WIN-T. ‘In 2003, we were using MSE. We were right behind the 82nd Airborne and 3rd Infantry Divisions, who were at the forefront of the push into Iraq,’ he said. ‘It was a tactical environment.

At first our living arrangements were in a small tent, then we moved into a blown-out building.

It was tough going – we ate MREs [Meals, Ready-to-Eat] just like the soldiers. At that time, tactical operations centres [TOCs] consisted of whiteboards and pushpins.

‘In 2007, just four years later, we were using WIN-T, and when you walked into the TOC, there were plasma screens and computers, like

MILITARY LOGISTICS INTERNATIONAL | January/February 2011 | Volume 6 Issue 1

North America Editor Scott R Gourley hears the different views of contractors who have deployed in support of a wide range of equipment in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Greater technical complexity means that the role of contractors deployed forward is increasingly to help train maintainers, as a proliferating cascade of equipment arrives in theatre.

NASA, and I wondered how we fought in 2003 without the technology and capabilities that came from WIN-T in 2007.’

ONE ON ONE

Soto described daily FSR activities as ‘a total concept of support, rotating equipment in and out. We provided a fully self-contained support capability in theatre. We had engineers, technicians, administrators and logisticians. It was a complete, full-service operation. We directly supported soldiers, as well as tracking www.mil-log.com

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CONTRACTORS

Contractors and troops walk out to a C-130 Hercules in Afghanistan. It is seen as inevitable in US military circles that FSRs will be as common on the battlefield, and often as far forward, as service personnel. (All photos: US Army)

spare parts and keeping an inventory that had to be very accurate. We worked one on one with the soldier, troubleshooting with the warrant officer and providing whatever they needed.

‘I was surprised at the camaraderie that developed with the soldiers, and when it was time to leave it was really bittersweet because there was unfinished business,’ he recalled.

‘Understand these [soldiers] aren’t just customers. For me, this process goes back 15 years. Some of the warrant officers, colonels and others were soldiers when I was a soldier. These www.mil-log.com

are people I’ve known for years, and now, even though I’m no longer in uniform, I’m still working with them, supporting them on their mission.

‘I believe there may be a misconception that we’re going there for the money,’ he added.

‘Nothing could be further from the truth. We go because we are veterans and we have a commitment to the success of the army. We may not be wearing a uniform, but we still have the same values as we did when we were on active duty.’

Aaron Morrison, a field satellite engineer for WIN-T Increment 1, was deployed in Afghanistan from June 2009 to June 2010, where he provided support for the satcom transmission side and helped with satellite links within theatre (tactical) as well as ‘long-haul’ (strategic) communications to Iraq, Kuwait, Germany and other countries.

‘One of the most important functions was to fully focus and develop a rapport [with the soldiers] so they were comfortable asking for whatever they might need, no matter how small.

It is a main part of what we do,’ he said.

Asked about ‘surprises’ that came with the job, he replied: ‘One of the big things for me was supporting Task Force Phoenix in Kabul, including the National Guard who were responsible for training the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police. They often worked with personnel from other branches of service. These individuals were working

outside their normal job specialities, and it was interesting how some of them were very technical and could be trained up quickly.

Everyone was contributing.’

FSR FUTURE

Asked to speculate about the future of FSR activities in his area of responsibility, Soto offered: ‘We are fighting in non-traditional wars. Soldiers rely on near-real-time information that requires a complex infrastructure to deliver mission-critical data that will help us catch the bad guys [who are] trying to hurt us.

I see the role of FSRs increasing as the complexity of the equipment grows and as troop strength decreases.’

Robert Crews, director of field support for the readiness and sustainment business within US Combat Systems at BAE Systems, oversees a sizeable network of over 1,000 contractors currently deployed.

‘Out of those 1,000 reps, not all of them are considered FSRs,’ he explained. ‘We have mechanics, certified welders, quality inspectors and so forth – essentially, every skill complement you would need to offer a complete life-cycle maintenance service to our warfighters.’

Noting that the company offers this service for a multitude of different platforms across their complete life cycles, he added: ‘On every piece of equipment we manufacture, we provide some sort of a service.

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Contractors finish the installation of an observation aerostat at a base in Afghanistan. Should this job be undertaken by people in uniform, or can it as easily be done by FSRs? The arguments rage back and forth.

‘I think it’s really important for the service sector to note that we, at BAE Systems, pride ourselves on “augmenting” as opposed to “complete servicing”. It’s important that we help the military, or augment the military, to grow their internal experience complement. It’s very easy for an OEM to just come in and take over.

But that doesn’t solve the problems. We want to make sure that those warfighters are as experienced as they can possibly be to perform their mission, in case we’re not there.’

As part of that philosophy, Crews noted a rough ‘three-tier’ classification of contractor deployed services: advise first; augment second; and perform third.

In terms of recent activities that brought a sense of pride to the organisation, he pointed to the company’s ongoing independent suspension system modification work taking place in Afghanistan. ‘Facilities in Afghanistan are few and far between, and backlogged for many months,’ he observed. ‘So we, as a company, chose to erect maintenance facilities to perform this modification.’

This choice provided the military with myriad benefits, ranging from reduction of potential losses during vehicle transportation through the war zone to higher operational readiness rates.

‘So we are doing extensive modifications to vehicle platforms in the combat zone as we speak,’ Crews said.

Asked about messages for warfighters, he replied: ‘Part of our process at BAE Systems is that when we bring in service providers, we are heavily weighted with people with past military service. In some cases, warfighters might mistakenly think that we’re in it for the money.

But that’s not it. Every single one of the FSRs, first and foremost, truly appreciates everything

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that the warfighter does. And our main goal is to do everything we can to make them better.

Our reputation is pretty good because of that, and that’s important to us.

‘We are an aid to the military,’ he reiterated.

‘We may not be “official” partners, but we consider ourselves as trying to achieve the same goals.’

RAPID SUPPORT

In some cases, that partnership begins long before a system ever hits the field. As described

by Lee Flake, programme director for the recently fielded EQ-36 (Enhanced AN/TPQ-36 Counterfire Target Acquisition Radar) from Lockheed Martin, the FSR support structure takes shape very early in a new system’s development process.

Pointing to an accelerated four-year timetable in which the company simultaneously built both production and engineering development systems, Flake observed: ‘When we got the contract with the army to build the production systems, it was clear that we had to set up a support structure using contractors for these radars as they deployed into the combat theatre. So we started working on that right away, with the recognition that two things would be critical: a good supporting spares supply concept; and FSRs deployed with the radars to work with army crews and help maintain them.’

Somewhat surprisingly, the hiring of the FSRs began one year prior to delivery of the first production systems. ‘We put them through a very rigorous training period,’ Flake said. ‘We do some things – I don’t know if they are unique – designed to provide the best possible support for these radars. After all, we could have the best

MILITARY LOGISTICS INTERNATIONAL | January/February 2011 | Volume 6 Issue 1

piece of equipment the army had ever seen, but if it wasn’t supported right it wouldn’t matter.’

More than 90% of the company’s FSRs are ‘prior service’, with extensive experience as army or US Marine Corps radar technicians.

The majority of that group also have past deployments into combat theatres with legacy radar systems.

INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE

‘When we hire these guys, we bring them into our plant, where we take about a month to get them processed, with an understanding of the programme and their responsibilities,’ Flake explained. ‘Then we “link them up” with a radar as it is being built. They stay with that radar through its build, through its integration and test, and then they go with that radar during the new equipment training period.

‘From that point forward – to the actual signover to the army, through pre-deployment training and through deployment – that FSR is essentially part of the unit. He stays with the radar.’ The process not only provides the FSR with an intimate knowledge of the hardware, but also means they meet the soldiers and become part of the radar team prior to deployment.

In terms of activities in theatre, Flake said that FSRs can generally solve any problems that might arise. However, the forward-deployed contractors are also supported by the company’s 24/7 command/support centre, which is staffed by more senior FSRs. Asked about a possible evolution of the FSR experience based on lessons learned, Flake replied: ‘What we have seen is that the army has been extremely quick to adapt to things that our FSRs find and point out to us. If something comes up, or our FSRs determine that there is something that the soldiers need, that very quickly gets incorporated into future new equipment training periods. Then, as we find something in theatre that seems to be an issue, we are quickly able to pass word back to the army, and to our FSRs who have not yet deployed, so that we are constantly learning.’ MLI www.mil-log.com

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DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS

‘Safety is a relatively new point of emphasis in land forces.’

GAINING GROUND Francis Tusa and Peter Donaldson look at the challenges that have so far hindered the use of land-vehicle HUMS. quipment support (ES) has arguably become the key link in the operational support chain, with operations in Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan exhibiting the remarkable stresses put on equipment.

Failure and breakdown rates on operations tend to occur at levels that few, if any, mechanics have ever predicted or expected to see, but the support of land systems platforms and major subsystems is hampered by a simple factor – to date, very few have been fitted with health and usage monitoring systems (HUMS) to allow for faster, more focussed, more accurate and often more timely support.

