SIKORSKY HH-92
THE AGILE CSAR-X SOLUTION
The industry-pioneering helicopter manufacturer believes it has the right-sized weapons system for the USAF combat-search-andrescue mission.
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SIKORSKY HH-92 THE AGILE CSAR-X SOLUTION To revolutionize U.S. Air Force combat-search-and-rescue capability, the Sikorsky HH-92 CSAR-X Team offers an agile, survivable weapon system that its members believe is more deployable, mission-ready and affordable than any combatsearch-and-rescue replacement (CSAR-X) alternative. Sikorsky Aircraft, Boeing Air Force Systems and Rockwell Collins will integrate the latest helicopter, mission management and cockpit technologies into their CSAR-X solution. The reconfigurable HH-92 showed its responsive handling qualities and quick-change mission equipment at Nellis AFB, Nev., and demonstrated dramatically reduced deployment times at West Palm Beach, Fla. The low-risk HH-92 will build upon the right-sized Sikorsky S/H-92 to meet CSAR-X missions, schedules and budgets. With Boeing AWACS Block
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AWARD-WINNING AIRFRAME Sikorsky’s air vehicle baseline for the integrated CSAR-X weapon system is the Collier Trophy-winning S/H-92, which is flying intense schedules for oil-drilling operations in the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico. The aircraft also has been selected for the Canadian Maritime Helicopter Program (CMHP). Canada’s armed, fly-by-wire, shipboard-compatible H-92s, called CH148 Cyclones, set the baseline for the U.S. Air Force HH-92. The same Rockwell Collins Avionics Management System (AMS) integrated with Boeing’s mission management technology will show rescue crews the Common Relevant Operational Picture (CROP) they need to penetrate the CSAR-X battlespace. Continuous data from the Global
At Nevada’s Nellis AFB, the Sikorsky HH-92 Team flew its CSAR-X demonstrator in the combat-search-and-rescue configuration. Mission analyses show the airrefuelable HH-92 is the right-sized CSAR-X platform to deploy, penetrate and survive.
40/45 functionality in a Rockwell Collins cockpit, the HH-92 is designed to launch quickly, evade enemy air defenses and rescue isolated persons in a dynamic battlespace. According to Rus Stiles, Sikorsky’s chief pilot for R&D, “We’re the agile, right-sized solution for the Air Force in every sense.” Stiles flew special operation CH-53Cs on 175 combat missions in Southeast Asia and was later part of the MH-53J PAVE LOW III development team. He is part of the team making the HH-92 an integrated weapon system with more cabin space, longer range and better digital connectivity than the combat-proven HH-60G PAVE HAWK.
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Information Grid will be compiled, filtered and displayed to maximize situational understanding in the HH-92 cockpit and cabin. Maj. Gen. (ret.) Mike Farage, a career Air Force rescue pilot who now serves as Sikorsky’s Air Force business development lead, explains, “We don’t need to see the whole battle picture. What we need to see is threats below 500 ft. and on the ground.” With most software adapted from the AWACS Block 40/45 upgrade, CMHP and other programs, the HH-92 team believes it can deliver a Block 0 CSAR-X with the lowest development risk and cost. The open system architecture
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SIKORSKY HH-92 THE AGILE CSAR-X SOLUTION also will provide a low-risk, low-cost growth path to achieve CSAR-X Block 10 capabilities. Equally important, mission analyses show the airrefuelable HH-92 is the right-sized CSAR-X platform to deploy, penetrate and survive. Rescue missions flown in UH-1N and HH-53 helicopters lead Farage to conclude, “The key is not to get too big or too small. With the HH-92, we’re capable of The HH-92’s digital automatic flight control system can bring the helicopter to a hands-off hover from GPS coordinates generated by the encrypted Boeing Combat Survivor Evader Locator radio. plugging in all we need to do