QinetiQ has completed an accelerated test and evaluation campaign of the Jupiter HC Mk2 helicopter, enabling the Ministry of Defence to press ahead with the deployment of six Airbus H145 D3 aircraft to support British forces in Brunei and Cyprus.
Working under the Engineering Delivery Partner Mode 3 contract with Defence Equipment & Support’s Multi Helicopter Platform Delivery Team (DE&S MHP), QinetiQ’s Air Engineering Services unit conducted ground and flight trials across just four weeks, compressing a process that typically takes far longer.
Using only one aircraft, the team completed over 32 hours of flight testing during May and early June.
The trials delivered clearances for seven operational capabilities: aerial firefighting, day and night casualty evacuation (including stretcher winching), troop movement (including abseiling), material lift, and surveillance.
The effort was enabled by QinetiQ’s integration of multiple stakeholders into a combined test team, drawing on both military and civilian expertise. Supporting infrastructure included the MOD Boscombe Down Night Vision System Test House and QinetiQ’s own Aviation Engineering Centre, which provided critical design and manufacturing support.
According to Andy Hooper, Team Leader at DE&S MHP, the pace of the campaign was only made possible by QinetiQ’s flexible and solutions-focused approach. “The team demonstrated agility in catching up time where possible in the review of evidence to support the MPTF,” he said. “Their assistance with the production of a Bambi bucket control connector at short notice was fantastic.”
Squadron Leader Jamie Gawler from Army HQ Combat Aviation Programmes echoed that sentiment: “Without the QinetiQ team’s positive attitude and efforts to support us, we would probably have failed to meet a May T&E target, which would have had serious knock-on implications for the delivery of this new support helicopter capability.”
And yet QinetiQ specialist capabilities were all in house as part of the MoD DT&EO and DRA/DERA before HMG discarded them.
A shame, as I believe in having assets in house.
The thing is that as an external entity they have far greater flexibility in what they can do than if they are constricted by the imagination and limitations of Government.
What do you think they charged for the rapid evaluation? Few million atleast I’m guessing.
Depends. Six figures maybe not necessarily seven. Resolves a problem for the MOD.
If we want a cheap price of this sort of thing then we need a few small companies to submit competitive prices.
Having spent a lot of time working with private sector organisations that have essential monopolies on government contracts flexibility and imagination are not words I would use… more like inflexible and profiteering, with a healthy dose of not giving a shit and a whiff of incompetence.
I think things are hitting up on the defence front.
The old days of it taking as long as it takes are gone and time based incentives are the order of the day.
Why? Because if UK buys or leases helicopters then it needs to get value for getting them into service. It also disincentives people to ‘find problems’ and focus on solutions.
lol. I expect you could find that lot in any organisation especially if that is what you are looking for.
It is for Government to break the monopolies and keep introducing leaner smaller more agile companies.
There are several areas in defence where it would be better to eliminate the bigger players that win contracts week in week out and start involving new companies.
As for the strategy of privatising stuff which is done in house would you use flexibility and imagination to describe the MOD?
So they cleared a little ickle chopper to fly.
Fantastic effort all round from every single stakeholding entity making up the test team. It’s comforting to know our Taxes are being spent wisely and efficiently.
Anyone seen an order for 40 more ?
Let me know if you hear a whiff of 40 more and I will top up on QinetiQ shares..
So a group of penpushers actually got off their arses from behind the desk and went to the shopfloor and helped speed things up🤔🤣
Perhaps they should “compress a process” more often.
Six Airbus H145 are incoming at last!!!!
The operational capabilities required of those helicopters are important…
We expect another post from George celebrating the delivery and seeing the use of them in the future ! 😉