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The MMA, US military designation P-8A, will be based on the 737-800 fuselage and the stronger 737-900 wing,
with raked wingtips. A weapons bay aft of the wing, (effectively in the aft hold) may be 3.5m or 4.7m long, depending on internal stores carriage
needs. The fuselage will be strengthened for weapons employment and to permit ASW profiles. All max weights will be significantly higher than a standard -800.
To minimise development costs Boeing is trying to minimise aerodynamic
changes from the -800, particularly with the nose cone. It is working with
Raytheon to make their APS-137 search radar fit within the outer mould line. Up to seven mission consoles and a
rotary sonobouy launcher will be fitted in the cabin. The aircraft will have
four underwing hardpoints. Like the AEW&C, the MMA will have 180kVA IDG's
as standard. The MMA is also being designed with an in-flight refuelling
receptacle over the flight deck. Conversion to MMA from a
green aircraft at Wichita is expected to take about 12 months. Northrop-Grumman will provide the electro-optical/infrared sensor,
the directional infrared countermeasures system, and the electronic
support measures system. Raytheon will provide an upgraded APS-137
maritime surveillance radar system and signals intelligence (SIGINT)
solutions. Finally, Smiths Aerospace will provide the flight management
system and the stores management system. The flight management system
provides an open architecture along with a growth path for upgrades. The
stores management system permits to accommodate current and future
weaponry.
Under a $3.9 billion Navy contract awarded June 2004, Boeing will
build seven 737 MMAs for testing. The plane's design has begun its 3,000
hours of testing in wind tunnels. First flight will be in March 2009, it would enter service in
April 2013. Ultimately, the Navy
will need 108 of the planes, a deal that would be worth $20 billion.
3 July 2008 - Boeing installs engines to complete final assembly
on P-8A
By Stephen Trimble
Boeing has installed the engines on the US Navy's first P-8A
Poseidon, essentially completing structural assembly of the 737-based
maritime patrol aircraft.
The first of five flight-test aircraft will now be inducted into a
months-long phase to complete systems integration ahead of first
delivery in the first quarter of 2009.
The integration of the two CFM56-7B engines, which each provide
27,300lb (121kN) of thrust, culminates Boeing's roughly 90-day final
assembly process.
The USN plans to buy 108 P-8As, but is on contract only for the first
five flight-test aircraft. The type is scheduled to achieve initial
operational capability in 2013, but operational demands may require
Boeing to accelerate the delivery schedule by one year.
27 Apr 2008 - All hands are on deck to build Boeing sub hunter
Final assembly starts on the first of Navy P-8A Poseidon planes that
could be Renton's last 737s
By JAMES WALLACE P-I AEROSPACE REPORTER
Although The Boeing Co. lost the competition to supply air-refueling
tankers to the U.S. Air Force, it still has one major military aircraft
development program in the works.
Starting next year, it will deliver the first of what could be more
than 100 737s, modified with bomb bay doors and weapon pylons under the
wings, to the U.S. Navy. Over the next decade or more, the P-8A Poseidon
will replace the aging fleet of prop-engine Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion
planes that have been used for hunting subs and military maritime
missions since the Cold War days of the 1960s.
Under unusually tight U.S. government security regulations that
prevent most non-U.S. citizens from getting within 10 feet of the
Poseidon work areas, final assembly of the first of those Navy planes
started earlier this month at Boeing's Renton plant.
It is the first time a Boeing military plane has been built "in line"
on a commercial production line.
Boeing calls the program a "hybrid," reflecting the close cooperation
between Boeing Commercial Airplanes and the company's military business.
The Poseidon could turn out to be the last of the 737s that Boeing
assembles in Renton, assuming it has a commercial replacement for its
single-aisle commercial jetliner before all the Navy planes are
delivered. That 737 replacement plane, which Boeing says won't be ready
until at least 2015 or later, is likely to be assembled at Boeing's
Everett plant, not in Renton.
And with Boeing's fighter production having peaked, and production of
the C-17 transport winding down, the 737 could be the last fixed-wing
plane that Boeing makes for the military for some time, from about 2014
on, according to Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group, an industry
consulting firm.
"This is pretty much it," Aboulafia said. "It better work, because
Boeing has a lot riding on this in the fixed-wing market for military
aircraft integration."
Last week, when Boeing announced first-quarter earnings that were
better than Wall Street expected, Chairman and Chief Executive Jim
McNerney said Boeing's military programs are running well, including the
P-8A. McNerney noted that the company won nine of 11 major U.S. military
competitions last year. "Our hit rate has been very, very high," he
said.
But earlier this year, Boeing lost the tanker competition to a team
of Northrop Grumman and EADS, the parent of Airbus. Boeing has appealed.
And last week, Boeing lost to Northrop again for a Navy contract to
build maritime surveillance aircraft. Northrop will supply the Navy with
as many as 44 unmanned aircraft that will be used with the Boeing P-8A
planes.
The P-8A will mostly hunt for submarines, while the unmanned planes,
a version of Northrop's Global Hawk, will scan the ocean for surface
vessels.
Boeing will initially supply the Navy with five P-8A test planes, two
of which will be used for ground testing. First flight is set for next
year. The Navy currently plans to purchase 108 Poseidons and field the
first operational squadron in 2013.
Boeing was considered the underdog for the Navy contract. Lockheed
Martin was offering an improved version of the P-3. Instead, the Navy
went with a jet that can fly faster, higher and has more range and
payload.
The P-8A is a derivative of the company's 737-800 commercial jet, but
with the wings of the 737-900ER (extended range).
It will be able to carry 120 sonobuoys, which are dropped in the
ocean to track subs. It also has two pylons under each wing for weapons.
The P-8A can be refueled while flying. Inside the P-8A, the crew will
sit at computers analyzing data from the jet's sensors, much as they do
now on Boeing's 707 airborne and control plane, as well as the 737
airborne early warning planes being built for Turkey and Australia.
Boeing also could build versions of the P-8A for other nations.
India, for example, is finalizing a contract for as many as eight of
the 737s to replace its navy's Soviet-era Tupolev TU-42s, which, like
the P-3 Orion, have seen their best days.
In December, the U.S. Navy grounded 39 of its P-3 Orion sub hunters
-- nearly a quarter of the fleet -- because of concerns about fatigue
cracking in the wings.
Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, said last month the
Navy would like to speed up delivery of the P-8A to deal with the Orion
problems.
But that will depend on Boeing's ability to crank up 737 production
even further, which won't be easy. Boeing is currently building around
31 of the commercial 737 jetliners a month to meet high demand for that
plane.
"Boeing is working really hard with us," Vice Adm. David Venlet,
commander of Naval Air Systems Command, told Inside the Navy, a military
publication, late last month. "They've got a real rapid-flowing 737
line, and getting spots in the sequence (for the P-8A), you've got to
tell them pretty far ahead."
