The recent articles by the Manila Times reported by Joel M. Sy Egco circulating lately regarding the irregularities on the Department of National Defense's (DND) acquisition of refurbished UH-1 helicopters has caught MaxDefense's eye due to a lot of errors and total disregard of facts. As the topic was discussed in our Facebook page, MaxDefense noticed a lot of its readers have difficulty understanding the issue, or understanding the errors on the allegations made by the Manila Times.
One of the UH-1D delivered by Rice Aircraft Services undergoing testing at Clark Air Base.
Photo taken by Tim Q. Maceren, taken from his FB page.
So, it was decided that MaxDefense will answer some of the technical issues, as well as obvious issues in this blog entry. MaxDefense suggests that further research be made by its readers to fully understand the issue and avoid bias.
So, first of all, we discuss the product itself, the Bell Model 204 & 205, otherwise known as the UH-1 series in US military language.
Short History of The Bell UH-1 Iroquois Helicopter:
The Bell Model 204 Helicopter
The Bell Helicopter company produced the Model 204 helicopter, with the first prototype flown in the late 1950s. As the US military accepted the helicopter, it was initially called the HU-1A Iroquois and was pronounced "Huey", until the US military changed its aircraft naming and changed it to UH-1A powered by the Lycoming T53-L-1A engine. Bell later on improved the helicopter by increasing the engine size and power using the Lycoming T53-L-5, and lengthening the fuselage to accommodate more passengers, which was later called the UH-1B.
The Bell UH-1A Iroquois, which is the original name of the Huey. Take note of the short fuselage as compared to what Huey helicopters the Philippine Air Force uses.
Photo taken from Wikimedia.
The US military used the UH-1B for utility and armed missions, and this is where Bell addressed aerodynamic deficiency of armed UH-1B by replacing the engine again with the Lycoming T53-L-11, increasing the fuel capacity, and installing an improved rotor system. This was later on called the UH-1C, a gunship variant with rocket and gun pods installed. Further improvements of the UH-1C to increase power resulting to the UH-1M. The US Marine Corps have their own variant of the UH-1B/C called the UH-1E, with differences on the avionics used. Further developments of the UH-1C for the US Air Force resulted to the UH-1F, which used the General Electric T58-GE-3 engine, but only a few units were built.
The Bell Model 205 Helicopter
With the US military wanting to have a helicopter that can carry more troops, Bell proposed to stretch the UH-1B by 41 inches, enabling them to increase the seating capacity of the helicopter to 15 people. Modifications were also made on the doors and windows in accordance to the changes Bell made to the design. The rotors and tail boom were also lengthened, and the engine of the UH-1C was used. This ultimately became what was known as the Bell UH-1D.
The UH-1H, like those used by the Philippine Air Force (above), are part of the Model 205 series.
Photo taken from Airliners.net, photo copyright @ Carlos A. Morillo Doria.
In 1966, Bell again made modifications on the UH-1D, by replacing the engine with the Lycoming T53-L-13 with 1,400shp, and shifting the pitot tube from the nose to the roof of the helicopter to avoid damage during landings. This was later known as the Bell UH-1H, the most famous of the entire Bell UH-1 series. A civilian version was also made, under the name Model 205A with minor differences including a different position of the tail rotor.
Foreign and Licensed-Built Bell 205 / UH-1:
Due to its popularity, several countries chose the Bell 205 series for their own military and civilian applications. Industrially capable countries like Italy, Germany, Japan, and Taiwan all manufactured their requirement for UH-1 helicopters.
Italy is among the most successful in manufacturing the Bell 205 locally, under a joint venture between Bell Helicopters and Italian aviation company Agusta as the Agusta Bell. They used the civilian version of the Bell 205, which is similar to the UH-1H. Agusta Bell continued to produce several other variants of the Model 205, and went on to produce their version of the Model 212, 214 and 412.
Germany was also able to acquire a license to build the Bell UH-1 helicopter by Dornier Flugzeugwerke. This would later be called the Dornier UH-1D, and in spite of having the "D" series label, is actually very much like the UH-1H. According to online sources, more than 350 units were built from 1967 to 1981,and majority have undergone Service Life Extension Program and upgraded avionics for night capability.
