Asian Military Review - December 2008/January 2009

VOLUME 16/ISSUE 12

ASIA PACIFIC’S

DECEMBER 2008/JANUARY 2009 US$10

LARGEST

COMBAT SUPPORT HELICOPTERS

CIRCULATED

DEFENCE

MAGAZINE

GROUND SURVEILLANCE RADAR

SINO-IRANIAN CO-OPERATION

COMBAT PISTOLS UCAVS

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Contents DECEMBER 2008/JANUARY 2009 VOLUME 16 / ISSUE 12

26 Widening Perceptions Adam Baddeley Ground Surveillance Radars provide users with high speed, volume coverage of surface and near surface targets in a range of applications, including battlefield surveillance, border security, facilities/perimeter security, coastal surveillance and fire correction for artillery support. Current infantry centric operations are now emphasising robustness, low weight and power-efficiency to ensure systems can also be carried into action and sustained in operation for extended periods.

Front Cover Photo: Under a $635.8 million contract awarded in August 2007, Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems at Rancho Bernardo, California, is developing the UCAS-D (Unmanned Combat Air System) for the US Navy.

Two air vehicles will be built to test and mature the technologies required to ensure unmanned vehicles can fly routinely in the complex airspace of aircraft carrier operations. This artist's impression shows the likely scene as a UCAS-D prepares to be catapult launched from the carrier deck.

(Photo: US DoD)

Combat Support Helicopters

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Thomas Withington There has been significant activity in the Asian and Australasian region regarding support helicopters comprising, new platforms some developed within the region as well as capability enhancements, giving existing rotorcraft another lease of life. Both offer a platform that is highly suitable for low-intensity counter-insurgency operations where the need to have 'on call' firepower, and to deploy troops quickly over long distances, is paramount

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UCAS: Flying Tigers

Combat pistols: poised for a shift

Ian Kemp Dissatisfied with the performance of nine millimetre handguns many nations, including the US, are seeking a new generation of more powerful pistols. Whether used offensively or in self-defence the most important operational requirement of a combat pistol is that it kills, or at least disables, an opponent with a single round.

Tim Mahon Current operational experience by Coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan indicates a viable – some would say vibrant – role for Unmanned Combat Aerial Systems, a role that is being proven almost daily in these areas. Many are waiting to see what lessons can be derived from ongoing US and European development programmes and operational testing. Does the future hold the prospect of swarms of armed UCAS darkening the skies of Asia?

Sino-Iranian Defence Co-operation

32 Ilya Kramnik Iran is one of the strongest military powers in the Middle East.

China has been a significant ally in providing both the defence materiel to boost Iran’s capabilities in the near term and the technology transfer necessary for Iran to develop its own indigenous manufacturing and design base, beginning with simple unguided projectiles and armoured vehicles but now extending to space systems and ballistic missiles.

DECEMBER 2008/JANUARY 2009

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Editorial

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As a consequence, its armed forces are often seen in a singular light, perhaps the most fearsome element of China’s surging national strength. Is this the case, or more precisely is this all that the Chinese military is about?

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/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

As with all such acts they are not entirely noble. Gaining experience of how other militaries operate is undoubtedly a goal. Understanding their tactics, techniques and procedures boosts the PLA’s own effectiveness and modernisation process. The fact that the vast majority of China’s deployments are in Africa is self evidently linked to winning long term access to the continent’s mineral resources. The deaths of several Chinese oil workers in Sudan only emphasises this point further.

Japan Mikio Tsuchiya, MHAS Media Tel: (81) 3 5456 8230 E-Mail: wms-mikio.tsuchiya@peace.ocn.ne.jp 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

Singapore/Malaysia Dr. Rosalind Lui, TSEA International Tel: (65) 6458 7885 Mobile : (65) 9886 3762 E-Mail: drrosalind@tsea.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.

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The PLA is operating abroad with more numbers that ever before and its missions and geographic focus are changing too; looking far beyond its immediate borders as part of United Nations (UN) missions. This is significant. Its current contribution is twenty times what it was, even from the 1990s. Today it is the twelfth largest contributor of military forces, in terms of providing police it is ranked second.

US Sinologists believe that China noted that the contribution of US forces in supporting the Tsunami humanitarian disaster relief in 2004, gained it diplomatic kudos and popular goodwill. China is now building a hospital ship. The two are connected.

Italy Emilio Zerboni, Media And Trade Tel: (39) 031267797 E-Mail: e.zerboni@mediaandtrade.com

Scandinavia/Benelux/South Africa Karen Norris, T K Associates Tel: (44) 1435 884 027 E-Mail: tony.kingham@worldsecurity-index.com

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hina’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is seen in fairly inflexible, great power terms as a fairly blunt, conventional military tool. It’s not without merit either; events regarding national reunification with Taiwan, claims in the Spratlys and intelligence collection in the Indian Ocean each attest to that.

But what does this mean for China’s engagement closer to home, along its frontiers?

It is not a question of if China will want to influence events beyond its borders but how. Countries like North Korea, Burma and Central Asian Republics on or around its borders, create an arc of instability on its frontier that China will be drawn to stabilise.

China is not going to turn into a ‘soft power’. It may however become a softer power, and this is linked to international deployments.

The PLA’s participation in UN operations will undoubtedly be viewed with suspicion in some circles. That suspicion is probably well founded. Nonetheless, exposure to, and participation in overseas missions provides a cadre and generation of young officers that will understand first hand the potential for co-operation.

Perhaps more important is the appreciation that the intent behind actions in opponents is not defined entirely by a single common cultural background, which could be of inestimable value during a future military confrontation.

Adam Baddeley, Editor Editor: Adam Baddeley E-mail: adam@baddeley.net

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AEROSPACE T E C H N O L O G Y

Rotary backbone for the Frontline Not since Igor Sikorsky's maiden, untethered flight of his Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 helicopter in 1940; made possible in part by the generous patronage of the Russian composer Serge Rachmaninoff, have militaries worldwide enjoyed so much choice in terms of utility and support helicopters.

by Thomas Withington

One of the world’s most successful military utility helicopters is the Mil Mi-17. This example from the Czech Air Force was seen at the 2008 Berlin Air Show. (Thomas Withington)

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anufacturers in Asia, Europe and North America have a plethora of products on the market including Eurocopter’s AS550/ AS555 Fennec/Fennec-2, AS532 Cougar, EC725 Caracal, AS565 Panther, EC635 and NH90 models. Eurocopter shares the European suppliers arena with AgustaWestland which produces the AW101, A109LUH (Light Utility Helicopter) and AW149 aircraft. Looking towards North America, US-based suppliers such as MD Helicopters offer the Explorer, Bell Helicopter produces the UH-1 Iroquois and the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation builds the S-70 Black Hawk and H-92 Superhawk.

Meanwhile Boeing retains its famous CH-47 Chinook in production.

Manufacturers in Asia are offering the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH)

new utility helicopter in the form of the EC725 to equip its Air Force, although this deal now looks in doubt. The Australian Army Aviation Corps has now retired the last of its UH-1H aircraft, while the Philippines are in the process of obtaining more of the same type to equip their Air Force. At the same time, Australia is also introducing the NH90 into Army service along with new CH-47F helicopters.

Although the Eurocopter deal may have floundered, India is obtaining new Mi-17 aircraft as is the Afghan National Army Air Corps, the Mongolian Air Force and the Chinese People's Liberation Army

while Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI), in conjunction with Eurocopter, is developing the Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH).

Finally, looking towards Russia, Kamov offers the Ka-60 Orca, while the ubiquitous Mi-17 remains in production, soon to be followed by the Euromil Mi-38.

During the past twelve months there has been significant activity in the Asian and Australasian region regarding support helicopters. The AS550C3 was almost ordered by the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) to fulfil an Army and Air Force requirement, while both forces continue to induct the Dhruv into service. Meanwhile, the Government of Malaysia had selected a

Aviation Corps.

Since its formation in 1992, Eurocopter has emerged as arguably the world's biggest helicopter supplier. The company has a wide portfolio of military support helicopter products which include the AS550C3 Fennec and twin-engined AS555 Fennec-2 variant, both of which can accommodate around five troops and have a Maximum Take Off Weight (MTOW) of 2,250 kg. One of the attractions of the Fennec, as with other support helicopter types, is that it can also be outfitted with a modest weapons fit, including Air-toGround Missiles (AGMs), rockets, cannon or machine gun pods. Such capabilities are

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This competition was launched to replace the legacy Sikorsky S-61A Nuri fleet which has around 40 years of operations under its belt

DECEMBER 2008/JANUARY 2009

attractive to countries which want an armed helicopter capability but might not wish to purchase a dedicated 'gunship' design. Eurocopter's larger EC635 can be armed with a pair of pod-mounted 20mm cannon or 70mm rockets, along with AGMs and can hold seven troops and operate with an MTOW of 2,910 kg. Larger helicopters are available in the form of the AS565UB/MB, which can carry up to ten troops and can be armed with cannons and rockets, while the AS532AL Cougar can accommodate up to 25 troops and carry a similar weapons load-out.

Eurocopter has also taken the Cougar design forward with the EC725 Caracal.

The Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) was the launch customer for this aircraft which can accommodate up to 29 troops and has an endurance of up to ten hours with airto-air refuelling. On 26th September it was announced that the EC725 had won the competition for a new support helicopter for the Tentera Udara DiRaja Malaysia (Royal Malaysian Air Force). This competition was launched to replace the legacy Sikorsky S-61A Nuri fleet which has around 40 years of operations under its belt. The Caracal won against competi-

tion from the AW101, Mi-17VS, CH-47 and the H-92. It was expected that Malaysia would initially obtain twelve aircraft configured for search and rescue operations which will be delivered from 2010. The country was expected to eventually acquire up to 48 aircraft, some of which will also equip the Army. However, on 28th October Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the country’s Prime Minister and Defence Minister, announced the deals’ cancellation, telling the media that: “We … decided during the National Economic Council meeting on 13th October not to purchase the helicopters at the moment because we need the allocation for other projects, and savings

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AEROSPACE T E C H N O L O G Y

are very important for us now to face an economic situation caused by the world economic crisis.”

Despite having only entered service with the French Air Force in 2005, the EC725 already has battle honours to its name, having assisted in the evacuation of foreign nationals from Lebanon during Israel's military operations in that country in 2006. The aircraft has also provided a Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) service from Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan, as part of the French deployment supporting the International Security Assistance Force.

Eurocopter is a partner in the NH Industries consortium, along with AgustaWestland and Stork Fokker Aerospace, which produces the NH90 utility aircraft. Able to accommodate up to 20 troops the NH90 is one of the largest helicopters produced in Europe. The aircraft has attracted orders from across Europe, but secured its first sale to the Pacific region in 2004 after the Australian government decided to purchase 46 of the helicopters to equip the country's army, which uses the local 'MRH90' designation for the machines. The first two helicopters arrived in the country in November 2007. The order breakdown will see 36 aircraft equipping the Army, with the Royal Australian Navy receiving six, with four MRH90s being used for

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Sikorsky’s latest military support helicopter, and planned successor to the company’s highly successful Black Hawk series, is the H-92 Superhawk. Military sales have been forthcoming from Canada. (Sikorsky)

training at Oakey Air Base in Queensland.

New Zealand has also ordered the NH90, opting for nine machines.

The NH90 will have to compete on the international market with the AgustaWestland AW101. Carrying up to 30 troops with a 15,600 kg MTOW, the helicopter has attracted orders for over 140 machines, but so far the only Asian customer for the helicopter has been Japan’s Maritime Self Defence Force for mine-clearance work. At the other end of the weight spectrum, AgustaWestland offers the A109 Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) which can carry around six

troops and can be equipped with AGMs, machine guns and rockets. The company's Super Lynx 300 has slightly more power accommodating up to nine and with a 5,330kg MTOW. Below the AW101 for performance is the AW149 which has an MTOW of over 8,000 kg and which can carry up to 16 troops.

