AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/MARCH 30-APRIL 12, 2015 63Tony Osborne RAF Benson , England
Tough Decisions
U.K. balances keeping costs low and
retaining its helicopter manufacturing capability
B
ritain’s helicopter fleets are in
a state of transformation, with
£17 billion ($25.5 billion) being
spent on new rotorcraft and upgrades
in 2010-20, incorporating lessons from
Afghanistan and paving the way for
formation of the U.K.’s Future Force
2020 plan.
The U.K.’s Rotary-Wing Strategy—
published in 2009—set out plans to
reduce the number of fl eets, retire old
types and bring in new technology such
as the AgustaWestland Wildcat scout
helicopter for the British Army and
Royal Navy, as well as standardize the
U.K.’s complex Boeing Chinook fl eet.
So far, the strategy has proceeded
largely to plan and escaped politics.
But now upgrading Britain’s much-
vaunted fl eet of Boeing Apache attack
helicopters is causing controversy. On
the one hand, by following the U.S. Ar-
my’s procurement route, the program
is perceived as a cost-saving strategy,
while on the other, the retention of jobs
and skills at Britain’s AgustaWestland
manufacturing facilities at Yeovil, Eng-
land, is at risk.
The issues largely boil down to
the legacy of how the U.K. bought its
Apaches. Unlike other customers who
purchased their helicopters directly
from Boeing or via the U.S. Army, Brit-
ain wanted more local content, result-
ing in most of the fl eet being assembled
in the U.K. by AgustaWestland.
Both AgustaWestland and Boeing
responded to a request for informa-
tion sent by the U.K. Defense Ministry
last November for the Attack Helicop-
ter Capability Sustainment Program(AHCSP). Final responses are ex-
pected this summer, and selection is
anticipated in March 2016.
Of cials close to the program say
Britain wants to get away from U.K.-
specific equipment and is looking
at a “vanilla” solution, following the
U.S. Army’s purchase of the AH-64E
Block III Apache. The U.K. may even
perhaps adopt the Block III’s General
Electric T700-GE-701D engine.
While both companies are unwilling
to detail their plans openly, Boeing ar-
gues that the U.K. is better of joining
the U.S. Army’s Foreign Military Sales
program and could potentially ben-
efi t from inclusion into the upcoming
AH-64E multi-year program slated to
start in fi scal 2017. This could involve
new-build aircraft—or more likely,
refurbishing existing U.K. airframes,
currently at Block I standard, to Block
III standard, with the work carried out
in the U.S. A direct commercial sale by
Boeing could also be an option.
AgustaWestland, which supports
the U.K. Apache fl eet, wants to per-
form the Block III work in the U.K.
at its Yeovil facility. Company of cials
say it still has the technical experi-
ence and know-how to assemble the
helicopters. However, the Anglo-Ital-
ian company’s apparent lobbying for
the AHCSP work has drawn criticism
from some corners. A report for the
BBC’s-Newsnight-television program
in early March stated that Agusta-
Westland’s actions had delayed the
decision-making process for AHCSP,
and a March 2016 decision is likely to
mean that upgraded Apaches are un-likely to enter service before the end
of the decade.
That would be after the end of sup-
port for some components in the Block
I-confi gured aircraft, which is due to oc-
cur in 2017, potentially pushing up the
aircraft’s operating costs.
AgustaWestland has also hinted that
the Yeovil facility could suf er, putting
jobs at risk if it does not receive the
AHCSP deal. The company is moving
more commercial manufacturing to
Yeovil , but the plant is still dependent
on military work for the U.K. and ex-
port customers, in addition to building
the AW101 and AW159 Wildcat. How-
ever, orders for both models have been
slow, and the company is scrambling
for more work for Yeovil.
Daniele Romiti, CEO of AgustaWest-
land, says it is important for the U.K.
to retain its local capabilities, particu-
larly if it ever need s to make changes
to the helicopters.
“I think it is a value for the U.K. De-
fense Ministry to have a local capabil-
ity in making those transformations
as we are doing now. There is nothing
new to spend or set up; it is already
there,” Romiti told Aviation Week at
HAI Heli-Expo in Orlando, Florida, in
early March. “We don’t think it will be
dif cult. The experience made on the
fi rst batch is still there, and we are sus-
taining the Apache fl eet.”
But the company’s offer also de-
pends on support from Boeing, which
owns the intellectual property rights.
Critics have also suggested that hand-
ing the work to AgustaWestland would
result in “gold-plating” and increased
spending that the ministry can ill af-
ford if it wants to keep the Apache
capability.
Much now depends on the outcome
of government spending reviews and
this summer’s Strategic Defense and
Security Review (SDSR). Britain’s
defense capabilities could be hit hard
again next year as further cuts to public
spending are expected, with the army—
which operates the Apache—likely to
be hit hardest.
For the moment, the AHCSP pro-
gram will cut Apache numbers to 50
from the current 65 , and the SDSR
could reduce this number yet again. cTONY OSBORNE/AW&ST
Britain’s AH-64D Apaches are
in the Block I confi guration, sup-
port for which ends in 2017, so the
U.K. is eager to upgrade them
by 2020.