56% of aircraft unable to fly: the incredible Achilles heel of the French army

Despite a budget of 4 billion euros per year dedicated to maintenance, more than one out of two aircraft is not in flight condition. Florence Parly launches a major reorganization plan, and raises her voice against industrialists.

The last chance plan? Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly presented Monday, December 11, from Evreux Air Base 105, a major plan to modernize the maintenance operations of army planes and helicopters, the "aeronautical MCO" in military jargon (maintenance in operational condition). The observation is clear: despite a large budget (4 billion euros per year, up 25% in five years) and substantial staff (22.000 people in the armed forces), the figures for the availability of the planes and helicopters of the army are catastrophic. The average availability rate reached only 44%, against 55% in 2000. Clearly, 56% of the aeronautical equipment of the army is not in a condition to fly, while the French forces remain hard put to contribution in the Sahel and the Levant.

The situation is even more serious for certain types of equipment. If the Flurry reached the figure, average if not mediocre, of 49,3%, other availability rates are cataclysmic: 22,5% for the C-130 transport plane, 25,6% for the Tiger combat helicopter, 31,7% for the Caracal of the army, 26,7% for the Lynx, according to figures obtained by the deputy François Cornut-Gentille. General André Lanata, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, even recently specified before the deputies of the Defense Committee that he could only count on one to two A400Ms, out of a current fleet of 12 aircraft… "The consequences of all this are that crews train less, pilot training is constrained, technicians are overstretched, and the cost of the hour of flight increases", underlines Florence Parly. The cost of one hour of flight in Caracal thus rose from 19.000 to 34.000 euros from 2012 to 2016, an explosion of 81%. As for the hour of C-130, it went from nearly 6000 euros in 2012 to 15.000 euros in 2016, an increase of 150%!

Ultra-complex organization

Why these disastrous performances? The causes are multiple. There is of course the enormous contribution - excessive, some would say - of the French forces in very demanding theaters of operations (Sahel, Levant), where the heat and the sand cause accelerated wear of aircraft engines and turbines of helicopters. The cutbacks in the armies, before the rise in power since 2015, have also left their mark: the ministry had planned seven mechanics per Rafale, it ultimately takes twelve, as General Lanata recalled in October. There is also a scissor effect for the maintenance tool, between new programs, with aircraft that are not yet mature and therefore expensive to maintain (A400M), and old equipment that is at the end of its course and increasingly difficult to be maintained in flying condition (Transall, C-130, Cougar, Puma, Lynx).

The other major cause of the catastrophic performance of the aeronautical MCO, clearly highlighted in the report on the subject recently submitted to Florence Parly by the general armament engineer Christian Chabbert, is the organization of the maintenance tool. This seems far too complex, with a great dispersion of responsibilities. The actors are multiple: there is a public contracting authority, the SIMMAD (Integrated structure for the maintenance in operational condition of the aeronautical equipment of the Ministry of Defence). There is a public manufacturer, the SIAé (Aeronautics Industrial Service), supposed to challenge private manufacturers to lower their prices. There are manufacturers and engine manufacturers (Airbus, Dassault, Safran, Thales, etc.). Finally, there are specialized manufacturers (Sabena Technics, Air France Industries). Because of this dilution of responsibilities, the maintenance of the Tiger is thus the subject of around thirty different contracts!

The industrial future prime contractors 

The plan announced by Florence Parly aims to bring order to this tangle of responsibilities. An increase in resources is not envisaged, as these appear to be sufficient. On the other hand, the overall organization will be overturned: a new department, the DMAé (aeronautical maintenance department), will be created on 1^er March 2018. This, directly attached to the Chief of Defense Staff, will replace SIMMAD, with a director responsible for the performance of the aeronautical MCO. Emphasis must be placed on the signing of a limited number of “long and global” contracts, which must give responsibility to a single industrialist from start to finish.

In mainland France and for each aircraft, an industrialist will be appointed sole prime contractor: this will coordinate the work of public and private bodies. The armies will be withdrawn from aeronautical logistics (spare parts, etc.) in mainland France, in favor of "industrial logistics counters" installed in air bases. The contracts will be renegotiated on all helicopter fleets, then on the Rafale, whose maintenance contracts expire in the next 18 months. As for the SIAé, an additional six-month study will be launched to improve its performance, by giving it more freedom of action in purchasing, partnerships and human resources. In any case, it will retain its public status.

Message to industrialists

The mission entrusted by the Minister to the French maintenance tool promises to be complicated. Because there is hardly a miracle recipe to copy from abroad: Germany is experiencing the same availability problems, with only 32% of its Eurofighter Typhoon fighters in flying condition, and 28,6% of Tiger helicopters. But while acknowledging that "the availability rate will not increase overnight", Florence Parly recalled that she wants concrete results from 2020. A message largely addressed to manufacturers. "We buy to fly, not to store: neither in hangars nor in car parks, recalled the minister. It seems paradoxical to me that I have to specify what seems obvious, however: "it has to fly", as they say in squadrons, flotillas and regiments. Is that too much to ask? Ladies and gentlemen industrialists, I ask you, frankly and very directly, this question."

Source (s): Challenges.fr via Anonymous Contributor

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