As mentioned above, Eurocopter’s AS550C3 was originally selected by the Indian MoD to fulfil an order worth around US$400 million for up to 197 examples. However, the MoD announced that it was scrapping the deal in December 2007 and reopening the tendering process. The

AgustaWestland’s Super Lynx 300 is the latest incarnation of the company’s highly successful Lynx brand of combat helicopters. The design has been in service for over 30 years. (Thomas Withington)

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

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European and Asian manufacturers are going head to head against their North American counterparts in the military utility helicopter market country has a pressing need to replace the HAL Cheetah and Chetak utility aircraft, around 230 of which are operated by the Bharatiya Thalsena (Indian Army) and Bhartiya Vayu Sena (Indian Air Force). The new competition in India calls for the acquisition of up to 384 light helicopters to equip both forces, with the air force due to receive 125 aircraft and the army to get 259 which could push the contract value up to $2 billion. The first examples are expected to enter service circa 2011.

HAL managed to beat stiff competition in Ecuador to provide the countries Fuerza Aérea Ecuatoriana (Ecuador Air Force) with the Dhruv ALH. The deal was announced in June and is the first major export of the Dhruv to a military customer. The full order for seven machines will be fulfilled by 2010.

The helicopter is already equipping the Indian armed services with the army operating the Dhruv with its 201 and 202 Squadrons based at Bangalore Airport and Leh in the northern state of Jammu and

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Kashmir respectively. 201 Squadron's sister infra-red turret. The 'Yankee' Hueys are unit at Bangalore, 203 Squadron, will also be also outfitted with a pair of General outfitted with the Dhruv. The air force, Electric T700-GE-401C engines and commeanwhile, operates the aircraft with the posite rotor blades. This increases the per151 ‘Sarangs’ Helicopter Unit (HU) also at formance of the chopper, with its maxiBangalore and with the 117 ‘Himalayan mum cruise speed accelerating to 274 Dragons’ HU at Sarasawa in the northern km/h from 204 km/h.

In some countries, Hueys are being state of Uttar Pradesh.

European and Asian manufacturers are phased out to make way for newer designs going head to head against their North and this is the case in Australia where the American counterparts in the military util- Army retired the last of its UH-1H aircraft ity helicopter market. MD Helicopters is in September 2007. These machines will be promoting its MD Explorer design as an replaced by the NH90 utility helicopters aircraft which can carry around six troops which the force is introducing (see above).

However, other air forces around the with an MTOW in the region of 2,835 kg.

Despite the design being over fifty years region are looking to increase their UH-1 old, the Bell Helicopter Textron UH-1 inventories. The Hukbong Himpapawid ng Iroquois remains in service around the Pilipinas (Philippines Air Force) opened world. The aircraft can accommodate four- negotiations in June this year for an additeen troops (in the case of the UH-1N/Y tional ten UH-1H aircraft to supplement the versions) and has an MTOW in the region roughly 40 Hueys that the force currently of 4,300 kg for the 'Hotel' model. Around operates. The Philippines Air Force plans to 5,000 'Hueys' are thought to remain in obtain its new Hueys from stocks held by service worldwide. The aircraft can also be the Republic of Singapore Air Force and has armed with machine guns, cannon or rock- opened negotiations to this end.

The US Army replaced most of its et pods. The company is currently building Hueys with the Sikorsky S-70A Black the updated UHHawk (designated UH-60A in US Army 1Y design which service) from 1979. The force also operates has a FLIR S y s t e m s BRITE Star Also from the AgustaWestland stable is the AW139 which has been purchased by the Irish Air Corps as a utility helicopter with forwarda total of six equipping the force. (Thomas Withington) looking

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the UH-60M which entered production in 2007 and which will eventually replace all of the UH-60A models. The UH-60M differs from earlier versions in being outfitted with new rotor blades, a Rockwell Collins glass cockpit and new General Electric T700-GE-701D engines. Sikorsky is eyeing the export market for the Black Hawk and is promoting the 'International Black Hawk' which was launched at the 2006 Farnborough Air Show. This aircraft is equipped with a digital cockpit and the company hopes to have the design available for purchase in 2010.

The International Black Hawk is not the only new Sikorsky product on the global market. The company launched the H-92 in the late 1990s; as a medium-lift machine which can carry up to 22 troops with a MTOW of 12,800 kg. The aircraft has done well in the civilian market, enjoying sales to operators using the S-92 civilian variant to support offshore oil and gas exploration.

The aircraft has, however, sold less well to the military community. That said the HH92 version is a candidate in the US Air Force CSAR-X competition to acquire 141 helicopters to replace the USAF's HH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopters. The first military customer for the aircraft was Canada which purchased 28 in 2004, giving the aircraft the local designation of CH-148 Cyclone.

The US Army is outfitting itself with a

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new helicopter in the guise of the American Eurocopter UH-72A Lakota. The design is closely based on the Eurocopter EC145. The force received its first Lakota in December 2006. The force could receive over 340 aircraft by 2016 and around one third will outfit regular army units with the balance being operated by the Army National Guard. Each National Guard battalion will be outfitted with three reconnaissance companies, equipped with eight aircraft and a single eight-helicopter medical evacuation unit.

The Boeing CH-47 Chinook remains as the United States' only production heavyweight helicopter which, since its debut in 1961, has enjoyed healthy sales on the international market. In November last year, former Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson announced that the Army's Aviation Corps would be buying three of the 'Foxtrot' versions of the aircraft. The CH-47F can carry up to 55 troops and has an MTOW of around 27,000 kg.

The aircraft are expected to include a significant amount of technology from the MH-47G special operations variant which Boeing is building for the US Army. Given that Australia's aircraft are expected to operate with that country's Special Forces,

[Sikorsky] launched the H92 in the late 1990s; as a medium-lift machine which can carry up to 22 troops with a MTOW of 12,800 kg there is little word on what additional equipment these CH-47Fs have received.

The Indian MoD has also released a formal request for information regarding the aircraft. The country is in the market for twelve heavy-lift aircraft with an estimated cost of around $600 million and for which Boeing has offered the CH-47F. One requirement which New Delhi has stipulated for the aircraft is an air-to-air refuelling capability. It has been reported that a contract for the aircraft could be signed in the next two years.

Russian designs of utility helicopter have always sold well around the world often as a cost-effective alternative to more expensive European and North American designs. Kamov Helicopters Joint Stock Company has developed the Ka-60 which performed its maiden flight in 1998. The aircraft, which is powered by a pair of Rybinsk RD-600 turboshaft engines, has an

Enjoying early export success in Ecuador, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter is also equipping the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force. (Thomas Withington)

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MTOW of 6,750 kg and accommodation for up to 16 personnel. Meanwhile, the Mi-17 family continues to be a popular military utility helicopter across the world. One of the latest versions is the Mi-17IV which is equipped with two Klimov TV3-117VM powerplants. India has ordered 80 upgraded versions of the aircraft, as of 2006, for around $662 million. Other recent customers in the Asia region for the Mi-17 include Mongolia which has purchased the Mi-17I variants, the first of which was received in November 2007, along with the Afghan National Air Corps. Meanwhile, in August the Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara (Indonesian Air Force) received six Mi-17VS versions of the aircraft and they will be operated by the Skadron Udara Angkatan Darat 11 at Achmad Yani Airport in Java. The Mi-17V5 is also in production. This version includes a hydraulic ramp at the rear of the cabin.

This allows the helicopter to deliver paratroopers and also to carry outsized loads with the rear door open.

Production of Mi-17s in China was reported to have begun in December 2007 with the first test-flight of a locally-assembled Mi-17I following construction by the Sichuan Lantian Helicopter Company. The

The Mi-17 family continues to be a popular military utility helicopter across the world factory, located in the Sichuan Province in south western China, is reported to have the capacity to assemble around 80 helicopters per year. Russian manufacturers Mil Moscow Helicopter Company and the Ulan Ude Aviation Plant are supplying knockdown kits to be assembled at the plant.

The Kazan Helicopters Joint Stock Company of Tatarstan are one of the builders of the Mi-17 series and the company is now looking ahead towards new designs. Over the long term the Mi-17 could be superseded by the Mi-38. This aircraft is conceived as a new helicopter with an MTOW of around 15,000 kg and accommodation for up to 32 troops. A prototype performed its maiden flight in 2003 and the aircraft was powered by Pratt and Whitney Canada PW127T/S engines, although some reports have said that the production aircraft will be outfitted with Klimov TV7117V/VM powerplant. Deliveries of the helicopter are expected to start in 2009.

AgustaWestland’s AW101 is one of Europe’s latest medium-weight military utility helicopters. So far, the type has enjoyed good sales and has found a niche as a mine-clearance platform with Japan’s Maritime Self Defence Force. (Thomas Withington)

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Finally, other new designs are being offered by KAI. The Korean Helicopter Programme got underway in 2005 and the aircraft is being designed with cooperation from Eurocopter which is providing technical assistance on the programme, along with the machines’ autopilot and transmission.

The aircraft, dubbed the Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH), is said by some sources to be based on the AS565 Panther design with an MTOW of 8,000 kg and accommodation for eleven troops. KAI hopes to fly the first prototype in 2009 with production beginning around 2011. The KUH will join the Dhruv as one of Asia's latest indigenous military support helicopters.

The military utility helicopter market is enjoying rude health in Asia and around the world. Ageing fleets of legacy aircraft require replacement by new platforms.

Moreover, flexibility, the key attribute of the utility helicopter; remains the driving factor in the popularity of these aircraft.

Customers not only obtain solutions which can move troops and equipment but which can also be armed for combat operations, representing a cost-effective alternative to the gunship, and offering a platform that is highly suitable for lowintensity counter-insurgency operations where the need to have 'on call' firepower, and to deploy troops quickly over long A MR distances, is paramount.

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Flying Tigers

The Pacific, a pundit once observed, is a very big place.

Every nation bordering the world’s largest ocean can attest to the truth of that statement, especially when considering the national and regional security implications attendant on maritime surveillance planning. Small wonder, then, that in China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Korea – among other regional powers – military and security planners have looked increasingly to the concept of using unmanned systems – whether aerial, marine or ground-based – to address some of the problems inherent in surveillance of vast swathes of ocean and the littoral area.

by Tim Mahon

Flight testing of the X-47B UCAS-D will begin in late 2009 (Source: Northrop Grumman)

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uch has been made of the considerable performance of such Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) as Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk, flying at 65,000 feet and covering hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of ocean – or land – in a single mission.

Global Hawk is likely to provide maritime surveillance for several nations, at least for the United States and Australia, and smaller, lower altitude UAS are also likely to enter service with a number of nations in the region in the short- and medium-term.

One issue that is only now beginning to come to the fore, however, is what will the Asian Pacific region do about unmanned armed intervention systems? Current operational experience by Coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan indicates a viable – some would say vibrant – role for Unmanned Combat Aerial Systems (UCAS), a role that is being proven almost daily in these areas.

What does the region intend to do about implementing the lessons learned from this hard-won experience and applying them to what is arguably perhaps the most challenging arena in the world for sustained military

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operations? Does the future hold the prospect of swarms of armed UCAS darkening the skies of Asia?

Despite the levels of activity going on in UCAS development elsewhere in the world, the real answer to this question is that it is probably too early, at this point, to make any accurate forecast of what is likely to happen in Asia. There are too many variables, too many vested interests that haven’t yet quite decided where their interests should be vested, and too many unanswered questions. It is not too early, however, to start asking the question. And it is certainly not too early to examine what might be learned from the development and concept demonstration programs taking place in other parts of the world – notably the United States and Europe.

