FLUG REVUE January 2003: Heeresflieger face tough task in Afghanistan

GERMAN ARMY AVIATION IN AFGHANISTAN

By Daniel Hautmann

Kabul International Airport (KIA), 21 September, 14.00 hrs. Briefing in German Army Aviation HQ. Operations staff officer Major Jürgen H. is giving his crew their orders: "Today we are flying over Kabul for CIMIC. As usual, two helicopters, 84+30 and 84+50. Visibility at 5,000ft: 10km plus. Temperature: 29º Celsius. Later on we're expecting a gusty 30kt wind, with moderate turbulence above the mountains. Take-off: 15.00 hrs. Flight duration: 1 hour, 15 minutes. If there are any problems, we shall return to base; if that is not possible, then we'll look for a landing field. The second helicopter will be covering the lead one. Minimum altitude above the city: 50ft!”

Such briefings have been a daily occurrence for the German army aviators since April 2002. A total of three Sikorsky CH-53GS are stationed in a corner of KIA, one of them in the medevac role. The unit has 87 men on site. They are supporting the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) with its peace-keeping mission in Kabul. However, the Germans have nothing to do with "Enduring Freedom”.

Most of the soldiers come from Army Aviation Regiment 25 in Laupheim. Due to the proximity of their home base in Upper Swabia to the Alps, they bring with them the most experience when it comes to flying in the mountains. And that is definitely an advantage for operations in Afghanistan. The airport is already 1,800m above sea level and the peaks of the Hindukush mountains rise up to 8,000m into the Afghan sky.

From a scenic point of view, the area around Kabul is dismal, mainly stone and sand, the barren ground only seldom broken by any greenery. Perfect terrain for low-altitude flying. And the Germans are getting plenty of practice at this with their Sikorskys. "We fly one to two missions every day,” says the operations staff officer.

Transport of materiel, reconnaissance flights and flying at the performance limit in this environment are good training for the pilots. "Back at home we don't get this complexity of low-level flying, climate and threat. So this is a superb opportunity,” says the staff operations officer. However, the maximum mission radius around Kabul is only 30km, and flying over 6,000ft (1,813m) above ground level is not allowed. The entire Afghan airspace is monitored by the US forces with AWACS. There is virtually no ground-based surveillance.

Runway, 15.00 hrs. The two seven-man crews, comprising helicopter commander, pilot, two on-board mechanics, an observer and two gunners, take up their positions in the CH-53GSs and carry out their final checks. During the visual check, one officer discovers a "silver dollar” on the tail skid. That means that one of the pilots must have taken off at a hell of a pace, as the paint on the skid has worn away, and that, after all, only happens "when one is in a big big hurry to get off the ground,” as one of the mechanics jokes. But no problem, after a through check the turbines are nicely revved up.

Today's flight is primarily a CIMIC (civil-military co-operation) mission, they want to take some aerial photographs of newly built schools and wells. After a few low-level circuits over Kabul's bombed roofs and narrow alleyways, the two CHs leave the sad-looking Kabul River and the tiled mosque behind them. They fly the full 30km radius and approach the mountain slopes that encircle Kabul.

In the south-east of the city, the helicopters belt through a V-shaped gap between slopes. Now the pilot pushes the control stick forward and everyone's eyes are fixed on the other side of the mountain, which falls away sharply below them. In front of the Sikorsky's nose, a wide plane dominated by desert sand opens up and the relaxed part of the flight comes to an abrupt end.

From now on respect is due to the two gunners who are monitoring the threat situation standing up. The steel barrels of the MG3s project out of the two small hatches behind the cockpit. Out in Afghanistan, the Germans have to face a new challenge, the danger of coming under fire. Of course, the helicopters are fitted with various additional warning devices, which so far have not emitted a squeak, as Jürgen H. points out, but direct attacks with hand weapons are still a risk factor.

And as there are plenty of weapons around in Afghanistan, it would not be too difficult to fire at the low-flying helicopters as they pass over the city. "We feel quite safe with the protective equipment,” says the staff operations officer, and the danger of coming under fire is not really acute either, as the ISAF forces, especially the Germans, are very popular among the Afghans.

The pilot, who by the way is wearing a heavy splinterproof vest, now guides the aircraft over the sandy plane, the second helicopter approaches, reducing its speed. Action is now called for with flares. Flares are dispensed as soon as a hostile guided missiles in pursuit of the heat-emitting helicopter is detected. The magnesium flares generate extreme heat, so that hostile missiles are deflected from their original target onto the "hotter” object.