This contrasts with air systems, which have been fitted with HUMS and a variety of built-in test equipment and the like for many years. MLI has observed Merlin HC3 operations in Iraq and Kuwait where support crews were able to check the system every day and could arrange maintenance around the operational use cycle.

This is common in Afghanistan today for other systems such as the Apache attack helicopter and a variety of support rotorcraft such as the Chinook.

E

As regards more ‘military’ vehicles, the Iveco Lightweight Modular Vehicle (LMV), in service with ten European countries, is fully fitted with diagnostic equipment, and newer armoured fighting platforms, such as KMW/Rheinmetall Defence Puma infantry carrier vehicles, are also fitted with diagnostic systems as standard.

‘There are far more platforms, far more vehicles [in the land environment] – the scale is much bigger than the assets in an air force or navy,’ one top-ranking officer told MLI at the Shephard Military Logistics conference in November last year.

Another added that the ‘difference between health monitoring for aircraft or a vehicle is that one costs £35 million, the other costs £100,000’, while arguing that the cost equation was not in favour of HUMS in the ground environment.

US Army personnel carry out field maintenance on their Bradley in Iraq.

Upgrades to much of the fleet will see VHMS added to provide the user with more data about how their vehicle is performing. (Photo: US Army)

One great example of the negative, even hostile, views of HUMS comes from the UK’s Support Vehicle (SV) fleet. Every one of the MAN ERF trucks is fitted with HUMS, but as a cost-cutting measure when the vehicles came into service, no software licences for the systems were procured. As a result, no data were collected and no pattern of use analysis has ever been undertaken. It was only earlier in 2010 that a small number of licences – some 400 – were bought to monitor SV trucks on operations in Afghanistan.

In most land vehicles, there are very few individual components whose sudden failure is

EUROPEAN FLAVOUR

HUMS are not particularly common on board many European vehicles, although as time has passed, countries buying commercial products adapted for military use have more and more often found themselves ‘owning’ HUMS systems which are more or less standard in the civilian market.

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The ability to accurately predict when maintenance will be needed means less time spent taking equipment out of vehicles, such as time-consuming tank power pack changes. (Photo: MLI)

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(MBT), of which an integrated HUMS package would be a key element. The bid deadline was the end of 2009, with a decision due in mid2010. So far, nothing has been announced.

DIFFERENT BENEFITS

likely to cause fatalities, with tyres, brakes and gun breeches being likely exceptions. This has a profound effect on the cost-benefit analysis.

Without such a powerful safety case behind it, implementation of HUMS in land vehicles has to be justified by saving money on maintenance and/or increasing fleet availability, and the systems themselves have to be orders of magnitude cheaper.

A helicopter HUMS installation might cost £200,000 per platform, but ‘in the land environment even £1,000 is difficult to justify as an add-on for a vehicle’, said Tina Haggett, business development manager for UK HUMS supplier Dytecna.

Even in helicopters, the maintenance and logistical upside of HUMS proved much more difficult to realise than the safety benefits, which gives an idea of the challenge operators face as they try to apply the systems to ground vehicles. The UK MoD in particular is struggling, a situation complicated further by the need to work through the implications of the budget cuts inflicted in the recent Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR).

It is six years since the MoD published its strategy for bringing HUMS into its land vehicle fleets, but so far only the 4x4 Panther Command and Liaison Vehicle fleet has a system (from www.mil-log.com

Dytecna) installed. Panther was introduced into service at a time when the MoD was more enthusiastic about the technology and it insisted that all new vehicles had to have HUMS unless a strong case against fitting it could be made.

Shortly afterwards, the attitude changed.

Although the MoD still regarded HUMS as desirable, it insisted on a favourable cost-benefit analysis as a precondition for fitment. This has proved particularly tricky, and no systems have entered service since Panther.

However, in July 2009 BAE Systems got the go-ahead to devise a more effective support regime for the Challenger main battle tank

‘The reason it has been so difficult is that they haven’t really pinned down what they want to use it for,’ Haggett continued. ‘The benefit of HUMS could come from a lot of different areas, so unless they pin down how they want to use it and why, you can’t do the cost-benefit analysis.’

Also, it appears that many defence ministries have not pinned down whether they want to use the data operationally on the front line or whether they want to access them back at headquarters to inform maintenance and logistic planning.

Whether HUMS is required to support condition-based maintenance (CBM), contracting for availability or as a means of supporting schedule-based maintenance has a profound effect on the design of the systems.

‘If they want to use it for [CBM], that’s one set of metrics in the cost-benefit case, but if they want to use it for fleet management, that’s a different set. If they want to use it to enable availability contracts where, really, it is the prime/OEM that’s using the data to verify the availability of the platform, that is a completely different cost case,’ Haggett observed.

HUMS has yet to make a major impact on ground vehicle fleets. Much support/maintenance is undertaken on ‘a wing and a prayer’, rather than on the basis of knowledge or need. (Photo: SAP Info)

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The concept of CBM is a particularly attractive one. The idea is that if the condition of components and the usage patterns they are being subjected to can be known with accuracy, then their service lives can be safely extended. But maintaining vehicles oncondition can seriously disrupt established maintenance and logistics systems predicated on scheduled servicing.

The trick is to get the benefit of extended component lives without making life impossible for maintenance planners and logisticians. It is a difficult one to pull off, but the aviation industry has been successful, using accurate knowledge of the condition of components to inform the maintenance planning process and enable technicians to order the right spares for each vehicle ahead of time. ‘[CBM] is a compelling argument,’ said Haggett, ‘but [the MoD] would have to change their whole logistics pattern to support that different approach to maintenance.’

There seems to be rather more clarity on the other side of the Atlantic, where Dytecna has been working with a US DoD team for about three years to optimise land-vehicle HUMS for CBM. ‘They are very focussed on what information they want out of the system and on what they want the system to do,’ Haggett added. ‘We have supplied a large number of trials systems and a lot of development effort to them to make the product do exactly what they want.’

GREATER DEMAND

What is apparent is that when one talks to the US defence market, HUMS or vehicle health monitoring systems (VHMS) are becoming far more important to the military than seems to be the case elsewhere.

‘For the Ground Combat Vehicle [GCV], HUMS/VHMS is mandated,’ William Miller, GCV programme manager at BAE Systems, told MLI. ‘It’s part of the overall effect. You need HUMS/VHMS to see what’s wrong, what you need, and how you can fix it. It’s all about driving the life-cycle cost down.’

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The UK’s JAMES IT system allows managers to utilise ground vehicle fleets to best effect, although without widespread implementation of HUMS, there will be limits to the granularity of the data.

(Photo: Lockheed Martin UK)

But the drive to introduce advanced diagnostic and prognostic systems is under way elsewhere. The Bradley A3 upgrade programme sees a digital architecture implemented in the vehicle (some 2,500 M2/M3A3s are set to be ordered in total), which allows an initial HUMS to be fitted.

‘The A3 has the beginnings of VHMS, so there are some diagnostics,’ John Tile, director of Bradley programmes at BAE Systems, told MLI. ‘And the ODS SA [M2A2 Operation Desert Storm Situational Awareness] is also getting HUMS. And as each capability upgrade is embodied, they change the VHMS. Everyone understands the advantages to move from diagnostics to prognostics, and that’s where this is heading. It seems obvious that you’d want to take data off a vehicle and put it into a support IT system like aircraft guys have been doing for ages.’

The M1 Abrams is also seeing a drive to retrofit VHMS systems, as Barry Wilson, a General Dynamics Land Systems M1 engineer, told MLI at the AUSA Annual Meeting in October. ‘They are talking about this right now under an army contract, so it should be in service very soon. We have installed such a system for test at Yuma Proving Ground, so we can show off what it provides to the overall capability of the vehicle.’

For both Bradley and Abrams, one of the key advances seen in fitting electronic architecture, and then HUMS, is that you can install electronic support manuals as well. This then allows vehicle crews to do far more of the basic maintenance – something which militaries such as the British Army see as a necessary way forward.

What is evident from all of the current programmes, rather than the future GCV, is that

MILITARY LOGISTICS INTERNATIONAL | January/February 2011 | Volume 6 Issue 1

there is absolute agreement about the value and need for HUMS/VHMS. Also, retrofitting these systems to old, so-called ‘legacy vehicles’ is not seen as any form of problem but something that can be easily achieved. Finally, at no stage when talking to US industry or military has anyone raised ‘concern’ about what metrics need to be collected. The general reaction is that either this is simple to work out, or at the very ‘worst’, you can fit HUMS and then use it to see what you need to concentrate on.

TRANSMISSION CHANGES

Another challenge faced in implementing HUMS for land vehicles is that of data retrieval.

Aircraft, including the North Sea oil and gas helicopter support fleets, usually return to base at the end of the working day, making it relatively simple to download data and transfer them to a processing facility. Retrieval imposes a much greater logistical burden on those tasked with supporting large fleets of vehicles that may be widely scattered around a theatre of operations.

The obvious solution of retrieving the data using telemetry via the vehicles’ tactical radio systems raises problems in the realms of operational security and communications bandwidth. For these reasons, many militaries have been reluctant to allow the use of tactical radios for this purpose.

