Asian Military Review - May 2009

VOLUME 17/ISSUE 3

ASIA PACIFIC’S

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Contents MAY 2009 VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 3

04 Singapore’s Blue Water aspirations Tom Withington In February, the Republic of Singapore Navy announced its decision to send one ‘Endurance’ class vessel to join Combined Task Force 151, a coalition of nations tasked with anti-piracy patrols around the Gulf of Aden. This deployment illustrates that, in less than forty years since its formal establishment as an independent arm of the Republic of Singapore armed forces, the RSN has become a potent blue-water force able to project power far beyond its home shores

Front Cover Photo: The Canadian Army deployed a squadron of Leopard C2 (the Canadian designation for the Leopard A15) tanks to Afghanistan in 2006 and replaced them, late in 2007 with a squadron of 20 Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Leopard 2A6M leased from the German Army. Canadian Leopards have smashed through the outer walls of compounds and used their main guns to blow ‘mouse holes’ to allow infantry to enter buildings. Canadian armour officers noted that in Afghanistan’s ‘warrior culture’ the tank is a respected sign of strength which has significant deterrent value. (DND)

Making waves in Offshore Patrolling

Dominant calibre: 120mm dominance

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John Mulberry Regional rivalries and new operational necessities are driving a thriving naval market in Asia centred on the acquisition of new offshore patrol vessel and multi-role frigates. The waters around Asia are a major conduit for the world’s oil supplies that must be protected, while at the same time there is increasing concern over smuggling and terrorist operations in the region. For smaller navies wanting more ‘bang for their buck’ these vessels provide the optimum choice

Ian Kemp Recent operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have broken two taboos which have long been associated with main battle tanks; that they should neither be used in urban areas nor are they suited for counter insurgency operations. While maintaining traditional anti-armour capabilities, more emphasis has been given in recent years to the development of multipurpose ammunition to reduce reliance on close air support and artillery to provide an immediate response to infantry needs while also reducing collateral damage

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Naval C4I becomes the Queen of the Seas

Tim Mahon What dominates today’s maritime engagement arena is not a ship at all: information has become the key naval asset. Instead of “getting there the fastest with the mostest,” the key to winning naval engagements has become reconnaissance and knowing accurately, reliably and with sufficient early warning, exactly what is going on beyond the horizon so as to be able to formulate and implement winning strategies swiftly and with confidence. In short – C4I has become queen of the naval battle

Asia-Pacific Trainer Market

32 David Oliver One of the major causes of the projected reduced demand for military fixed-wing trainers is the declining need to train new pilots.

Many world air arms are shrinking fighter and attack jet fleets, lowering demand for new pilots and, in turn, trainers. However, this is not necessarily so in the Asia market, where several important training contracts are awaiting the selection process.

The largest of these is for a new Advanced Jet Trainer/ Lead-In Fighter Trainer programme for the Republic of Singapore Air Force

MAY 2009

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Area Communications: Always on Broadband Comms

Adam Baddeley Area communications provide the high capacity connectivity that link disparate formations across the battlefield, allowing commanders access to diverse databases and secure throughput from ISR assets such as full motion video while on the halt or increasingly, while on the move. Militaries are transitioning their legacy and future capabilities to embrace the requirement for non-stop communications access, balancing the need for traditional direct line Of Sight solutions with more agile, Beyond Line of Sight communications including Satcom On The Move capabilities

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Editorial

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A massive generalisation, though a useful prism of analysis is that Afghanistan is a war being fought by the West in the geographical East. Everyone has different views, expectations and predications about what will happen and when.

Failure however is still entirely possible. Thinking otherwise would be hubris of the highest order. Much is made regarding the failure of the West and the morale and military capitulation. The consequences being touted include an increased terrorist threat at home, reduced influence globally plus a malaise similar to that experienced by the US for many years subsequent to its withdrawal from Vietnam.

The most important issue resulting from failure in Afghanistan, is its impact on its own region with the overspill of money, supplies and guidance into neighbouring countries and those further a field.

Israel/Turkey Liat Heiblum, Oreet - International Media Tel: (97 2) 3 570 6527 E-Mail: liat@oreet-marcom.com

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

Introducing the changes, he said, "This is not simply an American problem. Far from it‌ It is instead an international security challenge of the highest order."

He is spot on.

The geopolitical impact of such an event is significant but not terminal. These are not existential threats. Nor are they permanent. No one for example refers to the Vietnam Syndrome having been a factor in US policy since 9/11.

India Xavier Collaco, Media Transasia India Limited Tel: (91) 11 2686 8775 E-Mail: xavier@mediatransasiaindia.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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n March, Barack Obama announced the new US strategy for Afghanistan, seeking to reverse Taliban gains and better support the population in a more rounded counter-insurgency approach. Linking overalls efforts in Afghanistan to its neighbor Pakistan and in particular the federally administered tribal area, it has been generally welcomed.

What would happen to Pakistan should be evident to everyone. China has its own problems in Xinjiang, even without the advent of a safe haven in a future Afghanistan in which the Taliban prevail. Islamist insurgencies elsewhere in Central Asia will be ratcheted up further. Veteran Talibs, Afghan and otherwise, have already been encountered in Kashmir. Even non-contiguous countries may feel threatened too by emboldened islamists. A recent firefight in Mindanao left seven soldiers and 20 insurgents dead.

Despite this threat, little is being done. Asian troop numbers on the ground in Afghanistan are negligible. At the last count, current contributions to ISAF from Asia include 25 from the UAE, 20 from Singapore, 90 from Azerbaijan, four from Jordan and one from Georgia. Troop numbers are only one measure of support, but it is nonetheless vital.

Afghanistan as always, invites no easy answers or solutions to its enduring problems. More support is needed and more widespread support is needed, however that is expressed, but it is needed sooner rather than later. Everyone needs to start considering this anew.

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

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Singapore’s Blue Water aspirations On 23rd February the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), was announced as the latest member of Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151), a coalition of nations under the command of US Navy Rear Admiral Terence McKnight tasked with anti-piracy patrols around the Gulf of Aden. The RSN is due to send one ‘Endurance’ class Landing Ship, Tank (LST) to CTF-151 in support of efforts to combat maritime piracy in a region notorious for these modern day brigands. The deployment to CTF151 illustrates that, in less than forty years since its formal establishment as an independent arm of the Republic of Singapore armed forces, the RSN has become a potent bluewater force able to project power far beyond its home shores.

by Tom Withington

The RSS Formidable is one of the most recent acquisitions of the Republic of Singapore Navy. The vessel boasts a lowprofile stealthy hull, and state-of-the art technology which allows it to be crewed by only 60 sailors and officers. (US Navy)

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espite a population of only 4.6 million, and a land area of 682.7 square kilometres, Singapore has one of the most capable and modern navies in the Asian region. The force can trace its routes back to 20th April 1934 when the British Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve established a presence in the British colony of the Straits Settlements with two patrol craft. The force was known as the Straits Settlement Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (SSRNVR). By 1941, the SSRNVR had become the Singaporean component of the Malayan Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (MRNVR). During the Second World War, the MRNVR and SSRNVR would form a component of the Royal Navy's presence in Southeast Asia. The MRNVR was renamed the Royal Malaysian Navy in 1952 as a recognition of its wartime actions. The SSRNVR was subsequently renamed the Singapore Division of the Royal Malaysian Naval Volunteer Reserve.

When Singapore declared its independence from Malaysia in 1965, the Singapore Division was renamed the Singapore Naval Volunteer

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Seven percent of Singapore's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is derived from the country’s maritime activities including shipping and port services Force (SNVF) and inherited two ships from the Royal Malaysian Navy, notably the Republic of Singapore Ship (RSS) Panglima and the RSS Singapura; a ‘Ford’ class patrol craft, and an exJapanese minelayer which had been captured by the British, respectively. The SNVF also had the RSS Bedok, a former police patrol craft as part of its fleet. However, the SNVF was renamed the People's Defence Force (Sea) under the authority of the Sea Defence Command (SDC) in September 1967. The SDC was later renamed the Maritime Command (MC) in 1968.

No sooner was the modern RSN taking shape than it had to deal with a subtle yet important shift in regional geopolitics. In 1971,

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the British Conservative government of Prime Minister Edward Heath announced that the Royal Navy would vacate all of its naval bases east of the Suez Canal, alongside the other services in the British armed forces, as part of an accompanying reduction of the UK's military presence throughout Asia. The MC was suddenly faced with a maritime security vacuum triggered by the British withdrawal.

Fortunately, two years' before Mr. Heath’s announcement, the MC had received its first new vessel, the patrol craft RSS Independence.

Independence would later be joined by RSS Justice, Freedom and Daring; the staffing of the MC also received a boost in 1969, with the first 160 cadets graduating from the School of Maritime Training. It was on 1st April 1975 that the modern RSN came into being.

Today's modern force began to take shape from 1983 with the government deciding that the RSN had a vital role to play in securing the country’s Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC).

Today, seven percent of Singapore's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is derived from the country’s maritime activities including ship-

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One of the most dramatic modernisation efforts by the RSN has been its acquisition of six 'Formidable' class guided missile frigates (FFGs) from French shipbuilder DCNS ping and port services. In 1988, the government launched the 'Navy 2000' plan which stipulated the acquisition of new submarines, amphibious support ships, maritime patrol aircraft, patrol vessels and mine warfare craft. In tandem with the ship and aircraft acquisitions, the RSN would also modernise its existing fleet with Surface-to-Air (SAM) and Anti-Ship Missiles (AShMs).

Changes also occurred at the organisational level with the establishment of Coastal Command (COSCOM) in 1988, tasked with ensuring the security of the Singapore Strait and its approaches. COSCOM is comprised of the RSN’s 181, 182/189 and 194 Squadrons.

Also under COSCOM's jurisdiction are five Saab Giraffe-100 100-km (53-nautical mile) range radar systems. One year after the formation of COSCOM, the RSN was organised into two additional formations namely the 1st Flotilla, comprising 185 and 188 Squadrons, and the 3rd Flotilla with 191 and 195 Squadrons. In wartime, the 3rd Flotilla would also operate with the Reserve 192 and 193 Squadrons using requisitioned civilian vessels.

The current Chief of the RSN is Rear Admiral Chew Men Leong, who reports to the Chief of the Defence Staff. Below the Chief of the Navy (CNV) are the five RSN formations: Fleet (including the 1st and 3rd Flotillas, 171 Squadron which operates submarines, and also the Base Defence Squadrons) and Coastal Command (COSCOM), the Naval Diving Unit (NDU), Naval Logistics Command (NALCOM) and the RNS’s Training Command (TRACOM).

The NDU is responsible for a number of missions including underwater demolition, mine clearance, combat diving and explosive ordnance disposal. NDU includes the Diving School, Clearance Diving Group, Combat Diving Group and Underwater Demolition Diving Group and is headquartered at Sembawang Camp in the north of the island.

NALCOM is tasked with performing maintenance on the RSN's vessels at its bases at Tuas and Changi (see below). The logistical and

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materiel needs of the RSN are met by NALCOM's Naval Material and Transportation Base, and the Base Medical Squadron provides medical care for the RSN' s personnel. Comprising the Institute of Maritime Warfare, and the Institute of Maritime Operations and Systems, TRACOM fulfils the RSN's training needs with tacttical training aids and simulators.

As stipulated in the Navy 2000 plan; the RSN's surface combatants received a major enhancement of their missile capabilities. In terms of AShMs, the RSN's 'Victory' class corvettes, which form 188 Squadron of the 1st Flotilla had already operated the 36-km (19.4nm) range Israel Aircraft Industries Gabriel AShM, and were later upgraded with the Boeing RGM-84 Harpoon, 315-km (170-nm) range weapon. This latter missile was also carried by the forces' 'Sea Wolf' class missile gunboats which were retired from service on 13th May 2008. In terms of SAMs, the RSN received from 1993 the Matra (now MBDA) 5.3-km (2.8nm) range Mistral which were fitted to the 'Fearless' class patrol vessels of COSCOM’s 182/189 Squadron and also the Endurance class LSTs of the 3rd Flotilla’s 191 Squadron.

The Victory class ships would also receive the Rafael Barak-1 10-km (5.3 nm) range SAM system from 1996.

The RSN has three major bases in Singapore. Tuas Naval Base, located on the west of the island, was opened on 2nd September 1994. Tuas followed Brani Naval A Eurocopter AS-330 Puma helicopter lifts off from the deck of the RSS Resolution, an Endurance-class Landing Ship Tank. Although the Republic of Singapore Navy lacks organic naval aviation, it frequently trains with the Republic of Singapore air force. (US Navy)

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

Republic of Singapore Navy sailors on board the RSS Steadfast, a ‘Formidable’ class frigate, are seen here on the bridge of their ship during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) international naval exercises in 2008. The RIMPAC exercise involves navies from ten countries. (US Navy)

Base; located on the south of the island which was the first facility operated by the RSN. Tuas was developed to provide more space for the growing fleet and more recently Changi Naval Base was opened on 21st May 2004 on the east of the island. Changi is home to the RSN's submarine, frigate and amphibious support ships, and also RSS Panglima, the RSN's training base.

It was in the mid-1990s that the RSN began to build its submarine force. In 1995, the force acquired the first of its 'Challenger' class diesel electric boats (SSKs) from the Marinen (Royal Swedish Navy). The submarines were former 'Sjoormen' class vessels and were extensively modified to make them suitable for operations in the warmer tropical waters surrounding Singapore. This improved their resistance to corrosion and also their air-conditioning. By 1997, RSS Challenger, the lead ship of the class, was in service and was joined in 1999 by RSS Conqueror, the final two vessels in the Challenger class, RSS Centurion and RSS Chieftain were commissioned in 1999 and 2001 respectively. All of the vessels organised into 171 Squadron.

