AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COMAPRIL 2015 |^21
Aircraft survivability tests z
LEFT: UH-60 interaction testing
of flare, chaff, and the volcano
mine dispensing system
A
rmy aviation, both manned
and unmanned, has played
and will continue to play a
vital role in the US Army’s mission.
Through the fusion of trained aircrew,
advanced technology and precision
systems, Army aviation has brought an
asymmetric advantage that enables
the movement of troops, delivery of
supplies and execution of precision
fire throughout the battlespace. While
these operations may be conducted
in a permissive environment without
the presence of enemy forces, Army
aviation most often finds itself
operating in complex and unknown
situations where there are clear threats
to the aircraft and crews.
The US Army Operating Concept
states that it must be prepared to
operate in complex environments
with many unknowns and unknowable
factors, so aircraft survivability is a
key design characteristic. Through
the integration of advanced and
redundant survivability systems,
army aviation platforms and crews
can continue to execute their vital
mission set and remain a dominant
asymmetric capability.
While survivability is always part of
an aircraft’s initial design, adversaries
continue to develop advanced missiles
and sensors that require a constant
assessment of our survivability systems
and a rapid and agile process to design,
integrate, and test new capabilities.
That’s why the testing conducted at
the US Army Test and Evaluation
Command’s Redstone Test Center
(RTC), is so vital to present operations
and those of the future. Through a
rigorous, holistic, yet rapid process,
RTC can assess survivability system
performance and ensure that soldiers
and crew are protected throughout the
spectrum of lethal threats.THE TASK
Aircraft survivability has three major
areas of investigation: prevention of
aircraft detection; if detected, defeat
the threat system prior to impact on
the aircraft; and, if that system cannot
be defeated, ensure the survival of
aircraft and aircrew after impact.
“The ultimate goal of aircraft
survivability testing is to ensure that
the aircraft and personnel are capable
of succeeding against the threat in
detection, defeat, or survival tasks,”
says Justin Powell, RTC assistant
division chief of the aviation systems
test division.
Over the past decade, aircraft
survivability equipment (ASE) testing
has dramatically improved to help
counter the proliferation of anti-aircraft
weapon systems around the globe.
“Learning from the past, we’ve left
the days when the extent of available
ASE equated to the aircrew placing
sandbags at their feet in attempts to
shield against incoming fire,” says
Powell. “In most recent times, fixed-
and rotary-wing aircrew must address
both low- and high-tech threats alike.”
Given the array of potential threats,the development of ASE technology
and test methodologies must
effectively assess passive and active
countermeasures against sophisticated
weapons systems.
In collaboration with the Project
Management Office for Aircraft
Survivability Equipment, (PMO ASE),
the Redstone Test Center has
continued to develop state-of-the-art
facilities and assets capable of testing
the latest in ASE technologies against
live and simulated threats that our
forces are most likely to encounter
in the future.
“Together we’re dissecting the
lessons learned from the past decade
and focusing on how to counter
future unpredictable threats. As the
US Army composes itself to support
‘Force 2025’, we must determine the
best way to simulate enemy threats
in a test environment, to collect
data and determine countermeasure
effectiveness against threats we’ve
seen historically, and anticipate in the
future,” says Powell.
The myriad activities necessary to
do this include creating a repeatable
process that is not disturbed or
influenced by weather conditions.
“Just as our soldiers deploy into
different environments around the
globe, our test activities must
emulate those environments to
gain a true understanding of what
capabilities need to be assessed,” says
Col. Patrick Mason, RTC Commander.
Consequently RTC test experts created