Defence`s Feeds

THREE people were wounded when five improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted on a roadside detonated and hit a passenger bus near Kou Hadr area in Syria's Suweida governorate on 7 May, Iraqi News reported. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

ONE person was killed and three others were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near a marketplace in Suwaib southwest of Iraq's capital Baghdad in Baghdad governorate on 9 May, Iraqi news reported. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

India's Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) has successfully test-fired a Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Derby beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) in radar-guided mode. "The missile launch was performed in 'lock-on after launch mode' for a beyond-visual-range (BVR) target in the

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri handed over the last of four Type 212A-class diesel-electric submarines on order for the Italian Navy at its Muggiano (La Spezia) shipyard on 11 May. Romeo Romei (S 529) follows third boat Pietro Venuti (S 528), which was delivered in July 2016. Boats three and four

Japanese Tier 1 defence contractors Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Subaru Corporation (formerly Fuji Heavy Industries) posted declines in earnings during fiscal year 2016 (FY 2016), the companies announced on 10 May. MHI said its net sales in the year ending 31 March declined year-on-year to

Key Points There were 33 different systems demonstrated at MFIX The focus was on precision fires, SHORAD, and directed energy and EW The US Army is hoping its recent manoeuvre and fires integration experiment (MFIX) will lead to the quick transition of Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS)

Chinese CF-05 Submachine Gun

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded a new indefinite-quantity / indefinite-delivery (IQID) contract to Canadian company Thornhill Research for the delivery of Field Anesthesia Systems to the US Marine Corps (USMC).

The Australian Government has reached an agreement for the acquisition of the common user facility and its surrounding land from the South Australian Government.

The US Navy and the US Marine Corps (USMC) have concluded the Ship-to-Shore Maneuver Exploration and Experimentation Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (S2ME2 ANTX) 2017 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California.

Emirate Caracal 817 Automatic Rifle

On May 5th, the Project Arrangement (PA) for the first ever Cyber Defence Pooling & Sharing Project was signed by all eleven contributing Member States. The Cyber Ranges Federation Project brings together Austria, Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden  under the co-lead of the Netherlands, Finland and Greece. The project originates from an EDA initiative and will be carried out under the EU pooling & sharing agenda with support from EDA. The core aims of the project include: increasing the availability of existing and emerging cyber range facilities; increasing the occupation rate and efficiency of cyber ranges and platforms;  mainstream and improve cyber defence training, exercises and testing at European level. Under this PA, the objectives will be achieved in a spiral approach over the next 36 months.

The Cyber Ranges Federation Project is the first of four Cyber Defence Projects launched so far under the Pooling & Sharing agenda. While other projects such as Improved Cyber Situation Awareness, improved Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) detection, and pooling of Member States’ demand for private sector-provided cyber training are still in the preparation phase, the Cyber Ranges Federation Project is the first cyber defence related collaborative EDA project that is moving from the preparation phase to the implementation phase.

A total of 30 work packages are foreseen for the project, divided between two spirals. Work on the first spiral, composed of 19 different work packages, will commence with the first meeting of the Project Management Committee under the lead of the Netherlands. Spiral 1 is expected to be completed within 18 months. The remaining 11 work packages will be completed after a review of the results of spiral 1 under the lead of Finland in spiral 2. It is expected that the projects will substantially contribute to improving the quality and authenticity of cyber defence related education, training and exercise formats for all stakeholders in Europe. This will be achieved by providing on the one hand wide ranging and capable technical platforms and on the other by establishing a European community of experts on up-to-date cyber defence training and exercises. 

The sharing of knowledge and best practice is also an implicit objective of the project. In doing so, the Cyber Ranges Federation will also be supported by an EDA developed web-based Cyber Defence Training and Exercise Coordination Platform (CD TEXP), which is expected to be operational by the end of this year. In addition to training and exercise support, the cyber ranges can also be effectively employed in the areas of research as well as modelling, simulation and testing. Project preparation was observed by NATO, and in the light of the NATO-EU Joint Declaration, additional ways for cooperation with the project of NATO to establish its own cyber range capacity will be sought by the contributing Member States.  
 

Background

The success of military operations, including EU-led operations, is increasingly dependent on the availability of, and access to, cyberspace. The EU Cyber Security Strategy 2013 recognizes Cyber Defence as one of the strategic priorities of the EU and Heads of State and Governments decided in December 2013 that Cyber Defence should be one of four key areas for capability development.  An essential element of EU cyber defence capability is highly skilled and well-trained personnel. Enhancing awareness and education of technicians, operators and decision-makers is urgent. Cyber ranges to support training and exercises are both essential and scarce. In the 2014 Capability Development Plan, the scarceness of cyber range facilities in support of Training and Exercises was recognized as an important capability gap that urgently needs resolution. The now established project serves to close this capability gap. Pooling & Sharing projects are an integral means for closing capability gaps in the cyber domain. 

 

More information:

• Cyber: EDA, ENISA, EC3 and CERT-EU discuss future cooperation
• EDA supports Operation Sophia with Cyber Awareness Seminars (webnews November 2016)
• Cyber Defence (EDA project page)
• Cyber defence factsheet

Navantia has signed a cooperation contract with AYESAS for the Turkish LHD Integrated Platform Management System.

Americas

• The US Navy has awarded Rolls Royce a $78.7 million contract to provide logistical and engineering support for originally manufactured engines on the KC-130J tanker aircraft. Under the contract, aircraft in use by the US Marine Corp as well as the government of Kuwait will be affected. The work will primarily be completed in Indianapolis, with smaller contracts spread through other states, as well as Japan and Kuwait. The project is expected to be completed by May 2022.

• Elbit Systems has received a contract from the Brazilian marine corps to provide the service with an advanced C4ISR electronic warfare and communications system. Valued at $40 million, the C4ISR has Battle Management Systems application, C41 systems for artillery units, and advance EW capabilities. It can be mounted on vehicles such as tanks and armored personnel vehicles, and is integrated with command centers. The procurement of the system comes as the Brazilian marine corp transition to the doctrine of Network Centric Warfare—a high-technology concept that integrates command-and-control, logistics, targeting and navigational information, and communications into one system. Work on the contract will be performed over the next two years.

Middle East & North Africa

• Turkey’s Undersecretary for Defence Industries (SSM) has signed a deal with the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) for the supply and deliver of 52 Super Mushshak trainers to the Turkish armed forces. The deal was one of three bilateral defense agreements signed between Turkay and Pakistan with the second being a letter-of-intent (LoI) for the sale of four MILGEM corvettes for the Pakistan Navy and the third a LoI for fresh collaboration between PAC and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). The contracts were inked on the second day of this year’s IDEF 2017 exhibition in Istanbul.

Europe

• Sweden’s Saab is looking to finalize a number of near-term sales of the C and D variants of its JAS-39 Gripen fighter. Upcoming competitions in Botswana, Slovakia, and Bulgaria, have all been targeted as potential clients for the C/D models, which if agreements are reached, will boost sales and ensure the continuation of the Gripen’s production line into the future. Of the three countries, Bulgaria is the closest to moving forward with a deal, after its government announced Saab as the preferred option for its MiG-29 replacement program. Slovakia have been in negotiations with Saab since 2015, while in Botswana, a Gripen package is facing off against an offering from Korea Aerospace Industries’ (KAI) FA-50—the fighter version of its T-50 trainer.

• Leonardo and the UK government have reached an agreement to develop the next generation of decoy counter-measures for fighter aircraft. The firm will partner with the British Royal Air Force’s Rapid Capability Office—an office created to bring new technologies to UK warfighters—and will use Leonardo’s BriteCloud EAD technology for the development of new expendable active decoys. BriteCloud is a second-generation, radar jamming decoy that uses enhanced on-board jamming techniques. It can be deployed from a standard chaff and flare dispenser, and draws an incoming missile away from the targeted aircraft.

• In a world first, Airbus has successfully completed the first test of its automatic air-to-air refueling (AAR) contact system. During the flight, the company’s A330 MRTT demonstrator was successfully steered into the receptacle of a Portuguese air force F-16 using image processing software that the company has been developing for more than a year. As many as six contacts were made over a 75 minute period, at 25,000 feet and 270 knots. The AAR system requires no additional equipment on the receiver and could be introduced on current production A330MRTTs as soon as 2019.

Asia Pacific

• Amid rising tensions and sabre-rattling in the region, China has announced that it has successfully tested a new missile, launching it into the waters of the Bohoi Gulf, near the Korean peninsula. While the Ministry of National Defense did not mention the new missile by name, analysts believe that it could be the DF-26—an intermediate missile capable of sinking warships, including US aircraft carriers. The test comes a month after Beijing said that is would respond to the deployment of the US THAAD system in South Korea by continuing to test new types of weapons under conditions simulating actual combat. China’s opposition to THAAD comes from the allegation that its radars are capable of peering deep into China, allowing the US and its allies to better detect rocket launches and aircraft movements.

• Israel Weapon Industries and Indian private sector firm Punj Lloyd have began a venture to jointly produce a variety of small arms from the Israeli firearm manufacturer’s product line, of which some are for use by Indian armed forces. Known as Punj Lloyd Raksha Systems (PLR), the new venture is the first private manufacturer of small arms in India that produces equipment for both use by the Indian defense forces and for export, and is expected to take a sizeable portion of India’s $5 billion small firearms market. IWI-designed weapons to be manufactured at the plant include the Tavor carbine, X95 assault rifle, the Galil sniper rifle, and Negev light machine gun. The foundation of the venture also comes as New Delhi faces an immediate requirement for 66,000 assault rifles, with a total requirement is 250,000, and it’s expected that in the next two months, an assault rifle tender worth an estimated $1 billion will be released by the Indian Army.

Today’s Video

• The US receives its G/ATOR:

https://youtu.be/rKkIGZs5va8 

Voyager & friends
(click to view full)

Back in 2005, Great Britain was considering a public-private partnership to buy, equip, and operate the RAF’s future aerial tanker fleet. The RAF would fly the 14 Airbus A330-MRTT aircraft on operational missions, and receive absolute preferential access to the planes. A private contractor would handle maintenance, receive payment from the RAF on a per-use basis – and operate them as passenger charter or transport aircraft when the RAF didn’t need them.

The deal became politically controversial, and negotiations on the 27-year, multi-billion pound deal charted new territory for both the government, and for private industry. Which may help to explain why a contract to move ahead on a “Private Financing Initiative” basis had yet to be issued, and procurement had yet to begin, over 7 years after the program began. In March 2008, however, Britain issued the world’s largest-ever Defence Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract. This FOCUS Article describes the current British fleet, the aircraft they chose to replace them, how the new fleet will compare, the innovative deal structure they’ve chosen, and ongoing FSTA developments.

A330-200 MRTT: The RAF’s Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft

Voyager K3 & C-130J
(click to view full)

The A330-200 MRTT is a derivative of the Airbus A330, and was designed from the outset to be able to function as an aerial tanker and a transport aircraft at the same time. Obviously, hauling full loads over long distances would reduce its ability to offload fuel to other aircraft, but many deployments could still be accomplished. Deploying a fighter squadron along with its ground crew and other personnel, for instance, becomes a real possibility with this aircraft. Britain’s A330s will be equipped with Rolls Royce’s Trent 700 engine.