He called the P-3 Orion "tired iron."
McNerney, during last week's earnings call, said Boeing continues to
study 737 production but has not decided how much more it will raise
rates to get more planes out the factory door. The current rate is
higher than it has ever been. Boeing has a 737 backlog of more than
2,000 planes, having sold a record 846 last year and 739 in 2006.
Those commercial jets are assembled on two state-of-the-art moving
production lines at the Renton plant.
But the P-8A is assembled in a separate building to allow all the
necessary military modifications to be made on the line. This has
required a number of controls to meet the requirements of the U.S.
International Traffic in Arms Regulations, or ITAR.
The P-8A assembly line is fenced off with badge readers at entrances
to ensure that only U.S. citizens can get close to the plane. Foreign
nationals, even those who work for Boeing, are not allowed access
without special clearance.
Even the P-8A fuselage must be transported to Renton under tighter
security.
All 737 fuselage sections are manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems in
Wichita, Kan., and then shipped by rail to Renton for final assembly.
Those wingless, green fuselage sections on rail cars have been a common
sight for years. But the P-8A fuselage must be hidden from view during
its trip.
The P-8A fuselage differs from the passenger plane. It does not have
passenger windows, but does have a large observation window -- and a big
hole in its belly for dropping weapons.
With final assembly under way on the first plane, Boeing workers are
installing systems, wiring and smaller parts in the fuselage. The wings,
manufactured by Boeing in the same plant, will be attached later.
Boeing won the Navy competition in 2006 over Lockheed Martin in large
part because it decided to have an ITAR-compliant P-8A line in Renton so
the planes would not have to be flown off after assembly to complete the
military work. That can now be done during final assembly, a much
cheaper and more efficient process.
This was to have been the model for the 767 tanker program had Boeing
won the Air Force competition. Taking a page from the P-8A, most of the
military modifications to the 767 would have been done during final
assembly of the planes on an ITAR-compliant line in Everett.
Instead, Boeing is left, for now, with Poseidon.
20 Mar 2008 - First fuselage for the U.S. Navy's new P-8A Poseidon
anti-submarine aircraft is almost complete.
Workers have to install the last five parts before delivery to Boeing
on March 31.
The P-8A is a derivative of Boeing's Next Generation 737-800
long-range commercial airliner. Completion of the fuselage marks a
milestone for Spirit and Boeing, officials from both companies said
Thursday.
It's the first time a Boeing commercial airliner has been customized
with military-unique changes as it goes down the production line. In the
past, major modifications were made after production was complete.
The process is more efficient, costs less and means higher quality,
Tony Parasida, Boeing's vice president and general manager for Airborne
Anti-Submarine Warfare & Information, Surveillance and Reconnaissance
Systems, said at a ceremony with Spirit employees marking the fuselage's
completion.
"It is going to change the way we do derivative airplanes forever,"
Parasida said. "It's something nobody else can do."
The P-8A fuselage took four months to build and was done with 737
production rates at a brisk 31 a month.
At first glance, it doesn't look much different than the commercial
737 airliner fuselages on Spirit's shop floor.
But in the P-8A version, a large observation window replaces side
passenger windows. It has a hole in its belly for a weapons bay. And
it's been strengthened to take on military equipment.
Another difference marking its future military role is the roped-off
area surrounding it and signs that read: "Limited Access. Foreign
Persons are Not Permitted."
It's reflective of one of Spirit's largest challenges on the program:
complying with International Trade in Arms Regulations that are applied
to defense-related products.
"It's substantial," said Buck Buchanan, Spirit's vice president and
general manager of the fuselage business, of those regulations.
The U.S. Navy plans to buy 108 P-8As to replace its fleet of P-3C
aircraft.
Boeing is scheduled to deliver the first plane to the Navy in late
2009 for flight testing. It is scheduled to be put into operation in
2013.
29 Dec 2007 - Production of the first Boeing P-8A Poseidon Begins
Production of the first Boeing P-8A Poseidon has begun, as
negotiations continue for Australia to join the US Navy's Multi-mission
Maritime Aircraft programme. The 737 derivative is to replace the navy's
Lockheed Martin P-3C Orions from 2013.
Assembly of the fuselage for the first of five P-8s in the
development programme - three flight-test and two ground-test aircraft -
started at Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas in early December. The
fuselage for aircraft T-1 will be shipped to Boeing's 737 final-assembly
plant in March 2008, is scheduled to roll out next August and fly in
March 2009, following loads calibration. Development flight-testing will
begin in September 2009, after its mission system has been installed.
"We are on track and entering build of the first five aircraft with
highly certain dates because we are integrated with the 737 production
line," says Bob Feldmann, Boeing vice-president and P-8A programme
manager.
Australia last July decided to join the MMA programme, and is
negotiating a memorandum of understanding to participate in spiral
development of the P-8. The first round of negotiations was completed in
October and a second is planned for February, says Capt Mike Moran, the
USN's P-8 integrated product team lead. The navy, meanwhile, is
beginning to define the aircraft's first capability upgrade spiral, he
says.
India recently began evaluating cost proposals for its maritime
patrol aircraft requirement, having assessed the P-8I, an Airbus A319
derivative from EADS, Ilyushin's Il-38, a modified Dassault Falcon 900
offered by Israel Aerospace Industries/Elta Systems, and a
remanufactured P-3 from Lockheed.
Canada is meanwhile considering abandoning the incremental upgrade of
its P-3-based CP-140 Auroras and buying new aircraft, with a decision
expected by the end of 2007. However, Moran says: "We have not had any
discussions with the Canadians."
Flight Intl 29/12/07
13 Aug 07 - The 737 goes to war - the P-8A Poseidon
Another 737 assembly line is taking shape at Boeing's Renton,
Washington plant. Line 3 will be similar to the other two already
churning out almost 30 aircraft a month, except that the 737s inching
down this moving line will be military - P-8A Poseidon multi-mission
maritime aircraft for the US Navy.
Building a military derivative "in line" with the commercial 737
makes the P-8 different to any previous Boeing programme. "No one has
done this before," says P-8 programme manager Bob Feldman. "No one has
cut into a commercial line to produce a military aircraft."
The ability to produce the P-8 on the commercial 737 line was key
factor in Boeing Integrated Defense Systems winning the $3.89 billion
contract in 2004 to develop the replacement for the US Navy's Lockheed
P-3 anti-submarine warfare aircraft. "When theP-8 is in full production
we will build it in eight days, on a moving line, like every other 737,"
says Feldman. "The navy will get extraordinary affordability."
