Navy Matters | Future Rotorcraft Capability

(Above) In recent years RAF operated Boeing Chinook HC.2's have become a familiar sight on the decks of HMS Ocean and the Invincible class CVS's. Additional Chinook's, possibly navalised, may be purchased as part of the FRC programme. (Source: MOD)

(Above) During 2004 a UK variant of the NHIndustries NH90 medium helicopter emerged as a contender for at least part of FRC. (Source: Eurocopter)

(Above) Development of the AgustaWestland AW149 helicopter was announced in June 2006, and it is likely to be offered by the company as a low cost replacement for the aging medium size Sea King and Puma helicopters in UK service - despite being smaller than other contenders such as Merlin and even the NH90. (Source: AgustaWestland)

Project designation: ?
Integrated Project Team: Future Rotorcraft Capability
Status: Currently in the Concept Phase, Initial Gate expected late 2005.
In Service Date: 2010

The July 2004 Supplement to the November 2003 Defence White Paper announced that MOD would review its future helicopter capability requirements and forward plans, this was in order to accommodate a cut in spending by the MOD on new helicopters over the next ten years from a previously planned £4.1 billion to £3 billion. At that time three major helicopter projects were underway:

In order to find the necessary savings, by late 2004 these three projects and their associated requirements had been combined in to the Future Rotorcraft Capability (FRC) programme. FRC is now addressing the armed forces total rotorcraft requirement - with budget cap meaning inevitable compromises.

During 2004, EADS and NHIndustries lobbied hard for their NH90 medium lift helicopter to be considered by the MOD, claiming to offer substantial savings. Press reports indicated that in November 2004 the FRC forum (as it was then called) had in a draft report recommended a mix of Chinook heavy lift helicopters, 50 NH90's, and about 20 UAV's.

By March 2005 it became clear that the FRC was focusing on three role based requirements:

On 24 March 2005 the MoD indicated that AgustaWestland's Future Lynx (FLynx) was its preferred option for meeting the Land Find and the Maritime (Surface) Attack elements of the Future Rotorcraft Capability requirement, and that the final "Main Gate" procurement decision expected later in 2005. The rest of the FRC programme is currently in the Concept Phase, with an announcement on the way forward (Initial Gate) expected in late summer 2005. However it now appears that: FRC "Attack" will be the already purchased WAH.64 plus FLynx (Maritime); "Find" will be FLynx (Land and Maritime variants) plus upgraded Merlin HM.1's; and "Lift" is currently the Sea King, Puma, Merlin and Chinook helicopters, but will eventually become the Merlin, Chinook, and either more of these or a third type.

At this time it was expected that the MOD would eventually issue an international tender worth around £2 billion for up to 70 medium/heavy-lift transport helicopters to replace the RAF's old Pumas and the Royal Navy's ancient Sea King's. It was expected that the AgustaWestland EH101 team would offer the enhanced Merlin HC.3+, EADS its increasingly popular NH90, Sikorsky the updated CH-53 HLR Super Stallion (aka CH-53X) while Boeing was planning to propose a future variant of the CH-47 Chinook.

In September 2005, the MOD stated under the Freedom of Information Act that the: "... MoD has recently agreed a strategy to take forward the FRC programme. It has agreed the principles, the balance of capabilities and the level of investment of the programme. At the same time a Land Advanced Concept Phase has been approved, which will look at how to best deliver our future rotorcraft lift requirement, particularly the balance between medium and large lift."

On 22 June 2006, Lord Drayson, Minister for Defence Procurement, finally announced an order with AgustaWestland under for the Future Lynx . The contract is expected to cost in the region of £1 billion and allows for the firm provision of 70 aircraft plus options for an additional 10, of these 30 aircraft and 5 options are for the RN, the remainder for the Army. The helicopters will enter service with the Army in 2012, and Navy in 2014.

On 8 August 2006 it was formally revealed that MoD was considering a turnkey lease of civil-owned, military-registered helicopters to replace its fleet of RN Sea Kings and RAF Pumas. The UK Defence Procurement Agency announced that it was seeking expressions of interest from industry for the potential provision, under operating lease terms, of a number of Civil Owned Military Registered (COMR) medium-sized helicopters for UK Forces together with associated training and support services. The proposed contract period is envisaged to be 10 years with an expected operational In-Service Date (ISD) of 2010/11. The solution should be capable of worldwide deployment for extended periods of operation. The contractor will be expected routinely to provide for approximately 23 concurrent helicopter tasks, available at any time of day and consuming up to 13,500 flying hours per annum. The DPA is also interested in exploring the possibility of extending this to include elements of our Littoral Manoeuvre capability which, if pursued, would seek to provide for an additional 18 concurrent helicopter tasks consuming up to an additional 16,000 flying hours per annum from 2011/12. Tenders must be submitted by April 2007, and the estimated value of the contract is in excess of £400 million. However the DPA said that it also plans to explore, in parallel, options to extend the in-service life of existing Puma and Sea King helicopters which, if adopted, will mitigate (and potentially remove) the need for the COMR services.

In addition to COMR the MOD will continue to look for a long term solution to the "land medium-helilift portion of the Future Rotorcraft Capability programme", with a decision now expected around 2013-2014.

In June 2006 - at the time of the FLynx order - AgustaWestland announced the development of the 7-8 tonnes AW149 helicopter. This is now being positioned by AgustaWestland as a serious contender for both COMR and the long term solution. This is a military derivative of the A139, to be developed mostly in the UK but with mostly Italian government money, although some funding is expected from the UK government. The AW149 will be a smaller but cheaper alternative to the Merlin HC.3+, Sikorsky S-92, and even the NH90 - able to carry 12-15 soldiers or 3 tonnes of cargo. First flight is scheduled for 2009 and certification in 2011.

Against the COMR requirement, EADS subsidiary Eurocopter is expected to offer the MOD a variant of its civilian EC225, militarized with equipment and systems from the EC725 Super Puma/Cougar helicopter.




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