The UK’s A330 “Voyagers” will have up to 3 hose-and-drogue refueling points (2 wing, 1 center), using Cobham plc subsidiary Sargent Fletcher’s FRL900 systems. All 14 will sport 2 wing-mounted 905E aerial refueling pods each, which extend to 28m / 90 feet when fully trailed and can transfer up to 1,200 kg/minute. The Voyager K2s will be limited to that configuration, but half (7) will be 3-point Voyager K3s which also host 805E center-line Fuselage Refueling Unit that can transfer up to 1,800 kg per minute. The RAF will buy just 5 805E FRUs, however, leaving 9-10 aircraft to use just the wing pods.

Voyager 02 will temporarily offer a 3rd type, which is essentially an unconverted civil A330, until it’s fed back into the conversion program around 2015.

Unlike other A330 MRTT customers, Britain’s planes will lack the EADS ARBS refueling boom along the rear centerline. It’s used to refuel planes with dorsal indents, like F-16 and F-15 fighters, C-17 transports, etc., and will be present on A330 MRTTs operated by Australia (KC-30B), Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The UK’s current tankers are all hose-and-drogue only, and except for its C-17 and RC-135 Rivet Joint planes, Britain has generally bought aircraft to suit. While continuing with this approach will limit flexibility with some allies, removal of the boom greatly simplifies civilian conversion and employment.

So, too, does the more problematic omission of full defensive systems to protect against radar-guided threats. Without such systems, however, Britain is unlikely to be able to deploy its new tankers over zones that are rated as dangerous.

FSTA vs. VC10
(click to view full)

The A330 MRTT has a maximum fuel capacity of 111,800 kg, or over 246,000 pounds. In the tanker role, the A330-200 provides twice as much fuel to receiver aircraft as the VC-10. The aircraft also has the capacity to carry 43,000 kg of cargo, including up to 32 463L cargo pallets, or up to 272 passengers, while carrying a full fuel load. AirTanker offers a scenario in which the A330 can fly 270 troops and 8,000 kg of their equipment some 4,700 miles, while also operating as an aerial tanker. Fuel capacity is slightly less than the TriStar’s 139,700 kg, but it carries slightly more passengers (272 vs. 266) and has slightly greater cargo capacity (43t vs. 31t). What it will not have, is the ability to take on more fuel in the air itself, in order to extend its own missions.

Based on the figures in this article, the FSTA program’s 14 A330-200 MRTT aircraft would provide only 50% of the aircraft compared to its present fleet, while offering 71% of the fuel capacity. Carriage on much more efficient aircraft will increase the percentage of fuel available for dispensing, though this may not close the refueling gap completely. On the other hand, the smaller FSTA fleet will boast 116% of the legacy fleet’s total troop carrying capacity, and 185% of its total cargo capacity.

UK FSTA: Program Details & Industrial Team

Making FSTA
(click for video)

The program will offer 14 A330-200 aircraft configured to UK specifications, under a 27-year, GBP 13 billion deal. As noted above, they will not be able to refuel in mid-air themselves, and will use only hose-and-drogue refueling that excludes some client aircraft.

As of July 2014, all 9 “core fleet” aircraft were delivered and in service: 4 x Voyager K2s, and 5 x Voyager K3s. Another 5 A330 Voyagers will serve in a surge fleet, and can operate as civilian aircraft unless called upon by the RAF for extraordinary duties. If called up, they may be fitted with Voyager K2 equipment. The balance of the 14-aircraft fleet is expected to become available to the RAF by 2016.

Schedule
(click to view full)

The first A330-200 FSTA aircraft in-service flight took place in April 2012 (back in 2005, it was expected in 2010), and began air-to-air refueling duties in 2013.

When the A330 arrangements were first announced, the RAF operated a very identifiable set of 28 VC10 and L-1011 tanker aircraft, which were entirely retired before the FSTA program even stood up its core fleet of 9 A330s. All of the RAF’s aerial tankers were operated out of RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, and that will continue. AirTanker will be based at a new, purpose-built facility at the same location used by the existing fleet: RAF Brize Norton. AirTanker will then provide an integrated all-inclusive service to the RAF that includes full maintenance, flight and fleet management, ground services and state-of-the-art training for RAF FSTA personnel.

Corporate structure
(click to view full)

AirTanker Ltd. holds the contract with the UK MoD, and formally owns the aircraft. It is a UK company, and its current shareholders are EADS (40%), Rolls-Royce (20%), Cobham (13.33%), Thales UK (13.33%) and VT Group (13.33%). While EADS and Thales are non-UK firms, the use of Thales’ UK subsidiary ensured that majority ownership would be held by British companies. The related AirTanker Services will operate the aircraft, and has a slightly different shareholding, at EADS (28%), Rolls Royce (22%), Thales UK (22%), VT Group (22%), and Cobham plc’s Flight Refueling Ltd. (5%).

Once fully operational, the FSTA service will employ around 500 personnel, with a 60:40 split between military and civilian.

Despite BAE’s divestment of its Airbus share, Airbus manufacturing still goes on in Britain. AirTanker Ltd. claims that around 7,500 jobs (3,000 direct, 4,500 indirect) will be directly or indirectly dependent on the FSTA project. The first 2 A330 aircraft will be converted at Airbus Military facilities in Madrid, but after that approximately 50% of the basic aircraft and 100% of the conversion work will be carried out in the UK. Principal work locations will include:

• RAF Brize Norton (construction of facilities and service delivery)
  
• Airbus Military at Getafe, Spain (conversion of planes 5-14)
  
• Airbus UK at Broughton and Filton (wing manufacture)
  
• Cobham at Wimborne (refuelling equipment) and Bournemouth (conversion of planes 1-4)
  
• Rolls-Royce at Derby (Trent 700 engine assembly) and Bristol (project management)
  
• Thales UK at Crawley (mission simulators, crew training, defensive aids), Raynes Park (avionics) and Wells (mission planning systems).

UK FSTA: Contracts & Key Events 2015 – 2016

Queen’s Birthday
(click to view full)

May 12/17: In a world first, Airbus has successfully completed the first test of its automatic air-to-air refueling (AAR) contact system. During the flight, the company’s A330 MRTT demonstrator was successfully steered into the receptacle of a Portuguese air force F-16 using image processing software that the company has been developing for more than a year. As many as six contacts were made over a 75 minute period, at 25,000 feet and 270 knots. The AAR system requires no additional equipment on the receiver and could be introduced on current production A330MRTTs as soon as 2019.

May 20/16: The UK has sent a RAF Voyager tanker to NAS Patuxent River to participate in air-to-air aerial refueling trials of the F-35B. Since arriving on April 18, the British tanker has participated in five flights out of a scheduled 20, which are due to be completed in mid-June. It remains unclear whether the Voyager’s deployment to the US was caused by refueling issues that arose from the B variant being unable to take fuel from the wing pods of KC-10 and KC-135 tankers.

November 4/15: The Pentagon is urgently trying to gain the necessary clearances required for combat aircraft to refuel from Airbus A330 MRTTs, used by coalition partners operating above Syria and Iraq. The Navy is also looking to gain clearances to use hose-and-drogue refueling systems installed on Royal Air Force Voyager tankers to certify the F-35B for this type of refuelling method. A Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A (a modified A330 MRTT) has already been used to conduct trials with a F-35A in September, with tests planned on a variety of other platforms.

2013 – 2014

TriStars retire; Full Voyager core fleet in service; 1st lease to a civil operator; Mechanical incident; Are the projected costs reported by NAO just fiddled figures?

July 14/14: Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology Philip Dunne greets a Voyager aircraft that has arrived for its Farnborough display, and confirms that the entire core fleet of 9 planes is fully in service after being delivered on time and on budget. He’s encouraging about that, saying:

“These events provide evidence that DE&S is becoming a higher-performing delivery organisation, better able to deliver vital equipment and support to the armed forces on time.”

It certainly beats failure, though FSTA’s structure suggests that AirTanker LLC also deserves a fair bit of credit. Sources: UK MoD, “RAF Voyager aircraft arrive on schedule”

June 24/14: Civil lease. One of AirTanker’s 5 “surge” fleet Voyagers has been leased by Thomas Cook Airlines under a 3-year agreement, as the airline becomes AirTankers 1st civil customer. The single A330-200 will be configured for an all-economy 323-seat configuration, and will operate in airline livery with seconded Thomas Cook Captains, First Officers, and cabin crew flying alongside AirTanker’s own civilian pilots. Beginning in May 2015, it will fly scheduled routes from Glasgow, Manchester and Stansted to Las Vegas, Cancun and Orlando.

The plane will be operated by AirTanker under its civil Air Operator’s Certificate, with base maintenance provided, but Thomas Cook will provide line maintenance. Sources: AirTanker, “AirTanker and Thomas Cook Airlines agree landmark civil leasing deal”.

1st civil lease

May 29/14: Core complete. RAF Brize Norton accepts the 9th Voyager, ZZ338. This completes the RAF’s core fleet, which will consist of 4 K2s with wing pods, and 5 x K3s with an added centerline hose.

The other 5 will be “surge capability” planes that can be leased to the civil market unless and until the RAF needs them. AirTanker, “ZZ338 arrival completes the RAF Voyager core fleet”.

Core fleet delivered

April 7/14: France. An AirTanker release highlights the efforts of Armee de l’Air pilot Capitaine Francois Gilbert, who is on secondment to RAF No.10 Squadron at Brize Norton:

“The French Air Force is expected to place its first order for the MRTT later this year. With the first of 12 tankers built by Airbus Defence and Space to be delivered by 2018, they will replace France’s 14-strong [refueling and transport] fleet of C135 FR jets, three A310 and two A340.

“I’m here to build an understanding of the MRTT, its capability and training required to fly it so that when I go back, the knowledge and understanding that I have gained here, can be applied to the French AAR programme”, he says.”

It also provides a solid foundation if France should need to buy FSTA flight hours before 2018, though that’s looking less likely. Sources: AirTanker, “Entente [Most] Cordiale”.

March 24/14: TriStar retires. A pair of 216 Squadron TriStars fly from RAF Brize Norton on an air-to-air refuelling mission over the North Sea, then one conducts flypasts at airfields associated with its history. It marks the end of the L-1011 TriStar’s service with the RAF. The 4 remaining TriStars will fly to Bruntingthorpe Airfield, Leics for disposal.

Over the last 8 years, 216 Sqn flew to Afghanistan 1,642 times, carrying around 250,000 troops into and out of theater. Its 139,700 kg fuel load will also missed, but it’s worth remembering that this fuel is for the parent aircraft as well. The Voyager’s flight efficiency means that its 110,000 kg fuel load can’t be used as a direct comparison. Sources: RAF, “TriStar Retires After 30 Years Service with the RAF”.

