ILA 2012 : Eurocopter Hands Over First CH-53GA to the German Army

The German Army has officially taken delivery of the first of 40 upgraded CH-53GA transport helicopters from Eurocopter.

The 1970s-vintage aircraft are receiving a comprehensive upgrade of their avionics and mission systems in order to improve their useful life out out to 2025 - and perhaps beyond - when the type is expected to be replaced by the Future Transport Helicopter. The update also extended the life of the airframe from 6,000 hours to 10,000 hours.

Key parts of the upgrade include a new modern digital cockpit using Rockwell Collins' CAAS suite, renamed German Avionics Management System (GAMS), along with a four-axis autopilot and new radios to make the CH-53GAs interoperable with other NATO and US assets. The update also adds a Selex-made EO/IR turret on the nose. Other changes include a new electronic warfare system and the provision of an auxiliary fuel tank in the rear cabin which gives the aircraft a range of up to 1,200 km.

'The upgrade will make all of our missions easier,' said Maj Andreas Brunning, one of the pilots involved in the operational evaluation trials at Buckeburg, speaking to Shephard at the ILA Airshow in Berlin.

'We now have a digital map after using paper maps combined with a GPS for many years and while we have been using NVGs for many years, the addition of the FLIR pods will reduce our workload during night operations.'

The aircraft is due to receive its military airworthiness certificate from the WTD-61 test unit imminently, but military crews have already flown around 100 hours conducting training flights since July. It is expected to take pilots three months to convert from the analogue CH-53s to the CH-53GA, although much of this will involve ground school training introducing pilots to the new mission system.

Eurocopter test pilot Antoine Van Gent told Shephard that pilots had found the avionics system very intuitive.

A further four aircraft are expected to be delivered to the army over the remainder of the year. The remaining 29 aircraft will be upgraded progressively with the last expected in 2015.

The CH-53GAs are converted from the early-model CH-53Gs built by Dornier during the 1970s. These were later joined by CH-53GS and GE models.

With the introduction of the CH-53GA fleet, the number of CH-53s serving with the German armed forces is to be reduced from the current 84 to 66. The type is currently used by the army, but will be transferred to the Luftwaffe in the coming months as part of a major reorganisation.

CH-53s serving in Afghanistan are being retrofitted with the ESG-developed SeLa (Sensor-based Landing Aid) to assist pilots in brown-out situations.

The system is contracted for installation on the GE and GS models but not the GA, although Stefan Emig, project manager for the upgrade programme, said the device could be easily integrated in the future. The system is set to be deployed to Afghanistan in the coming months. 

News HomeN