Boeing's original proposal was to buy a 737-800 off the commercial
line, fly it a modification centre, take it apart and put it back
together - as it does with the airborne early warning and control 737
and KC-767 tanker. "We have always built a green aircraft and modified
it because it is difficult to do in line," says Perry Moore, director of
P-8 manufacturing operations for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "But the
navy wanted us to find a way to do this.
Making a military derivative
"The navy said why buy a good aircraft and cut it apart? If you do
not do something different, you will probably not win the contract,"
says Eric Lindblad, director, P-8 aircraft systems. "We had to take a
high-powered production machine and learn how to make a military
derivative."
An 11th-hour change to Boeing's MMA proposal, creating a system to
allow in-line production of the P-8 has resulted in the closest
co-operation yet between the company's commercial and defence businesses
- a co-operation that extends to suppliers including 737 fuselage
producer Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas.
Turning the 737-800 into the P-8 has required changes to basic
aircraft's structure and systems. "The typical 737 takes off, climbs,
cruises for an hour and a half, descends and lands. The P-8 has eight
unique flight profiles," says Lindblad. "A fair amount of the structure
has been adjusted." Material gauges have been increased to strengthen
the fuselage, wing and tail, and system capacities boosted to provide
more cooling and power, but the biggest change to the basic 737 is the
introduction of a weapons bay in the lower aft fuselage and weapon
stations under the wing.
Despite these changes, at Spirit and Renton respectively the fuselage
and wing for the P-8 will go through the same assembly jigs as those for
the commercial 737, and at the same pace. "It has to go in and out of
the jig with the commercial line move," says Lindblad.
Moore says: "Spirit has a very lean process, and will produce P-8 and
737 fuselages on the same line despite the significant differences." To
avoid disrupting the flow, a downstage subassembly position has been
created at Spirit where the weapons bay and auxiliary fuel tank will be
integrated before it is installed on the line. Because of the
differences within the P-8 wing, separate positions will be created to
finish the work.
Final assembly of the P-8 could have been performed on the existing
737 moving lines at Renton, but Boeing decided it less risky to create a
separate line. It would also be easier to meet the Pentagon's security
restrictions by building a separate "ITAR compliant" line that would
nonetheless be available to build commercial 737s if Boeing needed more
capacity.
"The real significant difference is in final assembly, and it was not
worth the risk of disrupting the commercial line," says Moore. "We have
a new final assembly line, but it's another commercial line, a replica
of the others with the same lean production system. It's a moving line,
but with extended flow times." Almost four times the number of wiring
bundles in a typical 737 have to be installed, along with extra ducting
and the cargo-bay auxiliary fuel tanks. "The line will not move as
fast," he says. "The 737 has eight flow days, which equals eight
positions. The P-8 will have eight longer flow days and three
positions."
A separate final-assembly line also eases the headache for BCA of
complying with the access controls demanded by the US Department of
Defense's International Traffic in Arms Regulations. "We encourage
commercial customers to come look at their aircraft. It would have been
a logistical nightmare. The P-8 final assembly line will be fenced off
for ITAR compliance," says Moore. "But it is not a dedicated ITAR line,"
Lindblad adds. "It will be possible to fire a commercial aircraft down
that line."
There will be no similar separation at Spirit, where military P-8s
will be mixed in with commercial 737s. Instead the ITAR access controls
will follow each P-8 fuselage down the line, and the same will happen on
the wing line. Spirit sends 737 fuselages from Wichita to Renton on
railcars and method will also be used for the P-8, but the fuselage will
be protected in an unspecified way.
Under the 737 production system workers stay in one position and the
aircraft moves. For the P-8, small specialist teams will follow the
fuselage and wing down the line to handle the differences. On the final
assembly line one crew will be fully trained to build the aircraft from
one end to the other, at least initially. "At rate we may go back to a
more traditional arrangement," says Moore.
Construction of the P-8 final assembly line is under way at Renton.
Here the two Boeings come together. On one side of the building will be
the BCA assembly line, on the other the IDS static and fatigue test
rigs. And all the planning will be put to the test when the first
flight-test P-8, aircraft T-1, starts moving through the system later
this year.
Spirit will load the first assembly jig in December, the fuselage
will be in Renton by March and the aircraft will be fully assembled by
August. "It's amazing how fast they build commercial aircraft," says
Feldman. BCA will take T-1 through pre-flight to taxi, shut it down and
deliver it to IDS, when it will be rolled into the fatigue test fixture
for loads calibration and ground vibration testing.
First flight
First flight is set for March 2009, when the painted aircraft will
make the short hop to Boeing Field for mission system installation. For
T-1 this will mainly involve test instrumentation, about half of which
will already have been installed by during final assembly, and the
aircraft is expected to fly again in September 2009, making three
flights from Seattle before ferrying across the country in October to
the US Navy's Patuxent River flight-test centre in Maryland.
T-1, the airworthiness aircraft, will be followed by mission system
(T-2) and weapons test (T-3) aircraft, as well as static and fatigue
test articles (S-1 and S-2). A 700-flight, 2,300h development test
programme is planned. T-2 is scheduled to fly in January 2010 and will
build up to testing of the fully integrated mission system. From T-2
onwards, BCA will do a check flight and paint the aircraft at Renton
then deliver it to IDS at Boeing Field.
While T-1 will be used for weapons carriage and release trials,
weapons testing "for score" will use T-3 with its full mission system.
T-3 will also be the performance test aircraft and a back-up to T-2 for
mission system testing. T-2 will perform climatic chamber testing at
Eglin AFB in Florida and T-3 will be used for electromagnetic testing at
Pax River.
Although the P-8 is based on a proven airframe, full-scale static
tests and fatigue testing to two 15,000h lifetimes will be conducted
because of the different loads experienced. "The P-8 will spend a lot
more time at lower altitude and higher g," says Pual Martin, manager P-8
test and evaluation. The S1 static airframe will be refurbished and sent
to China Lake, California for full-up live-fire testing "to demonstrate
it meets the vulnerable area requirement".
Feldman says: "It is not built for survivability as a commercial
aircraft, so we have done significant live-fire testing and are
incorporating the results into the design." A lot of the work involves
the fuel system: protecting or relocating components double-wall tank
liners sense and drain systems and dry-bay fire protection. "These areas
have been dealt with and there are no outstanding vulnerability
concerns," he says. Using a building-block approach, Boeing has
conducted life-fire tests on critical areas of the airframe using
surrogate structures. This has resulted in selection of an inerting
system to protect the dry-bay areas around the cargo-bay fuel tanks.
The critical design review in June determined the P-8 was "green
across the board" in meeting its key performance parameters, including
weight and range, says Feldman. A US Navy design readiness review set
for August is expected to approve the acquisition of up to four more
development aircraft, T-4 to T-7, for initial operational test and
evaluation beginning in April 2012.
