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Without Afghanistan, the U.K. might never have remedied the shortfalls in its helicopter modernization plan. Now the question becomes whether those gains will be lost once British combat forces withdraw.
One early test case could be the extent to which equipment lessons gleaned during recent tours of duty are addressed. Besides reflecting combat experience in Afghanistan, the assessments spotlight the use of AgustaWestland WAH-64D Apaches during the NATO-led air war over Libya, where the U.K. employed the attack helicopter from the HMS Ocean.
The latter mission was the helicopter’s first operational employment from a ship, but the lack of a British carrier strike force until at least 2020 makes it likely that more such engagements loom. The novelty of the experience has also underscored the need to further adapt the helicopter for that environment.
One issue centers on adding some sort of buoyancy system to the skids to increase the crew’s chances of survival if the helicopter goes down in water. Without it, the Apache sinks in about 16 sec., notes Lt. Col. Paul Tennant, commanding officer of the Army Air Corps’ 3rd regiment. Similarly, a nonexplosive canopy ejection system may have to be added because the blast pressure underwater from an explosive separation would likely kill the crew.
A similar operational concern surrounds the battery life on the rotorcraft. In case of an electrical failure, the helicopter may not have sufficient backup power to return to ship or reach land when flying a long distance from shore, Tennant tells an IQPC symposium on irregular warfare.
Deployment preparations encountered other challenges, too. For instance, it took time to ensure that the fuzes on the weapons arming the helicopters were not susceptible to electromagnetic interference in the ship’s dense radio-frequency environment, says Rear Adm. Tom Cunningham, head of the fleet air arm.
For Afghanistan, Tennant notes that a wider distribution of laser designators would be useful, in part to bolster the ability to hand off targets between ground troops and the aviation assets providing support.
For the Apache fleet in particular, one wish-list item is to allow the crew to receive UAV video footage via the U.S. VUIT program. However, a request for the technology has not gained funding support in London.
Not all of the operational lessons are Apache- or even hardware-related. Tennant notes that more training in night conditions would be valuable. Moreover, for Afghanistan, he says, it would be useful to provide airlift more on-demand rather than on a scheduled arrangement. He likens the envisioned plan to hailing a taxi.
Although U.K. political leaders have been loath to reopen programmatic decisions stemming from last year’s Strategic Defense and Security Review, there are now indications that may still happen. Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal Stephen Dalton recently told The Daily Telegraph that the decision to retire the Sentinel after it is no longer needed in Afghanistan may be reassessed.
The R1 Sentinel “is vital when you are opening up a new theater,” asserts another RAF official. He says military planners are starting to recognize that the putative replacements for the standoff radar system—such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter with its active, electronically scanned array radar and the Scavenger unmanned aircraft—would not provide the wide-area capabilities offered by the Global Express-based platform.
Other key issues also loom. For instance, despite the heavy use of the MBDA Dual-Mode Brimstone, some military officials believe the weapon could have increased battlefield utility with warhead options similar to those provided on the AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missile. Brimstone’s anti-armor warhead is less useful when trying to attack a target inside a building, where a blast-fragmentation warhead would be preferable. So far, there are no funded efforts to provide an alternative warhead for the weapon, but MBDA officials are believed to be considering such a project.
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