Japan built its UH-1 series, with the license given to Fuji Heavy Industries. Originally they built the UH-1H series, but later on made in improved version called the UH-1J, with a more powerful 1,800shp Allison T53-L-703 turboshaft, night vision goggle cockpit compatibility, infrared countermeasures and vibration reduction system.
The Japanese-built UH-1J variant of the Huey. Based on its improvements, it may have similar features as the Philippine Air Force's UH-1H Huey II.
Photo taken from Wikimedia.
Later Improved Models Based on the Bell Model 205 Helicopter:
Bell later on came up with further improvement on the UH-1H specifically for the Canadian Armed Forces by making it a twin engine variant instead of the single engine used for the Model 204 and Model 205. It was designated as the Bell 212 series in the civilian sector, and was called the UH-1N Twin Huey in US military service. It used the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T engines and was first introduced in 1970.
Bell also released an improved Model 212, called the Model 214, which uses the more powerful Lycoming LTC4B-8 engine while retaining the twin-blade rotor, and was called the Huey Plus. Another development was made by Bell by using a 4-bladed rotor, which later on became the Bell Model 412. Its current variant, the Bell 412EP, was chosen recently by the Philippine Air Force to become its latest Combat Utility Helicopter model and is expected to replace the UH-1 series in its inventory.
A CH-146 Griffon of the Canadian Armed Forces together with a UH-1H Huey of the Philippine Air Force. The Griffon is actually a militarized Bell 412EP helicopter customized according to the needs of the Canadians.
The latest iteration of the UH-1 was again made by Bell, this time by working again on the UH-1N design by lengthening its cabin, increasing the engine power and size using General Electric T700 engines used in the Sikorsky S-70/UH-60 Black Hawk, and having a 4-bladed rotor for improved lift and performance. This resulted to the UH-1Y Venom, currently the combat utility helicopter of the US Marine Corps. This variant is still in production until now.
The latest variant of the UH-1 series is the Bell UH-1Y Venom, which is currently used by the US Marine Corps.
Photo taken from Airliners.net, copyright @ Kevin Whitehead.
Background on the DND's UH-1 Helicopter Acquisition Project:
This project was regarding the acquisition of 21 refurbished UH-1 helicopters for the Philippine Air Force. 13 units will be standard models, while 8 will be upgraded models. All are expected to be used and refurbished by the winning bidder before delivery.
The PAF decided to acquire more UH-1 helicopters as funding to acquire new helicopters are scarce, with the government only providing enough to acquire 8 new combat utility helicopters from 2013 until 2017. With only a budget of more than a billion pesos, this is onlyThe UH-1, being the PAF's premier combat utility helicopter model, was still found to have potential for use for another 10 to 15 years after proper maintenance and continued refurbishing and modernization.
Aside from this, there is an urgent need to beef up the helicopter fleet as many of the PAF's UH-1H helicopters have not entered refurbishing works and modernization, ending up as non-flying assets after reaching a certain period. Although there are plans to refurbish current PAF helicopters, it might take long before this can fully take place. Acquiring readily available units is still considered the fastest way to acquire additional assets.
An illustration of the fastfin system as installed on a Canadian Armed Forces CH-146 Griffon (Bell 412)
Photo taken from Canadian American Strategic Review website.
Apparently, the units delivered by Rice Aircraft Services are German-made UH-1D helicopters by Dornier. According to MaxDefense sources, 8 are to be upgraded to "Super Delta" standard, which is said to be almost similar to the Huey II the PAF is currently using. It features a more powerful engine, a fastfin system, night vision goggle-compatible cockpit, and other features not present on the standard UH-1D or UH-1H. The remaining 13 will be standard "Delta" models.
A UH-1D undergoing testing at Clark Air Base. Note the fastfin installed at the tail end of the helicopter. This could be one of the UH-1D Super Delta, which is an upgraded version of the UH-1D.
Photo taken by Tim Q. Maceren, taken from his FB page.
Answering the Technical Allegations of the Report:
MaxDefense will be answering the news report released last March 8, 2015 by Manila Times in a part-by-part manner. You may refer to the link below to see the sources of the topic outlines:
"Choppers bought for P1.2B defective"
http://www.manilatimes.net/choppers-bought-for-p1-2b-defective/168066/
1. "Delivery of Old, Refurbished Units":
The project was meant to acquire used and refurbished UH-1 helicopters from the very beginning. The UH-1 series has long been out of production with Bell or any of its license-production holders like Agusta, Dornier, Fuji Heavy Industries and AEDC. So it is already expected that the helicopters would not be new due to unavailability of any new UH-1 helicopters.