Budget pressures
Initial operational capability of the Poseidon is scheduled for April
2013. Budget pressures have reduced the planned production rate from 16
to 13 a year, but Feldman says the line will have capacity to produce 16
or more a year, creating the possibility of accelerating P-8 deliveries
to replace P-3s earlier.
Some challenges to producing a military aircraft on a commercial line
remain to be overcome. For the development P-8s, the navy had to secure
a waiver from US legislation requiring the Pentagon to use only domestic
sources of specialty metals such as titanium - a restriction not imposed
on the 737. "The commercial line is domestic specialty metals agnostic,"
says Feldman. "We still need a permanent waiver for production."
Unlike a green aircraft that is then modified, the P-8 will not be
FAA-certificated when it comes off the assembly line.
To secure USN flight clearance, Boeing will supply a "safe to fly"
plan based on its certification processes. "BCA self-certificates its
commercial aircraft, so our FAA certification data will be integrated
into the document required for navy certification," says Moore. An
analysis to identify any gaps between FAA and navy certification
requirements is to be completed this month.
"We will end up with a 737-800A - a P-8A without the mission system -
which will get an FAA experimental ticket," says Lindblad. Getting the
navy to sign off on this is critical to Boeing's plans to complete the
"unstuffed"P-8 within BCA then deliver it to IDS for mission system
installation. "We gain a lot of efficiency by provisioning the aircraft
at BCA, while IDS does the plug-and-play installation," says Moore.
This production arrangement would also make it easier to allow
international customers to perform mission systems installation
in-country. India has been offered eight P-8s off the US production
line, but Australia has decided to join the MMA programme with a
requirement for 12 to 20 aircraft to replace its AP-3Cs, and will
probably install the mission systems in-country. The basic P-8 airframe
could also find other applications.
Flight Intl 13/8/07
20 July 2007 - Australia may join
MMA program
Australia is to negotiate to join the US Navy's Boeing P-8A Multi-mission
Martime Aircraft development programme, after the government gave first-pass
approval for the A$4 billion ($3.5 billion) AIR 7000 Phase 2 programme to
replace the Royal Australian Air Force's AP-3C Orions.
The 737-based P-8A Poseidon will meet the Royal Australian Air Force's manned
Maritime Patrol and Response Aircraft (MPRA) requirement and operate alongside
the Multi-mission Unmanned Aerial System (MUAS). Together the manned MPRA and
unmanned MUAS will replace the Orions, which are planned to be retired in 2018
after more than 30 years of service.
After Boeing won the MMA competition in June 2004, Australia was offered a
stake in P-8 development in return for investing $300 million in the programme,
but the Canberra government turned down the offer in late 2005 because of a
crisis in funding for defence procurement. Defence minister Brendan Nelson says
participation in the proposed cooperative development of the P-8 will provide
opportunities for Australian industry.
Australia was the launch customer for another military derivative of the 737,
the AEW&C of which it has ordered 6.
Boeing and the US Navy recently completed the critical design review on the
P-8. Approval to built two test aircraft will be sought later this year. The US
Navy plans to buy 108 Poseidons, with deliveries beginning in 2013.
03 Jun 2005 - MMA to get Raked Wingtips
The Boeing-led team currently developing the U.S. Navy's P-8A
Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) has made a minor design change
better suiting the Navy's unique requirements.
The move involved changing the wing extension from a blended winglet
to a commercially proven raked or backswept wing tip, Boeing said in a
statement.
A configuration control board composed of Boeing personnel and
representatives from the Naval Air Systems Command PMA-290 procurement
team approved the change after determining the new design provides the
same efficiencies as the blended winglet, but increases overall
performance for maritime patrol missions, it said.
"It's indicative of the teamwork developed between the Navy and our
industry team that we were able to identify a way to enhance the 737's
performance in the maritime patrol environment," said Jack Zerr, vice
president of the MMA program for Boeing.
"This kind of design improvement explains why we have a system
development and demonstration phase in procurement programmes."
It is also believed that the raked winglet will be de-iced all the
way to the tip unlike the present NG's in which the outboard slat has no
de-icing.
10 May 2005 - P-8A MMA Could Become a Multinational Program
Australia, Canada, and Italy were named by the U.S. government at the
end of 2004 as being the most likely partners in the development of the
P-8A Multimission Maritime Aircraft (MMA), based on a Boeing 737
airframe. The US Navy is now in formal talks with these potential
international partners, and India has also expressed interest. The U.S.
market alone is estimated to be $20 billion, and the P-8 replaces the
P-3 Orion aircraft currently in service with 15 countries.
Each potential international partner would be expected to contribute
approximately $300 million toward the development of the P-8A. The U.S.
also approached other allies but according to eDefense they were "less
responsive," raising the prospect of a competing European system at some
future date based on an Airbus airframe.
The P-8 MMA will search for and destroy submarines, monitor sea
traffic, launch missile attacks on naval or land targets as required,
and possibly engage in an electronic intercept role. This will involve
carrying sonobuoys, torpedoes, depth charges, Harpoon anti-shipping
missiles, SLAM land attack missile, and other weapons, as well as
advanced sensors, communications, and other electronics. The program
goal is a modern, highly reliable airframe that will be equipped with
improved maritime surveillance and attack capability, allowing a smaller
force to provide worldwide responsiveness on a smaller support
infrastructure.
The resulting aircraft will play a role in a number of emerging
military doctrines. It will be a key component in the U.S. Navy's Sea
Power 21 Sea Shield concept by providing an anti-submarine, anti-ship
and anti-smuggling platform that can sweep the area, launch sensors or
weapons as needed, and remain aloft for many hours. MMA will also play a
key role in the U.S. Navy's FORCEnet architecture via development of the
Common Undersea Picture (CUP). As a secondary role, it will support
portions of Sea Power 21's Sea Strike doctrine through provisions of
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.
In June of 2004, Boeing IDS was awarded the $3.9 billion
cost-plus-award-fee contract to develop the Navy's P-8 Multi-mission
Maritime Aircraft. The system design and development (SDD) contract
covers the full range of developing what's required for the aircraft,
including all of the onboard mission systems, the modifications to the
airframe itself, all of the training systems, and all of the software
laboratories required to produce almost 2 million lines of reliable
code. It also covers developing all of the integrated logistics
elements, including the trainers, simulators and courseware. Essentially
everything that's required to get ready to build the production MMA is
part of the SDD contract. The MMA Program was recently cleared by a US
technical review board to proceed into the design phase, and will
undergo a preliminary design review in September 2005.
The U.S. program objective currently is 108 aircraft, plus an
additional three system design & development aircraft. The P-8A is
scheduled to begin U.S. service between 2010-2013, and to enter foreign
service in 2015 and beyond. The aircraft procurement phases of the U.S.
P-8A MMA program alone are estimated to be a $20 billion effort, and
then the total life cycle cost for procurement plus 25 years of life
cycle support is estimated to be about a $44 billion in FY 2004 dollars.
The Indian Navy's interest in joining the MMA program has already
been communicated, and the Pentagon would possibly provide an answer
through Defence Security Cooperation Group (DSCG) chief Lt. Gen Jeffrey
B. Kohler. Some Indian Navy sources believe that a recent decision to
spend $6 billion on 50 Boeing civil jets for Air India could incline
Boeing toward a favourable response. The P-8A matches the operational
profile currently assigned to the Indian Navy's Tupolev-142 "Bear"
long-range reconnaissance planes and Ilyushin-38 maritime patrol and
anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
These discussions come in the wake a recent visit to India by U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, in which the USA expressed its
desire to substantially upgrade their strategic relationship. Given the
two nations' shared interest in an arc that stretches from the Staits of
Malacca to the coast of East Africa, many analysts see naval cooperation
as the likely linchpin of their future military relationship.
Washington's recent offer of at least 12 P-3C Orions would match India's
requirements profile immediately, but participation in the P-8A offers
an aircraft with superior performance in all respects plus accompanying
strategic, industrial, and prestige benefits. Some analysts consider the
request a sort of test by India of its long-term importance to the USA.
As things currently stand, the P-8A will be built by Boeing's
Integrated Defence Systems (Boeing IDS) division, CFM International (a
50/50 joint company of Snecma Moteurs and General Electric Company),
Northrop-Grumman, Raytheon, and Smiths Aerospace.
There is something on the order of 225 P-3 type aircraft in 15
countries. Some countries that fly the P-3 already have a natural
interest in the P-8, while others like India recognize its obvious
usefulness for both the diesel submarine threat and for a variety of
operations that could be related to the war on terrorism, anti-drug
efforts, et. al. As such, the market opportunity for the MMA is
considered to be quite substantial.
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2005/05/p8a-mma-could-become-a-multinational-program/index.php
B737 Joins the Navy
The U.S. Navy calls its Multimission Maritime Aircraft a "low-risk
truck." True, the B737 airframe is well proven. But it houses an
advanced mission system you won't find in any truck.
By James W. Ramsey - Avionics Magazine
The U.S. Navy's new Multimission Maritime Aircraft (MMA), a modified
Boeing 737-800, is touted as a significantly enhanced mission platform,
compared with the venerable P-3C it will replace. Prime contractor
Boeing and the Navy assert that the commercially proven twin-engine jet
offers greater speed, agility and endurance, and can better accommodate
the P-3C's primary anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare missions, as
well as a limited intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR)
role.
"We look at the Boeing solution as providing a low-risk `truck'--a
very highly proven, reliable airframe--to go with an open missions
systems architecture, providing a very flexible platform that will
easily accommodate future upgrades," says James Lackey, the Navy's
deputy program manager for MMA.
"As soon as the first 737 MMA aircraft is delivered to the Navy, our
nation's naval forces will have a dramatic increase in capability and
reliability," claims Jim Albaugh, president and chief executive officer
of Boeing's St. Louis-based Integrated Defense Systems unit. MMA is
expected to provide 1,600 Boeing jobs in St. Louis, Seattle and Patuxent
River, Md., home of Naval Air Systems Command.
The Navy awarded the Boeing-led industry team--which includes CFM
International, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Smiths Aerospace--a
$3.9-billion contract in June for the program's system development and
demonstration (SDD) phase. It includes production of three flyable
aircraft by 2010, two mission demonstrators and one aircraft to test
flying characteristics. Four more aircraft not included in the SDD award
are to be built for testing and evaluation purposes. Plans call for 108
production aircraft (which may be called the P-8 or PC-40) to replace
the Navy's aging fleet of 191 P-3C aircraft. (The original P-3A Orion
began flying in 1959, and the upgraded P-3C joined the fleet in 1969.)
Total acquisition value to the Boeing team is estimated at $20 billion,
and far more if it wins a 20-year support contract. The schedule calls
for low-rate initial production of 34 operational aircraft to be built
from 2010 to 2012. Full-rate production is to begin in 2013 and initial
operational capability (IOC) is slated to take place the same year.
The reason for the P-3 replacement? "The major need comes from the
P-3s' having reached their service life--the metal in the aircraft is
reaching its fatigue life," explains Tim Norgart, director of business
development for Boeing's MMA program. "So if they were retained, they
would basically have to be rebuilt."
"Right now [the P-3s] are being retired at a pretty significant
rate," he adds. "Their processing systems and sensors also are in dire
need of upgrades." Norgart, a former P-3C wing commander, says the Navy
found it would be difficult to upgrade older aircraft with newer systems
because of their older architecture. He believes the Navy has "a
quantifiable need for [the B737] platform for its `assured access'
mission." A long-range patrol aircraft capable of doing anti-submarine
warfare (ASW) is a major requirement in the Navy's Seapower 21 war
fighting doctrine, which outlines how the Navy will fight for the next
20 years.
"If you can't get into a body of water to operate an aircraft
carrier, then you can't get a whole lot of Hornets [F/A-18s] across the
beach," says Norgart. "So the MMA will be out there in front of the
fleet, clearing the way and making sure the water is safe for them to go
through."
Boeing Selected
Aside from producing the Navy's F/A-18, Boeing brings to the table
considerable maritime experience in ASW, anti-surface warfare (ASuW) and
reconnaissance operations. The company integrates the tactical command
system--the core of the mission system--for the UK's Nimrod (maritime
reconnaissance aircraft) MRA-4, an upgraded version of the MRA-2 ASW
surveillance aircraft. From its Anaheim, Calif., division Boeing also
provides part of the acoustic processing system for the P-3C--as a
subcontractor to Lockheed Martin. And Boeing integrates the Nimrod's
acoustic processing system, which processes information received from
the sonabuoys and displays it to onboard analysts for interpretation.
Boeing will build the MMA's acoustic processing system.
In the cockpit Smiths Aerospace provides the flight management system
(FMS)--similar to that provided for the commercial B737-300/400/500 and
NG, but with added functionality. "We're taking our civil FMS [software]
and adding the tactical functions we provided for Nimrod, with a few
changes as we go along," says Jim Smith, military air transport
marketing manager for Smiths Aerospace's Grand Rapids, Mich., business
unit.
A unique FMS feature on Nimrod "is the ability for multiple climb,
cruise and descent profiles, allowing [the flight crew] to plan for
different tactical situations," Smith says. He adds that the commercial
737 FMS computer will be replaced on the MMA by a newly designed one
that is being developed for the Boeing 767 tanker program. Smiths' FMS
provides an integrated open architecture that is compliant with
communication, navigation, surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM)
standards and provides an inherent growth path for upgrades, the company
maintains.