Onboard processing of HUMS data can go a long way to overcoming the bandwidth problem by dramatically reducing the amount of information that has to be sent over a radio link.

‘With a land vehicle you don’t have to see every minute temperature change,’ Haggett explained.

‘You just need to know whether, over the last half hour, the temperature has started to creep up.

If it is obviously trending out of control, then you need to know. www.mil-log.com

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DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS

‘£1,000 is difficult to justify as an add-on for a vehicle.’

‘Because you haven’t got the safety case [and] because you haven’t got the critical vibration data that you have in the helicopter HUMS, you can take a very different approach to how you deal with the information that you’re gathering. Lots of it could be statistically reduced and discarded,’ she stated.

In principle, satellite communications offer a clear alternative and currently appear to be the UK MoD’s preferred option. Several industry consortia are believed to be preparing for a request for quotations expected in 2011. ‘We are currently positioning ourselves for a programme that involves a satellite solution that the MoD has indicated that they may fund,’ Haggett concluded. ‘It is all based around using either commercial or military satellites and encryption. But again, you can’t add too much cost to the platform, [because] then you’ve got the airtime cost of satellite use. So the key is finding a solution that would be justifiable in a land platform environment.’

THE HUMS DRIVER

But there are factors that are starting to impact on all ground forces which ensure that HUMS will become a given, rather than an option.

Most European countries are looking at implementing some form of whole fleet

management (WFM), whereby fleets of armoured or soft-skinned vehicles are managed centrally, rather than being parcelled out to individual units. Examples of this exist in the UK, where a WFM programme has seen the introduction of the relevant principles alongside those of Lockheed Martin’s Joint Asset Management and Engineering Solutions (JAMES).

Equipment, when not needed for operations or training, is kept in environmentally controlled storage, rather than cold, damp vehicle sheds.

Germany, too, has the HIL programme covering the entire military vehicle fleet, while in France, support of the Leclerc MBT and the VBCI 8x8 AFV is being handed to the OEM, Nexter, to maintain and support on a case-by-case basis.

WFM systems can only work if the information is there to support decision-making, and that ultimately needs HUMS. This is even truer when – as WFM promises – fleet sizes can be reduced. The information chain is even more vital, as users would not want a single point of fleet failure to exist in it.

Cdre Mike Bath, assistant chief of staff, J1/J4 at the UK Permanent Joint Headquarters, told the Military Logistics conference: ‘We don’t understand what we need to get vehicles on the road as soon as possible. Sometimes, more than 30% of our vehicles are off the road.’

In the UK, only the Panther Command and Liaison Vehicle has been fully fitted for HUMS – but it should be one of many. (Photo: BAE Systems)

www.mil-log.com

He added that there was a pressing need to obtain more information about vehicle usage and reliability, and this would mean a drive for HUMS. Then, there is the operational perspective that is starting to get traction in driving HUMS implementation forward. ‘We need to be able to understand what’s going on with our platforms,’ Lt Col Stefan Crossfield of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) told MLI. ‘Can REME be there all of the time to maintain equipment? Probably not. REME will probably be concentrated in central areas and then deployed when they are needed. So this means that we need to trust our users more and train them to do the BITE [built-in test equipment] and local repair pieces.’ This, he described, means that the user needs information about the equipment, and this means HUMS in whatever format.

Elsewhere, the move for more first-line repairs to be undertaken by non-specialist users rather than maintenance technicians is common across all armed forces. This means that locally derived information will be needed. In the short term, apart from new-build AFV programmes, retrofits of electronic architecture to current equipment – the British Army’s Warrior Mechanised Infantry Combat Vehicle is one example and the Leopard 2 MBT is another – will enable diagnostic systems to be added at the same time.

A final factor was highlighted by Maj Gen Chris Deverell, director general of logistics, support and equipment, UK HQ Land: ‘Safety is a relatively new point of emphasis in land forces. We wouldn’t have included this concept a few years earlier.’

His reference to safety is one to the ‘duty of care’ that British commanders can be held to when they authorise troops to undertake operations – they are required to have done everything possible to ensure that equipment is fit for purpose, and this means that commanders need far greater knowledge about the status of that equipment, which in turn drives a legal need for HUMS. MLI

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MILITARY GENERATORS

‘If you can fix the way an FOB is set up, you can potentially knock out 80% of your usage.’

POWER TO THE PERSONNEL With fuel prices and other logistical challenges on the rise, the race is on for companies to develop more efficient solutions for power generation on the battlefield.

Claire Apthorp examines some of the current projects.

eeping the battlefield supplied with power is a vital role that has significant logistical implications. A glance at the current operating conditions of forward operating bases (FOBs) shows that generators must be sufficiently ruggedised to operate in harsh environments, extreme weather, and dry and dusty surroundings. They must also have adequately small logistical footprints, able to be easily transported into and out of theatre, as well as being easy to maintain with regard to the resources available within the FOB itself.

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The Dewey 2kW device is usually the first generator on site when a new FOB is being set up. (Photo: Dewey Electronics)

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In order to maximise operational capabilities, military-grade generators are increasingly being required to function efficiently and quietly, with low electronic emissions and economical use of fuel; this is a complex mix of challenges being met by industry in a number of ways.

MAN-PORTABLE

The most successful military-grade systems in use have largely become so due to being simple and reliable. One of the most widely deployed man-portable systems in use with the US Army is the 2kW, diesel-operated Military Tactical Generator (MTG) family, manufactured by Dewey Electronics. The company was awarded a ten-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract by the army in 2001, and around 15,000-16,000 units are in use with the US military to date.

John Dewey, chairman, CEO and president of Dewey Electronics, spoke to MLI about why the product had been so successful in gaining and maintaining the confidence of the armed forces. ‘We’re about simplicity and reliability,’ he said. ‘Our generator is probably the most reliable of any of the military-grade generators, and that’s down to design – there’s a lot less on it to break, and the things that do break can be seen right away and fixed with duct tape and chewing gum, so to speak. More complicated systems require complex logistical trails, and it’s very difficult to train people on an FOB in that technology, so that means flying in support, which becomes expensive and impractical.’

The 2kW system is usually the first generator on site when setting up a new FOB. Easily transportable by an HMMWV or similar-sized vehicle, the device is used to provide initial www.mil-log.com

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The LFG has been heralded as a benchmark product by the UK MoD. (Photo: HGI)

power for the base during construction, which might take anything between one and three days. At this point, the larger generators are in place, the main power station has been established, and the 2kW product can be stored until needed for camp breakdown. From a portability perspective, it is the only militarygrade generator able to serve this purpose.

‘This is still the top driving requirement that we hear from the US DoD,’ stated Dewey. ‘It’s about reliability, maintainability and, increasingly, fuel consumption.’

SMARTER PRODUCTS

Fuel consumption and increasing the efficiency of military-grade generators are particular aspects that a lot of companies are starting to look at as the price of fuel rises. ‘There’s a lot to be said for smart power management,’ he explained. ‘More efficient generators can eke out 5%, 10%, maybe 50% of fuel savings, which is significant, but if you can fix the way an FOB is set up, you can potentially knock out 80% of your usage.’

From a logistics perspective, the size of the machine required to run a particular FOB is decided by assuming that all systems in the camp are turned on and running simultaneously.

‘But if you go out into the field and actually measure the power usage on those camps, they’ve never recorded a power requirement at that level,’ Dewey said. ‘They have generators on site large enough to provide that amount, but www.mil-log.com

those ones run terribly inefficiently at partial load – a generator that might consume 23l per hour at full load is probably still consuming 20l per hour at a quarter load.

‘So to manage that grid you need smarter generators that know what the camp needs.

These will charge their batteries, and then when the camp only needs low energy, they will let the batteries provide that power. This is where you can have quite significant fuel savings,’ he continued.

The US Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) has embarked on a project with Honeywell to develop emerging micro-grid technology for a similar purpose: to increase efficiency and reduce fossil-fuel consumption in remote US Army locations. The micro-grid will potentially enable the army to decrease the number or size of generators needed by interfacing with and controlling legacy units, as well as providing electrical energy autonomy in remote locations and improving power availability. The potential fuel savings are up to 60%, and a lesser reliance on fuel will mean improvements in warfighter safety, as fewer convoys will be needed to keep bases supplied.

SILENT WATCH

The concept of smarter generators goes hand in hand with the emerging idea of silent units.

Nordic Power Systems is working closely with

the Norwegian Army on a wide variety of programmes, and the former’s CEO, Tor-Geir Engebretsen, spoke to MLI about the group’s work in this area.

‘A major driving requirement for the defence industry at the moment is silence,’ he explained.

‘We have been approached by a considerable number of defence firms over the last year, and they’re asking for systems that are silent and have low emissions.’ This is of particular interest for surveillance and covert missions, when invisibility is really key – for example, the ability to park an armoured vehicle or tank, switch off the main engine, and still have silent power to run all of the cooling and communication systems. The facility to eliminate noise emissions while retaining power is likely to be very attractive to military users over the coming years, including the US Army, whose Silent Watch programme is working towards this goal.

