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2 Sqn – Wedgetail

From:   Waldon, Gavin FLGOFF  [gavin.waldon@defence.gov.au]

Sent Wednesday, 13 December, 2006.

2 Squadron Association Liaison officer.

Wedgetail aircraft ‘two years late’

November 24, 2006

Australia’s Wedgetail surveillance aircraft are running two years late and might need a redesign of key components, Defence has revealed.
Speaking after a two-week visit to Boeing in the United States, Air force Vice marshall Chris Beeble, manager for the Wedgetail program, expressed confidence that Boeing and it’s sub-contractors will get it right eventually.
Air Vice Marshall Chris Deeble said final details of a delivery schedule are still to worked out, but on current estimates the first aircraft will now arrive early in 2009.
He said this is a fixed price contract and Australia will hold Boeing to deliver the full contracted level of capability with no cost increase.
He warned there are challenges ahead.
“We have come a very long way on the program.  Have we got hard yards to go – no doubt.  Are there going to be continued program management challenges – you detcha.  And some of them won’t be insignificant,” he said.
Under the $3.45 billion Wedgetail program, Australia is buying six Boeing 737 airborne early warning and control aircraft, each equipped with an advanced Northrop Grumman radar, able to watch over a 400 km radius circle, directing fighters to ant threat.
Wedgetail is a vital element of Australia’s future air combat capability. That will involve retirement of the F-111s early next year decade, with their role taken by the Hornets which will themselves be superseded by the new F-35 joint strike fighter from mid-decade.
Up to mid-year it is believed the program was running on time with the first aircraft to be delivered this month.
The revelation that all was not well prompted an outraged Defence Minister Brendan Nelson to issue a stinging rebuke to Boeing during a visit to Washington.
Unlike traditional airborne radars which employ a rotating antenna inside a large saucer-shape external housing, Wedgetail uses an electronically steered radar beam operated from the distinctive “top hat” housing above the rear aircraft body.
This has advantages of full 360 degrees coverage and the ability to instantly focus on a particular sector.
This uses both side and top hat radar elements, and getting them to work together has proved problematic. As well, there are problems integrating the radar with the aircraft data systems.
Air Vice Marshal Deeble said the side arrays are not particular novel technology.
“It is the implementation of the top hat and side arrays together to give you the ability to cover 360 degrees where the innovation is,” he said.
“The technical risk has always been high but it was a matter of how that would be worked through.  The risk we had was running developmental radar in conjunction with what is a production program for modifying the aircraft as well.
“What we have discovered is the radar has lagged.  The rest of the system integration has also had delays as well.
“We are hoping to avoid any major redesigns.  The nature of any hardware changes we want to be able to try and limit.  But we won’t be necessarily be able to resolve everything in software.”
Air Vice Marshal Beeble said the RAAF, Boeing and it’s sub-contractors are now working through all of those issues.
“we are pretty much across the sorts of things need to be done but some of those are still highly developmental,” he said.

© 2006   “The Age”