2. "Contract Was for UH-1H Helicopters":
This is completely untrue. The project was actually called "Acquisition of UH-1 Helicopter Project", without specifying the exact variant. So the bidder could actually bid using other variants of the UH-1 series aside from the standard UH-1H being used by the PAF.
The document above used by the DND to invite bidders for the project already shows that the project is for REFURBISHED UH-1 HELICOPTERS. There was no emphasis on the "Hotel" variant as well. So there is no violation on this part. There are many other documents on the bidding that is available to the public at the DND-BAC's website.
Document snipped from DND-BAC website.
But does that mean the PAF will accept any variant? No. The PAF already have extensive experience with the UH-1H, and would definitely prefer the UH-1H or any similar variant. This would make the maintenance, training, spare parts acquisition, and parts recycling possible. Which brings us to the next question.
3. "The Age of the UH-1D is older than the UH-1H...":
As discussed earlier, the German-made Dornier UH-1D were built between 1967 and 1981. The US-made Bell UH-1H were built starting 1966 until the late 1970s. By age, the German UH-1D and the US UH-1H are almost the same age. But this is also an inaccurate way to determine the age of an aircraft.
Two Dornier UH-1D helicopters used by the German military.
The most important detail is, when was the aircraft manufactured? It is impossible to compare the age of aircraft without this detail, and by just using a 15-year range as we might be comparing a 1968 model UH-1H with a 1975 model UH-1D. But based on the range alone, it would be possible that any of the UH-1D made by Dornier and any of the UH-1H made by Bell would be of the same age, plus/minus a few years.
Technically, the Dornier UH-1D and the Bell UH-1H is one and the same. This can be verified in numerous online sources, as well as by helicopter databases like helis.com. Dornier obtained the license to build the Bell Model 205 initially based on Bell's UH-1D, but opted for the option to use the Lycoming T53-L-13. The same engine was being considered by Bell to install on the UH-1D for improved lift performance, which a year later the new variant will be officially called the UH-1H.
Thus, the UH-1D made by Dornier is essentially one and the same as the UH-1H made by Bell. Also, Dornier's UH-1D is far superior to Bell's UH-1D, in the same manner that the Bell UH-1H is superior to the Bell UH-1D.
4. "UH-1D are not reliable and their parts are obsolete...":
Being new doesn't necessarily mean reliable. Although newer products tend to be generally more reliable than older products, using this in a general statement like what the report can be considered as totally inaccurate and misleading.
Since the Dornier UH-1D is essentially one and the same as the Bell UH-1H, maintenance and parts for both helicopters are the same too. MaxDefense sources indicated, and several online sources also confirmed, that parts for the UH-1D and UH-1H are actually interchangeable. Although Dornier probably does not make new spare parts for these helicopters, Bell does, and Bell can provide parts and support for both helicopters, aside from the fact that both can use the same original and compatible aftermarket parts from other companies but are accepted by Bell itself, which means the supply chain is not affected by the difference in the helicopter's designations. This was confirmed by the DND's Fernando Manalo an interview a few days ago. If the UH-1H parts is acceptable to the PAF, then the same is true for the Dornier UH-1D's. There are also many companies with large stocks of spare parts for most Model 205/UH-1 helicopters, as aside from the Philippines, there are still a lot of countries using the UH-1 helicopter, including the US military, national guard, and police forces. Examples include Dakota Air Parts, Timken, AirTechnology Engines Inc., and many others.
It would be worth noting that the Philippine Air Force actually uses both the Bell UH-1H and civilian Model 205A, as well as the newer Bell 412EP. It also had experience in operating the a very few Bell 212s in the past, all of which are different from one another. But this did not negatively affected the supply chain of the PAF as well.
(Add to that the possibility that Japan might provide the PAF some of their Fuji Heavy Industries-built UH-1H and UH-1J, will that become another issue that the media will come up again in the future?)
The PAF's 505th Search and Rescue Squadron operates around 8 Bell 205A helicopters, similar to the photo shown above. These have minor differences with the UH-1H, but is said to be less similar to the UH-1H, as compared between the Dornier UH-1D to the Bell UH-1H.
