US Coast Guard Grounds C-27 Fleet Over Severe Structural Cracks, Manufacturer Warns of Global Impact

The U.S. Coast Guard has grounded its entire fleet of 14 C-27J Spartan maritime patrol aircraft due to structural cracking issues, significantly reducing the Coast Guard's capabilities in surveillance and light transport. This grounding occurred after Leonardo, the aircraft's manufacturer, issued an Alert Service Bulletin prompting inspections for cracks in specific areas of the aircraft.

After inspections, all 14 C-27J aircraft were found to have varying degrees of cracks. Leonardo assured they had identified a repair solution, claiming that it would not significantly impact aircraft operations. However, the Coast Guard stated that the fleet will remain grounded until a thorough evaluation and necessary fixes are completed.

The implications of this grounding are substantial, particularly in the Pacific, where these aircraft are crucial for the Coast Guard's drug interdiction, disaster response, and search-and-rescue missions. While the Coast Guard is evaluating its aviation strategy to address the grounding, the U.S. Army's C-27J fleet has not experienced similar issues.

This problem with the C-27J could have international implications, as around 17 countries operate approximately 90 of these aircraft. Extended safety stand-downs and repair processes may disrupt transport and maritime surveillance missions worldwide.

The cause of the fleet-wide inspections is unclear, and this incident appears unrelated to a recent hard landing by a Chadian Air Force C-27J. However, the issue may have been identified within the tight-knit Spartan operational community, where operational stressors might have accelerated the discovery of these problems.

The C-27J's history in the U.S. has been troubled since its introduction in 2008, with past temporary groundings due to mechanical issues. The aircraft's challenges, along with bureaucratic complexities and limited operational utilization, have hindered its success.

Moreover, the delay in mission system development and reports of numerous technical problems, including fuel leaks and structural defects, have plagued the C-27J program. The aircraft's availability has also been an issue in the past, with extended groundings affecting its operation.

This grounding arrives amidst a challenging time for the Coast Guard, facing cuts to its cutter fleet, relying on maritime patrol aircraft for operational efficiency. If a prolonged grounding occurs, it could affect global operations, especially in the Pacific, where the Coast Guard and Australia extensively use these aircraft.

Australia, experiencing similar reliability and spare parts challenges with their C-27J fleet, employs the aircraft for critical missions, including disaster relief and surveillance in remote areas. The potential grounding of Australia's fleet could have significant ramifications for Pacific security.

While the C-27J shows promise when operational, the aircraft's persistent issues may endanger its future in the U.S. The Coast Guard, already grappling with personnel and budgetary constraints, might reconsider its reliance on the C-27J, possibly exploring alternatives such as a fleet of C-130Js.

Ultimately, the ongoing grounding could prompt the Coast Guard to reassess the troubled C-27J Spartan fleet's future and seek alternative aircraft for maritime surveillance and tactical transport needs.

Airbus Delivers 18th HC-144A (CN-235) Aircraft to US Coast Guard

Airbus has delivered the 18th HC-144A Ocean Sentry maritime patrol aircraft to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Ocean Sentry is based on the Airbus CN235 with more than 235 currently in operation by 29 countries.
The latest HC-144A will join a fleet of Ocean Sentries operating from Coast Guard Air Stations in Cape Cod, Mass.; Mobile, Ala.; Miami and most recently Corpus Christi, Texas. This month Air Station Corpus Christi turned over the maritime patrol mission to the HC-144 after the retirement of the last HU-25 Guardian aircraft.
The Coast Guard competitively selected and acquired the HC-144A. The aircraft is effective and efficient in a broad range of demanding maritime patrol missions, including search and rescue, homeland security and disaster response.
The Department of Homeland Security recognized the Coast Guard's HC-144A program as its 2013 DHS Project of the Year. Airbus Defense and Space has worked to deliver to the Coast Guard this capability consistently on or ahead of schedule and on cost. The HC-144A achieved initial operational capability with the Coast Guard in 2008.
The U.S. Coast Guard's Ocean Sentry fleet recently completed its first 50,000 hours of flight. The demonstrated maintainability of the HC-144A aircraft allows the Coast Guard to fly more hours per airframe in a year with the Ocean Sentry than any other aircraft in its fleet.
marketwired