TriStar fleet retired

Feb 13/14: NAO Report. Britain’s National Audit Office releases their 2013 Major Projects Report. They’ve changed the cost basis slightly, as fuel isn’t normally part of program reporting. Even with that discrepancy normalized, the program has still seen its overall whole-life cost to 2035 drop by GBP 386 million from initial approval, to GBP 11.393 billion. Poking deeper into the report, the largest sources of savings involve changes toward a risk-based method for costing equipment obsolescence and projected refinancing savings (GBP 398 million total). On the flip side, this year saw GBP 45 million added because of revised inflation estimates. Time will tell whether those changes are valid.

The program remains on schedule. Infrastructure at Brize Norton is complete, and the training service is operating. This was interesting:

“MoD placed on contract the enhanced FSTA Aircraft Platform Protection system (EDAS). Embodiment is under way, as planned in the programme and is also reflected in wider defence capability planning.”

Feb 9/14: Incident. An AirTanker Voyager aircraft suddenly plummets about 5,000 feet while in flight from RAF Brize Norton to Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. The pilot regained control, the aircraft was diverted to a landing at Incirlik AB in Turkey, and passengers were treated for minor injuries.

The military fleet remains grounded while an investigation takes place, and AirTanker may have to reimburse the Ministry for lost flying hours. The civil Voyager 02 will keep flying, which will keep the Falklands air bridge open, but it isn’t cleared to fly to Afghanistan. AirTanker, “Incident 9/2/14: Flight between RAF Brize Norton and Camp Bastion” | Daily Mail, “RAF grounds all Voyager planes after one aircraft plummets several thousand feet during flight to Afghanistan” | Dailt Mirror, “Voyager planes grounded after aircraft carrying 190 people plummeted thousands of feet during flight” | Reuters, “Britain grounds Voyager military fleet after in-flight incident”.

Jan 29/14: #7 arrives. Voyager 07 (ZZ337) arrives at Brize Norton. Like 04 – 06, it’s a Voyager K3 tanker with wing and belly-mounted refueling systems, giving AirTanker 4 of the K3 tankers and another 2 K2s with just wing pods. Voyager 02 is a civil charter aircraft. Sources: AirTanker, “Voyager 07 flies into RAF Brize Norton”.

Dec 21/13: Operations. RAF Voyager aircraft have begun flights into Afghanistan, airlifting soldiers from Camp Bastion in Helmland, Afghanistan back to Britain. The accompanying pictures show the planes loading at night, which is one way to handle poor defensive systems.

101 Sqn Wing Commander Ronnie Trasler says that 6 Voyager aircraft are already in service with the RAF, and the core fleet of 9 aircraft is on track to be in service by May 2014. Sources: RAF, “Voyager Flies to Afghanistan”.

2013

VC10s retire; RTS for Eurofighters; Program on schedule; Britain creating an operational refueling gap?

Voyager & friends
(click to view full)

Sept 30/13: Typhoon update. Progress with the Eurofighter Typhoon (q.v. Dec 6/11) and Tornado GR4 strike fighter (q.v. April 5/12) fleets has been slow, so AirTanker is eager to offer a progress update. The UK MoD gave Voyager clearance to begin air-to-air refuelling (AAR) operations with Typhoon in late May 2013, with a formal Release to Service (RTS) on Aug 15/13. “Voyager and Typhoon have now completed more than 350 contacts, offloading 840 tonnes of fuel to the end of this month [Sept].” Tornado GR4 refueling has also been problematic, with clearance received only “at the beginning of summer,” and 1,460t of fuel offloaded since then.

Transport is seeing more action, with the entire military fleet clocking a total of 5,400 hours, carrying more than 110,000 passengers and 6,300 tonnes plus of freight. The civil Voyager 02 is now up to 1,200 hours, almost 30,000 passengers, and more than 1,600 tonnes of freight.

Summer 2013 also saw AirTanker receive its Extended Twin (Engine) Operations (ETOPs) clearance from the Civil Aviation Authority, which lets the civilian airline take on long-range routes and fly up to 180 minutes from the nearest suitable airport. This is a precursor for its expected October 2013 role in support of the Falklands air bridge. Sources: AirTanker, “Voyager and Typhoon complete more than 350 contacts”.

Sept 20/13: Final Flight. The VC10 performs its last operational flight for the RAF. The 2-ship VC10 K3 sortie (tails ZA147 and ZA150) included the full range of counterparts: Typhoon and Tornado GR4 fighters, Hercules transports, even extending the mission by refueling one VC10 from the other. To mark the tanker’s long service, a VC10 flew over various RAF stations, including RAF Lossiemouth, RAF Coningsby, RAF Marham and RAF Leuchars, as well as sites in Warton, Birmingham and Prestwick.

The formal retirement ceremony is Sept 25/13, but in our books, the last flight is the end. Sources: UK MoD release.

VC10s retired

May 29/13: #5 arrives. Voyager 05 (ZZ333), which is also a K3 3-point tanker, arrives at RAFB Brize Norton.

April 26/13: #4 arrives. Voyager 04 arrives in Brize Norton, where it becomes the 1st The first of 7 Voyager K3 tankers configured to include a centerline fuselage tank and hose, in addition to wing pods. The new A330 will join existing Voyager K2s (01 and 03) on the Military Aircraft Register, and operate as ZZ332.

Since the start of operational service in April last year, Voyager 01 (ZZ330) and 03 (ZZ331) have totaled more than 1,700 hours, carrying more than 25,000 passengers and over 2,000 tonnes of freight. The civil Voyager 02 (G-VYGG) has flown more than 230 hours, carrying more than 5,000 passengers and more than 300 tonnes of freight. It forms the core of AirTanker’s airline operation, which began operations with an inaugural flight to Akrotiri in January 2013. Sources: AirTanker, “AirTanker takes receipt of first ‘three-point’ tanker”.

March 14/13: Say what? UK minister for defence equipment, support and technology Philip Dunne confirms to Flight International that new A400Ms won’t have in-flight refueling pods added to let them perform as aerial tankers, because:

“The Ministry of Defence has recently refreshed its study into requirements for air-to-air refuelling capability. This concluded that Voyager will meet all requirements; therefore, there is no need for an air-to-air refuelling capability by the A400M Atlas.”

The RAF’s new A330 Voyager MRTTs lack key defensive systems, in order to avoid conflicts with their secondary use as civil charter planes. Those kinds of warning and decoy systems are necessary for refueling aircraft in even mildly hazardous environments. As tactical military transports with good range and no other uses, the A400Ms would have been well qualified to fill that gap. Flight International.

Jan 24/13: The Little Prince. A Voyager aircraft brings Prince Harry back to England, along with the rest of his Apache attack helicopter unit. Having said that, note the flight points:

“The Prince, who is known as Captain Wales in the Army, touched down at RAF Brize Norton late yesterday afternoon [23/1/13] on an inbound flight from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus.”

Akrotiri is considered a “safe” airfield – unlike Kandahar in Afghanistan, which would have been Capt. Wales departure point. There are also certifications required to fly those kinds of distances. AirTanker.

2012

1st service flight; Britain facing capability crunch; Conversion work switches to Airbus in Spain.

Tornado contact
(click for video)

Dec 19/12: #3 arrives. Voyager 03 flies into RAFB Brize Norton, to join the Voyager fleet on the Military Aircraft Register. Source: AirTanker, “Voyager 03 flies into RAF Brize Norton”.

In contrast, Voyager 02 will be flown on the Civilian Aircraft Register and operated by AirTanker, using its own pilots and supported by AirTanker cabin crew.

Dec 13/12: AOC. AirTanker successfully demonstrates its full service capability to the Civil Aviation Authority in a proving flight to Reykjavik, in order to secure its Air Operating Certificate (AOC). Source: AirTanker, “Voyager 03 flies into RAF Brize Norton”.

June 25/12: Deadline pressures. Flight International explains the deadline pressures facing the transport and tanker fleet:

“By the end of this year, the last of the UK’s Lockheed Martin C-130K Hercules will be retired from use, while the replacement Airbus Military A400M won’t start appearing on the ramp at RAF Brize Norton until during 2014… But it is in the tanker sector that the biggest headache is emerging. The RAF’s last nine Vickers VC10s… [will be] retired in March 2013, with its Lockheed TriStars (including four tankers) to follow by the end of the same year… Only one [A330 Voyager] is currently in service, initially in an air transport capacity only, and I’m hearing that fuel venting problems encountered during earlier refuelling trials have yet to go away… The RAF needs tankers to sustain quick reaction alert duties… as well as supporting deployed examples defending the Falkland Islands and allied strike aircraft flying over Afghanistan. With the noise of the VC10’s “Conway [engine] quartet” to fall silent in only nine months, the pressure is really on for the Voyager to deliver.”

DID is going out on a limb, and predicting that either or both of the VC10 and L-1011 TriStar fleets will remain in service past their current retirement dates. Even private aerial tanker services like Omega wouldn’t be able to fully cover those needs, though a mix of TriStars for distant missions and contractors for Quick Reaction Alerts might work for a limited time.

June 22/12: Conversion switched. Cobham plc and AirTanker Ltd. (in which Cobham is a 13.33% shareholder), issue a joint statement that yanks A330 conversion work from Cobham’s UK facility back to Airbus Military in Spain. Cobham tries to minimize the decision, saying that there are “no technical issues with the conversion process,” adding to co-locating the conversion with the design office in Spain is only about “greatly improving efficiency and shortening the supply chain.” The net effect is to kill 320 British jobs at Bournemouth: 237 Cobham employees, and 83 contractors.

A step like this isn’t taken unless there were serious problems, and significant customer pressure. The core problems are hinted at by AirTanker’s release, which mentions a need “to ensure the timely delivery” of the planes, as part of a focus on delivery “on time and on cost.” The Cobham and AirTanker, they say, “have mutually recognized that this is the best way of meeting their own commitments and have taken the responsible decision…” This is all a kind way of saying that Cobham may not have had technical problems, but they aren’t performing to schedule or cost targets, and the problem is bad enough that the project is in danger of missing its commitments. Two industry sources contacted by The Sun newspaper cited Cobham delays as a problem, and one offered a stark assessment: “Basically, Cobham can’t do the job. They haven’t invested.”

The customer pressure revolves around the schedule. With the VC10 tankers slated to leave service in March 2013, delays to the Voyager fleet would be both an operational problem for the RAF, and a financial problem for AirTanker Ltd. due to penalty clauses. Cobham plc | AirTanker Ltd. | Dorset Echo | Flight International | Reuters | The Sun.

Airbus Military takes refueling conversions from Cobham

May 31/12: Monarch Aircraft Engineering (MAEL) has completed the first C check for the UK’s Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport “Voyager” fleet, on behalf of AirTanker Services. AirTanker’s in-house capability isn’t available yet.

The C-Check is a full-aircraft inspection, usually done every 15-21 months or after a specific amount of actual Flight Hours. In the Voyager’s case, it’s a matter of time and not flight hours. Flight International.