the CSAR mission.” Sikorsky says its right-sized HH-92 is the only CSAR-X requires about 80% fewer maintenance tasks than legacy helalternative that can have two helicopters deployed in one C-17 icopters and has direct operating costs up to 40% less than for jet transport or three via a C-5. With fewer strategic airlift sor- comparable aircraft. The HH-92 team believes the derivative ties required, HH-92 squadrons can reach combat theaters aircraft is uniquely suited to tight Air Force budgets and faster, at lower cost and give the Air Force needed flexibility in manpower requirements. Farage says, “What we also offer the use of its transport aircraft. With less vulnerable area and the Air Force with this particular airframe is the option to smaller signatures than any CSAR-X alternative, the HH-92 downsize the typical maintenance squadron significantly.” affords Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) INTEGRATED SYSTEM, INTEGRATED TEAM crews tremendous survivability, Sikorsky officials add. The HH-92 team blends experienced Capability The HH-92 also enables rescue pilots to maneuver in the dangerous terminal area. “It has a lot more visibility than Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Level 4/5 systems any aircraft of this size,” says Stiles. “The ability to visually integrators with disciplined engineering processes and maneuver close to terrain and obstacles enhances survivabili- unmatched insight into Air Force missions. Prime contractor Sikorsky Aircraft has built and supported most Air Force ty in all phases of the rescue scenario.” Air Force pilots at Nellis quickly adapted to the new air- combat rescue helicopters since the Korean War. With the craft. Stiles observes, “The HH-92 is much larger than a Pave HH-92, the company offers AFSOC operators a helicopter Hawk, but it handles like a smaller aircraft. The flight con- recognized by the FAA for safety innovations and backed by trols are tuned for maneuverability and agility. Survivability in an established global logistical support network. Boeing integrates the Air Force E-3 Airborne Warning the CSAR world is directly proportional to agility.” The agility, survivability and reliability of the HH-92 will and Control System (AWACS), and the company will bring be further enhanced with fly-by-wire (FBW) flight controls the power of the AWACS Block 40/45 upgrade to the certified on the CH148. As Sikorsky demonstrated on the HH-92. CSAR-X pilots and pararescue jumpers (PJs) will Comanche reconnaissance helicopter, FBW provides excep- share enhanced situational understanding en route to isolated tionally crisp control responses and makes possible automat- persons, even when on the ground away from the aircraft. ed control modes that further reduce pilot workload. FBW More than situational awareness, situational understanding also will reduce the vulnerable area of the HH-92 and elimi- enables the HH-92 crew to comprehend what is happening nate traditional hydromechanical control linkages to reduce around them and predict what will happen next. Boeing engineers responsible for self-protection systems on the AWACS, parts count, weight and maintenance requirements. The mid-sized, twin-engine S/H-92 air vehicle already Navy P-8A Multi-Mission Maritime aircraft and other pro-
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SIKORSKY HH-92 THE AGILE CSAR-X SOLUTION grams also will give the HH-92 an integrated survivability suite using equipment already in the AFSOC inventory. Rockwell Collins Avionics engineered the Air Force C/KC-135 cockpit upgrade, and the company will adapt the intuitive S/H-92 Avionics Management System to the Air Force CSAR-X mission. Rockwell Collins’ Simulation and Training Division sustains the Air Force B-1B flight and maintenance training system and will base the HH-92 training suite on simulators they are developing for the CMHP. Having a single HH-92 team member responsible for both training devices and cockpit avionics maximizes concurrency between the simulators and the operational fleet.
