Asian Military Review - July 2008

VOLUME 16/ISSUE 7

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CHINA AND TIBET

AFV TURRET UPGRADES

TERRORIST WMD

RECONNAISSANCE VEHICLES

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Contents JULY 2008 VOLUME 16 / ISSUE 7

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China and Tibet Stuart Notholt Modern China has a number of strategic pre-occupations arising both from history and from Beijing’s current aspirations.

Militarily, demographically, and economically, the eastern region of China is the critical imperative: it must be defended at all costs. In its recent history, China has seen this crucial region invaded from the sea, with significant European, American, and Japanese imperial incursions. The recovery of Hong Kong and Macau notwithstanding, China still fears maritime attack from the east. Taiwan remains ‘unliberated’, guarded by a full US carrier group, and China remains acutely aware of its naval inadequacy compared to other major powers.

Front Cover Photo: A French Army Panhard VBL seen in Afghanistan. Despite it’s age the VBL was much in evidence at this year’s Eurosatory show, as suppliers are requested to add EW, sensor and armour systems to keep the vehicle as operationally capable as possible. Though not a reconnaissance vehicle like the UK’s CVR-T, the VBL was possibly ahead of it’s time and it is notable that the German Army’s Fennek is also a wheeled vehicle with a 3-man crew. (PHOTO: Panhard)

Reconnaissance vehicles

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Ian Kemp Information is vital to success across the full spectrum of military operations from humanitarian relief missions and peacekeeping through counter insurgency to high intensity war fighting. “Soldiers have always had to fight for information. Since World War II, 52 per cent of casualties resulted from ‘finding the enemy’,”

Gordon Arthur Cobra Gold was held in the Kingdom of Thailand from 8-21 May 2008, with this annual military exercise now in its 27th iteration. This year’s multinational event incorporated personnel from Thailand, USA, Singapore, Japan and Indonesia. Nine other nations attended in an observer capacity: Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, South Korea and Vietnam.

AFV Turret Upgrades

Terrorist WMD

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Ian Kemp Turret Technology has far outstripped that of vehicle technology in recent years. It is relevant to Asian Armies to note that BAE Systems Land Systems Warrior and the Challenger 2 tank will remain the foundation of the British Army’s heavy capability, equipping two armoured brigades, until 2035. Core to this decision is the upgrade of the Warriors turret.

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Andy Oppenhiemer Hardly a day passes by without a high-ranking intelligence or homeland security official warning the public at large that terrorists are likely to use weapons of mass destruction (WMD) – taken to mean chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) weapons as well as, or in conjunction with, the ‘E’ for explosives that they have favoured by terrorists and insurgents for several decades.

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Editorial

Index of Advertisers AERO INDIA AFRICA AEROSPACE & DEFENCE BSEC EADS GSA IDEX IMDEX INDO DEFENCE L3 WESCAM MS&D HAMBURG

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Advertising Offices Australia Charlton D'Silva, Mass Media Publicitas Tel: (61 2) 9252 3476 E-Mail: cdsilva@publicitas.com France/Spain Stephane de Remusat, REM International Tel: (33) 5 3427 0130 E-Mail: sremusat@aol.com Germany/Austria/Switzerland/Italy/UK Sam Baird, Whitehill Media Tel: (44-1883) 715 697 Mobile: (44-7770) 237 646 E-Mail: sam@whitehillmedia.com India Xavier Collaco, Media Transasia India Limited Tel: (91) 11 2686 8775 E-Mail: xavier@mediatransasiaindia.com Israel/Turkey Liat Heiblum, Oreet - International Media Tel: (97 2) 3 570 6527 E-Mail: liat@oreet-marcom.com

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s we prepare this issue, news is breaking of a “cowardly attack” by US Forces, which killed 11 Pakistani soldiers. There are two elements of interest to this story, one of which the mainstream media will almost certainly miss.

Firstly, this tragedy is the entirely predictable outcome of attempting to use fast-jet ground attack in a counter-insurgency campaign. According to UK sources, Afghanistan has now seen 5 times the tonnage of weapons dropped in Iraq. It has also seen the majority of “blue on blue” incidents of the two theatres and most of them caused by close air support. Close air support is not the optimal tool for going after individuals armed with light weapons, especially when it is very hard to tell good from bad from 6,000ft and 450 knots, and both good and look remarkably similar even when viewed from as close as 100m, in the smoke, dust and confusion of a fire fight. Everyone knows this, yet we choose to ignore the fundamentals and do the opposite!

The other more intriguing aspect of this sad incident is the use of the word “cowardly”. Is the implied cowardice the inviting of fast jets to what was probably a fairly small-scale gunfight? If it is then this is a problem because the use of “overwhelming force” is at the heart of both US and NATO doctrine. While many talk of Rules of Engagement their actual application is far from useful, if the rules actually allow you drop 454kg bombs!

Japan Mikio Tsuchiya, MHAS Media Tel: (81) 3 5456 8230 E-Mail: wms-mikio.tsuchiya@peace.ocn.ne.jp Malaysia Shallie Cheng, Publicitas Malaysia Tel: (60) 3 7729 6923 E-Mail: scheng@publicitas.com Philippines Clang Garcia, AdReflex International Tel: (63 2) 638 8374 E-Mail: chang-garcia@adreflexintl.com Russia Alla Butova, NOVO-Media Ltd, Tel/Fax : (7 3832) 180 885 Mobile : (7 960) 783 6653 Email :alla@mediatransasia.com, allbbo@online.sinor.ru Scandinavia/Benelux/South Africa Karen Norris, T K Associates Tel: (44) 1435 884 027 E-Mail: tony.kingham@worldsecurity-index.com Singapore Adeline Lam, Publicitas Singapore Tel: (65) 6836 2272 E-Mail: alam@publicitas.com South Korea Young Seoh Chinn, Jes Media Inc. Tel: (82-2) 481 3411/13 E-Mail: jesmedia@unitel.co.kr USA (East/South East)/Canada Margie Brown, Margie Brown & Associates.

Tel : (+1 540) 341 7581 Email :margiespub@rcn.com

This lies at the heart of the problem for more than a few countries engaged in contemporary conflict. The negative image of air power might actually not be worth the cost of what it produces. Had the 11 Pakistani soldiers been killed by small arms fire, the use of the word “cowardly” would have been hard to support. What is more, the likelihood of them being killed, probably drops to zero, if there were no jet aircraft involved.

Air Forces know that the relevance of their expensive fast jets are of limited and variable utility in fighting men who go to war in bare feet, and an AK-47, and thus are keen to announce successes when they happen. They are equally quiet when things go wrong. It would be simplistic to try and calculate the benefits or negative aspects of close air support in COIN, based on a hits and misses basis, but it may be worth asking if any of the problems would exist if the fast jets simply were not there!

USA (West/South West)/Brazil Diane Obright, Blackrock Media Inc. Tel: +1 (858) 759 3557 Email: blackrockmedia@cox.net

William F. Owen, Editor

Editor: William F. Owen E-mail: William@mediatransasia.com Publishing Office: Chairman: J.S. Uberoi Media Transasia Ltd, Room No. 1205-1206, Hollywood Centre 233, Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong.

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Looking for Trouble Developments in reconnaissance vehicles

The General Dynamics Land Systems Reconnaissance and Surveillance Vehicle (RSV) is intended to provide the US Army's Future Combat Systems brigades with an unprecedented ability to gather information using the vehicle's mast-mounted sensor suite, UGVs, UAVs and ground sensors. (PHOTO: GDLS)

Information is vital to success across the full spectrum of military operations from humanitarian relief missions and peacekeeping through counter insurgency to high intensity war fighting.

“Soldiers have always had to fight for information. Since World War II, 52 per cent of casualties resulted from ‘finding the enemy’,” General Richard Cody, Vice Chief of Staff US Army, told the House Armed Services Committee in April. “In irregular warfare, when the enemy hides among the people, soldiers need the reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition capability to identify threats before the point man enters the building or the convoy hits an IED [improvised explosive device].”

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lthough it has become a mantra in many armies that ‘every soldier is a sensor’ nevertheless increasing emphasis is being place on soldiers trained to operate a growing array of intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) assets. The armed forces of the world use a wider variety of vehicles to perform the ISTAR mission than any other role. These include: Light utility vehicles (LUVs) such as the US AM General High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, the Mercedes-Benz GClass and the British Land Rover series are entirely dependent upon stealth for their survivability. These are widely used by light forces configured for early entry opera-

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tions and are also popular with special forces units operating covertly. However, enduring operations over the past decade in former Yugoslavia, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq have shown the need for add on armour protection against mine blasts, IEDs and small arms fire. This additional weight reduces the vehicle’s payload.

Purpose built light armoured reconnaissance vehicles such as the Dutch-German Fennek and the MOWAG Eagle IV offer a higher level of protection than up-armoured LUVs. Such vehicles rely primarily upon stealth for their survival and are armed with machine guns, grenade launchers or small calibre cannon only for self-defence.

Medium armoured vehicles such as the US Army’s BAE Systems Land Systems M3

Some of the Canadian Army's GDLS-Canada Coyote armoured reconnaissance vehicles mount the Reconnaissance Vehicle Surveillance System on a mast which extends 10m above the ground enabling the sensors to 'see' up to 24 km. (PHOTO: DND)

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Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle (CFV), the Consortium IVECO-Oto Melara 8 x 8 Centauro in service with the Italian and Spanish armies as well as the South African Army’s BAE Systems Land Systems OMC Rooikat series. These are armed with medium or large calibre cannon enabling them to fight to gather information.

Additionally reconnaissance units equipped with such vehicles are capable of undertaking a wider

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General Dynamics its Swedish subsidiary for the Swedish Army, Bowman digital commu- and General Dynamics UK for the ASCOD nications system, a more designed by its Austrian and Spanish subefficient engine and sidiaries to meet the needs of their respective enhanced protection armies. Whichever vehicle is chosen it will be against mines, rocket-pro- roughly three times the weight of the Scimitar pelled grenades and small and provide a rear compartment for operators arms fire. The conse- to direct the vehicle’s sensor systems.

State of the art recce vehicles are now quence is that the original vehicle’s weight has equipped with a range of technology. A global grown by almost 40 per positioning system provides effective navigacent and Scimitar is strug- tion and accurate position reporting while the gling to perform its pri- use of a laser rangefinder enables reconnaissance patrols to indicate the position of enemy mary mission. forces within metres. The use of a target desigFor the reconnaissance The Stryker Reconnaissance Vehicle is fitted with the Raytheon Long nator enables patrols to ‘paint’ targets for air-, requirement within the Range Advanced Scout Surveillance System (LRAS3) which includes a thermal imager, day TV and eyesafe laser rangefinder. (PHOTO: US Army) British Army’s Future land- and sea-launched precision-guided muniRapid Effects System tions. Image intensification and thermal imag(FRES) project, which evolved into five vehicle ing systems provide an unprecedented operarange of ‘cavalry’ missions such as covering families, the MoD awarded assessment-phase tional capability at night and in bad weather. force operations and flank protection. contracts in November 2007 to the manufactur- Mounting these sensors on top of a retractable ers of two tracked infantry fighting vehicles mast extends the field of view and allows the CVR-T An examination of the British Army’s Scimitar (IFV): BAE Systems for the CV90 developed by crew to position their vehicle behind cover. The Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance-Tracked The digital M3A3 is the latest standard for the US Army's Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle. BAE (CVR(T)) exemplifies how the nature of the Systems is proposing further upgrades which include a mast-mounted surveillance package. reconnaissance mission has changed over (PHOTO: US Army) recent decides. The Scimitar entered service in 1974 when binoculars, handheld compass, paper map and grease pencil were the primary totals used by the commanders of recce vehicles. To provide an element of security reports were manually encrypted before being sent over an insecure radio. The Scimitar is armed with an un-stabilised 30mm RARDEN cannon and coaxial 7.62mm machine gun. Other members of the CVR(T) family were armed with a 76mm cannon (since withdrawn) and a long range anti-tank guided missile so that reconnaissance units could undertake a range of missions besides ‘reconnaissance by stealth’.