April 5/12: Hosed? Reuters reports that the A330 Voyager’s hose and drogue system has experienced leakage problems when refueling RAF Tornado fighters:

“A source close to AirTanker said the problem was in pipes which connect the Voyager to Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado warplanes which leaked when fuel was pumped through them during mid-air testing. The source said the refuelling trial was continuing.”

Failure to meet requirements could result in contract penalties. In response, AirTanker issued a statement via YouTube, while showing a refueling contact with a Tornado GR4:

“The Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (ACAS) signed the Voyager Release to Service and Certificate of Usage yesterday (05 Apr 12) and the aircraft will commence flying operations On the Military Aircraft Register with the RAF next week. Voyager is already a certified tanker and Air to Air Refuelling trials to clear RAF receiver aircraft to receive fuel from Voyager continue. As would be expected with a new aircraft, there have been some technical problems, but these are being addressed. AirTanker fully expects to deliver the core fleet of nine aircraft by 2014 in line with the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) Contract.”

April 4/12: 1st service flight. The aircraft took off from RAF Brize Norton for a training sortie around the United Kingdom, in its 1st service flight for the RAF.

The type was granted a Release To Service for Air Transport, and was placed on Military Aircraft Register the next day. AirTanker LLC | Airbus Military.

1st service flight, Release To Service

Feb 22/12: France. Defense Aerospace reports on a 2012 news conference involving French DGA head Lauren Collet-Billon. He leaves the door open to FSTA participation, but makes it clear France will have its own tankers:

“Although it may buy tanker capacity from the Royal Air Force “if the flight hour price is affordable,” France intends to buy its own fleet of A330 tankers which are required to support the French air force’s sovereign nuclear strike mission. These will be ordered in 2013.”

Feb 2/12: Certification. AirTanker receives Type Certification Exposition version 5 for Air Transport & Aeromed 3. Sources: UK NAO, Major Projects Report.

2011

1st FSTA arrives.

A330: Voyager 01
(click to view full)

Dec 6/11: Delay. The British Forces Broadcasting Service reports that:

“The first A330 Voyager had been due to be handed over in October, but isn’t now expected at its new home of Brize Norton until the New Year. The private company that will operate the aircraft says it is down to the availability of Typhoon fast jets for air-to-air refuelling tests.”

The RAF Typhoon fleet’s base availability rate been a subject of some controversy lately. This problem could also stem from the need to have Typhoons on Libyan operations and home patrol missions, which would leave few planes available for other tasks like testing.

Nov 18/11: France. AIN reports that Libyan lessons learned have made new Airbus A330 MRTT aerial tankers a bigger priority for France, alongside their aging C-135FRs.

An interim contract for 5-7 A330 MRTTs planes is now expected in 2013, which means AirTanker LLC is less likely to see any French leasing contracts.

Sept 4/11: Airbus Military delivers the 1st Airbus A330-200 aircraft to Bournemouth, UK, where Cobham Aviation Services will handle conversion into the RAF’s Voyager tanker configuration. It’s actually the 3rd FSTA plane built so far, but the first 2 were built and converted entirely by Airbus Military in Spain.

The conversion program will include 2 wing-mounted 905E aerial refueling pods for each plane, and half (7) of the “Voyagers” will also be fitted for 805E center-line fuselage refueling units. Airbus Military | Cobham Plc [PDF].

Aug 8/11: The 1st Voyager aircraft arrives at RAF Brize Norton. It’s involved in a flight testing program to certify it as a refueler for Tornado strike fighters. The visit was actually more of a stopover from Airbus Military’s home in Getafe, Spain, before departing for MOD Boscombe Down the next day. AirTanker LLC.

April 18/11: 1st FSTA arrives. The 1st FSTA aircraft arrives in the UK, touching down at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire. The aircraft also picks up a formal military name: Voyager.

Boscombe Down will host 2 of the Voyager aircraft for an intensive program of testing and trials in the refuelling role, set to continue into 2012 with Tornado, Sentry, Typhoon and Hercules aircraft. Those first 2 development aircraft had their military conversion process and initial flight testing done at Airbus Military’s facility near Madrid, Spain, but the next 12 Voyagers will be converted by Cobham at their facility in Bournemouth, UK. UK MoD | Airbus Military | AirTanker.

March 31/11: RAF Brize Norton’s 2-bay hangar and support building officially opens. It will become the FSTA program’s maintenance facility, flight operations centre and office headquarters. AirTanker.

2010

 

FSTA production
(click to view full)

Dec 20/10: Due to extreme bad weather at RAF Brize Norton, 2 of RAF 99 Squadron’s C-17s end up spending the night on aeromedical standby inside AirTanker’s hangar, which has been built but not fully fitted out yet. AirTanker.

Dec 13/10: Testing. Britain’s 1st A330 MRTT performs the type’s 1st fuselage-mounted hose-and-drogue aerial refueling dry contacts, using an F/A-18 Hornet fighter. Airbus Military. The 1st wet refueling took place on Jan 21/11, transferring over 6 tonnes of fuel at an altitude of around 15,000 feet, and at speeds from 250 – 325kt. AirTanker.

Cobham’s belly-mounted 805E FRU (Fuselage Refueling Unit) is part of the proposed USAF KC-45’s 4-point refueling system, which shares the 2 removable digital underwing hose-and-drogue refueling pods with FSTA aircraft, but also adds a fly-by-wire ARBS boom for UARRSI dorsal receptacles. Both the belly-mounted FRU and underwing hose-and-drogue refueling pods share the same modular architecture, and all 4 systems are controlled from the Remote Aerial Refueling Operator (RARO) console in the cockpit.

Nov 2/10: France. The “UK-France Summit 2010 Declaration on Defence and Security Co-operation” has this to say:

“15. Air to air refuelling and passenger air transport. We are currently investigating the potential to use spare capacity that may be available in the UK’s Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) programme to meet the needs of France for air to air refuelling and military air transport, provided it is financially acceptable to both nations.”

France currently flies 14 C-135FRs for aerial refueling, and will probably need to keep these Boeing 707 relatives in service for refueling in combat zones and nuclear strike missions. Their planned replacement buy of A330 MRTT refueling and transport planes has been pushed back due to budget concerns, however, creating a need for a stopgap than can lower the C-135FR fleet’s flight hours, and fill some of the gaps. The FSTA tankers will be downgraded versions of France’s own future buy, making it an attractive option that could even result in a reduced future purchase of A330s for the Armée de L’Air.

On the British side, more hours bought by military users beyond Britain makes key modifications like defensive systems easier to justify, and easier to handle operationally because the need for civilian conversions and removal/ modification is reduced.

Oct 26/10: Maiden flight of Britain’s 2nd AirTanker A330 MRTT, which was converted from a basic A330-200 by Airbus Military in Getafe, Spain. Airbus Military.

Sept 16/10: FSTA PFI Rubbished. Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee releases its study of the tanker PFI arrangement, and it is not positive. Excerpts from “Delivering Multi-Role Tanker Aircraft Capability” :

“PFI works best where activities and demand are predictable. This is clearly not the case for FSTA. For instance, it is simply astonishing that the Department did not decide until 2006 that FSTA should be able to fly into high threat environments such as Afghanistan. Yet the Department is inhibited from changing the specification because of the implications to the cost of the PFI. Just two years after the deal was signed, the forthcoming Strategic Defence and Security Review is likely to change the demand for the services AirTanker has been contracted to deliver. As the Committee’s previous work shows, dealing with changes on PFI deals is expensive and the Review may question whether this PFI deal is sensible or affordable. The fact that no other country has chosen to procure air-to-air refuelling and passenger transport using PFI type arrangements is further indication that PFI is not a suitable procurement route for such important military capabilities.

There are significant shortcomings in the Department’s procurement of FSTA and we do not believe the procurement was value for money. The shortcomings include…”

See also: British Forces News (incl. video) | BBC | Daily Mail | The Guardian | The Independent | Public Finance magazine | Sky News (incl. video) | The Telegraph | Think Defence.

Sept 16/10: Maiden flight. The first FSTA A330 completes its maiden flight from the Airbus Military facility at Getafe, Spain. Airbus Military | Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Aug 27/10: Rollout. The first A330-200 FSTA plane rolls out of Airbus Military’s hangar in Getafe, Spain, at the end of its indoor conversion and testing. First flight is expected in September 2010. AirTanker Services.

July 7/10: France. French defense minister Hervé Morin tells the parliamentary defense committee that France will postpone program contracts worth EUR 5.4 billion, in an effort to slash EUR 3.5 billion from the military budget over the next 3 years. France’s plan to replace its aged C-135FR aerial tankers with 14 A330-200 MRTT aircraft by 2015 is one of the delayed programs, even though it’s critical to many of the goals in the government’s 2009 defense white paper.

The parliamentary committee reportedly asked Morin if sharing the British FSTA service might help as a stopgap. If so, it would be a partial one at best. Not only is FSTA unable to operate in even low-threat areas, a commercial service cannot be used to refuel nuclear-armed strike aircraft. That was not an issue for Britain, whose nuclear weapons are limited to submarine-launched Trident missiles. Defense News.

March 20/10: NAO report. Britain’s NAO auditors publish their report “Ministry of Defence: Delivering multi-role tanker aircraft capability.” The key takeaway: “The National Audit Office has been unable to conclude that the Ministry of Defence has achieved value for money from the procurement phase of its £10.5 billion private finance deal for the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA).” Excerpts:

“During the negotiation of the deal… testing showed that the PFI solution was between 15 per cent better and 5 per cent worse than the [public sector] Comparator depending on which aircraft, discount factor and delivery confidence level was selected, and offered better value for money in seven of the eight scenarios presented… the Department never gained visibility of detailed sub-contractor costs and margins for the aircraft and their modification… until 2004, the project team had insufficient staff with PFI experience and frequent changes of team leader… there has been no compensating reduction in the support costs for the TriStar and VC10 fleets, which stood at approximately [GBP] 105 million in 2008-09.

…Since contract signature, the project has achieved its delivery milestones and is on budget… The Department is undertaking a large scale re-development at RAF Brize Norton with the intention that new facilities are operational by 2012, shortly after FSTA’s entry into service [in 2011]. However, there is little timescale contingency in these plans.

…The Department managed the later stages of the procurement of FSTA well, including making effective use of advisers and skilled Departmental staff in the latter stages of the negotiation, and transferring the risk to AirTanker for the introduction of the service. The Department did well to close the deal in difficult market conditions… [but, in earlier phases] The Department chose a PFI strategy for FSTA with no realistic assessment of alternatives… The Department was forced to narrow the field to one bidder while a number of significant issues remained… The Department never gained visibility of sub-contractor costs and margins… Neither did the Department undertake any “should-cost” modelling… Between the start of the formal assessment phase and contract signature, the Department spent [GBP] 48 million managing the project, including [GBP] 27 million on advisers, [GBP] 10 million on supporting the bidders and [GBP] 11 million on internal costs.”