Nordic Power Systems’ patented silent and clean power generator is based on fuel cell technology, and the emission-friendly solution has potential applications for stand-alone generators and hybrid-electric vehicles. The technology itself is unique, allowing on-board and on-demand production of hydrogen from conventional fuels like diesel and bio oils, enabling fuel cells to be operated without any need for a hydrogen supply chain or storage.

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‘A major driving requirement for the defence industry at the moment is silence.’

The prototype generator is forming the basis of the Cool Flame project being carried out in partnership with Marshall Land Systems (MLS).

In December 2010, it was announced that the system would be ready to demonstrate to carefully selected end users by the spring of this year, following successful independent testing by both partners.

The silent, diesel-powered product is designed to produce power outputs suitable for driving a wide variety of electronic equipment and provide auxiliary power where silent running is required. According to Tim Otter, future business director at MLS, who spoke to MLI about the programme, the Norwegian military has had exposure to the system and is interested in it.

The diesel-operated MTG is one of the most widely deployed man-portable systems in use with the US Army. (Photo: Dewey Electronics)

‘When looking at the requirements that drove the technology, they were threefold,’ he said. ‘First, it must comply with the NATO fuel policy; two, it should be quiet – preferably truly silent, but as quiet as possible; and three, [it was necessary] to understand the mass/volume issues to do with the scalability of power and get it down to a size that is useful on the battlefield.’

Another major concern of the development was to achieve a good understanding and an immediate reduction of the electromagnetic signature issues. ‘We have done that,’ Otter

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This HGI auxiliary power unit powers the Italian Army’s ARTHUR weapon locating system radars.

(Photo: HGI)

continued, ‘and we are now in the process of eliminating those problems.

‘We’ve demonstrated it in conceptual form to a number of potential UK military users, and there’s definitely a “wow” factor. We have agreed to continue the work we’re doing and keep potential customers up to date with our progress so that they can see where we’re going and help us to shape that work because, at the end of the day, there’s no point creating a product that is fantastic but has little practical military application.’

ALL THINGS TO ALL MEN

One of the most widely deployed military generators used by the British MoD is the 2kW Lightweight Field Generator (LFG), manufactured by Harrington Generators International (HGI). Ian Sinclair, defence account manager for the firm, spoke to MLI about the impact that logistical practicalities can have on generator usage and deployment in the military sector.

‘The LFG has been heralded as a benchmark product by the MoD,’ he said. ‘It was developed with versatility in mind, in large part because of the logistical footprint of generators in a military setting.’ The LFG is versatile, is able to generate different power outputs and is capable of being used as an auxiliary power unit on vehicles. ‘And as it can produce whatever power is required in harsh environments, the machine is being specified as the generator to be used on various other systems that are being brought into the MoD,’ Sinclair explained.

Versatility is important because the MoD is looking to keep restrictions on the number of different types of generators it has to look after.

Not only can the LFG be easily transported on practically any vehicle in the British military inventory, but it can be incorporated into different systems. And as HGI is focussed on retaining as much commonality as possible between modified versions on different platforms, the supply chain does not have to be altered or recreated in order to support numerous generator types.

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Around 4,000 LFGs are in active service with the British military, including as an auxiliary power source on the Warthog vehicles being deployed to Afghanistan with the British Army. According to Sinclair, one thing that makes the LFG so special is that it was the first variablespeed-inverter generator to be used by the country’s army. The LFG has the ability to output any voltage configuration at any time: 110V, 240V AC and 28V DC. It can run at multiple speeds with total voltage stability for sensitive applications, whilst delivering optimum fuel efficiency.

‘The LFG can replace various AC and DC generators all in one,’ he said, ‘which makes it versatile and cutting edge for its time, and helps to keep the supply chain to a minimum.’

OVERALL POWER SOLUTION

When talking about the future of the military generator market, Sinclair pointed to clean fuel – something that HGI is continuously looking at, particularly as the British MoD is becoming increasingly interested in reducing its reliance on fossil fuels over the coming years. ‘It’s likely to become a key requirement within the next decade,’ he opined. ‘And we’re looking at alternative sources and ways to incorporate those into an overall power solution.’

Logistical convoys are increasingly coming under IED attack in Afghanistan and Iraq, and with the price of fuel rising year on year, alternative energy sources have many potential benefits when it comes to looking at the difficulties involved in keeping the battlefield supplied with power. Along with other considerations, including electronic emissions, maintenance and transportation of the generators themselves, industry players are striving to meet these challenges in new and innovative ways, and to increase the operational capabilities of FOBs around the world. MLI www.mil-log.com

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AIRLIFT

‘Customers are all looking for the same three things – range, payload and reliability.’

Claire Apthorp examines the evolving strategic and tactical air transport requirements of nations in the Asia-Pacific region, and looks at the range of aircraft types in service or under evaluation.

WINGS OVER THE PACIFIC

he Asia-Pacific transport aircraft market is currently well served by a handful of established airlift platforms that carry out troop and equipment transport, as well as disaster and humanitarian relief operations.

The region has a mix of both legacy fleet and next-generation aircraft, and is likely to see significant growth in this area over the coming decade. As Asian countries become wealthier, more militarily ambitious and concerned about their economic exclusion zones, the collective requirement for multi-role aircraft with the versatility to meet a number of missions is fuelling an increase in demand for both tactical and strategic airlift platforms.

T

GLOBAL WORKHORSE

The transport aircraft requirements of AsiaPacific countries are unique in many ways. With vast coastlines and land areas to cover, the movement of supplies and personnel, even within a country, can require aircraft capable of covering strategic distances. The Lockheed Martin C-130, often referred to as the workhorse of the world’s medium-lift fleet, is operated by numerous nations within the region, including Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, either in its original guise or in improved C-130J Super Hercules form.

‘We sold the first C-130 Hercules into the Asia-Pacific region in 1957 to Australia, and since then, 170 aircraft have been sold in that market segment,’ Jack Crisler, Lockheed Martin’s business development director, C-130J international, told MLI. ‘When you look at our customers within the region, they are all looking for exactly the same three things – range, payload and reliability.

‘The C-130 delivers on all of those requirements, and we have over 700,000 flight hours under our belt. So I can go to a customer today and tell them a story of proven performance, a proven manufacturing process, and proven delivery of aircraft of the highest quality ever

Malaysia is a prolific user of the ‘classic’ C-130, with aircraft split between two units, 14 and 20 Sqns. (Photo: ADF)

www.mil-log.com

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experienced. With the C-130, the customer knows exactly what they are getting – high performance and virtually no risk.’

Importantly, Lockheed sees the C-130 as being ideally suited to the cargo loads that are being carried within the region, both in support of military operations and on humanitarian missions. The J model, with all-new engines, combines a strategic range with the tactical capabilities of the C-130H, as well as adding true multi-role and multi-mission capabilities and greater operational efficiency. ‘All of this increases customer value,’ Crisler said, ‘and our customers understand the importance of that value.’

CONTINUING SUCCESS

The C-130J is seeing increasing deployment.

Within the past few years, a number of nations have placed orders for the type, either under Foreign Military Sales (FMS) with the US government or a direct commercial sale. The first of six C-130Js was delivered to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in December 2010. These were ordered in 2008 as part of an FMS deal worth $1.2 billion. The package includes aircrew and maintenance training, spares, ground support and test equipment, servicing carts, forklifts, loading vehicles, cargo pallets, and a team of technical specialists who will be based in India for a three-year initial support period.

A number of systems are included in the aircraft to meet IAF special operations capability requirements, including an infrared

The RAAF now has four C-17s for its strategic airlift needs. The type has been widely used to support Australian troops in Afghanistan. (Photo: ADF)

detection set for precision low-level flying, airdrops and landing in blackout conditions.

Self-protection systems and other features are also included to ensure aircraft survivability in hostile air defence environments, as well as airto-air receiver refuelling capability for extendedrange operations.

The Republic of Korea (RoK) also signed a contract with Lockheed in December for the delivery of four longer-fuselage ‘stretched’ combat delivery C-130J variants. Delivery is scheduled for 2014 and includes a two-year support programme comprising aircrew and maintenance training.

‘The RoK has flown the C-130H for many years and is very excited about the new capability that the C-130J will bring to its air force,’ said Jim Grant, Lockheed Martin’s VP, business development, air mobility. ‘The stretched-fuselage version adds 15ft – two pallet positions – to the aircraft. And as they operate a legacy fleet already, they will be able to take advantage of support equipment, common spares and knowledge of the C-130H to reach full operational capability as soon as possible.’

Singapore is currently upgrading its C-130H fleet with Rockwell Collins navigation and surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) technology, resulting in a state-of-the-art flight deck and improved situational awareness

capabilities. Life extension and upgrade programmes such as this figure strongly in Lockheed’s marketing strategy for the region.

‘The legacy aeroplanes that we built 20 years ago are still flying at a fairly high operational tempo, and this market for recapitalisation of air mobility capability and sustainment, and upgrades of existing fleets, provides us with opportunities to look at how those aeroplanes remain viable for their entire service life,’ Grant explained. ‘Customers must evaluate their mission requirements against their budgets and determine the viability of extensive upgrades versus moving over to the C-130J, and we’re there to support them either way.’