U.S. Government Agencies Fighting Over Who Gets C-27J Aircraft/C-295 offerd to Canada

The C-27J tactical airlifter, once a castoff from the USAF, has become a hot commodity in the U.S. government’s aircraft fleet.
The USAF’s decision early this year to mothball its 21 brand-new, twin-engine C-27Js—labeling the Alenia Aermacchi transports a niche capability too expensive to sustain alongside its other airlifters—triggered an interagency squabble between the U.S. Forest Service, bent on using them as much-needed firefighting tankers, and the U.S. Coast Guard, which was intent on employing them to plug a gap in maritime patrol capability.
Seven of those aircraft have are going to be dedicate to Army Special Operations Command for use in parachute-aided free-fall training, replacing aging CASA C212.
With the Coast Guard seeking 14 aircraft and the Forest Service seven, officials at the Pentagon, the Homeland Security Department and the Agriculture Department were left haggling over the allocation.
Meanwhile, Airbus Military has put out this news release on its C295 aircraft, which like the C-27J, is a contender for the RCAF’s FWSAR program. The company noted that it had completed a second round of tests of its prototype C295 firefighting aircraft which will provide detailed data on the performance of its water dropping system.
Following earlier testing of the system, the company conducted seven water drops at a special range near Cordoba, Spain using ground equipment designed to measure the dispersal pattern of the water.
The trials were successfully completed and showed good initial promise, confirming the aircraft’s highly satisfactory handling during the drop procedure. In the coming weeks the data will be examined in detail to enable decisions to be taken on the final configuration of the C295 firefighter.
In the trials the aircraft carried one 3,500 litre tank and the water was gravity-ejected through two dispensers in the belly.
ottawacitizen

U.S. Coast Guard awards contract option for one additional Airbus Military CN 235

The U.S. Coast Guard has exercised a contract option to purchase the service’s 18th HC-144A Ocean Sentry Maritime Patrol Aircraft. The HC-144A is based on the Airbus Military CN235 tactical airlifter and is delivered by prime contractor EADS North America

eads.com

Repairs needed for Coast Guard HC-144A aircraft engine

The U.S. Coast Guard currently operates 13 HC-144A maritime patrol aircraft, each powered by two CT7-9C3 turboprop engine power units. The aircraft is manufactured by Airbus Military in Spain, and the CT7-9C3 turboprop engine power units are provided by General Electric Corp. (GE) in Lynn, Mass.

These aircraft are procured under the authority of the Coast Guard Aviation Program Management Office. While the base CASA CN-235-300M aircraft provides the foundation for the Coast Guard HC-144A, changes to base aircraft configuration and the addition of supplementary systems have been combined resulting in a CG01 version of the CN-235-300M.

“The end state for the fleet size is still under review but could include as many as 36 assets,” the Coast Guard said in contract documents released through the Federal Business Opportunities website on Thursday. “The projected number of Coast Guard assets over the next five years includes up to 20 operational HC-144A aircraft, with each averaging 1,200-flight hours annually.”

The HC-144A aircraft supports Coast Guard search and rescue missions, as well as surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

On April 14, 2012, during a night flight, the Coast Guard crew of aircraft 2310 reported their #1 engine chip light illuminated 5.3 hours into flight. The aircraft returned to its home station and the engines were secured.

The CT7-9C3 engine power units were inspected by Coast Guard personnel in accordance with the original equipment manufacturer periodic requirements and in conjunction with the Coast Guard specialized Asset Computerized Maintenance System. The #1 CT7-9C3 turboprop engine power unit chip detector had a small amount of carbon and one relatively large silver ferrous metal chip, approximately 5/32” in length by 1/16" in width. It was concluded that the #1 CT7-9C3 turboprop engine power unit has out of limits chip.