Along with the submarine acquisition, one of the most dramatic modernisation efforts by the RSN has been its acquisition of six 'Formidable' class guided missile frigates (FFGs) from French shipbuilder DCNS. These ships are closely based on the Marine Nationale (French Navy) 'La Fayette' class frigates. The Formidable class ships replace the Sea Wolf vessels which had been in RSN service since 1968. The lead ship of the class, RSS Formidable, was built by DCNS in France; although the remainder will be constructed by Singapore Technologies Marine (ST Marine) at the company's yard on the island. All six ships will be commissioned into RSN service by 2009.

These Formidable vessels carry a formidable array of sensors and armaments. MBDA Aster-15 and Aster-30 15-km (8-nm) and 30-km

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US Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy personnel practice visit, board and search procedures during an exercise in the South China Sea. The personnel are from the USS Crommelin, an ‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ class guided missile frigate and the RSS Sea Lion, a ‘Fearless’ class patrol vessel. (US Navy)

(16-nm) altitude SAMs are carried, along with a Thales Herakles multi-function radar, a Terma Scanter E/F and I/J-band navigation and surveillance radar, and a ITT Corporation Model 997 Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) sonar.

Amazingly, thanks to the utilisation of technology, these ships have a complement of 60 crew compared to the 141 crew on the French La Fayette vessels. The low staffing levels are an important consideration given the manpower pressures that the RSN suffers due to the country's small population.

The frigates will bolster the RSN's surface fleet which also includes the six Victory class corvettes which entered RSN service from 1990 and which comprise the navy's 188 Squadron. The RSN's Victory and Formidable-class vessels are also joined by the twelve Fearless-class patrol vessels designed for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) which comprise 182/189 Squadron.

The RSN's amphibious assets fall under the responsibility of the service's 191 Squadron. By the mid-1990s the force had been reoriented away from its erstwhile mission of assisting Army training deployments abroard, and for the provision of Midshipman Sea training, to become a naval rapid reaction force. To this end, the RSN received the RSS Perseverance; a former Royal Navy ‘Sir Lancelot’-class Landing Ship Logistics in 1994. Two years' after the Perseverance's arrival two new Enduranceclass LSTs were ordered from ST Marine. These are the largest ships ever operated by the RSN. A total of four ships; Endurance, Resolution, Persistence and Endeavour comprise the class, and their entry into service has allowed the ex-

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US Navy ‘County’ class LSTs, acquired in the early 1970s, to be decommissioned. The lead ship in the Endurance-class, RSS Endurance, made history in 2000 as the first RSS vessel to circumnavigate the globe. Endurance class vessels have also assisted humanitarian operations during the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia.

Moreover, the RSN's mine warfare capability has experienced a substantial modernisation.

In 1995, the Navy acquired the first of its four ‘Landsort’ class mine countermeasures vessels which form 194 Squadron. The Landsort ships were acquired to replace the two ex-US Navy ‘Bluebird’ class minesweepers which had been acquired in 1975. All four of the ships of the Landsort class were acquired by the RSN by 1996, and were deployed with COSCOM. These vessels are equipped with a Northrop Grumman MAINS mine countermeasures and navigation command and control system, along with Remotely-Operated Vehicles (ROVs) for mine disposal. These ships are instrumental in ensuring that the country's SLOCs remain clear of any mines.

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Looking towards the future, over the next year, the RSN's Formidable class frigates will be enhanced with the arrival of six Sikorsky S70B naval helicopters. The RSN has no organic naval aviation and these aircraft will be operated by Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) personnel. The helicopters will be equipped to perform anti-surface and ASW, while also acting as an over-the-horizon reconnaissance and surveillance platform for the ships. All six of the helicopters are expected to be delivered to the RSAF by the end of this year.

In recent years, the RSN has been a trailblazer in the use of Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USVs) Along with the Heil HaYam HaYisraeli (Israeli Sea Corps), the RSN has acquired Protector USVs. In 2003, a number of Protector craft were despatched to the Persian Gulf, along with the RSS Endurance, to assist multinational peacekeeping efforts in the Persian Gulf. These small, but able, craft demonstrated their abilities to perform up to eight hours of surveillance per day. The RSN is now reportedly interested in acquiring a rotary-wing Unmanned Air Vehice (UAV).

No acquisition programme has been publicly announced, although the navy is said to be interested in the Schiebel S-100 Camcopter as a possible solution.

In terms of surface craft, one capability that the RSN currently lacks is underway replenishment. The procurement of vessels that could fulfil this function would give the RSN a valuable means of enhancing its self-sufficiency, and also of projecting its power further east into the South China Sea. However, the acquisition of such a capability is not without risks, and could be seen by some of Singapore's neighbours as the RSN adopting a more aggressive posture. The country's acquisition of its Challenger class submarines was said to have provoked a mini-arms race in the south east Asian region with Malaysia deciding to acquire its ‘Scorpene’ class boats in 2006, and Indonesia also in the market for submarines.

There is arguably no other areas of modern military operations so tightly connected with the flow of trade and commerce than naval affairs On the other hand, these two countries also have important maritime security concerns visa-vis piracy; arms and drug trafficking, and the security of their SLOCs. The submarine acquisitions could be as much about addressing these concerns, as responding to Singapore's naval modernisation.

In terms of amphibious capabilities, the procurement of the Endurance class LSTs could receive a further enhancement with the acquisition of hovercraft to support amphibious operations. The RSN performed some experiments with a locally-built ST Engineering Tiger-40 hovercraft in the early 1990s. The RSN may decide to acquire a large Landing Craft Air Cushioned (LCAC) style hovercraft of a similar design to the Textron Marine vehicles used by the United States Marine Corps to move heavy equipment, and large numbers of troops, from ship to shore.

As the RSN looks to the future, it will have several maritime security challenges to address. Arguably the most important is the security of its port facilities. The country has the world’s biggest port in terms of total shipping tonnage, and is also home to the world’s busiest container port. Any attempt to close the port by terrorism or by an act of war, even for a day, could have a serious effect on Singapore's economy.

Acts of sabotage below the waves around Singapore's locale could also play havoc for the island. A dark portent of possible disaster was shown in December 2000 when a trunk cable carrying electronic communications under the Strait of Malacca was damaged. The result was

US Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy vessels steam together during an exercise. In recent years, Singapore has played an important rôle in peacekeeping efforts in the Persian Gulf, and also antipiracy initiatives in the Gulf of Aden. (US Navy)

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massive disruption to internet services in Singapore, Indonesia and Australia. Along with its port, Singapore's other big earner is financial services. A similar loss of internet connectivity in the future caused by the sub-sea sabotage of such a cable could cause expensive disruption to the country's financial services industry, and also a loss in confidence in the security of the country as a base from where such business can be conducted.

China's maritime claims will also continue to be a cause of concern for the RSN. Since 1995, the government in Beijing has claimed the Spratly, Paracel and Senkaku archipelagos in the South China Sea; claims contested by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan. China's claims on the South China Sea region is a cause for concern given that around 25 percent of the world's total shipping trade travels through this area each year. As well as being heavily reliant on the security of its port. Any disruption to either the island's port facilities or its shipping by military action in the South China Sea related to territorial claims or counter-claims could have a serious economic impact on the island.

Closer to home, the RSN also has to contend with the regional menace of maritime piracy.

Singapore is positioned at the south east tip of the notorious Strait of Malacca. Any increase in pirate attacks on merchant shipping in the Strait could have a serious impact on Singapore's port business. There is arguably no other areas of modern military operations so tightly connected with the flow of trade and commerce than naval affairs. Like every country with a coastline (and many without) Singapore's economic prospects and inextricably linked to her maritime security, and any disruption to this security could have a major impact on Asia’s eighth biggest economy. A point driven home by Shanmugam Jayakumar, the country's former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law, who stated that; “freedom of navigation through the Malacca and Singapore Straits as well as the South China Sea is fundamental to the continued survival and prosperiAMR ty of Singapore.”

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NAVAL PLATFORMS

Making waves in Offshore Patrolling

For the majority of navies in Asia there is an enduring need to invest in vessels capable of both conducting naval security and defence operations.

Recent trouble with piracy around the Horn of Africa has highlighted a problem that many navies in the region, already know well from their experience with local trade routes.

by John Mulberry

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NAVAL PLATFORMS

he majority of navies in the region are unlikely to ever become true ‘blue water’ naval powers and instead, must concentrate on securing territorial waters and economic exclusion zones (EEZs). In addition, the waters around Asia are a major conduit for the world’s oil supplies that must be protected, while at the same time there is increasing concern over smuggling and terrorist operations in the region.

Some of the slack in the region can be taken up by major powers such as the US, but for smaller navies wanting

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more ‘bang for their buck’, the main conduit is the offshore patrol vessel (OPV) or, increasingly, multi-role frigates that can fulfil a number of requirements.

OPVs occupy the space between frigates and fast attack craft (FACs) and in the modern era if they are equipped with the right sensors and weapons systems they can

carry out many of the tasks needed by small navies.

The modular nature of modern weapons systems, especially anti-ship missiles, means that if navies are willing to spend the time and resources in achieving modularity

The Indian Navy has ordered a further three Talwar class frigates (DoD)

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Countries such as Malaysia and Brunei have looked to build up their coastal patrol forces through the procurement of new OPVs then they will be rewarded with a versatile capability. OPV manufacturers continue to stress the relevance of such vessels for customs surveillance, drug interdiction and EEZ enforcement, over that of traditional military roles.

However, for those countries willing to make an even larger investment then the requirement is very often for a multi-role frigate capable of undertaking a larger range of tasks, including major anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare capabilities.

Corvettes are now seen as a significant capability in their own right. As some countries in the region have acquired these more capable vessels, it has begun to fuel a naval build up in other countries.

Going offshore

HMAS Anzac underway. (RAN)

For some of the region’s newer navies, the initial challenge has been to grow to sustain a full OPV capability that goes beyond the ageing FACs that have been a staple of their invento-

ries. In recent years, countries such as Malaysia and Brunei have looked to build up their coastal patrol forces through the procurement of new OPVs.

NAVAL PLATFORMS

Malaysia began its programme to procure a new class of OPVs in the 1990s. After a long running competition and evaluation process Kuala Lumpur finally settled on the German Blohm & Voss MEKO design to meet the Royal Malaysian Navy’s (RMN’s) requirements.

Although originally planned to be a class of up to 27 vessels an initial contract for six ships was placed in 2003.

The MEKO 100 design, which is the basis of the RMN’s Kedah class, is a relatively large, 1,650 ton displacement and 91.1m length vessel. The OPVs are fitted with two Caterpillar 3616 (5450kW) diesel engines capable of speeds of more than 22 knots and have a range of around 6050 nautical miles.

The RMN selected the Atlas Elektronik COSYS-110 M1combat management system and EADS TRS-3D/ 16ES radar as the core of the OPV’s combat capability. The weapon systems include a 76mm 62 calibre Oto Melara gun and the Kedah class also has provision for both anti-air and anti-surface missiles.

The development and construction of the RMN’s new OPVs has been plagued by

Other problems

HMAS Perth departing Yokosuka, Japan at the completion of Exercise PacificShield, Tokyo Harbour, 2007 (RAN)

delays and difficulties, connected to the domestic manufacturer of four of the vessels.

The first two vessels; KD Kedah and KD Pahang, both built in Germany, were commissioned in 2006. The next in the class KD Perak, built at PSC Naval Dockyard in Malyasia was not launched until 2007 and is still not yet commissioned. Two further vessels have also been launched, but the last in the class KD Selangor has yet to emerge from the shipyard.

The Royal New Zealand Navy has also suffered delays in getting its new OPVs in service.

Wellington ordered the two OPVs from Tenix Defence (now BAE Systems Australia) as part of its Project Protector fleet requirements, which were outlined in the 2002 Maritime Forces Review, conducted by the defence ministry in close cooperation with civilian agencies. In mid-2004 a study was undertaken in conjunction with these to decide the number of vessels and the fleet mix necessary, out of which it was decided that the RNZN should procure two OPVs as well as a multi-roll vessel and several smaller inshore patrol vessels.

The first of class, HMNZS Otago is the first OPV to be built for New Zealand. Modules of both the HMNZS Otago and its sister vessel, HMNZS Wellington were built separately, including in Whangarei, New Zealand and assembled at the former Tenix shipyard in Williamstown, Australia. However, there have been a number of delays to the project and late last year the defence ministry announced a further delay in delivery of the

NAVAL PLATFORMS

IN has also sought to increase the capability of the [Talwar class] frigates by giving them a land attack capability

opportunities for onward transfer of the OPVs to a third party.

Beyond OPVs

In India, the Navy has initiated a process of renewal of two OPVs, which it said was primarily due to its fleet and has begun the Republic of Singapore Navy frigate RSS Formidable manoeuvres into questions of the OPVs’ seaboats and Lloyds sometimes lengthy process position during the Malabar 2007 exercise (DoD) Certification. Both vessels have completed of procuring a number of their sea trials and this is likely to be the last new ships from Russian shipyards. Some of the of low-observable, multi-role frigates is the most modern frigates in the Indian Navy are its Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), which hurdle before they enter service.

The 1,600 tonnes, 85 metre Protector class three existing Talwar class frigates purchased recently commissioned its last two Formidable OPVs are based on a design already in service from Moscow and inducted in 2003 and 2004. class frigates; RSS Stalwart and RSS Supreme at The ships are also known as the Type 1135.6 Changi Naval Base. The commissioning cerewith the Irish Navy and Mauritius Coastguard.

The OPVs are similar to the RMN’s vessels in and are an updated version of Russia’s Krivak mony for the frigates marked the culmination both speed and range. They are armed with III class frigate design. The Talwar class has a of eight years of collaboration between DCNS, one 25mm Bushmaster Naval gun and two .50 displacement of 4,000 tons and a maximum the RSN, the Defence and Science Technology calibre machine guns. Further protection is speed of over 30 knots. The ships have prima- Agency (DSTA), and Singapore Technologies offered by an embarked Kaman SH-2G (NZ) rily been designed with the anti-submarine Marine (ST Marine).

Seasprite helicopter armed with torpedoes, and anti-surface warfare roles in mind and are DCNS was contracted in 2000 to build six armed with the RPK-8 system ASW system Formidable class frigates to meet the targets of depth charges and Maverick missiles.