5. "If the DND awarded the contract to a supplier...and those helicopters should have been used during the Mamasapano incident..."
This is a non-technical phrase that MaxDefense could not stand to leave unanswered. The PAF, with or without these new helicopters, currently has air assets that could have been used to assist the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) commandos during the operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on January 25, 2015. It was assumed by the reporter's so-called source that the PAF doesn't have any air assets available at all!
It was clear that the military, more so the PAF, was not given any instruction from higher ops to use their air assets to assist the PNP-SAF in any way before and during the operation, be it for close air support, insertion, extraction, and rescue. So the 21 new helicopters would not be of any help to the PNP-SAF even if they were delivered before January 25. This statement by the report's source, now called "Joey" by a later article posted on March 11, 2015, actually reveals a lot on his real intention for bringing out this issue to the spotlight. Being wrong on technical matters can be acceptable if the source is a non-technical person. But bringing this out in poor reasoning just to give more reason to grill the project is uncalled for.
6. "Helicopters delivered....were not yet operational...":
This was confirmed by the DND recently, as reported by the Inquirer on March 9, 2015. Only 8 of a total 21 helicopters were accepted by the PAF, while the rest are still being assembled, checked, tested, and will undergo acceptance later on. The DND already confirmed that they have given Rice Aircraft Services and its partner Eagle Copter up to April 15 to complete the turnover for the balance units. So there is nothing wrong with this.
Some of the UH-1D helicopters are still awaiting completion of assembly, so it is obvious that they are not yet flying.
Photo taken by Tim Q. Maceren, taken from his FB page.
7. "President [Benigno] Aquino [3rd] was hoodwinked into believing that the aircraft delivered were UH-1H models..."
The President previously said in his previous public statements including previous State of the Nation Addresses that the helicopters coming are refurbished UH-1 helicopters, not specifically UH-1H helicopters.
Here is the link to the President's previous SONA wherein he stated that UH-1 helicopters are being acquired. So far the text only says "UH-1", without the "H".
8. "The age of the UH-1D is older than the UH-1H....":
This was answered in Item # 3.
A Dornier UH-1D used by the German armed forces.
Photo taken from Airliners.net, copyright @ Jakub Nanowski/EPGD Spotters.
9. "...the manufacturer [Dornier] is no longer existing and no helicopter parts are being manufactured specifically for the UH-1D...."
Although Dornier has already folded years ago after a failed venture with American company Fairchild (yes, the manufacturer of the A-10 Thunderbolt), they were able to successfully turn-over the rights of Dornier products production, sales, and support to RUAG Aviation, a Swiss company with facilities in Germany and many other countries. They even continue building some Dornier aircraft products until now like the Do 288 New Generation. Their website also indicates that they provide Life Cycle Support Services to Dornier military aircraft like the UH-1D and Alpha Jet.
As with the spare parts, this was answered in Item # 4.
The DND, through its undersecretary Mr. Fernando Manalo, confirmed a few days ago that at least 8 units were already accepted by the PAF. MaxDefense sources confirmed this information, and that PAF pilots were dilligently doing their job to see if the helicopters are indeed in tip-top shape before they signed the reports prior to release of acceptance papers.
Also, Pinoy Aviators, a group page in Facebook with members from the civilian and military aviation community, confirmed that a batch of helicopters were formally accepted this morning (March 11, 2015). These are composed of 2 standard "Delta" and 4 "Super Delta" upgraded helicopters. Source apparently came from one of the PAF Huey pilots included in the testing phase. It is unclear though if this is in addition to earlier reported acceptance of Delta and Super Delta helicopters.
MaxDefense is unsure if there are indeed corruption issues involved in the acquisition of these German birds. But MaxDefense believes that all the accusations thrown recently unto the project is incorrect, uncalled for, and probably have other intentions that are directed to the people involved in the project and the President himself. We will not be touching those issues, and we will leave that to the DND, PAF, Rice Aircraft Services, and the government to answer.
To cap-off, here is a video posted in Youtube during the testing of the helicopters, uploaded by RecSpin.com:
During tests in the US prior to delivery to the Philippines:
During testing @ Clark Air Base, Pampanga: