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apophenia:
The 'next Tactical Aviation Capability Set' Project

This is going to be rather wordy - since it began as  the long-form critique of a RW procurement programme - to wit, the Canadian nTACS project.
(Note: Profile appears in the next post: https://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=351.msg235892#msg235892)

First, a bit of background ...

Canada's DND is pursuing a modernisation of TacHel under the nTACS project. This began as a planned replacement for RCAF CH-146 Griffon tactical helicopters - some airframes in that Bell 412 fleet are now approaching 34 years of age. [1] But, what began as a relatively simple replacement procurement programme, has now expanded to cover other, only semi-related roles. These added roles include:

- Mobility and Support to Special Operations Forces: With CANSOFCOM planners envisioning something akin to the MH-60M Black Hawks employed by USSOCOM;

- Aerial Firepower and C4ISR capability-gap fillers: Sometimes given as 'attack-recce', this translates into attack helicopters with an added C4ISR emphasis; and

- Uncrewed or Remotely-Piloted options: A bit of future-gazing which, frankly, seems more like a research programme.

nTACS - Problems and Challenges

Expanding procurement programmes beyond simple replacements is sometimes necessary. But it rarely, if ever, streamlines a procurement process. In the case of tactical helicopters, it was well worth spreading out and reviewing all relevant roles and capability requirements in order to gain overall perspective. Whether, perforce, all such roles had to be jammed into an expanded nTACS requirement is another matter.

But nTACS has a bigger problem than potential confusion from project 'spread' - and that is timing. The RCAF's Director General of Air and Space Force Development, BGen Brendan Cook announced publicly that Canada must be prepared for war by 2028 to 2030. [2] But initial delivery of nTACS is not scheduled to begin until 2032/2033. In other words, any new Canadian TacHel capability will arrive too late for the anticipated conflict.

"Mind that Bus!" - The nTACS Schedule

In effect, broadening nTACS has turned this planned procurement into what DND likes to call an Omnibus Project - that is, a 'parent' project which then spawns sub-projects to deliver actual capabilities (another word that DND loves to use). This has already affected the schedule of nTACS - with the CANSOFCOM Mobility and Support capability being moved to the top priority position.

Almost inevitably, CANSOFCOM will choose the MH-60M variant of the Sikorsky S-70A Black Hawk (as operated by USSOCOM). As a chosen path, that conflicts with Prime Minister Mark Carney's stated goal of reducing Canadian defence procurement reliance upon US industry. However, should that path be taken, it will invariably influence the later decision on which airframe should replace the current fleet of 82 x CH-146 Griffon tactical helicopters.

That influence would remain even if CANSOFCOM's requirement was separated out as part of an nTACS Omnibus Project. But said influence would be less strong on the remainder of the nTACS project. Then the question becomes: what COTS options are available as direct CH-146 replacements and which of them would provide genuine industrial benefits to Canada? The official offerings listed so far are:

- H175M by Airbus Helicopters: Only slightly larger than the CH-146, the H175H is more than twice as powerful [3] and Airbus has proposed a Canadian production line. (AFAIK, Airbus is making no offer for the separate attack-C4ISR role.)

- AW149 by Leonardo Helicopters: As selected for the British New Medium Helicopter (NMH) program, the Italian AW149 is a direct rival to the H175M. The AW149 uses American GE CT7 engines and licensed-production is unlikely. (For attack-C4ISR, Leonardo is offering its AW249 Fenice attack helicopter.)

- S-70A Black Hawk by Sikorsky (now a Lockheed Martin subsidiary): Almost certainly the choice of CANSOFCOM, any Black Hawk procurement would be entirely from the US. (On the uncrewed side, in July 2022, Sikorsky test-flew a Black Hawk with its entire cockpit replaced by clamshell loading doors.)

- MV-75 by Bell Textron: Formerly the V-280 Valor, the MV-75 is a tiltrotor design still in the prototype stage for the US Army. Compared with the S-70A Black Hawk it is to replace, the MV-75 is longer-ranged and faster. But to gain that speed, it requires engines more powerful than those of the larger MV-22B Osprey.

- Boeing has expressed interest in nTACS but offers no Griffon replacement. Instead, Boeing has put forward a seemingly off-topic CH-147F modernisation scheme and their AH-64 Apache for the attack-C4ISR role.

Choosing the Next Generation of TacHel

Any favourite(s) for the nTACS project will depend upon how DND 'weights' the competition. If pure performance is given priority (with cost and risk being no object), the experimental Bell MV-75 tiltrotor will be a strong contender. If proven service and established supply lines are more highly valued, the Sikorsky Black Hawk will be hard to beat.

The wild card comes when considering PM Carney's desire to reduce defence procurement spending to US suppliers (down from the current 75% of total spending) while factoring in potential boons to Canadian aerospace (beyond the usual industrial benefit offsets). Then, Airbus Helicopters' H175M suddenly stands out from the crowd.

The H175M is certainly a more capable helicopter than the CH-146 Griffon. But it is not dramatically larger. That lack of drama has some practical advantages - such as replacement helicopters readily fitting into existing hangars and on to heli-pads at the 11 bases from which Griffons currently operate. But the biggest advantages for the H175M offering are economic. [4]

____________________________________________

[1] The RCAF's CH-146 fleet is currently moving through GLLE - the Griffon Limited Life-Extension upgrade programme. The result will be modernised, more capable tactical helicopters ... but still using airframes that are 3 decades old.