The 8 tonne CVR(T) was the only British armoured vehicle deployed during the 1982 Falklands War when its low ground pressure enabled it to cross the boggy terrain. However, during the 1991 US-led campaign to recapture Kuwait the 1st British Armoured Division employed its Scimitars for flank protection as they were unable to forge ahead of Challenger 1 tanks and Warrior IFVs. In recent years the Scimitar has been ungraded with the Thales Battlegroup Thermal Imaging System, the

The consequence is that the original vehicle’s weight has grown by almost 40 per cent and Scimitar is struggling to perform its primary mission.

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externally mounted mast which can be extended and retracted more rapidly that the present system; a new electro optical sensor package; network enabled connectivity including a new Operator’s Control Station; and, increasing the silent watch capability from 4 hours to more than 8 hours.

Piranha’s!

The GDLS-Canada M1127 Stryker Reconnaissance Vehicle equips the US Army's Stryker brigade combat teams and is being used to develop tactics, techniques and procedures that will be employed

by FCS brigades. (PHOTO: US Army)

introduction of unmanned air (UAVs) and ground vehicles (UGVs) enables recce soldiers to not only look ‘over the next hill’ but also inside the next building while remote sensors enable crews to covertly monitor key terrain.

Secure long range high capacity digital communications system enables information, both voice and data, to be passed in real time cutting the ‘sensor-to-shooter’ reaction time.

The Norwegian Army has launched an armoured reconnaissance system project to field both light wheeled platforms and ‘medium-heavy’ tracked platforms equipped with similar sensor suites. For trials purposes the army funded the developed of two demonstrators based on its CV9030 IFV and IVECO Light Multi-role Vehicle, both equipped with Vinghøg’s mast-mounted Vingtaqs surveillance and target acquisition sensor suite. The service hopes to field a mix of 21 to 50 medium and 15 to 30 light platforms to equip three to five reconnaissance squadrons between 2009 and 2013. The service is also planning to acquire a mix of UAVs and UGVs.

US Options The US Army’s primary recce platform is the tracked M3 Cavalry Fighting Vehicle (CFV) member of the BAE Systems Bradley Fighting Vehicle family. The M3 is equipped with the M242 25mm cannon, 7.62mm coaxial machine gun and a twin TOW launcher as the M2 IFV. The M3 has a three-man crew – commander, gunner and driver – and carries two scouts in the rear compartment. The CFV has been continuously enhanced through the M3A1, M3A2, M3A2 Operation Desert Storm and M3A3 upgrades. The A3 upgrade is a major compo-

nent of the army digitisation initiative. BAE Systems has developed the Bradley Technology Demonstrator (BTD) II to showcase technologies which could be incorporated in the M3 including: an unmanned turret armed with the Mk 44 30/40mm cannon and Common Missile Launcher; a Close Combat Situational Awareness System which provides the vehicle commander, driver and dismount squad leader with 360 degree situational awareness; and, a mast mounted sensor pod.

The demonstrator is also equipped with an AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven hand-launched small UAV. The BTD II carries seven personnel within the protection of the hull enabling the vehicle to dismount more scouts thus removing a criticism of the present M3.

One on the first reconnaissance vehicles to be fitted with a mast is the Canadian Army’s GDLS-Canada LAV-25 (Reconnaissance) Coyote vehicles, introduced into service in 1996 and extensively employed in former Yugoslavia and in Afghanistan. Coyotes are equipped with either the battle group or the brigade Reconnaissance Vehicle Surveillance System (RVSS). The battle group variant, operated by the reconnaissance platoons of infantry battalions, carries the tripod-mounted Thales UK Manportable Surveillance and Target Acquisition Radar (MSTAR) which can be positioned up to 200m away from the vehicle. The brigade RVSS, operated by the reconnaissance squadrons of armoured regiments, has an electrically powered 10m mast which lifts a surveillance package, comprising the MSTAR, day/night TV camera, laser rangefinder and FLIR. The army is evaluating solutions intended to address four Coyote deficiencies; a new

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The Piranha/LAV series of 8 x 8 armoured vehicles is used in the recce role by other nations actively engaged in the Global War on Terrorism. The Australian LAV (ASLAV) project procured 257 GDLS-Canada LAV II vehicles to equip the Australian Army’s two armoured reconnaissance units, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and the bulk issued to the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment (Queensland Mounted Infantry). The first batch of ASLAVs, delivered between 1995 and 1997, are being upgraded with a new turret electric drive, enhanced thermal sight with laser range finder and an improved fire control system for the 25mm Bushmaster guns, the integration of a GPSbased navigation system and an enhanced suspension system.

The ASLAV has three main variants: the Type 1 or ASLAV 25; the Type 2 is based on the Canadian Bison and includes the ASLAV-PC (Personnel Carrier), ASLAV-C (Command), ASLAV-S (Surveillance), the ASLAV-CS (Combat Support) and the ASLAV-A (Ambulance); and, the Type 3 which includes the ASLAV-F (Fitters) and the ASLAV-R (Recovery). The use of Multi Role Installation Kits enables Type 2 vehicles to be configured as any of specialist variants in this category. The ASLAV-S has a crew of four (driver, commander and two surveillance operators) and can carry two additional personnel if required.

Surveillance vehicles are fitted with some of the 51 Australian MSTARs supplied by Thales Australia since 2002 and 18 ASLAV-S vehicles are fitted with a 10 m mast similar to that used on the Canadian Coyote. DRS Technologies has developed the Multi-Spectral Surveillance System (MSSS) which consists of a laser rangefinder, thermal imager and ground surveillance radar integrated with a stabilised common gimbal (SCG-100) and soldier machine interface. The MSSS can be used mounted on

The demonstrator is also equipped an AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven hand-launched small UAV 07

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the vehicle, connected to the ASLAV-S by a cable or completely dismounted. The ASLAV-S has recently been fitted with a remote weapon station armed with a .50 cal machine gun.

The M1127 Stryker Reconnaissance Vehicle (RV) is one of 10 GDLS-Canada 8 x 8 Stryker LAV III variants fielded by the US Army to equip its Stryker brigade combat teams; six brigades have been formed and will soon be joined by a seventh brigade. Situational awareness is at the heart of the operational concept for the Stryker brigade and each SBCT includes a 428-strong reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA) squadron.

Squadrons are organised into three reconnaissance troops, one surveillance troop, and one headquarters and headquarters troop. Each reconnaissance troop is equipped with 13 Stryker RVs grouped into three platoons each of four vehicles. Within the headquarters company of each Stryker infantry battalion is a scout platoon equipped with four Stryker RV vehicles; between them the vehicles carry three squads of five men who conduct dismounted patrols.

The Stryker RV is equipped with the Raytheon Long Range Advanced Scout Surveillance System (LRAS3) which includes a second-generation Horizontal Technology Initiative thermal imager, day TV and eyesafe laser rangefinder. The LRAS3 is now mounted commander’s cupola but the army plans to fit a 10m mast to better exploit the 10km range of the sensors. The LRAS3 is also fitted to AM General Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled

Stalker - The Stalker Armoured Scout and Reconnaissance Vehicle (ASRV) integrates Rafael's mastmounted TOPLITE day/night targeting and acquisition system and Samson RCWS on Sistemska Tehnika's Valuk license-produced Pandur I. (6A. operators position) (PHOTO: Rafael)

Vehicles scout vehicles used by the army’s light forces. The Stryker RV is equipped the Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) digital battle management system.

Unlike the M1126 Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicles the M1127 is now armed with either an .50 calibre M2 heavy machine gun or a Mk 19 40mm automatic grenade launcher. With their significant RSTA capabilities the Stryker brigades are developing tactics, techniques and procedures that will be employed when the US Army introduced the Future Combat Systems (FCS) to equip its heavy brigades from about 2015.

Improved situational awareness is central to the concept of operations and hence the design of the FCS. Each FCS brigade combat team

The Dutch and German armies operate the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Fennek reconnaissance vehicle which is fitted with a retractable Rheinmetall Defence Electronics BAA mast-mounted sensor pod, containing thermal optics and a laser rangefinder that can be raised 1.5m above the vehicle's roof.

(PHOTO: KMW)

(BCT) is planned to include a RSTA squadron equipped with 20 Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters and 32 Class IV Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Each of the combined arms battalions within the FCS BCT will include a reconnaissance company equipped with 10 GDLS Reconnaissance and Surveillance Vehicles (RSV), one of the eight manned vehicles within the FCS family. A two-strong crew will operate the tracked 27 tonne RSV and carry four scouts who will dismount to conduct patrols on foot and place remote sensors.

The vehicle’s suite of advanced sensors will enable it “to detect, locate, track, classify and automatically identify targets from increased standoff ranges under all climatic conditions, day or night. Included in this suite are a mastmounted, long-range electro-optic infrared sensor, an emitter mapping sensor for radio frequency (RF) intercept and direction finding, remote chemical detection, and a multifunction RF sensor.” The RSV will also be equipped with Textron Tactical and Urban Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS), an iRobot Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV) and two Honeywell Class I UAVs. The RSV will be armed with a MK44 30mm cannon and M240 7.62mm machine gun.

Situational awareness is at the heart of the operational concept for the Stryker brigade and each SBCT includes a 428-strong reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA) squadron.

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European Developments France’s light forces use the Panhard 4 x 4 Vèhicule Blindè Legèr (VBL) for scouting. The VBL was developed to meet a requirement for a vehicle weighing less than 3,500kg to be used in the scout role and as a carrier for the MILAN medium-range anti-tank guided missile. The French Army now employs more than 1,000 VBLs in a variety of roles and the vehicle has been exported to 15 countries. The army’s heavy forces are equipped with the 105mm-armed 6 x 6 AMX-10RC; Nexter is now upgrading 300 AMX-10RCs to extend their lives until 2015-2020 when are they due to be replaced by l’Engin Blindé à Roues de Contact (EBRC) reconnaissance vehicle.

Both the Dutch and German armies are fielding the 4 x 4 Fennek as their primary reconnaissance vehicles. Krauss-Maffei Wegmann is the prime contractor for the €500 million contract to produce more than 600 vehicles including anti-tank, air defence and other specialist variants. With its low profile and compact size Fennek relies primarily upon stealth for survival; Dutch Fenneks are armed with a remotely operated .50 calibre machine gun while German vehicles are equipped with the Heckler & Koch 40mm

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann is the prime contractor for the € 500 million contract to produce more than 600 vehicles including antitank, air defence and other specialist variants.

Grenade Machine Gun. A modular armour system provides protection against 7.62mm armour piercing ammunition while the compartment for the three-person crew is protected against hand-held anti-tank weapons as well as mines. Reconnaissance variants are equipped with a retractable Rheinmetall Defence Electronics BAA mast-mounted sensor pod, containing thermal optics and a laser rangefinder that can be raised 1.5m above the vehicle’s roof. The sensor pod can also be mounted on a tripod and operated up to 40m away from the vehicle. Both Dutch and German Fenneks are deployed in Afghanistan.

Several companies are offering packages to either modernise existing recce vehicles or

Australian Army ASLAVs conduct range practise in Afghanistan. The army's two armoured reconnaissance regiments are equipped with eight variants of the GDLS-Canada vehicle. (DoD)

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convert vehicles from other roles. Thales is upgrading 200 French Army VBLs to the VBL SOURCE (Vehicule Blinde Leger dote d'un Systeme Optronique Unique de Renseignement) and converting 45 Steyr 6 x 6 Pandur I armoured personnel carriers to the Recce Pandur configuration for the Belgian Army. The package includes a mast-mounted optronic head which incorporates the Thales Catherine thermal imager. Thales was selected in March as the Prime contractor for the Luxembourg Army’s Protected Recce Vehicle (PRV) contract and will integrate a similar package on 48 new Krauss-Maffei Wegmann 4 x 4 Dingo 2 vehicles.

Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems has mast-mounted Stalker surveillance system, based on its Toplite electro-optic day/night targeting and acquisition system, which can be mounted on a variety of softskin and armoured platforms. Toplite incorporates a third generation forward-looking infra-red camera, CCD; with the mast raised the CCD has a range of up to 20km. In 2005 Rafael and Slovenia’s Sistemska Tehnika unveiled the Stalker Armoured Scout and Reconnaissance Vehicle (ASRV) that is based on 6 x 6 Pandur I that the Slovenian company produces under licence. They have jointly developed the vehicle that was unveiled at a defence exhibition in Gornja Radgona in November 2005. The ASRV is also equipped with Rafael’s battle management system and Samson Remote Control Weapon Station armed with a .50 calibre machine AMR gun.

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Firepower Boost Going to the big guns Turret Technology has far outstripped that of vehicle technology in recent years. It is relevant to Asian Armies to note that BAE Systems Land Systems Warrior and the Challenger 2 tank will remain the foundation of the British Army’s heavy capability, equipping two armoured brigades, until 2035. Core to this decision is the upgrade of the Warriors turret.

by Ian Kemp

A computer generated graphic of Warrior with the Hitfist turret.

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he Warrior entered army service in 1987 and the last of 789 vehicles were delivered in 1994. After an evaluation of the ATK Gun Systems Company M242 25mm Bushmaster Chain Gun, which had been selected for the US Army’s M2/M3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle programme, and the British-designed L21 30mm Rarden cannon the army selected the Rarden to arm the Warrior. This ensured an element of commonality across the army’s armoured fighting vehicle fleet as the Rarden was the primary armament of the tracked Scimitar reconnaissance vehicle and 4 x 4 Fox armoured car. However, the inadequacies of the Warrior’s armament have long been apparent: manually loaded by three-round clips the Rarden suffers from a slow rate of fire; the gun is not stabilised so the Warrior must stop to fire accurately; and, finally no satisfactory armour piercing fin stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS) round has been developed for the Rarden.

The only Warriors produced for the export market, 254 Desert Warriors bought

by Kuwait, mount the General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) LAV-25 turret. The two-man turret, selected by the US Marine Corps in 1982 to equip its new GDLS LAV25 vehicles, is armed with a stabilised M242 Chain Gun and 7.62mmmm M240

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Warrior seen fitted with the 40mm CTA main gun in the new turret. (PHOTO: BAE Systems)

coaxial machine gun with 210 25mm and 420 7.62mm ready rounds and a further 420 25mm and 1,200 7.62mm rounds stowed inside the vehicle. The turret, with various subsystem improvements over the years, was later selected by Australian, Canadian, New Zealand armies and the Saudi Arabian National Guard to equip their GDLS LAV fleets.

The prototype of the BAE Systems Warrior 2000 developed in an unsuccessful effort to win the Swiss Army IFV competition in the late 1990s exemplified the shift toward large calibre cannon with the installation of a new GDLS two-man turret armed with a stabilised ATK Bushmaster II 30mm cannon. In 2001 a Warrior 2000 was unveiled which mounted the BAE Systems Hägglunds E30 two-person turret, developed for the company’s CV9030 IFV which was selected by the Swiss Army, armed with a stabilised

The only Warriors produced for the export market, 254 Desert Warriors bought by Kuwait, mount the General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) LAV-25 turret.

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ATK Mk44 Bushmaster 30/40mm cannon.

The British Army’s Warrior Capability Sustainment programme consists of the Warrior Lethality Improvement Program (WLIP) and the Warrior Enhanced Electronic Architecture. Expected to be worth about £600 million the WLIP will cover the modernisation of 449 of the army’s fleet of 786 Warriors. The service is seeking a ‘drop in’ turret solution that uses some existing systems such as the Thales Battle Group Thermal Imagers now being installed in 309 vehicles. The weapon chosen for the WLIP may be installed on the scout/reconnaissance variant of the Future Rapid Effects System (FRES) family although it is likely to be mounted in a new, possibly unmanned, turret.

As with other IFV projects the WLIP will see the shift to a large calibre weapon driven by the need to use more powerful armour piercing ammunition to defeat new generations of better protected light AFVs and also fire high explosive ammunition to defeat targets behind cover especially in urban environments. Increasing use will be made of air burst munitions to defeat targets behind cover and larger warheads ensure an effective spread of fragments from such rounds.

The ability to accurately fire on the move is

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another key WLIP requirement. The four contenders for the WLIP are: BAE Systems Land Systems Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems Lockheed Martin UK INSYS General Dynamics Land Systems At one stage BAE Systems was considering offering three different upgrade proposals using different calibre weapons.

BAE Systems Hägglunds proposed the latest CV90 turret armed with the 35mm Bushmaster III while BAE Systems Bofors offered a solution based on the 40mm Bushmaster IV. However, BAE Systems decided to throw its corporate weight behind the 40mm Cased Telescoped Weapon System (CTWS), developed by

The USMC EFV has a mk46 turret incorporates a 30/40mm ATK mk44 Bushmaster automatic gun which has a firing rate of 200 rounds a minute

Expected to be worth about £600 million the WLIP will cover the modernisation of 449 of the army’s fleet of 786 Warriors.

CTA International, the BAE SystemsNexter Systems 50:50 joint venture. CTA International has spent over €55 million and 12 years developing the weapon with financial support from both the British and French governments. The attraction of the 40mm CTWS concept is that it offers high

performance ammunition, comparable to 40mm Bofors and 50mm Supershot ammunition, in a compact cylindrical round that is about half as long as conventional rounds. The UK Ministry of Defence has funded the Manned Turret Integrated Programme (MTIP) to assess the readiness

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11.06.2008 11:24:02 Uhr

VEHICLE T E C H N O L O G Y

A differet view Lockheed Martin’s turret proposal

of the CTWS technology. The 40mm CTWS was integrated into the MTIP turret and also the two rivals designs for the cancelled UK TRACER (Tactical Reconnaissance Armoured Combat Equipment Requirement)/US Army Future Scout Cavalry System project. In September 2007 BAE Systems and CTA International suc-

cessfully live fired the new MTIP 2 twoman turret, an extensive rebuild of the existing Warrior turret which incorporates improvements suggested by the original MTIP turret. The design reduces the intrusion of the gun into the turret by feeding ammunition sideways into the gun’s rotating chamber. The installation occupies less

than 80 litres of internal volume whereas the use of a conventional gun design could occupy 200 litres. Thales has developed a new Surveillance, Targeting, Acquisition and Gunnery gunner's sight for the MTIP 2 which includes a second generation thermal imager and eyesafe laser rangefinder.

The French Army is evaluating an unmanned turret armed with the 40mm CTWS, mounted on a Warrior chassis for trials purposes, under the TOUTAIS project. It is possible that a similar turret could be fitted to later batches of the Nexter VCI 8 x 8 IFV in place of the one-man Dragar turret armed with Nexter’s 25mm M811 cannon which will be installed on the first batch of vehicles scheduled for delivery next year. Two major warshots are being developed for the 40mm CTWS: a long rod APFSDS-Tracer round and a general purpose round which will be available with a point detonating (GPR-T-PD) or an airburst (GPR-T-AB) fuze. According to CTA International the APFSDS-T round is able to defeat all medium armoured vehicles,

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while the GPR-T-PD round can penetrate more than 210mm of reinforced concrete and the air burst round “is able to ensure efficient suppressive firings at 1,000m with at least 65% reduction in the number of rounds compared with a typical 30mm solution”.

The other three proposals use the Mk44 Bushmaster which has so far been selected by 17 countries primarily for ground platThe Lockheed Martin UK INSYS turret on Warrior

forms but also for naval and air force applications with more than 2,200 units ordered to date. The weapon has been selected to arm several variants of the US Army’s Future Combat Systems and by the US Marine Corps (USMC) for its Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. The Mk44 is now entering UK service as the Ministry of Defence ordered 26 weapons from ATK for installation in the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates.

The weapon is chambered for the same 30 x 173mm ammunition as Rheinmetall Waffe

Munition’s Mauser Mk30, a modified version of which arms the German Army’s new Puma IFV, and Denel’s GI 30 Camgun which will be fitted on the South African Army’s new Badger IFV variant of the Patria 8 x 8 AMV. The Mk44 can also fire 30 x 170mm Rarden ammunition. According to ATK the weapon offers 60% logistics and 90% operator and maintenance training commonality with the 25mm M242 cannon.

The Mk44’s breech and bolt are designed to fire 40mm Supershot ammunition which only requires the barrel to be changed and minor modifications to be made to the feed system. General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems and ATK have been developing the Supershot concept for several years and successfully demonstrated its potential in 2002-03 under the US Department of Defense’s Advanced Light Armaments for Combat Vehicle project. Trials indicate a 40mm Supershot ABM round will be four times more effective than a 30mm ABM round. The US Navy is funding further development of Supershot ammunition as a navalised Mk44, designated the Mk46 Mod 1, has been selected to arm the new LPD 17 class of amphibious assault ships.

Users of the Mk44 potentially have the option of using 30mm ammunition for training and low threat contingency operations and switching to 40mm Supershot ammunition for high threat operations.

Selex S&AS, part of the Finmeccanica Group, is proposing fitting a modified Oto Melara (another Finmeccanica company) HITFIST (for Fire In Small Turret) 30 twoman turret on the Warrior. More than 700 HITFIST turrets have been ordered by Italy (armed with the 25mm Oerlikon gun for installation on the tracked Dardo IFV), Poland (armed with Mk44, mounted on the Patria 8 x 8 AMV) and Ireland (Mk44,

In September 2007 BAE Systems and CTA International successfully live fired the new MTIP 2 two-man turret, an extensive rebuild of the existing Warrior turret which incorporates improvements suggested by the original MTIP turret..

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GDLS is offering a modified version of the Mk 46 turret which equips the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle that it is developing for the USMC.. mounted on the MOWAG 8 x 8 Piranha III).

The HITFIST fire control system includes a Selex S&AS sight with CCD colour camera, eye-safe laser rangefinder and Gen II IR camera, two LCS colour displays enabling either the commander on the left or the gunner on the right to engage both static and moving targets with the fully stabilised gun. Two ammunition containers hold 220 ready to fire rounds. An appliqué passive armour package is added to the ballistic aluminium alloy turret to provide STANAG 4569 Level 5 protection.

Lockheed Martin Insys unveiled its WLIP turret at the DSEi defence exhibition in London in September. The two-man turret designed by Rheinmetall is a radical rebuild of the existing turret which incorporates various major assemblies and components (such as the Battle Group Thermal Imager). The front and mantlet of the turret have been replaced to accommodate the stabilised Mk44 gun and an external ammunition

stowage and feed system for the 7.62mm coaxial machine gun. Stabilised sights are provided for the commander and gunner with the option to fit an independent 360 degree panoramic sight for the commander.

To improve situational awareness multiple cameras will be installed around the vehicle. An appliqué armour package will provide the required level of protection.

Another option is to install a launcher for the Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin guided anti-tank missile which recently entered British service.

GDLS is offering a modified version of the Mk 46 turret which equips the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle that it is developing for the USMC. The digital FCS installed in the Mk 46 turret is derived from the system the company installed in the US Army’s M1A2 tank. According to the USMC EFV project office the system provides a 90% of probability of a first round hit at 1,200m.The corps plans to field 573 EFVs from 2013 although the project has CV90 offers a variety of main guns, proving that all nations have differing requirements and doctrines.

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suffered from escalating costs and delays which have resulted in the original requirement being halved. Selection for the WLIP would thus be the first production order for the Mk 46 turret. GDLS has extensive experience with the Warrior through the integration of the LAV-25 turret into the Desert Warrior and with integration of its Bowman radio into British Army Warriors in recent years.

