A Military Permit to Fly (MPTF) is a ‘product authorisation’ issued by DASA to aircraft that do not meet, or have not been shown to meet, the requirements of the Type-Certification Basis (TCB) and/or Military Air Operator Certificate (MAOC), but are nonetheless capable of safe flight under defined conditions and for specified purposes. An MPTF is always associated with a set of flight conditions that may be approved prior to, or in conjunction with, the MPTF application.
Whilst DASR 21.A.701(a) provides a non-exhaustive list of examples illustrating situations when an MPTF should be used, the majority of those examples are EASA/EMAR-based, and focused more on development of aircraft design, production, delivery and initial training within an OEM organisation (operating under privilege), as opposed to in-service scenarios that are typical for Defence aviation. For the Defence context, and as outlined within GM to DASR GR.80(c), aircraft operation in the following circumstances potentially entails flight at an elevated level of risk (ELOR) that may require an MPTF:
Flight Test, for either for new aircraft development or modification to existing aircraft, or to support role expansion activities. This includes both the OEM-centric scenarios conducted under DASR 21J and/or 21G privileges, as well as development, compliance demonstration and/or flight test using Defence-registered, Military Air Operator (MAO)-controlled aircraft.
Flights where the design has not yet been certified and/or Military Certificate of Airworthiness (MCoA) is yet to be issued. This includes operation of new aircraft prior to awarding of a Military Type-Certificate (MTC) or operation with major design modifications fitted prior to award of a Military Supplemental Type-Certificate (MSTC).
Flights where the aircraft is not conforming to the Type Design. Predominately this includes ferry flights to suitable maintenance venues when damaged beyond approved limits (and un-repaired damage assessment is not an option), operation with overdue scheduled maintenance requirements not completed, and for operation outside of the bounds of Instructions for Continuing Airworthiness (ICA), including operational limits.
Hence, an MPTF is a risk-based authorisation, within the suite of Defence aviation flexibility provisions provided under DASR GR.80. An MPTF facilitates military flexibility in support of a capability imperative, which is valid for a defined period of time, underpinned by a seven-step risk assessment with both technical and operational input. Importantly, MPTFs should not be continually extended/reissued, nor considered an enduring authorisation to address TCB non compliances. In these instances, alternate approaches should be pursued as discussed in DASPMAN Volume 3 Section 7.
An MPTF is issued by DASA (including Delegates of the Safety Authority (DoSAs), within the scope of their delegation) when satisfied that the application complies with the requirements of DASR Part 21 Subpart P Military Permit To Fly. Per DASR 21.A.707(b), the application must include the purpose of the flight (and in particular, the capability imperative), the ways in which the aircraft does not comply with its TCB or MAOC Operations Specification (OpSpec), and the approved flight conditions necessary for safe operation of the aircraft.
Per DASR 21.A.708, the flight conditions include the configuration of the aircraft for which the MPTF is requested, any condition and/or restriction necessary for safe operation of the aircraft and the substantiation that the aircraft is capable of safe flight under the conditions and/or restrictions. Given that an MPTF constitutes operations at an ELOR, the determination of safe flight should eliminate safety hazards and risks So Far As is Reasonably Practicable (SFARP), or if it is not reasonably practicable to do so, minimise these hazards and risks SFARP. This is achieved by following the seven-step risk management process, as outlined in GM to DASR SMS.A.25(b)(2)(2.2). DASA AC 003/2018—Risk Management in the Defence Aviation Safety Program provides further aviation-specific guidance and describes the key elements of safety risk management that must be implemented by organisations to ensure compliance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
MAOs. In the Defence context, the applicant for an MPTF will typically be the MAO. MAOs are responsible for applying to DASA for the approval of flight conditions and the issue of an MPTF. They must fulfil the responsibilities of the applicant including the conduct of a risk assessment that fully integrates all technical and operational considerations. MAOs should engage relevant external organisations in the course of preparing the application in order to effectively conduct an integrated risk assessment. These organisations may include the product’s MTC holder, design organisations, continuing airworthiness management organisation (CAMO) service providers, flight test organisations, and/or relevant maintenance organisations.
The application process to obtain an MPTF is relatively straightforward, but does require clear identification of the participants and an understanding of the associated responsibilities. Whilst two separate applications are required, DASRs do not prohibit both being submitted concurrently. Relevant DASR Forms for the applicant are as follows:
DASR Form 18b. Application for, and approval of, flight conditions that enable the aircraft to operate safely. This form is raised and submitted by an applicant to DASA. DASA approves the application and returns the approved form to the applicant.
DASR Form 21. Application for issue of an MPTF. Raised by the applicant and submitted to DASA. This may reference pre-existing and approved flight conditions within DASR Form 18b.
Specific detail of the information and supporting documentation required to complete DASR Form 18b - Application for Approval of Flight Conditions and DASR Form 21 - Application for a Military Permit to Fly is provided in the instruction sheets covering the forms. See also DASR 21.A.707, 21.A.708 and 21.A.709.
DASA approval. Upon receipt of an application(s), DASA11 will provide independent assurance that there is evidence that the MAO met their obligations and has eliminated or otherwise minimised all risks SFARP. Moreover, in order to approve the flight conditions and the associated MPTF, DASA must be satisfied that the aircraft is capable of safe flight under the specified conditions and/or restrictions (i.e. risk controls). DASA assurance will focus on credible and defensible risk management, which provides advice to Commanders if the capability imperative has been sufficiently described and would support a decision-to-proceed with the identified ELOR; however the decision-to-proceed always remains with the applicant. When assured, DASA utilises the following form:
DASR Form 20a. Issue of an MPTF in response to a DASR Form 21 application. Raised by DASA and issued to the applicant; that is, the organisation responsible for conducting the associated flight(s) and ensuring the flight conditions are adhered to.
MPTFs will typically be issued to MAOs, who are then responsible for discharging the obligations of the holder of an MPTF.
Interaction and timing. To support DASA approval of MPTFs (along with other priorities) as much notice as possible allows for prioritisation, adjustment if necessary and independent assurance of a credible and defensible position. That said, emerging and exigent circumstances may prevail in support of a capability imperative, which may necessitate short-notice MPTF applications to be submitted to DASA for approval. In these circumstances, it is still important to provide DASA with as much notice as possible, and in particular, that the application is completed to a suitable standard (to avoid the need for rework).
Further detail for flight conditions and MPTFs is provided in Chapter 7.5 and DASA AC 003/2018 - Risk Management in the Defence Aviation Safety Program.
Responsibilities of an MPTF holder are presented at DASR 21.A.727. Amongst other things, the MPTF holder is required to ensure that all the conditions and/or restrictions associated with the MPTF are continuously satisfied and maintained.
Once an MPTF is issued by DASA, compliance assurance is achieved through oversight activities as they relate to the holder obligations.
DASA’s oversight processes are contained in the DASA Instructions: DASA(I) SAPO 01-002 - DASA Oversight (On-Site and Remote), DASA(I) SAPO 01-009 - DASR Findings and DASA(I) IINV 03-001 - Assurance of Reportable Occurrences. These are available on the DASA intranet site. See also Chapter 5.4 for further information.