The FMS will use ARINC 653 partitioned operating environment
software, which allows multiple applications on the same processor.
"Because the aircraft is going to have so many more functions in the
cockpit and in the back, the AFMC [avionics flight management computer]
is going to be asked to do much more than just [manage] the FMS," Smith
says. The AFMC will interface with a mission computer in the back of the
aircraft, which controls the sonabuoys dropped into the water.
The Flight Dynamics unit of Rockwell Collins will supply the MMA's
HGS 4000 head-up guidance system; however, the Navy has not yet decided
whether the cockpit will be equipped with two systems or a single system
for the captain. The MMA HUD incorporates mission modifications that
include display of tactical symbology and enhanced vision system (EVS)
video, in addition to normal primary flight guidance symbology. The HGS
4000 "enables MMA pilots to keep eyes out of the cockpit during the
low-altitude maneuvering often required over water," says John Thomas,
Flight Dynamics' principal marketing manager.
The MMA's HUD system is comparable to ones offered as options for the
B737. The HGS Model 2300 is installed on earlier 737-300/400/500
aircraft, and the later model HGS 4000 series is on the next generation
(NG) 737-600-900 series. Flight Dynamics has delivered more than 900
systems for various B737 models, which include the Navy and Air Force
C-40 fleets and the Australian Wedgetail 737 airborne early warning and
control (AEW&C) aircraft.
Cockpit Displays
The MMA cockpit is expected to feature the same basic avionics
systems as the B737NG. The commercial aircraft employs five 8-by-8-inch
displays across the cockpit, with a sixth display just above the center
pedestal. The tactical situation normally will be shown on the pedestal
display, but will be "rotatable" to the inboard pilot and copilot
displays on the forward panel at the flight crew's discretion. The
cockpit display, a smaller version of the tactical display in the back
of the airplane, will include situational awareness information such as
radar contacts and sonabuoy symbols. The B737NG cockpit displays are
interchangeable. If one fails, the screen next to it automatically
shifts to a split screen and displays the information from the failed
screen.
The B737NG features, as standard, Honeywell flat panel displays, or
multifunction display units (MFDUs), as well as the air data inertial
reference system (ADIRS) and enhanced ground proximity warning system
(EGPWS). Optional, customer-selected Honeywell equipment on the
commercial aircraft includes GPS navigation, radios, weather radar,
traffic alert collision avoidance system (TCAS), communications
management, and a cockpit voice recorder.
A Honeywell spokeswoman emphasizes that the Navy has not yet
announced its selection of cockpit instrumentation for the MMA. But
Boeing's philosophy is "that they are going to use as much off-the-shelf
commercial aircraft equipment as possible," says Smith. "Changes will be
made only where mission requirements dictate."
Northrop Grumman's Baltimore-based Electronic System sector will
provide the MMA's electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor, the early
warning self-protection suite, and electronic support measures (ESM). It
also will integrate the aircraft's self-protection suite with the ESM
suite.
The MMA's EO/IR sensor will be a new system called Night Hunter II.
It builds on the company's Litening targeting pod, which is installed on
the Air Force's F-16, F-15 and A-10 aircraft. The new system, used to
identify targets, will be fitted to a stabilized, retractable turret.
Northrop Grumman's directed infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) system,
which also is on the C-130, provides the MMA's IR countermeasures
capability as part of the self-protection suite. Northrop Grumman also
will provide a new radio frequency (RF) countermeasures system,
developed at the company's Baltimore and Rolling Meadows, Ill.,
facilities, says Kent Murray, the company's program manager.
The MMA's self-protection suite will include Raytheon's towed decoy.
The ESM system, used for electronic surveillance, will be an enhanced
all-digital receiver system located in the aircraft's nose. It is based
on the LR-100 currently flown on the Air Force's Global Hawk unmanned
air vehicle. Murray believes "the ability to integrate sensor suites,
such as self-protection and ESM, means lower costs and higher
reliability due to [the installation of] fewer electronic boxes. It also
streamlines information flow," he adds.
Raytheon will equip the MMA with an upgraded APS-137 maritime
surveillance radar. It will have the same capabilities as its
APS-137D(V)5 radar in production for the Navy's P-3 ASuW improvement
program. Sixty-eight upgraded P-3Cs currently fly with the system. This
radar system provides maritime surveillance modes, as well as
high-resolution, inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) and synthetic
aperture radar (SAR). ISAR is used "for imaging and classifying small,
fast-moving vessels that operate close to shore, and SAR is for overland
imaging, target identification, battle damage assessment, and precision
geo-location of land targets," says Brad Hopper, business development
manager for Raytheon's Precision Attack and Surveillance Systems, in
McKinney, Texas.
Key improvements over earlier radar systems to be offered for the MMA
include an upgraded color weather mode, full integration with the Boeing
MMA mission system, and joint technical architecture (JTA) compliance.
That means the radar is part of the MMA network backbone and supports
network centric operations.
Raytheon also is offering a GPS with anti-jam capability,
identification friend or foe (IFF), a broadcast information system (BIS)
and secure UHF satcom capability. These products can provide MMA with
network centric connectivity.
Looking like a stinger sticking out of the MMA's tail will be a
magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) provided by CAE, says Norgart. It is
designed to detect submarines by measuring disturbances of the Earth's
magnetic field caused by large metal objects under water.
Weapons Control
Boeing has yet to select the provider of the mission computing and
display system (MCDS). However, it chose Smiths Aerospace to provide the
system that controls all weapons on the aircraft. A central stores
management processor takes input from the mission computer and then
sends messages out to station control units (SCUs) at each of the MMA's
pylons. The MMA will have two pylons on each wing, two centerline
weapons stations and a weapons bay with two SCUs--one for the sonabuoys.
"The SCUs send signals to the individual weapons," Smith explains. "If
you have smart weapons that need data, they will be responsible for
loading that data, as well."
The aircraft will carry 12,500 pounds (680 kg) of weapons, including
missiles, torpedoes, depth bombs, mines and sonabuoys in a weapons bay
and on wing and fuselage pylons. Three sonabuoy automated rotary
launchers--located behind the wing, inside the weapons bay--are
pressurized and can be loaded before takeoff or in flight. Harpoon and
Slam-ER antiship missiles would be launched from the wing pylons.
Five mission tactical workstations will be located over the MMA's
wing. Each one will feature two wide-screen multifunction displays. Both
screens will be touch-sensitive, so targets or tracks can be designated
either by touch or by a track ball. "You can look at sensor data
overlaid on top of other sensor data and still maintain your main screen
for a full tactical plot," says Boeing's Norgart. "Or you can split the
screen."