The MoD is expected to issue an Invitation to Tender for WLIP before the end of December and possibly award a contract in 2008. Industry sources indicate the army, dissatisfied with the performance of the Rarden in Iraq, is keen to bring forward the in service date for WLIP from 2013-14 to 2010. The decision will be a critical one not least for the future of the 40mm CTWS with some industry sources suggesting failure to win the WLIP contract would result in the collapse of CTA International. With many IFVs projected to have a service life of 50 years or more the users of vehicles armed with 20mm and 25mm cannon are watching the WLIP proAMR gramme with considerable interest.

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COBRA

GOLD

2008

The team pauses alongside a building they believe contains armed and dangerous insurgents. As sweat trickles down the faces of the Thai soldiers operating in the humid, tropical conditions, the four-man stack from the 23rd Infantry Regiment launches its assault.

The lead man kicks the door open with his boot, while the other team members carrying M16A2 assault rifles swiftly race through the opening. Their weapons pie the room looking for signs of danger. Shadowy figures wielding automatic weapons in the corners of the dimly lit room are quickly gunned down with sharp bursts of gunfire. The smell of gunpowder lingers in the air as each team member yells, “Clear!� and they form up to move onto the next room.

Two rigid inflatable boats run in on the dry deck of a US Ship, during Cobra Gold (PHOTO: US Navy)

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by Gordon Arthur

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The “nerve centre” of Cobra Gold – part of the Early Entry Command Post (EECP) used by the Combined/Joint Task Force Headquarters (CJTF HQ) at Fort Suranaree in Korat.

(PHOTO: Gordon Arthur)

his narrative describes just one training event that occurred during Exercise Cobra Gold 2008. In this episode it was soldiers of the Louisiana Army National Guard playing the role of insurgents. Fresh from combat in Iraq where such house-clearing missions are bread and butter, the American soldiers were acting as advisors to their Thai counterparts. Such training was of even greater value since this Thai unit is scheduled to deploy to southern Thailand where a fullblown insurgency is in progress. “We’re glad to be participating in Cobra Gold,” explained

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PFC Prasit Sumalee of 2nd Company, 3rd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, one of the Thais training under the watchful gaze of the Americans. “We can gain more knowledge from the Americans. We do things in a similar way to them but they have more experience than us,” he added.

Cobra Gold 2008 Cobra Gold was held in the Kingdom of Thailand from 8-21 May 2008, with this annual

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military exercise now in its 27th iteration. This year’s multinational event incorporated personnel from Thailand, USA, Singapore, Japan and Indonesia. Nine other nations attended in an observer capacity: Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, South Korea and Vietnam.

Thailand is a longstanding ally of the USA in Southeast Asia, and various bilateral defence agreements have existed since 1950. Designed to promote regional peace and stability, this joint exercise allows troops to work side by side. As James Entwistle, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, stated, “There is no better exercise than Cobra Gold in keeping our militaries ready to respond to the real-world priorities of supporting peace, stability, reconstruction and humanitarian assistance.” These words were to ring prophetically true when a powerful cyclone wreaked havoc on neighbouring Myanmar a week before the exercise commenced.

Cobra Gold 2008 involved more than 8,800 U.S. personnel drawn worldwide from installations in Japan, Hawaii, California, South Carolina and Louisiana. Thais and other nationalities to give a total of 14,373 participants joined them. The exercise involved three primary components – a computer-simulated

An F/A-18D Hornet of VMFA(AW)-533 “Hawks” taxis at the Thai Air Force base in Korat. This USMC unit flew from South Carolina to participate in Cobra Gold 2008. (PHOTO: Gordon Arthur)

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command post exercise (CPX), field training exercises (FTX), and humanitarian/civic action projects. Cobra Gold is much more than running around the jungle toting guns, as each component offers unique training opportunities. “Cobra Gold is a vital tool not just to enhance U.S.-Thai relations, but also to strengthen our bonds with other countries in the region,” explained Eric John, the U.S. Ambassador to Thailand. “Cobra Gold remains a mark of our combined commitment to regional stability in Southeast Asia.”

Brief history of Cobra Gold Thailand has been an abiding ally of the USA since the end of WWII, with exercises alongside the Royal Thai Armed Forces regularly conducted. American troops were also present in Thailand during the Vietnam War, with the United States Air Force (USAF) basing fighters at a Thai airbase in Korat to support operations against North Vietnam.

Cobra Gold was initiated in 1982 when the Thai and U.S. Navies, along with Marines, conducted an exercise incorporating naval, air and amphibious landing events. This marked the birth of what has become the largest combined exercise in the region. The exercise derives its name from the numerous poisonous snakes that lurk in the lush jungles of Thailand, and from the precious metal that was once widely mined in this kingdom (interestingly, “Siam” in Sanskrit means “gold”). From 1983-85, the Royal Thai Army (RTA) hosted Cobra Gold for the first time. From 1986 onwards, the Supreme Command Headquarters has hosted the exercise, giving it a truly joint nature with the involvement of the RTA, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. Thailand’s four regional army HQs host the exercise by rotation, with the Second Army in the northeast quadrant of Thailand hosting this year’s event.

The original aim of Cobra Gold was to organise and prepare joint task forces for combined field operations in a combat theatre. Prior to the USA’s commitments to Afghanistan and Iraq, annual Cobra Gold exercises could attract up to 20,000 American personnel. However, since 2000 the focus changed more to Operations Other Than War (OOTW), and so typical UN-style missions like non-combatant evacuations and peace support missions have become integral parts of the event. This change of emphasis also resulted in the CPX becoming more multilateral, with Asian nations like Singapore and Japan invited to participate. In 2004 the Philippines and Mongolia were also incorporated. With its increased focus on peace-

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A Thai soldier from the 23rd Infantry Regiment live firing range at Fort Surathamoitak near the city of Korat. (PHOTO: Gordon Arthur)

keeping and humanitarian assistance, Cobra Gold of today barely resembles what it was a quarter of a century ago.

Cobra Gold 2008 events Most of the FTX portion took place near the city of Nakhon Ratchasima (or Korat) 250km northeast of Bangkok. The FTX involved two manoeuvre battalions – the 23rd Infantry Regiment of the RTA, and the 2nd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment (2-156 IN) “Steel Lightning” of the Louisiana Army National Guard. These units performed Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT), Close Quarters Combat (CQB), sniper courses, counter-IED instruction, vehicle checkpoints and scouting. Such training is mutually beneficial and reflects a symbiotic relationship.

With a combat tour in Iraq under their belts, 2156 IN had valuable experience to share with the Thais. In MOUT, for example, the Thais had never practised clearing a room before.

On the other hand, the Americans were avid students once the Thais began teaching jungle survival techniques, including lessons on how

“Cobra Gold remains a mark of our combined commitment to regional stability in Southeast Asia.”

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

to catch, kill and cook cobras! The Thais also demonstrated Muay Thai (Thai boxing).

Special Forces always have a part to play in Cobra Gold, with their training generally based at Lop Buri.

The 8th Theater Sustainment Command from Fort Shafter, Hawaii deployed an Early Entry Command Post (EECP) for the first time.

A compact and mobile military command centre, the EECP served as the base for the CPX at Fort Suranaree in Korat. This year’s CPX continued a five-phase scenario begun in previous Cobra Gold exercises. It involved a joint American, Thai, Singaporean, Indonesian and Japanese invasion of Isla del Sol, a fictional island off the coast of Thailand. Cobra Gold 2008 picked up at phase four - the withdrawal of American forces five months after the initial battle for the island, and the handing over of control to coalition partners operating under UN auspices. The various sections of the Combined Task Force (CTF) worked independently on their allotted missions in their tented annex, sharing information with other CTF cells via a “share point” (web-based collaboration portal) in order to recreate distance between the various sections.

Medical and Engineering Civic Action Programmes (MEDCAP/ENCAP) also play an important role. Not only do they provide practical assistance in rural areas, but they showcase the USA’s commitment to humanitarian

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The original aim of Cobra Gold was to organise and prepare joint task forces for combined field operations in a combat theatre.

Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is the sole USMC contingency force forward deployed in the western Pacific. It arrived at Sattahip off the coast of southern Thailand on 8 May. Involvement in the exercise for many of these Marines and sailors was curtailed as the 31st MEU was reassigned to provide disaster relief to Myanmar.

The broader picture

interests. Cobra Gold 2008 featured 17 such projects, ten of which were MEDCAPs. They involved a Singaporean medical team as well.

Based in Okinawa, Japan, the 31st Marine

After Thailand’s bloodless military coup on 19 September 2006 that saw Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra ousted, the USA suspended USD24 million in military aid. The coup also meant Cobra Gold 2007 was severely scaled down, with just 2,000 American participants.

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However, with the reintroduction of a democratically elected government, it was back to business as usual this year.

Cobra Gold is of great value to Thailand, with the nation facing threats of cross-border incursions from Myanmar (rebels, refugees, drugs and arms traffickers) and communist insurgents from Cambodia, as well as Muslim separatists who are seeking independence in Thailand’s three southernmost provinces. This longstanding insurgency that escalated in 2004 has claimed more than 2,700 lives to date.

Thailand views it as an internal problem, not wanting the international community to intervene. One Thai officer described a recent incident where seven Thai Special Forces members were ambushed by an IED. After the explosion, the insurgents moved in and finished the soldiers off with bullets to the head or by slitting their throats. The powers behind the insurgency remain strangely anonymous, though the Thai military claims that Muslims back them from Indonesia and the Philippines. The separatists are copying insurgent tactics used

Thai soldiers perfect dry-fire room-clearing techniques. Note that the M16A2 assault rifles are not as suitable for this task as the M4 carbines favoured by Americans. (PHOTO: Gordon Arthur)

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in Iraq, and the USA sees Thailand as an important ally in its global war on terrorism.

Despite enormous commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq that have stretched its military almost to breaking point, the USA continues to engage with Asia-Pacific countries. It remains committed to security in Asia as the region explores its “new security architecture” in the post-Cold War era. The process of cementing alliances and enhancing friendly relationships with Asia-Pacific countries through joint exercises, military education and transit rights is deemed vital. This has become even more important as China and India emerge as regional military powerhouses.

Therefore, large exercises like Cobra Gold are one way for the USA to project itself as a decisive military deterrent in Asia. With longstanding interests in the region, the USA retains its traditional role of arbiter, or “straddle power”, reflected in actions like the current enlargement of military facilities on Guam.

One way of upholding good relationships and maintaining confidence is by enhancing regional cooperation, and this is why Cobra Gold has become increasingly multilateral. For example, this year saw the inclusion of 141 personnel from Singapore, its largest ever commitment. A further aspect of the importance of multilateralism is seen in crisis response capabilities. The Indian Ocean Tsunami on 26 December 2004 illustrated the need for

Medical and Engineering Civic Action Programmes (MEDCAP/ENCAP) also play an important role. increased multinational interoperability and training for such crises.

The USA works with partner nations via military, diplomatic, cultural and humanitarian avenues. Cobra Gold achieves the same end, and indeed it represents diplomacy at the grassroots as soldiers work shoulder to shoulder. Obviously, language barriers are a hindrance as English is not widely spoken in “the land of smiles”, but it did not prevent friendships and respect being forged between individuals at the highest and lowest levels.

Disruption in Burma The biggest influence on Cobra Gold 2008 was the landfall of Cyclone Nargis on the Burmese coast on 2 May. Nargis, Burma’s deadliest ever natural disaster, brought 215km/h winds and a 3.5m-high storm surge that obliterated lowlying areas of the Irrawaddy Delta. This destructive cyclone killed 77,738 people, left 55,917 missing and 2.4 million homeless or hungry. Such a massive disaster profoundly affected the conduct of Cobra Gold, with humanitarian relief efforts immediately kicking into action. The U.S. military immediately

Members of Scout Platoon, 2-156 IN, Louisiana Army National Guard, pause to confer during a reconnaissance patrol at Camp Friendship. (PHOTO: Gordon Arthur)

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reassigned thousands of personnel and four naval vessels to international waters off the coast of Myanmar to offer assistance. The 31st MEU was ideally equipped to provide help in the Irrawaddy Delta thanks to the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex, CH-53 and CH-46 helicopters, landing craft, inflatable boats and a tremendous logistics capability. Of course, permission to do so was not forthcoming from this morally reprehensible government. Indicative of the ruling military junta’s brutal oppression and indifference to the plight of its own people, naval vessels from the USA, UK and France were denied access.