In the United States, considerable attention has been focused on the development of concepts of operations for the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper UCAS, which has resulted in robust and effective operations of armed UAS in the skies over Iraq

and Afghanistan – the latter theatre including significant involvement from British Reaper operators as well as American.

Anecdotal evidence from theatre shows that, on average, some 20 percent of daily available UAS sorties are dedicated to strike missions. NATO’s Joint Airpower Competence Centre in Kalkar, Germany, has studied the development of UAS tactics and has determined a number of potential armed intervention missions that can be effectively fulfilled by UCAS: strike, air-to-air, overwatch, suppression of enemy air defence (SEAD), electronic warfare and – on the basis that the best defence against a weapon system is another iteration of the same weapon system – counter-UAS operations.

However, the developments in the United States that potentially hold the greatest promise for future UCAS operations in the Asia Pacific region are those that centre on one of the most complex and challenging operational scenarios for unmanned systems – operating routinely from aircraft carriers.

Naval aviators have long held that carrier

The Sky-X UCAV made its first flight at the Vidsel test range in Sweden in 2005. The Sky-Y is a more conventional ISR UAV (Source: Alenia Aeronautica)

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

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landings are the supreme test of a pilot’s skill – aiming a 20 ton aircraft at a relatively small target moving in three dimensions while travelling at 140 knots, as is routinely achieved in carrier landings, can be said to be the most challenging non-combat operation these pilots are called on to conduct. How much greater does the challenge become by taking the man out of the loop and

seeking to conduct ship borne UAS and UCAS operations at standoff distances?

That is precisely the question that the US Navy’s Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) programme seeks to answer. In August 2007 the Navy awarded a six-year $635.8 million contract to Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems in Rancho Bernardo, California, to build two flight demonstrators, prove the concept of routine carrier-based UCAS operations and mature the critical technologies involved. The programme is leveraging experience and the knowledge base developed during the seven years work performed in this area since 2000 in the Navy’s own Unmanned Combat Air

Vehicle (UCAV-N) and the Navy/Air Force Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (JUCAS). Northrop’s approach has been a focused one throughout the history of its development programmes in this regard – the overriding priority has been to design and develop an unmanned system capable of solving the big problem first – the ability to provide for robust, repeatable, routine carrier-based strike operations, including the ability for unmanned systems to interface seamlessly with manned aircraft in the carrier strike force. Leveraging this developmental objective

to provide for other mission objectives for the Air Force – which has a requirement for a similar air vehicle but with far larger internal payload capacity – will take a back seat for the time being.

The issue of operating a UCAS from an aircraft carrier is a complex and logistically challenging one – but one that is central to the continuing evolution of US strategic plans for dealing with the vast areas of ocean and coastal interest that the Navy is engaged in. The advantages of unmanned systems in this arena are legion and are

Construction of the first X-47B began in 2008 (Source: Northrop Grumman)

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How much greater does the challenge become by taking the man out of the loop becoming well recognised, despite the fact that there is a degree of scepticism among the Navy’s hierarchy.

The US Navy requires its potential future UCAS to provide persistent deep strike across the littoral – either in standalone format or as part of a combined arms or expeditionary warfare operation. Standing off at long distance – evolving concepts of operations require standoff distances of up to 1,500 miles – has meant that the demands for long

reach, global capability and survivability have become paramount.

These demands, coupled with the requirement for all-aspect low observability (sometimes referred to as broadband

AEROSPACE T E C H N O L O G Y

Not every nation in the Asia-Pacific region, however, has a full-size aircraft carrier stealth) and the capacity for multiple inboard weapons carriage have resulted in a relatively large, tailless airframe.

Autonomy of operation is a sine qua non for UCAS-D. Other than integration into the carrier’s local air traffic control system for launch and recovery operations, the air vehicle will be monitored (rather than controlled) by a mission operator throughout the mission envelope. This envelope could take the UCAS up to 2,500

miles from the carrier or more – 1,500 miles stand-off from the coast and a further 1,000 miles inland to the target – at which distance it could loiter for up to twelve hours.

In its current iteration, UCAS-D has an endurance in the region of 50 hours, the limitation being the necessity for routine maintenance inspections at approximately this interval. The Northrop Grumman team expects, however, that the endurance of production air vehicles might rise to roughly double this figure, given the relatively minor engineering modifications required to achieve such a significant step up in capability.

By comparison, a manned aircraft conducting the same mission profile would have to refuel several times on the inbound route to the target and even then would have an over-target loi-

ter time approaching zero. In addition, human factors place a practical upper limit of around 10 hours on the overall mission endurance of a single-pilot manned aircraft – a number that is significantly reduced if the pilot has to engage in manoeuvre combat of any type during the mission. Thereby hangs the definition of one of the principal attractions of UCAS for military planners.

Taking the man out of the loop makes it possible to do things with an unmanned airframe that are just not possible in a manned airframe of a similar size envelope, thus vastly enhancing operational flexibility.

Size, of course, does matter – especially in the environment of an aircraft carrier, in which space is always at a premium. The physical footprint of UCAS-D is somewhat smaller than that of an F/A-18, but is much more compact and manoeuvrable on the flight deck. The Northrop Grumman team calculates that, in US Navy service, UCAS-D could achieve up to a 50 percent increase in operational tempo compared with current carrier-borne aircraft, with an obvious consequent beneficial effect on flexibility of mission and/or strike generation.

Not every nation in the Asia-Pacific region, however, has a full-size aircraft carrier – and those that do, have not yet necessarily generated specific operational requirements for carrier-borne UCAS. Leaving aside the question of rotary wing UCAS being

The issue of operating a UCAS from an aircraft carrier is a complex and logistically challenging one – but one that is central to the continuing evolution of US strategic plans (Source Northrop Grumman)

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BAE Systems unveiled the Mantis programme at the Farnborough air show in July 2008 (Source: BAE Systems)

operated from other surface combatants such as cruisers, frigates and destroyers – for which a series of test programmes on both sides of the Atlantic are currently in progress – the issue of land-based UCAS remains one of intense interest.

As is the case with the maritime environment, protagonists of land-based UCAS are still a long way from agreeing the way in which such air vehicles should best be designed, developed, operated and integrated into current or newly developed operational concepts. This has not stopped the rapid proliferation of programmes, however, though it has to be said that most of these are still at the technology demonstrator stage, rather than that of prototypes for future production. The BAE Systems Fury, Taranis and Mantis in Britain, Alenia Aeronautica’s SkyX and Sky-Y in Italy, EADS’ Barracuda and the Advanced UAV in Germany, Saab’s Sharc and Filur in Sweden and nEUROn and an as yet unnamed UAV development proposal from a team of Dassault and Thales in France – all these, and more besides, are programmes aimed at investigating, testing and maturing the critical technologies that will enable UCAS to be safely and effectively integrated into future military operations.

As might be expected from such a wide variety of programmes originating within the military industrial complexes of different

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nations – even though there is a measure of international collaboration in some of the projects – there is a wide variety of configurations and capabilities among these contenders. Ranging from the relatively small BAE Systems’ Fury – a weaponised version of the company’s HERTI UAS – to the much larger Taranis air vehicle from the same stable, European UCAS share one major common feature.

That is none of them are anywhere near series production (or the definition of a harmonised requirement) and only one of them makes any serious attempt to address a possible common European requirement.

Observers of European defence procurement over the last three decades or more may be forgiven for tending towards the belief that such a harmonised requirement may, in fact, be a bridge too far for such an apparently disparate group of nations with common aims but radically differing capabilities, aspirations or visions.

Be that as it may, the continuing growth in UCAS development programmes in Europe offers a wide variety of possible choices for

A harmonised requirement may, in fact, be a bridge too far

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Asian nations potentially considering acquisition of such a system. In Britain – home to what might arguably be considered Europe’s largest UAV procurement in the $1.3 billion Watchkeeper programme – BAE Systems began work on the Taranis UCAS technology demonstrator in late 2006 and unveiled the Mantis programme, which it commenced a year later, at the Farnborough air show in July this year. Both programs are intended to provide common airframes for both surveillance and UCAS missions – a dynamic which will continue to blur the distinction between UAS and UCAS until there will hardly be a difference between the two. Taranis is roughly the same size as the Hawk jet trainer and will weigh in at around eight tons. It is intended to inform discussions on the shape of the RAF’s future force mix, according to official sources, and is thus a relatively short-lived demonstrator programme, with a likely end date of mid-2011 in mind.

Mantis – again a ‘hybrid’ air vehicle intended for both ISR and UCAS functionality – will also be used to demonstrate technologies aimed at controlling and monitoring an EADS’ Barracuda UCAS will support a joint German/Finnish Agile UAV demonstrator project through 2013. (Source EADS)

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unmanned system in complex airspace.

The nEUROn programme, led by Dassault but involving several other European industries and sponsored by several governments, is the closest approximation to a pan-European programme currently in existence and is eerily similar in profile

to Northrop Grumman’s UCAS-D, though smaller and with no apparent plans for maritime testing as yet. Saab’s Sharc and Filur programmes have fuelled the company’s experience in the development of low observable systems and thus earned it its place in the nEUROn programme. EADS’ Barracuda UCAS, resurrected in the form of a second air vehicle after the first had the misfortune to crash in Spain during the test flight programme in 2006, will support a joint German/Finnish Agile UAV demonstrator project through 2013.

The same company’s Advanced UAV (AUAV) is not currently scheduled to achieve full operational capability until some time after 2018, while the joint Dassault/Thales UAS proposal to meet a current French Air Force ISR requirement could be available as early as 2012, according to Thales’ managers.

The issue facing Asian observers of the UCAS scene, therefore, is neither one of a lack of choice nor, necessarily, one of the weapon-

The issue facing Asian observers is as much a cultural issue as it is a technical or doctrinal one isation of a UAS making technology issues more complex. As long as gravity continues to work, UCAS operators can be relatively confident that weapon separation from the air vehicle will take place and current

generation fire-and-forget missiles and smart munitions already dispense with the need for human intervention once launched. The question at issue is rather how to integrate UCAS into current concepts of operations – and this is as much a cultural issue as it is a technical or doctrinal one. The desire to derive maximum benefit from the unique capabilities that mature UCAS systems will afford military planners will drive such change – whether the system is tweaked to fit

the CONOPS or the CONOPS itself is developed around existing systems capabilities.

There is not a major regional power in the Asia-Pacific region that could not potentially benefit from the integration of UACS into current and future force mixes – though the complexity of doing so should by no means be underestimated. Some nations may be planning to weaponise existing indigenous UAS air vehicles and achieve de facto UCAS status for them. Others may well be waiting to see what lessons can be derived from ongoing US and European UCAS development programs and operational testing. There will be a price to pay for those lessons, a price inevitably reflected in the acquisition costs across the negotiat-

ing table. But as long as there is adequate choice and therefore market-induced competition, that price is unlikely to be too high to warrant paying. And the time for Asian nations to start this process is now – at the very moment that many of the developers (and, all too frequently, their parent governments) are seeking greater international AMR participation, collaboration and support.

The Advanced UAV (AUAV) platform is not currently scheduled to achieve full operational capability until some time after 2018 (Source EADS)

DECEMBER 2008/JANUARY 2009

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Individual Weapons

Combat pistols: poised for a shift

An Australian Army commando of the Tactical Assault Group – East enters a training facility armed with a Heckler & Koch USP45 Tactical pistol.

Australian SOF units use the USP in 9 mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP calibres.

