I start this with the caveat that I had but a peripheral role in this, and a several years ago to boot, but here goes.
Dundiggin, clearly you share the same frustration as many, including me, with lack of progress that doing this sort of work to the venerable old Puma provides. The fact that there even is a Puma 2 programme is down to one, and only one reason - money, or more accurately, the lack of it. However, you appear to have fallen into the same trap that many have fallen into when discussing this project:
It is my opinion that this mod programme has not gone far enough to improve the operational capabillity of the Puma.
The Puma 2 programme is not, and never was, a programme designed to "improve the operational capabillity of the Puma". The word "upgrade" was a dirty word for this project, anything that even remotely looked like upgrade for upgrades sake would have been ruthlessly scrutinised out. Bigger cabin? Upgrade, funding denied. Sponsons? Upgrade, funding denied. Uprated transmission? Upgrade, funding denied, etc etc etc. The Puma 2 programme is a Life Extension Programme and nothing more. The brief was roughly as follows:
"
We cannot keep flying the Puma as it is past its current OSD of 2012, but we cannot afford to lose the even the small amount of capability that the Puma brings. Find a way to maintain the capability until we can afford to buy a replacement. Oh, by the way, don't even think about anything new, there isn't any money."
Far cleverer people than I crunched lots of numbers and came to the conclusion that stagging on the Puma past its then OSD of 2012 without doing something about the anticipator problem would not demonstrate ALARP. Anticipators are not retro-fittable to the Turmo engines, so a new engine had to be sought. EC had already done the work of fitting Makila engines to early Pumas, and had JAR 29 accreditation for doing so. This was therefore a proven and already flying mod. Qinetiq could read across a lot of the JAR 29 approval work to the Puma 2 programme, reducing the amount of certification work they needed to do, keeping the cost down. The fact that the Makilas are more powerful, more fuel efficient and are far better hot and high is irrelevant, although very welcome; they were chosen for no other reason than that was the cheapest way to get anticipators onto the Puma.
Wrt the glass cockpit, it simply comes with the engines! It is all part of the same overall EC modification programme. EC had not done any work with Makilas and the RAF standard cockpit fit, so to try and integrate the Makila engines with the steam driven Mk1 would have hugely increased the cost, bespoke design work would need to be done, and Qinetiq would probably have had to start from scratch (remember the Chinook Mk3?). Please believe me when I say that if it could have been done more cheaply without the glass cockpit element, it would have!
Fareastdriver, certainly when I was close to it, the intention was to put the 5th tank back in, it wasn't going to cost any extra.
I consider that although second hand Super Pumas would be more expensive they would have been a quantum leap in capacity and although dearer the £300M wasted on the MkI would have gone a long way to re-equiping with Super Pumas.
Unfortunately, the £300m would not have gone a long way to re-equipping with Super Pumas. £300m is the lot, there is no more for the £300m to go towards. The reduction in funds for RW programmes from £6bn, to £3bn, to £1.5bn made sure of that. The numbers being thrown about during my small involvement were a lot bigger (of the order of £700m), and that still was nowhere near enough to replace the Puma with something else. Other threads have made the comparison the £300m would buy you 20 Blackhawks, or 15 Cougars etc, and I’m sure it would. However, how much of the £300m quoted is upfront cost, and how much is through-life? If it costs £300m to buy 15 Cougars, but then another £500m to support them through the next 10 years, but the £300m for the Puma 2 is all of the cost involved, then you are not really comparing like with like (I don’t know the answer to this by the way, merely asking the question).
The solution to all the bloody problems has been staring people in the face for years and that is the SUPER PUMA!!! It has everything the RAF needs to eradicate the handling problems; engines with anticipators, a glass cockpit and room in the back for 25 troops. But more importantly, it would have given the Puma Sqns a proper chance to give the user units a better service in the field by way of more cabin volume for more troops, bigger bergens and more weapons.
I agree, completely. Unfortunately, financial reality has to be lived with. There was no money for Super Pumas, and there will be no money for Super Pumas.
PS:
I'm glad to be a civvy and not have to endure this crap any more.
Me too!