It was a remarkable stroke of fortune that such equipment was in position to provide aid.

This amphibious force would have left a minimal footprint on Burmese territory, as it is selfsufficient in fuel, accommodation and food.

Instead, the naval fleet steamed in circles in international waters while the USA made no less than 15 overtures to the Burmese government seeking to land supplies and deliver aid by helicopter to cut-off areas. The U.S. government even invited Burmese military personnel to ride in helicopter flights, but diplomatic efforts were to no avail as the Burmese leadership deplorably shrugged its shoulders. As much as the USA desired to send in troops to deliver aid, the international political ramifications would have been unacceptable, and so American naval vessels finally steamed away from the area on 5 June. Robert Gates, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, called Burma’s attitude “akin to criminal neglect”. Doubtlessly, the Burmese government is culpable for dooming many of its people to death by refusing international military assistance.

In the end, the aid the USA was allowed to provide was merely symbolic. A Thai airbase at Uthapao served as a hub for delivering aid to

A S I A N ARMED

Therefore, large exercises like Cobra Gold are one way for the USA to project itself as a decisive military deterrent in Asia.

Thai soldiers receive instruction on the M4 Carbine from a US Solider via an interpreter (PHOTO: US Navy)

Yangon. USAF and Thai C-130 transport aircraft flew food, plastic sheeting, water containers and hygiene kits into the cyclone-ravaged country. The first American C-130 landed in Yangon on May 12 and up till the end of May, 80 flights had been achieved under the umbrel-

la of JTF Caring Response.

Organisations like ASEAN again proved impotent at influencing Myanmar - they managed to glean permission for just a tiny trickle of aid into Yangon from 21 May onwards.

Burma remained oblivious to all international attempts to help its people, with neither ASEAN nor the UN able to make any impact on this reclusive regime that enjoys strong support from China. In fact, this tragic unfolding of events showed even more poignantly the importance of such multilateral exercises as Cobra Gold. Training together in military exercises builds bridges and consensus that is essential in the type of crisis experienced in Burma. By incorporating as many countries as possible, and by training for such disaster relief operations, the efficiency of future oper-

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ations can only be boosted.

Conclusion What started out as a training exercise could quickly have evolved into a large-scale real-life relief effort‌but for the intransigence and brutality of the Burmese junta. Even as the Burmese authorities were announcing operations had transformed from a relief effort into a reconstruction phase, the UN estimated 58% of cyclone victims had not received any assistance whatsoever. Nevertheless, the obduracy of a single nation does not negate the importance of cultivating the type of regional military cooperation espoused by Cobra Gold.

While some Asian countries pursue policies of oppression, Cobra Gold provides an opportunity for the USA to establish alliances and form friendships that run deep. Not only does this annual exercise improve interoperability, it demonstrates the USA’s concern to build regional confidence and establish stability. The value of exercises like Cobra Gold was amply demonstrated this year, and of course, such close collaboration will bear dividends well beyond the timeframe of the exercise. AMR

A S I A N S E C U R I T Y

Terrorists and WMD More intent than capability Hardly a day passes by without a highranking intelligence or homeland security official warning the public at large that terrorists are likely to use weapons of mass destruction (WMD) – taken to mean chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) weapons as well as, or in conjunction with, the ‘E’ for explosives that they have been favoured by terrorists and insurgents for several decades.

by Andy Oppenheimer

The threat of WMD is no longer confined to military personnel.

(PHOTO: US Navy)

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A S I A N S E C U R I T Y

efore considering previous examples of CBRN attack and assessing whether these will be repeated in similar fashion and to greater effect, it is important to clearly define what is meant by WMD. Most experts and laypeople alike would class a true WMD as nuclear and thermonuclear weapons and their delivery systems, with a global pandemic for B close behind, and the C, R and E possibly ‘only’ potential weapons of mass effect rather than mass destruction. Definitions aside, it is clear from manuals and other evidence found both in theatres of war and insurgency (Afghanistan, Iraq), and from the many terrorist trials under way, that terrorists with an apocalyptic agenda intend, by and large, to kill as many people they view as the enemy as possible in whatever way they can find. Video propaganda continues to pour out of the amorphous entity that is Al-Qaeda and disparate jihadi sources, the most recent, in May 2008, being “Nuclear Jihad: The Ultimate Terror,” which calls for the use of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons against the United States.

B

Whether they succeed is open to conjecture, and intelligence information is the only reliable means we have to truly assess the progress of both groups and individuals, many of whom are non-affiliated.

Attack precedent is hard to find. The Aum Shinrikyo attacks on the Tokyo subway system in March 1995, which killed 12 and injured many hundreds, including emergency responders who were insufficiently protected to deal with several simultaneous chemical attacks, is the only terrorist civilian chemical attack worthy of note; nuclear and radiological dispersal has been mainly from accidents (Windscale 1957, Chernobyl 1986); depleted uranium weapons (Gulf Wars, Balkans); and careless abandonment of nuclear materials (Goiania, Brazil 1987).

The oft-mentioned ‘dirty bomb’ – radiological dispersal device – has not so far been used, with only one documented instance, a Chechen rebel attempt at deployment of a cesium-dynamite device, foiled by Russian police (Moscow 1995).

Intent + capability = terrorism The month of May also saw two widely differing reports analysing the terrorist threat.

The US Department of State’s Country Reports on Terrorism for 2007 warned that al-Qaeda leaders had "reconstituted", and "continued to plot attacks”. On the other hand, at the end of May CIA Director Michael Hayden stated that al-Qaeda is essentially defeated in Iraq, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Support for jihadism, then vital support for terrorism – community back-up, which provides safe houses, supply chain, and moral support - may indeed be waning in some countries and communities. But it is hard to calculate the level of intent – particularly within certain elements and individuals who may not be affiliated to any named organisation.

The US National Counter Terrorism Center

US Navy personnel practice decontamination procedures.

(PHOTO: US Navy)

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has indeed acknowledged that determining whether or not an attack meets any set of criteria is "highly subjective".

In all cases, the most difficult aspect of assessing terrorism is capability. Terrorists in general lack traditional military supply chains, so they are forced to improvise their weapons and to resort to the Internet and sundry publications. There is also the issue of command and control. The current crop of UK-based attacks and attempted attacks seem to have no discernible command structure (unlike the IRA and other 20thcentury nationalist groups). This makes them harder than ever to track and the events – and the response to them - harder to predict. More easy to assess are the statesponsored groups like Hezbollah, which have a sizeable arsenal of rockets that has been regularly exercised, and who could likely obtain assistance from the Iranians should they choose to deploy chemical warheads on them.

A terrorist nuke?

Nuclear terrorism was seen as a real threat as long ago as December 1945, when the father of the atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer, was asked in a US Congressional hearing if a hidden nuclear device could be smuggled into a major American city – and how it could be discovered. The reply to the first question was “yes”, and the second, “with a screwdriver” – meaning port authorities would have to prize open every single incoming crate and look inside. The ‘Screwdriver Report’ was the first of many assessments of the WMD terrorist threat.

To build the ultimate WMD from scratch, however, not only are nuclear weapons costly to build, but require vast infrastructure to make the fissile material. It took the US $2 billion at 1945 prices to build the first atomic bombs, in whole towns devoted to their design, manufacture, and weaponisation – almost totally in secret. Even nation states with substantial resources and outside help have taken years to go nuclear.

Most of today’s non-state actors – with the possible exception of the Provisional IRA, whose bomb-making expertise and ingenuity is unsurpassed – have or had neither the expertise nor the wherewithal to construct a fully functioning fission device. They are more likely to steal one, but even this would be extremely difficult without extensive

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Any use of WMD against civilians will involve the emergency servces and thus require training.

(PHOTO: US Navy)

insider help along with the key to the device’s activation codes.

The main nuclear terrorist threat is more about terrorists acquiring fissile material, nuclear components and expertise from nations of concern with a history of proliferation, such as Pakistan – exemplified by the A Q Khan nuclear network of front companies, which transferred nuclear materials across continents to Iran, Libya, and North Korea (which has its own abysmal record of nuclear and missile proliferation). Russia and the FSU, having presented a ‘loose nuke’ threat in the chaotic post-Cold War years of the 1990s, still present security risks at poorly guarded facilities despite millions of US dollars having been poured into schemes to secure them. Nuclear power plants, hitherto targets for Chechen theft and incursion, and dismantled nuclear submarines are of even greater concern.

The only conceivable type of nuclear weapon terrorists are feared to be able to create is a crude improvised nuclear device (IND), which would contain stolen fissile material - uranium enriched to around 80%,

Whether they succeed is open to conjecture, and intelligence information is the only reliable means we have to truly assess the progress of both groups and individuals, many of whom are non-affiliated..

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

or plutonium. One possible IND scenario is terrorists cobbling together a gun-type 10kiloton nuclear device using weaponsgrade HEU stolen from a Russian or FSU nuclear facility (Hiroshima had a 15-kiloton yield). They smuggle nuclear device components – many of which are dual-use - into the US, or a country with no, or inadequate, portal radiological screening. The device is assembled near a main city. The terrorists transport it in a delivery van to the central business district and detonate it. If they were to acquire plutonium, a much more complex design would be needed for a fission weapon but they could conjure up a radiological dispersal device (RDD - the oftdubbed ‘dirty bomb’). And partly enriched uranium or reactor-grade plutonium, while not usable for a fission weapon, would make a very dirty bomb indeed – necessitating a potentially massive clean-up, economic disruption and short- and long-term injury and illness.

There have long been fears that the proliferation of information could aid terrorists, but they would need not inconsiderable scientific and engineering support.

Blueprints and other informational material are said to be available on the black market. In April the Swiss government acknowledged that it had shredded up to 30,000 documents on nuclear “weaponisation” and gas centrifuges as part of its investigation of three engineers linked to the Khan network, one of whom reportedly told authorities that he kept nuclear weapon designs in his office.

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Dispersing radioactivity Nevertheless, the likelihood of a terrorist nuclear bomb is classed as high effect, lowprobability. The RDD or a non-explosive radiological dispersal event (RDE) is a far greater threat. Such a weapon may be cobbled together from conventional explosive and a radioactive source, which would achieve maximum detriment not only to victims caught in the explosion and/or subsequent fallout, but also to the perpetrators, if the source is unshielded or in powder form for easy dispersal. A ‘super RDD’ – a device incorporating spent fuel rods or a direct attack on a nuclear power plant cooling pond full of high-level radioactive waste - would come potentially the closest to a WMD in its effects.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), between 1993 and 2004 there were more than 400 confirmed cases of illicit trafficking in materials that could be used to produce a RDD, and 21 that

Terrorists in general lack traditional military supply chains, so they are forced to improvise their weapons and to resort to the Internet and sundry publications.. involved material that could be used to produce a nuclear bomb. Southeast Asia has become an increasing focus for proliferation: centrifuge production facilities in Malaysia supplied nuclear equipment via the Khan network to Libya’s covert weapons programme. Piracy and smuggling of contraband in South and Southeast Asia follow the same routes as for narcotics and conventional arms. There is no dividing line between criminal activity and terrorist organizations in South and Southeast Asia, such as al-Qaeda or Jemaah Islamiah (JI) in illicit trafficking.

Personnel involved in the search for WMD after the Iraq invasion. (PHOTO: US DoD)

JULY 2008

A Congressional report describing how investigators testing US port security smuggled enough radioactive material into the US in December 2005 to make two RDDs. In December, undercover teams from the Government Accountability Office (the US Congress audit watchdog) smuggled small amounts of a radioisotope used widely in medicine, cesium-137, in rental cars they drove through border checkpoints in the states of Texas and Washington. Although the material triggered detector alarms, the smugglers were able to persuade U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspectors to let them through with it – with false documents.