(Source: Australian DoD)

For the majority of military pistol users such as vehicle and aircraft crew members, staff officers and specialists who cannot be encumbered with a rifle or carbine the pistol is a defensive weapon. Combat soldiers such as machine gunners and other support weapon operators, military police officers and naval boarding parties are often armed with pistols as a secondary, defensive weapon. Special Operations Forces are the only user group to employ handguns both as defensive and as offensive weapons.

by Ian Kemp

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issatisfied with the performance of 9 mm handguns, many nations, including the US, are seeking a new generation of more powerful pistols.

Whether used offensively or in self-defence, the most important operational requirement of a pistol is that it kills, or at least disables, an opponent with a single round. The US Army’s Program Executive Office Soldier sent a team in May 2003 to visit units in Iraq to investigate equipment performance during the US-led invasion of Iraq. The team reported: “Soldiers expressed general dissatisfaction with the 9 mm pistol. First and foremost, they did not feel it possessed sufficient stopping power.”

The selection of the M9 in 1984 to replace the iconic M1911A1 .45 calibre pistol that had been in US military service for more than 70 years followed a US Congressional directive to field a common pistol in the NATO standard 9 x 19 mm calibre for use by all the services. The decision to replace the combat-proven .45 calibre Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP) cartridge in favour of the lighter 9mm cartridge launched an emotive discussion that still continues. A 2006 article in the Marine Corps Gazette stated: “Logistics, interoperability, and cost consid-

D

The US Department of Defense (DoD) selected the M9, a modified version of the Italian Beretta Model 92F semiautomatic erations were also factors in the decision to adopt the M9 in 1985. One key factor that was largely ignored, however, was the lack of stopping power inherent to the 9mm cartridge.” An army procurement official wrote in the US Army’s Infantry magazine: “The United States was trying to move toward NATO joint operability and we were fighting the Cold War. Target effect wasn’t a factor in that decision. Now it is.”

For US and coalition partners in the Global War on Terrorism stopping power has become the primary consideration in the selection of pistols.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) selected the M9, a modified version of the Italian Beretta Model 92F semiautomatic, double-action pistol, through a competitive procurement process. With an empty weight of 975g the M9 is lighter than the 1.13 kg M1911A1 and with a 15 round magazine seemed to offer more firepower than the .45

Glock’s .45 Glock Automatic Pistol family consists of the standard G37 (top) with 10-round magazine, the compact G38 with eight-round magazine (middle) and the subcompact G39 with six round magazine (bottom). Glock is expected to offer the GAP family for the US Air Force’s Modular Handgun System competition. (Source: Glock)

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calibre weapon with its seven round magazine. Beretta received an initial multi-year contract for over 500,000 weapons and the company continues to receive contracts for replacement weapons. On 7 November 2008, for example, Beretta USA was awarded, a $8,154,800 three year contract for 20,000 M9 pistols. In May 2005 the US Marine Corps ordered 3,480 M9A1 models which are fitted with the M9/M11 Pistol Rail System to allow a laser aiming module (LAM) or white light pointer to be attached. Customers around the globe have also fielded Beretta’s Model 92 including France which bought over 200,000 for use by military and paramilitary forces.

Elements within the US armed forces have acquired other pistols to meet specific needs despite the DoD’s standardisation directive. Aircrew and military police units that required a more compact weapon than the M9 are issued the SIG-Sauer P228 9 mm pistol, designated the M11 in US service. The M11 has an empty weight of 830g and a 13 round magazine.

More significantly, some combat units dissatisfied with the 9mm round either retained old .45 calibre pistols or bought new .45 calibre weapons. The USMC rebuilt a number of its M1911A1 pistols to the Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) 0.45 ACP model. Modifications to the weapon included fitting a precision barrel, precise trigger, rubber stocks, competition-grade ambidextrous safety and highprofile combat sights as well as acquiring stainless steel competition-grade magazines.

A USMC press release states that the Corps prefers the 0.45 calibre pistol because marines in reconnaissance, counter-terrorism and other combat units, “are likely to find themselves in a stand-off, within steps away from their enemy. The time needed to fire off a second round to incapacitate the enemy can mean life or death.”

The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) launched a competition to acquire an Offensive Handgun Weapon System (OHWS) and in 1991 selected Germany’s Heckler and Koch (H&K) in 1991 to develop the .45 calibre Mk 23 Mod 0 OHWS. Popularly known as the ‘SOCOM Pistol’ this is the only handgun in DoD service formally designated as an offensive weapon. The Mk 23 has an empty weight of 1.21 kg and is fed from a 12 round magazine.

It can be fitted with a flash and noise sup-

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presser, and a LAM. The USSOCOM bought about 2,000 pistols from 1996 which are primarily used by naval special warfare units.

The Mk 23 Mod 0 is a further development of H&K’s Universal Self-loading Pistol (USP) that was developed for the military, police and civilian markets in 9 mm, .40 and .45 calibres. The German, Spanish, Irish and Estonian armed forces, among others, use the 9 mm USP. With an empty weight of 887g the USP45 has a magazine capacity of 10 or 12 rounds. The frame is grooved to accommodate H&K’s Universal Tactical Light. H&K also developed the USP45 Tactical which combines the best features of the Mk 23 and the USP45 in a pistol that is cheaper than the Mk 23. An empty USP45 Tactical weighs 895g.

Australia’s special forces are report-

ed to use the Mk 23 and the USP45 Tactical.

In Fiscal Year 2005 the USSOCOM received Foreign Comparative Testing programme funding to evaluate designs from Beretta, Glock, H&K, SIG and SteyrMannlicher for a new Close Quarter Battle Pistol to replace its “legacy SIG226 battle pistol used by Special Operations Forces for the past 15 years”. Separately, both the US Army and the USMC were developing plans to replace their 9 mm weapons with new .45 calibre pistols. The army stipulated in its market survey that its .45 calibre Future Handgun

A US Marine Corps student on a Quick Reaction Force Instructor Course prepares to fire his Beretta M9 9mm pistol on a fireand-manoeuvre range. (Source: USMC)

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System should, “provide enhanced terminal effects, improved sights and an integrated mounting rail for attachment of enhanced targeting devices”.

In an effort to rationalise procurement process the DoD decided in mid-2005 to merge the separate pistol requirements into the Joint Combat Pistol project under the management of the USSOCOM. The project would cover the acquisition of 600,000 pistols with an external safety configuration and 45,000 with no external safety. To field these weapons over a 10-year period it was intended that the maximum monthly delivery rate would reach 5,000 weapons. Interested bidders were told they would have to provide 24 Engineering Test Units – 12 in each configuration – for evaluation. The provisional specification stated that weapons must

INFANTRY TECHNOLOGY

be commercially available, non-developmental items capable of firing .45 ACP and achieve a mean radius of 8cm for a ten shot group at 50m. Other performance requirements included no fewer than 2,000 mean rounds between stoppages, no fewer than 5,000 mean rounds between failures and a 20,000 round service life. A standard magazine with no fewer than eight rounds and a high-capacity magazine of between 10 to 15 rounds were required.

Not surprisingly, many pistol manufacturers prepared weapons in anticipation of a requirement. In 2004 H&K completed prototypes of its HK45 and HK45C (for compact) .45 ACP pistols; the former is fed from a ten round magazine and the latter from an eight round magazine. The weapons incorporate features of the USP series along with features suggested by former USSOCOM operators.

Both models can be fitted with an extended

The weapons incorporate features of the USP series along with features suggested by former USSOCOM operators threaded barrel to accommodate a suppressor. Two choices of backstrap are offered to fit the user’s hand thus avoiding the criticism of the M1911A1 pistol that it was difficult for shooters with small hands to fire.

Glock recognised the appeal of the .45 calibre pistol on the US civilian, military and law enforcement and developed a family of pistols to fire its new .45 calibre Glock Automatic Pistol (GAP) cartridge. Glock has achieved success using lightweight polymer to produce pistols that are in service with military

DECEMBER 2008/JANUARY 2009

and police forces in more than 45 countries in various calibres including 9mm and .45 ACP. Glock designed its new cartridge to have the same stopping power as the proven .45 ACP cartridge but with less recoil. Glock claims that the .45 GAP provides superior performance than the .45 ACP. Glock’s .45 GAP pistols feature a smaller grip to accommodate magazines as the new cartridge is 1/8 inch (3.18 mm) shorter than the .45 ACP. The Glock 37 .45 GAP uses the same frame as the 9mm Glock 17. It has an empty weight of 695g, about two-thirds that of the M1911A1.

The G37 uses ten round magazines while the compact G38’s magazine holds eight rounds and the magazine of the subcompact G39 holds six rounds. Glock’s gamble in introducing a new cartridge had an immediate impact on the US market as the Winchester

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The search for a man stopping cartridge to replace the 9x19 mm round has been a protracted saga, not just in the US Ammunition company now produces .45 GAP ammunition and Springfield Armory markets its own, the XD .45 GAP pistol.

Without any explanation the USSOCOM notified industry in September 2006 that the Joint Combat Pistol project had been ‘postponed indefinitely’. To the surprise of industry and Congressional lawmakers, in February 2007 the US Air Force requested $70.7 million to purchase 100,600 pistols to replace its M9s and a further $19.1 million to fund an initial ammunition buy of almost 50

A US Marine Corps reconnaissance team leader coaches another marine firing Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) 0.45 ACP pistol. (Source: USMC)

million rounds for the new handguns. The service’s market survey for the Air Force Future Handgun programme stated that it was seeking a .40 S&W or .45 ACP calibre

handgun. The survey specified that the new weapon, “must be chambered for a round that provides an increased permanent wound channel diameter over the 9x19 mm NATO round and at least 12 inches penetration in human flesh when firing ball ammunition”. Other specifications included a weapon in both standard and compact versions, ambidextrous handling, reduced weight compared to the M9 and different action configurations.

Congressional lawmakers refused the USAF’s funding request and instead provided $5 million for a study of joint pistol requirements, including those unique to any of the services. The funding would cover the acquisition of 50 pistols and ammunition for comparative testing alongside the M9. In late April 2008 the US Army’s Program Manager for Soldier Weapons at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, acting on behalf of the USAF, issued a sources sought notice to Beretta USA, Glock, FNH USA, H&K Defense and Sig Sauer for a non-developmental Modular Handgun System. Rather than stipulate a calibre the notice specifies that proposed weapons must produce a wound channel larger than an M882 projectile when firing standard ball ammunition.

The search for a man stopping cartridge to replace the 9x19 mm round has been a protracted saga, not just in the US but also within NATO. Almost 20 years ago, in 1989, NATO announced that members needed to replace both 9 mm pistols and submachine A member of a US Marine Corps reconnaissance platoon loads a seven-round magazine into his Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) 0.45 ACP pistol prior to close quarter battle training. (Source: USMC)

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INFANTRY TECHNOLOGY

An Australian Army commando of the Tactical Assault Group – East enters a training facility armed with a Hecker & Koch USP45 Tactical pistol. Australian SOF units use the USP in 9 mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP calibres. (Source: Australian DoD)

All Five-seveNs can mount a LAM or a tactical flashlight and an optional threaded barrel is available for mounting a suppresser. guns (SMGs) with a ‘personal defence weapon’ (PDW) in a new calibre that could penetrate combat body armour. FN Herstal was the first manufacturer to develop a new cartridge and weapon, the 5.7x28mm P90 PDW unveiled in 1990. Appreciating that few military customers would want to replace all of their pistols with an expensive automatic weapon, FN Herstal introduced the 5.7 mm Five-seveN pistol in 1995. The polymer framed pistol weighs about 750 g

with a loaded 20 round magazine. All FiveseveNs can mount a LAM or a tactical flashlight and an optional threaded barrel is available for mounting a suppresser. The FiveseveN pistol is in service with a number of police and special operations units including France’s Groupe de Sécurité et d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale.