March 29/10: Progress report. AirTanker Services offers a program update 2 years in, saying that all major milestones have been met since the Contract was signed on March 27/08. Construction at RAF Brize Norton continues to plan; the exterior work on the modern 2-bay hangar and support building was completed at the end of 2009, the interior fit out is well underway, the first milestone on the training center was completed 7 weeks ahead of schedule, and the Main Operating Base is scheduled to finish early in 2011. AirTanker is preparing for the first test flight in military configuration later in 2010. AirTanker Services release [PDF].

2009

Program on track.

FSTA-1 to Getafe
(click to view full)

July 10/09: The FSTA program’s first Airbus A330-200 flies from Airbus’ Toulouse, France, factory to the Airbus Military facility at Getafe, Spain, on schedule, today. Conversion of this first FSTA aircraft with military avionics and refuelling capability will now commence, in a new, purpose-built, permanent hangar. AirTanker Services release [PDF].

June 4/09: The first A330-200 aircraft built for the FSTA partnership completes its 3-hour maiden test flight on schedule. As the aircraft was put through a series of maneuvers covering its entire flight envelope, engineers conducted various compliance tests on the engines and onboard systems. UK MoD | AirTanker Services release [PDF].

April 1/09: Progress report. The UK MoD issues a release, covering the state of the FSTA program. In mid-November 2008, ATrS completed and handed over improved facilities at RAF Brize Norton that included bulk diesel and waste fuel tanks, air side motor transport parking, wash pan drainage facilities; and a petrol, oil and lubricants store.

Work has started on a 2-bay hangar and associated workshops, as well as what will be a 4-floor office. the office will host the RAF’s 2 FSTA squadrons, the MOD’s Integrated Project Team, and AirTanker corporate personnel. On which topic, ATrS has hired over 30 new recruits.

Feb 25/09: The first FSTA wingset is completed at Airbus UK’s Broughton factory, and is loaded onto an Airbus Beluga aircraft for the journey to Bremen, Germany, for final equipping. Toulouse, France, will be the site for final assembly. Source.

2008

PFI. LAIRCM selected.

FSTA A330-200
(click to view full)

July 16/08: LAIRCM picked. Northrop Grumman announces that their AN/AAQ-24V Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures Systems (LAIRCM) system has been selected to defend the UK’s aerial tanker fleet. Under the terms of the $93 million contract, Northrop Grumman’s Defensive Systems Division will provide LAIRCM system hardware and support to Thales U.K., a member of the AirTanker consortium.

LAIRCM’s system used laser pulses that hit incoming missiles to confuse their infrared guidance systems, and it has become a very popular system for protecting VIP flights and large aircraft like the C-17, E-3 AWACS, C-130, et. al. NGC’s partnership with EADS to build the A330 variant KC-30B for the American tanker competition didn’t hurt their chances, either.

March 27/08: PFI Contract. Rolls Royce announces that “As a shareholder and sub-contractor to AirTanker, the value to Rolls-Royce over the lifetime of the 27-year programme is estimated at over GBP 700 million.” The firm adds that “In line with its shareholding Rolls-Royce will contribute approximately 20 per cent of the equity investment required for the programme, the majority of which is not payable until the operational phase of the programme.”

Rolls-Royce will source components from its global supply chain, then assemble and test the engines at their Derby facility. It will then provide Mission Ready Management Solutions support for the engines once they’re in service. Program management and real-time, proactive diagnostic support will be provided from Rolls Royce’s Defence Aerospace headquarters in Bristol, with additional personnel based at RAF Brize Norton.

According to Rolls Royce, the Trent 700 engine has 53% of firm and option orders for global A330 fleets, including 70% of orders over the last 5 years. Competitive virtues cited include higher thrust, and a full-length cowl that reduces infra-red signature. While the RAF’s program is large in absolute terms, within the overall context of Rolls Royce’s business, one should consider that Trent 700 manufacturing and service in 3 months of 2008 (about $5 billion/ GBP 2.5 billion) is about 3 times the value of the RAF’s 27-year program. Rolls Royce release.

March 27/08: PFI Contract. AirTanker and its Shareholders (Cobham, EADS, Rolls-Royce, Thales UK and VT Group) sign a GBP 13 billion (about $26.04 billion), 27-year contract with the UK Ministry of Defence for 14 new aerial tanker aircraft based on the Airbus A330-200 MRTT, and powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines. The aircraft will enter service beginning in 2011, with aerial refueling services beginning in 2014 and full service beginning in 2016. They will replace Britain’s surviving fleet of 19 VC-10 and 9 L-1011 TriStar aircraft.

The FSTA contract also includes the provision of all necessary infrastructure, including a state of the art 2-bay hangar, training, maintenance, flight operations, fleet management and ground services to enable worldwide Air-to-Air Refuelling and Air Transport missions. An infrastructure program will begin in May 2008 at at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, and the program as a whole is expected to sustain up to 3,000 long-term direct jobs, plus another 4,500 indirect jobs. You may even end up flying in one:

“A number of the aircraft will be operated on the civil register flying commercial Air Transport tasks when not subject to operational requirements, thereby enabling greater productivity for the fleet. Within the PFI agreement, the MoD will only pay for the service once it is available and then only for the capacity that it uses, subject to agreed minimum usage levels.”

The final stage in the process of preparing for contract closure was a financing competition conducted over the last 6 months by the AirTanker consortium, which raised approximately GBP 2.5 billion ($5 billion). UK MoD release | AirTanker Ltd. release [MS Word] | EADS release.

2006 – 2007

Contractual progress.

Tanker fuel systems
(click to view full)

Nov 8/07: In its earnings guidance release, EADS says that:

“In response to the UK PFI Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) requirement, the AirTanker consortium (EADS is 40 percent shareholder and platform provider) has made significant progress in the finalising of contractual arrangements with the UK MoD and in the selection of lenders and financing structure. In the other tanker variant that the Division is currently introducing into the market includes the air-refuelling boom system which is now nearing completion of its development phase and continues flight testing.”

June 6/07: Financing. AirTanker Ltd. announces [PDF format] that it has begun work on the Financing Competition to raise almost GBP 2 billion (about $4 billion) in initial capital, in conjunction with Deutsche Bank. It will be used to start up the business as a fully operational concern, buy the aircraft, and build the new facilities at RAF Brize Norton.

June 6/07: PFI approved. Defence Equipment and Support Minister Lord Drayson announces government approval a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) for the FSTA program. UK MoD release.

July 16/06: AirTanker announces [PDF] that the US State Department has granted umbrella approval, in the form of a brokering licence, which will allow AirTanker to provide the FSTA service to the RAF with aircraft containing US-supplied military equipment.

2000 – 2005

Program start. Final bids. A330 picked.

RAF TriStar KC1
(click to view full)

July 11/05: AirTanker announces [MS Word format] that Phill Blundell has been appointed as the firm’s Chief Executive. He had joined AirTanker from BAE Systems at the start of May 2005 and has been assuming greater responsibilities leading up to his formal appointment. His last role at BAE Systems was Group Managing Director C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance), with a focus on non-platform and complex systems integration.

Feb 28/05: Following revisions to AirTanker’s proposals, and its re-assessment to the same evaluation criteria used for the January 2004 assessment, the UK government names the AirTanker consortium as its preferred bidder for the FSTA program, which is expected to be worth GBP 13 billion (about $25 billion in March 2005) over its 27-year lifetime. AirTanker release [PDF] | DID coverage.

January 2004: A330 picked. AirTanker is selected by the UK Ministry of Defence as the bidder most likely to provide a value for money solution, and contractual negotiations on key commercial terms begin.

August 2003: Final bids. Final bids are received from the TTSC (BAE, Boeing, Serco, Spectrum Capital) and AirTanker (EADS, Rolls Royce, Cobham, Thales UK) consortia. The delay from the initial bids is due to the MoD’s 2002 Equipment Planning process.

July 3/01: The MoD receives 2 initial bids: one from a BAE/Boeing consortium, another led by EADS.

Dec 21/2000: An Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) is issued to industry

Dec 19/2000: FSTA begins. The FSTA Program is given initial gate approval by Ministers and enters a formal Assessment phase.

Appendix A: PFI – The Art of the Deal

Tony Blair
(click to view full)

Under Prime Minister Blair, Britain’s Labor government made far greater use of Public-Private Partnerships/ Private Financing Initiatives, which kept key projects wholly or partly “off the books,” and could make some use of private sector efficiency incentives. When the need to replace their aerial tanker fleet arose, therefore, budgetary provisions were made in 1997 for a PFI. In a June 2/07 Economist article (“What I’ve Learned”), Tony Blair says:

“Public services need to go through the same revolution – professionally, culturally, and in organization – as the private sector has gone through. The old monolithic provision has to be broken down. The user has to be given real power of preference. The system needs proper incentives and rewards…”

The first step in the UK’s tanker PFI process was to select a preferred bidder, but here the government ran into a trap of its own making. Negotiations proved problematic. AirTanker (A330 MRTT) and TTSC (KC-767: BAE, Boeing, Serco, and Spectrum Capital) submitted proposals in July 2001, but the bids were not to the MoD’s liking. By September 2002, they decided to offer to pay the losing bidder up to GBP 10 million, in order to keep the competitors interested in a long and increasingly expensive bid process. After several iterations, the 2 consortia submitted revised bids in August 2003.

The TTSC consortium’s bid was 19% more expensive than AirTanker’s, and 6% above the notional public sector baseline. It also had stringent time limits, requiring a buy by 2005. In January 2004, TTSC was “de-selected” from the competition, and negotiations began with the remaining competitor, AirTanker. Those negotiations also proved difficult, and in May 2004, the FSTA project team recommended cancellation of the entire program.

By this time, however, the focus had moved from competition to financing, and the trap had closed. Working publicly on a public sector fallback plan would create uncertainty in the market, which could raise the cost and difficulty of the required finance deal, making failure a self-fulfilling prophecy. On the political end, the PFI concept itself was based on a practice that has been successful in Britain, but FSTA had surface similarities with the USA’s controversial and canceled KC-767 lease deal, which came to be associated with a corruption scandal. A mirrored failure in the UK, for whatever reasons, would have drawn those comparisons even tighter, and damaged PFIs as a whole. Committed by ideology and also by the threat of loss of face if the deal were scrapped, the government and the Ministry chose to plow ahead. they even sought to avoid planning for fallback options, doing so only in 2007 – and then in an incomplete fashion.

The AirTanker consortium was finally selected as the Preferred Bidder (vice default bidder) in February 2005, along with its proposed A330-200 Multi-Role Tanker-Transport aircraft. Yet even this step did not result in a contract.

The next step was ratification of a Private Financing Initiative as the way forward, as this is a significant departure from the usual buy and own approach for military aircraft. Nevertheless, reform of the defense sector in Britain has been wide-ranging. Huge progress has been made in the spread of “future contracting for availability,” as a common model for changing contractor incentives and supporting key weapons platforms like the RAF’s Tornados throughout their service life. The first decade of the new millennium had also seen significant organizational shifts within the Ministry of Defense.