Elsewhere in the region, the Royal Brunei and the 3M-54E Klub-N anti-ship missile to Singapore’s New Frigate Programme. The first Navy’s (RBN’s) procurement of three new 95 complete these missions. frigate, RSS Formidable, was built at the DCNS However, in recent years the IN has also shipyard in Lorient, France and commisioned metre OPVs descended in to chaos in 2007. The OPVs were built in the UK by BAE Systems sought to increase the capability of the frigates in to the fleet in 2007. The five following and the first of class was presented for accept- by giving them a land attack capability through frigates were built in Singapore by ST Marine. ance in December 2003. The second OPV com- the integration of the domestically developed The 3,200 tonne, 114 metre long Formidable pleted its trials programme in May 2004, with BrahMOS cruise missile. Having decided that Class Frigates, are the RSN's most powerful the third and final vessel presented for accept- three of the ships is not enough, New Delhi has warships. The design of the Formidable class is ance in December 2004. However, Royal signed contracts for a further three Talwar class a multi-role derivative of the French Navy’s La Brunei Technical Services, the Brunei govern- frigates, which are currently under construc- Fayette class frigate. The ships have significant ment's procurement agent, refused to take tion in Russia. Further out, the IN is also look- anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine wardelivery of the ships on the grounds that they ing to augment its domestically designed fare capabilities and the design also has effecShivalik (Project 17) class frigates through tive stealth design that reduces the visibility of did not meet contract specifications.

After a long running contractual dispute Project 17A. the frigates on radar screens and enhancing The Shivalik classes are Indian industry’s survivability. with BAE Systems it was revealed that Brunei had been forced to take formal delivery of the first foray in to stealth ship design. The Shivalik The ships have a full suite of systems that OPVs, but would not commission the vessels class was designed by designed by the give them anti-surface, anti-submarine and into the RBN. The country then turned to Directorate of Naval Design and the three ships anti-air capabilities. The frigates are equipped German shipbuilder Lürssen Werft to explore are being built at the Mazagaon dock in with the Thales Herakles phased-array multiMumbai with the first due function 3D radar, which provides surveillance One of Brunei's OPVs sitting alongside in the UK. (BAE Systems) to be commissioned later for up to 250 kilometres. Air defence is handled this year. It is believed that by the MBDA Aster air defence system while the IN will receive a total of the frigates are equipped with Boeing Harpoon seven Project 17A vessels. A missiles and an Oto Melara 76 mm gun for surrequest for information for face defence.The anti-submarine warfare the project was released in (ASW) aspect is handled by an EDO, active low 2007 to European, Russian, frequency towed sonar and Eurotorp A244/S and US shipbuilders with Mod 3 lightweight torpedoes fired from two Russia known to have B515 triple-tube launchers. offered the Project 22550 design in reply.

Australian upgrade The backbone of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is its eight Anzac class frigates (a further Singapore stealth Already well ahead when it two Anzac frigates are in service with the comes to the procurement RNZN). The ships are a variant of the MEKO

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ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

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The Integrated Mast redefines the appearance of naval vessels. It integrates all of the sensors and antennas on board of a naval ship into one mast. The Integrated Mast offers top performance through the use of sophisticated technology. The unobstructed 360° view greatly improves situational awareness. Life cycle costs are reduced thanks to one common infrastructure for all sensors. The Integrated Mast also reduces shipbuilding time as the instal-lation of the mast is a simple plug-and-play operation. Antenna test and integration activities have already been performed by Thales simultaneous with the construction of the ship.

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NAVAL PLATFORMS

There is no doubt that competition in the region is fuelling naval expansion 200 design selected by Canberra in the late 1980s to fulfil the RAN’s requirements for a new surface combatant. The first Anzac class; HMAS Anzac was commissioned in 1996 with the follow on ships being commissioned progressively through to the last of class HMAS Perth in 2006.

The design selection and the equipping of the vessel was informed by a number of studies various including briefs ranging from 1,200 to 5,000 tonnes displacement. The overriding concern for the RAN was the experience of the UK Royal Navy in the Falklands War, which emphasised the need for anti-ship missile (ASM) defence, damage control, and ship survivability. However, even before the final vessel was commissioned the Australian Defence Department decided that a further upgrade to the Anzac class was necessary due to changes in the planning assumptions since the 1980s.

As a result, the RAN has been in the process of progressively upgrading the Anzac class.

The upgrade configuration for the Anzac class has included the integration of the RGM-84 Harpoon ASM fitted in two quad launchers, Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles quad-packed in a vertical launch system enabling 32 missiles to be carried, four Nulka active missile decoy bays and the Petrel Mine and Obstacle Avoidance Sonar system. These upgrades have enhanced the RAN’s Anzacs and given the frigates a much greater multi-role capability advancing them beyond being purely surface combatants. The RAN recognises that with

much of its budget tied up in the new Air Warfare Destroyers it will be some time before it can look to building new frigates.

Future opportunities With so many navies in the region having recently procured new capabilites a number of other countries are still looking to bolster their naval fleets. At a naval show last year in Doha, the then head of the Pakistan Navy (PN), Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir, was quite clear that the PN needed to up its game if it was to keep up with the expanding IN. As a result, he told reporters that the PN was in the market for a number of second hand frigates that could be upgraded and enter service with the PN to combat the IN’s capabilities.

Of even more interest to shipbuilders is South Korea’s proposed future frigate programme (variously called the Future Korean Frigate – FE-X or Future Frigate eXperimental – FFX). The project calls for the build and delivery of between 12 and 30 multirole frigates to replace the Republic of South Korea Navy’s (RSKN’s) ageing Pohang and Ulsan class frigates. As with most projects initiated by Seoul there is a heavy slant towards domestic development and the vessels are likely to be built in Korean shipyards. However, it is likely that the initial design for the frigates will likely come from an international competition.

That competition is likely to become fierce over the next two years as companies jockey

Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Anzac conducts maritime operations in the vicinity of Iraq’s Khwar Al Amaya Oil Terminal (USN)

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RSS Steadfast, one of the RSN's Formidable class frigates, on deployment (USN)

for position. Seoul has set a challenging timetable for delivery of the first batch of six ships, which it would like to see delivered in the 2015 timeframe. This initial batch of frigates will mainly focus on regular operations like patrolling the coastlines of the peninsula, detecting enemy submarines and convoying transports, but Batch Two and Batch Three will have more specialised anti-air and anti-submarine duties.

As a result Seoul is looking for a highly modular design, similar to the regionally popular MEKO design, but is also looking for a ship with a high level of stealth characteristics. It will be a challenge for the country to find the right design for its needs, but unlike some other countries in the region South Korea is unlikely to have trouble producing the vessels in its experienced shipyards.

Further change There is no doubt that competition in the region is fuelling naval expansion. The huge cost of the most capable types of ships, such as destroyers and aircraft carriers, mean that much of the expansion is centred at the lower end of the market in the OPV and multi-role frigate range. However, advances in ship design and weapon system capablities mean that such vessels can prove to be formidable in their own right.

A number of countries have already selected the ships to meet their needs and deliveries of new capabilities in the region are ongoing.

One only has to look at how the RSN’s Formidable class has enhanced the combat capability of the small country to understand what can be achieved. With that in mind, it can be expected that other countries in the region will continue to follow suit and spend money on new naval capabilities both to offset rivals and to conduct urgently needed task such as AMR EEZ protection and anti-piracy operations.

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Countering the unpredictable

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Dominant calibre: 120mm dominance Recent operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have broken two taboos which have long been associated with main battle tanks (MBT): that they should neither be used in urban areas nor are they suited for counter insurgency operations.

by Ian Kemp

The deployment of 20 Canadian Army Leopard 2A6MCAN tanks to Afghanistan has seen the first combat use of Rheinmetall’s L55 120mm smoothbore gun. (DND)

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LAND WARFARE

xtensive studies by the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory has shown that units trained to operate as integrated combined arms team are more successful within the urban battle spaces and suffer fewer casualties,” noted the US Marine Corps System Command in a briefing to industry. It is a view shared by America’s allies. “Recent experience in both Iraq and Afghanistan have taught us that urban terrain can no longer be considered a no-go area for armoured fighting vehicles,” said Brigadier David Rutherford-Jones, when Director Royal Armoured Corps. “Challenger 2 has proven itself once again to be reassuring to light forces, particularly in high threat urban environments – the two capabilities compliment each other.

The Canadian Army deployed a squadron of Leopard C2 (the Canadian designation for the Leopard A15) tanks to Afghanistan in 2006 and replaced them, late in 2007 with a squadron of 20 KraussMaffei Wegmann Leopard 2A6M leased from the German

E

Army.

Canadian Leopards have smashed through the outer walls of compounds and used their main guns to blow ‘mouse holes’ to allow infantry to enter buildings. Canadian armour officers speaking at the US Army Armor Conference in May 2008, emphasised that the use of the Leopards, reduced reliance on close air support and artillery, thus providing an immediate response to infantry needs and also reducing collateral damage. They noted that in ‘warrior cul-

ture’ the tank is a respected sign of strength which has significant deterrent value.

The Danish Army followed Canada’s lead and deployed five Leopard 2A5DKs to Afghanistan. Denmark’s Hærens Operative Kommando (Army Operations Command) published a press release describing an action of its Leopard 2s in support of a British-Danish operation in early 2008: “With a great deal of machine gun fire and 20 rounds fired from the guns, the Danish Leopard tank crews engaged the Taliban both out in open terrain and when the enemy forces took cover in compounds.

Tank fire, which is frighteningly accurate, penetrates walls but usually does not level a mud-brick compound the way large bombs dropped by aircraft can.”

Denmark’s Leopard 2A5DK tanks are armed with Rheinmetall’s 120mm L44 smoothbore gun. The Canadian Leopard 2A6CAN tanks are armed with the company’s newer 120mm L55 smoothbore gun.

The L44 gun, or similar weapons, has long been the standard armament of tanks produced in Western Europe, the USA, Israel, South Korea and Japan. The M256, a licence-produced version of the L44, arms the General Dynamics Land Systems M1 series MBT. Israel, Italy and France manufacture 120mm smoothbore guns which use the same ammunition as the German L44 and US M256. According to Rheinmetall, the 1.3 metre longer L55 barrel increases the weapon’s effective range by about 1,500 metres. The L55 is being retrofitted on a number of Dutch and German Leopard 2s and is being installed in new Leopards being built for Greece and Spain.

Throughout the Cold War the primary purpose of the main battle tank was to kill other tanks and accordingly, emphasis was given to developing ammunition which could penetrate increasingly thick armour.

Armour and ammunition manufacturers are continuing to improve KE rounds.

Rheinmetall’s latest DM53A1 and DM63 kinetic energy projectiles offer improved penetration - when fired from the L44 bar-

Recent experience in both Iraq and Afghanistan have taught us that urban terrain can no longer be considered a no-go area for armoured fighting vehicles MAY 2009

rel the muzzle energy is 15 percent than greater earlier KE rounds and 30 percent greater fired from the L55 barrel – and have a temperature-independent propellant system which means that they can be used even in extreme climate zones at temperatures between -46°C and +71°C. More emphasis has been given in recent years to the development of multipurpose ammunition which can be used against a broad range of targets and employed in urban areas. Rheinmetall’s latest DM11 120 K High Explosive-Fragmentation-Tracer programmable round is optimised to engage fortified positions and double-reinforced concrete structures in the impact mode and dismounted targets and helicopters in the air-burst mode. The US Marine Corps, through US prime contractor L-3 Communications BT Fuze Products, ordered an initial trials batch of DM11 rounds and is expected to order production quantities this year.

Nexter has recently supplied the French Army with 1,000 120mm High ExplosiveTracer Mk II rounds for qualification trials with serial production scheduled to begin this year. The round can be used against buildings and bunkers as well as light and medium armoured vehicles and Nexter is evaluating a time fuze to enable the round to be detonated above dug-in targets.

Under contract to the French Délégation Générale pour l'Armement procurement agency, Nexter is developing the 120mm Polynege guided modular munition which is intended to ‘defeat various kinds of targets (MBTs, light armoured vehicles, dismounted troops, infrastructures) beyond the line of sight, up to a distance of 8 km’. Nexter conducted a demonstration flight of a complete demonstrator in October 2007 and second flight took place the following March.

According to Israel Military Industries (IMI) the primary threat to main battle tanks, as demonstrated during the 2006 Lebanon conflict, “is anti-tank squads equipped with extremely lethal anti-tank weapons. These squads, spread out massively in the modern battlefield; on the ground, in vehicles, in buildings and bunkers, have become a major threat to today's MBTs.” Israel Defence Forces Merkava Mk 1 and Mk 2 MBTs carry the IMI 105mm Anti-Personnel/Anti-Materiel (APAM) round for use with the M68 105mm rifled tank gun while Mk 3 and Mk 4 tanks carry the 120mm APAM. The round

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LAND WARFARE

“Our main goal was that we wanted all the performance of a current gun, but in a lightweight compact package” is designed to defeat dismounted infantry; light armoured vehicles; 20 inches of double reinforced concrete; bunkers of sand and timber construction; and, hovering helicopters. To defeat dismounted infantry, and hovering helicopters, the round flies on an overhead attack trajectory to dispense six submunitions which shower lethal fragments over a zone 50m long and 20m wide. In the anti-materiel, or direct impact mode the APAM is fired as a unitary round. The APAM can be fired from all NATO 120mm smoothbore guns and the US Army is evaluating the APAM, under the US designation XM329.

For the anti-personnel role, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems produces the M1028 120mm canister round for use by US Army and US Marine Corps M1A1/M1A2 tanks and the M1040 105mm round for the General Dynamics Land Systems Stryker M1128 Mobile Gun System (MGS). The Army initiated the project, following a request from US Forces Korea in 1999 for a round that could be used against dismounted anti-tank guided weapon teams. The programme documents stated: “The range requirements for the canister cartridge are 200-500 meters (Threshold) and 100-700 meters (Objective). The requirement is to defeat equal to or greater than 50 percent of a tenman squad with one shot, and equal to or greater than 50 percent of a 30-man platoon with two shots.” The M1028 round, which dispenses approximately 1,100 tungsten balls as soon as it clears the muzzle, is also effective against normal block walls, concertina wire and cars. Selected as one of the Army’s Top Ten inventions in 2004, the round has been fielded in Iraq since 2005.

