Arizona Republic March 11, 2009
Next-gen Apache helicopters get new technology
By Andrew Johnson
Boeing Co. is incorporating new technology in the next generation of Apache Longbow helicopters that will enable pilots to control unmanned aircraft from their cockpits.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or UAVs, are pilotless aircraft that have helped the military gather video footage and other data in dangerous combat areas without putting soldiers directly at risk.
The use of UAVs has grown in recent years, spurred by the military's demand for aircraft that can gather enemy data without exposing the location of soldiers and pilots. The vehicles range from ultrasmall gadgets that fit in the palm of a person's hand to aircraft the size of a personal airplane.
The ability to navigate a UAV while piloting an Apache helicopter is one of several upgrades Boeing is making to its Apache line, which pumps millions of dollars into the firm's Mesa operations.
The Army has awarded Boeing contracts for the Apache Block III program, valued at $647 million. Block III refers to the helicopter's next phase.
Most UAVs are now controlled by ground-based pilots.
Some existing Apache helicopters by Boeing can receive, inside the cockpit, data that UAVs collect with cameras and sensors. But current models of the attack helicopter do not have the technology for pilots to actually navigate UAVs while flying the Apache.
To do so now, pilots must communicate with those operating the UAV from the ground.
"It just adds to the pilot workload," said Scott Rudy, program manager for the Apache Block III. "One of the things that we've spent a fair amount of time on is ensuring that the pilot workload remains at a manageable level so he can accomplish the tasks he's got to complete."
To increase pilot efficiency, Boeing is installing a data-link device developed jointly by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. The link will enable the Apache pilots to communicate directly with UAVs, increasing their effectiveness, said Brian May, Block III project manager.
John Pike, director with defense-industry tracker GlobalSecurity.org in Alexandria, Va., said being able to navigate UAVs while manning the Apache is a major step forward.
"One of the key challenges is to figure out where am I supposed to be, where is my enemy, where can my firepower do the most good or . . . where can I go without being seen," he said, adding that the enhancement helps achieve that.
Growing demand for UAVs is expected to double research-and-development and procurement costs for such aircraft from $4.4 billion this year to $8.7 billion in 2018, according to Teal Group Corp., a defense- and aerospace-research firm in Fairfax, Va.
Boeing is using a UAV made by San Diego-based General Atomics called the Sky Warrior Armed Reconnaissance System.
The aircraft is 28 feet long with a 56-foot wingspan. It can fly up to 29,000 feet high and carry four Hellfire missiles.
Col. Shane Openshaw, Apache program manager for the Army, said all new Apache helicopters will have the wiring necessary to operate UAVs. Initially, only a fraction of new Apaches will be installed with a kit required to control the UAVs.
"The ability to have sensor data and control UAVs gives us situational awareness of what you can't see from the cockpit," Openshaw said.
'We're on schedule, and we're on cost'
Chicago-based Boeing, which manufactures Apache helicopters at its campus near Falcon Field in Mesa, won a $27.2 million contract to develop Block III Apaches in 2005.
In 2006, the company received a contract to perform system development and testing for new Apaches worth $619.3 million. Boeing expects to begin production of the aircraft next year with delivery of the first Block III Apaches scheduled for June 2011.
Meanwhile government spending on defense weapons, vehicles, aircraft and other items is under scrutiny, with President Barack Obama pledging to crack down on overbudget contracting programs.
"It's hard for us to speculate on what the president or Congress might do," Rudy said. "Our job is to make sure we're making the performance guidelines. We're on schedule, and we're on cost."
Openshaw said the program is "right on track."
"Like everybody, we're preparing and looking at the possibility of getting reduced budgets, but I have not seen or heard anything specific to the Apache," Openshaw said.
Boeing's work on the Apache employs about 4,700 people in Mesa. The company expects to deliver 634 Block III Apaches through 2025, he said.
© Copyright 2009, Arizona Republic