It also saw shifts within government. Tony Blair’s retirement, and the ascension of the more left-wing Gordon Brown to the prime minister’s post, left a question mark of sorts over the future of service provision reform; the PFI concept is not popular in many parts of the ruling Labour Party. As such, the eventual confirmation by Lord Drayson that a PFI approach would be pursued for a huge program like FSTA had implications that reached beyond the UK’s military.

What it could not do, was make up for lost time. With that approval out of the way, step 3 of FSTA required agreement on a final deal with AirTanker.

Off-duty…
(click to view full)

In order to make the deal work from AirTanker’s point of view, however, financing terms were almost as important as its terms with the government. AirTanker Ltd. worked with Deutsche Bank as its primary advisor, and held a competition among lenders to finance the initial capital outlay. That competition raised GBP 2.5 billion (about $5 billion) to start up the business as a fully operational concern, buy the aircraft, and build the new facilities from which AirTanker will provide the FSTA service. The firm’s June 6/07 release added that:

“The goal will be to ensure that the final terms agreed with the chosen lenders transfer the risk away from the taxpayer, while guaranteeing full value for money for the MOD.”

This had been the goal since 1997. But a contract was not forthcoming until March 2008. It had taken so long, that the entire plan was 5.5 years behind at the beginning of the program contract.

Under the deal, the A300-200 aircraft will be owned and supported by AirTanker, while the service will be staffed by a mixture of armed services and civilian personnel. As noted above, under the PFI (Private Financing Initiative) concept the RAF would fly the 14 Airbus A330 FSTA aircraft on operational missions and receive absolute preferential access to the planes, while the contractor handled maintenance and operated them as passenger or transport aircraft when the RAF didn’t need them.

The UK MoD would pay for the provision MRTT aircraft on the basis of an agreement that combined per-use payments, plus incentives and penalties. These would be issued on the basis of aircraft availability, and AirTanker’s ability to meet key measurements of performance under the PFI agreement.

Revenues will be generated over time, via the performance-based, pay-per-use contract negotiated with the UK MoD. The NAO laid out expected costs in a 2010 report:

“Across the term of the contract, the Department will pay on average [GBP] 390 million per annum for the baseline FSTA service, which includes the cost of related services and infrastructure. Of this amount, AirTanker expects the cost of operating the service to be [GBP] 80 million, leaving [GBP] 310 million to cover financing, profit and the capital cost of the project… In addition, the Department expects to spend a further [GBP] 60 million per annum on personnel, fuel and other related costs, resulting in a total estimated spend over the life of the project of [GBP] 12.3 billion.”

TriStar & USN F/A-18Cs
over Afghanistan
(click to view full)

As always, the devil will be in the details – and in a PFI, any agreement that offers too much of an advantage to either side will ultimately prove to be in the best interests of neither party.

Blind spots can be equally costly, of course. Surprisingly, the original FSTA requirements did not envisage the aircraft flying into dangerous environments – even danger on the minimal scale of Afghanistan. When the need for possible additional aircraft protection measures arose, requirements were not changed; negotiations were proving difficult enough as it was. The UK MoD is now considering the technical requirements, costs that Britain’s NAO auditors estimate as “hundreds of millions of pounds,” and an in-service schedule that could be several years after the tanker service is “operational.” The existing British tanker fleet would have to cover the gap for areas most likely to see sustained aerial operations, or allies would have to cooperate, until that could be achieved.

In retrospect, Britain’s Parliament has been sharply critical of the deal, citing it as a god example of when not to use PFI. These arrangements only work, they say, when demand is predictable and changes are rare. That unpredictable demand was actually seen as an initial plus for the PFI, by making use of otherwise “wasted” time. The problem is that civilian and military carriage requirements aren’t harmonized yet, and many of the protective systems the military would want to install have too many classified technologies on board for use on civilian aircraft in civilian airports. Meanwhile, the RAF can no longer depend on operating tankers only “behind the front lines,” as long-range missiles and irregular warfare mean that the front lines themselves are disappearing.

That kind of collision, say the critics, is exactly why military systems are poor candidates for PFI arrangements. Given the rapidly changing nature of military operations, they say, the Labour government’s prioritization of political face over “plan B” options has been especially damaging and expensive. With so many contracts signed, and so little extra money on hand to cover the expenses of both cancellation and replacement, FSTA is the only option Britain has left. Somehow, the RAF will have to make it work – and extend the life of the existing TriStar and/or VC10 fleets to cover immediate front line needs.

Appendix B: Britain Former Refueling Fleet

Over the course of the FSTA acquisition process, the RAF has worked to phase out its legacy fleet of refueling aircraft.

By the time the FSTA contract was signed, both of the RAF’s legacy aircraft types had been out of production for over 20 years. A few commercial fleets still operated the L-1011 TriStar, but the RAF’s fleet had begun to show its age, and was nearing the end of its operational lifespan. By then, the RAF was the only global operator of the VC10s. Hence the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft program, which received its formal go-ahead in 2000. It was a hard slog (q.v. Appendix A), but the fleet is now in active service.

Tri-version TriStars

TriStar & Tornados
(click to view full)

The RAF’s 9 Lockheed L-1011 TriStars previously served with British Airways and Pan-Am. They have a unique 3-engine profile that includes an air intake on top, in front of the tail stabilizer. The TriStars and are the larger of the 2 major tanker classes, with more fuel capacity and range. They were operated by No 216 Squadron until March 2014, and broke down into 3 different models.

K1 and KC1 aircraft could perform air-air refueling. A total fuel load of 139,700 kg could be carried, which can be used by the aircraft itself, or given away to receivers. Although the aircraft had 2 hosedrum refueling units, only 1 could be used at a time, restricting aircraft to single-point refueling. On a typical AAR flight from the UK to Cyprus, or Gander (Canada), the RAF 4 TriStar KC1 aircraft could each refuel up to 4 fast-jet aircraft, while carrying up to 31 tonnes/ 34.1 tons of passengers and/or freight.

The addition of a large, fuselage freight-door and a roller-conveyor system allowed outsized palletized cargo to be carried on the KC1s, but the RAF’s 2 TriStar K1 aircraft weren’t fitted for this. TriStar K1s carry up to 187 passengers instead, in addition to their refueling equipment.

The KC2/KC2A TriStars were ex-Pan Am transport aircraft that remained largely unchanged from their airline days. They carried up to 266 passengers, and were used for transport duties only.

VC10s: Distinctive, but Discontinued

VC10 & Tornado F3s
(click to view full)

The RAF’s 19 Vickers VC-10s were famous for having 4 engines – 2 mounted on each side of their rear fuselage. This has the happy side-effect of minimizing turbulence for pilots taking up refueling stations behind their wings. Unlike the TriStars, VC10s were equipped with a probe-and-drogue refueling system capable of refueling 2 aircraft simultaneously from the 2 underwing pods; they could also use a single fuselage-mounted Hose Drum Unit (HDU). They also differed from the TriStars in that they could be refueled themselves, thanks to the installation of a fixed refueling probe in their nose. Only 11 were serving by 2002, in 3 tanker versions:

The VC10-C1Ks were converted to the aerial refueling role in 1993 with the fitting of a Mk32 refueling pod under the outboard section of each wing. They carry their internal fuel, and can also accommodate 124 troops plus 9 crew, or aero-medical evacuation of up to 68 stretchers. A large, cabin-freight door on the forward left side of the aircraft allows combi passenger/freight or full-freight configuration. In its full-freight role, the cabin could hold up to 20,400 kg/ 22.4 tons of palletized freight, ground equipment or vehicles, on its permanently strengthened floor. They were operated by 10 Squadron.

The RAF’s 4 VC10-K3s were equipped with fuselage fuel tanks mounted in the passenger compartment, and could carry up to 78,000 kg of fuel. They had very limited passenger-carrying capacity, which was used almost exclusively to carry ground crew and other operational support personnel. The K3s and K4 are operated by 101 Squadron.

The RAF’s 4 VC10-K4s carried 69,800 kg of fuel using their original 8 fuel tanks, and add another 1,750 gallon tank in the fin. The aircraft had been purchased in 1981 from British Airways, and were converted by BAe in 1990. These VC10s went through almost a complete rebuild, emerging without the airframe fatigue flight restrictions placed on many of the other VC10s in the fleet.

Additional Readings & Sources Background: A330 Voyager Tanker/ Transports

• AirTanker Ltd.

• RAF Brize Norton – Voyager K2/K3

• Airbus Military – A330 MRTT

• Air Force Technology – A330-200 Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) – Multi-Role Tanker Transporter (MRTT), Europe. It is also known as the KC-30 in Australia and the USA.

Background: FSTA Program

• DID FOCUS – Britain’ Future Contracting for Availability Approach.

• UK Parliament, Public Accounts Committee (Sept 8/10) – Delivering Multi-Role Tanker Aircraft Capability

• UK NAO (March 20/10) – Ministry of Defence: Delivering multi-role tanker aircraft capability

• UK MoD (Nov 23/09) – Future Brize takes off. The FSTA base at Brize Norton will become the RAF’s future single airport of embarkation (APOE), and home to 15% of the RAF’s uniformed personnel. The article details work underway.

• UK MoD Fact Sheet – Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft. 2008 snapshot.

• UK MoD – FSTA Questions & Answers. Covers many aspects of the deal itself; does not delve into the military/platform aspects. 2008 snapshot.

News & Views

• AirTanker (April 30/14) – V[oyager]-Force. Discusses aerial refueling progress since the RAF V-Force’s landmark “Operation Black Buck” bombing raid from Ascension Island to the Falklands, and offers some useful technical details.

Background: Britain’s Other Tankers

• RAF – TriStar.

• RAF – VC10. Retired September 2013.

• DID (June 20/07) – Britain’s VC10 Tankers Moving Toward New Support Model. Includes a full description and retails re: the UK’s current aerial refueling fleet.

• Vector Site – The Vickers (BAC) VC10.

• Air Scene UK – Ten’s Tens Are Forty! The VC10 began deliveries in 1962; a total of only 54 were produced, 15 for the RAF. Subsequent purchases from other operators, including a far-sighted purchase of 14 aircraft from British Airways in 1981, have kept the RAF’s numbers up.

Most of the 600,000 Afghans who returned from Pakistan last year chose to settle in the eastern border province of Nangrahar. This has put considerable strain on both health and education services. There has also been a boom in property prices, which has exacerbated land grabbing, already a major source of conflict in the province. AAN’s Fazal Muzhary (with input from Jelena Bjelica) analyses the local consequences of this mass return.

For most of the last year, massive numbers of trucks could be seen crossing into Afghanistan at the Torkham border, loaded not with flour, cooking oil or any of the other usual imports, but with returning Afghan refugees together with all their worldly goods. Many are returning to their homeland after decades spent in Pakistan and are bringing everything they own and can carry. Trucks are loaded high with mattresses, kitchen utensils, bicycles, fans, firewood, wardrobes, plastic water tanks, even timber taken from their old homes ready to build new ones. It is not unusual to see animals tethered on top – chickens, cats, cows, goats, sheep and sometimes dogs.