H&K introduced 4.6x30 mm MP7 PDW in 1999 and followed it with a 4.6mm pistol in 2003. Both the MP7 and the P46 are now in German military service. The P46 weighs 850 g with a 20-round magazine, incorporates a Picatinny rail for a LAM or light and can be fitted with a suppresser. The total Bundeswehr requirement is expected to exceed 10,000 P46s. Sales of the MP7 are Members of the US Marine Corps’ 2nd Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team Company fire their Beretta M9 9 mm pistols at targets during a live fire exercise on the flight deck of the USS Blue Ridge. (Source:)

DECEMBER 2008/JANUARY 2009

gaining momentum; the weapon is in service with the UK Ministry of Defence Police and in May 2007 the Norwegian Ministry of Defence ordered 6,500 MP7A1s to replace its 9mm SMGs. More widespread use of the MP7 will undoubtedly generate interest in the P46 or other 4.6mm pistols.

National industrial concerns prevented NATO officials from stating a preference for either the 5.7mm or 4.6 mm as a standard cartridge and the agreed compromise is to let users decide.

In the absence of a clear military preference for a new pistol calibre development and sales of 9mm weapons continues although manufactures frequently hedge their bets by offering a choice of calibres. For example, the Israel Weapon Industries Barak double-action pistol, launched in 2002, is available in three calibres: 9mm with a 16 round magazine, .40 S&W with a 12 round magazine and .45 ACP with a ten round magazine. The two smaller calibre weapons weigh 735g unloaded, while the .45 calibre pistol weighs 765g. The Barak was developed to meet the needs of the Israel Defence Force.

Caracal International was incorporated in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2006 as the first defence manufacturer in the United Arab Emirates. At IDEX 2007 the company unveiled its launch product – the Caracal pistol. The Caracal F is available in four different calibres: 9x19 mm (with an 18 round magazine), 9x21 mm (16), .357 (16) and .40 (16). Use of synthetic materials keeps the weapon’s weight to 750g. The compact Caracal C, which weighs 700g, is available in the same calibres but with a smaller magazine capacity: 9x19mm (15 rounds), 9x21 mm (13), .357 (13) and .40 (13). Both models can be fitted with a shoulder stock and forward grip for more accurate shooting and a bracket can be mounted to accommodate red dot and other sights. The company has received a Dhs18 million launch contract to supply 10,000 pistols to the UAE Armed Forces.

An eventual US decision, whether by the USAF or on a joint service basis, to replace the M9 and other 9 mm weapons by a new generation of pistols, chambered to fire .45 calibre of other ‘manstopper’ cartridges, will generate considerable interest among NATO allies, US Foreign Military Sales customers and other AMR military users.

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Widening

Perceptions

Ground Surveillance Radars (GSR) are used in range of applications including battlefield surveillance, border security, facilities/perimeter security, coastal surveillance and fire correction for artillery support. With the switch in military focus from the high intensity conventional battlefield, to the nuanced environment of asymmetric warfare, rules of engagement are becoming increasingly precise, leading to greater calls on a system’s ability to provide greater detail about the target. In addition to detection, classification and ultimately identification, other performance factors have also come into scrutiny particularly for infantry centric operations where portability is king, with robustness, low weight and power-efficiency becoming pre-eminent.

by Adam Baddeley

Using ground surveillance radar as the basis for a multi-sensor platform is a straightforward and capable solution (Source: AJB)

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C 4 I S R TECHNOLOGY

t the start of operations in Afghanistan and particularly in Iraq, the US had a deficit of surveillance assets. The principle GSR of the time was the ageing AN/PPS-5A/B. This stock has been subsequently supplemented by a range of upgrades, new builds and imported solutions to meet demand.

Syracuse Research Corporation (SRC) has been very active in this area, initially providing an upgrade to the existing PPS5, to the D standard. Weighing 40Kg the D operates from 16.21 to 16.5GHz and can detect out to 10km versus personnel and 20km versus vehicles. The next step was a further improvement to create the PPS-5 Enhanced, which boosted range to 30km and improved performance within that coverage, including the provision of integrated GPS and electronic compass for improved target location.

SRC’s Lightweight Surveillance and Track Acquisition Radar (LSTAR) developed in parallel to the PPS-5 upgrades, is based on the company’s earlier Lightweight Counter Mortar Radar. It provides a 360 degree electronically scanned solution and is the only available radar with non rotating 360 degree coverage.

Scan time is 1-3 seconds, depending on range and has a range of 25Km, with faster update rates possible with sector scanning.

The system is protected via a rugged enclosure from winds of up to 150Mph and hurricane force rain. An IP based solution, its features include a HUMS and a control system that can be accessed via a web browser. The system weighs 114Kg including pedestal mount. Without it, the weight drops to just 68Kg. The company is currently completing what is described as a cost effective version of its PPS-5 upgrade, known as the SR Hawk, designed for border and perimeter security tasks.

The system is due to complete its assessment from an undisclosed US customer in 2008 with sales expected to flow from that. The company

A

has recently been given permission to begin marketing the system overseas.

SR Hawk has the ability to detect targets from 30-60Km is a single operating mode simultaneously and is designed to operate in all weathers via its antenna design. The system has continuous 360 degree coverage with a 1.7 degree beam width. It is frequency agile from 16.21 to 16.5GHz and can detect a single walking person from 60m-10Km with vehicles detected at 60m to 30Km, with a range accuracy of 10m with targets moving at 0.9Kmph or higher. The system has a built in target trackers. The US Army has tested its Wireless

Modem linking multiple radars for remote operation to a central control hub. The system uses a simple, Windows based man machine interface, which includes a Plan Position Indicator with multiple image formats being implemented. The radar weighs 18.2Kg with a transport weight in a shipping container of just 81.2Kg.

Deployment on small 4x4 tactical vehicles gives these platforms a capable ISR capability (Source : AJB)

DECEMBER 2008/JANUARY 2009

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Telephonics manufactures the IAI Elta EL/M-2129 GSR under license as the ARSS (Advanced Radar Surveillance System) where it has been adopted for the border security role in two versions – manportable and a vehicle or container based solution.

DRS Sustainment Systems provide the PPS-5C Man-Portable Surveillance and Target Acquisition Radar (MSTAR) offered under license from Thales and being USAF Integrated Base Defense Security System.

When integrated with an EO/IR payload, the system is offered as the ARGUS. The EADS Tactical Radar Ground Surveillance, an active phased array radar, is on the heavy side of the scale, often shown

operating from a Dingo 2 4x4 protected vehicle. Operating in X-band it can detect infantry at 23km, helicopters at 40km and the impact of a 155mm shell at 35km.

Each member of IAI’s ELTA’s EL/M2112 Persistent Ground Surveillance Family has up to four stationary planar antennas, each providing 90 degree coverage and includes simultaneous beam technology which can detect both ground or sea surface targets, offering up to 360 degree instantaneous sector coverage. The user has the choice of seeing targets represented in 2D or 3D digital mapping. The system operates in X-Band and can track over 500 targets simultaneously with a range accuracy of 1-2m.

The system is offered in five variants, down to the smallest, the EL/M-2107 which can detect walking persons and vehicles at 300m while the most capable, the EL/M-2112 can detect a walking person at 20,000m and vehicles at twice that.

Other systems mimic ‘radar’ functionality. Magna BSP uses a stereoscopic electro-optic effect, using two FLIR/CCD camera to determine range, direction, speed elevation, size and azimuth and track targets, just like a radar but in a passive manner to avoid detection with a false alarm rate of less than one per day and is able to operate in sand, smoke and dust. The company offers four solutions; the Owl, Eagle, HAWK and

British firm Plextek recently secured a $3.5m for several of its Blighter radars to meet a UK Urgent Operational Requirement SCOPS. The last is a mini-staring radar system which can be deployed and handled by one man and detects static and moving human targets at up to 100m.

British firm Plextek recently secured a $3.5m for several of its Blighter radars to meet a UK Urgent Operational Requirement. The company offers two main solutions; the Blighter 202 for Special Forces, capable of detecting crawler at 1.5km and an upright man at 3km which can be set up in three minutes from single backpack and weighs just 15.5Kg and the B4x2 family for border surveillance which has longer range, wide area coverage reaching up to 16km including crawlers at over 3km. Blighter has recently been tested with British Army artillery units to accurately measure fall of fire.

Thales UK MSTAR is widely used in a range of roles and with peak output power of 4W, power consumption is low and the system weighs just 37.5Kg. The system can detect targets from 100m out to 55Km with a walking man detected at 12km and location accurate to less than 10m. EMC testing has cleared the systems for use on a number of tactical vehicles.

Bulgarian firm SAMEL 90 produce the X-band Star S-90 radar, which automatically detects the usual range of targets including gliders and helicopters at ranges of up to 20km. Operators select the required sector search from 12-359 degrees. The system has a set up time of less than five minutes and weighs 25Kg. China’s main offering in the arena is the man portable JY-17 and longer range JY17A. The JY-17 is offered by the East China Research Institute of Electronic Engineering and provides a J-band maximum detection range of 5km for vehicles and 2km personnel. The JY-17A provides a medium range capability.

Bharat Electronics has two principle offerings in this area, the Battle Field Surveillance Radar (MFSR) in Medium SRC’s SR Hawk is designed for both domestic and export markets outside the US (Source: AJB)

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For the perimeter role, Pro Patria also offers the PSF-2 Mongoose which shares the same software, but has a much smaller range. Designed to be placed on walls and pedestals as part of grids for close-in roles such as facility security, with a typical detection range of 4km versus personnel and 8km against vehicles, it can scan 360 degrees in less than nine seconds. The entire unit weighs 12kg and with a single battery load lasts for 12 hours.

A similar system is the IAI Elta C-band EL/M-2107 ADMIR (Advanced Miniature Movement Detection Digital Radar), which reaches out to 200m when detecting individuals and at 3.5Kg, is designed to be fitted to poles or perimeter fences.

Indra’s 42kg Arine, developed using licensed MSTAR technology is a pulse compression radar operating in J band and can detect a crawling man at 3km and a standing man at 10km with MBTs at 24km and can be installed on a tripod or a vehicle.

Multi-sensor platforms

Thales’ Ground Alerter is a highly capable solution designed to warn troops of incoming indirect fires (Source: AJB)

Range (MR) and Short Range variants. The BFSR-MR can detect moving targets at up to 40km distance against heavy vehicles and 15km against individuals, and is designed to be broken down and carried by three men with deployment taking less than five minutes. The BFSR-SR has a range of 500m against a crawling man and 2km when walking with up to 10km versus a heavy moving vehicle.

Hungarian firm Pro Patria Electronics

Thales’ Ravel or Radar Vehicle Light places the BOR-A 550 long Range GSR on a elevated mast up to 4m in height

have produced the PGSR-2i Beagle, which is designed to be carried by two men in backpack loads. Users can select between a 360 continuous rotation mode or within a sector setting of up to 17 degrees. Control is via the company’s own Adaptive Area Control Software, hosted within a user selected ruggedised laptop or other PC and can be scalable to a network of several dozen radars for base or extended perimeters, such as a border or similar military area of operation. The system’s I/J-band, patch antenna systems can detect personnel at 10km and larger vehicles such as MBTs at 25km with a minimum radial speed of 1.7Kmph with a target capacity of over 12 tracks per scan and a memory for storing up over 1000 targets. The company claims a 5000 hour MTBF.

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Integrating multiple sensors on single platform is increasingly being pursued by militaries with demands being met by manufacturers.

