Sikorsky har hatt sitt Matrix prosjekt i minst 10 år. Nå skal det finnes opp mer krutt, virker det som.Videre har vi sett Kaman K-Max jobbe for US Marines i Afghanistan i flere år med stor suksess. Sjekk https://tinyurl.com/2jjjy783. US Army kan ha mye å lære av US Marines. Men, artikkelen under diskuterer mye mer enn Black Hawk som drone. (Red.)
Army plans for Black Hawk to be Future Vertical Lift testbed for
launched effects and autonomy
The Army has received its first two ITEP engines, and a
re-engined Black Hawk will fly in late FY25/early FY26.
Rotary
wing aircraft have dominated Army fleets since the introduction of its first
helicopter in 1944, the Sikorsky R-4. They continue to do so today in the
attack realm through the AH-64 Apache, in heavy lift with the CH-47 Chinook,
and in utility/transport with the UH-60 Black Hawk and UH-72A Lakota.
To
those fleets, the Army is now adding a tiltrotor in the form of the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, which is
scheduled for low-rate initial production in 2028 and initial fielding in 2030.
The FLRAA program achieved Milestone B in early August,
which clears the way for the Army to exercise its first option for “detailed
aircraft design” and six prototypes under Future Vertical Lift.
Even
though FLRAA is a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, there’s still a long
runway ahead before it’s delivered in quantities that can replace a portion of
Black Hawks in service. FLRAA is not intended to take the place of Black Hawk
on a 1-to-1 basis. In the meantime, the Army is modernizing the Black Hawk with
launched effects, the insertion of autonomy, and re-engining under the Improved
Turbine Engine Program (ITEP).
Breaking
Defense discussed these modernization programs with Army Col. Ryan Nesrsta,
program manager, Utility Helicopters, PEO Aviation. In addition, the Army
Aviation Center of Excellence, Fort Novosel, AL, provided additional context
with written responses to the first two questions.
Breaking Defense: With the Army’s focus
on FVL and the FLRAA tiltrotor configuration, what’s the continuing relevance
of rotary wing aircraft?
Col. Ryan Nesrsta: The Army has made a significant
capital investment in rotary wing platforms up and to this point. In light of
that decision and investment, there’s going to be an extant requirement for
interoperability [and] pacing the threat with respect to survivability.
There’s
going to be continued relevance for the rotary wing fleet to interoperate with
tiltrotor aircraft in any theater of operations. It requires judicious and
continued investment in the portfolio to ensure that the Future Vertical Lift
family of systems is enabled.
Army Aviation Center of Excellence: The FLRAA platform provides a
great capability to air assault soldiers from relative sanctuary in friendly
and secure areas to deep into adversary territory, far beyond what we can do
today. Black Hawks will still be needed for shorter distances, while the
Chinook remains the only heavy lift vertical aircraft and the Apache the only
attack aircraft in the Army Inventory. Army Aviation exists to support the
soldier on the ground, regardless of the aviation platform (manned or
unmanned).
What’s the role of rotary wing aircraft
in multi-domain operations? How will their usual missions of transport and air
evac evolve under JADC2?
Nesrsta: There’s lessons learned with respect to
pacing threats today, both in Ukraine and in the Pacific. We are currently employing
rotary wing assets in those environments, and our partners and allies are
utilizing them with some success.
To
speak to relevance in your previous question, whether it’s through Project
Convergence or other experimentation efforts [such as] EDGE, we eventually
demonstrate these burgeoning technologies on our existing platforms. It’s a
risk calculation. It’s maturity in technology. It allows us to scope the
experiment in a way that we can focus on the truly innovative technologies that
we’re trying to employ [and] qualify those capabilities on the rotary wing
platforms to address interoperability and relevancy in 2040 and beyond.
The
Black Hawk’s proven versatility positions it well as a platform for
demonstrating those new technologies. Again, we quite often see, whether it’s
Spike NLOS (a non-line-line-of-sight long range precision munition) or early
versions of both small and medium launched effects, they have been employed on
Black Hawks to basically explore concept development and also address technical
challenges that we’re not familiar with in that new profile.
One
of the other elements that is a milestone for aviation in general is the
employment of an autonomous Black Hawk during last year’s Convergence. It was
used for a battlefield resupply of blood, a simulated casualty evacuation, and
an external sling load.
Army Aviation Center of Excellence: In multi-domain operations, Army
Aviation will be able to ‘extend’ to distances at 500 km (with ITEP). Combined
with launched effects, Army aircraft will be able to ‘reach’ and prosecute
targets at double the current range. Combined with support of layered air
defense, electronic attack and preparatory fire missions creating multi-domain
effects, Army Aviation [can] reach beyond the FLOT (forward line of own troops)
in support of the ground commander.