[2] This statement was made at Space Canada Horizon's 2025 conference. In his speech, BGen Cook was addressing the potential for conflicts erupting in NATO's European territories and the Indo-Pacific as well as threats to Canadian Arctic sovereignty. But, even a year ago, DND's emphasis was still on combined ops with US forces.

[3] Both Griffon and H175M are equipped with Pratt & Whitney Canada engines - with the conjoined PT6T-3D  TwinPac powering the CH-146 and 2 x PT6C-67E in the H175M.

[4] That does not necessarily translate into the least expensive price per airframe. For example, because of the scale of its production, the Black Hawk has a unit cost lower than that of the Leonardo AW149 (although not lower than that of the Airbus Helicopters H175M).
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apophenia:
Choosing Sides in the nTACS Contest

The Airbus Helicopters H175M offers the best industrial benefits to Canada for the present - with its Canadian-made engines and already-offered production line in Canada. Its rivals may choose to proffer similar built-in-Canada options in future. And yet, such offers are rather hard to imagine at present. Of other firms which have expressed interest in nTACS, only Bell Textron actually currently builds airframes in Canada. [1] However, the odds that Bell would choose to manufacture their MV-75 tiltrotor at Mirabel are virtually zero.

Airbus Helicopters Canada Inc. has a modest plant in Fort Erie, ON, where it is currently assembling 19 x CT-153 Juno helicopters - H135s for the Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) program to train the next generation of RCAF rotary-wing pilots. Presumably, any H175Ms procured through nTACS would be built in this same southern Ontario facility.

A Hypothetical H175M in Canadian Service

Without further ado ... introducing the RCAF's future CH-146 replacement, the Airbus CH-175 Roc. [2]  The helicopter is depicted in an all-over 501-322 grey scheme (although the markings more or less follow those of the CH-146 Griffons).

An assumption is made that operational nTACS helicopters would have permanently-mounted E/O turrets (unlike the current Griffon fleet) and infrared exhaust suppressors. [3] Also shown here are a defensive aid suite made up of chaff and flare dispensers (although it is less likely that such DAS would be regularly carried).

The earliest CH-175 adopters would be 400 Tactical Helicopter and Training Squadron at CFB Borden (whose squadron badge is worn on the cockpit door) and 403 Operational Training Squadron at CFB Gagetown. The operational Tactical Helicopter Squadrons would follow. Combat Support Squadron flying airbase SAR roles would be the last operational units to replace their CH-146 Griffons.

___________________________________

[1] Bell Textron at Mirabel, QC, assembles Bell 407 and 505 Jet Rangers, 429 GlobalRanger, and 412 Griffon model commercial helicopters.

[2] The type numbering follows the pattern of the Airbus CC-295 Kingfisher FWSAR aircraft. I wanted to continue the Griffon's mythological bird name tradition and Roc is bilangue. (The Iroquois golden eagle Keneu - who accompanied their thunder god Hé-no - was tempting ... but a bit too peaceful and benevolent for a military helicopter name.)

[3] The exhaust shrouds shown are modeled on designs by Ottawa engineering firm, W. R. Davis which specialises in infrared suppression systems.

arc3371:
Good picture and background

GTX_Admin:
 :smiley:

apophenia:
That Arsenal Fighter ... Again

I have been obsessed with the wooden Arsenal VG 33 fighter dating back to my teens. As a result, every once in a while, I compulsively return to the subject. This time, I decided to focus on a VG 32 variant made in Canada under contract to the French Armeé de l'Air. First some background and blather ...

The RW VG 32 was to be powered by a 1,150 hp Allison V-1710-C15 V12 - the result of a sensible French policy that all combat aircraft should have foreign engine alternatives to prepare for potential wartime shortages of their original French powerplants. As such, the VG 32 sounds like a fairly straightforward adaptation of the VG 33 airframe. But that was not the case.

The V-1710 engine had no facility for a moteur canon. As a result, in the original Programme technique A.23, the STAé called for a wing-mounted armament of 2 x 7.5 mm MAC 34 machine guns plus 2 x 20 mm HS 404 cannons. But all that is moot since the Allison engine never arrived in France - meaning that the RW planned conversion of the VG 33C1 N°5 airframe to VG 32 standards was never completed.

The key advantage of the Arsenal design - its largely wooden structure - would also prove to be its Achilles heel. Although metals were viewed as strategic materials, supplies of aircraft-quality spruce was even rarer in France. Securing adequate stocks of wood (mainly from Algeria's Atlas Mountains) created an insoluable bottleneck for French production. An alternative source of wood was required ... and that is where the what-if comes in.

Épinette rouge et Arsenal au Canada

Oddly, the only aircraft type that the French government seem to have considered building in Canada was the all-metal Bréguet 691. [1] A more natural fit for Canadian production would seem to have been the wooden VG series fighters constructed primarily from red spruce. After all, Canada was the source of most of the world's aircraft-quality spruce. However, in this whif, there was no such oversight.

(To be continued ...)

_____________________________________________

[1] Negotiations between the Ministère de l’Air and Canada's National Steel Car (NSC) to build 144 x Bré 691s were still under way when France fell to the Nazis. NSC's original connection to France was the 5,300 freight cars that the firm built for CF du Nord and PLM during (and just after) WW1.

During WW2, NSC's aircraft division in Malton, ON, built Westland Lysander IIIs and components for Canadian-licensed Handley-Page Hampden bombers. In 1942, took control of NSC and renamed it Victory Aircraft Limited.

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