ings, air inlets and cockpit structures all proven to withstand high-energy bird strikes. S/H-92 tail rotor blades, for example, were tested to withstand bird strike forces equivalent to the impact of 30-mm. cannon rounds. The flaw-tolerant S/H-92 builds upon the survivable design features of the Sikorsky H-60 BLACK HAWK and PAVE HAWK family. Like the H-60, the S/H-92 has robust, redundant, widely separated controls and run-dry transmissions designed to keep flying if damaged. The wide-chord, high-lift main rotor blades of the S/H-92 have the same ballistically tested structure in production for the new U.S. Army UH-60M. “The S/H-92 has ballistic tolerance better than anything out there now,” observes Farage. The HH-92 SAFE, SURVIVABLE, SUPPORTABLE adds ballistically tolerant fuel cells, lightweight armor and The aircraft at the heart of the HH-92 is the S/H-92, flight control enhancements that will further increase safety the first helicopter certified by the FAA under the newest and survivability. standards for flaw tolerance and bird strike, lightning and turThe S/H-92 recently became the first helicopter to have bine burst protection, as well as operations in known icing its deicing system directly certified by the FAA under the conditions. Unlike past-generation helicopters, the S/H-92 newest and most stringent all-weather flight safety standards. already meets the latest military and civilian crashworthiness The system enables the S/H-92 to fly into weather condistandards. The aircraft has been chosen to carry the heads of tions that would delay or cancel critical missions with other state of Turkey, South Korea and other U.S. allies and was aircraft. The HH-92 with the same advanced, high-lift rotor selected recently to fly search-and-rescue missions for the system and more powerful General Electric CT7-8 turUnited Kingdom’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency. boshafts gives rescue pilots ample power to air-refuel, maneuAlso, unlike past-generation helicopters, the S/H-92 has ver and hover with heavy loads at high density altitudes. The critical components designed and tested to keep it flying if high-authority tail rotor was designed to maximize crosswind damaged. The titanium main-rotor hub and all other critical hover control. “The tail rotor has never been an issue with components were tested to ultimate loads with deliberate any of our H-60s or with the S/H-92,” notes Stiles. “The flaws. Redundant airframe load paths are designed to ensure S/H-92 tail rotor has plenty of margin all the way up to the 30,000 hr. of service life despite damage. In contrast to older maximum wind conditions and maximum altitude.” helicopters, the S/H-92 has main and tail rotors, control fairThe robust S/H-92 brings the same advantages to the Air Force HH-92. With unrestricted hoist access to a spacious, stand-up cabin through a wide sliding door, the HH-92 provides ample working space for Air Force PJs to provide medical treatment and for gunners to use crew-served weapons. The flexible HH-92 demonstrator interior accommodated The HH-92 has critical components designed and tested to keep it flying if damaged. The titanium main-rotor hub and all other critical components of the new helicopter were tested to ultimate loads with deliberate flaws. all-terrain vehicles and
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SIKORSKY HH-92 THE AGILE CSAR-X SOLUTION boats. It also is designed to convert quickly from rescue configuration with casualty litters to transport layout with crashworthy troop seats. Unlike some older helicopters, the crashworthy HH-92 isolates its fuel from the passenger cabin in external sponsons that feed a safe suction fuel system. In the event of a hard landing or hostile fire, fuel cannot enter the cabin area.
to Farage. “That means you’ve got more aircraft to work with and less stress on the maintenance side of the house. It’s less likely things will break because you’re not stressing only a few good aircraft as much.”
MANAGING THE MISSION
The CSAR-X weapon system is more than a helicopter. The HH-92 team will use its proven systems integration skills READY TO RESCUE to fuse intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data onThe HH-92 demonstrator also shows how the right- board the CSAR-X platform. Boeing and Rockwell Collins sized helicopter can speed deployment by strategic airlifter. will give the HH-92 crew a network-centric mission manageAir Force observers recently witnessed a Sikorsky ground ment and planning system to enhance their situational undercrew fold the HH-92 for air transport in less than 20 min. standing. The HH-92 system taps the Global Information The same crew returned the helicopter to flight condition in Grid to collect and filter real-time data into a Common less than 40 min., a fracRelevant Operational tion of the hours required Picture (CROP). by CSAR-X alternatives. Drawn from joint intelWith less time required to ligence assets, CROP ready and re-fly helicopshows the location of isoters and more helicopters lated persons and only deployed per airlifter, the battlespace needed HH-92 squadrons can for the CSAR-X mission. provide theater comOn-board and off-board manders rescue assets fast sensors are designed to and at lower cost. With detect and localize threats built-in work platforms and help the HH-92 crew and minimal dedicated determine the intentions support equipment, the of nearby airpower and HH-92 also deploys with air defenses. With twoa small logistics footprint. way digital connectivity, Most HH-92 ground the HH-92 will give The cabin of the HH-92 is designed to convert quickly from rescue configuration with