In all, Lockheed is looking forward to a continued period of success within the AsiaPacific market. ‘Our customers are familiar and happy with the C-130, and we believe we are in the sweet spot of customer requirements,’ said Grant. ‘The C-130J is able to work in “high/hot” environments very effectively, and the aeroplane can be configured quickly to deal with a whole range of multi-mission requirements. We’re a proven performer and can deliver at no risk to our customer. They know exactly what they’re getting, so we expect the market for airlift – particularly in the size bracket where the C-130J sits – to continue to be very attractive.’

TACTICAL CONTENDER

The Indian Air Force took delivery of its first C-130J Super Hercules during the Aero India show in Bangalore in February. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)

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At the smaller end of the medium tactical airlift market, the Alenia/L-3 C-27J has a maximum payload of 11,300kg and can be configured for a variety of missions including troop transport, medical evacuation, airdrop or cargo lift. It is lighter than a C-130J and is able to make better use of short and unprepared airstrips. The type is being evaluated by Australia, India and Taiwan.

Ken McAlpin, VP of programmes for L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, believes that the aircraft’s versatility will drive interest in the Asia-Pacific market – an area he believes to be particularly well suited to the C-27J. www.mil-log.com

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AIRLIFT

‘Operators get a lot of confidence from knowing that the USAF has already done a lot of the groundwork.’

‘When you look at the countries in the AsiaPacific region, a lot of them don’t require the full cargo capacity of a C-130, so a C-27J gives them what they actually need,’ he said. ‘And its handling of unprepared airfields means it has the capability to go to more places. The AsiaPacific region has so much variation in the types of missions carried out by tactical airlifters, which is well met by the C-27J’s versatility – it gives them more cards to play, and there’s great efficiency in that.’

The C-27J’s smaller size makes the aircraft a good match for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), which has an ongoing requirement for fixed-wing airlifters since the retirement of its DHC-4 Caribou fleet in 2009. The Australian Defence Force’s (ADF’s) Project Air 8000 is seeking to enhance intra-theatre and regional airlift capability with solutions able to operate from a wide range of rudimentary airstrips with useful payload, range and frontline survivability.

‘When you look at Australia’s operating environment, the C-27J is a great match because of the short take-off and landing, and it matches well with the Caribou’s size, which would make it a great replacement if they wanted to do that.’ Also on the C-27J’s side is the fact that it shares engines and other systems with the C-130J, which from a logistics standpoint makes it very attractive to customers – like Australia – who already operate Super Hercules aircraft.

A leading selling point for the C-27J in the Asia-Pacific market is the aircraft’s selection by the USAF for its Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) competition in 2007. ‘As with any international programme, it’s very helpful when you go out into the market with something that’s already in the US military’s inventory,’ McAlpin explained.

‘Potential customers get a lot of confidence from knowing that the USAF has already done a lot of the groundwork needed to deploy an aircraft safely, and of course interoperability with the US is absolutely a big deal. Plus it speaks well for the aircraft itself because it has been selected by the USAF.’ www.mil-log.com

EUROPEAN CONNECTION

While the Airbus Military A400M continues to find its feet, EADS’s interests in the Asia-Pacific market persist with legacy CASA CN235 fleets

and the newer C-295 medium-lift aircraft. The CN235 is operated by Indonesia, Malaysia, the RoK and Thailand within Asia-Pacific, performing missions including military force movement

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and disaster relief operations. The C-295, designed to expand the medium tactical capabilities of the CN235, is able to land on short, unimproved runways in adverse weather conditions and is in service with the armed forces of more than ten countries worldwide.

According to sources close to the programme, the A400M has yet to be actively marketed in Asia, as the first priority for Airbus Military at this point is existing European customers who are still waiting for delivery of their already overdue aircraft. That said, Malaysia has signed up for four aircraft, and the manufacturer believes that there is no close competitor to the type currently available.

In terms of capability, the A400M fills the gap between tactical transporters and strategic airlifters, and is designed to travel further and faster than most in-service airlifters, as well as carrying larger payloads. When the A400M programme hits its stride, the aircraft could well be very attractive to customers within the region who are looking for a truly multi-role transport airlifter as current platforms reach the end of their service lives.

AIRLIFTER OF CHOICE

Boeing also believes that the long-term international market for its transport aircraft is very positive. The C-17 Globemaster III has been in operation since the 1990s and is particularly well suited to delivering equipment, troops and supplies directly to small airfields in harsh terrain. The high-wing, four-engine, T-tailed aircraft can take off from a 2,300m airfield, carry a payload of 74,800kg, travel strategic distances of up to 4,450km, refuel in flight and land on small, austere airfields with 900m landing strips.

The C-17 has also been particularly successful with the USAF, whose early adoption of the aircraft has been a key driver of its growing popularity among international customers. ‘Asia-Pacific represents over 50% of [our] international business, making this region the largest international defence market for Boeing,’ Joe Song, VP of international business

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The C-27J is being widely marketed across Asia and has been touted as a replacement for the DHC-4 Caribou in Australia. (Photo: L-3 Communications)

development – Asia-Pacific at Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS), explained.

‘We consider it to be a significant market for current BDS platforms and future growth. Our relationship with the USAF is a big factor here, as our international customers look for interoperability with USAF platforms and systems, which is a key discriminator for our key campaigns around the world – and this speaks to concepts of interoperability that extend beyond just the use of the same equipment, but also factor in similar operating concepts, training and logistics support in the Asia-Pacific domain.’

In the current market, the C-17 is the only strategic transport currently in production, which is a driving factor in it being the ‘airlifter of choice’, according to Tommy Dunehew, VP business development at Boeing Mobility. Combining both strategic and tactical capabilities, the C-17 is the ‘global airlift standard’ for long-range direct delivery of outsize cargo and passengers, and forms the backbone of international airlift missions, supporting contingency, humanitarian relief and peacekeeping efforts around the world.

Of over 200 units in service worldwide, four are in the Asia-Pacific region, having been delivered to the RAAF between 2006 and 2008 as part of the replacement of its C-130H fleet.

Japan and the RoK have both considered the aircraft recently, and in November it was announced that India had reached a preliminary agreement with the US government for the acquisition of ten C-17s, with a final agreement anticipated this year.

As Dunehew sees it, potential airlift customers are looking for affordability, proven capability and viable total life-cycle costs within an economic environment that is increasingly challenging. For nations looking to modernise their capabilities with an airlifter that offers both

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strategic and tactical capabilities and maintains a high mission readiness rate, the through-life support options offered with prospective sales of the C-17 are making the type very attractive to countries experiencing downward pressure on defence budgets.

‘The C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership [GSP] is a public/private agreement designed around the concept of performancebased logistics where the customer pays for readiness, not specific parts or services,’ said Dunehew. ‘Under the agreement, Boeing is responsible for all C-17 sustainment activities, including material management and depot maintenance support. The partnership capitalises on Boeing’s expertise with air force depots to ensure readiness levels which meet customer needs.’

MARKET RESILIENCE

‘Through the GSP agreement, all C-17 customers “buy into” a pool of unique spare parts and support. This “virtual fleet” concept eliminates the requirement for each customer to purchase and maintain individual inventories and support personnel, ultimately making the C-17 more affordable to own and operate.’

As far as the future of the market is concerned, airlift manufacturers are going to be subjected to the same challenges as the worldwide economy in general. But this segment may prove somewhat more resilient than others in the defence industry because, as Lockheed’s Grant told MLI: ‘The value of airlift is increasing, not decreasing. If you look at the customers in this region, they all – virtually every month – are flying somewhere in support of humanitarian operations, taking care of people in their own countries and looking after their neighbours. And that will continue, regardless of the requirement to move troops and equipment in support of combat operations.’ MLI www.mil-log.com

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BATTLE DAMAGE REPAIR

A reluctance to fly equipment ‘back home’, the use of pre-fabricated repair kits and greater contractor involvement are adding new dimensions to the task of fixing ISAF vehicles damaged in combat in Afghanistan, finds Andrew White.

(All photos: US DoD)

PICKING UP THE PIECES

hether it is the correct strategy for operations in Afghanistan or not, the widespread use of armoured vehicles in-theatre has caused many a headache when it comes to battle damage repair (BDR).

Vehicles carrying reinforced ballistic protection, C4ISR and counter-IED technology are now so heavy and cumbersome that possibilities for rapid airlift following a ‘contact’ have been reduced.

Not so long ago, armoured vehicles were shipped ‘home’ in order to carry out repairs. But such are the demand and reliance placed on these vehicles amidst the current tactics, techniques and procedures in south-west Asia that it is no longer acceptable to have them ‘unserviceable’ for even the smallest amount of time.

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COMMON PROBLEMS

Unable to comment on mission specifics for ‘operational security’ reasons, the US Army’s Program Office for Tactical Vehicles informed MLI that the most frequent in-field repairs on operations in Afghanistan normally comprise ‘hydraulic and electrical trouble’, especially on older vehicles.