The same software used in the tactical displays will run on a desktop
or laptop computer, as well as in the MMA weapons system and in the
tactical support centers. "The software is completely portable and
reconfigurable," Norgart adds. "You can even reconfigure it on a desktop
in your office before you go flying, then plug your memory stick into
the USB port on the front of the display and dump all your preferences
right into the system."
The tactical display system is configured to be faster and require "a
lot less operator entry [than the P-3C's tactical display]. It gives the
operator more time to evaluate tactics and return to the days of being a
tactician and analyst rather than a system operator," Norgart maintains.
The MMA's GPS navigation system also will be the reference for the
tactical system used in the back of the aircraft.
The MMA's communications suite and data link package will include the
ability to move pictures, video and data between the aircraft and other
units. Radios, line of sight data links and satellite communications,
including an Inmarsat system, will be used to move large amounts of data
long distances. Initial data link speed is expected to be slightly
higher than Inmarsat's Swift 64 service used on some business jets.
Swift64 provides 64 kilobits/s (Kbits/s), up to 128 Kbits/s if systems
are combined. The satcom antenna will be mounted on top of the MMA's
tail. Although Boeing has demonstrated the Connexion by Boeing
high-speed broadband communications system, it is not part of MMA at
this time.
Communications Links
The Navy plans to have Link 11 and Link 16 data distribution on the
MMA. Using Link 11, surveillance data can be sent or received through
two HF channels, a single UHF channel or via UHF satcom. "Link 11
interfaces with the communications set on the airplane and the mission
computer via the 5053 avionics bus," says the Navy's Lackey. "It is
embedded within the mission computer processor, and we provide
encryption through a subset."
Link 16 is a stand-alone box with a transmitter/receiver, power
supply and its own encryption/decryption. With this data distribution
system "MMA will be able to get com, nav and ID capabilities for
airborne tactical operation," Lackey says. It also has an embedded Tacan
functionality, providing distance and bearing. "But the main purpose of
Link 16 is to allow the MMA to post info onto a net and then pull info
from the net in a network centric environment, allowing the mission
operation to take place."
Open System
Link 16 offers a machine-to-machine interface for the exchange of
targeting data. It also facilitates communications between MMA and an
aircraft carrier or home base. "All the systems required to make the
data link secure and support those communications will be on board,
allowing you to talk to a commercial merchant ship, an aircraft carrier,
or exchange data with an AWACS [airborne warning and control system]
aircraft," Norgart says.
Boeing plans to use "industry standard interfaces and protocols in
developing the MMA's mission system, so it can be grown easily and
affordably. "Using standard programming languages like C++ and Java,
we're able to put in the hooks, as we call them, for the next set of
sensors and tools that will be used by this system," Norgart explains.
For example, he cites the new JTRS (Joint Tactical Radio System),
planned to be operational by 2008. With MMA, the old radios can be taken
out and JTRS plugged in. And when the next generation data link becomes
available, "you'll be able to just load it as an application rather than
completely rewrite the software,"he says.
By building the architecture this way, with no proprietary software
code, the Navy will not have to come back to Boeing to upgrade its
software. Norgart claims, "that really has never been done before for
DoD [Department of Defense]."
Why a Jet?
Skeptics may question the U.S. Navy's selection of a commercial
jetliner for missions that include low-level, over-the-water
surveillance. Not to worry, says Boeing's Tim Norgart. "We've taken the
aircraft [the Boeing Business Jet, based on the B737] out twice now and
let the Navy fly it. We put weight on board to duplicate an MMA's
mid-mission weight, above 150,000 pounds [68,040 kg], and let the Navy
pilots fly it [at] 200 feet off the water at loiter speeds of 208
knots." (MMA's maximum takeoff weight is 184,200 pounds [83,555 kg].)
The high-bypass turbofan engines are fuel-efficient, says Norgart,
adding that the fuel burn curve at 500 feet (about 4,000 pounds per
hour) vs. 30,000 feet is only about 700 pounds different per hour. He
adds that the turbofan is more reliable than the turboprop because it
has fewer parts.
The Navy's range and endurance requirements call for 1,200 nm out,
four hours on station searching for submarines, and 1,200 nm back home.
Boeing says its aircraft exceeds that requirement. Norgart points out
that while a P-3 will take four hours to get to the target, MMA will be
there in less than three hours. "That equates to a higher probability of
target detection, since it can't travel away as far from the tracking
aircraft," he says.
Another advantage of the Boeing jet over a turboprop aircraft is the
ability to self-deploy faster, according to Norgart. A fully loaded MMA
is billed as having a 4,800- to 4,900-nm self-deployment range, cruising
at 445 knots. Aerial refueling presumably would need to be infrequent.
The Navy has bases that allow deployment worldwide, Boeing maintains.
Boeing claims that its aircraft climbs better on one engine than a
P-3 on four engines. The 737 can accelerate from 200 to better than 320
knots in seconds, and can perform ascents and descents in excess of
10,000 feet per minute, the company says.
http://www.aviationtoday.com/cgi/av/show_mag.cgi?pub=av&mon=0904&file=b737joinsthe.htm
18 Apr 2005 - SATCOM scores with U.S. Navy
The local SATCOM division of EMS Technologies announced today a
US$1.5-million contract with Boeing Co. for its broadband satellite
communication terminals.
SATCOM's systems will be used in the U.S. Navy's P-8A multi-mission
maritime aircraft (MMA) program.
The P-8A is a derivative of the Boeing 737 aircraft that has been
serving airlines around the world for decades. Phases 1 and 2 of the
program amount to $1.5 million and will commence in mid-2005 with the
system development and demonstration (SDD) phase. Equipment deliveries
will continue through 2009.
"We are pleased to have EMS SATCOM as a supplier to the P-8A
program," said Tim Norgart, director of P-8A business development at
Boeing. "The HSD-400 is a powerful satellite communications platform for
multi-mission aircraft, providing the war fighter with aeronautical
safety services and real-time broadband connectivity in one component."
EMS SATCOM vice-president and general manager Neil Mackay said the
selection was further proof that his company was a major player in the
industry.
"We are delighted that Boeing selected our eNfusion HSD-400. It is
another significant win for us.
"With more than 400 HSD-128's in the field, most of which are used by
the U.S. military, our solutions are battle tested and proven reliable."
EMS Technologies provides technology solutions to wireless and
satellite markets. The company focuses on mobile information users, and
increasingly on broadband applications. Its corporate headquarters is in
Atlanta.
The SATCOM division specializes in the design and development of
satellite-based terminals and antennas for the aeronautical, land
mobile, maritime and emergency management markets.
15 Apr 2005 - A team led by Boeing recently completed 1,300 hours
of high-speed wind-tunnel testing of the U.S. Navy’s Multi-mission
Maritime Aircraft (MMA), which was recently given the designation P-8A.
