Senator GOLDWATER. You do not want to carry that too far. Commander NORRINGTON. Absolutely not. What we are trying to figure out is how far to take it. Each of these programs will tie directly to new future acquisitions. Some of the past R. & D. programs will support current acquisitions. Some of our previous acquisition programs are supporting the current acquisitions. PROCUREMENT AND MODIFICATION PROGRAMS These two slides, which have been submitted for the record, will display the new procurement and modification programs for naval aviation for 1979. [The information follows:] FISCAL YEAR 1979, NAVY AND MARINE CORPS FLIGHT SIMULATOR PROGRAM The most important thing, I think, needs to be the relationship between new procurement and modification of existing systems, and we will get into that in some detail later. Fiscal year 1979.-CH-53E Operational Flight Trainer, $4,500,000; MCAS (H) New River, N.C., competitive procurement firm fixed price. Fiscal year 1980.-CH-53E Operational Flight Trainer with Visual System1; MCAS (H) Santa Ana, Calif. Fiscal year 1981.-Visual System for First OFT. CH-53E The CH-53E operational flight trainer will be unit No. 1, which will be procured for the Marine Corps CH-53 system at Marine Corps Air Station at New River. It will be procured in fiscal year 1979 without a visual system. 1 Visual system will be funded in R.D.T. & E. The second unit will be procured in 1980 with a visual system. The visual system will be procured in R.D.T. & E. in compliance with the DOD guidance that the Senator asked about earlier on first article training devices. FISCAL YEAR-1979, CH-53E OPERATIONAL FLIGHT TRAINER We expect to see some rather significant benefits accrue to this. Quality training. The quantitative benefits are registered in flight hour savings, and I think that again statistically the most significant thing is the rather significant increase in flight hour savings that we expect to enjoy as a result of the introduction of the visual system for the CH-53E. The visual system will be virtually identical to the one being procured now for the H-46 flight simulator. Fiscal year 1979.-P-3 procurement funding summary The P-3 is our largest single program in any given year. We support a massive number of simulators in the field, and we do a massive amount of training. The P-3 provides training suite, provides the only environment in which we can actually detect and destroy enemy submarines. As has been mentioned twice earlier, and will be mentioned in the future, I am sure, there are some scenarios in which simulators do a far better job than the aircraft itself, simply because the aircraft cannot do it, absolute warfare aside. P-3 is such a program. Therefore two new procurements, and the balance will be in modification and update of the existing weapon systems trainers, tactics trainers, operational flight trainers, and cockpit procedures trainers. Rather a comprehensive suite of training devices we have there. Fiscal year 1979.-P-3C Weapons System Trainer, $9,550,000; NAS Jacksonville, Fla. Sole source firm fixed price to Link Division of Singer. I would like to deal with the two individual procurements, the weapons system trainer that is being procured for the Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Fla., will be the sixth of a kind. It will be awarded on a sole source firm fixed price basis to the builder of the original five, Singer-Link of Binghamton, N.Y., price as depicted here. Interesting. Again, I am in a position where I must display the flying hours that we will be cost avoiding on the basis of the introduction of this new system. Fiscal year 1979.—P-3C Park Task Trainer (Acoustic Sensor Station Operator Trainer), $7,523,000. NAS Point Mugu, Cal. (Reserve); NAS New Orleans, La., (Reserve); sole source firm fixed price to Link Division of Singer. The part task trainer, that we have shown here, will be actually two systems. One for the Navy Reserve organization at Point Mugu, and the other one for New Orleans, La. These trainers will be virtually identical to the 14B44 acoustic sensor systems that were bought in fiscal year 1977. Again, these will be on a sole source contract to Singer-Link, who is the builder of the first two systems. F-18 Our most exciting program is, of course, the F-18. Fiscal year 1979.-F-18 Operational Training Package. Transition Training Suite $26,500,000; NAS Lemoore, Calif., Competitive procurement firm fixed price. Fiscal year 1980.