Market Challenges Await New A129 International
ANTHONY L. VELOCCl, JR./CASCINA COSTA DI SAMARATE, ITALY
Agusta strikes a balance between affordability and capability, but the Mangusta still faces major hurdles
Agusta expects to soon complete the development of a much more capable version of its A129 combat helicopter and by early 1997 to introduce a specially configured demonstrator for the export market.
The A129 International has been designed to meet a wide variety of missions under all-weather conditions, day or night. These range from armed scout and reconnaissance to high-intensity, and air—to—ground and air—to—air capability. The rotorcraft is derived from an anti—tank aircraft—the A129 Mangusta—that Agusta developed for the Italian Ministry of Defense, but Program Manager Giuseppe Virtuani maintains, “The A129 International will be much more than a light antitank helicopter. Pound for pound, it will be the most cost effective combat rotorcraft in its class.”
While this may be true—industry observers think the aircraft will be priced in the $6-8-million range—Agusta still is likely to face an uphill battle selling the product. “For the money, the A129 International probably will offer the best combination of product performance and reliability,” Richard Aboulafia said. He is an analyst with the Teal Group, an aerospace and defense market analysis firm in Fairfax, Va. “Unless the Italian government is willing to pull out all the diplomatic stops, its future looks bleak.” “I expect the International to be priced pretty inexpensively for its range of capabilities, but the US and European markets are all but locked up,” said Charles Armitage, an analyst with Lehman Brothers in London. “This means that Italy will have to look toward ‘politically incorrect’ countries for its best sales prospects. The problem is that Italian government regulations could seriously impede efforts to effectively market A129 International.”
Another consideration is that the helicopter sector is burdened by excess manufacturing capacity. John R. Harbison, who manages the aerospace/ defense practicemfor the Los Angeles-based consulting firm of Booz—Allen 85 Hamilton, said the current capacity utilization may be no more than 20—30%. As a result, competition is fierce for a very limited market. Eurocopter, a joint company of Aerospatiale and Daimler—Benz Aerospace, has been marketing its Tiger series of twin—engine attack helicopters to foreign customers for years. Despite enjoying the support of the French and German governments, however, it has been unable to make even a single sale. It is substantially more expensive than the A129 International.
“The world isn’t crying out for more offerings in this product category,” Harbison said. But, he adds, the Italian government has managed to achieve a relatively high volume of aerospace/ defense exports and the A129 International may For the price, the A129 International is expected to be one of the most cost-effective combat helicopters be able to build on that success.
Norway, Sweden and Spain, among other countries, may have a requirement for a multirole military helicopter, according to industry observers. In addition, some South American countries also have expressed an interest in such an aircraft, but they are considered less likely sales prospects because of budget constraints.
The concept of the A129 International dates back to 1994, when the Italian Defense Ministry modified its original requirement for an antitank helicopter and specified the need for a more versatile rotorcraft. This was based largely on the Italian army’s experience with the A129 in Somalia in 1993 and 1994. The deployment underscored the limited utility of a single—mission combat helicopter operating in the come—as—you—are post—Cold War environment. The army discovered, among other things, that the Mangusta could have benefitted from the addition of a gun turret, air-to-air missiles and more effective night—vision gear. worldwide. It remains to be seen, however, iust how successful Agusta will be in marketing the product.
Under terms of Agusta’s original 1992 contract with the ministry, the company agreed to provide the Italian army with 60 production A129S that could accommodate additional mission equipment as needed—or as the government could pay for it. Examples of such equipment include a laser warning receiver, an IR jammer, a landing gear that’s suitable for snow and sand, and auxiliary fuel tanks. Some of this will be supplied as retrofit kits. Following the Somali deployment, the Defense Ministry wasted no time in pursuing a more capable Mangusta. In early 1995, Agusta completed a feasibility and early development contract with the Italian army for the A129 International.
Agusta and the ministry are now completing an agreement that calls for the last 15 aircraft of the original 60 helicopters to be in the multirole configuration. The A129 International goes into low-rate production at the end of this year, with deliveries scheduled to start in late 1998 and continue through 1999. Recently, the Italian army expressed interest in the addition of chaff and flare dispensers.
The International offers significant but cost—effective improvements over the original A129. In terms of weaponry, the upgrades include a 20—mm. gun turret, the integration of Stinger air-to—air missiles and the ability to carry Hellfire antiarmor missiles in addition or as an alterative to the current TOW antiarmor missiles and rocket pods (70 mm. or longer—range 81 mm.). The International also can carry Mistral air—to—air missiles. Agusta claims that, compared with the Bell AH-1 Cobra, AH—64 Apache, CSH-2 Rooivalk and Eurocopter’s Tiger, the A129 International is smaller and lighter but can carry the same or greater volume of mission equipment and weapons load.
Other improvements include a Global Positioning System and data link and a more capable observation and targeting system with laser designator. The current A129 Mangusta is equipped with a day/night stabilized weapon sight system. It consists of a direct—view telescope for day, with an integrated forward—looking infrared sensor for night use by the gunner/copilot. For the pilot, there is a
night—vision system comprising a nose-mounted Flir sensor that is part of the pilot’s integrated helmet and display sight system (IHADSS). The pilot can select either view of night—vision or Flir imagery on his helmet, which is produced by Honeywell’s military avionics division. The helmet apparatus is the same one used on the Apache and Cobra.
