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Phase 5C Additional Heavy Lift Helicopter
Phase Scope
Phase 5C will replace the Australian Army’s current fleet of six CH-47D Chinook helicopters with seven CH-47F Chinook helicopters and associated Transportable Flight Proficiency Simulators.
Background
- Previously Phase 5 intended to address current and future capability deficiencies in the Chinook weapon system. Previous sub-phases included:
- Phase 5A (complete) which replaced the engines in the ADF CH-47D Chinook. The new engines have improved performance and lowered operating costs, as well as providing commonality with the US Army CH-47D configuration;
- Phase 5C (first pass approval 13 September 2007) intended to acquire three additional CH-47F Chinook helicopters; and
- Phase 5B intended to upgrade the extant ADF CH-47D fleet to the same configuration as Phase 5C, that is CH-47F. The previously planned combined outcome of the previous Phases 5C and 5B was a homogenous fleet of CH-47F Chinook helicopters.
The new Phase 5C combines the objectives of the previous Phases 5C and 5B under a single project. The new Phase 5C ensures that the ADF has a viable future Chinook helicopter capability which is aligned to the US Army configuration and support systems throughout its life-of-type.
Australian Industry Opportunities
Acquisition
Phase 5C intends to acquire CH-47F Chinook helicopters from the US Army through a Foreign Military Sales acquisition. There are opportunities for Australian industry involvement through:
- design and fitment of additional mission equipment to the CH-47F aircraft once they are delivered to Australia;
- management, construction and maintenance of facilities to be built at Townsville;
- provision of support to the Transportable Flight Proficiency Simulators; and
- provision of contracted support to the DMO Cargo Helicopter Project Office from 2010.
Through-life Support
It is anticipated that, in the same approach as the CH-47D capability, unit-level maintenance could be carried out by Army personnel while deeper maintenance and other support will be contracted to Australian industry. The CH-47D Deeper Maintenance Request for Tender will be released later in 2009 for work commencing in 2010. The scope of this Request for Tender may also include CH-47F deeper maintenance from 2015 onwards.
Industry Capabilities and Activities
Capabilities and related activities that may provide opportunities for Australian industry in this phase include:
| Activity | Capability | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronic Warfare | Rotary & Fixed Wing Aircraft |
Support of Mission & Safety Critical Software | System Assurance Capabilities (H’ware & S’ware) | Facilities & Infrastructure | |
| Assemble / Install | O | ||||
| Design | D | D | |||
| In-Service / Through-life Support | O | D | D | D | D |
| Logistics Support | O | D | |||
| Manufacture / Construct | O | D | |||
| Modelling / Simulation | O | ||||
| Project Manage | D | ||||
| Repair and Maintain | D | D | D | D | |
| Research and Development | O | ||||
| Software Development / Support | D | D | D | ||
| Test and Evaluate | O | O | |||
Acquisition Category (ACAT)
| ACAT Attribute | Complexity Level Assessment |
|---|---|
| Acquisition Cost | Level 2 High $500m-$1500m (Towards the middle of the band) |
| Project Management Complexity | Level 3 Moderate |
| Schedule | Level 4 Low |
| Technical Difficulty | Level 3 Moderate |
| Operation and Support | Level 3 Moderate |
| Commercial | Level 3 Moderate |
The ACAT Level assessed for this Phase is ACAT III.
Planned Schedule Highlights
| First Pass Approval | Complete |
|---|---|
| Year-of-Decision | FY 2009-10 to FY 2010-11 |
| Initial Operating Capability | 2016 to 2018 |
Points of Contact
Capability Staff:Staff Officer Army Aviation 5 (02) 6265 2098 |
Defence Materiel Organisation:Project Manager AIR 9000 Phase 5C (02) 6265 6611 |