Thales’ Ravel or Radar Vehicle Light places the BOR-A 550 long Range GSR on a elevated mast up to 4m in height and can be operated from a Panhard PVP. The system can detect people at 19km, vehicles at 40km and ships at 80Km and also low flying helicopters at 36Km. The X-Band BORA 550 operates in X-band and has achieved maximum instrumented ranges of 80km in a five sector or 360 degree surveillance areas. Scan speeds are variable and can reach up to 32 degrees per second and can detect objects moving at a speed of 1.5Kmph, with the system having a comprehensive ECCM capability. Some 15 customers have acquired the BOR-A 550. The radar can also be operated in a dismounted mode, linked to the vehicle’s external communications via a 100m Ethernet cable.

Thales previously produced the widely exported Rasit and RB12B GSRs Vinhog’s Vingtaqs II Long Range Target acquisition system and laser designation takes the Thales Squire radar, matched with a Vinghog day sight and a Sagem MATIS thermal imager. At Eurosatory the system was deployed on a CV90 Reconnaissance System to demonstrate a capability for a Norwegian Recce vehicle

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requirement.

Israel Aerospace Industries EL/I-3302 RADMIP systems is designed to offer GSR and EO/IR surveillance from 4x4 vehicles such as a Land Rover, using stabilised mast which has a full levelling capability when for example it is operating on a reverse slope.

Pro Patria Electronics match two or more PGSR-2i Beagles in a single MGS3 Scout, a generic 4x4 such as the Land Rover or G-Wagon vehicle, allowing sensors to be dismounted for a distributed surveillance network.

deployed at subordinate unit level.

United States Special Operations Command funded the development of SRC’s Lightweight Counter Mortar radar in 2001, with the US Army declaring it one of the Top Ten Greatest Inventions of 2004.

Reflecting the user community’s need, the system is lightweight at 120lbs, carried by two men and requires just 20 minutes setup time and five minutes to tear down. The system can also be parachuted in with troops in

Bharat Electronics has a developed a family of solutions to meet GSR needs (Source: AJB)

Looking down To operate more effectively, radars need an improved ‘perspective’ or height. In fixed positions this can be easily remedied by constructing a tower. For vehicle mounted or rapidly deployable systems, telescoped towers are being deployed.

Falck Schmidt’s Elevated Mast Platform is a vehicle mounted, armoured solution that can normally support a payload of 250Kg, customisable up to 1500Kg that can reach up to 5m with an intelligent control systems that can interface with a vehicle BMS. Will Burt’s Stiletto HD, which has been installed on a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Unmanned Ground Vehicle, offers partial extension while on the move. With a payload of up to 151Kg in either ten or six meter mounts, both of which use electric screw drives to achieve elevation, which can be achieved in 45 and 30 seconds respectively. The earlier Silletto version offers an at-the-halt elevation of up to 15m, requiring 10 minutes to fully deploy with a 57Kg payload possible.

Counter battery A subset of ground surveillance is indirect fire location to detect, classify, track and determine the location of enemy indirect fire such as mortars, artillery and rockets.

Typically deployed at brigade and divisional level, operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have seen them successfully

Will Burt’s Stiletto HD, which has been installed on a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Unmanned Ground Vehicle, offers partial extension while on the move 30

a standard door bundle if required.

The electronic scanned antenna system has 360 degree coverage, elevation of 30 degrees and can be interfaced with response systems via the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System and can be powered from multiple power sources including HMMWV DC power.

Thales’ V/UHF lightweight Ground Alerter 10 has been systemized to link the detection of indirect fire threats in a 360

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degree, 10km bubble around each device, providing the location of the attack and alert those within the predicted area of effect of the incoming, 60-120mm projectiles.

One of the most recent additions in the counter battery radar role is the Enhanced AN/TPQ-36 or EQ-36 Counterfire Target Acquisition Radar, first shown during AUSA October 2007, following a $120m contract award in January that year.

Developed by Lockheed Martin and SRC the systems has seen rapid insertion of technology, principally in terms of trans-

The Thales Raytheon Systems TPQ-37 Firefinder, is a larger, longer range version of the in service TPQ-36. mit/receive modules, antenna array and solid state technology, to enable better performance against close in mortar attacks as well as long range rocket fire.

The system is carried and supported by two MTV trucks and is carried by either a C130 or heavy transport helicopter. The system is also compatible with the Army’s Army

Battle Command System. Ultimately the legacy TPQ-36, TPQ-37 will be replaced by the new radar, with the first two radars due to be delivered in Summer 2009. In September 2008, it was announced that the Army had made an award of $152m to acquire an additional 12 systems.

The Thales Raytheon Systems TPQ-37 Firefinder, is a larger, longer range version of the in service TPQ-36. The systems can detect artillery at up to 30km, rockets at 50km and operates over 15 frequencies at S-band. The system can detect ten weapons simultaneously with permanent storage of 99 targets. India is one of the most recent customers acquiring 12 AN/TPQ-37(V)3 artillery-locating radars in a $142.4 million deal in 2002.

Also on the Heavy-end of the scale is the EuroART COBRA Counter Battery Radar, developed for the Cold war requirement of the UK, France and Germany and subsequently exported.

One of most successful lightweight solutions is the Saab Microwave Systems’ ARTHUR or Artillery Hunting radar. The can be integrated on a vehicle with a weight of 2500kg or as a palletized load in a bespoke contains and suitable for any vehicle with a payload of 4000Kg. In UK service, ARTHUR is known as the Mobile Artillery Monitoring Battlefield Radar, and integrated onto BAE Systems Hägglunds Bv 206. ARTHUR can track over 100 targets per minute using a pulse doppler radar in C-band in 90 degree sector scans, delivering the location of enemy fire down to less than 25m CEP. Spain is its most recent announced customer, acquiring several systems in a €59m deal in 2007.

The UK has recently commenced its replacement for both its ARTHUR and COBRA radars into a single design potentially capable of detection at 100km but no less, than 30km with trial of the largely off the shelf systems planned for 2009 and subsequent entry into service AMR in 2012-13

Radars are becoming increasingly compact allowing deployment by backpack (Source: AJB)

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Strategic Co-operation China boost Iran’s capabilities In terms of its military forces, Iran is one of the strongest in the Middle East. This is attributable to several factors; within its extensive borders are significant mineral resources, its population is expanding and well-developed cultural traditions have enabled it to easily borrow and assimilate overseas military and industrial technologies to strategic advantage.

by Ilya Kramnik

China supplied Iran with HQ-2 surface to air missile systems, derived from the Soviet C-75 (Source: Wikipedia)

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ran is one of the strongest of the Islamic states. Its military and political potential are estimated to be even higher than that of Pakistan, a newly emerged nuclear power. Iran is far ahead of any other country of the Gulf and the Arab Peninsula in terms of population size and industrial development.

Iran’s armed forces have a classic three-service structure in parallel to an alternative armed service; the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). This includes, apart from regular units, two special units - the Quds Force and the Basij militia each representing a welltrained reserve for mobilisation.

Total numbers for the Iranian armed services including the IRGC exceed 500,000, of which 300,000 serve in the army, 50,000 in the air force, 16,000 in the navy, over 100,000 in Basij and about 15,000 in Quds.

Iran has a capable defense industry which is working to dramatically improve the equipment of its armed services in the near term. The country’s defense industrial facilities either produce today or have preparations in train to manufacture a full range of different weapons; from small arms to missiles.

The manufacture of armoured platforms is one of the Iranian industry’s priorities, reflecting the military’s current procurement strategy which, in the near future should result in an inventory of 2,000 Main Battle Tanks (MBT) and as many infantry

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The situation changed dramatically after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran could no longer buy weapons from the United States fighting vehicles in addition to armoured personnel carriers.

Iran’s aircraft industry is capable of meeting, in the next five years, the existing combat-ready US - made fighter fleet’s need for spare parts, and of producing from 30 to 60 fighter jets annually as well as transport jets and helicopters, according to different estimates.

Iran’s missile industry is capable of producing a range of different missiles, from unguided rockets to sophisticated systems including short and medium-range ballistic missiles, guided munitions and antitank guided missiles.

Iran is also working to develop its shipbuilding and ship-repairing industry. Its shipyards are capable of repairing gas turbines, producing light patrol boats and mini-submarines for special forces.

Iran is also in talks with several countries to acquire the technologies necessary to build warships in the corvette-frigate class.

Right now however, Iran is not yet capa-

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ble of fully meeting its army’s need for defense products independently. Although its capacity is higher than that of Pakistan, its defense industry remains stubbornly dependent on overseas technology.

The permanent threat of armed conflict with other countries in the Gulf and the United States compels Iran to maintain its armed forces at a relatively high level, which is impossible without imports. One of Iran’s key partners for military technical cooperation is China.

Background Iran had been a faithful ally of the West over a long period after World War II. Under the last Shah, its army, navy and air force were supplied with advanced equipment produced in Britain and the United States, and its officers trained at Western military academies.

The situation changed dramatically after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran could no longer buy weapons from the United States, Britain or their allies. It couldn’t turn to the Soviet Union either, because the Ayatollahs’ relations with Moscow were almost as icy as with Washington.

Although Iran managed to dodge international sanctions by purchasing small batches of weapons on the black market, but this was not a satisfactory solution, as Iraq, with whom Iran was at war could acquire

Iran’s naval aspirations in the Gulf have resulted in Chinese technology being incorporated into its growing fleet. (Source: DoD)

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the best samples of Soviet and French defence technology of the time. New supplies were vital for Iran. As a result, Iran came up with the only possible solution, it found the only supplier capable of providing the necessary equipment in sufficient quantities within a short time; China.

China began supplying Iran with weapons and equipment for all types of forces. It provided artillery for the army, including Type 54 122mm towed howitzers derived from the Soviet M-30 howitzer, Type 59 130mm towed guns copied from the Soviet M-46 field gun, mortars and Type 63 107mm rocket launchers similar to the model China used to provide to Mujahadeen in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation.

The co-operation between Iran and China was not limited to artillery deals.

China also supplied the Iranian army with armoured equipment, including Type 59 tanks (a licensed copy of the Soviet T-54,

Chinese imports also played an important role in re-equipping the Iranian air force and armoured personnel carriers, which enabled Iran to hold out in a long and terrible war which went on for nine years.

During that time, China delivered to Iran several thousand artillery pieces of over 100mm caliber, hundreds of tanks and armored personnel carriers.

Chinese imports also played an important role in re-equipping the Iranian air force. At the beginning of the war with Iraq, Iran had a fairly advanced air force, operating more than 150 light F-5 Tiger fighters and about 200 F-4D and F-4E Phantom II multi-role combat aircraft. The Iranian air force also flew F-14 heavy interceptors, the world’s first, fourth-generation aircraft. The country received 77 such air-

Iran’s naval ambitions will see its domestic shipbuilding capabilities extend far beyond some of its current capabilities (Source: DoD)

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craft from the United States before the Islamic Revolution forming the core of its air defense.

However, with the revolution and the onset of the war with Iraq, it became increasingly difficult for Iran to procure spare parts for the US-made jets, particularly the F-14. As a result, the Iranian air force had to backtrack one step and start buying Chinese-made equipment which included mainly Soviet jet designs from the 1950s, produced under license and objectively obsolete.

Iran imported Chinese-made J-6 fighters (replicas of MiG-19) and J-7 (MiG-21) in various options, the Y-7 and Y-12 transport aircraft and air-to-air missiles. The J-6’s were taken out of service quite soon, by the mid-1990s, while more than 20 J-7’s, modernized by Iranian and Chinese engineers, are still used by the Iranian air force.

For anti-aircraft defense during the Iran-Iraq war, China supplied Iran with HQ-2 surface to air missile systems, derived from the Soviet C-75.

