Reprinted with permission from Code One Magazine, January
1998, Vol.13 No.1
Anyone familiar with the F-16 Mid-Life Update program
understands that Mid-Life Transformation would make a more
apt title. MLU involves turning A and B model F-16s into
the equivalent of the latest C and D models. Currently,
over 300 aircraft are undergoing this transformation at
four different locations in Europe.
These aircraft come in more than sixty assorted variations
of Block 10 and Block 15 F-16s. The collection of
materials, disproportionately called kits, used to modify
these airplanes constitutes about 13,000 parts manufactured
in twenty-two locations around the world. The kits are
represented by over 750 system installation and structure
drawings, 900 harness drawings, and 250 harness assembly
drawings. More than 100 tools are required to install the
new configuration. Over 120,000 pages of technical orders
have been generated to support modification tasks. The MLU
upgrade takes on the average 2,500 workhours per aircraft
to perform. So upgrade seems a little trifling.
The transformation, however, is well worth the magnitude of
the effort. The modular mission computer, color
multifunction displays, advanced identification friend or
foe interrogator, improved data modem, digital terrain
system, electronic warfare management system, and host of
other hardware associated with MLU extends the operational
effectiveness of European F-16A/B fighters well into the
next century.
Pilots from the four European countries participating in
the MLU program are coming to terms with the F-16s
transformed by the MLU program at Leeuwarden Air Base in
northern Holland. They have gathered here to fly the first
seven MLU F-16s in the operational test and evaluation
phase of the program.
Lt. Col. Herman Koolstra of the Royal Netherlands Air Force
is leading the OT&E effort. "I am very happy with the
aircraft," he says. "The MLU F-16 is a great step forward
for our air force. It boosts our capability to the state of
the art, comparable to a Block 50 F-16 flown by USAF."
USAF Photo
Koolstra-himself an OT&E test pilot-and a half dozen
other pilots from the air forces of Belgium, Denmark, the
Netherlands, Norway, and the United States are flying seven
of the first nine MLU aircraft. The other two aircraft are
being used in developmental testing in California at
Edwards AFB. The first five MLU aircraft, called trial
verification and installation aircraft, were modified at
Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth. The four that followed,
called lead-the-fleet aircraft, were assembled in Europe.
Developmental flight testing began in April 1995 with the
first Danish and the only USAF MLU F-16s. (These two
aircraft are fully instrumented for flight testing.)
OT&E in Leeuwarden began in August 1996 just after the
first lead-the-fleet aircraft were completed. Several
production MLU F-16s have already been delivered to the
RNLAF from its depot in Woensdrecht in the southern part of
the Netherlands.
The overlap of developmental and operational testing is one
unique aspect of the MLU program. "This has not been an
OT&E in the classical sense," Koolstra explains.
"Normally, an air force completes developmental testing and
evaluation to find all the problems in a system before
moving to operational testing. A few operational setups may
be conducted in DT&E, but even these may not be
possible because of limited assets. OT&E normally
begins with the first operational software tape."
Conducting developmental and operational testing
concurrently has both advantages and disadvantages.
"Compressing the OT&E into the DT&E has produced
some great benefits," Koolstra continues. "We are finding
problems in operational testing that did not arise in
developmental testing. Thanks to the overlapping schedules,
we can fix these problems earlier in the program when it is
easier and less expensive. However, we may have to wait for
hardware more often, which is the biggest drawback. For
example, we would like to test some of the communication
equipment in a four-ship, but we did not have enough
hardware available to put together an MLU four-ship until
recently."
"This wasn't an OT&E to develop only tactics," adds
Maj. Ronny Vaerten, a Belgian test pilot. "Initially, it
was an OT&E to make sure all the systems worked, and
worked together well. Later we began preliminary tactics
development. We started last year at the end of August
performing mainly radar operational testing. We flew as
two-ships and evaluated radar performance and performed
bombing missions at the range. In the last six months, we
have done more tactics."
The mission matrix for the latest MLU operational testing
consists of close air support, air interdiction, and
defensive counter air missions, including four-ship combat
air patrols and four-vs-four up to four-vs-eight missions
against dissimilar aircraft to develop air-to-air tactics.