The Danish Army has bought the M1028 round for use by its Leopard 2A5s in Afghanistan.

The Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) at the US Army’s Picatinny Arsenal is developing the 120mm XM1069 Line-of-sight Multipurpose (LOS-MP) munition to defeat, ‘hardened targets and enemy personnel through the

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The US Army’s XM360 120mm smoothbore gun, intended to arm the future XM1202 Mounted Combat System, is undergoing tests at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. (US Army)

employment of a multi-mode programmable base detonating fuze and blast fragmenting target penetrating warhead’. The round is being developed as part of the Future Combat System programme for use by the General Dynamics Land System XM1202 Mounted Combat System, planned to enter service from 2015. The LOS-MP round is intended to replace four round now in service - the M830 High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT), the M830A1 HEAT-Multi PurposeTracer, the M908 High Explosive-Obstacle Reduction-Tracer and the M1028 round thus offering significant tactical and logistics advantages, and potentially lower acquisiThe US Marine Corps has bought the Rheinmetall DM11 120 K High Explosive-FragmentationTracer programmable round for use by its M1A1 in urban operations. (Rheinmetall)

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

tion costs. Rounds have been tested against double reinforced concrete walls, earth and timber bunkers, antipersonnel targets and a T55 tank. To meet current operational needs, the Army has expedited XM1069 development and the LOS-MP could be fielded as early as 2010.

The XM1202 is expected to be less than half the weight of the M1 and use networked battle command sensor data, combined with precision munitions to engage targets at three times the present 3.5 kilometre range of the M1. The MCS will be armed with the new XM360 smoothbore gun. "Our main goal was that we wanted all the performance of a current gun, but in a lightweight compact package," said Edward Hyland, of the Army’s Benét Laboratories which is working with GDLS to develop the new weapon, using new high-strength gun steels, lightweight alloys, titanium, aluminium and carbonfibre composites. "The barrel on the Abrams tank is over 2,500 pounds," Hyland said. "Using these high- strength steels and carbon-fiber composites, we've taken off over 800 pounds from that. We did the same thing with the breech assembly and the recoil assembly.” The net weight saving is almost 2,500 pounds.

Recoil has been reduced by adding a muzzle break to the gun tube and developing an optimised recoil system.

The XM360 will be able to fire all current 120mm rounds, the XM1069 and the XM1111 Mid Range Munition (MRM) now under development. Whereas the XM1069 is intended for use in the direct fire line-ofsight mode the XM1111 is being developed to provide an indirect fire, non-line-ofsight capability to engage targets at ranges out to 12,000 metres. The XM1111 is fired at a high angle, wings pop out in flight and the warhead is guided to the target by either a laser designator or an infrared seeker. By the end of January, the XM1111 had successfully engaged targets at ranges

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LAND WARFARE

With a combat weight of about 26 tonnes, the CV90120 should be light enough to be carried by the Airbus Military A400M transport aircraft out to 8,000 metres in tests. Fitted with a kinetic energy warhead, the XM1111 munition approaches the target at low speed, then fires a rocket to penetrate the target using a small diameter penetrator made of very dense metal. A shaped charge warhead is also being developed.

The 105mm M68A1 rifled cannon which armed the M60 tank has been given a new lease of life with the US Army’s GDLS Stryker M1128 MGS; the lightweight M68A1E4 version mounted on the MGS’ low-profile, fully stabilised turret features a muzzle brake to assist with recoil and is fed by an autoloader. Each Stryker infantry company includes a platoon of three MGS vehicles to provide direct fire support to dismounted infantry. The MGS can carry four types of 105mm ammunition: high explosive/high explosive plastic (HE/HEP) ammunition to destroy bunkers and blast openings in walls through which infantry can pass; kinetic energy ammunition to engage lightly armoured vehicles; high explosive, anti-tank (HEAT) ammunition for use against armoured vehicles; and, anti-personnel canister ammunition.

BAE Systems Hägglunds has developed

The deployment of 20 Canadian Army Leopard 2A6MCAN tanks to Afghanistan has seen the first combat use of Rheinmetall’s L55 120mm smoothbore gun. (DND)

the CV90120, a variant of its successful Combat Vehicle 90 family, armed with a Swiss RUAG Land Systems 120mm smoothbore gun on a CV90 chassis to meet the tentative requirements of the Swedish Army and export customers seeking the firepower of an MBT on a smaller platform.

With a combat weight of about 26 tonnes, the CV90120 should be light enough to be carried by the Airbus Military A400M transport aircraft. The company, with local partner Bumar Group, is discussing a requirement for such a vehicle with the Polish Ministry of Defence. BAE Systems is proposing the CV90120 to meet the British Army’s Future Rapid Effects System (FRES) requirement for a direct fire support vehicle. This proposal will certainly be strengthened if the army selects the CV90, equipped with a turret armed with the CTA International 40mm Case Telescoped

A US Army M1A1 armed with a 120mm smoothbore gun and an Iraqi Army T-72 armed with a 125mm smoothbore gun. Iraq is following new track modernisation strategy with the acquisition of 140 M1A1 tanks and the purchase of up to 2,000 T-72s which will be modernised and redesignated as T-91s. (US Army)

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Armament Systems (CTAS), for the FRES Scout platform, which is expected to enter service by late 2014.

If the CV90120 is selected for the FRES Direct Fire requirement, scheduled to be fielded from 2018, it would carry the first 120mm smoothbore gun in British service.

The Army had hoped to address the obsolescence issues facing the L30 120mm rifle gun which arms its BAE Systems Challenger 2 fleet by upgunning the MBTs with the Rheinmetall L55 Hybrid smoothbore gun. Budget pressures however, have undermined the Challenger Lethality Improvement Programme. To maintain the lethality of Challenger 2, the gunner’s thermal imaging sight will be upgraded and the Ministry of Defence is instead expected to invest in the development of new ammunition for the L30, possibly including a gun-launched anti-tank guided missile.

This could be included within the scope of the 15-year £2 billion contractual partnering agreement, called MASS (Munitions

LAND WARFARE

The new K2 features a bustle autoloader with 16 ready rounds and carries 40 rounds in total

A British Army Challenger 2 MBT fires its L30 120mm rifled gun on a range in Iraq; the service has been forced to abandon plans to replace the L30 with the Rheinmetall L55 Hybrid 120mm smoothbore gun. (US DoD)

Acquisition Supply Solution), which was signed with BAE Systems Land Systems Munitions in August 2008.

One possible solution is the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) LAHAT (Laser Homing Attack) missile developed originally to be launched from the 105mm and 120mm guns of the IDF’s Merkava tanks, but also canister-launched from a range of

ground, helicopter and naval platforms.

The 12.5 kg semi-active laser homing missile has a range of 8 km. Originally fitted with a 2.5 kg shaped charge anti-tank warhead capable of penetrating up to 800 mm of steel armour, IAI has subsequently broadened the LAHAT’s utility by developing a multi-purpose version which was unveiled at Eurosatory 2008. The new war-

head features a fragmentation sleeve fitted to a smaller shaped charge to produce both armour penetrating and blast fragmentation effects.

The Republic of Korea Army’s new Hyundai Rotem K2 Black Panther tank is armed with a 120mm/55 calibre smoothbore gun produced locally by WIA. The company has gained considerable experience through the licence production of the Rheinmetall L44 gun for the K1A1 tank.

Unlike its predecessor, the new K2 features a bustle autoloader with 16 ready rounds and carries 40 rounds in total. Series production of an initial batch of about 200 is expected to start in 2010 following trials this year and local sources suggest that production could reach almost 700 tanks.

Work on the K2 led to the selection of

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Hyundai to assist Turkish armoured vehicle manufacturer Otokar with the development of the Turkish national MBT project.

Japan’s TK-K MBT prototype, unveiled

by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in February 2008, is also armed 120mm/55 calibre smoothbore gun developed by Japan Steel Works which produced the L44 under license to arm the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force’s Type 90 tank. If trials are successful this year, approval for series production of the TK-K is expected to be given in 2010.

A number of projects have demonstrated the potential to boost the lethality of 105mm-armed tanks, such as the GDLS M60, by installing a new 120mm gun usually as part of a comprehensive modernisation package to improve lethality, protection and mobility. IMI developed the Sabra upgrade for the M60 which uses the 120mm MG253 smoothbore gun which the company developed for the Merkava Mk 3.

IMI is assisting the Turkish Land Forces Command upgrade of 170 of its M60A1s to the Sabra Mk III configuration, known locally as the M60T, with final deliveries

scheduled this year.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB) has successfully integrated the RUAG Land Systems L50 120mm smoothbore Compact Tank Gun on the M60. Under the Phoenix project, KADDB has installed the new gun along with an improved fire control system, additional armour and a more powerful engine in about 100 of Jordan’s M60A3 tanks. The RUAG L50 also arms KADDB’s reduced silhouette Falcon turret which is designed to be a replacement for existing 105mm, 120mm and 125mm gun turrets.

The use of an autoloader removes the need for a loader and both the commander and gunner are positioned below the turret ring. No production orders have yet been placed for the Falcon.

Acknowledging the popularity of the 120mm smoothbore gun on the international market, Russian industry has developed two 120mm weapons for export: the M-393 L44 gun which is aimed primarily at customers wishing to replace the 2A20 115mm smoothbore gun on T-62 tanks while the heavier M-395 L50 weapon is

A US Marine Corps M1A1 engages targets with its M256 120mm smoothbore gun. (USMC)

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ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

A US Army M1A2 Abrams MBT engages targets on a range at Camp Buehring, Kuwait with its M256 120mm smoothbore gun. (US Army)

intended to replace the 125mm smoothbore gun on T-72 series tanks. The Russian Army has no intention to replace the 125mm weapons on its tank fleet; besides two-part ammunition these guns can also fire the 9M119M Reflex laser-guided projectile to a maximum range of 5,000 metres.

Ukraine offers the locally built KBM2 L44 120mm smoothbore gun as an upgrade option for the T-72 and the weapon is also used in T-72-120 and locally built T-84-120 AMR prototypes.

NAVAL S Y S T E M S

Naval C4I becomes the Queen of the Seas At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the battleship was the undisputed queen of global maritime warfare. Large, powerful and ubiquitous, it ruled the waves to a range far beyond that of its conventional main armament. By the end of the Great War, the fact that there was “something wrong with our bloody ships today� had become self-evident. During the interwar years, helped along by the untiring efforts of Billy Mitchell and his ilk, this thought process had crystallised to the point at which the aircraft carrier was poised to take on the sovereign role in naval warfare.

by Tim Mahon

BAE Systems Insyte's ARTISAN 3D radar antenna seen here installed on a British Royal Navy Type 23 frigate [BAE Systems Insyte]

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NAVAL S Y S T E M S

here are those who would argue that, in the period between Pearl Harbour and the Falklands conflict, the submarine became the capital ship of choice and that aircraft carriers would soon follow battleships, dreadnoughts and ill-fated compromises such as pocket battleships into those sections of the history books allocated to, “interesting but doomed” aspects of past navies.

Almost one hundred years after Admiral Sir David Beatty made his famous utterance at the battle of Jutland, however, there is a much stronger argument – one supported by objective observation of what drives maritime strategies and tactics forward today – that the so-called ‘capital ship’ of today’s navies is neither battleship, carrier nor submarine but is instead an artificial construct. What dominates today’s maritime engagement arena is not a ship at all: information has become the key naval asset. Instead of “getting there the fastest with the mostest,” the key to winning naval engagements has become reconnaissance and knowing accurately, reliably and with sufficient early warning, exactly what is going on beyond the horizon so as to be able to formulate and implement winning strategies swiftly and with confidence. In short – C4I has become queen of the naval battle.

Defining what C4I is, of course, becomes the next argument among planners, sailors, industry and anybody else who feels they have legitimate reason to contribute to the debate. Whether you subscribe to the traditional “Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence” or to the somewhat more descriptive but less universal “Combat Management, Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence,” however, there can be no doubt that the collection, analysis, distribution and employment of information – in its broadest possible sense – has become the sine qua non of naval warfare.

Indeed, some vessel designs have been significantly altered in order to cater for the demands of C4I and yet others have been designed from the keel up as ‘containers’ for C4I capability rather than having their parameters tweaked and altered over time to accommodate those same requirements.

Take the Royal Navy’s new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. With anticipated in service dates having slipped recently to 2016 and 2018 for the two vessels, the requirement to design capability and flexibility in from the earliest possible stages of the project

T

What dominates today’s maritime engagement arena is not a ship at all: information has become the key naval asset has been paramount. Being designed and built by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance – a single integrated team formed from BVT Surface Fleet, Babcock, BAE Systems, Thales UK and the MOD (which acts as both partner and client) – the vessels are designed primarily around the mission system, which will coordinate all aspects of air and surface warfare management, airspace management, air traffic control and daily routine on board. Intended to be a world-leading state-of-the-art system when commissioned – the US Navy doesn’t have a fully integrated mission systems on board its current carriers, according to the Aircraft Carrier Alliance – the QEII class Mission System will exist “to deliver strike capability ashore,” in the words of an observer close to the programme.

In order to achieve this, the carrier design has been C4I and network-enabled capability (NEC) –friendly from day one. By comparison with a current generation American carrier,

which has a crew complement including an embarked air wing of maybe 5,000, the new British vessels will have a combined complement in the region of 1,500. This indicates a much higher degree of automation in all aspects of the ship’s management, not the least important of which is the management of C4I dataflow and assets.

In a vessel less than 300 metres in length, over 1,740 km of fibre optic cable will be laid, servicing over 1,000 operational users on board the carriers. The Mission System leads ‘whole ship’ design in a number of areas, including information security, electromagnetic environment, software assurance and interoperability assurance. Management of the embarked aircraft – which will centre on the Joint Combat Aircraft, or F-35 Lightning II, when it becomes available – will also fall to the Mission Systems, thus inextricably linking every aspect of the vessel’s daily routine to its embedded, integrated C4I system.