Iran also began importing Chinese

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naval vessels and missile equipment for the navy during that period. The HY-2 Silkworm anti-ship cruise missile systems, derived from the Soviet P-15, were perhaps the most effective at the time, making Iran one of the key players in the Gulf, even with a relatively small navy.

It is also important to mention the important role played by North Korean imports in the development of Iran’s navy.

Considering the major technical assistance China was providing to North Korea at the time, that country’s military supplies to Iran could also be viewed as indirect cooperation between Iran and China.

China and Iran have been and still are implementing joint missile equipment design projects, marketing both finished products such as Scud and BM-25 missiles and production technologies.

Further cooperation Chinese-Iranian cooperation continued into the 1990s, as the West never relaxed its sanctions.

Iran was actively cooperating with China in solid fuel production. That enabled the country to manufacture a large number of jet projectiles in the 1990s Having just recovered breath after the war, Iran began thinking of its armed forces’ long-term development. The country opted for using the well-developed domestic industry and importing technologies rather than products.

Iran also began cooperation with Russia and other post-Soviet countries in order to get access to many modern military technologies, but China nevertheless remained its key partner. Chinese military engineers helped their Iranian colleagues modernize the Type 59 tank into the 72Z, or Safir-74, with a 105mm barrel gun, reinforced armour and advanced targeting equip-

Problems is supporting legacy US equipment led Iran to seek China-sourced alternatives (Source: wikipedia)

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ment. Chinese specialists have also reportedly taken part in the development of the Zulfiqar main battle tank and production of nearly 100 such machines.

Iran also began production of the Boragh armored personnel carrier under China’s license with roughly 150 such vehicles being produced to date.

Iran was actively cooperating with China in solid fuel production. That enabled the country to manufacture a large number of jet projectiles in the 1990s, with calibres of 230mm-610mm for use with multiple launch and other missile systems.

Iran exports such missiles, including to the terrorist group Hezbollah. These missiles are not particularly effective because of poor precision, least of all long range targets. Their circular error probability is over one kilometer, dubbed “plus or minus one district.” That is why such missiles are mostly used for terrorist attacks.

For ground support, Iran uses the Soviet 122mm Grad multiple launch systems, or their licensed copy, Hadid, or Haseb which is derived from the Chinese 107mm Type 63.

China’s support also enabled Iran to

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In addition to military technologies and equipment, Iran also imports dual-purpose devices and technologies from China replenish its conventional artillery stock.

Its army was re-equipped with the Type 88 self-propelled howitzer, and Chinese specialists also helped it design and launch commercial production of Iran’s first locally made self-propelled howitzers, the 122mm Raad-1 and 155mm Raad-2. Iran also imported a batch of surface-to-air missile systems FM-80, a Chinese copy of French Crotale.

China assisted Iran in copying the 021 Huangfeng Class missile boats, equipping them with missile weapons. The missile boats, known in Iran as Type MOUDJ are reportedly manufactured by the Chah Bahar shipyard, and combat equipment has been installed at Bander Abbas, under supervision of Chinese engineers.

China also provides assistance to Iran in the development of precision weapons.

Local enterprises manufacture Chinese C801 and C-802 anti-ship cruise missiles with characteristics similar to the US Harpoon anti-ship missile. Iran is interested in modernization of the C-802 by installing a GPS system on it and by extending its range through improved thrust and flight management systems.

Chinese specialists have helped install missile equipment on Iran’s Sea King helicopters. At least part of the SH-3 fleet are now capable of carrying C-802’s, which greatly improves the air force’s littoral combat capabilities, against approaching small and medium-sized enemy warships.

Under Iran’s ballistic missile development programme, the country has designed several types of ballistic missiles with different ranges, leaning on North Korean and Chinese technologies. In addition to technical support, China also exports finished products to Iran, such as CSS-8 ballistic missiles.

With China’s support, Iran has made substantial progress in modernizing its missile inventory. One of the most successful projects was to extend the range of the Nazeat-10 ground-to-air missile, used by the IRGC

Iran’s desire to upgrade its P-3F fleet may see Chinese technology on board this US-sourced aircraft (Source: DoD)

since 1996 from 163 km to 300 km. The modernized version is known as FATEH-110A. Iran also leaned on Chinese technologies, used in the DF-11 and DF-15 solid fuel missiles in its project to modernize its Scud type missiles. The improved Scud B and Scud C are capable of covering ranges of 400 km and 800 km, respectively, carrying 500 and 320-kg warheads.

In addition to military technologies and equipment, Iran also imports dual-purpose devices and technologies from China to boost the country’s industrial and scientific potential. Tehran has acquired special equipment, such as X-ray machines used to assess rocket build quality, high-precision tools to manufacture components for gyrostabilized platforms, mobile systems to

analyse missile telemetry data and other devices and components.

The two countries have recently started setting up joint ventures. For example, the Iranian-Chinese company DOURSANJ is an official dealer for several Chinese companies. Iran and China cooperate in development and production of depth sounders, depth gauges, computer simulators for flight training systems, as well as in cartography, surveying, and photo charting.

The Iranian government has used the DOURSANJ joint venture as a mediator to obtain Chinese technologies as well as to sign a series of contracts with China’s Wuhan Technical University of Surveying and Mapping. The Chinese university trains Iranian specialists in various fields

Chinese specialists have also reportedly taken part in the development of the Zulfiqar MBT (Source: militaryphotos.net)

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and at various levels, to return to Iran in order to work.

This kind of cooperation between China and Iran is restricted by the Chinese companies’ limited capabilities in providing modern topographical surveying technologies.

Iran is studying possibilities of cooperating with European countries in this area as well.

Prospects China has supplied Iran with $3.2-$4.4 billion worth of military equipment in the first half of this decade. The two countries’ cooperation is likely to continue into the future.

Iran needs a reliable supplier while China never gets upset over international reprimands over non-observation of sanctions and limitations on the arms trade with spe-

China will supply Iran with more short and long range anti-aircraft missile systems cific countries, not when this trade is highly profitable. Their cooperation is likely to develop in several major areas.

China will primarily continue supplying Iran with modern military aircraft and technologies. With a small fleet of fourth-generation fighters, and a large fleet of older aircraft which is rapidly becoming obsolete, Iran urgently needs more modern flight equipment, which means China will probably be supplying it with finished aircraft and also help it launch its own production. These

Iran has significant manpower, China has and is providing significant military materiel to complement this (Source: DoD)

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plans will most likely include the recently designed J-10 and FC-1 fighters. However, Iran is unlikely to acquire the J-11 model from China, as the J-11 is a copy of Russia’s Su-27, and China will be reluctant to thwart a country which designed the Flanker family.

Chinese specialists are expected to help Iran launch commercial production of the Azaraksh and Saegheh fighters, designed by local engineers on the basis of the US F-5, and modernize the existing fleet.

Chinese engineers are reportedly working at Tehran's Mehrabad air base, servicing USmade aircraft. Iranian aircraft engineers hope to rebuild, with the help of Chinese colleagues, the Il-76 based airborne command post which flew to Iran from Iraq in 1991.

As for air defense, China will supply Iran with more short and long range anti-aircraft missile systems, primarily the FT-2000, the Chinese copy of the Russian S-300 surface-toair missiles.

China also provides substantial assistance to Iran by equipping its army with IFVs and APCs though deliveries of finished products and through establishing local production.

Iran will also import Chinese PLZ-45 155mm self-propelled gun-howitzers.

The two countries will certainly develop naval co-operation. Iran will continue importing Chinese naval vessel and missiles and manufacture similar models under license. It is also possible that the country will import Chinese submarines and surface ships.

Iran has an ambition to dominate the Gulf and has focused on designing new naval weapons, including guided missiles, torpedoes and artillery mounts. Given the current line-up of forces in the Gulf, Iran’s plans are unlikely to materialise unless it builds or imports a high number of heavily armed ships.

China will probably also participate in modernizing Iranian P-3F Orion maritime surveillance aircraft.

Iran’s space ambitions are also worth mentioning, as the country has announced a plan to develop its own booster rocket capable of orbiting a satellite. China, which has a large space program, will be able to provide important assistance here as well. However, if Iran builds a booster rocket to orbit a satellite, the world will have to recognize that Tehran now has an A MR intercontinental ballistic missile.

REGIONAL NEWS A N D

AUSTRALIA Australia launches future submarine study Australia announced on 27 October that the government was taking a 'major step forward' in the planning for the country's future submarine by establishing a Project Office to begin work on bringing a new submarine in to the fleet in the 2025 timeframe.

The defence minister, Joel Fitzgibbon approved funding of A$4.67 million for a programme of studies in support of the acquisition of the country's future submarines. The studies are to be managed by the new Project Office of seventeen people which is being established to manage the Future Submarine Project, designated SEA 1000.

Through the studies, the Australian Department of Defence will seek to engage industry to assist development of the project acquisition strategy for the government’s consideration in the second half of 2009. Work on the concept design of the future submarine will commence in 2010, leading to further consideration by Government in 2011.

The Future Submarine is expected to enter service around 2025, when the current Collins class will begin to be withdrawn from service at the scheduled end of its service life.

Australia tests JDAM-ER The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) announced a successful testing of the Joint Direct Attack Munition Extended Range (JDAM-ER) weapon in

AFGHANISTAN ANAAC to get G-222 transport aircraft Alenia North America, part of the Italian Finmeccanica group, announced in early October that it had been awarded a firm fixed price contract of $287 million to deliver 18 refurbished G-222 (C-27A) transport aircraft to the Afghan National Army Air Corps (ANAAC).

The procurement, which is being organised through a US Air Force foreign military sales effort, also includes an initial

mid-October. The JDAM-ER is a conventional JDAM, enhanced with an Australian-designed wing kit, based on technology licensed from the country's Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO).

DSTO developed the gliding mechanism in a wing attachment that enables the 500-pound JDAM weapon to accurately find long-range targets, giving the launch aircraft a fire-and-forget capability at a safe standoff distance and will enhance the capabilities of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

The JDAM-ER wing kit was developed

by Boeing's Hawker de Havilland subsidiary from DSTO's original technology called Kerkanya. The recent tests, conducted at the Woomera Test Facility in South Australia by the Aerospace Operational Support Group on RAAF F/A-18 Hornet aircraft, demonstrated further performance enhancements of the system.

The latest tests were conducted under the scope of a Defence Materiel Organisation, Industry Division Minor Project to further develop the JDAM-ER into a usable product. Snowdon said the successful tests highlighted the value of the arrangements in maturing good ideas by combining industry and Defence resources.

The DoD will now assess the test results in order to decide whether the wing kits will now be further developed for commercial production.

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

The Australian government announced on 29 October that it had signed a $350 million

contract with Mercedes-Benz to supply 1200 new G-Wagons to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) as part of the A$4.6 billion project Land 121. The signing ceremony for the order took place at the ADF’s Land Warfare Conference in Brisbane.

Defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon said the two-tonne, all terrain vehicle came highly endorsed, with around 60,000 vehicles currently in use by defence forces in Canada, Austria, the United States, Germany and Singapore.

Land 121 is major project to recapitalise the country’s logistics vehicle fleet over the next decade. A total of some 7,000 vehicles will be delivered as part of the project.

The G-Wagon represents a new capability for Defence and will provide enhanced levels of mobility and operational functionality. The vehicle makes up the lightweight and light capability segment of Land 121 and will progressively replace the ADF’s current fleet of Land Rovers, some of which have been in service since the 1980s.

In total, six different models of GWagon will be acquired by Land 121 with the majority going to Australian Army units. The range includes: a 4x4 general purpose station wagon, two 4x4 cargo variants, a 6x6 cab chassis variant, a 6x6 dual cab truck, and a specialist 6x6 surveillance and reconnaissance vehicle.