A nuclear power plant could be the site of a catastrophic RDD event, particularly if fuel ponds containing highly radioactive spent fuel are targeted in an air or concerted land attack. A foiled Chechen rebel assault on Nalchik in Russia in October 2005 involved an attempt to hijack and fly one of five aircraft into a nuclear power station.

Non-explosive means of dispersal are also equally likely. The Litvinenko poisoning incident of November 2006 highlighted the unpredictability of radiological events – in this instance, involving only a minute amount of a rare radioisotope, polonium-210

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A S I A N S E C U R I T Y

Nuclear Waste is cleared from a site in Iraq

- used to target one individual. It was the first test for a response to a radiological dispersal event in a major capital: tracing and testing contacts, scanning venues in the heart of London and beyond, decontaminating or closing some 19 premises, and ensuring the correct information was fed to the 24-hour news media.

Chemical – cheap and easy Chemical weapons have only been used as true WMD during war (World War I, SinoJapanese War) and the suppression of populations (Iran-Iraq War). The Tokyo Sarin attacks would have resulted in a far higher death and injury toll if the nerve agent that Aum had manufactured in industrial quantities had been military grade.

Sporadic attacks involving chlorine took place in Iraq in February and March 2007 –

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mainly hijacked trucks carrying canisters blown up with easily purloined explosives. In one incident, a cloud of toxic gas engulfed the town of Taji just outside Baghdad, killing 20 and injuring 148, when a tanker carrying chlorine exploded outside a restaurant. As a ubiquitous chemical used in water purification, chlorine is in plentiful supply as are hundreds of other common, unregulated, chemicals. Recipes for chemical bombs are found on the password-protected ‘jihadi Internet’ – adding a new layer to the proliferation of expertise that can sidestep the need for trained scientists.

Chemical is therefore the cheapest and arguably the easiest to acquire, assemble and target, of the unholy trinity of CBR. Chemical plants and transportation are generally not well guarded. While security measures are in place to scan passengers going ‘airside’, airports are vulnerable - particularly in the terminals - where toxic substances and explo-

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

sives could be brought in without detection and dispersed easily and rapidly to create a mass casualty event at the airport itself. Only at a few airports worldwide are travellers checked before entering terminals.

Biological – Nature does it best The threat of a bio-terrorist attack is difficult to quantify because of the problems of attribution – tracing the source and origin of disease; identifying which agent caused which symptoms; and tracking its progress within a population and potentially across borders

To build the ultimate WMD from scratch, however, not only are nuclear weapons costly to build, but require vast infrastructure to make the fissile material.

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and continents. Other than the anthrax mailing incidents that came on the heels of the 9/11 attacks in October 2001, and a deliberate spread of Salmonella food poisoning by a religious cult in Oregon in 1984, little precedent is available.

Military forces in general do not favour the use of biological weapons chiefly because they are unpredictable and difficult to target accurately and control without self-harm. The delayed impact of these weapons also reduces their military usefulness, apart from the moral repugnance of using them.

Terrorists and other maladjusted individuals, however, are unlikely to have such qualms in using BW as a means of terror, but may lack the means to carry it out. They also face strong moral opposition from those whose support they need. There may be less appetite for BW also because an attack lacks the visual impact of an explosion.

While much is said and written about needing only cheap, easily concealable, small-scale facilities to make BW, the main obstacles to successful bio-terrorism remain “weaponisation” and delivery, as multiple factors affect dissemination to human hosts.

Refining lethal bio-agents, preventing selfinfection, and assuring delivery to the intended targets are beyond the capabilities of most terrorist groups. Individuals with microbiological expertise and laboratory access, who may lend their services to groups for ideological or financial motives, however pose a sig-

A Congressional report describing how investigators testing US port security smuggled enough radioactive material into the US in December 2005 to make two RDDs.. nificant risk. Other areas of concern lie in the immediate future: the results of research into genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which could create untreatable diseases, or ‘stealth’ viruses, are available in open literature.

At present, biological threats tend to come in the form of ‘white powder‘ attacks and hoaxes sent through the mail to selected targets or simply to cause chaos at postal facilities and other public buildings. Civilian first responders are kept busy dealing with these Improvised Biological Device (IBD) incidents, which can be a drain on resources. The 2001 anthrax attacker (as yet not apprehended) targeted the US media for the force-multiplier psychological effect.

But such incidents are far removed from WMD. The main biological threat still comes from naturally occurring outbreaks – avian influenza being potentially the most devastating when viewed against the high death and sickness toll of the three major 20th-cen-

Wide area decontamination is both expensive and time consuming

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tury pandemics. The most effective way to spread disease deliberately, therefore, would imitate Nature: self-infection of a disease with high mortality, which spreads through inhalation, through contact and air travel. By the time the suicide bio-bomber succumbed, it would have spread across continents.

Assessing the odds According to US Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff, the current administration is more concerned about large-scale conventional terrorist acts rather than an incident involving a weapon of mass destruction. And according to Rita Katz, head of the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks militant communications on the Internet, Jihadi propaganda videos and internet material calling for chemical, biological or nuclear destruction of the US and its allies is little more than “chatter”.

However, other experts have opined that ‘catastrophic terrorism’ rather than the ‘bomb in a bakery’ scenario is of most concern to the US, whose main experience of terrorism has been the worst attacks in its entire history all in one day - 9/11 - rather than the long years of terrorism suffered by countries in Europe and Southeast Asia. Nevertheless, while 9/11 did not involve WMD, it took more lives in one day than the IRA did in its entire, 17,000bomb campaign.

The intent to mount a weapon of mass destruction or mass effect exists. But in the hope not to be tempting Providence, it may be said that the probability of terrorists launching a WMD attack, particularly in the short term, is substantially lower than their relentless use AMR of conventional weapons and explosives.

A S I A N S E C U R I T Y

CHINA’S TIBETAN DILEMMA

The Potala Palace, Lhasa, the night before the rioting broke out. (PHOTO: Stuart Notholt)

Stuart Notholt - one of only two British journalists in Lhasa at the time of the March 2008 Tibetan uprising.

Modern China has a number of strategic pre-occupations arising both from history and from Beijing’s current aspirations.

Militarily, demographically, and economically, the eastern region of China is the critical imperative: it must be defended at all costs. In its recent history, China has seen this crucial region invaded from the sea, with significant European, American, and Japanese imperial incursions. The recovery of Hong Kong and Macau notwithstanding, China still fears maritime attack from the east. Taiwan remains ‘unliberated’, guarded by a full US carrier group, and China remains acutely aware of its naval inadequacy compared to other major powers.

JULY 2008

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owever, it is axiomatic that the Chinese have long memories, and they also recall threats from other points of the compass - Mongol invasions from the north-west, the 1904 British military expedition into Tibet, 1930s Soviet incursions into Turkestan (modern Xinjiang), and ongoing border disputes with India that flared into open conflict in 1962. Similar historical concerns, of course, prompted the construction of the Great Wall to protect the Chinese heartland. In the modern age, these priorities translate into the significance placed upon retaining Tibet, which was annexed in 1950 in the immediate aftermath of the Communist victory in the Chinese ‘mainland’, and other peripheral regions such as Inner Mongolia, Manchuria and Xinjiang. These regions ensure national security by anchoring the country’s frontiers on impassable geographical features, sparsity, and sheer distance, while simultaneously preventing

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Scuffles in street, Lhasa (PHOTO: Stuart Notholt)

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Qinghui-Tibet train at Lhasa station (PHOTO: Stuart Notholt)

encroachment by rivals.

China’s occupation of Tibet has attained international notoriety, not least through the diplomatic efforts of the Dalai Lama, who was awarded the Nobel Peace

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

Prize in 1989. However, it is worth recalling that, somewhat belying their Pacific reputation, Tibetans fought an active war of resistance for over twenty years after their homeland was invaded by the

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Peoples’ Liberation Army. In the mid1950s the Chushi Gandrug (Four Rivers, Six Mountains) movement emerged as the leading insurgent organization, led by a tough nomadic trader, Gompo Tashi Andrugtsang. The ‘National Uprising’ escalated in 1956 following Chinese attacks on monasteries, and the CIA began arms drops that were, from a technical point of view, extremely successful: several hundred pallets of material being supplied between 1957 and 1965. CIA operatives enthused over the rugged fighting spirit of their Tibetan hosts, while simultaneously despairing that these same qualities led to a lack of tactical discipline. By the early 1960s the insurgents were in control of sizable tracts of the country, even scoring a number of successes against Chinese forces in open combat.

Eventually, however, forced collectivization of potential dissident populations and better tactical use of air power served to grind down the uprising. Inevitably, it was external politics that sounded its death knell, specifically the Nixon-era rap-

China’s occupation of Tibet has attained international notoriety, not least through the diplomatic efforts of the Dalai Lama, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. prochement between Washington and Beijing, and the withdrawal, under considerable Chinese pressure, of Nepalese logistical support.

Despite the defeat of the uprising, sporadic nationalist demonstrations and unrest continued. In March 1989 Tibet was even placed under Martial Law for the second time in its history, the first being in 1959. In March 2008, the annual commemoration of the National Uprising in the capital, Lhasa, rapidly escalated from peaceful monastic protests to the overturning and burning of cars, rioting, and attacks on Han (ethnic Chinese) shops, businesses, and, in some cases, individu-

Chinese Army trucks take up position outside the Potala Palace in Lhasa (PHOTO: Stuart Notholt)

JULY 2008

als. The Chinese responded with a massive troop deployment, including the use of armor, but this failed to immediately quell the disturbances.

Part of the reason for the Chinese inability to respond promptly to the crisis stemmed from Beijing’s policy focus on another potentially restive region, Xinjiang, in the north west. Xinjiang which, significantly, means ‘New Frontier’ - is a remote territory inhabited by Uyghurs and other Islamic peoples. Like Tibet, it is seen by Beijing as a strategic buffer against potential foreign infiltration. Political stresses in Xinjiang follow a similar pattern to those in Tibet: historical claims to independence compounded by Han immigration, resource exploitation, and the suppression of religious and cultural rights.

In January 2008, Communist party chiefs announced the ‘smashing’ of a militant cell in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, that was planning an attack on the Beijing Olympics Games. In March, it was claimed that an attempt to destroy a civilian airliner flying to Urumqi had been foiled. Observers treated these reports with some suspicion, see-

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ing them as part of the ongoing strategy of aligning Beijing’s security interests with US fears of international Islamist terrorism.

Indeed, it is not clear whether the authorities themselves believed in the reality of the Islamic threat, whether it was for Western consumption, or if they simply started to believe their own propaganda. While it seems, in retrospect, naive to have assumed that Tibetans would not take the opportunity to protest in the year of the Beijing Olympics, there is ample evidence (to which this author can testify) that the Chinese were wrong-footed by the speed and ferocity with which the Lhasa fighting erupted and spread, not just in Tibet but, for the first time in twenty years, to Tibetan populated districts in China itself. The protests that followed the Olympic torch around the world further threatened to turn Beijing’s Olympic propaganda coup into a public relations nightmare.

The Dalai Lama himself has remained punctilious in his rejection of violence, supporting Beijing’s right to hold the 2008 Olympics and even conceding that China might continue to exercise sovereignty over a truly autonomous Tibet. This moderation has, however, availed him little.

Beijing’s recent (and probably cosmetic) offer of talks notwithstanding, he continues to be reviled in the Chinese media as a ‘splittist’ intent on dividing China, and his supporters as violent and racist thugs.

Although the Dalai Lama’s moral standing among Tibetans is unassailable, it is unlikely that an increasingly frustrated Tibetan population universally shares his eschewal of violence. It is not impossible, therefore, that some Tibetan elements could, regardless of the reputation and practical risks, turn to a renewal of armed insurrection.