From a technical point of view, operating in Afghanistan is quite a challenge. The climatic conditions place high demands on both the men and their equipment. Transporting the aircraft and the 87 men to the Hindukush mountains required a high degree of logistics and financial resources. The three Sikorsky's were carried the almost 6,000km from Cologne-Wahn to Kabul in the hold of a widebody An-124 transporter. The soldiers were transported as far as Termez in Uzbekistan in an A310 belonging to the Flugbereitschaft, and from there it was about an hour's journey by Transall over the Hindukush mountains.

The army aviators do not have the same accommodation in the "camp warehouse” as the other German soldiers, but are stationed directly at the airport, i.e. right next door to their aircraft. Here they have set up everything they need, including a bar. The airport is currently run by the Turks, who also supply the fuel.

The technicians carry out routine maintenance work directly on the airport premises. The only serious problem so far has been four knackered tyres.

Keeping the engines going has also been interesting. The sand creates problems for everyone and everything. It gets in people's throats and in the turbine blades, even the tanks are not spared. Normally the T64 shaft turbines only need to be replaced after 1,200 operating hrs, but due to the extreme climatic conditions and the dust, they are having to be replaced every 100 hours.

The intervals at which the 2,890kW engines are replaced is based on experience gained in Baghdad, where the conditions were similar. The main problem is that the compressor blades get worn down because the dust penetrates even the filter barriers on the air inlets. For this reason, the army aviators prefer not to take any chances.

At the beginning, Major H. explains, they had never filled the auxiliary tanks, so that after a while the fuel became contaminated. This was due to the dust as well, which had actually found its way through the seals and into the fuel lines. Meanwhile they have moved over to partially filling the auxiliary tanks. This means that the lines are regularly flushed out and the fine dust thus collects in the fuel filters. Have there been any dangerous situations during a flight? "No, we once had a bird in the engine intake, but it wasn't the end of the world,” says Jürgen H.

The CH crews have, however, become accustomed to the uncomfortable conditions created by the desert sand. On their sorties around Kabul they often practice landing in the dust. These practice sessions show just how fine the stuff is, when the compression wave generated by the rotors meets with resistance on the ground. Within seconds, the helicopter disappears in a light brown cloud of dust which takes several minutes to clear. It is almost like a night flight, except that image intensifying goggles don't help.

Only seldom do they set down on unfamiliar spots as it is just too dangerous: even after a year they are not immune to rebels aiming for the helicopters. When the crew know that they will have to make a landing, they always ask for ground support to secure the landing site. Another major risk is the many mines concealed in the desert sand.

The high temperatures, which even at 1,800m can climb to up to 50ºC are also awkward. The calculation tables which the Germans use for flight planning were supplied by the Americans. These have been compiled over many years of experience at operating under extreme temperatures in desert conditions.

The thin air combined with the heat places enormous pressure on the payload capacity of the CH-53GS's. To start with, the engines obtain less oxygen, resulting in considerable loss of performance. Then the thin, hot air does not cool the turbines sufficiently, and this in turn causes the turbines to overheat and thus to wear more quickly. "We are virtually always flying in the orange area,” says Jürgen H.

The T64-7 engines currently in service have too little power, and sometimes at 40ºC only four persons can be carried on board. "We are approaching the performance limit of the helicopters, we urgently need more powerful engines,” says Jürgen H. "The T64-100 engine has a different material composition, permitting a higher operational temperature, we could carry 1.5 tonnes more payload if we had that engine,” says aircraft engineering staff officer Frank V. He is hoping that the deployment in Afghanistan will speed up procurement of the T64-100 turbine.

Meanwhile the two helicopters are flying over the "Camp Warehouse” in the east of Kabul. This is home to the operational HQ building, the Germans' military hospital, the field kitchen and some 4,000 soldiers from various European countries. The centre of Kabul is now at twelve o'clock, but a short while later the pilots change heading for KIA towards the north. After exactly one hour and 15 minutes the transport helicopters reach the runway and hover down onto the airfield.

At 16.25 hrs the pilots shut down the engines and the technical personnel take over to give the helicopters their post-sortie inspection. The two crews and the men from CIMIC meet up again for the debrief. The only problem: the heat. Beneath their splinterproof vests and overalls, the pilots have been working hard, they are soaked with sweat.

From page 48 of FLUG REVUE 1/2003

Last updated 5 December 2002

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