The trucks are not only piled high with belongings, but family members too, sitting on the top of all the stuff – women, men, girls and boys. For many of the ‘returnees’, it is their first time back in Afghanistan for decades. For some, those born in Pakistan, it is their first time ever, now back and moving towards new and sometimes unknown destinations.

Many spoke to AAN of their relief and happiness to be back on Afghan soil. 59 year old Nur Ahmad, for example, who is the oldest of six brothers originally from Baghlan province, where they were heading for, told AAN, “We could not leave our house in Haripur in Pakistan because the police would always stop us and ask for money.” Back in his homeland, he said they felt “very comfortable, despite all the problems we expect with finding work and shelter. “Crossing into Afghanistan was a dream for us, a dream come true, thank God.” Local officials in Nangarhar said, about 30 per cent of all the returnees that settled there were originally from other provinces, most of them neighbouring ones. However, they said those returnees appeared to have no attention to move on to their respective provinces.

A peak in ‘returns’, especially for Nangrahar province

More than 600,000 Afghans returned from Pakistan in 2016, according to reports by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR. (1) During the first six months of last year, just 7,000 Afghans returned (see here). Then, the numbers picked up dramatically due to pressure from the Pakistani government. This included house raids by police and eviction notices, as detailed in an earlier AAN dispatch and reports by Human Rights Watch and UNHCR(2). Returns peaked in second half of last year while the absolute peak in returns was recorded in August 2016. Many, if not most of those who returned in 2016 (or their parents or grandparents) had left Afghanistan between 30 and 40 years ago, during the Soviet invasion, and have limited remaining family or economic ties to their homeland (see here)

After a winter lull, the returns have again picked up, this year. According to the UN humanitarian coordination agency, OCHA, 17,970 undocumented (Afghans holding no Proof of Registration, and not registered with the UNHCR) Afghan returnees crossed the border from Pakistan between January and March 2017, 20 per cent more than in the same period last year.

The current influx is just the latest wave of returnees. Since 2001, about 3.9 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan. In the immediate years following the overthrow of the Taleban regime, people mainly returned voluntarily, motivated by the hope that peace had been restored. After that, the number of Afghans returning home slowly diminished, largely due to the renewal of the conflict. Each year, from 2009 to 2014, fewer than 100,000 Afghans returned from Pakistan (except in 2012, when it was slightly over the 100,000 mark – for annual figures, see here).

Most of the recent returnees have chosen Nangrahar as their new home. According to Provincial Council Member, Zabihullah Zmaray, over 70 per cent of Afghans returning from Pakistan decided to settle in different districts of the province. His figure broadly tallies with one provided by Hafiz Ahmad Miakhel, media advisor at the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MoRR), who put that percentage at over 60 per cent. Miakhel based his figure on the daily registration of returnees at the Torkham border crossing. IOM found in a survey of the heads of 306 households of undocumented refugees that 76 per cent said they planned to settle in Nangrahar. OCHA has put the figure of all returnees, both documented (Afghans holding Proof of Registration, and registered with the UNHCR) and undocumented, now settled in Nangarhar (from Pakistan, Iran and abroad) at around 418,000 (available here). The population of Nangrahar, which was about 1.5 million in 1390/91 (2012/13) according to the Central Statistics Office (www.cso.af), has increased by about a third in less than a year, if these estimates are correct.

Both the December 2016 and May 2017 IOM data confirm that most of the returnees from Pakistan came via the eastern border crossing at Torkham. The southern border crossing, in Kandahar’s Spin Boldak, saw far fewer returnees. Less pressure on Afghans from the Pakistani authorities in Baluchistan is probably the main reason for that. It is not just Nangarhar which has seen a high rate of returns. The east as a whole, so Nangarhar, Laghman and Kunar, together received the bulk of the returnees in the second half of last year. IOM says that these three provinces now have a total returnee population of 2,456,500, with one in five of the population now being a returnee (see here).

A strain on social services

This rapid increase in Nangrahar’s population has put a strain on government services, including health and education. The city’s main hospital, the provincial council member Zmaray told AAN, was built to cater for a population of about 1.3 million people in the 1970s, but is now overcrowded and struggling to provide services. He said all wards and bedrooms were full and new patients were either having to wait in corridors or in the open yard of the hospital. A doctor at the provincial hospital in Jalalabad city (who did not want to be named) said that the daily rate of babies being born there had doubled, from 60 to 120 per day.

Education department officials tell similar stories. According to the department’s director, Allahdad Ismailzai, the number of students at Nangrahar High School, located in the centre of Jalalabad, has more than doubled. An additional 1,300 to 1,500 students were admitted for the academic year 1395/96 (2016/17) which began on 15 September 2016, on top of the 1,200 students already studying there.

The education department managed to enrol a total of 34,000 additional students and pupils from returnee families in schools all over the province. Its officials told AAN that the students were enrolled based on different conditions. For example, 2,000 were accepted based on school documents from Afghan schools in Pakistan. Another 16,000, between grades one and six, were enrolled unconditionally, ie without presenting any papers. The remaining 16,000 students had been temporarily enrolled for three months. After that, the education ministry would test them to ascertain their level and formally enrol them. A local source in an international organization in Nangrahar who follows the issue also confirmed these figures.

The education department has received support from both international non-governmental organisations and the United Nations. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) hired 120 new teachers for this academic year, while the United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF) added 50 more teachers for children who are living in tents in different areas along the Torkham-Jalalabad highway, with a hundred more teachers to come. The education department officials told AAN that both UNICEF and the NRC provided stationary and 190 tents that could be used as schools, with 60 more promised.

Short-term relief and lack of economic opportunities

According to a document outlining support to the returnees that AAN received from the governor’s office in Nangrahar province, about 40 per cent of undocumented repatriates were given 350 USD per family by IOM and the World Food Programme (WFP) for food and shelter in the last six months of 2016. The government gave 100 million Afghanis from its own budget during the same period, and each family under this programme received 3,350 Afghanis (49.53 USD). Another batch of 7,000 families that returned early last year each received financial aid of 9,000 Afghanis (130 USD). Furthermore, it is added in the document, different NGOs, such as NRC, UNHCR, IOM, Danish Refugee Council, WFP, International Rescue Committee, Save the Children and UNICEF have provided assistance to the returnees in terms of food and shelter. The diverging amounts handed out to different groups of returnees indicate a degree of spontaneity in the reactions to a problem that had taken everyone involved by surprise and that has been triggered by bilateral Afghan-Pakistani tensions (see earlier AAN analysis here).

Such assistance, while welcome, also does not last long, and most families need to find their own income fast. Some of the returnees seek work as daily labourers, going to Talashi Square in Jalalabad city where employers usually look for mazdurkaran, the Afghan term for this widespread form of precarious employment. According to the IOM survey, an estimated 31 per cent of those intending to repatriate planned to be looking for daily wage labour, but even that kind of work is scarce. “Me and my friends hardly get a single job once a week,” said Zaman Gul, who is in his mid-40s. “When we were in Pakistan, we could find work sometimes six days, or at least a few days a week.” He said that other labourers told him that, before the returnees arrived, the labourers could find work, but now the chances had considerably decreased. Civil society activist Nur Agha Zwak backed up such testimony with figures. Between March and December 2016, he told AAN, the estimated number of day labourers in entire Jalalabad increased six fold, from about 300 to about 2,000. (Hakim Shehzad, head of the public works department, said that he lacked the data either to confirm or to challenge this estimate.)

There are vague plans from the local government to provide more job opportunities, but local government officials admitted that, so far, they had been unable to offer the returnees very much. The Nangrahar governor’s spokesman, Attaullah Khogiani, said that there were plans to utilise the existing skills of the professional and educated returnees, but he was unable to provide information on any specific job opportunities available to the repatriates.

Some returnees have brought over rickshaws from Pakistan to earn a livelihood in Jalalabad. According to a Pajhwok report there are now more than 9,000 of those tricycles in the city, many of them not registered with the traffic department. This has added to the traffic jams, as has the increased number of handcarts belonging to people trying to survive as sellers of fruit, vegetables and other items. While in the past it would take 30 minutes to drive from one end of the city to the other, people said it could now take over two hours. The local government now plans to provide number plates to registered rickshaws and to ban the unregistered ones from the city, in order to manage the city traffic better (read more here).

Not all returnees are poor. Some of those interviewed by the author in October 2016 had sold their businesses in Pakistan and planned to use the capital to start new businesses (or buy a home or a plot of land) or had managed to move their businesses from Pakistan to Jalalabad.

House rents and land prices

When returnees arrive, they often first try to find a house to rent and later try to buy or purchase land to construct a house of their own in the same neighbourhood. Most of the returnees prefer to live in Jalalabad city, or in its surrounding districts such as Surkh Rod, Behsud, Khogiani, Rudat and Ghanikhel. As a result, in many of these areas the rents and land prices have dramatically increased. (Land values in Afghanistan have already increased by 1,000 per cent in the urban areas since 2001, according to a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).) According to a property dealer named Shakirullah, in the early summer of 2016 a four-roomed house could be rented for around 13,500 Afghani (200 USD), but by the end of 2016 it had become difficult to find such a home for less than 33,750 Afghani (500 USD). In the Ulfat Mena neighbourhood, close to the city, before the influx of returnees, rent for a three-roomed house was less than 10,000 rupees (100 USD); however, following the influx, they were being rented for 20,000 Pakistani rupees (roughly 200 USD). As a result, there is now a new trend among the rich to buy land and build houses so they can rent them out to returnees. Those well-off consider it a booming business and a good opportunity for making quick and easy money. This further fuels the hikes in rent and in land prices. For all but the rich among the returnees, the price hikes in land prices and rent has made it difficult to find a new home.

Returnees who cannot afford to rent a house or buy land either move in with relatives in Nangrahar or, if they do not have some, jointly rent a house with other returnees. In the Daman area, also known as Qasemabad, a hillside in the Behsud district, to the northeast of Jalalabad, residents told AAN that there were hardly any households in the neighbourhood that were not hosting at least one returnee family from Pakistan. “I have three rooms in my house and two returnee families living with me,” a local journalist, Amin Zahir, told AAN, adding that the returnees did not pay rent because they were relatives. Shayesta Khan, an Afghan returnee, who returned last October, his three brothers and their families jointly rented a four-roomed house for 12,000 rupees (115 US dollars) per month, with each brother paying a portion according to his ability. The brothers are originally from Qarghayi district of Laghman, and have no relatives in Nangrahar.

As more and more people are seeking to invest in land and houses in order to rent them to returnees, owners have been able to push up the price of land. For example, in the Yawolasema Wiyala area in Behsud district, which is very close to Jalalabad city, one biswa (100 square metres) of land was sold for 168,750 Afghani (2,500 USD) in the early summer of 2016. In January 2017, one biswa in the same area cost between 303,750 and 405,000 Afghanis (4,500 and 6,000 USD). In the Ghauchak area, also close to the city, property dealers said the price for one biswa had increased from 337,500 to 540,000 Afghanis (5,000 to 8,000 USD).

