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French Connection

By Vertical Mag

story & photos by Frédéric Lert | July 8, 2014

Published on: July 8, 2014
Estimated reading time 10 minutes, 16 seconds.

The French Air Force is among the happy few to enjoy a helicopter air to air refueling capability with its EC725 Caracal.
Two thousand feet above the Atlantic, not far from the west coast of France and the famous Bordeaux vineyards, two Airbus Helicopters EC725 Caracals refuel on a Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules fitted with wing pods. The helicopters belong to the French Air Force (Armée de l’Air) Escadron d’hélicoptères 1/67 Pyrénées and the tanker, sporting Italian roundels, comes from the Pisa-based 46a Brigata Aerea. 
To an outside observer, the operation looks straightforward and is performed seamlessly: the helicopters close in, plug in with the probe and drogue system and remain in station for a few seconds. Then they disconnect, move back a few dozen meters before starting the whole process again. Four pilots take turns at the controls of the two helicopters, and patiently accumulate “wet” and “dry” contacts (with and without fuel transfer). The docking manuever is repeated throughout the two-hour flight, interspersed with rapid U-turns on the refueling pattern established on a north-south axis, parallel to the coastline. 
The exercise is part of a training campaign the Pyrénées squadron tries to organize twice each year with the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (Italian Air Force), with the latter flying the C-130Js. 
After four days of intense training, the squadron recorded a total of 42 hours in flight, during which it made 320 contacts with the drogue — and 28 of those involved actual fuel transfer. The crews also took the opportunity to train on the rendezvous procedures, as detailed in the NATO ATP56 textbook.
“With two, two-hour flights per day, and two helicopters at a time, we have been able to fully train six pilots and offer some refresher courses to those previously qualified,” Lt.-Col. Gilles Malbos, commanding officer of the helicopter squadron, told Vertical 911. The crews practiced “head-on” and “overtake” techniques, as well as “toboggan” refueling, when the refueling is done in descent. “The toboggan has two main advantages,” explained Malbos. “We don’t go faster than the 110 knots recorded in horizontal [refueling], but the basket is more stable and, because we are descending, we enjoy a better power margin.”
Wakes and turbulences
Helicopter Air to Air Refueling (HAAR) is a very exclusive capability. The Pyrénées flies the HAAR-capable EC725; of the 14 aircraft in service under French colors, the squadron owns six, together with four sets of removable telescopic refueling probes. The 11-ton EC725s have been operational in the French Air Force since 2006, and have been heavily utilized in operations around the world — including in Lebanon, Afghanistan, Libya, Chad, Mali and Somalia. The French began experimenting with HAAR in 2008 with Air Force test pilots refueling on Italian C-130Js. The Pyrénées squadron then assumed the capability, and is now practicing on a regular basis. With 15 of its pilots (more than half of its crew complement) fully qualified on HAAR, the Pyrénées is ready to put its expertise to good use — should the operational need arise. 
To date, the Pyrénées has qualified three types of refueling aircraft: the C-130J, the C-130H and the MC-130P (the latter in December 2013, when they were able to complete some dry contact training with the U.S. Air Force during a brief stay in Djibouti). Despite the similarities between the Hercules, each different type needed to be carefully mated with the EC725 in order to establish tail and fuselage wake and propeller turbulences.
“[The] aerodynamic constraints are strong on the helicopter flying close behind the tanker,” said Malbos, “and we have to apply an ‘aging coefficient’ to the airframes.” Working with the different types of refueling pods is also a complex affair: the Sargent Fletcher MA-3 pod, fitted on the C-130J, has been the only one to allow wet contacts so far. The MA-2 pod, fitted on previous generation C-130s such as the C-130H or the MC-130P, is only used for dry contacts due to fuel pressure compatibility problems that the French Air Force hope will soon be solved. The two pods have the same characteristics, with a 56- to 76-foot refueling distance. When a helicopter moves closer than 56 feet, or further than 76 feet, the refueling automatically stops — and the basket disconnects. The future also belongs to the MA-4A pod, which is fitted with its own source of power. It provides a variable pumping rate and a slightly longer hose, which will require new compatibility testing with the EC725. 
“Our goal is to qualify the Caracal on the largest number of tankers and pods [to] get the best operational flexibility,” said Malbos.
HAAR Enhanced
The next step for the Pyrénées is to qualify for nighttime HAAR through the use of night vision goggles. Although most of the French expertise in the field of HAAR is found within the squadron itself, the first tests in night HAAR will be completed by the – Essais en Vol, a unit belonging to the French Direction Générale de l’Armement (the national procurement agency), which runs flight-testing activities. Originally planned for 2013, the DGA Essais en Vol night HAAR campaign has been postponed several times and is now expected for this fall. 
The lack of a suitable French tanker to provide HAAR is another challenge the unit hopes will be addressed in the future. 
“We do not rule out any solution yet,” said Lt.-Col. Matthieu Mignot, helicopter program manager at the French Air Force headquarters. “[Airbus] A-400M, C-130 and even Casa CN-235 — the different transport aircraft in service within the Armée de l’Air offer us a wide range of possibilities.” 
The Air Force is said to favor the option of fitting some Sargent Fletcher MA-3 pods on its C-130Hs. The MA-3s are already qualified and commercially available on the shelf and the British company Marshall Aerospace has offered to equip them on the aircraft during their next scheduled heavy maintenance. Without additional tanks in the cargo, a C-130H would be able to deliver up to nine tons of fuel to a flight of two Caracals. This solution could translate quickly into operational capability, but it is a matter over which the Pyrénées has little control.
American Experience
Lt.-Col. Guillaume Vernet is the 1/67 Pyrénées deputy commander. From 2007 to 2010, he flew the Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk as an exchange officer within the U.S. Air Force (USAF) 41st Rescue Squadron. He logged 600 hours on the Pave Hawk, including two tours of operation in Afghanistan, and was fully qualified on air to air refueling with the helicopter.
“Procedures are Nato standard and very similar to the ones we use in France,” said Vernet. “On the other hand, HAAR is a common practice within the USAF, and pilots tend to qualify during their HH-60G conversion. All the Pave Hawk operational pilots are HAAR qualified and can refuel on the complete C-130 family, from the H to P and J models. The Pave Hawk is a great aircraft for this exercise — it’s a very stable helicopter and the available room between the fully extended probe and the rotor disc is roughly the same as [with] the EC725 Caracal. One difference between both aircraft is the power margin — you quickly reach the max power limitation on the Pave Hawk, which is not the case with the [Turbomeca] Makila 2A-powered Caracal.”
Frédéric Lert has been a professional journalist and photographer for over 20 years, during which he has authored 20 books on aviation. He lives in Bordeaux, France.

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