The new military vehicles will feature detachable unit-specific modules designed for tasks including munitions transfer, field ambulances and troop carriers, reducing the need for purpose built vehicles and increasing the logistical flexibility of the fleet.

inlay of spare parts and ground support equipment to support the fleet; technical manuals in English and Dari; two VIP modules; technical publications support; engineering studies; mission support kits; and contractor logistic support services for one year.

Initial aircraft delivery will occur in mid2009 and deliveries will continue through 2011. The refurbished aircraft are part of the Italian Army's inventory and were retired in 2005.

As prime contractor, Alenia North

America will be responsible for programme management, while Alenia Aeronautica will refurbish the aircraft in Naples, Italy. Logistical support in Afghanistan will be carried out by L-3 Vertex, an American company.

The G-222 was originally a 1960s design that has seen extensive service around the globe. The medium tactical transport aircraft is capable of taking-off with a maximum weight of 26,500kg in less than 500m.

It can reach a cruise speed of 260 ktas at its cruising altitude of 30,000ft.

G-Wagon selected for Land 121

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

INDIA India to upgrade AN-32s The Indian Air Force (IAF) has announced that it will launch an upgrade programme for its ageing AN-32 transport fleet next year. The IAF has some 80 AN-32s in its inventory, which are the backbone of the force's transport fleet.

According to officials, the upgrade programme will ensure that the AN-32s, which is nearing the end of their service life, will be able to continue operation for another 15 to 20 years. The programme is currently in a negotiation stage and several vendors, including the Original Equipment Manufacturer , Ukraine's Antonov, have been approached to offer options for modernising the fleet.

One particular area of interest for the IAF is an upgraded avionics package. The aircraft currently have the systems they were delivered with in the early 1980s.

The programme will, therefore, involve major improvement of the AN-32s avionics systems to give the aircraft a new lease of life. The IAF wants the aircraft to have better flight management systems, glass cockpit displays, landing systems and other equipment to improve accuracy and give the aircraft a multi-role operational edge.

India adopts new joint special forces doctrine The Indian armed forces have formerly adopted a new 'Joint Doctrine for Special Forces Operations'. The new doctrine was formally unveiled in October by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, and is the first step in a reported ambition to unify the special forces of the three services in to one rapid action force.

The new doctrine was developed by Headquarters Integrated Defence Staffs, Doctrine Branch, and covers the organisational set up and special characteristics of the countries disparate special forces units. The doctrine also maps out an ideal organisational structure for joint special forces tasking and joint planning. This includes a stated intention to develop the right command and control aspects to allow these forces to interoperate.

News report said that the doctrine also emphasised the need for providing timely and accurate intelligence to special forces as well as the right fire support from attack helicopters, naval gunfire, artillery, precision guided munitions and rockets.

The doctrine goes on further to highlight the importance of various aspects of joint training to achieve greater cohesion and understanding between special forces units. It states that this is necessary in order to successfully conduct joint special forces operations

MALAYSIA

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IN selects Italian ship builder for new fleet auxiliary Fincantieri announced in lat October that it has won a competition to provide the Indian Navy (IN) with a new fleet tanker.

Fincantieri competed with a number of leading international companies from countries such as Russia and South Korea to win the order. The new fleet auxiliary, which will be built at the company’s shipyards in Liguria, will be 175m long, 25m wide and 19m high with a displacement at full load of 27,500 tonnes.

The ship will be powered by two 10,000 kW diesel engines which will enable it to reach a maximum speed of 20 knots and its propulsion system will feature an adjustable blade propeller.

The design also includes a flight deck on board for medium-heavy helicopters of up to 10 tons. The ship will accommodate up to 248 passengers – crew and supplementary personnel. Equipped with double hatches, the vessel will be able to service four ships at the same time.

Delivery of the ship to the IN is scheduled at the end of 2010.

Other companies also believed to have been vying for the contract include Sikorsky with its H-92, AgustaWestland with the EH-101 Merlin, and Kazan with the Mi-172.

The tender for the aircraft was issued at the Langkawi International Maritime and Air Show in December 2007.

Malaysia cancels Cougar purchase In a reversal of fortunes, the Malaysian government said in late October that it would not proceed with a RM2.3 billion procurement of twelve Eurocopter EC725 Cougar helicopters to replace its ageing Nuri (S61A-4) fleet.

Defence officials said that the deal was being cancelled as the country battens down to face the global economic storm.

However, the deal has been controversial since its announcement several weeks ago.

Critics have argued that the government did not compete the tender for the aircraft and instead sole sourced the EC725 as the replacement. They suggest the result has been an air-

and also emphasised the need for more detailed planning and the conducting of rehearsals and integration of special forces in to overall theatre command plans.

Second Scorpene set afloat Scorpene Submarine (Source: Navantia)

craft that costs far more than it should.

Opposition leaders have said that the purchase price of the EC725 at around RM193 million each is more than double what it should be. They argue that Brazil's contract for 50 EC725 helicopters only came to around RM84 million per aircraft.

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

At a ceremony in early October at Navantia’s Cartagena Shipyard in Spain, Malaysia’s King, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, and the country’s deputy defence minister witnessed the setting afloat of the country’s second Scorpene class submarine.

The submarines are being built in conjunction with France’s DCNS. This second vessel is set for delivery in October next year.

REGIONAL NEWS A N D

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

SOUTH KOREA Seoul receives last of F-15K batch one The Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) received its last batch of three F-15K fighters in October from US manufacturer Boeing.

The delivery of the fighters marks the end of the scheduled 40 aircraft first-phase of Seoul's F-X programme to recapitalise the RoKAF's fighter fleet. The full F-X project will see the RoKAF introduce 120 new multi-role combat aircraft.

With the latest additions to its fleet the RoKAF now has a total of 39 F-15K aircraft.

One F-15K was lost in a crash in the waters off Pohang, 320km southeast of Seoul, in June 2006.

The three latest F-15Ks were delivered to the RoKAF's 122 squadron, 11th Fighter Wing based in Daegu. 'With the gradual delivery of F-15Ks since October 2005, a F15K squadron has been fully operational since July 1. Another squadron will enter service early next year after pilots undergo related training programs,’ air force officials told local reporters.

F-15K was selected for the $4.2 billion first phase of the F-X project in 2002. Early this year, Seoul signed the $2.3 billion second phase contract to acquire a further 21 aircraft to bring the F-15K fleet up to 60 air-

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The F-15K is the ROK’s most capable air defence asset (Source: Boeing)

craft. These later aircraft are scheduled to be delivered between 2010 and 2012.

A third phase of the F-X programme is scheduled to begin in 2011 with a focus on equipping the RoKAF with stealthy fighters.

Seoul reissues cruise missile tender South Korea’s Defence Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA) has reopened a comeptition to supply the armed forces with an air-launched cruise missile capability for its F-15Ks. The tender was reissued because only one company, Taurus Systems, had submitted a bid by the October deadline. German based Taurus Systems is believed to have offered its KEPD-350 missile to fulfil South Korea’s requirement.

However, DAPA guidelines state that in order for tenders to be taken forward they must have more than one response otherwise the tender must be reissued.

The requirement is for up to 177 missiles to equip the F-15Ks at a price of around $121 million.

The organisation is believed to be in discussion with a number of other manufac-

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

turers in order to try and stump up further interest in the project.

Among the other possible contenders for the project are Lockheed Martin with the AGM-158 Joint Air to Surface Stand-off Missile and MBDA with Storm Shadow.

US closer to making South Korea most favoured nation Both the US Senate and the US House of Representatives have now passed legislation that would upgrade Seoul’s ties with Washington and add it to the list of ‘most favoured nations’.

Although the status is largely symbolic it does have one important real outcome. A change in the status would give South Korea greater access to US weapon systems through the USA’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) regime. The bill that has passed both houses gives the country the same privileged FMS status as members of NATO and three other nations Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

However, for the bill to come in to law it must also be signed by the US President, which may have to await the incoming president in January. The most favoured nation status is seen as strengthening South Korea’s ties with the US at the same time as the latter draws down its forces in the country.

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REGIONAL NEWS A N D

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

TAIWAN Taiwan purchases more Javelin missiles In October, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified the US Congress of a potential Foreign Military Sale to Taiwan of 182 Javelin guided missile rounds and 20 Javelin command launch units for up to $47 million.

According to the DSCA, Taiwan will use these Javelin missile systems to enhance its direct fire capability for infantry, cavalry, and commando units against armoured vehicles, buildings and field fortifications. Adding that, 'the system will provide Taiwan with a strong man-portable direct fire capability and a credible defence that is critical to successful operations.'

Taiwan received its original Javelin systems from the US in 2002. The prime contractor for the system is the Raytheon/Lockheed-Martin Javelin Joint Venture in Orlando, Florida.

The DSCA also added that the proposed sale of the equipment and support

PHILIPPINES According to international reports the Philippine Air Force (PAF) remains determined to procure new utility helicopters despite serious tender issues and a lack of funds. The PAF needs the helicopters as one of the capabilities to combat an ongoing insurgency in the south of the country.

Under the US Foreign Military Sales programme the Joint US Military Assistance Group in Manila is already providing the PAF with 20 refurbished UH-1Hs to augment its current fleet of 45 operational Huey helicopters.

However, the PAF has also identified the need for up to eight new ‘Combat Utility Helicopters’ (CUH).

An initial tender was abandoned as AgustaWestland was the only com-

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Javelin Missile (Source: Lockheed Martin)

will not affect the basic military balance in the region. However, mainland China used the notification as a reason to pull out of planned military exchanges with the US. US officials said that Beijing had postponed or cancelled senior level visits and exchanges on cooperation in disaster relief between October and the end of November.

US clears major sales package Washington has given the go-ahead to a planned $6.5 billion sale of weapons to

pany to bid and was disqualified because its bid did not meet the specifications of the tender.

In September the PAF held a rebidding conference for the CUH that was attened by representatives of AgustaWestland, Bell Helicopter, McDonnell Douglas and PZL Swidnik. The main challenge for the companies is believed to be meeting the PAF's 3,000 lb payload requirement with the $68 million in funds available for the total program, including elements such as training and spares as well as the unit cost of the aircraft.

The PAF is not believed to have changed those limitations in the new tender process and there are worries that no solution will be found once again.

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

Taiwan as part of a long-delayed package intended to boost the island’s ability to defend itself. The package had been held up in the summer as the US sought to dampen down any chance of a clash with China before the Beijing Olympics.

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the proposed sale in October. The package will include Patriot missiles, Apache attack helicopters, submarine-launched Harpoon missiles, and Javelin anti-tank missiles.

Taiwan will receive 30 Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters reportedly worth some $2.5 billion. In addition, there will also be upgrades for its four Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft and spares for its Lockheed F-16A/B and Northrop F-5 fighters.

The island nation had also held out hopes of receiving up to 66 new Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds. However, Washington remains reluctant to push Beijing too far and the advanced fighters were not on the table this time.

THAILAND Thai navy purchases Italian ATC system Part of Italy’s Finmeccanica group, Selex Sistemi Integrati, has been awarded a Eur4.5 million contract by Thailand to supply the Royal Thai Navy with a new air traffic control (ATC) system.

The equipment being delivered to the navy consists of an ATCR33 solid state primary radar, a SIR-S, S mode secondary radar, a control centre equipped with five controller working positions for radar and flight data processing, and a control tower with a controller working position. Other elements of the contract include the building of the installations to house the new equipment.

The company said that the system will be in operation by September 2009. The ATC system is being installed at the airport attached to the navy's base at Utapao and will be used for both civil and military ATC.

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