As in any insurgency, their key task would be to raise the military, economic and other costs of the occupation to levels where they become unsustainable. The Chinese occupation of Tibet is already expensive. To suppress the March 2008 unrest, the Chinese admitted to deploying 10,000 troops in a city with a total population of only 160,000. Evidence suggests that the proportion of security forces to civilians throughout Tibet may routinely be as high as one in twenty. The resources

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Tibetan demonstrators protest against the Chinese crack-down in London (PHOTO: Stuart Notholt)

of the Peoples’ Liberation Army, although considerable, are not infinite. A general uprising could place significant strains on the security forces as they attempt to police a huge and poorly connected territory with a civil population at best sullen and uncooperative. Guerrillas could relatively easily, in theory, threaten industrial assets. Transport links would be particularly vulnerable: in 1961 Tibetan attacks forced the closure of the strategic Sinkiang-Lhasa Highway. A promising contemporary target would be the 1,956 km long Qinghui-Tibet railway that opened in July 2006, linking Lhasa to Xian.

A remarkable technical achievement, the railway rises to some 15,000 feet at its highest point (oxygen masks are provided

By the early 1960s the insurgents were in control of sizable tracts of the country, even scoring a number of successes against Chinese forces in open combat.

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

for the comfort of passengers suffering from altitude sickness) making it the world’s highest conventional railway. For over 500 km it runs through barren and utterly inhospitable permafrost. Here, the civil engineering challenge is to prevent any partial thawing of the ice that would warp or destroy the track. One feature, easily visible from the train itself, is the regular series of 15 cm diameter tubes that extend some 5 meters below the frozen soil surface. These contain liquid ammonia and, if temperatures rise, this evaporates, dissipating heat and providing a self-regulating cooling of the system.

The Chinese regard the Qinghui-Tibet railway as a ‘bridge over the roof of the world’ facilitating the incorporation of Tibet into the broader Chinese economy.

Extractive and other industries are being aligned to take advantage of the new railway - for example the establishment of the Zhengtong Logistics Company for the export of 10,000 tons per annum of lead/gold powder, and of the '5100 brand' of bottled mineral water.

Unsurprisingly, Tibetans see the railway as a key piece in the Chinese exploitative apparatus, moving Han settlers and

A S I A N S E C U R I T Y

Unfortunately for any would-be insurgents, these facts are as obvious to the security forces as to anyone else. The railway has climate sensors every kilometer along the final Golmud/Lhasa section and over a thousand video monitors in total. troops into their country, and primary resources out. Simple vandalism of the cooling pipes, allowing ammonia to vent into the atmosphere, could disable the railway or at the very least have nuisance value - and for the international respectability of the Tibetan cause the nonlethal nature of such attacks would be an added bonus. Culverts, created to allow the migration of yaks and other wildlife,

would offer an additional target should explosives become available.

Unfortunately for any would-be insurgents, these facts are as obvious to the security forces as to anyone else. The railway has climate sensors every kilometer along the final Golmud/Lhasa section and over a thousand video monitors in total.

Failures in the environmental control systems are instantly relayed to a central control room. These systems could easily acquire a military dimension (if indeed they have not already done so) particularly if combined with body-heat tracking and other remote sensing technologies.

Furthermore, insurgents caught in the vicinity of the railway would be at a terrible disadvantage. Although surrounding hills provide a potential refuge, the railway itself runs through totally exposed territory. Anyone caught in the open would be a sitting target for air attack, either by conventional aircraft or pilotless drones.

There are a number of additional reasons

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why a new uprising would almost certainly fail. The chances of any foreign agency providing support are minimal, although it is just conceivable that, one day, rival players such as India or Russia might exploit Tibetan dissent as a counterweight to expanding Chinese regional hegemony. Equally, given Chinese influence over its smaller neighbors, no rear base would be available, unlike in the 1960s when the Tibetans established themselves in the Mustang province of Nepal.

There is, however, one scenario under which China might be forced to disgorge Tibet. As an autarkic Communist state, China was insulated from the vagaries of the world economy. That situation no longer pertains. One highly significant pointer for the future is that the Shanghai Stock Market lost 4% of its value over a few hours in March 2008 - not as the result of the fighting in Tibet, but because of the precipitate collapse of a US bank, Bear Stearns. There are indications that the Chinese economic miracle is already overheating, with significant

The Chinese occupation of Tibet is already expensive.

To suppress the March 2008 unrest, the Chinese admitted to deploying 10,000 troops in a city with a total population of only 160,000. shortages of grains and fuel reported.

A repeat of, say, the 1997 Asian economic crash would hit China just as hard as other regional economies. That crisis forced urgent retrenchment by the military in another autocratic state, Indonesia, obliging Jakarta to withdraw from its longrunning colonial exposure in East Timor.

That something of the sort could happen in Tibet is an intriguing possibility.

Should Beijing falter in providing the new business and consumer classes with

Permafrost terrain, seen from the Qinghui-Tibet railway (PHOTO: Stuart Notholt)

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material advancement, calls for political reform would grow at the very time when the military’s capacity for intervention would be contracting through financial strictures. As in Indonesia, a harsh re-prioritization of security necessities might then conclude that imperial outposts such as Tibet would have to be jettisoned in favor of the defense of the heartland against emerging internal security threats.

The ‘social contract’ between Beijing and the great mass of Chinese citizenry who have thus far not benefited from economic growth is the promise of an eventual flowing of wealth from east to west. How quiescent the majority of Chinese will remain if economic redistribution fails is the central problem facing modern China. The profound irony of the last great avowedly Communist state is that if ever there was a country increasingly ripe for a rural Communist revolution, it is the Peoples’ Republic of China. The scope of opportunity for a modern Mao Tse Tung - or perhaps a Gompo Tashi Andrugtsang - may AMR yet to be realized.

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AUSTRALIA

Australia’s Tiger seen with UH-60 and CH-47

M113 upgrade ustralian defence officials say that the M113 upgrade project under project Land 106 is back on track and estimated to meet its original schedule and specifications within the approved budget. Under the project, Tenix is contracted to deliver 350 upgraded M113 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) with improvements in their protection, firepower, mobility and supportability.

Under the project, a total of 329 vehicles are due to be upgraded to the 18 tonne M113AS4 standard, and 21 vehicles will be upgraded to the 15 tonne M113AS3 standard.

‘The M113 project experienced some wellknown technical problems in the development phase, and it was feared these problems would impact on the cost and schedule of the project,’ Greg Combet, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement, said in a statement.

However, officials say that the serious technical risks faced by the project have now been resolved and that schedule pressures have been reduced allowing the project to move forward. Tenix has to date delivered 16 of the upgraded APCs to the Australian Army’s 7 Royal Australian Regiment. A further nine vehicles (six initial production vehicles and three pre-production vehicles) are being operated in training at Puckapunyal and Bandiana.

Production at Tenix’s Bandiana facilities is now being ramped up from approximately four vehicles per month to more than 10 vehicles per month to achieve the delivery of the final vehicle by December 2010, in accordance with the original schedule.

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Canberra requests Aegis system The Australian government is forging ahead with the plans for its Sea 4000 project air warfare destroyers with the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DCSA) notifying Congress of a Foreign Military Sale of the AEGIS Combat System components that will equip the frigates based on the Spanish F100 design.

The DCSA said that the total value of the contract, if all options are exercised, would be around $450 million. The contract for the Aegis Combat System and select combat system and communication components consists of 3 AN/SPQ-9B Horizon Search Radars, 3 Cooperative Engagement Capability Systems, 3 Naval Fire Control Systems, 3 MultiFunctional Information Distribution Systems, AN/SLQ-25A Nixie Countermeasure Suite, MK160 Gun Computer System, AIMS MK XII Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) for the Air Warfare Destroyer platform, communication and information distribution systems.

These elements will be used by the AWD Alliance, the prime contractors for Sea 4000 to equip the three Hobart class ships. The AWD Alliance consists of Raytheon Australia Pty Ltd as the Combat System Systems Engineer and ASC AWD Shipbuilder Pty Ltd as the Shipbuilder. Lockheed Martin, as a subcontractor, is supplying the Aegis system itself.

The DCSA said that the proposed sale of the Aegis Combat System and components to Australia would contribute to US security objectives by providing a coalition partner with

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

significantly improved Air Warfare capability in the region. It added that the sale would improve the Royal Australian Navy’s ability to participate in coalition operations and enhance the lethality of its AWD platform.

Australia resolves Tiger dispute In May, Greg Combet, Australia's Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement, announced that Canberra was making 'significant progress' on the outstanding issues relating to Project Air 87.

Under the project the Australian Defence Force is procuring 22 Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) from European manufacturer Eurocopter.

Combet said that the Australian government had signed a Deed of Agreement that resolves contractual issues between it and the contractor, Australian Aerospace (a subsidiary of Eurocopter).

According to officials, the project has been hampered with problems relating to delays in the training of Australian pilots. These delays have been caused in turn by problems in the Franco/German Tiger programme.

There were also some major issues associated with the through life support contract for the aircraft, which were first noted in an Australian National Audit Office report on the project in 2006.

The Defence Materiel Organisation executed a Stop Payment provision in the ARH acquisition contract on 1 June 2007 when the delays became clear. The stoppage resulted in the need to reprogram project funds within the Defence Budget.

Following a period of negotiations

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between Canberra and the contractor to resolve the dispute an agreement was reached in May that defence officials hope this will enable the project to deliver an operational capability to the Australian Army in the shortest practical time.

The Deed of Agreement contains the basis for a Contract Change Proposal that transitions the current support contract to a performance based structure, to reduce cost of ownership to the Australian government

INDIA Bids for MRCA submitted fter a February extension the six bidders in India’s multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) programme submitted their bids to the Ministry of Defence in May with some fanfare. Analysts believe that the project is going to be closely fought by the bidders from Europe, Russia and the US. The programme projects the procurement of some 126 MRCAs at a total contract cost in the region of $11 billion. The companies looking to snatch the prize are Boeing (F/A-18 Super Hornet), Dassault (Rafale), EADS (Eurofighter Typhoon), Lockheed Martin (F-16 Falcon), RAC MiG (MiG-35), and Saab (Gripen).

Each of the companies was keen to stress the unique nature of their bid, but the competition is likely to come down to which company can offer not just the technically most advanced aircraft but the most opportunity for local participation. In announcing their bibs each company made much of the strategic partnership approach, including joint production and government support.

The selection process for the MRCA will begin with the Indian Air Force making a technical study of the bids. Its recommendations will then be submitted to the Defence Ministry, which will examine both the financial and technical aspects of the bids.

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First Hawk loss According to reports emerging in India this week, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has lost one of its recently delivered Hawk 132 Advanced Jet Trainer aircraft in an accident shortly after take off from Bidar air base. According to officials the accident happened on 29 April during a routine training flight. The two pilots aboard the aircraft are believed to have both survived the crash although it is unclear whether they ejected or not.

The loss comes only months after the new trainer aircraft was inducted in to the IAF.

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over time. Officials say that it will help achieve the government's aim for greater efficiencies in the sustainment of major capital equipment.

The agreement also includes an initiative by the contractor to base two EC135 helicopters in Darwin for two years for lead-in skills training for pilots prior to conversion onto the ARH Tiger. To date, 11 ARHs have been accepted and have accumulated 2400 hours flying time with 20 aircrew qualified.

The jet trainers were procured as part of a programme to improve the training and safety of IAF pilots and the loss is being treated as a major embarrassment for the IAF. Officials told local reporters that an enquiry in to the crash had been ordered immediately to investigate the reasons for the accident.

Sources said the rate of climb severely diminished and the aircraft made contact with the ground in the vicinity of the airfield.

The IAF currently has a contract to procure 66 Hawks from BAE Systems before the crash eight of those aircraft had been delivered to Bidar air base.

Further submarine purchase At a meeting of Indian Navy (IN) commanders in May, the head of the navy, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, highlighted plans to procure a further six diesel-electric submarines for the service.