It added that the proportion of vehicles sent back to the US was dependent on the ‘extent of damage’ and repeated the same answer when asked whether IED-hit vehicles could ever www.mil-log.com

be serviced in the field and returned to action as soon as possible.

Elsewhere, the UK MoD’s Defence Support Group (DSG) has responded to similar issues with the Equipment Sustainability Solution (ESS), which had a planned ‘in-service’ date of April 2010.

Located at Camp Bastion, the UK’s major base in Helmand Province providing support to a network of smaller forward operating bases (FOBs) and patrol bases (PBs) dotted in and around the valley, ESS was designed to support the ‘enduring nature’ of NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operations, according to DSG. Capable of dealing with the recuperation, repair and modification of vehicles in theatre, DSG said it expected ESS to be a more ‘efficient, cost-effective and operationally sound way of dealing with equipments’.

‘Much of this would otherwise have to be shipped out of theatre, perhaps to the UK, replaced or otherwise dealt with at greater cost and over a longer period of time,’ according to the DSG’s Maj Gen Ian Dale.

Describing ESS as a static facility inside a secure compound, he added: ‘It is therefore amenable to being staffed and run by civilian components. That could be a combination of the DSG expertise at various stages [and] it could also be forward support representatives

from industry. So it could be a combination of contractors, DSG and REME [Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers] soldiers.’

Managed in conjunction with the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ), prime contractor KBR was unable to provide further information as MLI went to press, and the UK’s MoD was also unable to comment on ESS’s current operational state.

However, industry sources have told MLI that ESS is operational to some extent, although it has yet to reach full operating capability. ‘It appears it might be running slightly behind schedule,’ one said.

GETTING INVOLVED

One company hoping to get involved with ESS is Supacat, which provides UK forces operating in Afghanistan with the Jackal and Coyote High Mobility Transporter (HMT) vehicles. ‘Supacat is not directly involved in ESS, but DSG staff are being trained by Supacat. We can offer OEM field service representatives [FSRs] for deployment if required,’ according to the company’s commercial and customer support manager, John Treasure.

‘The MoD is beginning to realise that lack of direct OEM support is a major disadvantage, and the emphasis from HQ Land is on getting more involvement from the design authority, rather than relying on ad-hoc support from

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various contractors who have limited knowledge of the HMT,’ he told MLI. Unable to comment on the number of vehicles damaged during ISAF operations in Afghanistan, Treasure described the ‘most frequent problems’ associated with BDR as being a fundamental ‘lack of knowledge, lack of up-to-date publications and lack of OEM involvement’, rather than the testing environmental conditions.

‘Currently, several [vehicles] have been sent back [to the UK] but by its nature, the HMT tends to be damaged beyond repair with a direct hit [by an IED], as it has enough armour to offer protection for the crew but is not an armoured taxi.

‘To get the right balance of protection, mobility and firepower for a reconnaissance vehicle [means] it won’t then have the armour to protect the vehicle, relying instead on terrain accessibility to avoid IED-rich routes,’ he continued.

Treasure told MLI that ‘in-the-field’ BDR is possible, but only in the exceptional circumstances of damage being ‘light’. Quite how this is measured is not clear, but Treasure described how a wheel station, for example, could be easily replaced in such a situation.

‘We understand it is the MoD’s ambition to have OEM involvement for this support, even if it is under a “big player” [eg, KBR or Babcock] umbrella. We can deliver an improved solution and have made several suggestions to the various users,’ Treasure explained.

However, referring to the UK MoD, one industry source told MLI that there is ‘inevitably a funding issue [with] the individual procurement departments [keen] to be in control of the options. ‘[Companies] continue to press and the field army users are keen to be involved in user groups, even if the fund holders are not. It is becoming a support rather than a delivery environment, and those larger organisations are now focussing attention on gathering as much [information] as possible. The MoD’s ambition is to have OEM involvement, even if it is sub-contracted.’

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Ever more powerful IEDs are immobilising military vehicles in Afghanistan, despite growing levels of protection.

Another solution has been Supacat’s ‘onestop shop’ web-based initiative, designed to give international customers the ability to compare and contrast capabilities, as well as viewing the latest equipment. Treasure told MLI that customers had been ‘receptive’.

Having first gone live with a ‘dummy’ site in 2010, the service was initially run in cooperation with the Australian Department of Defence, which is understood to have procured around 31 Surveillance and Reconnaissance Vehicles, MLI was informed.

TOTAL SOLUTION

Elsewhere, Oshkosh Defense’s VP and general manager of international programmes, Serge Buchakjian, explained to MLI how industry is providing a total solution to coalition forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere, irrespective of whether a particular company has supplied its own vehicle or not.

‘We also have been supporting the Netherlands with FSRs for more than two years on equipment that was not manufactured by Oshkosh,’ he noted.

Since its inception in 2007, critics of the US Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) programme have criticised its lack of commonality in design due to a multitude of manufacturers and platforms. This, they claim, has only added to the logistical burden in Afghanistan.

Currently, Oshkosh has some 280 FSRs operating in Afghanistan, providing ‘sustainment support’ to US forces. ‘This includes operator and maintenance vehicle training, technical assistance and other maintenance and sustainment support to help ensure vehicles are ready for any mission, at any time,’ Buchakjian continued.

For the M-ATV (MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle) in particular, Oshkosh has over 240 FSRs supporting the programme in Afghanistan,

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where ‘thousands’ of the vehicles are deployed.

FSRs are also present to help with the Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles (FHTV), Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) and Logistics Vehicle System Replacement (LVSR) for the US Marine Corps. Oshkosh FSRs are also working on the integration of the TAK-4 independent suspension system onto legacy MRAPs in order to ‘improve vehicle off-road mobility’.

EQUIPMENT PROVISION

‘We also work closely with the US military on the Theater-Provided Equipment Refurbishment [TPER] programme [where] battle-damaged and heavily worn vehicles from the army’s heavy and line-haul fleets are brought to our Kuwait facility and refurbished. The vehicles are restored in accordance with the military’s strict equipment readiness standards and then returned to the field,’ he continued.

‘The TPER programme eliminates shipping and transportation costs, and reduces the maintenance cycle time to improve operational availability to military members. In all, this process removes at least 60 days of vehicle transport to and from a US-based repair site.

‘We have refurbished more than 1,500 heavy trucks and approximately 450 line-haul trucks to date, and we continue to work closely with the army, Defense Logistics Agency and other military departments on this important programme,’ Buchakjian said.

‘Oshkosh Defense engineers, logisticians and technicians have worked together with the US forces to develop battle damage assessment and repair [BDAR] kits that help expedite the field-level repairs for our equipment.

We also have developed de-processing kits for newly fielded equipment and two levels of recommended spare parts for the appropriate supply distribution points in Afghanistan,’ he told MLI. www.mil-log.com

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BATTLE DAMAGE REPAIR

‘Most damage to vehicles is from IEDs and not terrain.’

Additionally, Buchakjian explained how Oshkosh is responsible for managing the TPER programme: ‘To keep the programme running successfully, we continue to focus on communicating extensively with our military partners and also managing a parts flow that can see anything from 300 to 1,000 replacement parts being used for a single vehicle.

‘We also have addressed in-theatre repairs at the design level for our vehicles. The FHTV that we produce for the US Army is compliant with the army’s Long-Term Armor Strategy [LTAS],’ he explained.

The LTAS means that vehicles are produced with factory-installed armour and can also accept additional add-on armour in the field. This modular approach makes it easier to upgrade and repair a vehicle’s armour package in theatre, as opposed to returning the entire platform to a repair site in the US, Buchakjian urged.

Oshkosh’s A4 configuration of the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) was the first LTAS-compliant vehicle delivered

to the army, and he explained how the company is also producing M-ATVs, MTVRs, LVSRs and Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles with this same ‘modular’ approach. ‘It delivers improved protection for military members, and reduces vehicle downtime for maintenance and repairs,’ he added.

MULTI-NATIONAL PRESENCE

Force Protection, another company with a multi-national presence in Afghanistan, has just finished a ‘complete look’ at its BDR strategy over the last year, according to Diana Echols and Larry Eberfeld, director operations for logistics and senior director for UK programmes, respectively.

‘We don’t send vehicles back to the UK or US. Instead, blast kits tailored from past information on vehicular damage can be turned around in a day’ at Force Protection sites in Bagram, Camp Bastion, Kandahar and Camp Leatherneck, they told MLI. On top of this, Force Protection is also capable of sending its nine FSRs dedicated for UK armed forces duties out to FOBs, PBs and command posts to deal with damaged vehicles. Echols said there were additional FSRs allocated to US forces.

Current trends for vehicle repairs have swung away from ‘shipping them home’ strategies to in-theatre options.

www.mil-log.com

A number of ‘specific’ provinces in the vast expanses of Afghanistan are seeing a ‘greater number’ of IED blasts, although the company did not go into further detail. ‘Therefore, we are building blast kits to tailor solutions such as the axle repair capability for the USMC at [Camp] Leatherneck which has just stood up,’ Eberfeld told MLI. ‘Most damage [to vehicles] is from IEDs and not terrain,’ according to Echols.

