QinetiQ shares success in Harrier GR9 celebrations

QinetiQ today joined BAE SYSTEMS, DLO's Harrier IPT and other VIPs at RAF Cottesmore to celebrate the achievement of the formal In-Service Date (ISD) Release to Service of the Harrier GR9 aircraft. This is a significant milestone in the programme, which was completed to schedule and within budget.

Liaising closely with the Harrier IPT and working jointly with BAE SYSTEMS, QinetiQ has been involved in the GR9 programme since inception. Its contribution has principally comprised two streams; technical risk reduction in the form of 'customer friend' support, and test and evaluation leading to military aircraft release.

QinetiQ's expertise in reducing procurement risk was applied to the 'customer friend' technical service in supporting requirements definition and design and development. By applying lessons learned from other MOD upgrades and developments with the Sea Harrier, Tornado and Jaguar, cost savings and timely capability delivery were achieved.

In partnership with the RAF Joint Test and Evaluation Group's (JTEG) Fast Jet Test Squadron, QinetiQ also contributed to the programme by conducting test and evaluation to ensure the aircraft met critical safety requirements and that once in service, it would meet the operational capability requirements of the RAF front line crews.

QinetiQ's assessment was planned to ensure that the modified Harrier aircraft was safe to operate and provide effective front-line capability. To remove duplication of work, all testing and trials of the aircraft had to dovetail with other stakeholder testing requirements and the teams worked within a combined programme, which reduced timescales and minimised costs. Innovative working relationships between the Aircraft Design Organisation, BAE SYSTEMS, and the MOD customer led to the development of a joint programme of flight test.

Key aspects of QinetiQ's assessment included:

* Safety Assessment - an independent review of the aircraft safety cases to provide the MOD customer with confidence that the modified aircraft met stringent safety and airworthiness requirements for release to service.

* Environmental Trials - ground trials were undertaken to evaluate aircraft performance when subject to operational environmental conditions. The environmental test facility at MOD Boscombe Down was used to test the aircraft at extremes of temperature, solar heating and humidity ranges to ensure safe and reliable operation in a variety of potential operational scenarios. Testing included operation of the systems from -40 Deg Celsius to +50 Deg Celsius.

* Flight trials - all aspects of the Harrier GR9 modification were evaluated for fitness for purpose. Where flight trials were required to provide evidence for evaluation, the majority of these were conducted jointly with BAE SYSTEMS. QinetiQ carried out a further programme of flight trials at Boscombe Down to cover aspects of the joint tests that did not support independent advice for release to service.


QinetiQ's test and evaluation services were provided under the Long Term Partnering Agreement, a 25 year contract between QinetiQ and the MOD. Within the contract all test and evaluation services are provided in partnership with JTEG military staff, co-located with QinetiQ trials and evaluation teams.

QinetiQ delivered its recommendations and advice at a number of key stages throughout the programme to meet the Harrier IPT's requirements.