MILITARY AIRLIFT MILITARY
Challenges and technology
Modern military airlift is about a lot more than
hauling trash and the next question reflected
that: “What are your biggest challenges in
the airlift space?” Of the six parameters
offered to survey-takers, interoperability
came out on top at 46%. It was not defined,
but can be assumed to mean working with
partners. Next most important was, again not
surprisingly, reducing cost at 37%. Overall,
the arenas concerning the aircraft themselves,
namely life extension of legacy aircraft and
communications and navigation, as well
as interoperability, were most important.
Personnel training and ensuring the security
and availability of fuel were significant causes
for concern at 36%. We can see that
getting the biggest bang for a buck is
important in these days of austerity.
Manufacturers need to consider
operating costs as much as
cargo hold space when pitching
an airlifter to a prospective
customer.
Modern airlifters are expensive jacks-of-
all-trades and customers expect a lot for their
money. The next question reflected: “How do
you view the pace of progress of technological
advancements in the airlift space?” Again,
the questionnaire wanted answers rated from
1 to 5, with 5 being most satisfied. Across
the board responses were remarkably similar
for both tactical and strategic airlift at 3.5%
and 3.85%. Given that operators would
have chosen their
equipment
to suittheir needs and manufacturers build what they
believe is needed by customers, satisfaction
levels like these are perhaps to be expected.
The next area to be investigated was
perhaps one of the most interesting: “In
what area of technology in this domain will
see the most investment over the next 5–10
years?” The clear leader at 21% was modular
components and interoperability. Ease of
operation and commonality of, for instance,
pallets and ground equipment saves time and
makes for better use of resources. It makes
sense for operators to buy equipment that
can easily be serviced wherever it is deployed
and can use commonly found ground support
equipment rather than relying on type-specific
infrastructure. Respondents considered
engine development (14%), air-to-air refuelling
(12%), airframe development (12%), open
architecture systems or OAS (11%) and
satellite-based datalinks (11%) to be of almost
equal importance. The area thought least likely
to see investment was counter-radar/evasive
technology or stealth.