"We have flown against USAF F-15s and German F-4s," notes
Koolstra. "We have flown many missions with F-16s from the
323rd Squadron here at Leeuwarden. The 323rd is our
tactical training and evaluation squadron, a Dutch version
of the Fighter Weapons School at Nellis. Their pilots are
really keen. Having sharp opponents is the best way to test
the capabilities of a new system. Flying against opponents
who know nothing about the capabilities of the MLU
aircraft-its longer-range radar, the track-while-scan
modes, and AMRAAM-is not that useful. They just coast into
an encounter and make very easy targets. The 323rd is aware
of our beyond-visual-range missiles and other capabilities.
They react accordingly and test us to our limits."
According to the OT&E test pilots, the improved radar
and the AIM-120 AMRAAM capability have the largest effect
on tactics. The non-MLU F-16s, now more often referred to
as OCU F-16s, can launch and guide only one AMRAAM at a
time. The MLU F-16s can launch multiple AMRAAMs and guide
them at longer ranges with an improved version of the
APG-66, called the APG-66(V)2.
"We have at least doubled our air-to-air capability with
MLU," Koolstra says. "I won't say we are twice as good,
because the outcome still depends on pilot skill. The
system, though, is twice as good. The radar provides a
thirty to 100 percent increase in situational awareness,
depending on weather, altitude, and terrain conditions. The
radar is a real bright spot in the program. It outperforms
its specifications by a considerable margin."
"The biggest improvement with MLU to the pilot is the radar
and the improved AMRAAM capability that goes along with
it," agrees Vaerten. "Other improvements I like include the
better navigation accuracy we get with the global
positioning system, which gives us the ability to find
small targets on the ground; the horizontal situation
display, which increases a pilot's situational awareness;
and the new radar air-to-ground modes."
Vaerten also likes the overall improvement in the F-16's
pilot-vehicle interface that comes with the MLU. "The color
displays, the new 'hands-on' throttle and stick controls,
the up-front controls, and the wide-angle head-up display
all give a pilot more information and more options," he
says. "We don't have to look down into the cockpit as we
did with the OCU F-16. The wider head-up display provides a
better view of combat modes. The radar display in the MLU
aircraft is placed higher in the cockpit. It is between the
knees in the OCU, so we have to look down to see it. We can
discern multiple symbols placed closer together with the
color displays. Control of the interrogator, jammer, and
anything else we need in the heat of combat is on the
throttle and stick."
USAF Photo
"The multifunction display concept is completely new for
our F-16s," adds Capt. Mark Scheers, another Belgian
OT&E pilot at Leeuwarden. "Our OCU F-16s have only a
stores management display and a radar scope. The OCU does
not have options for other displays on the screens."
"The MLU cockpit is totally different," says Maj. F.A.
Evensen, a Norwegian test pilot. "A pilot needs a couple of
months to fully adjust to the new cockpit-not just to fly
the airplane with it, but to get used to the best way to
employ all of the new systems. The automation takes care of
a lot, but it still takes more effort to become comfortable
with all of the new capabilities."
"The radar and the global positioning system were easy to
incorporate because these systems are very mature,"
Koolstra explains. "We are still on a learning curve with
some of the newer systems and with the systems unique to
MLU F-16s. The advanced interrogator capability is coming
along. The improved data modem has been a challenge,
though. It looks easy because it is similar to a radio and
modem, and a similar system already works well in the Block
50 F-16. But the Block 50 modem operates in an
air-to-ground mode only. We've learned that air-to-air
modes for such systems are more complex."
Many of these new capabilities are made possible by the
modular mission computer. The computer replaces three other
computers, takes up only half the space of the hardware it
replaces, weighs fifty percent less, has faster processing
with large growth capacity, and uses forty percent less
power. The computer has forty-seven times more processing
power and more than twelve times the memory of the systems
it replaces.
"The modular mission computer is an enabler," Koolstra
explains. "I cannot say the MMC has given us a specific
capability. It has given us the ability to increase
capability. The computer allows us to maintain room to
grow, which is extremely important."
Growth will come to MLU F-16s in many forms, including
helmet-mounted cueing systems, reconnaissance pods, and
forward-looking infrared targeting and navigation systems.
"With such potential," says Evensen, "we have to prioritize
the type of development work we want to do in the future.