Some pundits, however, will identify C4I in a more narrow sense, seeking to limit its impact to operational aspects directly linked to gathering and analysis of intelligence-related information. In terms of principal C4I assets, and depending on continuing evolution of the equipment budgets, which are

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II class aircraft carriers, which will enter operational service in the second half of the next dcade, will place enhanced C4I capabilities at the heart of the Royal Navy's spectrum of operational activities. [VT Group]

MAY 2009

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already coming under severe pressure over seven years before the first vessel is due in service, the radar fit for the QEII carriers will include a BAE Systems Insyte Sampson multifunction radar on the forward of each carrier’s two ‘islands’ and an S1850M air surveillance radar on the aft, flying control, island. The former includes two phased array antenna planes, scanning electronically in both elevation and azimuth to provide 360° coverage.

The latter, operating at 1-2 GHz, is an electronically stabilised multi-beam radar, providing automatic target detection and tracking out to ranges in excess of 400 km.

Also fitted will be the Royal Navy’s new generation Maritime Medium-Range Radar (MRR), intended to replace existing Type 996 surveillance and target acquisition radar across the fleet. In 2008 the ARTISAN 3D radar, operating in the E/F bands and developed by BAE Systems Insyte and QinetiQ, was selected to fulfil the MRR requirement.

Selection of ARTISAN also points up another aspect of naval C4I that is becoming more and more important to planners and operators – the linked questions of commonality and interoperability. As fleet strengths across the globe shrink and manpower issues shape deployment and operational thinking, so it becomes more important to reduce the footprint of the number and variety of systems in service. Not only do questions of spares and component supply apply, but the addition of issues relating to training, technical support and maintenance mean that it is incumbent on

28

Some suppliers in the naval C4I business have ‘gone modular,’ offering the ability to inject capability into platforms in a standardised, potentially interoperable and more cost-effective manner naval planners to ensure a healthy balance is maintained between the maintenance of capability and an impact on available resources.

Which is why some suppliers in the naval C4I business have ‘gone modular,’ offering the ability to inject capability into platforms in a standardised, potentially interoperable and more cost-effective manner. Saab Systems in Sweden offers a range of modular C4I systems that provide capability from multi-sensor directors all the way through to complete Combat Management Systems based on its 9LV platform. Installed with more than 15 navies worldwide, including, for example, the Anzac-class frigates of the Australian and New Zealand navies, Saab Systems’ products offer a wide range of capabilities while ensuring effective use of resources ranging from power supply to manpower.

Modular and scalable, the 9LV Mk 4 gener-

ation of naval C4I systems is based on an open architecture, thus enhancing the extent to which systems can easily be made interoperable with existing assets and with systems of potential allies or coalition partners. The issue of interoperability and the problems associated with its lack have been highlighted to a startling degree by coalition and NATO operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the last decade, and the lessons learned are now being implemented – by military planners in Asia as much as anywhere else – in preparation for the leaner, more focused attitude towards force generation that many observers believe will characterise naval forces of the future.

Saab has taken into account the increasing drive towards low observable or ‘stealth’ technologies, which are in high demand from navies ranging from the most to least sophisticated. Its CEROS 200 multi-sensor director, for example – designed to provide radar and optronic systems tracking on naval vessels upwards of 150 tonne displacement – is available in a ‘stealth’ version, in which guise it has been selected for the Swedish Visby class corvettes.

Denmark’s Terma Naval Defence Systems also has a modular approach to C4I capability injection. The company’s C-Flex command

As the development of integrated C4I facilities for aircraft carriers proceeds apace, synthetic environments will be used with increasing frequency to project manage and de-risk innovative design elements of the programmes. Here the Aircraft Carrier Alliance has developed a synthetic environment version of the Mission Systems for the future Queen Elizabeth II class aircraft carriers, illustrating and highlighting compatability, interoperability and performance envelope issues up to a decade prior to the carriers achieving full operational capability [Aircraft Carrier Alliance]

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Force interoperability and network-centric capability are key aspects of today’s naval environment and control system has been integrated onto naval platforms ranging in size from fast patrol boats to frigates. Building on Terma’s long experience in command and control solutions for land, sea and air environments, C-Flex can be integrated with a wide range of weapon systems and sensors and can also be integrated with C-Link, a communications system aimed at providing the capacity to share data in a platform- and environmentagnostic manner.

In France, the Navy has turned to Thales to replace its legacy ACOM systems with the company’s new SIC 21 system. Since the contract was awarded in 2004, 80 ships have been converted including the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier with conversion of the entire fleet

Unmanned systems - aerial vehicles, surface vessels and underwater vessels such as the BAE Systems' Talisman shown here - will extend the naval C4I sphere of interest and influence exponentially as the problems of merging manned and unmanned activities in the same operational environment continue to be overcome [BAE Systems]

NAVAL S Y S T E M S

and a number of shore sites due to be completed by the end of 2010. The system is modular and allows other companies and customers to develop their own applications to sit in SIC 21.

France for example uses software for amphibious warfare on SIC 21 that was developed by DCNS. The system uses a range of messaging formats to enable multi-national interoperability including ADatP-3, OTHT-Gold and XML. Force interoperability and network-centric capability are key aspects of today’s naval environment that all systems suppliers need to be cognisant of. Elbit Systems’ approach to naval C4I recognises both these criteria with its ENTCS 2010 naval C4I management systems. Based on systems and algorithms developed for the Israeli Navy’s Saar-5 command and control system, and proven in the crucible of high intensity operations over a number of years, ENTCS 2010 provides a wide range of functionalities, from radar operation and data display through data link and taskforce management. Based on an open architecture and taking advantage of commercial off the shelf technologies wherever feasible, ENTCS 2010 has been designed to be a cost-effective, modular and scalable system, capable of bringing significant operational flexibility even to naval forces of relatively modest size.

It should not be forgotten, either, that C4I focus is not simply a matter of air or surface surveillance – the environment beneath the waves is an equally important one for naval commanders to maintain an awareness of. In Norway, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace’s Naval Systems division has developed a remotely operated inspection vehicle. Known as C-Inspector, the vessel can be fitted with a variety of sensors to fulfil roles as diverse as mine location and identification to hydrographic survey. At a higher level of capability, the Kongsberg C-Scope family includes underwater detection and protection systems, based on long-range sonar, diver detection sonar, remotely operated vehicles and countermeasures that add up to a fully capable underwater C4I system. Featuring comprehensive data reduction algorithms to dramatically reduce false alarm rates, C-Scope systems provide naval commanders with enhanced situational awareness in the subma-

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles… has become a matter of routine consideration in planning 30

rine environment – a vital adjunct to overall battlespace management.

When we talk of the battlespace, of course, we need to be well aware of the changes that are taking place in maritime security as a result of the demands of asymmetric and unconventional warfare. The increasing levels of threat from organised crime and piracy, alongside the maturing of more traditional naval threat scenarios, has led to a situation in which, more than ever before, the interests of other government agencies such as Coast Guards, Customs and Border Patrol or Immigration services coincide with those of the navies of their respective nations. The tendency, therefore, is for such agencies to be far more aware of – and far more interested in – the capabilities of equipment being considered for their navies than has hitherto been the case.

As applications for naval C4I systems and subsystem proliferate, so high-quality, rugged and versatile components will continue to become smaller, more robust and more cost-effective.

Shown here is the Naval Multi Display (NMD) from Norwegian company Hatteland Display AS, recently selected for a number of US Navy programmes, including the integrated bridge system on the DDG-1000 Zumwalt destroyer.

[Hatteland Display AS]

This is where we step back from beneath the sea to the environment above it – well above it, in fact. The emergence of technologies in the fields of remote control, autonomous decision-making and higher reliability of control systems in recent years has given birth to a phenomenon that is not only taking the maritime world by storm but promises to bring about a step change in attitudes to force generation, force protection and power projection in decades to come. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to extend the C4I footprint of a naval task force – or an unarmed maritime government agency such as those identified above – has become a mat-

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

Based on the battle proven Saar-5 Command and Control Systems, Elbit’s SeaCom comprises multiple components, fusing the ENTCS 2010 and TIGER C4I management systems shown here. [Elbit Systems]

ter of routine consideration in planning naval operations and systems of the future.

The scale of such usage, of course, varies according to the health, wealth and levels of technological sophistication of the navy or agency concerned. Few navies, for example, have yet found the need to fund major concept technology demonstrator programmes such as the UCAS-D armed UAV that Northrop Grumman is currently undertaking for the US Navy. At around $650 million, such programmes are within the grasp of only a privileged few. However, the UAV concept is alive and well in other areas dominated by naval operations. Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk UAV has established a dominant position in the High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) market segment, and will be used in a maritime surveillance role by Australia, as well as the United States. At a lower threshold of entry cost to this type of capability, the General Atomics Mariner UAV provides similar surveillance capabilities at lower altitudes and shorter mission endurance times.

The need for – and the process of – obtaining, collating, analysing, distributing and acting on information as the precursor to effective military operations is scarcely a new concept. Nor is it one that has been generally ignored, except at the peril of those doing the ignoring, in recorded naval history. However, there is a significant case to be made that naval warfare planning in the twenty-first century will be characterised by a focus on the domain of knowledge management and exploitation unparalleled in human history. The inevitable consequence of this is much greater focus and concentration on the development of effective, reliable, accurate and fast-working C4I sys-

NAVAL S Y S T E M S

BAE Systems Insyte's ARTISAN 3D radar system, selected by Britain's Royal Navy in 2008 for its Maritime Medium-Range Radar requirement, will bring commonality of capability to surface vessels throughout the fleet.[BAE Systems Insyte]

tems, available to the commander 24/7 and making decreasing demands on the maintenance and support organisations of those commanders’ forces.

Coming back to the theme of aircraft carriers, not every navy in the world can afford them – or, indeed, has a legitimate need for them. In Asia, China have recently been making carefully stage-managed comments

regarding development of indigenous carriers. Sceptics suggest there is nothing new in this and that China has been making similar noises for years, without the emergence of definitive plans. However, at least one group of informed observers believe that the current crop of rumours is based on more than posturing and contains within it the germ of real progress towards the development of blue-

water modern maritime air capabilities. That would not be possible without national confidence, that the development of indigenous industrial C4I capabilities has reached the stage at which it was capable of supporting such a visible and high-intensity project.

Which begs the question as to what is changing in the industry globally? Quite apart from the effects of Moore’s Law – that the power of processors and processing doubles every 18 months – on an industry that is effectively all about smart automated processing of increasingly vast amounts of data, one of the changes is the sheer size of the industry. The corporate membership of AFCEA – the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association, which is arguably the closest thing there is currently to a directory of C4I capability – amounts to some 1,800 companies. Admittedly, many of these are in North America and European nations, but the emergence of a robust, capable and sustainable defence electronics industry in Asia will fundamentally change the face of this segment of AMR the defence business in years to come.

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TRAINING A I R C R A F T

Asia-Pacific Trainer Market In a recent analysis, “The Market for Military Fixed-Wing Trainer Aircraft 2008-2017, Forecast International projected that manufacturers of military fixed-wing trainers will deliver 1,550 new aircraft globally over the next few years, with the value of this production, projected to reach an estimated $17.1 billion.

by David Oliver

Alenia Aermacchi is marketing its M-311 and M-346 with Boeing in the Asia Pacific market. (Alenia)

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TRAINING A I R C R A F T

ccording to the Study, more than half of these new trainers will be turboprop-powered trainers, with jet trainers accounting for nearly all of the remainder. The market for piston-powered military trainers is dying out and consequently, will account for only 18 aircraft during the forecast period. Overall, annual production will reach a high of 212 units in 2009 before gradually falling throughout the remainder of the forecast period, to 105 units in 2017.

One of the major causes of the projected reduced demand for trainers is the declining need to train new pilots. Many world air arms are shrinking fighter and attack jet fleets, lowering demand for new pilots and, in turn, trainers.

However, this is not necessarily so in the Asia market, where several important training contracts are awaiting the selection process.

The largest of these is for a new Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT)/ Lead-In Fighter Trainer (LIFT) for the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF).

At the end of 2006 Lockheed Martin was awarded a 20-year contract by the Singapore Ministry of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) to operate the RSAF Basic Wings Course (BWC). Nineteen PC-21 advanced turboprop trainer aircraft and a 20-year engineering and logistics support

A

One of the major causes of the projected reduced demand for trainers is the declining need to train new pilots service will be provided by the Swiss aircraft manufacturer, Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. as part of a turn-key training package awarded to Lockheed Martin Simulation, Training and Support (LMSTS). The training will be conducted at the Royal Australian Air Force Base Pearce, north of Perth in Western Australia.

The contract is for the provision of Pilot and Weapons System Operator ground-school, simulator hours and flying for a period of 20 years and commenced in July 2008. The PC-21 is replacing the Alenia S-211, 32 of which were delivered in the 1980s. The type is also in service with the Philippines Air Force, which took delivery of a total of 25 aircraft, few of which remain airworthy. Alenia were encouraged by the basic-advanced trainer market and subsequently produced a development of the S-211, the M-311.

The M-311 is now being marketed as a new cost-effective solution for the basicadvanced fast jet phase of the pilot training syllabus, offering a significant reduction in acquisition and life-cycle costs, bringing

The K-8 basic jet trainer is produced in China and Pakistan. (David Oliver)

MAY 2009

them to a level similar to that of the high power turboprops. These turboprops are in the same weight class and are equipped with similar systems, entailing similar maintenance and operating costs, but with limited performance and teaching effectiveness.

The M-311 avionics demonstrator made its first flight on 1 June 2005 as a completely redesigned evolution of the previous SIAI/Alenia S-211, with an all-new avionics suite, new Human-Machine Interface, revised aerodynamics, strengthened airframe, more powerful engine and new maintenance concept. Its single Pratt & Whitney PWC JT15D-5C turbofan engine combines high performance with low fuel consumption and low noise. The all-new M-311 aircraft, now under construction, will bring further structural, maintenance and ergonomic improvements over the S-211.