‘The main problems are axles and fenders. The design of vehicles is survivable, and in nine out of ten IED blasts, we are able to repair it,’ she said, describing the Cougar vehicle’s V-shaped hull.

Unable to comment on specific numbers of damaged vehicles and citing operational security reasons, Force Protection described how it has established large warehouses of spare parts with ballistic protection specialist NP Aerospace at Camp Bastion in order to supply blast kits for FOB-bound FSRs. ‘Spares do become an issue,’ admitted Eberfeld.

The company currently provides up to a dozen different blast kits, and admits that it is already looking at supplying additional variants for the UK’s forthcoming Light Protected Patrol Vehicles (LPPVs), due to come into service next year. There can be up to 100 separate parts per kit, it emerged.

‘This allows an FSR to grab one quickly and get out to an FOB. They go where needed, but are not allowed to go outside the “wire”, although a lot would be prepared to,’ Echols conceded.

‘The LPPV will have the same approach, but it is a very different vehicle. Specific blast kits have not been completed for this yet, due to its different axles, etc,’ she explained.

To conclude, it appears there is much work still to be done before a ‘gold standard’ BDR strategy has been achieved, and this may not come to fruition before any pull-out from Afghanistan. But with coalition forces keen on the force projection provided by OEMs, the process is set to gather pace over the coming months. MLI

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

‘Old systems usually last forever, like self-licking ice cream cones.’

DATA ON DEMAND Henry Canaday looks at how the Defense Logistics Agency and US Transportation Command are putting the finishing touches to a comprehensive system for tracking logistics, which should replace the current Global Transportation Network.

f all goes to plan, the new system will eventually provide ‘a common operating picture for logistics for the entire DoD, with everyone using the same data, not arguing with each other about who has the correct data’, predicted Lt Col Walter Nichols, programme manager for Integrated Data Environment/Global Transportation Network Convergence (IGC).

‘There is no other programme in defence that is close to what we are doing,’ added John Rusnak of Mitre, chief architect of IGC. The old Global Transportation Network (GTN) was built by Lockheed Martin for US Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) in the early 1990s to track supplies, shipments and unit movements. ‘It tied together trucks, ships and other modes. It was state of the art then,’ Nichols explained. ‘But it was getting long in the tooth and the leadership asked for more capabilities.’

I

MILLENNIUM SHIFT

Around the turn of the millennium, USTRANSCOM attempted an upgrade, dubbed GTN21, to meet its new needs. The effort was halted because it looked unlikely to achieve its goals. ‘We brought in a number of contractors to see how we could meet the requirements,’ Nichols noted. ‘They said if you want to do all this, here is what you need.’

All the data on supplies, transport and unit movements needed to go into an enterprise data warehouse (EDW), which USTRANSCOM had acquired from Teradata for GTN21. Reports and dashboards could be built within this EDW, eliminating duplicate software and licences for each user.

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) in turn had both supply expertise and a data broker, its new enterprise service bus (the ‘Integrated Data Environment’ part of IGC). ‘Why build

DLA riggers prepare to offload trailers from a flatbed railway truck. Tracking and costing multimodal shipments will be easier with IGC. (Photos: US DoD)

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MILITARY LOGISTICS INTERNATIONAL | January/February 2011 | Volume 6 Issue 1

that again?’ Nichols said. ‘Instead of users going to source systems, they could go to DLA’s service bus. It could replace an expensive hairball of separate lines to separate sources.’

Indeed, the new system would tap 30 unclassified and classified source systems within the DoD and 600 feeds from private carriers like UPS and FedEx. So USTRANSCOM and DLA teamed up.

DLA took the lead because it had a good track record of delivering IT systems. Work began in October 2007 in three spirals, to prove value to leadership and get feedback from customers.

VIRTUOUS SPIRALS

The first spiral was built a dashboard for the US Army to monitor performance of commercial carriers. ‘We looked at how many days it took to ship stuff and what the carriers were reporting to the army. We found discrepancies, and one carrier was dropped.’

A second spiral yielded a similar dashboard for USAF Air Mobility Command to track shipments of less than 150lb. The third spiral gave USTRANSCOM analysts a new way of looking at how much each transport leg and route was used and what it cost. ‘They do deep dives into data, and they had only 90 days of data, but needed five years.’ The analysts at first resisted converting to the new system due to its unfamiliarity, but soon found it was ‘like a Ferrari compared with their old grandmother’s Ford’, Nichols joked.

The next step was an RfP for full convergence. The $89 million contract was won

by Lockheed Martin as prime contractor in October 2008. The EDW would contain three layers: raw data from sources and feeds; www.mil-log.com

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Lt Col Walter Nichols (left) says rapid development teams will be able to customise the system to meet users’ specific needs.

data grouped by type, for example ship movements; and the visualisation layer for reports and dashboards.

The Lockheed Martin team proceeded with its own three spirals. First, it brought in unclassified DoD data, then classified DoD data and finally data from the 600 carrier feeds.

By early December 2010, the new system was still being tested rigorously by outside firms brought in by the contractor. There were technical tests for speed, and the team was still validating data with users. ‘We are doing small releases of different parts of the system – users must be absolutely confident of the data,’ Nichols said.

He expected to finish testing in January and submit IGC for a full deployment decision review in February. If approved, that would mean ‘killing’ the old GTN. HIGH FUNCTIONALITY

‘The key for us is allowing DoD folk to have additional capabilities without having to build them,’ Nichols explained. Around 90% of IGC users will be in functional and regional commands outside of USTRANSCOM and the www.mil-log.com

DLA: ‘It is net-centric and they do not have to add anything to their PCs.’ Therefore, instead of wasting time pulling together data from many sources, users can tap the EDW, which already contains all the information. ‘We can email it to them the next morning, and they can spend time on analysis, not data delay.’

If pre-set dashboards do not answer all their questions, users can make ad-hoc queries.

Rapid development teams can help build queries, develop new dashboards for frequently asked questions or contract out development.

‘If we just replace GTN, we will be successful,’ Nichols said. ‘But we hope over time it grows to meet all DoD requirements for logistics.’

Mitre’s Rusnak ran the team that recommended shut-down of the $100 million GTN21 effort in 2004. ‘GTN had customised codes near the end of their life, not geared to the speed of current operations,’ he explained.

‘They needed the DLA’s enterprise service bus, and they needed an EDW and business intelligence tools.’

Rusnak sought cutting-edge tools so users could query both historical and real-time data, view reports and dashboards, and slice and dice the data. ‘We knew from the beginning this would be used by all the DoD, and we planned to make it reliable, accessible wherever you are and scalable. We did not want to build for 5,000 current users. We wanted the ability to grow.’

IGC has had mobile training teams in the field for months with the user community. ‘One key to success is they need to learn it – it looks very different, modern,’ Rusnak said. Rapid development teams are another key aspect. ‘If a commander in the field says he is moving from

A to B and wants to track his shipments, the team can have a dashboard for him in a couple of hours.’

After years on the project, Rusnak is now looking forward to the final withdrawal of the old GTN: ‘That never happens in government. Old systems usually last forever, like self-licking ice cream cones.’

The new system began with version 5 of a Teradata EDW. Soon switched to version 6, it now uses version 12 and will convert to version 13 next year for added capabilities covering geographical location and temporal data. ‘We were chosen because we could grow as the programme grew. We knew they would add new applications and requirements,’ said Dennis Drayer of Teradata Government Systems.

LOGICAL MODEL

Transition from EDW versions usually takes only two days and poses no challenges. But to fully exploit its capabilities for speedy download, analysis and retrieval, data must be stored according to a logical data model (LDM). It took about four months to ensure that this LDM was correct when the new effort began.

Scale is not much of a challenge – IGC is one of Teradata’s largest projects in the government sector, approaching 60 terabytes of data. But Teradata has nine private-sector customers that store more than a petabyte each.

‘We are approaching capacity in IGC’s unclassified data, but we can scale easily,’ Drayer said.

The keys to getting all this running fast and economically, according to Rusnak, are to ‘define the architecture up front, do it in pieces and do not try to eat the elephant whole’. MLI

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AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE

‘There was corrosion for which we had indications, but we did not predict all of it.’

FASTER AND FASTER Henry Canaday looks at how the USAF is moving towards high-velocity maintenance, modelled on commercial practices, to maximise efficiency and minimise the downtime of expensive assets.

igh-velocity maintenance (HVM) has four basic tenets: 1) understanding the condition of each aircraft prior to its arrival in depot; 2) having everything necessary to do maintenance – parts, tools and manpower – ready when the aircraft arrives; and 3) following a standard sequence of work during depot visits; all of which should yield 4) a higher burn rate and better aircraft availability.

Burn rate here means the man-hours per day actually devoted to maintenance – in other words, more needed maintenance will get done each day, minimising downtime and increasing availability.

These tenets must be applied differently to each type of aircraft. Though the USAF hopes to eventually apply HVM across its entire fleet, the programme is starting with three types: the C-130 Hercules at Warner Robins AFB, Georgia, the B-1 Lancer at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, and the F-22 Raptor at Hill AFB, Utah. The programme is furthest along on the C-130.