All of the A129S cockpit instrumentation and external lights are compatible with night—vision goggles. Customers of the A129 International will be offered an upgraded mission—equipment package, featuring an advanced glass cockpit and improved IR night sensor that generates images with a higher resolution. Agusta and Honeywell have modified the basic IHADSS for the attachment of night-vision goggles. Through one eye, the pilot sees the image from the night—vision goggles, on top of which is overlaid weapons and flight symbology in the Doppler mode. Through the other eye the pilot sees only the image from the nightvision goggles.
To allow for expansion of the aircraft’s capabilities, the A129 International employs a centralized and open computer architecture based on the 1553B digital data bus structure. Agusta engineers have designed the aircraft to accommodate a lowlight—level television sensor or advanced radar package above the rotor plane. The integrated management system based on the 1553B digital data bus enables upgrades to be made mostly with software modifications.
The airframe has been upgraded to allow operations at a higher takeoflf weight. Instead of a four—blade main rotor, there are now five blades. The Mangusta also has an improved drive system, including a gearbox that is 40% more powerful, and the installation of two LHTEC T800 engines rated at 1,335 shp. (takeoff) apiece. The T800 on the International uses the same structural interface as the 900-shp. Rolls—Royce 1004 engine that powers the A129 Mangusta. For the A129 Internationals marketed outside of Italy, the T800 engine will be standard equipment. The Italian Defense Ministry has not requested the more powerful engine for budgetary reasons, but it may retrofit the T800 into the new multirole helicopters.
Agusta is using four rotorcraft to validate the International “growth modules.” One is dedicated to establishing the airworthiness of the airframe without the avionics, and another with the avionics installed. A third prototype is dedicated to flight testing the helicopters handling qualities, while a fourth is devoted to qualifying the weapon systems. Virtuani said flight test operations have been “very satisfactory” so far, including handling qualities, vibration levels and flight loads. Live—fire tests also have demonstrated good compatibility of all aircraft sensors with the gun turret. A full—motion combat mission simulator for the A129 International is in final acceptance. Codeveloped by Agusta, General Electric and Link, it will be available for delivery starting in late 1996. The simulator will offer both basic flight and combat mission training in VFR, IFR, day/ night operations and weapons delivery. Two independent cockpits (pilot and copilot/gunner) are mounted on two separate platforms with individual 6-deg. of freedom of motion; visual cues are highly realistic.
Additionally, the simulator operates in four different modes. Each pilot can train independently of the other, with the instructor acting as the “missing” crewmember, or both crewmembers can fly the same helicopter and the same mission. In the joint mode, each crewmember can operate the aircraft independently while optically linked to perform missions as a team or against one another. In the proficiency mode, crewmembers fly the same aircraft and the same mission, with instructors acting as scout helicopters.
The A129 International operates at a maximum mission gross takeoff weight of 5,000 kg. (11,000 lb.). Top cruising speed is 150 kt. at maximum continuous power. Normal flying range (powered by the T800) can exceed 300 naut. mi. With fuel tanks mounted under each stub wing, however, range can be extended to more than 1,000 km. (620 mi.)— even while carrying four air—to—air missiles. With the gun turret installed, the aircraft can carry about 1,000 kg. (2,200 lb.) of weapons load under the wings, plus fuel for long-endurance missions. The gun turret can be removed in less than 15 min. and installed within half an hour. There is no need to realign the boresight when weapons or sensors are replaced due to the precision of the weapon mounts, wing geometry and sensor mechanical precision—mounting, according to Virtuani.
The helicopter is significantly quieter than its forerunner owing to the tip speed and shape of the composite rotor blades. Additionally, the A129 International has what Virtuani describes as a “very low infrared signature,” making the aircraft less vulnerable to heat—seeking missiles. Cool air is funneled into the engine exhaust, dramatically reducing heat emissions. Installation of an infrared suppressor kit further reduces the IR signature in the area of the engine exhaust.
The helicopter will come equipped with the same Lockheed/Sanders IR jammer— the AN/ALQ1 44A— that is on the AH-64 Apache. In late 1996, the Italian army will begin taking delivery of this particular defensive avionic system for all of the Mangusta helicopters in service. Industry observers say that even with the enhancements built into the A129 International, the competitively priced rotorcraft may still suffer from inevitable comparisons with what seems to be the product of choice: the McDonnell Douglas AH-64. The Apache is priced in the $13-18-million range, depending on the model and options, or 2—3 times what the A129 International is expected to cost. Such comparisons with the Apache may be the A129 International’s greatest shortcoming, Aboulafia said. “That’s unfortunate, because the Mangusta is a battle—tested, cost—effective machine.” He added, “To succeed in today’s environment, Agusta and Italy will have to mount a very effective marketing campaign, which is what France, Germany and South Africa have been doing to sell their product offerings.”
