Orions’ $30M refit has completed phase one of overdue modernisation

Press, 13 July 1984, Page 22

Orions’ $30M refit has completed phase one of overdue modernisation

Stories:

LINDA HARRISON

Pictures: JANE HEALEY

Vessels fishing around New Zealand’s 200 mile economic exclusion zone may not have noticed any differences lately in the aerial reconnaissance patrols mounted by the Royal New Zealand Air Force. But the Air Force has recently spent a little over $3O million updating the five Lockheed Orion aircraft it uses for maritime patrols. The aircraft were purchased new in 1966 for about £8 million, to replace the Sunderland flying boats the Air Force had operated for 22 years. The present modernisation programme represents the first updating of the No. 5 Squadron aircraft since they have been in use with the R.N.Z.A.F. Other countries using the same aircraft, including Australia, Canada, Britain, Japan, Norway and Spain, have all progressively updated their equipment since acquiring Orions. The first phase of the refit began in mid 1980, when a team of R.N.Z.A.F. officers went to Seattle, Washington, to work alongside staff at the Boeing plant there as they developed the equipment to be installed in phase one. The original equipment, particularly in the field of electronic search and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) systems, was not considered adequate, especially in the light of increased surveillance required since the establishment of the 200 mile economic zone. At that time the Orion airframes were considered still to have a considerable lifespan, and the cost of new replacement aircraft would then have been about $l5O million. So the modernisation was decided on. A two phase approach was.necessary because of the cost and complexity of the equipment, the availability of replacement systems and priorities set by the Air Force and Government. Phase one included new radar, and infra-red detection system, navigation equipment, displays and controls, and a data handling system. Phase two, which is yet to

receive final go-ahead, includes acoustics, electronic warfare, communications and weapons systems. The update has not affected the roles of No. 5 Squadron, but it has affected the ability of the squadron to perform them. The squadron’s tasks in descending order of time allocation, are: patrolling, surveillance and resource protection (46 per cent of the squadron’s time), crew conversion and continuation training (20 per cent), ASW training and exercises (20 per cent), Skyhawk deployment support, emergency air transport, capability to deploy a detachment, maintenance test flights and ferry flights (8 per cent), and search and rescue (5 per cent). The modernisation has greatly assisted the squadron in performing search and rescue and routine patrolling but the squadron’s ASW performance is unlikely to be assisted until phase two is completed. In spite of equipment which left the R.N.Z.A.F. far behind its fellow Orion operators, No. 5 Squadron has had an admirable record of performance in the Fincastle Trophy. The trophy, an ornate silver tray, has been competed for since 1961 by the air forces of New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom in the field of ASW. In 1964 the R.N.Z.A.F. carried the trophy home in a Sunderland, and it was a winner again in 1980, 1982 and 1983. The captain of one of those winning teams, Squadron Leader Brian Masters, believes it is the aircraft’s acoustics systems that disadvantage it in modern day Fincastle Trophy competitions (although the results do not fully support that). This will remain unchanged until phase two of the modernisation is completed. The captain of this year’s team, Flight Lieutenant Peter Douglas,

s explained that the competition rules have been changed this year.s “The targets have been perfected. They have changed the 2 Fincastle rules from a convens tional target which used radar 1 detection on its mast, to a nuclear s target for the first time. 2 “We are still in there with a very good chance,” he said. 5 The commanding officer of , Whenuapai’s No. 5 Squadron, Wing i Commander Darrel Simpson, would J welcome the introduction of sub- , marines into the Royal New Zea- , land Navy, a possible outcome of a i two-year study on the subject announced in last year’s Defence 1 Review. > “From our point of view it would be tremendous. We could get more ' submarine time close to home to practise the submarine hunting ! skills. 1 “But we realise the submarines won’t be all staying at home for 5 Squadron to practice their skills t on,” Wing Commander Simpson r said. i He is confident that the second f stage of the modernisation proJ gramme, which is designed to J improve ASW performance, will go : ahead, but fears it may be delayed i by other defence priorities such as : submarines or replacements for f the ageing Skyhawk fighter bombers. 1 “I am sure that phase two will , go ahead—it is just a matter of , when.” 3 Wing Commander Simpson bei lieves the Orion modernisation prot gramme is “probably the best thing 5 that ever happened to Lockheed.” J The company which built the aircraft was unsuccessful in its bid to f modernise the aircraft’s equip1 ment—being beaten by the Boeing 2 company, which Wing Commander Simpson said had been trying to , break into the area for some time. :, He said Lockheed had offered

only limited services to Orion operators in the past and this had restricted modernisation proposals. “Boeing are very big and have their finger into a lot of pies, but what they have never been into is the ASW line,” Wing Commander Simpson said. He believes Boeing would have made very little money out of the deal with the R.N.Z.A.F. because of “horrendous” research and development costs incurred when venturing into a new area, and the small number of units which were produced at the end. One of the officers who took part in the systems development in Seattle is Squadron Leader John Pryor, the officer in charge of the Operation Support Centre. He explained that the R.N.Z.A.F. had managed to save money along the way by offering to write all the manuals and other publications associated with the new systems. A team of about 10 worked alongside the Boeing staff. “That was very unusual for Boeing, ours was a different approach and it paid dividends,” Squadron Leader Pryor said. Central to the system is a Digital Equipment Corporation VGR 11/ 780 computer. It is maintained by a five-man Orion Software Maintenance Unit at Whenuapai, whose work is supplemented by a Wellington software subcontractor. The programme for the first phase of the modernisation began when the team was installed at Seattle in mid 1980. The first Orion was ferried to Seattle in September 1982 for the installation and testing of the new equipment. In July 1983 a group of R.N.Z.A.F. technicians travelled to Seattle and they were followed by air electronics operators, pilots, flight engineers, ordance and ground crews. The Orion returned to New Zealand at the end of the year and was handed over to Air New Zealand for training before the airline began the task of installing identical equipment in the remaining four Orions.