Enhancement to aircraft maintainability comes from completely revised accessibility of the new or improved systems, and the built-in Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) providing the airframe, engine and systems monitoring, required to ease maintenance and assess residual life. The introduction of pressure refuelling and of an On-Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS) brings significant reductions in manpower required for maintenance. They allow very short turn-aroundtime, which offers the potential to generate more sorties per day.

The generally refined aerodynamic configuration introduces new wing tips and ventral fuselage fins. Strengthened structures and landing gear will allow fatigue life extension to 15,000 flight hours and the maximum manoeuvre load factors are of +7 / -3.5G at 3,200 kg clean take-off weight. Its high by-pass ratio turbofan engine, the Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-5C turbofan engine, provides 1.447 kg (3,190 lb) of takeoff and maximum continuous thrust, a 30 percent increase on the S-211.

The aircraft avionics includes a glass-cockpit with three 5” x 7” LCD multi-function display (MFDs) for both the front and rear cockpits, hands-on throttle and stick (HOTAS) control, two mission computers for redundancy, embedded GPS/Inertial Platform, a HUD in the front cockpit and a rear cockpit repeater.

All six MFDs are identical. The M-311 will feature the embedded simulation as well as a Stores Management System and a Digital Moving Map. Along with Singapore, the Air Forces of Malaysia, Thailand and possibly Taiwan, have requirements for a Lead-In Fighter Trainer

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The piston-engine primary trainer market is almost saturated within the AsiaPacific region with only single-figure sales anticipated during the next few years (LIFT), although in the current economic climate, these may have to be put on hold.

The piston-engine primary trainer market is almost saturated within the Asia-Pacific region with only single-figure sales anticipated during the next few years.

In a marginally better state is the turboprop basic trainer market, the leading players in which are the Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano, the Hawker Beechcraft T-6 Texan II and the Pilatus PT-9 and PT-21. The Super Tucano and Texan II have not been able to break into the regional market to date, while the PC-9 has been adopted by the Air Forces of Australia, Myanmar and Thailand. Singapore is the lead export customer for the PC-21.

Japan and South Korea have both produced indigenous turboprop designs. Some 50 Fuji T-7s powered by the Rolls-Royce 250B17F turboprop will have been produced for the Japanese Air Self-Defence Force as the T3 Kai by the end of 2009. The T-7 has attract-

KAI and Lockheed Martin’s supersonic T-50 is leading contender for the Singapore LIFT Contract. (KAI)

ed no export orders but its competitor, the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KT-1 powered by the ubiquitous Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25A turboprop has been sold to Indonesia as well as the Republic of Korea (ROK) Air Force, and the type has also been selected by the Turkish Air Force.

There are also several indigenous jet-powered intermediate/advanced training aircraft being produced in the region. These include Japan’s Kawasaki T-4, production of which is complete, India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) HJT-36, and the Hongdu/Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) K-8. The latter is produced in the People’s Republic of China as the JL-8 and in Pakistan as the Karakorum.

More than 150 are in service with the PLAAF and 34 are being delivered to the Pakistan

Launched in response to the ROKAF’s KTX-2 advanced trainer requirement in 1992, the T-50 is a supersonic AJT/LIFT developed jointly by KAI and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (KAI)

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Air Force. The type has sold well in Africa and is in service with the Sri Lankan and Myanmar Air Forces.

India’s Air Force and Navy have a requirement for 225 HAL HJT-36 Sitaras to HJT-16 Kiran in its role of as a Stage-2 trainer, although a Limited Series Production (LSP) order of only 16 aircraft, which includes 12 for the Suryakiran Aerobatics team, has so far been confirmed. The type has had a protracted development and is unlikely to attract serious overseas interest.

The centre stage of this sector of the AJT/LIFT market is held by three types, the BAE Systems Hawk, the Alenia Aermacchi M-346, and the Korea Aerospace Industies (KAI) T-50. The Hawk, the prototype of which first flew in 1974, is approaching the end of its production life in spite of its selection in its latest incarnation, featuring a glass cockpit and upgraded avionics, as the Royal Air Force’s LIFT. Various variants are in service with the Air Forces of Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea, but the Hawk has been ruled out as a contender for the Singapore contract.

So has its navalised cousin, the Boeing T-45 Goshawk, production of which is scheduled to be completed at the end of 2009 with the delivery of more than 200 aircraft to the US Navy.

The leading contenders for future LIFT contracts worldwide are the M-346 Master and the T-50 Golden Eagle. Launched in response to the ROKAF’s KTX-2 advanced trainer require-

TRAINING A I R C R A F T

BAE Systems Hawk trainer is reaching the end of its development. (David Oliver)

ment in 1992, the T-50 is a supersonic AJT/LIFT developed jointly by KAI and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, to prepare future pilots to fly current and fourth and fifth generation combat aircraft such as the F-15, F16, F/A-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II, Rafale and the Eurofighter.

The Republic of Korea Government authorised the go-ahead of the $2.5 billion T-50 development programme in October 1997, which was completed in January 2006. KAI was responsible for system integration, including design, analysis, ground test, flight test programmes and for the final assembly of the aircraft. Lockheed Martin was responsible for the technical assistance, avionics integration and

flight control. KAI also developed the T-50 Ground Based Training System (GBTS) and Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) at the same time with the T-50 development to maximise the effectiveness and the economics of the development cost.

The T-50’s maiden flight was successfully conducted in August 2002 and the first of 50 production aircraft was delivered to ROKAF in December 2005. KAI will also produce an additional ten T-50s modified for the exclusive use of ROKAF aerobatic flight team, the Black Eagles.

Two versions of the Golden Eagle have

The Republic of Korea Government authorised the go-ahead of the $2.5 billion T-50 development programme in October 1997, which was completed in January 2006

been ordered by the ROKAF, the T-50 AJP and the radar-equipped TA-50 LIFT, both of which are weapons-capable. A light attack variant, the FA-50, is in development to replace the ROKAF F-5 fleet, more than 150 of which remain in service.

Powered by a single 78.7 kN (17,700 lb) thrust with afterburner, General Electric GE F404-GE-102 turbofan, it has a maximum speed of Mach 1.5 and a service ceiling of 14,630 m (48,000 ft). Like many modern stateof-the-art combat aircraft with Fly-by-Wire (FBW) controls, the T-50 is relatively easy to fly in terms of airframe design, digital flight controls, and on-board systems. It includes embedded training features and a mission planning and debriefing system.

More than 60 ROKAF pilots had completed the nine-month course on the T-50 by the end of 2008, including its first woman to graduate as a combat pilot, First Lieutenant Cha Jung Eun. Apart from being in contention for the Singapore LIFT requirement, KAI has already

TRAINING A I R C R A F T

been in contact with the Thai government to explore the possibility of selling the T-50 to the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF). With its selection of the Saab Gripen to replace its F-5 fleet, KAI is pitching the T-50 to replace RTAF’s ageing Alpha Jets and Aero L-39ZA/ARTs for the AJT and LIFT roles.

However, the T-50 is not a cheap option at approximately $25 million each, and its comprehensive Ground Based Training System (GBTS) and Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) support package includes full mission simulators and an extensive curriculum of computeraided training. Regarded by some, not least Lockheed Martin, the Golden Eagle’s greatest market potential may be as a future replacement for the US Air Force’s forty-year old T-38 Talon supersonic advanced trainer.

The other leading contender for the Singapore contract is the M-346 Master.

The Italian AJP/LIFT is the progeny of the Russian Yak-130. A joint programme for a advanced trainer development between Yakovlev of Russia and Aermacchi of Italy began in 1993 and the Yak/AEM-130D demonstrator first flew in 1996. However, in 1999, the partnership was dissolved and

The Russian Yak-130 LIFT is also being offered as a light attack aircraft. (Yakovlev)

the Yakovlev Yak-130 Russian engines and equipment and the Aermacchi M-346 with western engines and avionics becoming separate programmes. Although selected to replace the Russian Air Force’s extensive L39 Albatross fleet with a requirement for more than 200 aircraft, the Yak-130 has yet to be delivered for service although the type has been sold to Algeria and Libya in small numbers.

The M-346 has had a similarly protracted development with the first prototype making its maiden flight until July 2004. A second aircraft flew in May 2005 and both aircraft are now heavily engaged in an intensive interna-

The Pilatus PC-21 is in service with the Republic of Singapore Air Force. (Pilatus)

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tional demonstration programme. The first pre-production aircraft was rolled out in April 2008 and made it first flight in December.

The M-346’s full authority, quadruplex FBW control system allows it to remain fully controllable at angles of attack up to 40° degrees. It is powered by two 2,850 kg (6,280 lb) thrust Honeywell F124-GA200 turbofans giving it a thrust/weight ration close to 1 to 1. Although not supersonic, the M-346 has attained Mach 1.17 during flight trials earlier this year.

Embedded simulation is a key feature of the Master. Once activated, the actions of the pilot and the actual aircraft flight data interact in real time with a virtual scenario generating specific symbologies. A set of different operating modes and options can be selected by the instructor through the HOTAS controls and the MFD’s soft-key selections.

Simulated sensor and scenario data are presented on the MFD and HUD in both cockpits. Simulations of weapons enable the student pilot to perform simulated attacks, both in air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons delivery modes, while on-board systems provide the pilot scoring, both in real time and on the ground for mission debriefing.

In March 2008, Alenia Aermacchi and ENAER (Empresa Nacional de Aeronáutica de Chile), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that sets out the terms of the partnership for programmes to jointly manufacture and market both the M-311 and the M-346 in Latin America. A potentially more important step was taken in May of last year when the Italian company signed an MoU with the Boeing Company. Under this agreement, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems' Support Systems division will be responsible for several aspects of the M-311 and M-346 programmes' logistics support and associated training.

Although only 15 M-346s have been ordered by the Italian Air Force, the type received an important sales boost in February of this year when the United Arab Emirates became the first export customer, with its commitment to acquire 48 Masters for the LIFT and light attack missions.

At the time of writing, Singapore has not announced its decision as to which AJT/LIFT would be selected, but with the added clout of both Lockheed Martin and Boeing involved in the competition, for Korea Aerospace Industries and Alenia Aermacchi, there is all to AMR play for in the Asia-Pacific market.

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Area Communications: Always on Broadband Comms Area communications provide the high capacity connectivity that link disparate formations across the battlefield, allowing commanders access to diverse databases and secure throughput from ISR assets such as full motion video while on the halt or increasingly, while on the move.

Militaries are transitioning their legacy and future capabilities to embrace the requirement for non-stop communications access, balancing the need for traditional direct Line Of Sight (LOS) solutions with more agile, Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) communications including Satcom On The Move (SOTM) capabilities.

by Adam Baddeley

Ascom uses its openAccess platform as the basis for the military Tactical Access Node which was selected by Finland’s military in 2001 (Ascom)

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he General Dynamics C4 Systems led, US Warfighter Information Network Tactical (WIN-T) programme is designed to provide both LOS and BLOS communications within an integrated whole and predated the commencement of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the failure of the legacy Mobile Subscriber Equipment to adequately keep up with the mechanised advance on Baghdad, led to the programme’s schedule being accelerated. Army planners, realising that the new dates would still be insufficient to meet immediate operational needs, began fielding the Joint Network Node (JNN) in parallel to the hastened development of WIN-T, giving users high capacity links, although only at the short halt.

The JNN consist of a series of ruggedised, largely COTS solutions and is carried on a HMMWV to provide High Capacity Line of Sight (HCLOS) and Satcom links to Division, Brigade and Battalion Command Posts and has been extremely successful. The JNN capability, was ultimately incorporated into the WIN-T plan, being redesignated Increment 1 of the programme in 2008. The US Army will however have to wait for WIN-T’s Increment 2 to be introduced, before the programme’s mobile ad hoc networking capabilities become available for the first time. Increment 2 is scheduled for a Limited User Test in 2009 and an Initial Operating Capability in 2011.

Replacing conventional HCLOS links in WIN-T Increment 2 will be the Highband Network Radio, developed by BAE Systems and Harris GCSD. This serves as the host for the C and Ku band, Highband Networking Waveform supporting voice, video and data at burst rates of up to 54Mbps at short ranges, although at longer ranges rates of 6Mbps are still possible. It works by having 16, segmented mini-directional antennas creating in effect a single omni directional antenna to link multiple ad hoc participants. Conceived for WIN-T, the system however has already been deployed in a stand alone role with transit case systems being deployed in Iraq with the US Army around Baghdad.

The key SOTM element to WIN-T is being provided via L-3, using its Network Centric Waveform, embedded in its MPM-1000 modem. The Army has yet to make a selection for the antenna for Increment 2

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The JNN capability, was ultimately incorporated into the WIN-T plan, being redesignated Increment 1 of the programme in 2008 although, in testing both L-3 Datron and General Dynamics solutions have been used.

Any future extension will be required to take SOTM capabilities down to WIN- T’s HMMWV mounted Soldier Network Extension node, which will equip company commanders.

The UK’s Falcon programme is designed to replace the legacy Ptarmigan system now in service. BAE Systems is the prime contractor for the new system. Like many programmes it is designed to be fielded in four increments. Increment A is due to be fielded by 2010 with NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps with Increment C due to follow it in 2011 which will provide the Royal Air Force with updated HCLOS links at deployed bases.

Falcon’s relay links are provided by Ultras AN/GRC-245 and the Thales TRC4000, with COTS technology supplied by Cisco, additional telephony IP infrastructure

by Selex and gateway servers from L-3.

Two further Increments are planned.

Increment B will extend Falcon to manoeuvre forces. Falcon is based around the MAN

HX60 truck today but will be extended to armoured vehicles including the Future Rapid Effect System. Increment D is as yet unfunded but will use technologies that support remote users and maritime users.

Of note for less advanced users is Slovakia’s Mokys programme, an IP-based Communication network, also being led by BAE Systems. This uses the Rohde & Schwarz M3TR combat net radios and Ericsson’s RL-432A HCLOS radio relay.