The three-month program concluded a full week ahead of schedule on
March 18. The team conducted the tests at the NASA Ames Research Center
at Moffet Field, Calif., using a 6.2 percent scale model in the 11-ft.
transonic wind tunnel
“I was impressed with the teamwork across the entire test program,”
said Neal Mosbarger, Boeing’s flight technology manager. “We had three
subcontractors on site to help with model changes, as well as Naval Air
Systems ( NAVAIR ) representatives and Boeing folks all working with the
NASA staff 24 hours a day, five days a week.”
Mosbarger added that preliminary analysis of test data revealed no
major surprises or obvious problems. He credits teamwork for improving
test productivity that saved 200 hours of the testing time.
An estimated 4,000 hours of wind-tunnel time will be logged in
developing the P-8A. Designers used tools such as computational fluid
dynamics to refine designs before testing to eliminate a substantial
amount of tunnel time required to develop earlier designs. In addition,
the 737-800 commercial airframe, currently in service with airlines
around the world, has already undergone flight-testing.
The Boeing-led industry team, which includes CFM International,
Northrop Grumman [NYSE: NOC], Raytheon [NYSE: RTN], and Smiths Aerospace
[LSE: SMIN.L] will produce five test aircraft during the program’s
system development and demonstration ( SDD ) phase. The Navy plans to
purchase up to 108 aircraft to replace its aging fleet of P-3 aircraft.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is
one of the world’s largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered
in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $30.5 billion
business. It provides network-centric system solutions to its global
military, government, and commercial customers. It is a leading provider
of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems; the world’s
largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world’s largest satellite
manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based communications; the
primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; NASA’s largest
contractor; and a global leader in sustainment solutions and launch
services.
12 Sep 2004 - Sub-hunter assembly on new line of attack Boeing modifications for
Navy jet to occur on production line
BY MOLLY MCMILLIN, The Wichita Eagle
Boeing Wichita has modified plenty of aircraft for the military over
the years, but never quite like this.
From Air Force One to airborne laser aircraft, Boeing Wichita's usual
modification task has been to adapt an already-built commercial
airplane.
For the Navy's new anti-submarine warfare aircraft, things will be
different.
To help deliver a plane more quickly and less expensively, Boeing
Wichita has come up with a way to make changes much, much earlier in the
process.
To transform a 737 airframe into a sub-hunting plane for the Navy,
Boeing will incorporate a multitude of changes in the fuselage literally
as it goes down the production line in Wichita.
Boeing Wichita's ability to do that stems from the plant's multiple
roles within the Boeing company.
Boeing's Wichita plant builds pieces of just about all Boeing
commercial jetliners before they are assembled in Seattle-area plants.
Boeing Wichita also is a longtime modification center.
In short, Boeing Wichita works on planes both before and after they
are assembled. But on the Navy sub plane, modification work usually done
after the plane has been built will instead be incorporated into the
early assembly line work in Wichita.
The stakes for the Boeing Co. are large. The program, known
officially as the Multi-Mission Aircraft (MMA) program, could ultimately
be worth more than $40 billion.
A victory in the competition for the Navy contract was no sure thing
for Boeing. The Navy had been using Lockheed planes as sub-hunters for
decades, and Lockheed Martin was bidding against Boeing for the new
contract.
Initial conversations between Boeing and the Navy included talk of
building the fuselage in Wichita, shipping it to Renton, Wash., for
final assembly, then flying it back to Wichita for the changes. In
short, doing it the same way it had been done in the past.
But the Navy had some concerns about that process.
It would have meant tearing a perfectly good plane apart when it was
flown to Wichita for the mod work, throwing away two major sections and
replacing them with new ones, said Troy Weissbeck, a Wichita operations
manager on the project.
So a small group of Boeing Wichita commercial airplane workers kicked
around the idea of building the changes into the plane as it progressed
down the production line.
The group began talking to Boeing employees in the military division
and joined forces to study the concept.
The concept became part of Boeing's proposal to the Navy. It proved
to be a winner when the Navy announced June 14 that it had chosen Boeing
to build its next generation of sub-hunting aircraft.
The initial contract calls for Boeing to design and develop five
aircraft. The deal could be worth a total of about $44 billion if the
Navy moves forward with a plan to buy 108 aircraft.
That's important to Wichita, where workers produce the 737 fuselage.
To get the Navy contract, Boeing had to convince the Navy that its
737 was better suited for maritime patrol operations than the
competition.
Today, the Navy uses Lockheed Martin's P-3 Orion for the mission;
Lockheed was proposing an upgraded version of the four-engine turboprop.
Boeing also had to offer an alternative to the P-3 that was less
expensive.
That meant refining the plane's production, Boeing officials say.
Making the changes as the fuselage moves down the production line
rather than modifying the plane after it is built will accelerate the
delivery schedule to the Navy by a year, company officials say.
It also will cut costs and improve quality.
The Wichita team studied several production alternatives, including a
rejected plan to establish the final assembly line in Wichita.
To undertake the plan to make changes down the 737 production line,
however, meant the team first had to overcome 20 major issues it had
documented as "risks with this approach," said Richard Treat, the MMA
capture team leader for Boeing's military division in Wichita.
Team members had to work through the myriad of regulations under the
U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations regarding the control of
defense items and technical data and military equipment.
At Boeing's final assembly plant in Renton, that means setting up a
separate production line apart from its commercial line. In Wichita,
complying with regulations means the planes will be built using the same
commercial lines, but with a number of changes.
The plant will isolate some computer systems, limit where some people
can go in the plant and separate some "critical processes."
It also means keeping outside maintenance workers as well as some
Boeing workers, those defined as "foreign persons" by the U.S.
government, from certain areas, said Dennis Silsby, Boeing Wichita
integration team leader for commercial airplanes.
Currently, Boeing Wichita is doing the planning for the work and
setting up the processes.
The Wichita-built fuselage will be different from other 737 fuselages
when it leaves the plant.
For one, it will be a heavier and stronger airplane, Weissbeck said.
The fuselage will have racks for electrical equipment, a bomb bay,
few windows and cutouts for antennae.
It's a three-year process from the design to the shipment of the
fuselage, Silsby said.
One of the biggest challenges was developing two proposals for the
Navy -- one that built the plane, then incorporated modifications
afterward, the other making the changes in the production line, Silsby
said.
The two plans were needed "because we weren't sure which one was
going to knock them on the head," Silsby said.
Boeing officials would not say whether any of the processes being
developed for the Navy program would change should Boeing sell its
Wichita commercial operations.
Boeing has been talking to potential buyers of the facility. The
military division in Wichita is not for sale.
Suffice it to say, Weissbeck said, "you can't stop shipping fuselages
to the Northwest."
| 
The 737 - MMA / P8A