The Coast Guard intends to negotiate and award a contract to GE for the engine repairs. The anticipated award date is May 19, “however this is an estimate and not an exact date,” the Coast Guard said.

examiner

US Coast Guard to Acquire Additional HC-130J Surveillance Aircraft

Lockheed Martin received a $218 million contract for three additional HC-130Js for the U.S. Coast Guard. This will increase the U.S. Coast Guard fleet of HC-130Js from six to nine.

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El US Coast Guard proporciona cuatro CN235-300M Persuader de patrulla marítima a México

El US Coast Guard ha formalizado la cesión de cuatro aviones de patrulla marítima CN235-300M, que serán reconfigurados por EADS North América. Los aviones serán entregados a finales de 2011 o principios de 2012, Su misión será patrullar las rutas marítimas entre México yEstados Unidos.
moraisvinna.blogspot

Posible compra de mas CN-235 para Guarda Costas de Estados Unidos/RFP Imminent For U.S. Coast Guard Aircraft

El U.S. Coast Guard-USCG (Servicio de guarda costas de Estados Unidos), podría emitir una solicitud de ofertas(RFP) por mas HC-144A de patrulla marítima, versión del CN-235, en breve plazo A finales del 2010, el USCG dispondrá de 11 unidades. Este nuevo concurso es para el MPA-Ocean Sentry. El “Ocean Sentry", sustituirá al Falcon HU-25 (versión del Dassault Falcon 20), que está siendo retirado. En total el USCG recibirá 36 HC-144A, versión del CN-235, aunque por motivos presupuestarios, las entregas van mas despacio de lo previsto .
(Aviation week)
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The U.S. Coast Guard may release its request for proposals (RFP) for more HC-144A Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) shortly By the end of this year, the Coast Guard’s fleet will include 11 aircraft and 12 mission systems pallets. This new competition is for procurement of the MPA, which the Coast Guard calls the Ocean Sentry, outside of the old Deepwater agreement with former lead systems integrator Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS). The Coast Guard took over acquisition responsibility a few years ago when Deepwater erupted into a headline-grabbing example of problems in U.S. defense procurement. Martin says five companies responded to the original sources sought document. Manufacturer EADS Casa, from whose ICGS-era CN-235 airframe the twin-engined HC-144A is derived, remains interested in the USCG-led acquisition.
“We expect it to go fairly smoothly,” Martin says, adding he hopes to award a contract by late July. The Coast Guard is retiring its fleet of four Falcon HU-25s, and the Ocean Sentry is designed to fill that gap. But the timeline is “not lining up exactly with the retirement schedule,” Martin acknowledges. This year will not be too challenging because three additional HC-144As are being delivered to the Coast Guard’s base of operations in Miami. For the long term, however, between Fiscal 2011-2014, “we fall behind,” Martin says. He hopes to start catching up on the flight hour gap in 2015. “We won’t start catching up all at once, but it will be a start.” The armed service has received eight of the 11 Ocean Sentries already on order, with plans for 36 total through the additional purchases. But the Coast Guard still faces a three-year gap in its airborne maritime patrol flight hours, as the pace of new aircraft slows in the face of budget constraints. “We wanted to have 20 HC-144As by 2014 and now it looks like we’ll only have 16,” Martin says.
Tight budgets also are forcing the Coast Guard to remove five H-65 helicopters from service. Beyond 36 HC-144As, the long-term plan for the fleet is to have 22 C-130s, 102 H-65s and 42 MH-60s, as well as new land- and cutter-based unmanned aerial vehicles, Martin says.
The MH-60 helicopter is on segment two of a four-segment upgrade that will run through 2018, Martin says. The next segment to be competed is for a new surface search radar, for which a request for proposals could be released in 2011. The H-65 has been undergoing the largest modification — a six-segment conversion and sustainment project that started in 2004. Of 102 aircraft, 55 have been upgraded to the latest airborne-use-of-force capability. Earlier upgrades entailed installing two Turbomeca Arriel 2C2-CG turbo-shaft engines and adaptation for joint air intercepts over the National Capital Region.
The Coast Guard is still in the midst of deciding what level capability it requires from land- and cutter-based UAVs. Martin says the Coast Guard’s FY ’12 budget will have some funds included to move the UAV project into its next phase.
(Aviation week)