H

may be done in any order, according to the specific needs of each aircraft, explains air force product manager Doug Keene. During each visit, the depot will do isochronal inspections of other sections of the aeroplane.

Warner Robins is now validating the HVM approach, and the fifth C-130 in the programme finished its 18-month visit at the end of November. The depot plans to do nine validation visits in all. ‘We are more than halfway through and close to the original schedule,’ Keene said.

‘The big work is up front before they come in.’

The first HVM tenet, understanding the aircraft, has generally been met – there were no real surprises on the first four visits. ‘But on the fifth we did a much bigger package, practically a full PDM,’ Keene noted. ‘There were still not enormous surprises, but there was corrosion for

which we had indications, although we did not predict all of it.’

Preparation of parts and tools has been solid throughout validation, and the depot is getting better at the third tenet, task planning and rapid adjustment for changes. ‘On the first two visits we had to stop if we got out of sequence,’ Keene said. ‘We brought in four industrial engineers to prepare the work packages, and we can now adjust much faster.’

BURNING BRIGHTER

Burn rate, originally 125-145 hours a day of touch labour, has been increased to more than 300. The depot is aiming for 500, which should cut downtime by more than half.

Warner Robins now plans to shift to production HVM within about a year, although

BREAKING WITH TRADITION

Traditional scheduled programme depot maintenance (PDM) on C-130s was done once every six years, while isochronal inspections to assess conditions and identify future work were done in the field every 450 days.

Under HVM, PDM is broken up into four visits at 18-month intervals. One visit concentrates on the fuselage, another on wings, another on the tail section and the last on flight controls. These

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The F-22 is being used as another pioneer platform for HVM, but the modernity of the aircraft means that the tenets are applied in a different way.

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AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE

HVM processes have been introduced on early C-130Hs, but the concept is now being applied to modern J-model aircraft. (Photos: USAF)

the first such visits will overlap with some continuing validation checks. New fleet scheduling software has been selected and should be running in nine months. Keene said he still needed a fleet management application and a decision on where the data will reside.

Warner Robins has been validating HVM on legacy C-130s, mostly H models, and will do its first HVM on the newer J in April. ‘They had to use worst-case assumptions for the older fleet, but they can tailor inspections for Js based on its structural health monitoring system,’ emphasised Tom Wetherall, deputy VP, business development, for global sustainment at Lockheed Martin.

The plan is to apply HVM to all air force C-130s, and the approach may spread further.

‘This could definitely apply to non-US C-130s,’ Wetherall said. ‘We discuss this sort of thing at our operators’ conference in Marietta [Georgia] every October.’ He noted that Saudi Arabia operates 50 C-130s and HVM can be tailored to very small fleets as well.

GETTING THE DATA

PDM has been done on the B-1 every five years, and Tinker is now considering intervals of 15, 30 or the traditional 60 months. ‘We need the data to support that decision,’ said air force HVM team leader Steve Walker. ‘We are prototyping now to generate the data.’

In November, Tinker did its second prototype HVM visit. ‘We are bringing in newly reengineered processes for certain maintenance tasks,’ Walker said. Tinker re-engineered two www.mil-log.com

tasks on the first prototype, two more on the second and will do another on the third. ‘We want to crawl before we walk, and walk before we run.’

The aim is a mechanic-centric focus, with kits of parts, tools and technical documents ready: ‘We want the mechanic to be like a surgeon with an optimal sequence and a checklist to follow.’ This thorough preparation involves the entire B-1 supplier community, as well as USAF engineers and mechanics.

‘We will not make the decision to go to HVM until we know it will work, but we are already doing HVM on certain tasks,’ Walker said. He expects to complete prototype visits by September 2011. Tinker may not have done all maintenance tasks the HVM way by then, ‘but we will have done enough to know at that point’.

The next step would be choosing the interval and scheduling a roll-out.

Tinker’s major challenges have been trialling HVM while fulfilling its routine responsibilities and understanding aircraft condition prior to induction. It is working with two contractors on the latter challenge.

NEW GENERATION

Hill chose to start HVM on the F-22, rather than F-16s or A-10s – the process will take a different form on this new aircraft type compared to the older C-130s and B-1s. Many HVM concepts and tenets were already built into the F-22 programme from the start, noted Lt Col Eric North, manager of F-22 systems support.

‘We are looking at HVM tenets and will implement as many as we can,’ he said. ‘We will try to glean areas for improvement of our processes.’ North’s team is thus concentrating on understanding the aircraft, standardising work and upping the burn rate of touch labour.

F-22s arrive at Hill for different sets of modifications, depending on when they came off the production line, and that has meant different spans in depot – 45, 60 or 90 days.

Usually about 12 mechanics work on a jet at one time.

‘We are now looking to combine more modifications that have been done in the field into a set that might take up to 125 days,’ North said. A new set of new modifications due on the aircraft in 2011 will require 95-125 days in any case. ‘Then we would use HVM to shorten that if we can.’

What counts in availability is total downtime, in both field and depot. ‘And once you open a panel, you can get more done,’ North noted.

There are now three levels of time compliance technical orders (TCTOs) issued for the F-22: urgent, immediate and routine. He is considering bringing routine TCTOs on the type back to depot from the field. ‘This could reduce total downtime more than HVM.’ But the new approach will still be pressed.

‘As we get more proficient with the aircraft and standard things that are done every day, we should be able to increase the amount of work we do while it is here and be able to deliver it back to the user earlier.’ MLI

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DEPTH FORWARD

‘You cannot separate acquisition and logistics – it’s one piece.’

VALUE FOR MONEY

MLI talks to the Commanding General of the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization, Lt Gen Per Ludvigsen, about the links between acquisition and support.

er Ludvigsen is straightforward when it comes to what challenges face him in his job of overseeing all aspects of logistics and support for the Danish armed forces.

‘Look at the NATO Strategic Concept and you’ll see that it talks about delivering logistics, possibly very far from home. We won’t know where or when until it happens, and budgets will be down. So, for sure, we will have to find smart solutions. And I have to remember that you cannot separate acquisition and logistics – it’s one piece. If you try to separate it, you’ve made your first mistake.’

The issue of the maintenance and operational support of the armed forces also requires intense study, but Ludvigsen sees some simple paths to follow.

‘We need to standardise more. We need to move away from complicated technical requirements. We need to grab the technical people and get them to cut down the requirements as quickly as possible. We’d rather go for a 65% solution than a 95% one. It’s no use if I can only afford three tanks when I actually need 200.

‘80% of a system’s cost is incurred in the after-sales period,’ he continued. ‘As an example, the cost of an artillery regiment where the guns are manned by eight rather than four people over a 30-year life cycle is around £140 million higher, and that’s just salary costs. You need to look at these issues to see the real costs.

Continuing on the theme of the true costs of acquisition and support, he said: ‘And take the Javelin anti-tank missile. Very good, high-tech,

P

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but it costs what? £100,000 per round?

But what’s the cost of a GPS seeker head for a 155mm shell? Perhaps £10,000. I have ammunition bunkers with a lot of old 155mm shells. I think I’ll buy new GPS seeker heads for these shells, rather than Javelins.’

AFGHAN CALCULATIONS

Like many of his European counterparts, support for operations in Afghanistan is at the front of his mind, and never out of the in-tray.

Ludvigsen highlighted to MLI some of the issues that have been testing him much of late.

‘In the Danish Battle Group in Afghanistan, we have maybe ten types of armoured vehicles.

That means ten sets of training for different maintainers, ten sets of operator training, and we have to fill our aircraft with ten times the spare parts to keep these fleets going. Could we cut those ten vehicles to three? If we did, we would have made a major shift towards solving our air transport problem. Look across the forces in Afghanistan and you’ll see dozens of different vehicle types, maybe more. So that’s why we waste so much money…’

The operational support piece for Afghan operations doesn’t stop there.

‘We operate as part of the UK command structure in Helmand, and do you know how many major equipment types we have in common with them? None. We have different radios, different rifles, uniforms – I could go on.

About the one thing we share is that we have similar bodies, so that we can share medical facilities and, mainly, food.

MILITARY LOGISTICS INTERNATIONAL | January/February 2011 | Volume 6 Issue 1

‘We have some smart kit in Afghanistan, but that means it is likely to break down more often,’ he continued. ‘Which means you’ll need to fly out spare parts, mechanics and other things – this is all a burden.’

Denmark is no different from other countries when it comes to the issue of contractors on operations and elsewhere in the support chain.

‘In principle, we are positive about the use of contractors,’ Ludvigsen said. ‘But it has to be worthwhile, not done for the sake of it, and it has to be proven to provide best value for money. One reason that we contract out support systems is so that we can generate more combat power for operations, but this is still not that well known. We need to develop awareness about this.

‘It is a necessity for Denmark to look at this area bilaterally and multi-nationally,’ he concluded. ‘We cannot continue to contract for capabilities on our own. In Afghanistan, we work with the UK and the Netherlands, and it works well. With the UK, we have contracted through the MoD for camp facilities and services – they set it up for us, and then bill us. There are some good examples, but this area can really be improved.’ MLI www.mil-log.com

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