Additionally, local people are now selling farmland, which is then turned into residential property, diminishing the area of arable land in one of Afghanistan’s most fertile provinces. The Afghan news agency, Pajhwok, reported in December 2016 that in Behsud district about 80 per cent of the farmland had been sold to returnees. In the Yawolasema Wiyala area, according to civil society activist, Mal Shinwari, the proportion of land meant for agriculture had decreased for this reason.

The high demand for land plots has also provoked new land disputes and encouraged land grabs by individuals seeking either to sell onwards or to build houses for sale or rent.

In Daman district and others, the number of returnees has changed the local rich-poor dynamics as well as local hospitality patterns. In the recent past, people from other provinces who owned property in the area would still allow poor people to live in their houses for free. But with the arrival of so many returnees, the owners have started to rent out their houses. A local tribal elder Murad Gul complained that the hike in rent was eroding the traditional spirit of generosity among people, who in the past would help the poor by allowing them to use their houses for free.

The governor’s spokesman, Attaullah Khogyani, told AAN that a new mechanism had been put in place by the municipality to control high rents. Every owner, before renting out a house to someone, has to inform the community elders as well as the Afghan intelligence agency, the NDS, prior to the deal, in order to get security clearance and approval for renting the house to the client. However, local people told AAN they have not seen any instances where this mechanism has prevented rents from rising.

The governor’s spokesman also said that the authorities have asked returnees originally from other provinces, who make about 30 per cent of all of the returnees, to move there and use the facilities provided there by the respective local governments. The governor’s spokesman further said that, as a result of spring, no decrease has been seen among the returnees who were said to have settled in Nangarhar because of cold weather. This means that the reason for returnees to settle in this province was not only the weather.

Plans for new towns run into obstacles

Although there are now three new townships planned for returnees in Nangrahar, the provincial government is still struggling to cope with housing their huge numbers. One of the three is meant specifically for carpet weavers. This plan emerged on 10 October 2016 when President Ashraf Ghani signed a new order for three townships to be built for carpet weavers returning from Pakistan (the other two will be built in other provinces). The aim is to accommodate a class of artisans that made Afghan products famous worldwide, but had left the country en masse following the Soviet invasion, depriving Afghanistan of one of its trademark exports. Ghani said he also hoped that the carpet weavers could produce new employment opportunities in the country.

Nangrahar’s weaver township is supposed to be built in the Wech Tangi area of Behsud district, (see a report here). A month after the president’s announcement, on 10 November 2016, provincial officials visited the site, but no further steps to survey the area have yet been taken (here is the report). Of the other two returnee townships planned for Nangrahar, according to the provincial governor’s spokesman, Attaullah Khogyani, one will also be built in Wech Tangi (it has been named Khanaki) and the other in Kot district. The spokesman said the area for those townships has been identified but the actual survey has yet to begin (officials claimed it would start soon.)

New and old land conflicts

However, the record on actually getting land to returnees or others is not good. Land-grabbing by the powerful has been a persistent problem in Nangrahar – as elsewhere. (3) There are actually two existing townships marked out for returnees, Chamtala Township in Surkhrod district and Sheikh Misri town on the border between Surkhrod and Chaparhar districts. In Chamtala, 8,000 land plots were allocated for returnees in 2008 (see UNHCR report here), but about 3,000 of these were seized by local powerbrokers, according to the Director of the Refugees and Repatriation Department, Ghulam Haidar Faqirzai (see an Afghan media report here).

In Sheikh Misri, land plots for returnees were approved as early as 2005. According to civil society activists, local powerbrokers took over the land and the returnees were unable to obtain their plots. Even returnees with documents for land plots failed to obtain land, despite protesting several times in front of government institutions in Jalalabad (see here). Locals and returnees told AAN that certain former officials, such as former police chief of Nangrahar, Muhammad Zaman Ghamsharik (who was killed in a suicide attack in February 2010 and replaced by his brother, Aman Khairi), and other powerful figures had grabbed these plots. In addition, current parliament member Haji Zaher Qader also staked his claim in part of the township of Chamtala (see previous AAN dispatch here). In a meeting with governor Mohammad Gulab Mangal on 18 February 2017, deputy refugee minister, Ahmad Wali Hakimi said that a survey would soon be carried out to identify land that had been taken in the towns of Sheikh Misri and Chamtala (see here). It appears, however, that the government is still struggling to reclaim the land from the local powerful.

The problems in these two towns indicate that there could well be similar issues facing the planned townships as well. For example, Wech Tangi, on the road leading from Jalalabad to neighbouring Kunar province, is the place where the weavers’ township is to be built. It is a flat desert area, situated to the east of Jalalabad, which borders with Qarghayi district of Laghman to the north, Kuz Kunar district of Nangarhar to the east, the Jalalabad-Kunar Highway to the south and the Daman area to the west. At the moment, there is no water source in this area, and if the refugees are going to settle there they would need to dig wells for drinking water. According to several local sources (including local journalists, residents and political analysts who closely follow the issue), however, inhabitants from Wech Tangi have tried to prevent the government from building the two planned townships in their area. They are reportedly supported by provincial Jamiat strongman Hazrat Ali, Senate Chair Abdul Hadi Muslimyar and others, who have already prevented returnees from setting up tents there. Locals from the area said that these figures had encouraged people in the area not to allow the construction of a road connecting the two towns with Jalalabad because certain shops and houses would be destroyed in order to complete the road project. It was not clear if this was a real concern by the property owners or a tactic to delay work for more nefarious reasons.

There are also significant bureaucratic hurdles for returnees trying to obtain land deeds (see this AAN report) Land distribution under the MoRR is so poorly managed that the president, according to AAN sources, is planning to redraft existing legislation and move the administrative management of land distribution to the Afghanistan Independent Land Authority (Arazi, in Dari).

The problem of land grabbing has already had an effect on Afghan refugees in Pakistan, as news of it has spread among them. Deterred by the chance to run into conflict with local power holders, many have decided to stay put. This is certainly true in Balochistan, where no major incident of pressure from the Pakistani authorities has so far been reported, and where one Afghan told a BBC reporter the refugees there would not be returning because of this issue (see the report here).

Looking ahead: more returnees, more pressure

Locals and officials in Nangarhar told AAN they think that many more returnees expected this year will also try to settle in their province. Increasing numbers will result in more pressure on social services and the labour market, make rents and property prices rise further and might pit local populations against the newcomers. Already now, many are anxious about the number of unknown people now settled among them.

A lot will depend on whether those among the returning refugees from other Afghan provinces are planning to move back there, whether the Afghan government is able to motivate them to do so and whether the government can implement its new action plan. It was released in mid-March and was put together in coordination with UN and donor agencies. It focuses on six areas: immediate humanitarian assistance, documentation, access to basic services, land allocation and adequate housing. The plan is still being costed, said OCHA, and there may also be some re-drafting of laws. (4) However, in order to support the returnees, political will from the government will also be necessary. That will have to include a determination to go after the politically well-connected, local land grabbing mafia.

Edited by Kate Clark, Sari Kouvo, Martine Van Bijlert, Borhan Osman and Thomas Ruttig

 

 

(1) The 600,000 returnees include 248,189 people who did not have identity papers and who were registered by IOM. Most of these ‘undocumented’ Afghans have been forced to leave Pakistan (see this AAN dispatch). The 600,000 figure also includes 370,000 Afghans with identity cards who were registered by the UNHCHR). Most of these ‘documented’ Afghans were happy to return, although pressure was put on them to do so ( see AAN previous analysis here)

(2) According to a UNHCR spokesman, Qaisar Afridi, the rate of Afghans returning picked up due to “tight security measures at the Torkham border by the Pakistani government, alleged harassment of Afghan refugees by Pakistani police, doubling the per person payment of financial aid to the returnees from 200 to 400 USD by UNHCR and the ‘Khpal Watan Gul Watan’ (One’s own country is the lovely homeland) campaign by the Afghan government in Pakistan.” Human Rights Watch, in its February 2017 report, explained that the returns were due to a “campaign of abuses and threats” by the Pakistani authorities (further details in this previous AAN analysis). According to Human Rights Watch, the doubling of UNHCR’s cash grant to returnees has been “critical” in persuading Afghan refugees to leave Pakistan (see for instance this report). UNHCR, however, disagreed. On 27 January, the agency wrote to Human Rights Watch, saying that, although it shares Human Rights Watch’s “concerns regarding the reported push factors affecting the repatriation from Pakistan,” it “strongly refutes the claim that increasing the cash grant constituted promotion of return,” and that UNHCR “provides support to refugees who make the decision to [return] based on a well-informed consideration of best options.”

(3) This is not just a problem in Nangrahar. All over Afghanistan, displaced Afghans have returned home and sought to reclaim the land they previously owned. This Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction report quoted a senior official at the Afghanistan Land Authority (Arazi, in Dari) saying that “approximately 60 percent of all corruption in the Afghan judiciary involves land ownership.” The SIGAR report further stated that the hundreds of thousands who have not been able to reclaim their land have resorted to squatting on the outskirts of urban areas in informal settlements that are unrecognized by the government.

(4) OCHA wrote:

In mid-March, the Displacement and Returns Executive Committee (DiREC) and National Cabinet endorsed a comprehensive Action Plan to accompany the Policy Framework on IDPs and Returnees adopted in January. The Executive Committee facilitates joint humanitarian and development planning and brings together Government, UN and Donor agency efforts focusing on six key response areas, including: the provision of immediate humanitarian assistance, documentation, access to basic services, land allocation and adequate housing. A costing exercise outlining the financial requirements of each goal is in the process of being finalised along with plans to replace Presidential Decree 104 with a draft Technical Procedure for the Provision of Land to Returnees and IDPs. 

For more detail, see here.

 

 

Turkey's FNSS unveiled a version of its Kaplan tracked armoured vehicle armed with a 30 mm gun at the country's IDEF 2017 exhibition, held in Istanbul on 9-12 May. The medium-calibre armament is designed to allow the new vehicle to operate alongside main battle tanks (MBTs). The Kaplan-30 Next

Aselsan and the Army GeneraláDirectorateáof Military Factory - or Askeri Fabrikalar Genel Mudurlugu (AFGM) - have developed a self-propelled (SP) artillery system called the Kamyona Monteli Obius (KMO) to meet a potential requirement by the Turkish Army. The KMO is essentially a 6x6

Aselsan has partnered with the General Directorate of Military Factory (AFGM) to upgrade two of the Turkish Army's M60T main battle tanks (MBTs) with enhanced survivability. The effort follows the service's disastrous Euphrates Shield operation in Syria, where a number of its MBTs were destroyed or

Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) unveiled its Saqr 1 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on 11 May. The KACST said the Saqr 1 UAV is equipped with a satellite communications system, has an automatic take-off and landing capability, and is made from lightweight carbon