Mokys also includes BAE Systems Wideband Programmable Network Radio, an export version of its VRC-99 networking radio.

In addition to country specific solutions, commercially developed options are present in some numbers. Kongsberg’s EriTac IP solution is the latest iteration of this widely sold system. The latest version provides integrated IP networking and incorporates new wireless technologies, including the company’s TacLAN family.

Thales’ area communications solution is based around its Di@ne IP voice and data networking and consists of deployable nodes supporting either 120 or 25 subscribers. This solution is being offered to meet India’s Tactical Communications System requirements. Di@ne uses the company’s TRC-400 HCLOS microwave links in NATO Band 4 and supports up to 34 Mbps throughput. A new antenna, the Fast Electronically Steerable Antenna systems, designed for quick halt capabilities on armoured vehicles

SOTM solutions such as General Dynamics Warrior solution provide affordable solutions to a number of users (GD C4S)

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has recently been launched and is capable of the same data rates.

The United Arab Emirates has selected the Di@ne system for its Zagil requirement.

Thales, working with Samsung have supplied the Eurocom based SPIDER solution to South Korea and have now embarked on an IP upgrade to the system known as TICN. Ascom uses its openAccess platform as the basis for the military Tactical Access Node which was selected by Finland’s military in 2001 as an all-IP solution that is designed to integrate inputs from multiple transmission solutions, providing a interoperability bridge for legacy systems into a future proofed architecture.

The hub of Elbit Systems Land C4I – Tadiran’s solution for area communications is the GRC-408E HCLOS radio, an 8 Mbps solution supporting ECCM and the Band 4 GRC-2000, supporting throughput of up to 2Mbps. The latter radios were selected by the USMC for its Digital Wide-Area Transmission System project.

Bulgaria’s SAMEL 90 offers the Field Communications and Information System offers a comprehensive integration architecture to integrate HF and VHF CNRs, Tetra terminals as well as high capacity relays to connect mobile subscribers.

HCLOS Links HCLOS radios are the bedrock of area communications, using directional antenna to provide multi mega-byte, microwave links.

The Ultra AN/GRC-245(V) HCLOS

Elbit Systems Land C4I – Tadiran’s Bro@dnet supports throughput of 37Mbps and uses NATO Band 4 with ranges in excess of 43Km and has been deployed as part of Israel’s Digital Army Programme (Elbit)

radio is a staple of a number of area communications solutions. In Asia its operators include Jordan, selected in 2008 as part of its new C4ISR programme and South Korea which uses a development of the radio, known as the GRC-512. The system has also been part of US networks for some time including within the JNN/WIN-T Increment 1 solution. An order for 1000 radios in 2008 will take total US Army numbers to in excess of 4000.

The system offers throughput of up to 34Mbps and is available in available in Band 1 (224-400MHz), Band 3+ (1350 -2690MHz) and Band 4 (4.4 - 5GHz) with the latest versions supporting the JTRS Software Communications Architecture version 2.2. In Afghanistan, Canada are using the ‘Flyaway’ variant of the radio, designed for rapid deployment and set up. This allows links of

Large tent city solutions to area communications are being replaced in the US Army by the OTM capabilities of WIN-T (GD C4S)

up to 16Mbps at range of 40Km in Band 3+ or Band 1 with an Ethernet fibre optic link for command posts allowing information received to be sent to commanders at 155Mbps.

Czech firm Tesla has developed its RR 300/1600 relays supporting NATO Band 1 and 3 operations of up to 4Mbps in the case of the RR1600. The more recent RR2200 is designed for operation on small tactical vehicles at the edge of the battle and provide 15km links operating at 2.2Ghz with rates of 385Kbps.

Adapted versions of the Commercial Off The Shelf WiMAX/802.16 standard are increasingly being used as high capacity point-to-point and point-to-multi-point networks.

Elbit Systems Land C4I – Tadiran’s Broadnet supports throughput of 37Mbps and uses NATO Band 4 with ranges in excess of 43Km and has been deployed as part of Israel’s Digital Army Programme. A similar solution is Harris RF Communications RF7800W also operates in NATO Band 4 with a maximum throughput of 80Mbps at short ranges in point to point networks and 40Mbps for point to multi-point architectures with a maximum range of 50Km. Thales’ TWS 5000 Tactical WiMAX terminal mast mounted transceiver weighs 2.5Kg and operates from 2.2-2.4GHz with throughput of up to 5Mbps. Ultra’s AN/GRC-245 also has a WiMAX upgrade path, exploiting its software defined radio status, with the addition of new software and addition antenna.

For the French military, EADS have fielded a 2.3GHz solution to support logistics units with work ongoing on adding operations at 3.5GHz. Selex have developed a Band 1 solution offering throughput of 11Mbps.

BAE Systems has developed a number of WiMAX capable solution including the RSTP distributed radio and software defined solution which supports WiMAX at civil frequencies at 5.8MHz as well as military bands at 4.6GHz. The systems also support US military standard Transec features. Another

The hub of Elbit Systems Land C4I – Tadiran’s solution for area communications is the GRC-408E HCLOS radio 40

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LOS links are limited in their range by the curvature of the earth solution is the Tactical Warfighter Network Node using a self forming mesh network using 802.16D over the same dual band as the R3T-P and operates FIPS140-2 Transec and External HAIPE COMSEC. The radio also has a channel for integration with BGAN Satcom allowing each radio to operate as a node with integrated backhaul for distributed operations.

A further option for HCLOS links, which bypass the need LOS but avoid the need for satcom is Troposcatter. These operate by bouncing signals off the earth’s troposphere, similar in principle to HF’s use of the ionosphere, but at shorter ranges with much greater throughput and requiring much larger terminals and antennas. One of the leading solutions is the Raytheon AN/TRC-170.

A recent upgrade developed by Comtech is

the Transportable Fast Link Antenna, which recently demonstrated high data rate backbone communications supporting voice, data and video connectivity over a distance of 130km. The overall system is capable of throughput of up to 20Mbps with a range of 209km.

LOS links are limited in their range by the curvature of the earth. Nothing can be done about physical geography, but it can be overcome by increasing the height of the transmitter. A natural development of this has been to establish airborne nodes.

EADS has demonstrated an airborne communications node as part of its network centric warfare portfolio, which has placed a transceiver on a light, single engine aircraft flying at an altitude of up to 10km and Slovakia’s Mokys programme IP-based communication network is being led by BAE Systems (AJB)

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ITT’s Mercury family is the most widely used WBNR in service today (ITT)

demonstrated throughput of two 20Mbps links at ranges of 100km. The company believes this could be increased to two 100Mbps links at ranges of 200km with the airborne platform flying at altitudes of 50km.

SOTM Terrestrial LOS links must criss-cross the battlefield with every node through which the signal must travel, becoming a potential point of failure for the entire message if that node is disabled or destroyed by enemy action. In contrast satcom, allows the information held at a database or screen to be transported directly to the point of use in one or two hops, depending on the architecture being implemented. Throughput from satcom does not compete with the sheer data muscle power of HCLOS links. It nonetheless has sufficient throughput and latency that key information can still be reliably sent using this medium. While L-band and UHF satcom provide limited throughput, sufficient for low bandwidth applications such as a Blue Force Tracking, users requiring high capacity, high speed SOTM within a mobile area system are looking to X, Ka and increasingly Ku band, while for high end users, requiring jam resistant links, EHF Milsatcom is a further option.

DRS’ X-Band Satellite Communications On-The-Move (XOTM) – also available with a Ku band option, comprises either a 76cm or 46cm dish with the latter system weighing just 34kg and is a capable of transmit-

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ting and receiving up to 1.54Mbs, the former antenna as much as three Mbps. The system can acquire a satellite within 30 seconds and re-acquire it in just five seconds after blockage – going under a tunnel or foliage canopy for example.

SWE-DISH, working with Saab, have developed a four-axis, SOTM terminal supporting communications of up to 10Mbps from a moving vehicle and supports X, Ka and Ku and satcom. The system has a steering accuracy of less than 0.14db and moves to the required point at over 600 degrees per second. The terminal is the first to operate into a US DISA Teleport site. In demonstrations in the US and elsewhere, the systems have been used from a vehicle moving at 90Kmph.

General Dynamics Satcom Technologies’ Warrior SOTM terminal offers modular, interchangeable payloads in X, Ku and Kaband. The 76cm, two axis pedestal mount variant acquires satellites in five seconds and weighs 87Kg all-in.

Thales’ XOTM Satmove quick halt terminal operates in the X-band and uses a 1.8m antenna, with data rates of up to 2 Mbps and is in operation in less than 10 minutes.

Australia’s DSTO is currently on a SOTM Capability Demonstrator, supporting IP voice data and video with BAE Systems Australia working with EM Solutions which has seen a Ka band SOTM system integrated onto a Bushmaster vehicle and uses the US

WGS satellite. The company also provides the Advanced Satellite Communications Terrestrial Infrastructure within the ADFs Military Satellite Communications Programme JP2008.

The latest innovation in the tactical networking inventory are wideband networking radios

WBNR

the WBNR market has been with its selection by Sweden for its Tactical Data Radio System, a Software Radio demonstrator programme, in a $16.7m award made in 2005. The first unit will be equipped this year with roughly 150 radios operating from 240-380Mhz with 500Kbps of shared capacity. In 2006, it announced an alliance with Thales to create the FlexNet Family which comprises the four channel FlexNet Four radio and single channel, manpack sized solution, the FlexNet One which is form fit and function with the PR4G. The radios host a number of waveforms including the narrowband VHF PR4G enabling backwards compatibility with legacy radios. In wideband terms the FlexNet ad hoc networking UHF waveform supports data rates of up to 5Mbps, networking as many as 150 nodes a range of 10Km. A contract was awarded for 1500 radios in 2008 with deliveries due in 2011.

Other SDR’s are following a similar route, hosting wideband and narrow band solutions, embedding multiple layers of capability into a tactically flexible package. Harris’ RF7800M-MP Falcon III manpack and the DoD oriented AN/PRC-117G variant both offer the company’s Adaptive Networking Wideband Waveform (ANW2) capability of battlefield rates of roughly 3Mbps amongst a node network due to reach 50 this year. The radio has been deployed operationally by US forces and in January this year the radio was selected by Estonia with the USAF acquiring further AN/PRC-117Gs in February.

One the ground, two Joint Tactical Radio System programmes provide tactical wideband networking on the ground for the US; Ground Mobile Radio (GMR) and Handheld Manpack and Small Form Fit (HMS). This is undertaken via two key waveforms, the Wideband Networking Waveform developed under the Boeing led GMR contract and developed for high power, typically vehicle mounted operations and the ITT/DARPA originated Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW), a power efficient solution developed for disadvantaged users such as dismounted users, small UAVs and unatA MR tended ground sensors.

The latest innovation in the tactical networking inventory are wideband networking radios (WBNR). These radios combine high rates of throughput, with rapid set up using omni directional antennas for wideband throughput, measured in the hundreds of Kbps. In terms of capability, they sit between narrow band VHF Combat Net Radios whose throughput is limited to tens of, or single Kbps and directional HCLOS microwave links capable of multi-megabytes of throughput.

The most numerous WBNR on the market is the ITT Mercury family of radios. Known as the Near Term Data Radio in US service and the High Capacity Data Radio (HCDR) as part of the UK’s Bowman tactical network, roughly 4000 radios are now fielded. The radio supports throughput of up to 500Kbps and can includes up to 200 radios in a network. The HCDR has been exported to Poland and Belgium and the radio was selected in 2008 to support Italy’s Unità Sperimentale Digitalizzata, the unit earmarked for carrying out all testing related to Italian battlefield digitisation.

Rockwell Collins breakthrough sale in

The UK’s Falcon programme will replace the legacy Ptarmigan system in four increments (BAE Systems)

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REGIONAL NEWS A N D

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

AUSTRALIA Australia announces A$793 million defence infrastructure spend Australia's defence minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, and the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Support, Mike Kelly, announced in March that the government will spend A$793.1 million to construct new facilities and supporting infrastructure at defence bases around Australia as part of the Army's Enhanced Land Force Stage 1 capabilities.

One of the main objectives is the relocation of the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment from Sydney to Townsville, Queensland. Major project elements include new facilities at Lavarack Barracks and the Field Training Area, Townsville, refurbished facilities at Campbell Barracks, Perth, Western Australia, for the Special Air Service Regiment; and new facilities at Royal Australian Air Force Amberley, Queensland.

Australia signs new Hercules TLS During the Australian Air Show, the Australian Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) announced that it had awarded a contract to Australian Aerospace and subcontractor Lockheed Martin to provide Through-Life Support (TLS) services for the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) fleet of C-130J Hercules transport aircraft.

The DMO's Head Aerospace Division, Air Vice-Marshal Colin Thorne, said the TLS contract, valued at $292 million, offered the best value for money for Australia.

'This contract will provide innovative solutions to C-130J maintenance and is designed to reduce the cost of ownership into the future,' he stated.

The five-year, performance based contract links annual contract extensions to contractor performance and cost reduction, thereby promoting efficiency and delivering real cost savings.

Subject to contractor performance, support for C-130J aircraft will continue under this contracting strategy until the fleet's planned withdrawal date.

As part of the contract, Australian Aerospace and Lockheed Martin will deliver services including aircraft maintenance,

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Australia’s withdrawal from the USN’s BAMS programme could see the Predator family play a role in the country’s maritime surveillance (DoD)

engineering and supply chain management. C-130J engine support will continue to be provided by StandardAero, under an existing contract arrangement.

Australia to invest in technology to ensure long term air capabilities Speaking at Melbourne during the 13th Australian International Aerospace Congress, Warren Snowdon, Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, confirmed that Australia would continue investing in new and emerging technologies to secure the future of its aerospace capabilities.

Snowdon said that by 2020, Australia can expect to have a new frontline Air Force fleet, designed to ensure the country's regional air superiority for many years to come. The Royal Australian Air Force is due to introduce the Super Hornet fighter, Wedgetail early warning aircraft and airborne refuelling aircraft over the next several years. It is also investigating the replacement of the AP-3C Orion aircraft for maritime surveillance and patrol, and participating in the Joint Strike Fighter programme.