casualty litters to a transport layout with crashworthy troop seats. support equipment is ground and air comalready in the Air Force manders at all levels a inventory, and the compact pack-up of HH-92 spares and timely picture of all assets involved with the rescue. tools saves space for other cargo aboard C-5s and C-17s. Timely threat warnings updated enroute also are Once in the combat theater, the HH-92 will stay in the designed to enable the rescue helicopter crew to re-plan their fight with sustained mission readiness and reduced mainte- “spider routes” on-the-fly and coordinate their mission with nance requirements. In less than a year of intense oil-rig sup- rescue combat air patrols and other elements of the CSAR port operations, individual S/H-92s have each logged more task force. than 1,000 incident-free flight hours, flying an average 140 The low-workload Rockwell Collins AMS provides the hr. per month with better than 95% mission-ready rates. HH-92 crew interface for the Boeing mission system. “It Their routine commercial utilization matches or exceeds that allows one pilot to fly the airplane while the other plans the of legacy rescue helicopters in wartime. mission, and it doesn’t task-saturate either one of them,” By design, the S/H-92 has direct operating costs about explains Farage. 40% lower than comparable aircraft. Sustained availability Boeing’s HH-92 mission processors, tactical radios and pays compound dividends in fleet operating costs, according defensive survivability suite will draw from proven compo-
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SIKORSKY HH-92 THE AGILE CSAR-X SOLUTION nents with solid Air Force lineage. Mission software will be flight symbology, aircraft systems data, digital maps, and derived from proven AWACS 40/45 C4ISR software. color radar or thermal imagery on five sunlight-readable, HH-92 data link integration manages the bi-directional night-vision-goggle-compatible multi-function displays. information streams to and from the Global Information Grid Graphic data formats reduce crew workload. and enables seamless integration of current and future data “The pilot doesn’t have to interpret data and text,” says links to the mission and aircraft systems. A multi-source inte- Stiles. “He just looks at maps and icons.” In their own wiregrator prevents redundant reports, increases probability of less environment, the aft-cabin crew in the HH-92 demoncorrect combat identification and shrinks the circular error strator has access to the same real-time navigation displays, probable of isolated persons and other targets. A situation- CROP and sensor information. According to Stiles, “They assessment aid maximizes the probability of mission success by become more effective contributors to mission success and monitoring the weather, terrain, fuel state, threats and mission add mission capability.” objectives. Battle management functions provide the crew The HH-92 dual digital automatic flight control system with a wealth of data, enabling them to read and compose has a fully coupled flight director with airspeed, altitude and messages, report automatically and retrieve information to heading-hold functions. The aircraft will fly coupled search keep the networked batpatterns and automatic aptlespace up-to-date. proaches to the rescue Throughout the hover. The operational sysCSAR-X mission, the tem will fly directly to GPS HH-92 system makes relcoordinates generated by evant information availthe encrypted Boeing able to the entire rescue Combat Survivor Evader team through user-proLocator (CSEL) radio. grammed displays and The AMS has extensive control interfaces. The built-in test functions to tactical communications isolate avionics faults and system will carry voice and speed repairs. The system data across the joint resalso interfaces with an intecue team. Repeater disgrated vehicle health and plays in the HH-92 cabin maintenance system that will give PJs the same sitsurveys drive train and airuational awareness availframe sensors to increase The S/H-92’s tail rotor blades were tested to withstand bird strike forces equivalent to the impact of 30-mm. cannon rounds. able in the cockpit. “They safety and reduce life-cycle can then plan what they costs. need to do and understand what they need to do when they Rockwell Collins Simulation and Training is building a hit the ground,” says Farage. Wireless connectivity will keep suite of aircrew and maintenance training devices for the dismounted PJs in continuous contact with the helicopter. Canadian program. A similar suite of networked simulators The Block 0 mission system provides CSAR pilots with will be in place before the first HH-92 is delivered. decision aids to evade air defense threats. However, if the Sikorsky field technical service representatives will supHH-92 is fired upon, the same system automatically will port the HH-92 weapons system with spare parts rushed into choose the appropriate countermeasures. The defensive sur- the field by Sikorsky subsidiary Helicopter Support Inc. The vivability suite provides layered protection to help the established commercial support system will reduce the cost of HH-92 preserve its stealth to and from the rescue. government spares and sustain high mission readiness. The HH-92 weapon system is engineered to ensure SMART AND SAFE CSAR-X mission success. According to Stiles, “We’re agile, The HH-92 mission system is hosted by the Rockwell reconfigurable, and have all the right capability and performCollins state-of-the-art AMS. The system shows primary ance. We’re the right fit for the Air Force mission.” ◆
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