-Combat Training Suite, $15,370,000; MCAS El Toro, Calif., Competitive procurement firm fixed price. Procurement will include operational training packages, each of which will consist of a matrix of training devices. The first operational training package will begin to reach its final definitive phase in the July time frame this year. It will include a procedures trainer, and between the two, an operational flight trainer. The building block approach that General Maxson mentioned for the A-10 and F-16 is the very heart of the F-18 operational training package. Moreover, the Navy has recognized that there are two specific training tasks, the first of which is transition training for the man who had never flown the aircraft or is not current in the aircraft, and combat training, which will be the El Toro suite, will be a totally separate system that will be designed to support the combat ready pilot and to hone his skills. Our assumption now, and we feel it is fairly safe, is that this will be analogous to an air combat maneuvering simulator. Modifications are a big part of the Navy's programs. Approximately 60 percent of our procurement dollars are modifications and updates of existing programs. FACTORS WHICH MAY DRIVE SIMULATOR MODIFICATIONS 1. Factors external to the Navy. 2. Significant alterations to the configuration or the performance of the parent aircraft. 3. Product improvement modifications. Three sets of factors that are depicted on this side can drive modifications: Those external to the Navy, significant alterations to the configuration and performance of the parent aircraft, and, of course, product improvement modifications that can be recommended by either the program sponsor, the user, or the manufacturer himself. I would like to address the specific large dollar modification programs beginning with the dollars that are dedicated to the F-14 program. Fiscal Year 1979.-F-14 procurement funding summary WST modifications, including update to tail No. 235. PTT modifications_. Minor training media---- TARPS modifications to all simulators____ $4, 919, 000 3, 338, 000 615, 000 3,538, 000 260,000 1, 311, 000 Total 13, 981, 000 F-14 PROGRAM The weapon systems trainer, operational flight trainer and tactics trainer modifications are the largest dollars dedicated to that program. I do have some rather detailed breakouts of those, if they would be desired for the record. The most important thing is to keep the F-14 configuration compatible. There are some significant changes being made in the avionics of the aircraft. There is, as a result of DIA study, an entirely revised and much broader electronics warfare scenario which is driving an ECM modification to the tactics and weapons systems trainer. That weapons systems trainer modification is being incorporated while the trainer is still in the plant. In the case of the A-6, the dominant portion of our modification program is in the incorporation of the infrared capability. Fiscal year 1979.-A-6E procurement funding summary A-6E The Senator mentioned earlier, laser illumination. The infrared radar is a part of target recognition and attack multisensor which includes some very, very complex avionics, a part of which is laser identification and infrared tracking. We cannot at this point in time safely accomplish this training anyplace except in the trainer because of the problem of eye safe lasers. We do not have at this moment any weapons range where we are permitted to use the full system. We are working on those issues now to determine eye safe laser levels. Fiscal year 1979.—S-3 procurement funding summary WST trainer peculiar changes.. PTT aircraft peculiar changes_. Total $1,000,000 520,000 1, 000, 000 2,000,000 700,000 200,000 300,000 300,000 500,000 6,520,000 8-3 The last big modification program is the S-3 program. In conversations with Mr. Old, he mentioned that there was a flying quality problem with the visual system on the S-3. The majority of that has been fixed with current dollars, and the WST and tactics trainer modifications that are depicted here will be quite aside from those issues. That covers the substance of the Navy's program. I would like to say that we are trying to take the business of flight simulation very seriously indeed. We are trying to buy simulators that will maximize training, and the reason for that is readiness and safety. If we can also conserve resources we do consider that a very important fringe benefit. The summary for this year was that had we not had our simulators. it would have cost us approximately 75 million additional gallons of fuel to accomplish the same level of training. By 1981 that figure will climb to about 95 million. It is a reason. Whether it is the best one. I don't think so. Thank you very much. Senator GOLDWATER. Thank you, Commander Norrington. We will put your prepared remarks in the record at this point. [The statement follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT BY COMDR. GILES R. NORRINGTON, U.S. NAVY, AVIATION TRAINING PROGRAM COORDINATOR FOR PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING (OP-590). DEPUTY CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS (AIR WARFARE) I am Comdr. Giles Norrington, Aviation Training Program Coordinator for Planning and Programming, serving on the staff of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air Warfare). |