'The acquisition of new assets and renewal of current fleets represent multibillion dollar investments in new aerospace capabilities,' Snowdon said. He added that

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

technology was changing the nature of air combat with highly networked, integrated airborne and ground support systems set to dominate the warfighting role in the future.

'Australia must keep pace with technology developments which can affect our aerospace capabilities,' Snowdon stated.

'Unmanned systems, hypersonics, computing power, communications and networking, sensors and data fusion, and new materials are all impacting on our capabilities 'We're leading the world in hypersonics research, upgrading our JORN radar network and making innovative advances in the application of miniaturised, low cost unmanned aerial systems.

'The government will continue to support such science and technology programmes that underpin the ADF's capability edge now and in the future,' he concluded.

Australia pulls out of BAMS Australia's defence minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, has announced that Canberra has decided to withdraw from its cooperation with the US Navy (USN) on the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) programme.

Under Project AIR 7000 Phase 1B, Australia aims to acquire an unmanned air system (UAS) as part of a larger reinvigoration of the country’s maritime patrol assets,

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that will also see the country procure the Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

Under its partnership with the USN, Australia was tracking the latter's procurement of the Global Hawk UAV to fulfil BAMS. Australia said that the delivery schedule for the USN's BAMS programme had slipped and resulted in the earliest possible in-service date for the BAMS aircraft moving out to 2015.

'Introducing such an advanced new aircraft at this time would have caused incredible workforce pressures on the Australian Defence Force, particularly given the requirement to transition the Air Force's AP-3C Orion fleet to a new manned surveillance aircraft in the same time period,' Fitzgibbon said.

'The Australian Government has taken swift action to alleviate these transitional issues by declining the option to continue on with further collaboration with the United States Navy's developmental programme at this time,' he added.

Canberra says it will continue to closely monitor the progression of BAMS and other similar unmanned aircraft programmes. These broader intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities will be fully covered in the country’s White Paper, which was expected as Asian Military Review went to press.

'The Australian Government has every

confidence that the [USN] BAMS programme will deliver a very capable uninhabited aircraft. However, at this stage in the development of this project, it is in Australia's best interests to not knowingly risk incurring the unmanageable workforce chaos that would result,' Fitzgibbon stated.

Australia has a number of other options to look at when it comes to maritime UAS. Israel is in the process of marinising the Heron UAV while General Atomics, the loser in the BAMS programme, is still keen to find an outlet for its Mariner UAV.

Australia to retire Caribou transports this year In February, Australia's Department of Defence announced that it had taken the decision to retire the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF's) DHC-4 Caribou transport aircraft without a replacement in sight.

The Minister for Defence, Joel Fitzgibbon, announced that the government had accepted the reality that it will be necessary to bring forward the retirement of Australia's remaining thirteen DHC-4 Caribou aircraft to December 2009. 'The government has been left with little choice but to retire the Caribou and has reluctantly agreed to do so despite the fact that poor planning by the former government has denied us the opportunity to produce a replacement aircraft before 2013,' he stated.

After 45 years of service with the RAAF, the Caribou fleet is said to be suffering badly from a range of ageing aircraft issues and also contains a health hazard in a number of asbestos parts. The RAAF took delivery of its first Caribou in April 1964 and over the course of its service the aircraft has undergone a number of upgrades.

Despite its track record, the Caribou is now well beyond its sustainable life, according to the Defence Department. The Caribou fleet suffers from corrosion, fatigue and obsolescence issues that make them increasingly difficult and costly to maintain. According to Fitzgibbon, the RAAF is now struggling to achieve four to five serviceable aircraft at any one time.

Currently, Project Air 8000 Phase 2 plans to deliver a Tactical Battlefield Airlift capability for the RAAF to replace the Caribou in 2013. Options for bringing forward the schedule on this project are being considered as part of the government's White Paper process.

As an interim measure, a leased fleet of five additional Hawker Pacific B300 King Air aircraft will undertake light air transport tasks. These aircraft will be phased into the Townsville-based 38 Squadron as the Caribou is progressively retired toward the end of 2009. Three King Air 350 aircraft, currently operated by Army, will also be transferred across to 38 Squadron.

INDONESIA

JAPAN

Indonesia receives last SIGMA corvette

JMSDF commissions helicopter carrier

The Indonesian Navy has taken delivery of the last of four Diponegro (SIGMA) class corvettes that have been built for Jakarta by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding. The vessels were handed over to the Navy in a ceremony in the Netherlands on 7 March.

The corvette, KRI Frans Kaisiepo, immediately began crew training with the Royal Netherlands Navy and as AMR went to press, was expected to complete several demonstration runs before leaving for Surabaya naval base in Indonesia in mid-April to begin service.

The first of class, KRI Diponegoro and the second vessel, KRI Hasanuddin were delivered in July 2007 with a third ship, KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda, delivered in 2008. Reports suggest that although the vessels are operational they will not receive their MBDA MM40 Exocet Block II missiles, being procured under a separate contract, until 2010.

In March Tokyo commissioned the first in a new class of 'helicoptercarrying destroyers' that will greatly increase the range and power of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF). The new 13,950 tonne ship, JS Hyuga, has a 195meter full-length flight deck and can carry up to 11 helicopters.

The 'helicopter-carrying destroyer' is a name that allows the JMSDF to stretch the country's declared pacifist position. Tokyo takes the position that Japan cannot possess an offensive aircraft carrier due to the country's constitution.

According to the JMSDF, the

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ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

Hyuga class is not an aircraft carrier, although analysts speculate that the size of the ships would mean that they could be used with some types of aircraft.

The ship was commissioned at a ceremony at IHI Marine United's shipyard in Yokohama it then headed to the JMSDF base in Yokosuka where it will become the flagship for the force's 1st Escort Flotilla. As well as its helicopter capability, the new Hyuga class also has a sophisticated command, control and communications system, allowing it to act as a task force command centre.

The second Hyuga class destroyer is to be commissioned in March 2011.

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REGIONAL NEWS A N D

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

INDIA India cancels attack helicopter RfP In late March New Delhi announced that it was cancelling a tender for 22 attack helicopters as the three companies vying for the deal had been unable to meet the stated requirements.

According to officials, the Request for Proposals (RfP) was cancelled after the three companies failed to meet qualitative requirements. They added that a fresh RfP would be floated shortly.

The three companies which were in the race for the contract were Russia's Kamov, Eurocopter and Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland. Two other companies, US manufacturers Boeing and Bell, dropped out of the tender at an earlier stage.

P-8I deal cleared by new US administration In early March, the new US administration of President Barack Obama cleared the $2.1 billion sale to India of eight Boeing P-8I maritime patrol aircraft (MPAs) that was agreed under the previous Bush administration. The sale is the largest US defence deal with India to date.

The State Department said in a 12 March notice to Congress that it would license the direct commercial sale, having factored in 'political, military, economic, human rights and arms control considerations.' The Indian Navy is the first international customer for the P-8, Boeing's new long-range MPA which is being developed for the US Navy. A number of other countries in the region, including Australia, are also though to be interested in the aircraft.

The current schedule will see Boeing deliver the first P-8I within 48 months of a contract signature with the remaining seven aircraft delivered between then and 2015.

The P-8I deal follows the successful sale of six Lockheed Martin Corp C-130J Hercules transport aircraft to India at a price of $1 billion. The US also has several bidders in the competition to supply the Indian Air Force with new multi-role combat aircraft.

India lays keel of indigenous aircraft carrier At a ceremony at Cochin shipyard in

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A fresh RFP for India attack helicopter may allow the Apache to re-enter the competition (DoD)

Kochi, India's defence minister, A K Antony, laid the keel of the country's first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC). New Delhi hopes the IAC will be the first in a small fleet of aircraft carriers that will bolster the Indian Navy's (IN) capabilities in the next decade.

The 40,000 tonne IAC is scheduled to be completed by 2014. Speaking at the ceremony Antony said that, 'we are living in a world of uncertainty, conflict, threats from maritime terrorism, piracy, narcotics, smuggling and low-intensity conflict, perpetrated by states in some cases and with non-state players in others, are on the rise.' In building the aircraft carrier he said that he hoped the IN would be able to operate two to three aircraft carriers simultaneously to counter such threats.

The design and construction of the IAC was approved by the government in January 2003. The IAC has been designed by the IN's Design Organisation and is being built at M/S Cochin Shipyard. It is expected to operate a mix of Russian MiG29K fighters, Ka-31 helicopters and the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft.

The production of the IAC commenced

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

in November 2006 and large numbers of blocks have already been fabricated, which are under erection. The ship construction is planned in two phases. The First phase covers work up to first launch at the end of 2010. The second phase would cover all balance work till delivery of the ship to the IN in 2014.

IN gets new FPCs The Indian Navy (IN) has commissioned its first waterjet Fast Patrol Craft at a ceremony in Chennai. The two 49m Car Nicobar-class vessels are the first in the IN inventory to use waterjet technology for propulsion.

The FPCs are fitted with the three MTU 16V 4000 M90 diesel engines that drive three Kamewa 71SII waterjets. The boats are believed to have a maximum speed of 35 kt and a range of 2,000 km at 13 kt.

The FPCs have been built by Garden Reach Shipyard and Engineers in Kolkatta.

The first of class, INS Car Nicobar and her sister vessel INS Chetlat were launched in November 2007. A further two FPCs; Cinque and Cheriyam, were launched in July last year but are yet to be commissioned while the remaining boats in the class are expected to be delivered in 2010.

REGIONAL NEWS A N D

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

MALAYSIA Malaysia gets first MB399CM trainers Alenia Aermacchi confirmed in March that it had delivered the first two of eight MB-339CM trainers to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). The aircraft were ordered by Kuala Lumpur in late 2006. The six remaining MB-339CM are expected to be delivered during the course of this year.

The aircraft is a two-seat, aerobatic, single-engine aircraft for the Advanced and Lead-In-Fighter Training phases of the military pilot training syllabus. It is based upon the MB-339CD, in use with the Italian Air Force. The RMAF will use the Alenia Aermacchi MB-339CM as a Lead-In Fighter Trainer to prepare its pilots to fly new generation fighter aircraft in service with the RMAF.

Malaysia to get more Astros II systems According to local reports, Malaysia will take delivery of a further 18 Brazilian Avibras Astros II multiple rocket launchers in September this year.

The announcement was made by the head of the army General Tan Sri Muhammad Ismail Jamaluddin.

The new systems will form a second

SOUTH KOREA Seoul to maintain older AAMs According to sources in Seoul, the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) has succeeded in developing an indigenous maintenance technology for older air-to-air missiles (AAMs) in its inventory, such as the AIM-9P4 Sidewinder, which is used by the RoKAF's main fighter aircraft, including the F-4 Phantom.

The defence ministry said that this expected to contribute greatly to setting up a complete defence posture, as well as reducing annual maintenance costs by nearly 20 billion won.

'The 86th Maintenance Depot has succeeded in developing its own

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regiment of the Astros II as well as adding additional systems to the current regiment. The 18 launchers and the support equipment are believed to have been ordered in 2007.

The country currently has 18 Astros II launchers in service that were delivered in 2002. The new regiment, 52 Artillery regiment, is expected to be operational in 2010.

DCI continues training role for Malaysian maritime forces In 2008, the first DAUPHIN N3 from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency landed on FNS MISTRAL in the China Sea. The Malaysian government had tasked Coast Guard training to be led by the French Navy and was partnered by a Eurocopter-MalaysiaDCI/NAVFCO team.

DCI/NAVFCO, this time working with DCNS is supporting training the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) in the operation of two Scorpene type submarines. Roughly 150 Malaysian trainees have now undergone training at a site in Brest using a range of simulators. A DCI/NAVFCO crew also undertook trials of the vessel, initially alongside, then at sea.

maintenance technology for the AIM9P4 air-to-air missile, a technology currently owned only by Swiss company RUAG,' the Air Force Logistics Command said in mid-February.

'With our own maintenance now available, we expect our productivity to improve by over six times from previous years.'

The Logistics Command also noted that the new technology resolved problems related to difficulties in finding replacement parts for the missile that was introduced in the late 1980s and the time needed to maintain the missile. 'This will provide us a chance to significantly improve the operation rate of the missile, as well as user's confidence in missile conditions.'

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

PAKISTAN China sign JF-17 production agreement with Islamabad In March, Pakistan and China signed an agreement for the serial production of 42 JF-17 Thunder fighters that are expected to form part of the Pakistani combat fleet in coming years.

Head of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood, said on the occasion of the signing ceremony that the first squadron of JF-17s would be inducted into the PAF this year.

The agreement for producing the jets was signed at the PAF headquarters by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Chairman Air Marshal Khalid Chaudhry and M A Zhiping, President of state-run China Aviation Import-Export Corporation. So far Pakistan is estimated to have spent $600 million on the JF-17 project.

The JF-17 is a lightweight, all-weather, multirole combat fighter developed jointly by Pakistan and China. The PAF has so far received eight JF-17 jets that are being used for testing and evaluation.

SINGAPORE Singapore receives first Gulfstream AEW aircraft In February, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) received the first of four Gulfstream 550 Airborne Early Warning (G550-AEW) aircraft at Tengah Air Base.

The RSAF has acquired the four G550-AEW aircraft to replace its ageing E-2C Hawkeye fleet, which has been in service with the air force for well over 20 years. The new aircraft are equipped with a sophisticated mission suite that includes the Elta Phalcon Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar.

The G550-AEW aircraft will be able to detect, identify and track aerial targets at a longer detection range than the E2C Hawkeye, with a range of more than 200 nautical miles. According to officials this will allow the RSAF to see farther and respond more effectively to various operational situations.

The G-550's communication system will include a satellite communication system for rapid transfer of ground information, which will boost the network-centric capabilities of the Third Generation Singapore Armed Forces. Its radar system will also enhance the RSAF's Air Defence and Operations Command by enabling pilots to receive real-time battlefield information.