According to local reports, Mehta said that a tender for the boats would be launched soon.

The vessels will be in addition to the Scorpene submarines that the IN is procuring from DCNS and Izar at a cost of Eur2.4 billion.

The new submarines are part of the IN’s plans to keep its submarine fleet at an optimum number of hulls. On the IN’s wish list is a submarine design that includes vertical launch missile capability. Currently, the IN fleet consists of four Shishumar (Type 209) vessels, 2 Kurusura (Project 641/Foxtrot) boats, 10 Sindhighosh (Project 877/Kilo) submarines and one of two Project 971 (Akula-1) boats.

According to Mehta, India needs to have indigenous capability for building submarines as a strategic imperative. He said that the IN was lobbying the government to ensure that any new procurement would include a high level of indigenous development including manufacture at Indian shipyards.

EADS missile warning system capability Indian officials have given the go ahead for a

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

the production of a new missile warning system for Indian military aviation that has been jointly EADS Defence & Security (DS) and the Indian Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE). Company officials said that system had successfully passed extensive flight trials, which will pave the way to equipping several hundred Indian rotary wing and wide body aircraft.

The system is based on the proven Missile Launch Detection System (MILDS) provided

by EADS DS Defence Electronics division.

During the flight trials onboard an Indian Air Force test platform (AVRO 748), which were supported by India's Alpha Technologies and EADS DS, the system with six sensors fulfilled all the requirements in terms of detection probability, accuracy, false alarms and reliability.

The successful trial mean that Due the MILDS based system has now been accepted as 'indigenous equipment' by the Indian government. The defence ministry plans to equip several hundred Indian military aircraft with the detector. The system will be capable of detecting a wide range of threats including man portable air defence systems.

Production is expected to take place at Alpha's site in Bangalore. EADS initially signed a contract with DARE in 2006 to develop the system. The contract included delivery of 36 sensors for further integration and development work, which the company says it has now completed.

Excellence Award for BAeHAL BAeHAL Software Limited, a leader in IT and ITES in the Aviation sector with its head quarters at Bangalore enjoyed a double success. In recognition of achievements in productivity, quality, innovation and management in the IT sector, the company was bestowed with Excellence Award by the Institute of Economic Studies, New Delhi and the Udyog Rattan Award was given to Dr. C. Subramanian who has been serving as CEO of BAeHAL Software Limited from Jan 2005 onwards.

BAeHAL Software Ltd. is a Joint Venture Company of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) and BAE Systems (UK) focusing on providing high technology Software solutions and services for Defence, Aerospace and Engineering Industries for global clients.

The Company is Certified to international standards of ISO 9001:2000, ISO 27001, AS 9100 B. It is also certified to SEI-CMM L5 and is currently in the process of obtaining SEI CMMi accredition.

REGIONAL NEWS A N D

D E V E L O P M E N T S

SINGAPORE

PHILIPPINES

Sniper for F-16s

New trainer aircraft

t was announced this week that Lockheed Martin has been contracted by the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) to supply Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods (ATPs) for the country’s F-16 Block 52 aircraft. The country currently operates 42 F-16C/D Block 50/52 aircraft. Officials would not confirm a cost for the sale, which is a direct commercial contract rather than a Foreign Military Sales purchase.

Marc Nazon, International Programs Manager at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, commented that, ‘The RSAF carefully chose Sniper ATP, the world's most advanced targeting pod, for its world class reliability, long-range performance advantages that allow aircrews to complete missions successfully outside threat ranges, as well as its unique capabilities and interoperability within the RSAF fleet.’

As well as an undisclosed number of pods, the contract includes integration, spares, support equipment and integrated logistics support. The RSAF already has Sniper ATPs selected for its F-15 fleet. The RSAF signed a contract for twelve F-15SGs in October 2007. The Sniper ATP will offer the aircrews of both types a precision engagement capability.

The Sniper pod has a high-resolution, advanced midwave targeting FLIR with stateof-the-art image processing and a CCD TV. The supersonic/low-observable pod also incorporates a laser spot tracker and laser marker. It provides positive target identification, autonomous tracking, co-ordinate generation, and precise weapons guidance from extended standoff ranges.

he Philippine air force has finalised a deal with Italian aircraft manufacturer, Alenia Aermacchi, to purchase 18 SF-260 training aircraft at a price of some $14.6 million.

The deal for the aircraft includes the airframes plus, pilot, technical and maintenance training as well as spare parts support according to officials. Under the terms of its contract the Italian manufacturer will also transfer some parts production as well as aircraft assembly to its local partner, Aerotech Industries Philippines.

According to the company the SF-260 is the world's most successful modern screener and primary trainer. The aircraft is a fully aerobatic, two seat propeller-driven aircraft, with an additional third seat to expand its flexibility in non-aerobatic missions. The aircraft is available in both piston-engine and turboprop variants, respectively powered by a 260 hp Lycoming AEIO-540 (SF-260E) or a 350 shp RollsRoyce/Allison Model 250 B-17D turboprop (SF-260TP).

I

BANGLADESH Dhaka test fires Chinese ASM ccording to local reports, Bangladesh has, with the help of Chinese technicians, test-launched its first C-802A anti-ship missile (ASM) from its Jianghu class frigate Osman in the Bay of Bengal in May. Analysts believe it is the first time that the Bangladesh Navy has test launched the missile from one of its vessels. Dhaka procured the C802A alongside other Chinese missile systems in 2006.

Beijing has a long running relationship with Bangladesh and has assisted the latter in procuring much of its military hardware. The test of the C-802A marks a significant step for Bangladesh’s navy and gives the force a much enhanced ASM capability.

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CHINA

MALAYSIA

More S-300PMU2s

Five Power exercise

ccording to international reports, Moscow is set to deliver four battalions of S300PMU2 surface to air missile (SAM) systems to China by mid-year completing an order that has taken several years to come to fruition. Last year Beijing took delivery of an initial batch of four battalions of the system.

Alongside the upgraded 200km S300PMU2 Beijing is also believed in the recent past to have bought a further 12 battalions of S-300 SAMs, four of them S-300PMUs and eight S-300PMU1s.

According to analyst the S-300s have been deployed to cover the Chinese coast facing the Taiwan Strait with further systems deployed in the region of Beijing to protect the capital, and further systems are expected to be placed to defend other key regional hubs. The Russian systems have been purchased to replace indigenously developed HQ-2 SAMs. The S-300PMU2 'Favorit' variant was unveiled by Russia in 1997. The new missile, which carries a larger warhead and better guidance system, extended the S-300 range to 200 km.

The S-300 PMU2 system is designed for defence of vital facilities over a full range of altitudes and speeds in heavy electronic countermeasures environments.

ir force personnel from a number of countries were in Malaysia in May to participate in Exercise Bersama Shield 2008. The exercise aims to practice the interoperability of air, ground and naval forces under the auspices of the Five Power Defence Arrangements that includes Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK. Among the elements deploying for the exercise were the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF’s) Number 92 Wing, which deployed to AP3C Orions to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Base Butterworth, in Malaysia, which is the RAAF only permanent overseas base.

During Bersama Shield 2008, the Orions were used for maritime operations, including surveillance, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and strike directions. The exercise was conducted over the Malaysian peninsula and South China seas.

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REGIONAL NEWS A N D

D E V E L O P M E N T S

SOUTH KOREA n May, the US House of Representatives passed legislation that could restrictions on Foreign Military Sales to Seoul as well as allowing the US Department of Energy to directly finance North Korea's denuclearization efforts. As Asian Military Review went to press, the Senate was still to ratify the legislation.

According to officials, House Resolution 5916 gives South Korea the same status as the US other close allies including NATO members, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand in terms of the FMS programme. The same legislation also waived the energy department’s budget restrictions under the so-called Glenn Amendment that applies to countries which have conducted nuclear tests.

Since 1987 South Korea has been designated a major non-NATO ally, a category below the status given to the NATO members, Australia, Japan and New Zealand. HR 5916 elevates that status giving the country the same FMS approvals regime as the aforementioned countries including15 days for Congress to review proposed arms sales (down from 30 days) and an increased threshold for congressional notification requirements of sales (from $25 million to $75 million for defence equipment, and for defense articles and services from $100 million to $200 million.)

US commanders in South Korea and local defence officials have been lobbying Congress for changes to Seoul’s FMS classification to aid the country as it progressively takes over responsibility for its security from US forces that have been stationed in the country since the Korean War in the 1950s.

I

Sidewinder sale notified In May, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DCSA) notified the US Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Korea of AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles and associated equipment and services.

The contract is expected to be worth

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around $25 million.

According to the DCSA, the sale is expected to include 35 All-UpRound AIM-9X Sidewinder Missiles, 1 AIM-9M Sidewinder Missile (Legacy), 12 AIM-9X Sidewinder Captive Air Training Missiles, 2 AIM-9X Sidewinder Dummy Air Training Missiles, Missile Containers, missile modifications, test and support equipment, spare and repair parts, publications and technical data, maintenance, personnel training and training equipment, contractor engineering and technical support services, and other related elements of logistics support.

The agency said that, ‘it is vital to the US national interest to assist our ally in developing and maintaining a strong and ready self-defence capability, which will contribute to an acceptable military balance in the area.’

The sale of the missile is part of a larger procurement by Seoul of additional F-15K fighter aircraft. The prime contractor for the missile contract is Raytheon Electronic Systems.

NEW ZEALAND New training Helicopters n May the government in Auckland signed a NZ$139 million contract with AgustaWestland for a fleet of new training and light utility helicopters (LUHs) for the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).

‘The contract for five A109LUH (NZ) and a simulator will see RNZAF rotary wing training capabilities become world class,’ said Chief of Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Graham Lintott.

The A109LUHs will be used in a number of training and light utility roles, contributing to the air force’s ability to meet the government’s requirements. The A109LUH (NZ) will be used for training pilots and aircrew who will later fly the NH90 medium utility helicopter and SH-2G Seasprite naval helicopter, and to perform lighter helicopter missions.

Work to build the helicopters will begin immediately at the AgustaWestland facilities near Milan, Italy in consultation with personnel from the RNZAF and the Ministry of Defence. The aircraft are scheduled to enter service in 2011 and will be located at RNZAF Base Ohakea.

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US Apache offer According to reports from Seoul, South Korea’s defence ministry is considering an offer from the US to sell the country 36 second-hand AH64 Apache attack helicopters as part of the country’s ambitious military modernisation planes.

Currently, there are two US Apache battalions based in South Korea as part of the US governments commitment to South Korea’s security, but as the US looks to draw down its forces in the country that capability could be withdrawn. As a result, Korean defence officials are examining the potential of purchasing the capability, which is being reviewed at the working level.

Seoul had ambitious plans of its won to develop an indigenous attack helicopters, but financial constraints torpedoed the concept. Defence officials were keen to emphasise that nothing has been decided on the US offer or the scrapping of the in-country attack helicopter development project.

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

Wellington increase defence budget New Zealand’s Defence Minister Phil Goff announced on 22 May a small increase in the defence budget with the government’s Budget 2008 investing NZ$276.4 million in the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) over the next four years as part of its sustained efforts to rebuild and modernise the defence.

The government said that the investment will be used primarily to grow the NZDF and retain existing personnel. The $276.4 million is out of the $4.6 billion Defence Sustainability initiative started by the government in 2005.

The defence budget allocates the army more than NZ$774 million, up from NZ$707 million in 2007. The Royal New Zealand Navy gets NZ$658 million, an increase of NZ$45 million.

And NZ$575 million has been allocated to the Royal New Zealand Air Force up from NZ$550 million last year.

‘This latest instalment in a consistent stream of funding under this government gives Defence the means to fully modernise and enhance its capability, to be able to meets New Zealand’s defence and strategic objectives at home and overseas,’ Goff stated.

The Ministry of Defence said it wouldl also continue the purchase and upgrade of capital equipment including NH90 helicopters, the P3 Orion fleet, C-130 Hercules and Boeing 757s for use by the NZDF.

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