Night vision goggles, a helmet-mounted display, and various
pods are high priorities."
A more immediate priority for many of the European test
pilots at Leeuwarden, however, is transitioning other F-16
pilots to the new jets. Most countries are looking at a
six-month transition course based largely on the F-16A/B to
F-16C/D upgrade course currently used in the United States.
The transition training has to be modified to accommodate
MLU-specific capabilities. "Typically, a squadron will
become non-operational for six months," Vaerten explains.
"Pilots go through theory and simulation training. This
ground-based instruction is followed by a syllabus of
approximately forty flights, which takes them to
operational status. This syllabus may differ a little for
each country.
"For Belgium, the last F-16 will be upgraded in 2003,"
Vaerten continues. "We are upgrading six squadrons of
aircraft, so pilot conversion won't be completed for
another four or five years. Our air-defense squadron will
be the first to convert, so they have the most immediate
interest in MLU. They want to know how the new capabilities
affect tactics. They're also interested in specifics, like
radar detection ranges and scramble procedures."
Any description of the MLU program can't avoid the
multinational cooperation that underpins it. The OT&E
operation at Leeuwarden could pass as a UN conference for
F-16 pilots, contractor representatives, and maintenance
personnel. Belgians, Danish, Dutch, Norwegians, and
Americans work together in a friendly and near seamless
atmosphere. Briefings are always in English, the language
common to all participants.
"From a logistics viewpoint, it would have been easier to
organize a testing program within a single country," notes
Koolstra. "On the other hand, working this program with
only two Dutch aircraft would have been totally
unrealistic. Thanks to the international cooperation, we
have seven aircraft dedicated to our efforts. But a
successful OT&E is not a simple matter of bringing
together some aircraft, pilots, and maintenance personnel.
We have great support from Lockheed Martin and the F-16 SPO
at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio. We also have links with
the MLU development testing at Edwards AFB in California.
We deal with many inputs from a large number of
participants."
Country differences must still be addressed in these
dealings. "The electronic warfare equipment is different
for the four nations," notes Vaerten. "Most of us come from
different experience levels and through different training.
We have operating procedures with some minor differences
that make working across air forces more difficult.
Everyone here must communicate regularly with their own air
staffs back home, which takes a lot of time. But these
impediments are outweighed by the advantages. Each country
is too small to do an OT&E by itself. We can pull this
off only by combining resources. We couldn't put up a
Belgium-only four ship. It takes all four countries to
contribute to the effort to complete it on schedule."
"We have never had the coordination that we have with the
F-16 program," adds Lt. Per Schmock, a Danish MLU test
pilot at Leeuwarden. "The more countries that fly this
fighter, the better. We all benefit from experience. We
used to fly Drakens in Denmark. Even though other air
forces flew this airplane, they kept information to
themselves. When our Draken airframes ran out of service
life, for example, we had to do all of the service life
extensions ourselves. In Falcon UP [a service life
extension for the F-16 airframe], we benefited by the
experiences from all the countries.
"A small air force can convert to a mature airplane easier
than it can develop a new one," Schmock continues. "We see
this at the system level in the MLU. The mods that have
already been incorporated by USAF have given us the least
amount of trouble in our operational testing here at
Leeuwarden.
"MLU is a huge success on many terms," Schmock sums up.
"The international cooperation we have here is unmatched. I
have developed some good connections and built some
friendships. It is a lot easier to pick up the phone and
call someone you have worked with."
Similar international friendships have been formed between
companies producing all the hardware and software that
comprise MLU. Technology is supplied by corporations in six
countries: Fabrisys, SABCA, and Sonaca in Belgium; Nea
Lindberg, Per Udsen, and Terma in Denmark; Signaal and
Fokker in the Netherlands; BASE and GEC in the United
Kingdom; TEAC in Japan; and E-Systems, Fairchild,
Hazeltine, Honeywell, Lear Astronics, Litton, Lockheed
Martin, and Texas Instruments in the United States.
MLU's multinational mix may get a little thicker in the
coming years as several other countries, including
Portugal, consider upgrading their F-16s with the latest
capabilities. MLU is also under consideration by several
countries in central Europe as an inexpensive method for
incorporating F-16s into their air forces.