Rotary
wing aircraft will still move people and equipment faster than ground vehicles
or watercraft. In JADC2, Army rotary wing aircraft will link into mesh networks
to pass data to commanders across the battlefield to foster a joint common
operating picture, either as a deliberate airborne node or while executing
their other mission tasks. A common joint air picture enhances survivability,
improves engagement times, and provides situational understanding reducing the
fog of war.
How has the Black Hawk autonomy program
progressed since the last PC?
Nesrsta: We’ve continued to explore that
capability, and have worked with DARPA on what is a planned technology
transition agreement to further mature those technologies that lend to, again,
tech maturation and risk reduction of what are FLRAA’s requirements for an
optionally piloted vehicle capability.
We’re
actively pursuing multiple efforts to further mature sensor fusion, autonomous
algorithms, and full authority fly-by-wire flight controls as part of our
general modernization strategy within the utility office. These three distinct
but interrelated lines of effort will evolve from a spectrum of cognitive
offloading, to minimally crewed, to ultimately an optimally or optionally
crewed system.
Again,
we believe that this approach will reduce that technical risk for the
acceleration and integration of autonomy, not just in Black Hawk but also
FLRAA’s subsequent Increment 2.
Are there plans for an autonomous
Lakota, or is the Black Hawk going to be your demonstrator?
Nesrsta: At present, we have evaluated SBIR
CATALYST opportunities to get with non-traditional companies in the area of
alternative platforms as the surrogate. [SBIR CATALYST] is an opportunity for
cost share where we work with small business and non-traditional defense
companies, [and] the government commits to being a transition partner for
certain capabilities. We also have submitted a request for technology
maturation on full authority fly-by-wire controls for the aircraft going
forward.
We’ve
also looked at partial authority systems [and are] pursuing all avenues
available for resourcing outside of the existing budget to allow for innovation
to occur on the platforms.
Two GE Aerospace ITEP powerplants were
recently delivered for installation on the UH-60M. What are the technical
challenges that still remain regarding airframe integration? What’s the flight
test schedule?
Nesrsta: We just had a meeting with the
enterprise, and by that I mean our partners from both OEMs, GE and Lockheed
Martin, on how we address the nuanced challenges of engine airframe
compatibility. This has not been done for some time other than the YT706
integration on one of our service’s platforms.
There’s
lessons learned from previous experience but knowing that there’s a significant
learning curve with respect to the integration of an engine on even a mature
platform. Design for integration has been ongoing on the UH-60M with the
delivery of the engines; physical integration has begun in earnest.
UHPO
(Utility Helicopters Project Office) and the ATE (Aviation Turbine Engines
office) continue to lean heavily on those lessons learned from previous
integrations to overcome challenges. [They] are working toward a first flight
of the Black Hawk in late FY25, early FY26.
What are your demand signals to industry
about how to improve rotary wing aircraft?
Nesrsta: The Utility Helicopters Project Office
is focused on delivering a Black Hawk that supports the Army of 2040 plan, is
capable of operating within the air-ground littoral, and maintains fleet
reliability and relevance through 2070.
We
intend to do this through Modular Open Systems Architecture, general
obsolescence management, IT integration, and survivability and air vehicle
modernization opportunities.
UHPO
continues to work closely with industry partners to provide demand signals
around these initiatives. We’re receptive to industry input for providing more
adaptable, affordable systems that are capable of incorporating rapid
technologies and upgrades to counter evolving threats.
How can you bring a digital backbone
from FLRAA, for example, to legacy utility fleets to be MOSA compliant and
capable of deploying launched effects, for example?
Nesrsta: I’ll allude to another program within
the portfolio. It is the H-60 Victor, which was a government effort to provide
an open systems architecture to an enduring or an existing platform. In that
general effort, we proved that it was possible to integrate a MOSA-aligned
mission avionics architecture into a legacy aircraft.
UHPO’s
been using those lessons learned from the H-60 Victor program along with
FLRAA’s use cases. We’re using their architecture framework to execute a phased
approach that’ll develop, qualify, and field a MOSA-conformant H-60M avionics
architecture that includes a modernized digital backbone. This architecture
will employ graphical and data distribution for increased modularity both in
software and in the physical space, and openness to rapid and cost-effective
fielding of new capabilities on the Black Hawk.
As
a part of the aviation rebalance decision, we have been having detailed
conversations on derivative technologies from the FARA (Future Attack
Reconnaissance Aircraft) program from each of the participants. We have looked
across the portfolio to see where appropriate we can continue that good work
that was made during the FARA effort. For those that fit, we will continue to
mature those technologies within the budget that’s provided.
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