Cost Cannibals
The Royal Air Force has resolved to cannabilize at least 100 Rolls-Royce Pegasus engines used to power Harrier ground-attack aircraft, as it strives to drive down ownership costs.
The decision to ax those engines now in storage, along with a substantial excess spares inventory, is part of a move to contain costs associated with what the Defense Ministry terms a "legacy" engine.
The ministry is reevaluating its approach to aircraft maintenance and support. Further work, looking at cost and other implications of its so-called End-to-End study, is now being carried out, with conclusions due around the end of the first-quarter 2004.
The air force is scheduled to receive the first of a further engine upgrade for the Harrier--the aircraft is being fitted with the Rolls-Royce Pegasus Mk107--later this month. This will provide increased thrust and a badly needed improvement in hot and high performance.
The upgraded aircraft was initially known as the GR7A and, following an avionics and weapons package upgrade, the GR9A.
Discussing the rationale behind the changes in approach to support, Wing Commander Chris Daykin, speaking at an IQPC military aerospace propulsion conference here, said the Pegasus is "a legacy engine. It was getting too expensive to keep, so the Integrated Project Team has gone through the whole business to see where, and if, the ministry gets value for its money."
Concerning the engine upgrade, and the ministry's desire for "lean" maintenance, Daykin, head of Pegasus in-service support, commented: "Each engine has around 1.5 million pounds ($2.5 million) of serviceable spares, of which some 400 thousand pounds are usable spares."
THE AIR FORCE EXPECTS to complete the breakdown of 20 engines by around March 2004. A further 70-plus engines, a mix of Mk103 and Mk105s, are scheduled to follow.
He added, the air force was also looking to dispose of some 30 million pounds worth of spares which "we will never consume," before the type reaches its 2015 out-of-service date.
The ministry has also taken the opportunity to purchase 40 Mk107 upgrade kits to revise its contractual approach with prime Rolls-Royce, and with first-tier suppliers.
Daykin notes that the ministry's contractual process had us "paying for things we didn't want," in part simply because of the prevalent culture in how contracting was handled. Now, it is negotiating a new contract with Rolls-Royce, expected to be concluded early in 2004.
Air force and industry personnel are already working together at RAF Cottesmore, where the Harrier force is based, on improving Pegasus maintenance and support. Turnaround time for maintenance is being reduced from 45 to 25-30 days.
The eventual aim is to establish an IPT-industry management organization to oversee engine maintenance, with an interim team to be in place by second-quarter 2004, and the full structure by year-end.
The ministry decided to fund an engine upgrade and acquire 40 upgrade kits for most of its fleet of Harrier GR7s in 1999. The shift to out-of-area operations, and placement of GR7s on navy aircraft carriers, highlighted operational limitations in terms of aircraft performance in warm climates. In particular, the installed thrust limited stores and ordnance bring-back capability for aircraft returning to the carrier.
THE MK107 PROVIDES an additional 3,000 lb. thrust, with total weight increased to 34,000 lb. from 32,000. This increased power boost will allow operators to fly with an optimized war fit, rather than the reduced fit presently used for some hot and high operations.
The ministry has also contracted with Rolls-Royce for an in-service reliability figure of 725 hr. for the Mk107 if the fault identified is attributable to a design flaw.