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	Director, Operational Test & Evaluation
FY97 Annual Report

MH-47E SPECIAL OPERATIONS AIRCRAFT AND
MH-60K SPECIAL OPERATIONS AIRCRAFT

	Army ACAT II Program 26 MH-47E helicopters (one aircraft lost as of January 1998) 23 MH-60K helicopters Total program cost (TY$) $1,648M Average unit cost (TY$) MH-47E $26.55M (modification costs) Average unit cost (TY$) MH-60K $27.52M (procurement costs) Full-rate production 3QFY91 Prime Contractor MH-47E: Boeing Helicopter MH-60K: Sikorsky Aircraft

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION & CONTRIBUTION TO JOINT VISION 2010

The MH-47E Special Operations Aircraft (SOA) is a derivative of the Boeing CH-47 Chinook. Included with other modifications is a significantly increased fuel capacity with modified main and auxiliary fuel tanks. The MH-60K SOA is a derivative of the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. Its modifications include a significantly increased fuel capacity with two 185-gallon internal fuel tanks side by side against the rear bulkhead. Both aircraft have modified integrated avionics suites and multi-mode radars and are intended to provide adverse-weather infiltration/exfiltration and support to U. S. Military Forces, country teams, other agencies and special activities. These U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) aircraft contribute to the new operational concept of dominant maneuver as envisioned by Joint Vision 2010 by helping to create asymmetric advantages for combined application of land, air and sea power against enemy defenses within the Joint Environment. They are eminently capable as modernized, multi-mission platforms operating within tailor-to-task organizations to support precise, agile, fast moving joint operations.

Due to their funding thresholds, the MH-47E and MH-60K SOA programs were not required to undergo operational test oversight from this office. However, these systems do qualify for LFT&E oversight.

These aircraft were treated as one program which was placed on the LFT&E oversight list in October 1991. Since the program was past Milestone III, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 1993 made provisions to complete LFT&E prior to the Full Materiel Release decision. The Acquisition Executive for USSOCOM has granted this system a waiver from full-up, system-level live fire testing. Letters notifiying the Congress of this waiver, along with the accompanying LFT&E Alternative Plans were submitted by the USSOCOM Acquisition Executive to the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Technology) on December 22, 1997. Their subsequent submission to the Congress as required by Title 10 U.S. Code, Section 2366, is pending OSD General Counsel review. The required Alternative LFT&E Plan, which included both aircraft, was approved by the Director, OT&E in July 1997.

Under the approved plan, testing was limited to the major change to the aircraft which affects vulnerability. In the case of the MH-47E, this was the addition of an 800 gallon Robertson Auxiliary Fuel Tank in the cabin and Boeing designed sponson tanks with expanded capacity and honeycomb shell construction. For the MH-60K, this was the addition of two 185 gallon Robertson Auxiliary Fuel Tanks in the cabin.

Analyses conducted during the test planning phase revealed that the largest potential vulnerability was associated with projectiles entering the fuel tanks in the volume above the liquid fuel. Such impacts could ignite the fuel vapors and cause explosions and/or fires with serious consequences. During test planning, USSOCOM decided to add an inerting system to the fuel tanks to avoid such fires/explosions. This will be a lead-the-fleet system that will be available for similar helicopter variants in other fleets as well. A second potential vulnerability was associated with projectiles impacting the fuel tanks below the fluid level and causing loss of fuel and or fires. To address this possibility, a series of tests was completed at Aberdeen in August and September of 1997 using a variety of expected threats. In approving the Alternative Plan, DOT&E requested that, if the test articles remained viable after the planned series of shots, additional tests would be conducted with larger caliber threats. Those tests are now scheduled for February of 1998.

All fuel tanks showed exceptional robustness up through the caliber of rounds tested to date. A final test report will follow completion of the larger caliber threat tests.

Analyses related to live fire testing can lead to safety-enhancing system modifications, as in the case of the inerting system being developed for the MH-47E and MH-60K helicopters.

Live fire test planning should always consider the possibility that predicted damage may not result, despite engineering experience to the contrary. In this case, the range of threats selected for testing was too narrow. To expand the system operators' base of knowledge, additional shots of larger threats were funded because of direct intervention by the Deputy Under Secretary of the Army (Operations Research).